#2
I know, I know, Darth - call on me! **waves hand frantically**
(Answer: Zero)
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/21/2014 20:06 Comments ||
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#3
Well, Barbara, they have confiscated many potentially dangerous items. No terrorists, it's true, but many, many items. Like shaving cream, tweezers, nail clippers, ...
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/21/2014 20:33 Comments ||
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#4
I have a relative who us a TSA agent. He said they now Get integrity checked by the TSA and they put a loaded gun in a decorated veterans wheel chair. They basically are catching themselves.
[ToloNews] Insurgent activities have taken on a more aggressive tone this fighting season, with broad-based offensives challenging Afghan forces around the country in a way that the more traditional hit-and-run guerrilla attacks have not. According to many security officials and analysts, this shift is in no small measure a result of policies pursued by President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... that they consider weak and conciliatory.
Critics of Karzai acknowledge that increased support for Talibs by the Pak military as well as the drawdown of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... 's presence ahead of its December pullout have played a role in the recent security challenges. However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... military and politicians, as well as analysts and commentators, have also attributed rising violence around the country to a push by President Karzai to release suspected Lions of Islam from prison.
According to officials, more than 3,000 suspected Taliban bully boyz have been released from prisons around Afghanistan over the past three years, since the U.S. and its allies began turning over control of major detention centers to the Afghan government.
"The releasing of 3,000 inmates has further energized the ranks of Death Eater groups this year," a senior Afghan military officer told TOLOnews on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. "The inmates released from jails are those who are coordinating the war against the people and the government, most of the released prisoners rejoin the fighting," he continued.
High-ranking government officials have been among those who have openly criticized President Karzai for advocating for prisoner releases and ordering them by decree himself. The Minister of Defense, the First Vice President and many in Parliament have been especially vocal on the subject.
"The release of Taliban prisoners without completing the legal process motivates them to return to the battlefield with confidence, because they know if incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! , there is a chance they will be released," military analyst Mir Ahmad Joyenda said on Monday.
According to political analyst Jawed Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... i, the confidence-boost the releases provide the insurgency has fueled the growing intensity of their activities that has been witnessed this year. "When you see that the number of casualties on the warfront with the Taliban reaches 50 percent, then we can say that the guerrilla war has changed to an offensive one," he said. "The Taliban effectively control some regions of the country."
In response to the growing violence and what they see as a deficiency of support from the central government, a number of police commanders in provinces around the country have given their personnel shoot-to-kill orders in their engagements with the Taliban. They have said they don't trust the judicial system to exact justice on the bad boys, given the frequency with which combatants are released.
President Karzai has justified his push to release suspected Lions of Islam over the past couple years by saying he is defending individual rights and due process. He has argued many of those released were unjustly imprisoned by foreign forces and were being held without charge or evidence against them.
Moreover, the Presidential Palace has maintained that there is no evidence that individuals released from jail on order of the president have joined the fight against the Afghan government.
"All these assertions are claims," Karzai's front man Aimal Faizi told TOLOnews. "If it is proven that any of the Taliban inmates who are released from jails on order of the president rejoined the fighting, or that they are terrorists, we would be responsive in this respect."
Separately, though not un-relatedly, military experts have said that the president's decision to halt all nighttime military operations emboldened the Taliban this year and made pursuing effective counter-strategies difficult for the Afghan forces.
Some have speculated Karzai's decisions to free prisoners and end nighttime raids stem from his personal animosity toward the foreign governments and forces that have supported his government since the invasion in 2001.
This month, President Karzai met with the families of Afghan civilians who were killed by an air raid conducted by foreign forces in Shindand district of Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... province. He received some criticism for this as many security officials and experts believe more air support from the U.S. and other NATO countries is critical for the success of the Afghan forces. Some politicians have also pointed out that Karzai has yet to meet with the families of victims from the Taliban's gruesome massacre in Ghor province last month.
All together, at the tail end of his time in office, political analyst Jawed Kohistani believes President Karzai's lightening of policies toward the insurgency has the distinct possiblity of overshadowing the rest of the work he did as head of state.
"President Karzai is now at the end of his term as a failed president; the people of Afghanistan also hate him," Kohistani told TOLOnews. "He sees himself as being in a sensitive mental condition that creates the image of a defeated and bitter man, because of this, he has become more careless about the interests of Afghanistan."
[Libya Herald] A senior Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... official has criticised the call by the House of Representatives for foreign intervention to stem fighting between Libyan militias.
Arab countries should solve their problems without recourse to outsiders, said Fadel Mohammed Jawad, the League's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs. At the most, he said, they should only turn to other Arab states for assistance.
