Interview with the two documentary film makers, one of the five finalists for an Oscar in the documentary category. Restrepo chronicles a year with a single platoon stationed at the Restrepo outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, considered one of the military's most dangerous postings.
Co-directors Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington spent 10 months with the platoon, capturing the daily lives of soldiers as they pushed back Taliban fighters and foreign insurgents.
Not the usual NPR line on such things, but they're doing a week-long series on the finalists in this category, so there it is. The interviewees seem to think we're winning over there, and have information to show the bad guys are considerably more than a legitimate local insurgency.
[Tolo News] Twenty-two years back, Soviet forces on this day left Afghanistan following tough resistance from Afghan people and Mujahidden.
International pressures and peoples' tireless resistance finally made the Soviet troops leave Afghanistan in January 1989.
Wasn't there a good deal of aid from America, too, funneled through Pakistan?
Thank you Charlie Wilson...
Afghanistan was invaded on 27th of December 1979 from both ground and air. Soviet Union troops entered into Afghanistan from different directions including Torghundi, Hairatan and Sherkhan borders.
The Russian Occupation which lasted for nine years claimed around two million lives. During the years of the Russian invasion in Afghanistan more than one million people were maimed and around seven million others were forced to quit homes and run for survival.
Hours after Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan, Hafizullah Amin (Afghanistan's Caped President) was poisoned at a treat in Darulaman in Kabul.
There's a long history of that kind of thing in the Muslim world. A dinner invitation from a rival should be regarded as an overt threat.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Seems Russia's a lynchpin in history. Their inept invasion of Afghanistan and then withdrawl led to a lot of the current problems by giving insane jihad boys the belief that superpowers can be defeated. Then there was their stupid support of Serbia in World War 1 that got them into trenches that led to popular support for insane political theories that eventually led to nearly a century of dictatorship and war.
Yet few talk about blowback when it comes to Russian foreign policy, just when it comes to the USA.
[Ennahar] Organizations, associations and opposition political parties, in addition to human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... activists and bloggers, called for a general demonstration on Moroccan territory on the twentieth of this month, requesting the change of the Constitution and the regime.
A group of bloggers, who called themselves "Moroccan movement of 20 February" call for protests to fix what they call the ten mistakes of King Mohamed VI. Leads the change of the monarchy which they believe is the cause of the decline of Morocco which still lives at the times of the middle-ages.
These criticize King Mohammed VI, for having monopolized all the powers. They also criticize corruption practices in the royal palaces by people close to the king. They reject the tradition of kissing the hand and prostration before the king, which they considered a great humiliation.
Several political parties, associations and organizations, such as the Amazigh Congress, the Confederation of Labour, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights and some other Islamist opposition parties, have joined the movement.
The reaction of the royal palace was done by convening the leaders of political parties represented in Parliament by the Ministry of Interior.
The Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas el-Fassi, met with Moroccan party leaders in his home where he asked them to call their supporters to side with the regime.
Morocco has experienced a wave of protests last week, asking for the first time, for change of the regime, creating panic among the security apparatus, when such marches in support of the king turned into protests against his policy.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] The president of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), Said Saadi, flew to Gay Paree this morning for a visit of several days and will return to Algiers on the morning of Saturday.
According to a well informed source, the head of RCD moved to La Belle France to meet French officials and have discussions on the internal affairs of Algeria. Although our source did not reveal the identity of these French officials, it said that they would be friends of the leader of RCD. The timing of the visit, just days before the third march he called for, raises many doubts.
Saadi will return home next Saturday to participate in the march.
Moreover, the honorary president of the Algerian League of Human Rights (LADDH), Ali Yahia Abdenour, yesterday called the French authorities to intervene to put pressure on Algeria.
In a statement to the French channel before yesterday, had invited the French authorities to put pressure on the Algerian government in order to fulfill the demands of the opposition, the RCD and opposition figures.
The intervention of the honorary president of the LADDH occurred when American organizations of Human Rights have stated that they had received calls from Algerian personalities in order to pressure the U.S. government so that this latter do pressure on the Algerian government.
For their part, the Algerian authorities have remained silent, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the foreign interference in the internal affairs of Algeria.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] The European Union on Wednesday urged the Libyan authorities to allow "free expression" in the North African nation and listen to protestors following clashes in the city of Benghazi.
Tactful note on the perfumed paper to follow.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak is in a luxury hotel in Israel, the news site Al-Arab reported Tuesday. The Arabic-language website claimed there was a huge presence of security forces surrounding an unnamed hotel in Eilat, with airplanes monitoring activity overhead.
