[An Nahar] Dozens of angry Tunisians brandishing shoes protested Friday demanding the resignation of the minister of women's affairs, Sihem Badi, accusing her of failing to stand up to the ruling Islamists. Dozens?
Badi has for months been strongly criticized by civil society activists over her ties with Ennahda, the Islamist party that heads the coalition government which secular opposition groups accuse of seeking to curtail women's rights.
Fifty MPs on Thursday signed a no-confidence motion against the minister, according to the official TAP news agency, after similar protests earlier in the week.
On Friday protesters chanted: "Badi get out!" and "Government of terrorism, minister of rape."
Calls for her departure have multiplied since the rape of a three-year-old girl at a children's nursery in the Tunis suburb La Marsa. The main suspect was placed in durance vile Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! last Sunday.
Badi belongs to President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic party, Ennahda's center-left ally in the ruling coalition, and as minister of family affairs is responsible for children's nurseries.
After reports of the rape case emerged, she said a member of the girl's family was to blame and that no measures against the nursery were needed.
"This women does not represent Tunisian women, on the contrary she has tarnished their image," Lilia Ben Kheder, a lawyer, told Agence La Belle France Press.
"She has not fulfilled her role as minister for the affairs of women and the family, and she has done nothing to guarantee the rights of children since her appointment" in 2011, she added.
Waving shoes, a gesture considered insulting in conservative Arab societies, the protesters who gathered Friday in central Tunis also chanted: "We've had enough of the new Trabelsis."
A picture has circulated in the Tunisian media recently showing Badi holding shoes belonging to Leila Trabelsi, the loathed wife of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose belongings were sold at auction late last year.
A number of people staged a counter-protest in support of the minister, shouting slogans such as: "The people still want Badi," and "Tunisia is Islamic and not secular."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
a member of the girl's family was to blame and that no measures against the nursery were needed.
How about measures against the member of the girl's family? Are those needed?
[Al Ahram] Following comments at Arab Summit in Doha, President Morsi is reportedly shifting focus away from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States to Iraq and Libya in attempt to underwrite Egypt's financial obligations
So Gulf Arab promises were, as usual, vapourware? Good luck in demonstrating that the rest of the Arab world is otherwise. They've got troubles of their own.
Qatar is busy funding the Syrian rebels. They gave at the office. And don't look for the Saoodis, or any other Sunni regime, to fund the Muslim Brüderbünd...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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The Al Qutub's monkeys ARE funding the Ikhwan all right...but just not the same branch as that of Morsi...keep in mind, Muslims are enemy brothers!
The Muslim Brotherhood: making friends and influencing people wherever they find themselves.
[AAWSAT.NET] Kuwait's prime minister, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabbah, stated that his country will take action if it is proven that Kuwaiti nationals were involved with the Moslem Brüderbund cell tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! by the UAE authorities earlier this year.
In an exclusive statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sheikh Jaber revealed that the Emirati authorities had informed Kuwait of "two Kuwaitis suspected of involvement in financing this cell," adding, "they asked us to wait until the investigations were concluded and we do not have any confirmed information."
The Kuwaiti Prime Minister said: "The case is currently in front of the Emirati courts, and if we find anybody involved in this, we will not remain silent."
During a closed session of the Kuwaiti parliament in January, the PM revealed that the UAE and Kuwaiti authorities were coordinating their response following the arrest of the alleged Moslem Brüderbund cell.
The UAE is currently in the process of trying a reported 94 Emirati nationals for sedition and links to the Moslem Brüderbund, claiming the group was plotting to overthrow the government.
In February, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported that those on trial included 13 women who had been charged but not placed in durance vile Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! , along with 10 others being charged in absentia.
The defendants are accused of "belonging to an illegal, secret organization . . . that aims to counter the foundations of this state in order to seize power and of contacting foreign entities and groups to implement this plan."
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03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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"Terror" is not one of the checkoff boxes on the standard form, so it mustn't exist.
