Hi there, !
Today Thu 02/07/2013 Wed 02/06/2013 Tue 02/05/2013 Mon 02/04/2013 Sun 02/03/2013 Sat 02/02/2013 Fri 02/01/2013 Archives
Rantburg
531686 articles and 1855967 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 71 articles and 174 comments as of 9:38.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix    Main Page
Ansar Dine #3 arrested in northern Mali
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
21:19 5 22:46 Thing From Snowy Mountain []
20:27 0 [] 
20:12 2 23:02 trailing wife []
20:07 0 [1]
19:56 0 []
19:46 3 23:39 JosephMendiola []
19:29 5 20:11 Lone Ranger [1] 
19:14 1 23:36 trailing wife [1]
19:02 2 22:34 Procopius2k []
18:57 1 19:25 Frank G []
17:30 9 23:19 JosephMendiola [] 
17:24 1 18:17 Frank G [1] 
17:16 0 []
15:53 8 19:18 Raider []
06:50 3 22:35 JosephMendiola [1]
06:37 0 []
06:33 3 15:15 Silentbrick - Schlumberger Squishy Mud Division []
06:27 3 21:27 lord garth []
05:22 17 00:00 JosephMendiola []
00:00 1 00:43 Raider []
00:00 4 19:04 Frank G [] 
00:00 1 21:15 Eric Jablow [] 
00:00 7 18:08 JohnQC []
00:00 6 14:29 Bright Pebbles [] 
00:00 9 22:09 Frank G [1] 
00:00 1 04:47 Besoeker []
00:00 23 23:27 JosephMendiola [1]
00:00 0 [] 
00:00 3 14:02 Muggsy Mussolini1226 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 1 05:03 Besoeker [] 
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 [] 
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 1 00:24 JosephMendiola []
00:00 0 []
00:00 2 08:21 Besoeker []
00:00 5 16:14 Zhang Fei [] 
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 7 16:19 Shipman []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 [] 
00:00 2 16:16 Raider [] 
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 1 00:14 JosephMendiola []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 6 20:52 Thing From Snowy Mountain []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 []
00:00 2 20:24 Thing From Snowy Mountain [2]
00:00 3 15:18 Steve White []
00:00 11 20:36 SteveS []
00:00 2 14:24 SteveS []
00:00 13 22:52 Clusong Gromort6441 [] 
Home Front: Culture Wars
Effort building to change US pot laws
But remember "Cannabis now a stroke risk"
An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a hefty federal pot tax.

While passage this year could be a longshot, lawmakers from both parties have been quietly working on several bills, the first of which Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado plan to introduce Tuesday, Blumenauer told The Associated Press.

Polis' measure would regulate marijuana the way the federal government handles alcohol: In states that legalize pot, growers would have to obtain a federal permit. Oversight of marijuana would be removed from the Drug Enforcement Administration and given to the newly renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms, and it would remain illegal to bring marijuana from a state where it's legal to one where it isn't.

The bill is based on a legalization measure previously pushed by former Reps. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Ron Paul of Texas.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 21:19 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  An obvious attempt to politically destroy the Libertarians.
Posted by: Pappy || 02/04/2013 22:04 Comments || Top||

#2  A lot of money to be make taxing pot. And a lot of entrenched interests against it, including but not limited to cops who make a living off forfeiture money, various anti-drug programs at the state and federal level, and drug dealers.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/04/2013 22:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Taxing pot is a deal with the devil.

Libertarians want to offer up the concept of taxing pot, when the only thing such a concept will do is to expand further the size scope and power of the government, already too large.
Posted by: badanov || 02/04/2013 22:30 Comments || Top||

#4  ..and drug dealers

They'll just follow the alcohol model in which they get limited wholesale licenses in the state for distribution [for continued contributions to the governing party]. Just makes the corruption more 'legit'.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/04/2013 22:32 Comments || Top||

#5  And they'll get undercut by "sunshiners" growing in the national forests, because sitting out by your pot patch with an AR-15 is easier than roofing welding or road construction or being a machinist, and we're in the Second Great Depression anyway.

(And it's not like the law enforcement people are stopping them now. They're going to suddenly become much more militant so Jerry Brown can get his 10%?)
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/04/2013 22:46 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Amusement park planned for Osama bin Laden's hideout
Now that the place where Bin Laden was killed has become the 2nd most hold shrine in Islam after Mecca, can't let a crisis go to waste.
Pakistan is planning to build an amusement park in the town of Abbottabad, notorious for being the site of Osama bin Laden's death.

The amusement park and outdoor activity center is planned for the edge of the northwestern town and will begin construction in the next two weeks.

"This project has nothing to do with Osama bin Laden," said Syed Aqil Shah, the provincial minister for tourism and sports, adding that the 50-acre development would also include restaurants, a heritage center and manmade waterfalls.

"The amusement city will be built on 50 acres in the first phase but later will be extended to 500 acres," he told Agence France-Presse.

"We are working to promote tourism and amusement facilities in the whole province and this project is one of those facilities."

"The project will take five years to complete," Jamaluddin Khan, the deputy provincial minister for tourism, told Reuters, that it would include a zoo, a mini-golf course, rock climbing and paragliding.
And not forgetting the most popular entertainment "be a suicide bomber for a day"
Javed Abbasi, a provincial member of parliament who supported the park, said, "It was unfortunate that Osama stayed here but I don't think it was the fault of the city, where he had no support," according to the Guardian. "People are not fanatic, they do not support terrorists -- you cannot blame a city if someone hides here."

Bin Laden was killed in his compound by US Navy SEALs in a raid on May 2, 2011. The large white villa has since been demolished, Reuters noted.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 20:27 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Conspiracy Theory Claims Muslim Brotherhood Allied with Jews
Amid the protests and violence that have roiled Egypt in the past few days, a bizarre new anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish conspiracy theory has emerged claiming that the Muslim Brotherhood is tainted by a secret allegiance to Jews and Israel, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) revealed on Friday.

Protestors in Port Said, Egypt, were shown in a television broadcast chanting “Khaibar, Khaiber, oh Jews, the Brothers (Muslim Brotherhood) are the Jews.” The slogan evokes an alleged Islamic story of a battle between the prophet Muhammad and the Jews in the town of Khaibar, but in this case the chant was altered to include an allusion to the Brotherhood.

Additionally, Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan, in his Twitter campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood, has recently attempted to discredit the Brotherhood by alleging a nefarious allegiance to Israel and Jews.

“It would seem that no allegation made against the Jews and Israel is too absurd when it is used to stigmatize and discredit others in the Arab world,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “However bizarre and ludicrous, it is an increasingly popular conspiracy theory that the Muslim Brotherhood is a Jewish production to destroy Egyptians.”

Chief Khalfan, who holds the rank of Lieutenant General, serves as member of the Executive Council of the Government of Dubai and has more than 300,000 followers on his Twitter account, which he devotes primarily to criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 20:12 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A conspiracy theory no doubt encouraged by the Wahabbi element.
Posted by: Pappy || 02/04/2013 21:46 Comments || Top||

#2  *boggle*
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2013 23:02 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
The Gulf states and the Muslim Brotherhood: Affinity and repulsion
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 20:07 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Top Iranians Trade Barbs in Rare Public Feud
Two of the heavyweights in Iranian politics attacked each other with accusations of blackmail, corruption and mafia-like rule, in a boisterous and unprecedented public confrontation that brings a simmering political feud into the open months ahead of presidential elections.

By Monday morning, YouTube and most Iranian news websites had posted transcripts, audio and video recordings of the exchange between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and parliament speaker Ali Larijani during a public parliamentary session Sunday.

Mr. Ahmadinejad, appearing in parliament to defend the impeachment of his labor minister, played a video that he suggested allegedly implicates the parliamentary speaker and his brothers—an influential family close to Iran's supreme leader—of financial corruption and abuse of power.

"There are some people who are doing things that make the internal pressures equal to pressure we have from outside," said Mr. Ahmadinejad, during whose tenure tough international sanctions have been slapped on Iran over its nuclear program. "My government is constantly under attack and pressure. How am I supposed to defend it?"

Mr. Larijani, the parliamentary speaker, called the president a blackmailer and waved him out of the chamber with a slang equivalent of "get lost."

Parliament turned chaotic during the session, with lawmakers screaming and throwing their fists in the air to protest the video. Some lawmakers were restrained by their colleagues. One was escorted out of the chamber.

The exchange appeared to mark several firsts in Iranian politics—the first time an Iranian president has used a public forum to launch potentially criminal allegations about another official, especially incorporating incriminating documents, which is another rarity in Iranian politics. In a political culture that places much stock in public politeness, it was also appeared to be the first time a parliament speaker has levied insults and counteraccusations in the face of a sitting president.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 19:56 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
French converts to Islam pose growing challenge
The spacious and elegant modern building, in the heart of this middle-class suburb of Paris, is known as "the mosque of the converts".

Every year about 150 Muslim conversion ceremonies are performed in the snow-white structure of the Sahaba mosque in Creteil, with its intricate mosaics and a stunning 25-metre minaret, built in 2008 and a symbol of Islam's growing presence in France.

Among those who come here for Friday prayer are numerous young former Catholics, wearing the traditional Muslim prayer cap and long robe.

While the number of converts remains relatively small in France, yearly conversions to Islam have doubled in the past 25 years, experts say, presenting a growing challenge for France, where government and public attitudes toward Islam are awkward and sometimes hostile.

French anti-terrorism officials have been warning for years that converts represent a critical element of the terrorist threat in Europe, because they have Western passports and do not stand out.

In October, the French police conducted a series of antiterrorism raids across France, resulting in the arrests of 12 people, including at least three French citizens who had recently converted to Islam. Converts "often need to overdo it if they want to be accepted" as Muslims, and so veer into extremism more frequently than others, said Didier Leschi, who was in charge of religious issues at the Interior Ministry under former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Many Muslims counter that they regularly face prejudice, and consider a 2010 law banning the full-face veil from public spaces and the growing concern with conversions as reflections of French intolerance.

Whatever the impact, there is little doubt conversions are growing more commonplace.

"The conversion phenomenon is significant and impressive, particularly since 2000," said Bernard Godard, who is in charge of religious issues at the Interior Ministry.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 19:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  IMO these conversions are indirectly inversely a major or total rejection of contemporary Liberal/Scientifc Secularism in Govt-Society by the younger generations of French.

Once again - EYES WIDE OPEN, NOT EYES WIDE SHUT.

The French Politicos in Paris, + Church, etc. need to long + hard at themselves in the mirror to find out what went astray.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 22:50 Comments || Top||

#2  The demand by domestic Muslims in both France + US, etc. for legal Sharia is consistent wid the historical agendas + precepts of French + International Socialism.

As in the US, what the Lefts have done for women + demographic or ethnic minorities, as per Welfare-Nanny Statehood where Left-beloved equalist "Universalism" = Selective
"Stratification" + "Special Issues", it can do for Law-abiding Muslims + Sharia.

The pro-Sharists will argue that Islam + Sharia law is the VERY ESSENCE/PROOF OF SELF-RELIANCE + ANTI-DEFICIT COST-EFFECTIVENESS DUE TO ITS BASE IN GOD'S LAW, THAT A SHARIA SYS WILL BE THE LEAST OR AMONG THE LEAST OF THE WORRIES + TRAVAILS OF US, WESTERN BIG GOVTS + WELFARE-NANNY STATISM.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 23:08 Comments || Top||

#3  OOOOPPPSIES, forgot WAFF > ARABS ARE FLOODING GREECE IN LARGE NUMBERS | GREECE SWAMPED BY BY ILLEGALS FROM NORTH AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST [+ South, Central Asia includ AFPAK], in
"devastating wave" according to Greece/Athens Ambassador to the US Christos P. Panagopoulos.

Meanwhile, Muslim Azerbaijan is complaining about SYRIAN ARMENIANS being resettled in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 23:39 Comments || Top||


Economy
Argentina tries freezing prices to break 30 percent annual inflation spiral
Argentina announced a two-month price freeze on supermarket products Monday in an effort to stop spiraling inflation.

The price freeze applies to every product in all of the nation’s largest supermarkets — a group including Walmart, Carrefour, Coto, Jumbo, Disco and other large chains. The companies’ trade group, representing 70 percent of the Argentine supermarket sector, reached the accord with Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno, the government’s news agency Telam reported.

The commerce ministry wants consumers to keep receipts and complain to a hotline about any price hikes they see before April 1.

Polls show Argentines worry most about inflation, which private economists estimate could reach 30 percent this year. The government says it’s trying to hold the next union wage hikes to 20 percent, a figure that suggests how little anyone believes the official index that pegs annual inflation at just 10 percent
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 19:29 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A price freeze?
Really?
Have they ever worked in the past?
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 02/04/2013 19:35 Comments || Top||

#2  So I guess they prefer empty market shelves.
Posted by: Glenmore || 02/04/2013 19:35 Comments || Top||

#3  pretty obviously a Juice/British conspiracy to impose reality on the Argie markets? Oh yeah, and when you're starving you can eat Peronist promises from Christina
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 19:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah good luck with that.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/04/2013 19:50 Comments || Top||

#5  Next, like any banana republic, their government will be clamping down on credit rating agencies to prevent them from issuing lower credit ratings.

..... Oh, wait.......
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 02/04/2013 20:11 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Dar al-Harb and Islamic Expansionism
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 19:14 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Indeed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2013 23:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Outgoing EPA chief convinced Obama serious on climate change
The departing chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa P. Jackson, says she cringes whenever she is asked if President Barack Obama is truly serious about confronting climate change.

Of course he is, she tells them. "I don't think you need clues. The president has been really clear ... I'm not sure how much clearer he could be."

And yet even Jackson herself was caught off guard last month, when sitting just steps from Obama during his second-term swearing-in, the president cited the threats posed by climate change so prominently in his inaugural address.

"Surprised? Of course. Because I did not know what he was going to say. But pleased? Absolutely," the EPA administrator told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview before she leaves office later this month.

For Jackson, 50, a former New Jersey state official with no national profile until Obama chose her to lead the EPA during his first term, the lengthy inaugural nod to climate change served as a satisfying coda to a tumultuous tenure marked by clashes with Republican lawmakers and agricultural communities.

Jackson's deepest regret, she said, is that she failed to reach out to rural, often conservative regions of the United States. As a result, she said, opponents were able to generate politically damaging rumors of looming regulatory crackdowns, such as a fictitious EPA plan to treat bovine excretions as dangerous pollutants.

"If I were starting again, I would from day one make a much stronger effort to do personal outreach in rural America," Jackson said. "Had I known that these myths about everything from cow flatulence to spilled milk could be seen as 'The EPA is coming to get you,' I would have spent more time trying to inoculate against that."
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 19:02 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  did she say that as Richard Windsor or as Lisa Jackson?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 19:08 Comments || Top||

#2  He also believes in the Marxist/Socialist fairytale of redistribution in the face of clear evidence it doesn't work.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/04/2013 22:34 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Iran's president wishes to visit Gaza
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is due to take part in a summit in Egypt this week, expressed his desire on Monday to visit the neighboring Gaza Strip.

