#5
So John, do you similar consider Russian and Polish settlements in the former German states of East Prussia and Silesia to be illegitimate? Or just don't lose a war?
I have no idea if Republicans will end their circular firing squad and unite sufficiently to right our country, but one thing seems abundantly clear from the events of the last weeks, including Tuesdays election in which Terry McAuliffe barely eked out a victory over the unexciting Ken Cuccinelli. Liberalism in our country is in a more precarious position than ever. It may not even really exist.
Liberalism as practiced in todays America is a chimera, not actually an ideology but an alliance of interest groups controlled by elites for the preservation of their (the elites) wealth and power. The interest groups often seem to be working against their own advantage by being so affiliated (e. g. African-Americans are in the worst shape in years under Obama), but not the elites who have been able to thrive. These elites are also able to appear altruistic to themselves and others while behaving in manners that are hideously selfish and atrocious to the common good. Liberalism is not so much an ideology in our society as it is a shield, a defense mechanism for a lifestyle.
#1
Its all about creating sufficient illusion to loot public and private coffers? No ideology? Just illusion by big time larcenous thugs? Why don't the folks bring out the tar and feathers and pitchforks if all this is true?
#3
Considering that the state of Virginia has a democrat governor and two democrat senators I would think the liberal cancer has begun to spread south. With the RINO GOP as the disease carrier.
#4
Lots of people believe in the illusion. Hopefully the "fixing" of a health insurance system that wasn't broken will shatter the illusion for enough of them to nudge things back in the right direction.
Liberal Democrat Bill de Blasio cruised to victory on Tuesday to succeed New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, marking the first time a Democrat has captured City Hall in two decades, local media reported.
De Blasio, the city's public advocate, beat Republican rival Joe Lhota by promising to bridge the gap between the "two New Yorks" - one rich, one poor I can hardly add anything to Daniel Greenfield's post: It's de Blasio time at Sultan Knish
Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman was acquitted by a three-judge panel of the Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Wednesday in the fraud and breach of trust trial against him. They never had a case---but it did disrupt the elections
[An Nahar] The failure of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... 's supporters to stage large protests at his trial reflects the dwindling power of his Moslem Brüderbund following a deadly military crackdown.
Morsi's insistence in a Cairo court on Monday that he remains Egypt's president, and his subsequent transfer to a prison cell, could further polarize the already deeply divided country following months of unrest.
Morsi, ousted on July 3 by the army amid massive demonstrations against his one-year rule, was put on trial Monday for incitement to murder protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012.
His supporters had vowed massive protests but in the end only a few dozen showed up outside the courtroom and a few thousand held a brief demonstration at another location in Cairo.
"A big shift happened yesterday. First, Morsi turned from a president in jug to an inmate of Borg al-Arab prison," said political analyst Hisham Kassem, referring to the jail on the outskirts of Alexandria where Egypt's first democratically elected leader was transferred.
"Second, his Islamist supporters bungled. They were unable to garner large numbers and it clearly shows their movement is weakening. If the Moslem Brüderbund thought it could last for centuries, then that perception is gone. The movement is sputtering towards an end."
The low turnout illustrated the fall from grace of a movement that for decades was Egypt's most formidable opposition and which handily won a series of polls after the 2011 overthrow of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... .
An August 14 assault by security forces on two protest camps killed hundreds of Morsi supporters, and since then more than 2,000 Islamists have been tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... , including most of the Brotherhood's leadership.
Subsequent demonstrations have ignited deadly street festivities with security forces and Morsi opponents.
On Monday, a defiant Morsi rejected the court that is trying him, chanting several times from behind the bars of a caged dock that he remains "president of the republic."
But analysts say his defiance failed to energize supporters who just a month ago staged massive demonstrations backing him.
"Fractures within the Egyptian society remain deep. The strategy of Morsi (of insisting he is the president) is hardly tenable in the long term....as it is hardly noticed beyond his movement," said Karim Bitar of the Gay Paree-based French Institute of International and Strategic Relations.
He said a majority of Egyptians and even world powers like the United States seem to have accepted Morsi's overthrow.
"The American concern today seems to be that some form of a democratic process is in place (in Egypt), even if the Brotherhood is excluded," said Bitar.
U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , who paid his first visit to Egypt since Morsi's ouster on the eve of the trial, made no mention of the ousted leader.
"The Moslem Brüderbund would be unable to impact the roadmap" now, said Hassan Nafea, professor of political science at Cairo University, referring to the transition plan of the military-installed authorities.
It envisages a new constitution and new parliamentary and presidential elections by the middle of 2014.
Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood has weathered previous waves of arrests, most notably under Egypt's nationalist president Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1950s and 1960s.
After Mubarak's overthrow in February 2011 the Brotherhood emerged as the most well-organized political movement in the country and won a series of victories at the polls, culminating in the 2012 election of Morsi.
But millions of Egyptians became disillusioned with Morsi's turbulent one year-rule, marked by political turmoil and a crippling economic crisis.
His supporters insist he was undermined at every step by the "deep state" left over from Mubarak's reign, while opponents accused him of trying to erect a new dictatorship run by the Brotherhood.
In November 2012, he decreed himself sweeping powers, prompting opponents to accuse him of failing the revolution that ousted Mubarak.
The following month festivities broke out when the Moslem Brüderbund moved in to disperse protesters outside the presidential palace after accusing security forces of failing to protect the president.
Several people were killed in the ensuing melee, from which the charges against Morsi stem.
And six months later, millions erupted into the streets to demand Morsi's ouster and welcomed the military's announcement that he had been removed from power and taken into custody.
"The Moslem Brüderbund ...over time has lost support from the majority of the people," said Nafea.
"It was given a chance but it failed to change itself from a secret, underground group to a real democratic component of Egypt's national movement... and yesterday was a clear failure for the Islamists."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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#1
Nope. It reflects basic Islamic strategy: when they're strong---we wait peacefully for them to weaken.
[The Hindu] The nation's prestigious interplanetary mission to Mars, 40 crore km away, got off to a flying start on Tuesday when the Indian Space Research Organisation's trusty Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) roared off the first launch pad of the spaceport at Sriharikota at 2.38 p.m. and put the Mars orbiter precisely into its earth-orbit about 44 minutes later.
This was the first crucial and difficult step in the ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission. However, ars longa, vita brevis... the XL version of the PSLV achieved it with aplomb. The elliptical orbit achieved was so accurate that against the predicted perigee of 250 km and an apogee of 23,500 km, it went into an orbit of 246.9 km x 23,566 km.
The spacecraft first going into orbit around the earth signalled the start of its 300-day voyage to the Red Planet. If everything goes well during this complex and challenging journey through deep space, it will be put into the Mars orbit on September 24, 2014.
Mission highlights
Two mission highlights are: it was the longest PSLV mission at 44 minutes -- the previous missions lasted about 18 minutes, and this was the silver jubilee lift-off of the PSLV. Out of the 25 launches, 24 had been successful in a row.
Suspense filled the newly-built Mission Control Centre (MCC) when there was a long coasting phase of 25 minutes between the PSLV's third stage burnout and the fourth stage ignition.
Tension gripped the MCC again for about half-a-minute for it was only 37 seconds after the fourth stage burnout that the spacecraft was put into orbit. But all this was as planned.
The ISRO scientists' cup of joy overflowed when M.S. Pannirselvam, Range Operations Director, PSLV-C25, announced tersely from the MCC, "Spacecraft separation achieved. It has been successfully put into orbit."
Asked later how he felt when he made the announcement, he said, "We had no feeling. We were doing our job."
Applause erupted when ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, who did not hide his joy, turned towards his colleagues in the MCC and acknowledged their cheers with folded hands. He called the flight a copybook and textbook mission. It was a new and complex mission in design and execution, he said.
Project Director of Mars Orbiter S. Arunan called it an "excellent mission." The primary and secondary panels and the high gain antenna of the spacecraft had been deployed. "The spacecraft is in good heath," he said.
Yash Pal, former Member of the Space Commission, called the successful mission ISRO's "very very special gift to the nation."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#7
Nirvana will arrive when The One can finally Tax The Rich™ to his heart's content.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/06/2013 12:56
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#8
I am very interested in hearing what you think the reason(s) is.
The reason(s) are many, and make the Politically Correct squirm.
1. Official population (depending on source) is approximately 1.237 billion people. The reality is more like 1.4 to 1.5 billion.
2. Official literacy rates are laugh out loud ridiculous nonsense. The illiteracy rate in India is at least 65% if not more. Up to the 8th Standard (8th grade) there isn't any testing or grading. All students are passed through to the next Standard regardless of whether they understand the material.
Most of the illiterate unskilled laborers will tell you they've studied to the 8th Standard. It's quite the common refrain. Truth is they can't read or write.
3. Indian, is a Nationality, not an ethnicity. India recognizes dozens of distinct Tribes and Ethnic groups. A lot of these groups are just plain stupid by anyone's standards. You see, if you belong to one of these groups and your diet is 90% rice with a few vegetables, you're handicapped from the moment of conception.
4. Stupid begets stupid. Expanding on the last sentence in bullet (3), a huge percentage of India's population are sub 70th percentile in IQ. This comes from malnourishment from conception and continues through to their death. You have low IQ people bearing low IQ children. Carry that backwards into mists of antiquity, generation upon generation. These dietary issues are mostly due to "culture" and religion. But the effects are real.
5. No real desire to get educated. The chronically poor have been that way generation after generation, and most of them just don't want to go to school. What I hear most is: "My parents didn't go to school, why should I?".
There is a Hindi word; jhuggie. Means slum. The people who live in the jhuggies steal their electricity, have ration cards from the government and a lot of other gimmees. What money they earn they don't pay taxes on. So they get buy pretty well from their perspective, and, they're used to it. They've lived that way for generations. So, no real reason to do anything else.
In Summary:
Excessive population.
High illiteracy rate.
High incidence of low IQ people.
Cultural/Tribal norms preventing assimilation into modern society.
No motivation to improve their situation.
See no value in education.
For sure, this isn't an exhaustive list of the reasons, but it covers the high points.
My background. Married to an Indian National, LOTS of time in India living like an Indian with the Indians. Lots of exposure and contact with the impoverished segment of society.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
11/06/2013 14:00
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#9
SAM, thank you for your comment.
A couple of the items you mentioned I had considered but not all of them and not together as a whole.
The main new factor for me was your point about malnutrition and its mass long term effects.
The most disturbing point you mentioned was your description of jhuggie life. Is it only me or did anyone else see pictures of Obama phones, EBT cards and gov't cheese?
#10
Think of jhuggies as shanty towns or areas. The polite term is encampment. But the people that actually live there refer to them as jhuggies.
These encampments are setup wherever the squatters can get established. In some cases the local governments will set aside plots of land that would be difficult to develop just for the jhuggie walla's.
There is a constant flow of people from the villages in the countryside into the cities. They work for some period of time then go back to the village. And, then come back to the cities.
Also, illegal aliens. From Bangladesh, Nepal and other places. Life is much harder for them than our illegals.
As you can imagine, local politicians pander to this constituency for bribes. And bribery is much more open there than here, it's been "the way" since time immemorial.
No Obama phones or EBT cards. They get ration cards and they steal electricity. If lucky, a water tanker with clean water shows up regularly and they fill their containers. Paid for by the taxpayers...natch.
