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Syria allows Arab observers
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Africa North
Egyptian Salafi party ready to sit with Israel, says spokesman
Members of Egypt’s ultra-conservative Nour Party announced that they are willing to hold talks with Israel and stressed that doing so is by no means a violation of Islamic principles.

The spokesman of the Salafi al-Nour Party, Yousri Hammad, was asked in a phone interview with the independent satellite channel al-Nas about controversial statements attributed to party chairman Emad Abdul Ghafour regarding the possibility of holding negotiations with Israel.

“We have not received an official request from Israel yet, but if we sit with Israel, it has to be through the Egyptian Foreign Ministry,” he said.

According to Israeli press reports, Tel Aviv has expressed interest in meeting with members of the Nour Party, which garnered about 25 percent of the votes in the first and second round of Egypt’s first parliamentary election after the ouster of Mubarak’s regime.

“Egypt is signatory to international treaties and these have to be respected,” added Hammad. “This is not my personal opinion or that of the party chairman. It is part of the party’s policies.”

The party’s chairman, Emad Abdul Ghafour, had earlier issued similar statements in which he focused on the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He, however, pointed out the necessity of putting into effect several unimplemented articles in the treaty.

“Several articles need to be implemented in order to make the Palestinian people feel that they have benefited from the peace treaty. Among those is the resolution of the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian right to self-determination.”
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 13:57 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Tomorrow we hear that the "Spokesman" was NOT "Official".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 20:36 Comments || Top||

#2  In fact, Islam pretty much requires holding talks until the Muslim party is ready to begin conquesting. With regard to Egypt and Israel, it can be assumed these talks will be of infinite duration, no matter the ambitions of the Nour Party leadership.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/20/2011 20:41 Comments || Top||


Egypt general: Protesters deserve to be thrown into Hitler's ovens
A retired Egyptian general who advises the ruling Military Council's Morale Affairs Department told a local newspaper that protesters fighting with soldiers "deserved to be thrown into Hitler's ovens."

On Monday Egyptian newspaper Al Shorouk reported that in an attempt to justify the military's use of force against protesters during clashes that broke out around the cabinet building on Saturday, Gen. Abdel Moneim Kato suggested that instead of worrying about the country's welfare, people were concerned about "some street bully" -- referring to the protesters. Eleven people were killed in the clashes.
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 06:01 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hitler brand(™) ovens?

"Some of Hitler's finer products include Country-Style Anschluss and Schrecklichkeit(™), and Extended-Use Blitzkrieg(™). We are also the top supplier of Total Gleichschaltung(™) to the US government for many years now."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 8:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, usually they want to throw Jews into the ovens. That's an interesting change.

Of course, they might be trying to identify the non-Muslim Brotherhood protesters with the Israelis.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 12/20/2011 9:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Remind me why we send 2 billion a year in aid to these fucktwits again?
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/20/2011 11:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Remind me why we send 2 billion a year in aid to these fucktwits again?

IIRC, it's to keep them from trying to kill Jews. It's OK for them to kill each other.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/20/2011 11:35 Comments || Top||

#5  The Bra Defence: If it's Blue, it must be a Jew.
Posted by: manversgwtw || 12/20/2011 20:21 Comments || Top||

#6  "the revolution devours its heroes" Robespierre
Posted by: Dale || 12/20/2011 21:39 Comments || Top||


Weeks needed to disband Libyan militias: Defense chief
TRIPOLI: It will take weeks to rid Libya's streets of the militias that ousted Muammar Qaddafi, and months to form an army fit to take their place, Defense Minister Osama Al-Juwali said Monday.

His comments signaled a rift with others in Libya's interim leadership who have called repeatedly for the heavily armed militias that swept into Tripoli in August to quit the capital and set them a deadline of the end of this month.

"I think this issue will be resolved in a month and a half, approximately. I'm not setting any deadlines," Al-Juwali said in an interview with Reuters.

Two months after Qaddafi was captured and killed, real power resides with the militias that ousted him and have since carved up the country and capital into competing fiefdoms, each holding out for the share of power they say they are owed.

Turf wars risk spiraling out of control.

Al-Juwali was endorsed by Libya's National Transitional Council as defense minister in November, thanks largely to the clout wielded by the rebels he commanded in the western mountain town of Zintan. The Zintan fighters played a major role in the fall of Tripoli. They now control the international airport and the fate of Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, the ousted leader's most prominent son, who was captured by Zintan fighters on Nov. 19.

Without a fully functioning army or police, Libya's interim government is struggling to stamp its authority on the oil-producing North African country.

Senior officials, including commanders of the nascent army, have called on the gun-toting militias to return to their homes, and the council in Tripoli has set a deadline of end-December.

Zintan fighters have already fought gunbattles with the commander of Libyan ground forces and his sons. The army spokesman blamed "rogue militias" and said they would "clear the city of weapons."

But Al-Juwali conveyed no sense of urgency. He said the government was working on a plan, but provided few specifics.

"There is a general plan to bring the fighters in," he said. "Part of them will join the Defense Ministry, others the Interior Ministry. There is another plan at the Ministry of Labor to rehabilitate and train these fighters, and I think this plan will be approved soon."
That way they can have dueling ministries, not just dueling militias...
"I think the army will be ready to take on its responsibilities before the end of the transitional government," said Al-Juwali. The interim government is due to rule until an election mid-next year.

Al-Juwali said the government was analyzing the needs of the national army and what hardware it might seek from abroad. He mentioned military transport planes, specifically US-made C-130 transport aircraft.

In the meantime, the Western powers behind the NATO air war against Qaddafi's forces are pressing for the weapons that swept through the country to be secured and accounted for, fearing they might fall into the hands of religious extremists.

