KABUL, Afghanistan: The push by Afghanistans president to nationalize legions of private security guards before the end of March is encouraging corruption and jeopardizing multibillion-dollar aid projects, according to companies trying to make the switch.
President Hamid Karzai has railed for years against the large number of guns-for-hire in Afghanistan, saying private security companies skirt the law and risk becoming militias. He ordered them abolished in 2009 and eventually set March 20 of this year as the deadline for everyone except NATO and diplomatic missions to switch to government-provided security.
Afghan officials are rushing to meet the cutoff with the help of NATO advisers. But with fewer than six weeks to go, its likely that many components will still be missing on March 20. And even once everything falls into place, higher costs and issues of authority over the government guards will remain.
The change imperils billions of dollars of aid flowing into Afghanistan, particularly from the United States. In a country beset by insurgent attacks and suicide bombings, the private development companies that implement most of the US aid agencys programs employ private guards to protect compounds, serve as armed escorts and guard construction sites.
On March 21, approximately 11,000 guards now working for private security firms will become government employees as members of the Afghan Public Protection Force, or APPF. They will still be working in the same place with the same job. Except now theyll answer to the Interior Ministry.
It's sorta like working for the Taliban, except you don't get beheaded. Yet.
We dont want to have security gaps. This is really important to our customers and to us, said the head of the APPF, Deputy Minister Jamal Abdul Naser Sidiqi. It will happen, he says, because the presidential order says it has to.
Officially, everyone is optimistic.
The APPF is now open for business, a US embassy official said, speaking anonymously to discuss private agency contracts.
But many are still worried that the entire plan could fall apart. Development contractors for the US Agency for International Development told The Associated Press they were explicitly told not to discuss the changeover with reporters because media attention could endanger the delicate process. Everyone critical of APPF insisted on speaking anonymously for this article.
Last week the chairman of the House subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing concern that the APPF may not be ready to take over security for aid projects.
Even so, no one expects that there will be a visible problem on March 21.
The guys who guard our gates today wear a certain baseball hat, and on the 21st of March theyll come wearing a different uniform. It should be pretty seamless, said Bill Haight, head of an infrastructure-building project run by Louis Berger Group and Black and Veach. He said his projects are nearly finished and so he doesnt expect many problems.
But companies with long-running projects are worried. New contracts and operating rules will probably still be in the works when the deadline hits.
The APPF has yet to sign a contract to provide security for any of the approximately 75 companies expected to switch over to government guards in March, according to Noorkhan Haidari, the APPF business manager.
And international firms that are expected to act as middlemen managing the guards are having trouble getting licensed. Though about 20 companies have said they plan to register as so-called Risk Management Companies, or RMCs, only one license has been issued reportedly after a wait of about two months. Others trying to get licensed say the required documents change every day.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Foreign Ministry has also denied visas to foreign workers for at least three security companies that are trying to get registered as RMCs or are working on one of the exempt contracts, according to a security adviser for a major development contractor. These firms have been told they have to wait for new procedures under the new APPF system. But given that they dont have much time to get everything in line, theyre increasingly looking at what bribes they can pay to make it happen, the same person said.
Firms dont have to hire RMCs, but they add a level of management and oversight that meets the standards of international organizations.
Companies have long hired private guards precisely because they dont trust the Afghan police to protect them in a crisis.
Can't imagine why...
The United Nations used Afghan police to guard its staff housing until an 2009 attack on a residential hotel in which Taleban assailants quickly made it past police guards and killed five UN staffers.
Made it past or just joined up with their brothers...
The UN has since increased its security to include foreign guards.
Afghans working with APPF have gone so far as to urge the business licensing agency to stop stalling the process, according to a letter sent to US government officials by a development company and obtained by the AP.
Sidiqi said the complaints of delays were overblown, noting that there is a standard three-day licensing process. If there are delays, he said it is because the would-be RMCs are dragging it out.
We need the RMCs, Sidiqi said. They have the experience.
He dismissed the possibility of bribery. This is a legal government organization, so corruption is not going to be possible, Sidiqi said.
Not in Afghanistan, anyway. You never see corruption in government organizations there...
But with so much undecided, some development organizations are opting to hunker down inside their compounds until the details are worked out.
A manager with one US government development contractor said the company expects to delay visits to projects in dangerous places until all documents are finalized. Going forward, the development company manager worried about recruiting for projects in places like the insurgent-heavy south. Some employees have already said they wont sign on to projects if their only security is going to be APPF guards.
But even once the RMCs are licensed and in-country, it is unclear that they will provide an easy transition. These companies will not be able to directly control the guards that they manage. They can only give advice to an Afghan supervisor. If theres a dispute between the two, it will have to be taken to a government-run arbitration panel.
The arbitration panels work just as well as the anti-corruption panels do...
And as budgets for aid projects are decreasing, the APPF program is likely to increase security costs substantially.
An APPF guard will cost at least $770 a month, according to an AP analysis of official government figures, while private security providers contacted for this story say they usually charge $510-$630 a month per guard. To avoid pay cuts for guards, individual companies will have to supplement salaries. And any costs for RMC managers will be on top of this. Once these expenses are figured in, security costs could easily double under the APPF.
It is still not clear what these changes will mean for existing USAID contracts.
Sure it does. Everything will cost more and take longer to get done, so less will get done. They need me to explain this?
The aid agency has given no overarching guidance for how it will deal with delays or higher costs, though it has urged its partners to review their individual contracts to decide what their obligations and rights will be, the US embassy official said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan government wont officially have all the APPF guards trained forever more than a year. By March 20, about 1,840 of the existing guard force will have gone through the formal training program, which graduates about 220 people every three weeks, according to a NATO official who spoke anonymously to discuss an Afghan government program.
