#3
Several years ago, a female US Air Force officer sued over a similar policy in Saudi. Made about as much sense to me as suing over the mandatory seatbelt regulations on post: it's for your own protection. Furthermore, if you can't deal with certain restrictions on personal liberty, maybe military service ain't for you.
If a low-cost, minimal-effort measure such as wearing a hijab helps to boost locals' trust and respect (which helps, y'know, accomplish the mission), and just as importantly, keeps me from getting molested or raped, then hell yes, I'll wear one. Doesn't make me a dhimmi or a revert. We kuffars can play the taqqiya game too.
[Tolo News] Some Afghan experts along with politicians said on Wednesday that Attorney General only acts against weak people, but not against power brokers.
The method the Attorney General uses to fight growing graft in Afghanistan has often been criticised by Afghan citizens and international community.
The recent contradicting comments made by the Attorney General's Office have added to the ambiguity of its approach toward eradication of corruption in Afghan system.
Yesterday Attorney General's Office announced the detention of head of the Afghan Investment Support Agency (AISA) over alleged embezzlement.
"Today Mr Delawari has officially been jugged by Attorney General's Office over alleged embezzlement," Attorney General's Spokesperson Amanullah Eman said on Tuesday.
But hours after the announcement the Attorney General's Spokesman appeared at a conference, denied the detention of the head of AISA and accused the media of spreading propaganda.
"I believe that Attorney General's Office is in haste and has no idea where to start and where to end. They just perform political acting to pretend they are seriously fighting against corruption," Ahmad Saeedi a political analyst told TOLOnews.
Noorullah Akbari member of Afghan parliament said "still the idea of the fight against corruption in Afghanistan hasn't been fundamentalised."
Afghan government claims to have made efforts to clean corruption out of its system, but experts believe that pressure from outside and some circles intervening into prosecutions have scrambled the efforts.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Rescue of downed US F-15 crew near Benghazi shows risks of identifying friend from foe in aerial war.
A decent but very long piece from Al-Jizz (yes, I'm complimenting Al-Jizz) on the rescue of the pilots from the crashed F-15 near Benghazi. Recommended.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Good article. It should have already appeared in the US MSM, but I haven't found it. The day of the event I have a vague memory of US MSM interviewing the Libyan doctor who treated the injured USAF crew member who was taken into custody by Libyans on the scene. The doctor said that for several hours the airman said virtually nothing, and later admitted he had no way of knowing which side the Libyans he encountered were on.
[Bangla Daily Star] Two separate cases on sedition and defamation charges were filed on Thursday against Mufti Fazlul Haque Amini, president of an Islami Oikya Jote ... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support... (IOJ) faction.
Metropolitan Magistrate Haroon-or-Rashid of Dhaka around 12:00pm issued an arrest warrant and a summons against Amini, but about two hours into their issuance it withdrew the orders and fixed April 25 to pass orders in the cases.
The court issued the arrest order hours after AB Siddiqui, president of Bangladesh Jononetri Gay Pareehad, filed the case against Amini for his derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In the complaint, the plaintiff alleged that Amini at a March 18 rally in the city had said the prime minister would be forced from the power.
The same court summoned Amini and Maulana Abdullah Wasel, publicity secretary of Islami Ain Bastobayon Committee, to appear before it on April 26 in the other case filed for making anti-state remarks.
Hafez Maulana Ziaul Hasan, president of Sammilito Islami Jote, filed the case in the morning with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
He said Amini at a city conference made the remarks while critising the national women development policy on March 21.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Anjem Choudary has threatened that a terror attack is 'highly likely' at the royal wedding. He told all Muslims to stay away from Westminster Abbey on April 29, describing it as 'a prime target'.
Choudary has also been haranguing followers of the hate group, Muslims Against Crusades, and is backing its plan for a 'forceful demonstration' at the wedding.
"All Muslims should stay away from the public gatherings like the royal wedding and the Olympics because there is a very high likelihood of an attack. Prime targets most probably would be public gatherings like that, so I think Muslims in general should stay away to avoid injury," said Choudary.
"Maybe when the priest says "is there anyone who objects to this wedding speak now or forever hold your tongue" - who knows what will happen at that time? If my brothers decide to use the opportunity when the world is looking at the Royal Family to pass a message so that we can avoid more deaths of innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan, that should be applauded.
"Prince William has been on military duty in Afghanistan, as well as his brother. I believe that the Queen and her children are supportive of the war in Afghanistan, which translates to us as a war against Muslims."
