"Opium is nothing new to our villages or districts. It's an old tradition, something of a religion in some areas," said Dr. Mohamed Daoud Rated, coordinator of the center.
"People use opium as drugs or medicine. If a child cries, they give him opium, if they can't sleep, they use opium, if an infant coughs, they give them opium."
Most Afghans aren't aware of the health risks of opium and only a few are beginning to understand the hazards of addiction. This is a large part of the problem. They don't get it. They don't look at it as a drug.
#3
My mother used to do the paregoric on the gums thing when we were teething. Worked well. When I was in college, we'd dip joints in it, let them dry out, and toke up. Called them OJ's. More bang for your pot dollar, because they were potent...
[Tolo News] Russia is ready to provide equipment and training to Afghan police forces, a top official at the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) said on Sunday.
Presently a number of Afghan police forces are receiving anti-drugs trafficking trainings in Russia, Interior Ministry Spokesperson, Zemarai Bashari, told news hounds during a conference.
Russia has provided 20,000 AK-47 to Afghan police forces as part of military aid to Afghanistan, Mr Bashari said. Mr Bashari declined to give more details about Russian trainings to Afghan police forces, but he highlighted the efficacy of Russia's role in forces' reinforcement.
I'd personally highlight the long memories and the past grievances of the Afghan people against the Russians...
"Russia is ready to cooperate with police and with no doubt its cooperation alongside the international community will be effective to strengthen police forces," said Mr Bashari.
During the last week around 132 Orcs and similar vermin were killed and 16 others were hurt in shootout in different parts of the country, he said.
A total of 12 police soldiers had also bit the dust and 26 other police forces were maimed in festivities with jihad boys.
Militants' fatalities increased by 31 percent and there has been a 14-percent decrease in police forces' casualties in the past week, according to the statistics provided by MoI.
Violence has claimed lives of 27 civilians, 8 coppers and 45 Orcs and similar vermin during the last week, which marked it the deadliest to Afghan cops.
Efforts are on the ground to make the exact number of Orcs and similar vermin fighting Afghan and foreign forces clear, said MOI officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Somali pirates on Sunday threatened to kill any Korean sailors they take hostage in the future in revenge against the Korean Navy killing eight pirates on Friday when it stormed a hijacked vessel in the Indian Ocean to rescue the crew.
"We never planned to kill but now we shall seek revenge," a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed told Reuters by phone. "We shall never take a ransom from Korean ships, we shall burn them and kill their crew."
That would be .. unwise. You really, really don't want to upset Korean Marines.
"We shall redouble our efforts. Korea has put itself in trouble by killing my colleagues," he added.
More likely you put yourself in trouble with the Koreans.
The pirate is reportedly from Garad, one of the two pirate havens in Somalia.
After the Cheonghae Unit rescued the freighter Samho Jewelry, Somali pirates took some hostages from hijacked ships to an inland camp for fear of similar operations by other foreign navies, according to a pirate who identified himself as Hussein. Observers speculate that they include the crew of the Korean fishing boat Keummi 305, which was hijacked last November and whose 43 members include two Koreans.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The pirate is reportedly from Garad, one of the two pirate havens in Somalia.
After they do it, the report will be amended -
...reportedly from the former port of Garad...
These aren't pansy ass over lawyered Westerners you're dealing with.
"I'm scared of the return of the Islamists," said Sonia, a 35-year-old government official who declined to give her last name...They'll impose a new culture that is totally alien to us, like the fundamentalist dress code," she said, referring to the Muslim headscarf worn by some women in the north African state."
Mabrouka, 29, a journalist who also did not give her last name, was watchful. "I saw a lot of bearded men today. I was really afraid." [note that some of the women don't feel safe giving their name]
Dorra Bouzid, a well-known journalist and feminist, said women had to be prepared to fight to keep the rights they had won.
"We have to be careful and multiply our efforts to protect women," she said.
Her concerns were illustrated this weekend in Tunis when a group of youths shouted crude insults at a female AFP reporter, jeering and mocking her.
"Women's rights are over after the revolution!" one shouted.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/24/2011 12:47 ||
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#1
"I saw a lot of bearded men today."
'Yasim's Wig & Beard Emporium' getting a boost in sales, I see.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/24/2011 14:13 Comments ||
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#2
Have they thought about rioting in the streets?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 14:59 Comments ||
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#3
Get a knife, wait till he's asleep, slit his throat.
ARTIC = Collectively, strong Arab-Muslim central Govts. routinely fail as per improving or resolving VARIOUS CONSUMER = BASIC SURVIVAL/QUALITY-OF-LIFE ISSUES.
