MARJA, Afghanistan, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- U.N. officials say their aid agencies will not participate in NATO's rebuilding strategy in southern Afghanistan as part of its current military campaign.
Robert Watkins, a special representative of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told a news conference in Kabul, "We are not part of that process, we do not want to be part of it. We will not be part of that military strategy. The UN deciding not to be a part of the solution? What else is new. They never want to solve problems, they simply want to manage them in perpetuity. If they actually solve them, then they no longer have a reason for having such a large operation there. Continued on Page 49
#5
Interesting that the UN would consider a $140 million building temporary, to be torn down. 5% US UN dues and not a penny more. No more 22%-50+% the American taxpayers are suckered into paying.
Posted by: ed ||
02/18/2010 19:04 Comments ||
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#6
"Interesting that the UN would consider a $140 million building temporary, to be torn down."
Not surprising, ed. It's not like it's their own money....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/18/2010 20:22 Comments ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Somali Interior Minister Abdiqadir Ali Omar has accused the Mujahidin Youth Movement, which is opposed to the transitional authority and the African peacekeeping forces in Somalia, of being behind the failed attempt to assassinate Somali Defense Minister Yusuf Mohammed Siad in the capital Mogadishu the day before yesterday, in which at least two civilians were killed by a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden vehicle.
Abdiqadir said in a telephone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat from Mogadishu: "They tried to assassinate the defense minister and we believe the Youth Movement was behind this terrorist operation." He added: "Regrettably, the movement's aims are sabotage and spreading chaos in the country. They are declaring they are (Al-Qaeda) followers and this has been reported in the various media organs."
Regarding the military operation which government troops are preparing to launch to expel the Islamist rebels from the capital, the Somali interior minister told Asharq Al-Awsat: "We do not want to divulge any information but the government wants to achieve stability and peace in the entire capital and we believe that it will succeed in, what he called, this difficult mission." After pointing out that Al-Qaeda organization is active in Somalia and its followers are present in the capital, he said: "We do not know their numbers but there are in fact many foreigners in Mogadishu." He added that his government was in need of more aid and pointed out that the Somali people have been suffering from wars for a long time and the Somalia Government needs aid from the Arab League and its member states.
The Somali Government announced few weeks ago its intention to launch a major military operation against the Islamist rebels with the support of the African peacekeeping forces. The Youth Movement and Islamic Party rebels strengthened their positions in the capital which saw the exodus of many fleeing from the expected battles.
However, Saeed Mursi, the outgoing Egyptian ambassador to Somalia, is not optimistic that an immediate solution can be found for the Somali crisis. Mursi, who will return to Cairo in July, said in a telephone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat from his office in the Kenyan capital Nairobi: "I am sad because there is still fighting between the Somalis. I used to hear before some people saying that the Somali crisis was similar to the Palestinian cause. This is wrong and an incorrect comparison. Hope of a solution remains weak as long as the Somalis are fighting each other."
Due to the unstable security situations in the Somali capital, Ambassador Mursi continued to do his job as non-resident ambassador to Somalia from neighboring Kenya. He denied that his country was ignoring the Somali crisis and said: " Our interest in this crisis is very big and we are eager to see the situations in this country stabilize in the interest of Somalia first, the Horn of Africa second, and the region as a whole." He pointed out: "There is an active Egyptian move with all the Somali and international parties aimed at seeking national reconciliation in Somalia and we are dealing with all the other international parties to achieve Somalia's interest."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"Our interest in this crisis is very big and we are eager to see the situations in this country stabilize in the interest of Somalia first, the Horn of Africa second, and the region as a whole."
Suuuurrreee you are. And there's a division of Egyptian troops heading for Somalia as we speak, right? Right?
Thought so.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/18/2010 22:28 Comments ||
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#2
ION CHIN MIL FORUM > THE SECRET ARMY STILL FIGHTING THE VIETNAM WAR [CIA-trained, armed HMONG = remnants of VIETNAM WAR-ERA ROYAL LAOS ARMY have all but given up hope of the US mil intervening + returning to Laos].
[Al Arabiya Latest] As Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan showed the media and the entire world the details of the murder of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the role of surveillance cameras in uncovering crimes was brought to the light.
