(Sh.M.Network)-Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age. ... has reduced its support for the al Qaeda-allied al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... bully boy group in Somalia under international pressure, but still violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and remains a destabilizing influence, a U.N. report says.
The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, which investigates violations of an arms embargo on both nations, said in a report to the Council, seen by Rooters, that it had found no evidence of direct Eritrean support for al-Shabaab in the last year.
The Council imposed the embargo on the tiny east African state ofEritreain 2009 over concerns its government was providing finance and weapons to al-Shabaab -- charges Asmara denied. The Monitoring Group now says that support has evaporated.
This was "a symptom of growing friction between the authorities in Asmara and al-Shabaab's leadership" as well as the "result of enhanced international scrutiny, which has made direct support ... a much riskier undertaking than in the past", said the report, which is scheduled to be published this week.
"Although it is possible that the Eritrean authorities have continued to provide financial and other forms of assistance to (Somali) armed opposition groups, without their activities being detected, it is the Monitoring Group's assessment that any such assistance is negligible," the report said.
Instead, the panel presented evidence thatAsmaradeployed Æthiopian rebel groups via Somalia, sold weapons to smuggling rings in Sudan that do business with Paleostinian arms dealers, and imported spare parts for its air force.
The report also alleged that ethnic Afar rebels responsible for the killing of five European tourists in eastern Æthiopia in January were hosted and trained inEritrea, though there was no evidence theRed Seastate had a direct role in the killings.
It said the escape last year of Djiboutian prisoners of war held in Eritrea proved Asmara had violated a U.N. resolution calling on it to disclose information on their whereabouts after their capture following a border clash in 2008.
"Eritrea has failed to comply with Security Council resolutions and remains a destabilizing influence across much of the region," the report said.
The Red Sea state has previously rejected these allegations and has called for the replacement of the panel's members over what it calls their bias in favor of its arch-foe Æthiopia.
Eritrean envoys to the AU declined to comment specifically on the latest U.N. report.
Al-Shabaab has controlled much of southernSomaliasince 2007, imposing a strict version of Islamic law in areas under its control. But over the last year it has been forced out of the Somali capital Mogadishu and other parts of the south by the coordinated military operations of U.N.-backed African troops.
"TOO EARLY TO LIFT SANCTIONS"
Last year, the Monitoring Group alleged Eritrea was behind a failed plot to bomb an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... summit in Æthiopia, had bankrolled known members of al-Shabaab in Kenya and had been involved in the smuggling of weapons through Sudan and Egypt.
As a result, the Council prolonged the arms embargo and assets freeze on Eritrea, in addition to a travel ban on some officials, amid an escalation in operations against al-Shabaab by AU, Kenyan and Æthiopian troops and their Somali allies.
Matthew Bryden, the Monitoring Group's coordinator, told Rooters that Eritrea was lobbying its allies at the Security Council to push for a removal of the arms embargo, but he said other Council members were reluctant to do this.
"We're trying to make the case that any improvement inEritrea's conduct is the result of sanctions, and that it's too early to lift them because of the other violations they have committed," Bryden said.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions against Colonels Tewolde Habte Negash and Teame Abraham Goitom, two senior Eritrean military officers Washingtonsays have worked closely with al-Shabaab in the past.
Diplomats at the U.N. say theU.S.move against the two officers, who have not been subject to full Security Council sanctions, suggests thatEritreawill face sustained pressure from the United States and its allies in the Council.
Eritrean officials routinely deny involvement in Somalia and say the Council embargo decision was based on "fabricated lies" made up by theU.S. government and its ally Æthiopia.
In a letter obtained by Rooters in December, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh accused the U.N. panel of bias and urged the Council's chair to establish an "independent, impartial and credible body".
TAXES, TRAFFICKING AND GOLD REVENUES
European and North American governments have also been concerned aboutEritrea's use of revenues from the taxation of Eritrean citizens in the diaspora, from human trafficking of refugees through Sudan andEgypt, and from gold mining.
The Monitoring Group reported that both the British and German governments had taken action to prevent taxes being collected from diaspora Eritreans in their territories, in which Eritrean government agents often use coercion.
"Individuals who refuse to make payment may have their inheritance rights voided, their family members may be penalized, and they may be subject to detention or denial of an exit visa if they return toEritrea," it said.
Asmara denies coercing its citizens, but insists it has the right to encourage its diaspora to contribute to the national budget, including for defense.
