IRANIAN scientists have inserted a domestically made fuel rod into the core of a research nuclear reactor in Tehran, Iran's official news agency said
The overnight report comes a day before Iran and six world powers meet in Baghdad for negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. The West says Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
IRNA reported that the fuel rod, which contains pellets of 20 per cent enriched uranium, was inserted into the core after preliminary tests. The advance would be another step in achieving proficiency in the entire nuclear fuel cycle.
Iran said in January that it had produced the first nuclear fuel rod, saying it had to find a way to make them because Western sanctions prohibit their purchase from foreign markets.
#1
seems like a waste of Uranium to use 20% enriched U into a fuel rod when you only need about 4% but maybe the nuclear engineers were overruled by a nuclear fatwa
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/22/2012 17:34
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The entire rod may not be made of the 20% U-235, they only need a few. Once the reaction gets going, you get enough P-239 created from neutron absorption by U-238 to fuel the reactors. When a "spent" fuel rod is removed, nearly all of the fission taking place is from P-239 and most of the uranium is gone.
Can you name the religion?
A New Jersey woman says she was fired from her job after her manager told her to "tape her breasts" down, and now has filed suit against the company claiming religious and sexual discrimination.
Former data entry worker Lauren Odes said that after two days with Native Intimates, a midtown Manhattan wholesale lingerie company, a supervisor told her the store owners were not happy with her outfit, suggesting it was too "distracting."
"When I first started working there, I asked what the dress code was, and I was just told to look around and see what everyone else was wearing," Odes said in a press conference Monday. "So I did. The dress was very casual athletic wear to business attire."
Odes said the company owners are Orthodox Jews who were offended by her attire.
At a news conference announcing the suit, she said that at first she compromised, saying she'd wear a gray T-shirt and black jeggings with rain boots to work, but that wasn't enough.
"When my supervisors suggested that I tape down my breasts, I asked 'Are you kidding me?'" Odes said. "The supervisor said, 'Just cover up a little more.'"
The female supervisor then walked over to a closet, pulled out a bright red bathrobe decorated with pictures of guitars, and told Odes to put it on, she said.
"She told me to sit at my desk and wear it all day. I felt completely humiliated," Odes said. "She put the bathrobe on me and tied the belt and I returned to my desk wearing it."
Her supervisor then gave her the option of to go out and buy a sweater that "went to her ankles" instead of wearing the bathrobe, she said. After being ridiculed and made fun of by co-workers, Odes said, she obliged.
"I sat in the bathroom for a while crying. I'd prefer to go out and buy a sweater rather than sit there in the bathrobe feeling humiliated," Odes said.
But while she was out shopping for the sweater, the 29-year-old got a phone call saying she'd been terminated, she said.
Now, attorney Gloria Allred has filed suit against Native Intimates with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
"The treatment was discriminatory, profoundly humiliating and unlawful," Allred said.
This isn't the first time Allred has represented a client for allegedly being fired for what she was wearing.
Two years ago, she represented Debrahlee Lorenzana, a Queens, N.Y., woman who sued former bosses Citibank for banning her "sexy outfits and heels." Citibank ended up settling with Lorenzana.
Odes, who said she is also Jewish, said no employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on employees.
"I do not feel an employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on me when I'm working in a business that's not a synagogue, but sells things with hearts on the female genitals and boy shorts for women that say hot in the buttocks area," she said.
#3
Not to worry, Attorney Gloria Allred is on this; the Reverend Al Sharpton of the legal world. This does seem like hypocrisy. What do they want a burqa?
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah urged calm Tuesday after news of the abduction of at least 13 Lebanese in Syria and said contacts were under way with Syrian authorities and others to help resolve the matter.
"On behalf of Hezbollah and Amal I call on all relatives and supporters in the various regions to cooperate to end the closure of roads. Blocking roads does no good," Nasrallah, who spoke on Al-Manar TV, said, expressing concern of attempts to stir conflict between the people and the Lebanese Army or "take the country to some place else."
Lebanese security sources told The Daily Star that at least 13 Lebanese men returning from a pilgrimage to Shiite holy shrines in Iraq were kidnapped by Syrian rebels near the city of Aleppo in north Syria.
Upon hearing the news, angry relatives took to the streets of the southern suburb of Beirut where most of the kidnapped live and blocked several roads by burning tires.
Because that has proven so effective in the past. Or not, as the case may be.
#1
The article doesn't say if this one guy was a HVT, nor whether, unlikely, the cratered road stops shipping for more than ten minutes.
Doesn't seem to be a point for Israel here.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
05/22/2012 17:24
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#2
Jinns.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/22/2012 20:32
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Fifteen people were killed or injured in tribal fighting in Yemen after a male donkey chased an ass and raped it just near the house of its owner.
Newspapers in Yemen said the owner of the ass got mad after he saw the donkey attacking his animal, prompting him to chase the donkey and hit it.
The attack infuriated the donkey owner, who called his armed tribe men and asked them to take revenge.
The problem snowballed into an armed fight between Makabis tribe, which owns the donkey, and Bani Abbas which owns the ass 15 people were either killed or injured in the battle, the Saudi Arabic language daily Aleqtisadiah said, quoting newspapers in Yemen.
A large police force intervened and stopped the fighting at a village in the southwestern province of Abb, newspapers said, adding that police had arrested eight persons involved in the conflict.
Hundreds of young Saudi men, some wearing horror masks, attacked a deserted building with torches and flash lights on late Monday in response to online calls to chase ghosts believed to be living inside before they were evicted and chased by a large Saudi security force.
The men set the building on fire before fleeing the site after they were chased by scores of baton-wielding police men and security agents in the conservative Moslem Gulf Kingdom.
"Hundreds of young men entered the building which was a hospital 26 years ago....they were responding to calls on Blackberry phones and social networks to go into the building and check rumours that it is haunted," the Saudi Arabic language daily Sabq said in a report from Riyadh.
"Some of them set part of the building ablaze before fleeing when police raided the place...all of them were evicted while the fire was put out later."
Ahead of the Baghdad nuclear conference, Iran's tone has become conciliatory and optimistic, pointing to the Supreme Leader's decision to push President Ahmadinejad to the sidelines.
Perhaps to help Champ get re-elected, so that he can be more flexible afterwards...
An extraordinary report was published on Saturday in the conservative Iranian website Botia. According to the report, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, General Qasem Suleimani, warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah not to attack Israel.
The website reported that during a meeting between the two, Suleimani explained to Nasrallah that "Israel is an isolated country, and any attack on it can portray it as the victim and us as the aggressors."
Suleimani even demanded that Nasrallah explain to his followers that the road to Jerusalem does not involve arms, but preaching.
Within a few hours the report was removed from the website, and a denial was published.
"Please don't kill us!"
Iran has not changed its official policy of supporting armed resistance against Israel. Yet aside for public statements by senior army and Revolutionary Guards officials -- saying Iran is ready for any act of aggression and is planning military drills -- the Islamic Republic's tone ahead of the Baghdad summit is conciliatory and optimistic.
The head of Germany's intelligence service said the country could be a target of an Islamist attack similar to those carried out by a gunman in France two months ago. Heinz Fromm's comments, quoted in an interview with the top-selling Bild daily, follow a series of clashes in several German cities and towns between police and Salafi Muslims.
Fromm said, "The danger for Germany has unfortunately not decreased. And it is not by any means abstract. An attack like in France in March... is also conceivable here.", adding that Merah had had contact with Salafis before his shooting spree.
Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, gunned down seven people - three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi - before being killed himself by elite French police commandos in Toulouse on March 22.
Fromm cited a video made by a Berlin-based Salafi, a former rapper known as Denis C., which calls for jihad and praises Merah and Osama bin Laden. He said, "We must take (this video) seriously. It could well be that this video is taken as an inducement for attacks.
"With their intensive propaganda over the Internet, in the streets, in mosques and also at so-called Islam seminars, Salafi preachers are reaching especially young people who are more sensitive to this ideology. Almost all Islamist terrorists from Germany have been radicalized in this way."
Earlier this month, Germany said it was considernig a legal ban on Salafis after recent clashes. In the most serious violence, Salafis turned on police protecting far-right anti-Islam protesters during a regional election rally in the western city of Bonn, wounding 29 officers, two of them seriously. Authorities arrested 109 people, among them a 25-year-old man suspected of stabbing two police officers.
The anti-Islam protesters had infuriated the Salafis by waving banners showing cartoons of Mohammad. Local reports said 500-600 Salafis faced off with 30 far-right protesters.
In recent weeks, Salafis have been handing out thousands of Korans, translated into German, to infidels non-Muslims, sparking a controversy in Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Ralf Jaeger promised to identify all Salafis ready to use violence, so that officials could take swifter action in future.
A car has exploded in Port Sudan killing one person, Sudan's news agency said. Witnesses say the explosion left two big craters in the road and the body of the driver completely burned.
Local officials say the incident is being investigated. It comes just more than a year after a similar incident that killed two people, which Sudan called the result of an Israeli missile strike.
