LIBYAN pro-government forces have seized control of Bani Walid, one of the last bastions of Muammar Gaddafi's ousted regime, an AFP correspondent in the town said.
Hundreds of fighters, mostly former rebels from the rival town of Misrata, converged on the centre of Bani Walid, firing in the air to celebrate and hoisting the Libyan flag on abandoned public buildings, he said.
Some of the fighters blasted the walls and windows with anti-tank rockets and Kalashnikov rifles.
Several rebel chiefs, whose fighters patrolled in vehicles mounted with heavy weapons, said the town was "almost liberated", with only a few pockets of resistance left in its southern sector.
Later in the day Libyan army chief-of-staff, Yussef al-Mangouch, officially announced the end of all military operations in the town, despite some pockets of resistance.
He said his troops were on a manhunt to track down several fighters who had fled towards the desert.
Warplanes were seen in the distance flying over the outskirts of the oasis town, itself deserted with residents and foreign workers having fled since Sunday.
Pro-government forces patrolled the ghost town in vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns.
Government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa said meanwhile that about 100 suspects were arrested in Bani Walid in connection with crimes committed during last year's revolution - namely combatants who sided with Gaddafi forces.
Abed Ayoub, the CEO of Islamic Relief USA, a powerful charity with links to Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, is an official advisor to the State Department and USAID.
Ayoub has been advising the Obama Administration since at least April 2010. He and his organization have been publicly embraced by President B.O. and Vice President Biden.
Ayoub was born in a Paleostinian refugee camp and raised in Jordan. After high school, he moved to Yugoslavia and Germany and ultimately ended up in Caliphornia. He became a volunteer for the Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) and went on to become its CEO in 2008. He is a governance committee member of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), IRUSA's parent group. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty.
Ayoub joined the State Department's Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group in November 2011, specifically the Sub-Group on Faith-Based Groups and Development and Humanitarian Assistance, according to IRUSA's blurb.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
19:05 ||
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The church of Saint-Eloi in the French region of Vierzon will soon become a mosque. The diocese of Bourges has put on sale the church and a Muslim organization, lAssociation des Marocains, made the most generous offer to buy the site.
The church of Saint-Eloi is located in an area inhabited by Turks and Moroccans. Its the de-Christianization of Europe, which is naturally followed by its gradual Islamization and increasing anti-Semitism. Of 27.000 inhabitants in the town of Vierzon, only 300 go to church once a week.
In the past decade, French Catholic bishops formally closed more than 60 churches, many of which are destined to become mosques, according to the research conducted by the newspaper La Croix.
According to a recent report of the U.S. Pew Center, Islam is already the fastest-growing religion in Europe, where the number of Muslims has tripled over the past 30 years. One-third of all European children will be born to Muslim families by 2025.
Demography is the most important symptom of exhaustion: Without a cradle, you can't sustain a civilization.
To understand this historic process, one has to see the number of churches converted into mosques.
In the Netherlands, more than 250 buildings where Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists have prayed for centuries, have changed owners. Like the Fatih Camii Mosque in Amsterdam, which once was Saint Ignatius, a Catholic church. Or the church of S. Vincentius, which was put on sale along with the benches, the crucifixes and the chandeliers. Today more than half of the Dutch population is buitenkerkelijk, free from any religious affiliation. Catholics have decreased by 70 percent.
Islam is now considered the most widely practiced religion in the Netherlands. The Oude Kerk, the oldest church in Amsterdam, built in 1309, stands solidly in the heart of downtown. Around it is the red-light district with the South American and Eastern European prostitutes knocking on the glass to attract the attention of passersby.
The Neuwe Kerk, the church where the Dutch kings were crowned, is a museum. The only "church" in the city that is crowded is that of Scientology, which offers free stress tests.
4,400 church buildings remain in the Netherlands. Each week, two close their doors forever.
In Duisburg, Germany, the Catholic church closed six churches. In Marxloh, the only church that survives, that of St. Peter and Paul, will close at the end of 2012. In Germany 400 churches have been closed.
The municpality of Antwerp, Belgium proposed to transform the empty churches into mosques. Scandinavia lives the same phenomenon. To cite one case, the Swedish church of St. Olfos is used by the Muslims. The main mosque in Dublin is a former Presbyterian church.
