[Tolo News] Presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani-Ahmadzai and Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... 's agreement on a political framework that was arranged by U.S. Secretary of State's visit to Afghanistan states that amendments will be made to the country's constitution within the next two years, according to a copy of the contract obtained by TOLOnews.
The two candidates agreed that Afghanistan's constitution would be amended within two years to work toward a prime ministerial system. Within the two years they agreed to convene a Loya Jirga as well.
The agreement states that the president, once elected, would immediately form a chief executive position as well as a head of opposition post that can either be filled by the losing candidate or someone of his choice.
Once the position is filled, the president and the head of opposition will jointly pick and choose key security and economic posts. Positions at the provincial levels will be consulted with the head of opposition.
The president also promises to keep prominent security chiefs for a period of, at least, 90 days.
The government, according to the agreement, is obligated to bring significant reforms to the electoral bodies within a year.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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Would be "ironic" (Weird Al, call your office) if Afghanistan turned out to be a successful nation, and Iraq shattered into little pieces.
Posted by: Boss Shans4455 ||
07/17/2014 12:41 Comments ||
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Would be "ironic" (Weird Al, call your office) if Afghanistan turned out to be a successful nation, and Iraq shattered into little pieces.
Yes, and the same time as the Titanic docks in New York, Amelia Earnhardt lands in Oakland, and Barrack Obama announces his resignation on August 9th, forty years after Richard Nixon's resignation.
[Iraq Sun] Some Mohammedan leaders in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa have called on security officials not to harass worshipers at the Musa mosque in Majengo. The mosque has been a magnet for police surveillance because of suspected radicalism and connections to the Somali bad boy group al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... The drive to the mosque, located in the Majengo neighborhood takes a little longer these days due to heightened concern about security. Motorists and pedestrians try to avoid the mosque in general.
Inside, there are few worshipers. It is quite a contrast to the days when the mosque was so full, many had to pray on the streets outside.
Musa long had a reputation of attracting young men due to what many describe as a more liberal and intellectually open atmosphere. It is that same reputation, which attracted authorities to scrutinize those preaching for radical content.
Now the young avoid the mosque, due to fears they will be caught in another security crackdown or labeled terrorist sympathizers.
Noor Abdullah, a 25-year-old Majengo resident is one of them. He said he stopped praying in the mosque after a police raid which left some people dead. He said he is too afraid it could happen again and he'd be caught up in it.
During that February raid, Kenyan security forces killed three people and placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! more than 100 young people - most of whom were later released by the courts.
But Kenyan security forces said they recovered an AK-47 rifle, knives, video disks and flags which bore the symbols of Somali bad boy group al-Shabaab.
Kenyan authorities allege some of the Musa Mosque holy mans are recruiting for al-Shabaab among the poor young men in the rundown neighborhood of Majengo.
Sheikh Juma Ngao, the chairman of Kenya's Mohammedan National Advisory Council, argues worshipers should not be harassed because of a few individuals who are suspected of preaching hate and violence.
"People who are performing prayers in Musa mosque should not be any given time be harassed, even if there is one suspect or two in that mosque. It's not a reason to the government or police to harass the Mohammedans in that mosque. What they must do first they must do their investigation before taking any action like the way they did in the previous time," stated Ngao.
Local human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... organizations have accused Kenyan police of using heavy-handed tactics against the Mohammedan community, including forced disappearances and murder. Police have strongly denied No, no! Certainly not! the accusations and say their actions are in defense of a nation under attack from Death Eaters both inside the country and in neighboring Somalia.
Abdullah said families feel they are no longer safe and some are leaving Majengo altogether.
He said it is very sad to see how empty the mosque is during the holy month of Ramadan - which is a time when people especially loved to go. He said even people who live around the mosque have moved, leaving empty houses behind.
Sheikh Ngao said in the past four months, holy mans and local human rights groups have been trying to work with the mosque leadership and young worshipers there to ensure that radicalism is not part of the culture, and to allay fears within broader Kenya. "They were ready to quit their understanding of Jihad and join the other side of the Mohammedanholy mans and forge forward and march forward with their mission of peace," he said.
Ngao said the message of peace needs time to sink in, and the support of holy teachers so young people can truly understand their religion - in Musa and elsewhere.
Think of it as evolution in action.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Ukrainian government has protested the death on Monday in Zintani detention of a Ukrainian national jugged ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in August 2011, accused of being a mercenary.