Can't get any more basic than Govts.+ Politicos ensuring cheap = affordable Bread-N-Water to the Masses, OR IN THE ALTERN SERIOUSLY FAILING TO PROVIDE SAME.
ARTIC = also denotes that "TUNISIANS + ALGERIANS ARE HUNGRY, EGYPTIANS + YEMENIS ARE RIGHT BEHIND THEM.
* TOPIX > seems Tunisia's "JASMIN/JASMINE REVOLUTION" PROTESTS are taking hold in ALBANIA [East Europe]???
[Ennahar] The seven hostages (five French and two Africans) in the hands of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) since mid-September who were held in northern Mali, have been dispersed and are no longer on the territory of Mali, declared to AFP on Sunday a Malian source close to the case.
"The seven hostages have been dispersed and are no longer on the Malian territory. We're certain," said the source which told AFP on condition of anonymity. "There are good intentions in Mali and Niger who do everything to obtain satisfactory results, but it is not easy," the same source added.
"Go look in Mauritania. Or Libya. They ain't here!"
Shortly after their abduction on the night of September 15 to 16 in northern Niger, the seven hostages (five French, a Togolese and a Malagasy) were taken in Mali. They had been located together in the area of Timetrine, a mountainous desert of Mali located about a hundred kilometers from the Algerian border.
The leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, to whom AQIM has pledged allegiance, has linked the release of kidnapped Frenchies to the withdrawal of La Belle France from Afghanistan, according to a sound recording broadcast Friday by Al-Jazeera.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Emirates 24/7] A Saudi man died after setting himself ablaze in the southwestern town of Samta on Friday.
All the cool kids are doing it.
This is Soddy Arabia's first such incident, according to a report in 'Gulf News'. Last month an unemployed man set himself on fire in Tunisia protesting the state of the economy and sparking riots which brought down the government.
Since that time there has been a wave of copycat immolations across the region, though with few fatalities.
Civil defence front man Captain Yahia Al Qah'tani said in a statement that the man, in his 60s, set himself on fire on Friday and died in the hospital.
Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh on Thursday condemned suicide even in response to harsh living conditions. The motive behind the suicide is not known yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Emirates 24/7] Yemeni police have jugged a female press freedom activist known to have been involved in pro-Tunisia revolt protests, rights activists, her family and a security official said on Sunday.
Tawakel Karman, who heads the rights group Women Journalists Without Chains, was stopped by plain-clothes police in a main street as she was heading home with her husband, according to rights activists who declined to be identified.
The reason for her arrest was unclear, but she is being held in Sanaa's main prison, according to her family.
A security official said the arrest stemmed from a warrant issued by prosecutors, without specifying.
Karman, a member of the central committee of the Islamist Al-Islah (Reform) party, has been involved in Sanaa demonstrations in support of a popular revolt in Tunisia that have been marked by calls for political change in Yemen.
On Saturday, hundreds of Sanaa University students held duelling protests on campus, with some calling for Yemeni President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down and others for him to remain in office.
Saleh, who has been in power for decades, was re-elected in September 2006 for a seven-year mandate.
A draft amendment of the constitution, under discussion in parliament despite opposition protests, could further stretch his tenure by allowing a life-long mandate.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION DAILY TIMES.PK > SOUTH SUDAN SECESSION A RISKY PRECEDENT FOR ARABS [Arab-Muslim World].
Besides the Tunisian "Jasmine/Jasmin" Riots + related, HISTOR MUSLIM GOVTS SHOWED NO TOLERANCE FOR ANY FORM OF SEPARATISM, i.e. breakway from MUSLIM-CENTRIC DOMINATION + CONTROL, even as most rcently as the Cold War, post-9-11 GWOT + now the Hezbollah troubles in LEBANON.
* DEBKA > ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS STAND ASIDE FOR POPULAR UPRISINGS.
* TOPIX > AFRICA: DETHRONING "KING COAL" FROM WEST VIRGINA [USA] TO DURBAN.
"Greenwashing".
D *** NG IT, "GREEN" ENVIRONMENTALISM + COAL-BASED "GREEN TECHS" IS JUST TOO LABOR-INTENSIVE/ABUSIVE, TOO COST(S)-PROHIBITIVE, TOO ENERGY. MARKETS-INEFFICIENT, CAUSES WOMEN + KIDDIES + GOLDFISH TO STARVE, + IS JUST ALL-AROUND TOO DANGEROUS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
As opposed to OIL-GAS + NUKULAAR.
