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Egypt Strips Muslim Brotherhood of NGO Status
Today's Headlines
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Africa Horn
Accused Sudanese protesters were 'far' from demos when arrested: Lawyer
[Al Ahram] Sixteen people accused in Sudan of attacks on cop shoppes during protests sparked by high fuel prices were placed in durance vile
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
far from the scene of the crimes, witnesses told a trial on Tuesday.

The 16 are among hundreds jugged
You have the right to remain silent...
in a crackdown after the government cut fuel subsidies on 23 September, sending thousands into the streets to protest in the worst urban unrest of President Omar Al-Bashir's 24-year rule.

Thirty-five people initially appeared before a judge in Khartoum's impoverished Haj Yusef district on charges of vandalism and causing a disturbance.

A judge acquitted 19 for lack of evidence but 16 others, including eight youths under the age of 17, were still on trial, said Mutasim Al-Haj, one of their lawyers.

Twelve witnesses testified for the defence on Tuesday, he said.

"They said these people were not arrested during a demonstration. Nor were they arrested during the stoning or burning of cop shoppes," Haj said.

They were picked up "far away" from the alleged scene of the crimes, according to defence testimony, the lawyer added.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Jubaland refuses to attend Mogadishu Conference
KISMAYO, Somalia -- The Jubaland administration on Somalia's southern tip officially declared that it wouldn't attend a Mogadishu conference called by the Somali Federal Government on Monday, Garowe Online reports.
That's done it...
Jubaland leader, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) held a press conference in southern port city of Kismayo and said that the Jubaland reconciliation conference was to have taken place in Kismayo, accusing federal government officials of diverting from "the promise".

"I am declaring that Jubaland won't attend the Mogadishu conference," he told the reporters.

Meanwhile, Madobe blamed Somali military forces Chief Gen. Dahir Adan Elmi (Indho-Qarsho) who recently visited Kismayo for campaigning to push armed clan militias led by former warlord, Barre Adan Shire (Barre Hirale) into the southern city, "We welcome all militias including Al Shabaab and Barre Hirale's militiamen who are willing to lay down their arms but they wouldn't be allowed to enter Kismayo" stated Madobe.

Despite undisclosed row between Federal Government of Somalia in Mogadishu and Jubaland, Ahmed Madobe's remarks might show the renewing rifts.

Madobe traveled to Mogadishu where he met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon in September.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Libya Congress Demands U.S. Return Seized Qaida Operative
[An Nahar] Libya's top political authority, the General National Congress, demanded on Tuesday that the United States hand back an alleged al-Qaeda operative its forces seized from Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
in a weekend raid.

A GNC statement read out by front man Omar Hmidan stressed "the need for the immediate surrender" of Abu Anas al-Libi and described the U.S. operation as a "flagrant violation of (Libya's) national illusory sovereignty."
Sure, no problem. How many pieces? That's generally how Islamicists return their prisoners so youse guys should be familiar with the question...
The text, which was passed by the GNC,
The General Nutrition Center is in on this? We're doomed, doomed...
also calls for the "need to allow the Libyan authorities and their families to get in touch with him (Libi) and guarantee them access to a lawyer."

It is the first official statement from Libya that clearly condemns the operation in which Libi was snatched from his car by U.S. forces in broad daylight in a Tripoli street on Saturday.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan insisted earlier on Tuesday that all Libyans should be tried on home soil.

The GNC declaration comes after Libya's justice minister summoned U.S. Ambassador Deborah Jones to answer questions about the surprise raid.

Libi -- whose real name is Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie -- was on the FBI's most wanted list with a $5 million (3.7 million euro) bounty on his head for his alleged role in the 1998 twin bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.

He is reportedly being held aboard a U.S. naval ship in the Mediterranean.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Whose side r they on US or AlQ?
Posted by: Paul D || 10/09/2013 6:43 Comments || Top||

#2  You're welcome.
Posted by: Perfesser || 10/09/2013 6:46 Comments || Top||


White House 'deeply concerned' by Egypt violence
[Al Ahram] The White House says it is "deeply concerned" by the recent violence in Egypt and is calling on the government there to protect all Egyptians.
Including the ones trying to destroy the country?
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan says the Egyptian government has a responsibility to create an atmosphere where all Egyptians "can exercise their universal rights, including free assembly, expression, and press." She says the US condemns all acts of violence and any "incitement to violence."
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  The WH is deeply concerned about their Mo Bros. That's it.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/09/2013 0:04 Comments || Top||

#2  "Stop the violence or we'll block access to pyramids." sorta thing?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/09/2013 4:13 Comments || Top||

#3  "can exercise their universal rights, including free assembly, expression, and press."

All those rights that you are forbidding to Americans? Got it, tyranny for me but not for thee.
Posted by: AlanC || 10/09/2013 7:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Be concerned all you want but stay the hell out of it.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/09/2013 11:26 Comments || Top||

#5  You are right, he only cares about his Islamic whores - or what we will find out about them and him.
Posted by: newc || 10/09/2013 21:37 Comments || Top||


April 6 blames security, Islamists for Egypt violence
[Al Ahram] Egypt's leading youth group the April 6 Youth Movement condemned on Tuesday both sides of the country's deepening polarisation following the past days' violence.
"It's everyone's fault but mine!!" their spokesman shrieked from the sidelines.
Ah, youth groups. Don't they belong in camp somewhere?
Dozens of people, mostly supporters of the Moslem Brüderbund, were killed in festivities pitting Islamists against security forces and opposing civilians on Sunday. It was one of the deadliest days in Egypt since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi
...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
amid mass protests in early July.

April 6 -- which helped initiate the call for the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
-- condemned the "use of force" by police. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
the group also laid blame on Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund for protesting on a national holiday celebrating Egypt's 1973 war with Israel.

"Morsi's supporters should have selected another day to protest, instead of a sacred national occasion for all Egyptians," wrote April 6 co-founder Ahmed Maher.