Will we regress to that state? God, I hope not. If we do not stop the Left, then it is possible considering they want to import hoards of 3rd world uneducated people to our lands. Imagine the U.S.A. with a Billion plus people.
There will be no saving this Republic at the ballot box though, too late for that.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
11/06/2013 16:47
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#11
Oh, if you want to see what a jhuggi looks like, just enter the term in Google images.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
11/06/2013 16:49
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Hummm.... I like a Mars Mission like anyone, maybe there will be some uplifting by proxy, dunno. But at first cut, looks like the money might have been better spent on Public Privys.
#14
Thanks for the information from an insider's perspective, S.A.M.
My only contact with Indians is with the people I meet here through work or in social settings - engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. I don't pretend to know anything about the country or the culture (except it's probably hard to get a hamburger most places). I appreciate the information; I'm sure we all do.
Posted by: Barbara ||
11/06/2013 18:06
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But at first cut, looks like the money might have been better spent on Public Privys.
I doubt it's a situation where they could have just foregone the Mars Mission and just gotten another ten thousand porta-potties instead.
#16
About 8 years ago I made a series of visits to India - one or two weeks at a time, mostly to Bangalore ("The Silicon Valley of India") as a contractor for IBM. Most of the people I dealt with were IT people. About the only "regular" people I dealt with were beggars and the autorickshaw drivers.
I found India fascinating, in a way. I didn't get out into the country, but in New Delhi I saw people living under tarps across the street from a four star hotel. In Bangalore, I saw people living in corrugated metal shacks next to a stream that was basically an open sewer.
I have recommended that Americans go to India to see what real poverty is. In America, poor people complain that they only get 200 channels on their cable TV, and their EBT cards only give them three meals a day without enough left over for snacks, booze and other necessities. And I apparently did not get to see the real poverty in India.
SAM's article pointed out many people in India don't want to improve their lives. I fear that in America we are developing an underclass like that - dependent on the government, with no desire to get off welfare and make things better for their kids if not for themselves. You used to hear stories from people whose mother scrubbed floors for years so they could go to college. I wonder if we will hear those stories in the future.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/06/2013 18:33
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#17
(except it's probably hard to get a hamburger most places)
Nah, Chilies and TGIF both sell "Buffalo" burgers and steaks. Wink, wink! Tastes just beef. Hard Rock Cafe too.
The rich and middle-working class live pretty well by most respects. Trades like plumbing, electrician and so on are passed down through apprenticeships. Tradesmen are looked down upon by the aforementioned classes.
As Ramble said, you'll see people living under a tarp across from 4 Star hotels. It's the big encampments where the real misery lives.
I'd love to drag these whiny Leftists and Welfare mooches of to India for a nice stay in a jhuggi. They might come back with a whole different attitude.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
11/06/2013 19:30
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#18
But at first cut, looks like the money might have been better spent on Public Privys.
They have them, they're on trailers. They won't use them and they get destroyed rather quickly. Dismantled and peddled off as scrap.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
11/06/2013 19:37
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[Dawn] A child was killed and six persons were maimed when a powerful bomb went off in Khalid Bin Waleed Town in the limits of Yakatoot cop shoppe in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. on Monday evening.
An official told Dawn that suspected Death Eaters had planted an bomb beneath a power transformer that went off with a big bang. "It was a big blast which was heard in most of the city areas," he said.
The official said that seven people including two children were maimed in the blast. The injured people were identified as Talha, Huzaifa, Wajahat, Ismail, Adil, Haroon and Sajjad Hussain. A rescuer said that after the blast seven injured people were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital where a child among them succumbed to his wounds. He said that other maimed people were in stable, pH balanced condition.
He said that the power transformer was located close to a government-run school and a tubewell. The blast also caused suspension of power supply to the entire Khalid Bin Waleed Town, he added.An eyewitness said that police cordoned off the entire area but the rescuers faced great hardships due to darkness. He said that police also took time to locate the blast site and people faced hardships in shifting of injured to hospital.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shattered spaceship, Fffflirgoll the Arcturan slithered stealthily toward the control room, where the humans had barricaded themselves... suspected Death Eaters blew up the building of a telephone exchange at Milli Khel area on the outskirts of the provincial metropolis small hours of Monday.
An official of Badbher cop shoppe told Dawn that the building was blown up by planting four bombs under the foundations of walls and pillars. He said that each of the bomb weighed five kilograms and three of them went off at about 2am.
"Personnel of the bomb disposal unit reached on time and defused one of the bombs," he said and added that the area was far away from the cop shoppe but police reached there soon after the blasts.
"We searched the area to arrest suspected elements but could not nab anyone," the official said.
In Buner, a policeman was killed in exchange of fire with Death Eaters in Elum Ghar area on Monday. Officials said that a police party was on routine patrol when it came under attack. During exchange of fire, a constable identified as Inamur Rehman, a resident of Chinglai village, was killed.
District Police Officer Asif Iqbal told journalists that Death Eaters attacked the police party and killed a constable. The attackers escaped after the incident, he added.
The official said that a search operation was launched in the area after the incident.
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[An Nahar] The Reporters Without Borders watchdog on Tuesday condemned Egypt's arrest and military trials of journalists and denounced the suspension of a popular television show by a controversial satirist.
"This new wave of threats to freedom of information in Egypt is especially disturbing," the group said.
"Arbitrary arrests and hauling journalists before military courts constitute a danger to basic freedoms, as do prison terms, even if these are suspended."
Egypt's new military-installed authorities have put three Egyptian journalists on trial in military courts since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... in July.
Mohammed Sabry, Hatem Abul Nour and Ahmed Abu Derra have all been tried by military courts, with Sabry and Derra sentenced to six-month suspended jail terms and Nour receiving a one-year prison term.
Sabry was convicted by a military court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya for taking pictures in the town of Rafah on the border with the Paleostinian Gazoo Strip.
Nour was sentenced by a Cairo military court for impersonating an army officer over the phone, while Derra was convicted for reporting without authorization in a military zone of the Sinai by Ismailiya military tribunal.
"These practices must stop, and journalists still tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! because of their professional activities must be freed immediately and unconditionally," Reporters Without Borders said.
The watchdog also denounced the suspension by the CBC channel of Bassem Youssef's popular talk show Al-Bernameg (The Program).
Youssef, known as "Egypt's Jon Stewart" after modelling his show on the US comedian's popular satirical news program, had returned to CBC on October 26 after a four-month break.
In that broadcast Youssef mocked the country's military which ousted Morsi, provoking fury and complaints from some viewers.
After that episode was broadcast his show was taken off the air on November 2, with CBC saying Youssef had violated its editorial policy.
"Complaints against comedian Bassem Youssef and the suspension of his show are especially regrettable," Reporters Without Borders said.
"Freedom of satirically critical expression, especially in the context of a humor program, must have a place in a country that aspires to democracy."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Dawn] The Indian government stepped up its criticism of leading opposition prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday, painting him as a dangerous hard boy and comparing his rise to the birth of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
Modi's critics have long sought to associate the Hindu nationalist leader with fascism ...a political system developed in Italy symbolized by the Roman fasces -- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about... and blame him for anti-Moslem riots in 2002 that killed at least 1,000 people. He denies any wrongdoing in the riots and a Supreme Court investigation found no evidence to prosecute him.
The broadsides from two senior ministers follow a series of large political rallies by Modi and a string of opinion polls forecasting a poor performance by the government in state elections starting next week and a general election expected by April.
The ruling Congress party's own campaign has yet to pick up much steam.
Jairam Ramesh, a senior cabinet minister close to the leadership of the Congress party, said Modi's career reminded him of the rise of the Third Reich, the strongest comments yet by a minister of his rank.
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[An Nahar] Attacks in Iraq killed 10 people on Tuesday, including eight security personnel, officials said, the latest casualties in a country-wide spike in violence that the government has failed to stem.
Iraq is mired its worst violence since 2008, a surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 5,500 people this year despite several major military operations and tightened security measures.
In the northern province of Nineveh, two separate roadside kabooms targeting army patrols killed three soldiers and maimed four others.
In djinn-infested Mosul, a policeman and a Death Eater were killed in a shootout at a checkpoint, and a policeman was rubbed out in a separate incident, police and a doctor said.
And a boom-mobile targeting a police patrol in west djinn-infested Mosulmaimed five people, including a policeman.
Just north of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... , the local head of an anti-Qaeda militia and his son were killed by gunnies, officials said.
From late-2006 onwards, Sunni tribal militias, known as the Sahwa, turned against their co-religionists in Al-Qaeda and sided with the U.S. military, helping to turn the tide of Iraq's bloody insurgency.
But Sunni bully boyz view them as traitors and frequently target them.
In the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... a boom-mobile near Iraq's main Turkmen television station killed a civilian and maimed five others, while an off-duty policeman was rubbed out while driving in the capital.
Iraq has seen mounting violence this year, coinciding with demonstrations by Sunni Musselmens against alleged ill-treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces.
Violence so far this year has left more than 5,500 people dead, the country's worst violence since 2008, when it was emerging from a brutal sectarian war in which tens of thousands were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Five bombs were detonated in quick succession yesterday evening in Narathiwat province, wounding 9 people.
The first three explosions were reported in Rueso district, injuring two people. The first bomb went off about 6:00 p.m. outside of a convenience store. The other two blasts happened next to a park and in a location 200 meters away from the convenience store explosion. In Muang district, two blasts were reported about 6:15 p.m. outside a karaoke bar and a shophouse 60 meters away. The explosion injured seven people.
Meanwhile, a civilian was killed and a defense volunteer wounded in separate attacks in Pattani province yesterday. Police received a report of a drive-by shooting at 6:30 a.m. Jae-airsoh Yakoh was attacked while she was riding her motorcycle when a gunman on another motorbike fired at her. She was shot in the head. Villagers nearby took her to the hospital where she later died.
At 9.30 a.m., police received a report of a roadside bombing in Pattani's Yarang district, injuring a defense volunteer. The bomb exploded as a team of soldiers were patrolling a village.
In Narathiwat province on Sunday night, soldiers exchanged fire with around seven members of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) terrorist militant group and seized a stash of guns and ammunition after a 30-minute gun battle. Troops detained one of the RKK members and also seized cell phones, cash and a pickup truck.
[Dawn] At least four people were killed Tuesday when a jacket wallah rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into an Afghan security checkpost near the Pakistain-Afghanistan border-crossing at Chaman, Afghan police said.
The kaboom occurred near Wesh Mandi area on the Afghan side of the border, injuring over a dozen other people, Afghan police officials said.
"The strength of the blast smashed window panes and glasses of nearby shops and houses," said a low-level Afghan official, who requested not to be named.
Security was beefed up and the border crossing was shut down for all kinds of traffic following the incident.
"We have tightened security following the suicide kaboom on the Afrghan side," an officer of the Frontier Corps, also requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Home secretary Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Asad Gilani earlier told Dawn.com that security forces and law enforcement agencies in Balochistan have been placed on high alert prior to the start of the holy month of Muharram and following the killing of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Colombia's leftist ELN rebel group said Tuesday it was willing to free an engineer they have held captive for more than a year, while calling for the Chilean company he works for to leave the country.
In a statement published on its web site, the ELN said it had decided to release Andres Montes on "humanitarian grounds," though it insisted the captive was "in good health."