For the first, audiences at home were capable of watching an entire political assassination thanks to the surveillance cameras that are spread all over Dubai which made it possible to follow the suspects' every move.
Surveillance cameras have always played a major role in solving crimes, the latest of which was the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim where the cameras installed in the building where she lived revealed the identity of the culprit.
Three years ago, the cameras recorded an incident when two cars went into a mall and out of them came a gang of armed men who stormed a jewelry shop and stole diamonds whose value amounted to AED14 million.
Surveillance cameras are installed all over the streets of Dubai as well as in all public places. In fact, there is not a mall or a government facility in the emirate that has no cameras.
In March of last year, the Operations Department at the Dubai Police announced their plan to enhance the presence of surveillance cameras, Khalfan said on the Dubai Police website.
In addition to increasing the number of cameras to a total of 1,500, the plan involved connecting the cameras installed in 13 shopping malls to control rooms connected to seven police stations all over the emirate.
The presence of surveillance cameras has become a security necessity, said Dr. Mohamed Mourad Abdullah, head of the Decision Making Support Center at the Dubai Police.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
It may be "solved", but you didnt actually catch anyone( except on tape). And they are long gone now, arent they? Better luck NEXT TIME, Chuckie.
And its evident to EVERYBODY on BOTH sides of the aisle that it was a VERY professional hit. And Mahboub...well, Mahboub is JUST as dead as Tut.
And there you have THAT.
DO let us know when you catch anybody, wont you?
Best of Luck there ( as I say).
Dont tell anybody buuuttt...I think they got clean away with it, Abdrool.
#3
yet 2 guys broke into the construction site of the worlds tallest building and did a base jump and made a documentary about it and how they did it. Good thing they weren't terrorist
Posted by: chris ||
02/18/2010 10:48 Comments ||
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SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's only sister appears to be assuming increasingly strong political power in the North's regime, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Wednesday, releasing the latest diagram of the communist state's power structure. The ministry included Kim Kyong-hui, 64, the younger sister of leader Kim, in the 2010 diagram of the North's power structure, reinforcing views that the family line enjoys an increasing political clout in the secretive country.
The diagram, updated annually by the Unification Ministry, offers a glimpse into changes in the North Korean elite power system, which runs a massive personality cult built around the 68-year-old Kim and his family. The ministry said the younger Kim and her organization were newly added to the diagram after she returned to the public spotlight in June last year for the first time in nearly six years.
"She has been very active in accompanying her brother in field inspections in recent months. It's quite a change considering she had been out of the public view since September 2003," a ministry official said, declining to be named.
Since the mid-1980s, the younger Kim is believed to have headed an organ under the ruling Workers' Party that oversaw the country's light industries. Four years younger than Kim Jong-il, she is married to Jang Song-thaek, a member of the National Defense Commission, the highest decision-making body in Pyongyang.
Her return to the public eye as a top industrial official reflects Pyongyang's resolve to resuscitate its economy and pave the ground for a family power succession, another official said.
South Korean intelligence officials say Kim has increasingly relied on his family to exercise his power after he survived a stroke in the summer of 2008. They also say economic revitalization would make easy Kim Jong-il's own father-to-son power succession as he apparently tries to hand the reigns to his third son, Jong-un.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I can't see Korea (North or South) giving any authority to a female. It runs counter to their male dominated culture.
#2
These male-dominated cultures always seem to have exceptions for females from the members of the ruling family. Perfect example, IMHO: late 19th century China.
#3
And the women who become Empress seem to be singularly vicious rulers, at least historically in Asia. Although a few have been both vicious and incompetent, always a fun mix for their neighbors.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday said efforts to improve the living conditions of North Koreans and dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program are separate issues.
We're not supposed to be talking about 'living conditions', we're supposed to be talking about concentration labor camps, summary execution and wholesale denial of basic human rights. Those are the things you're supposed to point out at every press conference, Mr. Duguid ...
"If helping improve the lives of ordinary North Koreans is a problem, if it's an aggravation, I don't understand it. I don't see it that way," acting deputy Department spokesman Gordon Duguid told reporters. "The efforts on trying to achieve a non-nuclear North Korea should not in any way be connected with efforts to improve the lives of ordinary North Koreans. But again, there are two separate issues here."
Denuclearization and human rights go hand in hand.