The report said Eritrean officials involved in the smuggling of weapons through Sudan and Egypt were also part of a people trafficking network that delivered tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees to Israel between 2009 and 2011.
Refugees interviewed in Israel said they were smuggled through Sudan by ethnic Rashaida gangs which the Monitoring Group says work with General Tekle Kiflai, the commander of Eritrea's western military zone.
Asmara says its fleeing nationals, often escaping unlimited military conscription, were being lured to leave the country by sustained American "propaganda".
The panel also urged the U.N. Security Council to consider measures to regulateEritrea's opaque gold mining sector, which it said has generated hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Monitoring Group recommended that the Council either askEritreato publish its revenues from gold mining or demand that private gold companies publish all payments to Asmara or pay into a monitored escrow account.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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A gruesome new video which appears to show Muammar Gaddafi's dead body being abused by rebels has surfaced online.
In the shocking clip, which was posted to YouTube on Monday, high-spirited demonstrators apparently use the Libyan dictator's corpse as a ventriloquist's doll.
The footage came to light after a Syrian activist linked to it on Twitter, aiming a threat at Syria's leader Bashar Al Assad.
The minute-long video, whose authenticity cannot be independently verified, seems to have been filmed on October 20 last year, the day Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebel troops.
It shows a confused scene of celebration as young men shout and cheer next to a van containing an apparently dead body which resembles the dictator. How could he be dead yet? He's still nodding his head!
The corpse is topless and covered in blood, and is apparently limp.
One rebel grabs its head and manipulates it while talking in Arabic, apparently mocking the dead leader.
Several of those on the scene are seen filming the proceedings with their cell phones.
Gaddafi's body is then taken out of a van and placed on some sort of stretcher.
After the video was posted online, Syrian anti-government prosestor Sami Al Hamwi wrote about it on Twitter, adding: 'Someone needs to send this to Assad.' Hmm, Sami must read RB.
The clip, which was subsequently featured on the Huffington Post, is the clearest look so far at the grisly chaos surrounding Gaddafi's death.
Its release comes less than two weeks after Libya's first democratic elections, which appear to have handed a victory to secular liberal forces.
Muammar Gaddafi ruled the Libyan Arab Republic after wresting control from King Idris in a bloodless coup in 1969.
He stepped down from direct leadership in 1977 and became 'Brother Leader' in a largely symbolic role until his death in 2011.
Protests against Gaddafi began in February 2011, following uprisings in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia.
Despite attempts by Gaddafi loyalist forces to put down the protests, they escalated into a civil war that eventually led to Nato-led intervention.
U.S. and Nato warplanes enforced a no-fly zone over the country and began bombing missions against Gaddafi forces to protect unarmed civilians.
Rebel forces set up government, called the National Transitional Council (NTC), and the assets of Gaddafi and his family were frozen as Interpol and the International Criminal Court issued warrants for his arrest.
The Libyan civil war effectively played out in the city of Sirte, where NTC forces surrounded the city and closed in on the last major pocket of Gaddafi resistance.
Gaddafi was captured alive in Sirte after an attempt to flee the city was thwarted by a Nato bombing mission.
He was to be transported to Tripoli but was instead executed by National Liberation Army troops. "Sorry, in all the confusion we must not have got the memo."
This video is getting "disliked" a lot, so it may not stay long, but here it is:
CAIRO - Egypts prosecutor general on Monday ordered convicted former strongman Hosni Mubarak back to prison, nearly a month after he was moved to a military hospital in Cairo after reportedly suffering a stroke.
Abdel Meguid Mahmud has issued an order to transfer former president Hosni Mubarak from the Maadi Armed Forces Hospital to Tora prison hospital after an improvement in his health, his office said in a statement.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I still would like the US to get Mubarak + la Familia' outta there.
BRUSSELS: The European Union is to send experts to Niger to train its security forces to fight Al-Qaeda, signalling the depth of EU concern over the growing threat Islamist militancy poses to Africas Sahel region. The mission, approved by EU governments on Monday, will start work next month in the Niger capital Niamey.
The rebel takeover in the north of Mali, which borders Niger, as well as an influx of weapons and fighters after last years revolt in Libya, have raised fears about the stability of the arid Sahel belt of central and west Africa.
Increased terrorist activity and the consequences of the conflict in Libya have dramatically heightened insecurity in the Sahel, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.
European experts will train (Nigers) security forces to improve their control of the territory and regional co-operation, she said in a statement.
