Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Donna D'Errico aka Playboy Playmate of the Month in "September 1995" aka Donna Marco in "Baywatch Nights/Baywatch" aka Host in "BattleBots" aka Female Vendor in "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (age 43)
[Tolo News] More than seven communication antennas have been destroyed by the Taliban in southern Helmand province, communication officials said on Tuesday.
Officials said communication companies in turbulent Helmand province, the spiritual home of the Taliban, were threatened to stop their services in the province warning that otherwise they would disrupt their services in other provinces too.
Afghan Information and Technology Ministry said it will pay for the losses.
"Anti-government groups want the cell phones off at night," Head of Communication Services Regulation office Khair Mohammad Faizi.
Parliamentarians representing southern Helmand province say the companies were paying money to the Taliban to let them continue their services there.
"Communication antennas have been installed in areas under the Taliban control. And the government cannot not provide security to the antennas," said Abdul Jabar Qahraman, an MP representing Helmand in the House of Representatives.
"Communication companies had previously paid money to the Taliban and now the companies have decreased the payments. We want security organisations to make efforts to provide security to the companies," Masoud Noorzai, another MP representing Helmand, said.
Residents in the province have warned the companies to immediately restore their services or they should move all their installations out of the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Pakistain has allowed the shipment of Afghan-bound containers stranded in Bloody Karachi port.
Around 586 Afghan containers are on the way to Afghanistan and around 400 containers are expected to be shipped each day from Bloody Karachi port, officials in Commerce and Industries Ministry said on Tuesday.
Officials said if Pakistain lets shipment of 400 Afghan-bound containers each day, a total of 10,000 containers will be here in Afghanistan in three weeks.
"The shipment has been started in Bloody Karachi. Yesterday around 200 containers were loaded and they are on the way," Afghan Commerce and Industries Minister, Anwarulaq Ahadi, said.
But the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) refuse to trust pledges made by Pakistain.
"We don't believe the commitments by private sectors in our neighbours, including Pakistain, Iran and Uzbekistan. They often do not stick to their pledges," Deputy Head of ACCI Khan Jan Alokozai said.
A joint committee has been set up to help resolve problems facing Afghan traders in Pakistain, officials said.
More than 10,000 Afghan-bound containers were stranded for nearly a year in Bloody Karachi port in Pakistain for no apparent reason.
Pakistain's government previously refused to permit cargo companies to ship Afghan goods.
The shipment began as officials in Kabul had said more than 30 percent of the Afghan food supplies in Bloody Karachi had perished.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] An Afghan woman was killed on Monday in a roadside mine blast and 6 others including two women were maimed in southern Helmand province, local officials said.
The incident happened in Greshk district of Helmand province as they were on the way to a wedding and their car was struck by a roadside mine, Helmand governor's media office said in a statement on Tuesday.
The maimed were taken to a nearby hospital in the province.
Insurgents usually plant Improvised Explosive Devices to target Afghan and foreign forces in the province.
Such kabooms often lead to civilian casualties.
Militants are said to be active in some villages of Helmand province fighting against government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Taliban have captured Waigal district of Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan on Monday midnight, provincial officials said.
Taliban attacked on Afghan forces check posts in Waigal district of Nuristan province on Monday night and Afghan forces retreated, Shamsul Rahman Nuristani, police chief of Nuristan told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea... Taliban confirmed the attack and said they captured Waigal district on Monday midnight.
Police chief of Nuristan province said there were no casualties in the attack.
Nuristan province is bordered by Pakistain and Afghan officials have said cut-throats infiltrate from the other side of the border to attack on Afghan police check posts.
Taliban had previously captured Bargi Matal district of Nuristan province, but the district was cleared of Taliban after Afghan and foreign forces launched an operation.
The attack comes as the Afghan forces are expected to take security responsibilities of seven areas of the country in July this year.
This is the first step in a long process of withdrawal, which will begin in July when the first phase of withdrawal of foreign troops is to begin.
The Afghan Defence Ministry has recently called on international community to equip Afghan cops with heavy weaponry and planes.
Despite problems in terms of equipment Afghan cops are prepared to ensure security nationwide by 2014, Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has resigned from Muammar Gaddafi's government and has arrived in Britain.
'We can confirm that Moussa Koussa arrived at Farnborough Airport on 30 March from Tunisia. He travelled here under his own free will. He has told us he is resigning his post,' a UK Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement.
'Koussa is one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi's government and his role was to represent the regime internationally - something that he is no longer willing to do,' the spokesman said.
The British government also encouraged people around Gaddafi to abandon him.
Libyan rebels have been driven back some 200km by the superior firepower of Gaddafi's troops in a chaotic stampede which saw them yield most of the ground their recent advances had secured.
But the first air strike in two days against loyalist positions in the east brought them some cause for celebration.
[Maghrebia] Terrorists set off a roadside kaboom south of Tizi Ouzou on Saturday (March 26th), El Watan reported. An Algerian citizen and a communal guard were maimed by the kaboom. The device was buried on the road to the communal guard barracks near Tizi Ghenif.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy ... a proud Arab institution for 42 years ... have shelled pro-democracy forces heading west on the main coastal highway, pushing them out of Bin Jawad, a small town around 150 kilometres east of Sirte, Qadaffy's hometown.
Al Jizz's Hoda-Abdel Hamid, on the road leading east from Ras Lanuf reported that kabooms had also occured in that town, which opposition fighters had earlier retreated to from Bin Jawad.
"So certainly what we can say at this stage is that Bin Jawad is not any more in the hands of the rebels, actually the Qadaffy forces now are managing to pound Ras Lanuf and are getting closer and closer to them, pushing the opposition fighters eastwards more and more. I think this is an exact repeat of what happened about three weeks ago," she reported.
She said that pro-Qadaffy forces were mostly using mortars and artillery, as opposed to the tanks and Arclight airstrikes of early advances.
The reversal on Tuesday for Libya's nascent opposition came after their forces made a speedy, two-day advance from Ajdabiya.
Ajdabiya is a crossroads town that Qadaffy's troops had held for two weeks before an international military intervention allowed pro-democracy fighters to take it back.
On Monday, the pro-democracy forces moved as far west as Nawfaliya, another small town around 20 kilometres past Bin Jawad, before making a hasty evening retreat in the face of artillery fire from Qadaffy's troops.
Sirte didn't actually fall
A front man in the eastern opposition stronghold of Benghazi had announced earlier that day that Sirte itself had fallen, a rumour that turned out to be untrue.
The rebel retreat from Bin Jawad came as representatives from more than 40 countries gathered in London for a conference aimed at a post-Qadaffy political future for Libya.
But as diplomats met to discuss a Libya without Qadaffy, the man who has ruled the country for more than 41 years still seemed capable of holding onto power.