The site quoted an employee claiming Mubarak as a guest. It said the hotel declined comment.
According to most accounts, Mubarak is still in Egypt. But that hasn't slowed a series of alternative theories of his whereabouts, including that the former leader opted to retire in Dubai, Soddy Arabia, and even Germany.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The only reason he would be in Israel was if he was having medical care, which is a strong possibility, as it might extend his life for a few critical months right now.
Otherwise, I can imagine a contingent of his government going to Israel, to set up a discreet shadow government in case things suddenly go all to heck in Egypt. Operating in Israel, they could focus as a remote command and control without fear of violence.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking re-election on Friday, has stamped out a dozen rebellions and outfoxed scores of political opponents during his 25-year rule.
A charismatic and at times hilarious public speaker,
Oh dear. That doesn't actually sound like praise.
Mr Museveni won praise abroad and support at home for adopting progressive policies, installing a disciplined army, and shepherding Uganda through years of economic growth.
But, in 2011, Museveni's Uganda is plagued by poor service delivery, a feckless parliament, and a justice system that has proven incapable of suppressing egregious government corruption, analysts say.
Mr Museveni, who has over the past 25 years expanded from trim rebel leader to rotund head of state, is likely to win another five-year term in the February 18 elections.
Speaking at a presser on Wednesday Mr Museveni said he was confident of a "big win" in Friday's poll.
"It will be a big win," he told news hounds at the presidential palace here. "The results are going to be very good. We shall win with a big majority," he said.
A total of seven candidates are running against Mr Museveni who is already the region's longest-serving leader and who is widely expected to secure re-election.
"We are not worried at all ... you just wait, you will see," he told news hounds. Wednesday is the final day of campaigning ahead of the vote. After leaving Entebbe Museveni is expected to head into the capital Kampala for his final meeting.
If his regime doesn't change course it "could relegate Uganda to the list of unstable African nations," US Ambassador Jerry Lanier wrote in a leaked cable, accusing the president of "autocratic tendencies".
Is that how diplomats describe tyrants, nowadays?
Was he seriously implying that Uganda was then on the list of stable African nations?
Opposition leader Kizza Besigye is also on the last day of his campaign trail in and around Kampala. Many commentators think Friday's vote could be the closest in Museveni's history.
In 1996, the veteran leader, who fought his way to power in 1986, took 75 per cent of the vote, but his share dropped to 69 per cent 2001 and to 59 per cent in the 2006 election.
Attention is already shifting to the immediate post-poll period, with Dr Besigye vowing to conduct his own tally.
Dr Besigye, who is taking on Museveni for the third time and who is regarded as his main rival, has claimed only rigging could deprive him of victory and warned that Uganda was ripe for an Egypt-style revolt.
Dr Besigye has in the past failed to nullify fraud-tainted elections in court and for his third presidential bid, he has promised to conduct a parallel count of the votes and declare national results 24 hours after polling ends.
Opposition leaders plan to deploy a team of 40 observers to 95 per cent of the country's 24,000 polling stations to guard against rigging.
Born to a farming family, probably in 1944, Mr Museveni, who nearly always sports a beige safari hat secured with a chin strap when outdoors, emerged in the 1970s as one of many exiled Ugandans working to topple the military dictator, Idi Amin Dada.
His Tanzania-based Front for National Salvation united, with the Tanzanian army's backing, ousted the strongman in 1979, and Museveni was named to a military commission charged with overseeing the restoration of civilian rule in Uganda.
He swore that if the 1980 elections were not free and fair he would go to the bush and fight. Early in 1981 his National Resistance Army overran remote military barracks in his native western Uganda.
Five years later the NRA captured Kampala and Museveni became president. Shortly after taking power, Museveni argued Africa's problem was leaders who refuse to retire.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm pretty sure that Uganda has been on the list of stable African countries since the mid-Nineties. Aside from the LRA's small-scale horrorshow, they've almost approximated an actual developing economy, at least in comparison with others in the region aside from Ethiopia. Although they have been part of the coalition of meddlers who have kept the Congolese apocalypse boiling during that period. You could say that they've successfully exported most of their native-grown instability to their larger neighbors.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/17/2011 15:49 Comments ||
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Many head straight from the streets to the souk, or market, to buy bags stuffed with qat, the mild stimulant leaf that over half of Yemen's 23 million people chew daily, whiling away their afternoons in bliss, their cheeks bulging with wads of qat.