Environmentalism is too dangerous/destructive for the Environment.
* HOT AIR > TEN "GREEN" FOODS THAT ARE DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH.
[Iran Press TV] Amid anti-government protests across Yemen, the country's President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh says he plans to resign after his term expires in 2013. He said he wasn't running last time, too, then changed his mind.
Saleh made the remarks on state TV on Sunday following eight days of protests by thousands of Yemenis, who urged the president to step down, Xinhua reported.
The protesters, who had spilled out into the streets of capital Sanaa and other major cities, were outraged at potential constitutional amendments on January 1 this year, which could make Saleh the country's president for life.
The would-be amendments, which will be finally approved on March 1, would eliminate the limited two consecutive presidential terms and put the new presidential term for five years, in which president has the constitutional right to candidate himself for unlimited future terms, according the ruling party's website.
Around 200 journalists have also marched in Sanaa to demand the release of political detainees and activists.
The 68-year-old president, who was re-elected for a seven-year mandate in Sep. 2006, called on the opposition to engage in a national dialogue with the ruling party.
"We are a democratic republic, we have peacefully changed rulers and we are against the succession. We call on opposition parties to take part in the dialogue with the ruling party before chaos takes place," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with the head of an Egyptian company that provides mobile phone service in the isolated communist nation, state media reported Monday.
Naguib Sawiris, chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding, has been in North Korea for a visit since Friday. The Cairo-based firm has been providing mobile phone service in the North jointly with a local company since late 2008.
Who are they going to call: Cousin Park Sun Yi in Re-education Camp 25?
Kim "warmly welcomed his DPRK visit taking place at a time when Orascom's investment is making successful progress in different fields of the DPRK, including telecommunications," Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency said. Kim had "a cordial talk" with the Egyptian businessman and hosted a dinner for him, the KCNA said.
Wonder what the dinner cost...
Also present at the meeting was Jang Song-thaek, Kim's brother-in-law and vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, the KCNA said. It was the first time that Jang's activity has been reported in state media this year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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January 14, 2011 - A man in his 20s has turned himself in to police in Gothenburg, Sweden, in connection with last year's alleged assassination attempt against Mullah Krekar, who came to Norway as a refugee and since has been deemed a threat to national security.
Shots were fired against Krekar's former flat in Oslo in January of 2009. Police were about to give up on finding the gunman, but Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that new technical evidence from the crime scene led them to the man now under arrest in Gothenburg.
Police declined to release many details but say they can connect the suspect now under arrest to the shooting at Krekar's flat in Oslo's Tøyen district. He has been placed in remand custody for three weeks and Norwegian officials have initiated an extradition request.
Mullah Krekar's son-in-law was wounded in the shooting on the night of January 24, 2010.
Two paragraphs up it said 2009. Probably having trouble with the year change.
Krekar, who once led the guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam, was uninjured. He and his family now live at a secret address, pending his deportation back to Iraq.
Unless he goes to trial in Norway, as will have been reported a week later.
Norwegian authorities banished Krekar from Norway as long ago as 2003, after he'd repeatedly violated terms of his asylum and was linked to terrorist activity, but won't send him to Iraq unless they receive a guarantee he won't be executed there.
One of Oslo's most multi-cultural neighborhoods, Grønland, has suddenly emerged as an area far from the ideals of cultural and religious tolerance. Many immigrants claim it's "more Muslim" than the countries they left, and newspaper Aftenposten reports that both they and others face harassment on the streets if they don't conform to a code of conduct that some stricter Muslims try to impose.
A form of a Committee for the Protection of Virtue and Elimination of Vice "morality police" has evolved in recent years, mostly in Grønland but also in other areas of the Norwegian capital, and its self-appointed members are making life difficult for their fellow immigrants and some ethnic Norwegians as well.
One man from Iran, who's not Muslim, told Aftenposten that he was scolded by two strangers who spotted him eating during the religious holiday period when Muslims are supposed to fast from sunrise to sundown. He said they confronted him by aggressively demanding "Don't you know it's Ramadan? You should know better."
Young immigrant women also face harassment if they're spotted in fashionable western clothing that members of the "morality police" think are too revealing or not in line with Muslim standards. Some women report that they've been yelled at, been the target of unfriendly stares, spitting or worse.Gay men have also been harassed on the streets of Grønland and nearby Tøyen. Two men seen walking hand in hand through the neighborhood, which is home to several popular bars and cafés as well as some apartment buildings known for attracting gay residents, were verbally abused last summer. One gay man from Bergen told Aftenposten he moved to Grønland because he wanted to live in a multicultural neighborhood. Now he's almost reluctant to leave his apartment because of hostility he can face on the streets.