In England, 10,000 churches have been closed since 1960. By 2020, another 4.000 churches will close while another 1,700 new mosques will be built, many of which will arise on sites of former churches.
God is dead declared Friedrich Nietzsche and Europe obliged. Now, Europe is poised to adopt the Koranic, There is no God but Allah. And the old Gregorian chants will be substituted by the muezzin.
Europe's tragedy is embodied by the sterile blocks of concrete and glass of the European Union in Bruxelles. Symbols of the moral emptiness within. Meanwhile the top seven baby boys names in Brussels are Mohammed, Adam, Rayan, Ayoub, Mehdi, Amine and Hamza.
A couple of years ago I visited Rotterdam, the Dutch industrial polmon. Everywhere are casbah-cafes, travel agencies offering flights to Rabat and Casablanca, and posters expressing solidarity with Hamas. Most of the population are immigrants, and the city has the tallest and most imposing mosque in Europe.
When arriving in the city by train, most striking are the mosques framed by the green, luxuriant, wooded, watery countryside. Rotterdam has the tallest minarets in Europe. The city was buzzing when the newspapers published a letter by Bouchra Ismaili, a city councilmanwho declared, "Listen up, crazy freaks, we're here to stay. You're the foreigners here. With Allah on my side, I'm not afraid of anything. Take my advice: Convert to Islam, and you will find peace."
A French friend showed me one of Rotterdam's main squares, where there is a mosque with Arabic writing outside proclaiming, "This used to be a church.
Is Islam the destiny for the world's most affluent, relaxed and pacified societies which opted for self-liquidation?
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
18:59 ||
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#1
So-o-o IOW, COMET APOPHIS + CATASTROPHIC SOLAR STORMS, ETC. will merely finish what the Frenchies + Euros + Vatican, Western JudeoChristianity DID TO ITSELF.
Can't blame the "inferior" Muslims [or the Sun]for the Mullahs telling Muslims to have lots of Sex + Kiddies, while "superior" JudeoChristian Westies knowingly engage in knowingly Demographic-changing, anti-Family, anti-Identity, SECULAR TOTALITARIAN INDIVIDUALISM, DIVERSITY + RELATED. THE SECULAR WEST IS INTELLECTUALLY MAKING ITSELF OBSOLETE + IRRELEVANT.
Over the last several years, the presence of Moslem Brüderbund (MB) operatives working inside the federal government advising our big shots has been definitively documented (see articles here , here and here). This penetration of our system is shocking and constitutes an immediate danger for American citizens. The success of the MB's influence operation from within our government is now manifesting itself with national and global implications for the security of America and its citizens.
In July of this year, the CIA hosted a 2-day training program at its headquarters in Langley, Virginia entitled "Countering Violent Extremism Workshop for the National Capitol Region."
Present at this conference were local, state, and federal officials from nearly every law enforcement, military, and intelligence organization around the Washington Metropolitan area. In addition to the senior CIA, FBI, and DHS officials conducting the training, members of the Mohammedan community moderated and led the training throughout the 2-day program. Notable among these was Imam Mohammed Magid who participated in speaking about "Building Communities of Trust: A Local Example of a Partnership between the All Dulles Area Mohammedan Society (ADAMS) and Law Enforcement."
How was Imam Magid vetted to speak at CIA Headquarters? And who vetted him?
The ADAMS Center is a Moslem Brüderbund front organization. It was founded by some of the most senior Mohammedan Brothers in the United States, to include Ahmed Totanji, who still resides in Herndon, Virginia. Its website proclaims "[ADAMS] is a membership organization registered in the State of Virginia as a non-profit, tax exempt corporation and is affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)."
Imam Magid is the Executive Director of the ADAMS Center. He is also the President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the largest Moslem Brüderbund organization in the U.S. which was found to be a financial support entity for Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in the largest terrorism financing and Hamas trial in U.S. history (US v Holy Land Foundation, Dallas, 2008). Having Magid advise and teach U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials can only be aptly described as insane. According to officials at Langley who were willing to speak on the condition of anonymity, this is an outrage - but none of the leaders on the inside seem to understand the gravity of this threat. To say the fox is in the hen house would be an understatement.