About 50 international staff and 30 staff hired locally will be based in the missions headquarters in Niamey, with liaison officers in Bamako, the capital of neighboring Mali, and Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania. The international staff will mostly be civilian security trainers from EU member states. The team will also have military expertise, EU officials said, but gave no further details.
Officials in Niger, a major uranium exporter, said last month that plans for the EU mission had been brought forward because of the threat of militant attacks from Mali.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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(Saba) - Four European experts will arrive in Yemen in the coming three weeks to help Yemen in reconstructing the security apparatus, the EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator said in Sana'a on Monday.
At presser, Gilles de Kerchove asserted that the European experts would not impose opinions but offer the EU experiences to enable the Yemeni government to move on in the reconstruction process perfectly.
He stressed the necessity of the various concerned parties, topped by the intelligence bodies, to coordinate their efforts and work shoulder to shoulder to combat terrorists, making clear that the European experts would work in this regard.
Mr. Kerchove said that the EU is working now with the police academy on training the Yemeni officers in forensic medicine and forensic evidence and enhancing the police efficiency to conduct investigations in the future in addition to another project of setting up a modern civil registration and issuing identity cards with contemporary systems. "The new civil registration will be more effective in the democratic or counterterrorism fields."
The two projects are examples of the EU commitment to support the Yemeni security apparatuses in the civil side, he said, adding "The EU and the international community's strong support to President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his government covers all different aspects of the Gulf initiative, especially in the reform of the security services."
The EU support is linked to the fact that all ministries and government bodies back the implementation of the Gulf initiative and support the restoration of the state's control of the southern provinces, Mr. Kerchove said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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(Saba) - The government approved on Sunday to file a lawsuit against a parliament member insulted the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
In its extraordinary meeting to address the country's security situation chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa, the government dealt with the case, stressing that the insulting the Prime Minister or a minister is an insult to the whole government.
In its related statement, the government demanded the parliament to remove Mohammed al-Shaif's legislative immunity to complete the legal measures, tasking the minister of legal affaires to take the required actions to prosecute him.
The government has wondered that such behavior to be made from a parliament member who is also a head of freedoms and rights committee.
"It is time to put an end to such insults that have been repeated," according to the statement.
Al-Shaif directed verbal abuses at the Premier and threatened finance minister Sakhr al-Wajih during last Wednesday session, which the government attended it to discuss several issues.
As a result, the government and many members of the parliament have withdrawn from the session in protest to al-Shaif's behavior.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Yemen's Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... want to be part of a national dialogue aimed at facilitating political transition in the country, but expressed criticisms for being excluded from the process, a Salafist said on Monday.
The panel, formed by President Abrabuh Mansur Hadi, "ignores a large part of the Yemeni population represented by the Salafists," said Abdelwahab al-Humaiqan, the secretary general of the hardline Islamist Al-Rashad party formed in March, at a Sunday rally.
The party, which distinguishes itself from Yemen's main Islamist Moslem Brüderbund Al-Islah party, has not been invited to take part in the dialogue to be held later this year.
The party gained official recognition in June and calls for a rule based on Islamic Sharia law.
Its founders claim that the party aims to take part "in the political process at all levels, including taking part in presidential, parliamentary and local elections."
The Shiite Zaidi rebels in Yemen's north "have two representatives" in the 25-member preparatory committee which will oversee the launch of the dialogue set to take place in November, Humaiqan said.
The Salafists espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam that seeks a return to practices that were common in the early days of the faith.
Their move to form a party was the first involvement into politics by Yemen's Salafists, who until now been represented only by religious associations and charities.
The national dialogue aims at facilitating political transition in Yemen which was envisioned in the agreement that led to long-time president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... stepping down in February after months of deadly street protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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A "pervasively polluted" culture at HSBC Holdings Plc allowed the bank to act as financier to clients seeking to route shadowy funds from the world's most dangerous and secretive corners, including Mexico, Iran, the Cayman Islands, Saudi Arabia and Syria, according to a scathing U.S. Senate report issued on Monday.
While the big British bank's problems have been known for nearly a decade, the Senate probe detailed just how sweeping the problems have been, both at the bank and at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a top U.S. bank regulator which the report said failed to properly monitor HSBC.
"The culture at HSBC was pervasively polluted for a long time," said Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a Congressional watchdog panel.
The report comes at a troubling time for a banking industry reeling from a multi-country probe into the manipulation of global benchmark rates. Last month, rival British bank Barclays Plc agreed to pay a $453 million fine to settle a U.S.-British probe into the rigging of the benchmark interest rate known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.