"I think we need to try and continue to help the people of North Korea while we also continue to try and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," he added.
Meanwhile, Joel S. Wit, a former State Department official who was involved in Washington-Pyongyang negotiations, said in a report that North Korea could increase its arsenal to between 14 and 19 nuclear weapons by 2019 if six-party denuclearization talks fail.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Smuggling tunnel business on severe decline Looks like the end of the Golden Age of Gaza Tunneling...
Gaza -- Ma'an -- Gaza markets saturated with goods smuggled in through underground tunnels from Egypt have caused retailers to slash prices, often to below cost, tunnel operators said Wednesday. We slash the prices and pass the savings onto...the guys with the guns!
I thought they were all starving?
As a result in the margin shrinkage, dozens of tunnels have ceased operations and hundreds of young men in Gaza have lost their only source of income, they said. Sorry, Mahmoud. I gotta let ya go. I hear the jihad mission guys are hiring...
Owners of some smuggling tunnels in the south of the Strip said the subterranean steel wall Egypt continues to build along the border has little to do with the tunnel closures, but rather said the business became less lucrative. One tunnel operator who preferred not to be identified, said damage done by the construction of the wall was easily repaired, and workers could cut through the steel dug into the earth by Egyptian workers. Well, that has "work accident" written all over it.
Abu Ali, a second tunnel owner said "about 80% of tunnel owners closed their tunnels due to the serious increase in prices which lowered profits unprecedentedly. They are waiting for profitable deals so they can resume operations." While the numbers are not likely quite as high as 80%, all industry workers agree there has been a sharp decline. ...now the lazy bastards just sit around the union hall playing cards.
Abu Ali said that recent items popular for smugglers were iron bars and cement, two items prohibited for import into Gaza by the Israeli blockade. One ton of smuggled iron bars sells for about 2,800 shekels (750 US dollars) the operator noted. In the West Bank, prices for the same product are approximately 2,600 shekels. In Gaza, however, consumers say the iron is poor quality. You call this iron, Abu? Ya friggin thief!
Tunnel work, grueling and dangerous, used to fetch at least 100 US dollars a day for the average employee. While the number of tunnel-related deaths and injuries has remained constant, wages now do not exceed 20 dollars a day. Union dues, Hamas dues, Jihad dues, Dire Revenge dues...
According to the director of ambulance and emergency service in Gaza, Muawiya Hassanein, the tunnels are plagued with collapses, fires, fuel leakages and are often the target of Israeli shelling. In 2009, 139 Palestinians were killed during their work in the tunnels, and at least three have died so far in 2010. Well, it's good for our business...
Tunnel owners say the drop in profits from tunnel goods makes smuggling though the 300-shekel-per-meter portals a public service rather than a gold mine. Costs of building the average 300-500 meter tunnels means there are no new passages being built, and the thousands owners pay in "blood money" to families of workers killed in accidents make even maintaining the tunnels costly. We need insurance reform, dammit!
With minimum profits, owners say, wages must also be cut. ♪♫ Oh, I ain't gonna work in Abu's tunnel no more...♪♫
#1
This has got to be the funniest thing I've read in months.
All the complaints of typical capitalist small businessmen being voiced by blood thirsty scum. Geez, maybe Obumble could go over there and get sone hands on experience in real work and business issues.
This whole situation has moved way beyond anyones ability to parody it. This whole region would clear up in a minute if SEIU moved over there and organized these poor workers.
#2
Maybe the Gov't of Massachusetts can show them how to do a Big Dig.
Posted by: Fozen Al ||
02/18/2010 11:26 Comments ||
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#3
I guess the market in Hot Work Permits and Enclosed Spaces permits is way down, too. GOSHA (Gaza version of OSHA) is laying off collectors, I mean Inspectors, too.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/18/2010 19:13 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] A Hamas spokesman, Hammad Ar-Ruqab, has warned that the Tel Aviv regime will see a third uprising from the Palestinian people, should Israeli forces continue to displace Palestinians and Judaize the occupied Palestinian land in Jerusalem (Al-Quds).
"The crimes of Israeli occupation of the West Bank have become a threat to the whole Palestinian question, especially the campaign to Judaize the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (Al-Quds)," Ar-Ruqab told hundreds of protestors who had taken to streets in Khan Younis on Tuesday to decry displacement of their fellow nationals in the West Bank.