But the insanity does not end there. Imam Mohammed Magid continues to be a guest in the White House, works with the National Security Council, advises the Secretary of State, is on the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Working Group, and has received an award from the FBI. Magid continues to be treated by American leaders as if he is a friend, yet he is the leader of the largest MB front in the U.S. which financially supports the terrorist organization Hamas.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
18:07 ||
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More than a month after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, U.S. officials have yet to talk to many of the Libyan guards on duty at the American mission on that fatal evening. Fearful of reprisal from the still unknown perpetrators of the attack, the guards have gone into hiding; and their vivid recollections are giving way to a sense of abandonment by the American government, which offered them no protection from the attackers the guards believe want them dead.
TIME's Steven Sotloff has talked to the guards for their account of what happened on the night of Sept. 11, 2012 and the early hours of the day after. Five of the guards were employees of the British security company Blue Mountain, and three others were members of the Islamist-leaning February 17th militia who were tasked with providing diplomatic security for foreign missions.
To protect them from possible retribution, their names have been changed. What is clear is that, as others have reported, there was no protest, simply a sudden siege of the compound; U.S. security forces--including U.S. Marines who arrived at an American safe house outside the consulate grounds--were overwhelmed and stymied; and that the looters apparently came upon the body of a still-breathing Ambassador Chris Stevens. It's detailed... worth the read
Excerpt:
U.S. reinforcements, however, were on the way. Around 2 a.m., eight Marines sent from the embassy in Tripoli landed at the Benghazi airport. But Libyan officials there initially prevented them from pushing ahead with their rescue mission. "[The Americans] wanted all eight to go to the annex," said Faruq, a leader of the Libyan Shield Brigade, one of numerous local brigades and tasked that night with coordinating the arrival of the Marines. "But we were told to only allow two."
The Libyans apparently did not want a bunch of U.S. military men running around their country for fear of causing an uproar among citizens. But the Marines were adamant they would go as a team. After several back and forth conversations with Libya Shield's commander, the Libyans finally relented.
But as soon as the Marines solved one problem, they encountered another -- they had only GPS coordinates and no address for the annex, which was supposed to be hush-hush in any case. "We couldn't arrange our forces to go to a place we didn't know about," Faruq said, explaining his reluctance to send his own soldiers with the Marines. After another round of logistical squabbling, the Marines finally departed the airport around 2:30 a.m. in two Toyota Land Cruisers. An additional 10-to-15 Libyan security vehicles accompanied them to the annex, which turned out to be approximately 20 minutes away.
When they arrived, they found the Americans at the annex tired and nervous. Then, around 3 a.m., bullets began hitting just outside the annex. "Mortars started landing. They hit the roof. There were several and we were all confused," said Faruq of the Libyan Shield brigade. "The Marines put on their night vision goggles and took up positions," said Faruq. "Some positioned themselves in the doorway and some set up inside." It was during this attack that former Navy SEAL commandos Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed.
An international mediator told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that he hopes a four-day holiday truce can take hold in Syria this week, warning that another failure will worsen the fighting and increasingly threaten neighboring countries.
Yet even this modest effort the international community's only plan for scaling back the violence appears doomed to fail.
Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, said the Syrian regime and some rebel groups promised to lay down their arms during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins Friday. However, President Bashar Assad's regime denied Wednesday that it had committed to the plan and a radical Islamist group fighting alongside the rebels said it won't comply. Other rebels dismissed the idea as irrelevant.
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if President Obama releases his college records and his passport application, the businessman will give a $5 million check to a charity of Obamas choosing.
He tweeted a video offering Obama the deal. The records must be turned over by Oct. 31 by 5 p.m., Trump said
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
12:07 ||
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#1
Why don't you offer $20 million to the LA Slimes for the Khalidi tape, Donald?
Preferably through the bankruptcy court. Have a certified check ready to hand to the judge. That would go a long way toward satisfying the creditors, and might get the court's attention.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/24/2012 14:19
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This was Trump's preemptive strike against Gloria Alred. That's what this is about. Make her share the headlines with him. Bring her fully down to his level: P. T. Barnum.
#6
Pretty lame. I hear Allred's is even lamer. Mitt's testimony in a Bain Capital's partner's divorce case.
But they got their faces on the tube, and that's what's important...