He also said: "We believe this is complete murder and mayhem that they have orchestrated. We will stand against and expose anyone who supports that.Security services in this country will tell you there is very high risk (of a terror attack). That is their main concern about the wedding."
Choudary became leader of Islam4UK but it was banned last year by the Terrorism Act 2000. Now another group has emerged in its place and Choudary admits he is involved.
The group has created a website with a clock counting down to the royal wedding, calling the royal family 'enemies to Allah and his messenger'.
Choudhary says the protest could include hardliners from the group setting fire to Union Jack flags.
"It's not illegal in this country to burn a Union Jack. There may be placards and people addressing the crowd. A lot of them are former students of mine. Also they were previously with al-Muhajiroun so I do know them. I'm not their spokesman but they invite me from time to time."
#2
These people need a serious whacking. Their delusions of adequacy are beginning to irritate me greatly. Breaking kneecaps is no longer enough - go for the neck.
As a celebration of the Prince's wedding, let's hang 40 of them from Tower Bridge!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/01/2011 12:52 Comments ||
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#3
What a dipshit.
Posted by: Fi ||
04/01/2011 13:06 Comments ||
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OP -- I'm pretty sure the Tower Bridge has more capacity than 40.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/01/2011 16:44 Comments ||
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[Arab News] Britain refused Thursday to offer Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa immunity from prosecution after his apparent defection, but said his departure would hearten rebels fighting to topple Muammar Qadaffy's regime.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the resignation of Koussa, one of the most senior members of Qadaffy's government, shows that the Libyan leader's regime is "fragmented, under pressure and crumbling." But Hague said "Koussa is not being offered any immunity from British or international justice," dampening speculation that the British government might seek to overlook allegations -- leveled by Libya's opposition -- that he played a pivotal role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, among other atrocities.
"Qadaffy must be thinking to himself, 'Who will be the next to walk away'?" Hague said.
Hague said it wouldn't be "helpful to advertise" whether or not other senior members of the regime planned to quit but that he believes many likely privately opposed Qadaffy's actions.
Authorities debriefed Koussa, a trusted Qadaffy adviser and longtime stalwart in the Libyan regime, after he decamped to Britain on Wednesday on a private plane from Tunisia -- apparently with little notice to the British government.
Hague said Koussa was in a "secure place in the United Kingdom," but did not disclose further details.
The Libyan opposition alleges that Koussa, regarded as one of Qadaffy's closest allies, had a role in criminal masterminding the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, most of them Americans.
Koussa was expelled from Britain in 1980 after giving an interview advocating the use of violence to silence UK
critics of Libya's government.
His name also was associated with the bombing of a French aircraft over Niger in 1989, but in recent years he helped with diplomatic progress that ended Libya's international isolation.
Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described Koussa as a key player who had a "fundamentally important" role in negotiations to bring Libya back into the international fold in the 1990s after terror attacks tainted the North African country's reputation. Koussa's departure would shift the balance away from Qadaffy, if only psychologically.
"Moussa Koussa's apparent defection -- certainly his unscheduled visit here -- will be a very important factor in just adding to the weight against the Qadaffy regime and tipping the balance against him," Straw told BBC radio.
"From a distance, what's clear is that there is unlikely to be any military 'victory' for either side. So it does depend on which side psychologically collapses." Koussa's move would be the first high-profile resignation since the US -led air strikes on Libyan forces began.
Libya's justice and interior ministers resigned early in the conflict and joined the rebels fighting in the east.
Though Koussa's name was long connected with liquidating dissidents in Western and Arab capitals, he later became instrumental in negotiations with the West that led to the dismantling of Libya's nuclear program.
In 2003, Libya claimed the credit for the Lockerbie bombing and agreed to pay restitution to the victims.
Qadaffy also announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program, bringing a major breakthrough in US -Libyan ties. Those steps prompted the United States and Europe to lift sanctions against Libya.
Britain restored diplomatic relations in 1999, ending Libya's international isolation.
Guma El-Gamaty, an organizer in Britain for a leading Libyan opposition group, said Koussa's action would be "a big hit" that would weaken Qadaffy.
"He says he is resigning," El-Gamaty said. "That means he is defecting. He has been Qadaffy's right-hand man for years, running intelligence, running the Lockerbie bomber negotiations, running many things." El-Gamaty said he does not think Koussa is likely to remain in Britain but would probably end up in another country in an effort to avoid possible prosecution.
