[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Kenya is unwilling to capture the port city of Kismayu without the financial and logistical backing of the international community.
Defence minister Yusuf Haji told The EastAfrican that the country's military incursion into Somalia had created conditions that would allow the international community to help bring lasting peace, but Kenya is unwilling to continue underwriting the financial burden of an open-ended war. (READ: Haji says no to Kismayu attack without back-up)
It is now emerging that Kenya considers its intervention in Somalia in October last year as a major service to the global war against terror and expects logistical and financial support to complete the job of smashing the Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... and Al-Qaeda networks.
The admission by Mr Haji seemed to reverse Kenya's stated military objective, which was predicated on capturing Kismayu in order to undermine the financial base of Al- Shabaab.
Mr Haji said the notion that Kenya's ultimate goal was Kismayu was imaginary.
He said the Kenya Defence Forces had indicated that their main objective was to create a buffer zone by pushing Al-Shabaab far enough from the country's borders to assure its national security.
"The Kismayu question is for the international community to decide. Kenya was not going to fix the entire Somalia problem since it has been a failed state for 20 years.
"We did not have the intention of going into Somalia if we were not provoked. We feel we have attained our intention of pushing Al-Shabaab away from our borders," said Mr Haji.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
TRIPOLI - Twelve moderate Islamist parties in Libya have rejected a proposed election law because it encourages voting along tribal lines and gives undue influence to the wealthy, they said late on Saturday. The draft law, published by the National Transitional Council (NTC) on Jan. 2, will set the rules of a vote for the national assembly in June. The body will be charged with writing a constitution and forming a second caretaker government.
Wasila al-Ashiq, head of one of the parties, al-Umma, told Reuters on Sunday the draft law would force candidates to run as independents because Libya has no law regulating political parties. That would mean candidates would rely on tribal power and affiliation to win seats, she said.
It is not clear how much support the 12 parties will muster among Libyans, for whom multiparty democracy is a new concept after 42 years of rule by Muammar Gaddafi.
The proposals have been widely criticised for reserving only 20 seats for women in the 200-member national assembly and not tackling the contentious issue of dividing Libya into constituencies.
The NTC has asked people to comment on the proposals, expected to be finalised within a month, and to put forward their own ideas as part of a plan to engage the population in the democratic process and to move away from militancy.
The Forum of National Parties says it will announce a final report on the election law on Monday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[An Nahar] The king of Bahrain introduced on Sunday constitutional reforms that give more power to the elected parliament, but fall far short of the demands set down by the Shiite-led opposition.
King Hamad ...King of Bahrain (since 14 February 2002), having previously been its emir (from 6 March 1999). He is a Sunni, while the rest of Bahrain is predominantly Shiite... referred his draft proposals to the national council, including the all-appointed Shura (consultative) council and the lower elected chamber, for ratification, the BNA state news agency reported.
The reforms fall in line with "our desire to preserve the stability of the homeland," King Hamad said in an address to the nation, ahead of proposing the draft amendments aimed at diffusing tension sparked after a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in mid-March.
Under the proposed reforms, the king will have to "ask the opinion of the heads of the Shura council, parliament and the constitutional court" before dissolving the parliament, instead of just discussing it with the prime minister.
The monarch also proposed that the government "gains the vote of confidence if its program is accepted" after a parliamentary debate, a move he said was designed to give the people a stronger voice in government policy.
The government has been headed for over four decades by King Hamad's uncle, Prince Khalifa bin Salman -- a main member of the Sunni ruling family who is despised by the Shiite majority of the Gulf kingdom.
If the amendments are ratified, the elected chamber will be able to refuse cooperation with the government and call for public debate on any issue, without first seeking approval from the upper house.
But the reforms fall far short of the opposition's demands, which include instituting a full constitutional monarchy where the prime minister would be chosen from the elected lower house.
The opposition has also called for a total overhaul of the judicial system and electoral districts to secure better representation.
"These reforms are marginal," said former opposition MP Matar Matar.