#7
Personally, I'd more concerned about Allred's info at this time, specifically iff her dirt reveals Mittens cheated on his wife wid another woman whom was married at the time, or ditto wid another man.
#8
JosephM, apparently Gov. Romney was testifying as to the monetry value of the gentleman's holdings in the company, which I think was Staples. No big deal -- Romney's attirney has already conveyed his lack of objection.
#1
Odd thing about the election this year. Here on Kaua'i I have not seen one single Obama or Romney yard sign. Lots for local and state offices, but as far as you could tell from the signage, there is no presidential election coming up. Not a clue as to why this should be...
#3
Hussein Obama announced today that he WILL win this election thanks to votes cast by Mexican Nationals in this country illegally, over riding the votes of United State Citizens.
#4
That's easy, Mercutio. Hawaii is in the bag for Obummer. Same thing here in Kaliphornia. The candidates are spending all their time and money in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Those are the so called "battle ground" states that have lots of votes in the electoral college and could go either way. Those are the states that people will be watching on election night. But be sure to vote anyway.
#5
Yes, here in Southwest Ohio my mailbox is full of stuff -- mostly from the Romney campaign. I've been getting a great many phone calls -- both robocalls and live -- from pollsters, PACs, and the presidential and senatorial campaigns inviting me to rallies, asking me to volunteer for phone banks, and all sorts of other excitements. My family no longer bother answering the house phone.
In my neighborhood I've only seen Republican yard signs, but closer to the city it's mainly Democrats.
#6
I get a lot of mailings too, tw, which I ignore.
Last night I got a call from a polling firm asking me to take part in a 3-question poll. She was polite, so I said yes - I was interested in the entertainment factor. (Turns out it was a push poll for the Demoncrat running in our state's Senate race.)
Basically she asked if I'd decided who I was going to vote for in the Senate race (I have; I used to work the same place as the candidate, and even know him slightly), and asked if I has received a mailing in the past week or so (about something against my candidate, from the other candidate). I said I wouldn't know, as I throw all that sh*t directly into the trash without opening it. (Actually, I at least look at the envelopes, and don't remember getting anything from that loud-mouthed lying POS.)
To her credit, she actually laughed before thanking me and hanging up.
Mostly, I just don't answer the phone if the call's not from someone I know. When I get home in the evenings, I sometimes have 5 or 6 messages, most of which are either hangups or recordings, all of which I delete.
I will be so glad when November 7th arrives!
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/24/2012 14:31
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#7
I was in Hawaii last week (north shore Oahu) and saw a metric ton of Lingle signs. I live in San Diego (north county) and see few stickers in general but tend to be Romney more often than Obama. Hardly a significant sample either way but seeing as these are two blue states its nothign short of a miracle in my opinion.
#8
Yes, lots of Lingle signs here too (tho more Lazy Mazie Hirono since she's a Donk and is a wholly owned subsidiary of HGEA (Hawaii Gov't Employees Assn)) but still no Obama/Romney signs - I haven't seen a single one. In 2008 the place was swarming with Obama signs with a few McCain. Got to admit, I'm not sure of the dynamic at work here.
#9
Surprisingly here in Sacramento, about 40-45% of the bumper stickers I see are for Romney/Ryan. That was a shock considering I am here in the heart of looney liberal land. I don't expect Romney to carry Sacramento county, but it will be closer than it has been since Regan.
#10
The Romney post-Debate(s)surge remains inconclusive, i.e. NOT significant or decisive enuff to defeat the Bammer, + the Bammer also remains ahead in possible Electoral Votes.
Whatever unused ace(s) Mittens + Ryan have up their sleeve, they better use it ASAP.
* See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [BBC World Service poll] POLL FINDS 20 OF 21 COUNTRIES STRONGLY PREFER OBAMA [EXCEPTION IS PAKISTAN].
CNBC + FOX NEWS this AM both referred to it as a "global" poll.
#1
Based on history... if it is a plan Pat Quinn came up with himself... It Won't Work!
If anybody else did the plan there is random chance in its favor. Pat should never play with dice or I-Ching.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
10/24/2012 14:26
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#2
Quinn is about as useless a governor as Champ is a President.
