Senior United Nations nuclear inspectors headed to Tehran on Saturday to press Iranian officials to address suspicions that the Islamic state is seeking atomic weapons.
Oh sure, the Iranians will come clean now, why wouldn't they?
The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency hopes Iran, which has indicated readiness to discuss the issue for the first time since 2008, will end years of stonewalling on intelligence pointing to an intention to develop nuclear arms technology.
Hope is not a plan...
"We are trying ... to resolve all the outstanding issues with Iran, in particular we hope that Iran will engage with us on our concerns regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program," IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts told reporters as he prepared to depart from Vienna airport.
But Western diplomats, who have often accused Iran of using such offers of dialogue as a stalling tactic while it presses ahead with its nuclear program, say they doubt Tehran will show the kind of concrete cooperation the IAEA wants.
Optimists...
They say Iran may offer limited concessions and transparency in an attempt to ease intensifying international pressure on the country, a major oil producer, but that this is unlikely to amount to the full cooperation that is required.
The outcome could determine whether Iran will face further international isolation, or whether there are prospects for resuming wider talks between Tehran and the major powers on the nuclear dispute that has sparked fears of war.
The Dutch minority government plans to ban Muslim face veils such as burqas and other forms of clothing that cover the face from next year. The ban would make the Netherlands, where 1 million out of 17 million people are Muslim, the second European Union country to ban the burqa after France, and would apply to face-covering veils if they were worn in public.
"People should be able to look at each other's faces and recognize each other when they meet," the interior affairs ministry said in a statement Friday.
We should at least be able to recognize the encountered as a human being...
The ban will also apply to balaclavas and motorcycle helmets when worn in inappropriate places, such as inside a store, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen told reporters, denying that this was a ban on religious clothing.
Geert Wilders' anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV), which helps give the Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition a majority in parliament, has set considerable political store on getting the so-called burqa ban passed into law.
Few Muslim women in the Netherlands wear the Arabic-style niqabs which leave the eyes uncovered and Afghan-style burqas that cover the face with a cloth grid. Academics estimate the numbers at between 100 and 400, whereas Muslim headscarves which leave the face exposed are far more common.
The coalition has agreed to submit a new law to parliament next week stipulating that offenders would be fined up to 390 euros ($510), the ministry said.
#3
"When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movement becomes headlong faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until its too late." Bene Gesserit proverb
"Dune", "Part III: The Prophet", by Frank Herbert
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012 11:34
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#4
More people have camera cell phones than in 2009 and the cameras are smaller so we might get some good footage of fraud in action, beatings of voters, etc.
back in 2009, the evidence of fraud was indirect (e.g., premature announcements of result, vote tallies inconsistent with population estimates, etc.)
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/28/2012 19:34
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#5
Mike - there was another quote from Dune (II) Muab'dib. Something like "We will not allow our people to suffer the tynranny of a democracy".
When I first heard it I thought 'WTF?' - my public school education. But now, thanks in large part to Rantburg U - I know what it means.
#1
There's no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to 'decarbonize' the world's economy.
Agree. Whether or not man-made global warming [MMGW] is important, there is ZERO evidence that anything so far proposed to lessen MMGW will have a beneficial effect sooner than 200 years into the future, while the detrimental economic effects happen IMMEDIATELY, with many national economies already rapidly deteriorating.
Enough of this MMGW crap.
#5
Unfortunately, the SIRIUS + simil major Solar Storm/Flare Events [e.g. QUEBEC] were real - IMO it would be morally + professionally unethical + incompetent for our Resident Mad Solar/Space Scientists to not determine + tell us what is occurring.
MODERN + POST MODERN REPRESENTATIVE/ELECTORAL: DEMOCRACY = come to mean HIDE EVERYTHING, GOOD OR BAD OR MIXED, FROM THE VOTERS OR THE PEOPLE.
Not unlike "Peak Oil" + "Peak Resources/
Everything", iff one believes that our OWG-NWO is also akin to desired future SPACE GOVT-ORDER FOR PURPOSES OF DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION + COLONIZATION, which I do, THEN THESE QUESTIONS + ISSUES, ETC. HAVE TO BE ASKED + ANSWERED TRUTHFULLY.
"Good/Smart Politics" is N-O-T always Good/Proper Leadership, + can be HIGHLY DANGEROUS, EVEN CATASTROPHIC = MORTAL, UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS.
#6
E.g NEWSVINE > WHY THE BP MACONDO BLOWOUT [Gulf of Mexico/Mahico] IS SO DISASTROUS + BEYOND PATCH-UP.
and
* SAME > SCIENTISTS: HAITI, DR [Dominican Repub] MAY BE FACING BIG QUAKE PERIOD. New active cycle of potentially large EQS as per Enriquillo Fault System.
* Lest we fergit, the on-going US national controversy oer "FRACKING".
The above are among the top issues our future OWG-NWO will be steadily hotly debating circa Year 2040-2070, IN MANY WAYS DUE TO THE GOVTS,PERTS CONSENSUS OF NO/LACK OF CONSENSUS THAT WE EXPERIENCING NOW.
Iff things don't change for the better, the US-World may wake up in Year 2040 or so to find out there is suddenly no more Oil or Gas available GLOBALLY for Automobiles, Heavy Industry use.
IMO HERES THE FUN PART - THE US-WORLD IN 2040 WON'T BE ABLE TO CLAIM THEY WEREN'T WARNED MANY YEARS + DECADES BEFORE.
#3
Must be a racist - bringing facts into the picture... After all most entitlement abusers are black - so this must be some sort of codeword...
Really? Welfare fraud statistics are notoriously difficult to gather and interpret. Perhaps you could document your statement. Or, you could withdraw it. Or, you could recognize that laying it out there like that, without documentation, exposes you to some rather hard-to-answer charges about your beliefs in skin pigmentation.
#4
SS recipients are retired persons who paid in for years. They are not abusers or leaches. SSI recipients may or may not be leaches. Medicaid has its legitimate uses, but is probably much more prone to abuse. Food stamps are the same, good, but overdone. We need to choke a few million people off the teat. Nothing short of a case by case review will weed out the bums. Expensive, but worth it.
#7
bigjim, Social Security recipients have been promised a lot more than could actuarily be paid from their 'contributions' (taxes); they've been scammed. Of course the same can be said for most defined benefit pension plans as well.
#8
CrazyFool, I suspect people get sensitive about even sarcastic comments about race because the 'general perception', fed by the MSM, is that conservatives and fellow travelers are all racist, and they prefer not to fill the MSM etc. tar bucket for them.
#9
CF, when you decide to say something like that again, don't use the "/sarc" tab - use "/off liberals 'thinking.'"
It's accurate, and leaves no doubt. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/28/2012 19:31
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#10
Medicaid has its legitimate uses, but is probably much more prone to abuse. Food stamps are the same, good, but overdone. We need to choke a few million people off the teat. Nothing short of a case by case review will weed out the bums. Expensive, but worth it.
Having pretty much been forced to participate in this system (Medicaid) on behalf of my daughter with Down syndrome, I strongly second what Big Jim just said: there are maybe two leeches in the Medicaid trough for every one person who should really be getting it. This includes all sorts of drug addicts, people pretending to be permanently injured and/or sick, and obvious illegals - though the last category have at least had the initiative to better themselves by sneaking into the country to run a scam.
Reuters is still kicking itself over an article about Republican golden boy Senator Marco Rubio that yielded five corrections yesterday and may have warranted more.
One senior staffer at Reuters described the episode to me as a "fiasco," another as a "disgrace."
It was so bad, in fact, that the editors and writer involved have been asked not to talk about it. (I reached out to editors David Lindsey and Eric Walsh, but have not heard back.)
The article, by David Adams, had intended to detail why Rubio was an unlikely pick for Vice President: "Rubio may not be as coveted as Gingrich or Romney would have it appear as they press for votes in Florida, where more than 450,000 Hispanics identify themselves as Republicans," Reuters David Adams wrote. "Despite his reputation as a watchdog over federal spending, Rubio, 40, has had significant financial problems that could keep him from passing any vetting process as a potential vice presidential choice, Republican and Democratic strategists say."
But after pressure from the Rubio staff, Reuters was forced to issue corrections that quickly became a larger talking point than the article itself.
Rubio's staff reached out to the editors and the writer early yesterday, prompting Reuters to issue two corrections. But the Daily Caller's Matt Lewis, who spoke with Rubio's staff as well, wrote an item suggesting that there were at least seven errors or exaggerations that warranted mention, and Reuters ultimately issued three more.
"It was unfortunate that a story was posted with so much bad information," Rubio spokesman Alex Conant told me. "But [Reuters'] quick response was appreciated."
The piece is now being referred to by various outlets and conservative blogs as a "hit piece" which failed to make the hit.
"There's no excuse for being this sloppy," the Examiner's Philip Klein, a former Reuters reporter, wrote. "Major misfire by Reuters, on multiple levels."
Money quote
...the choice has always been for the West, between either democracy with the rise of Islam or autocracy. As I said before when you are democratic you vote for whom you want and they obviously want Islam.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, in opposition to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services' dictate that health-insurance plans, including those offered by Catholic groups, must provide birth control, has called on Catholics to defy the law.
"This is an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the church in the United States directly and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty," Olmsted wrote in the letter, which is expected to be read this weekend at Catholic Masses.
"Unless the rule is overturned," Olmsted wrote, "we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences or to drop health coverage for our employees."
Olmsted added, "We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law."
Penalties for not following the rule, if it is adopted, are unclear. Government contracts, if any, could be jeopardized, and employees who are not covered in circumstances where coverage is required could seek legal remedies.
A week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told individuals and institutions who oppose contraception "to hell with you," as one bishop put it, members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy were mobilizing their followers to fight.
Bishops across the country -- including Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans and Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla. -- were preparing letters to be read at all Masses during the Jan. 28-29 weekend.
But one of the most strongly worded reactions to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' Jan. 20 announcement that religious organizations could delay but not opt out of a requirement that all health plans cover contraception and sterilization at no cost came from Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, in a column titled "To hell with you."
Sebelius and the Obama administration "have said 'To hell with you' to the Catholic faithful of the United States," Bishop Zubik wrote. "To hell with your religious beliefs. To hell with your religious liberty. To hell with your freedom of conscience. We'll give you a year, they are saying, and then you have to knuckle under."
He called on Catholics in the Pittsburgh Diocese to "do all possible to rescind" the contraceptive mandate by writing to President Barack Obama, Sebelius and their members of Congress about this "unprecedented federal interference in the right of Catholics to serve their community without violating their fundamental moral beliefs."
Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., enlisted the aid of St. Michael the Archangel in fighting "this unprecedented governmental assault upon the moral convictions of our faith."
In a Jan. 24 letter to Peoria Catholics, he directed that the prayer of St. Michael be recited "for the freedom of the Catholic Church in America" during Sunday Masses at every parish, school, hospital, Newman center and religious house in the diocese.
The prayer reads in part: "Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil" and "cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls."
"I am honestly horrified that the nation I have always loved has come to this hateful and radical step in religious intolerance," Bishop Jenky said in the letter.
"While it is primarily the laity who should take the leading role in political and legal action, as your bishop it is my clear responsibility to summon our local church into spiritual and temporal combat in defense of Catholic Christianity," he added. "I strongly urge you not to be intimidated by extremist politicians or the malice of the cultural secularists arrayed against us." Several sources to the above, with the most recent as the link.
#1
Kathleen Sebelius (and BO), secretary of Health and Human Services' dictate that health-insurance plans, including those offered by Catholic groups, must provide birth control
Dictate! Who the hell do these people think they are?
Approximately 25% of the people in this country are Catholic. Somewhere around 130 million people voted in 2010 (although the potential voting population is larger). If 25% of 130 million people who vote are Catholic that is ~ 30 million plus - a sizable block of voters who could swing a Presidential election.
#2
Bishops & priests need to be careful lest they jeopardize their outfit's tax-exempt status.
Obama's law may result in many others (not religious) to drop employer-subsidized health coverage for employees. Penalties (so far) for doing so are much cheaper than the cost of compliance.
#3
Obama's law may result in many others (not religious) to drop employer-subsidized health coverage for employees. Penalties (so far) for doing so are much cheaper than the cost of compliance.
#5
I am not a lawyer, but it may be problematic to take away the tax exempt status of the Catholic (or any other) Church. There was a Supreme Court case long ago that said that states could not tax the federal government because the unlimited power to tax is the power to destroy. Now, destroying the Catholic Church may be considered to be a feature not a bug for Obama and his progressive henchmen. However, I truly hope that the Supreme Court would see the enormous damage that it would do to the First Amendment for the government to destroy a religion.
Of course, the majority of the current members of the Supreme Court are Catholic, which might help. :)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/28/2012 12:03
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#6
How about that. Took only three years for Obama to get enough balls to begin acting like what he aspires to be, a third world dictactor of the United States of America.
#8
So Zero wants to start a war with the Catholic Church? Does he not realize that the Catholics are a significant part of the police, fire, and EMT services of all major Eastern cities, and can effectively shut those cities down? Or that the one of the most successful terrorist organization on the planet is the IRA, which could easily start operations protecting Catholics from government oppression in this country?
#9
Or that the Catholic population is overrepresented in the combat arms of the US military, and the US Special Forces? Starting a religious war with 25% of the country is a grand way to initiate a full-scale civil war throughout the country. And besides which, you give the ones fighting for the Church martyr status since they are being killed or arrested for their faith. Ask the Roman Empire how well that worked out for them.
#10
God's laws and statutes trumps man's laws and statutes. Period. After 300 years of freedom, the persecution of the faiths has now begun in the USA.
#12
Yes Catholics are over-represented in SOCOM, and at a those agencies that require high security clearances - Catholics and Mormons, for some reason.
Pebbles: this has nothing to do with tax exemptions. This is forcing Catholic Church to do something that is absolutely morally abhorrent, and completely against its fundamental creed, dogma and belief. It violates the conscience. It is government interference with our First Amendment right to practice our religion freely. Sebelius and Obama's act is an assault on the moral conscience of ever good practicing Catholic, and if obeyed would condemn us with a mortal sin against God's commandments, the sanctity of life, an natural law.
If they really want to wake the Church Militant, that's a very good way of doing it. They;d best be careful, because once we start, its very hard to stop.