The blast occured just before 8 a.m. local time on the western edge of Port Sudan town. A local resident said, "I heard a big explosion and I came out and saw a [Toyota] Prado car on fire, and two craters in the ground."
Sudanese TV said an "unknown source" had "attacked a civilian vehicle" and has broadcast images of the damaged front of the car.
Following last year's incident, Sudan said it had irrefutable evidence that Israeli attack helicopters had carried out a missile and machine gun strike. Israel refused to comment.
Sudan, which has close ties with Hamas, has long been a center of arms smuggling.
Officials say security forces have killed four terrorists militants, including a rebel warlord, in Dagestan in the North Caucasus.
National Anti-Terrorist Committee spokesman Andrei Chatskyi said that warlord Aslan Mamedov and an accomplice were gunned down Sunday in a clash with security forces in the town of Khasavyurt near Chechnya. Mamedov had been suspected of staging a series of attacks on police and other authorities in Dagestan.
Regional police spokesman Vyacheslav Gasanov said another two terrorists militants died over the weekend in a clash with police in the village of Tukhchar west of Khasavyurt.
Three soldiers were wounded in a bomb blast in Yala province Tuesday while the deputy Prime Minister Gen Yuthasak Sasiprapha overseeing security affairs and army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha were visiting the region.
Three soldiers from a special task force in Raman district were injured by a bombing while they were patroling on a local road connecting Yala and Pattani provinces. All have already been admitted to a local hospital.
Police believe the instigator may have wanted to threaten the army chief and the deputy premier during their visit. The army chief and the deputy premier along with other generals traveled to the three southernmost provinces Tuesday morning in order to see the situation and clarify the government's policies to local officials.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul says the U.S. administration is trying to convince the U.S. Congress to allow the sale of armed drones to Turkey.
Turkey wants to buy the drones to help its fight against autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels. But analysts say some Congress members may oppose sales to Turkey due to its tense relations with Israel.
A botched attack in December - in which the military acting on intelligence from unarmed drones killed 34 smugglers it mistook for the rebels - is likely to further complicate sales.
Gul met President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Chicago late Monday.
The state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Gul as telling Turkish reporters after the meeting that Obama's administration is favorable to the sale.
But not Congress, so there it stays. How humiliating for someone.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/22/2012 8:27
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Iran already has a UAV that looked like it just rolled out of a Barrett-Jackson auction. Reportedly Obama disapproved a DoD or Agency request to destroy it after it "clash landed." The Turks will simply have to wait........
"until after his election, when he'll have more flixibility."
Taquia, taquia, taquia.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano has said that he expects to sign a deal with Iran quite soon on the arrangements for further investigation into the countrys nuclear activities.
Amano made the remarks in an interview with reporters in Vienna on Tuesday upon his arrival from Tehran, where he held rare talks with Iranian officials on Monday during his first trip to the country since he assumed the post on December 1, 2009.
(A) decision was made to conclude and sign the agreement I can say it will be signed quite soon, the IAEA director general said, Reuters reported.
According to Bloomberg, Amano also stated, There was an important development on the structured approach document on which we have been working since January.
In addition, AFP quoted him as saying, A decision was made by me and Mr. Jalili to reach an agreement on the structured approach, he said, referring to his discussions with Irans Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, who is the countrys chief nuclear negotiator.
At this stage I can say it will be signed quite soon, but I cannot say how soon it will be, he said, without going into detail about the terms of the agreement.
There remain some differences, he said, according to a transcript of his remarks released by IAEA officials, New York Times reported.
But Amano noted that Mr. Jalili had told him that existing differences will not be the obstacle to reaching agreement.
Asked about the Parchin military site specifically, Amano said, I have raised this issue of access to Parchin, and this issue will be addressed as a point of the implementation of the structured approach document.
Iran rejected requests by the IAEA delegations to inspect the Parchin site, which is located southeast of Tehran, during their visits to the country from January 29 to 31 and February 21 to 22 and has made it clear that a framework must be agreed on for any access or visit.
Reuters: China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government. This means the People's Bank of China buys U.S. debt using a different method than any other central bank in the world. China is preserving the value of specific information about its bidding habits. By bidding directly, China prevents Wall Street banks from trying to exploit its huge presence in a given auction by driving up the price.
It is one of several courtesies provided to a buyer in a class by itself in terms of purchasing power. Although the Japanese, for example, own about $1.1 trillion of Treasuries, their purchasing has been less centralized. Buying by Japan is scattered among institutions, including pension funds, large Japanese banks and the Bank of Japan, without a single entity dominating.
Granting China a direct bidding link is not the first time Treasury has gone to great lengths to keep its largest client happy.
#1
It would appear to me that some checks and balances are in order. Perhaps business as usual. No budget, Health care passed without review. My concern is should we have a genuine attempt at spending cuts, like Greece and Spain we will have a major backlash. Should Obama lose this election he could return offering hope and change in four years. Should government cuts bite, then revenues will drop. Very difficult time to manage this mess with little or no wiggle room.
#3
Very difficult time to manage this mess with little or no wiggle room. Yes, indeed. Things just look stable. Our feckfearless leaders are kicking the can down the road as far as they can.
Ha! And Pappy thought I was crazy.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of a spectacular day for zoologists. Two decades ago, in May 1992, scientists announced the discovery of a new species the saola living in the lush mountain forests that straddle the Vietnam-Laos border.
It was the first large mammal discovered since the 1930s.
Yet celebrations are muted in light of the elusive species' plight; the saola, also known as the "Asian unicorn," is likely fast disappearing, conservationists warned in an announcement today, and they say there could be only 200, or even as few as just several dozen of the animals left on the planet.
The saola is a small, horned animal that resembles a strange antelope hybrid, but is more closely related to a type of wild cow.
Vietnamese scientists first identified the new species only through the bizarre, horned skulls that villagers living near the animal's range had collected.
Stark markings on the face, long, graceful horns and a tufted tail lend to the animal's mystique. [See rare photos of saola.]
But according to Barney Long, an Asian species expert for the conservation organization WWF, the creature got its mythical moniker more for its habits than its looks.
"It's so rare to see that it would almost be like seeing a unicorn," Long told OurAmazingPlanet in 2011, when a protected area for saola was created in Vietnam.
These secretive ungulates wander the steamy green forests of South Asia's Annamite Mountains, where poaching is rampant. Although saola themselves are not prized in the wildlife trade or for their meat, many of their neighbors are.
"Saola are caught largely as bycatch like the tuna and dolphin scenario," William Robichaud, coordinator of the Saola Working Group, said in a statement.
And although the rare creatures are caught and killed by snares, scientists have never observed them in the wild. The rare saola that has been captured alive has quickly died.
"When they're in captivity, they seem to act extremely tame, and they're very open to having people come up to them and touch them," Long said, but explained that their sweet demeanor is likely a sign of extreme stress. "The animal is freaking out," he said.
Conservationists said it's encouraging that saola are not a direct target for poachers, and offered hope that the critically endangered animals can be saved.
"But we still need to act," Robichaud said. "One of the rarest and most distinctive large animals in the world has been quietly slipping toward extinction through complacency."
#1
"Discovered since the 1930's" - I dunno about that, as none of my Instructors in youth or adulthood have ever effec answered my inquiry, i.e. could Marco Polo or other earlier ancient Explorer brought Saola specimens to Europe where they indeed became the de facto inspiration for "mythical/fantasical/magical" Unicorns???
#2
How can we be "complacent" if we didn't know that they existed in the first place?
I don't know about you, but it's been years since I've straddled the Vietnam-Laos border.
[Al Ahram] Hundreds of protesters entered Mali's presidential palace unopposed on Monday and said they would remain there until interim civilian president Dioncounda Traore resigned, a Rooters witness said.
The protesters tore up images of Traore and called for him to be replaced by Captain Amadou Sanogo, the officer who led the March 22 military coup, the witness said. Soldiers positioned at the palace stood by as the civilians entered the buildings.
Earlier, negotiations between the West African block ECOWAS and the junta, which often ended in stalemate, led to an agreement on Sunday that coup leader Captain Sanogo would step down with all the privileges owed to a former president.
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[An Nahar] Al-Qaeda snuffies on Monday claimed they raked with gunfire a convoy carrying four U.S. military advisers in Hudaida, but American officials said they had no such personnel in the west Yemen port city.
Al-Qaeda said in a statement that jihadists had opened fire on Sunday on two cars carrying four American military advisers who were in the Red Sea city on a training mission with the Yemeni Coast Guard.
The snuffies "opened fire on them as they left their hotel on their way to work," the thug group said, adding that the attackers were able to flee despite efforts by Yemeni security forces to cordon off the city.
A local security official confirmed the attack took place, but gave no further details.
The U.S. embassy in Sanaa however denied the presence of American military advisers in Hudaida.
"Reports of U.S. military trainers in Hudaida are false," an embassy email said.