Close a few prisons, shut down some of the different parts of the universities that we don't need (e.g., the new law school at NIU), reform the PEU pensions to 401Ks, reform the PEU health care mess, end all the good-old-boy no bid consulting contracts, and cap Medicaid reimbursements to nursing homes. Then see how close you are to a balanced budget and go from there.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2012 17:45
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#3
In Quinn's favor, at least he's not in jail - yet.
#6
You do realize that I-95 runs down the East Coast from Maine to Flordia, don't you, B?
It doesn't go within 600 miles of Illinois. And we certainly don't want to pay for their profligacy greed.
Perhaps you meant I-90?
M
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/24/2012 20:02
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#7
I-95'd work too, statistically, anyway; 95% of the trtaffic on it is deep, dark blue. And reds can go around on local highways without too much problem.
Posted by: Jake Blues ||
10/24/2012 13:17
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#3
GULAM HUSSEIN, a 20-year-old Afghan with a bushy brush cut, hates Greece. Hed leave if he couldeven if that meant returning to the imperiled village in eastern Afghanistan that he fled a decade ago. Anywhere but Greece,
He's got a sick wife, a 1.5 yr old and no Greek language skills so he collects scrap metal and gov't handouts to live.
#5
When you've become a second class citizen in your own country it is easy understand how Greeks must feel about their own lot vis-a-vis immigrants in Greece.
And it isn't the Nazi party, its a Nationalist party. The media is banging the drum on the Nazi meme, but sooner or later people are going to dislike being sold out by politicians and bankers and being edged out by (illegal)immigrants.
Report of NATOs standard doctrine for psychological operations.
The purpose of Allied Joint Publication (AJP)-3.10.1 Allied Joint Doctrine for Psychological Operations is to address the planning and conduct of military PSYOPS in support of NATO activities. PSYOPS, as one of the key contributors to most information operations (INFO OPS) activities, will achieve their greatest effect when coordinated within the larger INFO OPS plan and supporting a much broader information strategy. The new construct of INFO OPS is focused on affecting will, understanding, and capability through the three activities of influence, counter-command, and information protection. It must be noted that PSYOPS has influence activity as its mission; and by influencing target audiences (TA) directly, PSYOPS, in turn, has indirect effects on understanding and capability.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
10:30 ||
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#1
The above looks terribly meaningful, but as a little civilian housewife I'm afraid I never learnt the language. If someone would be so kind as to translate? Thanking you in advance, etc.
#3
trailing wife, join the club. Main thing, is their Doctrine for Psychological Operations effective?
If they can't show that it is, then it's just so much waffle.
Me, I'll just start by trying to analyse Derren Brown's experiments.
Yesterday the Somali terror group Shabaab threatened to attack Britain for extraditing radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri, who arrived in the US on Oct. 5 after being held for nine years in a British prison. The al Qaeda affiliate also pledged "to go to every possible length" to free the Blind Sheikh, another convicted terrorist, who is serving a life sentence in the US for murdering US citizens.
Shabaab threatened Britain and pledged to work to free the Blind Sheikh, in a series of 11 tweets on its Twitter account, HSM Press Office (@HSMPress, or Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen Press Office).
"The nightmare that surreptitiously looms on British shores is bound to eclipse the horrors of 7/7 and 21/7 combined," one tweet said, referring to the July 7, 2005 coordinated suicide attacks in London, and the July 21, 2005 failed bombings at London train stations.
Shabaab warned that the British government's "actions will be repaid in retaliatory measure" and said that "Britain will pay the heftiest price for its brazen role in the war against Islam and endless brutality against innocent Muslims."
In another tweet, Shabaab said it "pledges to go to every possible length to attain the freedom of imprisoned Muslim scholars, starting with Sh. Omar Abdirahman," or Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is better known as the Blind Sheikh.
The group then urged Muslims in the West "to hasten towards the release of their Muslim brothers & sisters," and specifically called on "the Muslims in the United States to make their stand."
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
09:58 ||
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#1
The UK should be worried especially with the amount of unemployed Somalians in the UK.
On the Way home reading the London Evening Standard interesting to see MI5 recruiting Somali speaking translators no doubt to evesdrop potential terrorists.
#2
The broader or bigger strategic picture is that Jihad = Islamic conquest is inevitably coming to Europe - by destabilizing, isolating, or breaking up Britain = England, etc. the Hard Boyz hope to induce similar as per the NATO Alliance + Euro-States.