The hope is that on-the-job training will be enough in the near term, especially since most private security guards will probably agree to join the APPF. But like much with the APPF right now, it is just a hope.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder how capable are the Afghan forces (police, APPF, and military)? A few years ago under Bush, I heard optimistic predictions for these forces--today not so optimistic for a stable Afghanistan.
#3
The basic principle for western policymakers has never been stated more clearly: After breaking a regime in the Middle-East you have to face the population and they, the people, are much more dangerous than the old regime.
This applies to the 'Arab spring', Iraq, Afghanistan, and soon to be, Syria.
ADDIS ABABA: Sudan and South Sudan on Friday signed a security agreement which aims to defuse tensions over oil payments which officials had warned could spark a war between the two countries.
Landlocked South Sudan took three-quarters of Sudan's oil production the lifeline of both economies but needs to sell its crude through northern export facilities. Both countries have failed to agree on a transit pipeline fee. Juba shut down last month its entire oil output after Khartoum started seizing southern oil as compensation for what it calls unpaid fees.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been trying to mediate an end to the tensions, said the deal was a "non-aggression pact" aimed at avoiding any armed conflict.
The security agreement, brokered by the African Union in Addis Ababa, said the two sides agree to "respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, rejection of the use of force, equality and mutual benefit; and peaceful coexistence.
And sets aside a border region for the unicorn preserve...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The U.S. military's top general met Egypt's ruling field marshal on Saturday amid a row between the allies over impending trials of American freedom fighters.
The meeting in Cairo had been "long planned," according to General Martin Dempsey's front man, but officials were hoping Dempsey would persuade Cairo to back off the planned trials.
Colonel Dave Lapan said the general discussed with Tantawi and his Egyptian counterpart Sami Enan "a wide range of issues related to the long-standing security relationship between our two countries, including the issue involving U.S. NGOs."
But he said he would not "further describe the contents and nature of their private discussions," in a statement emailed to Agence La Belle France Presse.
Dempsey had planned to hold a round-table discussion with journalists after the meetings, but it was called off with no reason given to news hounds.
Egyptian judicial officials have announced plans to put dozens of freedom fighters, including 19 Americans, on trial over alleged illegal funding to foreign aid groups.
The move has shaken the Egypt-U.S. alliance that has anchored America's Middle East policy for a generation and helped keep the peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Outraged at the charges, some senior U.S. politicians have warned that Washington's aid to Egypt could be jeopardised if the prosecution goes ahead.
The United States currently provides about $1.3 billion a year in aid to Egypt, one of the biggest packages offered to any nation.
Egyptian judges on Wednesday accused domestic and foreign groups, including American ones, of illegally meddling in the country's politics.
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02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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CAIRO: Egypts military rulers have warned that the country faces conspiracies that seek to topple the state and spread chaos, in a message intended to undermine activists who plan to mark the anniversary of President Hosni Mubaraks overthrow with anti-army protests.
Fridays statement from the council of generals who took power when Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11, 2011, came on the eve of a planned general strike aimed at pressuring the military to give up power.
Protest groups have grown harshly critical of the militarys handling of Egypts transition to democracy, accusing the army of trying to protect its power and committing human rights violations that rival those of Mubaraks regime. Thousands rallied outside the defense ministry Friday to call for the immediate transition of power to a civilian authority.
In a statement read on state TV Friday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said it would not bow to pressures to accelerate the transition.
Never will we bow to threats, nor succumb to pressures, nor accept ultimatums, it said.
The message said the army had played an essential role in Egypts transition and warned of plots that seek to strike a mortal blow to the revolution by sewing discord between the army and the people.
Without naming any culprits, it said Egypt was facing great threats.
We face conspiracies hatched against the homeland, whose goal is to undermine the institutions of the Egyptian state and whose aim is to topple the state itself so that chaos reigns and destruction spreads, it said.
Egyptian officials and military leaders have often blamed unnamed actors and foreign hands for fomenting unrest.
In the statement, the generals said they remained bound by the plan to pass executive power to an elected president before June 30.
The generals and the military-backed Cabinet have been critical of the strike call, casting it as another example of foreign attempts to weaken Egypt. The state media and a Facebook page affiliated with the ruling generals accused the US of using local institutions to agitate for the strike.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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...Amazing how it's always somebody else's fault.
Mike
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[Magharebia] Stepped-up military operations and intelligence penetrations have sown panic among al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) leaders, security analysts say.
In less than a month, Mohamed Ghadir (aka Abdelhamid Abou Zeid), the "Tariq ibn Ziyad" katibat boss, killed 30 Mauritanian members of the battalion, Ennahar reported on January 26th. The terrorist, who is sentenced to death in Algeria, suspected them of working for Mauritanian intelligence.
This is even more satisfying than reading of drone kills.
The "merciless and barbaric" act prompted "a sense of repulsion among young men working under him", according to the Algerian paper.
"Many Mauritanian young men, members of the terrorist group, have recently abandoned their ideas of engaging in terrorist operations against their country," Ennahar quoted analyst Zain Al-Abidin as saying. "However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... the fear of ending up in jail, on the one hand, and the temptation of receiving financial bonuses, on the other, still prevent them from fleeing the desert."
According to Al-Abidin, international religious moderation seminars that featured Mauritanian Mohammedan figures are among the factors that spur young people to "seek a way out and rejoin their communities and households".