On 6 October, or 'Armed Forces Day,' Egyptians commemorate the day in which Egypt's army crossed the Suez Canal into Israel-occupied Sinai, eventually regaining control of the vital sea route between Asia and Europe.

Maher noted that April 6 did not participate in Sunday's celebrations in order to avoid the anticipated "confrontations and bloodbath."

April 6 is a member of the recently-established Revolution Path Front, or "Revolutionaries," which opposes both Egypt's army and the Moslem Brüderbund.

The youth group backed Morsi in the 2012 presidential race, but later joined protests against the Moslem Brüderbund as they watched the group attempt to concentrate power in the hands of Islamists.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Libya's PM says Tripoli raid will not affect US ties
[Al Ahram] Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Tuesday relations with the United States would not be affected by the US military raid to capture an al Qaeda suspect in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, but he said Libyan suspects should be tried in Libya.

"Our relationship with the USA is one of friendship and cooperation. They helped us with our revolution. Our relationship will not be affected by this event, which we will settle how we need to," he said during a visit to Morocco.

But he said Libyan citizens should be judged in Libya and Tripoli was in contact with US authorities to "take all necessary measures in this affair."
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Two freed Canadians unable to leave Egypt
Two Canadians released from an Egyptian prison after being held without charges since mid-August were barred from flying out of the country on Sunday, Cairo airport officials said.

John Greyson, a Toronto filmmaker and York University professor, and Tarek Loubani, a physician from London, Ontario, had checked in for a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, but were prevented from boarding the plane after their names appeared on a “stop-list” issued by prosecutors, the airport officials said.

The two Canadians retrieved their luggage and were free to leave the airport, the officials said. The Canadian Foreign Affairs department said Greyson and Loubani were released from an Egyptian prison on Sunday morning.

Lynne Yelich, a junior minister for consular affairs, said in a statement released earlier Sunday that the Canadian government was working to get the pair back home.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They should go to Rick Blaine's place - surely by now he has franchises all across the Sahara:

Captain Renault: Rick, there are many exit visas sold in this café, but we know that *you've* never sold one. That is the reason we permit you to remain open.
Rick: Oh? I thought it was because I let you win at r**lette.
Captain Renault: That is *another* reason.
Posted by: Glenmore || 10/09/2013 7:43 Comments || Top||

#2  John Greyson, a Toronto filmmaker

Mebbe he should do a remake of "On the Road to Morocco"?
Posted by: Pappy || 10/09/2013 11:30 Comments || Top||

#3  the Canadian government was working to get the pair back home... but the embassy was closed due to the sequester
Posted by: Skidmark || 10/09/2013 12:20 Comments || Top||

#4  ...plenty of room at the Hotel California...
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 10/09/2013 13:19 Comments || Top||

#5  I'd like to see them stay there for a few years. They could report on conditions. They could report on whatever. I'd NOT want to see them back in Canuckistan for a long time.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 10/09/2013 19:05 Comments || Top||


Death Toll From Egypt's Weekend Clashes Rises To 57
[Ynet] The corpse count from weekend festivities between Islamists and police has reached 57, a senior Egyptian health ministry official told AFP on Tuesday.

Khaled al-Khatib said that 48 people died in Cairo and nine in other parts of the country. Authorities had previously given a toll of 51. Khatib said a total of 391 people had been injured throughout the country.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  It's getting to be like Chicago over there!
Posted by: SteveS || 10/09/2013 16:51 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Hadi: New Yemen Federal Structure to Be Resolved in Days
[An Nahar] Yemen's president said Tuesday the question of turning the country into a federal state, which has so far delayed a conclusion to reconciliation talks, will be resolved within days.

Addressing participants at a national dialogue session in Sanaa, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi said: "We are a few days away from reaching a just solution to the southern issue... within a united and federal Yemen."

The once-independent southerners are demanding two entities -- one in the north and one in the south -- while northerners want a federal state made up of several regions.

Hadi referred to a "broad national agreement reached on several aspects of a settlement to the southern issue," adding that "it will not be difficult to overcome a few remaining issues."

The dialogue was scheduled to end on September 18 but was delayed after participants, who had already agreed to the concept of a federal structure, failed to agree on the numbers of regions that will constitute the future state.

The dialogue is aimed at drawing up a new constitution for Yemen and preparing for elections in February.

The dialogue offers "a historic opportunity for those who sincerely believe the southern cause is a just one," Hadi said.

The southern question has been a major stumbling-block for the talks launched in March, with hardline factions of the Southern Movement boycotting the discussions and demanding secession.

After the former North and South Yemen united in 1990, the south broke away in 1994, triggering a brief civil war that ended with the region being overrun by northern troops.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Bangladesh
Home fears militant attacks amid volatile politics after Oct 24
[Bangla Daily Star] Banned bully boy outfits plan to carry out terrorist attacks in the country once political turmoil over the polls-time government takes a turn for the worse after October 24, said brass hats of the home ministry and police.

"The recent arrest of some snuffies and Hefajat-e Islam men, and Monday's kaboom at a Chittagong madrasa are not isolated incidents. There is no doubt that they will try to create anarchy," said a senior police official, preferring anonymity.

These elements made attempts to carry out terrorist attacks but couldn't succeed due to the government agencies' constant watch and crackdown on snuffies over the past few years, said the official.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Verdict Leak Plot: BNP now embarrassed
[Bangla Daily Star] The BNP will not announce any programme soon protesting the conviction of its leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury by a war crimes tribunal as the party policymakers are embarrassed about the suspected involvement of Salauddin's lawyer in the leak of the draft verdict, party sources said.

The high-ups of the main opposition party thought that the caretaker government issue should get priority in planning the party's next course of action as the incumbent government has reached the fag end of its tenure and the next general election is due within just over three months.

The party had been almost silent over the trial of war criminals until its standing committee member Salauddin was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on October 1 for committing crimes against humanity in Chittagong during the Liberation War.