Sana'a: Yemen's opposition has drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets to rally against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade-old rule, but by noon the protesters quietly vanish.
"After I chew I can't go out. When I chew qat, the whole world is mine. I feel like a king," said Mohammad Al Qadimi, a student who has attended Yemen rallies but said it would be hard to motivate himself to protest all day.
Yemenis are not known for being passive. Nationals disgruntled with their government have kidnapped foreigners and locals, ambushed security forces and occupied state buildings to extract concessions. But for many, qat time is sacrosant.
"When we have protests, they quiet down quickly because of this Yemeni habit. Qat is a negative influence. Every afternoon people go chew qat and the protests don't last more than a few hours in the morning," journalist Samir Gibran said, as he sat chewing qat with friends. He said he only chews once a week.
National Intelligence Service Chief Won Sei-hoon reportedly met secretly with CIA Director Leon Panetta and other officials in Washington last week.
But don't tell anyone, it's a secret...
Won visited at a time when the CIA was closely watching the Middle East, where massive popular protests forced the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine.
Diplomatic sources on Wednesday speculated Won's visit to Washington could have had something to do with an inter-Korean summit. They said he may have needed to brief U.S. officials on clandestine talks between Seoul and Pyongyang.
When Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo visited Seoul right after the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last year, President Lee Myung-bak reportedly told him he would not rule out a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. But another source said it is unlikely that any clandestine talks about a summit have taken place given tensions between the two Koreas.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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The middle son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il recently spent 10 leisurely days in Singapore, going on luxury shopping sprees and attending an Eric Clapton concert. Kim Jong-chol, like his older brother Jong-nam, was passed over for the succession to the North Korean leadership in favor of their younger brother Jong-un.
A North Korean source on Tuesday said Kim Jong-chol visited Singapore with a woman who appeared to be his wife as well as members of an orchestra and checked into a suite at the Pan Pacific Hotel, costing W600,000 (US$1=W1,121) a night. Sporting a pierced ear, Jong-chol visited the Singapore Waterpark and Universal Studios and bought a diamond and, possibly, a gift for his father's 70th birthday, which falls on Wednesday. He then attended Clapton's performance at the Indoor Stadium on Monday sitting in the VIP section where seats cost W350,000. The source said Jong-chol also bought a lot of souvenirs at the concert including T-shirts with Clapton's face on them.
He left Singapore after the concert for Beijing, where he switched to a flight to Pyongyang.
Jong-chol went to international school in Switzerland in the 1990s like his younger brother, the leader's heir presumptive Jong-un. He is apparently fluent in English and German and interested in computers. He also likes basketball and is a fan of Michael Jordan. He has been spotted wearing a Chicago Bulls T-shirt.
Japan's Fuji TV caught up with Jong-chol at an Eric Clapton concert in Germany in June 2006. The broadcaster reported that he appeared to suffer from a condition where his body secreted abnormally large amounts of female hormones, causing his physique and voice to become feminine, possibly as a result of steroid abuse prompted by his fascination with Belgian actor Jean Claude Van Damme.
A woman Fuji TV captured on film with Jong-chol in 2006 was beautiful with chiseled features, while the one in Singapore believed to be his wife looked chubby.
The German weekly Der Spiegel reported in November 2005 that Jong-chol attended a banquet during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Pyongyang, and Japan's Mainichi Shimbun said he was appointed to a key post in the North Korean Workers' Party.
South Korean intelligence believe those reports were incorrect, but a Unification Ministry official said this suggests Jong-chol had been considered a candidate to succeed his father up until the mid 2000s.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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Chris Matthews, in the wake of the Tucson shootings, went on a tear against the likes of Sarah Palin who used what he called "gun play" language, yet on Wednesday's Hardball, Matthews uttered phrases against public figures that he, himself, would've considered incendiary had a conservative said them.
In his "Let Me Finish" segment Matthews issued a "call to arms" against George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and others who were responsible for the "unpatriotic way this country was marched to war." Matthews then proceeded to give out the Capitol Switchboard phone number, urged his viewers to call their senator and instructed them on what to say, before concluding his rant with a demand for "nationally televised hearings" to find out why the Bush administration started "a war for a reason they knew wasn't true." Never mind the fact that the UN blessed the operation because Saddam was in violation of the resolutions against him, but hey, with unemployment rising and Bambi's poll numbers lower than any generic republican candidate they gotta talk about ANYTHING else.
