House Republicans are about to open up a new front on the war in Afghanistan.
The newly empowered GOP is preparing to flex its muscle and demand that Gen. David Petraeus fly to Washington to provide his assessment in person of progress in the Afghan war.
GOP lawmakers believe the only way to get the ground truth about the war is to get the commander in a seat in the hearing room. They complain Congress has conducted little oversight since President Barack Obama announced his new Afghan strategy nearly one year ago.
They will encounter stiff resistance from a White House unlikely to want to create the kind of spectacle that Petraeus did in September 2007 when he testified on Iraq. That wont stop GOP leaders from trying to get Petraeus back.
Next month, the National Security Council is scheduled to complete a much-anticipated review of the strategy in Afghanistan. Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), in line to chair the House Armed Services Committee, says Petraeus should appear on the Hill soon thereafter.
During the December review, the American people deserve to hear from the new commander on the ground, McKeon told an audience Monday at a conference hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative.
McKeon acknowledged that only the commander-in-chief could make Petraeus available, but sought to assert the Republicans new power. We are an equal branch of government, he said.
The pushback on bringing Petraeus back to Washington is part of an administration effort to down play the December review, sources told POLITICO. While officials point to initial signs of progress, the surge of forces just arrived there and officials believe next summer will be a far more logical inflection point to assess the strategy.
Theres no success reportable from Afghanistan of sufficient gravitas or importance to warrant making a big deal of this review, said one administration source.
But the official acknowledged Petraeus would likely have to make an appearance. Petraeus will have to come back, and for him not to come back will raise flags, the source said.
Whether he does or he doesnt, Republicans will attempt to use next months review to point up deficiencies in the Afghan strategy. But GOP concerns about the July 2011 deadline to being drawing down troops may have a little less bite.
The administration has developed a plan to transfer security duties in parts of Afghanistan over the next two years and end the combat mission by 2014. That makes 2014 the new 2011, and may make it harder for Republicans to argue convincingly that Obama is overseeing a cut-and-run approach in Afghanistan.
If its true that the White House is shifting its focus to this date, that would provide our commanders more flexibility, said one Republican staffer.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Kenya provided the names of suspected drug king-pins banned from travelling to the US, the Nation has established.
The US embassy on Wednesday said the four government officials and a businessman are well-known to Kenyan intelligence agents who have been investigating their links to the lucrative narcotics trade.
The men will be included in a US report on narcotics situation in Kenya. The US embassy declined to name the five saying that would go against its policy but added that the people are well-known to the government.
US embassy press officer Katya Thomas on Wednesday said: "The investigation is a Kenyan process."
US ambassador Michael Ranneberger on Tuesday announced that his government had banned four politicians and a businessman from travelling to America over their suspected role in drug trafficking.
He said that the decision was based on reliable and corroborative reports linking the five to narcotics trade.
The four have been described as an assistant minister, a recently elected MP and another from Coast province and one from Central province.
The fifth individual is a Mombasa based businessman with interests in other parts of the country.
Mr Ranneberger announced that the US Drug Enforcement Agency will soon establish its offices in Kenya to help crackdown on traffickers.
He said the US was concerned that drug barons were using their ill-gotten wealth to contribute to political campaigns and buy leadership in the country.
Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe on Wednesday only said intelligence collected on narcos keeps changing everyday.
"Our intelligence keeps getting information but converting this into evidence is not very easy," Mr Kiraithe said.
Senior coppers met yesterday morning at Vigilance House to discuss the action to take over the ban, but details were not forthcoming.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Narcos
(KUNA) An MI5 (domestic intelligence service) officer will not be prosecuted over claims he was complicit in the torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed, it was announced this evening.
Scotland Yard launched an inquiry after Mohamed said an employee of the Security Service was aware of his ill-treatment while he was being held in Pakistain in 2002.
But director of public prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer said there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute the man, known as witness B, for any offence.
In a statement Starmer said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has advised the Metropolitan Police that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute witness B for any criminal offence arising from the interview of Binyam Mohamed in Pakistain on 17 May 2002. Binyam who? Nope. Never heard of the guy...