The leak of the draft verdict against BNP politician Salauddin provided the party with an opportunity to question the transparency and standard of the trial.

The following day, local BNP units enforced daylong hartal
... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
in Chittagong and Rangamati protesting the verdict.

Party leaders at a presser in the capital alleged that Salauddin did not get justice as his trial was part of the government's "well-thought-out plan to eliminate its political opponents."

On October 3, the party staged demonstrations across the country and organised a rally at the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan protesting what it called "the government plan to wipe out the opposition and destroy all democratic institutions."

But when police accused a lawyer of Salauddin of involvement in the leak of the draft verdict, the scenario changed against the party, BNP sources told The Daily Star.

"Since the beginning of the war crimes trial, BNP was in an uncomfortable position. Without making any comments on the trail, it just called for ensuring transparency and international standards," said a BNP national standing committee member, wishing anonymity.

There is a strong opinion in the party on the Salauddin issue for not taking a strong stance in favour of the convict, he added.

Rafiqul Islam Mia, a member of BNP standing committee, complained that the government was guilty of leaking the draft verdict against the BNP leader as it was "leaked from the law ministry."

Another standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said BNP's stance is clear. "We too want trial of war criminals. But it must maintain transparency and international standards," he noted.

Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Britain
Fourth Briton Stripped Of Citizenship For Al Shabaab Links
[InvestorsBusinessTimes] A fourth man with alleged links to the al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
terrorist organization has been stripped of his British citizenship by Home Secretary Theresa May, as a fifth battles extradition to Æthiopia.

Walla Rahman, 31, from west London, has been linked with a kaboom on two bars in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010, where 74 people were killed while watching the World Cup final.

Rahman is believed to have been an associate of Bilal al-Berjawi, 27, and Mohammed Sakr, 26, al-Shabaab activists from the UK who were stripped of their citizenship before dying in a US drone strike in Somalia in 2010.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Rahman's father revealed that his son had had his citizenship revoked, and said he was appealing against the decision. He said that Rahman moved to the UK from Sudan aged 10, and had returned to the West African country five years ago.

Al-Berjawi was born in Leb and moved to the UK as a child, where he met Mohammed Sakr, a dual Egyptian and UK national.

The two travelled to Somalia, where al-Berjawi rose to become second in command of al-Shabaab. His death reportedly led to a power struggle at the top of the organization.

Since becoming home secretary in 2010, May has stripped 17 Britons of their citizenship, with all but one of them Mohammedans, using anti-terrorism legislation passed in 2006.
Another Briton, Somali-born Mahdhi Hashi, 24, a former community worker from Camden, north London, is due to stand trial in New York accused of being part of an "an elite al-Shabaab suicide kaboom unit", and involved in helping the group develop chemical weapons for use in terrorist attacks.

Hashi travelled to Somalia last summer and disappeared. He re-emerged in US custody soon after having his British citizenship revoked. He is currently on hunger strike in detention in New York in protest at his detention and isolation.

He claims that he was repeatedly harassed by UK security prior to his arrest, and that MI5 attempted to persuade him to inform on Islamist gunnies for them. He further claims that he has been tortured by the CIA while in jug.

Labour peer and QC Baroness Kennedy has stated that Hashi's citizenship was illegally revoked, as he was not given the time or opportunity to appeal.

Another man alleged to have provided material support to al-Berjawi, Sakr and Rahman is currently battling extradition to Æthiopia, where he claims he could be tortured by security services.

The so-called 'White Widow', Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay, is currently wanted on terrorism charges and is alleged to have links to al-Shabaab.

Initial reports implicated Lewthwaite in the recent attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, by al-Shabaab gunnies, but authorities have denied she was involved.

All of those people stripped of their citizenship had dual nationality, as Britannia is legally barred from rendering people stateless.

Since becoming home secretary in 2010, May has stripped 17 Britons of their citizenship, with all but one of them Mohammedans, using anti-terrorism legislation passed in 2006.

The practice has attracted controversy, with critics saying that a law that allows the home secreatry to strip people of their citizenship without a crime having been proved, without legal oversight, and without fair recourse to appeal is ripe for abuse.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

#1  If it aint the brit born pakis its the bloody somalians playing up. Thanks Tony Blair for welcoming the most useless bunch of people to arrive in the UK.
Posted by: Paul D || 10/09/2013 6:53 Comments || Top||

#2  No worries, you're always welcome on the Washington Mall.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/09/2013 10:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Dang, Besoeker, that really hurts.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/09/2013 15:14 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Rebels Blame Colombia Defense Chief for Stalled Peace Talks
[An Nahar] Colombian rebels blamed a lack of progress in peace negotiations on the country's defense minister, whom they accused of trying to undermine the talks.

After 11 months of negotiations, the Bogota government and leftist fighters from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
have reached a deal on just one key issue -- agrarian reform -- with progress stalled on four other agenda items.

Top FARC negotiator Ivan Marquez accused Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon of playing the role of "sniper" during the negotiations -- shooting down suggestions and "blowing the Havana talks to pieces."

"He gives us the impression... of not taking the government line during the talks, but instead yielding to an anti-peace line" espoused by former president Alvaro Uribe, who Marquez called "the number one enemy of a political solution."

The peace talks pursued by Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos have been roundly rejected by his predecessor Uribe, who is opposed to negotiating with rebels.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea Warns U.S. of 'Disaster' over Joint Naval Drill
[An Nahar] North Korea on Tuesday warned the United States of a "horrible disaster" and put its troops on alert over a massive joint naval drill involving a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier alongside South Korean and Japanese vessels.

The warning came after Seoul and Washington last week signed a new joint strategy to counter the growing threat of a North Korean nuclear attack after the communist country restarted an ageing plutonium reactor.

That accord also drew a sharp rebuke, with analysts attributing the isolated regime's recent bellicose rhetoric to its desire to arouse the United States' attention and draw it back into long-stalled talks.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Return of NORTH-KOREA-VS-USS-GEORGE-WASHINGTON.