Jawad, who had attended the HoR inaugural meeting last week, said in a statement yesterday that the League was following events in Libya "with great interest and concern". It deeply regretted the death and destruction caused by rival militias. He also revealed that the organization had been discussing the crisis with Libya's neighbours.
Even though he had condemned the new parliament's call for foreign help, Jawad hailed it as a "major political step for the political process in Libya". He went on to say that despite the protests of a small group of members that the House was meeting in Tobruk instead of Benghazi, the League accepted that it as legitimate.
He hoped the HoR, with the help of neighboring and other Arab countries, could establish peace in Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] While Sudanese have been leaving Libya via Kufra, there are widespread reports today in the south-eastern town that hundreds of Sudanese mercenaries arrived by plane at the airport en route to Benghazi. They are said to be going to fight alongside Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... against Operation Dawn forces.
It may be that this is just another rumour, however.
No-one in Kufra to whom the Libya Herald spoke said they had actually seen the alleged mercenaries. Nonetheless, in the present situation, nothing can be discounted.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[PREMIUMTIMESNG] Two weeks after Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... gunnies took over Gwoza, the senator representing Southern Borno state Ali Ndume, says his constituents remain under.
Mr. Ndume made the statement during a visit to some camps sheltering people displaced by the violence in Adamawa and Gombe states. He visited alongside Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State.
The senator, whose constituency includes Gwoza, said that six wards of Gwoza local government have been taken over by gunnies who have mounted their flags in those areas.
"We are under siege in Gwoza", said Mr. Ndume, who is also a native of Gwoza local government.
"It is sad that we have to wait till now that people are being killed for government to take action. We know that for long, the road to Gwoza from Maiduguri had been a no-go area even for the soldiers.
"It is a known fact that soldiers of the Nigerian army have been overstretched in both human and material capacity. The federal government has to rise to the occasion to give these soldiers the needed support to work. Two major federal government bridges leading to Gwoza have been bombed and no one seemed concerned about this," he said.
The senator lamented the unabated killing of innocent people by the holy warriors.
He said he is doing his best to ensure that the insurgency is nipped adding that the war against insurgency must be won.
"Our hope is not lost because we kept praying that the insurgency will soon come to an end. This is not the first time in history of the nation that insurgency attack is happening. It had happened before, only that the way Nigeria is handling it is quite different," he said.
"We are in Madagali, Gulak, Mubi and other villages in the borders of Borno and Adamawa to sympathise, console with our People over the lost of their beloved ones and properties. Today we will be visiting Biu and Gombe to meet with the other displaced persons there," he stated.
Mr. Ndume attributed the persistent violence to "the way government is handling the issue".
"We have learnt from our mistakes of handling the insurgency problem. If the right thing was done, it would not had happened in the first place. Now that it has happened there is no point apportioning blame on any person or group, this is the time to look for solution.
Mr. Ndume lamented that Gwoza, with a population of over 50,000 people, has now become a deserted town
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[ARABNEWS] The ruler of the United Arab Emirates approved a new counter-terrorism law that strengthens existing laws against money laundering, while also expanding penalties to include the death penalty, life imprisonment and fines of up to $27 million, state media reported Wednesday.
The law, according to the state-backed The National newspaper, calls for establishing Saudi-style counseling and rehabilitation centers for people found "to be terrorism prone." Impersonating a public figure could lead to life imprisonment, the paper said.
The official Emirates News Agency reported that Abu Dhabi ruler and UAE President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan endorsed the law, but provided no further details. A draft of the law was approved in July by the country's Federal National Council, which acts largely as an advisory body.
The draft law was not released to the wider public to discuss, though parts of the law have been publicized in local media. Dubai-based Gulf News also obtained a copy, which identified potential death-penalty cases as attempts to attack any royal family members or members of the Cabinet's Supreme Council, and acts that lead to the death of a person such as recruiting people to join or joining a terrorist organization and attacking security forces.
The newspaper said the law defines a terrorist offense as "any action or inaction made a crime by this law and every action or inaction made a crime by any other law if they are carried out for a terrorist cause."
The Emirates, a Western-allied federation of seven sheikdoms that includes Dubai, is concerned about the rise of krazed killer groups like the Islamic State group that's surging in Syria and Iraq, as well as Al-Qaeda.
More immediately, though, UAE rulers have been concerned about the possible threat to their rule from the Moslem Brotherhood-linked Al-Islah group in the wake of Arab Spring uprisings. Rights groups say the UAE has locked up more than 130 people for charges related to their political activism. Political parties are banned in the UAE.