He said that Koussa would not be welcomed into the opposition movement because of his prior actions on behalf of the Qadaffy government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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If you people only knew that "kussa" means in arabic.
#3
It's not literary Arabic, TW. Rather rude Syrian/Palestinian vernacular. Comes from the root "kus" (vagina). Usually refers to cutting somebody face in a certain manner. That is "I give you a kusa on your face" means "I mark you as my bitch where everybody can see it." Kinda like "I'll reap you a new one." in Anglo-Saxon.
#4
I'm sure some of our Rantburgers will find that knowledge useful, g(r)omgoru. With luck I'll just be able to enjoy the knowledge. ;-) A small point of information, because you've probably never seen it in writing: it's "I'll rip/tear you a new one."
... You don't suppose that's what Mrs. Clinton was actually communicating to Mrs. Arafat when she kissed her on both cheeks, rather than affected affection?
Through the course of an eight-month investigation, the committee has learned that political staff under the DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano have corrupted the agencys FOIA compliance procedures, exerted unlawful political pressure, on FOIA compliance officers, and undermined the federal governments accountability to the American people, Issa said.
These events have nurtured a fragile and at times hostile work environment that does not serve to fulfill the departments primary mission to secure the nation from the many threats we face.
[Arab News] President Barack B.O. Obama set an ambitious goal on Wednesday to cut US oil imports by a third over 10 years, focusing on a source of anxiety for Americans as high gasoline prices threaten economic recovery.
Obama outlined his strategy in a speech after spending days explaining US-led military action in Libya, where fighting, accompanied by unrest elsewhere in the Arab world, has helped push US gasoline prices toward $4 a gallon.
"There are no quick fixes. And we will keep on being a victim to shifts in the oil market until we get serious about a long-term policy for secure, affordable energy," Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery. Does that mean "drill, baby, drill," or does it mean we'll all get green, renewable energy in the sweet by and by but we'll cut oil imports now?
The Democratic president says the country, which relies on imported oil for roughly half of its daily needs, must increase its energy independence to improve national security.
But previous presidents have made similar promises on energy security and failed. And any new policy initiatives can expect tough opposition from Republicans who control the House of Representatives and see high energy prices as a vote-winner in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.
"Today, I'm setting a new goal: One that is reasonable, achievable, and necessary," Obama said. "When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. By a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third."
Republicans have mocked the idea of Obama curbing oil imports a week after visiting Brazil, where he said the United states wanted to be a good customer for its oil exports.
Obama laid out four areas to help reach his target of curbing US dependence on foreign oil: Lifting domestic energy production, encouraging the use of more natural gas in vehicles like city buses, making cars and trucks more efficient, and encouraging biofuels.
"We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the snooze button when they fall again," he said.
Analysts and experts said Obama's goal is ambitious.
"All US presidents since the early 1970s have outlined ambitious plans to reduce their reliance on imported oil," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at the Banque Saudi Fransi.
Truly reforming US energy use would involve sweeping changes, including possible fuel taxes to encourage Americans to change their habits, analysts said.
While polls show Americans have mixed feelings about getting entangled in a third Mohammedan country, with the United States still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are clearly worried by high gas prices before the summer driving season.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Truly reforming US energy use would involve sweeping changes, including possible fuel taxes to encourage Americans to change their habits, analysts said.
#3
Does that mean "drill, baby, drill," or does it mean we'll all get green, renewable energy in the sweet by and by but we'll cut oil imports now?
I *think* it means a move to natural-gas-burning autos. At least, that's the only thing that makes sense, seeing as he's done everything but bomb our oil derricks to shut down domestic oil production.
Hmm, maybe I shouldn't be giving them ideas...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/01/2011 8:31 Comments ||
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I'm seeing higher gasoline prices and taxes in our future and thus higher costs for all goods and services.
#6
$hit, we will all be riding Chinese bicycles, eating like the North Koreans, and paying carbon credits for breathing if these a$sholes have their way.
#8
I think that a certain high price of gasoline and diesel will be the tipping point of this administration. So called green energy will not solve our energy issues. It will take time and a plan with gradual change as alternative energy systems mature. Taxing will not do anything but pi$$ people off and kill the economy (the latter of which is probably the Plan in the beginning).