Asked in an interview on the Al Mayadeen news channel whether he would visit Gaza while in Cairo next week or before his term as president expires in June, he replied: "My wish is bigger than this. I wish to pray in Jerusalem after complete liberation."

Iran does not recognize Israel.

"If they allow it, I would go to Gaza to visit the people," he said, without saying whose authority he would seek.

Egypt controls the crossing with Gaza and leaders of Qatar and Malaysia have both visited the enclave from Egyptian territory in the last six months.

Ahmadinejad's visit to Cairo will be the first for an Iranian president since the 1979 Iranian revolution ruptured diplomatic ties between the two most populous countries in the Middle East.

He will head Iran's delegation to a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Cairo.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 18:57 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "into the tunnel, monkey!"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 19:25 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's President Ahmadinejad offers to go into space
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has volunteered to become the first person sent into space by his country's fledgling space programme.

"I'm ready to be the first Iranian to be sacrificed by the scientists of my country and go into space," he is quoted by state media as saying.

Iran announced last week that it had successfully sent a monkey to space.

Western nations have expressed concern that Iran's space programme is being used to develop long-range missiles.

Such missiles could potentially be used to carry nuclear warheads.

Iran denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.
Worms

President Ahmadinejad made his space-travel offer during an address to scientists on Iran's national day of space technology in Tehran, state media report.

It comes a week after Iran said it had successfully sent a monkey to an altitude of some 120 km (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight. The monkey returned unharmed.

In the US Senator John McCain mocked Mr Ahmadinejad's announcement, using Twitter to compare the Iranian president to the nation's space monkey.

"So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week?" Mr McCain wrote.

The tweet provoked an angry response from many who saw racist overtones in his comparison of the dark-skinned, bearded Mr Ahmadinejad to a monkey.

That prompted Mr McCain to tweet again, saying: "Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can't everyone take a joke?"

Pictures released by the Iranian presidency website on Monday showed President Ahmadinejad meeting the monkey.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 17:30 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hear the weather is quite nice on Venus this time of year. Nothing beats a vacation on Venus. I hear alot of people love it so much they don't come back. see: http://www.scribd.com/doc/23657356/The-Marching-Morons
Posted by: George Glaigum7976 || 02/04/2013 18:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Can you leave him up there?
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/04/2013 18:05 Comments || Top||

#3  I think this would violate the prohibition on space junk
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 18:17 Comments || Top||

#4  "So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week?" Mr McCain wrote.

The tweet provoked an angry response from many who saw racist overtones in his comparison of the dark-skinned, bearded Mr Ahmadinejad to a monkey.

That prompted Mr McCain to tweet again, saying: "Re: Iran space tweet - lighten up folks, can't everyone take a joke?"


"Dark-skinned" my ass. That race card is just plum worn out.

Nice shootin' from the hip, John McCain.
Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 02/04/2013 18:35 Comments || Top||

#5  The tweet provoked an angry response from many who saw racist overtones in his comparison of the dark-skinned, bearded Mr Ahmadinejad to a monkey.

and there's the rub, oh sensitive ones. "Sons of Pigs and Monkeys" is OK for the Juice, but not for an unshaven unclean hate-spewing dwarf POS like Ahmadinejad? If anything, the monkeys should take offense at the comparison
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 19:06 Comments || Top||

#6  This stuff just writes itself, don't it! No wonder Scrapple Face went out of business. Who can compete?
Posted by: SteveS || 02/04/2013 22:21 Comments || Top||

#7  Truth be told, being a Spacenaut was long a personal dream = life goal of his since a young Tween, before Khomenei + the Islamic Revolution came along.

Personally I blame the APOLLO PROGRAM + "I DREAM OF JEANIE [Barbara Eden]".
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 22:42 Comments || Top||

#8  I strongly support this idea. Is there a fundraiser somewhere? Does he need a promotional website? How can I help get him on the end of rocket? I'll put up a sign in my yard if needed.
Posted by: Beau || 02/04/2013 22:46 Comments || Top||

#9  ION MOUD NEWS, WAFF > IRAN'S PRESIDENT SAYS HE WISHES TO VISIT GAZA, to walk + chat among the Paleo people barring any resistance or denial by Israel = Tel Aviv of his formal request to pray in Jerusalem.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 23:19 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Alabama hostage situation has ended
After a seven-day standoff, local media report that the hostage situation in Midland City, Alabama has ended.

Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran kidnapped a five-year-old boy from a school bus on Tuesday last week, shooting the bus driver to death in the process, he then held the boy in an underground bunker in his yard for the next six days.

The child is reported to be uninjured and is undergoing a standard medical evaluation.

Local news station WJHG reported explosions near the site of the crisis while other local media say a coroner has confirmed that Dykes has been killed.

The FBI has not discussed a motive for the kidnapping, but neighbors described Dykes as a loner with no children of his own. The 65-year-old was estranged from his family, according to Mel Adams, a Midland City Council member who knew Dykes since they were ages 3 and 4, as quoted by AP. The kidnapper’s neighbors told AP that Dykes once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for stepping onto his property, and guarded his property at night with a gun and a flashlight.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 17:24 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dykes deserved killing
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 18:17 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Video Purports to Show Sexual Abuse, Forced Conversion...
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 17:16 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Economy
Dissent not allowed - US DOJ suing S&P over credit rating drop
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/04/2013 15:53 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No, it doesn't say that. The DoJ will sue over the 2007-09 mortgage ratings fiasco, which S&P (and every other rater) thoroughly deserves.

Why in the world subprime mortgages could be bundled into securities such that the worst of the bundled mortgages could get AA and AAA ratings is beyond me, but perhaps S&P has an explanation. They'd better.

I support this -- raters need to know that their ratings have consequences.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 16:57 Comments || Top||

#2  So the rating agencies had it wrong prior to the 2008 crash because they were bought by Wall St. and the govmint? Now when they are trying to regain some credibility by playing it straight, they get dinged by DOJ?
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 16:59 Comments || Top||

#3  The temerity of S&P to downgrade the US when it breached the 100% debt ceiling must be punished. Moodys or Finch didn't, so Holder will make sure they are protected even though their credit ratings were just as "exuberant" as S&P before the financial meltdown.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 17:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Why in the world subprime mortgages could be bundled into securities such that the worst of the bundled mortgages could get AA and AAA ratings is beyond me, but perhaps S&P has an explanation. They'd better.

I think one of the problems lies in the bundling of bad loans with good loans. As I understand it they were sold as a package or bundle. The valuation was not easy.

Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 17:09 Comments || Top||

#5  and where was the SEC all this time?????????????
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 17:13 Comments || Top||

#6  Steve this comes on the back of the Obama administration saying the credit agencies were in the wrong for downgrading the US. While the raters were wrong before, they aren't wrong now and this is pure retaliation of the Obama administration.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/04/2013 18:07 Comments || Top||

#7  Solve credit problems the easy way.

Mandate that you can only get a bonus when the money is paid back, not when the money is loaned out.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/04/2013 18:27 Comments || Top||

#8  "Mandate that you can only get a bonus when the money is paid back, not when the money is loaned out."

... which would happen if we allowed banks to FAIL - when they failed.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 19:18 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
UK deploys toy-sized spy drones in Afghanistan
British troops in Afghanistan are now using 10-centimeter-long 16-gram spy helicopters to survey Taliban firing spots. The UK Defense Ministry plans to buy 160 of the drones under a contract worth more than $31 million.
That's ~$200K per drone. Hey Fred, we could do it for half of that...
­The remote-controlled PD-100 PRS aircraft, dubbed the Black Hornet, is produced by Norwegian designer Prox Dynamics. The drone is a traditional single-rotor helicopter, scaled down to the size of a toy. British troops use the drones for reconnaissance missions, sending them ahead to inspect enemy positions.

Each drone is equipped with a tiny tillable camera, a GPS coordinate receiver and an onboard autopilot system complete with gyros, accelerometers and pressure sensors, which keeps it stable in flight against winds as strong as 10 knots, according to reviews. The tiny aircraft is agile enough to fly inside compounds, and is quiet enough not to attract unwanted attention. If detected, the drones are cheap enough to be considered expendable.

The auto-pilot either follows a preprogrammed flight plan or receives commands from a manual control station, which is about the size of a large smartphone. The drone's camera can feed compressed video or still images to an operator up to a kilometer away, and its rechargeable battery provides power for about 30 minutes of flight.

In addition to the drone and the controller, each system comes with a ground base station, which houses the operating system, main electronics, internal batteries and chargers. It also protects the drone while being transported. The weight of the entire kit is about a kilogram, easily portable in the field.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 06:50 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes I want one and yes looks like an old poster was right.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/04/2013 16:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, pay some UK Tax and National Insurance and you, too, will part-own one, whether you want to, or not.
Posted by: Injun Stalin7884 || 02/04/2013 17:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Awwwww - no snakes? I read India developed Drone Snakes of the almost-creepy crawly variety.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 22:35 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iranian official: Israel will regret Syria strike
A top Iranian official visiting Damascus on Monday said Israel will regret its "latest aggression" on Syria and said the entire Muslim world should be ready to defend the Syrian people.
"We shall have Dire Revenge™!!"
Saeed Jalili, the head of Iran's National Security Council, also said Iran supports any initiative for dialogue between President Bashar Assad and his opponents to end the civil war in Syria, but insisted that any talks be held in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Jalili spoke to reporters at a news conference in Damascus at the end of a three-day visit to Syria.

"Just as it regretted its aggressions after the 33-day, 22-day and eight-day wars, today the Zionist entity will regret the aggression it launched against Syria," Jalili said, referring to past wars between Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas groups.

Israeli warplanes struck a site near the Syrian capital, Damascus, last week, targeting what U.S. officials said were ground-to-air missiles apparently heading for Hezbollah.

Syria said the strike targeted a military research facility and vowed retaliation, but has so far refrained from any response.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 06:37 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel arrests 20 Hamas members in West Bank
Israeli forces arrested 20 members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, including three lawmakers, in a raid early Monday in the West Bank, Hamas officials said.

The Israeli military confirmed arrests were made but would not elaborate further.

According to several Hamas officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, the arrests took place in the early morning all across the territory. One of those arrested was in charge of reconciliation talks between Hamas and its rival, the secular Fatah, according to the Hamas officials.

Palestinians have been deeply divided since Hamas overran Gaza in 2007, ousting forces from the Fatah party, led by the Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in bloody street battles. Abbas has since ruled only in parts of the West Bank, and Hamas has held sway in Gaza.

Multiple attempts to reach a long-elusive reconciliation agreement between the two Palestinian groups have not succeeded so far. And while efforts to end the split have failed, the two sides have tried to make a show of unity since Hamas' fierce battle with Israel in November and Fatah's subsequent recognition bid at the United Nations.

Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization because it has carried out scores of deadly attacks, including suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.

Hamas lawmakers have been subject to arrests by Israel since the group defeated Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 06:33 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Typical AP stuff. “Israel considers...” That should be: “Hamas is a terrorist that has launched thousands of deadly attacks, including suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, rocket attacks, and kidnappings.”
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 02/04/2013 7:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, but coming out and actually saying it lacks 'nuance', Eric.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/04/2013 14:35 Comments || Top||

#3  I just don't get why they bother to arrest them. Take a page from Vlad and tap into that resident fear....
Posted by: Silentbrick - Schlumberger Squishy Mud Division || 02/04/2013 15:15 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
22 killed in clash of Filipino extremists, rebels
Muslim rebel group said Monday it attacked Abu Sayyaf gunmen after the al-Qaida-linked militants refused to free hostages, sparking fierce jungle clashes that left up to 22 combatants dead in the southern Philippines.

There was no word on whether the hostages were hurt in the fighting, but they remained in the grip of the Abu Sayyaf militants, police said.

Rebel commander Khabir Malik of the Moro National Liberation Front, which has an autonomy deal with the government, said his group decided to attack the Abu Sayyaf in the rugged mountains of Patikul town in southern Sulu province after negotiations collapsed on the release of several of its foreign hostages, including a Jordanian TV journalist and two European men who have been held since last year.

Abu Sayyaf militants did release two Filipino hostages over the weekend after an unspecified ransom was paid, security officials said, adding the captives were let loose on their own and not turned over to the Moro rebels.

"We had no choice," Malik told The Associated Press by telephone from Patikul. "They told us they won't hand over their hostages to us even if they die."

The Moro rebels battled the Abu Sayyaf with guns and knives at close range Sunday, Malik said, adding his group lost eight men, including one who was beheaded and a few others who were hacked to death.

Military and police officials in Sulu said up to 14 Abu Sayyaf men were killed, citing intelligence.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 06:27 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is somewhat similar to the somali situation where Islamist on Islamist killings become SOP.



Posted by: lord garth || 02/04/2013 9:37 Comments || Top||

#2  "This is somewhat similar to the somali situation where Islamist on Islamist killings become SOP."

Great. How do we sustain & broaden this phenomenon?
Posted by: American Delight || 02/04/2013 17:38 Comments || Top||

#3  A D

Well, in Egypt, there is potential for Islamist on Islamist violence but it first requires the secularists to be finished off. Also, in Mali, there are 5 different Islamist groups but France and the Mali govt look to take over instead. There is also a form of Islamist vs Islamist going on in Iran, although it has elements of personal grudges. Of course, to many observers the Shiite vs Sunni violence looks Islamist but its really a different phenomenon.
Posted by: lord garth || 02/04/2013 21:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Parker: Combat women and Congress’s wimps
Polling that shows Americans favor women in combat by a 2-to-1 margin is evidence only of the power of misinformation.
And, yes, indoctrination.
Posted by: tipper || 02/04/2013 05:22 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If women can’t meet the standards, we’ll just “gender-norm” them.
Then they will also need to address the class discrimination issues of 'more(harder/stronger) work for equal pay' that appear.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/04/2013 6:03 Comments || Top||

#2  We know this because Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said as much:

“If we do decide that a particular standard is so high that a woman couldn’t make it, the burden is now on the service to come back and explain to the secretary, why is it that high? Does it really have to be that high?”


The Army has had separate but equal [I love using that term] female height and weight standards, as well as physical fitness standards for decades.

How about a discussion centered around SICK CALL? Who goes on SICK CALL by an alarmingly high percentage? Yep, here she comes, absent from PT, late for formation, with a sick slip and profile in her hand..."but sergeant my ****** hurts".

Fine, fine job General Dempsey. Fine job.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 8:00 Comments || Top||

#3  I knew I had arrived when I saw tampons inserted into ACU [body armor] cargo loops. You want "combat ready"...? You got it!
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 8:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Polling that shows Americans favor women in combat by a 2-to-1 margin is evidence only of the power of misinformation.

The vast majority who've never served nor understand the sociology of military life. I'm sure they slept at a Holiday Inn though.