The UAE supports Egypt and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's decisions to label the Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The group's candidate became Egypt's first democratically elected president in 2012, but was ousted a year later by the military amid mass protests. As Cairo's new leaders moved to crush the Brotherhood, the UAE and other Gulf countries rushed to boost Egypt with billions of dollars in aid.
Amnesia Amnesty International's Gulf researcher Nicholas McGeehan said he is concerned about the climate in which the counter-terrorism law was approved.
"It would be better if people could see these provisions before jumping straight to a law that could affect people aversely," he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "We have to study the law very carefully and hope that none of its provisions are vaguely worded in such a way that would criminalize peaceful dissent. We've seen that elsewhere in the region."
There are also concerns about the independence of the judiciary. A United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... special rapporteur said earlier this year that the UAE's judiciary is under the "de facto control" of the executive branch and that there are credible claims of detainees being abused in prison — often before extracting confessions.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[Mirror] Britain is facing its greatest ever terrorist threat unless the home-grown jihadis waging war in Iraq are "decimated" immediately.
SAS hero Chris Ryan issued the chilling warning and insisted the Government order special forces into action against the barbaric Islamic State fundamentalists now, before they become even stronger.
Otherwise, he believes, the highly trained British extremists fighting for the ruthless group will bring their holy war home with such appalling acts of terror that we will need troops on the streets.
Mr Ryan, 53, said: "These guys won't just have been radicalised, they will have been trained to fight.
#1
"It says a lot when al-Qaeda try to distance themselves from these guys because they say they are too extreme"
It doesn't appear that there are that many differences between ISIS and AQ.
It doesn't seem that just airpower is going to do it because ISIS has been allowed to expand too much over a large geographical area.
ISIS could come to the West as the result of sorry immigration policies over several decades. More recently, there are indications that Muslims and others who are a danger to our country have slipped across our U.S. southern border. Some of these psychos are home-grown.
It is going to be difficult to root out this problem The enemy can be made to pay dearly but probably not 100% eliminated--psychos seem to find each other despite efforts. Also there are the terrorists such as Maj. Hassan. Our own foolishness for succumbing to politic correctness was partly the fault for Hassan's progression from radicalization to acting out his jihadist desires.
First, there has to be an awareness of the problem. The MSM has ignored the problem or worse sided with who they consider victims (the enemy) such as the Hamas. There has been a confused view in the present administration of who Hezbollah, AQ, ISIS, etc. are. They are not benign liberators (sarc). There is no unity of view in regards to the threat. The threat has been politicized by political parties and the press; thus diluting efforts to address these problems.
There is no over-arching strategy to destroy this enemy.
#2
"The threat has been politicized by political parties and the press; thus diluting efforts to address these problems.
There is no over-arching strategy to destroy this enemy."
How true, how true.
Political correctness is a result of the demoralization stage of Soviet and more recently Caliphist subversion of USA. An actual program comprising four stages: http://theological-geography.net/?p=7907 .
There have been efforts, off the power levers, of course, to see a grand national strategy against this enemy. Here is one such that collects others along with background thinking on the nature and purpose of power, sovereignty, etc.: http://theological-geography.net/?p=7024
[Breitbart] Wednesday on Newsmax TV's "America's Forum," Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) was asked if there is any current interaction between ISIS and Mexican narco mobs he said "yes" and added they are "talking to each other."
The member of the House Judiciary Committee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security said, "In my opinion, yes there seems to be a talking to each other"
He added, "The narco mobs use the same operational plan as terrorist groups do ... They kill their opponents, they behead their opponents, they brag about it and they have operational control of many portions of the southern border of the United States. They're vicious as some of these other terrorist organizations."
The Mexican cartels are already connected to Hizb'allah and Al Qaeda in North Africa, it makes sense to add another partner, especially as Hizb'allah is probably a bit distracted at the moment.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#4
Buddy and I were talking the other day, talked about this. Wuz brought up back at WC when ISIL twatted "our soccer ball has skin". We thought yeah, but those cartels have been peeling skin off people and stitching it onto soccer balls.
#7
Let me be clear, I am not fatigued, tired, strung out, disconnected, depressed, suffering from andropause, lackonookie, or excessive wanking. I am still very much excited, huh, about my first job and intend to stay the course huh. And let me be clear, if I had a son, he'd be just like me.
[ARABNEWS] Bulgaria may extend the fence at its border with Turkey to stop more refugees from Syria and Iraq entering illegally, a top interior ministry official said on Wednesday, while the foreign minister warned of "terrorism imports" to the EU member state.
The Balkan country is considering adding 130 km (80 miles) of barbed-wire fencing to an existing 33-km fence along the 240-km southeastern border which, the interior ministry's Chief Secretary Svetoslav Lazarov, said would save 2 million levs ($1.36 million) a month on policing the area.
