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Iranian diplomat shot dead by gunmen in Sana'a
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Rika Ishikawa [Nippon][Filmography](age 29)



Chitsu no dokuhaku no sekkei (膣の独白の設計)

Entry for smallest "Woman with a BFG".




Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/19/2014 2:16 Comments || Top||

#2  shitsu no dokuhaku no sekkei

Is that Japanese for "No tickee no washee"?
Posted by: frozen al || 01/19/2014 10:39 Comments || Top||

#3  http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/ishikawa-rika
Posted by: 3dc || 01/19/2014 15:32 Comments || Top||

#4  No frozen al - Chitsu no dokuhaku no sekkei (design of the vagina monologues)


Posted by: Pearl Dark Lord of the Apes || 01/19/2014 18:55 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Two Britons among at least 21 killed in Kabul restaurant attack
Follow-up from yesterday.
Two Britons and two Americans were among at least 21 people killed when a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked one of Kabul’s most popular restaurants.

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and three other staff of the UN were also killed in the attack on Friday evening, along with the Lebanese restaurant owner and several Afghanis and two Canadians, situated in a well-protected district in Kabul where most foreign workers live and work.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the restaurant, killing guards and destroying defences and allowing two gunmen to enter and open fire.

The Foreign Office named one of the British victims as Dhamender Singh Phangurha, who is better known as Del Singh, a Labour candidate for the European elections. The other Briton has been named as Simon Chase from county Londonderry, who was the bodyguard of a Danish, female police officer who was also killed. A spokesperson said she did not believe there were any other British injuries.

The Canadian foreign affairs minister, John Baird, said two Canadians died in the attack while the US state department said two Americans were killed. None of the four worked for their national governments or armies.

Kabul police chief Mohammad Zahir said the victims included 13 foreigners and eight Afghans; two Britons, two Canadians, a Dane, a Russian, two Lebanese, a Somali-American and a Pakistani. At least four people were wounded and about eight Afghans, mostly the kitchen staff, survived.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in reprisal for an Afghan military operation earlier in the week against insurgents in eastern Parwan province, which they said killed many civilians.

“The target of the attack was a restaurant frequented by high-ranking foreigners,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement. He said the attack targeted a place “where the invaders used to dine with booze and liquor in the plenty.”

The restaurant’s popular owner, Lebanese citizen Kamal Hamade, was among the dead. “VV sad news Kabul. Our dear Lebanese friend Kamal, the kindest of hosts, was killed in Taliban attack,” BBC journalist Lyse Doucet said on Twitter.

The IMF said their country head, Lebanese citizen Wabel Abdallah, had worked in Afghanistan since 2008.

The attack will make life increasingly difficult for the foreign agencies, both private and governmental, who administer billions of pounds of aid and development projects in Afghanistan. Most international staff are subject to elaborate security arrangements and defences which the Taliban have demonstrated can be neutralised when they want. It is possible they will decide that the risks are too great for foreign staff, and end or reduce their projects.

The Taverna restaurant was a popular venue usually busy on a Friday. It had armed guards and an air-lock entry system of steel gates, but those precautions would have been little match for a heavily armed suicide squad.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Kenya’s police arrest six radical youths
Kenyan police on Friday arrested six radical Muslim youths who attempted to cross into Somalia to join Al-Shabaab terror group through in Kiunga, 15 km from the Kenyan border with Somalia.

Lamu East police commander Samson Obara said detectives working on intelligence reports intercepted a passenger bus they had boarded from the coastal city of Mombasa city to Lamu. He said they planned to sneak into the Horn of Africa nation through Kiunga border to join the militant group which is allied to Al-Qaida network.

“Our officers working on information waylaid a bus at Mararani area near Kenya-Somalia border in Kiunga. We are still interrogating them before preferring charges,” Obara told Xinhua on Friday.

The local police commander said the youths aged between 16 and 18 years claim they were going fishing in Somalia. The six Faraj Fahim Swaleh, Twafiq Swaleh, Nabil Mohammed Lali, Fara Abdi Kassim and Mohammed Abdalla are being held at Lamu police station.

Police said the six are among foreigners who have joined the Al- Shabaab to undergo military training to carry out offensives inside Somalia and in Kenya. Intelligence agents said they are trained how to assemble and detonate bombs, use weapons, and carry out terrorist strikes.

Obara said the youths are latest batch of extremist youths joining the rag tag Al-Shabaab terror group blamed plotting attacks in country since the incursion of Kenya troops in Somalia in 2011.

