[Tolo News] The proper implementation of Islamic law in Afghanistan will lead to lasting peace, presidential candidate Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf ...Afghan Salafist warlord, owned by Saudi Arabia. He was the guy who invited al-Qaeda to come into Afghanistan and make themselves at home... said on Monday at an event where he received endorsements from a number of religious scholars.
The Ulema members who expressed support for Sayyaf on Monday said that there was a dire need for greater promotion of and adherence to Islamic laws in order to resolve corruption and insecurity issues.
Speaking to the acrowd at the gathering, Sayyaf pledged to continue efforts to promote Islam's message in Afghanistan whether he wins or loses the elections. The Presidential hopeful is a well-respected religious scholars himself, having received his education at the revered Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt
"There is no corruption in Islam, Islam doesn't support insecurity, Islam promotes rule of law and economic growth, in the name of Islam, there a program against poverty," Sayyaf said.
"The election phenomena in fact emerges from Islam, it was man who brought changes to it and gave it other names, the fundamentals of elections are in Islam," he added.
Sayyaf has long been one the country's most vocal leaders when it comes to challenging the Taliban's claim to religious righteousness in its war against the Kabul government and its NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... supporters. The Taliban, meanwhile, has called the upcoming elections a sham and threatened voters with violence.
The other religious scholars at the event on Monday expressed support for the upcoming elections and encouraged Afghans to participate. They also said voters should make their choices without care for candidates' ethnicities.
"We have to move toward the election with Islamic teaching in mind, without considering candidates' ethnic backgrounds," religious scholar Enayatollah Baligh said.
Participants of the gathering advocated for a broader role for religious scholars in developing public awareness about the upcoming elections.
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03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
The proper implementation of Islamic law in Afghanistan will lead to lasting peace, presidential candidate Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf
Just like Socialism: "this time, we're gonna do it right!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/18/2014 7:39 Comments ||
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The proper implementation of Islamic law in Afghanistan will lead to lasting peace
[Libya Herald] Misrata Appeal Court has convicted the former Grand Mufti of Libya, Mohammed Madani Shweref, of spreading misinformation during the revolution and sentenced him to seven years in jail. He was also fined LD 500. The court further ordered his civil rights to be suspended during his period in jail and for a year afterwards.
He was found not guilty on two other charges: of calling people to fight against the revolutionaries and destroying the country's unity, and of activities that caused the death of others.
The 84-year-old was Grand Mufti until 1983 when Qadaffy abolished to post. He returned to his native Zliten at the end of the revolution.
Sixteen other people were also found guilty in Misrata today of pro-Qadaffy activities during the revolution and sentenced to terms of between seven and 25 years in jail.
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03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Abdullah Al-Thinni, the current "caretaker" Prime Minister is likely to remain in post until the end of term of the General National Congress (GNC), one Congressman told the Libya Herald today.
"There are a lot of candidates for Prime Minister but because of arguments between GNC members it is not easy to agree on any one person," the Congressman said, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... . "I think Thinni will remain in this position for a long time."
Thinni was sworn in as a "caretaker" Prime Minister last week after the GNC passed a vote of no-confidence on former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan ... served as a diplomat for Libya during the 1970s, serving in India under Ambassador Mohammed Magariaf. Both men defected in 1980 and went on to form the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. Zeidan spent nearly three decades in exile in Geneva after the defection. During the revolution Zeidan served as the National Transitional Council's Europe envoy, and is credited as having played a key role in persuading French President Nicolas Sarkozy to support the anti-Qadaffy forces...
Doubts still hang over the vote that ousted Zeidan, with opponents calling into question the legality of the vote.
Zeidan himself said, in a televised interview on Saturday, that the vote of no-confidence was illegal, saying that the required quorum to dismiss him was not reached. Only 113 Congress members voted in the sitting, he said, with extra votes added later.
GNC spokesperson Omar Hemeidan, however, told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the vote was legal and had been recorded. He called Zeidan's comments on TV inappropriate for a former Prime Minister.
"If Zeidan has any doubts about the decision, he can appeal it in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court," said Hemeidan. "If he does not recognise the decision he should follow the legal path instead of talking through the media".
Some members of Congress themselves are also in disagreement over the vote.
Congressman Ibrahim Abdulaziz Sahad told the Libya Herald that he had attended the sitting and confirmed that 121 GNC members voted to withdraw confidence in Zeidan. Another three members who were outside the hall then cast their votes, he said, taking the number up to 124.
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03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Tawakkul Karman, Yemen's very own 2011 Nobel Peace prize laureate could not help but voice her outrage toward the Houthis as she warned the group is but a disgrace, having but betrayed its democratic commitments.
As fear is setting in with memories of 1967 revolution coming to mind, politicians and officials have been keen to express their concern, calling on President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi to take decisive action against the Shiite group before it is too late.
Emboldened by their recent victories against al-Islah (Yemen Sunni radical faction and one of the country most powerful political parties) tribal and religious militias in Sa'ada and Amran, the Houthis have come so close the Yemeni capital, Sana'a that the military was called in, as to make the area impenetrable.
A member of al-Islah and outspoken advocate of political disarmament, Karman slammed the Houthis leadership for its refusal to dismantle its militias and withdraw its troops from Amran. Quoted by several local media she challenged the Houthis on their NDC promises when the group vowed to settle all differences and disagreement in the political arena, away from the festivities of weapons.
In response to Karman's Facebook statement against the Houthis leadership, Ali al-Bogheti, a senior front man for the Shiite group accused the activist of bias, stressing that her ties to the Moslem Brüderbund hardly made her an objective party.
Ever since late October 2013 when the Houthis attacked Dar al-Hadith (a religious centre run by the Salafis, Sunni ultra-orthodox) the Shiite group has argued to have acted in self-defence.
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03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] A few days after President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi called on the tribes of Bani Matar to serve as a shield against the Houthis, should the forces of Evil bas bold as attempt to march on the capital, Sana'a, the embattled president has issued an ultimatum to the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is "God is Great, Death to America", Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews" ... leadership: Abdel-Malek al-Houthi.
