(Xinhua) -- Following harsh criticism by western leaders, Afghan government has formed a high-level anti-corruption body -- Major Crimes Task Force -- to check and investigate graft and bribery in government bodies and among senior officials to fight corruption in the post Taliban country, Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said Monday.
Good luck, guys.
"Major Crimes Task Force, consisting of investigators from Interior Ministry and National Directorate Security, was formed to investigate kidnapping, public and administration corruption, as well as organized crimes," Atmar told a press conference.
Flanked by U.S. and British ambassadors to Afghanistan, Atmar stressed that, "No high officials involved in corruption would have immunity from the law anymore."
"Fighting corruption is the first priority of government in the next five years," he further emphasized.
The new anti-corruption body has been formed in the wake of criticism by the world leaders including President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who warned that donor nations would review their assistance if corruption is not checked.
President Hamid Karzai who is going to form his new administration within weeks said earlier this month that no corrupt official would have place in next government.
"The leadership of Afghanistan is committed to fight corruption," Afghan Interior Minister Atmar said and added, "The only problem we had in the past was lack of comprehensive strategy to fight the menace of corruption."
However, Afghan minister ruled out outside pressure in formation of the new anti-corruption body and added, "The institution was formed eight months ago, but we did not have essential facilities to investigate corruption-related cases."
He also admitted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)and Europe would support the newly formed anti-corruption organ in carrying out its responsibilities.
According to Atmar, more than 100 officials from the interior ministry had been prosecuted on charge of involvement in corruption over the past six months.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
jobs created or saved would be a good place to start the corruption probe
(Xinhua) -- The Somali Islamist rebel group of Al-Shabaab on Sunday accused the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) of being "an obstacle" to the war ravaged country's agricultural production.
Spokesman for the militant group, Ali Mohamoud Raage, said the UN food agency "deliberately" imports food aid during harvest seasons in Somalia to discourage farmers from growing food grains.
"WFP is an obstacle to the agricultural production of Somalia because they bring in spoilt grain when farmers are harvesting their crops," Raage said as he spoke in the southern port town of Merka, 100 km south of Mogadishu.
The Islamist official claimed that his group found out from farmers and intellectuals they consulted that the UN food agency was discouraging farmers from growing food grains, saying the local farmers have been given "money and machinery so that fruits and vegetables be grown instead of food grains".
"We can do without WFP' spoilt maize. If we put our trust in Allah we will have prosperity," the Islamist official said.
The Islamist Al-Shabaab movement which controls much of south and center of Somalia have previously banned the operations of several UN agencies in areas under their control.
The group which is alleged to have links to Al-Qaeda considers the UN as a tool used by the west and in particular the United States which they see as their sworn enemy.
WFP has scaled down its operations in the south and center of Somalia following the deteriorating security situation which led the death, injury and abduction of several local and international aid workers.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric accused Iran on Monday of supporting Shiite rebels whose war with the government of neighboring Yemen has spilled across the border and drawn in Saudi firepower.
Yemen and the Saudis have accused Iran of sending money and weapons to the rebels to aid their fight against government forces - a sporadic five-year battle that has intensified dramatically since August. Iran denies the charge.
The rebels prompted the intervention of Saudi warplanes and artillery at the start of this month by attacking a Saudi patrol across the border.
The fighting has raised concerns of another proxy war in the Middle East between the region's dominant Shiite power, Iran, and Sunni rival Saudi Arabia, a key Arab ally of the United States.
The Saudi cleric, Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh, said the purported collaboration between Iran and the rebels was one of sin and aggression, according to Al-Watan newspaper. Al Sheikh said the kingdom has the right to defend itself against the rebels. According to the report, the cleric urged the rebels to repent ... and know that their actions are wrong.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has confirmed that all armed infiltrators have been driven from Saudi territory by the country's security forces. King Abdullah gave this assurance at the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers Monday at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.
The King said that all residents evacuated from the villages affected by the fighting are being cared for by the government. The King also expressed his appreciation for the support and solidarity shown by countries in the region for the military action taken by the government to protect its citizens and defend its sovereignty.
In a statement following the Cabinet session, Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Mohieddin Khoja, Minister of Information, said the Council valued the support for its military action by a number of Gulf countries.
This support for Saudi Arabia came during the second ministerial council meeting for GCC foreign ministers that concluded in Doha last week. Support has also been received from the Ministerial Committee for the Arab Peace Initiative at its meeting last Thursday at the Arab League.
Meanwhile, the King also welcomed pilgrims. He expressed thanks to Allah for the honor He bestowed on this country to serve the Two Holy Mosques and the Haj and Umrah pilgrims from different parts of the world who come here to perform the fifth pillar of Islam and visit the Prophet's Mosque.
The Monarch issued directives to provide all the pilgrims' needs and facilities. He stressed diligence in providing these services with the objective of seeking reward from Allah, as it is a great honor for the Kingdom and its citizens.
The council welcomed the results of the Saudi-East African Forum in which the Kingdom and seven African countries participated. The council looked forward to boosting economic cooperation with these countries in the field of agricultural investment.