"It would be a prohibitively facility," Lazarov told news hounds. "Our country has enough border points and those who want to come as a refugee can go through them."
More than 10,000 refugees, mainly Syrians, entered Bulgaria illegally last year from Turkey and, in an attempt to limit the influx, authorities deployed over 1,000 coppers. Bulgarian authorities said the Black Sea state could face an even greater influx in the coming months due to intensified fighting in Iraq in recent weeks.
"The situation is alarming and we can expect more refugees given what is happening in Iraq," said Vasil Varbanov, vice president of state agency for refugees.
"The number of asylum seekers increased from 320 in April to 911 in July...," without specifying if they had entered illegally. Interim Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov also warned of the risk, noting that the critical situation in Iraq was the result of the West's indecision over Syria in the past three years.
"There is a risk of terrorism imports," he said.
"The passiveness of the Western community in Syria and, more seriously, fear of intervention led to the current situation. So, there are no excuses," Mitov said.
In July, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said Europe must accept more Syrian refugees, now numbering around 3 million and almost all in Leb, Jordan and Turkey, with smaller numbers in Iraq and Egypt.
UNHCR has repeatedly appealed to Bulgaria to have an "open door policy" and has expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s about refugees being turned away at the Turkish border.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Even Bulgaria sees the need for fences. 'We don't need no stinkin' fences', say the U.S. Donks!
[NBCNews] The U.S. State Department has asked for 300 additional American military personnel to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and at U.S. facilities at the Baghdad airport, a senior U.S. official told NBC News on Wednesday.
The request was described as under consideration by the Pentagon. The official could not identify or discuss any additional threat to those facilities or to American personnel in Iraq. The U.S. military has 849 personnel in Iraq.
The early planning suggests that about 150 of the personnel would be Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is aboard the USS Bataan in the Persian Gulf, a U.S. military official said.
A platoon of about 50 Marines is in Baghdad already, providing security, and would return to its base in Bahrain, resulting in a net increase of about 100 Marines in Baghdad initially. Additional troop deployments are being worked out, the official said.
#3
I heard on the (CBS-affiliate) radio last night these were all defensive guys. What I did not expect to hear was "another American President drug into a war in Iraq."
Trying to disconnect Champ from cause and effect?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/21/2014 7:36 Comments ||
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#4
Blackwater was no longer available for comment. [Suck wind you ungrateful SOBs]
#6
Because this stubborn stupid a** was too busy with life of julia and whorebama care to maintain the Iraq we so needed to control the freak show that is the middle east.
Not news to us, but interesting source.
Militant sexual abuse of the boys they recruit to join their cause apparently is rife in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"I was dressed in women's clothes and was raped over four nights," Samiullah, a teen victim who was recruited by the Haqqani Network, said in a video statement posted last year on YouTube. "A friend of mine named Muhammad was also raped."
"Haqqani Network commanders are sexually abusing teenage boys who are being trained to carry out terror acts," the NDS statement said in a December statement.
NDS officials recently told Central Asia Online they take such allegations seriously, especially when a boy provides specific information.
Samiullah, for example, named Haqqani Network commanders Musa and Mohammad Kaleem, who are brothers, as two who raped him.
[ARABNEWS] Pakistain's powerful army chief called Wednesday for the country's civilian government to negotiate with thousands of protesters surrounding parliament who demand the prime minister step down over alleged fraud in last year's election.
Gen. Rasheel Sharif made the request during a meeting with Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... , the younger brother of 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... , Pak officials said. The premier earlier ended up sneaking into parliament through a back exit after the protesters torn down barricades late Tuesday and entered the so-called "Red Zone" housing key government buildings and diplomatic posts.
The two Pak security officials and a government official who confirmed the meeting took place spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
The twin protests against Sharif's government by opposition politician Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... and holy man Tahirul-Qadri have virtually shut down Pakistain's capital, Islamabad, and raised fears of unrest in this nuclear-armed country with a history of military coups and dictatorships.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... the protests remained peaceful Wednesday as politicians met inside a parliament guarded by soldiers for the first time under a civilian government in Pakistain's history. Men and women danced to drum beats and music as vendors sold carnival-style food. Other demonstrators slept outside at times and took showers at a public park.
Authorities earlier warned the protesters wouldn't be allowed inside the "Red Zone," though police and soldiers stood back as protesters armed with wire cutters and massive construction cranes cleared away barbed wire and shipping containers set up as roadblocks around it.
