[Tolo News] Afghan presidential candidate Qayoum Karzai has ended his bid and thrown his support behind former Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul ... former foreign minister and a very close confidant of Hamid Karzai. Before serving as foreign minister Rassoul also spent seven years laboring as a national security adviser to the president. An ethnic Pashtun born in Kabul, Rassoul was the valedictorian of his class at the illustrious Franco-American school in Kabul, Lycee Istiqal. He has an MD from the Paris Medical School in France..... , sources close to Karzai said on Wednesday.
The official announcement is expected within 24 hours, the sources added.
The news comes after efforts to form a coalition between Qayoum Karzai and Rassoul failed last week despite initial signs that one of the candidates might fold his campaign in favor of the other.
Qayoum Karzai - the brother of current Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid 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... - and a number of participants of the Jirga that was held to discuss the possible coalition last week announced on Friday that the campaign would continue uninterrupted.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... it was made clear during the course of the Jirga's negotiations that President Hamid Karzai did not want to see his brother contest the April election.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] The Hezb-e-Islami Shura Alliance announced its support for presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul ... former foreign minister and a very close confidant of Hamid Karzai. Before serving as foreign minister Rassoul also spent seven years laboring as a national security adviser to the president. An ethnic Pashtun born in Kabul, Rassoul was the valedictorian of his class at the illustrious Franco-American school in Kabul, Lycee Istiqal. He has an MD from the Paris Medical School in France..... on Wednesday. Alliance leaders emphasized the importance of ending corruption, poverty and addressing the continued threat of violent extremism.
"From now on, we are with Zalmai Rassoul and will work for his success," a prominent member of the Alliance named Waheedullah Sabawoon said.
Hezb-e-Islami Shura is mostly consisted of the members of Hezb-e-Islami who have separated from the leadership of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... and Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, which are considered anti-government groups.
"Today we say goodbye to lies, corruption, drugs and terrorism and will go towards peace and truthfulness," head of the Alliance Qazi Muhammad Ameen Weqad said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Kinnison began his slow infiltration of the sewer system... Zalmai Rassoul has said that greater competition and great participation would make the elections more transparent.
"Competition among parties will give people the chance to select their favorite candidate and will ensure transparency in the elections," Rassoul said.
With elections getting closer day-by-day, and the campaign season entering its final stretch, the presidential hopefuls are looking to secure the critical support and endorsements that could give the edge they will need in April.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] Tension between the Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... state and Mudug region increased significantly after a political falling out.
I've no idea where that is -- it isn't on our map.
This disagreement became officially known after armed gunnies in Galmudug ...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth... 's southern Galkacyo assailed to kill and injure people from the west of Galkacyo in Puntland.
These gunnies have killed up to 2 people and injured at least another 2 according to a statement to the media by an official named Abdi Kafi who accused the perpetrators of Galmudug.
The relations of Puntland and Galmudug are slowly increasing but recently it is unknown to what extent of the impact it will have.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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Are Galmudug and Puntland at odds
Behind smooth diplomatic facades?
Galmudugians hoot
As they loot, shoot, and scoot,
"Snooty Puntlanders treat us like clods!"
#2
Looks like all those pics are of a single rooftop in Galkacyo...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2014 11:59 Comments ||
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#3
Or they're selling a lot of that color tile, which was in the old days "traditional" because it was thought to produce the lowest temperatures in the blazing heat.
[MAGHAREBIA] A recent festival in the southern Tunisian city of Nafta brought thousands of domestic and foreign tourists to an area once neglected over fears of terrorism. But the new event faced a backlash from religious bad boys.
Desert tourism in Tunisia received a blow after the revolution as a result of insecurity. Tourism Minister Amel Karboul highlighted her commitment to reviving the south by inaugurating the Electronic Dunes Festival on February 21st.
"We must as Tunisians embrace the desert....in order for tourists to follow us," she said at the opening of the 3-day event.
The culture and tourism ministries recently agreed to organise events in southern Tunisia. Culture Minister Mourad Sakli said that strengthening tourism in the region would include festivals and artistic events, and also the creation of a cultural crossway in the desert.
The Nafta event was the first in the planned series.