The Council also welcomed the formation of the new Lebanese government headed by Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri. It expressed its hope that this step would be strong support for national unity and the achievement of the security, stability and the prosperity of Lebanon and its citizens, and underlined the efforts made by the Lebanese parties which led to the agreement to form the Lebanese government. He said the Kingdom has emphasized its stand beside Lebanon and its people in whatever matter that leads to strengthening its stability.
Regarding the domestic agenda, Khoja said the Council agreed to authorize the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance or his deputy to discuss a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of Islamic Affairs and Endowment between the Kingdom and the state of Qatar and to sign it as per the attached decision.
Khoja said the council also gave the go-ahead for authorizing the Minister of Agriculture or his deputy to discuss with the Qatari side a draft memorandum of understanding in the agricultural, animal and fish resources sectors. The council authorized the minister to sign it as per the attached text within the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council and submit the final copy for the completion of the regular procedures.
The council authorized Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, or his deputy to discuss with the Muslim World League (MWL) the preparation of a draft protocol annexed to the headquarters agreement between the Kingdom and MWL and to sign it as per the attached decision and submit the final copies for the completion of the necessary procedures. On the basis of the decision of the Shoura Council, the Council of Ministers agreed on the memorandum of understanding to launch a strategic dialogue between the GCC states and the Republic of Turkey signed in Jeddah on Feb. 9, 2008.
The council agreed to enforce the decision made by the Supreme GCC Council in its 29th session held in Muscat for approving the GCC Common Market document as per the attached decision defining the ownership of properties.
The council agreed to the enforcement of the decision made by the Supreme GCC Council in its 29th session held in Muscat regarding the issuing of the necessary national legislative tools for the implementation of the decisions to be issued by the Supreme Council starting from the 29th session within one year from the date of their issuance by the Supreme Council.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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I looked at the headline and thought, what is the Awami League doing in that part of the world?
Yemeni armed forces and Huthi rebels fought a fierce battle on Monday near the border with Saudi Arabia, as the rebels appealed to the Arab League to intervene on their behalf.
"Heavy fighting was taking place in the middle of the day on the Malahidh front after the army took total control of Jebel Khazaen," in the north of the region, army spokesman Askar Zuail told AFP. Malahidh, in the west of hilly Saada province, stronghold of the rebellion, has been a key battleground since the army launched its "Operation Scorched Earth" against the rebels on August 11.
The region borders Saudi Arabia, whose forces have been shelling and bombing rebel positions in on Jebel al-Dukhan mountain since November 4, after rebels killed a border guard and occupied two small villages inside Saudi territory the previous day. The Yemeni side of 2,000-metre Jebel al-Dukhan is within the Malahidh district. The rebels, also known as Huthis, called for the Arab League to intervene to stop "Saudi aggression" in an open letter to to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa posted on their website on Monday. The letter denied the rebels are linked to any outside party or entity, a reference to accusations by Yemen that the Huthis are supported by Iran.
The insurgents called on the Arab League "to carry out an on-the-spot investigation" and "to support a national dialogue within an Arab framework between the rebels and the Yemen authorities." In a separate statement, rebel leader Yahya Huthi praised Iran for condemning "Saudi aggression" on Yemen, and thanked Iran for its stance, which was "absent from many of our Arab brothers."
Sources in the Saudi military told AFP on Monday that Huthis were hiding in some Saudi villages that have been evacuated in Hurrath and Khubah provinces. The Saudi military has shelled some of these areas, military sources said. UN children's organisation UNICEF said last week that the Saudis had evacuated 240 villages and closed 50 schools as the fighting spilled over the border from Yemen. The Yemeni Defence Ministry said on Monday said that the army regained control of several hills in the Gharaz area southeast of Saada and cleared them landmines.
Three rebels who were trying to infiltrate Saudi Arabia were arrested by the Yemeni army in an operation in Saada, around 240 kilometers north of Sanaa, and two were arrested in a separate military operation in Aleb, a frontier post north of Saada, the ministry said on its website. The Yemeni army spokesman said intermittent "minor clashes" have taken place in Harf Sufian province, adjoining Saada.
A Saudi cleric on Monday accused Houthi rebels of working with Iran to try to spread Shiism. "Iranian cooperation with Houthi rebels in Yemen is a collusion for sin and aggression," Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh said in remarks published on Monday. "Houthi infiltrators entered our territories, so ... it is obvious that they should be fought since the kingdom here is defending itself," Sheikh said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered to host an international conference on Afghanistan in London, which he said could set a time-frame for a handover of security to Afghan forces from 2010.
Because strict timetables always work in defeating insurgencies ...
In a speech here late Monday, Brown stressed that such a handover from international forces was a requirement for the withdrawal of Britain's 9,000 troops deployed to the country.
"I have offered London as a venue in the new year," Brown said in his annual speech to the Lord Mayor's Banquet. A pre-released version of the speech quoted him as offering to host a conference in January.