The youth were on Friday handed over to a team of anti terrorism police officers for further grilling. The detectives confiscated their mobile phones to assist in apprehending key Al- Shabaab recruiters in the country.

“We will contact mobile phone companies to establish their communication to establish the wide network of Al-Shabaab recruitment,” Obara said.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Egyptian police disperse clashing students at Zagazig University
[Al Ahram] Security forces broke up clahes on Saturday at Zagazig University between pro-Moslem Brüderbund students and opposing peers from the physical education faculty, the Ahram Arabic website reported.

The two sides exchanged rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails until the police intervened by firing tear gas to disperse them.

A number of students suffered from suffocation due to tear gas and sustained minor to medium injuries during the festivities.

According to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, at least nine were maimed by birdshot. Seven Moslem Brüderbund students were tossed in the calaboose
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
on campus.

Several universities including Cairo University, Ain Shams University, and Al-Azhar University's Cairo campus have witnessed festivities between security forces and pro-Brotherhood students since the start of the academic year.

On Thursday, two students died in festivities with security guards and police at Cairo University.

In November, Central Security Forces stormed the Zagazig campus in the eastern Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya upon request from the university's president, firing teargas at pro-Morsi demonstrating students.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  You know, striped tops with polka dot shorts. That sort of riff raff.
Posted by: Steven || 01/19/2014 2:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Zagazig ? University? Zagazig...

Moslem education and Moslem degrees too?

And daddy is paying for all this? No wonder their entire culture is under the camel's tail.
Posted by: Spereting Tingle4064 || 01/19/2014 7:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Anumber of students suffered from suffocation due to tear gas and sustained minor to medium injuries during the festivities.

Sounds like they zagazigged when they should have zigazagged.
Posted by: jpal || 01/19/2014 7:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Somebody adulterating the local product? Usually, time spent at Zig Zag University results in prolonged couch-sitting, Doritos consumption and too much Pink Floyd.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/19/2014 10:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Sounds like they zagazigged when they should have zigazagged.

For jpal: He beeped when he should have bopped
(Apologies -- I used to know how to post YouTube thingies, but I've forgotten.)
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 12:22 Comments || Top||

#6  Go to your room, #3 jpal. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 01/19/2014 14:35 Comments || Top||


Libya declares state of emergency
Libya has declared a state of emergency as the air force attacked gunmen in the remote south to end unrest between rival armed groups that have been clashing for days, Aljazeera reported.

The General National Congress, Libya's highest political authority, took the decision on Saturday during an "extraordinary session" after the parliament put the army on alert as gunmen stormed the air force base, Tamenhant, near the southern city of Sabha, an official said.

"A force was readied, then aircraft moved and took off and dealt with the targets," Abdul-Raziq al-Shabahi, defence ministry spokesman, told reporters in Tripoli. He said the army was tracking the attackers after they fled into the desert.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said a small group of gunmen had entered the air force base outside Sabha, 770km south of the capital Tripoli, but the government was in control of the town and its civilian airport.

"This confrontation (at the air base) is continuing but in a few hours it will be solved," the prime minister told a televised address, without elaborating.

Zeidan said he had sent his defence minister to Misrata to instruct troops based there to move to the south.

"The troops from Misrata have been commissioned by the government to conduct a national task to spread security and stability in the region," he said in the address.

Local sources said the clashes that started last week were sparked by the death of a rebel chief linked to the Awled Sleiman, adding that the tribe accused the Toubou of murdering him. The Toubou are black oasis farmers by tradition who also live in southern Libya, northern Chad and Niger, who have repeatedly said they were being marginalized.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Three children among 10 Muslims killed in C. Africa attack
[DAWN] Ten Mohammedans, including three children, were killed in an attack while trying to flee to safety in the strife-torn Central African Republic, a charity said Saturday.

The attack on Friday hit a truck convoy transporting Mohammedans to Bouar, in the north-west of the country, leaving up to 50 people injured.

"It is a sign of the still fraught and highly dangerous situation in the Central African Republic that children and their families have been attacked and killed while trying to evacuate to safety," said Robert Lankenau from charity Save the Children in a statement.

He added that while peacekeeping troops from the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
and La Belle France have been trying to restore stability in the country, "it's clear that this protection is not reaching children in more remote areas".

"We're continuing to call for this UN-mandated force to patrol the remotest regions where so much of the violence goes unseen, with more troops deployed if necessary."

Sectarian violence has gripped the landlocked country after a March 2013 coup launched by the mostly Mohammedans Seleka rebels who installed their leader as president in the mainly Christian country.