But the rebel group said it is also waiting for a statement from the Sierra Agricultural Company, where Montes worked, "before forming the humanitarian commission charged with receiving him."
The ELN says the company is of Chilean origin and capital, and that it obtained title to around 22,000 hectares (85 square miles) of land in the northeastern Colombian department of Antioquia through "tricks" and by robbing peasants.
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[An Nahar] Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said he was confident the country could overcome a protracted political crisis that deepened Tuesday with the breakdown of talks on a new prime minister.
"Tunisia will get through this difficult phase," Marzouki said during a visit to Gay Paree in his first reaction to the failure of the talks between ruling Islamists and the opposition. "We are determined to promote a democratic process, whatever the present difficulties may be."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Libya Herald] A tense and apparently nervous Saif Al-Islam has given a strange one-minute TV interview in Zintan, in which he answered just three questions, agreed in advance with his lawyer.
Broadcast this evening, the exclusive encounter with a news hound and crew from Al-Assema TV appears to have been recorded within the last few days. Wearing the same style blue prison jumpsuits as the 30 top Qadaffy-era officials now on trial in 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... , Saif was asked about his heath and whether he was being visited by human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... organizations and members of his family. To both enquiries, he replied merely: "Yes. Thanks be to God."
The interviewer then asked why he wished to be tried in Zintan and not Tripoli. For the first time removing the hand that had been covering his mouth, Saif asked the interviewer if Zintan was not part of Libya? The interviewer said it was, to which Saif responded, with a flash of his old commanding ways, "Well there you are then". Sitting back, he then showed that, in his view, the interview was over.
It is understood that the TV station had convinced Saif's Libyan lawyer, Mohammed Abu Semah and the Zintani forces holding Saif, that he should make an on-screen appearance to confound rumours that he had escaped custody and left the country.
Saif's expressed satisfaction with a Libyan trial is new. In the past the defence lawyers appointed for him by the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... , have said that their client wished to be tried in the Hague, because he does not believe that he can receive a fair trial in his home country. Libya is still contesting an outstanding ICC demand that Saif be handed over. The ICC has however now accepted that Qadaffy's former security chief Abdullah Senussi will now be tried fairly in Libya. Senussi's ICC legal team is currently appealing that ruling, even as his trial gets under way in Tripoli.
Saif was due to be appearing in the same Tripoli courtroom as well, but despite demands from the Ministry of Justice, he has not been brought from Zintan.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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[Dawn] At least five people, including two doctors, were killed in targeted attacks apparently on sectarian grounds in different parts of the city on Monday, deepening fear among the people ahead of Muharram as the Rangers-led 'targeted-operation' has yet to challenge the sectarian menace effectively, according to police and hospital officials.
After a lull in frequent killings in the city, targeted attacks reared their ugly head in the picturesque provincial capital amid tight security on account of the visit of some VVIP to the city.
Four people, two doctors among them, were rubbed out in an attack on a tailor's shop while a young man along with Zuljanah was rubbed out in Mobina Town, triggering tension and anxiety in Abbas Town.
Among the two doctors, a chest specialist was rubbed out in the Ferozabad area, police said.
They added that Dr Naseem Abbas Shah, 44, was about to sit in his car outside his home on Allama Iqbal Road in PECHS Block 2 when four suspects riding two cycle of violences fired at him. He sustained two gunshot wounds in his head and was rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where doctors declared him dead. He's dead, Jim!
The victim was associated with a private hospital near Hill Park and also worked at a hospital in Malir, the police Sherlocks said.
Dr Shah, father of two children, originally hailed from Multan, they added.
In another attack, a doctor was bumped off in the Manghopir area, police said.
They added that Dr Sher Ali, 45, was returning home in a car after dropping his children at their school when two armed motorcyclists attacked him near 'Garam Chashma'.
The victim was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead He's dead, Jim! on arrival.
According to additional police surgeon Dr Abdul Haq, the victim had received four bullet wounds including two in the head.
Dr Ali belonged to the Mughal Hazara community, according to Manghopir SDPO Shaukat Shani.
He said the dear departed ran a private clinic near an Imambargah in the area.
Two young men were rubbed out while three others maimed in the attack on a tailor's shop in the Sharifabad area, the area police said.
They added that three suspects riding a cycle of violence attacked the tailor's shop in Zeenat Square that left five persons maimed. The maimed were taken to the ASH where doctors declared Nadeem Haider Zaidi, 40, and Mohammed Shoaib, 28, dead on arrival. The maimed men Mohammed Mohsin, 30, Imran, 40, and Sohail Ali were admitted for treatment.
"Apparently the attack was motivated by sectarian considerations," said SSP Central Amir Farooqi. He said Nadeem owned the tailor's shop and appeared to be the real target of the attackers.
In yet another attack, a young man along with a Zuljanah was bumped off in Mobina Town, police said.
They added that Shan Mohammed, 32, was a Khadim of the Zuljanah in the Abbas Town area.
Gunmen riding a cycle of violence killed the Zuljanah and its keeper near Patel Para, triggering tension in Abbas Town.
"Five Shia activists have been killed ahead of Muharram, which proved hollowness of the government's claims about controlling law and order," according to Maulana Sadiq Raza Taqvi, deputy secretary general of the Sindh Majlis-e-Wahdatul Musselmeneen (MWM).
He said the authorities seemed holding meetings merely for cosmetic security arrangements during Muharram.
MQM man killed
Separately, a young worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) was bumped off in Orangi Town, the Iqbal Market police said.
They added that Junaid aka Mansoor, 28, and his relative, Wasim, were riding a cycle of violence on the main road when two armed cycle of violence riders attacked them near Daba Mor in Sector 11 ½. Junaid sustained nine bullet wounds and died before any medical aid could be provided to him while his relative remained unhurt in the attack.
The victim was a worker of the unit 118 of the MQM organizational structure, said Iqbal Market SHO Tasdeeq Waris, adding that he worked at a factory in Site.
Youth found rubbed out
A youngster was found rubbed out in the Mochko area, police said.
They added that the body of Abdul Rasool, 25, with a single bullet wound in his head was found in a garbage dump in Mochko-II. The victim, a resident of Orangi Town's Faqir Colony, worked at an embroidery shop in the Mochko area, according to SHO Saleem Faridi.
He suspected some personal enmity as a motive for the killing.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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[An Nahar] Microsoft ...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign... chief executive Steve Ballmer on Tuesday said the computer giant had to reinvent itself to avoid being "old and tired" as his company struggles to keep up in the mobile devices sector.
"We're finding ourselves having to start up again," Ballmer said at a conference in Rome where he announced Italia had become the first country in which Microsoft phones were outselling iPhones.
"Unless you're constantly inventing something new, you're old and tired. Today we're having to remake ourselves," Ballmer told his audience.
Referring to the success of Microsoft against rival Apple's iPhone in Italia, he quipped: "I don't know how long it's going to last."
Ballmer was a classmate and friend of Bill Gates from their days at Harvard University ...home of the Best and the Brightest, contributed $878,164 to the 2008 Obama campaign. Is there a reason universities are among the top financiers of political campaigns? in the 1970s.
He took over from Gates in 2000 but earlier this year said he will step down by August 2014.
When Ballmer took over, Microsoft was the undisputed tech sector leader, and the world's largest company in market value. But in recent years it has struggled as consumers began to move from desktop and laptop PCs to mobile devices.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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#1
"Unless you're constantly inventing something new, you're old and tired. Today we're having to remake ourselves,"
How about stopping the techies in house who operate with an attitude 'This is what we're forcing on you whether you want it or not'? After years and years of bloatware that has to be constantly upgraded because of ever more 'security' issues or glitches for a one-size-fits-all product, maybe the arrival of competitive technology is allowing a lot of the customer base to move away from that 'we know what is better for you' mindset.
#2
Anyone using Windows 8.0/8.1 by choice? There's your problem. That whole UI was a "Who asked for this" moment. They finally got things right with Win7 - stable, fast, and familiar. So they dumped it all for this ugly flat boxy garbage.
#3
Always interested in the hatred for the Metro interface. If you are on a desktop machine, the familiar Desktop interface is only a click away, and since 8.1, you can configure yourself to start up there and mostly stay there. I've been using a Surface Pro since it came out, and I'm already mentally and physically retrained to expect a touch interface. I routinely try to touch screens I already know are not touch enabled. Touch is the future, it's not going away...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/06/2013 9:43
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#4
I'd like an 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablet with a Horus Vision app, that'd be handy...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/06/2013 9:46
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#5
That ugly, flat, boxy garbage is because the tip of your finger is a lot 'fatter' than the tip of a mouse pointer. You need big boxy icons to be able to grab them with your fingertip.
I use a big desktop 24" display with a mouse and an iPad using my fingers. Both have their uses. The iPad is great for mobility and meetings and the like - but I wouldn't want to write code on one. The iPad is also good for Facebook or email and most if not all of what a typical 'consumer' would use one for.
Having a 'big boxy design' on a desktop is a waste of real-estate. Do you think people are going to sit (or stand) with their arms extended all day to move things around a 24" 'touch' monitor? A mouse (and mouse pointer) is much more precise and easier (at least so far).
I also have a smallish laptop with multitouch and Windows 8 (not 8.1 - problems upgrading) and I use both mouse, keyboard and 'touch' - usually on the desktop and not metro.
#6
I use the Desktop almost exclusively on my, uh, desktop machine. QuickBooks Pro and Corel Draw are probably never going to be touch applications. On the Surface, I rarely use the desktop at all. Once you find your way around the Metro apps, you get used to them quickly. Point is, there is NOTHING about Metro that prevents a user from living on the Desktop with a mouse. Nothing...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/06/2013 10:46
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My 2c worth, is forcing all the manufacturers to preload Win8 and not provide the option of buying Win7 will prove a collosal error, which Google will exploit.
#11
I've still got XP (and a desktop - laptops are too small for me to read, and hard to type on).
We're changing at work to whatever the next thing is, and I guess after I've been trained on it I'll have to get that too, since Gatesville won't support XP anymore.
I'm like many people - I don't want to be a techie (I don't understand what most of y'all are talking about, nor do I want to); I just want the damn thing to WORK.
As I explained to a tech guy at work, I don't have to know how a car is built or how to make repairs on it in order to drive it. Think of me as a computer driver. And I'm not alone. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
11/06/2013 18:01
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#12
Windows 8 My Lunch.
Wuz setting up a computer for a customer. Wuz like hopping into the grocery to grab a loaf of bread and finding it was now the detergent aisle, spent two work hours walking the aisles.
I will concede that a touch screen would probably made it alright, and eventually everything would be found and re-learned - but that is time I could actually be working.
[Dawn] Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... police chief Shahid Hayat Tuesday said a "conspiracy is being hatched to fan Sunni-Shia festivities in the city" as gunniesrubbed out five Sunni Musselmens a day after six minority Shias were killed in the financial hub of Pakistain, officials said.
"We have identified the shooters and will arrest the killers within a couple of days," Hayat told a delegation of local businessmen.
Police said the five, killed on Tuesday, belonged to the conservative Deobandi movement and were either members of sympathisers of banned bully boy outfits.
"Apparently they were targeted because of their sect," senior police officer Muneer Sheikh told AFP.
The shootings took place in different areas of Karachi, Sheikh said, but declined to comment on whether they were Dire Revenge killings following the murders of the Shias on Monday.
