[Jerusalem Post] Al-Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa is the hard boy organization's richest faction and the dominant Islamist force among those controlling northern Mali, the head of the US military's Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Thursday.
General Carter Ham said the international community and the Malian government now faced a complex challenge to try to deal with the strengthened presence in Mali's largely desert north of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the hard boy group's North African franchise.
Mali, for a long time seen as a stable nation in an often turbulent West African region, imploded in the space of a few weeks after a March 22 coup sowed confusion and allowed a mix of Tuareg separatists and beturbanned fascisti to occupy the northern two-thirds of the country.
[Ma'an] Egyptian authorities on Wednesday cooled for a few years Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up! a Paleostinian officer in Egypt's Sinai near the Gazoo border, a security source said.
An Egyptian security official told Ma'an a 28-year-old Fatah officer was cooled for a few years Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up! at a checkpoint in Al-Arish carrying an unlicensed gun and ammunition.
Egyptian prosecutors ordered his detention for four days while police conduct an investigation, the officer said.
[Jerusalem Post] Dubai police chief warns of "international plot" against Gulf states, says Iran, Syria and MB must know Gulf is a red line.
Dubai's chief of police has warned of an "international plot" to overthrow the governments of Gulf Arab countries, saying the region needs to be prepared to counter any threat from Islamist dissidents as well as Syria and Iran.
The comments by Dahi Khalfan, one of the most outspoken security officials in the United Arab Emirates, follow the detention in the UAE since April of at least 20 dissidents, according to relatives of the detainees and activists.
"There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general...This is preplanned to take over our fortunes," Khalfan told news hounds at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Moslem holy month of Ramadan.
"The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries...The brothers and their governments in Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... and North Africa have to know that the Gulf is a red line, not only for Iran but also for the Brothers as well."
"♪♫ Jokers to the left of me, clowns to right, here I am stuck in the middle with you...♪♫♪"
Most of the detainees since April are Islamists, targeted by an official clampdown amid concern they may be emboldened by the rise of the Moslem Brüderbund in other Arab countries such as Egypt.
UAE Interior Ministry officials have not been available to comment on the arrests. Last week, UAE officials announced that authorities were investigating a foreign-linked group planning "crimes against the security of the state".
"I had no idea that there is this large number of Moslem Brüderbund in the Gulf states. We have to be alert and on guard because the wider these groups become, the higher probability there is for trouble," Khalfan said on Wednesday.
"We are aware that there are groups plotting to overthrow Gulf governments in the long term."
In a quarterly attitudinal survey of five Latin American countries (Panama, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela and México) conducted by Germany-based GfK think-tank, distrust of the police in México rose from 63% in the first quarter of 2012 to 71% in the second quarter.
GfK's comparative studies of the five countries also revealed that distrust of the police in México is much greater than in Panama, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, which is startling data considering that Venezuela and Ecuador are included in the study, both of which have very poor confidence in the police as well.
In a press release, GfK said that "Distrust in Mexico has grown more than in any other Latin American country [of those included in the study], largely due to the increase in violence, the corruption of public servants, drug trafficking and a cultural trend among Mexicans," the German company emphasized.
#2
Not to worry. Give Barry another four years and they can survey six Latin American countries (Panama, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Los Ustados Unidos) and we can *beat* that 71%!
North Korea's Army chief Ri Yong-ho was apparently ousted for defying orders and moving troops near Pyongyang during a military exercise, South Korean intelligence said Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars were also discovered during a raid on his home.
Were they genuine or counterfeit?
"Analysis of intelligence shows Ri Yong-ho's ouster was a punitive measure taken due to his uncooperative attitude" as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sought to tighten his grip on the military, a lawmaker quoted the National Intelligence Service as telling the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee.
The troop move drew the ire of Ri's main rivals Jang Song-taek, the uncle and guardian of leader Kim Jong-un, and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae. The discovery of the money apparently provided valuable evidence for Choe to accuse him of corruption.
North Korea's military elite controlled 70 percent of the country's businesses that brought in foreign currency under late leader Kim Jong-il and became a state within a state. But it lost control of those companies to the Workers Party after Kim Jong-un came to power, and Ri was apparently targeted for being at the heart of a group of disgruntled officers.