Reaction to Aftenposten's original story in Saturday's paper has raged all week. Among the first to react was the leader of Norway's Islamic Council, Senaid Kobilica.
"It is completely unacceptable that some Muslims behave like morality police," he told Aftenposten . He urged the imam at all of Oslo's mosques to bring up the issue during Friday prayers. Kobilica said he was well aware that some Muslim men take it upon themselves to enforce their version of correct codes of dress and behaviour. Afshan Rafiq, a politician for the Conservative Party in Oslo, is aware of the harassment as well, and he thinks it stems from social indifference over the years, which has allowed minority groups to isolate themselves, without exposure to Norwegian norms and codes of conduct.
"We have followed a policy of being too kind, and haven't made many demands on immigrant groups since the 1970s," said Rafiq. "Therefore there's a parallel system where people can follow their own norms."
He said the government minister in charge of integration, Audun Lysbakken, "must dare to acknowledge that there's a problem out there. Then he has to dare to deal with it, and use the channels that are available to start a dialogue with these people."
There were some indications later in the week that "these people" weren't open to much dialogue. A group of Muslim men smoking outside a café in Grønland told Aftenposten that media reports about the "morality police" were "bullshit," and untrue. They denied that Muslim men verbally abused or harassed young Muslim women, adding, though, that "if they spit, it's only after she's passed, so she doesn't see it." They later admitted there was some evidence of harassment.
Hadia Tajik, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, said the issue needs to be tackled by the immigrants themselves. She drew parallels to Norway's own janteloven and myths about "the monster of the village" (bygdedyret) , which demand conformity and are "allergic to diversity."
Tajik, the daughter in an immigrant family herself, described a "closed society" where people are supposed to "know their place" and not show feelings. She said that some Muslim men, even young men, have written to her and complained about her own dress, "telling me I should cover myself more and speak more with God."
She thinks the "morality police" represents a conflict between traditional and modern values. Government programs aimed at boosting integration can weaken the "village monster," but won't eliminate it.
"That's why it's good that Senaid Kobilica, leader of the Islamic Council, has clearly labelled the morality police as unacceptable," she wrote in a commentary in Aftenposten . "The village monster has no more power than what we give it."
#1
People get the government they want. If they want firm, even authoritarian government, and the government refuses to provide this, then they create a pseudo government to do so.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
January 21, 2011 - Mullah Krekar, charged last fall with making threats and inciting terrorist acts, now faces indictment by Norwegian prosecutors and could get hit with a 15-year jail term. It seems increasingly unlikely that he'll be sent back to northern Iraq, either forcibly or of his own free will.
A spokesman for Norway's police intelligence unit PST told newspaper Dagsavisen and other media that he could "confirm that we are working with a proposal for an indictment in connection with the threats Krekar made last year."
The PST's conclusions will be delivered to state criminal prosecutors for a decision on whether they'll file a case against Krekar, who won asylum in Norway in the early 1990s but later violated its terms by traveling back to the area he fled to run guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam there. He ultimately was deemed a threat to national security, has often sparked public outrage, and Norwegian authorities want to expel him, but haven't sent him back to northern Iraq (Kurdistan) for fear he'd be executed.
This week, Krekar tried to grab the media spotlight once again by repeating earlier claims that he'd like to "go home," but only if his name is stricken from international lists of terrorist suspects. That's unlikely to occur, given his past.
Now Erna Solberg, head of Norway's Conservative Party and among those targeted by Krekar's threats, says Krekar must be prevented from leaving Norway if he's under indictment.
"I believe that people who do something wrong should be convicted, and it would be unnatural to send someone out (of the country) if a conviction is looming," Solberg told Dagsavisen. "If Krekar is indicted, it's my opinion that he can't be sent out of the country or be allowed to travel out of the country until his case is handled and decided."
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said earlier this week that Krekar can leave whenever he wants, and Norwegian officials have made it clear he's no longer welcome in Norway. Solberg, who also tried to deport him when she was a government minister herself, now points out, though, that Krekar's passport was taken from him so he has no travel documents. No airline, she added, would allow him on a flight since he's on the lists of terror suspects.
Meanwhile, many experts agree that northern Iraq is not nearly as dangerous as it once was. Newspaper Aftenposten noted Friday that the Kurdish area has had free elections and economic development and is expected to become an independent state, with secular parties living in more peace with one another.