Officials said the victims were two holy mans, a prayer caller and two activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ...which is the false nose and plastic mustache of the murderous banned extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain, whatcha might call the political wing of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi... (ASWJ), a Sunni sectarian group.
At least five Shia Musselmens, including two doctors, were rubbed out on Monday, while another Shia Musselmen who was injured in an attack on a tailor shop also died Tuesday morning, hospital officials said.
The killings came ahead of the Musselmen holy month of Muharram which starts on Wednesday in which Shias mourn the seventh century martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of prophet Muhammad (PTUI!), along with his family members.
Shias make up around a fifth of Pakistain's population.
Police are already carrying out operations against criminal groups to curb sectarian and political killings in the port city.
Security would be further tightened in the month of Muharram, they said.
Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 per cent of Pakistain's GDP, is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh Shahid Nadeem Baloch has taken notice of the recent killings. A police statement said that he has sought detailed report from the Additional IGP Karachi on case to case basis.
Speaking during a presser at the DIG Office in Hyderabad, Baloch said that the police are putting in place stringent security arrangements in the whole province to meet the challenges of providing security during the days of mourning in Muharram.
He said that he had taken detailed briefing from the DIGs of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and Larkana divisions as well as the SSPs of all the districts in this regard.
Responding to a question, the IGP Sindh said the police were alert to possible reaction to the recent killing of Pak Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack in northwestern North Wazoo agency, close to Afghan border.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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[Dawn] Law and Local Government Minister Rana Sanaullah has condemned 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.... leaders' statements regarding stopping NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... supplies and opening the Taliban's office in the country as "unconstitutional", "unwise" and suicidal for the whole nation.
"Statements of PTI chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... and opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed regarding opening of the Taliban's office in Pakistain and stopping NATO supply, respectively, are highly lamentable, unconstitutional and unwise," he said while talking to the media here on Monday.
The minister wondered how the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... could itself take a decision with regard to NATO supply as the issue was related to defence and foreign affairs ministries.
Rana Sana said Imran's thinking was still childish though he had turned 62.
He said the only difference between Imran and the Taliban was that the latter were stationed in Wazoo while the former stayed in Islamabad.
"The Taliban put a (suicide) jacket on one person while Imran intends to put the jacket on the whole nation," he added.
The minister said the nation thought the US was sabotaging the government's dialogue with the Taliban and the "force sabotaging the dialogue process was not our friend".
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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[DAILYCALLER] President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... told his enthusiastic supporters Monday night that he never promised what video recordings show him promising at least 29 times.
The videos show Obama promising 300 million Americans that "if you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan, period."
But that's not what he really said, Obama announced Monday in a speech to about 200 Organizing for Action supporters, gathered at the St. Regis hotel in D.C.
"What we said was you could keep it if it hasn't changed since the law was passed," he told Obamacare's political beneficiaries and contractors.
That claim is not supported by his videotaped statements, which don't include any mention of his new "if it hasn't changed" exception.
But the newly-revealed exception is justified by a higher-priority promise in Obamacare, Obama declared.
"If we had allowed these old plans [to continue]... then we would have broken an even more important promise -- making sure that Americans gain access to health care that doesn't leave them one illness away from financial ruin," he announced.
"So the bottom line is, is that we are making the insurance market better for everybody," he declared, prompting loud applause by supporters eager to ignore his three years of fraudulent statements.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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#1
Yokay, I'll bite, TARN'T BOTH "HIGH CRIMES" [Felony(s)] + ["HIGH"] MISDEMEANORS [Non-Felony but still "Heinious"?] = IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES UNDER THE US CONSTITUTION???
Preferably before China starts shooting at Japan andor PHIL, INDIA, etc. + the US gives up East Asia + 1/2 or more of the Pacific because the US can't econ afford anymore to unilater intervene or go to war on behalf of its overseas Allies = Treaty obligations???
IMO the USDOD covertly desires to lease the CNMI island of PAGAN in its entirety as bargaining hedge in case China wipes out = nukes Japan-returned IWO JIMA.
Lest we fergit, ATZLAN-PROCLAIMED CIVIL WAR starting in 2015 for the independence or liberation of the US Southwest back to Mexico.
#2
* FYI WORLD NEWS > [Stars-N-Stripes] US WISHES TO EXPANDS TRAINING [+ Testing] IN [vast]WESTERN PACIFIC.
RELATED SAME > MARIANAS ON THE RADAR FOR NAVY, MARINE TRAINING SITES.
IMO, among other reasons the JSDF has formally set up a detachment on Tinian in case things go badly militarily for the US + Japan, etal. in a NE Asia/ECS mil confrontation or conflict agz China, + need to fall back to GUAM-WESTPAC + beyond eastward - ditto as US + PHIL, ASEAN vee China in SCS.
Japan kept troops + fighter, attack planes on PAGAN, + for a time used it successfully as a staging area for LR air attacks from Iwo, Okinawa,PHIL + Taiwan agz the new USAAF/USAF B-29 bases in the lower Marianas. Eventually the US invaded + occupied Pagan, + did the same albeit not on the same scale as Japan in deference to the huge US Bomber, Naval bases on Saipan, Tinian, Guam; + later Iwo/Bonins + Palaus [Peleliu].
As per WORLD MIL FORUM again, in addition to its sialnds disputes China is also facing intense pressure in Central Asia vee Radical Islam.
All the above wid the Bammer in the WH.
* OBAMA = ONE HELLUVA LOUSY NATIONALIST + AMERICAN, BUT ONE HELLUVA OUTSTANDING OR GREAT [anti-US?]GLOBALIST + AMERIKAN.
#3
He does not appear to be backing down or even admitting anything is amiss. Champ and his regime are obviously 'all in' and on a collision course to the new program's insolvency. The obvious shortage of paying subscribers will surely take them there, and in short order.
His blind arrogance along with the silence of Pelosi and Reid indicate they have a collective endgame, a plan. I'm not certain what the plan is, but it could be a "temporary" Value Added Tax (VAT) enacted to keep Obamacare afloat. We must do it for the children, or some other ridiculous fabrication will surely be forthcoming. Another scenario, with redemption as it's theme, could see the Hildebeast and Bill arriving on a white horses.
In other even less hopeful parallel universe news, the outcome of the Virginia gubernatorial clearly illustrates the love affair with democrats, a 'wymns right to choose' and big gov't (specifically Northern VA) is far from over. We are in the hole, and the hole is filling with water. In denial, we frantically dig deeper with China and 'the free stuff' as prizes.
#7
hie incompetence, pure arrogance and hubris don't allow him to say what everyone knows:
he's a liar. A mendacious POS. Keep running those ads and videos. He sold a bill of goods and every cancellation notice creates a new GOP voter if they do it right
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/06/2013 7:20
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#8
No, he is not a leader, nor is he crazy. He does what he was taught, and what has always worked for him. He follows. He has always been a follower, safely following from behind. Today he follows his evil Aba Queen, the one who is seldom heard from. She moves behind the scenes, with her shadow advisors, her cohorts, funneling money to Canadian web developers. Her war against the "slavecatchers" continues. But no one will speak ill of her or mention her complicity. She is sacred to her Aba ranks, her following, and the tribe. This is the second rebellion.
#9
Of course they have a plan - they told us what it was from the very beginning: single payer national health care. When, not if, this collapses, they expect the people to demand NHC as the solution. They are creating the problem so they can apply their solution. I think they have the population evaluated quite correctly.
#14
You're caught Obama, own up or not, I don't listen anyway. (Can't stand a liar, won't listen to your lies)
If I can't/won't hear you, are you lying to yourself?
You're not lying to me anymore. Go ahead and spew al the crap you want, You're only lying to yourself.
(Now where did I hear that before? Oh yes the former Chancelor of Germany.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/06/2013 10:34
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#15
Right Skidmark, but that's only one defense mechanism. By "crazy," I mean NPD. Irrational thought processes, disconnected from reality, no substance beyond the defense mechanisms. Those around him may have a plan, but they will be frustrated as he repeatedly screws it up.
#16
Pseudologia fantastica, mythomania, compulsive lying, or pathological lying are four of several terms applied by psychiatrists to the behavior of habitual or compulsive lying.[1][2] It was first described in the medical literature in 1891 by Anton Delbrueck.[2] Although it is a controversial topic,[2] pathological lying has been defined as "falsification entirely disproportionate to any discernible end in view, may be extensive and very complicated, and may manifest over a period of years or even a lifetime".[1] The individual may be aware they are lying, or may believe they are telling the truth, being unaware that they are relating fantasies.
Chronically advanced, inoperable and incurable. Just as we suspected.
#18
Whatever it is, or whatever you call it, so far he has gotten away with it. Maybe he can't fool all of the people all of the time but so far he has fooled enough of the people often enough. Scary.
#19
Bill Clinton lied and lied and lied and went up in the polls. Obama understood the lesson. Those that aren't paying attention will believe him, they are his voters anyway.
The Republicans need to find away to get information to the drive-by voters in a way that sticks. Democrats took over the media so they can make Lincoln a Democrat when they want to and enough people will beleave it.
#26
"if WE like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan, period."
Posted by: European Conservative ||
11/06/2013 19:44
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#27
In the beginning, there was the Plan.
And then came the Assumptions.
And the Assumptions were without form.
And the Plan was without substance.
And darkness was upon the face of the Workers.
And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock of shit, and it stinketh."
And the Workers went unto their Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of
dung, and we can't abide with the smell thereof".
And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."
And the Managers went unto their Directors, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."
And the Directors spoke among themselves, Saying to one another, "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."
And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents, saying unto them, "It promotes growth, and it is very powerful."
And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him, "This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company with very powerful effects."
And the President looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good.
And the Plan became Policy.
And this is how sh*t happens.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/06/2013 21:21
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[An Nahar] The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday sentenced Turkey over a case of police torture dating back to 1999, imposing a fine of 20,000 euros ($27,000).
Mesut Deniz, a 38-year-old Turk currently serving a prison sentence, said he was given electric shocks, hanged by his arms, had his genitals twisted and subjected to other forms of torture after his arrest.
Medical reports at the time recorded a large number of injuries but a police officer charged over the torture claims was acquitted by a Turkish court in 2007.
The ECHR found that Turkey had violated the European Convention on Human Rights and had denied Deniz the right to appeal and a chance to claim compensation.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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[An Nahar] State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Tuesday Arab Democratic Party chief Ali Eid and his driver Ahmed Mohammed Ali with helping a suspect in the 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... bombings escape justice, reported the National News Agency.
They were charged with helping suspect Ahmed Merhi flee to Syria.
A search and investigation warrant was issued against former MP Eid on Monday.
Ali is being held by the Intelligence Bureau on charges of smuggling to Merhi to Syria.
Saqr also charged Syrian national Sukeina Ismail with terrorism over her links to the Tripoli twin bombings, said LBCI television.
She is charged with transporting the two cars that were used in the bombings from Syria to Leb, it added.
Later on Tuesday, security forces at the Abboudieh border-crossing tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Chehade Shdoud, who is charged with smuggling Ismail to Syria.
Last week, the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau summoned Eid to question him over his alleged involvement in the August double bombings in the northern city of Tripoli.
MTV reported that Ali was first arrested on October 26 by Lebanese army intelligence agents on charges of smuggling Merhi into Syria at the request of the pro-Damascus former politician.