Most of the rebel forces in Bin Jawad were forced to flee on Tuesday under a barrage from Qadaffy's forces that included mortars and possibly rockets, Al Jizz's James Bays reported from the town.
Misrata under renewed attack
Opposition fighters in the western town of Misurata also said they came under renewed attack from pro-Qadaffy forces, with eight civilians killed, according to a front man.
Coalition air strikes that had proved so crucial in saving Benghazi from what many anticipated would be a massacre were nowhere to be seen during the rebels renewed push, and their' tactics do not appear to have improved since the first days of the fighting.
The main body of opposition fighters is still composed mostly of young and untrained men who are not used to carrying weapons or fighting in a war and do not take simple precautions to protect themselves, like digging defenses in the ground, our correspondent said.
"The plan seems to be for most of these youngsters to drive along the road and see how far they could get," he said. "Another weakness of this mainly volunteer army ... [is that] they really haven't protected their flanks. Basic military rules if you were dealing with a regular army are not being followed."
Obama justifies intervention
Hours before the rebel retreat from Bin Jawad, US president Barack B.O. Obama defended America's involvement in the military campaign in Libya in a televised address to his nation.
Speaking to military officers and news hounds at the National Defence University in Washington DC on Monday night, Obama said he refused to wait for images of the slaughter of civilians before taking action.
In blunt terms, Obama said the Western-led air campaign had stopped Qadaffy's advances and halted a slaughter that could have shaken the stability of an entire region and "stained the conscience of the entire world".
Political developments
"Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries," he said. "The United States of America is different."
But he said that broadening the international mission to include regime change would be a mistake.
"If we tried to overthrow Qadaffy by force, our coalition would splinter," he said.
The United States took the initial lead in the Western-led military action against Qadaffy before the recent NATO decision to take over the operations. Obama said the United States will transfer control to NATO on Wednesday.
Obama said once that transfer occurs, the risk and cost to American taxpayers will be reduced significantly.
But Al Jizz's Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, said Obama's speech had two striking contradictions.
"The president said we must stand alongside those who work for freedom and at the same time he said we cannot be the coppers of the world only when it applies to our national interest," Culhane said.
"The president [seem to] be trying to explain why we have seen a lesser response to allies like Bahrain or Yemen."
Obama did not discuss plans for disengagement.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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She said that pro-Qadaffy forces were mostly using mortars and artillery, as opposed to the tanks and Arclight airstrikes of early advances.
Employing dismounts. He's catching on fast. It will soon be decision time for NATO. Boots on the ground... or no.
#2
PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > LIBYAN REBELS SHOUT, "SARKOZY, WHERE ARE YOU"? Libyuhn Rebs demand more air strikes from France + NATO to offset Uncle Muammar's huge advantage in Arty firepower.
A fairly unsurprising development, IMHO. Unlike government or civic administration where you can pass a law or resolution and be done with a problem, war is a game where your opponent gets to make a move in response to whatever you just did (assuming he is still on the board).
If I was K-Duck, in addition to the dismounts, I would be running death squads and secret police to take the head and heart out of the rebel efforts. Hard to monitor that sort of behavior with AWACS.
I do not think that word means what you think it means.But go ahead - pawn off your wishful thinking on us. Just remember to confess your sin when you can't keep up with the story any more.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/30/2011 6:06 Comments ||
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#6
Sounds like this could keep going back and forth for quite some time and Daffy is settling in for the long haul. Think about it: long after Bummer has run back to Chicago with his tail between his legs, Daffy could still be in Tripoli. Let's see, Daffy in Tripoli or Bummer in the White House...which is worse?
#7
It's not that I'm rooting for Daffy. There's no getting around the fact that he is a very bad guy. But it seems that all those smart guys in Europe and NATO thought he'd be an easy mark and now they're finding out he's not so easy. There's something satisfying about seeing arrogance meet with failure. Arabs will not love us if American and/or European troops put their boots on the ground in Lybia. They will see us either as chumps or crusaders.
#8
Are people thinking that "Libya == Afghanistan" and that we can win a cheap, bloodless (our blood), (did I mention cheap already?) victory with air power alone. Perhaps, but unlikely...
Robert A. Pape's Bombing To Win covers the issue of actors that just can not be coerced with airpower. The Taliban could, and did!, run off to Pakistan to plot dire revenge. Qadaffy and company have no similar place to run to and threats of War Crimes Trials will only drive them further into a Bunker Mentality.
#11
Jeez, that picture makes Khdaffy Duck look like Mickey Rourke in the movie, 'The Wrestler'. And I do think that Khdaffy will outlast the 'rebels', simply because he has any number of actual ex-military employed as his mercs, who know how to fight as light infantry with mortar and artillery support. As opposed to the 'rebels', who seem to be proud graduates of the gun sex school of combat - emptying full 30 magazines into the empty sky, and grimacing threateningly, rather than bothering to aim at a target.
[Arab News] Rebel forces laid siege to Muammar Qadaffy's hometown and stronghold of Sirte, the gateway to the capital, Tripoli as Western and Arab nations prepared to meet in London Tuesday to seek an exit for Libya's long time leader.
United Nations ... aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon, United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Chateaubriand ... the vaporous Arab League, the African Union and around 40 foreign ministers were scheduled to join the talks, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Qadaffy.
Italy's foreign minister Franco Frattini said several nations planned to put forward a deal which would propose a cease-fire, exile for Qadaffy and a framework for talks, between Libya's tribal leaders and opposition figures, on the country's future.
Did Qadafy's FM bail? Or is he negotiating?
One of Libya's brass hats, meanwhile, abruptly made a "private visit" to Tunisia late Monday, according to the official news agency there.
It is not clear if Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa was defecting, but it has raised suspicions over further cleavages within the embattled regime.
No representative from Libya's opposition was expected to attend the conference, but an official familiar with planning for the talks said an envoy was expected to travel to London to meet with British diplomats on the sidelines.
The official demanded anonymity to discuss the meeting with the opposition envoy ahead of a formal announcement.
Rebels in a better position
Aided by international Arclight airstrikes that began on March 19, Libya's rebels are now in a much stronger position than a week ago, having recaptured all the territory lost earlier to Qadaffy's forces, including two key oil terminals.
But the rebels remain woefully outgunned by Qadaffy's forces and it is unclear how they can take the stronghold of Sirte without further aggressive international air support. Attacks on Monday were repelled by heavy mortar and rocket fire.
Rebels acknowledged they could not have taken so much ground without the air and cruise missile strikes. Libya state television reported. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
new NATO Arclight airstrikes after nightfall, targeting "military and civilian targets" in the cities of Garyan and Mizda about 40 miles and 90 miles respectively from Tripoli.
"We're only here to protect the civilians..."