OTOH, the DPRK is perfect patsy for China as per China-ordered, DPRK-carried-out/executed milaction = Conventional, Nuclear [Tacnuke only?], or Mixed? "First Strike" agz US Allies in NE Asia include northern Philippines.

Preemptive strike???

I remain steadfast to the opinion that China will prefer to militarily wage a LIMITED CONVENTIONAL WAR, or at worst a LIMITED [Tactical]]NUCLEAR WAR in East Asia, NOT "ALL-OUT" OR "MAD" WAR IN ECS + SCS; + that both China + US-Allies will want Mama Russia to sit out any mil conflict in neutral.

Lest we fergit, CHINA HAS TIMES STATED ON THE MSM-NET THAT IT SEES ITSELF AS THE EQUAL OF THE US IN ASIA-PACIFIC OR AS A GREAT/WORLD POWER.

China sees the USDOD everywhere just off its coasts - it does NOT see PLA anywhere just off US coasts.

Whatever its initial warfighting deficiencies are agz the US-Allies, CHINA WILL NOT STOP UNTIL IT ACHIEVES ITS SELF-PERCEIVED "MANIFEST DESTINY" GOALS IN "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN" + AMAP BEYOND.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/09/2013 0:56 Comments || Top||

#2  The George Washington in contested waters without an active carrier group defense. I'm thinking USS Cole, The Cheonan and NK mini-subs.
Posted by: Skidmark || 10/09/2013 3:10 Comments || Top||

#3  If there's a CVN there's a battle group surrounding it. Bad writing I think.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/09/2013 5:18 Comments || Top||

#4  What are the NORK's going to do, close down the GW Parkway and bike trails ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/09/2013 11:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Bad writing I think.

More like typical journalism.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/09/2013 11:32 Comments || Top||


China police target online "jihad" talk amid rumour crackdown
[Al Ahram] Police in China's Xinjiang region are cracking down on people who promote jihad online, state media reported on Tuesday, amid a nationwide campaign against internet rumours that activists say is a blow to freedom of speech.

Sprawling Xinjiang is home to the mostly Mohammedan Uighur ethnic minority, many of whom harbour resentment of what they see as Chinese repression of their culture and religion. Some are campaigning for a separate Mohammedan state and there have been incidents of violence.

Xinjiang police were investigating 256 people for spreading "destabilising rumours" online, the Xinjiang Daily newspaper said. Of those, 139 spread rumours about jihad, or Mohammedan holy war, or other religious ideas. More than 100 jugged
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
'>were tossed into the calaboose
.

"Our local public security bureaus are strongly cracking down on those who engage in illegal activities online," the newspaper said. "Xinijang must not allow the internet to become a platform for crime."

Authorities frequently detain and arrest Uighurs for activities that they say extol religious militancy and ethnic separatism. But the latest crackdown is linked to a nationwide campaign against online rumours.

The newspaper did not say whether those detained were Uighur or from the majority Han ethnic group.

Rights activists say the action against internet rumours is a new way for authorities to curb criticism.

Dilxat Raxit, a front man for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said the government campaign was aimed at stopping Uighurs from getting information on the Internet.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: East Turkestan Islamic Movement


Xi Pledges to Stand Firm Against N.Korean Nukes
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday said he is against North Korea having nuclear weapons and firmly opposes any more nuclear tests, a senior government official here said. Xi made the remarks when he met President Park Geun-hye in Bali, Indonesia on the sidelines of the APEC summit. It was already their third meeting this year.

Xi pledged that China will "strictly abide by UN Security Council resolutions" against North Korea. "We need to prevent a repeat of the vicious cycle related to the North Korean nuclear issue," he added.
When he cuts the oil imports to North Korea then I'll believe he's serious...
He also called for an early resumption of the six-party nuclear disarmament talks "as it's impossible to resolve" the issue "through the use of force."
That's not exactly true...
Park called on Xi to try to persuade the North to give up on nuclear weapons and focus instead on economic development.

The North Korean regime cannot afford to "concentrate all its energy on developing nuclear weapons" in view of reports that many North Koreans are suffering from chronic malnutrition, she said.

"The North needs to stop enhancing its nuclear capabilities. We're grateful to China for cooperating with us," she added.
That's going to make Pudgy's ears go red...
Park also expressed support for a Chinese export ban to North Korea of goods that could be used in making nuclear weapons and materials.

"Our fundamental view is that the North should be denuclearized in a way that is helpful to achieving substantial progress," she said. "It's important to realize the complete and verifiable denuclearization as early as possible."

But she differed from Xi over the six-party talks, saying the North must first take concrete steps to end its nuclear program.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Again, unless something major changes, EFFECTIVE INTER-KOREAN REUNIFICATION = it may be in the US-ROK-Allied interest for the DPRK to dev nukes, which in turn will lead the ROK to dev nukes, which in turn will lead to de facto reunification.

Unitl then, the clock is ticking agz the DPRK as to when China will formally annex the DPRK.

To avoid final Chinese annexation, KJU may just do something militarily desperate to overtly or covertly invoke US-China war.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/09/2013 3:30 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Obama: Libi behind Plots that Killed Hundreds, Will be Brought to Justice
[An Nahar] An alleged top al-Qaeda operative snatched in a U.S. commando raid in Libya was involved in plots that killed Americans and will be brought to justice, U.S. President Barack Obama
I am not a dictator!...
said Tuesday.

Vowing that the United States will continue to hunt down regional terror groups, Obama told news hounds that Abu Anas al-Libi "helped plan and execute plots that killed hundreds of people, a whole lot of Americans. We have strong evidence of that. And he will be brought to justice."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Pentagon Names Envoy to Shut Gitmo
[An Nahar] The Pentagon on Tuesday named an envoy to shut down the controversial prison at Guantanamo Bay, showing renewed commitment to U.S. President Barack Obama
We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us...
's elusive goal.