Merhi is reportedly the driver of the second explosive-laden vehicle that blew up near al-Taqwa mosque.
On October 14, seven people involved in the August bombings were charged, including three in jug. The majority are from the Tripoli neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.
Forty-five people were killed and over 800 maimed in the twin bombings that targeted the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques on August 23.
The Arab Democratic Party has denied any involvement in the attacks and stressed that the suspects are not members of the party while slamming media leaks attributed to the Intelligence Bureau.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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Five people being held in connection with the terrorist attack on the Westgate mall in Kenya are expected to be charged in court Monday.
The Somali terror group Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the bloody four-day siege at the upscale mall in Nairobi during which at least 67 people were killed. The attack began on September 21.
Questions remain about the those who carried out the attack and the response by security forces. The exact number of people Kenyan authorities say were involved in or connected to the deadly assault has fluctuated.
As the attack unfolded, Kenyan officials said that as many as 15 gunmen were involved. On the fourth day of the siege, as the security operation wound down, President Uhuru Kenyatta said five terrorists had been killed and 11 suspects were in custody.
Last month, the Kenyan military said four gunmen died when part of the mall collapsed. It's unclear how many civilians and terrorists may still be buried beneath the concrete chunks of the collapsed section of the mall.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/06/2013
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[An Nahar] Members of the Tawhid Party, which is headed by former MP Wiam Wahhab, were killed in Syria as they were fighting alongside the country's regime, it announced in a statement on Tuesday.
It said that the fighters were killed in a battle in the village of Arna in the Mount Hermon region on Monday.
Hassan Barakeh, Sami Abou Aaqel, Asaad Abou Morra, and Hassan Badreddine were killed in combat.
"The blood of the deaders will not go to waste as they will continue to haunt the conspirators, takfir ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... is, terrorists, and bully boys," added the statement.
Wahhab had on Monday held talks in Syria with its Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Badreddine Hassoun on the latest developments in the country.
This is the first time that the Tawhid Party announces the death of fighters in Syria.
Hizbullah has been involved in the fighting in Syria, but it does not officially announce the names of its dead.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that over 170 Hizbullah fighters have been killed in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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[Dawn] CONFUSION once again reigns in Islamabad and, by extension, across the country. The federal government is unhappy about the drone strike that killed Hakeemullah Mehsud last week, this much the country has learned from the bombastic response of Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan. But unhappiness or even outrage is not policy. And it's on the policy front that the government seems beset by confusion and uncertainty. The things that are known about the PML-N government's app-roach are as follows: the government believes that there is a serious internal security threat; it first wants to try the dialogue route with the TTP; it wants to keep ties with the US relatively stable; and it wants unilateral drone strikes to end in Fata. But those objectives can and will clash, as they did last weekend when an American drone killed the TTP chief. Surely, the government ought to have been prepared for just such an eventuality. And even if it wasn't -- preparedness not being a part of the Pak condition generally and certainly not of the present government -- the focus in the immediate aftermath should have been on presenting a sensible and coherent message.
Instead, the government's response has fit a depressingly familiar pattern: angry rhetoric with little promise of substantive action, a combination that only ends up ceding further ground to Taliban-friendly elements in an already skewed public discourse. Now that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has finally weighed in with sensible words emphasising his government's policy on talks without lashing out at external powers or eulogising Hakeemullah Mehsud, the question is whether the overheated remarks of some in his party were simply designed to publicly ingratiate the government with the TTP (or perhaps to avoid incurring the TTP's wrath) while quietly sending more sensible signals to the US about pushing forward with the tense though necessary relationship.
If so, it would be a tragic repetition of a game that the country's politicianship has played with the public for decades. What the country needs is an honest reckoning with the past and present. Mr Sharif has been sensible for the most part in his public comments, but he is guilty of being too timid and speaking out far too infrequently. In fact, too often it has seemed as if the running of the government has been wholly delegated by the prime minister to his cabinet. If not interested in the minutiae, the prime minister should at least give a firm and clear direction on major policy matters. The country deserves more from its prime minister.
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11/06/2013
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[Al Ahram] A mortar round hit the Vatican embassy in Damascus on Tuesday morning, damaging the building but causing no casualties, a diplomat told AFP. "A mortar round fell this morning at 6:30 am (0430 GMT) on the embassy rooftop, causing only material damage," said the counsellor at the papal nunciature.
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#1
Moslem Values. It is the Religion of Peace and if you don't get down with your butt in the air they will kill you.
#3
I did not care for her in the fifth season of Babylon 5, and Mrs. Bobby hated her.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/06/2013 12:55
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I disliked her in Bab 5 initially because she was not Ivanova. I don't think JMS really had a plan for the 5th season after he rushed to finish his story up in 4 and Tracy's character was left with little of interest to do.
I've liked her more and more as I've heard her in interviews and learned more about how Ivanova left the show.
North Korea's special forces have grown by 20,000 over the past two years, reaching about 200,000 in total and increasing the so-called asymmetric threat the country poses to the South.
They don't necessarily mean 'special' the way we do...
The numbers come from the defense white paper 2010 published on Thursday, which says the North has consistently boosted its special warfare capabilities, deploying a light infantry division under an Army corps stationed on the frontline and adding a light infantry regiment to an Army division there.
The 200,000-odd special troops are primed to carry out combined operations such as attacks on major facilities in South Korea, assassination of VIPs and harassment in the rear by infiltrating the South using underground tunnels and AN-2 aircraft capable of low-altitude infiltration, the white paper said.
The number of the North's special forces, reportedly the world's largest, was estimated at about 120,000 in the 2006 defense white paper and at about 180,000 in the 2008 white paper. They now account for 17 percent of the North's 1.19 million soldiers (1.02 million in the Army, 60,000 in the Navy and 110,000 in the Air Force).
According to the white paper the North Korean Army has about 4,100 tanks, up 200 from two years ago, and about 2,100 armored vehicles, showing no increase over the same period. It has deployed a new tank at the frontline dubbed "Pokpung" (Storm) patterned after the Soviet Union's old T-72 tank, while superannuated tanks are deployed at rear-area units.
The Pokpung tanks are reportedly equipped with stronger firepower and better maneuverability than the old "Chonma" (Flying Horse), an improved version of the T-62.
The white paper identifies a new antiaircraft missile with a vertical launch control system, which was unveiled during a massive parade in celebration of the Workers Party's anniversary in October, as the "KN-06," and a medium-range ballistic missile with a range of 3,000 km as the "Musudan."
It says the North continues to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles to secure strategic weapons. It has extracted an estimated 40 kg of plutonium by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods which it acquired by operating a 5 MW nuclear reactor since the 1980s. It also has 2,500 to 5,000 tons of various chemical weapons, according to the white paper.
The North Korean Army consists of 15 corps, 90 divisions, and 70 mobile brigades. Troop numbers are similar to 2008, but four more divisions and one more brigade were created.
Equipment includes about 8,500 field guns, 5,100 multiple rocket launchers, and some 100 surface-to-surface missiles, as well as 170 mm self-propelled guns and 240 mm multiple rocket launchers that can deliver blitzkrieg fire at the Seoul metropolitan area from their current positions.
The North Korean Navy has about 420 combat warships, 260 landing ships, 30 minesweepers, about 30 support vessels and some 70 submarines. The Air Force has some 820 combat aircraft, 30 surveillance and control aircraft, 330 aerial mobile planes and some 170 training aircraft. Compared to 2008, that is 20 fewer combat aircraft and 10 fewer training aircraft.
A ministry official said the figures "are the outcome of estimates by Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies of all North Korean Air Force aircraft capabilities, including aircraft that have been downed since 2008 and those that have long remained unused."
The North also has about 300 helicopters, 7.7 million reserve forces, and some 300 munition factories. The military is keeping most of the ordnance stored in caves and has two to three month's worth of supplies, the white paper estimates.
Numbers are impressive but don't tell the tale on maintenance, training and discipline. I still think a general attack on the South wouldn't get farther then the first big box store north of Seoul...
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/06/2013
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#1
I fear that the DPRK's claim of a warship being allegedly sunk last month wid loss of life + while performing "combat duties" may be used as a cover story = PCorrect-Deniable propaganda pretext for tit-for-tat, DPRK-claimed,
"retaliatory" LR TLCM, Air strikes by the DPRK agz the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CVN.
CHINA-ORDERED, NORTH KOREA/DPRK-FIRED OR LAUNCHED???
The above being said, DPRK/NORTH KOREA ICBM = IRAN ICBM???
* ION RELATED TOPIX > [International Business TimEs] DOOMSDAY WW3 RISING? CHINA WARNS JAPAN OF WAR IFF LATTER BLASTS DOWN DRONE.
Caroline Kennedy to the save the day for everybody???
China Foreign Ministry = says JAPAN-N-ONLY-JAPAN WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MILITARY CONSEQUENCES.
As per WORLD MIL FORUM ARTICS, Beijing + PLA would like to remind Japan + US-World that iff China is attacked by Nuclear Weapons, so also will they be counter-attacked by same.
* SAME > PACIFIC COMMANDER PLANS FOR NORTH KOREA MISSLE THREAT.
PACOM Chief USN Adm. Samuel Locklear.
NORTH KOREA ICBM = CHINA-ORDERED, ERGO IS NOT CHINA???
Well, thank goodness thats cleared up.
* RUSSIA TODAY > NORTH KOREA PROGRESSING ON ICBM TO STRIKE US [can reach Seattle + similar US West Coast cities]: THINK-TANK.
ARTIC > JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY US-KOREA INSTITUTE T.T. = DPRK KC-O8 BMS not as fake = "less fake" than originally thought???
* RELATED WORLD NEWS > [The Australian] NORTH KOREA'S FAKE MISSLE NOT SO HARMLESS NOW, EXPERTS FEAR.
* SAME > HAGEL: US MILITARY MUST ADAPT TO SMALLER BUDGETS, as induced by new + deeper Sequester-required cuts.
USDOD MUST PREPARE TO FACE ACROSS-THE-BOARD, ALL-ASPECTS MAJOR UPHEAVALS WHILE DEFERRING TO INCREASED USE OF NEW OR ADVANCED TECHNOLGIES + WHILE ALSO AVOIDING ISOLATIONISM.
The future USDOD will N-O-T be akin to the Cold War or the US Army-Navy Depts. of the early 20th century where a smaller, budget-constrained service allowed servicemembers to stay in-service on one or a few milbases throughout their entire career-tenure or many years, WW1 + WW2 + Cold War per se notwithstanding.
[Al Ahram] Security officials say Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... spent his first night in a civilian penitentiary in a hospital room after he complained he wasn't feeling well. Mubarak was on his deathbed from day to day, too.
Morsi was transferred to a maximum security prison in a remote desert area near Alexandria, Egypt's second city, after his first trial session was adjourned to January 8. It was his first appearance following his July ouster. Since then, he has been held in a secret military facility.
Upon arrival to the prison, the 62-year-old Morsi complained of high blood pressure and high blood sugar, officials said Tuesday, speaking anonymously because they weren't authorized to brief news hounds.
They said he was taken to a prison hospital room with a separate bathroom and a TV. The Interior Ministry said he was receiving regular check-ups.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Al Ahram] Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaaeddin said on an interview with CNN Monday that Egypt had deviated from the "proper path to democracy," linking the deviation to ousted president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... 's tumultuous year in power.