Krekar indicated this week that he may want to run for office himself in the area, although his former guerrilla group is far from popular. Kurdistan may not want Krekar back, but if Krekar himself doesn't think his life is in danger, Norwegian authorities may send him back, possibly even to serve a jail term if he's indicted and convicted on the current charges.
All of the Provincial Iraqi Police Paramilitary forces are planned to be retrained and reequipped as part of their conversion to Emergency Response Brigades and Federal Police.
The ERBs have first chance at the personnel from the provincial SWAT forces. They are sent to the Operator Selection Course and the best 50 percent join the ERBs while the others return to the provincial forces or go to Federal Police training.
Only 9 of the existing 12-14 Emergency Response Battalions have been identified so far. They appear to be being organizing into 6-7 brigades at this time.
The Federal Police plans to have at least a brigade in each province while the ERF plans to mirror this with at least a battalion of SWAT personnel in each province. The Federal Police plans to grow to 16-20 divisions and the ERF to 16-20 brigades. Iraq, a nation whose skeleton was built by the US military. Lord knows what it will become in just a decade or two.
Why does Iraq need both a federal police and a federal emergency response force? I may be missing something here; is this a duplication of services as a response to the usual human tendency to bureaucratize everything, a need to 'divide and conquer', or do they have genuinely separate roles?
#1
It looks to me as a non-duplication.
Police do the Police work and Paramilitary forces handle Invasion, Flood, Earthquake and so on, NOT normal policing, but as-needed emergency aid Over and above what the Police normally would/Could do.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/24/2011 12:00 Comments ||
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#2
A way to formally roll the Sunni Paramilitaries into Federal forces so they are "on payroll"?
#3
Possibly. Also a way to federalize the provincial police forces.
But I think RJ is right. The Iraqi government thinks the police should, well, police and that there should be a separate paramilitary force to deal with the rough stuff. That leaves the military to deal with external threats.
#4
I guess the thing to do would be to see how much of a framework they build around these guys. Big? Little? Do they continue to fully train and equip the army?
[Arab News] The Paleostinian Authority on Sunday rebuffed a proposal of hawkish Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to establish a Paleostinian state with provisional borders.
Saeb Erekat, chief Paleostinian negotiator, told Israeli Army Radio that Lieberman's map of Paleostinian state with provisional borders is an "invention and a joke." Erekat added that the Paleostinian position "is declared, clear and won't change."
"We demand everything between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean."
"We completely reject the establishment of a Paleostinian state with temporary border."
The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official as saying in a report on Sunday that Lieberman drafted a map of a Paleostinian state with temporary borders, which would essentially "freeze the existing situation in the territories, with minor changes."
Lieberman's plan, which corresponds to the second stage of the 2003 US-sponsored road map peace plan, would not involve evacuating settlements or transferring significant additional territory to the Paleostinian Authority. Thus the new state's provisional borders would comprise mainly the parts of the West Bank known as Areas A and B. The Paleostinian Authority currently has full control of Area A, and civilian but not security control of Area B.
Together, these areas comprise some 42 percent of the West Bank. But a bit of additional territory might be thrown in to bring the new state up to 45 or 50 percent of the West Bank, the Haaretz report said.
According to the report, Lieberman has briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the project but has not yet shown him the map. Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon has reportedly given his support for such a plan, and Netanyahu recently noted that an interim agreement is a possible outcome.
Erekat said that Lieberman's plan came after "the Israelis felt embarrassed and isolated by the international community, which has gradually supported the establishment of a Paleostinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
The Paleostinian negotiator added that a Paleostinian state with temporary border "has never been our choice. We had repeatedly rebuffed such proposals."
US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Paleostinians collapsed in September after Israel refused to extend a 10- month moratorium over freezing settlement constructions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] Jordan's King seeks to placate the street after weeks of popular discontent against inflation and unemployment, the Islamist opposition attempts to exploit for political purposes by calling for a reduction of royal prerogatives.
Abdullah II began a series of consultations with former leaders, activists, trade unionists and Islamists, "to listen to the grievances of Jordanians and be in tune with the street," said Sunday to the AFP a member his entourage.
Consultations between the king and various political trends in his country "to get closer to people's demands," come after a series of protests in recent weeks, while a new mobilization is planned for Friday.
The movement started spontaneously two weeks ago when the Jordanians, without political affiliations, wanted to express a ras-le-bol against rising prices and their daily difficulties.
The opposition, including the powerful Islamic Action Front (IAF), supported by trade unions and leftist parties, took over the protest, organizing demonstrations and sit-in demanding the resignation of the government.