"We wanted to help the region and make it known to foreigners and tourists," Patrick-Ali Elouarghi, one of the festival founders, told Tunisian television. "Success has already exceeded all expectations."
Indeed, hotels in the south were for the first time fully booked.
"Tourism Minister Amel Karboul is betting on festivals, which are thronged by Tunisians and tourists alike," hotel owner Moez Boudelli told Magharebia.
Despite this success, bad boy groups used social networking pages and websites to launch a campaign against the minister, accusing her of "low morals, corruption, and hostility to Islam".
They also posted photos of youths at the festival. Islamist-leaning Al-Sada website said: "The tourism minister in Jomaa's government desecrates the Tunisian south; wine, prostitution and gambling under the protection of the police."
In a piece for an Ennahda-affiliated newspaper, news hound Mohammed Hamrouni wrote: "Amel Karboul addressed youth who were standing in front of her sipping beer. She told them, you are the ones who will make the future of Tunisia."
Others did not hesitate to leap to the defence of the tourism minister.
Tunisian writer and researcher Raja ben Slama wrote on her Facebook page: "There is a silly pseudo ethical campaign coming from sites claiming to be Islamists against the Minister of Tourism. These sites specialise in assaulting opponents and fabricating lies against successful women in particular."
"These sites began their campaign against the Minister of Tourism with, 'desecration of the South with alcohol, prostitution, and gambling...The funny part is that these sites hide the faces of men in the photos but show the faces of women as if for Dire Revenge™," she said.
"Every show of joy and delight, every celebration of life and art is considered indecency by pseudo-Islamists," ben Slama added.
Another supporter of the minister had a different theory. The "Plot for the Republic" Facebook page suggested a political motive for the social media outrage.
"The reason for the campaign against Amel Karboul and the festival in the South is not wine or dance and singing and not even 'the desecration of the South'... The real reason is that she dared replace her deputy, who was from Ennahda, with a person she can trust," the page commentary said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Every show of joy and delight, every celebration of life and art is considered indecency by pseudo-Islamists,"
Islamic fundamentalism defined in one sentence. The Arabs may finally be figuring this out.
Posted by: Florida Al ||
03/06/2014 19:40 Comments ||
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[Al Ahram] The co-founder of US-based anti-war group Code Pink ... a U.S. anti-war group. The group describes itself as a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. It was founded in 2002 by Jodie Evans, Medea Benjamin and some of the other usual antiwar suspects. Its website lists hysterical allegations of US war crimes, and states that thousands of civilians were killed in Fallujah in 2004. Maybe it was millions. Benjamin was a 2000 candidate for the U.S. Senate on the Green Party ticket. She lost... said Tuesday that Egyptian police detained her at Cairo's international airport when she tried to enter the country en route to the Gazoo Strip and treated her roughly, fracturing her shoulder as they handcuffed her before deporting her.
Egyptian officials denied Medea Benjamin was assaulted, saying she had refused to leave despite being told that the border to Gazoo was closed because of military operations in the area.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... other members of the same delegation of women activists heading to Gazoo were allowed into Egypt, and it was not clear why Benjamin was singled out for deportation.
Speaking from Turkey, where she was deported, Benjamin told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named she was roughed up by Egyptian airport officials and security agents, who declined to explain why she was barred from entry, telling her only that she was on a blacklist.
When she refused to board a plane to Istanbul without first meeting with US embassy officials, the 61-year-old Benjamin said security agents wrestled her to the ground, sat on her back and yanked her arms behind her.
"They put [on] extremely, extremely tight [plastic] handcuffs," she said. She said it was then that her shoulder was dislocated and that a doctor later reset it but told her it was fractured and that a ligament had been torn. She said the police dragged her across the airport to a plane for Istanbul.
"It was as if I was some kind of crazy terrorist," Benjamin said.
Benjamin was held in the Cairo airport for nearly 14 hours, half of the time in a cell for deportees.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said consular officers in Egypt were in contact with Benjamin. "Due to privacy considerations, we can't provide additional details, but I can assure you that our consular officers in Egypt did provide all of the assistance necessary," she said.