NATO insisted that it was seeking only to protect civilians and not to give air cover to an opposition march.
But that line looked set to become even more blurred. The Arclight airstrikes now are clearly enabling rebels bent on overthrowing Qadaffy to push toward the final line of defense on the road to the capital.
Russers bitch, moan, complain
There was growing criticism from Russia and other countries that the international air campaign is overstepping the bounds of the UN resolution that authorized it. The complaints came at a critical transition in the campaign from a US to a NATO command. That threatens to hamper the operation, as some of the 28 NATO member nations plan to limit their participation to air patrols, rather than attacks on ground targets.
Stalled on the other side of Bin Jawad
On Monday, rebel fighters moved about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west from the coastal oil terminal and town of Ras Lanuf to just beyond the small town of Bin Jawwad, where their push was halted by government fire along the exposed desert highway and the heavily mined entrance to Sirte.
The rebels are currently just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Sirte, the bastion of Qadaffy's power in the center of the country, beyond which is the largely rebel-held city of Misrata -- and then the capital.
Sirte could therefore see some of the fiercest fighting of the rebellion, which began on Feb. 15.
Some residents were fleeing Sirte, as soldiers from a brigade commanded by Qadaffy's son Al-Saadi and allied forces of Evil streamed to positions on the city's outskirts to defend it, witnesses said.
The city is dominated by members of the Libyan leader's Gadhadhfa tribe. But many in another large Sirte tribe -- the Firjan -- are believed to resent his rule, and rebels are hoping to encourage them and other tribes there to help them.
Fighting in such a densely populated area is likely to complicate the rebels' advance and add to the ambiguity of the NATO-led campaign, authorized by a Security Council resolution to take all necessary measures to protect civilians.
In Russia, which abstained from the UN vote, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said strikes on Qadaffy's forces would amount to taking sides in what he called Libya's civil war, and thus would breach the mandate that was initially envisaged as establishing a no-fly zone only to protect civilians.
But the inclusion of language allowing "all necessary means" opened the door to Arclight airstrikes and ship-fired cruise missile attacks on Qadaffy's forces to stop attacks on cities and cut supply lines.
Cameron, Sarkozy urge Qadaffy supporters to bail
Britain and La Belle France have been the most vocal supporters of the rebellion. In a joint statement, British Prime Minister David Cameron ... British PM Cameron describes himself as a modern compassionate conservative and has spoken of a need for a new style of politics that doesn't involve calling people names. He has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's probably not. He has also claimed to be a liberal Conservative, and a very tall short person. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has urged politicians to concentrate on improving people's happiness and general well-being, instead of focusing solely on financial wealth, which is easy for a stockbroker's kid to say. Ask him to lend you ten quid and see how that works out. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... and President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... of La Belle France said Qadaffy loyalists should abandon the dictator and side with those seeking his ouster.
"We call on all his followers to leave him before it is too late," the two leaders said. "We call on all Libyans who believe that Qadaffy is leading Libya into a disaster to take the initiative now to organize a transition process," the statement said.
Misrata continues under siege
Qadaffy is not on the defensive everywhere. His forces continued to besiege Misrata, the main rebel holdout in the west and Libya's third-largest city. Residents reported fighting between rebels and loyalists who fired from tanks on residential areas.
Libyan officials took foreign journalists on a tour of the city's outskirts but not into the center, indicating government control did not extend far. Explosions and gunfire echoed through empty streets lined with burned out tanks and bullet-scarred buildings.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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ION TOPIX > NATO COMMANDER: AL-QAIDA [+ Hezbollah = Other Terrorists] MAY HAVE SMALL PRESENCE AMONG LIBYAN REBELS, in "insignificant numbers" only at this time.
* SAME > US + UK MAY ARM REBELS IFF GADDAFI CLINGS TO POWER.
* SAME > LIBYA HAS VLAD'S MISSLES + KIMMIE'S GUNS.
Indeed. In the history of the Solar System, has there been any war where ground troops were not necessary? (with the possible exception of that alien battle that destroyed the planet that used to be between Mars and Jupiter, I mean)
Air power is great for blowing stuff up and as a force multiplier, but it can't hold ground or police the ensuing wreckage and chaos.
#6
They can be in charge just as soon as they've put their toys away, say 'please' and 'thank you' without prompting, stop bickering and telling tales on their siblings, take regular naps, eat their vegetables, save part of their allowance each week, refrain from hitting one another over the head on the playground, master arithmetic (algebra would be useful, it builds left brain capacity), learn to write in cursive (it builds right brain capacity), and can get a full time job that pays the mortgage/rent as well as their other bills.
#7
...because we already have five year olds in charge?
Cause five year olds usually haven't been to kindergarten yet to learn -
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
[Yemen Post] The police in Yemen's capital Sana'a attacked a 14-year old boy with the butts of their rifles on Tuesday, the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms said, adding that the boy died later from his injuries after the attack.
Quoting eyewitnesses, HOOD said the boy, Mohib Al-Ya'ari, fought another boy in the Moroor area and then the father of the second boy reported the conflict to the police, who dispatched coppers to Al-Ya'ari's home to attack him.
In a statement, HOOD also quoted the eyewitnesses as saying the police called Mahib Al-Ya'ari to come out from his home and then beat him severely in front of his father.
The coppers said to the eyewitnesses that their action came amid state of emergency and that they will not be investigated if they kill anyone, said HOOD.
After the incident, the people in the area closed Taiz Street, demanding a probe into the killing, the eyewitnesses were quoted as saying.
HOOD also threatened to report the incident through its partners at the Karama Organization in Geneva to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings.
The state of emergency in the country was unconstitutionally declared, passed by the House of Representatives and enforced amid the escalating protests demanding the ouster of the regime, it said, warning of exploiting this to allow the security forces to commit unofficial crimes.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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This says three things. First, that the father who sent the police was connected. Second, that the father of the boy who was beat down is probably of a hated minority, or poor. And third, that the morale of the police is rock bottom.
More than 20,000 anti government protesters suddenly left Change Square in Sanaa University and started marching Tuesday night. This is the first time they march in more than three weeks.
According to eyewitnesses, protesters said they will march down Siteen Rd., which is the same road to the palace, though it more than 15 km away.
One hour ago, Yemen's elite Private Security Unit has been deployed to Siteen St. one km away from the Presidential Palace after rumors were heard that protesters are planning a march to the palace.
800 anti riot forces have been deployed to Siteen Road where the protesters are marching.
This was called by some members of the Youth Revolutionist after they felt that negotiations for Saleh leaving office was useless and only made him stronger.