"They do not meet the demands, nor the promises" made in the principles for dialogue announced by Crown Prince Salman last year to end the unrest.
A report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, commissioned by King Hamad, found that 35 people were killed in the crackdown on protests, including five security personnel and five detainees were tortured to death in jug. Hundreds were maimed during the unrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
DUBAI: Bahrain's king announced constitutional amendments on Sunday giving Parliament more powers of scrutiny over government, but the opposition said they fell far short of demands for democracy that have driven a year of unrest in the Gulf state.
It took the British parliament a while to exercise control over the Crown...
The amendments, which increase powers to question and remove ministers and withdraw confidence in the Cabinet, emerged from a national dialogue King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa organized last year after an uprising.
The main opposition party Wefaq withdrew from the dialogue, saying it did not go far enough to offer real reform.
The king, in a televised speech Sunday said: "Our people have proven their desire for continuing with reforms ... We complete the march today with those who have an honest patriotic desire for more progress and reform.
"I must mention here that democracy is not just constitutional and legislative rules, it is a culture and practice and adhering by the law and respecting international human rights principles," he said.
"I beseech all sectors of society to work together so that all their sons adhere to the law..."
The changes outlined by the king also limit some royal authority. The king would have to issue more explanations on the selection process for the Shoura Council, the 40-member upper house of Parliament that is appointed by the monarch. The king also would need wider discussions with political and judicial leaders before any decision to dissolve the elected Parliament and call new elections.
"This reflects a denial of the demands for better representation for Bahrainis and a fair judiciary," said Wefaq official Matar Matar, noting the reforms could have been effected via legislation rather than constitutional changes. "It ignores previous promises from the crown prince on a government that represents the people."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It took the British parliament a while to exercise control over the Crown...
It took a while for the crown - er, halo - to retake control over the American Congress.
#2
The Shiites have figured out that the Sunni king is trying to import many more Sunnis, who could very easily reduce the slim Shiite majority to just the largest minority.
If the king wasn't intentionally doing this, it would have been a very good idea, as the Shiites have a lot more loyalty to Iran than him.
[Bangla Daily Star] The Sherlocks of the International Crimes Tribunal yesterday said they had found the involvement of former BNP politician Abdul Alim in 17 specific incidents of crimes against humanity in the Liberation War of 1971.
The probe body has completed investigations into the allegations against Alim, a member of late president Ziaur Rahman's cabinet, and will hand over its report to the prosecution today, Mohammad Abdul Hannan Khan, chief of the investigation agency, told The Daily Star.
He said the prosecution would inform the tribunal of it and then prepare formal charges against Alim on the basis of the investigation report.
Alim, who is now on conditional bail granted earlier by the tribunal, was active in greater Bogra district during the war. The crimes include genocide, murder, rape, looting, arson, forcing people to leave the country and abduction, said Hannan.
The investigator, however, refused to elaborate on the offences.
But another investigator said Alim had been involved in the killing of 486 people and raping three women.
Alim is supposed to appear before the tribunal today as per its earlier order, Hannan said.
Arrested on March 27 last year in Joypurhat, Alim was granted conditional bail on March 31.
The probe body has so far handed over investigation reports on eight persons, including former Jamaat Ameer Ghulam Azam, to the prosecution in connection with crimes against humanity.
The prosecution has submitted formal charges against Ghulam Azam, Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... , Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... , Assistant Secretaries General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury on the basis of the investigation reports. All of them are now in jail.
CHARGES AGAINST KAMARUZZAMAN Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed this guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread... the prosecution yesterday pressed nine counts of crime, including conspiracy of genocide and crimes against humanity, against Kamaruzzaman after a revision.
Prosecutors Saiful Islam and Nurjahan Begum Mukta jointly submitted the formal charges to the tribunal through its registrar in the first part of the day.
The tribunal is yet to fix a date for its decision on whether it will take the charges into cognisance. Registrar M Shahinur Islam told The Daily Star that the tribunal would fix the date in this regard today.