Witnesses at the scene told Agence La Belle France Presse that three American military experts came under attack after leaving a local restaurant on Sunday. They said one man was critically maimed by a bullet to the neck.
An Arab diplomat in Sanaa said that the Americans were immediately evacuated but gave no further details on their current location.
U.S. military experts are assisting the Yemeni army in an all-out offensive launched on May 12 to oust al-Qaeda snuffies from the country's restive southern Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province where they have seized control of several towns and villages.
So far, 213 people have been killed, according to a tally compiled by AFP, including 147 al-Qaeda gunnies, 31 military personnel, 18 local hard boyz and 17 civilians.
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(Sh.M.Network)-- Four Kenyan soldiers were maimed Monday when a landmine went kaboom! beneath their vehicle in the northeastern Mandera region bordering war-torn Somalia, police said.
"Officers have been injured, we have sent a team to investigate," regional police chief Leo Nyongesa said.
"Four officers have been injured, the tanker passed over a landmine," said a police official who was not authorised to speak to news hounds.
It was not immediately clear whether the kaboom had been triggered by a remote device, nor who was responsible for the blast.
Last month the hardline Shebab warned Kenyaof Dire Revenge™ attacks for sending tanks and troops into Somalia in October.
Kenya has been hit by a series of grenade attacks and kabooms, mostly in Nairobi and in northern towns and camps housing Somali refugees close to the border.
Earlier this month attackers launched a deadly grenade attack on a restaurant in the port city of Mombasa.
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[Al Ahram] Paleostinian security forces tossed in the slammer Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up! 10 members of the 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... in the Jenin refugee camp on Monday, a local leader of the radical movement said.
Ghassan Sa'adi, head of the Islamic Jihad in the Jenin refugee camp, located in the occupied West Bank, told AFP he did not know why they had been tossed in the slammer. Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! Paleostinian security officials confirmed the arrests, but refused to provide further details.
Islamic Jihad believes in armed struggle against Israel and enjoys more freedom in Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run Gazoo Strip than in the West Bank, which is run by the Western-backed Paleostinian Authority.
Formed in 1980, the Iran-inspired group was the first Paleostinian Islamist organization to take up arms against Israel.
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[Iran Press TV] France's first left-wing President in nearly 20 years, Francois Hollande has unveiled a government that includes three Muslim ministers.
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one of the Muslims is a woman who is now the minister for woman's rights.
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/22/2012 7:23
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...one of the Muslims is a woman who is now the minister for woman's rights.
"You've a right to wear a hijab. If you give up your right to wear a hijab, you've a right to be raped."
[Yemen Post] Yemen President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi issued republican decrees dismissing high-ranking commanders of security units in the country, after more than 100 soldiers were killed on Monday morning during rehearsals for a military parade, Hadi fired the commander of the Central Security Forces Abdul-Malik al-Taib, the commander of the Rescue Division Mohammed Abdullah al-Qawsi, and the deputy commander of the National Security.
Fadhal Yahya al-Qawsi was appointed to replace al-Taib and Mohammed Jamee al-Kadar took over the national security post. Hussein Mohammed al-Radhai was appointed to take over the Rescue Division. Hadi's decrees came only after a few hours of a deadly suicide kaboom in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a that left 100 plus soldiers killed, mostly from the Central Security Forces. The attack has exposed the fragile security and bad security measures and leadership in the country and needed some decisive actions taken, therefore Hadi took some actions.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sea battle, the Terror of the Baltic's career had come to an abrupt and watery end... an official at the Central Yemeni Forces said that the corpse count for the atrocious attack that targeted soldiers today morning at al-Sabeen square rose to about 120. The attack occurred in one of the most secure areas in Sana'a, reflecting the fragile security situation in Yemen. For their parts, the Arab Summit chief Nabil al-Arabi, the chief of the Islamic Cooperation Council Akmal al-Deen Ihsan, and the Chief of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul-Atif al-Zayani condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack. They stressed this attack underscores the need for doubling the ongoing efforts to get Yemen back on track.
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[Al Ahram] The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... called on Tehran on Monday to halt what it described as a media campaign against Bahrain over a proposal for political and military union between Gulf Arab states. Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... has been pushing the idea of closer Gulf integration to contain Shi'ite Moslem unrest in Bahrain and counter the influence of regional Shi'ite power Iran.
Riyadh's initial goal appears to be a merger with Bahrain, where majority Shi'ites have been staging pro-democracy demonstrations targeting the Sunni Moslem ruling family for over a year. Bahraini leaders have been publicly receptive to union.
"The Iranian government must stop its media escalation campaign and provocative statements from Iranian officials regarding the situation in Bahrain," Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said in a statement.
"Any union steps between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are a sovereign issue of the two states and other Gulf countries and no other country has the right to interfere in it," he said.
Iranian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
aired last week footage of thousands of people holding rallies around the country protesting against the proposed Manama-Riyadh union and an influential holy man denounced the idea as an "ill-fated plot".
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#1
See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > BAHRAIN-SAUDI ARABIAN UNION "MEANT TO SAVE US NAVY BASE".
Looks like the "Sea of Oman + Beyond" strikes again, i.e. keeping or isolating the US Carrier + Gator Boyz there-N-only-there.
and
* SAME > SAUDI ARABIAN KING URGES ARAB AND ISLAMIC UNITY: I AM YOUR SERVANT.
[Yemen Post] Media sources reported on Monday citing local security officials that an American warship arrived to the western Yemeni al-Hodieda port to take its training team which was attacked by suspected al-Qaeda Death Eaters on Monday.
While two trainers survived the attack, one was injured after he was maimed by the shattered glass of the car.
The US troops were training the Yemeni Coastal Guards in al-Hodieda.
In the same vein, officials told al-Masdar online newspaper that police forces managed to arrest two al-Qaeda suspects involved in carrying out the attacks against the American trainers.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... the officials refused to give further details as to who the suspects were.
Two months ago al-Qaeda operatives shot an American English teacher killed in the southern province of Taiz.
Al-Qaeda has grown more and more dangerous in the few past months, today many people said al-Qaeda was behind the attack in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a which left more than 120 soldiers dead and 200 others maimed.
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[Dawn] Iraqi officials say gunnies have killed three coppers in an attack on a security checkpoint north of Storied Baghdad. ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... Police officials say the attack early Monday took place when gunnies in two speeding car opened fire on a security checkpoint in Taji area, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Storied Baghdad. Three other coppers were maimed in the attack.
A local medic confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Violence has dropped across Iraq, but forces of Evil frequently attack security forces in an attempt to destabilise the country.
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Merry Anders aka Estelle Penfield in "Tickle Me (1965)" aka Mary in "Patty (1962)" aka Mike McCall in "How to Marry a Millionaire (TV 19571959)" aka Lt. Karen Lamont in "Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966)" aka Dottie Harper in "Raiders from Beneath the Sea (1964)" aka Dodie Wilson in "The Hypnotic Eye (1960)" (age 80)
Lola Lane aka Torchy Blane in "Torchy Blane in Panama (1938)" aka Dorothy 'Gabby' Marvin in "Marked Woman (1937)" aka Mona Marshall in "Hollywood Hotel (1937)" aka Irene Mitchell in "Why Girls Leave Home (1945)" aka Linda Masters in "Daughters Courageous (1939)" (Died in 1963 at age 59)
Patricia Ellis aka Margie Clune in "The Case of the Lucky Gams Legs (1935)" aka Mrs. 'Toots' Gilbert in "Laurel & Hardy - Block-Heads (1938)" aka Judy Walker in "Rhythm in the Clouds (1937)" aka Patricia 'Pat' Nolan in "Picture Snatcher (1933)" aka Joan Simpkins in "Freshman Love (1936)" aka Marcia Jaynos in "A Night at the Ritz (1935)" (Died in 1970 at age 53)
[Dawn] Two people, including a worker of the 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... , were killed and a policeman was maimed in different parts of the metropolis on Sunday, police said.
A 55-year-old driver of Al-Khidmat Foundation, Tariq, son of Ghulam Haider, was bumped off in Orangi, the police said.
SHO Matiullah said that Tariq was going somewhere when two gunnies riding a cycle of violence opened fire on him and sped away.
He added that the victim sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he died during treatment.
Tariq resided in the Ghausia Iqbal area of Baloch Colony in Orangi Town, and originally hailed from Rahim Yar Khan, said the SHO.
The police Sherlocks said that Tariq had six children and the eldest one of them, Raju, was also rubbed out nine months back. They said the initial investigation suggested personal enmity as a possible motive for the killing.
According to a handout later issued by the Jamaat-e-Islami, Tariq was their worker.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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[Iran Press TV] Unidentified snuffies have blown up a state-run school in Pakistain's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Province, Press TV reports.
The incident took place on Sunday, at a Boys' school located in Swabi's Kalu Khan area. The building was vacant at the time of the attack.
Although the building was partially damaged, no reports of any deaths were released.
Another bomb was found and defused after the local officials and a bomb disposal squad went to the school.
Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistain (TTP) snuffies are the main suspects of such incidents.
Repeated attacks on schools in the area have put the academic future of students at risk as thousands of students have been deprived of education.
The TTP has warned Pak parents in the region against sending their children, specially their daughters, to school, describing education as "unnecessary" or "harmful" for girls.
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05/22/2012
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[Yemen Post] The corpse count from the suicide kaboom on Yemen's parade rehearsal on Monday rose to more than 120 soldiers, mostly from the central security forces, medial sources at three hospitals, which received victims.
Conflicted reports surfaced after the attack with some saying a bomber with an boom beltwent kaboom!" at one of the battalions participating in the parade. Others said the bomber was lining up with the forces. Investigations are underway.
About 350 others were maimed, many at death's door, the sources said.
A medic of those who treated some injuries said some soldiers arrived at the new police typical hospital in very critical condition. "I could not have a look at some cases. It is terrible".
The authorities said the attack this morning while the national forces were conducting a parade rehearsal a day before the unity anniversary bore the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda.
The army has recently stepped up the war on Islamic fascistiin southern and southeastern regions, mainly Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... where key towns were seized last year. Hundreds of Islamic fascistihave been killed and injured including big shots.
But observers suspected an Al-Qaeda bomber could infiltrate into the parade square without help from commanders and forces.
"I doubt that a terrorist without help could infiltrate into Al-Sabin Square, the parade square which is heavily guarded by the elite republican guard and the central security forces," an expert said.
Citizens said the remnants of the former regime including military commanders might be involved in this massacre, which comes amid security disorders including the spread of guns and rustics roaming main cities.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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#1
I guess the admonition to not bunch up applies to the parade ground as well as patrols.
#2
You'd think they would have learned from the Iraq experience that whenever police trainees or applicants were lined up some splodydope would come along and self detonate. Save the parades for when the war is over...if it ever is.
#3
"over 120" is a huge number for a suicide belt even if everybody is bunched up.
Does this sound right to anybody who knows about these things?
Posted by: Herb Tojo7421 ||
05/22/2012 13:31
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#4
Thanks, Besoeker, for the info addressing my comment on this story yesterday. I still have a hard time fathoming how ONE bomber with ONE suicide vest could kill 120 and maim 350. Just seems there had to be some secondary charges--or a trampoline in the middle of the square so the guy could go out in a "Logan's Run"-style airburst--to inflict so much carnage. It just seems unreal that one single person could carry enough explosives to kill/injure nearly 500 and still be able to walk about without attracting attention.
Posted by: Dar ||
05/22/2012 13:51
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#5
Well Dar, as the casualty figures unfold, there most certainly could be more to the story.
If an automobile or bongo truck located nearby was rigged with explosives, and it sympathetically detonated, or the bomber (or his handler) used a cellphone to detonate both simultaneously, that could obviously add to the carnage.
Only a thorough investigation by trained EOD personnel (which I am certainly not), could determine what actually took place.
These murdering bastards are very creative. Nearly anything is possible.
#6
maybe some of the people around the exploding suicide bomber were themselves equipped with munitions
I know it is idiotic to parade wearing live weapons but its Yemen after all
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/22/2012 17:42
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#7
Does seem quite a number, extra 350 injured. While likely the whole, real story may not be out, I had wondered if factors of EMT response time/quality/quantity as well as medical facilities could be a factor. If every ambulance had to go through a checkpoint, every emt searched, to guard against a secondary attack, it would sure slow things down. If there were VIPs they may have to be accounted and evacuated before anyone crosses any checkpoints. Traffic issues especially if narrow roads.
Gut tells me there is more, and the truth is either unknown or too embarassing...or exposing.
(Sh. M. Network)-At least two soldiers were killed and many more others injured after Government troops have exchanged deadly gunfire on Sunday in Somalia's central town of Beledweyne, witnesses and officials said.
Eyewitnesses said the festivities which were intense erupted after the soldiers disagreed over illegal money took from public transportations used a checkpoint at western side of Beledweyne, killing tow soldiers.
The incident caused the death of two soldiers during the clash and the movement of the traffic and business in the areas was halted as the clash continued there.
Adawe Elmi, the deputy governor of Hiiran region told Shabelle Media that the violence was not intense as reported by the media.
The latest reports in the areas say that the situation returned normal after more government troops had intervened the warring sides.
The dead bodies and injured civilians had been taken from the spot where the accident happened today and there had no been any movement of the traffic, business and people as the soldiers were opening fire in the air
It is not the first time that government soldiers disagreed illegal money taken from the transportations and exchange gunfire inSomalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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#1
So they disagreed on how much extortion money each of them could keep?
Posted by: American Delight ||
05/22/2012 7:20
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[An Nahar] Slain holy men Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and his lover companion Sheikh Mohammed al-Merheb were laid to rest on Monday in the Akkar town of al-Bireh, amid tensions and intense shooting into the air by gunnies who deployed heavily at the funeral's site.
Throngs of people gathered in the town to attend the funeral in the afternoon.
"We want a fair trial, and we want the killers of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed to be executed," Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc MP Khaled al-Daher said at the funeral.
"Whoever executed the holy man and his aide deserve such a punishment," said Daher, who stressed that "the residents of Akkar are the backbone of the Lebanese army."
He noted that "Sheikh Abdul Wahed paid the price for helping the Syrian people."
Daher stressed that "Syria's envoy to the U.N. Bashar al-Jaafari's threat will not intimidate Akkar or Leb."
Addressing President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... , Daher warned that "this government is threatening the Lebanese people's security."
He accused Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government of "isolating and marginalizing the majority of the Lebanese people."
State commissioner to the military court Judge Saqr Saqr has ordered the arrest of three Lebanese army officers and 19 soldiers who were manning a checkpoint in the Akkar town of al-Kweikhat where Sheikh Abdul Wahed was killed, al-Liwaa daily reported Monday.
Abdul Wahed and his aide Merheb were on their way to attend a rally organized by MP Daher in Halba.
The army said in a communiqué that it deeply regretted the incident and that it would be investigated.
The news of the killing by the army pushed several angry residents to the streets of Akkar villages as protestors cut off roads with burning tires in the northern province, and the road in Naameh and other roads in the Beirut areas of Verdun, Mazraa, Beshara al-Khoury and Qasqas.
The anti-Syria holy man's death also caused armed festivities between supporters of al-Mustaqbal movement and Arab Movement party near the Beirut Arab University in Tariq al-Jedideh, leaving two dead.
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(Sh.M.Network)-Iran's Navy has foiled a pirate attack on a Filipino-owned bulk carrier with 23 crew members on-board off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea.
The Norway-flagged MV Rosita came under attack on Sunday when a number of armed people on-board several skiffs approached the ship at high speed.
The Iranian warships patrolling the area rushed to assist the cargo vessel upon its distress call, which reported an unauthorized boarding attempt by unknown parties.
Iranian Navy marines managed to foil the pirate attack on the vessel after they reached the area. No fire fight was reported between the crews of the Iranian ships and the pirates.
The vessel with deadweight of 52,338 metric tons was en route from an Indian port to Qatar.
Iran's Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ali Akbar Marzban said on May 18 that Iran's Navy has conducted at least 85 anti-piracy missions in international waters over the past three years.
He highlighted that more than 2,000 cargo vessels have also received Iranian naval escorts through the pirate-infested waters during the mentioned period.
Iran's Navy has been multiplying its naval presence in the international waters since last year, deploying vessels to the Indian Ocean and dispatching two ships via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean for the first time in February 2011.
In addition, in line with the international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for thousands of vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe and the Americas.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... attacks by heavily armed Somali pirates on speedboats have prompted some of the world's largest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and reroute cargo vessels around southern Africa, leading to climbing shipping costs.
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With the campaign for president a little more than halfway over, Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto continues to maintain a commanding lead over his other rivals, according to polling data supplied by Milenio news daily.
Pena Nieto now has 47.6 percentage of voters over Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota, who has 26 percent. The margin between the two candidates has widened by more than 20 percent, the widest so far to date.
Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador remains in third place with 21.2 percent of voters.
When undecided voters are taken into account, Pena Nieto maintains a strong 17.3 percentage point margin over Vazquez Mota. Undecided voters have declined since the start of the month from 25.9 percent to 19.2 percent, probably indicating those voters are just now coming to terms with the candidates.
In what has been classified as a security incident, the security detail for Lopez Obrador detained an unidentified individual carrying a loaded gun at a campaign event Sunday night at Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Ecatepec (TESE) technical school in Mexico state. The armed individual was not turned over to state authorities and was apparently released.
Milenio news daily reported in a Monday evening post on their website that Lopez Orbador would reinforce his security, saying the incident was no different than risks run by Mexicans.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
[Al Ahram] Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it has sacked one of its diplomats who allegedly fondled underaged girls in a swimming pool in Brazil, where he was stationed before being recalled.