This step comes in reply to President-for-Life Saleh's ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... comments on the revolution youth when he said they were very small in number and will not affect his regime. "We want to show Saleh we are still here and have not marched because of us wanting him to leave with dignity and honor," said one of the youth activists.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A court in Kuwait on Tuesday condemned to death two Iranians and a Kuwaiti national for belonging to an Iranian spy ring, a judiciary source told Agence La Belle France Presse.
A Syrian and a stateless Arab were handed life terms at the end of the espionage trial, while an Iranian man and the only woman defendant -- daughter of one of the two Iranians on death row -- were acquitted, he said.
The three men condemned to death and the Syrian all were serving in the Kuwaiti army at the time of their arrest in May 2010, while the stateless Arab was an ex-soldier.
The defendants were accused of spying for Iran and of passing on information on the Kuwaiti and US military in the Gulf emirate to the Islamic republic's Revolutionary Guards, an accusation denied by Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
now follow through
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2011 21:57 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Bahrain's parliament on Tuesday accepted the resignations of 11 out of 18 Shiite MPs who stepped down in protest at violence against pro-democracy demonstrators, exposing them to prosecution.
The house in a unanimous vote "accepted the resignations of 11 MPs of Al-Wefaq, the largest bloc in the 40-member parliament of the Shiite-majority state, official news agency BNA said.
It said that parliament decided to postpone a vote on the other seven members of Al-Wefaq, which heads the opposition in the Gulf country ruled by a Sunni royal family.
Tuesday's vote clears the way for the possible prosecution of the outspoken former MPs now stripped of parliamentary immunity.
The move came after Bahraini security forces on March 16 drove the mostly Shiite protesters out of Manama's Pearl Square under a state of emergency, ending a month-long campaign on the streets against the regime.
The Al-Wefaq bloc suspended its membership in parliament on February 15 in protest at the use of lethal force against demonstrators in Shiite villages, where two demonstrators were rubbed out.
They stepped down at the end of February, after the corpse count had risen to seven. At least 15 Shiites were killed in the festivities with security forces, according to an Al-Wefaq toll.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... appointed on Tuesday brigadier-general Ahmed Saeed Mohammed Bin Barek as commander of the Eastern Military Region, instead of Gen. Mohamed Ali Mohsen.
Also, Colonel Hussein Saleh Abdullah was appointed as commander of the 15th Infantry Brigade instead of Colonel Thabet Jowas.
The two decrees came days after the announcement of two commanders joining the youth protesters against President-for-Life Saleh's ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... regime.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) early Tuesday tossed in the clink two suspected members of Islamist turban outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Mohammedan Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually went kaboom!. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Soddy Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Soddy Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
But what a bolt it was!
(JMB) in Thanchi upazila of Bandarban.
The law enforcers also recovered bomb making materials, six mobile sets, two high frequency antennas and a large number of jihadi books from their possession.
The suspected criminals are: Shamim Mahfuz, 40, and Mohammad Ismail, 36, reports our correspondent in Chittagong.
Acting on a tip off, a joint team of BGB and Bandarban police conducted a raid at a house in Kolaipara village of Balipara union in the upazila and tossed in the clink them at about 2:00am.
Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a meeting. It was to be their last... during police interrogation, Shamim claimed himself as a teacher of Open University and denied having any links with the outfit.
Kamrul Hasan, Bandarban police superintendent, confirmed their arrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
That's two down, and only about another two million or so to go...
Posted by: American Delight ||
03/30/2011 10:48 Comments ||
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An investigation is under way into how a fake bomb was transported on a cargo plane from the UK. The UPS flight travelled to Turkey without the suspicious device being detected. A Turkish man delivered the package, which had a timer, wires and detonator and was placed inside a wedding cake box, to a UPS office in north London a fortnight ago.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was taking the matter "very seriously".
A 26-year-old man was arrested at his home last week on suspicion of making a bomb hoax, police said. A police spokesman said: "He was taken to a north London police station and later bailed to return to a date in May.
"A search was undertaken at an address in north London in connection with this inquiry and is now complete. This is not terrorist-related."
Of course. It never is, until more evidence is found.
Sure. Ev'ryone knows that mailing a fake bomb by air express is just a fraternity prank. Happens all the time. Those crazy Oxford kids...
A UPS spokeswoman said: "Two weeks ago, a suspicious package travelled within the UPS network aboard an all-cargo aircraft from the United Kingdom to Istanbul, Turkey.
"UPS is co-operating with the UK Department for Transport's investigation of the incident. UPS has a multiple-layered approach to ensure security."
An investigation is under way into how a fake bomb was transported on a cargo plane from the UK. The UPS flight travelled to Turkey without the suspicious device being detected. A Turkish man delivered the package, which had a timer, wires and detonator and was placed inside a wedding cake box, to a UPS office in north London a fortnight ago.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was taking the matter "very seriously".
A 26-year-old man was arrested at his home last week on suspicion of making a bomb hoax, police said. A police spokesman said: "He was taken to a north London police station and later bailed to return to a date in May.
"A search was undertaken at an address in north London in connection with this inquiry and is now complete. This is not terrorist-related."
Of course. It never is, until more evidence is found.
A UPS spokeswoman said: "Two weeks ago, a suspicious package travelled within the UPS network aboard an all-cargo aircraft from the United Kingdom to Istanbul, Turkey.
"UPS is co-operating with the UK Department for Transport's investigation of the incident. UPS has a multiple-layered approach to ensure security."
For a map, click here. For a map of Chihuahua click here
Two Chihuahua state police agents and a five year old daughter of one of the agents were murdered in Chihuahua, Chihuahua late Monday night and Tuesday morning in two separate shootings, according to Mexican press accounts.
Brenda Huguet Carrillo Gonzalez, 28, and her unidentified five year old daughter were leaving her home in her Ford Lobo (F-150) pickup truck when armed suspects aboard a two vehicle convoy opened fire on her.
The attack took place near the intersection of calles Chichontepec and Lamatepec in the Panoramico colony at about 0800 hrs. The shooters were seen fleeing the scene in a Jeep Cherokee and a Nissan Quest minivan.
Carrillo Gonzalez was the head of a Chihuahua state police investigation division, and had been with the Chihuahua state police since 2005.
At 2200 hrs. Monday night a state police agent identified as Gabriel Guaderrama Beltran was shot to death in Chihuahua city. Reports say armed suspects shot the agent near the intersection of avenidas Deza and Uloa. Seven spent shell casings were found at the scene.
Guaderrama Beltran is the fourth state police agent killed since last March 20th, when presumed elements of La Linea, the armed wing of the Juarez drug cartel warned that one state police agent per day would die as long as Chihuahua attorney general Carlos Manuel Salas (FGE) remained at his post.
Carrillo Gonzalez's murder is the second state police commander and the fifth state police agent murdered.
Commandante Ernesto Aguilera survived an assassination attempt near his home in Chihuahua city a week ago Sunday (March 20th), which took the life of one of his bodyguards, also the first state police agent fatality, and wounded a second escort.