"Libya could enter the Guiness Book of World Records, it has so many weapons," Al-Juwali said. "By the time this government ends, we will have the weapons under control and in safe places, and the revolutionaries (former rebel fighters) will help collect them."
Posted by: Steve White || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If you're not careful, they'll dismantle you Chiefie.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2011 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Weeks, not months?
Posted by: Pappy || 12/20/2011 10:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Haven't heard from Hugo lately, I was sure he'd croak by now, and before Kimmie popped off.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 13:15 Comments || Top||


UN rights chief calls for Egypt prosecutions
GENEVA: The UN’s human rights chief has called for the arrest and prosecution of members of Egyptian security forces involved in the crackdown on protesters that have left 14 people killed and hundreds injured.
UN and ICC types have been particularly loud, and particularly useless, lately...
Navi Pillay called the graphic images of protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square being hit on the head and body with clubs long after they stopped resisting “utterly shocking.”

Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Monday that “these are life-threatening and inhuman acts that cannot possibly be justified under the guise of restoration of security or crowd control.”

She said “there must be arrests and prosecutions” and repeated her demand for a full investigation into all killings, torture and use of excessive force in Egypt in recent months.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the "excessive" force used against the demonstrations that have widened a rift among Egyptians over the role of the army and cast a shadow over the country's first free election in decades. The UN secretary-general's office said in a statement that Ban Ki-moon "is highly alarmed by the excessive use of force employed by the security forces against protesters, and calls for the transitional authorities to act with restraint and uphold human rights, including the right to peaceful protest."

Soldiers have been filmed beating protesters with batons even after they have fallen to the ground. A Reuters picture showed two policemen dragging a prostrate woman by the shirt, exposing her underwear. Another showed a policeman stomping on the chest of an exposed woman protester.
Now that the UN has weighed in we all now know this is wrong...
Gen. Adel Emara, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, interrupted a live news conference to say that he had "received a call now to say that a plot was uncovered today to burn Parliament and there are now large crowds in Tahrir Square ready to implement the plan."
Kristallnacht in Cairo?
However, a reporter in Tahrir Square said several hundred protesters were in the square attending an orderly funeral for one of the protesters killed in clashes. On the outskirts of Tahrir, where a historic building containing national archives was destroyed in the clashes, protesters were trying to save any surviving documents, the reporter said.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Words fail.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2011 2:21 Comments || Top||

#2  "UN rights chief calls for Egypt prosecutions"

And how many divisions does the Useless Nitwits have to enforce your bright idea, Navi?
Posted by: Barbara || 12/20/2011 18:20 Comments || Top||


USAF F-15E lost over Libya last March attributed to pilot error
The U.S. Air Force has released the investigation report on the loss of an F-15E fighter bomber over Libya last March. At first, the loss was attributed to mechanical failure. But a more exhaustive investigation found that the main cause was pilot error (misunderstanding of flight characteristics under certain load conditions). The loss of an F-22 last year was also found to be pilot error (in not following the right procedures when a particular problem occurred.)
Posted by: gromky || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Forgot to add this to the article:
Link to executive summary for F-15 crash

Link to full report, if you've got lots of time
Posted by: gromky || 12/20/2011 1:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Pilot error, for not knowing how unstable the aircraft became when asymetrically loaded. The pilot did not exceed the printed restrictions, he just exceeded the aircraft's limitations.

Normally right-wing heavy, some extra fuel on the right wing, and the first bomb released was from the left side. A hard right turn near the printed limitation, and he goes into an urecoverable flat spin.

I wouldn't blame the pilot. I'd blame "the system". But the system doesn't allow that, does it.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/20/2011 6:53 Comments || Top||

#3  When a UAV runs out of fuel and proceeds to land itself, is that pilot error or an intended mission?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/20/2011 7:21 Comments || Top||

#4  I wouldn't blame the pilot. I'd blame "the system".

I'd blame the pilot and perhaps the training regime. Any aircraft has limitations that its control systems can't overcome near the limits. A lot of pilot training is intended to instill rapid, automatic responses to avoid such situations.

Here's the dilemna for system designers: in a fly-by-wire aircraft, you can avoid 'at the limit' instabilities only by degrading the overall performance of the aircraft at more normal operating parameters. No high performance fighter can be fast, nimble and totally safe at all speeds/turning radii/weapons configurations. None.
Posted by: lotp || 12/20/2011 8:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Among R/C pilots it was customary to curse "radio interference" for any loss of control. But it was a well-known "secret" that 99% of all R/C crashes were due to pilot error.

It's not as easy as it looks, folks!
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 12/20/2011 15:57 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi king calls for formation of Gulf union
[Dawn] King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands #65;bdullah
... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old...
called for the formation of a Gulf union in response to growing threats, as rulers of the wealthy Arab GCC met on Monday against a backdrop of regional turmoil and fears over Iran.

"I ask today that we move from a phase of cooperation to a phase of union within a single entity," said the Saudi king, addressing his counterparts at the opening of the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh.

He did not elaborate on what form such a union might take, or any proposed steps to create it.

"You must realise that our security and stability are threatened and we need to live up to our responsibilities," said King Abdullah.

"Our summit opens in the shadow of challenges that require vigilance and a united stance," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe a gulf NATO type organization to contain Iran but any closer union is just foolish.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 12/20/2011 8:19 Comments || Top||

#2  See also TOPIX, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > SAUDI KING CALLS FOR ARAB SUPERSTATE.

and

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > GCC EYEING EGYPT IN CALIPHATE DRIVE.

OOOOOO, you knew they would.

versus

* SAME > [Joint Pak-Iran Media Conference] US A GREAT THREAT TO ENTIRE WORLD.

ARTIC = Pakistan + Iran + China + Russia gotta do something about it.

* SAME > PAKISTAN: A TEENAGER IN THE FAMILY OF NATIONS.

Has Zits, Weirdo Parents + Siblings + Classmates, + is just discovering Girls + Cars, BUT WID NUKES???