The Senate probe provides a rare look at how HSBC responded when confronted with numerous cases of suspect money flows.
The report caps a year-long inquiry that included a review of 1.4 million documents and interviews with 75 HSBC officials and bank regulators. It will be the focus of a hearing on Tuesday at which HSBC and OCC officials are scheduled to testify.
#4
Besoeker, how dare you point out Hassan Nemazee's ties to Barack Hussein Obama? Next you'll probably be calling on Obama & Clinton to return all the money that Nemazee gave to them. You must be some type of racist Islamophobe for linking to the highly inflammatory hit piece written by the far-right wing organization known as Reuters.
Posted by: American Delight ||
07/17/2012 17:42 Comments ||
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#5
You must be some type of racist Islamophobe
Ja, ja...dis is reg. But I am hopeful Allan West is selected as the next VP. Whahaha
:-)
Foreign officials are drafted in to bolster security at UK airports in the run-up to the Olympics.
US security agents are to be based at Heathrow and some other UK airports for the duration of the Olympic Games, according to Sky sources.
The Department for Transport has reached an agreement with the US Transportation Security Administration for specialist agents to be working at several UK airports.
They will arrive one week before the Olympics, and leave around a week after the end of the Paralympics.
This is an added security layer that has been done to help boost and aid the American airlines in particular that fly in and out of the likes of Heathrow and other airports.
The move is also aimed at helping UK airlines flying in and out of America.
The agents will not be allowed beyond boarding gates or onto UK aircraft.
Olympic security is already under scrutiny after thousands of extra soldiers and coppers were drafted in to fill a gap left by private contractor G4S.
G4S has a £284m contract with the Government to provide 13,700 security guards for the Olympic Games but only 4,000 guards are trained and ready.
The Government found out about the shortfall on Wednesday, and quickly had to boost the number of military personnel working on the Games by 3,500 to 17,000 - almost a fifth of the entire army.
Nine out of 12 police forces have been drafted in to help the embattled firm.
The forces providing additional personnel include Strathclyde, West Midlands, Thames Valley, Greater Manchester and Dorset.
Athletes started to arrive in the UK on Monday, on what was Heathrow airport's busiest ever day.
SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea announced Tuesday that it has promoted Army Gen. Hyon Yong-chol to the post of vice marshal.
"Hyon Yong-chol was awarded the title of vice marshal of the Korean People's Army," said the KCNA, the communist nation's state news agency.
"A decision on awarding the title was made by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the National Defense Commission of the DPRK on Monday," it added in a brief dispatch, monitored in Seoul.
On Monday, the North announced that Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho, its top military commander known as a guardian of the North's new leader, Fat Boy Kim Jong-un, was relieved of all of his posts due to "illness."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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Short may he reign.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/17/2012 11:57 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: Defence Secretary Nargis Sethi on Monday said the strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States was going to be held soon but no date had been fixed yet.
How much is it going to cost Uncle Sugar this time?
Sethi was talking to reporters at the Parliament House. She said that negotiations between the two countries had moved forward, adding that a written agreement would be signed very soon.
The defence secretary also said that Islamabad and Washington would sign two MoUs regarding NATO supply. She, however, did not provide details of the MoUs to be signed by the two countries.
To a query about the Coalition Support Fund payment of over $1 billion to Pakistan, the defence secretary said the US had agreed to release the fund but the process would take time. After approval of the US Congress, the procedure for its release would have to be completed, she said.
Earlier, certain private TV channels had quoted her as saying that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani would visit the US for strategic dialogue. However, military sources rebuffed the reports, saying there was no truth in the news item.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US TROOPS [selected elements + effective suppor airpower] TO STAY IN AFGHANISTAN UNTIL 2024. Outgoing US Ambassador to Kabul Ryan Crocker.
ARTIC > AMB. CROCKER = PLAN INCLUD US TROOP NUMBERS IS ACCEPTABLE TO PAKISTAN = ISLAMABAD.
versus
* SAME > NATO SUPPLIES HARAM, AGZ SHARIA: JAMAT-E-ISLAMI.
CHAMAN: A second caravan carrying supplies for NATO forces reached Chaman from Karachi under strict security on Monday. The caravan comprising of 18 containers left Karachi four days earlier. Pakistan Customs officials will dispatch the containers to Kandahar after clearance of documents.