"Terrorist leaders no longer trust even their closest partners," Ennahar editorialised. "They constantly fear someone would blow the whistle on them, especially after some took part in planning to annihilate the 'grey matter' of the clique, by supplying security authorities with the necessary information on the movements of certain members, which led them right into the hands of the police."
Whee! Well done, somebody!
For their part, Mauritanian observers viewed the information published by Ennahar as "proof of the success of successive military operations led by the Mauritanian army and its endeavours to besiege the group by shutting down many exists," analyst Mokhtar Salem said.
"It is also a sign showing the group is growing weak," he added.
Salem said, "The developments and the successive actions of field states only foreshadow continued pressure on the terrorist group, through the recent agreement by foreign ministers of field states in Nouakchott to allocate a budget in order to maintain intelligence consistency, being an effective tool in combatting terrorism and countering the recurrent problem of kidnapping foreign nationals."
"Since October, Mauritanian Intelligence has embarked on mobilising enormous potential to recruit local and foreign resources, so as to provide Mauritanian security authorities with information on the plans of al-Qaeda and its channels of communication within the country. Recruited agents are given fancy cars and hefty amounts of money," analyst Mohamed Ould Zein told Magharebia.
Security authorities passed their agents off as "traders, developers, smugglers and sometimes even jihadists, so they could convey a clear picture of what was going on in areas in the Sahara outside the reach of governments", according to Ould Zein.
He added that foreign detectives were also trained and dispatched to northern Mali.
Some of the recruits, however, may "play as double agents", analyst Mohamed Ould Al-Akel said.
They "will offer al-Qaeda information," he said. "Others, however, only give them information to prove their allegiance and ward off suspicions."
AQIM managed to penetrate Mauritanian territories a number of times, the latest of which was the abduction of a Mauritanian gendarme at the end of last year.
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02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] Libya's interim government has called on Niger to extradite Muammar Qadaffy's ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... third eldest son Saadi after he called on Libyans to prepare for a "coming uprising".
In a telephone interview with Al Arabiya television late on Friday, Saadi said that he was in regular contact with people in Libya who were unhappy with the authorities who took over the leadership in the country after the ousting of his father after 42 years of dictatorial rule, and the eventual capture and killing of his father.
National Transitional Council front man Mohammed al-Harizy said in a statement on behalf of the NTC, that following his comments, Libya's National Transitional Council is demanding that Niger, should extradite Saadi and those who are with him as soon as possible in order to maintain the relationship with the Libyan people." Niger is currently giving a safe haven to Saadi, who said he has the money to led an uprising in Libya.
Mr Harizy went on to say: "They (Niger authorities) should follow the Algerian government that prevented Qadaffy's daughter (Ayesha) from making statements or causing any trouble from their land." he said.
He added that NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil had called on Niger's President to discuss Saadi.
Mr Harizy said that the NTC confirms that there was not and there will not be any communication or negotiation with Saadi or anyone from the former regime.
"We assure the Libyan people that neither Saadi nor anyone else can raise the Qadaffy flag on Libyan soil ... Let Saadi know and whoever is standing behind him that the February 17 revolutionaries have not put down their weapons yet and they are ready to face any foolish attempt with force," he said.
In response, Niger pledged to tighten house surveillance of Saadi, but it reiterated that Saadi could not be handed over to a state where he could face execution.
Saadi, a former footballer, who analysts say did not even have the ability to lead a football team, let alone lead a "coup", decamped south to the West African state of Niger in September as Libyan rebels gained the upper hand over Qadaffy's forces.
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02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The opposition Joint Meeting Parties and the ruling General People Congress agreed on Saturday to form joint committees to run the early elections set for Feb. 21.
The Yemeni News Agency, Saba, has said that both sides prepared a guideline for the joint tasks, cooperation and coordination for holding the elections successfully.
The agreement included issuing directions to the election committees and approving an executive progrmme to carry out election rallies and taking actions to overcome any challenges or difficulties.
Saba said the agreement was signed by deputy chair of the General People Congress Abdul-Karim Al-Iriani and the he chair of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties Abdul-Wahab Al-Anisis.
Yemen's opposition and some ruling party officials see that these elections would lead to radical changes in Yemen.
During a United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... conference entitled "Reform and Transitions to Democracy," held in Beirut last month, the Yemeni veteran politician Al-Eryani said that Yemen will radically change after February 21 when early presidential elections will be held.
Spokesman of JMP Abdul Al-Odaini said that Yemen's presidential elections to would be a major shift in democratic, political and social fields.
The GCC states, the United States and other western countries acutely seeks for the success of the elections that are considered the major step to peaceful power transfer.
Under the GCC deal, Hadi is the consensus candidate of major parties in a presidential elections scheduled for February, while Saleh remains as a figurehead president for 90 days after he was forced to sign the deal.
After the elections, as GCC deal states, Hadi will oversee national dialogue to consider proposals for constitutional reforms that include replacing the presidential system with a multi-party parliamentary system.
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02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The Saada-based 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.... group has strongly slammed the US ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein after he expressed sorrow at the Iranian intervention in Yemen.
The rebel group further criticized statements of Freiestein about the reconstruction of the military and security services, saying that his statements are unacceptable.
In a statement, Houthis called for boycotting the presidential elections due to be held on February 21, dubbing them as an American plan to undermine the Yemeni revolution.
Feierstein had expressed sorrow at foreign intervention in Yemen, pointing out that Iran interfere in Yemen's affairs through supporting Houthis.
In an interview with a Yemeni state-run TV on Thursday night, Feierstein had voiced concern about Iran's efforts to raise security and political troubles in Yemen.