D *** NG IT, CLEARLY MICHAEL JACKSON + AMY WINEHOUSE MAY STILL BE ALIVE IFF THEY'D FOUND A WAY TO OFFSET UNHAPPY CHILDHOODS + ABUSIVE AMBITIOUS PARENTS WID ENRICHING URANIUM FOR BOMBS!

versus

* TOPIX > EXPERTS: COLLAPSE OF ASSAD REGIME [Syria] WILL ISOLATE IRAN.

* HAARETZ > PANETTA NOW SAYS IRAN COULD GET NUCLEAR BOMB WIDIN A YEAR [ or less].

ARTIC = US SecDef Panetta says US Milstrike agz Iran NOT RULED OUT.

* IIRC FREEREPUBLIC > PANETTA: US WILL STOP IRAN FROM HAVING NUCLEAR BOMB [NucWeaps]. Title + Artic to that effect.

versus

* WAFF > [Diplomat] ALGERIA CAN HAVE ATOMIC BOMB IN 3-4 YEARS.

Iff it rly rely Rely REALLY RRRREEEEEEELLLLLYYY WANTED TO.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 21:16 Comments || Top||


Qatar Goes Wahhabi
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani inaugurated on Friday the “Imam Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab” Mosque in Doha.

During the opening, Sheikh Hamad reaffirmed his commitment to spare no efforts to carry the message and spread the teachings of Islam in the whole world, noting that the Muslim nation is now in need of renewal and inspiration of the experience of Wahhab’s da’wah (call) while keeping pace with the era and its developments.
That would be the era of stone age.
The inauguration started with a recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an followed by the screening of a documentary on the mosque.

Ibn Abdul Wahab (1703-1792) preached a return to "pure Islam" and called for purging Islam of what he considered "impurities and negative innovations."
i.e. ALL innovations.
In his teachings, he urged Muslims to uphold only "the original principles of Islam as typified by the Salaf" and to reject "corruptions introduced by bidah (negative innovations and heresy). The scholar emphasized that there could be no intercession between God and worshippers.
Allah doesn't talk to slaves.
Located in the Jubailat district of Doha the newly-built State Mosque will be formally opened for prayers on Friday.

Situated on the northern side in the central part of Doha city, it overlooks the Qatar Sports Club.

The mosque covers a total area of 175,164 sq.m. As many as 11,000 men can offer prayers in the air-conditioned central hall of the mosque and the adjacent special enclosure is spacious enough for 1200 women.

Ideologically, in recent years Qatar, which like Saudi Arabia is Wahhabi, has assisted Islamic movements in the Arab world.

Islamists, of course, have proved to be major players so far, and with influential clerics such as Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi theologising for years on al-Jazeera's screens, Qatar has since long had a direct channel to most Islamist parties in the region.

Rather than imposing an Islamist agenda on the region, as some have accused it, Qatar is taking advantage of the clout it has built with them over the years to position itself as a leading interlocutor.
Between bad, evil, and the US Navy.
Equally at ease with Islamist and secular parties, with liberals and conservatives, Qatar is reaping what it sowed and patiently nurtured years ago, giving it enough political capital on top of its formidable wealth to influence the region.
And, cross-fingers, not get annexed by Iran.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Kim Jong Un Is Mental Mainstay of Korean People
Pyongyang, December 20 (KCNA) -- Upon hearing the important report that leader Kim Jong Il passed away so suddenly to their regret, the Korean people now pledge themselves to remain true to the leadership of General Kim Jong Un while overcoming the greatest sorrow of the nation and displaying redoubled strength and courage.

They had devotedly implemented the idea and cause of their leader, regarding him as a spiritual mainstay in the whole course of the revolution such as the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, the Fatherland Liberation War and the postwar reconstruction.

When President Kim Il Sung passed away on July 8, Juche 83 (1994), the greatest loss to the nation, the Korean people overcame their discouragement and sorrow and opened the new era of prosperity on this land, vowing to remain unboundedly faithful to the leadership of Kim Jong Il, true to the behests of the President.

Standing in the van of the Korean revolution at present is General Kim Jong Un, the great successor to the revolutionary cause of Juche and outstanding leader of the Party, the army and the people.
I don't know...the praise sounds forced.
He is the eternally immovable mental mainstay of the Korean people.
Eternally immovable? That's a pretty easy claim to follow up when you're six feet under.
The army and people of the DPRK will as ever hold Kim Jong Il in high esteem forever and remain loyal to the leadership of Kim Jong Un.
Posted by: gromky || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  another dang "fearless leader" from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show.
Posted by: whatadeal || 12/20/2011 3:21 Comments || Top||

#2  How many iterations until they have a Diety?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/20/2011 7:15 Comments || Top||

#3  The tumor that runs the brain.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 8:52 Comments || Top||

#4  more like the Nurse Ratched of the Korean People
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/20/2011 9:29 Comments || Top||

#5  I doubt his Uncle or the military think of him as a mainstay. I am watching for a coup.
Posted by: newc || 12/20/2011 11:20 Comments || Top||

#6  He'll only be standing until the van starts moving
Posted by: manversgwtw || 12/20/2011 20:32 Comments || Top||

#7  Good Riddance, Now vanush from History as well.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 20:40 Comments || Top||

#8  So, this Demon will be lying in state for only 11 days? Sweet!

What a system!
Posted by: Unerert Oppressor of the Danes7952 || 12/20/2011 21:20 Comments || Top||

#9  ION WORLD MIL FORUM > JIN ZHENGEN [Kim Jong-un = China] PLEDGES TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE ORDINARY/MAINSTREAM NORTH KOREANS QUALITY-OF-LIFE WITHIN THREE YEARS.

Namely, to ...
> Progress QOL = Consumer Standards from the 19960s to that of the 1970's or better.
> NOKOR Consumers to be able to buy + wear SILK FABRICS for clothing.

IMO read, WHAT DECADENT ARROGANT CAPITALIST MATERIALIST SUPERMODELS, ETAL. WEAR IN PARIS OR THE US-WEST???