There is no math in nature. Math is a manmade concept developed first for accounting and then trying to explain the world around them. Nature doesn't care. It doesn't compute orbits or planets or the number of electrons around an atom. It just is. Man counts, categorizes, analyzes. Nature does, however, do chemistry. There's no equal in water, but it still takes two hydrogen and one oxygen to make it. The unstable combinations work themselves out 'naturally', and yet the world and universe go on. When you try to force stuff together that isn't intended to be, you end up with exceedingly short half lifes or a release of energy that leaves the elements diminished if not altered beyond their original physics.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/04/2013 8:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Institutionalized:

First Sergeant: Where is Specialist Alecia Jones? Section Leader: She's taking her kids to the doctor TOP. Oh, ok, no problem.

First Sergeant: Where is Specialist Chris Smith?
Section Leader: He's taking his kids to the doctor TOP. WTF? Where is his wife, the lazy ...k! I wanna see him when he gets in.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 9:02 Comments || Top||

#6  If you are looking for equality then you have to consider the stature-impaired, the aged and arthritic, and the disabled also. EEO guidelines? The military is uniquely different and demanding in many of its missions. The mission should drive decisions and not social engineering.

It would seem that for some special ops combat outfits, women would have difficulty with the missions. The practicality of it is that women who end up serving in combat zones have ended up in combat.

“To make life more fair and allow both sexes to choose would be, as military sociologist Charles Moskos once put it, “the end of an effective military force.”

Maybe that is the entire point with these left-wing PC-driven statists who believe in “What if you called a war and no one showed up.” Or everyone showed up.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 9:23 Comments || Top||

#7  "D'ou venons nous? Qui sommers nous? Ou allons Nous?

- Paul Gauguin, 1897:

[Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?]
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 9:34 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm heading towards 74 in a couple of days. I've got a knee I can't trust--won't take much weight. Strength, speed, and stamina have declined with age. Had surgeries on my retinas but vision is nearly normal with correction. I can still shoot reasonably well should the need arise. With some of these problems, I'd be a danger to my fellow soldiers and would not want to put them in harm's way for equality purposes. You cannot legislate equality. As P2K said, nature does not recognize equality.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 9:56 Comments || Top||

#9  Happy Birthday JohnQC! Hope you see 20 or 30 more.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 10:02 Comments || Top||

#10  tampon stuffed into entry wound works good.
Kirlex and kotex on the exit wound.
Posted by: bman || 02/04/2013 10:20 Comments || Top||

#11  When I scuttling off to places like Angola, Tanzania, and Uganda and ducking in and out of Syria, I kept my webgear and my personal side arm in my quarters.
Ex wife number one said the good old standard issue combat dressing looked like a giant kotex. When I came back from Angola with a hole in my side and a desire to sleep in trees, the first ex said a tampon was probably a better dressing. She was a real Army wife and probably would have signed up and gone to war with me if she could have. Her only problem was she was 5-2 and about 100 lbs sopping wet and had a hard time controlling our Bassett Hound.
I don't think women in combat are a good idea given the vulnerability of a woman taking a leak or having to take care of personal hygiene. I did date an IDF major with a big bayonet scar on her back from some unfortunate occurrance at an IDF field hospital in the Golan Heights and she was not in favor of it either. She said killing strange men was contrary to a woman's nature, killing a husband or boyfriend was understandable and part of the course of life...
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/04/2013 10:31 Comments || Top||

#12  Thanks Besoeker. I have a Marine friend who I waxed philosophical with. I said something idiotic like everyone has to go sometime. He said: "You are just not trying hard enough."

She said killing strange men was contrary to a woman's nature, killing a husband or boyfriend was understandable and part of the course of life... LOL, there is truth to that.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 10:39 Comments || Top||

#13  Yes, good point and good field expedient. Tegaderm and Alegra products offer a wide variety of coverings. Newer coverings have been developed that fit into the entry wound and lock-out air. Exit wounds are some of the worst threats. Nearly gone are the days of using the cellophane from a pack of Lucky Strikes as taught in the 1960's.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 10:40 Comments || Top||

#14  Whahahaha.... JohnQC. I have a couple of Marine fiends who "wax philosophical" as well. Never wanted to be a Marine, but I sure enjoy the friendships.

All I have to do [and possibly you as well] is think about all of those chums I've had who have been dirt napping for years, and some decades. Good men all. I'm one lucky SOB! Being born in America. Living long enuf to see grannies, yes one lucky SOB. The good Lord owes me nothing, and I thank God for every sunrise and sunset.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 10:48 Comments || Top||

#15  Most of the women who want entry to combat arms are officers that want their ticket punched so they can advance into the General ranks. They don't have to hump ammo, pack an M-60 up a hill on a dirt trail, ect. I suspect most of them wouldn't care about the troops they would command or they wouldn't be pushing this. Especially any talk about reduction in standards.

When all else is equal, size (and gender) matters in combat.
Posted by: tipover || 02/04/2013 12:12 Comments || Top||

#16  Frankly, I think a large portion of the public approval is from the "give 'em what they want, good and hard" mindset.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 02/04/2013 12:36 Comments || Top||

#17  SHTF wid either or both CHINA + IRAN by this Summer 2013 - does America = Amerikka wants to see its women in intensive naval combat agz China, or in intensive ground combat agz Iran in the harsh desert or agz China in the high hills or ridges of Korea or perhaps Taiwan, Japan.

Lest we fergit, China has a histoire' of maasacring post-battle survivors whom attempt to surrender even under the auspices of International law = Geneva Convention - as for Iran, only God = Allan knows what will happen to US Female Soldiers captured in combat or other by Muslim Soldats or other Proxy.

LET US ALSO NOT FERGIT THAT A US WAR AGZ CHINA ANDOR IRAN HAS A GOOD-TO-HIGH CHANCE OF GOING NUCLEAR = NUCLEAR-POSSIBLE. China has ICBMS that CAN strike CONUS or Japan or any ASEAN; while defensive or active-defense minded Iran may use any primitive NucBombs or "Dirty Nukes-WMDS" it has dev'd agz established US Army-Marine beachheads or airheads, fronts + airfields + staging areas, etc. on Iranian soil or pro-US allied targets around the Persian Gulf.

THIS WILL DEFINITELY N-O-T BE "PEACEKEEPING" OR ANTI-INSURGENCY.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/05/2013 0:00 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Political violence escalates in Tunisia
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisia's Unified Democratic Patriots Party (PPDU) accused "mercenaries" hired by the ruling Ennahda party of carrying out an attack on a meeting of its members on Saturday (February 2nd) in El Kef, Tunisie Numerique reported.

Party chief Chokri Belaid told Shems FM that bearded salafists and Ennahda members were behind the attack and that a number of people were maimed in the festivities before the intervention of the security services.

In related news, forty men armed with sticks and other weapons tried to ransack a Tunis office of opposition party Nidaa Tounes late on Saturday. Some twenty young supporters of the party repelled the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Assad accuses Israel of seeking to destabilise Syria
[FRANCE24] Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
accused Israel on Sunday of trying to destabilise Syria by attacking a military research base outside Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
last week, and said Syria was able to confront "current threats ...and aggression", state media said.

Assad made the remarks in a meeting with Saeed Jalili, Iran's national security council secretary, in the Syrian capital. It was his first reported response to the attack.

State news agency SANA quoted Jalili as reaffirming Tehran's "full support for the Syrian people ... facing the Zionist aggression, and its continued coordination to confront the conspiracies and foreign projects".

The Syrian president, Shi'ite Iran's closest Arab ally, is battling a 22-month-old uprising in which 60,000 people have been killed. Assad says the rebels are Islamist Death Eaters funded and armed by Turkey and Sunni Mohammedan Gulf Arab states.

Neighbouring Israel has said it might have to intervene to prevent Syrian chemical or advanced weapons falling into the hands of orc groups, including Leb's Hezbollah whch fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

Diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources said Israeli jets bombed a convoy near the Lebanese border on Wednesday, apparently hitting weapons destined for Hezbollah. Syria said the target was a military research centre northwest of Damascus.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Evil Juice throwing firecrackers into volcano?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/04/2013 5:08 Comments || Top||

#2  How do you destabilize that which is in free-fall?
Posted by: AlanC || 02/04/2013 12:49 Comments || Top||

#3  The type of sooper-genius who places the "major repository" of outlawed chem/bio weapons in his capitol city.
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 02/04/2013 14:02 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Malala Yousufzai has successful skull surgery
[Dawn] Pak schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education has undergone successful surgery at a British hospital to reconstruct her skull and help restore lost hearing.

A team of doctors carried out a five-hour operation on Saturday on the 15-year-old, who was shot in October and brought to Britannia for treatment.

The procedures carried out were cranial reconstruction, aimed at mending parts of her skull with a titanium plate, and a cochlear implant designed to restore hearing on her left side, which was damaged in the attack.

"Both operations were a success and Malala is now recovering in hospital," said a statement on Sunday from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, where she is being treated.

The girl's condition was described as stable and the statement said her medical team were very pleased with the progress she has made. "She is awake and talking to staff and members of her family," it added.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Bangladesh
Mufti Hannan revealed Hawa Bhaban plot
[Bangla Daily Star] HuJI
Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west.
leader Mufti Abdul Hannan in his 2011 confessional statement named some intelligence and political bigwigs, including Khaleda Zia's
Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
son Tarique Rahman
...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office...
, as criminal masterminds of the August 21 grenade assault launched to assassinate Sheikh Hasina.
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide...

AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, the then additional chief metropolitan magistrate who had recorded the statement, told a Dhaka court about its content yesterday.

Hannan, chief of banned hard boy outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI), was in the dock while Habibur, now an additional Dhaka judge, was giving his testimony on recording the confessional statement.

The Daily Star has obtained a copy of Hannan's statement.

The HuJI leader had also narrated some conspiratorial meetings to assassinate Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader.

He was present at the meeting along with some influential leaders and ministers of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, HuJI leaders and top intelligence officials.

Tarique, then senior joint secretary general of BNP, assigned two party leaders -- state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu -- to provide all out assistance to the HuJI men to carry out the attack.

Tarique, elder son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is now the party's senior vice chairman.

"Before the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, I along with several other HuJI leaders went to Hawa Bhaban," Hannan said in the statement.

Hawa Bhaban was the political office of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

There, the hard boy leader said, he found Tarique, Abul Harris Chowdhury, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, Abdus Salam Pintu, BNP politician Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed.

Brigadier General Abdur Rahim, then director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI), and Brigadier General Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, then director general of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), were also present.

"I informed them about the plan of grenade attack on Awami League rally, which was to be addressed by Sheikh Hasina, and sought their assistance."

Tarique then assured them of full support and told them to communicate with Babar and Pintu for administrative assistance, the statement read.

Hannan began his statement saying that AL was defeated in 2001 general election and BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami formed the government.

His organization tried to strengthen its relation with BNP. HuJI ameer Moulana Abdus Salam, Sheikh Farid, Moulana Yahiya, Abu Bakar and Jahangir Badar contacted BNP politicians Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Kaikobad.

The two leaders arranged High Court bails for 41 HuJI men tossed in the clink
Please don't kill me!
in Dhankhali in 1996.

Hannan said the HuJI's communication with the BNP leaders continued and the outfit kept receiving assistance from them.

Towards the end of 2003, Abdus Salam Farid, Moulana Tajuddin, brother of BVNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, met Babar at his government residence on Bailey Road in the capital. There GK Gaus, Ariful Islam, former DCC ward councillor; Yahiya and Abu Bakar, were also present there.

Babar told Gaus and Arif about the task of Sylhet and ordered them to do the work locally. In Sylhet, local BNP men and HuJI men went kaboom! grenades.

At the court yesterday, Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan said around 3:00pm on April 7 of 2011 jail police produced Mufti Hannan at his chamber for recording confessional statement.

Hannan was given three hours to make up his mind.

Judge Shahed Nuruddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 recorded Habibur's statement for half an hour yesterday.

Later, barrister Fakhrul Islam, a counsel for Mufti Hannan, cross-examined him.

The defence will again cross-examine Habibur today as the court adjourned the trial proceedings for yesterday.

Syed Rezaur Rahman, chief counsel for the August 21 grenade attack cases, stood for the state.

The August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally killed Ivy Rahman, wife of President Zillur Rahman, along with 23 others and maimed over 300 people.

Sheikh Hasina, now prime minister, narrowly escaped death and suffered ear injuries.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: HUJI


Africa North
Libyan TV Crew 'Assaulted' in Parliament
[An Nahar] Security guards at Libya's parliament have beaten up a crew of Alassema, an independent television network, the channel told Agence La Belle France Presse on Sunday.

"A team from (Alassema TV) went to cover a meeting of the national assembly on Friday, entering as they were permitted to," the channel's press office director Fethi Ben Aissa said.

"After interviewing an MP, the team was assaulted by plain clothes guards of the General National Congress," he said, adding that "the public prosecutor has decided to open an inquiry into the incident."

A video posted on the Internet, purportedly of the same incident, showed a cameraman being pushed and hit by men in civilian clothing, provoking an online uproar.

A joint statement by dozens of journalists said "this act of aggression essentially constitutes an attack against freedom of the media and is a return to the era of the stifling of the press."

It called for "the creation of a journalist union ... to ensure the defense of people's rights to obtain correct and timely information from different media outlets."
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Bloomberg smiles, sips 32oz Macallans Reserve.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 5:03 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Insurgent Leaders Captured in Afghan Operations
[Tolo News] Two myrmidon leaders have been captured in joint Afghan and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
troop operations in Afghanistan, Isaf said Sunday.

"An Afghan and coalition security force placed in durance vile
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
a Taliban improvised bomb attack coordinator in Khanabad district, Kunduz province, Friday," Isaf said in a statement.

The enjugged
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
Taliban IED attack coordinator planned and executed attacks throughout Khanabad district. He is believed to have conducted attacks against government officials as well as security forces. The forces also seized IED-making materials during the operation, the statement added.

An Haqqani leader was captured in a joint forces operation in the Khost district of eastern Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
on Friday.

The detained Haqqani leader is an IED expert and believed responsible for IED facilitation and attacks in Khost district. He is accused of coordinating the acquisition and transfer of homemade explosives, weapons and IEDs for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, Isaf said.

The security force also detained one suspected myrmidon and seized multiple assault rifles as a result of the operation.

Meanwhile,
...back at the the precinct, Lieutenant Queeg was stumped. Who could be leaking Mahoney's information like that?...
two other hard boyz were captured in Baghlan-e-Jadid district of northern Baghlan province on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Home Front: Politix
Obama: more tax revenue needed to address U.S. deficit -CBS
[REUTERS] President Barack Obama
If you have a small business, you didn't build that...
said on Sunday more tax revenue would be needed in the coming years to reduce the U.S. deficit but raising tax rates was not a key issue.

"I don't think the issue right now is raising rates," Obama said in an interview on CBS.

"There is no doubt we need additional revenue, coupled with smart spending reductions in order to bring down our deficit. And we can do it in a gradual way so that it doesn't have a huge impact," he said.
Smart spending reductions like what?
At the beginning of the year Obama pushed through legislation to address the U.S. "fiscal cliff" that raised income tax rates on households making more than $450,000 a year.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Smart:

Spending Reductions: Defense, Social Security (that people paid into), Medicare (that people paid into), Defense, Border Security. Embassy Security. Defense. All the things the Federal Government is supposed to do by the Constitution (Except federal pay).