The Hamas official also warned that the constant oppression would need only a small spark to ignite a third Intifada.
"We say to our people in the West Bank including Jerusalem (Al-Quds) that we are with them and will never remain, hands folded, toward their suffering. All the ongoing negotiations, and agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority do not represent the Palestinian people, and we will not be responsible for that, neither will the Palestinian people," Ar-Ruqab noted.
The Hamas official called on the Palestinians in the West Bank and inside Israel to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ar-Ruqab said the responsibility to protect Al-Aqsa lies with the Palestinians, but must also be firmly supported by Arab and Muslim nations.
The First Intifada started in December 1987 when the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza started a mass uprising against the Israeli occupation. It was followed by the Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
The Al-Aqsa Intifada began in September 2000, in response to then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The visit was seen by many as a provocative gesture aimed at inciting the Palestinians because the mosque is considered the third holiest site for Muslims.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
No boy. YOU will try to make a third infadata. Yet without Saddam, that may be hard to finance unless there is another Saud that dares to defy MY Fatwa.
Curse you and your bretheren. You are a sham annd fake existance. Were there no money for your fight, you would not be there.
You are a phony, just like your mickey mouse.
You are disgusting beings, not human mind you and I have mind of eradicating the desert of you personally yet I am not very personable and do not ever plan on seeing you.
You so called "palestinians" are scum of the eart as you were the gangsters rejected by all the countries and of course the democrats in the US took up your cause because they were stupid as well and believed that the "underdog" needed support.
You are nothing more than the gangs in any country, if yet not more able to use the empty headed media to support your cause (colleges as well).
I think you are all pieces of shit and shall the hammer fall, it shall fall on YOU.
There IS NO PALISTINE.
Only Israel.
Besides, if you were in charge of the whole land, you still would only raise your children as bombers, drain the water table more, and blame everything on GOD.
For the last time, F you "liars who think they are palestine".
Jordan IS Palestine. The rest of the world is nuts. (or just too stupid to see how you used them as ho's).
#3
WELL! Not my exact choice of metaphors, but Passionate.
No need to reject his good intentions, just harness it and encourage everyone to contribute with an open heart. Hand out the bats (as it were) and bring a rope. I expect a large crowd.
Hamas WILL need funding ( a good point). Mahboub? Where is Mahboub? Awwww...face down in the toilet bowl and his suit absolutely ruined. And eleven people and a woman too, it seems, holding him by the ankles. No funding there.( and it WAS his specialty).
Moslems are good at mouth. Intifata ( did I spell that right?) your mother, Ruqbah.
We ARE going to rebuild the Temple eventually, you know that, dont you? And the alAqsa is a good place for the Souvenir Stand in the Court of the Gentiles.
#4
The standard spelling is Intifada, Black Bart. But since it's a transliteration, your choice is as good as any. What's the proper spelling of Qadaffy, after all?
[Ma'an] Hamas' armed wing vowed on Wednesday to avange the death of a movement leader it alleges was assassinated by Israel. "The decision has been made. We decided to respond," said Abu Obaida, the spokesman for the Eddedin Al-Qassam Brigades, speaking at a Hamas rally in Sheikh Zayed City in the northern Gaza Strip. He said Hamas would not say when or where this response would take place, but said Israel "must pay for this crime."
He was referring to the murder of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, the Hamas leader who was found dead in A Dubai hotel room on 20 January. On Monday Dubai police named an 11-member hit team that traveled to the emirate on what were later revealed to be false European passports.
Abu Obaida also warned Israel against waging a new offensive on Gaza, saying any such attack would be "sure to fail."
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement in Al-Mabmhouh's death. Five of the 11 passports identified by Dubai authorities matched the names of Israelis with dual nationalities. The five claimed to be victims of identity theft. British, French, and Irish authorities stated on Tuesday that the passports allegedly used in the plot were fakes. Late on Wednesday The Guardian newspaper reported that the British government had summoned the Israeli ambassador in London over the passports.
This article starring:
ABU OBAIDA
Hamas
MAHMUD AL MABHUH
Hamas
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Hamas vows to shoot the entire class of third graders at Tel Aviv PS 31.