[Bangla Daily Star] Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd has no relation with terror financing, its Chairman Prof Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher said yesterday.
"Our regulator may ban our banking activities if it finds any of our transactions are related to terror financing," he said.
"Islami Bank does not belong to any political party and is a bank of 16 million people, he continued, "Over the last few months, our deposit accounts and deposits have been increasing thanks to our clients' trust."
He also said the bank was not against Bangladesh and its flag.
Prof Zaher was speaking at the bank's 30th anniversary ceremony of banking services at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital.
Islami Bank started its journey in 1983 with 70 percent stake belonging to foreign sponsors, 5 percent to the government, 15 percent to local sponsors and 10 percent to general shareholders, its officials said.
Islamic Development Bank is the biggest foreign sponsor of the bank, said the officials, adding that institutional investor JP Morgan also has a stake in the bank.
According to the banks website, three ministries of Kuwait -- Public Institution for Social Security, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and Ministry of Justice and Department of Minors Affairs Kuwait Finance House -- Jordan Islami Bank, Dubai Islami Bank and Al-Rajhi Company for Currency Exchange and Commerce, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... are also the leading sponsors of the bank.
"We have no plan to sell our stakes, rather we want to buy more if any one wishes to sell," said Salauddin Ahmed, representative of Kuwait Finance House, Kuwait and an elected director of Islami Bank. He said this referring to news reports that the bank's foreign sponsors were selling their shares in the wake of Shahbagh movement.
"We are proud to be a shareholder of a leading bank that runs under Sharia law, he said.
Two basic principals of Islami banking are: sharing profit and loss with the client and most significantly prohibition on collection and payment of interest. Charging interest on loans is not permitted in Islamic law.
Chairman of IFIC Bank Salman F Rahman, who was present at the ceremony, said "Finance Ministers of America and Europe have opined that they could have avoided the recession had they followed Sharia banking system."
Aftab ul Islam, president of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, said Islami Bank was the best compliance bank in the country.
Speaking of the bank's performance in many financial areas, Managing Director of Islami Bank Mohammad Abdul Mannan said the bank was playing a significant role in socio-economic development of the country by contributing to higher growth in remittance, industrialisation and export-import businesses.
The bank was listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1985. Its share traded at Tk 43.3 on Thursday, according to DSE website.
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03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The tourism industry in Cox's Bazar is going through hard times due to political unrest and frequent hartals since February 28.
Most of the hotels and motels in the town remained almost vacant this month, the last month of the peak season, said hoteliers in Cox's Bazar, the home of the world's longest beach.
Businesses in Cox's Bazar consider the period from November to March as the peak season and April to October as the off-peak season. Targeting this year's peak season, they made considerable investment but are now on the verge of incurring a huge loss.
Humayun Kabir, general manager of Hotel The Cox Today, told The Daily Star that they apprehended a loss of Tk 5-6 crore this season. "We made huge investment ahead of the peak season, but tourists' turnout has been on the decline since February 28 due to continuous hartal and road blockades," he said.
Corporate bookings that were fixed three to six months ago are also being cancelled now, he added. "Many of our corporate bookings have been cancelled and the latest bookings for March 28-29 were cancelled due to the 36-hour hartal."
The political unrest has not only hampered the corporate bookings but also interrupted privately arranged family tours, which are a common feature at this time.
Families from across the country go on a trip to Cox's Bazar after the SSC examinations. But this year several examinations had to be deferred due to hartals and most of the families eventually either lost interest or did not feel it safe to go on their planned tour, Humayun observed.
"Our hotel had a full reservation for this season, but now just 20 percent of the rooms are taken and the rest are vacant," he said.
Humayun added if there were train links between Cox's Bazar and the rest of the country, tourists might have used that service.
"It is regrettable that we could not install an 80-kilometre railway track from Dohazari in Chittagong to Cox's Bazar in the last 42 years since our independence," he said.
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03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
What's the tourist attraction of Cox's Bazar? Or anywhere in that country?