This is a fight Obama and his henchmen will not win - eventually we will destroy them. In the immediate, it has painted them as the evil dictatorial monsters that they are.
One thing Obama and Sebelius and the other should thank God for: the 5th commandment. Yes they have many of us that angry. They better be glad we are forbidden to taking up arms in that way - otherwise their lives would end in the sights of a high powered rifle or kicking at the end of a rope.
#13
After 300 years of freedom, the persecution of the faiths has now begun in the USA.
I'd make it closer to 100. Check out the various Blaine laws.
These folks are playing a dangerous game and one they aren't well positioned for. I'll start to take them seriou8sly when they excommunicate and stop serving the sacraments for the Catholic legislators who voted for the bill. Until then, this is just politicking from the pulpit and that doesn't end well either.
#14
Surprisingly, Kathleen Sebelius is, according to Wikipedia, herself a Catholic. As are Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, the former Ted Kennedy, and a variety of other Democrats. Nancy Pelosi claims that the Church's stand on life issues (abortion, contraception, etc.) is fairly new. SHE IS WRONG!!!
Personally, if I were one of their bishops, I would have excommunicated them a long time ago.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/28/2012 16:18
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#15
Old Spook, while birth control may be forbidden by the Church it is very widely used by a great many otherwise-practicing Catholics. Sadly, that is even true of abortion. Neither the Church nor the Government will win that confrontation in THIS world.
#16
#11 Bright Pebbles. Render unto Ceasor that which is Ceasors, render that which is God's to God. Ceaser is not allowed to divert that that is given to God too himself.
#18
I'm not Catholic, and this pisses ME off. Everything person X gets for free has to be paid for by person Y. It's the principle, either way. Birth control pills are cheap. If you've got enough of a life to need them, you've got enough of a life to pay for them.
OTOH: if BHO thinks alienating every possible segment of the population is a winning strategy, well, as Napoleon (?) said: never interrupt the enemy when they're making a mistake.
#19
Glenmore, aside from the birth control it also requires paying for abortifacients - the "morning after" pill, and I think it also forces coverage of sterilizations, which are forbidden. And it really doesn't matter what those cafeteria Catholics think, because it is still 100% the government forcing actions that are against the conscience and teachings of the Church. And down that path lies dictatorship - if you can force unfaithful acts on faithful people, you re no better than Stalin, Mao or Hitler. They all did their evil "in the name of the people and nation", just like Obama.
#20
One thing Obama and Sebelius and the other should thank God for: the 5th commandment. Yes they have many of us that angry.
Rot! The 5th Commandment presents no restraint. I believe it was once written as "Thou shalt not murder!". And was rewritten in its current form as a part of the taming of the Church.
There is no prohibition against killing in Gods name in defense of the Church. There are millions dead over the centuries to prove that.
And Militant Christianity is already awake and stirring. I mentioned that very thing here many months ago. If they (Obama & crew) haven't gone too far yet, rest assured they will. The stage is set, the actors are in place and there will be a second Civil War. And the Left will be expunged.
I see no way back from where this Nation is today without that conflagration.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
01/28/2012 19:04
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#21
Pebbles: this has nothing to do with tax exemptions.
It's an F8-key response. Nothing to do with the article.
#23
He just lost the Hispanic vote. Predominately Catholic and the Bishops will rally even them against the Obama "mandates" (aka Dictates).
In the New Testament St Paul stood before the magistrate and was warned to denounce his beliefs or be flogged. He responded politely that he could not go against the will of God. He was flogged and released and was greatfull to count the scares as badges of honor.
North Korean Christians were persecuted in Labor Camps and sang while be beaten by irritated guards who became even more enraged by their convictions, and were then sent to the "electric room" where no one ever returned alive.
An American student was recently asked in class about what he thought about homosexuality and he politely responded that his faith did not accept homosexuality and was suspended from the public school for his beliefs. And of course we know of the fate of recent Miss America finalists who hold Christian beliefs.
The Democratic Party embraced immorality years ago, the spiral has been downward ever since. The questions is, will America succumb to this low level of morality or will America overcome this now dictatorship?
We will soon know the answer one way or the other.
Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, has acknowledged publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided vital information to the US in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden's compound last May.
He has also expressed concern about Pakistan's treatment of the doctor, Shikal Afridi, who has been arrested and charged with treason by the Pakistani government.
In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes programme due to be aired on Sunday, Panetta acknowledged that Afridi, a Pakistani doctor in Abbottabad, the town where bin Laden was found, had in fact been working for US intelligence, collecting DNA to verify bin Laden's presence.
US Navy SEALs killed bin Laden - the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US - on May 2 in a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, and later buried him at sea.
"I'm very concerned about what the Pakistanis did with this individual ... who in fact helped provide intelligence that was very helpful with regards to this operation," Panetta said, according to excerpts of the interview.
"He was not in any way treasonous towards Pakistan. Pakistan and the United States have a common cause here against terrorism ... and for them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism, I just think is a real mistake on their part." Riiiiiight ....
Panetta said he still believed someone in authority in Pakistan knew where bin Laden was hiding before US forces went in to find him.
Intelligence reports found that Pakistani military helicopters had passed over the compound in Abbottabad, according to the CBS interview.
"I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what was happening at this compound," Panetta said. "Don't forget, this compound had 18-foot walls ... It was the largest compound in the area.
"So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, 'What the hell's going on there?'"
Panetta said this concern contributed to the Obama administration's decision not to give Pakistan advance warning of the impending raid.
"It concerned us that if we in fact brought [Pakistan] into it, that, they might ... give bin Laden a heads up," he said.
Panetta acknowledged he did not have "hard evidence" that Pakistan knew of bin Laden's whereabouts.
Robert Hegyes, one of the Sweathogs on the immortal New York high school comedy Welcome Back, Kotter, died Thursday after suffering apparent heart failure at his Metuchen, N.J., home.
He was taken to JFK Hospital in Edison, where he was pronounced dead. He was 60 and had been in poor health since a heart attack several years ago.
On Kotter, Hegyes played Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos Epstein, a Puerto Rican Jew who was known for his tall hair, short stature, big mouth and large attitude.
His signatures on the show included a large red handkerchief in his rear pocket. He also wrote regular notes to the teacher, Gabe Kaplans Mr. Kotter, that asked he be excused from various activities, including his classes.
They were always signed, Epsteins Mother, and when Kotter read them aloud, Epstein would mouth the words.
Born in Perth Amboy, N.J., Hegyes graduated from Metuchen High School and Glassboro State College, now Rowan University, before moving to New York to join a childrens acting company, Theater in a Trunk.
He auditioned for the Epstein role and landed it, playing alongside John Travoltas Vinnie Barbarino, Ron Palillos Arnold Horshak and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Boom Boom Washington.
Most of the cast reunited last year at the TV Land Awards to mark the shows 35th anniversary.
After Kotter he stayed in acting, guesting on shows like NewsRadio, Drew Carey and Saturday Night Live.
He became a regular as Detective Manny Epstein on Cagney and Lacey.
He always said his acting idol was Chico Marx, whom he would occasionally imitate on Kotter, and he played Chico in a stage production of An Evening With Groucho.
#1
...By all accounts he was a decent guy who worked hard and had a reasonably normal life. RIP.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/28/2012 9:06
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#2
Awwwwwww - "Kotter" struck a nerve wid US Teens back in the day. Here on Guam, it seemed as nearly every Middle School + High School Male Student was emulating one or more of the characters.
The Pentagon is rushing to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East as tensions rise with Iran, al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates, among other threats.
Nawh, according to Debka we're just stuffing islands in the region with troops...
In response to requests from U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, the Navy is converting an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos. Unofficially dubbed a "mothership," the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, procurement documents show. Stealth helicopters? Ospreys?
Special Operations forces are a key part of the Obama administration's strategy to make the military leaner and more agile as the Pentagon confronts at least $487 billion in spending cuts over the next decade.
Lt. Cmdr. Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Navy's Fleet Forces Command, declined to elaborate on the floating base's purpose or to say where, exactly, it will be deployed in the Middle East. Other Navy officials acknowledged that they were moving with unusual haste to complete the conversion and send the mothership to the region by early summer.
Navy documents indicate that it could be headed to the Persian Gulf, where Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for much of the world's oil supply. A market survey proposal from the Military Sealift Command, dated Dec. 22 and posted online, states that the floating base needed to be delivered to the Persian Gulf.
Other contract documents do not specify a location but say the mothership would be used to "support mine countermeasure" missions. Defense officials have said that if Iran did attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, it would rely on mines to obstruct the waterway.
With a large naval base in Bahrain, and one or two aircraft carrier groups usually assigned to the region, the Navy has a substantial presence in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters. Adding the mothership would do relatively little to bolster U.S. maritime power overall, but it could play an instrumental role in secretive commando missions offshore.
The deployment of the floating base could also mark a return to maritime missions for SEAL teams, which for the past decade have spent most of their time on land in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other details of the project became public Tuesday when the Military Sealift Command posted a bid request to retrofit the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking ship, on a rush-order basis.
Until December, the Navy had planned to retire the Ponce and decommission it in March after 41 years of service. Among other missions, it was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea last year in support of NATO's air war over Libya.
Instead, the ship will be modified into what the military terms an Afloat Forward Staging Base. Kafka said it would be used to support mine-clearance ships, smaller patrol ships and aircraft.
The documents posted by the Military Sealift Command in December, however, specify that the mothership will be rebuilt so that it can also serve as a docking station for several small high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEAL teams.
Among the vessels listed are Mark 5 Zodiacs, inflatable boats that can carry up to 15 passengers and can roll up into bags, and seven-meter-long Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats, which can carry an entire SEAL squad.
SEAL teams also deploy from regular warships, but most vessels in the Navy's fleet must patrol or move around on a regular basis. A mothership can stay in one spot for weeks or months, effectively serving as a floating base for commandos as they monitor coastal areas or prepare for amphibious operations.
The U.S. Special Operations Command has sought a transportable floating base for several years, saying that a mothership would expand the range of commando squads operating from small speedboats, particularly in remote coastal areas.
Defense officials said the Ponce will serve as a stopgap measure until the Navy can build a new Afloat Forward Staging Base from scratch. In budget documents released Thursday, the Pentagon said it would fund that project starting next year.
The floating base also could be suited to the coast of Somalia, a failed state that is home to an al-Qaeda affiliate and gangs of pirates. A mothership there would give SEALs or other commandos more flexibility in missions such as Wednesday's rescue of a pair of American and Danish hostages who had been held for months by Somali pirates.
U.S. military officials declined to say what prompted them to give the Ponce a sudden new lease on life. But contract and bidding documents underscore the urgency of the project.
One no-bid contract for engineering work states that the military was waiving normal procurement rules because any delay presented a "national security risk." Other contract bids are due Feb. 3. The Navy wants the conversion work to begin 10 days later on the Ponce, which is docked in Virginia Beach.
#1
On the surface this seems like a good idea, but it has an unusual 'urgency' for anything military or government. So, either there is a real but unspoken urgency (and something's about to pop) or it's yet another way to direct taxpayer dollars to Friends of Obama (no-bid contracts are perfectly suited for that.)
#3
Here are the specs for the Ponce as originally designed:
Boats and landing
craft carried:
1 × LCAC, or
1 × LCU, or
4 × LCM-8, or
9 × LCM-6, or
24 × AAV
Complement:
24 officers, 396 enlisted,
+900 marines
Armament:
2 × 25 mm Mk 38 guns
2 × Phalanx CIWS
8 × .50-calibre machine guns
Aircraft carried:
Up to 6 CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/28/2012 10:02
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#4
I guess I'm wondering two things:
First, given the age of the Ponce, this is clearly a stop-gap measure. Fine, but the need seems clear. This is the sort of ship that works to fill the need (and then some), so is the plan to re-purpose one of the new San Antonio class ships current under construction?
Second, a mothership is pretty visible. Having Ponce in the neighborhood rather announces "HERE BE SEALS". Wouldn't it be better to deliver the SEAL teams on ships (be it an LPD, a destroyer, whatever) as needed?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2012 11:12
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#5
Steve, I doubt the Ponce will be alone. Yes, people may know that there are SEALs aboard, but getting to her won't be easy. They would have to get through the other escort ships first.
Just like a carrier almost never travels alone in hostile waters.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/28/2012 11:57
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#6
Appreciate that Rambler, but I'm wondering if the idea is to have Ponce in a region where few other assets are present. That might be a problem; I'm sure SEALS and the personnel aboard ship can fend for themselves, but a committed enemy with some larger assets could make life difficult.
Plus, the whole idea of a highly visible mothership for a clandestine group of warriors is a bit suspect. HERE BE SEALS is a problem if you want SEALS to slip in and out without the bad guys knowing that you're in the neighborhood.
I'm not mil/ex-mil so I don't know all the issues. A mothership for support sounds good. But I don't like the advertising.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2012 15:03
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#7
Steve, there are several possibilities here. The SEALs could use the Ponce as a floating base, so they can be nearer to their target than, say, Qatar or Diego Garcia. Then, when they went on a mission, they would go on their delivery vessel of choice (ship, helicopter, sub, ...).
Another possibility that this is misdirection, so the Ponce will just float around, with nobody but ship's company on board. The SEALs will be elsewhere.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/28/2012 16:08
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#8
I see it as something the Mullahs should be concerned about.
#9
I doubt SEALS are going to be aboard the Ponce much at all, Yemen is getting too exciting too quickly. I suspect those types of assets will be at sea as little as necessary.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/28/2012 19:25
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#10
SEALS will also be aboard fishing dhows, airliners, shooting stars, and large clouds. Iran, prepare accordingly
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/28/2012 23:15
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#11
Besides minefields + anarchies widin the smaller Gulf States, there is also the threat from LR TacMiss + Armed Speedboats + Mini-Subs being deployed from converted Oil-Gas Rigs close to the major shipping lanes.
Iff Iran hopes to prevent a repeat of OPER PRAYING MANTIS, it will have to confront US CVNS + BGS in the Sea of Oman + beyond.
* FYI TOPIX > CHINESE SUB FLEET ON HIGH ALERT IN SOUTH CHINA SEA.
Not becuz of US-Iran situation in the Gulf, but the BFF China's PLAN is there iff Iran + IRGC can harness 'em to their side.