Sharif's government has been at odds with country's military ever since he decided to put for army chief Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , who ousted Sharif in a 1999 coup, on trial for treason. The premier's government also sided with a television station recently when it blamed an attempt to kill one of its popular anchors on the head of country's premier intelligence agency, further straining relations.
Analysts suggest the army or the intelligence community may be backing the two rallies to pressure Sharif. The army hasn't commented on the protests, though some of Sharif's aides and ministers have hinted toward its involvement. Many of the celebrities and politicians involved in the protests previously supported the Mighty Pak Army and its use of martial law in past.
Sharif, however, has refused to step down ...Hell no! The money's too good!... . Lawmakers from several parties condemned the protesters' attempt to besiege parliament.
"We will strive to safeguard democracy. We will strive for the supremacy of the constitution," said Shazia Marri, a politician from the opposition Pakistain People's Party.
Outside of parliament, Qadri and Khan both addressed their rallies and showed signs that they were willing to open talks with the government. The government has appointed teams of politicians to start negotiations with the protest leaders.
Khan warned Tuesday that his supporters would enter the premier's office if Sharif did not step down by Wednesday night, but his party appeared to back down later, urging supporters not to enter government buildings and indicating it would take part in talks to resolve the crisis.
The Pak Supreme Court has summoned Khan and Qadri to a court hearing over the sit-ins, according to state-run Pakistain TV.
Khan presented a list of demands Wednesday night, saying that he was willing to negotiate but that his first demand remained Sharif's resignation. He promised his supporters that he will live in a shipping container as long as Sharif remained in power.
Several government ministers dismissed Khan's comments as grandstanding.
"You can spend your whole life in the container but Nawaz Sharif will NOT resign," Sharif's politician daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, wrote on Twitter.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Talks between Pak authorities and opposition representatives have ended with no concrete results to solve the country's political standoff.
A government delegation met with representatives of opposition holy man Muhammad Tahirul-Qadri on Wednesday in a bid to resolve the impasse.
The session, however, was finished with no significant result. It is not clear if the negotiations will resume on Thursday.
Continued on Page 49
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Security personnel — who had been posted in the Red Zone in anticipation of a showdown between government forces and protesters from the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... and Pakistain Awami Tehrik — were told to stand down at the last moment as charged demonstrators marched onto Constitution Avenue late on Tuesday night.
Even though the government did not look like it would allow marchers to make it to the halls of power, in the end, it seemed that they had no stomach for violence and ordered police, Rangers and Frontier Constabulary personnel not to clash with the marchers.
A police official deployed in the Red Zone told Dawn he and his colleagues had been on standby since that morning.
"We had made all preparations to stop the protesters in their tracks. Batons had been provided to all coppers, while those inside the Red Zone were equipped with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters," he said.
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The ante has been upped in the standoff between the ruling PML-N and anti-government protesters, who, having brea�ched the red zone, have marched on to parliament to demand the resignation of 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... This, combined with a mysterious ISPR statement issued after midnight that called on all stakeholders to exercise "patience, wisdom and sagacity in the larger national interest", seems to have put the prime minister in a tough spot.
Tuesday was a tense day in the capital as both the government and the demonstrators of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... and the Pakistain Awami Tehrik looked all set for a showdown. Indeed, all the posturing and media coverage ahead of the promised surge towards the red zone indicated there would be blood.
Earlier in the day, the interior minister issued an ominous warning to both parties' leaders, saying that the government would stop at nothing to protect institutions of the state and the international community holed up in the diplomatic enclave.
On the other side, both Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... and Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... promised their supporters that victory was at hand. Mr Khan announced that demonstrators would sit-in outside parliament until the prime minister resigned. Dr Qadri, who held a 'people's parliament' at Aabpara roundabout earlier in the day, promised his followers that accountability would be ensured for the "corrupt" rulers.
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Pakistain remains hopeful of strengthening ties with India despite an angry New Delhi last week cancelling scheduled talks between the nuclear-armed rival neighbours, Pakistain's high commissioner said Wednesday.
Abdul Basit said Pakistain was confident of "overcoming this setback" after Delhi called off the diplomatic talks in Islamabad in a blow to warmer ties between the new Indian government and Islamabad.
Basit also defended his meetings with Kashmiri leaders earlier this week, a move that prompted Delhi to accuse its arch-rival of interfering in its domestic affairs and cancel the talks.
"We believe Kashmiris are a stakeholder in this (diplomatic) process, "Basit told news hounds in the capital, explaining that the meetings with the separatists were a "longstanding" practice.
"We will not allow the process (of stronger ties) to be distracted in any way,"
Basit said, adding, "You will find Pakistain seriously committed to the process. "
"There is no reason why we should lose hope of a strong bilateral relationship," he said.