[Chosun Ilbo] Groups that organize trips to North Korea say the country is no longer offering mobile Internet to foreign visitors, just weeks after it unveiled a new 3G service that promised an unprecedented look into the notoriously closed state.
The apparently uncensored Internet service was introduced last month, setting off a flurry of Instagram photos and Twitter posts. The move offered a rare glimpse into a country that does not allow its own citizens to access the web.
Koryo Tours, a group that specializes in trips to North Korea, says it was told by authorities in Pyongyang that 3G access is no longer available for visitors.
"About two weeks ago, I got an email from my contact at Koryolink, which is the mobile phone company there. They said that the 3G still exists, but just not for tourists," says Hannah Barraclough, a tourism manager at the Beijing-based group.
"It's still possible for foreign residents in Pyongyang to access, but not for foreign tourists who visit," added Barraclough, who said no reason was given for the termination.
◆ Too Risky for Pyongyang?
International tourists are no longer able to purchase the sim cards necessary to access the service, according to Gareth Johnson, who runs Young Pioneer Tours, and just returned Thursday from a trip to North Korea. He says this is likely because Pyongyang became uncomfortable with what foreigners were posting.
"I don't know this for sure, but I can pretty much guarantee that pretty much the first tourist that went in there using his phone with 3G was on Twitter or something and was posting photos that he shouldn't have been posting," says Johnson, adding that he did not know of any specific instance that may have angered Pyongyang.
The photos that emerged from North Korea appeared to be relatively mundane, as most foreigners are only given access to pre-approved areas and are often accompanied by government minders.
But many observers said it was still surprising that Pyongyang had allowed foreigners to post real-time photos of the country at all. Some viewed it as a possible sign that Pyongyang was open to reducing censorship.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Like the Cox's Bazar story, I am amazed the story exists because I can't imagine the attraction of the place to a tourist in the first place. At least with Cox's it is apparently internal tourism, so somewhere that sucks less than other places might have an attraction, but is there anywhere that sucks more universally than NKOR? Maybe THAT'S the atraction! So taking away the 3G will only make it better!
[Washington Post] The sorties by B-2 bombers marked a rare show of force by the Pentagon on the Korean Peninsula and followed a decision this month to bolster nuclear defenses along the U.S. West Coast by adding 14 missile interceptors in Alaska.
"We have to take seriously every provocative, bellicose word and action," [Defense Secretary Chuck] Hagel told news hounds during a news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday afternoon.
North Korea has used heated rhetoric for years, but its recent statements and actions have "ratcheted up the danger," Hagel said, adding: "We have to understand that new reality."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Bluster is countered by truth, not more bluster.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/30/2013 15:47 Comments ||
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#2
Or some sort of prompt action, to get their attention.
Known in other parts of the world as money lenders, loan sharks, or personal bankers. Interesting article from a group of NK ex-pats. The same group has another article on money-laundering in NK-land here.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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SEOUL, March 29 -- North Korea's missile sites have recently shown increased activities in the wake of the communist nation's threat to strike South Korea and the United States in response to their ongoing military drill involving nuclear-capable bombers, military sources in Seoul said Friday.
Amid heightened tensions, South Korean and U.S. forces have focused their intelligence efforts on monitoring the North's missile sites, which have shown brisk activities.
"North Korea's launch sites to fire off mid- and long-range missiles have recently shown increased movement of vehicles and forces," the official said. "We are closely watching possibilities of missile launches."
Another source said several vehicles were seen moving to the Tongchang-ri missile site on the western coast, in what seemed like preparations for testing its long-range missiles.
Seoul's defense ministry saw the latest move as a "follow-up measure" to the North Korean military's announcement of the heightened level of combat readiness, but it did not elaborate on "a rocket preparation plan" signed in the North.