Paul Lewis, formerly a legal expert for the House of Representatives on Guantanamo,
...he was the minority counsel. That explains it better...
will look at ways to close the jail and transfer detainees to third countries, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

"This announcement reflects the department's commitment to implementing the president's directive to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," a Pentagon statement said.

Lewis, who teaches ethics at Georgetown University,
He's all about 'social justice' which will tell you all you need to know about how he's going to approach this job...
will work with Cliff Sloan, a friend of Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
who was named to a similar position at the State Department in June.

Obama had promised to close the prison set up under his predecessor George W. Bush within one year of taking office in 2009, saying that the indefinite detention of suspects on terrorism charges at the naval base in Cuba did not reflect U.S. values of rule of law.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Wid the Hard Boyz busy in African Jihad + Al-Qaeda pushing out the domestics in Syria, the Bammer clearly must mean to expand Gitmo, not close it???

This threat to close Gitmo is as laughably serious as about getting rid of Baby Assad.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/09/2013 3:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Heh. Talk about a "no show" job...

Obama had promised to close the prison set up under his predecessor George W. Bush within one year of taking office in 2009...

Jeez, it's almost like he...lied.
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/09/2013 7:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Is this anything like appointing commission? Will closing Gitmo require an environmental impact statement?
Posted by: Matt || 10/09/2013 9:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Considering the park police is getting experience at closing things maybe the guys closing Yellowstone would be a good crew.
Posted by: Airandee || 10/09/2013 18:50 Comments || Top||

#5  I bet it will cost more to close than to open.
Posted by: Airandee || 10/09/2013 18:50 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
BB murder case: ATC accepts re-trial plea
[Dawn] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi Tuesday accepted a request to hold fresh trial of a case pertaining to the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
, DawnNews reported.

The counsel for Tanveer Kaira Sardar Latif Khosa and accused persons former City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khurram Shahzad attended today's hearing in the ATC.

During the hearing, the defence and prosecuting lawyers presented their arguments over the application seeking to prevent the main accused former military ruler Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
from becoming a party in the case.

Akhtar Shah, belonging to the Pakistain Social Justice Party, argued that being a former president of the country, Pervez Musharraf could not be held responsible in the case, adding that the president's office enjoyed complete immunity.

Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) prosecutor Chaudhry opposed the application and said that Akhtar Shah could not become a party in the case.

The court reserved its judgment on the application seeking to prevent Musharraf from becoming a party in the case and later, dismissed the said request.

The court accepted the request seeking a re-trial of the case and ordered the FIA to present a list of witnesses at the next hearing.

The hearing of the case was subsequently adjourned to October 22.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-kaboom outside Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007. She was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in the city.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


IHC seeks report from anti-terrorism judge
[Dawn] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought a report from the special judge of Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) Atiqur Rehman for extending the interim bail of alleged extorters five consecutive times.

According to the recommendations of the National Judicial Policy (NJP) 2009, a trial court has to decide the bail plea of an accused within five days.

Therefore, the court can only provide one interim-bail and its period cannot be extended beyond five days.

However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
when Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC resumed hearing of the extortion case on Monday, the petitioner's counsel informed the court that the ATC had granted five extensions in the interim bail of alleged extorters Malik Safdar and others.

The case is based on a petition filed by Amanullah Sheeno, an Afghan national who used to be a vegetable seller in the Fruit and Vegetable Market of Sector I-11. Allegedly, he had later started collecting extortion sum from traders in the name of protection money.

He had approached the court in July alleging that police officials had registered a fake case against him stating that he was involved in collecting extortion. He alleged that the case was registered after he refused to pay extortion to the police.

The IHC then ordered the inspector general (IG) of Islamabad police to take action against all extorters in the market. Subsequently, the police locked away
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
Sheeno and his rivals Malik Safdar and Tariq Safdar. Sheeno is currently in the custody of the Sabzi Mandi police,

The two brothers, Tariq and Malik, later managed to obtain an interim bail from the ATC, and on Monday, Judge Atiqur Rehman gave them another extension in the bail on Monday.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Govt silent over extremists' hide collection drive
[Dawn] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
government on Monday kept mum during the provincial assembly session about the hide collection campaign by myrmidon groups in the province ahead of Eidul Azha.

Awami National Party parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak, who raised the issue on a point of order, said workers of various myrmidon groups had begun wall chalking, displayed posters and circulated handbills in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


International-UN-NGOs
Israel Slams UN Decision To Allow Iran To Join WMD Watchdog
[Ynet] Israel has lodged a complaint against a UN decision to accept Iran into its chemical weapons watchdog with the committee in charged with regulating the field.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor wrote in a letter to UN Gen.-Sec. the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
that a country that is under UN Security Council sanctions because of its nuclear arms program should not be appointed to a position in which it reports to the UN about the state of weapons of mass destruction."
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  The world is going insane. The UN has been there for decades.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/09/2013 0:06 Comments || Top||

#2  ISRAEL KNOWS IRAN + OTHER POST-"SPRING" ISLAMIST GOVTS WIL DEMAND ISRAEL SURRENDER TO UN MONITORING + REGULATION OF ITS STRATEGIC ARSENAL.

Welcome, Tel Aviv = Israel, to OWG-NWO + anti-US Globalism's "Multipolar/Polycentric" + "Co-Superpower" World.

AKA IRAN being the World's first Islamic/Islamist Global Nuclear Superpower.

At least until the Saudis get their repor desired anti-Iran, anti-Shia "SUNNI AWAKENING/CALIPHATE" up-n-running.

SEVEN OWG GLOBAL FEDERAL UNIONS FOR SEVEN "CO-SUPERPOWERS" FOR SEVEN CONTINENTS - WILL A SAUDI, SUNNI NUCLEAR SUPERPOWER MAKE EIGHT???

D *** NG IT, I DON'T THINK THE OWG + PLANET HAS ENOUGH CONTINENTS FOR THAT!

So there.