A St. Paul man who started to get violent after he decided to join the jihad and travel to Somalia, according to his family, was charged with making terroristic threats. The family of Sharmarke Duale, 20, told police he had done well in school until he began attending a local mosque, according to a criminal complaint. The name of the mosque was not mentioned.
The complaint says, "Since that time, he has been very disrespectful toward the women in the house and has threatened his father to try to get his father to assist Duale in getting a passport." It gives the following account of events.
Police were called Tuesday afternoon to the family's home about an assault in progress. They were told that a son had stabbed his mother and was trying to get back into the house by smashing a window with a shovel. Officers arrived to find Duale on the porch wielding a shovel. The mother was inside; police saw defensive stab wounds on her hands.
The complaint says the family said Duale was raising money for jihad and told his father, "Take me out of this country, or I will show you what will happen; things will not be good for you."
Duale's father, Mohamed Duale, vehemently denied telling police that his son was raising money for jihad. He said, "We never said these words. This is wrong what they put here; this is not from my family."
According to the complaint, Sharmarke tried to stab his father but cut his mother when she stepped in to intervene. He also punched his sister. His parents said they fear him and that he needs help. He has threatened to "chop (his sister and mother) in pieces" and "kill the girls."
Speaking to police at the county jail after his arrest, Duale said his mother had cut herself and that his family's claims were all lies.
#1
he had done well in school until he began attending a local mosque
Someone might want to investigate that mosque. It would seem to not be the one the family attended. His parents said they fear him and that he needs help.
And they may even have pumped up the story a bit in order to try and get him that help, even if it involves law enforcement.
#2
all he got charged with is terroristic threats? saounds like a big charge but it's really not. An attmepted murder for the stabbing would have alot more effect for jail time or just ship into a jihad zone so he can get his wish and free bullet in the head.
Posted by: chris ||
01/28/2012 9:03
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#3
The lad won't be able to get a passport now, he will be put on a watch list...and he'll get some time in jail to ponder the situation. Back outside in Minneapolis/St. Paul that mosque is going to enjoy the close and continued attention of the local police as well as various branches of the Feds...and members as well as visitors will get the Hawaii treatment.
This nation's gratitude should go out to whoever called the cops on Junior's little adventure.
#4
"The Dark Lord and I," said Moody [Barty Crouch, Jr.], and he looked completely insane now, towering over Harry, leering down at him, "have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers.... Very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure... the very great pleasure... of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", J.K. Rowling
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012 11:24
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#5
Funny. Every time I see "Minnesota" and "jihad" in the same sentence, I think "Somalia." I wonder why that is?
#6
That's the first thing I thought, too, JD - Minnesota+jihad=Somalia. Guess I'm psychic.
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/28/2012 12:58
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#7
I blame the lutefisk diet....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/28/2012 13:15
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#8
Yeah, it's all those danged Lutherans!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/28/2012 14:09
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#9
Psychic, you say? So maybe I'm not racist? Whew!
This is actually pretty pathetic. Marmaduke or whatever couldn't even get out of the house, let alone to other side of the globe to wage glorious jihad in the name of Allah. I'm no clinician, but it sounds similar to Jared Loughner - standard male 20-ish-onset schizophrenia, untreated by a family either ignorant or in total denial.
#11
This is actually pretty pathetic. Marmaduke or whatever couldn't even get out of the house, let alone to other side of the globe to wage glorious jihad in the name of Allah. I'm no clinician, but it sounds similar to Jared Loughner - standard male 20-ish-onset schizophrenia, untreated by a family either ignorant or in total denial.
The guy was a meth head and a muscle head. Schizophrenia, maybe, but brought on by "self-medication".
#13
I dunno, badanov, none of the potheads I've known have been violent or even overtly self-destructive (unless the pot was laced wite PCP or the like), while virtually all the methheads were.
New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Friday that "The Third Jihad," a film labeling many American Muslim leaders as extremists, "should not have been shown" to city officers. He said that the film was played on a loop for officers during 2010 in a waiting area outside a counterterrorism training course.
But now, somehow, everyone able to read knows not only about the film, but the title. How many private viewings have taken place in living rooms around NYC since the story broke?
Kelly placed responsibility for the decision to show the film on a sergeant, whom he did not identify. He told reporters, "A sergeant, I think well meaning, took this film and put it in a loop in a room that was outside of the training area."
The disclosure that the Police Department showed the film to many police officers has strained ties between it and the city's Muslim community. The film claims that "much of Muslim leadership here in America" desires to "infiltrate and dominate" the US. Kelly, on Friday, characterized the film "as "inflammatory" and "a little much."
The film includes an interview with Kelly; in his brief appearance, he discusses the general threat of a nuclear or biological terror attack on the city but does not mention Muslims. Kelly played down his involvement in the film, saying he often sits for interviews. He said, "In this job, you do a lot of interviews."
Kelly suggested that the decision to screen the film did not go through ordinary channels. He said that ordinarily the department's counterterrorism division approved the material that was used for its training. But in this case the film "was never approved" by the division. The sergeant who screened the film was not part of the counterterrorism division, he said.
Kelly said that he first saw the film last Tuesday, the day after an article in The New York Times said that at least 1,489 police officers had seen it.
#2
Maybe we should give Kelly the benefit of the doubt. IOW, maybe he's doing what the Muslims do, saying one thing to the press and another to his officers.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/28/2012 11:07
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#3
Sorry about that First Amendment thingy getting in your way, Kelly. STFU and move on.
#5
Ray Kelly is concentrating on his family problems at the moment...His son, Greg Kelly a former FOX News host and USMC pilot, has been accused of rape by a woman in NYC. The Commish, whom I respect immensely, has family issues on his plate at the moment.
Each day that goes by gives the White House more reason to regret its Libyan adventure. The overthrow of Gaddafi was a good thing, but from both the humanitarian and strategic points of view, nothing has changed. The war continues to look at best like a diversion, at worst as if the US fell for a cynical French ploy to get oil in a way that damaged our long term strategic interests.
Scattered reports of torture in Libyan jails and unrest in Libyan towns are beginning to coalesce into a picture of the exciting new reality created by last years humanitarian war-to-protect. If Amnesty International knows what it is talking about, Libyans are being tortured to death by the people we saved from Gaddafi and installed in power. Surprisingly, the Wilsonian hawks who gave us this inspiring policy havent yet sent a new barrage of airstrikes to stop the new round of brutality and bloodshed.
#1
The Egyptian crackdown on NGOs and the current refusal to allow US citizens connected to them to leave is yet another sign that the NGO world of civic activism is going to face more determined government push back around the world.
About time, too.
#2
"Surprisingly, the Wilsonian hawks who gave us this inspiring policy haven't yet sent a new barrage of airstrikes to stop the new round of brutality and bloodshed."
What's surprising about it?
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/28/2012 6:21
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#3
Like most things on the left, it was about feeling good about yourself not in accomplishing anything meaningful.
#4
The 2 meaningful outcomes of the Duck's replacement were (1) restoration of Libyan energy supplies to Europe and (2) prevention of a invasion of southern Europe by Libya refugees.
I think those 2 reasons were really behind the "Libyan adventure." Other stated reasons were merely a smokescreen.
US "Mass Ordnance Penetrators" fail initial testing, doubtful if they can take out underground, reinforced facilities, according to Wall Street Journal report; Pentagon asks congress to fund upgrade program. Really? Let's try it and see...
Even the heaviest US bombs are not powerful enough to destroy some of Iran's more fortified nuclear facilities, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying Friday. The Pentagon is taking steps to improve its "bunker-busting" capabilities, they added.
The US's 30,000-pound (13,600 kilo) "Mass Ordnance Penetrator" (MOP) was specifically designed to be able to take out Iranian and North Korean nuclear facilities. According to the report, initial tests indicated that the bomb would be incapable of performing these tasks, either because of the depth of the facilities or their recent reinforcement.
The Journal said that the MOP's test failure prompted a secret funding request by the Pentagon to US congress, seeking to enhance the bomb's capabilities. The US Defense Department has already spent approximately $330 million so far to develop about 20 of the bombs. The Pentagon is seeking an additional $82 million for upgrading purposes, according to government officials briefed on the plan.
#1
park a tac nuke likeone of the old nuke artillery shells, 1-5kt in the thing - penetratin does its stuff, gets the waarhead in deep, tac nuke does the rest. Bet that will take out any targets, and bonus: the nudet is undereground, nice and clean.
#2
rumors are that those things 'do not exist' OS. ;)
Posted by: abu do you love ||
01/28/2012 4:04
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#3
I read once that Irans nuclear facilities are covered by 30 ft. of reinforced concrete. The question in my mind is not how do you blow a hole in ceiling, but rather how do you apply enough lateral force to the supporting structure to bring the ceiling down to floor level.
#4
I also understand that they have all kinds of different layers of rubble and reinforcing concrete to act like a big mattress on top to protect the facilities below. Sounds like a tough nut to crack.
Is it possible that these MOPs could penetrate too far? Then a nuke could literally pop the bunker clean out of the ground!
#5
Reagan 'encouraged' the Soviet Union to spend itself into collapse; is Iran spending itself into similar collapse with this nuclear program? Will they respond similarly as their economy approaches meltdown? Or will they launch a war, like Germany did? Against who? Join with the also-faltering Assad and attack Israel to divert the attention of their peoples to a different opponent?
#6
multiple drops....first gives a nice little penetration...then keep filling the hole
Posted by: dan ||
01/28/2012 7:39
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#7
Multiple drops only work if you can excavate the rubble, which otherwise acts as a shock absorber for subsequent hits. Can it be done? Maybe, if you have near-perfect control of timing and shock wave shape, and knowledge of the detailed mechanical properties of your target.
#11
There are other options to deal with bunkers:
Have someone walk in with a suitcase nuke.
Surround the joint, change air to gas, flood the hole with poison...
Make the entire area so radioactive that the bunker becomes a ghosts town...
#16
Angupe,
I agree and BTW, its called the small diameter bomb. I am thinking "Yucca mountain".
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012 11:53
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#17
Remove all the support infrastructure on the surface. Dresden style. No power or water into the facility, no people alive to go to work, nothing. In fact, taking out every single power generating plant in Iran would solve the problem as well. No electricity for anything and they get to live the 7th century dream all over again.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
01/28/2012 12:15
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#18
I like your thinking, CF....
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/28/2012 12:59
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#19
Then use two of them.
Posted by: Cincinnatus Chili ||
01/28/2012 13:42
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#20
Sealing up the entrances and vents is the key. Smaller he fires could do it on the cheap. The plant will become a silent tomb.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
01/28/2012 14:26
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#21
He'll fires, sorry for the misspell.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
01/28/2012 14:27
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#22
exactly the scenario in the last Stephen Coonts Jake Grafton/Tommy Carmellini book the Disciple. A great read. If you order it thru Amazon, do it via Fred's link and he gets some of the swag
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/28/2012 15:36
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Britain's most senior military officer has said the military move into southern Afghanistan was "amateurish" and "verging on the complacent" and accused ministers of failing to learn lessons from Iraq.
Gen Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, is also highly critical of Nato's command structure in Afghanistan, describing it in a new book as "disorganised and unhelpful".
He might have said the same thing about the Libyan operation...
His remarks highlight the infighting and political turmoil that surrounded Britain's military deployment to Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. Whitehall was caught off guard by the seriousness of the situation in Helmand province, where British troops were deployed in Nato's reconstruction programme.
Most Labour ministers supported the view of John Reid, the defence secretary at the time, that "we would be perfectly happy to leave in three years' time without firing one shot because our mission is to protect the reconstruction".
Intelligence assessments conducted in southern Afghanistan concluded that they would receive a hostile reception.
"It was the equivalent of moving another gang into the East End of London," one officer reported to London. "They [the Taliban] weren't going to like it." A detailed account of the military and political infighting during the deployment is in a new book by Sandy Gall, the ITN presenter who also runs a charity to provide Afghan victims of roadside bombs with artificial limbs.
In Gall's book, War Against the Taliban, Sir David says that the British military establishment was ill-prepared for the deployment of forces, despite its leading role in the overthrow of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein three years previously.
He criticises the Ministry of Defence for not providing "sufficient troops to dominate the physical and human terrain" and the failure of the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development to provide adequate resources for reconstruction. He also describes attempts by London and Washington to get the Taliban to engage in political reconciliation as "woeful". Sir David also criticises the military establishment for being ill-prepared and with a "rather amateurish approach to high-level military operations verging on the complacent." He also tempers his remarks by arguing that the war in Afghanistan can still be won and expresses his "clear faith" that "the British Armed Forces are now handsomely proving that they have the ability to reform and adapt".
#3
Most Labour ministers supported the view of John Reid, the defence secretary at the time, that "we would be perfectly happy to leave in three years' time without firing one shot because our mission is to protect the reconstruction".
When you're up to your ass in alligators its hard to remember that your mission was to drain the swamp.
[Dawn] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... has recorded two confirmed polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... cases bringing total number of poliomyelitis-affected children to five countrywide in 2012, officials said.
One-year-old Fareeha Bibi, daughter of Ayub Khan, a resident of Aziz Khan Garhi, in Mera Kachori union council of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, was tested positive by the National Institute of Health Islamabad on Thursday, officials said.
The child hadn't received any dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV), they said.
The family of the child originally belonged to Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... Agency but lived in different localities of Peshawar for the past couple of years.
"The child lives in one of the 17 houses that were missed by health workers from the last 12 to 18 months," they said.
Shazia Begum, daughter of Wazir Khan, a three-year-old child residing in jurisdiction of Urban-5 UC of Kohat tehsil was diagnosed positive for polio, the officials said. The child received only three doses of vaccines as she was missed consistently by health teams, the officials said.
Officials said the Prime Minister Polio Eradication Cell had asked the provincial government to implement the Augmented National Plan for Polio Eradication. The coverage is below 95, a target set forth in the plan, they said.
Other three cases include two from Quetta and one from Mirpurkhas in Sindh. KP accounted for 23 cases of the total 198 detected in Pakistain in 2011.
BUNER: Terming the anti-polio drive as vital to curb the virus, the district amir of JUI-F Maulana Fazali Ghafoor has called upon the Learned Elders of Islam and parents to make the campaign a success.
Addressing a presser at the press club in Daggar on Thursday Mr Ghafoor said polio drops were vital to protecting children from the crippling disease. He said almost all Learned Elders of Islam in the country had supported the drive, hoping a handful of those who were opposing it would accept the reality in the larger national interest.