"I want that conference to chart a comprehensive political framework within which the military strategy can be accomplished.
"It should identify a process for transferring district by district to full Afghan control and if at all possible set a timetable for transfer starting in 2010."
Western leaders have insisted Afghan President Hamid Karzai tackle corruption as a condition for support in his second term which begins Thursday.
Brown, tipped to lose Britain's general election next year to the opposition, is facing mounting pressure over his country's involvement in the war as British casualties mount.
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 07:53 ||
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That's $1 million to you, infidel.
Twenty four suspects placed on control orders have on average received £25,000 each to spend on accommodation, council tax, utility bills and telephone costs, including phone cards, according to official figures.
Since April 2007, the Home Office has spent £611,470 on living costs for people put under effective house arrest on the advice of MI5. In addition, the Government is also paying some of the suspects undisclosed sums in benefits.
There are currently 13 suspected terrorists under control orders. Their movements and actions are restricted because the security services believe that they pose a threat to public safety.
They cannot be kept in prison because judges have ruled it would breach their human rights. However, they cannot be put on trial because the security services believe the information that would be used to prosecute them is too sensitive to disclose in court. Instead they are ordered to stay at home, under regular supervision.
Because it is impractical for them to find work, the taxpayer has to pick up the bill for some living costs.
One suspect received more than £9,000 in a single year, consisting of £7,744 towards his accommodation, £891 for utilities, £429 for council tax and £88 towards phone line rental.
The figures published last week in Parliament were uncovered by the Conservatives, who said that they strengthened the case for scrapping control orders and putting suspects on trial. A .22 costs $0.05. That's 3 pence to you Limeys.
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 06:34 ||
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#1
Welcome to the only country who treats tax payers worse than people on welfare benefits!
No wonder we are the prime destination for Economic asylum seekers!
#2
Let's go whole hog here, ed. A .303 round costs about 35c. A can of (hog) lard costs $2.88, and will accommodate about 300 rounds before it's totally depleted. I'm sure there are enough willing Brits who would volunteer for the duty of "dispatching" these animated slime molds into eternity. Figure it'd take £10 to take care of the lot of them. That's a savings of £611,460, and there's no chance the suspects will "escape". What's not to like?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/17/2009 13:19 Comments ||
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#3
OP, don't be silly, however much that sounds a toppen idea, that would be under-spending. When it comes to the plebs money, it's a free-for-all and jobs for life. I recommend stripping of citizenship and sending back naked to country of tribal origin, and bill said countries for any and all benefits them and theirs ever received.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/17/2009 16:06 Comments ||
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#8
True to character. I always figured you for a man of the highest standards Frank. Provocative facial stubble or no, Beavis is much to young a lad to waste time here. Move along now will you.
#10
Alright if you insist on impressing all your mates Beavis. I'll somehow arrange for her to meet you at the 'turn-in point' in a miniskirt with a six pack of ice cold Budweiser.
#11
I think you need to make that a couple of cases - and an extra-large barf bag.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/17/2009 16:35 Comments ||
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#12
Seriously, remember why she is going to prison: she passed secrets from her Muslim client to his handlers. This will happen again - in the KSM trials.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/17/2009 17:11 Comments ||
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#13
she passed secrets from her Muslim client to his handlers. This will happen again - in the KSM trials.
But, Rambler, if they represent themselves, the won't *need* a middleman.
A federal appeals court has ordered leftist Manhattan civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart to surrender and begin serving her sentence immediately on her 2005 conviction for shuttling messages from imprisoned terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.
Stewart, 70, has been free on bail pending appeal since her 2005 conviction for using her status as Abdel-Rahman's lawyer to violate federal rules barring him from communicating from his high-security imprisonment, and her 2006 sentence to 28 months in jail by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl.
A three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Tuesday morning's ruling, not only affirmed Stewart's conviction and ordered her to prison immediately, but remanded the case to Koeltl to consider whether she should get a harsher sentence.
Prosecutors had sought 30 years, and the court said Koeltl - who cited her lifetime of efforts on behalf of the downtrodden in mitigation - may not have adequately considered claims that she perjured herself and other factors.
"Because the district court declined to find whether Stewart committed perjury at trial, we cannot conclude that the mitigating factors found to support her sentence can reasonably bear the weight assigned to them," Judge Robert Sack wrote.
"This is so particularly in light of the seriousness of her criminal conduct, her responsibilities as a member of the bar, and her role as counsel for Abdel-Rahman."
#1
Media lawyers for the AP, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., CTV television and the Toronto Star argued that reporters in courtrooms serve as surrogates for the public and have an obligation to report about allegations against suspects....''The public's right to know is lost. Justice is not being seen to be done,'' he said.
Let me get this right. A represenative of the AP says "The public's right to know is lost", when the AP itself censors the information flow to fit its own agenda, to include 'creative writing' of events or non-events. Pot meet Kettle.
Gov. David Paterson openly criticized the White House on Monday, saying he thought it was a terrible idea to move alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists to New York for trial.