The deputy prime minister is on a visit to Washington to shore up ties between the two longstanding allies and attend the US Chamber of Commerce's US-Egypt Business Council, state news agency MENA said on Monday.
"Egyptians are suffering," Bahaaeddin said in the interview. "But let's make no mistake about this: Egyptians are suffering as a result of the policies that were adopted particularly during the year of the reign of ex-president Morsi."
Morsi, the country's first freely-elected president, was ousted by Egypt's army amid mass protests against his one-year rule. The toppled leader, who had been held incommunicado since his removal in July, made his first public appearance in court on Monday, along with other Islamist co-defendants, on charges of inciting violence.
The deputy prime minister blamed the state of affairs on the toppled leader, saying that during Morsi's troubled one-year rule "freedoms began to be taken" and "the constitution was no longer upheld."
"We need to keep our eyes fixed on not continuing in that road, and as quickly as possible, as strongly as possible, going back to a proper path of democracy," Bahaaeddin urged.
Bahaaeddin stressed on the necessity for swift progress, adding that "We should expect some things to happen the right way, some things [to] take more time, some things to be bumpy -- but at the end what matters is whether we are progressing in the right direction, and I think we are."
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MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Æthiopias Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom Tuesday arrived in Mogadishu to attend the closing ceremony of Jubaland Reconciliation Conference which kicked off last Sunday, Garowe Online reports.
Adhanom, who played a key role in Addis Ababa agreement which was signed by Federal Government of Somalia and Jubaland administration met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon.
The Ethiopian delegation and the Somali Federal Government officials discussed bolstering the bilateral ties and political and security cooperation between Somalia and Ethiopia-nations adamant about Al Shabaab terror threats.
Prime Minister Shirdon thanked Ethiopia for maintaining a military presence in southern Somalia in an effort to stabilize the war-ravaged horn of Africa nation where Al Shabaab boasts of deadly rampages targeting Somali government officials, foreign diplomats, important structures and innocent civilians. On his side, Minister Adhanom reiterated Addis Ababas commitment to standing with the Somali people and their government to get an atmosphere conducive for peaceful coexistence and cooperation.
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[Al Ahram] For a second day of roundup by authorities on Tuesday, parts of the capital Riyadh were empty as many forign workers stayed at home to avoid potential arrest
Posted by: Fred ||
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The man in the back of the pick-up truck driving along a Mogadishu street is wearing military fatigues with the pale blue starred Somali flag sewn on his sleeve. He may be a soldier in Somalia's national forces -- or he may not.
The al-Shabaab militants who controlled the Somali capital before they were routed two years ago have been known to don army uniforms to infiltrate the city, as have common criminals. This is just one of the myriad challenges when it comes to building a viable army in a country that has known little else but war for more than two decades.
For over a year now a regular parliament has been in session in Mogadishu for the first time since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in 1991 plunged the country into years of vicious clan fighting. Parliamentarians have appointed a president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who talks ambitiously of putting Somalia on a path towards political and economic stability, and hopes to hold national elections in 2016.
Continued on Page 49
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[Libya Herald] There were a number of festivities in 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... last night, the most serious being in two different areas of Suq Al-Juma, east of the city.
The first occurred in the district's Al-Ajeelat street when members of the local deterrent force, the Quwat Al-Rada, went to arrest an alleged drugs dealer. According to local sources, there was a shootout with the alleged dealer being killed. As a result, members of his family and his friends responded by attacking a power plant and setting vehicles on fire. No one else was hurt.
Last month, the local cop shoppe was set on fire in a similar incident after the Quwat Al-Rada rubbed out another man whom they claimed was a drugs dealer.
The second, potentially more serious, clash occurred in the early hours of the morning at a checkpoint on the roundabout by the planetarium near Shara Al-Shat. A vehicle driven by Nuri Friwan, the commander of the Misrata Nosoor Battalion, based in Suq Al-Juma, was stopped by checkpoint guards. According to SSC commander Hashim Bishr, an argument developed which ended with Friwan being shot in the foot.
Members of his militia arrived shortly afterwards and started shooting at the guards, firing RPGs and using heavy anti-aircraft guns. Remarkably, no one was killed although three guards were maimed.
A truce was eventually mediated by local elders and Friwan was air-ambulanced to Tunisia. The three checkpoint guards were taken to the clinic at Mitiga airbase.
A third clash happened when one of Tripoli's battalions raided a rest house of a citizen in the Tripoli district of Ain-Zara ended up with the arrest of the person in question.a
Posted by: Fred ||
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Iran's top nuclear negotiator said on Tuesday a framework deal with world powers on its nuclear work was "possible this week", although it was not necessary to hold to any such deadline, Reuters reported.
"I believe that if we don't make a breakthrough at this round it's not a disaster," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told France 24 television. "A lot of work has to be done, but there is a great deal of mistrust in Iran."
Zarif will participate in the new round of P5+1 and Iran negotiations which are scheduled to be held in Geneva on November 7-8.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/06/2013
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#1
Again, NORTH KOREA'S repor alleged KC-08 based
"ICBM" = IRAN'S "ICBM"???
[An Nahar] Paleostinian authorities have received the reports of Swiss and Russian forensic investigations into the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat, an official said Tuesday, without disclosing the findings.
"The report was delivered" by the Swiss laboratory, Tawfiq Tirawi, who heads the Paleostinian investigation into Arafat's death, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Official Paleostinian news agency WAFA said that a Russian team appointed by the Paleostinian Authority also handed in its report on November 2 and that its conclusions would be made public in due course.
Some 60 samples were taken from the remains of the late Paleostinian leader in November last year for a probe into whether he was poisoned by polonium.
The samples were divided between the Swiss and Russian Sherlocks and a French team carrying out a probe at the request of Arafat's widow Suha.
Arafat died in hospital in La Belle France on November 11 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death.
No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request.
Arafat's remains were exhumed from his tomb in the West Bank city of Ramallah in November 2012 and samples taken, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned -- a suspicion that grew after the liquidation of Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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#1
Findings of Arafat Death Probe Handed to Palestinians
"Here, hold this"
"Ewwwwwwwww!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/06/2013 8:02
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#2
Guardian via Al Jazeera: David Barclay, a British forensic scientist who had studied the report, told al-Jazeera: "The report contains strong evidence, in my view conclusive evidence, that there's at least 18 times the level of polonium in Arafat's exhumed body than there should be." He said the report represented "a smoking gun"...(Suha) With Zahwa, 18, her daughter by Arafat, she said she suspected a "conspiracy to get rid of him", adding: "My daughter and I have to know who did it. We will not stop in our quest to find out. I hope the Palestinian Authority goes further on it, searching every single aspect of it. It is of course a political crime." She said: "This is separate from the peace process or talks. Any judicial investigation is separate from the peace process."
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its dissatisfaction at recent comments by Turkish officials about ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. "[Turkish officials] insist on falsifying the real situation in Egypt and challenging the will of the Egyptian people," the ministry said on Tuesday in a statement published by state news agency MENA. Erdogan Bey can see himself in the same situation as Morsi.
The Turkish foreign ministry called on Tuesday for the release of Morsi, who is currently in detention pending trial on charges of inciting violence during his presidency.
Morsi has been held in detention since his ouster by the military in July, after mass protests calling for an end to his presidency. Initially he was held without charge at an undisclosed location.
On Monday he appeared at a Cairo court for the first session in his trial.
"We believe the release of all political prisoners, including elected president Morsi, will contribute significantly to the emergence and sound implementation of the dialogue and reconciliation process in that country," read a statement on the official website of the Turkish foreign ministry.
The president's ouster has strained relations between Cairo and Ankara. Turkey's Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had warm relations with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood administration.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2013
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#4
CF, I've made it clear in the past that I believe that Obama is following the path to a Fascist dictatorship, so yes, it could certainly be both.
The details and order thereof can be different but that's the path Obama is treading with the same level of power. The main difference is that Obama doesn't play the anti-Jew card, but then, neither did Benito.
The important marker of Fascism is ultimate government control over the economy and activities of society via ever spreading cronyism and regulation. Fabian socialists and Gramsciian communists are all cheek by jowel with the Fascist left on the continuum.
#8
g(r)om, I'd go more with ironic. Obama has a much broader range of target enemies that aren't quite so compartmentalized as Jews & Gypsies.
Tea Partiers are equivalent in his regard but there's no way to identify them physically. The closest he can get is to hate whitey but that isn't going to work cause half his homies are honkies.
[Al Ahram] The Salafist Nour Party objects to an article in the draft constitution which defines equality between men and women, Salah Abdel-Maaboud said on Monday.
A 50-member committee is amending the constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated constituent assembly in 2012, of which the Nour Party was a leading representative.
In a statement on Monday, Abdel-Maaboud said the subcommittee finalising articles on the basic elements of the state had agreed on ten out of 11 articles, but disagreed on the one related to gender equality.
Article 11 states: "The State is committed to achieving equality between women and men in all the rights stated in this constitution. The State is obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure the appropriate and balanced representation of women in parliaments and local units, as organised by the law, and enable them to reconcile the duties of family and work, and protect them from all forms of violence. The State is committed to providing special care for motherhood and childhood and women who are poorest and most in need."
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... Abdel-Maaboud said his party objected to the phrasing as it would open the door for a women's quota in parliament, which it is against.
"We cannot have a quota for every marginalised group," he remarked.
The party also believes women's rights defined in the article should be restricted by Sharia law. Although Article Two of the constitution names the principles of Sharia as the main source of legislation, he said, Nour demands it is also added to Article 11 defining women's rights so these rights are in accordance with Sharia law.
The amendments are to be approved by interim Adly Mansour by 3 December, after which they will be submitted to a national refendum. As part of the roadmap established on 3 July with the ouster of Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , the constitutional referendum is to be followed by parliamentary and then presidential elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] At least 35 suspects have been incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! during the last two days over the murder of two French journalists in Mali's rebel-infested north, local government and Malian security sources told Agence La Belle France Presse on Tuesday.
Ghislaine Dupont, 57, and Claude Verlon, 55, were kidnapped and rubbed out by what French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said were "terrorist groups" in the flashpoint northeastern town of Kidal on Saturday.
"A few dozen people have been arrested on Malian territory over 48 hours in the course of the investigation related to the murder of the two French journalists," a source from the Kidal administration told AFP.
"This is encouraging. In the car abandoned not far from the scene of the crime, precious phone numbers were found. This is an important detail," the source said, without revealing if the numbers had been linked to suspects.
A member of the Malian security forces confirmed the information, putting the number of people tossed in the calaboose Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! at "at least 35".
The source told AFP evidence was "accumulating" and amounted to more than just "clues".
He said prisoners serving sentences for their involvement in the kidnapping of Frenchies Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic in northern Mali in 2011 had been helping the investigation.
Verdon, who was subsequently murdered, and Lazarevic, who remains a hostage, were kidnapped in the town of Hombori by a group contracted by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), some of who were then arrested.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Yemeni authorities have tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! four suspected Al-Qaeda Death Eaters in connection with a spate of liquidations of police and army officers in the restive southeast, a police official said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made in the Hadramawt province town of Ghayl Bawazir on Monday and Tuesday, the official said.
One of those arrested is employed at an oil terminal in the province and is accused of killing a senior army officer last month, the official added.
Residents said that security forces had deployed in force across Ghayl Bawazir.