Revenue: Takeover of individual IRA and 401K's - so that everyone has a fair share and if you don't agree you are racist, sexist, hate poor people - it's for the CHILDREN. Higher taxes on Energy. Taxes on Ammo. Taxes on Oil Drilling, Taxes on shale oil. Taxes on sunlight. Taxes on shade. Taxes on...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/04/2013 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  He's trial ballooning for more stimulus money. Likely to announce his intentions at the State of the Union on Feb 12th, which I will take great pleasure in not watching. Less than 4 years remaining of this imposter.

....smart spending reductions in order to bring down our deficit. And we can do it in a gradual way so that it doesn't have a huge impact," he said.

Translation: Your hip replacement is now scheduled for April, 2029. An individual's net worth should play a greater role in calculating taxes, which will close a loophole and reduce the tax burden of middle income wage earners. People are living much longer now. A single Social Security eligibility age should be established, age 72 sounds fair to me.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 3:57 Comments || Top||

#3  A True Socialist. Then one year later the expenses get higher and he will say the same...
Posted by: Phaith Grique4599 || 02/04/2013 4:01 Comments || Top||

#4  #1 CrazyFool. Should Obama be pushing what you suggest, everyone will be pushing impeachment even the Donks.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 7:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Ok perhaps not all of what I listed. But you know he will never cut any entitlements.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/04/2013 8:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Entitlements are donk umbilical cords. Cut them and the dependent client dies.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 8:30 Comments || Top||

#7  Deadbeat wife to abused husband "Work harder, I need some new shoes!"
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/04/2013 8:33 Comments || Top||

#8  Gasoline prices up for 18 consecutive days. $3.55 per galon... the new normal. Printing money has consequences. Higher prices create inflation and increased tax revenues. Champ takes a bow as our KSA oil tick masters smile. Keystone XL languishes.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 9:10 Comments || Top||

#9  Tax Mexico.
Posted by: Iblis || 02/04/2013 10:31 Comments || Top||

#10  I call BS on the party line about the fiscal cliff legislation raising taxes on families making more than $450K, that damnned piece of legislation raised taxes on people making less than $100K than it did on people making more than $450K.
I wonder if this moron at Reuters took a look at his pay stub recently, he's making several dollars less a payperiod than he did.
Also when are these fucking journalists going to realize that tax increases do not exempt them? They seem to be almost gleeful when they report on new taxes, levies, fees, and other confiscation of income.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/04/2013 10:35 Comments || Top||

#11  Congress needs to shut his ass down - all of it. Cut off every dime to everything this clown instituted.
Posted by: newc || 02/04/2013 10:56 Comments || Top||

#12  Well, if you like chicken nuggets and eat'em at Chick Filet, Obama just raised your taxes. The Kathy family owns and operates Chick Filet.

Batesville Casket Co. is a very successful family owned business. If you plan to one day die, chances are.....
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 10:56 Comments || Top||

#13 
Posted by: junkiron || 02/04/2013 11:01 Comments || Top||

#14  Yeah... more taxes will help. Just ask France and Greece.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/04/2013 11:40 Comments || Top||

#15  #4#1 Try this on for size: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-18/retirement-savings-accounts-draw-u-s-consumer-bureau-attention.html It's the first step towards getting their hands on your 401K and it's being mulled over now.
Posted by: warthogswife || 02/04/2013 13:24 Comments || Top||

#16  ... that damnned piece of legislation raised taxes on people making less than $100K than it did on people making more than $450K.

My taxes went up ~40% due primarily to a change in mineral depletion rules (but also the rest of ATRA), I doubt many making under $100k saw that sort of spike. As a result some properties I operate became unprofitable overnight. The wells thereon are being plugged, the revenues previously generated for local, state & federal governments therefrom will go to zero over the next few months, some employees will be released to the unemployment rolls, etc.

Not complaining as I still do rather well but this isn't the way I'd prefer to add to my leisure time.
Posted by: Clyde Omiling8317 || 02/04/2013 13:58 Comments || Top||

#17  Probably need to register with the Federal Reserve everything in your bank's safe deposit box...for your own protection, of course. That way if you showed up at the bank some morning and it has been closed, the Federal Reserve will be able to tell what and worth of personal artifacts being held.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/04/2013 14:26 Comments || Top||

#18  warthogswife, I first heard rumors about democrat congresspeople talking about taking over retirement accounts 'to protect the consumer' a few years ago. I think it was a trial balloon then that did not go anywhere. What you are describing may be part of the preparation for that.
You have to remember that the Government thinks it can manage your money much, much, better than you possibly could - including retirement.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/04/2013 14:43 Comments || Top||

#19  Translation: Your hip replacement is now scheduled for April, 2029.

Oh noes! That's when the Cable Guy is coming out!

/old old Soviet joke.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/04/2013 16:03 Comments || Top||

#20  Shipman, that is such a funny joke--hadn't heard it before. The old, old Soviet joke becomes the new reality.

Warthogswife. I've been reading this from a lot of sources lately. The oldsters will be up in arms (if they haven't been confiscated). It's hard to believe there would be such thievery on such a large scale. However, maybe not so unbelievable since a huge wealth grab went on with the subprime loan debacle.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 16:52 Comments || Top||

#21  It should have dawned on the US Gov't by now that they have probably passed the point of "Peak Taxes Collected". They are not going to get more ... Americans just don't have the money to give. Real takehome pay has been dwindling for US income earners for a long time now. Families are really squeezed on discretionary income.

If the US Gov't boosts tax collection by any new means ... Americans will just bypass the measure. For example, do more transactions in cash and don't declare the income. There is NO way out of this - except the the US Gov't to shrink in size. "More government" is NOT the answer.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 19:57 Comments || Top||

#22  They can simply print money hand-over-fist like the've been doing. That is a de-facto tax on everyone because it dilutes the value of the dollar. You just don't see it.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/04/2013 21:40 Comments || Top||

#23  Please correct me iff I'm wrong, but iff memory serves wasn't it in France where it was proposed for suborn any and all wealthy French to submit to a 100% tax rate???

WEIRD-N-MYSTERIOUS SUDDEN URGE TO MOVE TO THE CAYMAN ISLANDS + RUSSIA, ETC. is prolly in the minds of many French elites right now???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 23:27 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria Opposition Says Moscow Must Pressure Assad
[An Nahar] Syria's main opposition group said Russia must now put pressure on Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
to end the spiraling conflict, a Syrian National Coalition (SNC) front man told Agence La Belle France Presse on Sunday.

"The ball is now in Russia's court. If Russia is genuinely thinking about the future of its interests in the region, we think it should side with the Syrian people's legitimate grievances, and not with those who are killing the Syrian people," front man Walid al-Bunni told AFP by telephone.

He spoke a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a first round of talks with SNC chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib in Munich.

Asked whether he thought Moscow will put pressure on Assad, Bunni said the SNC "hopes so."

"The Russian government said it was open to a solution that would meet the Syrian people's aspirations," said Bunni, although he conceded that there has been "no breakthrough in Russia's stance."
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Africa North
Egypt top court again delays ruling on constitution
Egypt’s top court on Sunday postponed a ruling on the legality of the Islamist-dominated commission that drafted a contested new constitution, state media reported. A verdict on the constitution, adopted by referendum in December, had been due on Sunday but the Supreme Constitutional Court adjourned its decision until March 3, the reports said.
The court would like to see if Morsi is going to be around...
A verdict had been expected on December 2 but was delayed after supporters of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi surrounded the court, preventing judges from entering the building and prompting the court to suspend its work.

A ruling then scheduled for January 15 also did not take place after dozens of demonstrators staged an overnight sit-in outside the court as riot police formed a security cordon around the building.

The court was due to issue its verdict Sunday on the legality of the panel that drafted the constitution, which is at the heart of Egypt's worst political crisis since the overthrow nearly two years ago of president Hosni Mubarak.

The opposition argues that the panel failed to represent all Egyptians as it was boycotted by liberals, leftists and Christians. The charter has divided Egypt, pitting Mursi and his backers against the opposition which includes secularists, leftists and Christians as well as Muslims.

The court was also due to deliver a verdict on the validity of the Islamist-dominated Senate, following lawsuits arguing there were irregularities in the election. It is not clear when that verdict will be announced.

Two-thirds of the Senate, the 270-member upper house known as the Shura Council, were elected early last year, with one third appointed by Mursi in December.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Reid Backs Away From Menendez Defense
[BREITBART] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ...
has backed off his ardent defense of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez amid the scandal crashing down on his colleague.
Perhaps the honourable senator won't be promoted to replace John F. Kerry after all...
In an interview on ABC News' This Week today, Reid admitted the existence of multiple investigations into Menendez and his connections to wealthy Democratic Party donor Dr. Salomon Melgen. Reid dropped his rhetoric attacking this news hound, and other outlets that have been investigating the Menendez scandal, since this news hound first published interviews in early November with two Dominican Republic hookers alleging they were under-paid to have sex with Menendez.

"I have confidence he did nothing wrong," Reid said Sunday morning in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic Party and Bill Clinton strategist. "But that's what investigations are all about."

In contrast, last week, when Breitbart News asked Reid about a similar question during his weekly presser, the Senate Democratic Leader had a much different response: "The answer is: 'Always consider the source.' All anyone here has to look at is the source where this comes from."

"I told you how I feel about the source of this stuff is," Reid had added when questioned further. "Really very, very typical for the source."

Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Menendez complaining of head and chest pains; to enter Mayco Clinic Arneja Hospital soon. Could be Triple-J Syndrome. Recent memory loss and Johnson's Drip could indicate cranial-vericocele enlargement. A rubber gloved Jay Carney has signed the Menendez 12 month [or as needed] Medical leave of absence. Many in US Senate are shaking heads and deleting e-mails.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 4:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Reid... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ...( do you mean the same Harry Reid who is reminiscent of Droopy the cartoon anthropomorphic dog with a droopy face who moved slowly and lethargically and spoke in a jowly monotone?)

Menendez ,“ I served in the Dominican Republic” probably will not be the head of Senate Foreign Relations Committee despite much experience in foreign relations.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 8:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Hey! Don't be dissin on Droopy the Dawg. He bad, in a slow dawg way.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/04/2013 16:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Want to see Menendez go down in flames.
Posted by: Thravigum Elmese1617 || 02/04/2013 16:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Prostitution in the Dominican Rep is legal and Menendez is divorced. Thus, a straight forward admission might not have sunk him if he had made it earlier.

However, if the prostitutes are underage, he is probably in violation of some American law also.
Posted by: lord garth || 02/04/2013 17:07 Comments || Top||

#6  There is an American law which says 18 anywhere in the world is jailbait. I think it was passed sometime back to deal with all the junkets to procure sex with the under-aged in Thailand.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 17:47 Comments || Top||

#7  I found that what I said may not be completely accurate. I had heard on the TV that 18 was the U.S. age of legal consent anywhere in the world. Wiki source says the following: "If the adult travels to a different state or a different country to have sex with a minor, this is only a federal crime if the minor is under the age of 16. It may still be a local crime if the minor was under the age of consent of the state or nation where the sex happened but it is not a federal crime. The Protect Act of 2003 states age 18 is the age of consent in the U.S. Some States say 16 but this violates the Protect Act. Looks like it depends on whether or not the prostitutes were of legal age in Dom. Repub. so long as they are older than 16.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 18:08 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Victim of police torture changes testimony, accuses officers
[Al Ahram] In new twist, 50-year-old Hamada Saber -- shown on live TV being stripped and beaten in last week's protest at Presidential Palace -- retracts earlier testimony exonerating police
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Bangladesh
Hartal in 16 dists today
[Bangla Daily Star] BNP will enforce a dawn-to-dusk hartal
... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions today demanding release of the party's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and its self-dependence affairs secretary Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu.

Joint Secretary General of BNP Mizanur Rahman Minu announced the hartal yesterday during a presser at the party's Rajshahi office.

Withdrawal of "false" cases filed against the two veteran leaders of the opposition, protesting incidents of disappearance and secret killings and indiscriminate killings by Indian BSF on borders, increase of fuel prices and lack of security are among other reasons for calling hartal in all 16 districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions.

Minu also threatened to go for tougher agitation programme if the government interrupts their peaceful protests during hartal hours.

The presser was organised by the party's coordination committee of two divisions.

Earlier, BNP placed barricades on highways and railways for an hour on February 2 and held demonstrations at district and divisional level on January 27, Minu added.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Kuwaiti gets 5 years for insulting ruler
[Al Ahram] Mohammed Eid Al-Ajami, a Kuwaiti citizen, faces a five-year imprisonment sentence for insulting the emir on Twitter
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  We fought a war to put these murdering dictators back on their thrones.

Their pal's the saudis can kill 3000 people in USA and then get us to run round taking out their regional rivals.

If you thought you were fight against islamo dictators, think again. You've been fighting for them.
Posted by: KingKong || 02/04/2013 5:22 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm aware of Kuwait as a conservative country but they are mindful of Americans and considered better allies than most Arabs.

Not sure about the claim they are murdering dictators though but they do have censorship laws against royalty.
Posted by: Clusong Gromort6441 || 02/04/2013 9:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Very, very wealthy Bedouins. Perspective; think 16 exclusive tribes of Beyonce and Jay-z types who control all the oil in Texas, and hire everything done by Filipino third country nationals.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 9:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Their pal's the saudis can kill 3000 people in USA and then get us to run round taking out their regional rivals

A non-sequitor. The Sauds are not the Kuwaitis' "pals" (odd phrase coming from a Brit.) Hardly.

I overheard a conversation during a meeting with RSN officials some years back, where one of the senior officers (Prince something-or-other) got up and said something in arabic. Everyone laughed.

My counterpart translated: "Excuse me, I've got to go to Kuwait."
Posted by: Pappy || 02/04/2013 11:56 Comments || Top||

#5  If you thought you were fight against islamo dictators, think again. You've been fighting for them.

We're not fighting against them - we're fighting against some of the troglodyte scum they rule, but can't control, on account of the scum having this habit of overthrowing rulers who are insufficiently devout (to Islam). In the Mid East, the Muslim hoi polloi are the scum of the earth. If we could deport the lot of them to Alpha Centauri, the earth would be a better place.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 02/04/2013 16:14 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran welcomes Syrian opposition's Assad dialogue offer
[FRANCE24] Iran's foreign minister on Sunday praised the Syrian opposition leader's openness to dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad's regime, during three-day talks that could offer a breakthrough in efforts to bring an end to Syria's civil war.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


India-Pakistan
State's failure
[Dawn] RUMOURS of delayed elections, tales of corruption at the highest levels of government, pre-poll deal-making, judiciary-executive tussles -- these stories dominate public discourse for days at a stretch and trigger hectic activity within the government and opposition. When a bomb kills Shia worshippers, Ahmadi graves are desecrated, a journalist dies in mysterious circumstances, a Baloch activist disappears or a mentally ill person is charged with blasphemy, the news is quickly forgotten and the state barely responds. In rare instances, such as in the cases of Malala Yousufzai and Rimsha Masih in which children were involved, the story might linger for longer, prompting protests and some state action. More often, though, as is apparent from the Pakistain section of Human Rights Watch's
... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world...
World Report 2013, human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
abuses are simply treated as a routine feature of Pak life.