"This is not a decision that I would have made. Nor any other sane person. But hope and/or crack will do that to you.
I think terrorism isn't just attack, it's anxiety and I think you feel the anxiety and frustration of New Yorkers who took the bullet for the rest of the country," he said.
Paterson's comments break with Democrats, who generally support the President's decision. They haven't been mugged. Yet.
"Our country was attacked on its own soil on September 11, 2001 and New York was very much the epicenter of that attack. Over 2,700 lives were lost," he said. "It's very painful. We're still having trouble getting over it. We still have been unable to rebuild that site and having those terrorists so close to the attack is gonna be an encumbrance on all New Yorkers." Yeah, and the guy you helped vote into office just dug that hole a quite a bit deeper. Remember how to thank him come the 2010 elections.
Paterson also said that the White House warned him six months ago this very situation would happen. He said while he disagrees with the decision, he will do everything in his power to make sure that the state's Department of Homeland Security will keep New Yorkers as safe as possible. IOW: "While the decision may seem stupid, it is offset by the fact that your incompetence leads us to believe you can't keep us safe."
Republicans, including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, have said the group should be tried in a different location under military tribunal because the attacks are considered an act of war.
Instead, the five suspects will be tried at the federal court house, just steps from Ground Zero. I wonder what a high-five looks like when you're wearing shackles. I guess we'll get quite a few chances to find out.
Attorney General Eric Holder said he decided to bring the suspects, currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to trial in New York because of the nature of the undisclosed evidence against them, because the 9/11 victims were mostly civilians, and because the attacks took place on U.S. soil. And because our army happened to be elsewhere when they attacked, right?
New Yorkers are taking sides over the terror trial for the accused mastermind of the September 11 attacks. "I think it's a logistical and security nightmare for the American People," Alice Hoagland, mother of a 9/11 victim, said.
Hoagland's son was a passenger on United Flight 93 when terrorists crashed it into a Pennsylvania field on that tragic day. Hoagland worries that bringing the self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and his accomplices to New York would make the city an even bigger target and some security experts agree.
"Keeping the courthouse secure, keeping downtown secure, we've got the manpower to do that, but what we worry about is suicide bombers, something that could attract other terrorists like the ones that are being tried," Robert Strang, of Investigative Management Group, said. I'm sure Muhhombama thought about all that.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the NYPD is fully prepared.
"We've handled high profile events, certainly high profile trials in the past, and we'll be able to do it," Kelly said.
"I am pleased that they're moving these trials to New York near the scene of the crime, giving the families that were most affected [the opportunity] to see the trials," Lorie Van Auken, wife of a 9/11 victim, said. They can watch it on TV, just like I will. And right next to us in the audience will be every other terrorist out there.
Van Auken lost her husband, Kenneth, on September 11, and she said she'll be in the federal courtroom for the terror trial. She said the military court proceedings in Guantanamo Bay were not open enough. As long as they swing, why do you care?
"It would be very assuring to me and a lot of others to see the American system of justice work," Van Auken said. What? You question the ability of the American judicial system? You must be a racist.
Some relatives fear the suspects could be freed on a technicality that a defense attorney could challenge Mohammed's confession to planning the attacks. The government admitted to using water-boarding interrogation techniques on him 183 times in 2003. They might not be freed, but they will go down fighting by costing us tons of money to do the job that a $1 bullet could do.
"But ultimately, the administration would not have put these five individuals into the federal system, I think, if they weren't convinced they could get a conviction," CBS News security consultant Juan Zarate said. Yeah, whether they thought it all the way through or not seems to be a separate issue.
Defense lawyers could argue that Mohammed's six years in detention have already violated his right to a fair trial. They could also challenge if it's possible to get an impartial jury in New York, where nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11. Looks like the predicted opening moves. It's going to be interesting what shape our system will be in after the terrorists get through with it. Hopefully it will finally collapse and get rebuilt properly.
#1
"He said while he disagrees with the decision, he will do everything in his power to make sure that the state's Department of Homeland Security will keep New Yorkers as safe as possible."
Lets cut the crap shall we? Patterson is a craven politician and a dullard. All he is saying here is Ill quietly go along with this as long as you give me money lots and lots of money. And make it fast or Ill continue to publicly bitch about your decision.
#2
Republicans, including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, have said the group should be tried in a different location under military tribunal because the attacks are considered an act of war.
Act of war = "enemy combatants" = military tribunal
Not an act of war = "intentional tortfeasors" = Big Circus
#3
So even Patterson can sniff the breeze in New York and figure out what to say to get elected ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2009 12:41 Comments ||
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#4
Oh, he's been p1ssed ever since the WH tried to strong arm him into not running for re-election.
Posted by: Sluque the Rasher of Bacon4421 ||
11/17/2009 12:59 Comments ||
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#5
Patterson is a craven politician and a dullard, true, but God bless him, he's right about this one. If you're gonna dog 'em when they're wrong, you gotta give 'em points when they get one right.