He stressed in another interview with the military-run newspaper, the importance of reconstructing the security and military services under the deal, pointing out that this process would start following the elections.
"The International community follows up preparations to the elections and we are optimistic that they will be successful," he added.
He made reference that the Yemeni government will face challenges following elections, affirming that the US wants to have active partnership with Yemenis in all fields.
He reiterated that the US and other countries discussed the issues that should be taken for the success of the elations , secure poll centers, and guarantee the delivery of electoral supplies to these centers.
"We are responsible for absolutely applying the GCC deal to ease unrest and consolidate security and military forces, and these steps should be implemented before the elections" the ambassador added.
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02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Southern Movement followers expelled on Saturday some committees tasked with organizing and running the upcoming early presidential elections from polling centers in some of the Yemeni southern provinces.
Local sources told Yemen Post that some Separation supporters have forced committees out of some schools that are used as polling centers in Al-Mansoura district of the southern port city of Aden.
The gunnies threatened the committees of killing if they insist on resuming their duties and get back to their polls, the local sources said.
The Movement said the south must not take part in the upcoming presidential elections, considering it a domestic affair of the north Yemen.
Southern Movement, otherwise known as Separation Movement, calls for an independent south Yemen state.
There are major divisions among the SM's leaders; while some call for federal governance like the former south Yemen's leader, Ali Nasser Mohamed, others insist on complete separation of the north, including former south Yemen's president Ali Sallem al-Biyath, who has signed the unity accord with Yemeni outgoing President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... in 1990.
Some southerners complain that they have been marginalized by the government since the reunifications in 1990. Joint Meeting Parties, the main opposition bloc in the country, has suggested appointing a president form the south as apart of an effort to preserve unity.
Even though Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, the sole candidate for the upcoming presidential elections set to be held on February 21 in line with the GCC-brokered deal signed in Soddy Arabia, is from the south, SM announced its rejection of the elections, and called for boycotting it.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Yemen Post] 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.... Group in northern Yemen called on Friday on the Yemeni people to boycott the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for February 21, considering it a part of USA devised proposal aimed to derail and fail the Yemeni revolution.
The statement came only a day following the US ambassador Gerald Feierstein has expected the elections to be a success in an interview with the state-owned 26 September.
"Since the elections has only a sole candidate why then wasting the public funds and hold elections, whose outcome is already known, " local media sources quoted al-Houthi front man as saying.
They called the elections a sham and a mockery of Yemeni people mentality, calling on their followers and what they called free citizens to abstain from participation.
Shiite and Sunni festivities have erupted in the last couple of months between al-Houthis and Sunni rustics in the northern provinces of Hajjah and Saddah, leaving scores killed, displacing more than 1000 families and aggravating an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
Houthis have fought six wars against government forces since 2004, leaving thousands killed from the two sides.
Yemeni government has directly accused Iran of backing Shiite sect of al-Houthis in 2008 and the relationships between the two countries have ever since downgraded.
Iran backs Shiites Moslems worldwide and the converse is true when it comes to Soddy Arabia, which supports Sunnis.
Following months of delaying tactics and political maneuvering, President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... has signed a deal under which he transferred power to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, the consensus candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections, in exchange for immunity from power.
Hadi, a military general, is going to lead Yemen in the two-year transitional period, in which a new constitution will be drafted, in line with Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal signed in November in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
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In a recent radio interview, newly elected former army general and now Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina said that in an unnamed future meeting of Central American leaders, his proposal will include the decriminalization and regulation of the transportation of drugs through the region.
He said he will bring the subject up with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes when Funes visits Monday.
The War on Drugs has become increasingly violent in Guatemala, as the Zetas and the Sinaloa drug cartels are running and processing drugs in Guatemala and may be competing for territory, especially in the province of Peten near the border with Mexico. The World Economic Forum will take place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in mid-April, so it is likely that, or a preliminary meeting by regional leaders he is talking about.
SEOUL, Feb. 12 -- North Korea will start its massive dance and gymnastics extravaganza in April to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the nation's founder and new leader Kim Jong-un's grandfather, a U.S.-based travel agency said Sunday.
According to New Tours Korea, the U.S.-based travel agency that specializes in guided tours to North Korea, the Arirang Mass Game will be held from April 10 to May 1 and from August 1 until Sept. 15.
So get your tickets early! You don't want to be outside when the big show starts...
The performance, named after a famous Korean folk song, has been held almost annually since 2002, when it debuted to celebrate the 90th birthday of Kim Il-sung. It features tens of thousands of young gymnasts performing synchronized acrobatics, dances and flip-card mosaic animations in what is believed to be the largest gymnastics show in the world.
The mass event usually opens in August and this will be the first time in five years it will be held in April. April 15th is the 100th anniversary of the anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il-sung.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/12/2012 21:00 ||
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#1
The pro-illegal immigrant crowd are once again having shrieking hysteria about this.
A good indicator of the philosophy involved is seen by the state senate creators of the bill, the "Senate Border Security, Federalism and States Sovereignty Committee" (insert rebel yell here).
#5
Texas has a State Guard, including 2 air wings and a maritime regiment. They current have a number of active operations per their web site, among them "Operation Border Star".
#8
D *** NG IT, ONLY THE FEDERAL GOVT. = WASHINGTON DC CAN SOLVE THESE COMPLEX IMMIGRATION ISSUES, which of course SSSSSHHHHHHHHHH ....CCCCCCCCCC we actually don't want to be solved.
These nuggets are culled from the Urdu press. They are summarised here without comment. Absurd or ridiculous, tft takes no responsibility for them
Sudan goes crazy over nikah?