Benjamin was heading to the Gazoo Strip as part of a delegation of women activists to express support for the impoverished territory, subjected to heavy restrictions by Israel and Egypt. Benjamin said she had obtained a visa, had coordinated with the Egyptian embassy in Washington and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and that the delegation had coordinated with Egypt's foreign ministry regarding their visit to Gazoo.
Egypt's foreign ministry front man Badr Abdel-Ati said Benjamin had a visa to Egypt but that officials told her the Gazoo border was closed. "She refused to return on the same flight," Abdel-Ati said.
Another member of the women's delegation, Anne Wright, arrived in Cairo after Benjamin and was allowed into the country without any problems. Wright told AP that around 20 other members of the 100-member group were already in Egypt.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I wouldn't assault her with a ten-foot pole - pleased to hear the Egyptians are not so particular.
#3
Every time, well, uh, no, uh occasionally, er, that ain't right either, now-and-then, when a truncheon swings, the baby crusty old hag Medea cries bitches a blue streak to the usual suspects in the media...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/06/2014 9:32 Comments ||
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#4
It was as if I was some kind of crazy terrorist,
And your complaint is what exactly??
You were and are an active supporter of terrorists so it is perfectly reasonable to so treat you.
#8
Some people pay good money for that sort of thing.
Made in US Amerikka by Koch Industries, no doubt. / sarc
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/06/2014 10:33 Comments ||
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#9
but I can assure you that our consular officers in Egypt did provide all of the assistance necessary
*snickers*
Sounds like your friends in DC turned you in. Be an optimist, it was for your own protection. But also consider you took on Pelosi's right to authority and that you are no longer useful and in fact a liability to the cause.
[MAGHAREBIA] As Algeria prepares for the April 17th presidential election, Prime Minister Abdelmalik Sellal urged forces of Evil to renounce armed action and benefit from the reconciliation charter, which he said was still effective.
Since last Saturday, army units launched a wide military campaign that resulted in the deaths of at least six terrorists, according to the official count.
Algerian troops on Monday (March 3rd) took out two Death Eaters during a sweep of the forests of Sidi Ali Bouneb, located between the wilayas of blood-stained Tizi Ouzou and corpse-littered Boumerdes. ANP troops found anti-tank rockets, bombs, guns and ammunition, the defence ministry said. The weapons were smuggled from Libya, according to Tout sur l'Algerie.
At the same time, Algerian special operations units thwarted an attempt by Death Eaters to smuggle 47 rockets from Libya to northern Mali through Algeria and Niger. An Algerian army special operations unit seized 30 Katyusha rockets and 17 Strela surface-to-air missiles, El Khabar reported February 23rd.
Sellal made his appeal for peace during a February 26th visit to corpse-littered Boumerdes, a hotbed of terrorist activity. The premier also met with local elected officials and civil society representatives.
"I'm bringing to you a message from the president, and you have to understand that his hands are still extended for good and reconciliation," the prime minister said.
"We want reconciliation and good, but we're saying to those [i.e. terrorists] that you have made a mistake against the Algerian people and you have to review your positions because Algeria has set sail and there will not be a return to lean years and regret," he noted.
Some 8,500 forces of Evil have benefited from the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation since it was implemented in 2006. During the same time, security forces killed 1,600 terrorists.
Journalist Mohammed Adnan said that through his call in corpse-littered Boumerdes, the Algerian prime minister was eyeing Islamists' votes by confirming that the reconciliation project was still in effect.
"Each time Sellal appears, he tries to highlight the major role that President Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term, who will probably die in office of old age... has played in achieving peace and reconciliation, and in this way, he is indirectly calling on people to vote for Bouteflika, who has enabled Algeria to restore peace," he added.
In his turn, lawyer Merouane Azzi said that the prime minister's call was part of "efforts made by the state to stop bloodshed and realise security".
"At the same time, the counter-terrorism policy is still being implemented," Merouane said, adding that that the Algerian authorities realised there were some who had yet to benefit from measures approved under the charter, something that could prompt them to take additional steps to advance reconciliation.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart... Islamists, particularly members of the dissolved Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), see the next presidential election as an opportunity to re-present their demands in return for supporting a candidate who will respond to them.