"Ri's uncooperative attitude included unilaterally repositioning the troops and expressing dissatisfaction over the transfer of control to the party of the North's businesses that generate foreign currency," the NIS added.
Is 'repositioning troops' a code phrase to 'preparing a coup'?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2012 00:00 ||
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Is 'repositioning troops' a code phrase to 'preparing a coup'?
Sounds that way to me, or at least a warning of some type. The real question is why wasn't he shot?
#3
With all respect, but I don't see how he could properly answer that question without specifying what "speech against any religion" means. Does it include: "Kill all infidels?"
What am I missing here?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
07/27/2012 18:56 Comments ||
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"a legal declaration that U.S. citizens' criticism of Islam constitutes racial discrimination."
Of course that would be outrageous... and btw stupid because Muslims are not a race.
Of course on the other hand this would make 99.99% of Muslims criminals, but I suspect that "criticism of the Christian faith" will not constitute racial discrimination, right?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
07/27/2012 19:03 Comments ||
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Got that right, EC.
Are you sure you're not an American accidently stuck in EUrope? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara ||
07/27/2012 21:28 Comments ||
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All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of America.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
07/27/2012 22:47 Comments ||
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Famous last words, espec iff Pert forecasts of pending worse econ crises for the US-EU-World prove true later this year. Radical Islam = Hard Boyz will more likely than not interprete such as DE FACTO weakness on the part of the US + EU, etc. + BECOME INSPIRED TO WAGE JIHAD AGZ THE US + EU.
#9
I like how a Netter put it [paraph] - Since many of you Lefties don't believe in Gun Rights, I promise that when any Enemies of America come over the Hill to conquer or destroy the Country, I WON'T USE MY GUNS TO DEFEND YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONES, ETC. AT ALL!
[Jerusalem Post] A Caliphornia man pleaded guilty in Chicago on Thursday to a felony charge of trying to illegally export missile parts to Iran, which the United States says is working to build nuclear weapons.
Andro Telemi, 42, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He pleaded guilty without entering into an agreement with the government.
Telemi, a naturalized US citizen from Iran, had been indicted in 2009 along with Iranian national Davoud Baniameri, 39, also of Caliphornia. Baniameri pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to four years in prison.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday that it is actively engaged with Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on the issue of cross-border attacks from Afghan province of Kunar and Nooristan.
The Foreign Office, on Thursday, said that it hoped that steps would be taken to stop such raids. Foreign Office Spokesman Moazzam Khan said that Pakistan took the attacks seriously and hoped that corrective measures would be taken soon by the Afghan government.
Rocket firing by militants from across the Durand Line, and raids on Pakistani checkposts along the border have been causing causalities among Pakistani soldiers. Pakistani forces started shelling across the border in Kunar and Nooristan areas in response, which triggered a strong reaction from NATO and Afghanistan.
Khan said that Salahuddin Rabbani, head of High Peace Council, would visit Pakistan soon. Pakistan would extend its full cooperation and support to the High Peace Council as it was also indicated in the joint statement issued on prime ministers visit to Afghanistan, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2012 00:00 ||
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I guess they don't like being on the receiving end of that activity.
ISLAMABAD: There will be no tax or duty charged on containers carrying goods for NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan, says a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and the US. The MoU will be applicable after it is signed by both countries and will be valid until 2015.
We can take the fees out of the aid we provide to the Paks. After Zardari gets his 10 percent there should be juuuust enough...
The draft prepared according to the United Nations charter will not allow transport of arms and ammunition for NATO troops via Pakistan. However, military equipment for the Afghan National Army will be allowed.
Transport of non-lethal cargo, which includes food and medicine, will be allowed in containers measuring 20 by 40 feet. The containers will use two routes. Containers on the southern route will travel to Afghanistan from Karachi (Bin Qasim Port) via Chaman. On the northern route, containers will travel from Karachi (Bin Qasim Port) via Torkham to Afghanistan.
The MoU also says there would be no warehouses or storage facilities provided for the US goods.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2012 00:00 ||
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But, but, but we're pulling out in....2014, right?
