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Hundreds wounded in Kabul suicide attack
Today's Headlines
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Pakistani court gives 2 men life in jail over child abuse scandal
[Iran Press TV] A court in Pakistain has handed down life sentences to two convicts involved in the country’s largest child abuse and extortion scandal.

"Two convicts in the Kasur child abuse case have been handed life imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 rupees ($2,860) each by an anti-terrorism court of Lahore," said Sheikh Saeed Ahmed, the chief prosecutor of Punjab, on Monday.

The scandal shocked Pakistain in August last year after it was revealed that for the past nine years, a local gang had been filming sexual exploitation of children below 14 years of age, all residents of Hussain Khanwala village in the Kasur district, southwest of Lahore.

The 400 pornographic videos of at least 280 victims were circulated during the nine-year period for 50 rupees (40 US cents) each. In some cases, the videos were used to blackmail the children’s parents. The scandal gained national attention early in August after festivities broke out in the village between parents protesting against the police's failure to arrest those responsible.

After the scandal surfaced, about 20 arrests were made and Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
vowed to "severely" punish the perpetrators.

On March 11, the Pak Senate passed a bill that criminalized for the first time sexual assault against minors, child pornography and trafficking. Previously, only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law.
Posted by: Fred || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


-Short Attention Span Theater-
U.S. government urges Windows users to uninstall QuickTime
Video at link explaining the problem. Apparently it's very prone to getting hacked. I don't know if it's even getting updated anymore or not.
The US government has issued an urgent alert to Windows customers.
Posted by: gorb || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...I got an update for it a few days ago, but as soon as I saw this I yanked it out of the hard drive. Can't remember the last time I used it, anyways.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 04/19/2016 4:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, we still have it on our system. Hardly ever use it and this makes a good case for removal.

Normally use VideoLan (VLC) player anyway. Way more flexible.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 04/19/2016 9:57 Comments || Top||

#3  Clean your registry with CCleaner or some other good one afterwards. QuickTime leaves some cr*p.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 04/19/2016 10:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Whew - I first read it to mean 'QuickBooks'!
Posted by: Raj || 04/19/2016 10:23 Comments || Top||

#5  QuickTime is little better than Adobe Flash. The faster both of those products are off your computer the better.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/19/2016 10:57 Comments || Top||


#7  Better yet, uninstall Windows.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/19/2016 13:58 Comments || Top||

#8  got to admit.. things have gotten so bad that my first reaction was "what's the gov'ts real motive here..."?
Posted by: Angoling Prince of the Sith1435 || 04/19/2016 14:06 Comments || Top||

#9  Any advice on uninstalling the US government?
Posted by: SteveS || 04/19/2016 14:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Sorry SteveS. That is going to require a reformat and reinstall of the base operating system.

On the plus side all the corrupt files will be gone.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/19/2016 14:51 Comments || Top||

#11  Any advice on uninstalling the US government?

Elect Hillary.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/19/2016 16:00 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Flash floods leaves at least 31 dead in northern parts of Afghanistan
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 31 people bit the dust in the latest flash floods in northern parts of the country, the local officials said.

The flash floods swept through residential areas in northern Baghlan and Samangan, northeastern Takhar and northwestern Badghis provinces.

According to the local officials in Badghis, heavy seasonal rain falls triggered flash floods in northern parts of the country, mostly affecting the Jond, Kamari and Sang Atash district in Badghis.

The officials further added that 5 deaths were reported in the village of Pul Bagh in Taloqan city of Takhar where 3 others sustained injuries.

Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber...
officials in Samangan said at least 5 people are missing after flash floods hit the area, damaging at least 5 acres of agricultural land.

Reports from the central Daikundi province suggest the main transportation routes have been blocked as a result of the flash floods.

This comes as dozens of people bit the dust in flash floods triggered by heavy seasonal rain falls across the country last year.

Afghanistan is hit by heavy rainfalls as the weather gets warm across the country which mainly contributes to flash floods that leave hundreds of people dead every year.
Posted by: Fred || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Ecuador quake leaves over 230 dead
[DAWN] Rescuers in Ecuador raced to dig out people trapped under the rubble of homes and businesses on Sunday, following a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 233 people.

Vice President Jorge Glas called it the "worst seismic movement we have faced in decades".

President Rafael Correa said on Twitter that the corpse count had risen to 233. He added that Mr Glas was on his way to the hard-hit city of Portoviejo on the Pacific coast.