"The king is no fool. He knows that by requesting the resignation of Prime Minister the people denies actually his management of the country, since he appoints and dismisses the prime minister," said to the AFP a former minister who requested anonymity.
"For the first time, the tribes, the backbone of the regime, opposition and social circles are on the same wavelength, and want change," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Iran announced plans Sunday, Jan. 23, to send a fleet of warships, including a home-made destroyer, on operational and intelligence-gathering missions to the Red Sea and on to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
Parts of the fleet will in fact be deployed in the three waters around Israel's southern and western shores.
It is also a rapid response to the arrival of the USS Enterprise carrier with a strike group carrying 6,000 sailors and marines and 80 warplanes in the Mediterranean at the end of last week on its way to the Arabian Sea opposite Iran.
The Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari spoke of three or four vessels including Iran's first home-made destroyer, Jamaran, with back-up operational units standing by for urgent support missions.
His deputy, Rear-Admiral Gholam Reza Bi-Gham said the deployment would last about a year and at some future time, long-distance submarines would join the fleet.
Since Nov. 2008, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols between the Gulf of Aden Straits of Bab al-Mandeb off Yemen so some of its units are not far away.
Both admirals reported that a flotilla of Iranian naval officer cadets would soon be dispatched to the Mediterranean and Red Seas to gain experience in these new areas and gather intelligence.
Iran recently purchased three Kilo class submarines from Russia and is using them in the Persian Gulf.
Wonder if the Egyptians will let them through the Suez Canal? And how long they'll last in the eastern Med before a 'catastrophic equipment failure'?
#4
watch them try to escort another Paleo Flotilla to Gaza by force. Hilarity ensues
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/24/2011 11:56 Comments ||
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#5
The next Gaza flotilla is supposed to set sail in May, according to the Jerusalem Post. There are to be ships from a dozen different countries, including the U.S. and Canada (I believe several Friends of Obama are involved in the planning of the American contingent).
I vote for fishing nets twisted around screws and rudders for a start...
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/24/2011 16:45 Comments ||
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#8
tw: For a flotilla, I wonder if it would be possible for the Israelis to erect some kind of floating anti-ship barrier of the old school. Otherwise, if they had the schematics of those ships, they could fire a few HVAP .50 cal rounds into their engines.
And, if push came to shove, declare the area a military live fire training area.
#10
the danger for Israel here is that, as per the NET = ANTI-US IRAN + CHINA BLOGGERS HAVE OPINED THAT IRAN SHOULD NOT ONLY DEPLOY LR SLCMS/NLCMS ABOARD IRANIAN NAVAL WARSHIPS + SUBS TO DETER ISRAEL, BUT ALSO DEV + DEPLOY "ARSENAL SHIPS" CAPABLE OF LAND ATTACK, + in response to Israel's plan to deploy Missle-armed SSK Submarines.
Methinks this decision by Iran is only the beginning = inklings of a more ulterior plan.
Also, iff Iran is able to dominate LEBANON [Syria?] via HEZBOLLAH, then among other Iran will be able to acquire external Milbase Rights for its Armed Forces + IRGC.
Read, LEB-BASED IRANIAN MISSLE, ATTACK SUBS off ISRAEL while ISRAEL is NOT able to do same to Iran becuz of sensitive RED SEA GEOPOLS WID EGYPT + SOMALIA???
#11
Anonymoose, with the world as anti-Israel as it is, including our own beloved president and many of his party members in Congress, it needs to be a concatenation of unfortunate events. Stuxnet for ships, bits of drifting nets, Silkworm missiles accidentally shot off by Hizb'allah, inshallah maintenance leading to key bits falling off, electrical storms on the sun interrupting satellite communications, phone alarms going off every 37 minutes round the clock...
Then send the unseaworthy things back to Turkey. Letting them dock in Israel only encourages them.
#12
"Iran Planning To Send Fleet To Mediterranean Off Israel"
What, both rowboats at the same time?
Yeah, that'll have the Juice quaking in their sandals.
Yessir, yewbetcha.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/24/2011 22:06 Comments ||
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#13
Then there is always the underwater magnetic-kinetic leak acceleration device......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/24/2011 22:17 Comments ||
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#14
The 'home-made destroyer' is essentially a reverse-engineered copy of a Vosper design. Not sure about the full armament, but it supposedly carries Chinese-built or licensed anti-ship missiles.
The United States will stop aiding Lebanon if Hezbollah seizes power in the country, the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted a U.S. official as saying Sunday.
The Republican-controlled house is in a perfect position to ensure that. Now is the time when we do a very small dance of triumph for having voted last November.