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/01/2011 9:58 Comments ||
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#9
It's going to get more entertaining in a hurry. Corporate estimates for fuel prices are running from $5.50 to $6/gal by the end of July. Note: in border States, PEMEX prices will probably be half that, so the border crossings will be jammed.
...Brazil has gone from importing 77% of its oil from foreign sources in 1980 to importing no oil by 2009. A great success story in conservation and alternative energy? Not really. Total Brazilian oil consumption still more than doubled.
The biggest factor is that Brazil increased its domestic oil production over the last two decades by 876% (not a typo). Most of that production has come from offshore exploration.
#11
JohnQC: $hit, we will all be riding Chinese bicycles, eating like the North Koreans, and paying carbon credits for breathing if these a$sholes have their way.
You got two things wrong. First, A$sholes is spelled @$$holes. Second, I'm sure there will be a select few of us who will not have to live this way ....
#13
"When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. By a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third."
Then the economy took a nosedive. Now, a little over two years later, America imports around 9 million barrels of oil a day. So not only is Obama well on his way to meeting his goal - he has a blueprint for success. And you thought his "energy independence" meant Green technolgy. pshaww
#14
Obama's war on America continues.
He, like most democrats thinks the whole country is like the cities they live in. They obviously have never driven across this vast nation in a car.
#15
1. US gasoline demand in 2009 was 8.3M bbl/day.
2. US oil imports in Jan 2011 from the Middle East was 1.7M bbl/day.
To replace the entire Mideast oil imports, the average fuel economy of passenger vehicles needs to be raised by 25%, from 21 to 26mpg. New cars already average 33mpg and new light trucks average 25mpg. Speed the process along by making it expensive to buy under 20mpg very large vehicles like the Ford Excursion and the replacement cycle will take care of Mideast imports in 10 years as long as the US can keep other sources stable (cough Venezuela). Speed it further along by encouraging consumers to buy cars instead of trucks and SUVs (currently 50-50%).
#16
It doesn't matter, HE would NEVER pay for that Gas.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/01/2011 11:49 Comments ||
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Zebulon: do you have a plan to make sure the gas that isn't imported isn't imported from the Middle East?
Unless you made a law to that effect, you're more likely to see imports from Canada decline while the imports from the Middle East remain as strong as ever.
I also see you believe in the fiction that oil production from Venezuela has remained stable. It hasn't, it's declined a lot, it's just not reflected in the official statistics.
Venezuela's standard of living would be a lot higher if their production were anywhere near official statistics given the massive increase in price over the past decade. Instead there aren't any groceries on the shelves.
#18
It's my understanding that about half of our oil consumption goes towards making petroleum-based things, like tupperware and vaseline and what-not. The other half is fuel of some sort. I don't know if it's heating fuel or fuel for transportation.
#19
This issue keeps coming up over & over again. Rantburg needs a 'sticky' post on this to keep the info & links in one spot. For example, which country is the #1 producer of crude oil (in 2009?) Click here for the answer. Which country is the #3 producer of crude oil? Click here. How much oil did the US consume in 2009? Click here. In the most recent year, what %-age of US oil consumption went to make plastics & resins? Click here. What %-age of US crude oil consumption goes into making gasoline for vehicles? Click here, but you'll have to do the calculations for yourself, even the EIA doesn't bother.
Cheap & abundant energy of some sort is key to economic growth. When energy gets expensive or rationed, the economy will suffer. Part of the reason for our current economic stagnation is the high cost of energy. I am not enough of an economist to sort out the role played by high energy costs from the role played by the collapsed credit superbubble. Certainly the goal of the Greenies and the radical Dems is the strangulation of the economies of the US & the West.
However, there is a lot more going on under heaven & earth than is dreamt of by Obama & his ilk. Obama is by no means responsible for our 'economic nosedive' although what little he has done in that field has not improved things and perhaps only made them worse (see actions by Turbo Tax Timmy and non-actions by Eric 'Place' Holder). The US economy is on death's door, and none of our [spit] distinguished leaders are really interested in doing much of anything about it. Obama's calls for 'deep cuts in US oil imports' is as useful as micturating into a hurricane.
#20
Where this all connects to Rantburg's principal interest: The US and world economies are linked tightly. Both depend on a certain level of supply and pricing for oil imported from Jihadi sympathizers. Without that link, 9/11 would not have happened (no money to pay for it!). If that link were to be substantially altered, the War on Terror would then be conducted quite differently.
#22
Unless you made a law to that effect, you're more likely to see imports from Canada decline while the imports from the Middle East remain as strong as ever.