Pakistan has made special arrangements for the security of these containers, carrying supplies for NATO forces, as previously miscreants had targeted many of them. Special squads of Frontier Corps and Levies Forces have also been deployed at different security points to ensure the safe journey of the caravans.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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OK, how much was paid, and to who?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/17/2012 2:52 Comments ||
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Only to await the thieves at the Chaman border crossing cargo holding yards. Bribes processing and inspection takes a great deal of time you know.
#3
"Pakistan has made special arrangements for the security of these containers"
I am killing myself laughing. Have witnessed the "special treatment" as far back as 2004. It's special all right. Hopefully all there is crap for the AMEX. Vegas odd are?
Usual nonsense from the Taliban and assorted Islamicist miscreants. The children suffer, as usual, but that's their lot in life in Pakistain...
MIRANSHAH/QUETTA: Pakistan on Monday postponed a polio immunisation campaign in parts of its tribal belt, jeopardising the health of more than 350,000 children after the Taliban banned inoculations. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose followers have been fighting Western troops in Afghanistan, banned polio vaccinations in Miranshah of North Waziristan to protest against US drone attacks.
Taliban have condemned the immunisation campaign, which began nationwide on Monday, as a cover for espionage. Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May after helping the CIA to find Osama bin Laden using a hepatitis vaccination programme as cover.
Mazhar Nisar, in-charge of the polio-monitoring cell at the Prime Minister's Secretariat, said that the campaign has been postponed due to the ban in North Waziristan, South Waziristan and District Bara of Khyber Agency.
Local Taliban leader, Mangal Bagh, also made it difficult to inoculate children in Khyber district, officials said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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KUALA LUMPUR: Sea piracy fell 54 percent worldwide in the first half of 2012, led by a dramatic drop in Somali piracy, an international maritime watchdog said yesterday. The International Maritime Bureau attributed the sharp drop to anti-piracy operations by international navies patrolling in seas off Somalia as well as increased vigilance by ships, including the hiring of private armed guards on board.
The bureau said 177 attacks were reported worldwide from January to June, down from 266 in the same period last year. It said 20 vessels were hijacked, with 334 crew members taken hostage and at least four crew members killed.
Attacks off Somalia's coast plunged to 69 in the first six months from 163 a year earlier, it said. Somali pirates were able to seize 13 vessels, down from 21.
"The naval actions play an essential role in frustrating the pirates. There is no alternative to their continued presence," said IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan. He warned that Somali pirates remain a serious threat, with 11 vessels and 218 crew members still in their hands as of late June.
A separate report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea warned that pirate militias are adapting to their harsher operating environment by turning to new types of criminal activity, such as ransom kidnappings on land of aid workers, journalists and tourists.
There's solutions to that too...
The maritime bureau said the decline in Somali piracy was partially offset by intensified attacks in the Gulf of Guinea off western Africa, where 32 cases including five hijackings were reported, up from 25 in the first half last year. The bureau said attacks by armed pirates in skiffs were occurring further from the gulf's coast, suggesting the possible use of fishing or other vessels to reach targets. London-based Lloyd's Market Association, an umbrella group of insurers, last year listed Nigeria, Benin and nearby waters in the same risk category as Somalia.
The EU also announced yesterday a new plan to boost the naval capabilities of nations in the Indian Ocean which have been helping battle piracy off Somalia. The program will initially cover Djibouti, Kenya, and the Seychelles. Tanzania will be added soon, an EU statement said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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Yup, sink a few, and the rest chicken out.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/17/2012 2:49 Comments ||
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#4
Self serving congratulations by the IMB. The sea state had more to do with it. Open air go-fasts (well sort of go-fast with twin 40HPs)do not do very well at all with rough water. Monsoons have been a factor --- but on board security, I admit is a much better deterrant than fake dummies "on watch" and fire hoses. The navies ---- not so sure of at all.
#5
This means less opportunity to board and examine cargo while 'searching' for pirates among the container stacks. Perhaps preplanned interdiction on the open seas is a costly deterrent.
#6
The assholes are now claiming"It's all a Mistake, we were just minding our own business" Yeah sure, and ignoring the Navy's signals, bet you won't ignore them now.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/18/2012 0:01 Comments ||
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US secretary of state reportedly urges prime minister to transfer small arms and release prisoners in bid to restart peace talks
Nothing apparently asked of PA, nobody bothers with Hamas, which is hopeless.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Heroine of Tuzla and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Charles Evans Hughes ... held talks Monday evening with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the end of a day of meetings with Israel's leaders on Iran, Paleostinian peacemaking and America's desire to see Israel heal its ties with Turkey.