Kamaruzzaman's areas of operation were Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Tangail and Sherpur, according to prosecutor Zead Al Malum. He also said Kamaruzzaman was the chief coordinator of Al Badr.
The three-judge tribunal headed by Justice Md Nizamul Huq on January 12 refused to receive the formal charges against Kamaruzzaman as the prosecution had failed to submit them before 3:00pm. The prosecution not only missed the deadline, but also failed to submit the charges before the registrar's office closed for the weekend.
On December 28 last year, the tribunal sent the formal charges against Kamaruzzaman and Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed back as they had not been classified and organised properly, and asked the prosecution to resubmit the formal charges against Kamaruzzaman by January 12.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The Luton Mosque outfit who were going to take over a former army barracks right in the centre of Luton have been stopped.
This was one that boasted of fundraising for Ayatollah Khameneis organisation. Ayatollah Khamenei is the worlds foremost terror financier the supremo of Iran, a wanted human rights criminal in the Hague, the controller of Hizballah, implicated in the execution of a Lebanese head of state, the controller of the Iranian Gestapo (the basij), and the man who maintains the death contract on Salman Rushdie.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan exiles with links to terrorism have threatened officials at the South American country's consulate in Miami, the foreign minister said Sunday. Nicolas Maduro did not offer evidence of his claims, which came shortly after President Hugo Chavez said his government would close the consulate in response Washington's expulsion of a Venezuelan diplomat.
He has to say something. It's his job. What he says may sound goofy, but as a foreign minister he's used to saying stupid stuff with a straight face...
Maduro told the state-run AVN news agency that "a group of organizations bringing together Venezuelans who fled justice" in their homeland "have threatened not only the consul but the personnel at out consulate."
In other words, the dissidents who fled Venezuela to save their lives are trying to live peacefully here in the U.S., but Oogo wants them to know he can get to them even in Miami.
Maduro singled out a group called Venezuelan Persecution Victims in Exile, which had taken part in public demonstrations against the consul.
Thugs usually do single out the more public dissidents. Can't let them have their say without a response, else it might diminish the thug, and a diminished thug is one who is no longer feared...
Maduro said it sought to provoke the diplomatic spat and noted that the group's leader, Jose Antonio Colina, is wanted in Venezuela on terrorism-related charges of attacking the Spanish Embassy and Colombian consulate in 2003.
Colina has denied any role in the bombings, saying many people saw him elsewhere at the time of the attacks. He alleges the government is trying to persecute him for taking part in earlier protests by dissident military officers against Chavez.
Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela's consul general in Miami, was ordered out of the U.S. last weekend followed an FBI investigation into allegations that she discussed a possible cyber-attack on the U.S. government while she was assigned to the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico. The allegations were detailed in a documentary aired by the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision.
Even more reason for Oogo and the foreign minister to go on the attack now, if nothing else to divert attention...
The documentary was based on recordings of conversations with her and other officials, and alleged that Cuban and Iranian diplomatic missions were involved. Citing audio and video obtained by the students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Univision alleged Acosta was seeking information about the servers of nuclear power plants on U.S. soil.
Maduro called the documentary "trash" and accused U.S. congressmen including Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, David Rivera, Robert Menendez and Mario Diaz Balart of backing the anti-Chavez organizations. The diplomat did not provide details of his allegations against U.S. lawmakers.
Nor will he...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Kim Jong-nam has resurfaced in Beijing a month after his father's death. He was spotted by South Koreans including Park Seung-jun, a professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Incheon University, waiting at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport for an Air China flight to Macau on Saturday afternoon.
Kim Jong-nam was wearing a padded navy blue jacket, jeans and a light-blue baseball cap. He was alone.
Witnesses spotted Kim in the Air China business lounge searching the Internet on a computer. Asked if he had ever visited South Korea, Kim answered, "How can I go to [South] Korea?" Badgered by a businessman to write the words "peaceful reunification" on a piece of paper, Kim wrote in English, "peace."
"Can't I just eat my waffle?"