A threat was posted a graffiti the day of the first murder in two places which warned Manuel Salas.
Aguilera has since been removed from his post as a police commander as coordinator of the FGE Zona Centro office. Despite the removal, Salas and his boss, Chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte, have dismissed the threats and assassinations as routine to their posts. To read Rantburg reports on the attempt on the life of Commandante Aguilera as well some background information in the wars between the Juarez drug gang and the Sinaloa drug gang detachment in Chihuahua state, click here
Other graffiti messages posted since March 20th demanded the resignation of specific police commanders, although none of the agents' names whose resignations were demanded were released. It is unknown if Commandante Aguilera was amongst those whose resignations were demanded.
One of those police agents were identified by Mexican press accounts as Commandante Solares.
The next day on March 21st, armed suspects killed state police Commandante Jose Luis del Bosque Contreras, commander of the Chihuahua state K-9 unit. An unidentified female civilian was also wounded in the attack. To read the Rantburg story on the murder of Commandante Luis del Bosque Contreras, click here.
The third state police agent, Jose Eriberto Ramirez Olivas Salinas, 32, was shot to death last March 23rd. He was said to be an escort for FGE Salas. To read Rantburg reports on the murder of agent Olivas Salinas, click here
(Itar-Tass) - The investigation has identified all of the actual perpetrators and criminal masterminds of terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro underground rail service that were staged a year ago at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations, front man for the Russian Investigative Committee (SK) Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass.
"To date, Sherlocks of the Investigative Committee of Russia have identified all the actual perpetrators and criminal masterminds of the attacks," he said. According to the official, six of them have been killed and one is put on the international wanted list.
"The criminal mastermind of kabooms at the Moscow Metro stations was Magomedali Vagabov - one of the leaders of subversive and terrorist underground force in the territory of the Republic of Dagestan. Vagabov, the same as the other accomplices in the crime -- Aliyev, Schaschayev, Magomednabiyev, Rabadanov and Isagadzhiyev offered armed resistance during their detention and were destroyed," Markin added.
According to him, over the year that has passed since the terrorist attacks on the Sokolniki metro line that killed 40 people, Sherlocks of the Investigative Committee jointly with operatives the Federal Security Service ... the successor to the KGB... (FSB) and the Russian Interior Ministry have carried out a large amount of work. "They have questioned more than 500 witnesses, conducted 322 different forensic examinations, including bomb expert examination, chemical, technical and others. More than 40 searches have also been conducted," Markin said.
The criminal case to date consists of 110 volumes. A total of 168 people have been recognised as victims in the case. The criminal investigation is continuing.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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(Itar-Tass) - The Investigation Committee (SK) has charged in absentia Doku Count Doku Umarov and four members of a gang within the Domodedovo airport bombing case. The terrorist attack on January 24, 2011, claimed 36 lives.
"The SK continues the investigation into the criminal case over the act of terror at the Domodedovo airport on January 24. The Sherlocks passed resolutions to arraign active members of illegal paramilitary formations, including Doku Umarov and Aslan Byutukayev, by the hallmarks of crime spelled out in Article 209, Part 1, and Article 210, Part 1, of Russia's Criminal Code [setting up a stable gang and criminal community], as well as Adam Ganizhev, Islam Yevloyev, and Aslan Tsechoyev under Article 209, Part 2 and Article 210, Part 2 [participating in a stable gang and criminal community]," SK front man Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
In the course of the operation which is taking place in the Republic of Ingushetia, police jugged brothers Islam and Ilez Yandiyev, who are natives of the republic. It was them who met jacket wallah Magomed Yevloyev in Moscow and brought him to the Domodedovo airport on January 24. After the airport bombing, the Yandiyevs hid in Ingushetia, the SK front man said.
"A search of the places where the Yandiyevs lived found a loaded suicide belt, and two self-made bombs," he underlined, "the detention of the Yandiyevs and the finding of bombs at their place warrant the conclusion that they were preparing an act of terror. The timely detention enabled police to intercept their next criminal design."
"The Sherlocks intend to charge the Yandiyevs shortly, under five articles of the Criminal Code, including terrorism and banditry.
"An investigator's petition requesting custody as the measure of restraint for them has already been sent to the Lenin district court of Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia.
"At present, the Sherlocks, jointly with detectives of the Federal Security Service ... the successor to the KGB... and the Interior Ministry, continue to carry out the investigative actions aimed at gathering and substantiating the evidence within the criminal case," the front man said.
A suicide bomber went kaboom!" at the Domodedovo airport on January 24, 2011, killing 36 people and injuring another 200.
Experts said the bomb had been set off by resident of the Ingush village of Ali-Yurt Magomed Yevloyev. His suspected accomplices were jugged. Three of them, including his sister and brother, were convoyed to Moscow for interrogation.
On Monday, front man for the National Antiterrorist Committee Nikolai Sintsov said "in the course of the investigation into the criminal case over the January 24 terrorist attack at the Domodedovo airport, the Federal Security Service and the Investigation Committee, jointly with the Defence Ministry and the Interior Ministry, planned and carried out a special operation to stop the criminal activity of the bandidos who had staged the act of terror."
"As a result of a targeted air strike and a land operation, a jihad boy's base was destroyed, at which suicide bombers had been trained, including for terrorist attacks in North Ossetia and Ingushetia. According to preliminary information, 17 bandidos were destroyed, and two participants in the Domodedovo bombing were jugged," Sintsov said.
Also, police destroyed Aslan Tsechoyev, an active accomplice to bandidos, in the village of Verkhny Alkun, Sunzha district. He supplied medicines and food to the jihad boys. During the operations, two FSB agents and one police officer were killed.
According to participants in the special operation, warlord Doku Umarov might be among the killed jihad boys.
Doku Umarov, who proclaimed himself successor of jihad boys' leader Abdul-Malik Saidulayev (destroyed by federal forces) has been wanted since 2005 on charges of setting up illegal paramilitary formations.
In March 2008, he was put on the wanted list on charges of inciting ethnic hate. The SK department in Chechnya opened a criminal case against him, in connection with Umarov's video on the Internet calling for continuing armed actions and inciting ethnic strife.
This March, the UN Security Council blacklisted Umarov as a particularly dangerous terrorist.
In August 2006, Umarov's elder brother Akhmed turned himself in to police. He said he had last seen Doku Umarov in 2004.
Last August, federal forces in Dagestan destroyed the criminal mastermind behind these kabooms -- Magomedali Vagabov. The last accomplice to the attacks has been identified as Gusen Magomedov, 22, a resident of Dagestan. The Sherlocks said Magomedov had accompanied the suicide bombers Sharipov and Abdullayev from Kizlyar to Moscow, and controlled their actions on the day of the terrorist attack.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Muscovites and city guests began to bring flowers to the Lubyanka and Park Kultury subway stations, in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Seventeen armed fighters and three Russian security force members have been killed in fighting in the restive North Caucusus region of Ingushetia, according to Russian officials.