Canadian production goes to the US because all the pipelines go south. It's captive production. Canada would like to increase the southern pipeline capacity so they can increase production. The beauty of Gov. Palin's Alaska-Canada-US gas pipeline proposal was to siphon some of the natural gas, upgrade a lot more Canadian bitumen to crude, and ship both down to the US. Unfortunately Red Barry's resistance to that may force Canadians to build a western pipeline to the coast. I'm sure the Chinese would be more than willing to fund it.
I also see you believe in the fiction that oil production from Venezuela has remained stable. It hasn't, it's declined a lot, it's just not reflected in the official statistics.
Venezuelan oil production has stabilized in the past year according to the US DOE. The downside for the US that Chavez will seek to divert more and more exports to China. The current limitation is the Panama canal. If a pipeline is built to the west coast (Bolivia, Columbia?) all bets are off.
Venezuela's standard of living would be a lot higher if their production were anywhere near official statistics given the massive increase in price over the past decade. Instead there aren't any groceries on the shelves.
Even that blockhead has figured out that empty store shelves will lead to revolution faster than the corruption of his cronies. He's even making nice faces toward Columbia, the source of much of Venezuela's food.
Zebulon: do you have a plan to make sure the gas that isn't imported isn't imported from the Middle East?
You've stumbled upon the solution. Import taxes in mideast oil commensurate w/ the our expenditures to keep the supply open for the world. The US spends at least $200 billion in direct military expenditures in Muslim lands. Add in the massive intel and homeland security costs to keep Muslims from blowing up airlines, skyscrapers, crowds and the cost is closer to $400 billion/year. All that from 1.7M bbl/day (600M bbls/year). That's for less than 10% of US oil consumption. Americans are already paying a security cost of $330 to $660 per barrel of Mideast oil. Cut that off and Americans will be much better off.
It's my understanding that about half of our oil consumption goes towards making petroleum-based things
It's about 70%. "Gasoline" including ethanol comsumption is near 9M bbls/day, 8.3M minus the ethanol. The ethanol fraction is increasing every year by 20-25%. The rest is mostly diesel and jet fuel.
[Dawn] Jamiat Ulema Islam-F secretary general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri has held the ANP-led coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the US agency CIA responsible for the attack on a rally to be addressed by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Addressing a rally outside the press club here on Wednesday, he said the JUI-F would hold protest demonstrations across the country on Friday to condemn the suicide attack.
He claimed that the recent drone attack in which innocent people were killed in tribal areas was carried out with the consent of the government.
Maulana Haidri said the government had given a free hand to the CIA and Blackwater to target political forces opposing the drone attacks.
He said the Swabi suicide attack was an attempt to kill Maulana Fazl because he was exposing the American designs against the country.
He said that such attacks would not force the JUI-F to abandon its struggle against imperialistic policies of the United States.
The JUI-F leader asked the government to stop US drone attacks and unlawful activities of the CIA and Blackwater in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] The B.O. regime announced on Wednesday that it will seek a new term on the United Nations ... aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... Human Rights Council despite concerns that the panel remains a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment and a forum for repressive nations to deflect attention from abuses they may have committed.
The State Department said the US intends to run in 2012 for another three-year term on the oft-criticized council.
Officials said the US believes its presence on the panel for the past two years has helped steer it in the right direction and that it can continue to do so.
The department said that the US has helped mobilize the council to take on crises in countries such as Iran, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan and Libya -- which was a member until earlier this month, when it was suspended over its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters. The officials said US membership had also been key to the council taking on issues that include women's rights, discrimination based on sexual orientation and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
"Taken collectively, the actions taken by the 16th Human Rights Council represent a significant positive change in the council's trajectory," State Department front man Mark Tonier said in a statement announcing the decision.
The US had shunned the council and its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, during President George W. Bush's administration because its membership included rights abusers that Washington said focused unfairly on Israel and ignored atrocities throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But when President Barack B.O. Obama came into office in 2009, his administration sought to re-engage the council, arguing the US could do more good as a member than as an outside critic.
Obama and his foreign policy team were roundly criticized for running for, and winning, a seat on the 47-nation, Geneva-based council, particularly after it considered the so-called "Goldstone Report," which called equally on Israel and the Paleostinian Islamic exemplar group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, to probe and prosecute any war crimes stemming from the 2009 Gazoo conflict or face scrutiny by the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... . The US and Israel fought to keep the report from being referred to other UN bodies.