Iff the US ever needs to militarily rescue EUROPE from EURABIA, IDEALLY THE USDOD WILL HAVE TO DO IT WIDOUT BRITAIN/ENGLAND AS A WW2 OR COLD WAR-STYLE STAGING BASE.
NATO-EU = mainland Europe will have to rely on surrender-happy France + small Channel states whom rely on a poten fractured Britain wid its small Coast Guard + Police Constabulary formerly known as the RN, Brit Army, RAF + UKMoD; whom will have to rely on the smilar downsizing US + USDOD = OWG NAU? affected by a Pert-forecasted protactive bad US-Global econ to includ US budget-led "sequestration" cuts in effec Mil Assets.
Remember, during the Cold War + immediate post-Cold War periods the UK + NATO depended on the US to take the lead as per major MilOps around the World, + STILL DOES - WHOM WILL THE US DEPEND ON FOR ITS NATIONAL SECURITY + THAT OF NATO-EU???
> Anti-Infidel NUCLEAR RADICAL ISLAM + MIGHTY PAKISTAN, ETAl. ISLAMIC NAVIES???
> "POST-US" RISING CHINA WHOM DESIRES 1/2 OF CONUS-NORAM [to start?] FOR CHINESE-CENTRIC "LIVING SPACE"???
Running away from Arabia to escape to Arabia, or from China to China, etc. AND YOUSE CAN'T RUN AWAY TO THE MOON BECAUSE THE US CANCELLED THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM + OTHER TO BOOST THE SPACEPROGS OF THE REST OF THE WORLD INCLUD BUT LIMITED TO THOSE NATIONS WHOM ARE ITS DEDICATED RIVALS OR ENEMIES.
US drones killed four "militants" and one civilian in a strike today on a compound in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.
Pakistani officials told Dawn that the unmanned Predators or Reapers fired three missiles at a compound and a vehicle in the village of Tappi near Miramshah in North Waziristan. "The official sources also said that three cows have also been killed as the house was completely destroyed," Dawnreported.
The target of today's strike has not been disclosed. No senior al Qaeda or allied jihadist commanders from foreign terrorist groups are reported to have been killed in the strike.
Terrorists are known to have sheltered in the village of Tapi in the past. The US has struck at targets in the village five other times since the beginning of 2008, according to data on the strikes that has been compiled by The Long War Journal.
The Haqqani Network, a Taliban group that operates in North Waziristan and Kurram, as well as in eastern Afghanistan, administers the area where today's attack took place. Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, who are closely allied with the Haqqani Network, shelter in the area, as do other terror groups. The US added the Haqqani Network to the list of global terror groups in September 2012 for supporting al Qaeda and conducting attacks in Afghanistan.
Today's strike is the fourth in Pakistan this month and the first since Oct. 11, when the drone strayed outside the traditional "kill boxes" of North and South Waziristan and hit a camp in Arakzai. Sixteen "militants" loyal to Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar were killed in the strike.
Today's strike is the 19th in Pakistan since June 4, when the US killed Abu Yahya al Libi, one of al Qaeda's top leaders, propagandists, and religious figures. Abu Yahya was killed in a strike on a compound in Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were reportedly among the 14 terrorists killed along with Abu Yahya.
The US has carried out 40 strikes in Pakistan so far this year. Twenty-one of the strikes have taken place since the beginning of June; 18 occurred in North Waziristan, two were in South Waziristan, and one has taken place in Arakzai.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
09:52 ||
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Sudanese minister says four planes appearing to approach from the east attacked Khartoum plant
Four military planes attacked an arms factory in Khartoum where there was a huge fire overnight, a Sudanese minister said on Wednesday, blaming Israel for the air strike.
"Four military planes attacked the Yarmouk plant," Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman told reporters in Khartoum, adding the planes appeared to approach the site from the east.
The powerful explosion at the military factory rocked Sudan's capital before dawn Wednesday, sending detonating ammunition flying through the air and causing panic, the official news agency and local media reports said.
Officials said there were no reports of deaths, although some residents had suffered from smoke inhalation.