The Shiite group, which stronghold is based in the northern province of Sa'ada has following its success against Salafi forces of Evil in Dammaj in late October 2013, continued to advance steadily down south, ever closer to the capital.
When Houthi forces of Evil finally launched a series of attack in the province of Amran, directly north of Sana'a, military and security analysts warned that the group might envisage a take-over of the capital to capitalize on its recent territorial gains as to assert itself as the main political power in northern Yemen. While such allegations have been time and time again rejected by the Houthis; only earlier this month, Ali al-Bogheti, senior front man for the Houthis told Asarq al-Awsat that his faction had neither the desire nor the ambition to topple President Hadi's presidency; fears have persisted as the group presses on toward Sana'a.
With outposts in Hamdan, some 20 km away from the capital, President Hadi and his cabinet have their eyes pinned on the Houthis, determined to stop the forces of Evil in their tracks, even to the cost of a military operation.
Sources in the presidential palace have already confirmed that the military has been put on high alert, ready to deploy at a moment notice. Moreover, military checkpoints in and around the capital have been reinforced with added personnel and fire power.
Local media have reported that President Hadi gave the Houthis a strong ultimatum, calling on their troops to immediately and unconditionally withdraw from Hamdan.
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[Telegraph] Activists attempting to 'Islamify' state schools in Birmingham could try to launch a national campaign
Last week, a deputy head teacher in Birmingham, called Razwan Faraz, tweeted a newspaper article casting doubt on claims that hard-line Moslems were plotting to take over some of the city's state schools. "The truth reveals itself," he said.
The document behind the claim, supposedly a "how-to" letter from one Moslem krazed killer to another, certainly had its problems. At least one of its claims was wrong, taking credit for the ousting of a head teacher that had occurred 20 years before. The very name the letter gave to the alleged operation, "Trojan Horse", was perhaps a little too obvious. For that reason, this newspaper and others described it as a "purported" document.
But whether or not the letter is genuine, much of what it describes is certainly real.
Investigations by The Telegraph, separate to and in parallel with the "Trojan Horse" letter, reveal that there is indeed an organised group of Moslem teachers, education consultants, school governors and activists dedicated to furthering what one of them describes as an "Islamising agenda" in Birmingham's schools. And Mr Faraz should know: he is at the heart of it.
They convene, among other places, on WhatsApp, a messaging service, where they have a closed discussion group called "Educational Activists". In their messages, all of which have been leaked to this newspaper, the activists describe their goals and tactics. As one put it: "Let the schooling babysitters, the Department of Education and [schools inspectorate] Ofsted be factors of [merely] incidental importance in the Prophetic endeavour to raise and educate our young people."
In one typical entry, for February 5, this year, one member, Nasim Awan, an Islamic bookshop owner, political activist and former chair of the city's Springfield Neighbourhood Forum, boasts: "A battle was fought and won tonight at a large inner city primary school where the governors voted by 8-7 in favour of collective worship that is wholly or mainly of an Islamic character, thereby overturning five years of 'children pray in their own way and language'! The governing body is now polarised on faith grounds."
Other messages from different members have an unpleasant Islamic supremacist or anti-Semitic note to them. "JEWS have intentionally developed some websites to spread wrong information about the Koran," says one. Another message, sent from the mobile number of the deputy head of Carlton Bolling school in Bradford, Akhmed Hussain, says: "Al-Islam will prevail over all other ways of life. Look at how [the] Moslem population is increasing in the UK."
The activists claim credit for the appointment of a new Moslem head teacher, Shanaz Khan, at Small Heath, a secular state secondary in Birmingham, where she will start in September. It was a "hard battle" but the "dynamics have finally changed", says one member of the group, who identifies himself as a Small Heath governor. "A true achievement. At last!" exults one member of the group.
Under its current head, Peter Slough, Small Heath is enormously successful, winning the highest Ofsted grade, "outstanding", in its last three inspections and providing an "exceptionally high quality of education for its students". Educational excellence is apparently not enough for the "educational activists", however. "First agenda item [for the new head] is to apply for a determination", an official procedure to establish Islamic forms of worship at the school, says Mr Awan. "Indeed, brother Nasim," replies the Small Heath governor.
But Mr Faraz says a more tactical approach will be followed. "She [Mrs Khan] is a very astute lady. She knows her game," he writes. "Please don't pressurise her to start the Islamising agenda first. That will be a lot easier when she is respected as leader. She has to establish herself with minimum controversy for the first six months, and lead the people to believe in her before they believe in her policies."
The Small Heath governor replies: "My exact words to her, Razwan. However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... at macro governor level, [the] ball needs to start rolling." Mrs Khan and the school were not available for comment. There is no suggestion that Mrs Khan is an krazed killer.
The ball appears to have been rolling at other Birmingham schools, too. In the leaked messages, the activists consistently claim that they are merely targeting underperforming state schools that "embed the inferiority complex" in Moslem children. As Mr Awan puts it: "The last thing failing schools and local authorities want is concerned parents and members of the community holding school leadership to account, because they are the 'professionals' ".
The problem with this argument is that, like Small Heath, many of the schools targeted are already superb. At Oldknow, an academy primary school in Small Heath, the non-Moslem head teacher, Bhupinder Kondal, is leaving. Former and current staff have told The Sunday Telegraph that she has been driven out, despite achieving the highest Ofsted grade, "outstanding", by a concerted campaign to remove her and Islamise her school.
"Last year, the children were not allowed to celebrate Christmas," said one teacher. "The pantomime was cancelled and they were told they couldn't put up cards or a Christmas tree." Several of the Moslem parents, the vast majority at the school, strongly objected, the teacher said. They wanted their children to be able to celebrate Christmas.
"The same year [Mrs Kondal] got an 'outstanding', the governing body failed her on schools management," said a teacher. "They kept setting her targets that were completely unrealistic and they wanted her out." A front man for Oldknow refused to comment on the claims.