"We are unable to release further information at this stage because the wider investigation into other potential criminal conduct arising from allegations made by Mohamed in interviews with the police is still ongoing." The "wider investigation" is understood to refer to an inquiry into claims MI6 officials have also been linked to torture. Detectives from Scotland Yard's specialist crime wing are examining "the conditions under which a non-Briton was held" and "potential involvement of British personnel".
A Metropolitan Police front man declined to comment. He said: "We will not give a running commentary."
MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans welcomed the DPP's decision.
"I am delighted that after a thorough police investigation the Crown Prosecution Service has concluded that Witness B has no case to answer in respect of his interviewing of Binyam Mohammed," he said in a statement. "Witness B is a dedicated public servant who has worked with skill and courage over many years to keep the people of this country safe from terrorism and I regret that he has had to endure this long and difficult process."
Mohamed, an Ethiopian Mohammedan convert who lived in west London after seeking asylum in 1994, was jugged in Pakistain in 2002.
He claimed he was tortured into falsely confessing to terrorist activities and held incommunicado without access to a lawyer for more than two-and-a-half years. Terrorist SOP ...
The terror suspect said he was secretly transported to Morocco and tortured before being flown to Afghanistan and then Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in September 2004.
The United States government dropped all charges against him in October 2008 and he was released and returned to Britain in February 2009.
It emerged yesterday that secret payouts will be made to 16 former Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Mohamed. Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said the controversial move was necessary to avoid a protracted, complex and expensive legal battle. Others are believed to include Bishar Al Rawi, Jamil El Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes and Martin Mubanga. Their allegations included claims that the Government knew they were being illegally transferred to Guantanamo Bay but failed to prevent it. Nope. Don't know them either. They a mariachi band or sumthin?
There were also allegations that British security and intelligence officials colluded in their torture and abuse while they were held abroad. Other allegations included that British agents witnessed mistreatment, including the use of hoods and shackles.
Starmer's decision could bring a broader inquiry into claims of British complicity in torture during the war against terror a step closer.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
...Not too surprising. British law clearly and unequivically states that MI6 agents can NOT be prosecuted for acts committed in 'defence of the Realm.'
In other words, they really DO have a license to kill.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/18/2010 10:08 Comments ||
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#2
In other words, they really DO have a license to kill.
[RIA/Novosti] Russia's financial watchdog is looking into the activities of its banks and other financial institutions for possible involvement in hacker attacks in the United States, the head of the agency said on Tuesday.
"We are working together with the Americans. The question we are looking at is whether our Russian financial institutions could have been involved in these [money laundering and hacking] operations," Yury Chikhankin, head of the Russian Financial Monitoring Service, said at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
In mid-October, a U.S. court found two Russians, 25-year-old Dmitry Krivosheyev and 24-year-old Maxim Illarionov, guilty of staging a cyber attack on banks and stealing their money.
Krivosheyev and Illarionov were two members of the group behind a scam to penetrate companies' computer networks, steal their bank details and siphon off cash. Their partners in crime have yet to be identified.
In total, the gang fraudulently transferred about $1.3 million from their victims' bank accounts.
The Russian hackers may face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
In early October, U.S. authorities indicted over 60 people for wire fraud carried out using a version of the Zeus Trojan virus. The gang managed to seize at least $3 million in the United States and $9.5 million in Britain.
Security services believe the virus originated in Russia. The hackers mounted a wide-ranging attack, infecting computers with the Zeus Trojan in outwardly inconspicuous e-mail attachments and fake LinkedIn invitations. Once in, the virus would steal the user's bank details and transmit it to the hackers.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
Reverts?
[Chosun Ilbo] The North Korean regime is enacting sweeping changes to the law to bolster state control. A source familiar with North Korean affairs on Tuesday said four North Korean laws covering economic planning were revised in April and laws governing management of Pyongyang were revised in March.