Outside watchers consider Pyongyang's latest remarks to be aimed at strengthening control domestically and building military credentials, raising doubts over whether it has the technology to build an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
On Friday morning, a North Korean Mig-21 fighter jet flew near South Korea's front-line airspace, known as the Tactical Action Line (TAL), and returned to its base, according to military officials. The provocative flight prompted the South Korean Air Force to dispatch a KF-16 fighter, they said, without further elaboration.
TAL is the point between 20 and 50 kilometers north of South Korean airspace. Any aircraft approaching that line compels fighter jets in the South to scramble.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
On a separate note, the DPRK's threats is prob the NRA's greatest single advertisement for post-Sandy Hook/Newtown anti-gun control = anti-assault gun ban resistance.
#2
I've thought that as well, interesting in a time where the world is becoming unstable and US military reductions one would think that it is the best time for a large, loyal, talented, relatively free hastati if you will. It would make a good ad.
The orcs are pounding their shields and conducting raids and light skirmishes, and the palace responds by opening the gates, releasing prisoners, and threatening to disarm the city guard. If it were a movie, the audience would be screaming at the madness of the king.
North Korea's leader Pudgy has ordered missile units to prepare to strike US mainland as a British tour operator was warned that the "outbreak of war probably only hours away".
The order came after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Washington would not be cowed by Pyongyang's bellicose threats and stood ready to respond to "any eventuality".
Pudgy directed his rocket units on standby at an overnight emergency meeting with top army commanders, hours after nuclear-capable US B-2 stealth bombers were deployed in ongoing US joint military drills with South Korea.
In the event of any "reckless" US provocation, North Korean forces should "mercilessly strike the US mainland ... military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea", he was quoted as saying by KCNA.
While North Korea has no proven ability to conduct such strikes, Pudgy said: "The time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists."
You do wonder if Pudgy is painting himself into a corner here. How does he back down without looking foolish?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Kim Jong-un makes serious threats. He expects the US and SKor to back down or at least back pedal. If they do not, and Kim does not instigate an incident, then he looks foolish and loses face. If he makes a major incident, he could be turned to a grease spot. He has screwed up. I think. He can be very dangerous, like nitroglycerine, IMHO.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/30/2013 0:21 Comments ||
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#2
This may end up being the ultimate test for Obama. I hope the administration is in very close consultation with both the Chinese and the Russians. If some over zealous Nork rocketeer pulls a lanyard, the response needs to be massive and immediate. I'm not at all certain the US is ready for a conventional, fight to the death conflict.
#3
"WIdout looking foolish" > His Pudginess can't.
IMO the Kim Regime = DPRK believes it has reached an existential moment/threashold - China stands to take over the DPRK be it from War-induced state collapse, Dynasty/Regime-led collapse, or via the new Sino-DPRK FTAS which most Perts anticipate will serve to only increase China's domination of the DPRK, NOT lessen it.
IMO THE KIM REGIME PER SE SEES ONLY TWO FINAL OUTCOMES -INEVITABLE CHINESE TAKEOVER; VERSUS "FORCED" REUNIFICATION WID THE US-PROTECTED SOUTH BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY [including JAPAN].
It just so happens that the DPRK's "existential" moment comes at a time in parallel when China fears for its own "post-US", "future World #1", "Manifest Destiny" vee the US as per getting final control over TAIWAN.
IN CHINA'S MIND, "NO TAIWAN" = THE US-N-ONLY-THE-US STAYS AS GLOBAL/WORLD #1 THRU 2050 IFF NOT THE ENTIRE 21ST CENTURY.
#4
The DPRK isn't threatening the ROK to destroy it - its threatening the ROK wid war to forcibly reunify wid it in order to preeempt or prevent a seemingly "inevitable" Chinese takeover.
NORTH KOREA IS PCORRECTLY-DENIABLY DEMANDING ITS RIGHT TO BE CONQUERED BY THE SOUTH.
#5
BREAKINGNEWS > US AIR FORCE SAYS IT COSTS US$2.1 MILYUHN TO SEND B-2 BOMBERS ON TRAINING MISSION IN SOUTH KOREA.