Anatoli Kozlow, 64 is reported to have died of "respiratory problems". He was one of 19 Ukrainians accused of working on Qadaffy's missiles during the revolution. Tried and convicted in June 2012 by a military court and sentenced to ten years, all the convictions were overturned last August and a retrial ordered in a civilian court. This trial has been postponed repeatedly, in the main because of security concerns.
A number of the imprisoned Ukrainians is reportedly aged over 60 and in poor health. The authorities in Kiev have made repeated appeals to the government and the General National Congress as well as judicial authorities, requesting that the legal process be expedited or that releases be considered on compassionate grounds.
The Ukrainian prisoners have always maintained that they were oilfield engineers and not mercenaries as Libyan prosecutors have alleged. They claimed that they had been recruited under false pretences and once they arrived in Libya at the start of the revolution, they had been forced to work on missile systems. Three Belarusians and two Russians who were in their party are also still held by the Zintanis. One of the Russians, who was said to be the leader of the group, was given a life sentence, while his compatriot and the Belarusians were also sentenced to ten years at the 2012 military trial. Those convictions have likewise been overturned and retrials ordered.
The men have been moved on a number of occasions between confinement in Zintan and Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... . Kozlow's death on Monday occurred after the latest transfer from a prison, thought to be near the airport road, back to Zintan, which was made at the weekend as fighting raged around Tripoli airport.
According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Kozlow was taken ill and rushed to a local hospital where he died. The ministry also said: "The Libyan court possesses evidence proving the Ukrainians found their way to Libya as a result of fraudulent actions by a citizen of the Russian Federation, who hired them under the pretence of working for a Russia-Libya oil producing company".
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[Dhaka Tribune] The Law Ministry has taken an initiative to amend the International Crimes Tribunal Act, keeping the provision of trying organizations such as the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and including the scope of bail for the accused.
The ministry had already prepared the draft of the amendment, which would be placed to the cabinet after Eid-ul-Fitr, officials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Law Minister Anisul Haque said: "There is no option but to amend the ICT act to try Jamaat-e-Islami as a war criminal organization. We are considering amending the law.
"We may decide on the matter after Eid-ul-Fitr."
However, we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... when asked about keeping the provision of bail for the accused, the minister refused to make any comment. He only said: "Nothing is finalised yet. It may take time to finalise the matter and we will inform the media of the amendment before it is placed in parliament."
A number of officials at the ministry, however, confirmed that the provisions for trying organizations on war crime charges and bail for the accused would be kept in the law.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] French authorities are forbidding pro-Paleostinian protests in some cities after violence marred a recent march against the violence in Gazoo, as Jewish-Moslem tensions in La Belle France have reached their highest level in years.
Moderates on both sides called Wednesday for calm, and for a halt to fighting in the Mideast. La Belle France has Western Europe's largest Moslem and Jewish populations, and Israeli-Paleostinian unrest often translates into anger between the communities.
After several thousand pro-Paleostinian demonstrators marched peacefully Sunday through Gay Paree, festivities broke out among small groups, including some who attacked synagogues, Jewish stores and neighborhoods.
Militants from the Jewish Defense League were also involved in violence against pro-Paleostinian demonstrators, according to Roger Cukierman, head of La Belle France's leading Jewish organization, CRIF.
Speaking Wednesday to the News Agency that Dare Not be Named, he denounced the league's violent methods and lamented that its actions Sunday — including provoking pro-Paleostinian protesters — could further inflame anger.
Several demonstrations have been held in recent days calling for an end to Israeli Arclight airstrikes on Gazoo.
A march was planned for Gay Paree on Saturday. A police official said Wednesday said it would be banned because of "the serious risk of disruption of public order that such a protest could engender, in a context of heightened tension." The official, who wasn't authorized to be publicly named, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Authorities have also banned protests in Nice and Lille.
The French government is pushing for a cease-fire in Gazoo and to calm tensions at home.
French authorities are struggling to stem the flow of young Moslem radicals, facing dim job prospects and discrimination in La Belle France, from heading to Syria to fight with Death Eaters. Meanwhile French Jews are emigrating in record numbers for Israel.
"The Jewish population is worried because they are finding themselves cornered on the one hand by the right, the extreme right, which is gaining electoral support, and is still anti-Semitic in its ideology and in its ranks, and on the other hand, by pro-Paleostinian forces, by the extreme left, by disaffected youth from suburban housing projects, and by the Moslem population in general," renowned Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld said Wednesday at a memorial service in remembrance of Jews deported during World War II.