Park and his companions ran into Kim again at the gate before he boarded Air China flight 3603 to Macau at 4:15 p.m. When Park asked him, "Aren't you Kim Jong-nam?" he replied, "Yes. Yes, that's right." Asked if he was on his way to Macau and whether he usually traveled alone, Kim replied, "I usually do. I travel by myself." The group asked him if he had been surprised by his father's sudden death, and Kim said, "It's only natural."
In response to the question whether he had attended his father's funeral, he mumbled a response. The group put it to him that as the eldest son he now finds himself with a responsibility to take care of his younger brothers, including heir to the leadership Kim Jong-un, and Kim Jong-nam replied, "I guess so."
Kim was said to have perspired a lot even though it was not very hot in the airport. He appeared nervous, constantly looking around as he waited in front of the gate and clutching a brown bag. His Korean sounded awkward and stilted. There were no bodyguards.
That sounds like a mistake. Perhaps he's sweating because he knows it's a mistake.
Kim is a frequent visitor to Beijing, where his first wife and son Kum-sol (15) live.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
He was the heir apparent when he was caught trying to get to Disneyland Japan with a false passport, if I recall correctly, Skidmark, embarrassing his father. As a result he was summarily exiled to Macau, where he has kept his head down ever since.
The South Koreans behaved obnoxiously. They had to know what they were demanding could get him killed, and yet they selfishly pursued their amusement by continuing.
A notoriously "anti-Islamic" band has been nominated for Norway's top metal prize. Taake are one of six nominees for a prestigious Spellemann award, despite a song that declares: "To hell with Muhammad and the Muhammadans!"
"Norway will soon awaken!" read the lyrics to Orkan (Hurricane), on Taake's album Noregs Vaapen. The Spellemanns are Norway's equivalent of the Brits or the Grammys, and Noregs Vaapen is nominated for best metal album. Elsewhere on Orkan, singer Ørjan Stedjeberg refers to Muslims' "unforgivable customs" and calls for a new "kingdom" to "shine through [the] bad years, shame and Christian times".
Despite complaints, Spellemann officials defended the band's nomination. "We enjoy full freedom of expression in Norway and [our] jury is not going to censor content in any way," chairman Marte Thorsb told Aftenposten. But the Norwegian Humanist Association argues the lyrics go too far. Norway is still shaken from last summer's "anti-multiculturalist" attacks by Anders Breivik, which left 69 people dead. "In the aftermath of July 22nd [Taake's lyrics] are completely over the edge," said Didrik Søderlind. "I'd imagine Taake aren't particularly proud of these lyrics after Utøya."
Despite lyrics damning Muslims, Taake "do not encourage either violence or racism", Stedjeberg said. "Our view is that it is shameful to adhere to Christianity or Islam." He also criticised the media for ignoring Taake's (relatively tame) lyrics about Christianity. "Taake has never been a political band," he said.
Stedjeberg's comments come less than four years after he painted a swastika on his chest for a Taake concert in Essen, Germany. In the outcry over that event, he again insisted Taake are "not a political Nazi band". "Our whole concept is built on provocation and anything evil- and death-related," he said.
The Spellemanns will be awarded on Saturday night.
#1
I used to think metal was cool, and I guess it was pretty cool back when it was new.
But now, the metalheads I meet are just total beta male losers. And the music sucks. For whatever reason, this music is incredibly popular in Scandinavia, probably because the men there have no outlet for their feelings.
#2
The rules are very different between the US and Europe. The critical thing is that this band is skirting the very fine line between leftist and rightist extremism, just enough to keep themselves from being prosecuted.
And the reason they are so popular is that, while rejecting Islam and foreigners, they also, to a lesser extent, sneer at Christianity, that in some of the Nordic countries is still technically the state religion.
So they can slam Islam to their hearts' content, despite it making the government cringe.
Pakistan's top court on Monday found Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in contempt of court for not complying with orders related to re-opening corruption cases and ordered him to appear in person.