The quake, felt across Ecuador, northern Peru and southern Colombia, struck on Saturday evening, lasting about a minute, and was centred approximately 170km northwest of the capital Quito.
Posted by: Fred || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
HRW hails Saudi move to curb religious police powers
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
on Monday hailed Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
’s recent announcement which identified the powers of the Saudi Committee of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (often referred to as "inquisitors religious police") and revoked its ability to pursue and detain.

"This is a positive move for Saudi citizens and residents who have suffered years of harassment and abuse by the inquisitors religious police," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director.

Members of the inquisitors religious police, known informally as Mutawaa, can no longer stop or arrest or chase people or ask for their IDs or follow them, under the new regulations.

They should instead "carry out the duties of encouraging virtue and forbidding vice by advising kindly and gently", the official Saudi Press Agency reported citing the decree.

"Saudi Arabia has taken a step that could rein in longstanding inquisitors religious police abuses, but authorities must enforce the new regulations for them to have any meaning," Whitson said.

Last week, the Saudi cabinet issued a decree which sought to organize the framework of committee’s operation.

Under the approved changes, religious officers will no longer be allowed to detain people and instead must report violators to police or the kingdom’s anti-narcotics officers.

The decree also stipulated the criteria of which members of the committee are selected; it states that they must have sufficient educational qualifications, a good reputation and no criminal record or ruling against them prior to joining.

Each member of the committee will now also be required to wear a photo ID card while on duty. A detailed translation of last week cabinet decree can be found here.
Posted by: Fred || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  HRW - willing dupes. How fucking stupid do they think we are?

Yes, that's a rhetorical question.
Posted by: Raj || 04/19/2016 0:36 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
U.S. diplomat: China should accept U.S. offer to provide expert explanations about THAAD
China's "misperception" about the THAAD missile defense system would be dispelled if it hears expert explanations that the U.S. has offered to provide about the system, a U.S. State Department official said Monday.
Perhaps the Chinese 'pressure' on the Norks is as simple as, they don't want us putting a missile defense system into South Korea...
"We've offered to send subject matter experts to Beijing to brief both the PLA (People's Liberation Army) and government and party officials about what THAAD is," Mark Lambert, the department's Korea director, said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"I think there is a lot of misperception that THAAD is aimed at China and much of that could be alleviated if Chinese officials would agree to meet with our experts," he said. "Unfortunately to date, officials in Beijing have been unwilling to meet with our officials and hear that."
The Chinese understand THAAD perfectly well. That's why they don't want it in South Korea...
Lambert said that the radars associated with THAAD are "pointed northeast towards North Korea, not towards Xinjiang," China, and that THAAD interceptors "would not be a mechanism that would do away with China's nuclear deterrent."

China has expressed strong opposition to the potential deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense unit in South Korea, arguing that the system can be used against it, despite repeated assurances from Washington that the system is aimed only at deterring North Korean threats.

South Korea and the U.S. jointly announced in February, shortly after North Korea's long-range missile test, that they would begin official discussions about the possible deployment of a THAAD battery to better defend against nuclear and missile threats from the North.

Recalling his time in Beijing when tensions were high in U.S.-China relations over military incidents in 2001 and 2009, known as "EP-3 Crisis" and "Impeccable Crisis," respectively, Lambert said that Chinese officials have shown a tendency of not wanting to have dialogue when it was most needed.

"I'm hoping that our bilateral decision to protect Koreans and Americans would not affect our ability to work effectively with Beijing on areas of mutual concern," he said. "We have areas of mutual concern. Those areas exist irrespective of our views on THAAD. I think it's time for thinking a little bit more creatively."
Posted by: Steve White || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  No.
Fuck you.
THAAD is as good as we want it to be.
Piss off.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/19/2016 0:26 Comments || Top||

#2  By the gods, I would make an awesome diplomat.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/19/2016 0:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Darth Vader for Secretary of State!

Sorry, Joe...
Posted by: Raj || 04/19/2016 0:34 Comments || Top||


Activity continues at N. Korea's nuclear test site
Recent satellite imagery shows that activity is continuing at North Korea's nuclear test site, the website 38 North said Monday, amid heightened concern the communist nation could carry out its fifth nuclear test soon.
So much for being leaned on by the Chinese...
The April 14 imagery shows limited activity at the North Portal, where the North conducted three of its four nuclear tests, and what appears to be a trailer or small passenger vehicle is present outside the tunnel entrance, 38 North said.

The imagery also showed the presence of what is likely a shipping container or equipment trailer at the main support area, 38 North said. The area is also clear of snow and well-maintained, which also indicates that it is active, it said.