[Jerusalem Post] Olympic c'tee rejects minute of silence at opening ceremony; PA official: Paleostinians oppose Israeli attempt to exploit Games.
The Paleostinian Authority has thanked the International Olympic Committee [IOC] for refusing to allow a minute's silence at the opening ceremony in London to mark the 40th anniversary of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes in the Munich Games.
After all, it was the Palestinians that did it, at Yasser Arafat's orders
.Jibril Rajoub, head of the Paleostinian Football Union, sent a letter to IOC Chairman Jaques Rogge thanking him for his position, the PA's official news agency, Wafa, reported Wednesday.
In his letter, Rajoub, a former PA security commander, wrote: "Sports is a bridge for love, connection and relaying peace between peoples. It should not be a factor for separation and spreading racism between peoples."
"After all, that's our job."
Wafa said that Rajoub sent the letter to the IOC chairman on Tuesday.
A senior PA official in Ramallah confirmed that Rajoub had sent the letter and said that the Paleostinians were opposed to "Israel's attempts to exploit the Olympic games for propaganda purposes."
"How dare they request people treat the killing of juices as if they were real people!"
A senior Israeli official responded to the Paleostinian letter by saying that "if the leadership of the PA is not willing to disassociate itself from its terrorist past, and is unwilling to see the Munich massacre as a brutal act of terrorism, then in Israeli eyes there will be big questions regarding their true commitment to peace and reconciliation."
Sudden Jihad Syndrome. It just doesn't end over there.
[Ma'an] Israeli forces on Thursday set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a Paleostinian woman who tried to stab an Israeli officer near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, Israeli police said.
Israeli police front man Micky Rosenfeld told Ma'an the woman sprayed tear gas at an Israeli police officer and then tried to stab her.
She is being held for questioning to determine her motive, Rosenfeld said, adding that police were trying to establish if she was sent by anyone.
Determine a motive? Isn't that obvious?
Sources in Hebron identified the set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! woman as 24-year-old Hadial Talal Abu Turkey. They told Ma'an she was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock while trying to enter the mosque.
[Ma'an] As demolition orders continue to threaten the work of humanitarian organizations in Israeli-controlled Area C in the West Bank, the European Union and humanitarian agencies are pressing to change the rules of the aid game.
"We all know that when we turn one stone in Area C, what we get is confrontation with the occupying power," Ulrich Nitschke, project director at the German Agency for International Cooperation in the West Bank city of Ramallah, told IRIN. "But now, there is a major policy shift among the member states of the EU."
Land in the West Bank is categorized as A, B and C. Area A is under the control of the Paleostinian Authority, and Area B the joint control of Israel and the PA. About 95 percent of Paleostinians live in these two areas, though they make up only 40 percent of the land area. In Area C, around 62 percent of the West Bank, Israel retains military authority and full control over building permission.
"We all know that when we turn one stone in Area C, what we get is confrontation with the occupying power," Ulrich Nitschke, project director at the German Agency for International Cooperation in the West Bank city of Ramallah, told IRIN.
Instead of making the implementation of EU-funded projects in Area C dependent on the Israeli Civil Administration and its requirement to obtain a permit, a new process is now guiding the EU's approach.
"They are pressuring Israel to reach an actual game change in Area C. There has to be a game change," says Tsafrir Cohen, Middle East coordinator of the German organization Medico International.
The first step of the new process is the development of legal and technical guidelines (master plans) for each local community in need under the leadership of the local Paleostinian governments. The master plans are then presented to the Israeli Civil Administration, which opens a case for each locality submitted, and is asked to check whether all legal and technical requirements are met.
"As soon as we get a green light on the technical stuff, the EU donors are counting six months. If there is still no permit issued after that, the project is implemented without," Nitschke said.
"As soon as we get a green light on the technical stuff, the EU donors are counting six months. If there is still no permit issued after that, the project is implemented without," Nitschke said.
So far, a total of 24 master plans have been submitted; four were technically approved by the Israeli government in January 2011, but no permits have yet been issued. "Obviously six months have passed since then. But some member states got cold feet and wanted to double-check with Brussels before," Nitschke said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... some EU member states have formed an interest group to advocate change, including Germany, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, La Belle France, Sweden and the EU Commission, he added.