El Hachemi Sahnouni, a FIS leader, said in an interview with Ennahar daily that "a large number of former leaders of FIS plan to support candidate Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the next presidential election, provided he abides by some demands."
He explains that the most important of those is the actual and strict application "of the national reconciliation law and its serious and gradual implementation before it turns into amnesty for all the cases that took place in Algeria throughout the past period".
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's government-appointed human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. organization has announced its findings of a six-month investigation into last August's bloody dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in, concluding that while supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... fired first, security forces on the scene responded with excessive force, "firing out of proportion" and leaving over 600 dead.
The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) presented the report at a presser in Cairo Wednesday, where Nasser Amin, a human rights lawyer and a member of the council's fact-finding committee, offered what he said was a detailed account of events on 14 August, when security forces dispersed the pro-Morsi camp in the Cairo district of Nasr City.
According to the council's report, police were present at the sit-in at roughly 6am. Warning shots were fired around 7:20am to inform protesters of peaceful exits and warning them not to attack the police.
Amin pointed out that the interior ministry did not provide the council a copy of its dispersal plan for 14 August and that the fact-finding committee had to reach its own conclusions.
The festivities first began at 8:10am, with police firing teargas and protesters hurling stones and Molotov cocktails, Amin said.
Around 11am the first gunshot was fired on Al-Tayaran Street, by the Republic Guard headquarters, killing a police officer who had been calling on protesters to leave via a secure and safe exit.
"The scene dramatically changed after that, and gunshots were excessively fired from all sides," said Amin.
Between 1 and 2:30pm was what Amin described as a cease fire, during which pro-Morsi groups tried to enter the sit-in. They were barred from entering by security forces, who by then had managed to again clear the safe exits.
At this point in the presser, Amin screened video footage showing alleged gangs at Rabaa Al-Adaweya.
"The presence of gangs was dangerous because it made civilians a target as well," said Amin. Behind him, the video footage showed protesters hiding from gunshots.
The report accused "extremist members" from the protest camp of using civilians as human shields, which led to deaths and injuries.
No video footage of the police in action during the dispersal was screened at the presser on Wednesday.
When members of the audience pointed this out and criticised the council, Amin responded that the footage of the Islamist protesters was the "only footage they could find."
Another video that Amin screened was one of Moslem Brüderbund leader Mohammed El-Beltagy.
The footage showed El-Beltagy speaking on the stage in Rabaa Al-Adaweya, reportedly during the midday cease fire, when he announced that over 300 people had been killed.
Amin referred to this footage as a "very important testimony" regarding the commission's body count from the dispersal because the day's "most aggressive battle" occurred before the cease fire.
The battle after the cease fire lasted only an hour, he said.
According to the report, 632 were killed in the dispersal, all of them civilians with the exception of eight coppers.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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Boy howdy I bet that hurt. Egyptian coppers breaking an arm -- next thing you know we'll hear about Egyptian bankers fleecing the rubes. Is she gonna sue or just whine about it for the next decade?
[NEWS.YAHOO] Three Gulf monarchies recalled their ambassadors from Doha Wednesday in an unprecedented escalation in tension with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council member Qatar, accused of backing the widely banned Moslem Brüderbund.
Regional heavyweight 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... , the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said the decision was made in protest against Qatar's alleged interference in their internal affairs. Doha said it regretted the recall of its envoys but would not follow suit.
GCC nations "have exerted massive efforts to contact Qatar on all levels to agree on a unified policy... to ensure non-interference, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any member state," the three states announced in a joint statement.
They said they had asked Qatar, a perceived supporter of the Moslem Brüderbund, which is banned in most Gulf states, "not to support any party aiming to threaten the security and stability of any GCC member," citing antagonistic media campaigns.
Critics accuse the influential Doha-based Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... satellite channel of biased coverage in favour of the Moslem Brüderbund, and several of its journalists are on trial on Egypt for allegedly supporting the group.
The joint statement said Doha had failed to comply with a commitment by Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to non-interference, made during a summit in Riyadh last year with Kuwait's emir and the Saudi monarch.
During the tripartite meeting in Riyadh in November, Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah had tried to ease tensions between King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... and Sheikh Tamim.