"History tells us that when there is an anti-Jewish movement we cannot control, the best thing to do is to move to another country," he said.
Cukierman described the current tensions as the worst in decades.
During other intifadas in recent years, when anger mounted in La Belle France, he said, "We heard death to Israelis. Now we hear death to Jews." He said anti-Arab discrimination in La Belle France feeds the anger.
He called for calm, and acknowledged that forbidding protests can be "delicate, because there is freedom of expression."
Sofiane Benzaroual, a 22-year-old student protesting Wednesday in Gay Paree against Israeli attacks in Gazoo, said the violence against synagogues Sunday "tarnished the Paleostinian flag, because the majority of Paleostinians want peace, they don't want violence."
At the same protest stood Serge Grossvak, a member of the Gay Pareeian Jewish community. He carried a poster reading: "I am Jewish and I am here with my friends for peace."
Meanwhile, at the far end of the Mediterranean sea:
[Arutz7] Jewish Agency notes record figures in French aliyah still on track despite rocket attacks; many choosing to live in southern Israel.
Some 400 French Jews will be making aliyah to Israel Wednesday, undeterred by the ongoing rocket fire and conflict with terrorist groups in Gazoo.
The group is set to arrive aboard two special flights organized by The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, and notably is comprised largely of families with young children, including 195 minors and 18 babies according to the Jewish Agency.
Most of the immigrants are from the Gay Paree area, which has seen particularly virulent manifestations of anti-Semitism in recent years and which has spiked further still during the current conflict between Israel and Gazook terrorists.
But despite economic difficulties and anti-Semitism at home, Jewish Agency officials are quick to point out that the rise in those opting to move specifically to Israel as opposed to elsewhere in Europe or to the US are due to a special plan developed by the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption and The Jewish Agency to encourage Aliyah from La Belle France and ease French Jews' integration into Israeli society. The plan includes efforts to strengthen Jewish identity among French Jewish youth, expand Israel experience programs, remove bureaucratic barriers to employment in Israel, and boost the number of Jewish Agency shlichim (representatives) in La Belle France.
[CTVNEWS.CA] A Swedish court on Wednesday upheld its detention order on Julian Assange, reaffirming the legal basis for an international warrant for the WikiLeaks founder which has kept him hiding in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for two years. Assange's defence team said it would appeal. Defence lawyer Per Samuelson said they would study the judge's decision in detail and then "write a juicy, toxic appeal" to a higher court.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Sindh government on Wednesday imposed a three-day ban on pillion-riding in Karachi and Sukkur starting on Friday (July 18) to Sunday.
The ban was imposed under Section 144 (power to issue order absolute at once in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the criminal procedure code as part of security arrangements for Yaum-i-Ali, said a notification issued by the Sindh home department.
Yaum-i-Ali falls on July 20.
It's about a Shiite holiday, then? But how are the Hazeris to be kept safe the rest of the year?
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... fired its first salvo against the newly passed Protection of Pakistain Act (PPA) 2014 on Wednesday as it challenged the law as 'ultra vires' before the Supreme Court.
JI chief Sirajul Haq submitted a petition challenging the law through his counsel Taufiq Asif and Sheikh Ahsanuddin.
Following the JI's challenge, the country's top two legal associations, the Pakistain Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association, are also said to be contemplating to file their own challenges to the new anti-terror law.
In its petition, the JI contends that the PPA 2014 violates the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens of Pakistain in Chapter 1, Part-II of the Constitution that deals with fundamental rights and principles of policy.
The petition alleges that the entire act was inconsistent and in negation of the fundamental rights provided in Articles 2-A, 4, 8, 9, 10, 10-A, 12, 14, 15, 19-A, 23, 24 and 25 of the constitution. The JI pleaded that if act of parliament infringed the fundamental rights of the citizens, it was open to judicial review by the Supreme Court.
Referring to clause 3(2a) of the PPA, the petition pleaded that no government official or any authority was above judicial review and, therefore, had no authority or jurisdiction to order any citizen to be shot on mere suspicion.
The establishment of special courts under the law is in violation of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court and, therefore, in violation of Articles 10 and 10-A of the Constitution that ensure a fair trial for all.
The legislation, in fact, is another attempt to subvert the principles laid down in the Mehram Ali case of 1998, where the Supreme Court had declared certain sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 to be unconstitutional and needing amendment.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Threats of a looming operation in Bajaur tribal region were momentarily defused on Wednesday after the Mamond tribe announced the formation a lashkar (militia) to fight against holy warriors and added thon the lam-scale preparations were under way in this regard.