Irony alert: the legally-blind guy has a clearer vision of what's going on than the dolts in the White House.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/17/2009 14:48 Comments ||
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#6
Paterson also said that the White House warned him six months ago this very situation would happen.
Six months, and both Paterson and the White House are getting around to mentioning it now?
The Pentagon will investigate its procedures in light of the Fort Hood shooting rampage, looking at how all the military services keep a watch on potential problems in their ranks, officials said Tuesday.
The probe is still in the planning stages, but would be a broad examination beyond the particulars of Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, officials said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants a unified probe that hits all corners of the Pentagon, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. "This is shaping up to be a DoD effort," Morrell said, using shorthand for the Department of Defense.
"This is larger than the Army. There are issues that need to be looked at department-wide, and the focus at this point is trying to figure out some of those questions," he added.
The investigation would consider some questions Morrell described as immediate, although he would not be specific, and some he said will take longer to frame and sort through.
Another official said there will be a fast look at whether the military has missed red flags that might signal there are other potentially dangerous service members out there.
No doubt other potential jihadis will be found through this effort, which will however be seen as not aiming for that effect. So it will be harder for the CAIR types to cry racism.
That official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still being organized.
The Army has also been preparing to launch its own internal probe. The Pentagon review could supersede that, although it is not clear whether the Army will still go ahead separately. Though it's still undecided who would do such a review and exactly what it would include, officials are working to make an announcement on it soon, a senior defense official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity because plans are still fluid.
Morrell said there has ben no decision on the structure, time line or staffing for a review. "He's trying to come to a resolution of this as quickly as possible, but this has not been nailed down quite yet," Morrell said of Gates.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey had said earlier that the service would take a hard look at itself following the Nov. 5 shooting.
#1
"Larger than the Army" - First place to start is with the C-I-C ObaMuslim or ObaMunist POTUS and Admin, etc. at the top, then work top-down and tertiary.
Blaring, red warning sign #9458.
Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan sought to have some of his patients prosecuted for war crimes based on statements they made during psychiatric sessions with him, a captain who served on the base said Monday.
Other psychiatrists complained to superiors that Hasan's actions violated doctor-patient confidentiality, Capt. Shannon Meehan told The Dallas Morning News.
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 10:22 ||
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#1
What's next, he ritually sacrificed goats in his office?
#2
"I heard he was not one you wanted to go to" because he didn't finish his work promptly, Meehan said. "Apparently the reason it took so long is he was turning it over to legal."
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 10:55 Comments ||
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#4
For the sake of PC, our own Army refused to investigate this man who gave them every possible sign that he was a terrorist. Including his own "Soldier of Allah" business cards.
#5
I will never be convinced he was anything other than an intelligence source gone dreadfully bad. If for some reason he was NOT, then we have an even more damning problem within DoD and the intelligence community.
#6
If for some reason he was NOT, then we have an even more damning problem within DoD and the intelligence community.
The DOD is forbidden by federal statute from spying on the United States or its citizens, or from conducting espionage against internal groups. The Feds (FBI) take care of that. It appears there are still "walls" between intelligence communities, or the old ones have been re-erected. As for him being an intelligence SOURCE, I don't believe it. This idiot is too unstable to be a reliable source, he is too much the "jihadi" to have been a "mole", and he doesn't appear bright enough to have gotten through med school and psychiatric training without a LOT of PC and "multi-culti" affirmative action help.
I hope, when they sentence him, it's to be staked down on the top of Pikes Peak for the winter, in his underwear, fed by a glucose/saline IV. I'll pay the $50 ticket to ride the cog railway to the summit just to spit on him.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/17/2009 13:53 Comments ||
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#7
The DOD is forbidden by federal statute from spying on the United States or its citizens, or from conducting espionage against internal groups.
The Department of Defense has the capability and responsibility to monitor security and potential threats of esponionage concerning it's own uniformed and civilian employee members through it's Counterintelligence (CI) and Criminal Investigate Division (CID) venues.
Hasan could and I once again emphasize '
could' have been an unwitting source for a number of intelligence entities. Call me nieve or PC blinded, but I simply cannot believe all of the "red flags" ie, statements, money transfers, etc, concerning Hasan produced no action whatsoever.
An international watchdog group says Afghanistan and Iraq, two countries that receive billions of dollars in international aid, are among the world's most corrupt nations.
In its annual corruption report, Transparency International named Somalia as the world's most corrupt country, scoring a low rating of 1.1 on a 10-point scale. It was followed closely by Afghanistan at 1.3, Burma at 1.4, and Sudan and Iraq, which were tied for fourth with scores of 1.5.
The group rates New Zealand as the country least afflicted by corruption, giving it a score of 9.4, followed by Denmark at 9.3, and Singapore and Sweden tied at 9.2.
Transparency International says overall the 2009 corruption list is "of great concern" because the majority of the 180 countries surveyed scored under five in the ranking.
The Berlin-based group says fragile, unstable states scarred by war and ongoing conflict continue to be the most plagued by corruption.
Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle says the international community must find efficient ways to help war-torn countries develop and sustain their own institutions.
The organization's program coordinator Patrick Berg says countries like Botswana, Mauritius and Cape Verde that have made efforts to improve their governance structures have improved their standing.
(CNSNews.com) -- As support wanes for its campaign to secure controversial but non-binding "defamation of religion" resolutions at the United Nations, the Islamic bloc is pushing ahead with an alternative route -- one that would carry the weight of international law.
The OIC is now attempting to have a key U.N. panel amend an existing international treaty to encompass supposedly religiously defamatory speech.
Unlike the resolutions, changing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) to cover religion would be legally enforceable.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
How about I say what I like and you go pound sand?
#4
I guess this means every time a muslim calls for death to infidels or call them pigs and monkeys that a cruise missile of justice will be on the way. Right Barack?
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 7:25 Comments ||
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#5
Your "holy book" defames my religion. Does that count? I thought not.
#6
Okee dokee. How about this....you can move to an Islamic paradise like Saudi Arabia instead of having to deal with all the icky infidels in Europe, North America, Australia, etc.
Then, not only can you pass all the "blasphemy" laws you like, you don't have to worry much about your wimmen gettin' uppity and demanding things like basic human rights.
Meanwhile, I'll just stay here in the West, eating pork BBQ, washing it down with an occasional, and wearing shorts.....and I promise to not say anything about how backward, medieval, and generally unappealing your society is to the rest of the world. I'll even stop sexually insulting your "mighty swords of Allah" and some of your co-religionists inability to deal with female desires for gratification. Deal?
#9
P2K, you missed the spot where they redefine religion as Islam and only Islam. Any other "religion" is therefore, ipso facto, a defamation and all adherents put to death.
#16
Please, Barack, give us an excuse to impeach you in 2011. Sign a UN treaty which gives away ironclad First Amendment protections to a transnational Islamist lynch mob.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/17/2009 15:55 Comments ||
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#17
Mitch, would there be the votes to impeach?
Posted by: James ||
11/17/2009 16:32 Comments ||
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#18
James, I'm sure there would be enough "votes" to overturn anything O'Bumble does. They just may not be paper ballots, that's all.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/17/2009 16:42 Comments ||
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#19
It would be an easy choice, even for those in Washington because they know they'd never survive the next election and as corrupt as they are they have keen survival instincts (notice the lackluster support for Obamacare)
Baghdad - The execution-style killings of 13 Iraqis over the weekend west of Baghdad has raised fears than a resurgent Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is taking advantage of the gaps between retreating US forces and Iraqi troops not yet capable of maintaining security on their own.
Iraqi security officials on Tuesday said 13 members of the same tribe were shot dead on Sunday by gunmen posing as Iraqi soldiers in two villages in the Abu Ghraib district on Baghdad's outskirts. The Associated Press quoted a spokesman from the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), a Sunni political movement seen by Sunni insurgents as traitors, as saying a party official was among the killed.
The attack was carried out in an area where AQI has been making attempts to regroup as the US repositions fewer forces throughout more territory in the wake of the US-Iraq security agreement and an ongoing drawdown, say US officials familiar with the issue, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Security experts say AQI, while considerably weakened, appears to be taking advantage of the spaces between effective security forces.
"I see the enemy taking tactical opportunities as we rearrange the puzzle pieces," says John Nagl, president of the Center for a New American Security in Washington. "The Iraqis have asked for an American withdrawal and they have asked to assume responsibility for security and they are still developing the capacity for doing that against a very smart and ruthless enemy. There is more we could do for them if that's what we were asked for."
Located just west of Baghdad, Abu Ghraib is considered part of the "Baghdad belt" crucial to protecting the capital from insurgent attacks. Further west is the mainly Sunni Anbar province where AQI once flourished until it was sidelined by former allies who turned against them in a movement called 'the Awakening' and allied themselves with the US. Although the Iraqi government has promised to absorb the former US-funded force into its own ministries, many of its members fear they are being abandoned and left vulnerable to attacks by AQI.
"The IIP condemns this ugly crime and it is a worrisome indication that the situation might be deteriorating and it represents a revenge against the people who had helped stabilize the area," the Iraqi Islamic Party said in a statement.
AQI bombmaking cell
The area of Abu Ghraib where Sunday's attack was carried out lies between the areas of responsibility of two newly arrived US Army units and is believed to be a transit point for AQI as well as the location of a bombmaking cell. Since Iraqis took full control of their own security earlier this year, US forces advise and assist Iraqi forces who are in charge of security on the ground.
Nagl, who as an Army officer helped shape US counterinsurgency strategy, says he believes that AQI is no longer the strategic threat it was several years ago but that it continues to be able to inflict considerable damage.
"This attack to me is an illustration that there is work to be done and that the Iraqi security forces continue to need our help, in particular in intelligence. There has been, I think, an Iraqi desire to go it alone that is understandable but they don't have all of the technical capabilities they need to win this war on their own."