Mr Faraz, described as the "administrator" of the Educational Activists' group, was a teacher at Adderley, another of the schools allegedly targeted for infiltration. He has now received swift promotion to deputy head at Nansen Primary School, which is controlled by yet another of the schools allegedly targeted, Park View.
Mr Faraz is the brother of Ahmed Faraz, a man dubbed the "terrorists' favourite bookseller", whose Birmingham shop, now closed by police, distributed krazed killer literature to many involved in terror plots, including one of the 7/7 bombers. In 2011, Ahmed Faraz was enjugged Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! for multiple terror-related offences, though he was later cleared of some of the charges on appeal. Razwan defended his brother, saying the convictions were an attack on free speech. He said last night that the Educational Activists group "doesn't exist any more", but put the phone down when asked to comment further.
Other members of the Educational Activists group include the director of a recruitment agency that has recruited many teachers to Birmingham schools and is currently advertising a number of teaching vacancies in the city.
The group has held regular face-to-face meetings, usually at a hall in Towpath Close, Bordesley, in conjunction with something called the "Mualim [Teacher] Network", run by Mr Faraz, and another organization called the Moslem Parents Association. The meetings are described as "networking events" for Moslem parents, teachers and governors to work out how to "hold school leadership to account".
The MPA is run by a man called Tahir Alam, a key figure in the Birmingham schools world, whose mobile phone number is given as a contact for the group and who is a director on its Companies House listing. Mr Alam has been the keynote speaker at a number of the meetings, most recently on January 4, when he denounced sex education in state schools.
In the "Trojan Horse" document, Mr Alam was named as a key instigator of the alleged plot. He has furiously denounced both the document, and the plot as fabrications. But both he and the Moslem Parents Association do have clear links to many of the schools where questions have been raised.
At Oldknow, Achmad da Costa, the chair of governors allegedly behind the departure of Mrs Kondal, is a co-director with Mr Alam of the Moslem Parents Association. Another director of the MPA, Shahid Akmal, is chair of governors at Nansen Primary School, where Mr Faraz has recently been made deputy head. Mr Alam himself is chair of governors at Park View, one of the other schools allegedly targeted for infiltration.
Last week, The Telegraph described how a senior teacher at Park View praised the notorious terrorist ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... in school assemblies and used school facilities to copy the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... DVDs. The school also hosted an krazed killer preacher in its Year 10 and 11 assembly. It has now emerged that Lindsey Clark, the successful non-Moslem head of Park View, is to retire. One of the candidates to succeed her is the senior teacher who has praised al-Awlaki.
The other organization that links most of the key characters together is a body called the al-Hijrah Trust, which runs what its website calls a "training academy" for Moslem parents to "empower the community to ensure our needs are met" and "get more Moslems involved so that they can influence the education of their children".
Mr Alam, it turns out, is the director of this training academy and was until recently a trustee and secretary of the al-Hijrah Trust. Razwan Faraz used to work there. And Shahid Akmal was the chief executive of the al-Hijrah Trust. Waseem Yaqub, another key figure at al-Hijrah, was seconded as a "consultant" to Saltley, yet another school allegedly targeted by krazed killers, at around the same time as the respected non-Moslem head teacher, Balwant Bains, was removed.
Solicitors for Mr Yaqub insisted last night that he had no involvement in the head teacher's departure. Saltley under Mr Bains, by the way, was another successful school, graded "good," the second-highest Ofsted rating, last year.
Al-Hijrah, as it happens, runs its own school, too -- a specifically faith school, though still state-funded. This school appears to be the model that the "educational activists", Mr Alam and the Moslem Parents Association want the others to follow. Alas, unlike the highly successful secular schools involved in this story, the al-Hijrah School is not a success. Last December, it was graded "inadequate" by Ofsted, the lowest rank possible, and placed into special measures.
Amid what Ofsted called "too heavy involvement" by governors in the day-to-day running of the school, it has gone through three head teachers in the past 18 months. Al-Hijrah's response, by the way, was to take (unsuccessful) court action to stop the inspectors' report being published.
The Sunday Telegraph has seen numerous emails from Moslem parents at al-Hijrah deeply concerned about the direction of the school. In reply, Mr Yaqub, who is also the chairman of governors, dismissed them as "shaitans [devils] running out to make mischief". In their emails, the parents also express deep concern about the payment of £300,000 a year in public money from the school to the al-Hijrah Trust.
Solicitors for Mr Yaqub said last night that this money was rent for the school premises, under a formal tenancy agreement of which the local authority was aware. But parents who have spoken to The Sunday Telegraph claim that some of it has gone towards initiatives such as Mr Alam's "training academy" for Moslem parents. Mr Alam did not respond to repeated phone and text messages asking for comment.
What appears to be happening in Birmingham may also have a national dimension. As well as his role in the city, Tahir Alam is a senior activist in the Moslem Council of Britannia, in which capacity he "caution[ed] against advocating that desegregation [in schools] should be actively pursued", and stressed the "obligatory nature" of the hijab for Moslem women and girls.
Mr Alam is also vice-chair of the national Association of Moslem Schools (AMS), another organization that has flirted with hardliners. The AMS's last annual conference included platform speeches from Akram Khan-Cheema, who describes Islamic schools as "one of the most important factors that protect Moslem children from the onslaught of Euro-centrism, homosexuality, racism and secular traditions"; and from Farah Ahmed, who has attacked the National Curriculum for its "systematic indoctrination" of Moslem children "to build model British citizens", and criticised "attempts to integrate Moslem children" into British society as an effort "to produce new generations that reject Islam".
The best thing about the Birmingham story, however, is the role of Moslem parents. In many of the schools involved, they appear to have opposed the "Islamisation" agenda and vigorously supported broad, high-quality education for their children. Given the choice between outstanding secular education and mediocre religious education, most Moslem parents, like any other parents, will choose the former.
The indispensable job of those dismissed as "babysitters" -- Ofsted and the Government -- is to ensure that Moslem parents still have that choice.