But the ambassadors' recall followed what newspapers described as a "stormy" late Tuesday meeting of foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh.
The pan-Arab Al-Hayat daily reported that the "marathon" talks lasted nine hours because of "differences on several issues, among them inter-Gulf relations".
Kuwaiti parliament speaker Marzouk al-Ghanem expressed "deep concern and alarm" over the recalls, and the Qatar Stock Exchange closed 2.09 percent down following the decision.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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"Just because you guys are childish poopy heads doesn't mean we're gonna descend to your stupid face level, ya dumdums! We won't even say anything about how your Momma's favourite husband was a camel, because we're so dignified and restrained."
[Al Ahram] Qatar said on Wednesday it regretted the decision of three fellow Gulf monarchies to withdraw their envoys to Doha, but pledged not to pull its ambassadors from those countries.
Doha said the decision by Bahrain, 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... and the United Arab Emirates was linked to "differences over issues outside the Gulf Cooperation Council", in an apparent reference to differing policies mainly regarding Egypt.
The three countries justified their recall moves by saying Qatar had failed not to meddle in the "internal affairs" of member states.
"The move taken by the brothers in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain has nothing to do with the interests of the Gulf peoples, their security and stability," said a council of ministers statement.
"Qatar is very keen on maintaining brotherly links between the people of Qatar and all other Gulf peoples," it said.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Hinting at the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. yesterday told parliament that her government would take necessary steps against miscreants who killed people in the name of agitation.
"We will take legal action against them [miscreants] as the people demand for it. We will bring them to book," she said while answering to a supplementary question of Awami League politician AFM Bahauddin Nasim.
Nasim wanted to know what kind of measures the government had taken regarding the mayhem carried out by the BNP-Jamaat alliance centring the 10th parliamentary poll they boycotted.
Hasina said the BNP-Jamaat had killed people including law enforcers in the name of hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... and blockade as "they have no responsibility towards the country and its people.
"Failing to engage the people in their demonstration, the BNP-Jamaat was involved in killing and damaging people's property."
The premier said the BNP-Jamaat wanted to halt the supply chain of goods and essential commodities to worsen sufferings of the people.
"But the government was able to keep prices of essential commodities under control despite some problems," she said, adding that the BNP-Jamaat alliance had failed to create the worst situation as per their evil design though they had made huge damage to the country.
Responding to a supplementary question of independent politician Rustam Ali Farazi, the premier said despite challenges, her government would go ahead like the previous tenure for the prosperity of the country.
"We assumed power when the country was battered by militancy and terrorism and people were in panic. And facing all the challenges, we have reached the current situation. We have courage and stamina to face any situation. We are going ahead to our goals and we will succeed."
She added that her government had succeeded in facing the global recession.
Referring to the achievements of her 2009-13 government, she said the government had achieved the targeted six-point growth of millennium development goal. It proved that the government had been in favour of development activities rather than corruption.
The premier also urged the countrymen to keep faith on the government.
Rustam Ali MP asked to the premier how she would ensure political stability, establish good governance and curb corruption.
Responding to a question of Rezaul Haque Chowdhury, Hasina said the government took various measures to keep the prices of essential commodities under control.
"The government will increase vigil at district- and upazila-levels and will hold regular meetings with stakeholders and review the prices of essential commodities of internal market to keep the prices under stable," she said.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The meeting between negotiators from the government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) concluded in Akora Khattak on Wednesday with both sides agreeing to certain terms and conditions, DawnNews reported.
The current government committee includes Irfan Siddiqui, retired Major Amir, Rustam Shah Mohmand and Rahimullah Yousufzai and the negotiators nominated by the TTP include Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , Maulana Abdul Aziz ...nutball holy man who runs the Lal Masjid in the heart of Pakistain's capital. After instigating a rebellion against the state in 2007, he was caught trying to sneak away dressed in a burka. He rejects democracy as un-Islamic, which it probably is... and Professor Mohammad Ibrahim.
Haq, chief of the Taliban negotiating committee, told news hounds after the meeting that the Taliban committee was seeking a meeting with 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... . He praised the Taliban for announcing the ceasefire and said he had asked the faceless myrmidons to track down whoever was responsible for the recent violence.