If you read it in the Guardian its GOT to be true.
In other words, rape is nothing new to this regime, which even now tries in vain to hide itself behind Islam. However, after last June's uprising, we are observing the emergence of a more widespread form of rape, and one that is also extended to men. This is not to say that it did not exist before, but now we are observing its systematic use. There is little public information about this to date.
Abuses at Kahrizak prison, which came to be known as Iran's Abu Ghraib, were exposed only because Mohsen Rooh-al-Amini, the son of a well-established conservative figure, was killed under torture. The regime was forced to close the prison and, later in August 2009, Ayatollah Karubi issued a statement saying, among other things, that some prisoners had been raped. After such exposure, one might have thought the regime would stop this brutal form of torture against its opponents. But victims and witnesses have continued to report its continuation. A few weeks ago, for example, revolutionary guards arrested a group of women that has gathered every Friday night in Laleh Park to protest the detention of their children.
While in prison herself, one mother revealed that she saw a teenage boy begging a judge not to sent him back to solitary confinement. When the judge asked why, the boy replied, “because they keep raping me'. Two months ago, my friend's son was arrested in a demonstration, and had to wage the fight of his life to prevent being raped by the guards in the car.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Two Republican senators have once again introduced a draft bill in the US Congress seeking full support for the Iranian opposition and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic government in Iran.
Senators John Cornyn and Sam Brownback introduced the so-called "Iran Democratic Transition Act" bill on February 11, coinciding with the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, in which unprecedented tens of millions of Iranians poured into the streets to rally and celebrate the 31st anniversary.
An 'extraordinarily' high number of people marched across different cities in the country, throwing their lot with a revolution which toppled a US-backed monarchy in Iran.
The bill repeats the old rhetoric about human rights violations in Iran, its nuclear energy program, and alleged support for terrorism, fully advocating a "regime change" in the country.
It would authorize non-military assistance to Iranian opposition groups to remove the current government, whose popularity was well-demonstrated in a massive show of force during rallies held throughout Iran.
"Never has the cause of freedom in Iran been more urgent," Cornyn boasted.
He urged Majority Leader Reid and his colleagues to quickly take up this legislation to help the 'Iranian people pave the way for freedom and democracy' in Iran.
"The biggest problem with Iran is not weapons or terrorism but the regime itself," Brownback said. "This legislation would put the United States firmly and unequivocally on the side of the Iranian people."
Observers point to the fact that both conservative Senators Brownback of Oklahoma and Cornyn of Texas have been on the payroll of pro-Israeli lobby groups in the United States and have regularly submitted anti-Iran measures in congress to satisfy the influential pro-Israeli lobby.
American Israel Public Affair Committee (AIPAC) is the major Israeli lobby group that organizes such efforts by US Senators and Representatives. It, in fact, boasts its unlimited influence among both Republican and the Democratic parties and officials and openly announces its role in preparing the draft of such anti-Iran bills.
The bill was introduced as US President Barack Obama insists on pursuing diplomatic means to persuade Iran to suspend its nuclear activities.
On the same day, a group of US senators introduced another bill calling for sanctions on Iranians who 'violate the human rights of other Iranians.'
Earlier this week, US National Security Advisor James Jones said Washington is pressing the United Nations to impose new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
"We're going through the UN this month to present sanctions and achieve solidarity," Jones said.
The top advisor underlined that Washington was not actively seeking to destabilize Iran but made clear that tougher sanctions ultimately could help lead to a "regime change" in Iran.
"We know that internally there is a very serious problem," he claimed.
Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear work is entirely peaceful and within the framework of the NPT and US allegations against its nuclear program are politically-motivated.
Iran's nuclear program was launched in the 1950's with the help of the US as part of the 'Atoms for Peace' program. After the 1979 Revolution, Western companies working on Iran's program refused to fulfill their obligations even though they had been paid in full.
Since the victory of the 1979 Revolution, economic sanctions have been the key strategy in Washington's approach towards the Islamic Republic.
However, Iranian officials have had no qualms about the prospect of tougher US economic measures, saying that while sanctions have hurt the Iranian people in part, they have also helped the country achieve independence and self-sufficiency in various fields of economy, science and technology.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The chief of Russia's General Staff, Nikolai Makarov, has warned the US against striking Iran over the country's nuclear program.