It is not clear that the state is really as complicit in some of these atrocities, particularly those carried out by violent religious myrmidons, as the human rights watchdog claims. What cannot be argued with, though, is the claim that the state is not doing enough to prevent them. Attacks on Shias, for example, have become increasingly frequent and predictable in several parts of the country. But as far as is publicly known, no one has been successfully held to account, sending a signal to those who want to attack other people for their religious beliefs that in Pakistain this crime can be carried out with impunity. The report also talks about extrajudicial detention and killings and drone attacks, pointing to one of the most complicated moral questions Pakistain faces today: in the unique security situation we are in, how do we combat those who violate human rights without violating theirs? How do we balance the need to uphold strict standards of justice with the need to prevent further attacks on the state and civilians?

Distracted by politics, afraid of offending right-wing sentiments and lacking the will to overhaul our security strategy and tactics, the state continues to ignore its responsibility to protect each citizen's right to life, freedom and justice.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  IIRC BHARAT RAKSHAK BLOGGER = opined that the liberation of Iranian Baluchestan must occur before any liberation of Pakistani Baluchustan???

A variety of stolid reasons, to include Rising Iran's ambition for formal Iran-led "Union" vee ancient or lost territories, to now China being back in Gwadar.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 0:24 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Missile Hits Aleppo Building, 13 Killed
[An Nahar] At least 13 non-combatants were killed Sunday in a missile attack by the Syrian army on a rebel-held neighborhood in the embattled northern city of Aleppo, a monitoring group said.

"We have documented the names of nine people, while we can confirm at least another four were also killed. All were civilians," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The watchdog warned that the number of casualties could rise as people scrambled to sift through the rubble of a five-story building that collapsed in the attack on Ansari district, in southwestern Aleppo.

A picture taken by an amateur photograph and distributed by the Observatory showed people gathered around a pile of rubble and the watchdog said two other buildings were damaged in the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Africa Horn
S. Sudan Accuses Sudan of Deadly Attack
[An Nahar] The South Sudanese army on Sunday accused Sudan of launching a deadly air assault along their volatile border, but Khartoum promptly denied the claims.

A front man for the South Sudanese army (SPLA) said the attack occurred on its soil along the border in Upper Nile state.

He said Sudan ground troops launched the attack, soon followed by air support, in the latest incident between the two foes.

"Khartoum sent two helicopter gunships that attacked the area at 10:30 am (0730 GMT), wounding three SPLA soldiers and killing one," military front man Philip Aguer told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"By 12 noon, the second round of air attacks took place with helicopter gunships, wounding one soldier," he added.

A Sudanese army front man, however, denied the claims.

"We didn't bombard any area inside South Sudan's border and we didn't have any military operation there, nor do we have a war or aggression against South Sudan," army front man Sawarmi Khaled Saad said, calling the South's claims "completely incorrect."

South Sudan won independence from Sudan in July 2011 after decades of civil war.

Though they had separated under a peace agreement, key issues including the demarcation of border zones that cut through oil-rich regions remain unresolved.

South Sudan has repeatedly accused Sudan of carrying out attacks on its territory and complained about these to the U.N. Security Council. Sudan regularly dismisses the accusations.

The two countries came close to all-out war in March and April last year, when their armies fought bitter battles over their disputed frontier.

Khartoum, for its part, accuses South Sudan of supporting rebels operating in Sudan, which has been a major obstacle to implementing the peace agreements.

The South, in turn, says Sudan backs faceless myrmidons on its territory, a tactic it used to deadly effect during the 1983-2005 civil war.

Since September, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir have met at African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
-mediated talks.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


China-Japan-Koreas
Google boss Schmidt labels China an 'IT menace'
[BBC.CO.UK] Google Chairman Eric Schmidt uses a new book to call China an Internet menace that backs cyber-crime for economic and political gain, reports say.

The New Digital Age - due for release in April - reportedly brands China "the world's most active and enthusiastic filterer of information".

China is "the most sophisticated and prolific" hacker of foreign companies, according to a review obtained by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

China denies allegations of hacking.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Revolution coming?
Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organizations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China's image.

The New Digital Age analyses how China is dangerously exploiting an Internet that now permeates politics, business, culture and other aspects of life, the WSJ says.

It quotes the book as saying: "The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States at a distinct disadvantage."

This, it says, is because Washington "will not take the same path of digital corporate espionage, as its laws are much stricter (and better enforced) and because illicit competition violates the American sense of fair play".

The book argues that Western governments could do more to follow China's lead and develop stronger relationships between the state and technology companies.

States will benefit if they use software and technology made by trusted companies, it suggests.

"Where Huawei gains market share, the influence and reach of China grow as well," the WSJ quoted the authors as writing.

The WSJ this week said its computer systems had been hacked by specialists in China who were trying to monitor its China coverage.

It was the second reported attack on a major US news outlet in days, as the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
reported earlier that Chinese hackers had "persistently" penetrated its systems for the last four months.

China's foreign ministry dismissed the New York Times' accusations as "groundless" and "totally irresponsible".
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The book argues that Western governments could do more to follow China's lead and develop stronger relationships between the state and technology companies.

Double Huh? If Bill and Melinda were any closer, they'd be sleeping in the West Wing!
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 4:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Reprint of a comment I made at Belmont Club on this issue:

Perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way.

The way I see it, Google et al are like any entity that wants to cement its income stream and power and then grow both. The desire to do so isn’t new and has always been there, but the ability to prevail upon the government with conversation and writing didn’t exist. Prior to now they had political leaders with whom they were hostile, largely by choice. Now that they have a wholly owned government with a mighty military, one over which they can exert some influence to use against their enemies.

In other words, they have always known of the “greatness”, but loathed it right up until the point when they could wield it. They don’t respect the institutions, or the philosophy and sacrifice that made them possible, just the utility, in our throwaway society (ironic that most of them are “green” and believers in recycling etc.).

“Those are OUR planes, now”, as was once famously said.
Posted by: no mo uro || 02/04/2013 7:46 Comments || Top||

#3  this is the new cold war and we need to act like it
Posted by: Clusong Gromort6441 || 02/04/2013 9:17 Comments || Top||

#4  If you have a website, Rantburg, and take any time at all to analyze your logs you will see that a great many hacking attempts originate in China. It really is a form of state sponsored terrorism. If it was up to me I'd firewall the whole damn country. I would cut off all trade with them. All of it. No exceptions. Why do we do anything at all to enrich a hostile, aggressive, totalitarian dictatorship?

As for the likes of Google, Apple, HP, Dell and Microsoft doing business with the fascist bastards I can only say they are paving the way to their own funerals. What a bunch of fucking morons.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/04/2013 12:53 Comments || Top||

#5  The book argues that Western governments could do more to follow China's lead and develop stronger relationships between the state and technology companies.

Spoken like the true corporate twin of the classic Fascist/Corporatist state. Benito would be proud.
Posted by: AlanC || 02/04/2013 12:59 Comments || Top||

#6  Without the focus of proper customer choice companies die slowly from the inside.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 02/04/2013 14:29 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Suspect Who Murdered Navy Seal Tasered, Restrained After Assaulting Guards
Police say Eddie Ray Routh, the 25-year-old suspect in the murder of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, was tasered after becoming aggressive with jailers around dinnertime Sunday.

After eating dinner, Routh refused to return his food tray to jailers. He became aggressive and tried to attack them when they tried to get it back from him, said Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant.

Jailers tasered Routh and placed him in a restraining chair in his solitary cell. He is on suicide watch, Bryant said.
This guy's mental state is currently somewhere between rabid dog and demon possessed.
Posted by: Dino Shomomp7692 || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hereby authorize deadly force.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 4:54 Comments || Top||

#2  You want them to shoot dead a traumatized veteran?

Fuck you
Posted by: KingKong || 02/04/2013 5:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Kingdong,
you mean like he gunned down Mr. Kyle? for murder there is NFE (that would be 'no fucking excuse')

so fuck you
Posted by: past master of the obvious || 02/04/2013 6:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Come on, if he greased some no-life civvie or some paki you'd be crying over that?

The guy is traumatized, he's a victim, his brain ain't right.
Posted by: KingKong || 02/04/2013 6:24 Comments || Top||

#5  and Kyle don't deserve to get shot, but hell... he took a nutcase with PTSD to a rifle range? WTF?

Can't help thinking we should add him to the list of disturbed vets who killed themselves. Wouldn't a trip to Dairy Queen and a movie have been a better choice?
Posted by: KingKong || 02/04/2013 6:30 Comments || Top||

#6  That trip to the range was the whole point of what Kyle was doing: trying to de-sensitize PTSD's. My own younger son came back from Iraq with a reaction to what let's call 'loud noises'. Took him a while to work through it but he did. When I talked to him (son) about this event, he said "You never know if the dog's gonna bite til it does".
Posted by: ed in texas || 02/04/2013 6:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Hang the little b*tch! No helping him.
Posted by: Clusong Gromort6441 || 02/04/2013 8:52 Comments || Top||

#8  It is a tragedy that Chris Kyle and his friend were shot. Eddie Ray Routh underscores the need for addressing problems vets have as they come back from combat.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 10:00 Comments || Top||

#9  What problem does "KingKong" underscore?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 02/04/2013 12:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Really a tragic outcome for Mr Kyle.
It's possible that the perpetrator has suffered head injuries during the war ... Traumatic Brain Injury. Literally, his brain may not be right - at all.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 12:55 Comments || Top||

#11  Mr. KingKong, please understand that a number of Rantburg commenters are either currently serving, veterans, or veterans now serving as civilian contractors, like Besoeker. A number of them have earnt their ghoste in the night the hard way.

I, on the other hand, am no doubt what you would refer to as a no-life civvie, what with being a little Midwestern housewife and all, though I did once touch a competition target shooting rifle. Still, for some reason my family and friends are very protective of me, and would be distinctly unhappy if I were shot in the back while trying to help.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2013 17:41 Comments || Top||

#12  Marine was a 2111, Small Arms Repair Technician. PTSD? Something doesn't add up....
Posted by: Vortigern Whavique7596 || 02/04/2013 21:15 Comments || Top||

#13  PSTD my a$$, just a nut job who doesn't deserve any help. I have no sympathy at ALL for Mr. Routh.
Posted by: Clusong Gromort6441 || 02/04/2013 22:52 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
India President Approves Death Penalty in Some Rape Cases
[An Nahar] India's president on Sunday approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi sparked national outrage and triggered demands for tougher laws.

President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the new rape law two days after cabinet ministers recommended changes to improve safety for women.

"The Indian president has given his assent to the ordinance on crime against women. It comes into effect immediately but it will also be tabled before the parliament," a senior officer in the president's office told Agence La Belle France Presse.

A government-appointed panel and the cabinet had recommended tougher laws after the death of a 23-year-old woman who was savagely raped and attacked in a bus on December 16 and died nearly two weeks later.

Under the changes, the minimum sentence for gang-rape, rape of a minor, rape by coppers or a person in authority will be doubled to 20 years from 10 and can be extended to life without parole.

In the existing law, a rapist faces a term of seven to 10 years.

The cabinet has also created a new set of offenses such as voyeurism and stalking that will be included in the new law.

But women rights activists have slammed the ordinance saying it lacks teeth to fight sexual crimes against women and lashed out at the government for passing the law without holding a debate or discussion.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
Pakistan's Offer to Train Afghan Forces Draws Critics
[Tolo News] Afghan Minister of Defence has welcomed the offer for Pakistain to help train his country's forces training, saying Pakistain is the best place for the women in the Afghan cops to receive training, a Chinese news agency wrote Friday.

Bismillah Khan Mohammadi reportedly made the comments following his meetings with Pakistain defence officials in Islamabad in the past week.

However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
some experts do not believe Islamabad is looking to train security personnel for Afghanistan but rather that it is a new strategy aimed at turning the recruits to work for Pak aims.

"Pakistain is professional in training terrorists, not in training military forces, and it is looking for its own interests in Afghanistan. This time it is trying a new strategy," Afghan military analyst Miagol Waseeq told TOLOnews.

Mohammadi's visit to Pakistain was said by the Ministry of Defence to have increased optimism around negotiations with Islamabad on the fight against insurgency in the region and border security.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  I thought that's what they've been doing for years - training the taliban.
Posted by: Spot || 02/04/2013 8:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Mostly logistical support along the border Spot. Mostly logistical support.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 8:21 Comments || Top||


Arabia
"Burkas for babies": Saudi cleric's new fatwa causes controversy
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Saudi holy man has called for all female babies to be fully covered by wearing the face veil, commonly known as the burka, citing reports of little girls being sexually molested.

In a TV interview on the Islamic al-Majd TV, which seems to date back to mid-last year, Sheikh Abdullah Daoud, stressed that wearing the veil will protect baby girls. The Sheikh tried to back his assertion with claims of sexual molestation against babies in the kingdom, quoting unnamed medical and security sources.

Recently picked up on social media, Sheikh Dauod's statement prompted wide condemnation from his fellow Saudis on Twitter. Some tweeps called for the Sheikh to be held accountable because his ruling denigrates Islam and breaches individual privacy.

Sheikh Mohammad al-Jzlana, former judge at the Saudi Board of Grievances, told Al Arabiya that Dauod's ruling was denigrating to Islam and Shariah and made Islam look bad.

Jzlana urged people to ignore unregulated fatwas and explained that there are special regulations set by the Saudi authorities to administer religious edicts and appoint those who are entitled to issue them.

He said that he feels sad whenever he sees a family walking around with a veiled baby, describing that as injustice to children.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought little girls in Saudi Arabia have their fathers to fear most.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 02/04/2013 21:15 Comments || Top||


Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Brandy Ledford [Filmography](age 44)



Intelligent Design


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 02/04/2013 1:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Nate Silver called for the 49s to win. His math models missed the mark. It was close, however.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 10:33 Comments || Top||

#3  After the lights went out. I thought the Ravens had lost during the last two minutes.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 15:29 Comments || Top||

#4  I think Snowy has covered the situation. Bet on the Duck.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/04/2013 16:05 Comments || Top||

#5  That's the night that the light went out in N'awlins
That's the night that they welded a fender amp's bus
Don't trust your Bowl to no southern machine mayor
'Cause the league's got money riding on the duck...
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/04/2013 20:51 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm still trying to beat that second line into shape.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/04/2013 20:52 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Shura Council discusses laws 'to control street protests and confront thuggery'
[Al Ahram] The government of Prime Minister Hisham Kandil is currently in the process of drafting two new laws aimed at regulating the right of street protest and combating the proliferation of thuggery. According to Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki, anti-protest laws have become a necessity to stem the tide of violence in the street and to regulate the right of organising demonstrations.

A draft anti-protest law is expected to be discussed by the Islamist-dominated Shura Council's Committee on National Defence in the coming days. Informed sources told Ahram Online that "if approved by the committee this week, the law could be discussed by the council in a plenary meeting next Sunday."