He recited several verses from Koran and Hadith in support of adopting precautionary measures to save children from hardships and troubles in future. He said the parents were responsible for good healthcare of their children. He said three polio positive cases had been reported in the district recently which is alarming.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[An Nahar] The head of 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... monitoring mission in Syria said Friday that violence there rose "in a significant way" in three days, particularly in the flashpoint cities of Homs, Hama and Idlib.
"The violence in Syria increased in a significant way between January 24 and 27, especially in Homs, Hama and Idlib," General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi said in a statement.
"The situation at present, in terms of violence, does not help prepare the atmosphere ... to get all sides to sit at the negotiating table," Dabi said.
The Sudanese general called for "an immediate end to the violence to protect the Syrian people and clear the way for peaceful resolutions" to the crisis.
The statement came as Syrian forces raided Homs, where dozens have been killed, and Western and Arab nations rushed to unveil a draft U.N. resolution that would condemn the deadly crackdown that has killed more than 5,400 since March.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Bangla Daily Star] Stern action would be taken if the ongoing investigation finds involvement of any political leader in the recent plot to overthrow the government, said Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of ruling Awami League, yesterday.
"Apart from the disgruntled army officers, the investigation will also expose the politicians who instigated the scheme," he said.
Hanif, also a special assistant to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was speaking at a discussion organised by Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote at Shilpakala Academy marking the 7th death anniversary of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.
"Action would be taken so that no political leader would dare to snatch power in future using the army," he said.
The AL joint general secretary pointed out that three months ago, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... had threatened to oust the government by last December and the chaos in the military also occurred in that very month.
He asked whether Khaleda had known about the plot all through, as her speech and the foiled scheme exhibit a mysterious connection. The investigation would find out who provided money from London and engineered the plot, he added.
Hanif termed BNP's rally in the capital tomorrow an ill motive to create chaos. Talking to The Daily Star, he said law enforcers would take appropriate measures to keep normality in public life.
On the trial of Kibria killing case, State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam, who was also present at the discussion, said further investigation is going on. He hoped that the real culprits would be found out and their trial would be held.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[An Nahar] Soddy Arabia will recognize the Syrian National Council as the "official representative" of the Syrian people, a senior member of the opposition group said in remarks published on Friday.
"Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told an SNC delegation he met in Cairo last week the kingdom will recognize the Council as the official representative of the Syrian people," SNC executive council member Ahmad Ramadan told Kuwait's al-Rai newspaper.
He did not say when Riyadh will make the move or whether it will be joined by its five partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which this week announced that it was following Soddy Arabia's lead in pulling out its representatives from a widely criticized 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... observer mission to Syria.
Ramadan, who attended the meeting, quoted Prince Saud as saying that Arab governments are convinced that it was the Syrian government that caused the observer mission to fail.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
About time---after all they are Saudi employees.
[Magharebia] Interim Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki announced plans last month to sell off the majority of presidential palaces once owned by ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The earnings will then be used to create job opportunities for the nation's unemployed youth.
"Presidential palaces, except for the Carthage Palace, will be returned to the state at a first stage," Marzouki said December 16th. "In a second stage, they will be sold in a public auction with all transparency and clarity, and the proceeds that will be generated from the sale will be injected into employment funds."
Furthermore, Marzouki announced that Carthage Palace management would trim expenses and work on implementing "maximum austerity so that the presidency may contribute to the sacred war against poverty and unemployment in the country".
According to the most recent official statistics, Tunisia's unemployment rate is estimated at 18%, leaving 800,000 people without jobs. Marzouki pledged to tackle the issue after his election.
"The boat won't sink; Tunisia won't sink, and the sacrifices of our children won't go in vain," he said. "Yes, Tunisia will succeed."
Ben Ali had many luxurious palaces in several Tunisian cities, the most prominent of which were Sidi Dhrif Palace in Sidi Bou Said, Hammamet Palace, Mornag Palace, Ein Darahem Palace, Sousse Palace and Cyprus Palace.
A significant section of Tunisians said selling these palaces was better option than keeping them as part of presidential or state properties, especially with the current condition of the Tunisian economy. They said that funds generated from such sales could be used to support industrial institutions and start new projects, thereby stimulating economic growth and creating jobs.
"Disposing of the presidential palaces and estate left behind by Ben Ali is necessary so that their value may be transferred to the state treasury, and new projects may be started to create a livelihood for the unemployed," commented Abdessalam Dakhlaoui, a young man with no job.
Saoussen Ramdhane agreed that it was a step in the right direction. "Except for the historic Carthage Palace, Ben Ali built all these palaces with the Tunisian people's money, and it's about time such palaces were restored to their real owners and used for the interests of the people."
Others believe that disposing of presidential palaces will make future officials less inclined to abuse public resources.
Mohamed Abirig said he supported Marzouki's decision. "This way, future presidents won't enjoy the luxury and extravagance of former presidents in the properties of the Tunisian people, and in this way, they will be closer to their people, feel their sufferings and know about their needs."
However, you can observe a lot just by watching... a number of groups opposed the move, with the Tunisian Association for Financial Transparency issuing a statement saying that the palaces were owned by the Tunisian state and that the interim president could not dispose of them. The association said that it wouldn't hesitate to resort to the judiciary to prevent the sale of public assets.
Sami Remadi, the group's president, said in a statement addressed to the interim government and president that Tunisia's current conditions require more wisdom and transparency in disposing of people's properties.
For its part, the Free National Party expressed surprise over the news that Marzouki was planning to sell presidential palaces. In a statement, the party wondered what powers the interim president had to dispose of the historical properties of the Tunisian state.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
I've got a spare Nickel.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2012 0:28
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#2
Turn them into hotels. Let the large international hotel chains run them. The proceeds from the sales goes into the treasury, as planned, plus you get some jobs going.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2012 10:56
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[An Nahar] Four Russian servicemen and five beturbanned fascisti were killed Friday in a clash in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence there in months, officials said.
"The active phase of the battle is over," a local security official told the Interfax news agency, adding that three Russian servicemen had also been injured in the fighting.
Russia has been keen to contain violence along its restless southern periphery since concluding the second of two post-Soviet wars in Dagestan's neighbor Chechnya a decade ago.
But attacks continue throughout the region, with gunnies cutting the throat of a Russian serviceman in a rare night time attack on a grammar school in the nearby region of Kabardino-Balkaria on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
so they are going after elementary schools again. What brave jihadis. (sarcm) intended
Posted by: chris ||
01/28/2012 8:43
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Charles Taylor The former President-for-Life of Liberia, of whom the best that could be said was that he wasn't quite as horrible as Prince Johnson, at least not usually. is cooling his 64-year old heels at The Hague awaiting a verdict on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The former Liberian president wears the dubious badge of being the first African head of state to be hauled before the International Criminal Court. ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
He faces life in the cooler if found guilty this April. Taylor pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to 11 charges of murder, rape and deploying child soldier during the Sierra Leone civil war.
He also allegedly helped rebels in exchange for looted "blood diamonds."
But recent reports by the Boston Globe newspaper are that the father of Chuckie Taylor doubled as a spy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
How did the confessions emerge after quarter century? Well, in 2006, the Boston Globe newspaper filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for information of persistent allegations that Taylor worked for the CIA.
His brief was to gather intelligence on the late Libyan strongman Muammar Qadaffy ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years until he was ejected from the gene pool by his indignant citizens... , specifically, his role in the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland, his sponsorship of guerrillas across Africa, and the broader issues of Russian activities and arms trade in the continent.
Responding to the Globe request, The Defence Intelligence Agency, the spy arm of the Pentagon confirmed that Taylor worked closely with CIA agents in the early 1980s.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
"Worked closely wid CIA Agents in the early 1980's" > **** cough **** cough *** cough ***...
[Dawn] Pakistain's former president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... will "certainly" be placed in long-term storage if he returns to Pakistain, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... said Friday.
"In fact there had been murder charges against him, and there had even been some very grave charges against him, and the Supreme Court had already given a verdict against him," Gilani told CNN from the Global Economic Forum in Davos.
"Certainly when he'll come back, he has to face those charges and certainly be placed in long-term storage," he said.
Musharraf announced plans to return from exile in late January and to run in upcoming elections, but his party said he was reassessing those plans when the government warned that if he returned, he faced arrest.
Pakistain's upper house of Parliament Senate passed a non-binding resolution early this week demanding Musharraf be placed in long-term storage and tried for treason for unconstitutional acts during his regime. The charges against him are in connection with 2007 liquidation of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
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01/28/2012
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Gunmen have killed 15 village traders returning from a market at night and set their bodies ablaze in northern Nigeria's Zamfara state, a local police chief said on Friday.
"Gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, attacked some local traders on their way back from a market in neighbouring Katsina state late Thursday," Zamfara state police commissioner Tambrai Yabo told AFP.
"The armed robbers waylaid the traders travelling back in an open truck and opened fire on them. They then loaded the truck with 14 bodies and burnt them," said Yabo, adding that a 15th victim had died in hospital.
Villagers said around 100 robbers came out of the bush and forced the truck to stop. The attack ocurred near a village that is close to the town of Birnin Magaji in Zamfara state, which borders Niger.
Armed robberies have been on the rise in Zamfara in recent months.
In October, marauding bandidos combed a village in Lingyado and killed 19 people in response to an attack on a gang of robbers by local vigilantes, residents said.
In December, four coppers and two children from one family were killed by gunnies in Dansadau village.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Protests in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur entered second day on Thursday as 18 copperswere maimed and Nyala university was shut down.
Citizens of Nyala have expressed their refusal to accept the new governor, Mr Hamad Ismail, who was made governor after the former governor was transferred to the new state of East Darfur.
The protesters demanded the old governor, Mr Abdel Hamid Kasha, come back to power. They set the building of the ruling party, the National Congress Party (NCP) in Nyala on fire.
Gunfire was heard in Nyala and the fire caused a thick layer of smoke, an eye witness said.
Additionally, 19 individuals loyal to the National Congress Party were placed in long-term storage as police found firearms in their possession.
The new governor refused to declare a state of emergency in the state. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... he announced the closure of Nyala University and all schools in the town.
Nyala, second largest city in Sudan was brought to a standstill by the protests; government offices were shut down as rumours of vandalism spread across the city and the power was cut during the afternoon.
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01/28/2012
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[An Nahar] European and Arab nations on Friday circulated a new draft resolution on Syria at the U.N. Security Council calling for backing for an 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... plan under which Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... would have to stand down.
Morocco presented a draft resolution to the 15-nation body -- drawn up by Arab states with Britannia, La Belle France and Germany -- that seeks to end months of U.N. deadlock over Syria.
Russia and China vetoed a previous European resolution in October, accusing the West of seeking regime change.
"I think we have the chance today to open a new chapter on Syria," said Germany's UN ambassador Peter Wittig as he entered Friday's talks.
The draft, which still faces days of talks amid doubts from Russia and its allies, says the council "fully supports" an Arab League plan released last weekend under which Assad would hand over powers to a deputy so that new elections can be held.
The text "encourages" all states to follow sanctions imposed by the vaporous Arab League against Syria in November, but contains no mandatory action.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said earlier in Moscow that his country would not support any measure which orders Assad to leave office, Russian media reported.
Diplomats said they hoped for a vote within days. Official talks on the resolution are only expected to start on Monday however. Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi and Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani are to brief the council Tuesday about the Syria plan.
Earlier on Friday, Gatilov said Russia would not support any Security Council resolution calling on Assad to go, warning that an early vote on a new Western-backed text was doomed to failure.
"We cannot support any U.N. resolution calling for the support of Assad's resignation," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Russian news agency Interfax, adding that a quick vote on the Western-Arab draft was "destined for failure".
The new draft contains strong backing to an Arab League initiative for ending a crisis that the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... estimates has claimed more than 5,400 lives.
Nations behind the measures -- which besides Britannia, La Belle France, Germany include Arab nations such as Morocco and Qatar -- have been pushing for a U.N. Security Council vote next week.
Gatilov said a quick vote "was destined to failure because we have already clearly expressed our position, as have our Chinese partners."
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01/28/2012
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#1
The UN is a debating society. Put together a coalition of the willing and dispatch pencilneck.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012 10:30
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I've never figured out the Soviets and Pencilneck's family. They've been tight at the hip since the early 50s.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2012 20:57
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[Dawn] President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... on Friday vowed that Pakistain People's Party (PPP) will foil all conspiracies against democracy, DawnNews reported.
He was speaking after balloting of Wasila-i- Haq Sindh Programme launched by the co-chairman of the party Bilawal Bhutto under which Rs 12 billion will be distributed among 35,000 youths of the province to begin their own businesses.
"If PPP-led coalition government was allowed to complete its term, it will change fate of people through its welfare programmes," said the president.
The president declared that PPP was determined to transform the fate of Pakistain by foiling all conspiracies against democracy.
"We will give a safe and secure Pakistain to our future generations. We have set directions in every sphere of life especially the economy," said the president.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Bangla Daily Star] BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... will lead the party's mass procession tomorrow in the city which, party leaders hope, will turn into a huge parade ahead of its March 12 Dhaka rally.
The procession, as part of the party's countrywide programme, will begin from BNP's Naya Paltan office and will end at Banglamotor after passing through Shantinagar, Malibagh and Moghbazar areas.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pound, Zebulon finally found just the friend he'd been looking for... tension is prevailing centring the programme as the ruling Awami League will hold a rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city the same day.
BNP standing committee member Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah said the government has to face dire consequences if it tries to obstruct tomorrow's peaceful programme.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of the party, said, "The government alongside the ruling party is trying to obstruct our peaceful programme in different ways but they will not succeed by declaring counter programme."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Should turn into a riot.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2012 0:31
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[Yemen Post] US said on Wednesday that 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... is still the legitimate President of Yemen and that he will enjoy the treatment of a head of state.
"Saleh is still the legitimate Yemeni President and he enjoys full immunity like any other leader until his successor officially comes in office," Victoria Noland, US Secretary of State's spokesperson, replied to a question posed by a journalist about whether Saleh would have a treatment as a head of state.
Washington pressed Saleh into signing the GCC crafted deal, under which he transferred all his executive powers to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, the sole candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections due to take place on February21, in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Saleh is a vital ally in the region of Washington in its war against terrorism.