* TOPIX > [Foreign Policy] ADVANTAGE: IRAN.

* SAME > [Russia Today] LAVROV: SIX TO NINE MONTHS ENOUGH TIME TO RESOLVE IRAN NUCLEAR ISSUE.

Summer 2014 strikes again.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/09/2013 0:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Inmates running the asylum; Here's Johnny!
Posted by: Raj || 10/09/2013 1:07 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iran, Iraq sign deal on gas pipeline construction
Iran and Iraq have signed an agreement for the construction of a pipeline that will carry natural gas from Iran to feed power plants in the southern Iraqi province of Basra, PressTV reported.
Iraq doesn't have any natural gas?
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Basra Governor Majeed al-Nasrawi stated that the pipeline project, which is expected to come on-stream by next summer, has been awarded to an Iranian company. He further noted that the local government in Basra has even sought cooperation from Iranian companies to develop subway network in Basra, and construct railroad connecting Iran and Iraq.

On July 21, Iran signed an agreement with Iraq to deliver natural gas to its western neighbor. Based on the agreement, 25 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas will be delivered to Sadr, Baghdad and al-Mansouryah power plants through pipeline.

The 270-kilometer pipeline is estimated to earn Iran USD 3.7 billion a year in revenue.
The pipeline will stretch from Assaluyeh, near the massive offshore South Pars gas field in southern Iran, and will continue into neighboring Iraq to feed Iraqi power plants running on gas. The South Pars gas field is located in the Persian Gulf on the common border between Iran and Qatar. It is estimated that the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensate.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel sets terms for reaching peace deal with Paleos
The Palestinians must "recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people" in order to achieve real peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

"The Palestinians must abandon their refusal to recognise the right of the Jewish people to their national state," he said in a speech at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv.

Such recognition was "a condition for reaching an agreement at the end of negotiations, but not for launching them", he said.

Peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis were relaunched in July under the auspices of the United States after nearly three years of impasse. The direct talks, which are being held in Israel and the West Bank under a US-imposed media blackout, have been set to last nine months, and have so far yielded no concrete results.
Surprise!
"The root of the conflict is the Jewish state," Netanyahu said, refuting the argument that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and settlement there were the cause of the decades-old confrontation with the Palestinians.
Since the Paleos were all wound up even before the evil Joooz had beaten Jordan in the 1967 war...
They've been wound up since the 1920s, long before Israel was made an independent nation by the U.N.
"Are you finally ready to recognise the Jewish state, the national state of the Jewish people?" he asked, directly addressing Palestinian leaders, deploring that their response so far to that question has been "no".

"So long as the Palestinians do not recognise this right, there will be no true peace," the premier warned his audience at the Bar Ilan auditorium.
It's good that he says this, and it's a shame the world won't hear it...
As for other conditions to a final peace agreement, Netanyahu urged the Palestinians to "renounce the right of return" for refugees, and reiterated the need for "solid security arrangements that meet the real security needs of Israel".
Posted by: Steve White || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Bah. The PLO, in order to become the Palestinian Authority over the West Bank and Gaza, had agreed to amend their charter to acknowledge this very thing, but they drug their feet and never followed through.
Posted by: Ptah || 10/09/2013 11:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Whoa! The Paleos lied?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/09/2013 12:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Easy Frank......
Posted by: Shipman || 10/09/2013 14:53 Comments || Top||

#4  I think I have duh vapors.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 10/09/2013 15:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Correct me if I'm wrong, but, shouldn't the declaration by one "nation" that a second nation has no right to exist equivalent to a declaration of war?

Seems to me that Israel should say okay and annex all of the West Bank sending the Paleos east.
Posted by: AlanC || 10/09/2013 15:37 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Suleiman Criticizes Monday's Syria Raids on Arsal
[An Nahar] President Michel Suleiman
...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
on Tuesday criticized Syria for a cross-border raid that he said targeted an ambulance in the Bekaa town of Arsal, causing no injuries.

Local officials said the attack was carried out on Monday night by Syrian war planes that fired at an area in the Arsal region, which has regularly been targeted by cross-border strikes.

In a statement, Suleiman said "an ambulance was targeted by Syrian rockets" and called for humanitarian bodies to be protected from "conflict and hostilities".

Local officials confirmed the attack.

"Syrian war planes targeted an ambulance in the Wadi Hmayyed area in Arsal's barren mountain, but there were no injuries," an official told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.

A security source said war planes had fired five rockets in the attack.

The Arsal area is broadly supportive of the Sunni-dominated uprising against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
The mountainous area has long been a smuggling haven, with multiple routes into Syria that have been used since the conflict began in March 2011 to transport weapons and fighters.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Rick Steves just called me up and dictated this. Kinda creeped me out, but it reflects my feelings about a certain expression used waaaay too often by an otherwise beloved ancestor of mine.

Stretching travel dinero in troublesome times?
Why not pay a visit to Levantine climes?
It's a land that will greet you with wide open arms
Where the silvery moon glitters over the palms
Are you looking to get off the old beaten path?
You're not squeamish about actuarial math?
If you're an odd fellow or my name is Rebekah,
You are certain to love this touristical Mecca!
Now, getting around isn't much of a fuss
You can travel by camel or moto or bus.
If you drive, they will think that your car is da bomb
So impress 'em -- burn rubber and holler "Salaam!"
You won't need to bother to ask for directions
'Cause things are split up into orderly sections.
Now once in a while you may get a rare treat
When you meet a parade of armed men in the street.
Please don't be self-conscious -- it's perfectly fine
To slap your own booty in a Leb second line.