Clinton reportedly urged Netanyahu to mend ties with Turkey and make moves to jump start peace talks with the Paleostinian Authority.
The US secretary of state, in Israel as the last leg of a tour through Asia, also told Netanyahu that Jerusalem should transfer small arms to the PA in order to help get the Paleostinians back to the negotiating table, according to Ynet news. She also called on Netanyahu to release Paleostinian prisoners. Both moves have been mentioned as Paleostinian prerequisites for coming back to talks.
Negotiations with the PA have been frozen since 2010 as Ramallah has also demanded a freeze on settlement construction before returning to the table.
Clinton reportedly told Netanyahu he should hurry to achieve peace with Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad ...Fayyad's political agenda holds that neither violence nor peaceful negotiations have brought the Paleostinians any closer to an independent state. The alternative to both, violent negotiations, doesn't seem to be working too well, either... , since it was not clear who would replace them.
Clinton held a joint presser with Netanyahu at the end of their session.
The stateswoman has been urging Israel at her meetings to work to improve relations with Ankara -- which have been dire since Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish nationals who attacked them as they commandeered a Turkish vessel, the Mavi Marmara, that was en route to break the sea blockade of Gazoo in May 2010. Clinton, Israeli sources said Monday night, has been telling the Israelis that terrorist groups are exploiting the hostility between the two countries, and that the collapsed relationship damages Israeli and American strategic interests.
She reportedly encouraged Israel to apologize over the Mavi Marmara fatalities, noting that Turkey was a regional asset and that the ongoing dispute with Israel was undermining international unity in the effort to thwart Iran's nuclear drive.
Before the meeting Netanyahu told Clinton he looked forward to hearing her impressions on Egypt. "That has been an anchor of peace and maintaining the peace treaty between us, I think, is something that is uppermost in both our minds, and I appreciate the efforts that you're investing to this end."
Netanyahu said Paleostinian peacemaking efforts and stopping Iran's nuclear program would also be discussed.
Clinton said Washington would remain close with Jerusalem on the rapidly evolving issues.
"We're living in a time of unprecedented change with a lot of challenges for us both and we will continue to consult closely as we have on an almost daily basis between our two governments to chart the best way forward for peace and stability, for Israel, the United States, the region and the world, and we're all delighted to be here with you," she said.
Earlier, Clinton met at her Jerusalem hotel with Paleostinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The PA has been talking about again seeking UN recognition of a unilaterally declared Paleostinian state; the US has been urging the PA not to do so. The PA is also seeking assistance to meet its financial difficulties. Here, it is understood, the US is looking for ways to help.
#3
The President of Russia comes to Israel to discuss mutually beneficent arrangements for natural gas production and military equipment trade.
US secretary of state comes to Israel to force more concessions to those dedicated to Israel's destruction.
#6
I wonder just how urgently she insisted behind closed doors? She has to know it's a dead-end direction. My guess is she used quotation marks with her fingers to demonstrate when it was BHO talking. Wouldn't want them to think her stupid for doing her job.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/17/2012 10:31 Comments ||
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#7
Well, we've known for quite some time that Hildebeast knows no shame.
'If things remain like this, there'll be no Christians left in Gazoo,' says mother of one convert who demonstrators say is being held against his will
Dozens of Gazoo Christians staged a rare public protest Monday, claiming two congregants were forcibly converted to Islam and were being held against their will.
The small but noisy demonstration showed the increasingly desperate situation facing the tiny minority.
Protesters banged on a church bell and chanted, "With our spirit, with our blood we will sacrifice ourselves for you, Jesus."
Gazoo police say the two converts are staying with a Moslem religious official at their request, because they fear retribution from their families. Two mediators said the two -- a 25-year-old man and a woman with three children -- appeared to have embraced Islam of their free will. Forced conversions have been unheard of in Gazoo before.
Since the Islamic myrmidonHamas, always the voice of sweet reason, seized power five years ago, Christians have felt increasingly embattled, but have mostly kept silent.
There are growing fears among Gazoo Christians that their rapidly shrinking community could disappear through emigration and conversions.
Their numbers appear to have shrunk from some 3,500 to about 1,500 in recent years, according to community estimates. They are a tiny minority among 1.7 million Paleostinians in Gazoo, most conservative Moslems.
"If things remain like this, there'll be no Christians left in Gazoo," said Huda Al-Amash, mother of one of the converts, Ramez, 25. She sat sobbing in a church hallway alongside her daughters, Ranin and Rinad, and a dozen other women. "Today it's Ramez. Then who, and who will be next?"