American officials have asked Saleh not to seek asylum in US, saying they will only accept his offer for medical treatment, according to American news agencies.
Sultanate of Oman announced that Saleh left Musket On Wednesday for USA and that during his 4 days visit in the country he has not met with any Omani official.
Saleh sought asylum in Oman but his Gulf neighbor was still hesitant regarding his offer for fear that would be detrimental to any future relationship with Yemen, Rooters reported citing unidentified diplomats.
The outgoing President has left Yemen for USA for further medical treatment from wounds sustained in an liquidation attempt early in June.
Saleh exhausted every trick in the book to cling to power before realizing and was over for him and singing the GCC brokered deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Iran Press TV] Fitch rating agency has downgraded the debt ratings of five eurozone states including Spain and Italia, pointing to the growing vulnerability of their economies.
On Friday, Fitch downgraded the economies of Italia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and Cyprus, while cutting its outlook on Ireland.
According to the agency, "near-term economic outlook highlight(s) the greater vulnerability to monetary as well as financing shocks faced by these sovereign governments."
Fitch cited that Italia faced "too-low" growth in comparison with its debt, while Spain faces "a significantly worsened fiscal and economic outlook." Italia, Spain, and Slovenia were cut by two notches.
Earlier, the European Central Bank released eurozone data suggesting that loans to the private sector fell by 1.0 percent in December in comparison with the 1.7 percent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion... Spain's unemployment rate has soared to 22.85 percent-- the highest in 17 years as more than half of the country's youths remain without jobs.
There are fears that more delays in resolving the eurozone debt crisis, which began in Greece in late 2009 and infected Italia, Spain and La Belle France last year, could push not only Europe but also much of the rest of the developed world back into recession.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Things will have to become a lot worse, before they'll become any better.
For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon state, click here. For a map of Monterrey, click here.
A total of six individuals were murdered in drug and gang related violence in Monterrey, Neuvo Leon.
One unidentified man in his 50s was shot to death in an area northwest of Monterrey. The victim was found near the intersection of Avenida Aztlan and Calle Augusto Gomez in Valle de Santa Lucía colony after being shot as he was sitting in his vehicle.
An unidentified man was shot to death in Monterrey, Wednesday afternoon. The victim had been pursued by armed suspects riding aboard a pickup truck. The victim was shot and killed near the intersection of calles Washington and Privada Colonial in Maria Luisa colony.
Two unidentified brothers were shot to death at their residence in San Nicholas municipality Wednesday. The victims were shot in Constituyentes de Queretaro colony by armed suspects who then fled aboard a vehicle.
A man was shot during an armed robbery in Monterrey Wednesday night. Wilfredo Urrutia Olmeda, 29, was a customer at the shop near the intersection of calles Las Palmas and Zapopan in Villa Dorada colony, when armed suspects committing a robbery shot and killed him.
An unidentified woman was found shot to death in Monterrey Thursday morning. The victim was found near the intersection of Heroes del 47 and Riva Palacio.
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany -- Two Army heavy brigades based in Germany will return to the United States as part of the new defense posture in Europe, the Department of Defense confirmed Thursday.
The move will send the 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade, based out of Grafenwöhr and Schweinfurt, and the Baumholder-based 170th Infantry Brigade, back to the States.
Yet the expectation that one, or possibly both, brigades might leave Grafenwöhr has generated hand-wringing in neighboring German communities, where economies depend heavily on the garrison. And cheers in US communities where they would very much like to benefit from money spent by those same units.
I remember the Germans being very upset in the mid-nineties as the reality of the oh-so-desired downsize hit (literally) home. If I recall correctly, our house rented for about 50% less to the next tenant after we left the Frankfurt area, and the owner subsequently sold what had been intended to be their retirement home -- they were from Zurich, so to them German house prices actually had looked like a reasonable investment.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012
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Dare the FRANCO-GERMAN BRIGADE = future FRANCO-GERMAN-RUSSIAN BRIGADE [etal.]???
#2
When it was announced that the US was going to be leaving Germany, the Germans, to their horror, quickly calculated that these Americans were a big chunk of their economy.
Therefore, they pleaded with the US to not pull out all at once, or it would be an economic disaster.
#3
There is no reason to subsidize first world countries with military welfare. Should have pull out when the wall came down - mission accomplished, instead old interests and institutional inertia has thrown money down the drain just as much as failed green programs at home.
#4
US military units are no longer in Germany to protect Germany, but because this presence suits US strategic purposes.
US troops enjoy the benefits of a perfect infrastructure, friendly locals and much more. They do not "subsidize" anything.
Of course withdrawals will affect local communities which have enjoyed US presence for half a century, but on a national level the economic impact would be minimal.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/28/2012 10:22
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US military units are no longer in Germany to protect Germany, but because this presence suits US strategic purposes.
Please elaborate, this needs to be mentioned every time US military forces in Europe are described.
#6
If I recall correctly, our house rented for about 50% less to the next tenant after we left the Frankfurt area "Supply and demand" once again strikes back!
#7
I too would like to know what the "strategic purposes" are for keeping US infantry brigades in Germany. I sure as heck can't find any, not today.
The EU is a first-world nation. It has a larger population than the U.S. It has wealth. If it needs an army, raise one.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2012 11:17
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European Conservative has a valid point. Frankfurt to any point in the middle east is a lot shorter than (pick a base in any of the 50 states) to the middle east. Russia under Putin is not a friend to the west and deterrence is still a good thing.
Still, the EU can do more to shore up its own defense. Libya caused problems? What if that had been Putin's armies pouring across the Fulda Gap? OK, not now. But in 20 years?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012 11:48
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...you know if we didn't have those 'Frankfurt' type installations it would have effected decisions about getting involved in the ME to the degree we have.
#12
They are not coming home, so much as they are being transferred then likely cut - there is a plan to cut 8 brigades over the next decade, I think I just found the first and Second ones to be cut.
#13
Personally my extended family has enjoyed excellent relations with U.S. troops in Germany, and we maintain high level contacts as well.
I won't go into any details here but you'd be amazed to learn about the amount of planning and coordination that is done from German soil.
Infrastructure in Germany is well established and you won't find any better bases closer to the ME.
How many troops you actually want to keep here is entirely your business and requirements may change but their presence have little or nothing to do with defending Germany from Russia or supporting local economies.
Even if Russia could, they'd have zero interest in a military conflict with Europe. They will have their hands full with keeping the Chinese out and the Islamists down.
Personally I believe that the U.S. will come to regret Obama's defense cuts.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/28/2012 15:49
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"Personally I believe that the U.S. will has come to regret Obama's defense cuts."
FTFY, EC. No charge.
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/28/2012 15:51
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Of course no charge Barbara. Blinding obvious.
That said I'm not thrilled with the current selection of Republican candidates.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/28/2012 15:53
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I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Germany - it felt like "Home" in Bad Tolz, Munich, Augsburg and Nurberg. Graf sucked, but then again its because were tactical there, never really got a chance to get off base. They should move the 2nd Cav to Graf permanently - after all it was the "Constabulary" unit that controlled and patrolled most of post-war Germany, and has a long history there. Its also highly deploy able, since its a Stryker Brigade. That should be sufficient - plus being based at Graf means it can remain highly trained, as well as hosting other units that pass through there for training.
#17
You go to the election with the candidates you've got, European Conservative. The next generation has not yet got the experience they need to take n the responsibility. The next several presidential elections should be more pleasing to us all.
#18
Loved my time in Babenhausen. Small knit community, Volks-Fests and Marches, Oktoberfest, 30 minutes from Frankfurt. Watch the wall fall. A wonderful Four years.
#19
What the youngins don't recall is that in 1973 the US was denied landing rights by the Euros in resupply the Israelis. Only Portugal, then a dictatorship [the revolution would come the next year], permitted American aircraft the ability to get to their destination. The more recent example of Turkey also denying passage of troops to the northern flank of the UN authorized response to Saddam's Iraq should remind everyone that even though you have treaties, troops and resources, they might as well be locked up if the locals don't support your actions. They get a veto.
Concluding that the 30,000-pound "bunker-buster" bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) isn't big enough to destroy Iran's most heavily fortified underground facilities, the Pentagon has contracted to make an even more powerful bomb.
Hint: cave in the entrance tunnels, air vents and elevators, then see how long the occupants survive. Do you really want to "blow up" nuclear material? I say give it the yucca mountain treatment.
Mr. Panetta added: "But I'm confident, frankly, that we're going to have that capability and have it soon".
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/28/2012
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So iff Iran doesn't start anything, nor the US, as per the Gulf Region then milaction agz Iran is unlikely unless a major event(s) occurs elsewhere in the world.
STILL COMES DOWN TO THE CLOCK GOING TICK ... TICK ...TICK IN FAVOR OF IRAN + NUCPROGS.
#2
The fins on these things are going to have to be absolutely enormous if they want to have any chance whatsoever of steering that thing. Without this, the plane will have to be fling along a near-perfect flight path, including altitude, heading, speed, and bomb-release timing. Heck, air density might even come into play. Maybe they need to drop a 5000# bomb first just to soften things up a bit.
#3
Ho ho, even better, steer it with JATOs or something. And when it gets lined up perfectly, boost its speed with the JATOs as long as you can get them to all shut off or disconnect at the same time. Game over.
#4
Oddly enough, a "radiation bomb" would probably work the best. It essentially just sets down on the ground, then irradiates everything with deadly and destructive to electronics radiation.
Alternatively, the very mysterious "deep digger" missile, that after a highly successful test in burrowing through deep reinforced concrete, suddenly disappeared and has not been mentioned since, would seem to come into play.
#5
use the MOP too soften things up and just use reg bombs too either finish the process. If all they are doing is trying too delay the program I m sure this will work.
Posted by: chris ||
01/28/2012 8:53
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Anonymoose, there is the 'Deep Digger' system (basically a ground-directed repeating cannon) that was tested and seemed to work, and there is the 'Super-cavitation missile' (shape designed to create a shock wave ahead of the missile that displaces unconsolidated overburden to allow the explosive warhead to get to the hardened bunker). Never heard if it was successfully tested or not. Would be surprised if there are not even more 'creative' solutions to the problem.
Of course you don't have to destroy the bunker itself - just all its access points for air, power, etc.
#7
Second Chris's solution; after all, the inability to destroy any bunkers is only theoratical. The only way to validate that is to use em and then see what happens. can't hurt.....
#8
What we have here, is a conundrum of sorts, but with several viable possibilities. That aint too shabby. The inverse-JATO thingie should be incorporated just to add a measure of audacity and Team building. ;-)
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Carole Landis aka Ann Carrington in "Topper Returns (1941)" aka Loana in "One Million B.C. (1940)" aka Vicky Lynn in "I Wake Up Screaming (1941)" aka Barbara Latime in "Moon Over Miami (1941)" aka Kay Sheldon in "Brass Monkey (1948)" aka Linda Medbury in "The Silk Noose (1948)" aka Julia Andrews in "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1946)" (Died in 1948 at age 29)
[Dawn] Pakistain's former president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... has delayed his return home, the head of his party announced Friday after repeated threats by the country's leadership that the ex-strongman would be nabbed upon arrival.
"He finally decided today that he would accept the recommendations" of the executive committee of the All Pakistain Mohammedan League party to delay his return, party secretary general Mohammed Ali Saif told news hounds.
"This decision (of returning) will be deliberated by the core committee of the party," he said.
Friends and supporters had urged Musharraf to put off an imminent homecoming after Islamabad said he would be nabbed if he returned from more than three years of self-imposed exile in London and Dubai.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Iran Press TV] At least eight people have been killed after troops from the self-declared republic of Somaliland launched an attack on local snuffies in the Buhodle district, Press TV reports.
The conflict erupted on Thursday as Somaliland forces launched an attack against bases of militia fighters, who have recently formed the new regional state of Khatumo, on the outskirts of Fool-Joogto village in the Buhodle district.
Fierce skirmishes broke out in the aftermath of the assault and heavy weapons -- including artillery and machine guns -- were used in the fighting. The shootout forced local residents to flee their homes.
A total of eight people were killed and several others maimed during the festivities.
Somaliland, situated in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Horn Africa country in 1991.
Boilerplate follows...
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Somali government has struggled for years to restore security but efforts have not yet yielded results in the African nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Dawn] Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Thursday asked the homegrown Taliban to renounce violence in the 'country's larger interest' but warned that nobody would be allowed to challenge the state's writ.
"I am ready to sacrifice even my life if that is required for peace in the region but no one or group will be allowed to disrupt peace. Being the followers of Bacha Khan, we want peace and brotherhood. Peace is our manifesto and therefore, we appeal to Taliban to shun violence in the larger interest of the nation and accept government's writ," he told a public meeting organised at Shah Tehmas Football Stadium to mark death anniversaries of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Abdul Wali Khan.
Bacha Khan died on Jan 20, 1988 and was buried in Afghan city of Jalalabad in line with his will, while his son Khan Abdul Wali Khan died January 26, 2006 and is buried in Wali Bagh, Charsadda district.
The public meeting is considered part of the ongoing ANP campaign to prepare itself for the next general elections.
The ANP leader had been avoiding addressing public meetings since October 2008 when he survived an attempt on his life by a jacket wallah in his native Charsadda town.
Wearing red caps and carrying banners and party flags, ANP workers showed up in large numbers and kept shouting slogans during the function. Mr Asfandyar said ANP was harbinger of peace and truly believed in philosophy of non-violence and therefore asked gunnies to surrender and negotiate.
He said the federal government would soon name the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar International Airport after Bacha Khan as a mark of respect to the great freedom fighter of the subcontinent.
"We will never support any act against the Constitution as we have opted for rule of law. The government will complete its tenure," he said.
The ANP chief said his party had fulfilled almost all its election promises and that the renaming of the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , grant of autonomy to the province and end to Kalabagh Dam construction was great achievements. He said parliament was the supreme institution as it represented the people of the country and that ANP wanted all national institutions to function within their jurisdictions and avoid encroachment on one another's legal right as unconstitutional steps could destabilise the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
Sign o' weakness. The Taliban response will likely be violent.
[Bangla Daily Star] Ishraq Ahmed, a non-resident Bangladeshi accused of involvement in plotting the recent coup attempt foiled by the army, has said he and "other nationalists" are trying to oppose Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's "letting Bangladesh be 'turned into a Bantustan' run by India".