Some of the Seleka turned rogue and carried out a string of atrocities including killings, rape and pillage, prompting Christians to form vigilante groups in response, and plunging the country into a vicious cycle of Dire Revenge™ attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Seleka


Fresh fighting in C. Africa as presidential vote looms
[Al Ahram] Fresh fighting has broken out in the strife- torn Central African Republic as the deadline closed Saturday for candidates to register for a vote by the transitional parliament for a new interim president.

"There is some violence nearly everywhere," an officer with the MISCA African peacekeeping force told AFP, pointing to Bouar in the west near the border with Cameroon, the town of Sibut north of Bangui, and Boali to the northwest of the capital.

"People are in a desperate situation and as we get closer to the election it is going to get worse," added the officer, who requested anonymity.

At least three people were killed in Sibut, a resident told AFP by telephone as under-siege civilians called on the international forces for help.

"I'm putting out a cry of alarm," said the resident who asked not to be named. "The (ex-rebel) Seleka movement is reigning like warlords in the city and there is no foreign force to protect us."

A Catholic Church source said the parish premises came under attack in Sibut. "We tried to contact MISCA and (the French force) Sangaris for quick help, but so far there is no one," he said.

MISCA told AFP that teams were on their way to the town of about 25,000 people, an important transport hub known for its market.

But the MISCA officer told AFP that the African force has been flooded with calls for help, all of which cannot be handled.

"Our hotline is jammed (with calls), we try to do what we can but we can't put a soldier in every house," he said.

Some 4,400 African troops and 1,600 French soldiers have been deployed to the CAR to try to restore order in the impoverished country that plunged into chaos and sectarian violence following a March 2013 coup.

The mostly Moslem Seleka rebels installed their leader Michel Djotodia as president in the mainly Christian country. But having failed to establish order he resigned on January 11 under pressure from African leaders who feared the unrest could spread throughout the region.

Now the country's interim parliament is expected to vote on Monday for a new transition president. With the deadline for filing candidacies passed, the list of contenders is to be published on Sunday.

So far there are reportedly at least a dozen candidates, including Bangui mayor Catherine Samba Panza, the sons of former presidents Ange-Felix Patasse and Andre Kolingba.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Seleka


Arabia
Iran summons Yemen envoy over diplomat killing
So he's dead after all...
Iran Foreign Ministry has summoned the Yemeni chargé d'affaires to protest the fatal shooting of an Iranian diplomat in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, PressTV reported.

The Foreign Ministry reminded the Yemeni Embassy official that under international rules and regulations, governments are responsible for the security of foreign diplomats. Tehran also called on Sana'a to immediately investigate the attack and bring to justice those behind it.

On Saturday, the commercial attaché of the Iranian Embassy in Yemen was shot by members of a terrorist group outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Sana'a.

"Unidentified assailants in a van fired on the diplomat three times as he was leaving the ambassador's residence near a shopping center in Hadda," a Yemeni police source told AFP.

The assailants first tried to kidnap the Iranian diplomat but when they faced resistance, opened fire on him. The diplomat who was seriously injured succumbed to his sucking chest wounds at hospital.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham strongly condemned the terrorist attack, saying that Yemeni authorities are investigating the incident.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Iran denies death of diplomat in Yemen
Oh, so he's not dead...
An Iranian diplomat was assaulted by unknown gunmen in Yemeni city of Sana'a. As a result the diplomat was severely wounded, the representative of Iranian Foreign Ministry Marzia Afkham said on Jan.18, İSNA agency reported.

The information on the death of the diplomat released earlier does not correspond to reality, Afkham said. Afkham stressed that Iran strongly condemns the event.

"We contacted the officials in Yemen and keep the issue under focus."

Local media also reported earlier that the head of the financial department of the Iranian embassy in Yemen has died from his wounds. It also reported that he was shot in front of his house in Sana'a.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  ...might just as well read "Iran denies death of to diplomat in Yemen until it is more convenient"

Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/19/2014 0:09 Comments || Top||


Iranian diplomat shot dead by gunmen in Sana'a
Is he really dead?
Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian confirmed that an Iranian diplomat shot by gunmen in the Yemeni capital Sana'a has died of his wounds.

"The diplomat died during surgery," Amirabdollahian said, adding that he was shot four times in the chest and stomach.
Then taken to the best hospital in Sana'a...
Six members of a terrorist group first tried to kidnap the Iranian diplomat but when they faced resistance, they opened fire on him.