Moreover, he also said that the announcement of a ceasefire from both sides was a major progress and that the Taliban had been asked to probe into those responsible for recent attacks.
The chief Taliban mediator added that Afghanistan, India and the United States wanted the dialogue process to fail.
He further said that the government and Taliban should jointly unveil the enemy.
Haq said that the Taliban had not put forward any demands to change the democratic system.
Talking about the Ahrarul Hind, the group that grabbed credit of the recent attack in an Islamabad court, he said that he had never heard the organization's name before and the Taliban were also unaware of the outfit.
The head of the committee representing the government, Irfan Siddiqui, said they had discussed various options for how the negotiating process could continue and the results of today's meeting were satisfactory.
Siddiqui said that the Taliban should openly condemn incidents of terrorism.
He also said that the dialogue process had entered its second phase now, which included decision-making steps.The first round of talks was meant only to increase and facilitate contacts between the two sides, he added.
Another government negotiator retired Major Amir told media representatives that the suggestions presented during the first round of the meeting had been agreed upon by both sides.
Rahimullah Yousufzai told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the negotiators had decided to push forward with the process because the Pak Taliban had said they were not responsible for the recent attacks.
''In this situation, we opted to continue the talks, and we hope the Taliban will condemn these attacks and trace those who are behind it,'' Yousafzai said.
During the meeting, held at Maulana Samiul Haq's Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania seminary, the members consulted on the dissolution of existing committees and the formation of new committees to carry forward peace talks, DawnNews had quoted sources as saying.
Reports said the government had decided to dissolve the existing committee and form a new committee to represent it in the talks.
Sources told DawnNews that the new government committee would likely comprise of members from the Pakistain Mohammedan League - Nawaz (PML-N) led government at the centre as well as members from the armed forces.
Moreover, Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Pervez Khattak or his representative would be added to the committee.
The new committee was likely to also include a high-ranking official from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan would be its focal person.
The recommendation for the formation of a new committee was made by Major Amir during a meeting of the current negotiators with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
On Tuesday, the government decided to resume peace dialogue with the outlawed group which was suspended last month after the TTP Mohmand claimed to have killed 23 detained Frontier Corps personnel.
The two committees had met twice prior to the suspension of the dialogue process.
The process appeared to gain new life over the weekend when the Pak Taliban declared a one-month ceasefire and the government responded by saying it would halt Arclight airstrikes against hard boy hideouts in the tribal areas.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the four-member government negotiating team, headed by Irfan Siddqui, with Prime Minister Sharif. It was attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Major (retired) Amir, Rustam Shah Mohmand and Rahimullah Yousufzai.
The killing of eight troops this week, including six just hours before the negotiators met Wednesday, have also strained the process.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] While there are growing demands for a full-scale military operation following the post-ceasefire terrorist attacks, some experts are urging the government to better understand the bully boy mindset and use that to the state's advantage.
"Our society is polarised along the superficial 'only talks' and 'only military operation' lines. What we need to do is understand the thought process of the bully boys, their differences with each other and use these differences to pit them against each other," said an official from the security establishment, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... .
Recently a new group calling itself Ahrarul Hind (liberators of India) has surfaced and is claiming to be a splinter of the banned TTP.
It has vowed to continue attacks, particularly in the major cities across Pakistain, having grabbed credit for the Islamabad court attack. It is headed by Umar Qasmi, a figure unheard of by bully boy circles in North Wazoo and in the cities.
"TTP leaders have entered the talks process simply seeking to liberate the tribal areas. As if there is no such demand to impose Sharia across the country. They are ignoring mujahideen in the cities," said Asad Mansoor, front man of the newly-formed group.
The Mohmand chapter of the TTP has also been critical of the talks but says it would abide by the decision of its leadership.
"We go with mutual consultation. Our leadership has decided to opt for a month-long ceasefire and we will abide by that despite the fact that we have reservations over the continued killing of our members by the state," TTP Mohmand's front man Omar Khorasani told Dawn.