[An Nahar] A court in Azerbaijan on Monday sentenced two leading opponents of strongman President Ilham Aliyev to seven and five years in jail in a decision U.S. officials slammed as "politically motivated".
Opposition Republican Alternative (REAL) movement leader Ilgar Mammadov was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and Tofig Yagublu, deputy chairman of the anti-government Musavat party, was handed a five-year term over allegations they incited anti-government riots last year, a REAL spokesperson told AFP.
The activists -- described as "prisoners of conscience" by rights group Amnesia Amnesty International -- were jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! in February 2013 on charges of being behind protests that turned into violent festivities in the town of Ismayilli the previous month.
Another eight defendants were also sentenced to jail terms ranging from two-and-a-half to seven years.
The opposition denied any role in the rampage, which ended with police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters after residents set light to buildings and cars.
The U.S. embassy in Azerbaijan said in a statement that it was "deeply disappointed" by the rulings and claimed there had been "significant irregularities" during the trial.
"Our observations lead to the conclusion that the verdicts were not based on the evidence and were politically motivated," the embassy statement said.
Any display of public discontent and political dissent usually meets a tough government response in Azerbaijan. Rights groups say the government of the energy-rich nation has been clamping own on opponents since Aliyev's re-election last year.
Aliyev secured a third term in October polls -- slammed as flawed by international observers -- extending his family's decades-long grip on power in the tightly controlled Caspian Sea nation.
The 51-year-old Aliyev took power in 2003 following a disputed election after the death of his father Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer and communist-era leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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..No problem dickweed. Got your Plan B European Exile in place?
I sincerely miss the days when Third World $hithole petty pols would not dare slap "The Eagle." I do, however, have a co-worker who thinks it's swell. Guess how he voted..
#3
I hope and pray the Taliban are not kicking off the Spring Offensive with a Entebbe style vertical insertion via Boeing 777 at Parwan Detention Center adjacent Baghram Air Base, or the airfield at Kandahar, Kabul, or Baghdad.
#4
At the risk of underestimating the enemy, the BoogerEatin Taliban would have trouble finding the pointy end of the plane. Now if you put a bunch of 11 year-old boys on board - different story.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/18/2014 5:24 Comments ||
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#5
Why would you trust the US under this administration? Might be smarter to ask Putin for help once his boys are done in Crimea.
[An Nahar] U.S. prosecutors on Monday asked a New York judge to prevent America's most high-profile terror detainee from testifying to defend the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now beyond all cares and woe... 's son-in-law.
The government made the request to Judge Lewis Kaplan in a memorandum filed to the federal court in New York's southern district.
The defense argues that testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-styled 9/11 criminal mastermind held at Guantanamo Bay, "could raise reasonable doubt as to the charges before the jury."
Mohammed says Suleiman Abu Ghaith never played a military role in al-Qaeda and had nothing to do with a December 2001 plot to bomb a transatlantic U.S. passenger jet.
Kaplan must now decide whether to admit his testimony.
Abu Ghaith is on trial accused of conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to provide support to bully boyz and providing support to terrorists.
The 48-year-old from Kuwait denies the charges. He faces life imprisonment if convicted by the jury at a trial just streets away from where the 9/11 attacks brought down the Twin Towers.
Mohammed's 14-page testimony, in response to questions sent to him through his lawyer, has been vetted by U.S. intelligence agents and submitted to Abu Ghaith's lawyers.
Government prosecutors wrapped up their case on Friday and the defense called its first witnesses on Monday.
The defense argues that, while Abu Ghaith made incendiary remarks, he did not conspire to kill Americans and was not involved in a December 2001 shoe bomb plot as alleged.
"The defendant did not play any military role and did not receive any military training at any time," said a summary of Mohammed's testimony submitted to court by the defense.
"The detainee never communicated to the defendant anything about the shoe bomb plot and would not have done so; nor did he ever see him in the company of (shoe bomber) Richard Reid," it added.
Abu Ghaith is most famous for appearing in a video with bin Laden the day after the 9/11 attacks. The prosecution says he was hired to recruit young men all over the world for al-Qaeda.
"Media activities and military operations were compartmentalized in such a way that individuals involved in media would not have prior knowledge of coming operations," according to Mohammed.
Abu Ghaith is the most high-profile alleged al-Qaeda member to face trial in a U.S. federal court rather than at Guantanamo Bay, which the White House has promised to close.
Married to bin Laden's daughter Fatima, U.S. prosecutors say Abu Ghaith worked for al-Qaeda until 2002, when he fled Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion for Iran. He was captured in 2013.
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03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Gee whiz, Mr. Wilson, no one asked me???
To paraph KRAUTHAMMER > "SAY IT WID ME, AMERIKA, OOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPSSSSS"!
[DAWN] Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has rejected a major demand of the Taliban -- release of non-combatants, particularly women and kiddies.
Leaders of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) are reported to have handed over to their committee headed by 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... a list of more than 60 such people who they say are in the custody of the armed forces.
The defence minister said in a statement issued here on Sunday that there were no women and kiddies in the custody of security forces.
He said the federal authorities would investigate if Taliban provided concrete evidence about women and kiddies being held by the forces. The statement was issued after Prof Ibrahim, a member of the TTP committee, said they had demanded that the government should show its goodwill by releasing the women and kiddies.
In Lahore, meanwhile, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid hinted at a plan of action against groups of Taliban opposed to grinding of the peace processor.
"We're trying to cover as much distance on the path to peace as we can by holding talks with Taliban. A decision against the elements which don't want to join talks will be possible after completion of the process of dialogue," he said at a meeting with senior journalists, TV anchorpersons and intellectuals.
Referring to the gains made so far by the government, he said those engaged in the talks had disowned the splinter groups carrying out terrorist activities despite a ceasefire announced by the TTP and condemned recent incidents of terrorism.
Otherwise, he said, the TTP had been owning such attacks in the past and gloating about their success.
"The time to take on (militant) groups opposed to talks is not far. Let the dialogue with Taliban be completed," he said.