The killed diplomat was reportedly Iran's commercial attaché.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham strongly condemned the terrorist attack.

According to Afkham, Yemeni authorities are investigating the incident.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  "Then taken to the best hospital in Sana'a..." which is soon to be the envy of Americans everywhere...
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/19/2014 0:32 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Prime suspect in Noor attack case found dead in Nilphamari
[Dhaka Tribune] The prime accused in the case filed in connection with last month's attack on the convoy of Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor was found dead in Nilphamari yesterday.

Our Nilphamari correspondent reported that the local villagers of Palash Bari had first seen the body of Golam Rabbani, 35, of the neigbouring Dubachuri village, near a bamboo cluster in a local crematory at first around 6am. They later informed police.

Police recovered the body around 8:30am, said Sub-Inspector Asad of the Sadar cop shoppe, adding that the body had several injury marks on the head, cheek and throat.

Rabbani was reportedly hiding at his uncle's house in Durgam Bargasin village in Tentulia upazila of Panchagarh after he was accused in five cases in the attack, his family claimed.

"Around 15 people, carrying arms and identifying themselves as members of the RAB, went to the uncle's house and took Rabbani Awayon Wednesday," said Shahana, wife of the dear departed.

Shahana came to know about it over mobile phone but the people in the uncle's house were not sure whether the armed people were RAB personnel or not.

"The people who picked up Rabbani were in plain clothes. So, they might be Awami League criminals," she claimed.

According to the local villagers of Nilphamari,local BNP leader Rabbani was also an extortionist. He joined Jamaat nearly three months ago.

Five people, including four local Awami League men, were killed when activists of Jamaat-Shibir attacked Noor's motorcade on December 14 last year.

Noor was returning to Nilphamari town after visiting Laxmichap, Shishatoli and Palash Bari villages where Jamaat men had torched shops and storehouses belonging to Hindus and Awami League activistson December 12.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Britain
UK Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Attending 'Syrian Terrorist Camp'
[Ynet] A 21-year-old man from Birmingham has been tossed in the clink
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
on suspicion of attending what police said on Saturday was a Syrian terrorist training camp. The man was detained by officers under terrorism laws on Friday when he arrived at Gatwick Airport on a flight from Istanbul.

West Midlands Police said they questioned the man at a cop shoppe before releasing him on bail as their enquiries continued.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A clever barrister will get the charges dropped,

UK Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Attending 'Syrian Terror Nudist Camp'

"Your Honor, This is a very confused young man, he booked a stay at one type of camp and instead is now accused of attending another..."


Posted by: Pearl Dark Lord of the Apes || 01/19/2014 12:04 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkish Police Detain 28 In Anti-Al-Qaeda Op, Raid On İHH Office
[Hurriyet] Turkish police have detained 28 people in an operation into al-Qaeda held simultaneously in six provinces on Jan. 14, followed by the dismissal of a police brass hat in Kilis following raids on a local Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) branch.
Prime Minister Erdogan has turned against his pet terror group? These are the lads who organized those flotillas to force open Israel's Gaza embargo when Erdogan decided to up Turkey's posturing in an attempt to take over the leadership of the Muslim Middle East.
The simultaneous operations were conducted in six provinces including Istanbul, Van, Kilis, Adana, Gaziantep and Kayseri.

One person was detained in Kilis during the rain on İHH while a total of five people were detained in southern provinces of Adana and Gaziantep yesterday.

Police have detained 18 people in the southeastern province of Van and another suspect was detained in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri as part of operations into al-Qaeda.

Three people have been detained by anti-terror police in Bağcılar, Fatih and Küçükçekmece districts in the Istanbul leg of the operation. The suspects were sent to Van, according to the reports.

Anti-terror police coming from the eastern province of Van searched the main office of the İHH and its depot and one person from the relief organization was detained, Doğan news agency reported.

Two anti-terror unit heads dismissed

Only a few hours after the raids, two anti-terror police unit chiefs who were among the teams who planned and carried out the operation have been dismissed.

Both Kilis province anti-terror department chief Devlet Çıngı and Van province anti-terror department chief Serdar Bayraktutan were relocated by a sudden decision from the respective Governor's Office with which they are affiliated.

The Interior Ministry had previously responded raids conducted as part of graft investigation by orchestrating a massive purge within the police department.

İHH condemns raids

The İHH released an official press statement Jan. 14 concerning the raid, with General Secretary Yaşar Kutluay saying the operation was aimed at preventing the İHH from sending humanitarian aid to Syria.