The revised laws, which the source claims to have seen, "show the central regime's intention to control everything, from the economy to the daily lives of the people." North Korea has changed or enacted at least 17 different laws since November last year, just before a botched currency reform. Yeah, enough of this "soft touch" shit. Party time's over, folks...
The revised economic planning law deletes a phrase in Article 17, which stipulated that the economy is planned "in line with methods that are presented from lower levels." According to the source, the regime inserted the phrase when it announced timid economic reforms in July 2001 in order to give more authority over production to individual factories and businesses. "The deletion of the phrase demonstrates the intention to retrieve that authority," the source said.
Instead, the terms "provisional figures" and "control figures" were revived after their omission in 2001. "The term 'provisional figures' refers to the potential output each factory sets, while 'control figures' represent the actual output amount assessed by the central government," the source said. "So the terms strengthen the centralized economic planning regulations of the past."
In Article 27, a new clause was inserted which reads, "The planning of the people's economy is a legal task." The source said, "This means that the partial freedom given to individual factories over production has now been taken away completely."
The law on the management of Pyongyang, which was revised on March 30, also stresses the role of the state. Originally, maintenance and management of the capital were up to the Pyongyang City People's Committee. But under the revision it falls into the hands of the State Planning Committee and the Cabinet. Also, all Pyongyang residents over the age of 17 have been ordered to carry their resident identification cards at all times. Geez, sounds worse then...Arizona.
Also added were articles that bind the central government to guarantee housing and the supply of necessities for the residents of Pyongyang. This shows the clear intention of the regime to take charge of housing and goods supply. "Labor and commercial laws also contain clear intentions to bolster government control," the source said.
Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University, said as conditions worsened after the failed currency reform and North Korean hereditary supremo Kim Jong-il's son has been lined up to succeed his father, "the regime seems to feel that tighter internal control is better than aggressive reform. Even if North Korea is looking to partially open up through economic cooperation with China, this will be difficult to achieve with such a conservative approach."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
TOPIX > [UN FAO, WFP] MAJORITY OF NORTH KOREA COULD BE WIDOUT FOOD IN 2011.
The UNO says the NOKORS need 8.0+ but are ordering only 3.0+.
#2
Gee, central economic planning has worked so well elsewhere, just ask Russia and China.
Anything to speed the disintegration.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
11/18/2010 6:21 Comments ||
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#3
We just had a turn back to the "permissive" economic side last year, after they shot the guy who engineered the botched devaluation scheme. I guess this is a North Korean demonstration of the Feiler Faster Thesis.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/18/2010 13:06 Comments ||
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A SWEDISH prosecutor says she has requested the arrest of Julian Assange, the Australian founder of whistleblower website WikiLeaks, for questioning in a rape and sexual molestation case.
"I request the District Court of Stockholm to detain Mr Assange in his absence, suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion," Swedish director of prosecutions Marianne Ny said.
"The reason for my request is that we need to interrogate him. So far, we have not been able to meet with him to accomplish the interrogations."
The Stockholm court was set to hold a hearing on whether to order Mr Assange's detention, which according to Swedish media would allow authorities to issue an international warrant for his arrest.
A warrant was first issued for Mr Assange's arrest on August 20 by another prosecutor, but was later withdrawn.
Ms Ny re-opened the rape probe against the 39-year-old on September 1, but did not request his detention and allowed him to leave Sweden.
Mr Assange has said the allegations against him are part of a "smear campaign" aimed at discrediting his website, which is locked in a row with the Pentagon over the release of secret US documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(KUNA) -- The Interior Minister of Lower Saxony said in remarks published Wednesday he would propose, at a meeting of interior ministers of local states due in Hamburg on Thursday, reinforcing security precautions in predominantly-Mohammedan districts.
Owe Schurmann, in remarks published by the German daily, "Neueosnabrucker Zeitung," said this measure, along with other precautions such as banning Mohammedan fundamentalists from using computers or mobile telephones, was part of a national program to protect the nation against terrorist attacks.