#2
I don't think I can express how much disdain I have for for whatever Matthews is. Certainly a poor excuse for a commentator or news person--not even close. I think he is best described as a shill for the extreme left wing.
#3
Matthews is a donk hack who used to work for Tip O'Neill. In 10 years, no one will remember who Stephanopolous worked for. Good thing the pundits have saturated the news waves or Gibbs might get a gig.
#4
Matthews issued a "call to arms" against George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and others who were responsible for the "unpatriotic way this country was marched to war."
Folks can get the ball rolling for Matthews by calling this group of Senators first. Be sure and ask if, in their respective committees, did they ever investigate Iraqi WMD's prior to their authorization to declare war.
Biden (D-DE),
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Clinton (D-NY)
The Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
Feinstein (D-CA)
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Kerry (D-MA)
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Reid (D-NV)
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Rockefeller (D-WV)
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Schumer (D-NY)
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security
#5
oh noes! All 487 of Matthews' viewers will "flood" the switchboard!
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/17/2011 18:07 Comments ||
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#6
Okay, let's forget about this guy's hypocrisy in "calling to arms" while complaining about Sarah Palin's gun talk, and let's forget about the fact that he's going after people that have been out of office for years. Do you really want to issue a "call to arms" when your side doesn't believe in guns, and the other side does? I'm thinking he didn't really think this through very well.
The US national, in prison for killing two Pakistanis, allegedly insulted the prisons religious leader and other inmates who were praying. Pakistans extremist camp wants the American sentenced to death. It has announced demonstrations in case of his release. Fundamentalists want to see Asia Bibi as well as the US national, who claims diplomatic immunity, hanged. More
#1
AS I recall, Islam holds that a muslim who kills a kuffir may be guilty of murder, but a kuffir who kills a muslim is always guilty of murder. Not sure if it's in the Koran or the Hadith.
#5
You want to reslove this issue today? Stop ALL aid to Pakistan immediately and watch how quickly "compelling legal & diplomatic considerations" will be found.
We've been bribing these mokes for 10 years or more. Close the feeding trough.
[Geo News] PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
said that the point of view of the party over Raymond Davis case is very clear, adding that Pakistain's independent judiciary would decide the fate of Raymond Davis.
He was addressing a news conference here at the Punjab House after holding a meeting with US Senator John I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry ... the Senate's current foreign policy expert, filling the empty wingtips of Joe Biden...
During the meeting, Nawaz said he reiterated his party's "day-one stance" that the accused would be dealt in accordance with law of the land.
"We respect our laws and want others to respect our laws as well," he said.
The PML-N Quaid said he had also asked the US Ambassador in a telephonic conversation, in a categorical term that the law would take its course.
"We have firm stance on the issue and when the American Ambassador called me, I told him that the issue will be resolved under the law," he added.
To a question, Nawaz Sharif said if the accused was issued a certificate of immunity by the federal government, it would be produced before the court for further proceedings, adding that Pakistain had independent judiciary and the nation was proud of it.
"We respect John Kerry's grief which he expressed with members of the victims' families. Had the US government conveyed this earlier, the situation would have been different?" he added.
Responding to another question, he said Pakistain suffered a lot due to dictatorial regimes in the past, but now it was a collective responsibility of all the political parties not to welcome any martial law in future.
Nawaz said he had also expressed concern with John Kerry that why the US Consulate's vehicle and driver, who crushed a passer-by, have yet not been handed over to the police.
He said Punjab government had written five letters to the US Consulate, but it did not respond in this regard.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi said the US employee Raymond Davis doesn't enjoy blanket immunity as sought by the US, Geo News reported.
He was addressing the media after meeting with the US Senator John I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry ... the Senate's current foreign policy expert, filling the empty wingtips of Joe Biden... . Qureshi said the meeting was arranged on the senator's request. Senator Kerry was a friend of Pakistain, he opined.
'Pakistain and America need each other's help.' The issue of killing two Pak citizens in Lahore in broad daylight by a US embassy employee has become a matter of national respect, he added.
Qureshi said that I was instructed to stay quit on the burning issue.
Addressing the presser, former minister said the foreign office had briefed him on January 31st that the blanket immunity that the US was demanding for Raymond Davis could not be provided.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Qureshi doesn't have Predator immunity.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/17/2011 18:31 Comments ||
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The U.S. informed Arab governments Tuesday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal.