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[Dawn] A suicide boom-mobile killed a British member of the international coalition in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, authorities said. It was the second death this month of a member in the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... -led coalition.
Britannia's Ministry of Defense said the soldier from 3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment was killed in the attack while on patrol in the area of Kamparak, east of Lashkar Gah.
The defense ministry did not name the soldier but said next of kin have been informed.
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[An Nahar] A French woman who went missing during a transit stop in Egypt between flights was found on Tuesday, an official at the French embassy in Cairo said.
"She was found this morning and was offered the required services of the embassy to help her return to La Belle France as soon as possible," the official said, refusing to say any more.
A source close to Egyptian Sherlocks said the 25-year-old had been found wandering in a popular neighborhood of Cairo in a state of "shock".
She had arrived from Ghana on Thursday evening and had been due to fly on to Basel-Mulhouse airport in La Belle France on Friday, airport officials told AFP earlier.
On Saturday, the authorities launched a nationwide search for the woman when she failed to catch her connecting flight.
Asked about her disappearance and whether she had been abused during the four days and nights she was missing, the embassy official said Egyptian police were investigating what happened between the time she checked in at a transit hotel and when she was found.
As is procedure for transit stays of longer than 12 hours, the immigration police kept her passport on arrival from Ghana and she was escorted by security officials to the nearby four-star Baron Hotel for her overnight stay.
But on Friday she failed to board the onward flight to La Belle France.
"She apparently left the hotel on her own," said a source close to the investigation.
Cairo has had a night-time curfew since the middle of August when the authorities cracked down on Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... who was deposed by the army in July.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The article really tells us nothing. The "journalist" may have been educated in France?
[An Nahar] World powers failed Tuesday to set a date for a hoped-for Syria peace conference in Geneva, U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said after meeting with senior diplomats.
"We were hoping that we'd be in a position to announce a date today, unfortunately we're not," Brahimi told news hounds.
"But we're still hoping that we'll be able to have the conference before the end of the year," he said, adding he would meet again with U.S. and Russian envoys on November 25.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
All-or-nuthin, uncompromising Baby Assad versus the all-or-nuthin, uncompromising Rebels versus anti-Assad, anti-Syria Rebels, uncompromising Al-Qaeda + Foreign Militant Groups - D *** NG IT,
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!?
* RUSSIA TODAY > ASSAD ADVISOR: WITH POLITICAL WILL, [opportunity/chance exists for] SYRIAN CRISIS OVER IN TWO WEEKS.
At least for the FSA + aligned "moderate" domestic Rebs - for the Bammer + OWG Amerika's new BFF [OWG "Co-Superpower"]Shia Iran + Hezzies + Quds Force, ITS JUST BEGINNING.
[Al Ahram] Thirty Emiratis and Egyptians went on trial on Tuesday accused of setting up an illegal branch of Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund in the United Arab Emirates.
The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi adjourned the case, which is viewed as an attempt to stamp out what the UAE says is a threat from political Islam, until Nov. 12.
The UAE, a U.S. ally and major oil exporter, has long been distrustful of the Moslem Brüderbund, which helped propel Egypt's Mohammed Mursi to power last year. The UAE has welcomed Mursi's ouster by the army after mass protests against his rule.
Twenty Egyptians, six of whom are being tried in absentia, and 10 Emiratis are charged with setting up an illegal branch of the Moslem Brüderbund in the UAE, stealing and airing state security secrets and collecting funds illegally, activists said.
The defendants denied all the charges, a family member of one of the detainees who attended the trial told Rooters, adding that some of the Egyptians had said they were physically abused in jug and their confessions were obtained under coercion.
"One Egyptian said they were subjected to all kinds of torture," the family member said, on condition of anonymity.
The UAE denies using torture. The court ordered medical tests for some of the defendants, state news agency WAM said.
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A senior Philippine Cabinet official expressed the opinion that a ranking commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who led the deadly standoff in September in Zamboanga City in Mindanao has been killed.
Secretary Voltaire Gazmin of the Department of National Defense said, "The MNLF has long been saying that Commander Habier Malik is alive but up to now they haven't shown him," adding that in this light, Malik is "obviously dead." He could be just hideously disfigured.
Senior Superintendent Edgar Danao, a senior officer in the Mindanao regional police command, agreed, saying, "If he (Malik) were alive, the MNLF would have shown a video of him to taunt the troops but so far, nothing. It's been a month and no Malik has surfaced in media." They could send off for a Phantom of the Opera mask. That'd take care of it.
More than 200 militants, policemen, soldiers and civilians were killed and dozens injured during the siege that devastated large areas of Zamboanga and displaced about 100,000 residents still living in temporary evacuation centers. Misuari's not dead, so it's gonna happen again.
Security officers have labeled Malik as a trusted aide of Nur Misuari, the leader of an MNLF faction, who allegedly ordered the attack on Zamboanga City. The initial belief that Malik had been killed arose when soldiers found his identification card on the body of MNLF militant who was slain during the siege. Did the ID match the dead guy? How common is the name?
This article starring:
HABIER MALIK
Moro National Liberation Front
NUR MISUARI
Moro National Liberation Front
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[Libya Herald] A bomb has been defused outside Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC), after staff found a suspicious-looking bag left in the doctors' car-park.
Spokesman for the Benghazi Joint Security Room Abdullah Zaidi confirmed to the Libya Herald that a bomb was found outside the BMC and was defused by bomb disposal experts.
An employee of the hospital, who did not wish to be named, said that a mobile phone attached to the device showed eleven missed calls, suggesting that attempts had been made to detonate it remotely.
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[Dawn] The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Pakistain Tuesday declared human cloning and changing of gender as un-Islamic acts while announcing its recommendations on a range of issues.
Addressing a presser, Chairman CII Maulana Muhammad Ali Sherani said the council in its 193rd meeting discussed different issues.
He said research and thinking were not banned in Islam and new innovations were allowed but within the limits of the religion.
The council declared human cloning as un-Islamic while maintaining its recommendations given in a previous meeting, Sherani said.
He said that changing of gender was also un-Islamic for both males and females, however, he added that a person could be operated upon if he/she has characteristics of both sexes. The procedure should be done within Islamic injunctions though, he added.
The Islamic council allowed test tube babies under certain conditions, said Sherani.
Gender selection was not prohibited in Islam and it can be done with the limits of the Shariah, however, it could not be used as a common practice.
The chairman said that "mother milk banks" should not be permitted as use of milk from there would complicate family life and it would also not be a healthy practice.
He said use of secret recordings for court cases should not be part of a general policy but it should only be done in specific cases. Evidence gained from secret recordings should be used as supportive evidence according to the Shariah law, he added.
Maulana Sherani said the council, in its next meeting, will take up the issues of Christian and Hindu marriage and divorce, decision of Federal Shariah court regarding Zakat deduction, Shariah veil, status of installing statues in museums and public places and report on national and international agreements.
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[An Nahar] The United States is skeptical about Syria's declaration of its chemical weapons to an international watchdog and is still checking its accuracy, a top U.S. envoy said Tuesday.
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Samantha Power said Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... remained unacceptable as a leader of Syria despite his agreement to destroy all of his banned chemical arms by mid-2014.
Syria has made a 700-page declaration of its chemical weapons sites and arms to the Organization for the Elimination of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and has met a deadline to destroy its chemical and weapons production facilities.
But many western nations still doubt that all of Syria's chemical weapons have been declared, diplomats say.
"More work of course remains to be done to ensure that the Syrian government's list of declared sites is comprehensive and that the process remains on track, particularly as we enter the destruction phase, which looks very complicated," Power commented after a U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria's chemical arms.
The U.S. ambassador told news hounds that American experts are still studying the "extremely technical" Syrian document.
"We obviously bring skepticism born of years of dealing with this regime, years of obfuscation in other contexts, and of course a lot of broken promises within the context of this current war," Power said.
"You will certainly hear from us in the event that we detect non-compliance or we detect significant discrepancies," she added.
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[Al Ahram] Nigeria's Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Islamists could be classed as war criminals, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... office said Tuesday, as it condemned a bloody attack on a wedding convoy.
"Members of Boko Haram and other groups and entities, if judged to have committed widespread or systematic attacks against a civilian population ... (could be) guilty of crimes against humanity," said Cecile Pouilly, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Islamist bully boyz have killed dozens of people over recent days in restive northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... , first storming a town on cycle of violences and pick-up trucks and then carrying out highway ambushes.
Boko Haram gunnies were blamed for Saturday's slaying of more than 30 people, including the groom, when a wedding convoy was halted on a road near the border with Cameroon.
Pouilly called the wedding convoy "atrocious" and condemned Boko Haram's campaign of "cowardly attacks" against civilians, politicians, members of government institutions, foreigner and the security forces.
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[An Nahar] The Gazoo Strip's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, government said on Tuesday it had added studies to encourage "resistance to Israel" to the territory's public schools curriculum.
Courses to "strengthen Paleostinian rights, update programs and add studies on human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. " would be introduced at three levels in secondary schools, Education Minister Muetassem al-Minaui told Agence La Belle France Presse.
They were intended to instill "faith in the role of the resistance to win rights and to raise awareness of the importance of effective preparations to face the enemy," he said.
The new material, seen by AFP, tells of Israel's winter 2008-2009 and November 2012 military offensives into the Gazoo Strip and shows photos of dead Paleostinians and of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes.
"All of Paleostine from the (Mediterranean) sea to the river (Jordan) belongs to us, to us Musselmens," it states, in accordance with the beliefs of the hard boy Islamic group, which refuses to recognize Israel.
The new courses will be taught only in education ministry schools and not those of the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Relief and Works agency, in which close to half of the 463,000 pupils in the strip study, the agency's operations director Robert Turner told journalists on Tuesday.
At the start of this year, Hamas launched an experimental program of basic military training for about 10,000 high school students.
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[Dawn] THE death of a man who waged war against the Pak state and was responsible for the slaughtering of thousands of innocent men, women and kiddies should have come as a great relief to this strife-torn nation.
Instead, our politicians are mourning the death of Hakeemullah Mehsud in a US drone strike describing the incident as an "attack on peace".
From being public enemy No.1, the chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) has virtually been turned into a hero after his inglorious death. A mass murderer who ordered the beheading of our soldiers and grabbed credit for killing a Pak general just a few months ago, is now being elevated to the status of a martyr.
Instead of seizing this moment of opportunity to dismantle a fragmented terrorist network, a frightened politicianship has shamelessly prostrated itself before the myrmidons. As a result, the gunnies and their allies are now dominating the public narrative despite their crimes against the people of Pakistain. It is an extremely dangerous situation for a country facing the existential threat of spiralling violent extremism. A narrow self-serving leadership is taking the entire country towards a suicidal path.
With few exceptions, all political parties have joined the chorus that the fatal drone strike on Hakeemullah was a conspiracy to scuttle an illusory grinding of the peace processor. While the interior minister has called for reviewing relations with the US, an agitated Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... has threatened to block the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... supply line in protest. The bravado may just be public posturing, but the irresponsible rhetoric could lead to some unintentional consequences, plunging the country into more dire straits.
It is a pity that even the killing of young women and kiddies in a suicide kaboom in a crowded Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. bazaar or the massacre of Christian worshippers in the church bombing has not shaken the great Khan as much as the death of the leader of the myrmidon outfit that perpetrated those heinous attacks. He even refuses to accept that the Taliban were behind those bombings despite their endorsement of the attack.