"The Supreme Court has issued a contempt of court notice to the prime minister for not complying with its orders," Judge Nasir-ul-Mulk told the court which met to debate how to proceed on graft charges against the president.
Pakistan's army chief has categorically denied that the military was plotting to seize power, confronting head on frenzied speculation that the government's days are numbered.
Supreme Court judges are to hear a long-running Swiss corruption case chiefly against President Asif Ali Zardari. "In these circumstances, we are left with no option, as a first step, to issue a show cause notice," the notice issued by the seven-member bench stated. "The prime minister should appear personally in court on Jan. 19."
Separately a high court commission is probing the scandal that has become known as "Memogate".
The memo case centres on an unsigned note allegedly sent by an aide of Zardari to the US military last May, seeking help in stopping a possible coup following the covert killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by US Navy SEALs.
[Dawn] Pakistain's prime minister on Sunday rejected a demand by the country's powerful army chief that he clarify or retract his criticism of the army and the spy agency last week, likely raising tensions further in a festering row with the military.
"The prime minister ... is answerable to parliament," Yusuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... told news hounds in the central city of Vehari. "I will not answer to a person. I am answerable to parliament."
Gilani last week criticized Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha for filing court papers in a case involving a mysterious memo that has pitted the military against the civilian government.
In an interview with Chinese media, Gilani said the filings were "unconstitutional", infuriating the military's high command, who issued a stern blurb on Wednesday.
"There can be no allegation more serious than what the honourable prime minister has levelled," it said.
"This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country."
Gilani's comments were in response to a journalist's question about media reports Saturday night that Kayani was infuriated by Gilani's criticisms.
The army chief complained to Zardari and demanded that Gilani's comments be clarified or withdrawn, a military source told Rooters on Saturday.
Gilani, however, showed no signs of backing down.
"What I said was not an accusation," he told news hounds. "We want there to be respect for the constitution, rule of law, and all institutions to work within their limits. I said just one thing, that rules and procedures were not followed. And that was the defence secretary's fault, for which we removed him from his post."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
The Army is risking its standing with the Pakistani people. Galani may have thought this through.
I hope that Galani has both sound and pictures on General Kayani ....
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/16/2012 14:34 Comments ||
Top||
[Dawn] Pakistain has made overtures to Afghanistan to resume talks over the Taliban which broke down following the liquidation of Kabul's chief peace envoy, an official said Sunday.
Relations between the neighbours are often tense and Kabul has accused Pakistain in the past of supporting the Taliban and associated cut-thoat groups that are waging a 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan.
Pakistain's support is therefore seen as key to forging peace in the country.
"After Pakistain expressed readiness, the Afghan government has also agreed to resume the talks with Pakistain over the Taliban," Esmael Qasimyar, a senior member of the government-appointed High Peace Council, told AFP.
Karzai accused Pakistain of responsibility for the murder of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... in September and last month the Afghan president said Pakistain was sabotaging all negotiations with the Taliban.
A government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Pakistain had recently sent a message through the Afghan ambassador to Islamabad saying that "Pakistain is willing to resume contacts and talks with Afghanistan".
He said Pakistain Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... was also planning to visit Afghanistan, but no dates had been set.
Asked for comment, Karzai's front man Aimal Faizi said: "Pakistain plays a key role in talks because the cut-thoats' leadership is believed to be in Pakistain.
"We emphasise on good relations with Pakistain and hope that our relations improve, and we hope with the help of Pakistain our peace talks will resume."
The Taliban, ousted from power by a US-led invasion in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, announced earlier this month that they planned to set up a political office in Qatar ahead of possible talks with the United States.
Karzai's government gave its blessing to that move as all sides eye a political solution to the conflict, but Kabul is reportedly wary of being sidelined in talks between the hard boyz and Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
TALK TO THEM, it's better to call them togrther and slaaughter the lot, It's very Islamic.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/16/2012 3:00 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Pakistan seem very worried re the West talking to the Taliban in Qatar!
Posted by: Paul ||
01/16/2012 12:47 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Pakistan seem very worried re the West talking to the Taliban in Qatar!