"After an investigation into the violations by the Iranian employee of the Iranian embassy in Brazil, it was found his behaviour was contrary to administrative regulations and Islamic conduct ... thus he was dismissed," the ministry said in a statement.
Brazilian media identified the diplomat as Hekmatollah Ghorbani, 51, and reported that he groped at least four Brazilian girls aged between nine and 15 in a Brasilia pool last month, making them cry and attracting the fury of their parents.
He was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock You have the right to remain silent... but quickly released when Brazilian police verified his diplomatic immunity.
Iran's embassy in Brasilia had initially defended the diplomat by issuing a statement claiming the groping allegations were the result of a "cultural misunderstanding".
But foreign ministry front man Ramin Mehmanparast subsequently said the diplomat had been recalled and would be "dealt with", even though he also asserted that the incident was being twisted by Western and Arab media.
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] US President Barack Obama Because I won... has vowed that the international community would not abandon Afghanistan as it seeks to take control of its own security and shape its future.
"As Afghans stand up, they will not stand alone," Obama told the opening of an unprecedented NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... gathering of more than 50 world leaders discussing the end of the international combat mission in Afghanistan due in 2014.
NATO leaders on Monday endorsed plans to hand Afghan forces the lead for security across their country by mid-2013 while foreign troops will gradually switch their focus from combat to support mode.
In a Chicago summit declaration, Obama and his 27 military allies confirmed they would withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014 and leave behind a training mission.
"Today will decide the next phase of the transition, the next milestone, we will set a goal for Afghan forces to take the lead across the country in 2013, next year, so that ISAF can move towards a supporting role," Obama told the meeting also attended by Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... Karzai announced last week that Afghans would soon take control of more provinces, which will put 75 percent of the population under the protection of local forces.
"More Afghans are reclaiming their communities, Afghan cops have grown stronger," Obama said.
"Today we can agree on NATO's long-term relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014 including our support of Afghan cops."
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(Sh. M. Network)-Representatives from Somali government, the breakaway Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... region, the central Galmudug ...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth... region, and the pro-government militia Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa are gathering today in Addis Ababa , the Æthiopian capital, for the formation of a permanent government to replace the current transitional government.
Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohammed Ali, parliament speaker Sharif Hassan and as well as TFG president are at the meeting with officials of the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... , US, 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... , Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... and East African peace bloc, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The meeting is scheduled to review what has come out from the previous Roadmap meetings inSomaliaas a document that leads towards ending the transitional period on time, in August 2012. it is expected the conference will produce a positive outcome for Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Dawn] A beturbanned goon was killed and two others were maimed in an encounter with security forces here on Sunday, police said.
They said that another beturbanned goon was locked away You have the right to remain silent... in the action.
District Police Officer Abdul Rashid said that the action was initiated in Salim Khan village on a tip-off that snuffies were present in a seminary, Jawaherul Koran, that was run by Maulana Mujtaba.
The DPO said that one beturbanned goon was killed and two others were maimed in the operation. The body of the killed beturbanned goon and the injured were shifted to district headquarters hospital.
Sources said that Maulana Mujtaba along with two other teachers and 11 students of the seminary were taken into custody.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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[L.A. Times] North Korea has released 29 captured Chinese fishermen and three fishing vessels, putting an end to a 13-day ordeal that raised questions about the stability of the Pyongyang regime.
The fishermen returned to the Chinese port of Dalian on Monday morning, the New China News Agency reported.
Chinese media suggested that Beijing did not pay a ransom for the boats. The news agency report credited China's ambassador to Pyongyang, Liu Hongcai, with securing the release through "negotiation and close contact" with the North Korean government.
The boats were stopped May 8 while fishing in what the Chinese boat owners claimed were Chinese waters, and were forced at gunpoint to sail toward North Korea.
The release of the boats does little, however, to clear up questions about whether impoverished North Koreans are engaging in Somalia-style piracy to raise money. Following the death of leader Kim Jong Il in December, North Korea elevated his 28-year-old son, Kim Pudge Jong-un, ...the hereditary potentate of North Korea... to replace him, and some believe the transition has not gone smoothly.
"If North Korean governmental authorities are linked to this incident, we could suspect that the central government's control has weakened in the process of power shift to Kim Jong Un," said Lee Dong-bok, senior associate at Center for Strategic and International Studies in Seoul.
Last week, Sun Caihui, the owner of one of the fishing boats, described the vessel that captured his as a small, heavily armed military vessel. "The kidnappers' ship is definitely from the North Korea military," he said.
China is North Korea's main ally and the source of most of its fuel oil, investment capital and food aid, but Pyongyang has irritated its patron in recent months by ignoring Beijing's calls for restraint in its weapons programs.
Chinese fishery officials were quoted Monday as demanding an investigation into who in North Korea was behind the seizure of the boats. The state-run Global Times newspaper said hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels had been ordered to retreat westward to avoid another incident.
One official told the newspaper that there had been other incidents in which the North Korean coasties had stolen from Chinese ships.
"The North Korean coastiess took almost everything, even pencils and clothes. They also pumped the fuel out of seized boats, leaving just enough for the journey home," a local boat owner was quoted telling the newspaper.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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#1
Weren't those sacred Nork waters? Where only Norks (and now Chinese) are safe?
#2
As per TOPIX, North Korea just recently executed persons for engaging in HUMAN CANNIBALISM, + more similar cases are likely. Its just more evidencia that post-Big Daddy Heir-Scion Jong-un may not be able to control NOKOR's on-going mass starvation no matter what Him + Pyongyang Boyz do - WID OR WIDOUT THE NOKOR ARMY, NOR VEE THE NEW SINO-NOKOR FTAS.
The US-Allies, and only the US-Allies [UNO], must be willing to give out much more bullah food + econ asistance than current, as China won't. IMO IT WON'T MATTER TO RISING CHINA IFF THE US-WORLD BELIEVE THEY HELPED OR ORDERED NOKOR TO FIRE ITS "SPACE ROCKET" [Nuke Tests?], AS ITS PRIORITY IS PROCURING MAHANIST-STYLE "SOLE" OVERSEAS AIR-SEA-MISSLE-SPACE PORTS FOR THE PLA IN THE "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN" + BEYOND. They'll deny responsibility for the "Space Rocket" [Nuke Tests?] anyway, iff only for a time, + will still take over NOKOR either in Major War or State Collapse.
NEW US MIL PRESENCE IN PHILIPPINES, SOUTH CHINA SEA + STALLED TAIWAN REUNIFICATION + FUKUSHIMA-DESTABILIZED JAPAN = PLA BASES CLOSER TO SOUTH KOREA + JAPAN, NO LONGER NORTH OF THE YALU???
Jong-un, aka "Pudgy", is contin what late Big Daddy Jong-il did before he croaked - Jong-un is wilfully + deliberately pushing the "Mutual Destruction/Annihilation" button = envelope in warning to South Korea, USFK, UNCOM + Washington, etc. i.e. HELP ME + NORTH KOREA SAVE NORTH KOREA, OR FTLG I'M TAKING YOU ALL DOWN WID US BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!
Short of Total War, NOKOR's Mirror has run out of spaces to crack - its cracks have cracks have cracks, etc. IT NEEDS PRECIOUS TIME TO REBUILD, + THAT MEANS THE US MUST SURRENDER LIKE FRANCE, BECAUSE CHINA WON'T.
Chief of his own faction of 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... Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... has threatened to block supply of goods to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... forces in Afghanistan by force if government ignores the conditions laid down by parliament in this regard.
"We have asked the government to follow the recommendations of parliament in restoring NATO supply otherwise we will resist it by force. JUI-F has already chalked out a comprehensive strategy in this regard," he told a conference of his party in Battagram on Saturday.
Maulana Fazl delivered a short speech on the occasion amid tight security as rumours were in circulation that two suicides bombers had entered the city.
He said that America and NATO forces killed soldiers at Salala checkpost but the government wanted to restore supply of arms to them through Pakistain.
"If government wishes to restore NATO supply by its own to please America and NATO and bypasses the recommendations of parliamentary committee then it should get ready to face the consequences," the JUI-F chief said.
He said that the apex court should deliver a clear verdict about the fate of the prime minister. "We agree with other political parties in their demand about resignation of prime minister on moral grounds but what we can do in these circumstances when court is silent about his fate," said Mr Rehman.
He urged people to come out for enforcement of Sharia in the country. He said that people were bearing the brunt of the corruption of rulers.
Mr Rehman hoped that his party would win the next general elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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#1
As Ahmadinejad indirectly reminded Iran BFF Pakistan yesterday, PAKISTAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE IRAN'S ENEMIES.
Read, KEEP THE US-NATO SUPPLY ROUTES INDEFIN CLOSED???
[Dawn] Officials of Pakistain Navy on Monday recommended court-martial for three officers allegedly involved in May 22, 2011 attack on PNS Mehran base in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , DawnNews reported.
An investigation committee was constituted after the attack, which after probing for months has recommended to court-martial Base Commander Raja Tahir, Commander of Mehran Base Israr and Lt-Commander Mohammad Absar.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... the final decision will be taken by the Navy chief and other high ranked officials after going through details of the committee's recommendation.