But the Palestinians rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesday of Arab representatives and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution on Friday, according to officials familar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospect that the Obama adminstration will cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council.
If they do veto, the Obama administration will finally do something the majority of American voters want.
#1
The current administration is rapidly approaching the point where Israel may reduce, restrict, or possibly terminate intelligence sharing in the region. These people have no idea where they are heading.
#5
The US has done this before. If there is some arab unrest, the US does a rebuke and it allows for the arab leaders to direct anger. It is an old play that the US and Israel and the ME has been doing for a while.
However, this time I feel things are different. The anger has already blown up and you can't defuse a bomb that has already gone off. The best thing to do would be to call for reforms while making sure this statement goes away, or just vote present. To officially rebuke Israel will give more weight to the view that Israel is truly standing alone and without its best ally. Not good for peace in the ME.
#8
This is meant as a way to spin supporters of Israel by saying, "look our smart diplomacy prevented a vote on a resolution condemning Israel" while spinning opponents of Israel by saying, "look our smart diplomacy is accomplishing a real change in the US position on settlements."
I doubt it will fool 25% of either group.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
02/17/2011 18:23 Comments ||
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#9
This is too clever by half, said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Instead of doing the correct and principled thing and vetoing an inappropriate and wrong resolution, they now have opened the door to more and more anti-Israeli efforts coming to the floor of the U.N. The correct venue for discussions about settlements and the other aspects of a peace plan is at the negotiating table. Period. Democrats are busting him, too.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/17/2011 19:09 Comments ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Jordan's new Justice Minister Hussein Mjali called Israel an "enemy and terrorist state" in an interview with Jordanian Arabic-news daily. Mjali joined protests in Jordan Monday demanding the release of Ahmed al-Daqamseh, a convicted terrorist who bumped offseven Israeli schoolgirls at Naharayim in 1997.
Mjali commented that "Israel arrests and practices destruction on a daily basis, and it is obvious that Israel would issue a counter-position to our request that Ahmed al-Daqamish be released."
Jordan's Foreign Ministry immediately issued a statement following Mjali's comments saying that the justice minister's opinions do not represent the official government stance, and that Mjali was practicing his right to freedom of speech.
Jordanian officials relayed messages to Israel Tuesday that there were no plans to release Daqamseh. The messages came the same day Israel summoned Jordan's representative in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to protest a call that Jordan's new Justice Minister Hussein Mjali made a day earlier to release Daqamseh.
Yaakov Hadas, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director-general for the Middle East and the grinding of the peace processor, told the Jordanian official that Israel was shocked and disgusted by Mjali's comments, especially coming from the official in charge of law and justice in Jordan.
Jordan's embassy in Tel Aviv has been without an ambassador since the summer, so the conversation was held with the ranking official in the embassy.
Hadas said Israel expected an immediate and unequivocal condemnation of the remarks from the Jordanian government.
He also said Israel expected the Jordanian government to make clear that it rejected calls for Daqamseh's release, and that he would continue serving his sentence.
Daqamseh was sentenced to life in prison, which in Jordan translates into a 25-year sentence.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Deputized Parliament speaker and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leader Ahmad Bahar said Wednesday that honest elections could not take place without a unity agreement that "restores the national rights of Paleostinians."
The official reiterated the Hamas position in a conference address in Gazoo City, calling elections the right of the Paleostinians guaranteed under the Basic Law, but for the elections to be "carried out by a legitimate government."
Because the calling of elections must be backed by a presidential decree, Hamas says, there can be no legitimate elections, as Abbas' mandate ran out - by some accounts in 2009, and others in 2010 - and he is no longer accepted by the party as head of the Paleostinian Authority.
Commenting on the resignation of the PA cabinet earlier in the week, and Abbas' reappointment of resigned Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and request for him to form a new government, Bahar said the move was "no more than a desperate attempt to absorb the anger of the Paleostinians."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] A DOCTOR and courier are scheduled to stand trial at South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
Syarif Usman, a doctor, is believed to have funded terrorist activities, while Abdul Haris is accused of delivering funds for these activities, tempointeraktif.com reports.
Prosecutor Mayasari said Syarif had provided Rp200 million (S$28,000) and a Sony handycam to hardliner Mohammedanholy man Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (who is also being tried separately) through Haris in February last year.
The money was allegedly used by Ba'asyir to finance the terrorism training activities in Aceh Besar.
If found guilty, Syarif could also face the death penalty.