Asked if the government planned to introduce changes in school syllabus to do away with material which fanned extremism, he said the government alone could not change social behaviours and civil society would have to join hands with the government in this regard.
APP adds: The minister said there was no "super committee" comprising the prime minister, the interior minister and an adviser to the prime minister for supervising talks with Taliban as reported by a section of the media.
He said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was the focal person for the dialogue process. 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... is regularly briefed on the progress and the briefings are also attended by the defence minister.
Mr Rashid said he had directed the press information department to pay advertisement bills within 30 days of their verification by advertising agencies. Delay in payment of bills has been caused by non-verification of the bills by advertising agencies and court rulings in certain cases.
About non-payment of salaries and unlawful sacking of media personnel, he said such grievances could be redressed through forums like courts and journalists' organizations.
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[DAWN] The Inspector General of Sindh Police, Iqbal Mahmood, on Monday directed DIGs, AIGs and SPs of different zones to beef-up security arrangements at areas inhabited by members of the Hindu community. Yeah, and they've got improved security around Christian churches, too.
The directives follow the events of Saturday, when a mob set on fire a Dharamshala and damaged some statues of Hindu deities in an adjacent temple in Larkana in protest against alleged desecration of Holy Koran.
In his directives, Mahmood said special measures must also be adopted for security of all temples as well as community halls and other facilities frequented by members of the Hindu community across the province.
The Sindh police chief said no complacency could be allowed in providing protection to members of the community in particular and the public in general.
For the purpose, he said coordinated patrolling and snap checking must be adopted as essential components of the security plan developed for areas across the province.
Mahmood said security must also be immediately strengthened across the board to all mosques, imambargahs, seminaries, mausoleums and other sensitive buildings, including government installations, educational institutions managed by missionaries and public places.
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03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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What?! I have no expertise in such matters, but this strikes me as a really, really dumb idea.
[DAWN] With the war in Afghanistan winding down, news reports suggest that the United States may dispose $7 billion in military equipment by handing it over to Pakistain.
The Washington Post (WP) reported that the potential move could be, "part of an effort by the Pentagon to unload excess military supplies to US allies at no cost".
The report said that discussions on this issue has been taking place over several months between American and Pak officials.
One motive for this potential transaction is that the US does not want to pay to ship out leftover military hardware from the conflict in neighboring Afghanistan.
The WP report gives detail that although a final decision on this issue has not been taken, Pakistain has particular interest in acquiring the US Army's mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles.
The MRAP vehicles could be used by Pakistain's military in its fight against Taliban turbans within its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
The WP report describes the MRAP as,"the backbone of the US military's vehicle fleet in Afghanistan...designed to protect American troops from bombs".
Pentagon leaders have said it would potentially cost more than $100,000 per vehicle to ship MRAP vehicles back to the US.
The US government is offering the vehicles to allies for free on an "as-is, where-is" basis, said the report quoting a Pentagon front man.
A Pak security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the military was also interested in acquiring night-vision and communications equipment.
Siemon T. Wezeman, a senior researcher and South Asia expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, is quoted in the article as stating that the MRAP deal could be beneficial to both countries.
Wezeman says that the US military is wary about leaving behind surplus equipment in Afghanistan, fearing the Afghan army's ability to fend off the Taliban insurgency.
"There is a feeling in the US that the Afghan army is not totally reliable, so it may be safer to just park them in Pakistain," Wezeman is quoted as saying.
However there is apprehension on the part of the US to make the equipment transfer fearing the impact it could have on its own relations with Afghanistan and Pakistain's arch-rival India.
Wezeman however doubts that India would seriously object "to a few hundred MRAPs ending up in Pakistain."
He said that the vehicles are built to fight insurgencies and would have little value in a major cross-border war involving tanks and warplanes.
Another flipside is that Pakistain would itself put limits to the amount of equipment they would be willing to accept.
"Pakistain won't become America's junkyard," the WP report quoted an official as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Give them to India not Pakistan our real enemy in the region whose Taliban ideology is funded by Saudi/UAE/Kuwait.
Posted by: Paul D ||
03/18/2014 3:13 Comments ||
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#2
This is akin to giving your hated Son-in-Law's daughter the Basic Barbie.
[DAWN] Central front man of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), Shahidullah Shahid on Monday said that Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was unaware of the persons held in detention by security agencies, DawnNews reported.
In a statement issued to the media, he said that if the defence minister was unaware about the location of detention centres in the country, then how could he be informed about the number of people being held at such facilities.
Khawaja Asif earlier on Sunday had rejected a major demand of the Taliban -- release of non-combatants -- saying there were no women and kiddies in the custody of security forces.
Pak Taliban leaders reportedly had handed over a list to their committee headed by 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... of more than 60 such people, who they say are in the custody of the armed forces.
The TTP front man further claimed that the secret detention centres in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and other areas of the country were an undeniable fact.
He added that after passage of the Pakistain Protection Ordinance (PPO) these "illegal and inhuman" centres were given legal cover and further questioned the number of missing persons Khawaja Asif had presented in court in abidance with the law.
Shahidullah also asked about the people over whose recovery the Supreme Court had threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against the prime minister and defence minister.
He said that the government appeared to be confused over holding peace talks and wondered about the 'forces' who had signalled Khawaja Asif to put the dialogue process at stake.
He also said that as evidence of his claims, he had forwarded a list of non-combatants to the committee nominated by the turban organization to mediate peace talks with the government.
Describing details of the list in a presser on Sunday, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim Khan said the list included women, children and elderly people.
Prof Ibrahim and Maulana Yousaf Shah went to Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... recently for consultations with members of the TTP Shura.
The TTP front man also said that it was the committee's responsibility to investigate the list and if the issue progressed any further then the names of prisoners could be presented in this regard.
The dialogue process that started by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has entered its decisive stage now with the formation of a new government committee, comprised of bureaucrats, to mediate with the Taliban leadership.
The ongoing peace talks between the two parties struck an impasse last month after the Taliban-linked Death Eaters murdered 23 kidnapped Pak paramilitary soldiers.