Odierno: Prevent insurgents from moving into 'seams'
Further west near Ramadi, where Iraqi authorities have significantly restricted requests for help from American forces, US military officials say another AQI cell has regenerated last month blowing up a bridge on a main route between Jordan and Syria.
Gen. Ray Odierno, in charge of US forces in Iraq, has said that one of the US priorities as American forces draw down will be to prevent insurgents from moving back into "seams" between different security forces in disputed areas. Odierno is expected to announce the formation of a joint security structure with Kurdish, Arab, and US forces in the north of Iraq designed to ease tension in those areas and to prevent AQI and other groups from taking advantage of gaps in security. The plan, recently agreed to by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, would include joint patrols by all three forces as a confidence-building measure in areas along the border of Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.
Iraq's Kurds are threatening to boycott national elections slated for January unless the allocation of seats in parliament is revised in what they describe as a "fair manner."
The office of Kurdistan autonomous regional President Massoud Barzani said in a statement Tuesday the distribution of seats is unfair to Kurds.
Barzani's office said the people of Kurdistan "would be forced to boycott" the elections if changes were not made.
The warning comes after Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president threatened to veto a key election law needed for the January vote.
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 07:33 ||
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#2
I think one of the problems is that there is no census in Iraq (which opens up another can of worms) so there are only guesstimates to each factions numbers and each faction overstates their numbers and demands.
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 11:55 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] Ma'an -- Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf stated on Monday that Hamas' rejection of a sovereign Palestinian state for a state with temporary borders "can only mean they intend to establish its own emirate in Gaza."
Isn't that what they've been doing the last several years?
In a news statement Assaf spoke of his surprise at Hamas leader Salah Al-Bardawil's comments that "the declaration of a one-sided Palestinian state and going to the Security Council are pointless."
The spokesman further remarked that Hamas' position is akin to Israel's, particularly referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that, "Israel will respond to any Palestinian steps unilateral especially regarding to the declaration of statehood."
In addition, Assaf stated that, "while the Palestinian leadership, represented by President Mahmud Abbas, is struggling in the battle of steadfastness and defending Palestinian constants, Hamas continues to broadcast messages to the occupation that they are able to impose security."
Assaf concluded that, "it is better for Hamas to take the side of the people and work to end the occupation rather than continuing to place obstacles in the path of national reconciliation and preventing elections [in Gaza], and not to develop [Gaza] under new names."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The United States said on Monday that the best way to establish an independent Palestinian state is to stick to negotiation between the Palestinians and Israelis. "We support the creation of a Palestinian state ... But we think that the best way to achieve that is through negotiations by the two parties," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.
"We are convinced that has to be achieved through negotiations between two parties. We support a Palestinian state that arrives as a result of negotiations between two parties."
Kelly made the remarks when the Palestinian authorities reportedly have asked the European Union to back their plan to have the UN Security Council recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement on Sunday that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the United States are holding contacts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that have been stalled for nearly a year, adding that the PNA is working to snatch UN recognition of a Palestinian statehood.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Let 'em become a state. Then the first rocket over the border is an act of war.
Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said on November 16 that the launch of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr would not take place this year as planned due to "technical reasons." At the same time, the minister said that major results are expected in the construction of the $1 billion plant by the end of the year.
Nuclear fuel deliveries for Bushehr were completed in January. The launch was expected by the end of 2009. But it has already been delayed several times for technical and financial reasons. When Russia began construction (actually taking over construction from companies in Germany and elsewhere) in 1995, they expected a 2002 start up. That was delayed several times. The Regime in Iran announced that it would start in 2007, then announced it would start in 2008, then guaranteed it would start in 2009 - given that much of the plant is 1970s construction and 1960s design, these delays are pretty understandable.
Oooh -- damning with faint understanding.
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/17/2009 09:28 ||
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The government has been having problems getting uranium back from Syria. Iran provided Syrian with the radioactive material several years ago, but Israel discovered Syria's nuclear program, and bombed the research facility in 2007. Syria refuses to return the uranium, and Iran and North Korea are threatening to cease assistance to Syria's chemical weapons program until Syria gives in.
In the last year, at least half a dozen Iranian ships, carrying weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemeni Shia rebels, have been sunk or captured. Iran denies any involvement, and dismisses all this evidence as just another Western plot to discredit the religious leadership of Iran. At the same time, the Iranians have to be wondering how the Westerners are getting information on all these arms shipments. Someone is talking.
Posted by: ed ||
11/17/2009 06:24 ||
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ION ISRAELI MIL FORUM > DEBKA > IAEA: SITE NEAR QOM [Fordo, Qom] MUST BE A MILITARY ENRICHMENT FACILITY; + IRAN DIGS HUNDREDS OF MISSLE SILOS - SOME FOR DIVERSION [Covert, Satellite Recce = fully Mil-protected FAKE SILOS].
* SAME > IAEA WANTS TO INSPECT THREE SECRET SYRIAN NUCLEAR SITES.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday the "enemies" of his country's nuclear programme had been defeated ahead of the release of the latest UN report on the atomic drive. It seems so. With a little help from a friend.