This Artic is giving me bad vibes as related to what kind of possible, "plausible/reasonable" rationale the USA = Bammer Admin may use to NOT intervene on behalf of the ROK + Nippon, etc. in East Asia, contrary to long-standing Agreements or Treatises???
[MULTIPLE USN CVNS, USMC LHDS/LHAS SEQUESTER-DOCKED ALL IN A ROW AT NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD = "NUCLEAR" PEARL HARBOR here].
#8
Kim may have his timing perfect on this, assuming his military can beat the SORKs, because it is not unlikely that the US forces will be ordered to avoid any combat. And not necessarily because Obama is interested in letting us be defeated, but rather because the Chinese may have sent signals that they will bail on our debt if we intervene. Of course if that works, it won't be long before Taiwan is given its ultimatum. Etc. Dominos.
#9
Back in 1950 it took the Norks with little anti-tank opposition, several days to make it to Seoul. Today, it's one big urban sprawl starting about half way to the DMZ. Once you hit that, its city fighting. Never been nice. Only the Americans have shown some knack in execution [see assault on Fallujah which was a set piece battle on an isolated urban area with out crap going on the flanks]. Plans seldom survive after the first five minutes of contact with an opponent. That doesn't even take into account the amount of loss of command and control when Norks find themselves knee deep in food and consumer goods they couldn't comprehend the availability thereof [see - looting].
Even if they make it into the suburbs of Seoul, their tail end will be hammer unmercifully by uncontested air after the first day. It's a feeder battle they can't win in anything other than eliminating any reserve for the counter stroke that will [as in the first period conflict, executed by the SKoreans on their own - the Americans/UN tagged along] happen.
#10
Joe strikes again with the first original thought of the day.
The DPRK isn't threatening the ROK to destroy it - its threatening the ROK wid war to forcibly reunify wid it in order to preeempt or prevent a seemingly "inevitable" Chinese takeover.
And Joe is probably right on this. Remember, "forcible unification" goes both ways. If you have to be conquered by someone then lil-Kim would surely prefer it be Koreans doing it rather than the Chinese.
#12
..could ding up, create some urban renewal, but smash a whole major metro area? That's going to take a hellva amount of ordnance that even in theoretical calculations at the most efficient level is going to take many days, if not weeks to accomplish. Given modern laser guided ordnance and counter battery capabilities, I doubt the Norks tubes last that lone. Seoul sits in a topographical bowl requiring high trajectory shooting to hit most of it from the north. You're just not going to be able to pull a artillery piece to the front of a [man made] cave, shoot a few rounds clear of the next ridge line, to drop much into the city from the DMZ. It's more like opening up the ceiling to get a good arc to clear the obstructing terrain. Given modern penetrating ordnance [thanks to Saddam and the Taliban], those sites aren't going to get many volleys in before payback arrives.
#13
The norks can shoot a bunch of stuff in a short period of time, then they will run out of bullets, diesel, and food.
At least 100,000 South Koreans would be displaced or injured by then, and the entire North Korean country could be over run by the then very pissed off South Koreans.
Reunification with the South never sounded so easy.
#18
"Have you ever wondered why they consider Austin a target?"
It starts with "A," Thing?
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/30/2013 15:25 Comments ||
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#19
There are at least three chip fabs in Austin as far as I can tell. Two Freescale and one Samsung. (And the Samsung one is being upgraded at a cost of 4 billion to deal with smaller process nodes.)
There are countries that would make money off of the destruction of a bunch of US electronics factories, especially if all we do in return is murder a bunch of North Korean slaves.
#20
Also: major technology companies with facilities in the area besides Freescale and Samsung (which have the previously mentioned fabs) include AMD, IBM, Dell, and National Instruments.