Last month, the two countries scheduled talks between their foreign secretaries for August 25.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise move to invite his Pak counterpart, 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... , to his swearing-in ceremony in May spurred hopes that peace talks between the two countries could resume.
The warmer ties were dented last week when Modi accused Islamabad of waging a "proxy war" by sending Lions of Islam to attack Indian targets.
There have also been several ceasefire violations across the Kashmiri border that have angered India.
India and Pakistain have fought three wars since independence, two of them over the disputed Kashmire region.
Relations between the two neighbours broke down after attacks by Pak gunnies on Mumbai in 2008 left 166 people dead.
The United States earlier this week termed the cancellation of the talks disappointing.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the US was engaging with the Indian and Pakistain governments to support efforts to improve their relations.
Basit also appreciate Indian Prime Minister Modi's statement on Independence Day that South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations need to work together.
He further said that time has come for India and Pakistain to move from confrontation to cooperation and added that "if both counties work together, sky is the limit."
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Supreme Court of Pakistain on Wednesday issued notices to Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... and Pakistain Awami Tehrik (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... during the hearing of a petition filed by the Lahore High Court's Multan Bar Association.
The petitioner had named Khan and Qadri as respondents and maintained the following pleas:
1 — The apex court restrain the respondents from illegal and unlawful trespassing of prohibited zones including Constitution Avenue, offices of foreign missions, Pakistain secretariat and secretariat offices. The plea also requested that they be legally banned from conducting any sort of march including dharna and civil disobedience by offending public peace and tranquility in any manner whatsoever in all times to come.
2 — The federation of Pakistain, (secretary of law, interior secretary etc) may be graciously directed to perform their functions in accordance with the mandatory provision of the Constitution in the face of unlawful and unconstitutional activities of movements of respondents PAT, PTI.
During the hearing, the court said that every citizen has the right to protest, as per the constitution as long as the protests did not cause any hardship to other citizens.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Kamran Khan told the court that high court bar associations from other provinces were filing similar petitions.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistain Justice Nasirul Mulk admitted the petition, filed by the Lahore High Court's Multan Bar Association and issued notices to the concerned parties while adjourning the hearing of the case until tomorrow (Thursday 9:30 am).
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Talking to media, after a dialogue session, Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi said that the PTI delegation met government's delegation and discussed the political stalemate in the country.
He said the PTI delegation presented it six conditions and discussed the logic behind them.
"They will get back to us tomorrow after examining our demands," he said.
In response to a question regarding the timing of the PTI's negotiation, coming after the Ispr blurb, Qureshi became irked and said, "We do not operate on ISPR instructions."
Ahsan iqbal, a member of the government's delegation told media that both parties understand that we cannot afford this political crisis.
He said that PTI has presented their demands and we will consult with our leadership and respond them in the next round of dialogue.
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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lord garth mentioned this story in his comment on today's ToI liveblog, so I went looking for it.
[Ynet] Two months after Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrah were murdered near Hebron, top Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, official admits groups' operatives behind 'heroic' kidnap, murder of teens.
A senior Hamas religious figure admitted Wednesday that Hamas had kidnapped and murdered Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrah, the three Israeli teens who disappeared June 12th only to be found dead three weeks later after a massive IDF search mission.
This is the first time any Hamas official has taken responsibility for the murder of the boys.
In recording from a Moslem scholars conference, Sheikh Saleh a-Arouri is heard praising the "kidnapping to Hebron of the three settlers," which he described as "blessed heroic action" which was "carried out by the al-Qassam Brigades" — Hamas' military wing.
"There are those who say that it was your brothers in the al-Qassam Brigades, who carried it out for the sake of al-Qassam members who are in jails and who sit in a hunger strike," al-Arouri said.
IDF Engineering troops destroyed overnight Sunday the homes of Amar Abu-Eisha and sealed off the home of Marwan Kawasmeh, the two Lions of Islam who killed the three teenagers Gil-Ad Shaer, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Frenkel.
The troops also destroyed the home of Hossam Kawasmeh, who is accused of assisting Eisha and Marwan Kawasmeh. Hossam Kawasmeh was tossed in the clink Please don't kill me! in July south-east of Ramallah in a Special Forces operation that was aided by the Shin Bet.
While they were working, the soldiers were pelted with stones and Molotov cocktails. The troops used crowd dispersal means. None of the troops were hurt.
The IDF said the demolition work was done in accordance with the decisions of GOC Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, after the Supreme Court rejected three appeals against the demolition.
Shortly after midnight, 250 Border Police troops from the Judea and Samaria Division, along with dozens of Engineering Corps troops and other units that blew up, destroyed and sealed the homes.