The plan is also designed to prevent Mohammedan hardliners from venturing into mosques and search computers possessed by suspected terrorists.
Elaborating, the official said the conferees, at tomorrow's gathering, would also discuss measures for safe transfer of nuclear waste, stressing that the federal authorities should bear the responsibility of covering costs of the transfer of such hazardous materials.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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"America's toughest sheriff," Phoenix's Joe Arpaio, is creating an armed "Immigration Posse" to combat illegal immigration, and Hollywood actors Steven Seagal and Lou Ferrigno, along with Dick Tracy and Wyatt Earp, have signed up.
Fighting Justice Department accusations that his office discriminated against illegal immigrants during arrests, Sheriff Arpaio said the civilian posse of more than 50 members gives citizens a chance to fight the problem inundating their border state.
"Law enforcement budgets are being cut and agencies are losing personnel and yet the battle to stop illegal immigration must continue," said the sheriff, who heads the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. "Arizona is the busiest port of entry for people being smuggled in from Mexico, Latin and South America. So asking for the public's help in this endeavor makes sense, especially given the success the posses have experienced over the years."
Fifty-six new Immigration Posse members from various professions were sworn in by the sheriff Wednesday as "illegal immigration fighters."
Mr. Seagal, who starred in such action movies as "Under Siege" and "Above the Law," is a sworn deputy in New Orleans. Mr. Ferrigno, who played the title role in the 1970s TV series "The Incredible Hulk," works as a reserve deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. Another new civilian volunteer is Peter Lupus, who starred in "Mission Impossible."
"These guys are busy with their acting careers, so I don't expect them to be here on duty very often," Sheriff Arpaio said. "But they can be instrumental in heightening public awareness of the immigration issue and encouraging others to join the posse's effort to help reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into our communities."
The sheriff also said Dick Tracy, a retired Chicago police official who now lives in Arizona, has joined the posse, along with Wyatt Earp, a Phoenix resident whose uncle was the Old West lawman of the same name.
Since the time Sheriff Arpaio took office in 1993, he has built up the volunteer posse to nearly 3,000 members, with 59 posses operating throughout Maricopa County.
He said the volunteer posses work thousands of hours and donate vehicles, planes and helicopters to the sheriff's office as well as a variety of professional services, saving tax payers millions of dollars each year.
"People from all walks of life have contacted my office saying they want to help me in this fight in some way. This is how they can do that - by being members of a volunteer posse with the specific aim of fighting illegal immigration and lending their particular expertise to the fight," the sheriff said.
Of the 56 Immigration Posse members, 33 are already qualified to carry weapons. They will work with deputies in searching for vehicles carrying illegal immigrants and the "safe houses," where the people are housed before they are sent out of state. They also will help maintain crowd control during demonstrations against the sheriff's immigration policies.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has investigated, arrested or detained more than 42,000 illegal immigrants during the past three years.
"My ultimate goal with the creation of this newest posse is to catch and jail as many illegal immigrants coming into this county [as possible] and to apprehend those who are illegally living and working here already," Sheriff Arpaio said. "Let's face it - my deputies are outnumbered; so the more volunteers we can get trained and out on the streets to fight illegal immigration, the better off we will be to fight it."
#1
Arpaio is doing this the wrong way. To start with, it should be under State auspices, to overcome any border county disputes, as well as an agreement with the Tohono O'odham Indians, whose reservation goes from central AZ all the way into Mexico.
Then the State can offer incentives to *unemployed* citizens to act as lookouts, to augment uniformed personnel, and to provide support services to each other, such as transportation, food and water.
This would put a lot of people on the border for low cost, and seal up the border pretty tight. Guaranteed that Washington would set up a major howl, however.
#1
You can vote at the link and it's not 'scientific', but 80% are against the TSA.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/18/2010 12:51 Comments ||
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#2
You'll note that there are only five "approved" alternative security companies that can be hired, and it will still be a year before even the first of them can replace the TSA.
And what are the odds that they will be *required* to do things "the TSA way"?