Officials said they would continue to push back against what they said was unfair criticism of Israel in the council, saying Washington remains determined to end the council's "biased and disproportionate focus" on the Jewish state.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Officials said the US believes its presence on the panel for the past two years has helped steer it in the right direction and that it can continue to do so.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Grieving residents of Tikrit buried their dead on Wednesday, enraged that a band of gunnies and jacket wallahs had managed to breach security to launch an assault a building in which 58 people were killed.
A curfew imposed Tuesday, shortly after the early afternoon attack on the provincial council building, remained in force. Streets were deserted and shops shuttered in the city that was former dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown.
In Tuesday's attack, gunnies swarmed into the provincial council building after a suicide bomber cleared the way. Security reinforcements that arrived 20 minutes later were met by a car boom.
For more than five hours the gunnies, wearing military uniforms and boom jackets by police accounts, kept security forces at bay, shooting at them from inside the building.
Police and hospital sources said at least two suicide bombers detonated their payload inside the building, and four others died when security forces stormed the building.
By that time, 58 people lay dead and 97 had been maimed.
Witnesses said the gunnies stormed the building and opened fire indiscriminately.
"When they came, they threw several grenades and began shooting in all directions inside the building. There were dozens of people and employees," Hussein al-Shatab, a member of the provincial council, told AFP.
"Many of us were able to escape from the rear of the building," he said.
Three members of the provincial council were among the dead, including the head of the health committee, Wathiq Shaker. His brother Hafez demanded Wednesday the resignation of Governor Ahmed Abdallah Abed and the provincial police chief.
"How was this carnage possible in a building that is the symbol of local authorities?" the 40-year-old veterinarian asked.
"Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki recently said that Iraq had become the most stable and safest country in the region. Where is that security?" asked Mahmoud al-Bazi, a 35-year-old teacher.
"This attack... happened because of the faults of the security services and central government," he said.
The provincial council declared three days of mourning as police and soldiers deployed across Tikrit.
Security was also tightened at entry points to the Sunni-majority province of Salaheddin in which Tikrit lies, just north of Storied Baghdad.
In a statement Wednesday, Maliki promised that "the criminals who organised and carried out this crime will not go unpunished."
He said an investigation committee had been formed, and he wanted its findings "as soon as possible."
The attack was the deadliest since an August 17 suicide kaboom against a Storied Baghdad army recruitment centre that killed 59 people and maimed 125.
Although no group has grabbed credit, the strike bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State in Iraq, the local al-Qaeda affiliate, and was a replica of at least three similar attacks last year in Storied Baghdad.
The same tactics were used last year in a June 13 attack on the Central Bank that killed 15 people, a September 5 assault on a military complex in which 12 were killed, and an October 1 bloodbath at a Storied Baghdad cathedral in which 46 Christians were killed.
Violence has dramatically dropped since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but Tuesday's bloodbath demonstrated that some gangs still retain the ability to launch major attacks.
With nine months left before the US military pulls out its remaining 50,000 troops and completes its withdrawal, such attacks raise serious questions about whether Iraqi forces are up to the task of maintaining security.
The US military said its forces rapidly responded to the attack and some were lightly maimed, but that it played only a supportive role.
The troops "responded to the attack as it was occurring," and joined Iraqi forces who were already on the scene, a US military front man in Iraq told AFP in a statement.
"Some of the soldiers received minor wounds while responding, but all were able to continue duties," it added.
"Our assistance was limited to providing aerial surveillance of the scene and keeping our soldiers on site to receive further requests for assistance if needed," it added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Families of terror victims seek $3 b. in damages for Second Intifada attacks; judge determines PLO is in his jurisdiction, due to NY, DC offices. Wanted lawfare, have you Ahmads?
[Ma'an] The Gazoo-based Paleostinian Center for Human Rights released a statement of concern Tuesday, in the wake of the fall of several projectiles on a house and soft-drinks factory in the northern Strip, in which six civilians were maimed.
A report from the organization said it was the third home-made projectile to land on civilian property in Gazoo in the past week, and called on government officials to investigate.
The group noted that "members of the Paleostinian resistance continue to store explosives or to treat such explosives in locations close to populated areas," commenting that the practice "poses a major threat to the lives of the Paleostinian civilians and constitutes a violation of both International Human Rights Law and the International Humanitarian Law."