"Demolition can happen any time"
Each year, hundreds of Paleostinians in Area C have their homes demolished by the Israeli authorities because they are unable to obtain permits for their buildings. In 2011 alone, about 1,100 Paleostinians were displaced due to home demolitions by Israeli forces, over 80 percent more than in 2010, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report.
"The Israeli authorities claim that structures are demolished because they lack building permits. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... the reality is that it is next to impossible for Paleostinians to obtain such permits, leaving them no option but to build without them to meet their basic needs for shelter," Ramesh Rajasingham, head of OCHA in the occupied Paleostinian territory, told IRIN.
The policy shift led by the EU reflects a greater focus on international humanitarian law instead of Israeli administrative rules, said Cohen, adding: "Israel uses administrative law above IHL. No one does enough to stop them."
OCHA says that a total of 620 structures were torn down in the West Bank in 2011, of which 62 were European-funded projects.
Medico International faced demolition orders on (mostly standalone) wind and solar energy facilities it built in collaboration with the Israeli organization Community, Energy, and Technology in the Middle East in the south Hebron hills, which has become a hotspot of demolitions and forced displacement over the last years.
Tsafrir Cohen said his organization had hitherto been able to prevent the demolition of its energy installations through an effective diplomatic and public outreach campaign, in particular in Germany. "But the orders are there and demolition could happen any time."
Some 1,500 Paleostinians in the south Hebron hills are dependent on a similar alternative energy supply, because the Israeli authorities are preventing them from being connected to the electricity grid, he said, adding: "Thousands of people still don't have electricity in the Hebron hills. We have thousands more in Jordan valley. But we simply can't assist properly because of the permit problem."
Aid agencies operating in Area C are currently facing a dangerous situation, said Cohen. "If we only build humanitarian infrastructure where Israel allows us to, we are in danger of being pushed out of Area C together with the Paleostinians," he said.
Medico International calls this process a "policy of targeted de-development", aimed at forcing the Paleostinian population out of Area C into the densely populated urban enclaves. "In the end we will work in a Bantustan," Cohen added.
Sidestepping the permits?
Some donors hoped that permits might be made available for solar and wind energy harvesting systems in Area C, but their hopes were dashed: "We don't get any permits, so we simply build without," Elad Orian, co-founder of COMET-ME, told IRIN. At least eight of the standalone energy systems the organization installed in recent years are under threat of demolition, he added.
The EU effort to change the rules of the game is encouraging for agencies implementing projects in Area C, but Orian said it remains close to impossible to get international funding for COMET-ME projects without a permit from the Israeli authorities.
The policy shift led by the EU reflects a greater focus on international humanitarian law instead of Israeli administrative rules, said Cohen, adding: "Israel uses administrative law above IHL. No one does enough to stop them."
Peace by other means vs. the Palestinian branch of the Society for the Perpetually Aggrieved.
[Ma'an] Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Bargouthi joined a coalition of rights groups on Thursday expressing outrage at the European Union's expansion of cooperation with Israel.
At the Association Council's meeting between the EU and Israel in Brussels on Tuesday, the EU agreed to develop its cooperation with Israel offering it 60 new activities in 15 fields, and said it would seek to identify areas for future cooperation.
Someone figured out that Israel is soon to be a major exporter of natural gas?
Bargouthi said the upgrading of bilateral ties was granted in contradiction to the EU's political position criticizing Israel's illegal settlement expansion, occupation and violations of international human rights laws.
Don't worry, Europe is able to reach lots of political positions. Especially the French...
Europe's decision will encourage Israel to continue its aggression toward Palestinians and breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Palestinian National Initiative leader said in a statement.
"This emphasizes the need for a popular and parliamentary movement to pressure European governments to change their policies, as well as to impose a boycott policy on Israel similar to [the boycott of] the apartheid regime in South Africa," he said.
A coalition of 11 prominent Palestinian rights groups also expressed outrage at the EU's decision on Thursday.
At which point they made faces and grimaced fiercely...
"As Palestinian human rights organizations, we are deeply disappointed with the EU's decision to sideline human rights and humanitarian law when it suits the EU and Israel, and thus oppose the EU's decision to effectively upgrade its relations with Israel," the Palestinian Council of Human Rights said in a statement.