"The consequences, I believe, would be dreadful for Iran, as well as Russia, the entire Asia-Pacific community," Makarov said on Wednesday.
The Russian military chief further suggested that the United States might turn its military attention on the Islamic Republic once its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have been completed.
Amid a US campaign to drum up support for new anti-Iran sanctions, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Tuesday that world powers would "regret" any moves against the country.
"If anybody seeks to create problems for Iran, our response will not be like before," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran.
"Something will be done in response that will make them (the world powers) regret [their action]," the Iranian chief executive added. "However, we prefer they steer towards cooperation [with Iran]."
President Ahmadinejad made the remarks as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was wrapping up her visit to the Middle East, where she stopped in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to seek the backing of the Arab world's heavyweights against Tehran's nuclear drive.
Tehran says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction around the globe.
The West, however, accuses the country of seeking military ends in its pursuit. The United States has spearheaded efforts to slap new UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, after the country announced the production of the first batch of 20 percent-enriched uranium to make fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Russia, you are pissing me off again and it's too soon.
#2
So what DID the Russians DO when we first went into Iraq? ( AND Saddam was gonna give us the Mother was he? The Moslem Mother? Yeah..so does Iran)
I seem to remember a Russian Embassy Convoy fleeing toward Jordan being shot up on the highway when they tried to drive through an American checkpoint without slowing down and saying who they were.
Russia has a border with Iran. But WE dont need to go there or even close. Just rip off Khuzestan Province (its just outside Kirkuk anyway) and 87% of Iran's wallet in Oil and THEN occupy it with lots of Iraqis who get a big cut for their co-operation.
Cede it to them to keep.
I think we can step into the backround while they "stabilize" the place. Let the Moslems police the Moslems. Ahvaz isnt full of Persians anyway.
We will be busy hitting all the passes over the Zagros Mts. ( there are only about seven narrow roads up there and bleeding the Iranian relief columns white.
Land Marines and take Bandar Abbas and take control of the Straits of Hormuz (NEVER give that back EVER just like the Brits still have Gibraltar.)..And bomb the only gasoline refinery and the only major N/S railway line from the Caspian to the Gulf to open holes and trestle rubble.
Then watch Iran solve the problem of moving military relief south to Bandar Abbas the hard way.
Leave the entire country to rot and smoke after that..let 'em keep the rest. Set up Base and lay out the wire. Tell 'em to come and take it back. Hi there, Big Nose.
No need to occupy it. Just take those two pieces of Real Estate and stop and let them come on. Chew them to hell on the roads with air strikes. No Oil, no gasoline, no rail transport, no air cover....wave and blow them a kiss.
No need to occupy them. Russia can have what they want if they want any. Help yourself....and say hello to the buzzards.
#7
Build nuclear plants and convince the Chinese to do the same. Convince the Brazilians to push their ethonal engines to the third world and get the US in place to sell flexi-fuel engines to enable current cars to convert over.
Get as many people out of the oil buying business and let the middle east eat sand (and buy Russian weapons with sand).
[Al Arabiya Latest] The delivery of advanced Russian-made S-300 air defense missiles to Iran has been delayed for technical reasons, a senior Russian official told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday.
The comments come after the prime minister of Iran's arch-foe Israel Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week urged the Kremlin not to sell the system to Iran during a two-day trip to Moscow.
"The delay is due to technical problems. The delivery will be carried out when they are resolved," Alexander Fomin, deputy head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, was quoted as saying.
Russia's contract to sell the S-300s to Iran has raised hackles in the United States and Israel, which believe that Tehran could use the sophisticated air defense missiles to defend its nuclear facilities against attack.
Neither the United States nor Israel has ruled out air strikes in order to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Analysts say that S-300s could greatly complicate such air strikes. If it doesn't mysteriously shut down just before the evil Joooz fly by ...
Fomin, whose service oversees Russian arms exports, made the comments in an interview with Interfax while attending a defense exhibition in New Delhi, DefExpo India 2010. He did not clarify what the technical problems were or how long it would take to fix them, Interfax reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
they been having "technical" difficulties for awhile now
Posted by: chris ||
02/18/2010 10:50 Comments ||
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#2
On and off in fact. They resolve some and new ones seem to appear. I hope Russians got 50% advance. Free money is always good.