Two suspects were tossed in the slammer over January's suicide kaboom at Moscow airport which killed 35 people, officials said.
An official told the Rooters news agency that the fighting took place in Verkhny Alkun, a village 40 km south of Ingushetia's largest town, Nazran.
"Sixteen fighters were eliminated in the woods... and one was killed when the house he was hiding in was stormed," the official said.
State TV reported that two members of the federal security forces (FSB) and an official from the Interior Ministry were also killed.
The pro-Russian authorities in Ingushetia, like other mainly Mohammedan regions of Russia's Northern Caucasus, has been seeking to quell an Islamist separatist movement over the past years, which has claimed scores of lives.
Magomed Yevloyev, 20, from Ingushetia, detonated explosives in the international arrivals hall of Domodedovo airport in January. Two of his siblings and a third alleged accomplice have since been charged with helping him,
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, said at the time that his forces would "liquidate" those responsible for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
#1
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, said at the time that his forces would "liquidate" those responsible for the attack.
[Arab News] A Texas college student from Soddy Arabia who is accused of buying chemicals and equipment to build a weapon of mass destruction has pleaded not guilty. "Wudn't me."
The arraignment for Khalid Ali M. Aldawsari was held Monday at the federal courthouse in Lubbock, Texas. The magistrate set the case for trial on May 2.
A criminal complaint was filed against him last month after the FBI outlined their investigation into Aldawsari's activity. The FBI agents tossed in the calaboose Aldawsari on Feb. 23 after a chemical supplier tipped them that he was purchasing suspicious substances.
Investigators allege they found bomb-making materials in his apartment, as well as violent writings and target lists, including dams and nuclear power plants.
Aldawsari was indicted March 9 on one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
After the grand jury indicted Aldawsari, US District Judge Sam Cummings issued an order to bar the parties to the case, including their attorneys, from making any public statements to the media, which "could prejudice a fair trial," writing in his order that the case had already received extensive media coverage.
"The judge has issued a gag order -- nobody should be talking to anyone at this point," a government official told Arab News on background by phone from Dallas on Monday.
Aldawsari came to federal attention after trying to have a large quantity of a suspicious chemical shipped to a Lubbock freight address, according to a sworn affidavit by an FBI agent filed in support of the warrant for Aldawsari's arrest.
Subsequent electronic surveillance led to two secret searches of Aldawsari's Lubbock apartment, where authorities allege they found some of the ingredients and supplies necessary to build and detonate a bomb, according to the affidavit.
Authorities also allege they found potentially incriminating e-mails and journal entries in which he mentioned planning attacks, according to the FBI investigation.
Aldawsari will remain placed in durance vile in the Lubbock County Detention Center in Texas. Court documents allege he had hatched plans to attack various US targets, including New York City and former President George W. Bush's Dallas home.
Aldawsari came to the US in 2008 on a visa and attended English-language classes at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. He moved to Lubbock in August 2009 and attended Texas Tech University before transferring to nearby South Plains College in January.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The Crime Investigation Department of the Sindh police on Monday claimed to have tossed in the clink a key suspect involved in more than 100 cases, including several high-profile murder cases.
A statement said Shahnawaz alias Ajmal Pahari was tossed in the clink after a brief encounter in the New Bloody Karachi area that also led to the seizure of heavy arms and ammunition from him.
"The suspect was tossed in the clink in an area close to the Eidgah Ground in Sector 5-D of New Bloody Karachi," said the statement issued by the anti-extremist cell of the CID.
"The findings of the investigations so far done may help arrest his aides and efforts are being made to trace his links in the city."
The statement said the police also seized three AK-47 assault rifles, a sten gun, three .222 rifles, an 8mm rifle, two shotguns commonly known as repeaters, four hand-grenades, two TT pistols and 200 rounds of AK-47 rifles.
The three-page statement listed the record of the alleged killings committed by the suspects that included the liquidation of some high-profile individuals.
The suspect was also wanted in the murder of Pakistain Mohammedan League (N) MNA Zuhair Akram Nadeem, who was killed in Orangi Town in 1998. He was also nominated in the 2000 murder case of Iqbal Raad, a prominent lawyer and one of the counsel for deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... in the 1999 plane conspiracy case.
The statement said the suspect was also involved in the Pak Colony massacre in the mid-1990s, killing more than a dozen persons, mostly activists of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-H). The CID police said a number of law-enforcement personnel had been after the suspect for the murders, including those of senior police officials and area leaders of different political parties.
"The suspect was also the ringleader of a land mafia gang and assassinated people for money, usually paid by influential individuals. We have also found him involved in kidnapping for ransom cases," said SSP Umer Shahid of the CID.
The SSP, however, refused to divulge the political association of the suspect.
If only Pakistan had a branch of Bangladesh's Rab, this miscreant would have been crossfired years ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Police here on Monday tossed in the clink a seminary student for his alleged involvement in the Hashtnagri kaboom, which left 18 people injured on March 25.
An official of Faqirabad cop shoppe told Dawn that they tossed in the clink the alleged terrorist identified as Wahab and charged him under section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act. "The accused is an Afghan national and studying at a religious seminary at Ghari Baloch area of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar," he added.
Another source said that three more persons were also taken into custody but they were not charged in the case so far. They were under interrogation, he added.
He said that Wahab was admitted to Lady Reading Hospital as he had sustained serious injuries in the kaboom. "Another tossed in the clink person, Naseer, is also Afghan. His family shifted to Pakistain long ago," he said. He added that Naseer, a neighbour of Wahab, was working as painter of motorcars and had a shop at the Haji Camp.
"He has nothing to do with terrorism, but the injured suspect had requested him that he had sustained wounds and needed money at the hospital," the source said and added that he along with two other persons was tossed in the clink from Lady Reading Hospital.
DSP Salimdad told journalists that police had named Wahab in the FIR. "He is injured and cannot be properly interrogated," he added.
He said that the accused had a fake Pak identity card and some other documents wherein his address was also incorrect. "Instead of Gulbahar, he has written Gul Bahar Shah Colony as his locality in the CNIC," the official said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... officials of Tatara cop shoppe claimed to have recovered an Afghan student, Mohammad Ilyas, who was kidnapped from his residence at Hayatabad on Sunday. A complainant Haji Ghani had nominated Zahir Shah of Lund Khwar Mardan in the case.
The officials said that police had raided residence of the accused and recovered the student. They said that reason behind the kidnapping was a business dispute. They said that three people were involved in the crime but two of them managed to escape.