The killings resulted in multiple targeted Arclight airstrikes by the military against suspected hideouts in the tribal northwest bordering Afghanistan.
The Taliban then announced a one-month ceasefire which was reciprocated by the government which halted its Arclight airstrikes targeting Death Eaters and their hideouts.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Everyone knows Nawaz is a puppet for Saudi.
Posted by: Paul D ||
03/18/2014 3:17 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Jordan said on Monday that Israeli President Shimon Peres had apologized to King Abdullah II for the killing of a Jordanian judge by Israeli troops last week.
Peres for his part issued a statement saying he had called Abdullah to express "deep regret" for the shooting of Paleostinian Jordanian Raed Zeiter at a border crossing, but the statement stopped short of quoting a full apology.
A Jordan palace statement said Abdullah "received a telephone call from Peres who, as president of the state of Israel, apologized for the martyrdom of Jordanian judge Raed Zeiter".
"Peres expressed his regrets for the incident and said he was deeply affected. He said Israel is committed to work together with Jordan on the probe into the incident."
The statement added the king "also received a similar phone call from (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu," without giving further details.
Israeli troops on March 10 shot Zeiter, saying he attacked them, igniting a diplomatic row between Israel and the kingdom and sparking furore among Jordanians.
Israel had previously expressed regret over the shooting, but stopped short of apologizing to Jordan, the only Arab country besides Egypt to have made peace with the Jewish state.
The issue ignited a diplomatic row between Israel and the kingdom and caused furore among Jordanians.
Peres confirmed he had spoken to Abdullah on Monday, but the wording of his statement left it unclear as to whether he had issued an apology.
"Earlier today I conducted an important conversation with His Majesty King Abdullah II and expressed our deep regret to him," a statement quoted Peres as saying.
"On behalf of the State of Israel, I wish to express my deepest condolences to the people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for the death of Judge Raed Zeiter at the King Hussein Bridge on March 10."
"As the President of the State of Israel I would like to express compassion to the bereaved family, (and) I share in their grief."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Sorry we had to shoot that crazy-ass judge dude in the middle of his rampage."
Here's another theory. I don't know enough about commercial jets and flying them to judge it, but it's as believable as anything else posited by the "experts" and newsreaders.
Starting with a set of facts that have been made available publically and verified over the past few days, I first plotted MH370s course onto an aviation IFR map which shows the airways and waypoints used to navigate the skies. I plotted the point where it stopped transmitting ADS-B information at 1721UTC. I then plotted the Malaysian military radar track from that point towards VAMPI, GIVAL, and then onward toward IGREX on P628 ending with where the plane should be at 1815UTC when military radar lost contact.
Nothing profound there but then I looked to see what other planes were in the air at 1815UTC and I looked to see exactly where they were positioned in the sky and where they were flying. The picture started to develop when I discovered that another Boeing 777 was en-route from Singapore over the Andaman Sea.
(Emphasis added.)
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/18/2014 19:32 ||
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#1
Following another B-777 close at night would be very challenging. If radar was sketchy, then you may get away with the lack of a good primary hit. However two primary images on a radar screen to a good operator would be seen as some kind of anomaly.
I would guess that the success would depend upon the radar environment or lack thereof.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/18/2014 21:44 Comments ||
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There has been a lot of speculation about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Terrorism, hijacking, meteors. I cannot believe the analysis on CNN; its almost disturbing. I tend to look for a simpler explanation, and I find it with the 13,000-foot runway at Pulau Langkawi.
We know the story of MH370: A loaded Boeing 777 departs at midnight from Kuala Lampur, headed to Beijing. A hot night. A heavy aircraft. About an hour out, across the gulf toward Vietnam, the plane goes dark, meaning the transponder and secondary radar tracking go off. Two days later we hear reports that Malaysian military radar (which is a primary radar, meaning the plane is tracked by reflection rather than by transponder interrogation response) has tracked the plane on a southwesterly course back across the Malay Peninsula into the Strait of Malacca.
When I heard this I immediately brought up Google Earth and searched for airports in proximity to the track toward the southwest.
The left turn is the key here. Zaharie Ahmad Shah1 was a very experienced senior captain with 18,000 hours of flight time. We old pilots were drilled to know what is the closest airport of safe harbor while in cruise. Airports behind us, airports abeam us, and airports ahead of us. Theyre always in our head. Always. If something happens, you dont want to be thinking about what are you going to doyou already know what you are going to do. When I saw that left turn with a direct heading, I instinctively knew he was heading for an airport. He was taking a direct route to Palau Langkawi, a 13,000-foot airstrip with an approach over water and no obstacles. The captain did not turn back to Kuala Lampur because he knew he had 8,000-foot ridges to cross. He knew the terrain was friendlier toward Langkawi, which also was closer.
Take a look at this airport on Google Earth. The pilot did all the right things. He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make an immediate turn to the closest, safest airport.
For me, the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire. And there most likely was an electrical fire. In the case of a fire, the first response is to pull the main busses and restore circuits one by one until you have isolated the bad one. If they pulled the busses, the plane would go silent. It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire. Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations.
There are two types of fires. An electrical fire might not be as fast and furious, and there may or may not be incapacitating smoke. However there is the possibility, given the timeline, that there was an overheat on one of the front landing gear tires, it blew on takeoff and started slowly burning. Yes, this happens with underinflated tires. Remember: Heavy plane, hot night, sea level, long-run takeoff. There was a well known accident in Nigeria of a DC8 that had a landing gear fire on takeoff. Once going, a tire fire would produce horrific, incapacitating smoke. Yes, pilots have access to oxygen masks, but this is a no-no with fire. Most have access to a smoke hood with a filter, but this will last only a few minutes depending on the smoke level. (I used to carry one in my flight bag, and I still carry one in my briefcase when I fly.)
What I think happened is the flight crew was overcome by smoke and the plane continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot), until it ran out of fuel or the fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed. You will find it along that routelooking elsewhere is pointless.