This has been going on for years and years. Why is the PCHR suddenly commenting now... and not blaming it on the hated Juices?
According to testimony, PCHR said that a projectile went kaboom! in a house belonging to Ahmed Kheir al-Batsh, 62, in the As-Salam neighborhood in Jabaliya in the northern Gazoo Strip, injuring a mother and son, who were both hospitalized for shrapnel wounds.
A neighbor, Raed Johar al-Batsh, 35, sustained shrapnel wounds to the head as a result of the glass windows in his house shattering from the blast. The projectile penetrated the window in a room located in the western part of the second floor in the house. It went kaboom! in the northern wall of the room causing a hole. The house was heavily damaged and the glass of the windows in three of the neighboring houses shattered.
The report noted that a site used by members of one of the Paleostinian factions is located to the southwest of Al-Batsh's house.
Similar incidents were reported on 24 and 26 March, PCHR said.
The rights organization asked that the government "open serious investigations into the circumstances of the three reported incidents and to take measures necessary to protect Paleostinians and their property."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Iranians have demonstrated in Tehran to condemn the killing of civilians in brutal government crackdowns against peaceful protests in Bahrain and other Arab countries.
The protesters gathered on Wednesday in front of the United Nations ... aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... office in the capital to voice solidarity with repressed anti-regime protesters in Arab states, IRNA reported.
"Death to America™...death to the Israeli regime," chanted the protesters, mostly university students, and condemned what they called "the Zionist Saudi regime" and "US-style Islam."
The demonstration comes amid continued use of fatal force against anti-regime protests by autocratic regimes in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and other countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
The protesters in Tehran also denounced the international community's inaction toward the government's crimes in Soddy Arabia and maintained that they would stand side-by-side with the people of Bahrain until they gain complete victory.
They also called on the Iranian government to provide for volunteers to travel to Bahrain and other Arab nations to back their Mohammedan brothers there.
The demonstrators also called on the UN for a fact-finding committee to investigate the deadly repression of popular uprisings in the region.
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#1
Zionist Saudi regime... I hafta give them points for a creative insult.
The demonstrators also called on the UN for a fact-finding committee to investigate the deadly repression of popular uprisings in the region.
If irony could fall from sky, it would be so heavy that they would all become cartoon characters (dimensionally).
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan defended Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi as a brother during a two-hour news conference on Thursday, while refraining from condemning President Obama personally for Americas support of the rebels.
It is a terrible thing for me to hear my brother called all these ugly and filthy names when I cant recognize him as that, Farrakhan told his followers who packed Mosque Maryam, the groups international headquarters on Stony Island.What kind of brother would I be if a man has been that way to me and us, and when he is in trouble I refuse to raise my voice in his defense? he asked.
Gadhafi has been a friend and financial benefactor of the group since 1971 when he loaned the Nation of Islam $3 million to purchase the building that became the national headquarters for the Nation of Islam. In a column that appeared in the organizations Final Call newspaper in 2009, Farrakhan claimed that Gadhafi also loaned the group $5 million for economic development, then forgave the loan.
A dangerous trick is being played on Obama, Farrakhan said. I warned him, brother be careful because the steps he is taking will ruin [his] future with Africa and the Middle East, Farrakhan told the audience.I love Gadhafi, and I love our president. It grieves me to see my brother president set a policy that would remove this man not only from power but from the earth, Farrakhan said.
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.
[Tolo News] Some Afghan experts along with 
Anjem Choudary has threatened that a terror attack is 'highly likely' at the royal wedding. He told all Muslims to stay away from Westminster Abbey on April 29, describing it as 'a prime target'.
[Arab News] Britain refused Thursday to offer Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa immunity from prosecution after his apparent defection, but said his departure would hearten rebels fighting to topple Muammar Qadaffy's regime.
Through the course of an eight-month investigation, the committee has learned that political staff under the DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano have corrupted the agencys FOIA compliance procedures, exerted unlawful political pressure, on FOIA compliance officers, and undermined the federal governments accountability to the American people, Issa said.
[Arab News] President 
International Criminal Court
[Asharq al-Aswat] Grieving residents of Tikrit buried their dead on Wednesday, enraged that a band of 
[Ma'an] The 
Iranians have demonstrated in Tehran to condemn the killing of civilians in brutal government crackdowns against peaceful protests in Bahrain and other Arab countries.
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan defended Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi as a brother during a two-hour news conference on Thursday, while refraining from condemning President Obama personally for Americas support of the rebels.