International attention focused on the report as US President Barack Obama said "time is running out" for Iran to respond to a UN plan aiming to ease international fears that the Islamic Republic is working on a nuclear bomb.
Russia, meanwhile, announced that a controversial nuclear power plant it is building in Iran will not start operations by the end of 2009 as previously announced.
Ahmadinejad said the West would have to come to terms with Iran's nuclear progress, Iran's state broadcaster quoted the president as saying on his website.
"Enemies have politicised the nuclear issue using all of their abilities to try to make the Iranian nation surrender, but they have been defeated," Ahmadinejad said.
Nuclear cooperation with Iran is "beneficial to the Westerners because their opposition to it will make Iran stronger and more advanced," he added insisting that Iran's nuclear rights are "non-negotiable" and the research was being pursued "entirely under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision."
The IAEA sent its new report, having stated several times that Iran is not cooperating with UN Security Council demands, backed by three rounds of sanctions, that it halt uranium enrichment.
The new report will also give details of an October visit to an atomic site at Qom, that Iran had until recently kept secret.
Obama on Sunday won the strongest backing yet from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over international frustration at Iran's failure to answer an offer to enrich uranium outside of Iran. You forgot to include China, Noobama.
"Unfortunately, so far at least, Iran has been unable to say yes" to the proposal, Obama said after talks with Medvedev in Singapore. "We now are running out of time with respect to that approach."
Russia, which has the strongest ties with Tehran of any big power, has traditionally been unwilling to punish Iran with tough measures. But Medvedev said that Tehran risked sanctions if the crisis continued.
He said Moscow was "not completely happy about the pace" of efforts to resolve the crisis.
"In case we fail, the other options remain on the table, in order to move the process in a different direction," he said in a reference to new UN sanctions against Tehran.
Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said that the Bushehr nuclear plant would not now be ready this year, Russian news agencies reported. Shmatko insisted the delay was technical and the project would still go forward.
Russia, like the United States, is a veto-wielding UN Security Council permanent member, and its support is crucial if US warnings of tough sanctions are to carry weight.
Obama described as "fair" the proposal offered to Iran, which would see Russia lead an international consortium helping Tehran to further enrich uranium for a research reactor.
Referring to sanctions, he said that "we will begin to discuss and prepare for these other pathways" as Tehran could not be counted on to fulfil its international obligations.
The West suspects Tehran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon under cover of its civilian nuclear energy programme. Iran vehemently denies the claims while Russia has said there is no evidence to support the accusations.
IAEA Secretary General Mohamed ElBaradei, whose mandate finishes this month, is to chair his last board of governor's meeting on November 26, during which the new report will be discussed.
An Iranian former deputy defence minister who has been missing for nearly three years was abducted by Israeli agents and was now being held in Israel, several Iranian news websites reported yesterday.
Ali Reza Asgari, a retired general who served in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, disappeared while on a private trip to Turkey in December, 2006. In March of this year, a former German Defence Ministry official said Mr Asgari had defected and was providing information to the West on Iran's nuclear program. Iranian officials and Mr Asgari's family have claimed that he was abducted.
One of yesterday's web reports, on a site called Alef, said German and British intelligence services assisted Israeli agents in abducting Mr Asgari and taking him to Israel. The site, www.alef.ir, is close to a conservative Iranian law-maker.
"On the basis of a two-year investigation carried out by concerned bodies, Asgari was abducted by foreign intelligence services and is being held in a Zionist prison," the site reported, apparently referring to an Iranian intelligence probe into the matter.
"Asgari was abducted with the co-operation of Mossad as well as German and British intelligence services and was finally taken to Israel," the news report said.
Israel's Foreign Ministry refused to comment.
Hans Ruehle, a former chief of the planning staff of the German Defence Ministry, wrote in a Swiss newspaper in March that Mr Asgari told the West that Iran was financing North Korean steps to transform Syria into a nuclear weapons power, leading to an Israeli air-strike that targeted a site in Syria on September 6, 2007.
The US claims the site was a nearly finished nuclear reactor, but Syria denies that and says the facility was an unused military installation. Mr Ruehle said Mr Asgari, who was instrumental in establishing the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, "changed sides" and provided information to the West on Iran's own nuclear program.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
better than admitting he bailed on the regime and is singing like a canary, I guess
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/17/2009 9:02 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A federal appeals court has ordered leftist Manhattan civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart to surrender and begin serving her sentence immediately on her 2005 conviction for shuttling messages from imprisoned terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. 
An international watchdog group says Afghanistan and Iraq, two countries that receive billions of dollars in international aid, are among the world's most corrupt nations.
(CNSNews.com) -- As support wanes for its campaign to secure controversial but non-binding "defamation of religion" resolutions at the United Nations, the Islamic bloc is pushing ahead with an alternative route -- one that would carry the weight of international law.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday the "enemies" of his country's nuclear programme had been defeated ahead of the release of the latest UN report on the atomic drive.