Ongoing speculation of a hijacking and/or murder-suicide and that there was a flight engineer on board does not sway me in favor of foul play until I am presented with evidence of foul play.
We know there was a last voice transmission that, from a pilots point of view, was entirely normal. Good night is customary on a hand-off to a new air traffic control. The good night also strongly indicates to me that all was OK on the flight deck. Remember, there are many ways a pilot can communicate distress. A hijack code or even transponder code off by one digit would alert ATC that something was wrong. Every good pilot knows keying an SOS over the mike always is an option. Even three short clicks would raise an alert. So I conclude that at the point of voice transmission all was perceived as well on the flight deck by the pilots.
But things could have been in the process of going wrong, unknown to the pilots.
Evidently the ACARS went inoperative some time before. Disabling the ACARS is not easy, as pointed out. This leads me to believe more in an electrical problem or an electrical fire than a manual shutdown. I suggest the pilots probably were not aware ACARS was not transmitting.
As for the reports of altitude fluctuations, given that this was not transponder-generated data but primary radar at maybe 200 miles, the azimuth readings can be affected by a lot of atmospherics and I would not have high confidence in this being totally reliable. But lets accept for a minute that the pilot may have ascended to 45,000 feet in a last-ditch effort to quell a fire by seeking the lowest level of oxygen. That is an acceptable scenario. At 45,000 feet, it would be tough to keep this aircraft stable, as the flight envelope is very narrow and loss of control in a stall is entirely possible. The aircraft is at the top of its operational ceiling. The reported rapid rates of descent could have been generated by a stall, followed by a recovery at 25,000 feet. The pilot may even have been diving to extinguish flames.
But going to 45,000 feet in a hijack scenario doesnt make any good sense to me.
Regarding the additional flying time: On departing Kuala Lampur, Flight 370 would have had fuel for Beijing and an alternate destination, probably Shanghai, plus 45 minutessay, 8 hours. Maybe more. He burned 20-25 percent in the first hour with takeoff and the climb to cruise. So when the turn was made toward Langkawi, he would have had six hours or more hours worth of fuel. This correlates nicely with the Inmarsat data pings being received until fuel exhaustion.
The now known continued flight until time to fuel exhaustion only confirms to me that the crew was incapacitated and the flight continued on deep into the south Indian ocean.
There is no point speculating further until more evidence surfaces, but in the meantime it serves no purpose to malign pilots who well may have been in a struggle to save this aircraft from a fire or other serious mechanical issue. Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a hero struggling with an impossible situation trying to get that plane to Langkawi. There is no doubt in my mind. Thats the reason for the turn and direct route. A hijacking would not have made that deliberate left turn with a direct heading for Langkawi. It probably would have weaved around a bit until the hijackers decided where they were taking it.
Surprisingly, none of the reporters, officials, or other pilots interviewed have looked at this from the pilots viewpoint: If something went wrong, where would he go? Thanks to Google Earth I spotted Langkawi in about 30 seconds, zoomed in and saw how long the runway was and I just instinctively knew this pilot knew this airport. He had probably flown there many times.
Fire in an aircraft demands one thing: Get the machine on the ground as soon as possible. There are two well-remembered experiences in my memory. The AirCanada DC9 which landed, I believe, in Columbus, Ohio in the 1980s. That pilot delayed descent and bypassed several airports. He didnt instinctively know the closest airports. He got it on the ground eventually, but lost 30-odd souls. The 1998 crash of Swissair DC-10 off Nova Scotia was another example of heroic pilots. They were 15 minutes out of Halifax but the fire overcame them and they had to ditch in the ocean. They simply ran out of time. That fire incidentally started when the aircraft was about an hour out of Kennedy. Guess what? The transponders and communications were shut off as they pulled the busses.
Get on Google Earth and type in Pulau Langkawi and then look at it in relation to the radar track heading. Two plus two equals four. For me, that is the simple explanation why it turned and headed in that direction. Smart pilot. He just didnt have the time.
#1
My pet theory is the Indonesian military were testing a locally produced drone and thru general incompetence had it collide with MH370. This explains the burning plane the Kiwi saw (the drone).
The Indonesian military is both secretive and largely beyond civilian control.
Lots of remote abandoned WWII airfields in northern Australia.
Australia is a very likely terrorist target if this plane is not at the bottom of the ocean.
OR
A separatist group in China has it and will use it to protest Chinese policies.
Has any one looked to see if there have been unusual purchases of JP-5 at remote airports? Have there been large purchases of explosives in vicinity of said remote airfields.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/18/2014 16:32 Comments ||
Top||
#3
If it made it to Australia, which I very much doubt, it could have landed on a dry salt lake. There some big ones in very remote places,
#4
..maybe gorb. A well thought-out and presented thesis, but:
Not so sure about how heavy it was. The a/c can, depending upon configuration, carry up to 440 pax + 12 crew. A peek at the AFM and cargo manifest could give us some insight here.
Yes, an electrical fire, assuming no overcurrent protection or failure of same (really?), would (probably - see OpSpecs + AFM) initiate a main buss pull, thence all equipment off by individual switch - buss back online - restore equipment via individual switch to isolate the "burner," but one of the top five things I'd turn back on would be the GPS for a "Direct To - Nearest" punch (I assume the unit would be pre-configured to eliminate unsuitable airports, but OpSpecs GPS setup would be the place to look here.). Next would be a "Mayday" call by either comm or you-know-what. Independent radios and redundant systems and no call made that I'm aware of.
A fire moving faster than the ability to reach back and put on a "Quick Don" mask would be something quite extraordinary.
The Boeing SmartStem® would alert, assuming used, the crew of any temperature and/or pressure issues before taxi. Also, the Multi-Function Display conveys tire-pressures to the flight deck in "real time." Would also be surprised if the gear bays did not have a smoke/fire warning and suppression system.
Although O2 is less densely packed at 45,000, a pilot would really be thinking at least two boxes out to try this maneuver. A climb would result in a slower airspeed thus less dynamic air pressure to "blow out" or feed (pick your poison) the flames. An aerodynamic stall in a swept-wing transport-category aircraft? In a sim, sure, but real-time? No thanks.