In the first reported U.S. comment on the possibility that a Hezbollah-controlled government could rise from the ashes of the current crisis, a U.S. official told Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday that such a power shift could mark the end of U.S. aid to Israel's neighbor to the north.
According to the top U.S. official quoted in the report, congress would refuse to provide additional aid to anyone "taking orders from Hezbollah."
Late last year, two top U.S. lawmakers attempted to hold up $100 million that was approved for Lebanon's army but not yet spent, saying they wanted to make sure neither funds nor arms meant for the Lebanese army would reach Hezbollah.
The U.S. did not, however, withold the aid, with the U.S. State Department voicing strong support for the continuation of the military aid, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledging strong support for the country ahead of the future findings of the UN-backed tribunal probing Hariri's assassination.
That was then. Now the philosemitic party has taken hold of the nation's purse strings.
[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... who's been on every side in Leb at least four times... defended his decision to stand by Syria and Hizbullah in the upcoming parliamentary consultations, by saying that he based it on "obvious national and regional factors."
He told the daily An Nahar Sunday that the Lebanese will receive the Democratic Gathering's answer during Monday's consultations.
"It is good to hold calm consultations, especially if we respect the constitutional game," he added.
Commenting on his recent meeting with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Jumblat said: "The meeting was very excellent and he is the most aware of the dangerousness of the situation in the country."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Tawheed Movement leader Wiam Wahhab on Sunday dared the Hizbullah-led Opposition to take control of Leb, demanding it to present its political platform or back down.
He called on "the opposition, because" to have the courage to face it and move away from the patient and not to evade responsibility, to take the power to liberate them from the domestic debt accumulated by the knees Al-Hariri on our shoulders
"If the opposition has a (political) manifesto let it present it, and if it doesn't have a manifesto, let it back off," he said, pointing out that such a platform existed.
In remarks to Al-Jadid television channel, Wahhab called on the Opposition "to have the courage to face the situation and not to evade its responsibility of taking over power to liberate the State from accumulated domestic debt."
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01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah on Sunday said the Shiite group is not seeking seats in the government but wants to defend Leb against U.S. conspiracies.
"The confrontation launched by the Opposition now is not aimed to achieve political gains or to challenge any sect or political party," Hizbullah's Nabil Qaouq said
"The Resistance is not interested in obtaining seats in the government but rather its main concern is to protect the (Lebanese) dignity and defend Leb against U.S. conspiracies," he stressed.
Qaqouq accused the United States of seeking to "infiltrate into Leb to serve Israel's objectives."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Yup, if the hezbullies were the government, they'd be both responsible and punishable, can't have that.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/24/2011 11:49 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... on Sunday said the Opposition candidates for the premiership are Omar Karami, Mohammed Safadi and Najib Miqati.
He said the Opposition will "give the final word today or tomorrow."
Aoun accused caretaker PM Saad Hariri of giving false testimonies.
"Saad Hariri, and not Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq, is the first person to be involved in false testimony," Aoun said in an interview with BBC.
He said he believed Hariri will not return as Leb's PM "since the majority now is in our hands."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Hizbullah leader says Hariri probe was meant to pressure him; Nasrallah says his party seeks a unity government with a strong leader.
Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday night that the Hariri liquidation probe is meant to put political pressure on his organization.
"We noticed in recent days that the indictment has brought a lot of pressure on us and our allies, for political reasons," Nasrallah said in a televised speech. "After the indictments will be submitted, we will not give in to any political demands."
He added that his party would not reject any candidates for prime minister in Leb, as long as they have a majority in the parliament.
"Once the opposition decides on its candidate for prime minister, we will ask for a unity government," the Hizbullah leader said. "We are interested in a personality that can do this. The new government should not discount anyone."
Nasrallah said he asked Omer Karameh, a former prime minister of Leb, to form the country's next government, but that Karameh refused and said he would only do it as a last resort.
"I listened to [Druse leader] Walid Wally Jumblat ... who's been on every side in Leb at least four times... t. I appreciate Mr. Jumblatt and his party. Together we will create a new stage in politics," Nasrallah added.
The Hizbullah leader also repeated his stance that he was near a compromise with former prime minister Saad Hariri, but that the latter gave in to pressure from the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] Deputy Prime Minister of Israel Silvan Shalom said Sunday that the possible formation of a government led by Lebanese Hezbullies would be a "very, very dangerous development."
"It would be a very, very dangerous development, because we would have in fact an Iranian government on the northern border of Israel," Shalom said on public radio. Israel accuses Hezbullies, a Shiite party, of being manipulated, armed and financed by Iran.