The two men were earlier scheduled to stand trial last week, but the hearings were postponed because prosecutors said they were not ready.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Former Iranian presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaiee has criticized the United States' support for the recent anti-government riots in Tehran.
Supporters of the defeated candidates in the 2009 presidential elections, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, gathered in parts of the Iranian capital on Monday.
Tehran says members of anti-government groups, including the anti-Iran terrorist group Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), disrupted the protests by staging riots and shooting on bystanders. Two people were killed and several others injured.
US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John Foster Dulles ... asserted on the same day, "Let me, clearly and directly, support the aspirations of the people who are in the streets in Iran today."
"We think that there needs to be a commitment to open up the political system in Iran, to hear the voices of the opposition and civil society," she said.
Reacting to Clinton's remarks, Rezaiee said, "Clinton has accused Iran of violating its people's rights, but she ignored violation of citizens' rights in La Belle France and Britain during anti-government protests."
"Now, American officials have claimed to support human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... , when a small number of rioters erupted into the streets of Tehran," he added.
Counter-demonstrations were, meanwhile, held in condemnation of the move by the opposition to disrupt public order and the riots by the supporters of the defeated candidates.
Iran has repeatedly slammed Western countries, in particular the US and Britain, for supporting post-election riots that erupted following the June 2009 presidential election, which resulted in the victory of incumbent President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Oh, ouch that really hurts. And who exactly in the U.S. really gives a rat's arse what they say? We need to be aware because they will try to do what they say but otherwise FOAD. The mullahocracy are adherents of the religion of death. They say a lot of things--mostly hateful and provocative towards the U.S. and allies.
#2
The irony is that the EgoJunkie McTeleprompter Obama administraton isn't doing a damned thing to support the protests. (In fact, I'm half surprised our administration hasn't openly supported the Mad Mullahs.) If we're gonna be blamed for it anyway, well . . . as good be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, y'know?
Posted by: Mike ||
02/17/2011 15:45 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] The March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... general-secretariat said Wednesday that the new opposition's main task was to protect public and private lives from Hizbullah's weapons.
Following its weekly meeting, the general-secretariat stressed it would go ahead with its decisions to confront through democratic means the "coup" that was carried out by the March 8 forces ... the opposition to the Mar. 14th movement, consisting of Hizbullah and its allies, so-called in commemoration of their Mar. 8th, 2006 demonstration of strength in Beirut ... when they toppled Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri's government and nominated Najib Miqati as prime minister-designate.
The new opposition led by Hariri stressed commitment to the constitution, the Taef accord, the Special Tribunal for Leb and the "protection of public and private lives from Hizbullah's arms which have become engaged in the internal political conflict to guarantee the predominance" of the Shiite party.
The statement also accused the March 8 forces led by Hizbullah of using the weapons to implement "regional agendas" in Leb.
The conferees unveiled that they are preparing for political, media and cultural events to mark the anniversary of the March 14, 2005 Cedar Revolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I hate Hitler references but the Germans had many LEGAL opportunities to stop the Nazis, but they failed to follow through on the threats of imprisonment/execution of the leadership. The Lemmingnese had many opportunities to stop Hezbollah but instead joined them in their anti Israeli screed/actions. They (Hezbollah) are now in charge of the government and you think they care what was written on a paper 20 years ago? Did our dear friend Hitler care about any treaty signed before OR during his government took power? The only way Hariri and his group can ensure the protection of public and private lives from Hizbullah's arms is to overthrow them. I doubt that now they are in power they will let go easily.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah has reportedly stepped in to try to soften Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun's ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... demands for government formation.
Aoun has been insisting he wants the interior ministry in the new government to be formed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati.
Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Wednesday said contacts were ongoing between Miqati, via his brother, Taha Miqati, and the Syrian leadership.
It quoted sources from the March 8 alliance as saying that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political aide Hussein Khalil was closely following up ongoing negotiations between Taha Miqati and FPM official Jebran Bassil, who is also caretaker Energy Minister.
In the absence of any reaction from Hizbullah or its allies in the March 8 coalition, Nasrallah is scheduled to deliver a televised speech on Wednesday to address the issue of government formation.
His speech is to be followed by a television appearance for Aoun on his Orange TV.
FPM official Salim Salhab on Wednesday acknowledged the existence of a dispute over the interior ministry.
"No doubt there is a conflict over the interior ministry portfolio. But I don't believe it is the key obstacle since there is a possibility to find a solution in this regard," he told the Voice of Leb radio station.