Christians said the main reason for the shrinking numbers is emigration, since there are few jobs in Gazoo.
Changing faith is a deeply traumatic affair in the Arab world, where religion is strongly interwoven with people's identities and tribal membership. To convert often means to be ostracized by the community.
The two converts, Al-Amash, and Hiba Abu Dawoud, 31, could not be reached for comment. Abu Dawould took her three daughters with her, further enraging the community.
On Monday, groups of men and women stood in groups in the square of the ancient Church of Saint Porphyrius, angrily chanting, "Bring back Ramez!" One man angrily hit the church bell.
"People are locking up their sons and daughters, worried about the ideas people put in their head," said Al-Amash's mother, Huda.
MUSLIM faceless myrmidons in Indonesia are regrouping despite a decade-long crackdown that has weakened the deadliest networks, the International Crisis Group think-tank has said.
Islamists are finding each other and building new cells "on the run, in prison and through Internet forums, military training camps and arranged marriages", the report said, warning the threat of terrorism was far from over.
Beefed-up anti-terror units have divided cells such as Jemaah Islamiyah - blamed for the 2002 twin bombings on Bali that killed 202 people - but smaller groups have formed and carried out low-impact attacks.
"Fortunately for Indonesia, most of these would-be Orcs and similar vermin have been singularly inept,"
"Fortunately for Indonesia, most of these would-be Orcs and similar vermin have been singularly inept," International Crisis Group (ICG) senior adviser Sidney Jones said in a statement.
"But there are signs that at least some are learning lessons from their mistakes and becoming more strategic in their thinking. The danger is not over."
In early 2010, police discovered a training camp in Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra, "involving all major jihadi groups in the country", according to the report, "How Indonesian Extremists Regroup".
After around 200 people were cooled for a few years Book 'im, Mahmoud! and some 30 suspects killed over the following two years, new alliances emerged, dormant cells were revived and recruits were made "through internet chatting, prison visits and radical lectures".
ICG Southeast Asia project director Jim Della-Giacoma said police in Indonesia - the world's most populous Mohammedan country - had been lucky because the faceless myrmidons had been incompetent in many cases.
"Ten years after Bali, there are virtually no effective programs in place to address the conditions that allow jihadi ideology to flourish," he said.
#1
IMO the key will be INDIA = INDJUH, followed in lessor by the outcome of the Muslim struggle in southern Thailand.
Muslim activists are warning that there will be an explosion in India, to include possible violent insurgency, iff New Delhi continues to ignore, denigrate, or otherwise suppress Muslim civil, econ rights as inferior to Hindu.
Indonesia's Muslim radicals already view their Govt's long-standing pro-secular, liberalist or pluralist stance as "Un-Islamic" + "anti-Sharia", in addition to covertly biased in favor of econ properous Non-Muslims [read,Christians].
Iranian + Taliban prevalence agz the US-NATO in West Asia, + failure of Russia + China to quell domestic Muslim unrest, + entrance of Turkic, Iranian, + Pakistan Navies into the SE Asian region, etc. will be interpreted by Indonesian Hard Boyz, Mullahs + aligned Regional Muslim Groups as SIGNS OF THEIR INEVITABLE SUCCESS, + ISLAM'S COMING FINAL VICTORY.
Well at least they don't seem to blaming Global Warming.
The drought in southern Iran is part of a "soft war" launched against the Islamic republic by the West, the Fars news agency quoted an Iranian vice president as saying Monday.
"I am suspicious about the drought in the southern part of the country," Hassan Mousavi, who also heads Iran's cultural heritage and tourism organisation, said at a ceremony to introdue the nation's new chief of meteorological department.
"The world arrogance and colonist (term used by Iranian authorities to label the West) are influencing Iran's climate conditions using technology... The drought is an acute issue and soft war is completely evident... This level of drought is not normal."
Iran has experienced several droughts in recent years, especially in the south where it was hit in recent weeks by violent sand storms that engulfed several cities.
Sand storms particularly enter Iran from neighbouring Iraq where desertification has increased over the last two decades due to wars.
Last year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Western countries of devising plans to "cause drought" in Iran, adding that "European countries are using special equipment to force clouds to dump" their water on their continent.
Iranian leaders claim on a daily basis that Western countries, led by arch-foe the United States, devise "plots" in many forms to undermine the Islamic republic and to impede its economic and scientific development.