Way out in the Bekaa, one stop short of Syria,
Stop and feast on falafel beneath the wisteria.
If you're lucky and happen to chat with a local,
You'll probably find him both friendly and vocal.
Have fun, but remember this word to the wise:
Here friendship is found in mysterious guise.
In this part of the East -- I am casting no blame --
Some folks aren't so great at the etiquette game.
If your waiter is muttering into his phone,
And he spits in your drink and then leaves you alone,
That's just his best effort at breaking the ice:
They hold hands over here, so do try it -- it's nice!
If he glares at you hawklike, eyes hot with desire
As if he could kiss you, then set you on fire...
If a curious cop takes a poke at your nuts...
If militia insist that you must feel their butts...
Don't be so standoffish, you old fuddy-duddy --
It's their way of showing you're their Arsal buddy!
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 10/09/2013 21:32 Comments || Top||


Report: Fifth Suspect in Hariri Assassination Identified
[An Nahar] A new suspect linked to the 2005 liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has been identified, reported the daily An Nahar on Tuesday.

It said that the identity of the suspect was determined based on the initial findings of former United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
investigator in the case Detlev Mehlis.

Mehlis' 2005 report on the murder said that a number of high-ranking Lebanese and Syrian officials were involved in the crime.

He however did not name any of the officials.

Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive boom-mobile in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

An indictment by the Special Tribunal for Leb investigating the crime accused four Hizbullah members of being involved in the attack.

Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
has slammed the tribunal, saying that it an American-Israeli product bent on destroying the party.

He vowed that the party will not cooperate with the STL and that the suspects will never be found.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


First Video Shows Inspectors at Syria Chemical Arms Sites
[An Nahar] A first video showing international weapons inspectors at work inside a Syrian chemical facility was released on Tuesday, a week after the disarmament experts began their mission.

The footage, provided by Syrian state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, shows several weapons inspectors in protective gear, including helmets, gloves and in one instance a gas mask, inside a building.

One inspector applies a label bearing the logo of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and a serial number to a control panel before taking a photo of it.

Other inspectors can be seen carrying out the same process.

Additional footage shows an inspector wearing a gas mask and gloves alongside large container barrels inside cage frames.

He holds a device near them and appears to be taking readings from underneath the barrels.

The video, which runs just over a minute and a half, includes no sound of the inspectors talking or describing their work. There is no indication of where the work is taking place.

OPCW front man Michael Luhan said the footage had been released by the Syrian government, which was the only party that could describe it in detail because of confidentiality rules.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
he confirmed the images of the inspectors at work in Syria were authentic.

"What they're doing is applying these seals and labels and so forth that's part of securing the facilities," he said.

"They go to these facilities and verify contents, they will also apply seals so that they cannot be tampered with without it being known," he added.

He said the footage appeared to show the inspectors in a "control room" that was "presumably in a production facility".

Inspectors in a joint U.N.-OPCW team arrived in Syria a week ago to begin the daunting task of verifying Syria's chemical arsenal and overseeing its destruction.

They are tasked under a U.N. Security Council resolution with destroying the arsenal by mid-2014.

Syria, which is believed to have 1,000 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and other banned chemicals at some 45 sites, agreed to give up the arms under a U.S.-Russian deal.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Iran Jails Dissident for Six Years
[An Nahar] A Tehran court has placed in durance vile
Please don't kill me!
dissident Mehdi Khazali for six years for acting against national security, media reports said Tuesday.

Khazali was charged in Tehran's Revolutionary court for "disturbing national security and propaganda against the establishment," the Fars news agency reported, quoting defense lawyer Mostafa Tork Hamedani.

Khazali, released on bail in June after being tossed in the clink
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in January, will appeal the verdict, the lawyer said.

Agence La Belle France Presse could not independently confirm the report.

In February 2012, Khazali had been reportedly convicted of the same charges, and was handed sentences including 14 years in jail, according to human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
organizations.

A fierce critic of hardline ex-president Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, Khazali has been arrested on several occasions in recent years.

He was among scores of reformist politicians, journalists, human rights campaigners and student activists tossed in the slammer
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
in popular protests against Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Chemical Watchdog Says Will Deploy Second Team to Syria
[An Nahar] The world's chemical watchdog said Tuesday it will send a second team of inspectors to help dismantle Syria's arsenal, as regime warplanes bombed rebels in the northwest of the country.

Meanwhile Russia praised Damascus for "very actively" cooperating with the chemical weapons inspectors already on the ground.

The ongoing violence underlined comments on Monday from U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
, who warned that the weapons inspectors face unprecedented danger.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council, Ban said it would take 100 foreign experts to complete "an operation the likes of which, quite simply, has never been tried before".

On Tuesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it would send a second team to Damascus to bolster an existing U.N.-OPCW group on the ground.

"That will augment the advance team of OPCW experts, who have been in Syria since 1 October conducting verification and destruction activities," it said, without providing further details on the new inspectors.

OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said the process of destroying Syria's chemical arsenal would be "long and difficult" but welcomed a "constructive beginning" to the operation.

The inspectors have until mid-2014 to verify and destroy Syria's chemical arsenal under the terms of a U.N. Security Council resolution that enshrines a U.S.-Russian deal.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Turkey Says Not Aiding Qaida-Linked Syria Rebels
[An Nahar] Turkey on Tuesday said it has never allowed al-Qaeda-linked Syria rebels to use its territory to launch attacks against the Damascus regime, after Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
accused Ankara of turning a blind eye to terrorists.

"Turkey has never allowed al-Qaeda-linked groups, it has never allowed them to cross its borders," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a news conference in Ankara.

"Turkey is on the frontline of countries fighting against terrorism in the most determined fashion."

His remarks came after Assad said last week that Ankara was tolerating the presence of al-Qaeda-linked rebels on the long the volatile border between the two countries. There are several hardline Islamist groups among the numerous rebel formations fighting in Syria.

Al-Qaeda in Syria is fighting to drive rivals out of areas bordering Turkey and Iraq in a bid to control territory stretching from Iraq into northern Syria, observers say.
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant


Hague: Britain, Iran to Appoint Non-Resident Diplomat to Build Ties
[An Nahar] Britannia and Iran will each appoint a charge d'affaires to work towards resuming ties severed after a mob attacked the British embassy in Tehran in 2011, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday.