"While there is little evidence of that a test is imminent, the possibility cannot be ruled out since the North has demonstrated the ability to conduct detonations on short notice by slow rolling preparations, masking significant indicators from satellite view," 38 North said.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the United States is monitoring the situation closely.

"I won't talk about intelligence matters, but I can just tell you we're watching this as closely as we can," he said. "We continue to call on them to stop these destabilizing activities and to prove that they are willing to return to the six-party process."
Posted by: Steve White || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  I want to see tiny bodies with their legs churning furiously as they run away from the facility.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/19/2016 1:10 Comments || Top||


Europe
Ukraine court sentences Russia soldiers to 14-years in prison
[Iran Press TV] A court in Ukraine has sentenced two Russian soldiers, captured in 2015, to 14 years in prison for crimes, including fighting in the conflict in the country’s troubled east.

The Ukrainian court made the ruling on Monday, after it found Sergeant Aleksander Aleksandrov and Captain Yevgeny Yerofeyev guilty of participating in "an aggressive war" against Ukraine and committing "a terrorist attack" in the country’s east.

Kiev says the two were servicemen with an elite Russian military intelligence unit when they were tossed in the calaboose
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
in the eastern region of Lugansk last May.

Russia, however, insists that the pair had resigned from active duty and crossed into the war zone of their own free will.

Russia’s Interfax news agency, citing the convicts’ lawyers, said Aleksandrov and Yerofeyev have yet to decide whether to file an appeal against the verdict.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has proposed swapping the soldiers for a Ukrainian pilot who was sentenced to 22 years in prison by a Russian court in March.
Posted by: Fred || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iranian authorities promise immediate actions to try rapist, killer of little Afghan girl
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Iranian authorities have promised to take immediate actions to try the culprit involved in the brutal murder and rape of a little Afghan girl.

The Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mohammad Reza Bahrami, has said the country’s Vice President has met with the family of the victim.

He said the culprit would be tried for the brutal murder and rape of the child, promising quick actions by the authorities in Iran.

Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ...
a front man for the Iranian Police, Syed Muntazir Mehdi, said the authorities have released special orders to follow the case.

The brutal murder of the 6-year-old Afghan refugee girl, Setayish Quraishi, sparked anger both in Afghanistan and outside after reports regarding the horrific incident emerged recently.

The incident took place in Khairabad area in Veramin city in the outskirts of Tehran, the scenic provincial capital of Iran.

The girl was initially kidnapped by a 17-year-old Iranian and was raped by the teenager who then murdered her by stabbing her to death.

The girl was also burnt with acid in a bid to hide the brutal rape and murder incident, accoridng to local media reports which added that the perpetrator attempted to burn the victim after his friend denied to help him.
Posted by: Fred || 04/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran



Who's in the News
26[untagged]
7Taliban
6Govt of Iran
5Islamic State
4Govt of Syria
3Boko Haram
2Govt of Pakistain Proxies
2Houthis
2Hamas
2Commies
2Govt of Saudi Arabia
1al-Qaeda
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Arab Spring
1Baloch Liberation Army
1Govt of Pakistan
1Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar
1Palestinian Authority
1Sublime Porte
1al-Shabaab

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2016-04-19
  Hundreds wounded in Kabul suicide attack
Mon 2016-04-18
  Ivory Coast Attacks 'Number Two' Arrested in Mali
Sun 2016-04-17
  Dozens of Hezbollah militants 'accidentally' killed in chemical attack
Sat 2016-04-16
  UK police arrest 5 in terror probe
Fri 2016-04-15
  Sharia police preacher faces terrorism charges
Thu 2016-04-14
  SSS announces arrest of another ‘top Boko Haram terrorist’
Wed 2016-04-13
  Belgian police arrest 3 in Paris terror attacks investigations
Tue 2016-04-12
  Saudi FM: Red Sea islands have returned to the kingdom
Mon 2016-04-11
  Ahrar al-Sham commander slain in Aleppo clashes
Sun 2016-04-10
  Four Brussels suspects charged with terror offenses
Sat 2016-04-09
  Lebanon sentences ex-minister Samaha to 13 years in prison
Fri 2016-04-08
  Danish Police Arrest Four Alleged ISIL Fighters, Seize Weapons
Thu 2016-04-07
  Secular Bangladeshi writer murdered in the street
Wed 2016-04-06
  Tripoli authorities cede power to Libyan unity government
Tue 2016-04-05
  al-Nusra Top Dawg dies in Idlib airstrike


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