#21
It's not what damage they CAN cause, it's the damage WE (USA) WILL cause, they better back down, and quickly.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/30/2013 15:54 Comments ||
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#22
RJ, it's not at all clear to me we will retaliate. Between the erosion of our capability, the lack of will in our political leadership, and the fear of economic retaliation from China, we might well do nothing.
#24
If the fit hits the shan and we did nothing, can Zero's PR machine make a "win" out of it?
And sell anyone besides the media drones?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/30/2013 16:44 Comments ||
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#25
Initiate Operation Starvation II
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/30/2013 16:55 Comments ||
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#26
"Have you ever wondered why they consider Austin a target?"
Considering Austin is a blue island in a sea of red, I'd say fratricide.
Probably the best deterrent we could do would be to threaten an import tariff on Chinese goods.
Actually, it'd be like the Tea Party, a grass roots boycott of anything marked Made in China. As the corporations desperately try to fake 'Made in' over the Chinese labels, those with reserves to sustain them and shift production elsewhere will survive regardless of how many politicians they buy to avert the bottom line disaster for importers in general.
#28
Maybe Dennis Rodman was a CIA plant and told them Austin TX was just outside of Los Angeles where the Lakers are. Start with LA...then again, could this be the setup for Marshall Law?
#33
..sort of like reelection campaign money for our pols, they get to keep it for personal use after they retire from Congress. In this case all the money in those overseas banks for a gangnam lifestyle away from the Socialist Paradise they've created for everyone else.
[Pak Daily Times] This seaside metropolis is no stranger to gangland violence, driven for years by a motley collection of gangs who battle over money, turf and votes.
But there is a new gang in town. Hundreds of miles from their homeland in the mountainous northwest, Pak Taliban fighters have started to flex their muscles more forcefully in parts of this vast city, and they are openly taking ground.
Taliban gunnies have mounted guerrilla assaults on cop shoppes, killing scores of officers. They have stepped up extortion rackets that target rich businessmen and traders, and rubbed out public health workers engaged in 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... vaccination efforts. In some neighbourhoods, Taliban holy men have started to mediate disputes through a parallel judicial system.
The grab for influence and power in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... shows that the Taliban have been able to extend their reach across Pakistain, even here in the country's most populous city, with about 20 million inhabitants. No longer can they be written off as endemic only to the country's frontier regions.
In joining Karachi's street wars, the Taliban are upending a long-established network of competing criminal, ethnic and political gangs in this combustible city. The difference is that the Taliban's agenda is more expansive -- it seeks to overthrow the Pak state -- and their operations are run by remote control from the tribal belt along the Afghan border.
Already, the Islamic fascistihave reshaped the city's political balance by squeezing one of the most prominent political machines, the Pashtun-dominated Awami National Party, off its home turf. They have scared Awami operatives out of town and destroyed offices, gravely undercutting the party's chances in national elections scheduled for May.
"We are the Taliban's first enemy," said Shahi Syed, the party's provincial head, at his newly fortified office. "They burn my offices, they tear down my flags and they kill our people."
The Taliban drift into Karachi actually began years ago, though much more quietly. Many fled here after a concerted Pak military operation in the Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... Valley in 2009. The influx has gradually continued, officials here say, with Taliban fighters able to easily melt into the city's population of fellow ethnic Pashtuns, estimated to number at least five million people.
Until recently, the Islamic fascistisaw Karachi as a kind of rear base, using the city to lie low or seek medical treatment, and limiting their armed activities to criminal fund-raising, like kidnapping and bank robberies.
But for at least six months now, there have been signs that their timidity is disappearing. The Taliban have become a force on the street, aggressively exerting their influence in the ethnic Pashtun quarters of the city.
Taliban tactics are most evident in Manghopir, an impoverished neighbourhood of rough, cinder-block houses clustered around marble quarries on the northern edge of the city, where illegal housing settlements spill into the surrounding desert.
In recent months, Talibs have attacked the Manghopir cop shoppe three times, killing eight officers, said Muhammad Aadil Khan, a local member of Parliament.