In its meeting held today, the Committee on National Defence launched scathing attack against private TV satellite television channels, taking them to task for alledgely inciting protesters to launch violent attacks on several state buildings in recent days, notably Al-Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo's district of Heliopolis on 1 February. Deputy Interior Minister Major General Abdel-Fattah Othman complained that "police forces have not been able to fight violent street protests in recent days because there is no law that gives us the authority to do this."

The government's new draft law would grant police forces a free hand to use force to disrupt and disperse streets protests, especially in the vicinity of Al-Ittihadiya Palace and other significant state institutions, such as police stations, parliament, and state ministries. The 26-article law also makes it obligatory that the interior ministry be notified of any given protest or demonstration's date, objective and site. The notification request must be submitted to the ministry five days in advance of the date of the demonstration. The interior ministry reserves the right to forbid "demonstrations" or "public gatherings and meetings" if they risk "disrupting public peace and security."

The draft law also stipulates that demonstrations or street protests be organised between 7am to 7pm, and public gatherings from 7am to 11pm. The law gives police forces rights to disrupt demonstrations or public gatherings by use of force if they are found to threaten public order.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


French forces in Mali launch air strikes on Islamist camps
[GUARDIAN.CO.UK] French aircraft struck Islamic myrmidon training camps and arms depots around Kidal and Tessalit in Mali's far north, defence officials said on Sunday, as the first convoy of food, fuel and parts to eastern Mali headed across the country.

The strikes also hit arms and fuel depots from Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday, according to army front man Colonel Thierry Burkhard. "It was an important aerial operation to the north of the town Kidal and in the Tessalit region where we targeted logistical depots and Islamist training camps ... some 20 sites," said Burkhard. He said 30 planes were used in the operation , including Mirage and Rafale jets.

Although troops have succeeded in ousting the rebels from the three main northern cities they occupied, the aerial operation highlights the fact that the French still see Death Eaters in the northern area near the border with Algeria as a threat. "Here, there are still various Islamist groups like the MUJAO [Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa] and Ansar Dine," he said.

As the first supply convoy for the eastern town of Gao since the conflict began neared its destination, crowds thronged the roads screaming, "Vive la La Belle France!" and old men in long flowing robes on bicycles waved as soldiers passed by. Even camels grazing in acacia trees perked up as the three-mile-long, 62-vehicle convoy lumbered by.

Still about 120 miles south-west of Gao on Sunday, it proceeded slowly because of concerns about landmines between Gossi and Gao. Four Malian soldiers died last week when one went kaboom!, and two others have been found in the vicinity since, said a Lieutenant Emmanuel, who gave only his first name in keeping with French military protocol. The convoy, carrying food, fuel and spare parts for the French military for 800 miles, underlines the logistical difficulties facing the mission in Mali.

"The distances are very long. In Afghanistan we could do it in a day. Now, it's eight days round trip here," said Emmanuel. The convoy is bringing a 15-day supply, he said.

Still, the successes of the operation were seen alongside the small villages where signs of life were returning to normal, and where there was no visible presence of the Islamic rebels who imposed harsh rule for months.

The approach of the convoy and the use of aerial assaults come three weeks after La Belle France unilaterally launched its military intervention -- and, significantly, just hours after President François Hollande left Mali soil.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  "The distances are very long. In Afghanistan we could do it in a day. Now, it's eight days round trip here," said Emmanuel. The convoy is bringing a 15-day supply, he said.

As reported by a brave French junior officer, not to be confused with a former ballet dancing, buggy eyed yes man, and crooked, ill-tempered Chicago politician.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 4:47 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Rebels gain key posts in new Central African Republic government
[FRANCE24] Central African Republic Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye on Sunday awarded key portfolios, including defence and mining, to members of a rebel coalition as he unveiled a unity government formed under a peace deal brokered in January.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bangladesh
Hasina asks army to protect democracy
[Bangla Daily Star] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide...
yesterday directed the senior army officials to resist any anti-democratic and anti-constitutional activity for continuation of the country's development.

"Stay alert so that no vested quarter can disrupt the country's forward march riding over the army's back. I hope you'll resist any anti-democratic and anti-constitutional activity with your all-out strength," she said.

The premier was addressing the Generals Conference of Bangladesh Army at Dhaka Cantonment.

Despite many obstacles, she said, her government has brought the war criminals under the trial process, which was not an easy task.

She also called upon all to remain vigilant as anti-state conspiracy is being hatched to stop the trial process.

Laying emphasis on maintaining chain of command, Hasina said senior army officials would have to present themselves to their subordinates as examples of morality, honesty and dutifulness.

She urged them to remain vigil so that junior officers are not victimised by the propaganda of the vested quarters who want to create confusion among the members of the armed forces by spreading baseless information and rumours.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Fordo: North Koreans among those trapped underground in Iran's nuke accident
Nb: The World Net Daily article referred to in the article can be seen here.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  much though I would like to believe this report - it is impossible for that kind of specific info to leak out of Iran. I'm wondering if this incident is part of a disinformation program from Tehran.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 0:43 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Govt undecided about Waziristan polio drive
[Dawn] The government continues to be undecided about the vaccination of around 300,000 children in North and South Wazoo agencies due to the Taliban ban on administration of 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...
drops to children.

However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
parents have developed a mechanism to ensure provision of oral polio vaccine to save children from the crippling disease.

Since imposition of ban on vaccination in the two tribal agencies in June last year, top Fata Secretariat officials and representatives of the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
' agencies have been scratching their heads to hammer out a strategy for resumption of immunisation, but the efforts have yet to bear fruit.

In the meantime, local residents have evolved their own ways to procure OPV and protect their children against the vaccine-preventable disease.

Taliban groups in both tribal agencies have linked provision of polio drops to children to cessation of US drone strikes in the area and stopped parents from vaccinating their children against polio since June 2012.

Taliban are skeptical that the US and the government might use polio campaign for espionage, arguing after surgeon Dr Shakil Afridi's involvement in the fake vaccination campaign to reach the late Osama bin Laden
... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up...
in 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....
, it had been established that the enemies spied in the name of vaccination.

The standoff between the government and Taliban has deprived around 300,000 children under five from the administration of oral polio drops in North and South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.

Local people said health officials could not store vaccines at the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
and others health facilities in North Waziristan due to reprisals by Taliban, who have cautioned to stay away from vaccination.

Helpless parents in the volatile area have left their children at the mercy of Allah.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Africa North
Second Egyptian protester dies from wounds sustained in palace clashes
[Al Ahram] Amr Saad Abdel-Rahman, 20, dies of injuries sustained in Friday clashes with security forces outside Egypt's Presidential Palace
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


India-Pakistan
Martial law would have been imposed if sit-in not called off: Qadri
[Dawn] Tehrik-e-Minhajul Koran (TMQ) chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri has said that by calling off the protest, the people have allowed the constitution and democracy to succeed in the country.

He further stated that martial law would have been imposed in the country if the sit-in had not been called off.

Speaking to the press in Lahore, after a Pakistain Awami Tehrik (PAT) council meeting, Qadri said that the council had given him a mandate of the movement's decisions.

On the occasion, when speaking about participating in the elections, he said that impartial people will conduct surveys.

He said the survey conducted will ask the people questions, relating to PAT's participation in the polls and potential voters for the party.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


China-Japan-Koreas
Pudgy 'Makes Important Decision'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "made an important decision that will serve as a guiding principle in defending the country's security and sovereignty," the North's official KCNA news agency reported Sunday.

It did not specify what the "important decision" was, only that it came at a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party. Observers speculate that Kim gave the go-ahead for another nuclear test.
He decided to do whatever his Chinese masters told him to do...
On Jan. 26, Kim convened a meeting of a new panel of top security officials and diplomats and pledged "substantial and high-profile state measures." The party commission by contrast is an established organ that at least nominally controls the powerful Army. The regime never before made any meetings of the commission public until long after they were over.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He doesn't have a Chinese master, he does whatever Uncle tells him. The Chinese have little or no influence in NK, and in fact are rather frustrated with them.
Posted by: gromky || 02/04/2013 4:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Lobster or filet mignon? Pudgy invents surf-n-turf!
Posted by: Spot || 02/04/2013 8:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Gromky, I don't agree. China can close the bridges and bring the Norks to their knees any time they want, and the Norks know it.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 13:04 Comments || Top||

#4  He's smart, and he wants respect!
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 02/04/2013 14:00 Comments || Top||

#5  The Chinese have little or no influence in NK, and in fact are rather frustrated with them.

Sorry. I don't put much of anything past the Chinese. I am perfectly well prepared to believe that Pudgy is their pudgy little puppet/cat's paw. They can use him to irritate us and we pretend we don't get it. How about let's nuke the bastard and see how the Chinese respond? Then we'll just say "Sorry. We didn't know."
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/04/2013 14:46 Comments || Top||

#6  Thank you, EU.
Posted by: Injun Stalin7884 || 02/04/2013 14:54 Comments || Top||

#7  In the opening days on the assault on HellHole1, C-17s dumped shit loads of humanitarian meals with wings.... yellow things, weird looking.

I say send in the C-17s preceded by a massive SEAD effort to save the children and kill the evil-doers. Could be made more effective with an iPhone drop at the same time, of course followed by a massive deluge of the Naked Lunch.


Posted by: Shipman || 02/04/2013 16:26 Comments || Top||

#8  Forget Hagel. Shipman for SecDef!
Posted by: SteveS || 02/04/2013 17:02 Comments || Top||

#9  He decided to order everyone in N. Korea to send him flowers for Valentines Day.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 17:49 Comments || Top||

#10  I thought Additional Protocol Y of the Fourth Geneva Convention banned the use of all works by William Burroughs in wartime.

And Additional Protocol Z banned William Burroughs himself, but the US, unlike most European nations, Morocco, and Mexico, was not a signatory.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/04/2013 17:51 Comments || Top||

#11  Given the works of Burroughs are classified as WMDs, it's time to hack all the Netflix queues in North Korea and add Cronenberg's adaptation of Naked Lunch (starring Buckaroo Bonzai). It's the 21st century, Pudge. Get with the program.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/04/2013 20:36 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Afghanistan should act on torture report
A Jan 20 UN report found that more than half of 635 pre-trial detainees and prisoners convicted on national security grounds had been tortured or ill-treated while in Afghan government custody.
Did the UN report mention the human rights abuses committed by the Taliban?
The Afghan government dismissed as 'exaggerated' the findings of the UN report which concluded that government reforms - including better monitoring and training but no dismissals or prosecutions - had not significantly reduced torture. Instead, officials who engage in torture benefit from complete impunity from prosecution.

On Jan 22, President Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation to determine whether there were abuses in detention and identify perpetrators.

'The new UN report should sound alarm bells for the Afghan government to take decisive action to end torture,' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. 'President Karzai needs to deliver on his recent promise to identify perpetrators of torture and to make sure those responsible are immediately arrested and prosecuted.'
And then deported to The Hague so that Carla del Ponte can prosecute them again and again over the next thirty years...
The January report follows up an October 2011 UN report documenting systematic and widespread torture in Afghan detention centres.

Torture of prisoners in Afghan government custody has been regularly documented over the past decade, including by the Afghan government's independent human rights commission as well as by Human Rights Watch and other NGOs.
Clearly it's not a nice place in the world. One might indeed prefer a Turkish prison...
In his Jan 22 order, Karzai created a task force to investigate the report's findings and respond within two weeks 'so that follow-up measures can be taken'.

Unfortunately, Human Rights Watch said, the task force consisted almost entirely of Afghan government officials who have little or no human rights expertise, and includes representatives of the state agencies with the worst records on torture.
"Mahmoud, you're the new HR expert."
"But I don't know anything about human resources!"
'This government task force is little more than window dressing because it lacks the personnel, expertise and political will to credibly tackle the very serious problem of torture in Afghanistan's detention facilities,' Adams said.

'Afghanistan needs a fully independent and permanent anti-torture body staffed by experienced human rights advocates with the resources and powers to conduct long-term and consistent monitoring and reform.'
Preferably with white Toyota Land Cruisers, houseboys and a great per diem...
The UN report found that torture was most common in detention facilities run by Afghanistan's intelligence service and police.

Since the 2011 report, abuses in police custody have actually increased, while there was some reduction in intelligence service abuses.

A quarter of torture victims were children. Almost a third of the 79 interviewees who had been handed over to Afghan authorities by international military forces reported torture or ill-treatment in Afghan custody.

Detainees told the UN investigators that torture was typically used to try to elicit confessions.
Any panties on their heads?
Fourteen different forms of torture were reported including suspension from ceilings, prolonged and severe beating including on the soles of the feet, twisting of the genitals of male detainees, electric shock, prolonged standing or forced exercise, prolonged exposure to cold weather, and threats of execution and rape.

Many detainees described being subjected to varied and escalating torture if they refused to confess or answer questions in a way that satisfied interrogators.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah denies reports of Israel airstrike in southern Lebanon
Lebanese media says transmission tower reportedly hit, and Sky News Arabia reports Israeli planes in the area, but Hezbollah says 'kaboom' was just a stun grenade
Either things are happening or the bad guys are starting to live on their nerves. Now is the time to send in the spy squirrels to chew on some wires, and the spy vultures to do whatever it is that spy vultures do.
Hezbollah denied Lebanese media reports late Sunday that the Israeli Air Force struck targets in the southern part of the country. The reports, following days of alleged "mock raids" by Israel, claimed a transmission tower was hit.

However the Shi'ite terror group, whose TV station initially reported the "strike," later said the blast was merely caused by a stun grenade, and Lebanese state TV said the same.

Tensions are acutely high on and across Israel's northern border, following a reported Israeli Arclight airstrike on Syria early last Wednesday, which apparently hit a convoy of SA-17 missiles en route to Hezbollah and damaged a Syrian WMD research facility.

Leb's FutureTV said the kaboom late Sunday was heard at approximately 10:30 PM local time in the area of Al-Fuar, near the coastal city of Tyre. Hezbollah, whose stronghold is in southern Leb, sealed off access to the area, according to the report.

The Hezbollah-run Al-Manar television station initially reported that it was the country's anti-aircraft system which first detected Israeli aircraft entering Lebanese airspace. Sky News in Arabic also reported that Israeli planes were seen in the area. Later, though, Hezbollah denied there had been an Israeli raid.

Israel had no official comment on the reports.

Earlier Sunday, Leb's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour protested three successive days of reported Israeli "mock raids" over Leb, and branded last Wednesday's strike in Syria as an act of "aggression" against Leb, too.)

Mansour urged a diplomatic and economic boycott of Israel, declaring, "Israeli jets continue to invade Leb's airspace every day. We must stand up against the Israeli attacks, but not just with calls, statements and condemnation."

Also Sunday, in his first comments since an Arclight airstrike reportedly carried out by Israel targeted his country, Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
said Syria's military was capable of confronting any "aggression."

In the aftermath of that alleged attack early Wednesday, Syria said the target was a scientific research center, while US officials indicated that the strike had destroyed a convoy of anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah.