He pledged, however, that the FPM, would do "anything" to facilitate a Cabinet lineup, adding that there is a tendency to form a one-sided government.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... AMAL MP Michel Moussa said government formation was delayed to give negotiators a chance to bring the March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... alliance into the government.
"But today after March 14 made up its mind that it would not participate in the government, Miqati is moving fast toward government formation," Moussa told Al-Mada radio station.
Also Wednesday, Caretaker Education Minister Hasan Mneimneh reiterated that Hizbullah has staged a coup by imposing Miqati to head a new government.
"The picture has been clear since the Black Shirts' (Hizbullah) coup. We can see the disputes among March 8 while the citizen pays the price for the new government policy," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, at the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations gathering in Jerusalem, responded to Hezbullies leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's speech Wednesday.
"Whoever hides in a bunker should stay in the bunker," Netanyahu said. "No one should doubt Israel's strength or its ability to defend itself"
He added: "Nasrallah said he would capture the Galilee, I have news for you - you won't."
"We have a strong army," he added. "We seek peace with all of our neighbors, but the IDF is prepared to defend Israel from any of its enemies."
Netanyahu also discussed the protests in Egypt.
"No one knows what the future holds for Egypt," he said. "In Washington they don't know, in Tehran they don't know, and especially even the columnists in The New York Times don't know."
Netanyahu added that "Israel is interested in a democratic Egypt that will live peacefully with its neighbors."
"On the other hand, the leaders in Tehran want to see a different Egypt," he explained, "that is ruled by Iranians that oppress human rights. ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... They don't want an Egypt that looks to the 21st century, but one that looks to the ninth century."
The prime minister added that an "Egypt that supports Iran will support terror."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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Radical Islam in past had criticized the POTUS DUBYA-led USA as being too econ troubled to be able to defeat the Islamist Jihad - OSAMA BIN LADEN himself had argued that the ECON BANKRUPTCY OF THE ZIONIST-CRUSADER US WAS IN AL-QAEDA'S = RADIC ISLAM'S INTERESTS. I.E. ISRAEL FACES DE FACTO DEFEAT IFF THE USA [ + by extens NATO, Euros] "CAN'T" OR "WON'T" RESUPPLY ISRAEL NOR SEND MILFORS TO INTERVENE ON ISRAEL'S BEHALF.
#2
Joseph,
It is definitely not in the interest of islamic fudamentalists for US economy to falter.
I guaranty you that if this happens and we get cast aside by the "Obamba" admin (or any other admin, as a matter of fact) there will be an all out war in the ME in which Israel will use Nukes.
After all the nukes are there exactly for this type of scenario - Most Arab states attacking Israel and the Eurabians and maybe US dont want to or cant help a besieged Israel.
Such a MASSADA type scenario is frightening indeed but with the miniscule size and limited resources of Israel and our very low affordable error margins, this type of scenario is becoming more and more realistic with every day that "Obamba" prefers islamic type "democracy" to regional Stability.
In other words we may prefer to be LIVE international Pariahs to being DEAD rigtheous human loving zionists
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
02/17/2011 6:57 Comments ||
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#3
Such a MASSADA type scenario is frightening. Elder of Zion.
#5
The radical islamicists sense an opening because of a POTUS who has reversed 60 years of U.S. policy. If things don't reverse soon in the U.S. war will be the likely outcome sooner or later in the Mideast.
Drudge had an article today that said the U.S. will support the U.N. Security Council's resolution against settlements (on land that was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War) in Israel.
[Asharq al-Aswat] The head of Hezbullies urged his fighters on Wednesday to stand ready to take Galilee in any future Leb-Israel war and threatened Israeli leaders "anytime, anywhere" to avenge a top operative's killing.
"I say to the fighters of the Islamic Resistance: Be ready. If a new war is imposed on Leb we may ask you to take Galilee, to free Galilee," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech to mark his Shiite party's martyrs' day.
"I hope the people of Israel have good bomb shelters," he added.
Nasrallah vowed that the liquidation of Imad Mughnieh, killed in a February 2008 car booming in Damascus that Iranian-backed Hezbullies has blamed on Israel, would not be forgotten or go unpunished.
"I do not want to go into details. Suffice to say that our decision remains the same and will be executed, God willing, at the right time," he said to thunderous applause from hundreds of supporters gathered in a stadium.
"To the Zionist generals, I say: Anywhere you go in the world, at any time, watch out, for the blood of Imad Mughnieh will not go to waste."