In interviews, residents describe Talibs who roam on cycle of violences or in jeeps with tinted windows, delivering extortion demands in the shape of two bullets wrapped in a piece of paper.
A factory owner in Manghopir, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety, said that several Pashtun businessmen had received demands for $10,000 to $50,000. The figure was negotiable, he said, but payment was not: resistance could result in an assault on the victim's house or, in the worst case, a bullet to the head.
Khan said he had not dared to visit his constituency in months. "There is a personal threat against me," he said, speaking at the headquarters of his party, the 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... , which represents ethnic Mohajirs, in the city center.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
needs the Frankenstein monster graphic too
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2013 10:23 Comments ||
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[Straits Times] A top Unicef official says as many as 240,000 children have missed UN-backed vaccinations against 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... because of security concerns in Pakistain's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
Dr Nima Saeed Abid, acting Unicef chief for the polio eradication programme in Pakistain, says health workers have not been able to immunise children in the North and South Wazoo regions - Taliban strongholds - since July 2012.
Pakistain is one of the few remaining countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio is rampant. Up to 58 cases were reported in Pakistain in 2012, down from 198 in 2011.
Dr Abid said on Friday that 15 health workers have been killed in the anti-polio campaign in Pakistain since July 2012.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The Lahore High Court was told on Friday that any legal assistance to Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... in a case in the US would strengthen Indian claims against Pakistain.
LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial postponed for April 29 the hearing of petition moved by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who has sought direction to the federal government to defend him in a US court which issued summons to him, former ISI chiefs and other officials on a lawsuit filed by the relatives of US nationals killed in Mumbai attacks.
On Friday, Advocate Ahmer Bilal Soofi, amicus curie (friend of court), argued that the state could interfere only when a citizen is tossed in the clink Book 'im, Mahmoud! in a foreign country. He said that in cases like Mumbai attacks, the government had no role to play. Earlier, Soofi had said that the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... had unanimously passed a resolution against terrorism, and Pakistain being a member country was bound to implement its resolutions.
He said that India had filed a lawsuit in a US court to establish Pakistain's link with al Qaeda, and providing legal assistance to Hafiz Muhammad Saeed at the government level would strengthen the allegations of the neighbouring country. Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth had turned a paler shade of blue. Star-A-Star had struck again... Hafiz Muhammad Saeed's counsel, AK Dogar, while referring to the killing of American national Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka by gunnies at the Chhabad House in Mumbai, said their son Moshe and other people have filed nine claims against banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , naming Hafiz Muhammad Saeed as its head, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Azam Cheema and Sajid Majid as well as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), its former DGs Lt Gen Nadeem Taj and Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and two other people, Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali, who they allege are part of the ISI.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
Natural gas from the Tamar field off Israel's Mediterranean shores began flowing on Saturday, the head of a partner in the field said in a statement.
Israel, once energy poor, is expected to become a gas exporter by the end of the decade, with the Tamar field holding enough reserves to meet the country's gas needs for decades.
#5
Well sure, they could be getting liquid NG from any vendor who will sell it to them, but that's a pain. The moment Tamar produces enough that the Israelis no longer need foreign NG the Middle East changes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2013 19:39 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Steve, according to Ynet, before the shutoffs Israel was getting 40% of its natural gas from Egyptian Sinai. Afterward...
Upon its arrival to Israel, the gas will support the generation of electricity at power stations - owned both by the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) and private companies, as well as smaller factories - gradually allowing for prices to drop as Israel's electricity shifts from expensive, polluting and import-dependant materials, such as diesel and fuel oil, to its own natural gas.
[Al Ahram] West Bank court sentences local journalist to one year in prison for posting picture on Facebook seen as insulting to ineffectual Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
Irony is ever so fashionable these days.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
Too bad Abbas doesn't have to face the sequester.
[An Nahar] Israel expected on Friday that the next war with Hizbullah will be completely different than the July 2006 conflict.
Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command Chief Major General Eyal Eisenberg warned that the next war with the party will be ten times fiercer than the 2006 one.