"They are trying to show the İHH as if it is related to terror organizations," Kutluay said, claiming that the operation was an "attack" on the NGO, which is said to be the biggest organization in Turkey sending aid to Syria.

One of the İHH's lawyers, Uğur Yıldırım, said the Justice Ministry ordered two prosecutors to launch an investigation into the coppers who conducted the search.

However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has refuted the claim, saying the ministry has no authority or duty to send prosecutors to any place.

Yıldırım added that the raid was a part of an operation first launched in 2012 within the terms of the anti-terror law, targeting only one man who had been working at İHH for nine months.

A search warrant was issued for that individual and the court had been given the Kilis İHH office as his home address, Yıldırım claimed, adding that the man actually had a home address where he lived with his family.

All computers at the office were seized by police, Yıldırım added.

İHH Syria coordinator Serkan Öktem, however, said the police returned the computers it seized from the branch after examining them in the police department.

The press coordinator of the NGO, Serkan Nergis, also commented on the raid via his Twitter account, saying that police forces had been conducting a search that was against the law.

"Police units started to search the office after taking our personnel out without waiting for our lawyers to arrive," Nergis said.

The İHH, an NGO which bases its humanitarian relief action on Islamic principles, was the operator of the Mavi Marmara and one of the main organizers of the Gazoo Flotilla in May 2010.
The Free Beacon recalls for us the IHH's previous little adventures.
"It is puzzling that IHH has not already been designated," the Foundation for Defense of Democracy's (FDD) Schanzer wrote in 2010. "The group advertises the fact that it is a participating member of the Saudi-based umbrella organization Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). On Nov. 12, 2008, Treasury listed the Union as a terrorist entity, stating that the group was 'created by Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.'"

The IHH has been tied to the top Death Eaters in these organizations and further accused of playing a key role in terror attacks.

"French magistrate Jean-Louis Brougière testified in 2001 that IHH had an 'important role' in Ahmed Ressam's failed 'millennium plot' to bomb the Los Angeles airport in late 1999," according to Schanzer. "Brougiere added that the Turkish IHH was 'basically helping al Qaeda when [Osama] bin Laden started to want to target U.S. soil.'"

Germany additionally banned IHH in 2010, while the Israelis banned it in 2002 and then again in 2008.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Indian Mujaheddin

#1  Is that the time for congressional debates on US aid again?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/19/2014 4:14 Comments || Top||

#2  the Israelis banned it in 2002 and then again in 2008.

Musta left outa comma or a dependent clause first get go.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/19/2014 9:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Some possibles, in order of decreasing probability:

1. The IHH has become a political liability to Erdogan and the AKP; this is essentially a "removal of the Brown Shirts."

2. Erdogan and the AKP are trying to remove any form of organized opposition after being hit with the corruption scandal.

3. The IHH is tied in with the AKP's former allies turned bitter rivals, the Gulenists.

4. The IHH is funded by the Saudis. Since Iran is becoming the new best friend with Erdogan's government, the IHH is a liability.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/19/2014 10:29 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll take 2.) for twenty bucks, Johnny!
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 12:13 Comments || Top||

#5  I should have added this from the Free Beacon article as well:

Turkish police searched an IHH storage facility located near the Syrian border where the group has been suspected of smuggling arms, according to reports.

Less than two weeks before Tuesday’s raid, Turkish police stopped a truck “laden with weapons” on the Syrian border. Under questioning, the driver claimed he was carrying “aid on behalf” of IHH, according to al Arabiya.

“The operation was aimed at preventing the İHH from sending humanitarian aid to Syria,” the group claimed in a statement, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported.


I think at least a piece of the motivation is PM Erdogan's determination to remove his former BFF Assad the Younger from power. I also like #2, but doesn't #4 clash with the Saudis support of Turkey's economy ?
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 12:32 Comments || Top||

#6  TW, my brain hurts trying to reconcile "I think at least a piece of the motivation is PM Erdogan's determination to remove his former BFF Assad the Younger from power" with a) his desire to ally with Iran, which is one of Assad the Younger's two primary sponsors.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 01/19/2014 13:33 Comments || Top||

#7  It does, but keep in mind that Turkey is now playing nice with groups it wouldn't have dealt with a couple of years ago. The pipeline with the Iraqi Kurds, for example. Or receiving Iranian delegations.