Syrian state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said Assad spoke during a meeting with visiting top Iranian official Saeed Jalili.

On Sunday morning, Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted that Israel was involved in last week's strike. Barak said Israel was adamant that advanced weapons systems should not be allowed to reach Leb from Syria.

Israel has not commented directly on the strike, but in the days ahead of the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other brass hats repeatedly warned of the dangers of Syrian weapons falling into the hands of Hezbollah and other hostile elements in the region.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  "Spy squirrels' > FYI INDIA repor has now developed Robo Drone-Snakes.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 0:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Mamoud waves hypnotically, "These are not the blown-up wreckage you are looking for."
Posted by: SteveS || 02/04/2013 14:24 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Hitler's Toilet Resides in a N.J. Auto-Repair Shop
[NEWSFEED.TIME] As dinner-party conversation goes, owning Adolf Hitler's toilet is hardly a bad place to start.
"Pass the ham, please? By the way, darling, I pooped in Hitler's crapper today!"
"Really, Reggie? Oh, what was it like? More potatoes?"
"Yes, thank you. When I got up I felt... empty."

An accidental antiques collector took possession of the dictator's porcelain privy when he purchased an auto-repair shop in Florence, N.J., almost two decades ago, reports Tablet magazine.
"Nice place, for an auto repair shop. Does the crapper come with it?"
"I'll throw it in for boot if you want."

The toilet was originally installed on Hitler's yacht, the 400-500ft Aviso Grille, which was also the very place where Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz first announced the Führer's death on May 1, 1945.
"Reggie! You mean that Dönitz was actually sitting on that very throne when he signed the surrender?"
"Indeed, m'dear. You can tell, y'know. The seat was down."

"[Hitler] wanted to ride it down the Thames in London
"Mein Führer! Das motör hat auf dem Kräpper gefallen!"
"Dämn!"

and go live in Windsor Palace when he invaded," the latrine's owner, Greg Kohfeldt, told Tablet. The ship boasted a crew of 245 and a private room for Eva Braun; it was one of the largest private vessels in the world at the time.

Although some may question the commode's authenticity, plenty of evidence points to this being the real deal. A sink from the same ship bears the maker's stamps and faucets in the "Blackletter" font favored by the regime.
... and since that particular unreadable font would be used on no one's potty but der Fuehrer's that confirms it.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hitler.

Right policies, wrong people targeted.
Posted by: KingKong || 02/04/2013 5:24 Comments || Top||

#2  The Aviso Grill had an interesting history. Aviso. and Grille. and Grille I wonder if the first link info is all accurate. Stalin was supposed to have Hitler's skull which he used as an ash tray for his cigars.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 7:47 Comments || Top||

#3  That's where the military got their genetic science from that has screwed their own kids including members of black water!
Posted by: Maggie Flomong2662 || 02/04/2013 18:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Hokay...is it post-SuperBowl or did the cuckoo bus unload today?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 19:04 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rare Iran Infighting Surfaces over Minister Impeachment
[An Nahar] Bad blood between Iran's government and parliament spilled into open on Sunday over the impeachment of a minister, with heads of the two branches accusing each other of corruption and abuse of power.

A majority of MPs voted in a heated parliament session, broadcast live on state radio, to remove the labor and social welfare minister, Abdolreza Sheikholeslam, for refusing to sack a controversial figure, Saeed Mortazavi.

Mortazavi, seen close to President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, is a suspended judge appointed as caretaker of Iran's wealthy social welfare organization.

In the lead-up to the vote, Ahmadinejad questioned the impeachment motion and rebuked the parliament for launching attacks against his clique.

"For three years my colleagues at the government have been under the most severe pressure and accusations," Ahmadinejad said, while defending his aides ahead of the vote.

He then accused parliament speaker Ali Larijani and judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani of nepotism.

To back his claim, Ahmadinejad played a recording in which a voice said to be of their brother, Fazel, allegedly attempts to bribe Mortazavi by asking for a favor in exchange for political support of both parliament and the judiciary.

Ali Larijani in response accused Ahmadinejad of violating the law and preventing justice by shielding his inner circle from judicial probes.

"You have selected those who have judicial cases (against them) as your allies, and prevent their cases from being investigated," he said.

He then accused Ahmadinejad of using the video as a "threat" to hamper the impeachment process, by relaying a message through one of his deputies that he would play the tape if the impeachment is carried out as planned.

"He threatened me," Larijani said. "The problem is that the president does not observe the basics of ethics."

Sunday's brawl came as Iran is gearing up for its presidential election on June 14 to find a replacement for Ahmadinejad, whose victory in 2009 sparked protests against poll results which the opposition claimed were rigged.

The rift between Ahmadinejad and parliament, dominated by conservatives critical of his administration, surfaced in April 2011 after he challenged a ruling by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters.

The dismissal of Sheikholeslam on Sunday marked parliament's second successful unseating of Ahmadinejad's ministers in his second and last term. In February 2011 the then transport minister was dismissed.

Mortazavi, Tehran's notorious former prosecutor, was suspended in August 2010 along with two other judges over the death in prison of three anti-government protesters in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election.

A parliamentary probe found Mortazavi responsible for sending protesters to Kahrizak, a detention center south of Tehran, and demanded he be punished. The case is still ongoing.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Africa Subsaharan
Boko Haram leaders flee hot Mali to Nigeria
[OSUNDEFENDER.ORG] Security agencies are working on fresh clues that Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
leaders may have been relocating to Nigeria from Mali.

Some key operational bases of the sect, such as Kano, Bama, Potiskum, Damaturu and Maiduguri, are under watch because security agencies suspect that some Boko Haram (Western education is a sin) leaders are in hiding in these places.

But, despite the ceasefire announced by a faction of the sect, the Federal Government has ordered the military and other security agencies to be on the alert.

The Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN), said the government was waging a war against terrorism to avoid erosion of the nation's democratic values.

Security agencies are working on fresh clues that Boko Haram leaders are retreating back to Nigeria from Mali where foreign forces, including Nigeria's, have routed Islamist pushing to take over power. Mali is believed to be stronghold of al-Qaeda, which is believed to be backing the insurgency in some part of Nigeria.

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: "We are sucking [sic] that the ceasefire by a faction of Boko Haram might be a consequence of the devastating effects of La Belle France and the UN Intervention Mission forces in Mali.

"There are intelligence reports indicating that some key leaders of the sect have retreated to Nigeria from Mali. That is why we have placed some of their operational bases under watch, despite the ceasefire. These bases are in Kano, Bama, Potiskum, Damaturu and Maiduguri, among other border towns."

Responding to a question, the source added: "The government is cautious on the declaration of ceasefire because it might be a ploy by the retreating Boko Haram leaders to regain the control of lost bases and unleash more devastating mayhem on the country.

"We cannot afford to take things for granted or be carried away by the proclamation of a ceasefire. The Chief of Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Ibrhim Ola Sa'ad, has asked Boko Haram leaders to prove their commitment to the ceasefire within 30 days."

Another source said: "In spite of the ceasefire, security agencies have been directed to mount water-tight security in volatile states in the Northeast and Northwest.

"So, we will increase the tempo of the present security arrangement in terror-prone states. The recent change of GOCs and top military commanders of some the Army, the Air Force and the Navy is part of plans to step up security nationwide."

Adoke yesterday gave an insight into why the government has been fighting Boko Haram and other terror-related organizations.

Adoke , who spoke at a two-day peace and security summit of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, said the government cannot handover victory to terrorists.

"There is no doubt that challenges to internal security can erode democratic gains and indeed our mutual co-existence as a pluralistic society.

"The wanton and indiscriminate deprivation of innocent lives and the infliction of harm on countless others by the wave of attacks carried out by the terrorist group, known as Boko Haram coupled with the spate of kidnappings in the country must be seen as direct attacks on the core values of democratic governance, namely the rule of law; the protection of the dignity of human beings; mutual respect among people of different faith and peaceful resolution of conflict.

Adoke said: "Although, views differ on the approaches that have been adopted in our fight against terrorism and the relative successes so far recorded, we are mindful of the need to ensure that our core democratic values are not eroded in the process, to do that would amount to handing victory to the terrorists

"As a democrat, I firmly believe in the sustainable approach we have adopted in the current challenges. Our strategy aims to: protect individuals and communities; stabilise existing conflicts and discontentment; counter- harmful and beturbanned goon sentiments and ideologies; and deploy adequate response to economic and social insecurities that contribute to the growth of terrorism.

"Notwithstanding the initiatives already enumerated, the Federal Government is always open to constructive ideas on how best to confront these challenges."
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


India-Pakistan
Anti-polio drive planned for 4th put off
[Dawn] The government on Saturday decided to indefinitely put off an anti-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...
campaign, which was set to begin on Feb 4, in view of the city's deteriorating law and order situation.

"Yes, it has been postponed to revisit our security strategy. We will be meeting again on Monday with Dr Azra Afzal Pechuho to decide a future course of action," said executive district health officer Dr Imdadullah Siddiqui, adding that the health minister had given directives that the anti-polio drive would be conducted in the presence of Rangers.

The drive, according to Dr Siddiqui, would be carried out in those high-risk union councils where a vaccination drive had to be called off in December last year because of the law and order situation. Several anti-polio workers were rubbed out in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
in December while many others were targeted in other parts of the country after which the vaccination campaign was suspended across the country. It was partially resumed in the city last month, but not in the areas where vaccinators were attacked.

This year's first polio case in the country was detected in the city on Friday. The victim was a two-year-old boy, Musharraf, resident of Bin Qasim Town's Bhains Colony.

The boy was never vaccinated against polio because of his family's misconceptions.

Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ...
medical experts have said challenges posed by polio could be met with success even in these volatile conditions if the government adopts an effective strategy to deal with security concerns and the propaganda against the vaccination drive. Creating a strong demand in the communities for vaccination is a must to secure children.

Prof Dr Anita Zaidi, head of the department of paediatrics and child health at the Aga Khan University, said the task was not difficult though the situation was grim.

"Our problem is the 'persistently missed' children who serve as a reservoir in the spread of polio. These pockets can easily be identified and working with trusted community elders motivated to vaccinate their children against all diseases, including polio," she said.

Raising awareness of the disease and its prevention, according to Dr Zaidi, is critical.

The government needs to use the media, especially the electronic media, to educate the people about the significance of vaccinating their children, particularly against the nine diseases for which vaccination are administered free of cost," she said, adding that unless a strong demand was created in communities for vaccination, eradication of polio would remain a dream.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Bangladesh
Govt unveils plan to fight graft
[Bangla Daily Star] The government yesterday unveiled before the development partners its plan for preventing corruption and improving governance against the backdrop of Padma bridge corruption allegations.

Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan presented the National Integrity Strategy (NIS) describing it as a concerted initiative for fighting corruption at a meeting of the Local Consultative Group (LCG).

The meeting was held at the National Economic Council auditorium two days after the government withdrew its request to the World Bank for financing the Padma bridge project.

A high official of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) told The Daily Star that there were "no direct links between the timing of the presentation and the complexities over the graft allegations in the bridge project".

The official, however, said the government had an intention to remove any bad impression, if there is any, from the donors' mind over the Padma bridge corruption allegations.

The bridge project was not discussed at the meeting. The ERD secretary at the beginning told the representatives of the development partners that the finance minister will brief them on the bridge project later, said the ERD official.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn, I thought the headline referred to the USofA.
Posted by: AlanC || 02/04/2013 12:52 Comments || Top||

#2  The third world unveils a plan to fight corruption. Hahahaha! That's like ordering chickens not to poop.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 16:16 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Ansar Dine #3 arrested in northern Mali
[FRANCE24] The number-three leader of the armed Islamist group that controlled Timbuktu in northern Mali until last week, Mohamed Moussa Ag Mouhamed, has been tossed in the calaboose
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
near the Algerian border, sources said Sunday.

"The number three leader of Ansar Dine (Defenders of the Faith), the one who sowed terror, who ordered people's hands cut off, who supported the strict application of sharia, was arrested by an gang," a Malian security source said.

Mohamed Moussa, as he was known in Timbuktu, is being taken to the northeastern city of Kidal, the last bastion of rebels who controlled northern Mali for 10 months before being ousted in a French-led military operation launched on January 11, the source said.

The information was confirmed by a Kidal regional official, Abdoulaye Toure, though the two sources gave conflicting accounts on which of the area's rival groups had arrested him.

The arrest was believed to have been carried out either by the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a Tuareg separatist movement, or an Ansar Dine splinter group, the Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA).

Azawad is the Tuareg name for northern Mali.

"He was the ideologue of Ansar Dine in Timbuktu," Toure said.

"He was called Ansar Dine's number three, but in reality he was the brain of the organization, the doctrine in Timbuktu. He was arrested in Hallil near the Algerian border by a (formerly) allied gang."

Toure also said a man accused of taking part in the kidnapping of a French hostage in November had been arrested in the same area.

French officials say seven kidnapped Frenchies are believed to be held in the area, which is near where 30 French warplanes carried out major air strikes on Sunday.

Kidal, which French and Chadian troops have been working to secure, was an Ansar Dine stronghold, but the MIA recently broke away and renounced "extremism and terrorism".
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Dine


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Toxic Air Plane Crash Warning
[EXPRESS.CO.UK] PASSENGER jets risk "dropping out of the sky" because airlines refuse to fit detectors that could save pilots from poisonous cabin air, a toxicologist told the Sunday Express.

Professor Chris van Netten, former US government adviser, says the industry is putting profits before the health and safety of passengers or crew.

He says that by failing to fit monitors that can "easily" detect leaks of odourless, colourless and toxic carbon monoxide, there is always the risk that pilots could inhale fumes and be rendered incapable of safely flying the plane.

Professor van Netten, who is Canadian, is a world authority on bleed-air contamination.

He said: "Carbon monoxide is a relatively rare event
How rare? Because at some point the precautions are against something that will likely never happen.
but it's an acute one that can bring an aircraft down.
So could it if the Hand of God reaches down from the sky and tears off all the engines, but we don't take precautions against that, right?
"When it happens you want to know what is going on because it is incapacitating and you want to be able to flush it out.

"If you can put detectors in the home, why not put them in the aircraft?"
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Carbon Monoxide detectors for low end general Aviation aircraft are available (the cheap ones are disposable and short lived, 90 days to 18 months, the $50 dollar one lasts about 5 years then must be tossed). A link to a retail supplier follows. http://tinyurl.com/bnhp7vp

I suspect certifying detectors for commercial use could be very pricey and they would require constant calibration and maintenance because the sensing material deteriorates over time.
Posted by: tipover || 02/04/2013 2:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Professor Chris van Netten, former US government adviser, says the industry is putting profits before the health and safety of passengers or crew.