Noting the EU's recent statements expressing concern that Israeli policies threatened the two-state solution, the rights groups said they waited for Europe's words to turn into action.
The EU's meeting with Israel on Tuesday was, however, "a step backwards."
"Aggravatingly, the Association Council statement comes at a time when Israel is relentless in expanding its illegal settlement enterprise; maintains the continued closure of the Gaza Strip which amounts to collective punishment; continues to revoke residency permits of Palestinians; displaces the Palestinian people, especially those residing in Area C; discriminatorily allocates natural resources, such as land and water; as well as continuing the construction of the Annexation Wall," the rights groups said.
The EU is failing to adhere to its self-commitment to international law and must "make a link between its actions and its verbal and written condemnations," they added.
"Only in the instance that the EU does not allow for Israel to enjoy impunity will Israel be persuaded to comply with all its international legal obligations, including those owed towards the occupied Palestinian people."
The Not Ready for Prime Time Players show their stuff.
[Jerusalem Post] The Paleostinian Authority security forces in the West Bank Thursday tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... the director of the office of Abdel Aziz Dweik ...Dweik has been associated with The Moslem Brotherhood and Hamas since as early as 1992.... , a senior Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, representative who was released last week from Israeli prison.
Dweik, who serves as speaker of the Paleostinian Legislative Council, was released from Israeli prison after serving six months in administrative detention.
The director of his office, Baha Farah, was summoned for investigation by the PA's Preventive Security Force on Wednesday night. Later, he was ordered held in detention for 15 days.
Dweik condemned the arrest of his aide, saying the PA has decided to "welcome his release from Israeli prison by arresting the director of my office." Dweik said that the only crime that his aide had committed was that he was receiving his salary from the Gazoo Strip.
He held the Preventive Security Force responsible for any harm caused to his aide during his stay in a Paleostinian prison in Ramallah.
"Is this the way the Paleostinian Authority greets me upon my release from Israeli prison -- by arresting my assistant?" Dweik asked in a statement.
A PA security official in Ramallah refused to comment on the arrest of Farah.
Dweik, the highest ranking Hamas figure in the West Bank, received a phone call shortly after his release from newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to offer his greetings.
Dweik was also scheduled to meet in the coming days with PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... in Ramallah, who also phoned him to greet him.
In a related development, PA security forces tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... another four Hamas supporters in the West Bank in the past 48 hours, sources close to the Islamist movement said.
One of the detainees, Rashid Khatib, also works as director of the office of a Hamas politician in Jericho. The other three detainees are had recently been released from Israeli prison.
Sounds like the Syrian energy infrastructure is being wrecked by the rebels.
Energy Minister Majid Namju on Thursday voiced Iran's readiness to help reconstruct infrastructures and installations damaged during recent unrests in Syria, IRNA reported.
Namju made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expansion of energy cooperation between Iran and Syria. The Islamic Republic of Iran will never leave Syria alone under hard times, he said.
Recent insurgency has damaged Syrian infrastructures installations and Iran has voiced readiness to help reconstruct those facilities, said the Iranian energy minister. The role of Iranian private sectors is very prominent to this effect, he said.
Syrian Minister of Electricity Imad Khamis, for his part, expressed satisfaction with conclusion of the MoU with Iran and said Iranian companies play active role in his country. He called for expansion of mutual cooperation in industrial fields in Syria.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2012 00:00 ||
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perhaps some of the rebels could target Iranian infrastructure
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/27/2012 7:45 Comments ||
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From the looks of that foto, I'm not entierly convinced that "energy" is the infrastructure Mr. Namju is actually referring to.
DUBAI: Iran said on Thursday it would stand by its ally Syria, despite mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad to step down to end a 16-month uprising against his rule. Irans Press TV quoted first Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying Tehrans support for Syria was unchangeable, countering suggestions that Iran could soften its backing for Assad, the Shiite Muslim republics closest Arab ally.
The Iranian people have an unchangeable stance on Syrians and will always stand by them, Rahimi was quoted as saying, accusing major powers of uniting to damage the Syrian nation.