Reported in Mashriq a Sudanese scholar had rashly announced that a Moslem woman could become a witness in the solemnisation of nikah in her own right. He also decreed that women could take part in funeral prayers or janaza. He also added that women lining up behind a ma holy man during namaz was also a mere custom and not according to Islam. Truly Islamic Pakistain does none of these things.
Wajid Shamsul Hasan a burden on exchequer
Daily Mashriq reported that Pakistain's High Commissioner in London who is a PPP appointee, Wajid Shamsul Hasan had become a terrible burden on the national exchequer of a poverty-stricken Pakistain as he was living in a luxurious rented residence for which 25 lakh pounds were being paid. He was also constantly ill for which the charges were being defrayed by Pakistain.
Bashir Riaz on secret agencies
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir commented that Bashir Riaz had revealed facts about Pak agencies who stalk politicians all over the world but are found sleeping when the Americans violating our air space come in helicopters to invade Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... Prime Minister breaks loose?
Writing in Jang Saleem Safi stated that Prime Minister Gilani did not consult with President Zardari before dismissing the Defence Secretary, General Lodhi from his job. This was apparent because the president was himself shocked that the PM did this, which also proved that he was merely acting when meeting with the Army chief together with the president. It was learned that wrong kind of people had joined the PM's camp and were advising him to take on the Army.
Freebies in the Cricket Board
Daily Jinnah reported that a number of people were doing nothing at the Cricket Board of Pakistain but drawing big salaries. Among those who were drawing several lakh rupees per month were: Shafqat Rana, Waseem Bari, Abdul Qadir and Javed Miandad.
Rename the bloody thing the Locust Board and be done.
Benazir and her spying servants
Hamid Mir revealed in Jang that According to Bashir Riaz while Benazir was living in Dubai she was so suspicious of local servants that she imported specially loyal ones from Larkana but soon enough they were taking money in their special accounts and passing on all information to the agencies. They were found to be receiving up to 10,000 dirhams for this snooping.
'Supreme Court wrong on NRO'
Daily Mashriq reported lawyer leader Asma Jahangir as saying that she did not like the NRO but was convinced that the Supreme Court's view of the NRO was wrong. She said the Court should not have moved against lawyer Babar Awan but let the Bar Association take action against him. Now the Court was scared after suspending his licence.
A 'doctor' TV anchor traps Benazir
Further revealing facts in Jang Hamid Mir stated that Bashir Riaz memoir talked of a Dr Something TV anchor who arrived in Dubai and tried to show Benazir sitting at a table while a wine bottle sat next to her. Benazir was not aware what the Doctor Anchor was up to till a dancing girl also swung into view, after which she angrily walked out of the interview which the anchor was relaying to his spy masters on cell phone. She told him she knew who he was and for whom he was working. Later Zardari gave a lucrative job to the Doctor Anchor at PTV after the death of Benazir.
PPP tells PMLN elections in October
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt PP government had told PMLN leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan that it was ready to hold elections in Sept-Oct 2012 which meant that Senate election will proceed in early March and the budget for 2012-13 would be presented by the PPP government before elections.
Musharraf acts like a dictator!
Right hand man of Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , Fawwad Chaudhry told Nawa-e-Waqt that his leader Pervez Musharraf while abroad was acting like a dictator within his party All Pakistain Moslem League and therefore he was thinking of quitting it. He said Musharraf's close adviser Dr Mujtaba was involved in sectarian conflict and was making Musharraf ignore other party members. Daily Express reported that Ch Fawwad might join Tehrik Insaf.
The sacred ring of the Prophet PBUH
Famous columnist Haroon Rasheed wrote in Jang that the ring (khatam) of the Holy Prophet PTUI!)'>(PTUI!) was a kind of stamp which was lost after his demise because it fell into a well during the rule of Hazrat Usman the Pious Caliph. Despite much effort at filtering water and sand, it could not be found.
Benazir prayed for Zardari
According to Jang in Hamid Mir column Benazir was in the habit of ringing Zardari and praying over the phone and then breathing the prayer into the phone to bless Zardari and save him from all adverse happenings. This showed how loyal she was to him and appreciated him as her companion.
It could possibly be that she was religious. I'm not sure how high a probability to assign it, though.
Pakistan falls in 'democracy index'
Daily Jang reported that Pakistain had fallen from 114th position to 115th in the world democracy rating while India had climbed from 40th to 39th position. This was published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Goodbye, Nawaz Sharif and Zardari!
Writing in Jang Haroon Rasheed stated that the truth was that Pakistain Army was the target of America and that generals Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and Pasha were in the firing line of Washington but no one was sincere in standing with them. 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... was not honest in his claims and had been disloyal to the nation. Now three people have to leave (rukhsat): Gilani, Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.
Imran needs six months more of PPP
Daily Express reported Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... as saying if the PPP government stayed in power for another six months it would be good for his party. He said if the elections were held before September his party can face problems. He needed more time to consolidate his position while his relations were good (maaqul) with the Army and the game of the PPP government was up (khail khatam).
Commission advises disciplining of ISI
Columnist Dr Tauseef Ahmad Khan wrote in Express that the Saleem Shahzad Commission had examined the evidence brought before it and had opined that Saleem Shahzad may have been the victim of his relations with the terrorist including Ilyas Kashmiri. The Commission had taken note of the evidence against the ISI and had recommended that it be made better answerable and brought under better discipline.