The committee has also recommended stringent security measures at all bases including Mehran air base.
On May 22, 2011, armed beturbanned goons stormed into the naval airbase and destroyed three aircraft and killed six military officials. Five beturbanned goons were also killed during the operation, which was launched by the security forces to liberate the base which was held by the beturbanned goons for more than 15 hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's legal woes has deepened as French prosecutors opened a preliminary probe into accusations he took part in a gang rape in the US.
Prosecutors in Lille, where Mr Strauss-Kahn and three others are charged in a vice case, said in a statement the probe centred on an incident "that could be described as gang rape" that took place in Washington, DC in December 2010.
Strauss-Kahn, two businessmen and a police chief have been charged with "aggravated pimping in an organised gang" in Lille for allegedly organising a prostitution ring for orgies in La Belle France, the United States and elsewhere.
Earlier this month prosecutors in the northern French city said investigating magistrates in the case had submitted new evidence, based on testimony from two Belgian sex workers, that could also implicate the men in a gang rape.
Testimony from one of the hookers indicated that she had been forced into non-consensual sex acts while in Washington with Strauss-Kahn and the other accused. She has not filed a complaint.
"I don't see the coherence of opening preliminary investigations for gang rape when the person concerned, who was questioned at length, did not file a complaint for rape," said one of Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, Richard Malka.
He said the opening of the probe "shows the incredible relentlessness" of Sherlocks against his client.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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#1
here in another article in The Telegraph. It is being characterized as pimping and gang rape.
Since the crime took place in the US, I think the Federal Government should ask for extradition. From what I hear, rapists are the lowest members of the food chain in US prisons. It would be interesting to see how he fares here.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/22/2012 11:19
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[An Nahar] Syrian forces ambushed and killed nine army deserters in a north Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... suburb on Monday, a human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... watchdog said, as NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... ruled out military action against the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... The latest violence in Syria comes after a rocket-propelled grenade went kaboom! on Sunday near U.N. observers in a Damascus suburb, and at least 48 people were killed elsewhere in the country.
The nine army deserters were killed as they were retreating under cover of darkness from the village of Jisr al-Ab near Damascus' Douma suburb, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britannia-based watchdog on Sunday had reported fighting between rebels and regime troops near Douma, during which the RPG went kaboom! near a team of U.N. military observers.
No one was hurt in the Douma blast, which came as U.N. mission head Major General Robert Mood and peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous were leading observers around the north Damascus suburb.
Heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy... also raged overnight between soldiers and rebels in other parts of Damascus province, despite an April 12 truce brokered by envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... that the U.N. observers are overseeing.
NATO, which undertook a major air war in Libya to back rebels who fought Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... 's forces last year, said it has "no intention" of taking military action against Assad's regime.
"We strongly condemn the behavior of the Syrian security forces and their crackdowns on the Syrian population," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a Chicago summit on Sunday.
"But again NATO has no intention to intervene in Syria."
NATO states have come under criticism for backing the air war in Libya but ruling out military intervention in Syria, where opposition demonstrators and badly outgunned rebels have been hammered by heavily-armed regime forces.
After Sunday's Douma blast, Ladsous said: "I think this is clearly one of these situations where it is absolutely imperative that all parties exercise restraint and do not engage in any more fighting."
An Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent said Douma's streets were deserted and most of its shops closed.
"When the observers leave, the gunnies will come back to cause trouble," a soldier said, in a reference to rebels.
Ladsous met Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Sunday to discuss the mission, with state-run SANA news agency saying the Syrian official had informed him that armed rebels had violated the U.N.-backed ceasefire hundreds of times.
Sunday's blast followed several other close calls for the U.N. monitors since they deployed in Syria, where 260 observers are now on the ground according to Mood.
On May 16, a homemade bomb struck a convoy of U.N. observers in the flashpoint central city of Homs, damaging three vehicles but causing no casualties.
A roadside kaboom hit a similar convoy on May 9 as they entered the key southern city of Daraa, wounding six Syrian soldiers escorting them.
Sunday saw a bloodbath in other parts of Syria too, with at least 48 people reported killed, including 34 civilians slain in the village of Souran in the central Hama province, the Observatory said.
The bloodshed came a day after a suicide car kaboom in Syria's main eastern city of Deir Ezzor killed at least nine people and maimed 100 others.
The bombing was claimed Monday by an Islamist group, the Al-Nusra front, which said "a jacket wallah rammed a car boom against buildings of military security, and aviation information, causing deaths and injuries among members of the regime."
It said it was "determined to continue its operations to clean the land of the Alawites and end the injustice that strikes the Sunnis" in Syria.
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[NY Post] He may be locked in prison facing federal terrorism charges -- but he has his pride!
Accused al Qaeda techno-geek Wesam El-Hanafi has filed a $1 million defamation and libel suit against a federal prosecutor who accused him of working to modernize the terror network's IT capabilities.
The Brooklyn-born brainiac, 36, contends Assistant US Attorney John Cronan created a "state of false panic" by charging that he bought seven Casio digital watches like those used as timers for terrorist bombs.
But El-Hanafi insists he bought the watches with his credit card in 2009 as surprise gifts for his brothers -- not for bombs -- said Walid El-Hanafi, 34, the accused terrorist's brother.
And the suit claims that FBI agents and the NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force never questioned any of his brothers about the watches or bothered to search the homes where the Casios had been sent.
"This is nonsense," Walid El-Hanafi said. "And we can attest to that."
The government also charged that he met with al Qaeda thugs in Yemen in 2008 -- another claim his brother and the suit deny.
"There was no al Qaeda meeting," the suspect's brother said.
A spokeswoman for the Manhattan US Attorney's Office declined to comment.
This article starring:
Wesam El-Hanafi
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Mali's transition president Diancounda Traore was hospitalised on Monday after protesters angry at his appointment burst into his office and beat him, his entourage and medical sources reported.
Traore was "beaten and injured" by the protesters and taken to hospital, local journalist Baye Coulibaly, who was at the scene, told AFP.
He was on the scene at Traore's office, the headquarters of the general secretariat next to the presidential palace, which has lain looted and empty since the coup.
A source in the presidency confirmed the information.
"The protesters, who were many, evaded security forces ... they found him in his office. He was beaten but his life is not in danger. He was driven to hospital," said the source.
A source at the hospital confirmed his admission, without giving further deyails.
The journalist Coulibaly said that all official locations in Koulouba, from the headquarters of the general secretariat and foreign ministry had been "besieged by protesters".
An AFP photographer on the scene said hundreds had managed to approach Traore's offices despite the presence of the national guard, managing to enter the building and presidential palace.
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[Daily Caller] The controversial chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Committee has resigned amid a stepped-up investigation by House Republicans.
Chairman Gregory Jaczko's resignation came two weeks after House government oversight chairman Rep. Darrell Issa suggested that he had lied to the committee in a December hearing called to investigate charges that Jaczko had abused his staff.
"Making false statements to Congress is a serious matter," said Issa's May 7 letter to Jaczko.
"The committee has afforded you ample opportunity to clarify your [December] testimony, only to be met with silence... Your failure to respond will be taken into consideration as the Committee evaluates further investigative actions," the letter said.
Jaczko was appointed chairman of the commission by Obama in 2009, after working as a congressional staffer for Democrats Rep. Ed Markey ...U.S. Representative-for-Life from Massachusetts, serving since 1976. He is a member of the Democratic Party, naturally.... and Sen. Harry Reid ... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ... .
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(Sh. M. Network)-Somali government official says Double bomb kabooms have again hit Somalia's capital Mogadishu amid the capital is returning into normal.
The first blast went kaboom! at a small Khat market in Mogadishu's Towfiq neighborhood where Somali government soldiers were buying the popular narcotic leaves (Khat) and no death or wounds were reported so far.
In the second kaboom, AMISOM convoy passing through Arafat area, a neighborhood in the Yaqshiid district was targeted with a road side bomb. No fatalities reported.
Muhaydin Hassan Jurus, the district commissioner of Yaqshid for Somali government confirmed to Shabelle Media the incidents, but declined to comment to casualties.
Al shabab, which linked with Al Qaeda grabbed credit for the multiple blasts, saying they have killed an unconfirmed number of soldiers from Somali and AMISIOM.
Al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... who announced their departure from Mogadishu last August, regularly wage attacks on AMISOM and TFG forces in the capital. Although security in Mogadishu has been significantly increased,
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[Iran Press TV] Dozens of Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other institutions sued the B.O. regime Monday over a government mandate requiring most employers to provide birth control coverage as part of their employee health plans.
The lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country represent the largest push against the mandate since President Barack Obama B.O.... announced the policy in January. Among those suing are the University of Notre Dame, the Archdioceses of Washington, New York and Michigan, and the Catholic University of America.
"We have tried negotiation with the administration and legislation with the Congress, and we'll keep at it, but there's still no fix," said New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Time is running out, and our valuable ministries and fundamental rights hang in the balance, so we have to resort to the courts now."