Sure, Paul. What will be confirmed when they start listening in to cell phone calls...and watching where the messengers go?
[Dawn] Pakistain's army chief is furious with the prime minister for statements criticising the army and has demanded that they be clarified or withdrawn, a senior military source told Rooters on Saturday.
"The army chief complained to the president about the prime minister's statements, and said they needed to be either clarified or withdrawn," the source told Rooters.
"He said such statements were divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never "divisive," they're "principled".. and made the country more vulnerable."
That tension has raised fears for the stability of the nuclear-armed country and exposed a struggle between the government and the military, which has ousted three civilian governments in coups since independence in 1947 and has ruled the nation for more than half of its history.
There are no signs yet that a coup is being seriously considered, however, reflecting the changed political calculations in Pakistain since civilans took power in 2008.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... this week criticized Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha for filing court papers in a case involving a mysterious memo that has pitted the military against the civilian government.
In an interview with Chinese media, Gilani said the filings were "unconstitutional," infuriating the military's high command, who issued a stern blurb.
"There can be no allegation more serious than what the honorable prime minister has levelled," it said.
"This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country."
Gilani further infuriated the army on Wednesday by sacking the defence secretary, retired Lieutenant General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, for "gross misconduct and illegal action which created misunderstanding" between institutions.
Lodhi was the most senior civil servant responsible for military affairs, a post usually seen as the military's main advocate in the civilian bureaucracy.
As angry as Kayani is, the source said, the council of senior military commanders is even more angry, the source said.
"There is a lot of pressure by the main corps commanders on the army chief regarding the statements of the prime minister." the source said.
The military, which sets foreign and security policies, drew rare public criticism after US special forces killed al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who now dances with worms... on Pak soil in a raid in May 2011, an act seen by many Paks as a violation of illusory sovereignty.
Paks rallied behind the military after a November 26 cross-border NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... air attack killed 24 Pak soldiers on the frontier with Afghanistan, driving ties with Washington to their lowest point in years.
The army's fury is cause for serious concern for the civilian government, and Gilani and President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... went on a charm offensive on Saturday.
"Our government and parliament, and above all our patriotic people, have stood fully behind our brave armed forces and security personnel," Gilani said at a cabinet defence committee meeting also attended by Kayani.
"It has been my government's policy to allow and enable all state institutions to play their role in their respective domains," he added.
Earlier, Zardari met Kayani in a similar attempt to mend fences.
"The current security situation was discussed," a presidential front man said, without giving any details.
Pakistain's politicians and media pundits have been abuzz with rumours of a possible coup since the memo controversy erupted in October.
The disputed memo -- allegedly from Zardari's government, seeking US help in reining in the generals -- has pushed relations between the civilian leadership and the military, to their lowest point since the last military coup in 1999.
The latest crisis also troubles Washington, which wants smooth ties between civilian and military leaders so that Pakistain can help efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan, a top priority for President Barack Obama. Ready to Rule from Day One... Gilani's office denied a report No, no! Certainly not! on Friday that the prime minister this week called the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, expressing concerns that the army might be about to mount a coup, and asking for London to support the government.
An official at the high commission also denied the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Hacker informs Ynet in advance of cyber attack by pro-Palestinian activists; Hamas urges supporters to boost electronic war against occupation
The websites of Israels stock exchange and national airline, El Al, were down around 10 am Monday, apparently as result of yet another cyber attack by pro-Palestinian hackers.
The Saudi hacker who initiated the recent wave of online attacks on Israeli sites informed Ynet earlier of the planned attack, which he said was to be carried out by a group of pro-Palestinian hackers referring to themselves as Nightmare.
While El Als website would not load at all, the stock exchange was only presenting trade figures, without the possibility to perform any other action. Stock market officials said trading is going on as usual, as the computer system that manages it is separate from the website.