Talking to Dawn in a recent meeting in Afghanistan, head of the TTP Mohmand chapter Khalid Khorasani (previously going by the name Umar Khalid Khorasani) said that his group had sufficient representation within the TTP high command and they had agreed to the peace talks.
"Think about it, the man leading TTP's negotiations committee is Qari Shakeel Ahmed Haqqani who is in fact my deputy. So the allegations that we want to sabotage talks is not true," he told Dawn.
But behind the scene, the actual thinking bears striking resemblance to that of Ahrarul Hind. "Some of our leaders in Waziristan have a very limited vision. They would simply be content with some concessions over Waziristan.
Our agenda is not simply gaining Waziristan but a global caliphate," said a senior TTP Mohmand commander who rejected the recently emerging claim of TTP Mohmand running the shadowy Ahrarul Hind.
"We have nothing to do with that group. In fact if you know who they are then tell us," he said while talking to Dawn on phone.
The claim that they know nothing about this group is hard to digest.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) staunchly opposes the talks, fearing that the agreement would most likely include a clause to eject imported muscle from Pakistain, a move they have no plan to undertake.
Ahmad Marwat's JundAllah, a group TTP views with suspicion, is also opposed to talks. "If you speak to jihad veterans here, they have hardly heard of this particular faction or the people behind it. We don't know where they have come from," said TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid.
However at this difficult juncture, the Punjabi Taliban headed by Asmatullah Muavia and Al Qaeda have rallied to TTP's support.
"We stand with TTP during their negotiations with the government and would continue to do so unless this process takes them towards parliamentary politics or they begin to drift away from the real goals," an Al Qaeda member close to Ahmed Farooq, the group's media head in Pakistain, told Dawn.
Sources in North Waziristan have told Dawn that the TTP central leadership is frustrated with some groups for not abiding by the ceasefire.
Perhaps one of the manifestations of this frustration is a number of TTP members contacting this correspondent and some other journalists covering militancy and desperately trying to find out if they have any information on the "miscreants within jihadi groups trying to sabotage talks".
The central leadership of the TTP has warned of action.
"We have a religious obligation to uphold agreements. Some unknown forces are out to sabotage the process. If we discover that they are mujahideen groups then we would have to take them to task," asserted Shahidullah Shahid in a statement.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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Obama once again demonstrates which side of the Middle East he is on, and it ain't America's.
Bastard.
The United States has quietly instituted a policy of denying visa requests from members of Israel's security services, Maariv/nrg reports.
Senior security personnel who spoke to the paper said that over the past year they have seen hundreds of cases in which members of the Shin Bet and Mossad, and workers in Israel's defense industries, have been told they cannot visit America.
The situation has been discussed in Israeli defense circles, they said. No official statement has been forthcoming from either U.S. or Israeli leaders.
"If we don't say anything, we don't have to admit to it," thought the cleverest people in the room.
#6
Sounds like we caught somebody doing some spy work here recently.
So? We've caught Russians and Chinese spying on us as well, but there don't seem to be the visa issues there.
Back when the intelligence agencies had actual spies they might have been able to suggest methods of still cooperating with Israel without compromising stuff; that's supposed to be their job.
[Al Ahram] The United States said Wednesday its intelligence services and military worked with Israel to track a ship carrying an intercepted shipment of advanced Iranian rockets for Paleostinian bad boys.
White House front man Jay Carney said Washington started to work with Israel through intelligence and military channels and at the national security advisor level as soon as it knew the shipment was on the move.
President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... also directed the US military to work out contingencies in case it became necessary to intercept the vessel, White House front man Jay Carney told news hounds aboard Air Force One.
"Throughout this time our intelligence and military activities were closely coordinated with our Israeli counterparts who ultimately chose to take the lead in interdicting this shipment of illicit arms," Carney said.
"We will continue to stand up to Iran's support for destabilizing activities in the region in coordination with our partners and allies," he said.
The IDF blogs the thing with maps, pictures and video, showing their work as it's said in the teaching biz. Feel free to draw your own conclusions, dear Reader.
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03/06/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
You sure it was Israel, not Iran you were working with?