> Live in TILE-ROOFED [Floored?] HOUSES.
> Fulfill the promise of late Big Daddy Kim Jong-Il for the North Korean people to ENJOY + "EAT THE RICE BOWL/BOUILLION" OF PROSPERITY + IDEO, NATIONAL SUCCESS.

D *** NG IT, KIM JONG-UN = NORTH KOREA W-I-L-L BE THE "BEST KOREA", NOT "MIGHT BE" OR "COULD BE"!

SUB- D **** NG IT, LET THE WILY DASTARDLY GLOBO-IMPERIALIST AMERICANS JUST TRY TO STOP US ... ....!

To wit,

* SAME > FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE: NORTH KOREA DEVELOPING ROAD-MOBILE ICBM CAPABLE OF STRIKING THE CONTINENTAL US.

versus

* SAME > LIKELY FUTURE CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINJING MUST DECIDE AT 2012 COMMUNIST PARTY PLENUM IFF CHINA WILL CONTINUE TO SHELTER SOVEREIGN NORTH KOREA, OR ELSE ACCEPT IT AS A [autonomous] CHINESE PROVINCE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 23:36 Comments || Top||


'Great Successor' takes power in N Korea
[Financial Times] The death of Kim Jong-il threw the Korean peninsula into fresh uncertainty on Monday as the North Korean regime named the dictator's youngest son as the "Great Successor", rattling financial markets in the south.
They mean Pudge, aka Sonny Jong Il...
Well, that sounds better than "The Great Big Fat Kid"...
Some of us refer to him as "The young'un".
In a solemn broadcast, a North Korean television newscaster announced that Kim Jong-eun would assume power after his 70-year-old father pegged out on Saturday while travelling outside Pyongyang by train.

"He worked day and night for socialist construction and the happiness of people, for the union of country and modernisation. He left us so suddenly," said the teary-eyed newscaster.

Kim Jong-il's death rids the world of one of its most ruthless leaders, a man who focused on turning the totalitarian state into a nuclear-armed power while starving millions of his people to death. But the ascension of his inexperienced son, reported to be no more than 28 years of age, could threaten the stability of east Asia as the scion of the Kim dynasty may struggle to rule a country buckling under the weight of sanctions, hunger and power cuts.

Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  They mean Pudge, aka Sonny Jong Il...

I respectfully submit to the Burg that henceforth Kim Jong-eun be referred to here as 'Fredo'. I certainly understand 'Sonny', but face it: Sonny at least had a certain low cunning and sense of honor. It's unlikely this clown has either.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 12/20/2011 6:04 Comments || Top||

#2  This should be abbreviated as "The Great Suc."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 8:53 Comments || Top||

#3  He's a well-fed kid, idn't he?
Posted by: Bobby || 12/20/2011 9:53 Comments || Top||

#4  To paraphrase someone else - tree bark is for the little people.
Posted by: P2Kontheroad || 12/20/2011 10:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Adreno-cortical disorder?

AKA Cushings syndrome?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/20/2011 11:52 Comments || Top||

#6  Interesting call, Mike. I think we'll stick with 'Sonny' or 'Sonny Boy' as that's what we've been using, but yes, if you merge Sonny's low cunning with Fredo's incompetence you're about right.

Sonny Boy doesn't have Cushings. He's just plump. So are turkeys right before the holiday...
Posted by: Steve White || 12/20/2011 12:55 Comments || Top||

#7  "Adreno-cortical disorder?

AKA Cushings syndrome?"

Fat-ass from eating more a day than 50 NorK citizens get (and he gets actual real food)?
Posted by: Barbara || 12/20/2011 14:01 Comments || Top||

#8  Wouldn't want to underestimate him just yet. He looks like the kind of kid who wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. I do believe I detect a mean streak in his countenance. Wouldn't be surprised if he has his very own loyal gang of thugs enforcing discipline already. Long live the king!
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/20/2011 15:34 Comments || Top||

#9  Some of us refer to him as "The young'un"

Soon to be referred to as "The dead 'un"
Posted by: manversgwtw || 12/20/2011 20:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Wait 'till the People figure out that he'd barbecue out really nice, about 95 pounds of lean meat and 50 pounds of fresh lard.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 20:44 Comments || Top||


North Korean media backing Kim Jong Un...for now
[KCNA] Thanks to the guidance of Kim Jong Un who has done his utmost to increase the defence capabilities of the country, the sovereignty of the socialist motherland and the safety of the people have been reliably defended and the DPRK is more strikingly displaying its dignity and might as an invincible military power.
"Please don't kill me!"
He has devoted his heart and soul and unremitting efforts to realizing Kim Jong Il's noble ideal of socialism, thus bringing eye-opening reality to this land.

While giving field guidance in all seasons he led the Korean army and people to concentrate all efforts on carrying into practice the lofty intention of Kim Jong Il.

In particular, he inspiringly aroused the whole party, army and people to implement the spirit of the Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea held last year and thus cemented the single-minded unity, the mainstay of the Korean revolution, and brought great innovation and rapid progress on all fronts of socialist construction.

In those days the army and the people of the DPRK have cherished the unshakable faith that the revolutionary cause of Kim Jong Il will be everlasting as long as they are guided by Kim Jong Un who is boundlessly faithful to his idea and cause.

The leadership of Kim Jong Un serves as a decisive guarantee for creditably carrying forward to completion the revolutionary cause of Juche through generations, the cause started by President Kim Il Sung and led to victory by Kim Jong Il.

The army and people of the DPRK will hold Kim Jong Il in high esteem forever and firmly defend his immortal revolutionary exploits and glorify them for all ages under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.

The sacred revolutionary career and undying feats of Kim Jong Il will remain shining forever in the history of the country under the guidance of Kim Jong Un.
Posted by: gromky || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION HOTAIR > [North Korea] NEW LEADER MAY BE MORE PSYCHO THAN DAD, US INTEL SAYS.