Seemingly, all the tumult is about the timing of the US action and the violation of Pakistain's illusory sovereignty once again. According to the interior minister, the attack was carried out hours before a three-member delegation was to meet the TTP leadership and extend to them a formal invitation from the government for talks.
Notwithstanding the questionable legality of America's drone strikes on Pak soil, it is hard to believe that the targeting of the TTP chief was part of a plan to sabotage the talks as alleged by our politicians.
One should not forget that the TTP leader was on the US's most wanted list with a bounty of up to $5m on his head. He came on the US radar after a video showed him talking to Hummam Khalil Abu-Mulal al Balawi, a Jordanian doctor with Al Qaeda connections who went kaboom! inside a CIA operating base in Afghanistan's Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... , killing seven intelligence operatives in 2009. The incident also confirmed his close ties with Al Qaeda.
Soon after, Hakeemullah claimed to have trained Faisal Shehzad, an American of Pak origin who was involved in a failed attempt Curses! Foiled again! to detonate a boom-mobile in New York's Times Square.
Hakeemullah had narrowly escaped several drone strikes in the past three years. He was also reportedly injured in one of them that kept him out of action for several months. Significantly, the fatal attack on Friday came a couple of weeks after the US forces had snatched from the Afghan intelligence agencies Latif Mehsud, a close confidant of the TTP leader.
It is quite plausible that the information gleaned from Latif might have led the CIA to Hakeemullah's hideout. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has confirmed that American officials had informed him that the TTP leader would not be spared if tracked down.
For sure, the drone campaign has remained a major irritant in the troubled relations between Islamabad and Washington. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... also raised the issue during his meeting with President Barack Obama We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us... in Washington last month. Indeed, Pakistain's objection to the violation of the country's illusory sovereignty is fully justified on legal and ethical grounds. There are no two views about the negative political impact of the collateral damage caused by the drone attacks.
But it is also a fact, that the drones have eliminated many high-value Pak faceless myrmidons running their terrorist operations from North Wazoo. Prominent among those killed in the last two years are Waliur Rehman, who was deputy chief of the TTP, Ilyas Kashmiri, Qari Hussain, Qari Zafar and Badar Mansoor. They were all criminal masterminds of attacks on Pak security installations.
Pakistain has also decided to contact the five permanent members of the UN Security Council on the killing of Hakeemullah in the latest drone strike. The move will certainly make Pakistain a laughing stock and only weaken the country's case on the drone issue.
Leave aside other countries, Islamabad cannot even convince its closest ally China on the matter. The myrmidon sanctuaries in North Waziristan are a cause for concern to the entire international community. It is certain that the way Pakistain is dealing with the issue of terrorism will find no takers.
It was questionable from the outset whether the government's peace efforts could succeed given the uncompromising attitude of the TTP. In his last interview to the BBC, Hakeemullah had rejected any dialogue under the Pak Constitution, saying that it envisioned a secular democratic system.
Now with his death that may lead to further fragmentation of the TTP, the possibility of any purposeful negotiations has become even more remote. But the danger is that the current state of policy disarray may provide a conducive environment in which the faceless myrmidons can revitalise their activities. It is perhaps, the most critical point in the country's struggle against the rising myrmidon threat.
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A Bahraini court on Sunday sentenced four people to life imprisonment and six others to 15 years in jail on charges of setting up a terror cell called Imam Army. The court acquitted 14 others of the charges. Two of the four sentenced to life were tried in absentia.
In February, Chief of Public Security Major General Tariq Al Hassan said that security intelligence information obtained by the National Security Agency indicated that a group was attempting to form a terrorist cell targeting sensitive civil and military locations as well as public figures.
A joint team was formed by the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency to probe the network, including its members, funding and training activities. Investigations revealed the formation of a network to set up a terrorist cell as a nucleus for what was called Imam Army to carry out acts of terror.
The network was made up of Bahraini elements inside Bahrain and abroad, in addition to members from other nationalities. Al Hassan said that four of the accused were still at large and that the competent security agencies were exerting the necessary efforts to apprehend them.
According to the confessions of the accused, the recruiting was done by two Bahrainis, Mirza Mohammed and Aqeel Jaffar, who resided in Iran. The probe revealed that the man behind them was an Iranian national, Abu Nasser, from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Major General Tariq Al Hassan revealed that the cell trained on the use of weapons, high explosives, methods to gather information, writing about and photographing locations, as well as recruitment of members.
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[Libya Herald] A military governor responsible for security in Benghazi is being appointed, according to the Minister of Defence Abdullah Al-Thini.
He was speaking this morning at a special session of the General National Congress on the security situation in the city. It had been demanded by the city's Congress members. The Deputy Prime Minister, Sadiq Abdulrahman, who is acting Interior Minister, had been summoned to explain what the government was doing. So too had the Justice Minister, Salah Marghani, as well as Al-Thini, Intelligence head Salem Al-Hassi and the Chief of Staff, Major-General Abdussalam Jadallah Al-Obeidi.
Contrary to media reports, the Prime Minister was not called, Congressman Ahmed Langhi told the Libya Herald.
In his address to Congress, Thini said that, following discussions between his ministry, Benghazi Congress members and the local council, the appointment of security supremo would be made as soon as possible. However, women are made to be loved, not understood... he refused to name him for security reasons. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... members of Congress later named him as Colonel Awad Al-Saiti who replaced Colonel Younis Al-Abduli just over a week ago as head of the Benghazi Joint Security Room (BJSR).
A fortnight ago, the Prime Minister named Colonel Wanis Bukhamada, the man who currently heads the Saiqa Brigade (special forces) in Benghazi, as the city's new security supremo.
Speaking today, Thini blamed the spate of killings and the unstable security situation in Benghazi on the absence of a specific plan for the Benghazi Joint Security Room (BJSR). This would now change, he said. In addition to the new security supremo, there would be a new security force at the BJSR. He would not go into the security details, however, saying that this was responsibility of the BJSR.
According to Congressman Langhi, the results of the new plan would be seen within the next couple of days.
His fellow Benghazi congressman, Saleh Joudah, told this paper that as of today there would be around 1,500 military personnel stationed at strategic locations across the city. They would be members of the Libyan army, he said, but they would be under under the command of the BJSR.
The force, Joudah added, would begin by protecting the most important parts of the city, including all the entrances.
For his part, the Justice Minister told Congress that judges in Benghazi were threatened on an almost daily basis and that until now there had been no one to protect them.
As to who was responsible for the wave of killings, the Chief of Staff revealed that three groups were under investigation. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... for security reasons he too would not name them.
Meanwhile, ...back at the saw mill, Scarface Al had tied Little Nell to the log and was about to turn on the buzz saw... in a statement today coinciding with the Congress debate, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it strongly condemned the wave of killings in Benghazi and called on the government to intensify its efforts focus on security in the city as a matter of priority.
A week ago, the BJSR front man said that 400 armed vehicles with members of the Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room had arrived in the city. It was reported at the time that they had come from the west of the country to help ensure Benghazi's security. However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... there were other reports that these were pro-Islamist revolutionaries who had returned east to support their colleagues following the apparent backlash against a number of brigade leaders in the wake of the murder of the Benghazi head of military police Colonel Ahmed Mustafa Al-Barghathi.
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[Dawn] Opposition politicians expressed their concern over the worsening law and order situation in Hyderabad during the Sindh Assembly session on Monday, asking the provincial government to protect the life and property of the people and restore peace to the second largest city of the province before it is too late.
The house, which resumed after a two-day break, took up an adjournment motion on the worsening law and order situation in Hyderabad for discussion.
The motion was jointly moved by Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... politicians Heer Soho, Sumita Afzal and Naira Munir and it was specific to Hyderabad.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... MPAs also referred to the law and order situation from Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... to Kashmore and called upon the government to hold law-enforcers accountable for deterioration in law and order.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... some MPAs from the treasury benches pointed out to the supporter of the motion that the law and order problem was not one city specific as it was the issue of entire Pakistain.
He said the situation was not restricted to Hyderabad and Karachi only. He highlighted a large number of kidnapping for ransom incidents in Punjab.
Mr Memon said there were some reasons behind the worsening situation in Hyderabad and among them was the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi, as criminals were running away to other cities.
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[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... assured on Tuesday that he is not going to Damascus, stressing also that he "is still a centrist."
"I am never going to Damascus," Jumblat said in an interview on LBCI television, denying reports that claimed he was reaching out to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... 's regime.
He elaborated: "I am still a centrist amid this division in politics, between religious sects and regarding the war in Syria."
"I want to neutralize Leb from the repercussions of the Syrian crisis and I am trying alongside President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... , caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... to fend off the dangers."
Jumblat explained that unlike other political figures that thought the neighboring country's regime would collapse, he "knew it would be a long war."
He detailed: "I gathered my information from (former Syrian army chief of staff Lt. Gen.) Hikmat al-Shihabi and he told me that Syria is heading towards a war."
"The Syrian regime aggravated imprisonments and killings until the revolution turned into a sectarian war."
The PSP leader considered that the Friends of Syria "disappointed" the revolutionaries due to the presence of "different agendas."
"What is required is stopping the smuggling of Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... s into the country, uniting the financing and the military efforts of the Free Syrian Army, and sending a single delegation that represents all factions to attend the Geneva II summit."
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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.
[Dawn] The Indian government stepped up its criticism of leading opposition prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday, painting him as a dangerous
Five bombs were detonated in quick succession yesterday evening in Narathiwat province, wounding 9 people. 
International Criminal Court
[Dawn] At least five people, including two doctors, were killed in targeted attacks apparently on sectarian grounds in different parts of the city on Monday, deepening fear among the people ahead of Muharram as the Rangers-led 'targeted-operation' has yet to challenge the sectarian menace effectively, according to police and hospital officials.
[An Nahar] 
[Dawn] 
Wazoo
[DAILYCALLER] President 
Nawaz Sharif
[Al Ahram] Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaaeddin said on an interview with CNN Monday that Egypt had deviated from the "proper path to democracy," linking the deviation to ousted president 
[Libya Herald] There were a number of 
Iran's top nuclear negotiator said on Tuesday a framework deal with world powers on its nuclear work was "possible this week", although it was not necessary to hold to any such deadline, Reuters reported.
[An Nahar] Paleostinian authorities have received the reports of Swiss and Russian forensic investigations into the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat, an official said Tuesday, without disclosing the findings.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Al Ahram] Nigeria's 
[Dawn] THE death of a man who waged war against the Pak state and was responsible for the slaughtering of thousands of innocent men, 
A Bahraini court on Sunday sentenced four people to life imprisonment and six others to 15 years in jail on charges of setting up a terror cell called Imam Army. The court acquitted 14 others of the charges. Two of the four sentenced to life were tried in absentia.
...the creepy-looking former dictator of Pakistain. Zia was an Islamic nutball who imposed his nutballery on the rest of the country with the enthusiastic assistance of the nation's religious parties, which are populated by other nutballs. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom he hanged when he seized power. His time in office was a period of repression, with hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists executed or tortured, including senior general officers convicted in coup-d'état plots, who would normally be above the law. As part of his alliance with the religious parties, his government helped run the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, providing safe havens, American equipiment, Saudi money, and Pak handlers to selected mujaheddin. Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistain Arnold Lewis Raphel when he was assassinated in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur in 1988...
Pervez 
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
Najib Miqati