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department adopted the rule to improve health care for women. Last year, an advisory panel from the Institute of Medicine, which advises the federal government, recommended including birth control on the list of covered services, partly because it promotes maternal and child health by allowing women to space their pregnancies.
However, ars longa, vita brevis... faith leaders from across religious traditions protested, saying the mandate violates religious freedom. The original rule includes a religious exemption that allows houses of worship to opt-out of the mandate, but keeps the requirement in place for religiously affiliated charities.
In response to the political furor, Obama offered to soften the rule so that insurers would pay for birth control instead of religious groups. However, women are made to be loved, not understood... the bishops and others have said that the accommodation doesn't go far enough.
Health and Human Services spokeswoman Erin Shields said Monday that the department does not comment on pending litigation.
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#1
These folks are standing up for a principle. No wonder they're having trouble communicating with Obama.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/22/2012 10:01
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Obama offered to soften the rule so that insurers would pay for birth control instead of religious groups.
If the insurance companies pay for it, where do they get thier money? Thats right, from the premiums paid to them.
See? This is the fundamental problem: Either Obama is so stupid he believes what he said, or is so brazen a liar he thinks people will accept such a blatantly stupid economic statement. The problem is, the leftists his followers *do* accept such stupidity and irrational thinking.
#4
The May 21 editions of ABCs World News and NBCs Nightly News refused to report the fact that 43 Catholic dioceses and organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Obama administration. CBS Evening News gave this historic news a mere 19 seconds of air time. ...
Bias by omission ... They are now withholding news from the American people if it is harmful to the re-election of Barack Obama.
Its only among the largest religious liberty lawsuits filed, if not, in fact the largest in terms of impact.
And thus the "mainstream" media are harmful to the Republic. They will become one of the initial targets if it comes down to violence, justifiably so, IMHO. Complicit editors hanged from lamp posts, etc...
#5
The fourth estate has become our fifth column in the U.S. The MSM has become a subversive body that is working actively to undermine our freedoms. Basically the propaganda arm of the progressives/Democratic Party.
[Dawn] The elders of Salarzai tribe have assured the political administration and security forces that no one will be allowed to shelter foreigners in Bajaur tribal region.
The tribal elders told the authorities during a jirga held in Raghan area of Salarzai on Sunday that more peace committees would be formed and volunteers would be deployed in sensitive areas near the Afghan border.
More than 600 elders belonging to different sub-tribes of Salarzai attended the jirga.
Tribal elders Malik Mohammad Younas, Malik Abdul Hakim Khan, Malik Anwarzeb Khan, Malik Mohammad Yar Khan, Malik Hafizur Rahman Khan, Malik Abdul Salam and others said that they would extend full support to the administration in maintenance of law and order in the area.
They said that members of Salarzai tribe were peace loving people and patriotic citizens of the country. "The Salarzai tribe always supported government. It is the only tribe in the entire agency that has been bravely fighting against Taliban since 2008 and never surrendered to thugs," they said.
They said that they fought against forces of Evil only to abolish militancy from the tribal region and restore peace and stability there.
The jirga imposed ban on gunfire in the entire Salarzai tehsil and said that strict action would be taken against the violators.
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#1
The Blues, or the Greys, + do the Orion Babes on Rigel know???
[Al Ahram] Over the weekend festivities broke out after dozens of Tunisia's Salafis armed with sticks and knives raided bars and stores in Sidi Bouzid, where the suicide of a street seller last year sparked Tunisia's revolution and the Arab Spring uprisings, witnesses said.
Shop owners fought back, chasing Salafis to the main mosque and opening fire on them, the witnesses added.
Shop owners fought back, chasing Salafis to the main mosque and opening fire on them, the witnesses added. Bullet marks could be seen on the wall of the mosque on Monday.
"They have crossed all red lines and will be strictly punished ... The opening they were granted has ended," Justice Minister Noureddine Bouheri told Express FM radio station in the first government reaction to the festivities.
Many Salafi Moslems were in jail or underground before the 2011 uprising that ousted secular strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. But they have since become more assertive.
While Islamists did not play a major role in the revolt, the struggle over the role of religion in government and society has since emerged as the most divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... issue in Tunisian politics.
More conservative Salafis want a broader role for sharia in the new Tunisia, alarming secular elites who fear they will seek to impose their views and undermine Tunisia's nascent democracy.
Since the revolution, violent incidents involving Salafis have increased. Salafis have attacked a television station and a cinema that aired films they deemed blasphemous. Scuffles have broken out between Salafis and actors outside the theatre.
Ennahda, a moderate Islamic group, won Tunisia's first elections since the revolution but formed a coalition with two non-religious parties and has promised not to ban alcohol, impose the veil or name sharia, or Islamic law, as the basis of law.
Tunisians are overwhelmingly Moslem but the North African country has a long secularist tradition, firmly established by independence hero and longtime leader Habib Bourguiba, who famously called the Islamic headcovering an "odious rag".
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[Iran Press TV] The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has urged Bahrain to stop using excessive force against anti-regime protesters.
Discussing the worsening human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... situation in Bahrain during its Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, the 47-member council called on Manama on Monday to improve its human rights record and put an end to suppression of the opposition.
It also called for the retrial of opposition activists convicted in military courts, an investigation into torture reports and human rights violations, and punishment of the perpetrators.
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In which even Iran Press notices that there are three sides fighting in Syria...
[Iran Press TV] Kofi Annan, ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... the international mediator in the Syrian crisis, will arrive in Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... in the last week of May. He will be welcomed this time as representative of UN Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... , not as the representative of the Arab League. ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... Syrian leaders believe that the vaporous Arab League is not impartial in the Syrian crisis especially after the League passed a resolution calling on Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... to step down and delegate power to one of his vice presidents.
The Syrian government officially supports Annan's effort to end crisis in that country. There are about 300 international observers in Syria whose commanders say that the situation in Syria has calmed down. From the outset, Assad's opposition took a cold approach to Annan's mission and the presence of international observers in Syria. It seems that the Syrian government initially conceded to Annan's mission under Russian pressure.
The Syrian crisis, which was triggered about 15 months ago due to a security mistake and incorrect handling of limited protests in the city of Daraa by police and the army, has been regularly marked by two elements: the element of government and the element of the opposition.
The opposition first tried peaceful means and harsh reaction of state forces failed to the people's demonstrations and demands. Before long, foreign factors were introduced into the crisis and the opposition made its biggest mistake by giving arms to its forces. Frequent remarks by Turkish officials urging Bashir al-Assad to step down, did not remain limited to words and the southern parts of Turkey turned into a haven for the Syrian armed opposition. A group of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... officers and trainers started training the opposition while the inflow of money from Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and Qatar for the purchase of arms and giving them to the opposition made up another side of this puzzle.
Eye witnesses say that hotels in certain border cities in southern Turkey are full of fighters who came from Arab countries and are patiently waiting to be dispatched to Syria to fight with the country's army. A new weapon and an advanced wireless set are given to each of them. On the threshold of Kofi Annan's mission, the US administration announced that advanced telecommunication equipment would be given to the opposition.
There is currently no news of demonstrations like before. Rallies are held in urban and rural areas but most people do not attend them. Not just because they support the government but because they view armed gunnies entering their movement concerning.
The Syrian government promotes what it calls political reform, the latest of which was the parliamentary elections. Almost half of the people did not take part in the elections. The people's participation in the referendum on the constitution has been more than just a few percent. The majority of the new parliament in Syria is comprised of the ruling Ba'ath Party. This is not enough to prove reforms are taking place in Syria.
According to Kofi Annan's plan, political dialogue between the opponents and the government should start after a ceasefire and end of conflicts. Holding elections to establish a parliament in the presence of all opponents - based on people's votes - is one of the outcomes of the dialogue. The Syrian government has previously determined the results and for this reason the parliamentary elections failed to attract Annan's attention and they failed to give legitimacy to the Syrian government on regional and international levels, although certain dissident, moderate figures succeeded in winning the parliamentary seat for the first time.
It is not only the Syrian government that faces problems in its policies. The opposition has not been able to unite either. If the plan by the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is to be implemented, the opposition should form a united front in talks with the regime. The Arab League was due to hold a meeting with the representatives of the Syrian opposition last week in Cairo to reach a common standing for the next round of talks with the Syrian government, but neither the "National Council" nor the "Coordination Committee" agreed to attend it.
The Syrian National Council, which is dubbed as the biggest opposition front, has been divided after the election of Burhan Ghalioun as its leader. The Syrian Moslem Brüderbund prefers to have this non-religious figure at the helm to please the West. It was this very support that prevented George Sabra from succeeding in his race against Ghalioun. The Saudi and Qatari governments also back the Moslem Brüderbund and will not accept a Christian leading the opposition.