He also predicted than Israel will be bombarded with ten times more rockets on a daily basis by Hizbullah than the rate it was targeted with seven years ago.
He noted that prior to 2006, Hizbullah was capable of launching 500 rockets at Gush Dan in Israel, but it failed to do so because the Israeli air force destroyed Iran's Fajr rockets within the first few days of the war.
Should a war erupt today, continued Eisenberg, he said that Gush Dan would be the target of some 5,000 Hizbullah rockets.
The first few days of the next conflict will be very difficult and we are prepared for a scenario that witnesses the launching of 2,000 rockets at a daily basis, he added.
Israel is not seeking such a war as it will be futile for it and the other side, he remarked.
Israel knows how to incur greater damage against its enemies than they do against it because of its air force's possession of more destructive and accurate weapons, Eisenberg explained.
Both sides will be harmed from the conflict, but Israel is more capable of swiftly recovering form it, he stressed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Unknown is if Hizbullah has gained access to new nasties as a result of the collapse of Syria.
#5
"They" have other worries than Israel...Like..."How to stay alive today..."
Lebanese Shiites are surrounded by myriad sand monkeys...now armed and dangerous...without Syria's back up, it will be difficult to keep heads on shoulders...
[AAWSAT.NET] The United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said yesterday that he was opposed to plans to arms the Syrian opposition, and emphasized the need for a political solution to the crisis.
Speaking to Britannia's Channel 4 news, the diplomat said, "I personally think that this is not the way. The way is to help the parties come to an agreement on how to end this war."
Brahimi's comments followed a declaration at the close of week's 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... conference in Qatar, which reaffirmed the "right" of the organization's member states to provide military aid to the Syrian opposition.
The conference also saw the Syrian seat in the vaporous Arab League handed to the Syrian National Coalition, the umbrella group that represents a large segment of the opposition to the government of Bashir al-Assad.
In addition, La Belle France and Britannia have recently hinted that they are considering supplying military aid to the rebels in Syria in order to force Assad to the negotiating table. They have also made attempts to persuade the EU to ease its arms embargo.
Brahimi admitted that the situation in Syria is "extremely bad and getting worse all the time. I haven't seen, and do not see, any improvement."
He added, "Both sides are looking for a military victory. Each one of them I think still believes that military victory is possible for their side; therefore, the intensity of the fighting is increasing and expanding."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
"Both sides are looking for a military victory. Each one of them I think still believes that military victory is possible for their side; therefore, the intensity of the fighting is increasing and expanding."
A UN guy actually gets something exactly right. It is the corollary to the 'Peace through superior firepower' theorem. Peace is what happens when both sides KNOW who will win, war is when one is in doubt.
#2
The UN forgets that war is diplomacy by other means.
Of course this bunch of sissies don't want to arm the rebels. Send in a blizzard of sternly worded letters and have a full and frank exchange of ideas and the shooting will stop...stop until they finish reading all the letters...
The UN has dithered and fiddled around with nuclear weapons and chemical weapons and not done one thing to really back up what they are saying.
The US could have put an end to that crap 20 years ago but we've surrendered our nonproliferation stance to the UN and we have Iran and Korea ready to light one up any time now.
Thanks UN, the first US city to disappear or the first US city to be evacuated because of nuclear terrorism should be our letter of resignation from this useless bunch of diplomatic parasites.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/30/2013 12:59 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
North Korea
[Washington Post] The sorties by B-2 bombers marked a rare show of force by the Pentagon on the Korean Peninsula and followed a decision this month to bolster nuclear defenses along the U.S. West Coast by adding 14 missile interceptors in Alaska.
North Korea's leader 
[Pak Daily Times] This seaside metropolis is no stranger to gangland violence, driven for years by a motley collection of 
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
[Straits Times] A top Unicef official says as many as 240,000 children have missed UN-backed vaccinations against 
[AAWSAT.NET] The 