Meanwhile, the Israeli-Arab cyber war continues to escalate. Pro-Israeli hacker Hannibal, who claims that he is a Jew who lives somewhere in the world, published early Monday the Facebook account details of some 20,000 Arab users. He also claimed to possess information that can be used to breach the bank accounts of some 10 million people in Iran and Saudi Arabia, vowing to cause billions of dollars in damage.
Ynet looked into Hannibals claims and confirmed that the details he published indeed allow for the unauthorized use of Facebook accounts.
Elsewhere, Hamas spokesman urged pro-Palestinian hackers worldwide to escalate their cyber attacks on Israeli targets. The Bloomberg news service reported that Sami Abu Zuhri stated that "penetrating Israeli websites means opening a new field of resistance and the beginning of an electronic war against Israeli occupation."
[Dawn] Iran warned its Arab neighbours on Sunday not to raise crude output to replace Iranian oil in the event of an embargo by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , Tehran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying.
"The consequences of this issue are unpredictable. Therefore, our Arab neighbour countries should not cooperate with these adventurers and should adopt wise policies," Khatibi said in an interview with the Sharq newspaper.
European Union countries have agreed in principle to embargo imports of Iranian as part of the latest Western efforts to step up heat on Tehran.
They will look to other oil exporters to increase output to make up for the shortfall and Soddy Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Saturday his country was ready to meet any increase in consumer countries' demand.
Iran, OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Soddy Arabia with output of about 3.5 million barrels per day, faces trade hurdles over its nuclear programme, which the United States and its allies say is aimed at building bombs.
Iran says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
EU countries have proposed "grace periods" on existing contracts of one to 12 months to allow companies to find alternative suppliers before implementing an embargo.
Iran has threatened to block the vital oil shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if sanctions imposed on its oil exports.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[An Nahar] United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... on Sunday issued a call to Syria's Bashir al-Assad to stop killing his people, warning the embattled president he was heading for a dead end.
Ban said in a keynote address at a conference on Arab world democracy in Beirut: "Today, I say again to Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people. The path of repression is a dead end,"
"The winds of change will not cease to blow. The flame ignited in Tunisia will not be dimmed," he stated.
Ban also called for an end to Israeli "occupation" in the Arab world, saying the illegal building of settlements worked against a two-state solution.
"The Israeli occupation of Arab and Paleostinian territories must end. So must violence against civilians," he added.
"Settlements, new and old, are illegal. They work against the emergence of a viable Paleostinian state," said the U.N. secretary general.
"A two-state solution is long overdue. The status quo offers only the guarantee of future conflict."
Organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the conference entitled "Reform and Transitions to Democracy" opened in Beirut on Sunday, bringing together a slew of dignitaries from countries that suffered under dictatorships.
Among the speakers are Egyptian presidential hopeful and former 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... chief Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who has been head of the Arab League since about the time Jerry and Dean split up ... and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country has emerged as a key regional player in the Middle East.
On the eve of the gathering, Ban and Davutoglu held talks on the "dangerous trajectory" of the crisis in Syria during a meeting in Leb, Ban's front man said.
The United Nations estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria as Assad's forces crack down on anti-regime protests now in their 11th month.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] 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... chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Sunday that a ministerial meeting this week could discuss a Qatari proposal to send Arab troops to unrest-hit Syria.
"All ideas will be open for discussion," he told news hounds in Manama when asked if Saturday's meeting will debate the proposal by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
In an interview to be aired on U.S. television, Sheikh Hamad said he favors sending Arab troops to Syria to stop Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... ' bloody crackdown on 10 months of anti-regime protests.
Sheikh Hamad is the first Arab leader to call publicly for Arab troops to be deployed in Syria, where the U.N. estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown since mid-March last year.
The comments by the emir, whose wealthy nation once enjoyed cordial ties with Damascus, come with the vaporous Arab League set to review the work of its Syria monitoring mission, amid increasing concern about its failure to end the violence.
According to a U.N. official, 400 people have been killed since the beginning of the Arab League mission to the crisis-hit country on December 26.