Erdogan's AKP-government was thwarted when its ideological ally MB in Egypt was overthrown; the Saudis were opposed to the MB. The Saudis may still be supporting Turkey's economy, but I suspect the AKP would like to dilute that support.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/19/2014 13:33 Comments || Top||

#8  I'll take option #3...
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 15:23 Comments || Top||

#9  #2 and part of #3. I have no sympathy for IHH, who helped organize and fund the gaza flotillas
Posted by: Frank G || 01/19/2014 15:44 Comments || Top||

#10  I think Turkey getting buddybuddy with Iran is part of their strategy to lead the Sunni world, in opposition to Saudi and the Gulf states.

Erdogan is moving against real or suspected Saudi supporters at home.

If Assad wins in Syria, then Jordan is at risk from an Iran funded Paleo rebellion. If it happens and succeeds then oil and gas pipelines from the Arab Gulf are blocked and Turkey becomes the route for Iranian oil and gas at substantially higher prices.

The next few tears will be interesting, especially if Erdogan loses elections.
Posted by: phil_b || 01/19/2014 17:16 Comments || Top||

#11  this could simply be a way to extort money from the IHH to vips in Turkey
Posted by: lord garth || 01/19/2014 19:01 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Two dead, six injured in Karachi violence
[DAWN] Two people, including a woman, were killed and six others were maimed in incidents of violence in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, DawnNews reported on Saturday

In the city's Liaquatabad area, a woman was killed in an incident of firing, whereas a man who was injured during a shooting in Gulbahar departed this vale of tears during treatment at a hospital.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

in Karachi's Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
Town, six people were maimed in a hand grenade attack in Khadda market on Saturday. The maimed were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Following the hand grenade attack, fear and panic gripped the area and shops and business were closed.

Karachi, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistain, is riddled with assassinations, gang wars, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism. Targeted operations led by Rangers' forces with the support of police are ongoing in the city under a directive issued by the federal government against criminals already identified by federal, military and civilian agencies.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
also declared that the operation launched in Karachi by law enforcement agencies would continue because the government was fully committed to restoring peace in the restive city.

Expressing satisfaction over the ongoing operation against criminal elements and outlaws in Karachi, he had said efforts to bring normality to the city would continue.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
At least 17 killed in Baghdad bombings
At least 17 people were killed on Saturday in a series of car bombings which rocked the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police said, dpa reported.

The attacks - involving at least six car bombs - occurred in central and western areas of the city.

Gunmen also attacked a prison in western Baghdad and freed an unspecified number of inmates after clashes with guards, independent broadcaster Alsumaria TV reported.

Security forces meanwhile foiled an attempt by gunmen to storm a shopping mall in the area of Mansour in western Baghdad, the broadcaster said.

Attacks, mostly blamed on Sunni militants, are almost daily occurrences in Iraq.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IAF strikes Islamic Jihad terrorist in Gaza
The IAF retaliates against a rocket landing in Israel Saturday evening; IDF says target took part in firing of rockets into Israel; IDF spokesperson: "We acted to remove an immediate threat to Israeli civilians."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/19/2014 04:11 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Islamic Jihad is under pressure from Iran to show something for the funding they have been getting from the Mullahocracy in Iran. Hamas wants that funding also especially since the Hamas-Egyptian relationship is currently in the toilet.



Posted by: lord garth || 01/19/2014 11:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Getting ready to have another dust up?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 01/19/2014 14:03 Comments || Top||


IDF Arrest Terrorist Shooting Improvised Weapon, No Injuries
[Ynet] IDF forces placed in durance vile
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
a Paleostinian terrorist who shot an improvised weapon towards a security post in the settlement of Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion. No injuries or damages were reported.

The terrorist is being investigated by security forces.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Gaza rocketeers hit desert, frenzied congratulations on their prowess ensue
[Ynet] On Thursday, several rockets were launched from the Gazoo Strip in the direction of Ashkelon. The Iron Dome missile defense system most likely intercepted all rockets, and the IDF was combing the area to see if another rocket had hit an open area.

Israeli aircraft attacked an underground rocket launcher, an ammunition arsenal, an ammunition factory and a terror hub in northern Gazoo Strip on Thursday morning in response, injuring five people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Helicopter falls from sky in Syria
...if not a hoax, I wonder what form of weapon could do this, and where it may have come from..?
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Looks like a Ruskie Helicopter, sans main rotor blades and tail boom, taking on the aerodynamic characteristics of a falling brick.

That's going to leave a mark!