His remarks came in an article in The Economist's January 28 issue. The British weekly newspaper spoke to Ishraq, who is currently holed up abroad, for its story on the failed plot, which the army said was meant to overthrow the government.
In the report, titled "Politics in Bangladesh; Turbulent house", Ishraq "concedes that the tossed in the clink men are his friends, but denies religious extremism".
The article read, "He [Ishraq] says he fought 'with great responsibility' for Bangladesh's independence. Now he and other nationalists are merely trying to oppose what they see as a coup-by-stealth by Sheikh Hasina, who is letting Bangladesh be 'turned into a Bantustan' run by India."
(According to Wikipedia, a Bantustan used to be a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa as part of the policy of apartheid.)
At a rare press briefing in Dhaka on January 19, the army said it had thwarted an attempt to topple the government. It claimed that some religious fanatics, mostly mid-ranking officers and their retired colleagues, were involved in the bid.
"At the instigation of some non-resident Bangladeshis, the schemers wanted to disrupt democracy by creating anarchy in the army, cashing in on religious fervours of others," the force added.
Two retired officers -- Lt Col Ehsan Yusuf and Major Zakir -- have been tossed in the clink in connection with the plot and are now being interrogated. Another alleged plotter, a serving major named Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque alias Major Zia, is on the run.
According to a statement read out at the briefing, some "undisciplined and disgruntled officers" had been involved in the attempt to execute the scheme by staying in contact with Major Zia by email and mobile phone. It added that Zia was relentless in his efforts to influence the officers into executing the plan on January 10.
On the same day, Zia called Ishraq and discussed the "developments and execution process of the coup", the army statement continued. "Zia also told Ishraq to ask local and international media to telecast and publish reports on the coup."
At the briefing, the army could not provide the whereabouts of Ishraq but said he was possibly living in Hong Kong.
It also said high government officials had already taken measures to locate Ishraq.
The Economist article did not mention the name of the country or the place where Ishraq might be living at this moment.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The UN said it cannot keep track of the corpse count in Syria's months-long unrest that has already cost more than 5,400 lives, as government forces targeted the protest hub of Hama with a major assault.
The admission came as European and Arab nations worked on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's Lord of the Baath... government for its continuing deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
UN human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... chief Navi Pillay gave a toll of more than 5,000 dead when she spoke to the UN Security Council in early December, but has not updated it.
Under secretary general B. Lynn Pascoe told the council on January 10 that at least 400 people had been killed since 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... monitors arrived in Syria on December 26.
After meeting Security Council ambassadors again, Ms Pillay said the toll had risen but added: "We are experiencing difficulties because of the fragmentation on the ground.
"Some areas are totally closed such as parts of Homs, so we are unable to update that figure but in my view 5,000 and more is a huge figure and should really shock the international community into taking action," she told news hounds.
Russia said on Wednesday it would consider "constructive proposals" to end the bloodshed in Syria but opposed the use of force or sanctions. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any UN Security Council resolution backed by Moscow "must firmly record that it cannot be used or interpreted to justify anyone's outside military intervention in the Syria crisis."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
So just invent something the way you usually do.
[Dawn] THOUGH the prospect of violence is never distant 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... , over the last year it seems that lawyers are being targeted in calculated hits. In the latest incident, three lawyers were bumped off on Wednesday in the city's busy Pakistain Chowk area. This appears to have been a sectarian attack as senior lawyer Badar Munir Jafri, along with his son and nephew, were all members of the Shia Lawyers' Forum. On Tuesday the legal adviser of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat was murdered in the city and there are suggestions Wednesday's attack may have been a Dire Revenge™ killing. Given the dismal performance of our law-enforcement agencies, reports that three coppers in a vehicle nearby did nothing to confront the attackers are hardly surprising. It is this attitude that has contributed to criminals having no fear of the police.
Around 20 lawyers were killed in Sindh last year -- 15 in Bloody Karachi -- while in this month alone seven lawyers have been bumped off. Many, though not all, of the lawyers killed were defending suspects with links to sectarian and political groups. In the past Bloody Karachi has witnessed the assassinations of doctors, businessmen and professionals belonging to the Shia community. But here we must ask whether lawyers are being eliminated to make the legal fraternity think twice before taking up the brief of suspects accused in sectarian cases. This series of events does not bode well for sectarian harmony in Bloody Karachi. If this disturbing trend is not checked now, it may spark much larger communal strife. There is no reason why law-enforcement agencies cannot crack down on the sectarian outfits believed to be behind the violence. Police claims that a 'third party' is responsible for the killings do not cut much ice and amount to denying the actual problem -- that of armed sectarian militias. Police authorities have reportedly sought to work out a 'decisive strategy' to stop the killings. The most decisive moves in this regard would be to dismantle sectarian groups, put suspects on trial and punish those found guilty. But does the state have the political will to take these bold steps?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
As a lawyer, I have had death threats, some very viable. I say, let lawyers carry weapons. Of course we would bill extra for the security service for our clients.
#2
I know many lawyers who carry for protection. In TN I believe judges can have firearms at the bench.
Maybe Pakistain is just following the admonition of Shakespeare: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (King Henry VI, Act IV, Scene II).
#7
Thanks - I actually stole it from a Star Trek movie, where the line was "in the original Klingon"
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/28/2012 19:58
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#8
I've read a few too many "was seriously beaten by a group of esteemed 'pure' Pak lawyers" stories here to not welcome a few consequences. Unfortunately these seem to be anti-shia more than anti-Pak lawyer
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/28/2012 20:06
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[An Nahar] Protesters marched to Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday to join thousands there demanding democratic change, a year after the uprising that toppled veteran president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... After noon prayers, organized marches left Cairo mosques and headed for the square, the symbolic heart of the Egyptian uprising, on a day dubbed "the Friday of Pride and Dignity" by the dozens of pro-democracy groups organizing the rallies.
"Down with military rule!", shouted demonstrators who left the Istiqama mosque in Giza, echoing the growing discontent over the military junta's handling of the transition.
"Legitimacy comes from the square," they chanted, clapping and waving flags.
In Tahrir, thousands had gathered in prayer in the center of the square, among the tents that marked a sit-in launched on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the start of the uprising.
Sheikh Mazhar Shaheen, the imam leading the prayers, said that while the revolt had produced notable achievements, the journey towards democratic rule was far from over.
"People came out on January 25, 2011 to call for freedom, justice, dignity and the end of a regime that spread all forms of corruption," Shahin told the crowd.
"They managed to remove the head of the regime in just 18 days and put some of its symbols behind bars. However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... the revolution has not achieved all its goals and that is what brought people out on the streets again on the first anniversary," Shaheen said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
What are they protesting---that some Copts are still alive?
#5
Things go from bad to worse and then the cycle repeats...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/28/2012 14:18
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#6
Grom, my bet is that the last 30 years were better for Egypt and Egyptians than the next 30 years will be. Likewise relations with both their allies and enemies.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] US President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... on Thursday denied Republican claims he was waging class warfare as he set out to sell his call for tax raise on the rich in states crucial to his reelection bid.
Hours after his combative and populist State of the Union address, Mr Obama appeared first in Iowa, the cradle of the 2008 campaign which swept him to the White House, and then in Arizona, launching a three-day, five-state tour.
Mr Obama hopes to convince voters that his vision of a remodeled economy -- where everybody, not just the wealthy, gets "a fair shot" -- merits handing him a second term in November's election.
He argued that those who earn one million dollars a year should pay at least 30 percent in taxes, decrying loopholes which offer rich Americans, like his possible Republican foe Mitt Romney ...whose real first name is actually, no kidding, Willard, was governor of Massachussetts and is currently the front-runner for president on the Publican ticket. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's foot is in an ideological bucket because of Romneycare, a state-level experiment that should have been a warning against Obamacare if anyone had been paying attention. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field... , a much lower rate on investment income.
"I hear a lot of folks running around calling this class warfare," Mr Obama said at a factory in midwestern Iowa.
"This is not class warfare," Mr Obama said, citing legendary financier Warren Buffett's argument that he should pay a higher tax rate on his vast fortune than his own staff pay on their annual income.
"Asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary is common sense," President B.O. said, warning Americans must decide whether to build an equitable economy, fund education and the military or let the rich evade fair taxes.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
That Picture, you need the one with steam coming out both his ears.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2012 0:24
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#2
Many people from other countrys consider Americans to be economically illiterate. And for good reason. We are.
The Buffet rule proves one thing. The American people don't even know the difference between earning a wage and investing in a corporation.
In an economically literate society if Obama had promised to raise the tax rate on investors to 30% he would have been booed out of the building.
Instead he got a standing ovation.
We live today in a global economy. Wealthy people are very mobile, and so is their money. Raising taxes on the rich simply causes them to move their money outside the country. Which is the opposite of an economic stimulus.
Taxing investment capital out of pockets of corporations and businesses, who pay the wages, will never increase the wages of the middle class and poor at the bottom of the food chain.
The American dream is to shrink the income gap between the rich and poor by raising the living standards of the poor up to the standards of the rich.
Obama's plan is to drag the rich down to the level of the poor.
Bill Clinton said, "It's the economy supid!". But that is only half the truth.
If he had spoken the whole truth he would have said, "It's the economy stupid, but the American people are to stupid to understand the economy.
#5
Many people from other countrys consider Americans to be economically illiterate
Many people from other countries consider Americans to be a great many things, all of it inferior to their august, clever selves by definition. Thus do those many people reveal their own weaknesses. At the moment only Canada and Switzerland seem out of economic danger, leaving the money sense of the rest in the category of seriously suspect.
Nonetheless, many Americans have indeed been entirely too clever by half about matters financial, including the boffins who took jobs in finance and the government, and we're all paying the price. Sadly, our beloved president has the financial acumen of a retarded kindergartner. Also, he tells lies.
Fortunately, he doesn't write the tax laws -- that comes out of the lower house of Congress. And Congressmen Boehner and Cantor have the opportunity to explain, repeatedly, exactly why they won't write the laws he wants.
#6
This is pure class warfare for a reason no one is mentioning. Why is the Capital gains tax rate 15%?
It isn't because the greedy rich guys could force Congress to let them keep more of their ill gotten gains. It was set at that level so that the greedy government would maximize revenue by encouraging investors to realize profits it could tax.
If the capital gains tax were raised, the cost of recognizing the gain would be increased and fewer investors would realize their gain by selling the appreciated asset, reducing gains subject to the tax.
Investors are by definition able to live without the money they have invested. They can easily choose to forgo selling an asset if the cost is too high. This is why changing the Capital gains tax rate is so powerful in generating (or stifling) government revenue.
Obumble has to know that an increase in the Capital gains tax rate will reduce federal and state revenue at a time when both are running record deficits. It will only aggravate the deficits. So why else would he be doing it, if not class warfare?
#7
Obama has simply changed the subject, once again. None has so far mentioned vast amounts of utterly wasteful federal spending, the presupposition that federal spending MUST continue to rise at X% (you pick the figure) annually FOREVER, and that the national debt must continue its inexorable rise, without any real limit.
The revolutionary idea that government spending must be limited to what the electorate wishes to tax itself on, is also never mentioned.
#8
Purely class warfare, social justice and redistribution of income. He has been playing one group against another in this country since he was elected. This is evil. I just hope people recognize the evil for what it is; however, I doubt it -- Some voters like such anti-American tripe.
#9
Politicians push redistribution of income and class warfare in order to get re-elected. After all, if a politician robs Peter to pay Paul, he's already got half the vote. Meanwhile, the financial industry pushes unjust redistribution of assets (debt crisis, bailouts, Federal reserve subsidies to the big banks) and rent-seeking (legally mandated or enforced supports to one group at the expense of another, see SOPA, PIPA, immortality of copyrights, courts tolerating foreclosure abuse and perjury, federal exemption of student loans from discharge in bankruptcy, etc. etc.). Conservative economists manage to avoid mentioning rent-seeking in their pronouncements. Vast majority of electorate is utterly oblivious to such economic evils.
#10
And Congressmen Boehner and Cantor have the opportunity to explain, repeatedly, exactly why they won't write the laws he wants.
Sorry, but Boner is just another spineless RINO IMHO. all hat and no cattle.
caves to Bambi and the D's everytime.
#12
If the billionaire in question is guilty about not paying enough taxes, he could write a check for the roughly billion or so his damn corporation has owed in back taxes for a big chunk of the last decade.
#13
The failure of the vast majority of our population to instantly recognize and dismiss as absurd, the Warren Buffett's tax rate comparison to that of his secretary, can only be attributed to our basic lack of understanding of basic economics and sound business principles.
Wages and investment income are two entirely different things and comparing them as if they were the same is completely erroneous.
The most blatent falsehood promoted by Obama, Warren Buffett and the media is the principle of double taxation.
Wage earners normally do not own the company. Investors in theory do. And that fact requires that they are taxed on entrely different principles.
In C type corporations, profits are taxed at least twice. Once at the corporation level and then again at the private level.
The accepted tax accounting principle is that the corporation profits are first normally taxed at 35%. The remainder of the profit is then divided among the owners (investors) and then taxed again at the individul investors personal tax rate. Usually at about 15%.
In reality the IRS recieves 50% of the corporation profits, hence the investors actual tax rate is also 50%.
The blatent omission of the fact that the investors dividend is first taxed at the corporation level and then again at the private level is a pure misrepresentation of the actual percentage the investor pays.
Investment income is only taxed in the year it is distributed. If Warren Buffett chose to reinvest his profits and live on his personal savings account his tax rate would in fact be 0 because he did not recieve a dividend that year.
There are some types of government bonds ect. that can be invested in tax free but the fact that Warren Buffett's secretary (or anyone else) could invest ther own money at the exact same tax rate as Warren Buffett leaves this entire argument with no logical reason to begin with.
It just astounds me that vast majority of the American people would fall for this charade.
#14
Obumble has to know that an increase in the Capital gains tax rate will reduce federal and state revenue at a time when both are running record deficits.
#17
TW, I do agree with and appreciate your assessment completely.
However;
Congressmen Boehner and Cantor can explain themselves blue in face. But if the population lacks the basic education in economics and business principles necessary to understand their explanation, the population will simply tune them out and call them obstructionists.