A month-long war between Hezbullies and Israel in 2006 destroyed much of Leb's infrastructure and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
Nasrallah's comments came a day after Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned that his army may have to re-enter Leb to ensure Hezbullies "remembers" the 2006 war.
"Even though it's quiet and deterrence exists -- Hezbullies remembers the heavy beating they suffered from us in 2006 -- but it is not forever, and you may be called to enter again," said Barak during a tour of the border region.
Waving Iranian, Egyptian and yellow Hezbullies flags, hundreds of supporters cheered as the reclusive Nasrallah gave a fiery speech, transmitted on a giant screen in a stadium laced with pictures of assassinated Hezbullies leaders along with Mughnieh.
Mohammed Yusuf Mansour, alias Sami Shehab, also made an appearance at the rally, taking a seat in the front row as a presenter lauded him as a "freed prisoner" and a "brother in our struggle".
Mansour is the head of a 22-member Hezbullies cell who beat feet from an Egyptian prison during the Cairo uprising last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Iran's opposition leaders came out fighting on Wednesday amid calls they be executed over deadly protests in Tehran, issuing statements slamming the authorities and praising demonstrators.
Clashes also erupted Wednesday between government supporters and "apparent" supporters of the opposition at a funeral in Tehran of a person killed in the protests, with both sides claiming him as one of their own.
"Students and people participating in the funeral of martyr Sane'e Zhale in Tehran Fine Arts University are clashing with a few apparently from the sedition movement," the state television website said.
State media said festivities erupted when pro-regime backers, including members of parliament and Revolutionary Guards, held a demonstration during the funeral.
Zhale, a Sunni Kurd, became the centre of a dispute with regime-backers insisting he was a member of the volunteer Islamist Basij militia, while the opposition said he came from their ranks.
"This university student (Zhale) was shot around Enghelab Square by small arms fire. He was a student of fine arts and defender of the regime," said state news agency IRNA.
Opposition website Rahesabz.net said Zhale was "pro-Mousavi and a member of the Green Movement."
Iranian authorities have blamed the two leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, for violence on Monday after they called for a rally which turned into deadly anti-government protests in which two people were killed and several were maimed.
Furious politicians and a leading holy man on Tuesday accused them of being behind the violence and said they should be hanged.
Karroubi, once a pillar of the regime, said in a statement posted on his website Sahamnews.org, he was ready to "pay any price."
"I declare that I am not afraid of any kind of threat and as a soldier of this great nation for the past almost 50 years, I am ready to pay any price," he said.
"I am warning that before it is too late, take out the buds from your ears and listen to the voice of the people. Forcing violence and opposing peoples' wishes will last only for a certain time," the holy man said.
He added that Iran's rulers must take "lessons from the destiny of those governments who distanced themselves from the people."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Iran's President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that the "enemies" who planned the anti-government protests in Tehran on Monday will fail to achieve their goals.
"It is evident and clear that the Medes and the Persians has enemies because it is a country which wants to shine and achieve its peak and wants to change relations (between countries) in the world," Ahmadinejad said in a live interview on state television.
"Of course there is a lot of animosity, even against the government. But they (protest planners) will not achieve their goals," he said when asked to react to anti-government protests which occurred on Tehran's streets on Monday.
Two people were killed in the protests and several were maimed, including nine members of security forces, officials say.
Thousands of supporters of Iran's opposition groups staged the protest, chanting anti-Ahmadinejad slogans under the pretext of holding a rally in support of Arab uprisings.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2011 00:00 ||
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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.
[Ma'an] The European Union on Wednesday urged the Libyan authorities to allow "free expression" in the North African nation and listen to protestors following clashes in the city of Benghazi.
The middle son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il recently spent 10 leisurely days in Singapore, going on luxury shopping sprees and attending an Eric Clapton concert. Kim Jong-chol, like his older brother Jong-nam, was passed over for the succession to the North Korean leadership in favor of their younger brother Jong-un. 
Chris Matthews, in the wake of the Tucson shootings, went on a tear against the likes of Sarah Palin who used what he called "gun play" language, yet on Wednesday's Hardball, Matthews uttered phrases against public figures that he, himself, would've considered incendiary had a conservative said them.
Nawaz Sharif
"We respect John Kerry's grief which he expressed with members of the victims' families. Had the US government conveyed this earlier, the situation would have been different?" he added.
Mehmood 
Michel Aoun's
Mahmoud 