[Al Arabiya Latest] President Barack Obama Tuesday nominated career diplomat Robert Ford as the first U.S. ambassador to Syria in five years, as he seeks to engage Damascus as part of a wider Middle East peace push.
"His appointment represents President Obama's commitment to use engagement to advance U.S. interests by improving communication with the Syrian government and people," the White House said in a statement.
If confirmed by the Senate, Ford would be the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since Washington recalled its envoy after Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri was killed in February 2005 in a bombing blamed on Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
2000 years ago Bashir Assad was King of Assyria.
#2
BUT the Sanctions stay in place. They havent changed any policy decisions in Syria ( that's true). But its very hard to get parts to fly a National Airlines and repair a Computer in Damascus ( expensive to impossible).
And the "career" Diplomat for Obama (how would you like that dead end job?) will be about as successful as our roaring achievements in Iran glad handing Chuckles the Mullah, there.
The Ambassador can sit at his window sipping sweet Tea and watching the goose stepping Hizbollah rallys shouting DEATH to the West and DEATH to the Jews down below in the Plaza...while the 1960's cars drive by with their doors held on with chicken wire.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has criticized the Middle East policies of the US and other world powers, blaming them for the expansion of terrorism, extremism and global insecurity.
"The economic crisis, expansion of terrorism, extremism and insecurity in the world are the outcomes of policies of the United States and world powers," Mottaki said on Wednesday.
"How can the powers, who are unable to resolve their own problems, claim to settle international woes?" They don't even accept their misguided policies," he added in a meeting with Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan, allegedly to root out militancy in the country.
The costly, fatal conflict is stretching into its ninth year as thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed both by acts of violence, including bombings and daily clashes, and US military operations in the country.
Such developments explain how the US President Obama's administration might even be willing to accept (Taliban) militants to play a potentially central role in Afghanistan's future.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
But Islam has nothing ( NUTHIN'!) to do with ME terrorism. And the Palestinians are gonna win this thing any day now.
And Foreign Minister Bujakka Moulakka ( an old Persian word for what comes out of the south end of a Camel) apparently has all the other answers too.
Its nice to know someone knows what they are doing.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says the Iranian nation will stand up to arrogant powers who are dominating the world.
Addressing a group of visitors from the northwestern city of Tabriz on Wednesday, the Leader said, "Iran will not allow a few countries to ruin the future of the world."
Ayatollah Khamenei further pointed out that Western countries spread lies about the Iranian nuclear energy program and the state of democracy and human rights in Iran because Tehran is determined to maintain its rights.
Meanwhile, the Leader slammed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments during her recent tour of the Persian Gulf region, saying that "yet again the Americans have sent their agent (Clinton) like a traveler to the Persian Gulf to repeat the same lies about Iran."
"However, nobody will believe their words anymore, as the United States has never cared about the interests of regional nations," the Leader said, adding that "quite to the contrary, [Washington] has trampled on the rights of the regional countries."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the US has turned the Persian Gulf into an arsenal, has attacked Iraq and Afghanistan and now is interfering in Pakistan.
"All the nations and most of the governments in the region are aware that the Islamic Republic supports peace, brotherhood, and dignity of the regional and all the Islamic countries [in the world]," the Leader underlined.
Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the mass rallies marking the 31st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
"The enemies predicted that the rallies would plunge Iran into a civil war," the Leader noted. "But the massive turnout of the Iranian nation was tantamount to a punch in the mount of Iran's enemies."
Millions of Iranians took to the streets across the country on Thursday to celebrate the 1979 Revolution, which overthrew the US-backed Pahlavi monarchy.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Dont YOU wish YOU lived in heavenly Iran where the Future is so bright and Allah smiles down on Victory after Victory?
Its "almost" Paradise. Iran ( the Other Newark at two in the morning of your wildest dreams).
#2
The Persians track record isnt too hot when standing up to "real" world powers, arrogant or not....look what happened to them when they arrogently refused to give tribute to Chingis Kahn, pretty much ended their little stint at "world power"
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[Ma'an] Hamas' armed wing vowed on Wednesday to avange the death of a movement leader it alleges was assassinated by Israel. "The decision has been made. We decided to respond," said 