The continuation of the Syrian crisis does not only lead to the weakening of the regime's authority, the undermining the national economy and the extension of conflicts to northern Leb and southern Turkey. The chaotic and open atmosphere in Syrian will add a third element to the crisis which increases doubts among the foreign supporters of the opposition.
Ahmed Fawzi, spokesperson for Annan, has finally been forced to admit that "another" organization is active in the Syrian crisis as the third element. He still does not want to name al-Qaeda, but the US defense secretary has already done this. The first implication of this confession is the rejection of the claims by the opposition that the recent bombings have been carried out by the Syrian regime. No one will believe this anymore. The second implication is that al-Qaeda finding its way into Syria will weaken the security prowess of the central government.
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#1
at this point Iran may actually support a cooling off period because the financial assistance required by Bashar is becoming a problem for Iran's budget
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/22/2012 13:16
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[Iran Press TV] The charges filed to spread "fear and intimidation with would be protesters who want to make a statement about the country and its policies," NLG front man Kris Hermes told Press TV's US Desk on Monday.
"We're alarmed by the seriousness of the charges and the possibility that these crimes were manufactured by undercover police or informants," Hermes said.
He added that the charges are an "effort to frighten people and to diminish the size of the demonstrations."
On Saturday, charges filed against three Occupy activists, Jared Chase, Brent Betterly, and Brian Jacob Church, including possession of explosives or incendiary devices, material support for terrorism, and conspiracy.
Two more men were also charged with planning to make explosives to be used during the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... summit.
An attorney from the National Lawyers Guild, whose members represented the five men charged in the alleged plots to disrupt the NATO summit, said police are using "preemptive raids meant to intimidate and stifle dissent which is all too common during National Special Security events."
The National Lawyers' Guild is a national non-profit legal and political organization comprised of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers.
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[Al Ahram] UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... warned Monday that the search for a peaceful end to the unrest in Syria was at a "pivotal moment," his front man said on the sidelines of a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... summit in Chicago.
"The secretary general said we were at a pivotal moment in the search for a peaceful settlement to the crisis and that he remained extremely troubled about the risk of an all-out civil war," the front man said in a statement.
Ban, who met with new French President Francois Hollande ...the impending Socialist president of La Belle France... in Chicago, was also "concerned about the outbreak of related violence in Leb," the statement added.
Street battles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in Beirut overnight left two people dead, a security official said Monday, sparking concerns the conflict in Syria is increasingly spilling into Leb.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen voiced concern about the relentless violence in Syria, but ruled out any military intervention against the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... .
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Two rockets were fired on Monday in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , one landing in Jabal Mohsen and the other between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, a security official told Agence La Belle France Presse, as roads were blocked in several areas to protest the shooting death on Sunday of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed at an army checkpoint in Akkar.
The kaboom of rockets did not cause any injuries, the official said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system... angry protesters blocked the main highway linking the South to Beirut in the Naameh area and several roads in the northern areas of al-Abdeh, Tal Abbas and Halba.
Roads were also blocked in several areas in the Bekaa Valley.
The army and the Internal Security Forces later managed to reopen most roads.
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Indonesian prosecutors on Monday asked for a life sentence rather than the death penalty for Umar Patek, the bombmaker accused of being behind the Bali attacks that killed 202 people.
When the trial started in February prosecutors had said they would seek capital punishment for Patek, who was held last year in the Pak town of Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... , four months before al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden ... who can now be reached at RFD Boneyard... was killed there.
Prosecutor Bambang Suharyadi told the West Jakarta District Court that Patek had been proved guilty of premeditated murder, but they were seeking a lighter sentence because he had been remorseful and cooperative.
"We the prosecutors recommend... the defendant Umar Patek be given a life sentence," Suharyadi told the court. "He has been polite and cooperative during the trial and regretted what he has done."
Patek, 45, is accused of assembling bombs for the attacks on two nightclubs on the resort island on October 12, 2002 which killed many Western tourists, including 88 Australians, and on churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve 2000.
Patek on Monday repeated an apology he made earlier this month to the relatives of the dead.
"I regret what I have done... (and) I apologize to the families of victims who died -- Indonesians and foreigners," he said.
Patek is accused of being the expert bombmaker for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian terror network linked to Al-Qaeda.
He denies he led the bombmaking for the Bali attacks, admitting to playing only a small role. He confessed to mixing the chemicals for the explosives, but claimed he did not know how the bombs would be used.
Patek allegedly used simple household tools including a rice ladle to assemble the Bali bombs, which according to the court indictment were housed in ordinary filing cabinets.
He was tossed in the clink I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! in Abbottabad in January last year. Evidence in the trial suggested bin Laden gave JI $30,000 to wage jihad in the region and Patek might have met him in the Pak town -- a claim he has repeatedly denied.
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[Iran Press TV] Lawyers for five protesters tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... on terrorist-related charges ahead of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... summit have accused police of entrapping them and encouraging an alleged bomb-making effort.
Three of the men were placed in durance vile Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! on Wednesday night and the other two on Saturday by members of the Chicago police department.
According to court documents released on Saturday, the men considered targeting Barack Obama's The Cambridge police acted stupidly... re-election headquarters and the home of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Chicago police department said the men, described as self-proclaimed anarchists and members of the "Black Bloc" movement that has disrupted international gatherings in the past, were charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, providing material support for terrorism and possession of an explosive incendiary device.
A lawyer for the five, Michael Deutsch, said undercover coppers had entrapped them by infiltrating the group and encouraging the bomb-making effort. The Chicago police department declined to comment on the tactics employed in the case.
Deutsch said at the hearing that police had planted weapons at the scene of the arrests. "This is a way to stir up prejudice against a people who are exercising their First Amendment rights," Deutsch said.
"There were undercover coppers that ingratiated themselves with people who come from out of town."
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#1
undercovercoppers had entrapped them by infiltrating the group and encouraging the bomb-making effort.
Not an impressive defense. No matter how you slice it, you come up with some combination of dangerous, stupid, and gullible
#2
the men, described as self-proclaimed anarchists and members of the "Black Bloc" movement that has disrupted international gatherings in the past...ingratiated themselves with people who come from out of town."
Repeat offenders on the Chi coppers radar--do they have records? do they have passports? Inquiring minds would like to know.
[Yemen Post] The Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates.... group has been conducting an arrest campaign against activists, politicians, teachers, students as well as football players in Saada.
Akhbar Alyawam newspaper quoted an officer of an international human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. group operating in Yemen as saying that they have information about torture and violations practiced in private prisons of the Houthi group against its oppositionists.
Local sources affirmed that three teachers and five students were kidnapped by the group from Alsaeed education compound in Saada during the past two days, pointing out that they were taken to unknown places.
Locals of Saada said that gunnies of the Houthi group kidnapped a football player of Al-Salam Sport Club, Mujahid al-Taib, on May 10, pointing out that the fate of Al-Taib is still unknown.
A university student from Taiz governorate, Mohmmad Al-Hakimi, was tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! from the Education Faculty in Saada in May 7. He is still languishing in an private prison of the group.
Classmates of Al-Hakimi demanded the Yemeni Student Association, Interior Ministry and the governor of Saada to pressure on the Houthi group to release Al-Hakimi, stressing that his fate is still uncertain.
Local sources of Saada said a soldier of the Central Security was killed on May 6 by gunnies affiliated to the Houthi group, citing that he was killed on charges of listening to songs that are unpermitted by the group.
The Houthi group whose main slogan is "God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews" took control on Saada during the protest wave that hit Yemen in 2011.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2012
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The head of Germany's intelligence service said the country could be a target of an Islamist attack similar to those carried out by a gunman in France two months ago. Heinz Fromm's comments, quoted in an interview with the top-selling Bild daily, follow a series of clashes in several German cities and towns between police and Salafi Muslims.
Officials say security forces have killed four 
[Yemen Post] Yemen President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi issued republican decrees dismissing high-ranking commanders of security units in the country, after more than 100 soldiers were killed on Monday morning during rehearsals for a military parade, Hadi fired the commander of the Central Security Forces Abdul-Malik al-Taib, the commander of the Rescue Division Mohammed Abdullah al-Qawsi, and the deputy commander of the National Security.
Two people, including a worker of the 
Unidentified 
(Sh. M. Network)-At least two soldiers were killed and many more others injured after Government troops have exchanged deadly gunfire on Sunday in Somalia's central town of Beledweyne, witnesses and officials said.
Najib Miqati
He highlighted that more than 2,000 cargo vessels have also received Iranian naval escorts through the pirate-infested waters during the mentioned period.
Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it has sacked one of its diplomats who allegedly fondled underaged girls in a swimming pool in Brazil, where he was stationed before being recalled.
US President 
(Sh. M. Network)-Representatives from Somali government, the breakaway 
North Korea
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
"Making false statements to Congress is a serious matter," said Issa's May 7 letter to Jaczko.
[Iran Press TV] Dozens of Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other institutions sued the 
[Dawn] The elders of Salarzai tribe have assured the political administration and security forces that no one will be allowed to shelter foreigners in Bajaur tribal region.
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