[An Nahar] Syrian forces on Friday raided the rebellious city of Homs and rubbed out at least 60 people across the country, activists said, as protesters erupted into the streets under the slogan "The Right to Self-defense," which refers to their support for the rebel Free Syrian Army.
The Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said security forces rubbed out 60 people including five children, three women and three army deserters.
Separately, two attacks killed 12 members of the security forces, the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Six were killed in a car boom targeting a security checkpoint in the northwestern city of Idlib. The other six were killed and five maimed in the southern province of Daraa when army deserters ambushed two buses transporting security personnel, the Observatory's Rami Abdul Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The pre-dawn assault, and reports of similar offensives against Hama and other cities, came hours after the U.N. said it could no longer keep track of the corpse count in Syria, which it put at more than 5,400 over a month ago.
The Homs raid began in the Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The LCC said that by Friday regime forces had pounded the Bab Seba neighborhood with heavy artillery and rocket fire. Fighting was also heard in Baba Amro district.
The activist group said three people were killed early Friday in Homs.
The Observatory said another flashpoint central city, Hama, also came under assault in the early hours of Friday, with intense firing from heavy machineguns and loud kabooms heard.
In the outskirts of Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... , an 11-year-old boy was killed at a checkpoint in Hamuriyeh, the Observatory said, and in Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... , the country's second-biggest city, six non-combatants were killed when security forces "fired indiscriminately" on demonstrators in the al-Marjeh neighborhood, the first fatalities in the city since the beginning of the uprising.
The Syrian National Council, the biggest opposition umbrella group, condemned the offensives against opposition strongholds and said it was in contact with members of the U.N. Security Council to press for strong condemnation of Syria.
Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising... the rebel Free Syrian Army said it had captured five Iranian soldiers in Homs who it said were under orders of the Syrian intelligence service.
The Turkey-based group, formed from deserters from the Syrian army, called on Iran to admit its support for the embattled Syrian regime and demanded the officers immediately leave the Syrian territory.
Violence across Syria claimed 62 lives on Thursday, the majority of them civilians in the central city of Homs, activists said Friday.
"The number of civilians killed on Thursday, whose name and circumstances of death have been confirmed, reached 43, 33 of them in the city of Homs," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Homs toll includes nine children, the Observatory's statement said.
Seven deserters and 12 soldiers were also killed on the same day.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I know how they tend to define 'civilians' and 'children' these days, so I hesitate to get worked up.
[Yemen Post] Thousands of residents in the Yemeni town of Rada, which was taken over last week by al-Qaeda thugs, staged a rally on Wednesday to celebrate the Islamists's evacuation of their hometown.
"No for immunity no for immunity," and "revolution, revolution until goals are achieved," The protesters chanted.
They carried banners indicating their commitment to carrying on the peaceful sit-ins until all their goals are achieved.
Al-Qaeda beturbanned goons evacuated Rada, some 170km southeast the Yemeni capital of Sana'a, late on Tuesday after the army issued an ultimatum that if they don't leave the security forces would break into the town and force them out.
Al-Qaeda beturbanned goons took control of Rada last week and declared it an Islamic emirate in comparison to what happened in the southern restive province of Abyan in May.
Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch has strengthened its foothold in the southern provinces of the country, apparently taken an advantage of a distracted and undermined government.
US and Soddy Arabia have voiced their grave concerns over the unrest in Yemen for fear that the terrorist network would exploit the power vacuum and plan more terrorist attacks on their countries' interests in the region.
US and Yemeni cooperation on the war against terrorism has been disrupted for more than 9 months due to the unrest storming the country, leading Washington to increase their drones on al-Qaeda hideouts in the trouble-torn country.
Massive popular protests calling for Saleh's departure, combined by insurgency in the far north and anarchy in the south has rocked Yemen to the bone, leaving thousands killed, pushing the economy to the brink of collapse and triggering a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia
[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... on Friday said his party had the best manifesto for making Pakistain an Islamic welfare state where equal social and economic rights would be ensured for all.
Addressing the "Islam Zindabad" conference 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... , Fazl said that JUI-F would bring an economic revolution by pursuing Islamic economic principles, as the country requires a robust economy to progress.
Fazl said that Islamic economic system was gaining popularity in the world including the Unites States and Europe.
The JUI has been and would be working for the supremacy of Islam, he said.
Underlining the need for the correct use of resources, he said JUI would ensure economic and political stability for the welfare of the common man.
The JUI-F chief also said that his party would be campaigning for the rule of the masses, and that honest people would replace "landlords".
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
#1
I wouldn't brag about it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2012 0:34
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#2
Pakistan doesn't have enough dhimmis to make this possible.
#3
All things to flow through the Imams to be redistributed to the people according to Allan's will. Of course 10% will be withheld to cover shipping and handling.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Mitt Romney ...whose real first name is actually, no kidding, Willard, was governor of Massachussetts and is currently the front-runner for president on the Publican ticket. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's foot is in an ideological bucket because of Romneycare, a state-level experiment that should have been a warning against Obamacare if anyone had been paying attention. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field... has opened up a nine-point lead on Newt Gingrich in a new Florida poll released Friday, just four days before the Sunshine State's primary to choose the Republican presidential nominee.
The Quinnipiac University survey showed Romney, once seen as a shoo-in to take on Democratic US President Barack Obama How's it going, Sunshine?... , leading 38-29 percent over former House of Representatives speaker Gingrich among likely Republican voters.
Only six percent of those polled were undecided, but 32 percent said they might change their mind by Tuesday, when Florida votes in a winner-take-all race for 50 delegates.
The Quinnipiac poll suggested former Massachusetts governor Romney has stopped the rot and addressed doubts over his credentials after an embarrassing loss to Gingrich in the South Carolina primary, where he had once led strongly.
A loss in Florida would leave Gingrich's bare-bones campaign with an uphill struggle to reach the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination as the race opens out into multiple states.
"Newt Gingrich's momentum from his South Carolina victory appears to have stalled and governor Mitt Romney seems to be pulling away in Florida," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Romney also has a better favorability rating from likely primary voters, which supports his lead in the horse race. Of course, with four days before election day, there is time for another reversal."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
Another poll puts them neck and neck. But Newt Gindrich's neck (if he has one) is a lot shorter Romney's.
#4
The FL polls are trending toward a Romney lead, but nationally Gingrich still leads.
Another interesting tidbit is that Romney's national numbers have dropped back to 25% - right where they have been for 5 years. That's not the whole story though. Romney's vote totals in Iowa and NH were actually lower than in 2008. Clearly this man has momentum!
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2012 21:11
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#8
Love the title of Sarah Palin's Facebook Rant: Cannibals in GOP Establishment Employ Tactics of the Left Facebook Link
For those who choose not to do Facebook here is her post:
We have witnessed something very disturbing this week. The Republican establishment which fought Ronald Reagan in the 1970s and which continues to fight the grassroots Tea Party movement today has adopted the tactics of the left in using the media and the politics of personal destruction to attack an opponent.
We will look back on this week and realize that something changed. I have given numerous interviews wherein I espoused the benefits of thorough vetting during aggressive contested primary elections, but this weeks tactics arent what I meant. Those who claim allegiance to Ronald Reagans 11th Commandment should stop and think about where we are today. Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater, the fathers of the modern conservative movement, would be ashamed of us in this primary. Let me make clear that I have no problem with the routine rough and tumble of a heated campaign. As I said at the first Tea Party convention two years ago, I am in favor of contested primaries and healthy, pointed debate. They help focus candidates and the electorate. I have fought in tough and heated contested primaries myself. But what we have seen in Florida this week is beyond the pale. It was unprecedented in GOP primaries. Ive seen it before heck, I lived it before but not in a GOP primary race.
I am sadly too familiar with these tactics because they were used against the GOP ticket in 2008. The left seeks to single someone out and destroy his or her record and reputation and family using the media as a channel to dump handpicked and half-baked campaign opposition research on the public. The difference in 2008 was that I was largely unknown to the American public, so they had no way of differentiating between the lies and the truth. All of it came at them at once as facts about me. But Newt Gingrich is known to us both the good and the bad.
We know that Newt fought in the trenches during the Reagan Revolution. As Rush Limbaugh pointed out, Newt was among a handful of Republican Congressman who would regularly take to the House floor to defend Reagan at a time when conservatives didnt have Fox News or talk radio or conservative blogs to give any balance to the liberal mainstream media. Newt actually came at Reagans administration from the right to remind Americans that freer markets and tougher national defense would win our future. But this week a few handpicked and selectively edited comments which Newt made during his 40-year career were used to claim that Newt was somehow anti-Reagan and isnt conservative enough to go against the accepted moderate in the primary race. (I know, it makes no sense, and the GOP establishment hopes you wont stop and think about this nonsense. Mark Levin and others have shown the ridiculousness of this.) To add insult to injury, this anti-Reagan claim was made by a candidate who admitted to not even supporting or voting for Reagan. He actually was against the Reagan movement, donated to liberal candidates, and said he didnt want to go back to the Reagan days. You cant change history. We know that Newt Gingrich brought the Reagan Revolution into the 1990s. We know it because none other than Nancy Reagan herself announced this when she presented Newt with an award, telling us, The dramatic movement of 1995 is an outgrowth of a much earlier crusade that goes back half a century. Barry Goldwater handed the torch to Ronnie, and in turn Ronnie turned that torch over to Newt and the Republican members of Congress to keep that dream alive. As Rush and others pointed out, if Nancy Reagan had ever thought that Newt was in any way an opponent of her beloved husband, she would never have even appeared on a stage with him, let alone presented him with an award and said such kind things about him. Nor would Reagans son, Michael Reagan, have chosen to endorse Newt in this primary race. There are no two greater keepers of the Reagan legacy than Nancy and Michael Reagan. What we saw with this ridiculous opposition dump on Newt was nothing short of Stalin-esque rewriting of history. It was Alinsky tactics at their worst.
But this whole thing isnt really about Newt Gingrich vs. Mitt Romney. It is about the GOP establishment vs. the Tea Party grassroots and independent Americans who are sick of the politics of personal destruction used now by both parties operatives with a complicit media egging it on. In fact, the establishment has been just as dismissive of Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Newt is an imperfect vessel for Tea Party support, but in South Carolina the Tea Party chose to get behind him instead of the old guards choice. In response, the GOP establishment voices denounced South Carolinian voters with the same vitriol we usually see from the left when they spew hatred at everyday Americans bitterly clinging to their faith and their Second Amendment rights. The Tea Party was once again told to sit down and shut up and listen to the wisdom of their betters. We were reminded of the litany of Tea Party endorsed candidates in 2010 who didnt win. Well, heres a little newsflash to the establishment: without the Tea Party there would have been no historic 2010 victory at all.
I spoke up before the South Carolina primary to urge voters there to keep this primary going because I have great concern about the GOP establishment trying to anoint a candidate without the blessing of the grassroots and all the needed energy and resources we as commonsense constitutional conservatives could bring to the general election in order to defeat President Obama. Now, I respect Governor Romney and his success. But there are serious concerns about his record and whether as a politician he consistently applied conservative principles and how this impacts the agenda moving forward. The questions need answers now. That is why this primary should not be rushed to an end. We need to vet this. Pundits in the Beltway are gleefully proclaiming that this primary race is over after Florida, despite 46 states still not having chimed in. Well, perhaps its possible that it will come to a speedy end in just four days; but with these questions left unanswered, it will not have come to a satisfactory conclusion. Without this necessary vetting process, the unanswered question of Governor Romneys conservative bona fides and the unanswered and false attacks on Newt Gingrich will hang in the air to demoralize many in the electorate. The Tea Party grassroots will certainly feel disenfranchised and disenchanted with the perceived orchestrated outcome from self-proclaimed movers and shakers trying to sew this all up. And, trust me, during the general election, Governor Romneys statements and record in the private sector will be relentlessly parsed over by the opposition in excruciating detail to frighten off swing voters. This is why we need a fair primary that is not prematurely cut short by the GOP establishment using Alinsky tactics to kneecap Governor Romneys chief rival.
As I said in my speech in Iowa last September, the challenge of this election is not simply to replace President Obama. The real challenge is who and what we will replace him with. Its not enough to just change up the uniform. If we dont change the team and the game plan, we wont save our country. We truly need sudden and relentless reform in Washington to defend our republic, though its becoming clearer that the old guard wants anything but that. That is why we should all be concerned by the tactics employed by the establishment this week. We will not save our country by becoming like the left. And I question whether the GOP establishment would ever employ the same harsh tactics they used on Newt against Obama. I didnt see it in 2008. Many of these same characters sat on their thumbs in 08 and let Obama escape unvetted. Oddly, theyre now using every available microscope and endoscope along with rewriting history in attempts to character assassinate anyone challenging their chosen one in their own partys primary. So, one must ask, who are they really running against?
- Sarah Palin
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2012 21:24
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#9
I think she was using those tactics herself earlier in the campaign. She certainly gave the appearance of backing Michelle "I wanna be Mitt's VP Soooooo Badly" Bachmann's Tardasil attack on Perry.
[Magharebia] It was a very different Sahel security summit this week for the foreign ministers of Mali, Mauritania, Algeria, Niger and guest Nigeria.
The countries confirmed the link between al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie... for the first time, pledging Tuesday (January 24th) in Nouakchott to work together against the shared threat to African stability and development.
Four days earlier, Boko Haram (meaning "western education is forbidden") killed more than 200 people in a series of co-ordinated bomb and gun attacks in Kano, Nigeria's second-largest city.
Scores more have died in attacks on churches, hotels and public buildings since the start of the year. Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... says that 550 people were killed last year in 115 separate attacks engineered by Boko Haram, including the UN bombing in Abuja.
"There is a proven connection between AQIM and Boko Haram," Malian Foreign Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga said at the Nouakchott ministerial meeting.
Nigerian foreign minister Mohamed Bazoum said he was concerned about the situation in his country, due to the rise of Boko Haram, whose connections to AQIM were "more than just simple conjecture".
According to the Nigerian diplomat, "the deteriorating situation in Libya in 2011 caused an exceptional increase in the flow of arms and explosives in the region".
"We must stop the networks used by Orcs and similar vermin to get supplies of food and fuel," Bazoum said.
Along with jointly facing the "great challenge posed by AQIM in the Sahel and Boko Haram in Nigeria", Mauritanian Foreign Minister Hamadi Ould Hamadi said the countries intended to partner against organised crime, trafficking in weapons and explosives, and the abduction of Westerners.