"The accused has been tossed in the clink but he is yet to be shifted from Mardan to Peshawar," the officials said and added that it was yet to be ascertained if he was involved in other kidnapping cases or not.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Pak police said Tuesday they had jugged another six alleged plotters over the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team that cost the country its World Cup hosting rights.
Six coppers and two non-combatants were killed and seven Sri Lankan players injured when beturbanned goons launched a gun and grenade assault on the team as they travelled to a match in the eastern city on March 3, 2009.
Lahore city police chief Aslam Tareen said the latest arrests were made in different swoops in central Punjab province, but gave no precise dates.
"We have jugged six people, they were actively involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan team. They belonged to the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain)," Tareen told a news conference on the eve of the hotly-anticipated cricket World Cup semi-final between arch rivals India and Pakistain in Mohali, India.
The arrests followed the interrogation of two other suspects, already held in connection with the attack, he said.
The detainees were presented at the news conference, their faces covered in masks, but did not speak. Police also displayed four assault rifles, one boom jacket and eight hand grenades allegedly seized from the suspects.
"They told interrogators that they belonged to TTP and the plot was hatched in the tribal Wazoo region," Tareen said.
Their motive was to take the Sri Lankan team hostage, he said.
Up to 12 gunnies were believed to have taken part in the assault on the bus carrying the Sri Lankan players from hotel to the stadium. They all beat feet.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
#1
Co-incidentally, Pakistan play India in the semifinal of the cricket world cup in about 4 hours time.
I realize Americans won't have heard too much about this, but it is a big deal on the Subcontinent. Hundreds of millions will watch.
There have been rumours of a possible terrorist attack. I will be watching a live stream, so if anything does occur, you will be amoung the first to know.
#2
Cricket *is* un-Islamic, you know, as it involves people frivolously engaging in sports for fun when they could be praying or out burning down a girls' school.
Don't be silly, SteveS. Cricket involves hand-stick-ball coordination and running, both skills necessary to prepare the warrior for jihad. The sword is, after all, merely an edged metal stick, and the infidel head merely an oval ball temporarily attached to an infidel body. The benefit of being able to run is obvious, I think. ;-)
[Al Jazeera] At least 11 Pak soldiers have reportedly been killed after gunnies ambushed a military convoy travelling close to the Afghan border.
A government official told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency that those killed on Monday included a colonel and a captain in the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary unit that is being trained by a small contingent of US special forces soldiers.
Iqbal Khan, a Khyber government official, added that the convoy was returning from a mission in three vehicles when it was attacked not far from the main northwestern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar.
He said several of the attackers were also killed, but gave no more details.
Al-Qaeda hub
Pakistain's tribal regions close to the Afghan border are home to al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters seeking to overthrow the government.
The Mighty Pak Army has launched several operations in the remote and rugged region over the last few years, but the fighters have proved resilient.
The army says more than 2,000 Pak soldiers have been killed there since 2001. The region is also used as a base to attack Western forces in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Gunmen wearing military uniforms and suicide bomb belts stormed a local government headquarters in northern Iraq on Tuesday in an attempt to take hostages that killed at least 10 people, officials said.
Three politicians who were inside the Salahuddin provincial council building in Tikrit when the gunnies overran the compound are missing, said provincial governor Ahmed Abdullah. He said the politicians were not answering their mobile phones and could not immediately be located -- indicating they may be held hostage.
"We've lost contact with three provincial council members who were inside the building when the attack took place," Abdullah said in a telephone interview from Amman, Jordan, where he was receiving updates on the assault via mobile phone.
He described a fierce shootout between the gunnies, who have overtaken the council headquarters' second floor, and Iraqi security forces who surrounded the building. He said the attackers were also hurling grenades at Iraqi forces.
The governor said 10 people were killed in the siege.
A senior intelligence official gave a higher toll of 12 dead and said as many as 60 were maimed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Authorities said the attackers blew up a car outside the council headquarters to create a diversion before launching their raid. Wearing military uniforms -- including one with a high rank -- the gunnies identified themselves as Iraqi soldiers at a security checkpoint outside the government compound but opened fire on guards when they were told they needed to be searched.
Salahuddin government front man Ali al-Saleh said at least some officials and government employees beat feet before the gunnies could capture them.
Tikrit is located 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Storied Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually, the death toll is over 60 now.
The goons killed all of the hostages and then blew themselves up. Sounds like a fanatical flavor of hostage taking I am not used.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/30/2011 10:35 Comments ||
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#2
"Hostage scene"??? Sounds like a run-of-the-mill jihadi mass murder. I guess the headline writers like a little variety.
[Arab News] Syria's Cabinet bailed Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening hereditary President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. Also head of Syria's Baath Party, an old-fashioned fascist operation that's seldom described as one in the press... 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East.
Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions. He is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to lift emergency laws in place since 1963 and moving to annul other harsh restrictions on civil liberties and political freedoms.
More than 60 people have died since March 18 as security forces cracked down on protesters, Human Rights Watch said.
State TV said Tuesday Assad accepted the resignation of the 32-member Cabinet headed by Naji Al-Otari, who has been in place since September 23. The Cabinet will continue running the country's affairs until the formation of a new government.
The resignations will not affect Assad, who holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime.
The announcement came hours after hundreds of thousands of supporters of Syria's hard-line regime poured into the streets Tuesday as the government tried to show it has mass support.
Protests that began March 18 and ensuing violence has brought sectarian tensions in Syria out in the open for the first time in decades, a taboo topic here because the country has a Sunni majority ruled by minority Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam. Assad has placed his fellow Alawites into most positions of power in Syria.
But he also has used increased economic freedom and prosperity to win the allegiance of the prosperous Sunni Mohammedan merchant classes, while punishing dissenters with arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse.
Many of the pro-regime demonstrators emphasized national unity Tuesday.
"Sectarianism was never an issue before, this is a conspiracy targeting Syria," said Jinane Adra, a 36-year-old Syrian who came from Soddy Arabia to express support for Assad.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 00:00 ||
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The threats came in the mail and to date, there have been 25 letters that warn of nuclear bombs destroying America.
People who got them called the FBI and CBS 2′s Kristyn Hartman learned, the Bureau's Chicago office is leading the investigation.
FBI Special Agent Andre Zavala said, "Yes, they alarmed a lot of people."
Attorney Tracy Rizzo was alarmed. A number of days ago, an envelope, with a Chicago postmark and a hand-written address to her private investigations firm, came in the mail.
The letter inside said, "The Al-Qaeda organization has planted 160 nuclear bombs throughout the U.S. in schools, stadiums, churches, stores, financial institutions and government buildings." It also said, "This is a suicide mission for us."