Saudi pupils convert American teacher
Jihadi publication al Qalam reported that in Soddy Arabia a class of Moslem pupils learning from an American teacher had persuaded him to change his religion to Islam. He found the pupils so sincere in their presentation of Islam that he quit Christianity and embraced Islam.
But will he remain Muslim once he returns home?
Bashir Riaz a PPP loyalist
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that Bashir Riaz was such a loyalist of the PPP that Benazir in her last testament asked Zardari to look after the man who was her front man since 1987 and was the organiser of the event of her wedding with Zardari. After her death however he was looked after by Zardari but he chose to return to his home in Lahore and write his memoirs of the Benazir legacy.
Continued on Page 49
#1
was a kind of stamp which was lost after his demise because it fell into a well during the rule of Hazrat Usman the Pious Caliph. Despite much effort at filtering water and sand, it could not be found.
Probably under the protection of the 12th Imam.
Those Cracker Jack® rings never did last long, though. Too bad, it could have been worth something.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/12/2012 12:36 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... should either apologise to the Supreme Court or resign, DawnNews reported.
Talking to the media representatives upon his arrival at the Jinnah International airport in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , Qureshi said that premier should make an apology to the SC and write the letter to the Swiss authorities to resolve the issue once and for all.
On the issue of the interim government setup, the PTI leader said that his party shared the stance of with Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) of taking all parties on board.
"Many parliamentarians are in contact with PTI on the care-taker issue," the former foreign minister said.
"PTI wants transparent elections in the country and believes that this demand is the right of every Pak citizen" he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... said on Friday that it is still considering an Israeli request to contribute missile ships to a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea, despite opposition by Turkey.
NATO's announcement came in response to an exclusive Jerusalem Post report that Turkish opposition had torpedoed an Israeli plan to contribute a missile ship to Active Endeavor, an operation launched after 9/11 to patrol the Mediterranean and share information concerning terrorism and suspicious ships.
The Post revealed that Turkey decided to oppose Israel's participation in the operation following the Israel Navy raid on a Gazoo-bound flotilla in 2010 during which nine Turkish nationals were killed.
According to Today's Zaman, NATO said that Israel's offer was still being evaluated. The paper also quoted a Turkish Foreign Ministry official who confirmed that Turkey had succeeded in preventing Israel from participating in the mission.
#1
A number of Israeli Netters/Bloggers are hoping that, iff approved, this small step will lead to Israel formally joining NATO-EU one day, preferably ASAP.
#2
NATO, unlikely, JosephM, and never on the EU. They have too much invested in hating the Jewish Entity for surviving -- just look at how they have refused to accept Israel into their working groups at the UN, after the Middle East and Africa groups refused to accept her. There are an awful lot of hopeful people in Israel, although. It's of them have given up hoping that the Palestinians will be ready for peace within the next two generations.
[Iran Press TV] Israel says it has "successfully" tested an upgraded anti-ballistic missile system in conjunction with the United States over the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel declared a Friday test of its Arrow weapon system a "major milestone" in the development of a system to defend against medium range missiles that could be fired from countries like Iran.
The Arrow missile defense system tracked a projectile called "Blue Sparrow" that was fired by an Israeli war plane, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"The test was conducted on Friday in conjunction with the US Missile Defense Agency," said Yair Ramati, an Israeli military official.
The ministry's statement added that the test demonstrated that the Arrow Weapon System and the US Ballistic Missile Defense System could work together.
The Arrow missile system, the development of which is jointly funded by the US and Israel, was launched in 1988.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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#2
ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > USN FIFTH FLEET COMMANDER: FORCE READY FOR IRAN | US NAVY COMMANDER: "IRAN CAN DEFINITELY STRIKE A BLOW" AGZ THE US NAVY, but is confident his USN Boyz can deal wid anything Iran + IRGC tries to throw at 'em.
* SAME > [US SecDef Leon Panetta] US WILL "ABSOLUTELY" CONTINUE DRONE WAR ON IRAN.
versus
* TOPIX > [People's Daily] IRAN TO FULLY LAUNCH FORDO NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT FACILITY "SOON": LOCAL MEDIA.
* SAME > ARMENIAN EXPERT: RUSSIA'S PASSIVITY ON IRAN IS TEMPORARY. Mama Russia likely to unilaterally make strong regional mil moves iff it ever senses the US-Israel-NATO are about to strike.
* SAME > [Same Pert] AZERBAIJAN [will be] IS A TOOL FOR [US, UK = NATO?] FIGHT ON IRAN. Staging bases.
Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned Palestinian movement Hamas against any compromise in its fight against Tehrans nemesis Israel, his official website reported.
Always be wary of infiltration by compromisers in a resistance organisation, which will gradually weaken it, Khamenei told the visiting Hamas Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniya, according to the leader.ir website.
We have no doubt about your resistance and that of many of your brothers, and the people only have this expectation of you, said Khamenei, reaffirming that Iran will always be alongside the Palestinian resistance.
Khameneis comments come as divisions within Hamas have emerged on a possible overhaul of the organisations strategy. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal signed an agreement with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas earlier this month placing Abbas at the head of an interim government charged with organising elections later this year.
The agreement struck by Meshaals foreign-based leadership with Abbas Fatah faction has run into serious opposition from Hamas members inside the Gaza Strip, which the movement has controlled since ousting the presidents loyalists in 2007.
* OTOH TOPIX > ARAB LEAGUE WANTS UN FORCE IN SYRIA.
Once again, an underlying premise of so-called "Islamic Union" was ARAB-MUSLIM SPECIFIC NON-RELIANCE OR NON-DEPENDENCY ON THE NON-MUSLIM JUDEOCHRISTIAN US-NATO/WEST, ESPEC AS PER UN-APPROVED "POLICE ACTIONS/PEACEKEEPING" INVOL MUSLIM STATES.