I find that difficult to unbelieve.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/04/2013 4:57 Comments || Top||

#3  I would not have thought this to be a problem. A couple of links regarding aircraft air quality. National Sciences Academy Press. and Brit study
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/04/2013 8:55 Comments || Top||

#4  Last year they passed a law in California requiring all homes to have carbon monoxide detectors. I think it's fair to assume the company that makes the detectors made a lot of money. Strange though, I've been around for quite a few decades and never had a problem with carbon monoxide.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/04/2013 14:29 Comments || Top||

#5  I knew a Supt. for a local bridge contractor who brought his son to work one Fall day in '94. Kid was sick and staying home from school. They apparently fired up their heater for the first time that night. Never woke up.
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 15:42 Comments || Top||

#6  I have a buddy who owns a nice Bonanza. He bought a Carbon Monoxide detector at a local hardware store and mounted it in the aircraft. I think it cost him ~$25.00....

Posted by: Uncle Phester || 02/04/2013 19:39 Comments || Top||

#7  AP, what's the cabin air refresh rate for commercial aviation? I think the air is completely replaced every x number of minutes -- my mind wants to say every 30 minutes. I doubt carbon monoxide would build up fast enough to be a problem. I think someone's just out to sell carbon monoxide detectors.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 02/04/2013 20:54 Comments || Top||

#8  OP, my thoughts exactly. Has there ever been an incident where the cabin crew passed out or was even affected from CO poisoning?

Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 02/04/2013 21:31 Comments || Top||

#9  cabin pressure, not CO (supposedly) but: Payne Stewart
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 22:09 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China Calls in N.Korean Ambassador
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called in North Korean ambassador Ji Jae-ryong several times to dissuade Pyongyang from conducting a third nuclear test, a diplomat in Beijing said Sunday.

"After the North expressed the intention to conduct a fresh nuclear test, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called in Ambassador Ji Jae-ryong several times to deliver a warning message," the diplomat said.
Right. I'm guessing the warning is "don't have a fissile." The Norks only do a test if they have China's blessing.
Beijing did not officially confirm this.

Meanwhile, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam is to visit China on Monday to meet Wu Dawei, the special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs and discuss a response.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Umm... no fissile, no boom
Posted by: Grunter || 02/04/2013 11:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Then when it booms they'll apologize and say they tried but they don't have much influence with little Pudgy. Riiiiiight. So let them feed the guy.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/04/2013 14:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Exactly. China can curb its little dog when it wants.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 15:18 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel Says Kidnap Plot Foiled, Palestinians Held
[An Nahar] The Shin Bet domestic spy agency said on Sunday that it had enjugged
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
members of a cell belonging to the radical Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
group who had plotted to kidnap Israelis.

"A bid by Islamic Jihad to kidnap a soldier or an Israeli citizen was foiled by Shin Bet special forces and police," the agency said in a statement.

"Members of the cell were arrested on January 1... east of Kfar Saba" northeast of Tel Aviv, it added.

Two members of the cell are from the West Bank town of Jenin and a third is an Arab Israeli resident of Kalansua in central Israel, Shin Bet said.

Eight other suspects were arrested in Jenin as part of the investigation, it added.

Shin Bet said the cell had failed in an attempt at the end of December to kidnap Israelis from bus and train stations.

Ropes, adhesive tape, a Japanese knife, a fake pistol and mask were found in a car belonging to the group, it added.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad


Africa North
Secular party threatens to quit Islamist-led Tunisian government
[Al Ahram] The Tunisian president's secular party threatened on Sunday to withdraw from the Islamist-led government unless it drops two Islamist ministers.

The moderate Islamist Ennahda party won 42 percent of seats in the country's first post-Arab Spring elections in October 2011 but formed a government in coalition with two secular parties, President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic and Ettakatol.

Coalition discussions on a cabinet reshuffle have broken down after Congress for the Republic asked for the replacement of Foreign Affairs Minister Rafik Abdessalem, who is son-in-law of Ennahda head Rached Gannouchi, and Justice Minister Nouridine Bhiri, saying their performances had been weak.

"If Ennahda does not change its foreign and justice ministers within a week, the Congress for the Republic will withdraw its ministers from the government and President Marzouki may resign from his post," said Mohammed Abbou, secretary-general of Congress for Republic.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


China-Japan-Koreas
Is N.Korea Planning 2 Nuke Tests?
North Korea has virtually finished preparations for nuclear tests in two tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Hamgyong Province, observers believe.

A South Korean government source said analysis of satellite images showed brisk activity of support vehicles and personnel at a tunnel on the southern side of the test site, and on Saturday the area was cleaned and personnel left.

Intelligence agencies suspect that this means a nuclear test is imminent. Preparations at a tunnel on the western side of the site were apparently completed earlier. The government here is now watching for the possibility of two separate nuclear tests either simultaneously or in quick succession.

"There is a chance that the southern tunnel is a decoy, but we aren't ruling out that the regime will conduct nuclear tests simultaneously at both tunnels," a military source said.

The source said it might help North Korea to produce smaller nuclear warheads that could be mounted on missiles if it tests a couple of different devices at the same time.

In 1998, Pakistan conducted eight nuclear tests over two days, which allowed it to accelerate the miniaturization of nuclear weapons.
And boy howdy we all know what a nuclear power Pakistain is...
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  N. Korea is like a dysfunctional teenager who keeps trying to kill themself - just to get some attention.
Posted by: Raider || 02/04/2013 17:47 Comments || Top||

#2  And boy howdy we all know what a nuclear power Pakistain is...

It's enough of one for us to give them a couple billion dollars a year for the right to fight their middlemen in their funding of the 9/11 attacks.

If Pakistan _didn't_ have nukes... the 9/11 attacks would have been stopped on 8/11 when Osama Bin Laden was hung by the Taliban for being a Zionist spy, with even more passion than they've imprisoned Dr. Afridi for allegedly helping the Taliban.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/04/2013 20:24 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Nangarhar Official Survives Blast, Bodyguard Dies
[Tolo News] A district governor in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province survived the blast from a roadside kaboom Saturday morning, but one of his bodyguards was killed and two others were maimed, local officials said.

Khoghyani district governor Sayed Rahman was travelling in the Nangarhar's Pate Koat district when his vehicle struck a roadside kaboom around 10:00am, Pate Koat district governor Murza Mohammad Nasrat told TOLOnews.

"Haji Sayed Rahman survived the blast, but one of his bodyguards was killed and two others were maimed," he said.

Rahman also confirmed the blast which occurred while he was travelling from his home to the office.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Terrorist killed in Tizi Ouzou
[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian security services clashed with a group of bully boyz on Saturday evening (February 2nd) in Tigzirt, 35km north of blood-stained Tizi Ouzou, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. At least one hard boy was killed in the hour-long shootout.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Afghanistan
Taliban bombs kill Afghan family, cops
[Bangla Daily Star] Taliban roadside kabooms killed five civilians, including a family of four, and two coppers in the country's troubled south at the weekend, officials said Sunday.

The family -- mother, father and two daughters aged eight and nine -- died along with their driver in Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province's Khanishin district when their vehicle hit an improvised bomb late Saturday.

"The blast was so powerful that nothing was left of the bodies, they are shattered in small pieces," district governor Shah Mahmoud said, blaming Taliban hard boyz for the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Syrian refugees in Jordan riot over tents
[Al Ahram] Jordanian riot police fired tear gas on Sunday to disperse Syrian refugees at a northern desert camp as they fought over tents being distributed by a Norwegian charity, an official said.

"A Norwegian charity was giving away tents to Syrian refugees at the Zaatari camp. They rioted and clashed with each other, trying to attack security officers," Anmar Hmud, a government front man for refugee affairs, told AFP.

"The riot police intervened, firing tear gas to disperse them. One Syrian man was slightly hurt," Hmud said without giving further details.

Since it opened in July, the Zaatari camp, home to more than 90,000 Syrian refugees, has seen several protests against poor living conditions, including a lack of electricity.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Not enough tents, too many people. Socialism in a nutshell.
Posted by: gromky || 02/04/2013 4:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds like Detroit in a nutshell.
Posted by: Pappy || 02/04/2013 9:02 Comments || Top||

#3  I think the world would be much better off if the old aphorism "Beggars can't be choosers." was universally applied.

I'm sick of beggars bitching about the charity they receive.
Posted by: AlanC || 02/04/2013 12:46 Comments || Top||

#4  Won't the Soddies help? How about the Iranians?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/04/2013 14:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Section 8 Tent Giveaway
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2013 14:55 Comments || Top||

#6  Why would anyone want a tent for crazy GIs?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 02/04/2013 15:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Section 8 Tent Giveaway

Comes with a starter brick of InstaRoach, just add water.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/04/2013 16:19 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian chemical weapons under control
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the Syrian authorities were keeping chemical weapons under control.
And you should always believe a Russian foreign minister...
Syria has not signed the international Chemical Weapons Convention and is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, an extremely toxic nerve agent.
Plus whatever Saddam had...
"We have reliable information that so far the Syrian government controls the situation" with the chemical weapons, Lavrov said at the International Security Conference in Munich.

"If the rebels seize those weapons, they will become a huge threat. But still, the situation doesn't give any grounds for serious worries," he said.

Syria last year said they could be used against "foreign invaders".
Which includes their own people...
Lavrov reiterated Russia's stance against foreign interference in the two-year conflict in Syria and the removal of its president bound in a standoff with the opposition.

"The persistence of those who say that number one priority is to remove President Bashar al-Assad is the only biggest reason for the continuing tragedy in Syria," said Lavrov.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pakistani Taliban Condemn 'Ideological War' in Mali
[An Nahar] The Pak Taliban urged the Mohammedan world to unite in a video message released Sunday as they condemned the French military intervention in Mali as an "ideological war".

French President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, and a fine job he's doing of it...
visited Mali on Saturday and vowed his troops would stay as long as necessary to continue the fight against Salafist tough guys who had taken control of the country's north for 10 months.

An offensive led by French troops has driven rebels from all but one of Mali's major towns, but there are fears the Islamists will now wage a guerrilla campaign from the sparsely populated north.

In a video message handed out to journalists in northwest Pakistain, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) front man Ehsanullah Ehsan condemned the French intervention, which has had logistical support from other Western countries.

"The French government has attacked mujahedeen in Mali and America has also agreed to support La Belle France. I ask the whole Mohammedan world to unite because it is an ideological war," Ehsan said.

He said the forces of "non-believers" were united and urged Mohammedans to come together.

"If America is supporting La Belle France on an ideological basis then in same way all Mohammedans should unite and support one another."

The TTP has waged a bloody campaign against the Pak state in recent years and the last two months have seen a notable increase in attacks on military posts and personnel.

The group grabbed credit for a suicide kaboom on Saturday that killed at least 24 people at a military checkpost near Pakistain's semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt where Death Eaters have carved out strongholds.

In December TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million U.S. government bounty on his head, said the group was open to peace talks but poured scorn on the idea of his men giving up their weapons.

Ehsan repeated the conditional offer of negotiations with Islamabad.

But he said they could only go ahead if certain politicians, including Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
, who leads leader of the main opposition party, the PML-N, acted as guarantors.

"We do not trust the Pakistain army, it has always broken past agreements, even agreements we made with politicians," Ehsan said in the seven-and-a-half minute video, in which he appeared flanked by armed masked men.

"We need solid guarantors who can assure us about the army, because the army is the real power in Pakistain."

He said the TTP needed assurances from Nawaz and the leaders of the two largest religious parties -- 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, led by Pro-Taliban holy man Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman and Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, headed by Munawar Hassan.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  Besides SYRIA, does this mean numbers of PAK Taliban Boyz are officially traveling to MALI + NIGER on their Jihad tourist waiver???

Just askin'.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/04/2013 0:14 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Boko Haram Relocates To North West
[OSUNDEFENDER.ORG] For the first time since the dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
appeared on the country's scene, Nigerians especially those resident in the 19 northern States and Abuja, had a bombing-free Christmas and New Year celebrations. In fact, some Nigerians, Sunday Sun investigations revealed, heaved a sigh of relief, that 'at last, bombings are gradually reducing.' Little did they however know that they'd heaved the sigh of relief too soon.

Exactly 18 days after the New Year celebration, the faceless myrmidons went for the kill, but they missed their target- the Emir Kano. Although, no group, including the new one that birthed in Kano on January 31, 2012, Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (Meaning Vanguards for the protection of Mohammedans in Black Africa) has grabbed credit for the gun attack on the Kano monarch, the signature of last Saturday's attack however bore that of Boko Haram.

Besides, the Saturday, January 19, 2013, attack came just a day to the one-year anniversary of the first major attack on the ancient city of Kano by the Boko Haram.

But the Ansarul group, whose name is similar to one of the major groups fighting in Mali, has since grabbed credit for the attack on the Mali-bound Nigerian soldiers in a village near Okene in Kogi State, where two soldiers were said to have bit the dust.

Incidentally, the attack on the Emir of Kano occurred on the same day with the one that claimed the lives of the Mali-bound Nigerian soldiers. Since then, series of explosives have been recovered by security operatives in Jos, Kaduna, Gombe, Damaturu, Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri, with some hitting their targets. The attack on the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero did not just happen.

Investigations revealed that before last Saturday's attack, there have been pockets of killings within and around Kano by suspected terrorists. Prominent among these is the one that occurred just two days before the attack on the Emir, where four persons, including two suspected faceless myrmidons died in a shoot- out with soldiers at a checkpoint in Mariri area of the state capital. Before then, Sunday Sun further gathered, four coppers were killed in the same week by gunnies suspected to be terrorists.
Posted by: Fred || 02/04/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram



Who's in the News
39[untagged]
6Arab Spring
5Govt of Pakistan
4Govt of Syria
3Taliban
2TTP
2al-Qaeda in North Africa
2Boko Haram
2Govt of Iran
1Hezbollah
1HUJI
1Islamic Jihad
1Salafists
1Govt of Sudan
1Ansar Dine

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
Comments Spam
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
RSS Links
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio
Sink Trap

Alzheimer's Association
Day by Day
Counterterrorism
Hair Through the Ages







On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2013-02-04
  Ansar Dine #3 arrested in northern Mali
Sun 2013-02-03
  Yemen Troops Kill 12 'Qaida Militants' in Restive South
Sat 2013-02-02
  Syria Suicide Attack on Regime Kills 53
Fri 2013-02-01
  Binori Mosque cleric among 10 killed in Karachi
Thu 2013-01-31
  Boko Haram 'commander' declares ceasefire
Wed 2013-01-30
  Mali and Niger forces retake Ansongo
Tue 2013-01-29
  Sahel jihadist groups splinter
Mon 2013-01-28
  Timbuktu mayor: Mali rebels torched library of historic manuscripts
Sun 2013-01-27
  French and Malian troops begin restoring control in Timbuktu
Sat 2013-01-26
  Green-on-green clash in Khyber tribal region kills 32
Fri 2013-01-25
  AQAP #2 killed for the THIRD time in Yemen
Thu 2013-01-24
  US drone strike near Sanaa kills 7 hard boyz
Wed 2013-01-23
  Nuristan Airstrike Kills 14 Insurgents
Tue 2013-01-22
  French seize control of Diabaly, Douentza
Mon 2013-01-21
  Nigeria: Gunmen attack Kano emir's convoy

Better than the average link...



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.
3.229.123.80
Paypal:
WoT Operations (17)    WoT Background (29)    Opinion (5)    (0)    Politix (5)