Tribes along with the district administration reportedly set fire to several bad boy houses. Two suspected holy warriors were killed whereas six others sustained injuries. An investigation is under way.
However, ars longa, vita brevis... there was no confirmation from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Mamond rustics decided to form a peace legion against holy warriors to support the administration in tracking down the assailants who had killed three security personnel including a Pakistain Army Captain on July 12 in Gahki Pass area.
Curfew was imposed in parts of Mamond Tehsil of Bajaur tribal agency as the political administration and the security forces with the support of the local rustics launched a search operation in the area.
The authorities had given a deadline to the Mamond rustics to hand over the suspects or an operation would be launched in the area.
Following which a representative jirga of the Mamond rustics had met the political authorities on Tuesday assuring them of their cooperation in tracking the culprits and action against bad boys.
The Mamnond rustics led by Haji Bismillah Jan and other elders have assured the authorities of their cooperation and they are meeting the security commanders to assure their support.
The political Tehsildar of Mamond Tehsil Haseeb Khan told Dawn.Com that the rustics are willing to cooperate with the government and those people who had moved out due to the threat of an operation have started moving back.
He said that the Mamond rustics had been asked to evacuate but following the jirga they had agreed to form various peace committees and maintain security on the border to stop bad boy infiltration and cross border attacks.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... has decided to seek the support of other parties in the opposition for its proposed Aug 14 march.
The PTI's core committee held an extensive session at the residence of party chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... in Banigala late on Tuesday night.
A majority of the party's leaders, according to a participant of the meeting, believed that "moral support" of other parties, particularly the PPP, would strengthen the PTI's hand in its demand for electoral reforms and for investigation into its claims of fraud in the May 2013 general elections.
The leadership welcomed former president Asif Ali Zardari's statement in which he supported PTI's demand for recount of votes and held up its right to hold demonstrations for electoral reforms. Even verbal support from the PPP for the long march will be a huge boost for PTI, they observed.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... a source in the party said Imran Khan agreed to a suggestion that PPP be requested to "at least endorse the cause" for which the PTI had decided to take to the streets.
"The PTI can gather people on its own and put up a good show, but moral support of other political parties for the long march can be a game-changer," said a senior PTI leader.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Security forces and the Bajaur political administration agreed on Wednesday to postpone a planned military operation in border areas of Mamond tehsil in Bajaur tribal agency after tribal elders from Mamond announced formation of a grand quami lashkar (militia) to combat turbans and prevent cross-border attacks.
The accord was reached at a meeting between a delegation of tribal elders from Mamond led by National Assembly member Haji Bismillah Khan and Fata chapter's chief of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Sahibzada Haroon Rasheed and security bigshots, including northern sector commander Brigadier Ghulam Haider, and members of the local administration, including Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central ...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth... 's Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabar Shah.
The meeting discussed the overall security situation in the agency and expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... over growing cross-border attacks.
Haji Bismillah and Sahibzada Haroon said that peace-loving people of Mamond had always rendered sacrifices for the country. They claimed that Mamond was the only tribe in the region which always fought against hard boys. Tribal leaders said the operation would cast a negative impact.
After the tribal elders' assurances, the security officials and members of the local administration agreed to postpone the operation.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[Iraq Sun] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Wednesday welcomed the election of a speaker and two deputies for the violence-hit country's new parliament.
"I congratulate the Iraqi people, the Council of Representatives and the Speaker of the council, the brother doctor Salim al-Jubouri, the first deputy, the brother doctor Haidar al-Ebadi and the second deputy, brother Aram Sheikh Mohammed," Maliki said in his televised weekly speech.
Maliki called on the new parliament to unite and work in harmony and to hastily pass the pending important laws like the oil and gas law, Xinhua reported.
He also urged the new parliament to better coordinate with the executive authority.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi politicians managed to fill in the vacant speakership, taking a key step toward the formation of a new government.
By electing a Sunni speaker and Shia and Kurdish deputies, the politicians overcame their first obstacle in the way of forming a new government that could include all Iraqi factions.
"One of the first tasks facing the Council of Representatives is confronting the calls for dividing Iraq," Maliki added.
As for the post of the country's president, Maliki said a Kurd was welcome to be a candidate for the post, adding that the candidate for the post "must believe in the unity of Iraq and reject the calls for division, referendums, violations to the constitution and illegitimate expansions".