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/19/2014 2:24 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder what form of weapon could do this

Ever heard of inshallah maintenance?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/19/2014 4:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Yep, that would do it.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 01/19/2014 6:58 Comments || Top||

#4  I wonder what form of weapon could do this

Hmmmm, maybe it was "pilot error"....

Posted by: Neville Spawn of the Esquimeaux || 01/19/2014 8:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Um, it wasn't us...
Posted by: Halliburton - EMP Division || 01/19/2014 9:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Gravity always wins.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/19/2014 9:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Looks like an NH-90 Eurocopter
Posted by: badanov || 01/19/2014 10:54 Comments || Top||

#8  I was thinking a MIL MI-26
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/19/2014 11:42 Comments || Top||

#9  Could have been a 24. I can't tell from the vid.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/19/2014 12:23 Comments || Top||

#10  The video is tough but it is either an Mi17 or MI24. Tailboom gone, rotors cut up, looks like classic tail rotor gearbox failure coupled with over reaction of aft cyclic by the pilot.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 01/19/2014 13:39 Comments || Top||

#11  Almost certain it MI17.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 01/19/2014 13:41 Comments || Top||

#12  Upon further review, if you stop the video @ 0:10 the nose is pretty clear and to me, it looks more
like a 24, the front lower cockpit is pretty clear. but what ever it was, its junk now. That free fall had to be terrifying to the crew knowing how that story would end.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/19/2014 14:49 Comments || Top||

#13  Put on the air brakes!

worked for Bugs Bunny
Posted by: Frank G || 01/19/2014 15:06 Comments || Top||


Bugging Device Discovered In Lebanon, Near Border With Israel
[Ynet] The Al-Manar Hezbollah television channel reported that an instrument, suspected to be a bugging device, was discovered 150 meters from the border fence between Israel and Leb. According to the report, the device was discovered in the village of al-Adisa.

The Hezbollah-affiliated "Al Miadin" news channel added that the Lebanese army is surrounding the area.
Don't forget to double check all the squirrels, rats, dogs, cats, sharks, migratory birds, and body lice to make sure they aren't Israeli spies, guys. It has been known to happen.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Tripoli Clashes Renew as Intense Sniper Activity Recorded
[An Nahar] Clashes renewed on Saturday evening on several fighting frontiers in the northern city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, as heavy sniper activity was recorded in the region.

"Fighting is taking place in al-Maloula, Baal al-Darawish, Satarco, Talaat al-Omari, the surroundings of al-Nasiri mosque, Souq al-Qameh, Hara Barranieh, the Hariri Project, al-Baqqar and al-Amercan in the city," the state-run National News Agency detailed.

The NNA added that intense sniper activity was recorded on the international road that connects Tripoli to Akkar.

"Amy forces responded to the sources of fire, using illumination bombs to locate the positions of snipers and gunnies," the same source said, noting that tension surged in the region after the eruption of the festivities.

Ahmed Nasser and Ali Qassem were maimed in the overnight festivities on Friday as sniper activity along the international highway in the Tabbaneh and Abou Ali roundabout persisted.

The festivities in Tripoli had renewed in light of the death of Taleb Assi of Jabal Mohsen from injuries he had sustained when unknown assailants shot up him in Tripoli's al-Qobbeh area.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Shelling Targeting Bekaa Regions from East Arsal
[An Nahar] East Arsal was the area that targeted several Bekaa regions with rockets, the Lebanese Army Command said in a communique issued on Saturday.

The army pointed out that a "specialized army commission estimated that the shelling on Arsal, Ras Baalbek and Fakiha areas came from east Arsal."

Earlier on Saturday, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr ordered that an investigation be launched into the shelling.

Arsal municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi had accused Hizbullah of being behind the assault, but the party was quick to deny the accusations, which it labeled as "dangerous."

A statement issued after a municipal meeting on Friday declared: "We will not allow Hizbullah and the Syrian regime to drag the town towards the Syrian revolution and balance of power in Syria."

They vowed to defend their dignity, children, and people "in all possible means."

Three people were maimed overnight Saturday when a number of rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border landed in Arsal and Ras Baalbek.

Eleven rockets landed near Arsal, while three others landed in Ras Baalbek.

Eight people were killed on Friday in similar attacks that targeted the same regions.

Five of the killed were children from the same family.

Rockets from the Syrian side of the border have frequently landed in Arsal since the uprising in the neighboring country turned violent.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Barbara! Another batch of popcorn please!
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/19/2014 17:01 Comments || Top||

#2  The extra boxcar I ordered arrived just yesterday, Glenmore.