[BIG-DADDY-KIMMIE-VS-CVN-USS-GEORGE-WASHINGTON here].

and

* LUCIANNE > EXPERTS SEE POSSIBLE POWER STRUGGLE IN NORTH KOREA.

versus

* BREAKING NEWS > US COMMITTED TO DEFENDING ALLIES FOLLOWING DEATH OF NORTH KOREA'S KIM JONG-IL: PRESIDENT OBAMA TELLS JAPAN PM.

US urges Jong-Un to pursue a "Path of Peace" in the NE Asia Region.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  "Path of Peace", "Sea of Fire", what's the difference to young KIm Jong Un?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/20/2011 1:07 Comments || Top||

#3  The Kim Jong's keep getting fatter, while the country gets skinnier.
Posted by: Creregum Glolump8403 || 12/20/2011 2:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Wait 'till the People figure out that he'd barbecue out really nice, about 95 pounds of lean meat and 50 pounds of fresh lard.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 11:20 Comments || Top||

#5  "Now and forevermore".
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 12/20/2011 15:46 Comments || Top||

#6  WAFF > DEFECTOR: RUMORS CIRCULATING KIM JONG-IL WAS ASSASSINATED.

ARTIC > SOKOR GNP Rep. Chin Yo-ok = believes that Kimmie's death may had been act of HOMICIDE?

Hint of possible internal shadow power struggle between DPRK Commie Worker's Party + Army???

and

* HAARETZ > US OFFICIAL:NORTH KOREA LEADER DIED JUST AS [food] DEAL WAS STRUCK TO HALT NUCLEAR PROGRAM.

OTOH HAARETZ POSTER = so-called "deal" applies only to halt of indigenous Uranium Enrichment activities, NOT PLUTONIUM???

NucMat Imports into DPRK???

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > KIM JONG-IL-DEATH: INDIA FEARS [instability-led] REVIVAL OF NORTH KOREA-PAKISTAN NUCLEAR BONDING, espec as the two nations are perceived by India as covert "twin" proxies manipulated by China's for its hegemonic interests.

* SAME > IN KIM'S DEATH, AN EXTENSIVE INTELLIGENCE FAILURE?

Only MSNBC.com knew about Kim's death oer the weekend, NOT SOKOR [US?] INTEL???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 20:46 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
WikiLeaks suspect linked to Assange
Testifying at a hearing to determine if US Army Private Bradley Manning should face a court-martial, the investigators said contact information for Mr Assange was found on a computer hard drive belonging to Pt Manning.

The digital forensics experts also said they had found evidence of online chats between Manning and a computer user with the screen name "Julian Assange".

In addition, they said they recovered State Department cables, US military reports from Iraq and Afghanistan and other classified material from Pt Manning's computers and storage devices.

The testimony, which came on the fourth day of the hearing being held at this sprawling army base, was the most compelling government evidence yet linking Manning to one of the most serious intelligence breaches in US history.

Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 05:55 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Interesting Internat case law being defined here,...
If a case can be built against a online predator thru a 14 yr old online simula, at least sufficient to lure the pred to a meet and seize their machine for examination, then can a derived association with an online personna established from the examination of a machine already seized as evidence in a crime be used to prosecute that realworld personna?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/20/2011 7:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Six degrees of separation.

Presumably a cursory examination of my browsing history would reveal links that might connect to links that might contain JA's contact information. The fact that my computer can search google might be a clue.

Bradley can then use the Holder Defense: Just because the email is addressed to me doesn't mean I read it.
Posted by: manversgwtw || 12/20/2011 20:56 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Hafiz Saeed vows jihad against India will continue
Jamaatud Dawa (JD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed vowed on Sunday that the jihad to oust Indian forces from Kashmir would continue, the first time he has made a reference to jihad since his group was declared a terrorist outfit by the United Nations in 2009.

Saeed was speaking at the ‘Difa-i-Pakistan Conference’, a gathering of thousands of supporters of Wahhabi and Deobandi parties at Minar-i-Pakistan on Sunday to protest against ‘US and Nato terrorism’. All the speakers at the rally called for jihad and told their supporters to prepare for war.

During his speech, Difa-i-Pakistan Council Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq read out an oath to the audience that they would participate in jihad when the Council gave the call. “We will attack Indian, US, Russian and Nato forces if they try to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty,” they said, repeating after Haq.

Haq said the various parties at the conference had united and would work together until their goals were achieved.

The organisers had invited the parents of men killed fighting in Kashmir and Afghanistan to the conference. A man who had lost three sons and two nephews was called to the dais to speak briefly. From the stage, men on loudspeakers led the crowd in chants of ‘Sabilina sabilina, al jihad al jihad’, ‘India ka aik ilaaj, al jihad al jihad’.

‘Difa-i-Pakistan jihad-i-fi sabilillah se hoga’ (Pakistan’s defence is only possible through jihad) proclaimed a huge banner, decorated with images of missiles, tanks and fighter jets, that formed the backdrop to the stage. Speakers walked to the stage accompanied by gunmen.

The crowd was dominated by JD activists waving the group’s black and white striped flag, which is also the flag of Lashkar-i-Taiba, proscribed as a terrorist outfit by Pakistan. In December 2009, the UN declared JD an alias of LT, which is believed responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks.

In his address, Hafiz Saeed said jihad was obligatory for Muslims. He said if the Americans tried to invade Pakistan, they would be resisted and killed. He said America had been trying to get Israel to take out Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, but was now planning the task itself. He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan were like twin brothers; whoever tried to harm one, would have to face the people of the other country. He demanded that the Pakistani government end all contacts with the US. He said that a similar rally would be held in Rawalpindi. “We will no longer fight America’s war, we will fight Pakistan’s war,” he said.