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[Al Ahram] Israel has found funding for three new Iron Dome rocket interceptors, an Israeli official said on Tuesday.
Israel had seven Iron Domes set up to shoot down missiles when cross-border fighting with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-led bully boyz surged on July 8, and has since brought two more into service, Israel's Defence Ministry said.
Speaking to Rooters on condition of anonymity, the Israeli official said that as a result of its operations against Gazoo, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, three new Iron Dome units were now "in the pipeline".
The Israeli official did not expand on where the money for the new rocket interceptors came from. But Yair Ramati, head of the Defence Ministry's missile defence agency, told news hounds at the weekend that all but two of the Iron Dome batteries in the field were paid for with US grants.
The US embassy in Israel did not immediately comment about the planned increase in the Iron Dome deployment on Tuesday.
Israeli defence industry sources have said in the past that Iron Dome batteries cost about $50 million each but added that this would be reduced as state-owned manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. refined its production techniques.
Israeli and US officials said Iron Dome, which is designed to shoot down rockets threatening to hit residential areas while ignoring those falling wide, has scored a 90 percent success rate in intercepting incoming rockets.
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07/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
IronDome ... has scored a 90 percent success rate in intercepting incoming rockets.
As we saw in an article the other day, Iron Dome may have a success rate of 90%, but it is destroying the incoming rockets in exactly the wrong way, so this doesn't really count. Even though it seems to be kinda sorta working and a whole lot of people are not dead.
#2
Yea, but if you give Raytheon (you did notice the author's affiliation, SteveS) 10 billion, in 10 years they'll give you something that destroys 10% of the incoming missiles in the right way.
[ARABNEWS] In Cairo, a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, official met Egyptian leaders and Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... arrived to join the diplomatic efforts.
US President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... on Wednesday backed Egypt's efforts to broker a cease-fire, offering Washington's full diplomatic support.
"Over the next 24 hours, we'll continue to stay in close contact with our friends and parties in the region, and we will use all of our diplomatic resources and relationships to support efforts of closing a deal on a cease-fire."
Obama said that while he and the world were "heartbroken" by the deaths of civilians in the Gazoo Strip, US ally Israel had the "right to defend itself from rocket attacks that teterrorize" its population.
In addition to the four children who died on the Gazoo seashore, several people were also maimed in an apparent Israeli naval bombardment, medics said.
The first strike scattered terrified children and adults on the beach. A second and third struck as they ran, setting fire to huts on the beach.
The strikes appeared to be the result of shelling by the Israeli navy against an area with small shacks used by fishermen.
Several children ran inside a hotel where at least three had shrapnel injuries.
Several hours after the strikes, the Israeli military described the deaths as "tragic" and said it was investigating the incident.
"Based on preliminary results, the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives," the military said in a statement.
"The reported civilian casualties from this strike are a tragic outcome."
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[Al Ahram] The number of child marriages has doubled among Syrian refugee girls in Jordan because of poverty and fear of sexual violence, international agencies said on Wednesday.
Save the Children, in a report, "Too Young to Wed," said children marrying in Syria before the country's conflict erupted in 2011 accounted for 13 percent of all marriages.
But "early and forced marriage among Syrian refugee girls in Jordan has doubled since the onset of war," according to the report.
It said 48 percent of them were forced into unions with men at least 10 years their senior.
"Child marriage is devastating for those girls concerned," said Saba al-Mobaslat, Save the Children's country director in Jordan.
"Girls who marry before 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence than their peers who marry later, and they have much more limited access to sexual and reproductive health, putting their young bodies at extreme risk if and when they become pregnant."
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As Sunni fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) poured south into Iraq last month, a statement from Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of the major Iraqi Shia militias battling rebel groups in Syria, announced it was withdrawing fighters to deal with this threat.
Thats bad news for Bashar al-Assad, whose regime relies heavily on the support of these paramilitary auxiliaries. The loss of these fighters will likely see Damascus seek further support from Hezbollah, leaving the Lebanese group facing a deadly dilemmaas every resource committed to the regional struggle potentially undermines domestic security.
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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.
[Al Ahram] Tourism rates continue to drop in Egypt though many European countries have lifted travel bans as relative stability returns
[DAWN] The Sindh government on Wednesday imposed a three-day ban on pillion-riding in Karachi and Sukkur starting on Friday (July 18) to Sunday.
...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...
[Al Ahram] The number of child marriages has doubled among Syrian refugee girls in Jordan because of poverty and fear of sexual violence, international agencies said on Wednesday. 