Backed by Iran, Hezbullies would take the control "not of a terrorist entity, but a sovereign state, its army, its police and its security forces," said Deputy Prime Minister.
Public radio for its part indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would carry Sunday after the cabinet meeting, consultations "within a restricted forum" on the evolving situation in Leb, without giving further details.
A front man for Mr. Netanyahu questioned by AFP refused to confirm or deny the holding of this meeting.
According to Shalom, Iran uses Hezbullies as "a strategy that aims to create a new Persian empire by developing nuclear weapons, taking control of the Middle East, and oil resources while fomenting revolution against the regimes."
Eleven ministers from Hezbullies camp have resigned on January 12 Lebanese unity government, causing its fall, after a showdown with the camp of Prime Minister Hariri on the UN tribunal charged to identify and judge the assassins of Rafiq Hariri, leader, father of Saad.
The powerful Shiite movement is opposed to another term of Saad Hariri, but the latter confirmed his candidacy Thursday "in spite of intimidation."
Jordan, Egypt and La Belle France have called on Saturday to preserve Leb's stability.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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The United States will stop aiding Lebanon if Hezbollah seizes power in the country, the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted a U.S. official as saying Sunday.
The Republican-controlled house is in a perfect position to ensure that. Now is the time when we do a very small dance of triumph for having voted last November.
In the first reported U.S. comment on the possibility that a Hezbollah-controlled government could rise from the ashes of the current crisis, a U.S. official told Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday that such a power shift could mark the end of U.S. aid to Israel's neighbor to the north.
According to the top U.S. official quoted in the report, congress would refuse to provide additional aid to anyone "taking orders from Hezbollah."
Late last year, two top U.S. lawmakers attempted to hold up $100 million that was approved for Lebanon's army but not yet spent, saying they wanted to make sure neither funds nor arms meant for the Lebanese army would reach Hezbollah.
The U.S. did not, however, withold the aid, with the U.S. State Department voicing strong support for the continuation of the military aid, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledging strong support for the country ahead of the future findings of the UN-backed tribunal probing Hariri's assassination.
That was then. Now the philosemitic party has taken hold of the nation's purse strings.
#1
Yookay, I'll bite, iff the Hizzies Hezzies Huzzies Hassies, etc. repor dominated or controlled the now-collapsed ruling Govt. coalition in Lebanon, DOESN'T THAT MEAN OR INFER THAT, FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, HEZBOLLAH etc. ALREADY CONTROLLED THE LEBANESE GOVT???
[Iran Press TV] Hezbullies Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has called for national unity ahead of the parliamentary consultations to elect Leb's new prime minister. The nation will be united, y'see, if Hezbollah just gets its way.
Nasrallah referred to Monday and Tuesday's parliamentary sessions to elect the new premier, saying that if the opposition candidate is elected as premier, he will form a national unity government.
"In the whole world, in the parliaments, we have parliamentary blocs, who announce their candidates. And we have other parliamentary blocs, who name other candidates," Nasrallah said during a speech broadcast live on Press TV on Sunday.
"So, can we accuse these other parliamentary blocs of politically assassinating the other candidates in democracy?" he asked.
Nasrallah also asserted, "It is the right of the parliamentary blocs to reject a specific person regardless of the percentage of representation he has."
"In democracy, nobody can impose on parliamentary blocs to name a specific candidate and to agree with him."
Nasrallah also said that Leb is at a critical juncture, referring to the indictment prepared by the US-backed Special Tribunal for Leb (STL) investigating the liquidation of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Hariri and more than 20 other people were assassinated on February 14, 2005, when explosives equal to around 1,000 kilogram of TNT were detonated in downtown Beirut. The Washington-sponsored STL was set up two years later to probe the incident.
Nasrallah said on Sunday that the indictment aims to sow divisions in Leb and pressure Hezbullies into giving political concessions.
Saad Hariri recently said the opposition was "politically assassinating" him by rejecting his return as premier.
The head of the resistance movement said Hariri had no right to enforce his re-election, using the parliamentary majority, which represents his bloc.
"The post of prime minister is not a post of representation. It is a post of leadership, which needs certain qualifications," the Hezbullies leader said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Let's see.. and the "nation" being "unified" is Lebiran?
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.
Somali pirates on Sunday threatened to kill any Korean sailors they take hostage in the future in revenge against the Korean Navy killing eight pirates on Friday when it stormed a hijacked vessel in the Indian Ocean to rescue the crew. 
[Iran Press TV] 