In spite of your excellent analysis, I'm still sticking to my "Space Aliens" theory UFN..
#8
There is still the report of the pilot's family moving out of their house the day before. Could be the usual Malaysian inefficiency at work, but it is out there.
#9
Not my theory, but with some tweaks it might work. No telling how long a fire would have burned before being detected, or when it would affect things. Or how.
#11
It all depends on when the waypoint was punched into the computer.
So far the story is that the pilot entered the waypoint to turn the plane around before he said "Good Night" to the controller. If this is the case it was premeditated and an accident that took the crew out quickly isn't what happened.
[Ynet] Secretary-general of Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... uses iconic song to contextualize the importance of Jerusalem to Israelis and urge Iranians to consider the city's meaning to them.
One of the core issues in the negotiations between Israel and the Paleostinians came to light in a surprising manner at an Islamist conference in Tehran when an Islamic Jihad leader quoted the popular Hebrew song "Jerusalem of Gold."
The secretary-general of Paleostinian Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Salah, used the iconic Naomi Shemer composition to contextualize the importance of Jerusalem to Israelis: "There is a song the Zionist army sang when it conquered the Al-Aqsa mosque. It is called Jerusalem of Gold."
"Every child in the Zionist entity and every soldier in that cursed entity memorizes the lyrics to this song," he explained to the conference-goers, and "many well-known Western artists have sung it in English."
During his speech Salah claimed that the fight for Jerusalem will remain central to the Paleostinian national struggle, and that there will not be stability in the world until the Paleostinian right to Jerusalem is restored.
Salah urged the conference participants -- and, by extent, the Islamic world -- to consider what Jerusalem means to them. He called on all Mohammedans to study not only about the rockets and arms that Iran provides them, but also about the Zionist entity and its culture.
"What is the significance of Jerusalem in our culture?" Salah asked the crowd. "What is its significance in our religion?"
Salah criticized the Islamic public for not watching news items related to Jerusalem and attempts to Juadize the city by Israel.
During his speech Salah attacked US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... 's efforts to reach a framework agreement between Israel and the Paleostinians, saying there is a hidden danger in recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.
"Do you know what it means to recognize a Jewish state? It means we recognize that Jerusalem is Jewish, that the Al-Aqsa mosque is Zionist, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is Zionist," he told the audience.
[An Nahar] Iran's foreign minister said Monday that Tehran is "ready to help any logical attempts" to end the Syrian conflict, during a visit by U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi.
Brahimi was in Tehran for the second day of talks with Iranian officials about ending the conflict in Syria, a key regional ally of Iran.
Shiite Iran has been a staunch supporter of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... 's regime in its struggle against mostly Sunni rebels backed by Western powers and Arab nations.
"Iran is ready to help any logical attempts which are based on the realities of Syria, particularly those efforts made by the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... (which) are being pursued by Lakhdar Brahimi," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by official news agency IRNA.
"Without being affected by the pressures of some countries, the U.N. should play its independent role and continue its attempts to resolve the crisis," he added.
Brahimi said addressing the crisis in Syria would "affect the security and stability of the whole region," IRNA reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Fears rose in Leb on Monday that gunnies, who have fled into Leb after Syrian government troops and 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... fighters captured Yabrud, a strategic town near the frontier, would increase retaliatory attacks against the supporters of the Shiite party.
The first alleged retaliation came on Sunday when a jacket wallah driving a Grand Cherokee left several casualties in the town of Nabi Othman, about 30 kilometers north of Baalbek.
A group calling itself the Baalbek Ahrar al-Sunna Brigade grabbed credit on Twitter for the bombing.
"Prepare for the transfer of the battle of Yabrud into Lebanese territory," it said.
Al-Nusra Front in Leb also grabbed credit for the attack on Twitter, describing it as "a quick response to the Iranian party's (Hizbullah's) bluster following its extortion of the town of Yabrud."
Yabrud was a major smuggling hub for the rebels trying to overthrow Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... . The town's fall is the latest in a string of strategic gains by Assad's forces that have consolidated authority in the past months in Syria's major cities, including the capital, Damascus.
Hizbullah fighters have been instrumental to Assad's success on the battlefield, and support from the Iranian-backed fighters appears to have tipped the balance into the government's favor in Yabrud.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... the fact that opposition fighters fled into Leb through the northeastern town of Arsal suggests the conflict could bleed further into Syria's neighbor.
The civil war already has ignited polarizing sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shiites.
As Safir daily quoted informed security sources as saying that "more than one suspicious vehicle could have entered Leb" to carry out a bombing.
The sources warned that the gangs, which fled Yabrud to Arsal, "could resort to more retaliation."
But the Lebanese army has taken strong measures to prevent the infiltration of the gunnies from Arsal to other Lebanese areas, military sources said.
The sources told As Safir that the army units deployed in the Bekaa Valley would take all necessary measures to prevent chaos.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Libya Herald] Misrata Appeal Court has convicted the former Grand Mufti of Libya, Mohammed Madani Shweref, of spreading misinformation during the revolution and sentenced him to seven years in jail. He was also fined LD 500. The court further ordered his civil rights to be suspended during his period in jail and for a year afterwards. 
[Telegraph] Activists attempting to 'Islamify' state schools in Birmingham could try to launch a national campaign
I hope and pray the Taliban are not kicking off the Spring Offensive with a Entebbe style vertical insertion via Boeing 777 at Parwan Detention Center adjacent Baghram Air Base, or the airfield at Kandahar, Kabul, or Baghdad. 
Nawaz Sharif
Private Mordecai [last name withheld] is free to pick from any of the 7 distinctive colours. 
There has been a lot of speculation about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Terrorism, hijacking, meteors. I cannot believe the analysis on CNN; its almost disturbing. I tend to look for a simpler explanation, and I find it with the 13,000-foot runway at Pulau Langkawi.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