Despite lauding popular uprisings in other Arab countries as an Islamic awakening, Iran has dismissed opposition to Assads rule as a foreign conspiracy.
A statement earlier this month by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi that Tehran was ready to host talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups suggested a possible policy shift.
Or it could be a way to get the rebels into Tehran so that they could be murdered...
In a concrete sign of support for the Syrian authorities, a delegation of Syrian ministers visited Tehran on Thursday, agreeing a deal on importing Iranian electricity via Iraq.
That's disappointing. I'd hope the Iraqis would remember through which border gates the orcs came into their country...
We agreed with Iran that in one month agreements be made with Iraq so that, putting problems to one side, electricity imports from Iran begin, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Imad Khamis, Syrias electricity minister, as saying.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2012 00:00 ||
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The USA can change your mind, rapidly.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/27/2012 12:51 Comments ||
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Good. Let them waste limited resources on something that doesn't constitute threat to anybody but the other flavor of the sociopath "religion".
PARIS: Paris prosecutors on Thursday opened a preliminary probe into the alleged involvement of French firm Qosmos in supplying Syrias regime with surveillance equipment, judicial sources said. mThe investigation follows a suit filed by human rights groups against the firm which said that Qosmos may have been supplying equipment that helped President Bashar Assads regimes bid to crush opposition forces.
Ah, the French, so adroit at playing on both sides...
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights League (LDH) jointly filed the complaint with the Paris prosecutor on Wednesday.
Western companies must know that they cannot sell this type of equipment to authoritarian regimes without being held accountable, said Michel Tubiana of the LDH.
Qosmoss website says its core expertise is in technology that creates an information layer in communications networks, enabling detailed, real-time visibility into all IP (Internet Protocol) traffic as it crosses networks.
Benoit Chabert, a lawyer for the firm, told AFP on Wednesday that Qosmos had not yet seen the complaint filed against it but that it had been involved in no wrong-doing.
French authorities opened a probe in May into the activities of Amesys, another French firm, after the FIDH and LDH accused it of providing surveillance equipment to Libyas now dead strongman Muammar Qaddafi. The equipment, the groups said, was aimed at targeting opponents, arresting them and putting them in prison, where they were tortured.
Amesys said after the probe was announced that it very strongly denies the accusation of complicity in torture and hopes to quickly be able to inform the investigating magistrate of the reality of the case.
The company had admitted in September that it supplied Qaddafis regime with analysis equipment but noted the deal was made only after Libya had improved ties with the West and that it did not operate any surveillance.
They did nothing wrong and they'll never do it again, until the money is right...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/27/2012 00:00 ||
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"Western companies must know that they cannot sell this type of equipment to authoritarian regimes without being held accountable," said Michel Tubiana of the LDH.
...now, when is that taxi for the Pigalle arriving ?
[Jerusalem Post] Facing possible intervention in Syria, Iran strike, 30,000-pound bomb capable of penetrating underground facilities is ready.
In face of possible military intervention in Syria and a strike against Iran, the United States has announced that its largest bunker-buster missile capable of penetrating underground facilities is operational and ready for use if needed.
Called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), the 30,000-pound bomb which contains over 5,000 pounds of explosives was originally designed to take out hardened fortifications in Iran and North Korea. The announcement that it is operational comes at a time that the western world is increasingly concerned over the potential proliferation of Syria's chemical weapons to Hezbollah.
"If it needed to go today, we would be ready to do that," United States Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told the Air Force Times earlier this week. "We continue to do testing on the bomb to refine its capabilities, and that is ongoing. We also have the capability to go with existing configuration today."
Donley's announcement that the MOP is operational comes after US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that the bomb had shortcomings against some of Iran's deep bunker facilities. According to the report, the Pentagon has spent over $300 million to develop the bomb, which is made by Boeing.
Israel has closely followed the development of the MOP, also known as the GBU-57. The MOP is said to be able to penetrate around 60 meters. It is unclear however how Israel would deploy such a bomb which would not fit onto its current fleet of combat aircraft. The US Air Force intends to deploy the MOP on B-2 bombers which can carry a far larger payload than the Israel Air Force's F-15s and F-16s.
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.