The Algiers-based African Centre for Study and Research on Terrorism (CAERT) also attended the Mauritania event. Algeria, home to the Sahel states' joint military and intelligence commands, raised the issue of the AQIM and Boko Haram link months before the ministerial summit.
"We are convinced that there has been some co-ordination between Boko Haram and al-Qaeda," Algerian Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel said last November during a joint presser with visiting Mauritanian Foreign Minister Hamadi Ould Baba Ould Hamadi.
"The way in which the two organizations operate and reports from intelligence services clearly show that there is co-ordination," Messahel said.
Evidence of the link between AQIM and Boko Haram is also coming from the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit...
According to a UN mission that went to the Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... to report on security fallout from the Libya conflict, Boko Haram gun-hung tough guys from Nigeria are indeed bolstering ties with al-Qaeda, AFP reported on Thursday (January 26th).
Nigeria's vulnerability to terror attacks could jeopardise peace-building, democracy and stability in West Africa, UN Special Envoy for West Africa Said Djinnit told the UN Security Council on January 16th.
In Niger, authorities recently intercepted a convoy carrying 645 kilograms of Semtex and 445 detonators and "alleged that the explosives were meant for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb camps in northern Mali".
"This seizure may indicate that terrorist groups have been acquiring arms, weapons and explosives from Libyan military stockpiles," the report said.
"Some of the weapons may be hidden in the desert and could be sold to terrorist groups like al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram or other criminal organizations," said the group, which was led by UN Special Envoy for West Africa Said Djinnit.
Mission representatives found that Boko Haram members from Nigeria and Chad had received training in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb camps in Mali during the summer of 2011.
Seven Boko Haram members were also jugged going through Niger to Mali carrying material on making explosives and contact details of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members they were to meet.
African security agencies, however, are determined to prevent contacts between the three most dangerous organizations in Africa - Boko Haram in Nigeria, AQIM in the Sahara, and al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban... in Somalia.
Sahel countries -- in co-ordination with the government of Nigeria -- aim to keep al-Qaeda and Boko Haram from forging a closer alliance.
After the success of the Arab Spring, these violent organizations were faced with a difficult situation. They had to may turn to new, poorer regions of Africa to revive their silent cells.
"There is continuous thinking about preventing this terrorist network, which tries to extend from eastern to central Africa, from communicating," a Mauritanian Foreign Ministry official confirmed to Magharebia.
Boko Haram may already have penetrated state agencies in Nigeria. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... said he believes that there are sympathisers in his government and security agencies with Boko Haram.
"Some of them are in the executive arm of government, some are in the parliamentary arm of government, while some of them are even in the judiciary. Some are also in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies," the president said on January 8th.
"During the civil war, we knew and we could even predict where the enemy was coming from," Jonathan said, "but the challenge we have today is more complicated.
There have long been claims of political links to Boko Haram, but it was the first time Jonathan made the case publicly in such strong terms.
In a televised speech after the Kano attacks, the president said that the defence ministry had been tasked with forming a new anti-terrorism force.
He described the Islamist turban Boko Haram as a "cancerous" movement that aimed to destroy the country but which would eventually fail.
The Nigerian government's new war on Boko Haram will be a real blow to al-Qaeda.
Sahel countries have recently disrupted al-Qaeda supply lines. This new development, combined with defections by young jihadists, has forced AQIM to use Boko Haram as a rear base and supply source for weapons and young recruits.
According to Algeria's Ennahar daily, "Battalion of the Masked" leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, alias Laaouar, used cigarette smugglers to establish contacts with African fighters. Security agencies, however, thwarted an operation to bring scores of youths to Laaouar's headquarters.
Given the impediments to recruiting and supply routes, Laaouar's recent remarks about suspending Mauritania activity are not unexpected.
In November, Laaouar told the Akhbar Nouakchott daily that he was open to the idea of ending operations in Mauritania.
That Mauritania could be off the table means just one thing: that the leaders of the terrorist organization are starting to feel pressure from the Sahel countries' expanded counter-terrorism partnership.
And now that security agencies from five countries are determined to sever al-Qaeda's connection to Boko Haram and Nigeria, the terror group will be forced to look elsewhere for help.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
Gee, anything to do with the positioning of the US comando ship in the region?
[Yemen Post] Yemen Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashhoor has said she seeks to shut down private custodies run by some officials and tribal leaders, stressing that the existence of such custodies contradicts Yemen laws and international conventions.
But where are they then to keep their foreign kidnappees while the ransom is being negotiated?
Mashhoor affirmed that human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... are subjected to violations in Yemen, pointing out that there are a lot of intractable challenges as a result of the lack to the rule of law and fair judiciary.
In an interview with the state-run 26 September newspaper, she made reference to the existence of a big gap between laws and their application on the ground.
She further revealed that Human Rights Ministry would be shifted to an independent supreme authority which enjoys impartiality.
"Probes about killing of protesters in Sana'a, Taiz and Abyan require transparency and fair justice system," she added.
"The cut of electricity, water and the rising of oil derivatives are serious violations to human rights which amount to crimes against humanity and those responsible for them must be brought to justice."
She highly appreciated the Yemeni women, pointing out that they positively take part in the Yemeni current revolution, expecting that they would be more empowered in the up-coming stage.
Mashhoor has vowed to release all political prisoners held in security forces.
Yemeni human rights groups had stated that hundreds of protesters are being jugged and brutally tortured inside military camps affiliated to the 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... The exact number of detainees being held by the authorities is unknown, but activists say that it could be as high as 1,400.
Yemeni activists had urged all international human rights organizations to press on the Yemeni regime to release all detainees and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[Yemen Post] The UN staff member, who has been held in Yemen since 15 January 2012, arrived today in a UN safe haven in Sana'a after he was released earlier in Ma'rib. He is in good health and is receiving standard medical examinations and psychological counselling. He has been in touch with his family and will be reunited with them in Norway soon.
"I am happy to be free again and I wish to thank all those who have worked hard for my release." commented the freed UN worker. "I am relieved that this experience is over," he added.
The UN worker was reportedly held somewhere in the governorate of Ma'rib, 173 kilometres east of the capital Sana'a, where he was taken by armed rustics involved in a tribal dispute.
"We are delighted to have our colleague back with us, unharmed, and we greatly appreciate the timely and determined efforts of Yemeni authorities in negotiating his release" said Jens-Toyberg-Frandzen, UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen. "We are also grateful for the close coordination and support we have received from the Norwegian Government throughout this ordeal."
The 34-year-old Norwegian, who has worked as a Governance Team Leader in the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Development Programme, will go on a short leave to recuperate in his home country before he resumes duties with UNDP.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
The classic Yemen adventure among the wild natives, who will be said to have treated him with the utmost hospitality and nobility of character while his ransom was being negotiated.
[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army claimed on Friday to have captured five Iranian military officers in the restive city of Homs and urged Tehran to "immediately" withdraw any additional troops it may have in Syria.
In a statement, the FSA said the Iranians captured "were working under the orders of the intelligence services of the Syrian air force" and had no valid papers to reside or work in Syria.
It did not specify when the officers were locked away and FSA officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
The statement urged Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to admit that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, or Pasdaran, were in Syria to assist the regime of Bashir al-Assad in its bid to crush a 10-month popular revolt.
"The (Iranian) officers must immediately leave Syrian territory, more specifically by Saturday morning," the statement said.
It added that two Iranian civilians also captured by the FSA would be released as they were employed at a power plant in the central region of Homs, which has become a flashpoint of the revolt against Assad.
The FSA, which claims to have 40,000 soldiers who have deserted the regular army, posted a video along with its statement that showed several men carrying what it said were Iranian passports.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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[An Nahar] Attackers on Friday fired rockets at Pakistain's top military academy, damaging its outer wall in a major security breach near the home where the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now among the dear departed, though not among the dearest... lived for years, officials said.
No one was hurt in the pre-dawn attack and it was unclear who fired the nine rockets from behind a mosque in mountains overlooking the Kakul academy, Pakistain's equivalent of West Point 50 kilometers from the capital.
The garrison city of 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.... was considered one of the safest parts of nuclear-armed Pakistain until American Special Forces on May 2 found and killed the al-Qaeda founder in a compound where he apparently lived for five years.
The bin Laden raid humiliated Pakistain's powerful military, exposing it to charges of complicity or incompetence after it emerged that the world's most wanted man had lived on the doorstep of its premier academy for years.
Three rockets on Friday damaged the outer wall of the academy, which is jt 500 meters from the site of the U.S.. Navy SEALs raid that serioly damaged already turbulent relations between Pakistain and the United States.
"Nine rockets were fired. Three rockets hit the boundary wall of the military academy and damaged it. No one was hurt in the attack," Imtiaz Hsain Shah, a top local government official in Abbottabad told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We have launched a search operation," Shah added.
Mohammed Karim Khan, Abbottabad police chief, confirmed the attack.
"Three rockets hit the boundary wall. Three others landed in an open area and three others landed in a field," he said.
Officials blamed gunnies for the attack.
Shah told TV channel Geo that police had recovered nine rocket-launching pads behind a mosque, about 500 meters from the academy.
"We have a security system and checkpoints on the roads, but the place they used as a launch pad is accessible from all sides and there are mountains at the back of this place," he said.
"At this stage we cannot say who was involved, but they are gunnies and we are investigating how they managed to reach this place."
Taliban and other Islamist Islamic fascistiare fighting an insurgency against the army, although there has been a marked decline in violence in recent months.
Considered one of the quietest towns in the northwest, nestled in pine-dotted hills and popular with day-trippers from the capital, Abbottabad is listed on Pakistain's official tourism website as a "popular summer resort".
But although it is mainly tranquil, it is close to more troubled areas.
A judicial commission is investigating how bin Laden managed to live undetected in Pakistain for so long, and whether there was any government or military collion.
Pak-U.S. ties have since reached a new low over U.S. air strikes that killed 24 Pak soldiers last November, leading Pakistain to shut its Afghan border to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... supplies and conduct a review of its alliance with Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
Who benefits from a HARMLESS attack on the military acadamy? I suggest it is the military, or at least the part that is more military and less Taliban/Islamist oriented. The question is, are they competent enough to have executed it to be harmless and to keep it secret?
[Yemen Post] There are arrangements to appoint 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... 's elder son, Ahmed as the commander of multi-national Counterterrorism Unit in the Middle East, which is led by USA, Saudi Al-Watan Newspaper reported citing what it has called close sources from Ahmed.
Ahmed, 40, the commander of the elite Elite Republican Guards, the best trained and equipped military troops in Yemen, has expressed his willingness to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to quit his vital position once the Military Committee, which is tasked with restructuring the army units, asks him to, said the unidentified sources.
The appointment coincided with the Military Committee's plan to restructure the Yemeni army and make led by united leadership in line with the GCC brokered deal signed on November23.
Saleh's relatives still in control of key military institutions, including Elite Republican Guards, Special Forces, Counterterrorism Unit and National Security.
Saleh has left Yemen for USA for further medical treatment for wounds and injuries sustained in a blast at the Presidential Palace early in June.
Saleh signed a deal with the opposition in the Saudi capital of Riyadh under which he transferred all his executive powers to Hadi, the sole candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections set to be held on February 21.
Massive popular protests demanding an end to the long autocratic rule of Saleh, combined with anarchy in the south and insurgency in the far north has shaken Yemen to the bone, leaving thousands killed, pushing the economy to the brink of collapse, triggering humanitarian crisis and stoking fears among friends and neighbors of another failed state in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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Yeah, you know they're "elite" when the president's kid is running the show...
[Iran Press TV] Britannia's Stop the War Coalition has organized a protest rally in front of the US embassy in London on Saturday 28 January to stress opposition to an invasion on Iran.
The protest rally entitled "Hands Off Iran and Syria: No Western intervention", will be held on Saturday from 2pm-4pm outside the US Embassy building in Grosvenor Square London W1, said the Stop the War Coalition in a statement.
The protest campaign is supported by Unite union, War on Want, Paleostine Solidarity Campaign, Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention on Iran (CASMII), Friends of Al-Aqsa, Goldsmiths Student Union and SOAS Student Union, the statement added.
It said that the growing threats against Iran in recent weeks have been backed up with increased unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, Britannia and their European allies in the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... military alliance.
"As we know from Iraq, these (the threats and sanctions) are a prelude to war, not an alternative to it. There are signs of covert intervention already in Iran, as there are in Syria. Stop the War opposes all military intervention from the west in the region, for which there is absolutely no justification", the statement added.
Israeli regime is talking more and more of an attack to 'deal with' Iran's nuclear capability, even though it is the only entity in the Middle East that actually has developed nuclear weapons, the coalition noted in its statement.
"Following a year when Britannia and La Belle France led the intervention in Libya the dangers of further western attacks in the region are very real. Under the guise of 'humanitarian intervention' there are already signs of covert intervention in both Iran and Syria. An attack on either country would set the Middle East on fire. Now is the time to start building opposition to these new wars. Join with us to say no to western intervention", added the statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2012
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#1
Make sure they pay up front, boys. And in real currency. None of those piece of shit rials...
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.
Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, has acknowledged publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided vital information to the US in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden's compound last May.
Robert Hegyes, one of the Sweathogs on the immortal New York high school comedy Welcome Back, Kotter, died Thursday after suffering apparent heart failure at his Metuchen, N.J., home.
The Pentagon is rushing to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East as tensions rise with Iran, al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates, among other threats.
[Dawn] The 
Mohmand
Khaleda Zia
Charles Taylor
International Criminal Court.
Pervez 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Asif Ali 
US said on Wednesday that 
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany -- Two Army heavy brigades based in Germany will return to the United States as part of the new defense posture in Europe, the Department of Defense confirmed Thursday.
Concluding that the 30,000-pound "bunker-buster" bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) isn't big enough to destroy Iran's most heavily fortified underground facilities, the Pentagon has contracted to make an even more powerful bomb.
[Dawn] Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Thursday asked the homegrown Taliban to renounce violence in the 'country's larger interest' but warned that nobody would be allowed to challenge the state's writ.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Dawn] THOUGH the prospect of violence is never distant in 
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] US President 
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Goodluck Jonathan
... 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...
[Yemen Post] There are arrangements to appoint Yemeni outgoing President 