#3
Pat Sajak: And what are the odds that they will be *required* to do things "the TSA way"?
Me: About 100%?
Pat: Correct! You may buy a vowel!
Me: I'll take a 'U', please ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/18/2010 16:23 Comments ||
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#4
I seem to always get picked for the scanners--the new one, the puff of air for explosives, the wand and pat down, and camera bag swabbed, plus my bag has been pulled aside and my undies displayed for all to see. The small airports seem to be the most stringent and do not care if you miss a flight. It is a pain in the butt to even fly but necessary. Coordinating info the gov't has on all of us with TSA when we purchase tickets would pre-screen most of us. Foreign born, one-way and cash purchases, or anyone else of possible concern could be pulled aside, speeding up the process for most. Seems to me those in need of further screening could opt out of the scanner and intrusive groping if they passed by the dogs trained to find the gamut--drugs, cash, weapons, explosives, etc. Chem, bio, and radiation detectors are already on site, I assume. Pilots wouldn't get constant radiation but someone in a pilot's uniform wouldn't escape scrutiny. As usual, the only complainers would be the mooselimbs, which should arouse suspicion and they do not fly at all. I know some female prisoners train the dogs as does a local trainer/kennel owner, as they are in great demand but very effective.
#5
I'm not against the TSA. I just think they should all be locked up with real sex offenders long enough for each and every one to swear an oath to personally flay Janet N.
With the holidays fast approaching, the Transportation Safety Agency has announced new security procedures requiring passengers selected for secondary screening to go through a machine that produces a full body scan producing a nude but grainy, black and white image. Passengers choosing to opt out of the scan will face a full body pat.
The head of Homeland Security has indicated the government is considering the request of an Islamic organization that has suggested Muslim women be allowed to pat themselves down during a full body search that is part of new enhanced procedures at airports.
Since implementing the procedures, numerous complaints have arisen that the search is not a pat-down but rather feeling and grabbing along a persons genitalia and other areas until they meet resistance. Critics have said the pat-downs would be considered sexual assault if performed elsewhere.
The TSA defends the procedures as necessary in light of last years underwear bomber and the recent issues involving printer cartridges being used in an attempt to blow up cargo planes.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, has expressed concern with the TSA over the regulations and recommended special procedures for dealing with Muslim women. The organization issued a travel advisory for Muslims over the procedure.
In the advisory CAIR advises all Muslims to contact them and file a complaint with the TSA if they experience any disturbing incidents with the new procedures and they feel they have been unfairly singled out for screening.
It goes on to make special recommendations for Muslim women wearing a hijab covering their face. The advisory says women are to inform the officer they are only to pat down the head and neck and says They should not subject you to a full-body or partial body pat-down. They also recommend that women should be permitted to pat themselves down and have the officers perform a chemical swipe of your hands.
Barack Obamas Homeland Security Czar, Janet Napolitano, is considering changes to the procedures to address the issues raised by CAIR.
#1
Aw-fer-gawd's sake!!!No search, no fly. Flying is a privilege--if they want to live in a fundamentalist society, move back to Soddy, Paki-land or where ever. Start with the lawfare-yers. I'll pitch in on all the one-way tickets. However, on the scanners not being able to detect plastic explosives, I really think dogs should patrol every airport. They are much more reliable. Sitting at our departure gate, saw dogs 'hit' on a young couple dressed as Amish but the woman had makeup and the man an IPod, and escorted out by security. They struck us an odd couple and had been discussing how traditional dress such as a habit or veil could be a disguise.
#2
IMHO the TSA has overstayed its welcome and overstepped the boundaries of good sense. The TSA has yet to stop one terrorists! So far they have managed to collect a mountain of personal care products that never should have been taken away. The most STUPID practice I have ever seen is having the pilots go through screening. Aren't they in control of the plane? Also if he wants to carry a few extra ounces of hand lotion or conditioner WHO FRIGGIN CARES! I also saw the TSA pull out two GIs (in uniform) for additional screening. Lets go back to the metal detector and keep our nail clippers.