The IDF said "the security forces continue in their efforts to find the kidnappers. The IDF will continue taking any legal means at its disposal to hurt the Lions of Islam and those who aid them, and deter them from committing additional attacks."
[Ynet] A tanker carrying crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan reappeared unladen on Aug. 19 about 30 kilometres off the coast of Israel, ship tracking data on Rooters showed.
This is the second time the Kamari has appeared in the area in the last two weeks carrying Kurdish oil.
The tanker Kamari was partly laden north of Egypt's Sinai on Aug. 17, tracking showed, before it turned off its satellite transponder until early on Aug. 19. It was not possible to determine where the oil had been delivered to or who the buyer was.
"No, Mr. President, even the NSA can't tell. I'm afraid we can't stop them, whoever they might be."
A front man for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment on Wednesday. The KRG has previously denied selling oil to Israel "directly or indirectly".
[ARABNEWS] Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... chief Nabil Al-Arabi has accused Israel of "blocking" all attempts to end the Gazoo conflict, a day after the collapse of a cease-fire in the Paleostinian territory.
"Israel is blocking any kind of agreement leading to calm" in the Gazoo Strip, said Al-Arabi.
"The Arab League wants to reach a permanent truce as soon as possible," he said before flying off to Geneva for a meeting with the International Committee of the Red Thingy to demand protection of Paleostinian civilians.
His remarks came as the armed wing of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, warned foreign airlines against flying into Tel Aviv, threatening to step up its conflict with Israel and declaring truce talks in Cairo over.
"There will be no return to talks after today and any move in this direction will never achieve any result," Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades front man Abu Obeida said in a televised speech.
The wife and seven-month-old son of the Qassam Brigades' commander Mohammed Deif were killed in an Israeli air strike on a building in Gazoo City, but Hamas said Deif was still alive.
"The Zionist enemy failed to assassinate the general commander," said the front man.
So far, 20 Gazooks have been killed since Lions of Islam launched a barrage of rockets on southern Israel on Tuesday and F16 fighter jets carried out retaliatory air strikes, Paleostinian medics say.
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[AnNahar] Jihadists, who are holding Lebanese army troops and coppers captive, have reportedly announced conditions for their release despite the denial of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and mediators.
Al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front members have said they would release one soldier or security forces member held captive earlier this month in return for two Islamists tossed in the calaboose Book 'im, Mahmoud! in Leb, al-Akhbar daily said Wednesday.
But the newspaper stressed that Islamic State group's fighters have put tougher conditions, saying they would release only one of the captives in return for 10 Islamists.
It also said that Qatar was negotiating with al-Nusra Front.
The jihadists overran the northeastern border town of Arsal on August 2 and engaged in battles with the Lebanese army that left scores dead and maimed.
The jihadists withdrew to Syrian territories a few days later after a ceasefire was brokered by Moslem scholars.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... they took with them captives from the army and security forces. Some of them have been released in stages.
Al-Mashnouq told An Nahar that he and Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi were following up the case of the rest of the captives, whose numbers are still unclear.
He denied, however, that the snuffies had announced their conditions for the release of the soldiers and coppers.
"It is still early to discuss about the final results," al-Mashnouq told An Nahar, stressing that their case was being resolved with "secrecy" and "calm."
"Any other method would complicate the issue," he said.
The front man of the Moslem Scholars Committee, Sheikh Adnan Amama, also denied in remarks to As Safir daily that the jihadists had asked for the release of specific persons from Roumieh prison.
"We are still in the stage of discussing the Lebanese government's approval to negotiate and exchange prisoners," said Amama.
He added that the committee has received assurances that the captives were being well treated.
[AnNahar] La Belle France's foreign minister on Wednesday pressed "all countries in the region" as well as Iran to join Western nations in the fight against Islamic State fighters rampaging through Iraq and Syria.
"We would like all the countries of the region to join in this action (that includes the Arab countries and Iran), but we would also like the P5 to join in with this action," Laurent Fabius told a parliamentary committee, referring to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
"We believe that this terrorist group is of a different nature and level of danger than others. As surreal as it may seem, this group considers al-Qaeda too soft."
He warned that IS's ambitions spread far beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria.
"Today it's Iraq. But the Caliphate is the whole of the region. And beyond that region, there's obviously Europe."
We are all "people to be destroyed and slaughtered because the goal and raison d'etre of this gang is to kill anyone who does not submit to them," added the minister.
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[FoxNews] The terrorist group ISIS is actively outing agents from Middle Eastern intelligence services -- as many as 30 in the last two months -- by posting their pictures and locations on social media, a counterterrorism source told Fox News.