The writer, who claims to be Osama Bin Laden, tells the reader the nukes are remotely controlled. "It was clear the writer wanted to scare me," said Rizzo, "Yes, it frightened me." Rizzo was one of eight people in the Chicago area to contact the FBI.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2011 10:01 Comments ||
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#3
The TV show Jericho had pre-placed nukes detonate in 23 USA cities as part of the initial story.
Posted by: The Other Beldar ||
03/30/2011 10:05 Comments ||
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#4
Well, we do have nuclear bombs hidden all over the United States. In silos. really. But much more than 160. Obama holds the remote control. sleep well.
#5
I could see a dirty bomb or two planted around the US but a really and truly nuke?
I don't think so.
Of course, with all of the recent tales of Qurans found in the Arizona desert and coyotes saying they were paid to smuggle middle easterners into the US, I don't think for a minute that a nuke terrorist attack on the US is not possible.
It is possible.
We need to take the Holder/Obama mittens off and do the right thing for our country and that is do everything possiblet to wring every last drop of intel out of every jihadi we find.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/30/2011 10:28 Comments ||
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#7
BTW, the trick to making a nuclear fruitcake is to buy one in a tin, then once each day for an entire month sprinkle one tablespoon of dark rum on it then reseal. I prefer Meyer's dark.
If done properly, the fruitcake should not be mushy, but will have an impressively strong muzzle velocity.
Traditionally, a small bowl with whole cloves would be left next to it, to help conceal the alcohol on the breath.
#8
Fred, we need that fruitcake pic in the hopper if you haven't done that already.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2011 12:45 Comments ||
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#9
If the quran is so precious too them why would they leave them in the desert? Who thinks osama can write in english?
Posted by: chris ||
03/30/2011 13:10 Comments ||
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#10
If they exist and are made with Chinese or NKor dies/plans we should make it very very clear to China what will happen if even one blows....
Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/30/2011 14:16 Comments ||
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#11
Secondly.... No matter if or Prez is a Muzzie or Commie... this is reason enough to DISARM PAKIWAKILAND of NUKES NOW!
Even if it takes active use of nukes to do so.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/30/2011 14:18 Comments ||
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#12
The writer, who claims to be Osama Bin Laden, tells the reader the nukes are remotely controlled.
What's the number for the one near the WH. So I will know which number not to call.
Actually ... he can. A reporter said he was threatened by Osama (in English) in Kandahar during the 90's.
However, it is doubtful this is real: Nukes degrade rapidly over time (and not just due to nuclear breakdown). The explosives and the electronics must work to very fine tolerances, and they tend to lose that over time. A friend of mine who worked in nuclear subs said they had to take the warheads out and rebuild them every couple of years.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/30/2011 17:47 Comments ||
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#14
I had a special weapons platoon attached to my combat engineer company in the FRG.
Al is absolutely right about maintenance. It was an ongoing headache and a real problem in the 70's finding the time and money to train them and to get V Corps off our butts with testing long enough to do the maintenance. We had readiness testing so often that I thought we were going wear out the trainers.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/30/2011 18:33 Comments ||
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#15
There is no consensus on how many Tacnukes, e.g. "Suitcase" Nukes, went missing after the fall of the USSR + end of the Cold War.
Ditto for BIOWAR, CHEMWAR WEAPS.
In any case,IMO Al-Qaeda = Radical Islam doesn't, + never did, have to detonate 160 Nucbombs includ "Dirty Nukes" inside CONUS when one, two, or a few would suffice.
The Feds must also consider that so-called ASYMMETRIC WARFARE does not preclude MilTerrs from procuring + exploiting advanced Mil, NucTechs, + dev 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd Strike. etc. "offensive" andor "defensive" capabilities ala the US-SOVIET CONFLICT [Commie Bloc].
WHOM NATION-STATE(S) IS THE US-ALLIES GOING TO GO AFTER IFF OSAMA + BOYZ CLAIM THEY BOUGHT, STOLE, OR DEV THE NUKES, ETC. "FAIR-N-SQUARE"???
* Lest we fergit, "AIRPLANE" Movie comedy skit > POINT-COUNTERPOINT > "THEY BOUGHT THEIR PLANE TICKETS FAIR-N-SQUARE - I SAY, LET 'EM CRASH"!
#16
IMO whatever kinds of WMDS Radical Islam has hidden in the US won't be detonated = employed for domestic Terrstrikes until after Iran formally declares it is a NUCWEAPS STATE.
COLD WAR MILPOL = NUCLEAR = [post-911] TERROR DIALETECISM = RADICAL ISLAM may desire + support a "SUFFICIENT" = MINIMAL NUMBER OF MUSLIM NATIONS TO GO NUCLEAR AS PER NUCWEAPS [NUkes-WMDS] AS HEDGE AGZ THE US = US-ALLIES. AMong ohter reasons, this is why the "JASMINE" REVOLS is worrisome to the US + why the US-Allies are in no rush to get rid of Uncle Muammar despite risk of Muammr turning agz them.
POPULAR ADAGE?AXIOM > "ONCE A STATE ACQUIRES NUCLEAR WEAPONS IT CAN NO LONGER BE MILITARILY ATTACKED", widout risk of nuclear combat + ultimately Mutual Destruction.
ASYMMETRIC WARFARE > "NUCLEAR MILTERRS" = "ISLAMIST-JIHADIST/MILITANT BOMB" = THIRD-PARTY MILTERRS, CELLS + SMALL GROUPS, CAN ATTACK ENEMY NATIONS WID DESTRUCTIVE NUCWEAPS [Nukes-WMDS] BUT DISPARATE SOVEREIGN MUSLIM NUC STATES = NUC MIL POWERS CANNOT BE.
Which may explain ...
* FREEREPUBLIC > ISLAM WILL NOT BE THE LOSER.
Oh yeah, its "2012" + ultimately OWG CALIPHATE, where the US-WEST is either defeated + suborned under Islam + Caliphate, or else wholly destroyed.
#17
TOPIX > [CNN] FORMER TRUCK DRIVER DECIPHERS TOP SECRETS OF FIRST ATOMIC BOMBS. The real secret of the Atomic Bombs is HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE THEM.
It took oer ten years of searching + copying + scrutinizing, etc. public photos, diagrams + documents, but he got 'er done short of actually physically making one [Impress the Babes, threaten the IRS at tax time, and all that].
And he is NOT an Engineer or other Tech-Specialist by trade.
Iff one makes the time + effort [diligence], you will get DA BOOM = MUSHROOM.
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.
leader Muammar Qadaffy
David Cameron
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
Doku 
jacket wallah
[Arab News] A Texas college student from 
Nawaz Sharif
Punjab
hereditary President Bashir 
The threats came in the mail and to date, there have been 25 letters that warn of nuclear bombs destroying America.