#3
ANYONE can wear a burqa or other type of Muslim bodybag to the airport. Anyone at all. Having a planeload of passengers present themselves to the TSA dressed this way would be a better protest than a boycott.
#6
Rep. Ron Paul has introduced HR 6416 to remove legal immunity from TSA gropers: its one paragraph long. It removes the immunity from anybody in the federal government that does anything that you or I cant do. If you cant grope another person and if you cant x-ray people and endanger them with possible x-rays, you cant take nude photographs of individuals, why do we allow the government to do it? We would go to jail. Hed be immediately arrested if an individual citizen went out and did these things, and yet we just sit there calmly and say, Oh, theyre making us safe.
#8
I've been doing my level best not to fly for the past 10 years (and succeeding), but in case my luck runs out, does anyone know where to buy an inexpensive burkha? Do they come in sizes?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/18/2010 15:10 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Just buy a surplus KKK outfit and dye it black. No sweatskis. Truncate the pointed hood and you have a budget burkha.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/18/2010 19:32 Comments ||
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#10
But where does one buy a KKK outfit, Paul?
I've lived in the South all my life and I have no clue where to get one.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/18/2010 19:45 Comments ||
Top||
#11
95 bucks will get you quality made, machine washable, 50/50 cotton / polyester costume. The robes come complete with cape, belt, patch, hood, mask, and hood liner. No extra charge for postage and shipping
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 ||
11/18/2010 22:23 Comments ||
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#14
Thanks, #13 Charlie. I think what I'm looking for is called an abaya. Sure as hell ain't going for the actual burkha with the radiator cover for the face.
I e-mailed the link to myself so I won't lose it. Just in case, ya' know. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/18/2010 23:01 Comments ||
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#15
Barbara, let me know how it works out. If they come in XXL size, I may get one myself - the full burqha. (Even though I'm a guy.)
Why should only Muslim women be the only ones exempt?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/18/2010 23:04 Comments ||
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#16
Will do, Rambler, but I'll only get one if I'm told I need to fly (for business - can't afford it for pleasure right now).
The web site did say they're pretty big - they're made to go over clothing. They also said to call them about sizing issues. (Though if you call you should probably tell them it's for a woman; something tells me they don't have much of a sense of humor about their wares.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/18/2010 23:20 Comments ||
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#1
It's important to remember that this whole body-scanner or Grope-searching starting with Chertoff (rhymes with -oh-never-mind) and the Bush Administration. Now we see why - ole cabbagehead has an interest in the only company who made them.
"I today express my spiritual closeness to Asia Bibi and her family while asking that, as soon as possible, she may be restored to complete freedom," said the pontiff at the end of his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
"Over these days, the international community is, with great concern, following the situation of Christians in Pakistan, who are often victims of violence or discrimination," said Benedict.
Forty-five-year-old Asia Bibi is believed to be the first woman sentenced to death under Pakistan's notorious blasphemy law, which opponents say is often exploited by Islamist extremists or those harbouring personal grudges.
Bibi was charged with insulting Prophet Mohammed, after she was sent by the wife of a village chief in her village in eastern Punjab province to fetch water. Muslim clerics reported her to police after villagers claimed it was sacrilegious to drink water collected by a non-Muslim, Bibi's husband was quoted as saying.
Following a year-long trial, Bibi was sentenced to death Monday by a court in Nankana, about 75 km from Lahore. Her family announced it would appeal the sentence.
#2
There is no hope for Pakistan but regime change in Iran on the otherhand should be considered as at least some/most of their people are not brainwashed by the religious nutters in charge!
[Dawn] Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi on Wednesday said that despite US-India ties, the Kashmire issue continues to hold international relevance.
Speaking to media representatives after the Eidul Azha prayer in Multan, Qureshi said the Kashmire conflict remains on the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society' agenda.
He said Pakistain wants a lasting resolution to the issue and will continue to make efforts in this regard.
Qureshi further said that US President Barack B.O. Obama will visit Pakistain in 2011.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
How about Pakistan removing its troops from Kashmir (as the original UNSC resolution demanded as a precondition to a plebiscite) ?