In some cases, the source, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the investigations, said the Islamic State appeared to be getting the agents' identities from Saudi sympathizers.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they had an effective counterintelligence operation going on as well,"said Bill Roggio, who has investigated ISIS for the Long War Journal. He added that recent images of the White House and reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,... , posted on social media by ISIS, were designed to show the group had global reach and was the successor to the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now neither a strong horse nor a weak horse, but a dead horse... 's Al Qaeda.
"They're getting a significant number of recruits," Roggio said. "They're a sexy jihadist organization to the younger generation because they're showing they're brutal, they're effective and that they can communicate their message.Al Qaeda has a very real messaging problem and one that they will have to address if they want to stop this flood of recruits that are going to Islamic State."
Earlier this month, 60 imported muscle linked to ISIS were tossed in the slammer I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! in Kosovo, once part of the former Yugoslavia.The operatives were reported to have weapons, ammunition and explosives, some hidden in makeshift mosques that doubled as recruiting stations.
While U.S. intelligence officials said operatives were being instructed to start cells in their home countries on their own initiative, earlier this week the administration downplayed any ISIS threat to the U.S.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, "If they get bigger, they would constitute a bigger threat. But we should look at each individual terrorist group and what they're focused on, whether it's homeland plotting, what the capabilities are. We haven't seen that coming out of ISIS."
ISIS' ability to carry out a large scale attack outside Syria and Iraq has been described by U.S. intelligence officials as aspirational.
U.S. intelligence officials also said ISIS is becoming a credible alternative to the Al Qaeda leadership in Pakistain in part because it was winning the social media war there.
Asked about the reported outing of agents, there was no immediate response from the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... n embassy in Washington, DC.
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"They're a sexy jihadist organization to the younger generation because they're showing they're brutal, they're effective and that they can communicate their message.
No, "sexy" has nothing to do with it. They are effective because they are well funded. Likewise, intelligence agent covers are being blown because ISIS has the money to flip informants, stringers, and set up their own dedicated networks.
Marie Harf said, "If they get bigger, they would constitute a bigger threat."
My God, there really is not fok'n way to make this stuff up.
[Mirror] Around 100 CIA spooks and special forces are hunting for 42-year-old dubbed The Ghost because he leaves no trace despite running an army of followers
A crack unit has been formed to hunt down the terror chief whose barbaric Islamic State group has blazed a trail of murder and mayhem across the Middle East .
Around 100 CIA spooks and special forces are hunting for 42-year-old His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... , dubbed The Ghost because he leaves no trace despite running an army of followers.
It is the biggest counter-terror search since the Americans tracked down and killed al-Qaeda criminal mastermindthe late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... in 2011.
Using unmanned spy planes, other aircraft and satellite imagery, intelligence experts are gathering mobile phone call data and movements on the ground in Iraq and Syria .
A source said: "Al-Baghdadi is elusive but he will be found eventually.
"His forces are stretched so phone calls will be made — that will be his weak point."
Al-Baghdadi's 25,000-strong army
...much smaller than the 65,000 ISIS currently claims...
has conquered territory — something al-Qaeda never managed — and slaughtered thousands as it seeks to establish an Islamist caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
Britannia is increasing the amount of help in the fight against the Islamic State.
Last week troops were flown to Kurdish capital Ibril on a secret mission to help refugees, which was later aborted.
And British spy planes are collecting intelligence on the movement of jihadists to be shared with Kurdish and Iraqi security forces and the US military.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon hinted that British troops could be involved in combat.
He said: "We can't tell exactly how this is going to unfold. This is not simply a humanitarian mission."
Good for Britain.
Back home, pressure mounted on Prime Minister David Cameron ... 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 not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. 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 ... as Church leaders savaged him in a damning letter to Downing Street.
The Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Rev Nicholas Baines, slammed the "lack of coherent response" from Britannia to the spread of the Islamic State.
His letter — backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby — also attacked the PM's "silence" over helping Christians in Iraq.
Everybody has been silent about the Plight of the Christians. Except France. Mr Hollande may be having difficulties with his domestic programmes, but he is traditionally French beyond his borders.
Mr Cameron responded: "If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britannia."
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08/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
If you guys are serious about finding ABAB, I'd suggest you get a bit more low tech and sniff him out:
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.
Pervez 
[Iran Press TV] Talks between Pak authorities and opposition representatives have ended with no concrete results to solve the country's political standoff.
[DAWN] Pakistain remains hopeful of strengthening ties with India despite an angry New Delhi last week cancelling scheduled talks between the nuclear-armed rival neighbours, Pakistain's high commissioner said Wednesday.
Mehmood 
David Cameron