The diplomats, one level below ambassador, will remain in their respective countries but will look into re-opening the British and Iranian embassies in London and Tehran, Hague told the House of Commons.

The breakthrough follows the election of a new president in Iran, Hassan Rouhani, which has seen a thawing of ties between the Islamic republic and the United States.

Hague met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif twice on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, and spoke on the telephone with him on Monday.

"I've made very clear to Mr Zarif that we are open to more direct contact and further improvements in our bilateral relations," Hague said.

"We have therefore agreed that both our countries will now appoint a non-resident charge d'affaires tasked with implementing the building of relations, including interim steps on the way towards the eventual reopening of both our embassies, as well as dialogue on other issues of mutual concern."
Posted by: Fred || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Steinitz: Iranian Economy 18 Months Away From Collapse
One man's opinion...
[Jpost] Sanctions have cost about $100 billion damage to Tehran's economy, inflation is currently running at 40% a year.

Steinitz, speaking at a conference at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said that over the last 18-24 months the international sanctions have caused about $100 billion in damage to the country's economy, which has an annual $450 billion GDP.

In addition, he said, inflation in Iran is currently running at 40 percent a year, and the unemployment rate is between 25%-30%, with the rate among youth at about 40%.

The rial, Iran's currency, has been devalued by 180%, and the country has a negative economic growth of 5.4%.

He said that the sanctions have effectively cut Iran off from the world's financial system, making it very difficult to do business. At this rate, he predicted the Iranian economy will collapse in another year-and-a-half, something that led to the rise of Iran's diminutive President Hassan Rouhani.

"The pressure works, it is effective," Steinitz said. "If we add to this pressure a credible military threat, the chances will be greatly improved."

Steinitz said the combination of a credible military threat and diplomacy that succeeded in getting Syria to begin dismantling its chemical weapons stockpiles will work against Iran as well.

Syria, he said, showed that there was truth in the slogan "the greater the pressure, the greater the chances for diplomacy to succeed."

According to Steinitz, "the constellations came together" in the right way and led Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
to do something no one dreamed even six months ago that he would do: begin ridding Syria of chemical weapons.

This came about, Steinitz said, because of Assad's interest in survival; the US determination to set a redline and stand firmly behind it; a Russian desire to prevent an attack on Syria that could endanger the Assad regime; and a joint US-Russian desire to finally gain a diplomatic achievement after two years of doing little regarding the bloody Syrian Civil War.

While the agreement to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons was not done for Israel, "this is an example of how -- despite our own instincts -- that geopolitical events sometimes redound in Israel's favor."

Steinitz said that the Syrian agreement would "not have been possible without a credible US military threat."

He repeated what Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has made clear over the last few days, that Israel was not opposed to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian crisis as long as Iran was left without the capacity to build a nuclear bomb.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Just like North Korea?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/09/2013 4:16 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
'Hate group' sues to re-run ads on Metro buses
Posting this because of the obvious bias of the reporter
By LEVI PULKKINEN Seattlepi.com

SEATTLE -- An anti-Muslim organization has sued the King County for refusing to allow the purported hate group to re-run controversial FBI advertisements on Metro buses.
For the record I don't think Pam Geller's group hate, or even dislike, all muslims - neither does the FBI. This is targeting TERRIROSTS - it is the mind of the reporter that links Terrorism with Muslims.
Metro previously allowed the FBI's "Faces of Global Terrorism" announcements to appear on the buses before the bureau pulled the ads. The FBI ads - which picture 16 terrorism suspects, most of whom are non-white, Muslim and living overseas - were dropped in June over concerns they perpetuated negative stereotypes of Muslims.
So, in this alleged reporter's mind only whites should have been pictured.
The New York-based American Freedom Defense Initiative and organization president Pamela Geller have sued King County claiming the county is violating the free speech rights of the organization's members by not allowing it to replicate the defunct FBI ads.

Geller's better known organization, Stop Islamization of America, has been named as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
I consider being named an hate group by the SPLC a badge of Honor.
Geller gained some national attention for opposing an Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan in 2010, which she and Robert Spencer - vice president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and a plaintiff in the King County lawsuit - famously and falsely described as a "victory mosque" celebrating the Sept. 11 attacks.

Geller has more recently made outlandish claims about President Obama's parentage, denied the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims and established close ties to white supremacist organizations.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, she and Spencer were cited in the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian gunman who killed 77 people on a political retreat. Following the tragedy, Geller said the slain campers were playing "anti-Semitic war games," had a "pro-Islamic agenda," and were not "pure Norwegian."
I thought this article was about the bus advertisement. I guess its really a hit piece on Geller and Spencer.
The pair have also used advertisements on public property to spark controversy, most recently by buying ads in New York City describing Muslims as "savages."
Now that is a flat out LIE. Savages everywhere demand an apology.
Now, Spencer and Geller would like to replicate an FBI announcement previously posted on the sides of Metro buses as well as billboards around Seattle.

According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Metro rejected the American Freedom Defense Initiative advertisement on the grounds that it is misleading, demeaning and disruptive. Attorneys for the group contend Metro simply doesn't like the message and is limiting speech inappropriately.

Among the critics of the FBI ads was U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle,
D- Al-Qaeda is more like it
who faulted the ads for "pointing a finger at a group of people, profiling them."
It profiles TERRORISTS! If, in your mind, terrorist == muslim then its your problem.
"I don't think that's fair and I don't think its good for our society," McDermott told The Associated Press in June. "It doesn't make us safer."
We also have a habit of profiling criminals, murderers, kidnappers, baby-rapers and sleezy politicians - and that is GOOD for society.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/09/2013 18:52 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:



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Wed 2013-10-09
  Egypt Strips Muslim Brotherhood of NGO Status
Tue 2013-10-08
  Egypt: Huge Explosion Hits Security HQ In Sinai
Mon 2013-10-07
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Wed 2013-10-02
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