That would sure settle things for good.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/18/2010 5:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The Kashmiris want independence not Pakistan rule so back off Qureshi!
[Geo TV] French former Defence Minister Charles Millon confirmed on Wednesday the existence of kickbacks on arms deals with Pakistain. ... but really there's no evidence...
Millon told investigating magistrate Renaud Van Ruymbeke about the kickbacks during a hearing on Wednesday, a source close to the matter told. ... the witnesses are all dead...
Former President Jacques Chirac tasked Millon with ending kickbacks on arms contracts shortly after he came to power in 1995. Chirac asked Millon "to proceed with revising arms contracts and to verify as much as possible if there were signs of the existence of kickbacks," the source said. ... so really it was a long time ago, when we were all ever so much younger...
"For the Pak contract, looking at the secret service reports and analyses carried out by the (defence) ministry services, one has the absolute conviction that there were kickbacks," media quoted Millon as telling the judge.
Millon spoke in the context of investigations and legal proceedings linked to the killing of 11 French engineers in the bombing. Van Ruymbeke is investigating claims that a company set up with President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval channelled money from the arms deal commissions to fund political activities in France.
French Sherlocks have since 2008 been examining allegations that the canceling of commissions for one of the arms deals prompted the attack that killed 11 French engineers and three others in Pakistain eight years ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
It's a floor wax!
No, it's a dessert topping!
[Geo TV] Federal Interior Minister Rehman A Malik said the entire nation stands united against terrorism and will ultimately uproot the menace from the country, Geo News reported Wednesday. If the entire nation stood united against terrorism then there wouldn't be any terrorism. Instead there are favored "freedumb fighters" and those designated by the government as "terrorists," neither category being fixed.
The federal minister called on the bereaved families of police personnel martyred in hard boyz attack in Police Lines Islamabad and extended to them Eid felicitations and encouraged them. "Oh, thanks for the felicitations. But Chaudry's still dead."
Rehman Malik said, 'Not a single day passes in Pakistain when a soldier or a police personnel is not martyred in any terror activity whatsoever.' That's true. Not a single day passes in Pakistain without something going "kaboom!" Coincident with the explosions there's sure to be somebody shot to doll rags.
Taliban are mercenary killers; they are neither Islamic nor Pak, stressed the minister. They are "talibs," that is, students of Islam. And they're not imported. That's the al-Qaeda bully boyz.
Later on, the Interior Minister Malik extended Eid congratulations to police personnels and officers. And Richard Simmons sez he wants his hair back.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
And besides, TOPIX > NATO COUNTRY TURKEY IS THE LARGEST TERROR THREAT, WARNS TERROR EXPERT [Walid Shoebat].
D *** NG IT, IT TAINT THE TALIBAN + QAYYADDA [Al-Qaeda/Qaida], IRAN + PAKISTAN, AT ALL!
President Jalal Talabani said today he would never sign former deputy premier Tareq Azizs execution order, stressing it was time to turn the page on Iraqs history of capital punishment.
"No, I will not sign this kind of order because I am a socialist," Talabani told France 24 television in an interview. "I feel for Tareq Aziz, because hes an Iraqi Christian, and hes also an elderly person, over 70 years old. Thats why I will never sign this execution order."
Mr Aziz was handed the death penalty on October 26 for the suppression of Shiite religious parties in the 1980s, and is also on trial for a crackdown on Iraqi Kurds, of which Talabani is one.
Iraqs supreme criminal court found the long-time international face of former president Saddam Husseins regime guilty of "deliberate murder and crimes against humanity," sentencing him to death.
The verdict provoked a wave of appeals for clemency from around the world, including from rights groups, the European Union, Russia and the Vatican. But, strangely, none from his victims or their families ...
Aged 74, in poor health and among Saddams few surviving top cohorts, Aziz has been in prison since surrendering in April 2003, shortly after the fall of Baghdad in the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The court also sentenced Aziz to 15 years imprisonment for "committing torture" and 10 years for "participating in torture," and ordered that all of his known wealth be confiscated.