Syria now appears to be another in the long line of post-Mubarak = "Arab Spring", "dropped balls" by the AL.
Iff I'm wrong as per AL = Arab-Muslim "unilateralism", I do not see it in the MSM-Net.
In the eight-minute video, entitled "Onwards, Lions of Syria" and posted on an Islamist website, the Egyptian-born Zawahri also urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to come to the aid of Syrian rebels confronting Assad's forces. Death to Alawite misbelievers!
[An Nahar] Arab recognition of the opposition Syrian National Council is imminent, SNC member Ahmed Ramadan said in Qatar on Saturday, ahead of key talks in the Egyptian capital on the crisis.
"We have confirmations of an Arab recognition (of the SNC) that will soon take place, though not necessarily on Sunday," when the 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... holds a ministerial meeting on Syria in Cairo, Ahmed Ramadan told AFP.
"But there will be strong signals on Sunday, especially from Gulf Cooperation Council states," whose foreign ministers will also meet in Cairo before joining the vaporous Arab League meeting, Ramadan said.
Ramadan's comments come a day after two other SNC figures said they expected recognition of their coalition of major opposition parties, grouping Islamists -- including the Moslem Brüderbund -- liberals and nationalists.
On Friday, Imad Hussari, a front man for the group and leader of the "Local Coordination Committees" which mobilizes protests inside Syria, said "there should be an official recognition of the SNC by several Gulf countries."
Another SNC figure, Istanbul-based Khaled Khoja, confirmed he expects recognition "by several Arab states in the coming days."
The opposition members did not specify the extent of recognition they expected from Arab states.
Currently, only Libya's post-revolutionary interim government recognizes the SNC and does so as its sole legitimate Syrian interlocutor.
The Gulf states decided on Monday to expel Syrian ambassadors from their capitals and have said they are mulling further moves.
Since arriving on Thursday, members of the SNC executive committee have held a series of meetings in Qatar, a key member of the GCC, which also groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudia Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar has been at the forefront of efforts to impose sanctions against the Syrian regime's lethal crackdown on anti-regime protesters in which activists say more than 6,000 people have been killed since March last year.
On Saturday, four SNC members travelled to Cairo to discuss with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi a French proposal to form a "Friends of Syria" group, Ramadan said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... proposed creating the group after Moscow and China vetoed on February 4 a draft U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown by Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... 's forces.
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... said on Friday that world confidence in the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... had been shaken after the world body failed to adopt the resolution.
"We all used to take pride in the United Nations which used to bring us together and not divide us ... but what took place does not augur well as world confidence in the United Nations has undoubtedly been shaken," he said.
On Tuesday, the GCC states decided to expel Syrian envoys and withdraw their own over the "mass slaughter" of civilians.
Ramadan had said that the opposition will "begin documenting the regime's crimes, in cooperation with international human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... groups, and will present these (documents) to the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... ."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Jihadists are moving from Iraq to Syria, as are weapons being sent to opponents of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's The Scourge of Hama... regime, Iraq's deputy interior minister told Agence La Belle France Presse on Saturday.
Thus they reap what they have sown. Lock the border tight once they've left, O Iraqi border guards!
Assad has been carrying out a bloody crackdown on an uprising against his rule since March 2011, in which over 6,000 people have been killed.
"We have intelligence information that a number of Iraqi jihadists went to Syria," Adnan al-Assadi said in an interview with AFP, adding that "weapons smuggling is still ongoing" from Iraq to Syria.
"The weapons are transported from Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... to Nineveh (province), and the prices of weapons in djinn-infested Mosul (the province's capital) are higher now because they are being sent to the opposition in Syria," Assadi said.
He said that the price of a Kalashnikov assault rifle has risen from between $100 and $200 to between $1000 and $1500.
"The weapons are being smuggled from djinn-infested Mosul through the Rabia crossing to Syria, as members of the same families live on both sides of the border," he said.
And "there is some smuggling through a crossing near Abu Kamal," he said, referring to a Syrian city.
There are large numbers of weapons in Iraq after three decades marked by multiple wars and a violent insurgency following the 2003 overthrow of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
Assadi said some Arab jihadists have returned home to participate in revolutions there.
"In the past, Syrians were fighting in Iraq, and now they are fighting in Syria, and also the Egyptians are fighting in Egypt, the Yemenis in Yemen, and the Libyans in Libya."
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... "used to send jihadists to Iraq and financed them to fight in Iraq, and (ousted Libyan leader Muammar) Qadaffy used to have many organizations fighting in Iraq," he said.
Go out in the fields with your sickles, ye men,
Sharp sickles of blood-darkened iron,
Go harvest the barley, the hops and the yeast,
The Fates have a beer to brew!
Posted by: Fred ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Thats a big price jump. Given the millions of weapons in Iraq that means an awful lot are heading to Syria.
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/12/2012 8:42 Comments ||
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#4
my son spent nearly a year at a COP next to Rabia crossing. He's very pleased with the "karma's a bitch" turnabout news here :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/12/2012 13:08 Comments ||
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#5
*sigh*. It was an "as you sow so shall ye reap" poem, but it doesn't seem to have worked. Even the trailing daughters didn't see the connection between the words and the images in my head.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Saturday that the US has always sought sabotage in Iran in a bid to dishearten the people from the Islamic Revolution, IRNA reported.
It's working, too...
Operation Lemony Snickett.