Saeed said that his support for Kashmir remained firm. “We were with Kashmiris and are with Kashmiris,” he said.
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 14:34 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Welcome to the heart of the War on Terror.The likes of Saeed,Haq,Gul and Beg should be targeted.
Posted by: Paul D || 12/20/2011 15:17 Comments || Top||


Pakistan stops billing US for ‘war on terror’ costs
The US Navy Seals raid on May 2, when Osama bin Laden was found and killed on Pakistani soil, cost Pakistan in terms of pride and reputation. It has also proved costly in terms of finance.

Since the operation in Abbottabad, the Pakistani military has stopped sending reimbursement claims to Washington for expenses incurred in the ‘war on terror’.

The decision is likely to put additional burden on the resource-strained budget. Pakistan used to claim between $100 million and $140 million per month from the US. This brings the unclaimed amount to at least $600 million over the past six months, provided activities are going on at the same pace.

After becoming a front-line state, Pakistan had claimed expenses under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) from Washington.

As ties deteriorated, the US started using the CSF as a negotiating tool, either delaying or rejecting some of the claims to put more pressure on the economically-beleaguered Pakistani government.
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 14:08 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Let their new friends China pay for them.

Posted by: Paul D || 12/20/2011 15:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Let their new friends China pay for them.

If you followed history, you'd know they weren't "new".

Just convenient (for both sides when it suits them).
Posted by: Pappy || 12/20/2011 16:13 Comments || Top||

#3  1965 - I remember hams for the people of the Congo from the people of Pakistan being loaded into the hold on the ship we were on in Karachi. The fact the the cases were dark green and looked like 50 cal. with Chinese all over them ... nah....
of-loaded either in Aden or Suez.
Posted by: 3dc || 12/20/2011 21:10 Comments || Top||


Govt drags its feet on Marriott blast case
To make a long story short, the court acquitted the suspects, probably because the fix was in, but the law ministry ordered the prosecutors to file an appeal. The prosecutors got phone calls from Miranshah or someplace like that threatening their lives if they appeared in court, which they won't.
[Dawn] On December 12, 2011, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) division bench, comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi took up a case involving those accused of the Marriott Hotel blast only to be told that Deputy Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri was busy at the Supreme Court.

Malik Ishtiaq, the standing counsel for the federation, not only informed the court of Jahangiri's absence but also asked for an adjournment that was granted.

This was the fifth adjournment over a year-and-a-half due to which the case seems to have come to a halt thanks to the government that asked for each of those adjournments.

It seems as if the government's lawyers are avoiding appearing in court to argue the appeal filed by the federal government against the acquittal of four suspects of the case since June 2010.

The government filed an appeal against the judgment of an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on May 5, 2010 that acquitted Dr
Mohammad Usman, Mohammad Hameed Afzal, Tehseenullah Jan and Rana Ilyas Ahmed who were accused of being involved in the suicide kaboom at Marriott Hotel that killed 53 people and injured more than 266.

The law ministry on June 28 directed the deputy attorney general (DAG) Abid Hussain Saqi to file an appeal in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

The appeal claimed that sufficient material was available with the prosecution to connect the accused with the commissioning of the offence.

The federation's counsel did not pursue the case after filing it. This is why on September 28, 2010, the court took up the petition and highlighted the government's attitude. The two-member division bench, comprising Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry and Justice Sheikh Ahmed Farooq, observed: "The DAG (Abid Hussain Saqi) filed instant appeal against acquittal. A notice shall be issued to him to appear in this court on next date otherwise it (the case) will be dismissed for
non-prosecution."
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  If Pakistan isn't hell, i'd like to know what is.
Posted by: jack salami || 12/20/2011 15:39 Comments || Top||


Naheed asks PPP govt to unmask BB's killers
[Dawn] Naheed Khan, former political secretary of the slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto,
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
wonders what is barring the party's government from unearthing Ms Bhutto's killers despite such a long stay in power.
Kinda makes you wonder if they've got something to hide, doesn't it?
Speaking at a meeting of party workers, some of whom belonged to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
and AJK, here on Sunday, she warned Prime Minister Gilani that he would face a humiliating defeat in the next elections if failed to arrest the killers.

The meeting held at Sirdar Hur Bukhari's residence here also adopted a resolution saying the party would not run successfully if it was not institutionalized and democratized.

Senator Safdar Abbasi said it was time that PPP workers came forward and take reigns of the party otherwise it would be no more as cronies of President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
would make it fall.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan blames "Afghan commander" for Nato attack: BBC
[Dawn] According to a BBC report, Pakistain's military officials on Monday blamed an Afghan commander for the November 26 NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
strike on Salala check post in Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
agency, DawnNews reported.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the accused Afghan commander conspired on the instructions of Indian and Afghan intelligence to dismantle Pakistain's ties with US and NATO.

According to the published report, Pak military officials were probing the incident on their own and also handed few details of the investigative report to their NATO counterparts across the border on Monday.

Pak officials demanded action against the accused Afghan National Army commander by NATO officials in Afghanistan.

Pakistain's investigative report did not indicate involvement of any American officials in the attack.

According to the report Afghani troops, without any prior notice, were patrolling an area at Pak-Afghan border which required 72 hours prior notice to Pak forces.

The troops deployed at Salala check post opened fire on Afghan patrol team considering them bully boyz and subsequently NATO air defence helicopters, came to afghan team's rescue, attacked the Pak post.

According to Pakistain officials, Afghans knew exact location of the post hence calling NATO for help was a pre-planned scheme.

However the ISPR rebuffed the BBC report calling it inaccurate.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "OK, we've done enough posturing, now see here, we're blaming the whole thing on someone else, now it's time to restore our aid money just as fast as it can get done."
Posted by: gromky || 12/20/2011 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Took someone long enough on the Pak side to admit they did fire on someone.
Posted by: Creregum Glolump8403 || 12/20/2011 2:12 Comments || Top||

#3  They just hit the wrong target. Hint: ISI HQ is in Islamabad.
Posted by: mojo || 12/20/2011 11:46 Comments || Top||


Nawaz vows to resolve Balochistan crisis
[Dawn] Eminent Baloch leader, Sardar Ataullah Mengal said that the Pakistain Army has taken Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
to the point of no return and if Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
was able to resolve the Balochistan crisis he will no longer live in exile.