Former Arab League secretary general Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who has been head of the Arab League since about the time Jerry and Dean split up ... also said on Sunday the League should consider sending troops to Syria.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said in an interview published on Sunday he opposed foreign military intervention in Syria, saying it would spark an "kaboom" across the entire Middle East.
"Such intervention would signify that the war will spread across the whole region, opening the way to all powers, following the example of Turkey, Israel, Iran and Hizbullah. That would mean the whole region exploding," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] Western nations have no immediate plans for military action to stop the repression of protests in Syria or to halt Iran's nuclear program, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday.
Asked if there was a possibility of a no-fly zone in Syria like the one imposed over Libya last year, Hague said there was "no serious prospect" of a U.N. resolution on the subject.
"We haven't been looking at a no-fly zone," Hague told Sky News, saying it would be only effective in tandem with other measures, and that the Syrian regime had not been relying on air power to repress protests.
"There is no serious prospect certainly at the moment of the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... Security Council agreeing any resolution at the moment, let alone agreeing a resolution comparable to anything that happened in Libya."
But he said that if the current 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... monitoring mission in Syria does not work "I hope they (the vaporous Arab League) will come to the U.N. and suggest a way forward that we can all get behind."
Hague was also cool on suggestions by Qatar that Arab forces should be sent into Syria to stop the deadly 10-month crackdown on dissent by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's regime.
On Iran, Hague warned that Tehran's "dangerous" nuclear drive threatened proliferation across the Middle East.
"We must not be put off further sanctions by bluster or statements from Iran," Hague said, adding that he hoped European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... foreign ministers would agree new measures when they meet on January 23.
"If it continues it will produce nuclear proliferation across the Middle East, which will then be extremely dangerous for the people of Iran, for the whole region and for the peace of the world."
Hague refused to rule out military action against Iran, but said Britannia was not calling for it.
"We've never ruled anything out, we've not ruled out any option, or we've not ruled out supporting any option, we believe all options should be on the table, that is part of the pressure on Iran, he said.
"But we're clearly not calling for or advocating military action, we're advocating negotiation, meaningful negotiations, if Iran will enter in to them."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
TEHRAN: A close aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been given a one-year jail sentence for insulting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a hard-line website said Sunday, the latest sign of a deepening rift within Iran's leadership.
If we had a CIA worth anything at all we'd be spreading new slanders around and blaming every leader in Iran for them...
Ali Akbar Javanfekr is one of several high-level aides to Ahmadinejad targeted by hard-line rivals who accuse the president of being in the grip of a "deviant current" of advisers seeking to undermine the role of preachers in the establishment.
Did he curse Khamenei's mustache?
The Mashreghnews website report did not spell out how or when Javanfekr, who is managing director of the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and media adviser to Ahmadinejad, allegedly insulted Khamenei. Javanfekr's lawyer later confirmed the sentence, according to students news agency ISNA. Javanfekr has 20 days to appeal.
"Javanfekr also has been stripped of membership of political parties, groups, associations and media activities for five years," Mashreghnews reported.
The semi-official Fars news agency said two other people closely associated with the "deviant current" had been convicted of espionage and economic corruption and would be punished with jail terms, fines and lashings.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2012 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Nut job shows his lack of political acumen by not having Khamenei bumped off, along with the Guardian Council. Immediately after doing so, he could seize the reigns, declare martial law "to hunt down the assassins", and purge all the other troublesome Mullahs, confiscating their stuff for his supporters.
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.
Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Kim Jong-nam has resurfaced in Beijing a month after his father's death. He was spotted by South Koreans including Park Seung-jun, a professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Incheon University, waiting at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport for an Air China flight to Macau on Saturday afternoon. 
Pakistain's prime minister on Sunday rejected a demand by the country's powerful army chief that he clarify or retract his criticism of the army and the spy agency last week, likely raising tensions further in a festering row with the military.
[Dawn] Pakistain's army chief is furious with the prime minister for statements criticising the army and has demanded that they be clarified or withdrawn, a senior military source told 
Asif Ali 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