Addressing a ceremony marking the 33rd victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, he said that the Iranian nation withstood the enemies in the past 33 years through vigilance and resistance.
'The eight-year US-backed Iraqi-imposed war, economic sanctions and terror acts were all among the plots hatched by the US but the more they mounted pressure, the Iranian nation stood stronger,' Mehmanparast said.
The arrogant powers are trying to dishearten the people from the Islamic Revolution and create discord in the country, he said, adding that today the people showed that they are still loyal to the Islamic Revolution and Imam Khomeini's ideals through massive turnout.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course seizing one's embassy and holding the diplomatic personnel as hostages has been considered an act of war by most historical standards up until the Carter Era.
I would hope. It seems there are fair number of people in Iran who don't agree with the Islamic Revolution. Obama seemed to be against these people before he was for them or was it the other way around? I forget after all the flip flops, flop flips, and walk backs.
[Iran Press TV] Iran's diminutive PresidentMahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad has announced the unveiling of "major nuclear accomplishments" in the next few days despite increasing Western pressure over the country's nuclear program.
"In the nuclear field, major achievements have been made by the Medes and the Persians in recent years," Ahmadinejad said in a Saturday speech, marking the 33rd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Iranian president said the world has witnessed hegemonic powers use every means to prevent the Islamic Theocratic Republic from attaining nuclear progress.
"Today, not only has this (Iranian) nation become[a] nuclear [capable nation], but it has also succeeded in meeting a large portion of its needs in this field," Ahmadinejad added.
The US and the EU have recently increased pressure on the Islamic Theocratic Republic by imposing unprecedented sanctions against the country's oil industry and Central Bank.
The Western sanctions and frequent threats of a military strike against Iran are intended to force Iran to halt its nuclear program, which the US and its allies claim has a covert military aspect.
Iran, however, has repeatedly refuted the allegations and said as a member of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it is entitled to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes.
In line with its confidence-building policy, the Islamic Theocratic Republic has repeatedly opened up its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspectors, who have found no evidence of a deviation in the country's nuclear program.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Based on the "plural" ... how many a-bombs will they be blowing off?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/12/2012 3:01 Comments ||
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#2
The Saudis have said they will go nukulaar themselves widin a time span of "weeks" iff Iran ever devs a Bomb.
Pragmatically, iff Iran ever did declare it has a few Nukes or "Dirty Bombs", ee "Tacnukes", at this time 2012-2015 the two latter can only be used half-half agz either a US-led ground invasion force [defensive], or by Iran's proxies for select international nuclear terror [offensive], until such time that Iran can quickly mass produce 'em.
[Tripoli Post] Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the Medes and the Persians and the government are united and will not give in to any Western pressure over its peaceful nuclear programme, Press TV reports.
And so it would, if they were indeed united. Oh well.
"You see when the people and the government are one and the same and they are not two different entities and when you cannot differentiate between people and the government what does pressure mean?," Salehi said on Saturday.
Talking to Press TV while attending the rallies marking the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Salehi said the high public turnout in the nationwide rallies is an indication of the Iranian nation's commitment to the values of the Islamic revolution.
"Today's rally is a testimony to the fact that the Medes and the Persians stands firmly behind its revolution," because its revolution stems from human values and the Islamic tenets, he added.
The Iranian foreign minister said the Western pressure on the Islamic Theocratic Republic to abandon its civilian nuclear programme will lead to nowhere.
"I think this (high public turnouts in the rallies) is a good enough message for others to understand that this nation will never ever yield to pressures from outside," Salehi said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/12/2012 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/12/2012 11:43 Comments ||
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#6
Maybe he's worried about Assad's longevity. The Sunni population of Syria, at about 15m, is 6x the Shiite population of Lebanon (and 3x the entire population). If the Muslim Brotherhood takes power in Syria, Hezbollah is in big trouble, given that Syrians have generally viewed Lebanon much the way Iraqis view Kuwait - as a province unfairly pried away by a European power. I would expect hordes of Sunni Arabs from Syria to swamp the Shiite areas of Lebanon. Hezbollah would then be looking to Israel to protect them from the Ikhwan, since Hezbollah has nugatory military capability compared to Syria, and its civilian human shield military tactics aren't going to faze fellow Arabs, for whom killing heretics and apostates, civilians or not, is a benefit rather than something to be avoided.
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.
CAIRO: Egypts military rulers have warned that the country faces conspiracies that seek to topple the state and spread chaos, in a message intended to undermine activists who plan to mark the anniversary of President Hosni Mubaraks overthrow with anti-army protests.
[Magharebia] Stepped-up military operations and intelligence penetrations have sown panic among al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) leaders, security analysts say.
[Tripoli Post] Libya's interim government has called on Niger to extradite 
[Yemen Post] The opposition Joint Meeting Parties and the ruling General People Congress agreed on Saturday to form joint committees to run the early elections set for Feb. 21. 
The Saada-based 
Southern Movement followers expelled on Saturday some committees tasked with organizing and running the upcoming early presidential elections from polling centers in some of the Yemeni southern provinces.
SEOUL, Feb. 12 -- North Korea will start its massive dance and gymnastics extravaganza in April to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the nation's founder and new leader Kim Jong-un's grandfather, a U.S.-based travel agency said Sunday.
These nuggets are culled from the Urdu press. They are summarised here without comment. Absurd or ridiculous, tft takes no responsibility for them
Pervez 
Nawaz Sharif
Mehmood 
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Saturday that the US has always sought sabotage in Iran in a bid to dishearten the people from the Islamic Revolution, IRNA reported.
Mahmoud 
Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi says 