Mengal was talking to the head of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif at his residence in Bloody Karachi. Talking to media persons, Nawaz Sharif vowed to fight for the case of Balochistan on all fronts and said that there will be no progress on the issue if the killers of Nawab Akbar Bugti were not locked away.

Nawaz Sharif also admitted that Balochistan is facing cruelty.

Mengal added that past mistakes should not be repeated in Balochistan. He stressed the need for accountability of those involved in atrocities in the province.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraq’s Maliki threatens to quit as U.S. expresses concerns over VP arrest warrant
A political crisis is looming in Iraq as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened to resign if the Parliament did not give a vote of no-confidence against another leading Sunni politician, Saleh al-Mutlaq, who is deputy prime minister, an Al Arabiya correspondent reported.

Maliki over the weekend asked parliament for the vote against Mutlaq on the grounds that he lacked faith in the political process.

Iraq on Monday issued an arrest warrant for its Sunni vice president on anti-terror charges, just days after the last U.S. troops left the country.

The warrant was issued against Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, leading to fears for the unity cabinet after President Barack Obama declared America was leaving behind a “stable” Iraq with a government elected by the people.

Hashemi and Mutlaq are both leaders of the Iraqiya bloc, a secular group backed by minority Sunnis, which joined Maliki’s unity government only reluctantly and recently boycotted parliament sessions after complaining of being marginalized.

The United States expressed concern early Tuesday over the arrest warrant.

“We’re monitoring reports that an arrest warrant has been issued for vice-president Tareq al-Hashimi in Iraq,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney, according to AFP.
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 13:53 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe al-Hashemi has actually been involved in terrorism.
Posted by: American Delight || 12/20/2011 18:00 Comments || Top||

#2  As CNN AM put it, MANY ANALYSTS HAD EXPECTED THE IGA = MALIKI GOVT. TO EVENTUALLY COLLAPSE IN TIME, JUST NOT THIS SOON DURING THE [de facto] LAST HOURS OF THE AMER WITHDRAWAL.

Iff Hashimi + al-Mutlaq are indeed quilty of organizing + commanding death squads, ITS NOT GONNA LOOK GOOD FOR THE BAMMER + USA GOING INTO THE 2012 REELEX.

Anti-US Fodder for Iran, Muqtada Sadr + Shia Hard Boyz.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 20:54 Comments || Top||


Sunni Leader's Arrest Order Creates New Iraq Crisis
[WSJ] Iraq's political crisis took an ominous turn on Monday with the issue of an arrest warrant against Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a leading Sunni Arab figure, for his alleged role in ordering and funding the liquidations of Shiite bureaucrats.

A judicial panel, who Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's
... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
rivals said was under his sway, ordered the arrest of Mr. Hashemi, a day after the last convoy of U.S. soldiers left Iraq, boding the possible end to the unwieldy government coalition of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions.
Is it just me or is it becoming increasingly obvious that The Natives really can't be trusted to handle their own affairs?
Maliki obviously didn't the memo about waiting a decent interval...
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The door barely had time to hit us in the butt on the way out, and they pull this...



Posted by: Pollyandrew || 12/20/2011 15:15 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Pay the Jizya Or We Will Bring the Sword to Your Necks
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 20:52 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How about earning your own money by the sweat of your brow - like the rest of the planet.
Posted by: 3dc || 12/20/2011 21:05 Comments || Top||

#2  The really should be a PSYOPs program that when some meatball chimes up like this, that a rumor begins that he is deeply involved in something the locals find really tacky.

Really hitting a nerve, locally, is where the action is, and that's the hard part. But it can take such characters down a few pegs.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 21:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Or he could just turn up dead...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/20/2011 21:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Dead as in impaled on a big wooden post outside his mosque. With a shoe print branded onto his forehead.

Calling Vlad. Calling Vlad the Impaler to the white courtesy phone.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division || 12/20/2011 22:43 Comments || Top||

#5  How about you go fuck off and molest goats before we skin you alive and tack your hide to the walls of the city as a warning to other fuckwits?
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/20/2011 23:17 Comments || Top||


Erekat warns of PA collapse if no peace progress
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned on Monday night that the Palestinian Authority would collapse, unless real progress is made in the peace process in the near future.
Anything but that.
Throw us into the briar patch...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2011 01:24 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How, precisely, would you tell if the PA "collapsed", as opposed to it's usual non-functioning status?
Posted by: mojo || 12/20/2011 11:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Promises, promises....
Posted by: Barbara || 12/20/2011 14:09 Comments || Top||


Germany: Israel must refrain from new settlements
BERLIN: A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany is urging Israel to refrain from constructing new settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Chancellor, aren't you a little busy with other issues right now?
Georg Streiter said Monday Israel’s recent announcement that it would seek contractors to build some 1,000 apartments in both areas conveys “a devastating message with regard to the current efforts to resume peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.”

He says Germany “urgently calls on the Israeli government to refrain from inviting bids for the apartments.”
Posted by: Steve White || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Otherwise gas chambers for us?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2011 2:22 Comments || Top||

#2  It's not too late for us to nuke Germany you know. We could call it a delayed reaction from WWII.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division || 12/20/2011 5:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Some days are better started with a strong hot coffee than with a tactless comment.

Or two.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/20/2011 7:49 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm sure Israel will take this in the spirit in which it was given. Total cynicism.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 8:55 Comments || Top||

#5  From a propaganda standpoint, it may sound like lebensraum to the german people.
Posted by: flash91 || 12/20/2011 9:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Germany has no business at all telling Israel what to do.