Double butter with that? :-D
Posted by: Barbara || 01/19/2014 18:07 Comments || Top||


Syrian opposition votes to take part in peace talks
[Al Ahram] The exiled Syrian opposition voted on Saturday to take part in an international conference next week aimed at finding a political solution to the brutal three-year year conflict. In a secret ballot, the National Coalition agreed by 58 votes to 14 with two abstentions and one blank vote to take part in the talks opening in Switzerland on Wednesday, according to an official tally.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria govt warplanes bomb Aleppo, killing 16
[Al Ahram] Government warplanes on Saturday launched raids on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and the surrounding countryside, killing 16 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Warplanes bombed areas in the neighbourhoods of Tariq al-Bab and Karam al-Jabal in Aleppo," killing five people, including children, the Britannia-based monitoring group said.

The two areas are controlled by opposition fighters who have been battling forces loyal to the government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
since they launched a major offensive in the city in the summer of 2012.

Warplanes also hit the Sakhur neighbourhood on Saturday morning, killing another five people, said the Britannia-bases Observatory which relies on a network of activists on the ground for its reports.

The Observatory also said "helicopters dropped explosive-packed barrels on Al-Bab town (east of Aleppo) that led to the death of five fighters from the (jihadist) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
(ISIL) and another man, leaving an unknown number of people maimed.

Helicopters also launched raids with "barrel bombs" on other areas of the northern city, once Syria's commercial capital, and two villages in the south of Aleppo province, said the Observatory without giving further details on casualties.

In December, regime warplanes launched a series of raids with the powerful barrel bombs in Aleppo province, killing more than 500 people in nearly two weeks.

Elsewhere in the country, government jets pounded two areas east of the capital Damascus in eight raids, the Observatory reported, without saying whether there had been any casualties in the attacks.

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues...
the Observatory said that festivities raged between ISIL and rival rebel groups in Aleppo province on Saturday.

Fighters from groups battling the jihadist ISIL seized a village in the province, but lost ground to the other rebels in the town of Manbaj, according to the Observatory.

Nine members of one rebel group taking part in the battle against ISIL were killed early on Saturday, the Observatory reported, when a boom-mobile went off at a checkpoint they were manning in rural Aleppo.
Posted by: Fred || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  But then, you have to ask yourself if the entire city of Aleppo and everybody in it were to suddenly vanish completely....how would that effect the price of Corn in Iowa?

And could you still get a Pizza in Jersey?

We have to look at these things in perspective.
Posted by: Spereting Tingle4064 || 01/19/2014 7:17 Comments || Top||


Rockets hit Lebanese town on Syrian border, kill 6
Lebanese security officials say a string of rockets slammed into a town along the country’s border with Syria, killing at least six people, including two children who were out playing.

The officials say the rockets hit the town of Arsal on Friday. The official National News Agency says the attack also wounded 15 people.

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets but residents in the area say heavy fighting has been taking place on the Syrian side of the border since Thursday.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/19/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
33[untagged]
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5Arab Spring
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3Jamaat-e-Islami
3Govt of Iran
2al-Nusra
2Seleka
1Hezbollah
1Indian Mujaheddin
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1Commies
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1Hamas

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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2014-01-19
  Iranian diplomat shot dead by gunmen in Sana'a
Sat 2014-01-18
  Suicide Bomb Rocks Downtown Kabul
Fri 2014-01-17
  Car Bomb Kills 3, Hurts Dozens in Hermel, 'al-Nusra in Lebanon' Claims Attack
Thu 2014-01-16
  Syria Opposition Says Army Attacked Rebels with Poison Gas
Wed 2014-01-15
  Sharia begins in Libya
Tue 2014-01-14
  Three militants gunned down in Sopore encounter
Mon 2014-01-13
  Iran, world powers agree to nuclear deal terms
Sun 2014-01-12
  Djotodia seeks exile in Benin
Sat 2014-01-11
  Tribes, Police Retake Parts of Iraq's Ramadi
Fri 2014-01-10
  At Least 45 Syrian Rebels Killed in Homs Regime Ambush
Thu 2014-01-09
  'Prisoners Executed by Jihadists' in Syria's Aleppo
Wed 2014-01-08
  34 jihadists dead after rebel clashes in Syria's Idlib
Tue 2014-01-07
  10-Year Old Girl With Suicide Vest Detained in Helmand
Mon 2014-01-06
  ISIL Jihadists Kill at Least 50 Rebels in North Syria
Sun 2014-01-05
  Fallujah residents flee, fearing major battle

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