Two other men received the death sentence at the same time as Aziz -- former interior minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hmoud, an aide to Saddam.
All three were sentenced for their role in the crackdown on Shiites, but the urbane Aziz was by far the most prominent figure. Named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991, Aziz exploited his mastery of English to put a gloss on Saddams murderous regime for two decades.
Ratifying the death sentence is one of the prerogatives of Iraqs head of state, as stipulated in article 73 of the constitution. Talabani refusals to sign the death warrant should therefore allow Aziz to escape execution.
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11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- David Hill, Deputy U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, is to arrive here later on Wednesday to brief the Paleostinian leaders on the details of U.S. proposal on resuming direct peace negotiations, Chief Paleostinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat said here.
Erekat added in radio statements today that head of the Paleostinian National Authority (PNA) the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas will put forward the above-mentioned proposal before the Paleostinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah movement, in addition to discussing it with other Arab parties following reaching a decision regarding it.
The PNA had previously denied having any information about a proposal made by the U.S. for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on putting a temporary halt to settlement building for three months, with the exception of Jerusalem, in exchange for U.S. political and security incentives to make Israel return to direct peace negotiations with the Paleostinians.
Further, U.S. administration put forward an overture to the Israeli Prime Minister during his recent visit to Washington that provides for freezing settlements construction for three months in exchange for U.S. use of veto in the UN Security Council to thwart any unilateral Paleostinian measure for declaring the establishment of the Paleostinian state, and to pledge that Paleostinians will not ask again for freezing settlement building.
Netanyahu said some days ago that the proposal's end formula was not forged yet and that it will reviewed ,following its formulation, by the Israeli government, while expectations say that the proposal will get meagre minority that will not be enough for its passage by the Israeli government in which the hard-liners oppose any settlement freeze.
The direct negotiations between the Paleostinians and Israelis have stopped briefly following its start due to Israel's insistence on going ahead with construction in the settlements.
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Iran said Wednesday that unidentified foreign planes violated its air space six times as the country kicked off its biggest ever air defense drill but that the intruders were intercepted and forced back by Iranian jets.
The remarks by Gen. Hamid Arjangi, a spokesman for the exercise, were the first Iranian claim of an intrusion. Initially, he had only said that foreign reconnaissance planes had approached Iran's air space.
Gen. Arjangi said Iran's radar stations and observation posts picked up on the planes entering Iranian airspace during the five-day drill, which started Tuesday.
"There were six cases of intrusion by unidentified planes into the country," Arjangi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. "In all six cases, Air Force jet fighters took off and carried out interception operations ... artillery systems were alerted, targets were identified and necessary warnings were given."
Arjangi said thousands of surveillance outposts have been stationed along 4,400 miles (7,000 kilometers) of Iran's border, equipped with sophisticated communication systems capable of countering enemy jamming to transfer data to control command centers. He did not specify whether the figure, which is only a segment of the total Iranian borderline, referred to that in the Persian Gulf.
[An Nahar] Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday denied he has any knowledge about an indictment to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and ruled out that the Court decision would explode the Lebanon situation.
"President Michel Suleiman and I as well as Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will not allow an explosion to threat Lebanon," Hariri told the Russian newspaper Vremya Novosti on the sidelines of his visit to Moscow.
Hariri, on the other hand, expressed fears that Israel would resort to "explode" the situation in the Middle East.a
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11/18/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(KUNA) -- The Interior Minister of Lower Saxony said in remarks published Wednesday he would propose, at a meeting of interior ministers of local states due in Hamburg on Thursday, reinforcing security precautions in predominantly-
Federal Interior Minister Rehman A Malik said the entire nation stands united against terrorism and will ultimately uproot the menace from the country, Geo News reported Wednesday. 
President Jalal Talabani said today he would never sign former deputy premier Tareq Azizs execution order, stressing it was time to turn the page on Iraqs history of capital punishment.