How about STFU Germany.
Posted by: newc || 12/20/2011 11:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Germany just recently agreed to sell - and subsidize the cost of - another Dolphin class submarine to Israel IIRC. Worth keeping in mind.
Posted by: lotp || 12/20/2011 16:07 Comments || Top||

#8  Lotp, the condition attached to that Dolphin was freeing the PA's tax withholdings...but previously it had been settlements. Now Germany is trying the settlement thing again.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/20/2011 21:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria signs law imposing dealth penalty on those arming 'terrorists'
Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has signed into effect a law imposing the death penalty on anyone arming "terrorists", according to state media amid mounting clashes with rebel troops.
Wonder when Amnesia International and the various anti-DP types rise up in protest...
"The law provides for the death penalty for anyone providing weapons or helping to provide weapons intended for the carrying out of terrorist acts," the official SANA news agency said.

The decree also imposes life imprisonment with hard labour for arms smuggling "for profit or to carry out acts of terrorism," and 15 years' hard labour for arms smuggling for other purposes.

The Syrian authorities contend that protests raging since March are the work of "armed terrorists" not civilian demonstrators as maintained by Western governments and human rights groups.

The UN General Assembly on Monday overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning human rights abuses during the authorities' crackdown on the protests, which the world body says has left more than 5,000 people dead.

It comes as Syria was accused of engaging in a time-buying ruse on Monday after it agreed to allow the Arab League to send observers into the country, temporarily averting a threat by regional powers to refer Damascus to the UN Security Council.
Ruse. That's what thugs do, right?
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 08:21 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  About damn time.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 13:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Irony is quite thick there. Under that law Assad should be amongst the first against the wall.
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/20/2011 13:52 Comments || Top||


Iraq Says Syria Opposition to Visit Next Week
[An Nahar] Representatives of Syria's opposition will visit Iraq next week as part of Storied Baghdad's
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
efforts to end nine months of unrest in the country, National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh said on Monday.

"The Syrian opposition will visit Iraq next week," Fayadh told state broadcaster Al-Iraqiyah TV. He did not give any further details of the visit.

Fayadh said Storied Baghdad's "analysis is that the government in Syria will not fall like Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
fell," referring to the deposed Egyptian strongman who left power in February in the face of mass pro-democracy protests.

"But the (Syrian) regime will end in a civil war, and it is common sense that this will be negative for Iraq and against its interests," he said.

Syria agreed Monday to allow Arab observers to monitor a deal to end a nine-month protest crackdown, in a move dismissed by the opposition as a ploy and followed by even more reports of bloodshed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said between 60 and 70 army deserters were bumped off as they decamped their military posts in northwestern Idlib province, while the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said another 25 non-combatants were killed across the country.

The reports came as the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution condemning human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
abuses in Syria.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown on nationwide democracy protests that erupted in mid-March, according to the U.N.'s latest estimate issued a week ago.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Ahmadinejad Describes Arab States' Actions on Syria as 'Joke'
[An Nahar] Iran on Monday said it backed Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's
Lord of the Baath...
decision to start implementing an Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
plan to quell the violence in his country by finally letting in observers.

But Tehran suggested it was not entirely happy with the pressure Arab states had brought to bear on Damascus
...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
, with President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad saying their action towards Syria was "like a joke."

Iran's deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, Hossein Amir Abdolahian, told the state Arabic language television network Al-Alam that "Iran's official stance regarding Syria and the vaporous Arab League plan is that whatever Bashir al-Assad deems as acceptable, we would approve of and accept."

He added that the Arab League plan "contains many of the points Iran was also looking at," even if not all concerns were addressed.

Ahmadinejad, though, criticized Arab nations for the way they had been treating Syria, Iran's principal ally in the Middle East.

"Certain regional countries carry out acts which Iran considers to be more like a joke," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

"Some regional countries, which have never held an election, have come together and passed resolutions against another country saying 'Why don't you hold an election'?" he said.

Syria on Monday signed an agreement to allow foreign observers in to monitor the implementation of the Arab League plan designed to halt nine months of bloodshed that started when security forces cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

The plan calls for a complete halt to the violence, the release of those jugged as a result of recent events and the complete withdrawal of the military from towns and residential districts.

Syria was suspended from Arab League meetings and subjected to a raft of sanctions when it initially refused to let in the observers.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  "Ahmadinejad Describes Arab States' Actions on Syria as 'Joke'"

Damn. Never thought I'd agree with Ah-mah-dinnah-jacket about anything.
Posted by: Barbara || 12/20/2011 18:22 Comments || Top||

#2  MOUD = IRAN + SHIA ISLAM IS DA MAN!

Aka as DA BOMB!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 23:46 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2011-12-20
  Syria allows Arab observers
Mon 2011-12-19
  20 Civilians, 6 Troops Killed in Fresh Syria Violence
Sun 2011-12-18
  Kimmie Dead
Sat 2011-12-17
  Australian terror conspirators jailed for 18 years
Fri 2011-12-16
  Syrian Dissidents Declare Creation of 'National Alliance'
Thu 2011-12-15
  U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over
Wed 2011-12-14
  33 Civilians, 7 Regime Troops Killed
Tue 2011-12-13
  Mexican Army bags 11 bad guys in Tamaulipas state
Mon 2011-12-12
  Mysterious explosion kills 7, injures 16 in Iran
Sun 2011-12-11
  Syrian Opposition Reports Deputy Defense Minister Killed
Sat 2011-12-10
  Rival Yemeni forces said to quit streets of Taiz city
Fri 2011-12-09
  Twenty trucks torched in attack at Nato terminal in Quetta
Thu 2011-12-08
  Yemen's unity government announced
Wed 2011-12-07
  New coalition government formed in Yemen
Tue 2011-12-06
  Afghanistan: Kabul shrine attacks 'kills 34'


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