[An Nahar] The al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front in Syria and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... haven't taken a decision to "officially enter Leb," as the two groups are still dealing with agents for them to "send messages to Hizbullah." ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
"Both groups have the necessary logistic capabilities to carry out attack in Leb similar to those in Iraq but there's no decision yet to move the conflict to Leb," a leader in al-Nusra Front said in comments published in al-Akhbar newspaper.
However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the leader said that the decision might "be changed in the upcoming days in light of the developments in Syria's Qalamoun."
The Syrian army and Hizbullah fighters have expelled rebels from several strategic towns in Qalamoun, but Yabrud -- the largest in the region -- has so far remained an opposition stronghold.
"ISIL and the al-Nusra Front still haven't appointed an Emir in Leb to run the Lebanese front."
The leader told al-Akhbar daily that the two groups are tasking agents for them in Leb, similar to Naim Abbas, a top of the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... , who was tossed in the calaboose Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! by the army in February.
The leader stressed that the Abdullah Azzam Brigades is the only active group in Leb, pointing out that the bombings carried out by it inflicted heavy damage and caused a high number of casualties.
"Those who were arrested by Lebanese security forces are only implementers and not planners."
"The bombings that have so far occurred are merely messages to Hizbullah over its involvement in the war in Syria," al-Nusra Front leader said, noting that the kabooms are targeting civilians "to push the party's withdrawal" from the neighboring country.
Leb witnessed a string of of kabooms in recent months targeting mainly strongholds of Hizbullah, which has drawn the ire of Sunni bad boy groups in part because of its role fighting alongside the regime in Syria.
"The Jihadist leadership is convinced that the fall of the Syrian regime will lead to the fall of Hizbullah," the leader added.
Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... .
The conflict, pitting a Sunni-dominated rebel movement against Assad, whose Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam, has raised sectarian tensions in Leb.
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[An Nahar] Arab Democratic Party Secretary-General Rifaat Eid ...secretary general of the Leb Arab Democratic Party, a Pencilneck regime front organization... denied on Wednesday that his father and the party's leader and ex-MP, Ali Eid, had fled to the neighboring country Syria.
"Perish the thought!"
"My father is practicing his normal life in Hikr al-Dahri town in (the northern district of) Akkar," Eid said in comments to LBCI.
Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... newspaper reported earlier on Wednesday that ex-MP Eid escaped to Syria after an arrest warrant was issued against him.
"We were created to confront others not to run away," the party's Secretary-General said, addressing former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. .
In November, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr issued a search and investigation warrant against former MP Eid.
The Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau had summoned Eid to question his alleged involvement in the August double bombing in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... .
But the northern leader said he was willing to appear before any security agency except for the Intelligence Bureau.
Eid's driver Ahmed Mohammed Ali is being held by the Intelligence Bureau on charges of smuggling to Syria Ahmed Merhi, one of the main suspects in the bombings against al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques in Tripoli on August 23.
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[Al Ahram] Chemical weapons used in two incidents in Syria last year appear to come from the stockpiles of the Syrian military, United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. Sherlocks said on Wednesday in a report that went beyond previous findings.
The team of independent experts, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, said that chemical agents used in the Damascus suburb of al-Ghouta on Aug. 21 and in Khan al-Assad near Aleppo in March 2013 bore "the same unique hallmarks".
"The evidence available concerning the nature, quality and quantity of the agents used on 21 August indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to the chemical weapons stockpile of the Syrian military, as well as the expertise and equipment necessary to manipulate safely large amount of chemical agents," the Sherlocks said in the report.
"Concerning the incident in Khan al-Assal on 19 March, the chemical agents used in that attack bore the same unique hallmarks as those used in al-Ghouta," the report said.
Without categorically saying which side was to blame, chief United Nations investigator Ake Sellstrom, who led a team of inspectors in Syria, said in January it was "difficult to see" how the opposition could have weaponised the toxins used.
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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.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
[Shabelle] Tension between the 
[Al Ahram] The co-founder of US-based anti-war group 
[MAGHAREBIA] As Algeria prepares for the April 17th presidential election, Prime Minister Abdelmalik Sellal urged 
Bouteflika
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
Nawaz Sharif
Wazoo
[An Nahar] The al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front in Syria and the 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