They also accuse world powers of colluding against Iran's national unity, independence, political establishment, culture as well as international relations.
(SANA) -- Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said that Russia will not permit the passing of any Security Council on Syria that involves Chapter VII, and that his country opposes any approaches that aim at toppling the Syrian state, adding that what is needed from Security Council is extending the UN observer mission in Syria as there is no reason to terminate its work.
In a presser held in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov said that Russia's invitation for UN Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... to visit Moscow shows his country's dedication to the six-point plan, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile... will be meeting Annan on Tuesday.
He called on all sides to halt violence in Syria and withdraw armed activities from cities and towns under UN supervision, noting that this was Russia's proposition in Geneva's meeting, but the western countries objected and said that government forces should withdraw force, and then gangs would be asked to call a truce, adding that anyone with a reasonable mind can tell that this cannot work, as their should a synchronized ceasefire.
Lavrov stressed that the proposals made by Russia in Geneva are correct and should be included in the draft resolution which the Security Council is due to pass soon, pointing out that the proposed western draft resolution involves sanctions on Syria and the use of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, voicing Russia's regret that some western countries continue to attempt extortion to influence the Security Council resolution.
He said that the western countries are threatening to reject the extension of the observer mission if Russia doesn't approve the use of Chapter VII, stressing that Russia will insist on continuing the mission and that it's committed to seeking methods to achieve reconciliation among Syrians without resorting to extortion, ultimatums, deadlines and military intervention.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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(SANA)_ A Libyan citizen, Hazim M., announced that he worked and collaborated with scores of armed terrorist groups in Syria, with training on bombs manufacturing and exploding.
Hazim M., specialized in bombs in the so-called Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... Brigade, added in an interview with 'Libya Now' News Agency, that he entered to Syria from Turkey illegally and started working with the gangs in preparing and planting bombs targeting Syria Army personnel.
"I worked also in the Syrian City of Hama with the so-called 'Amar Bin Yasser' battalion and was surprised to know that all members of the said battalion belong to Arab and Africa nationalities,'' said Hazim M.
Hazim M. described blasted the ongoing killings and destruction by the armed terrorist groups, which consist of gangs and killers, Calling on Libyan and Arab fighters not to enter to Syria because the ongoing there is never a popular revolt.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Syria also has a large standing army still intact even with a small number of defections.
(SANA) -- Lt. Gen. Rostom Ghazale refuted the news reports about him and his family by biased channels, saying that they are baseless and show the bankruptcy of the instigating channels which are accomplices in shedding Syrian blood.
Ghazale told Addounya TV that he's carrying out his work and duties as normal, and that all of his family members are well and among their relatives, adding that the reports broadcast by malicious channels are mere lies meant to raise the morale of terrorists.
He stressed that the Syrian Arab Army is strong and tightly-knit and stronger than these channels and their news.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
He stressed that the Syrian Arab Army is strong and tightly-knit and stronger than these channels and their news
Better looking mustaches too, I'll reckon.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/17/2012 13:35 Comments ||
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(SANA) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi stressed on Monday that the solution to the crisis in Syria is dialogue between the Government and the opposition, reiterating his country's readiness to host such dialogue.
During a joint presser with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rasit Meredov, Salehi said that Iran expressed readiness to host dialogue between the Syrian Government and the opposition, stressing that Tehran's call for dialogue is aimed at reaching a solution to end the crisis in Syria.
On the Geneva Action Group on Syria meeting, Salehi said that the meeting is consistent with UN Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... 's six-point plan, stressing that all regional countries and other world countries which aspire for peace and stability in the region should cooperate together to get out of the crisis in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 00:00 ||
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(SANA)_ Foreign and Expatriates Ministry spokeman, Dr. Jihad Makdissi, stressed what happened in al-Treimseh village in the countryside of Hama province was not a massacre but a military operation and armed festivities between the army forces and gangs that do not believe in dialogue or the political solution.
In a presser held on Sunday, Makdissi said the army forces did not use any heavy weapons upon entering the village in response to the resident's pleads, adding that damage due to the clash was caused to only five buildings in which the bully boyz were positioned along with their weapons.
Makdissi: Annan's Letter Is Hasty and Not Based on Reality
He referred to a letter received by Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem form the UN envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... regarding the events in al-Treimseh, which Makdissi described as "hasty to the furthest extent" and not based on the reality of what happened in the village.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2012 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.
A gruesome new video which appears to show Muammar Gaddafi's dead body being abused by rebels has surfaced online.
Hillary Clinton
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...