Thick black smoke covered the sky covered the sky over the Yarmouk Military Industrial Complex in southern Khartoum. Sudan's media reported that nearby buildings were damaged by the blast, their roofs blown off and their windows shattered.
Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein and senior officials visited the site of the explosion and held an emergency meeting with top army generals while security forces sealed off the area surrounding the complex and halted traffic.
Khartoum governor Abdul-Rahman Khedr told SUNA agency that no one died in the explosion. He said the fire was under control and an investigation into the cause is under way.
In 2009, a convoy carrying weapons in northeastern Sudan was targeted from the air, killing dozens. It was widely believed that Israel carried out the attack on weapons shipment headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Israel never confirmed or denied that. Sudanese parliamentarians denied that weapons were transported in the area.
In 1998, the United States cruise missiles bombed a Khartoum pharmaceutical factory suspected of links to al-Qaida in the aftermath of the terror group's bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.
Sudan has been a major hub for al-Qaida militants and a transit for weapon smugglers and African migrant traffickers.
#1
Rooters says two died, and adds the following useful thought:
Major damage to the Yarmouk plant would be a blow to Sudan's army in its battle against insurgencies in the western region of Darfur and the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, bordering arch-rival South Sudan.
It is still unclear who is responsible for the attack on the Yarmouk military plant in south Khartoum, but according to past reports in the foreign media, Iran has built such facilities in order to arm Hamas.
#7
If it was the Israelis (highly likely) then it was a clever piece of strategy by them. It keeps the pressure on Iran ... while not increasing the arguments with the Obama administration. However - it also stirs up the jihadist roups in N. Africa even more than before - if it's possible to stir a hornets nest afer they are already buzzing. Now Sudan will kick in its own funding - and we expect repercussions somewhere. Maybe the Sinai???
Iran said on Tuesday it would stop oil exports if pressure from Western sanctions got any tighter and it had a "Plan B" contingency strategy to survive without oil revenues.
Western nations led by the United States have imposed tough sanctions on the Islamic Republic this year in an attempt to curb its nuclear program that they say is designed to produce an atomic bomb. Tehran says its nuclear plans are peaceful.
"If sanctions intensify we will stop exporting oil," Iranian oil minister Rostam Qasemi told reporters in Dubai.
Qasemi's statement is the latest in a series of threats of retaliation by Tehran in response to the sanctions, which have heightened political tensions across the Middle East and, analysts say, led to a sharp drop in Iranian oil exports.
"We have prepared a plan to run the country without any oil revenues," Qasemi said, adding, "So far to date we haven't had any serious problems, but if the sanctions were to be renewed we would go for 'Plan B'.
"If you continue to add to the sanctions we (will) cut our oil exports to the world."
Iran has in the past said it could shut the vital shipping lane of Hormuz at the head of the Middle East Gulf, through which much of the region's seaborne oil exports pass.
Earlier on Tuesday, Qasemi said Iran was still producing 4 million barrels per day (bpd), rejecting reports the country's output has fallen to around 2.7 million bpd.
According to the latest secondary source estimates published by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Iran pumped just 2.72 bpd in September, and Iran's own data submitted to OPEC showed the country produced 3.75 million bpd in August.
But Qasemi said Iran was pumping oil at full capacity:
"It is currently 4 million barrels per day," Qasemi said, declining to give export figures.
"Iran has been facing U.S. sanctions for 30 years while successfully managing its oil sector," he said.
Qasemi said Iran was now consuming much more of its own oil thanks to a rapidly rising refining capacity.
He said Iran's refining capacity was now 2 million barrels per day (bpd) with another 200,000 bpd of capacity to be added before the end of Iranian year next March.
The increase in refining capacity had already ended Iran's need to import vehicle fuel and could soon drive a boom in fuel exports, the minister said.
"Our daily consumption of petrol (gasoline) is 90 million liters ... Earlier, a big portion of that was being imported but we no longer import products," he said.
"Right now, we not only don't import but we also export some products ... there are always customers for Iranian oil.
"By the end of the Iranian year they will reach their maximum capacity and then we can export more Iranian oil products," he said.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
10/24/2012
09:43 ||
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#1
Blazing Saddles Sequel? *holds gun to own head*
"nobody move or the n.... mullah gets it"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/24/2012 13:20
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France is sending drones to Mali while hundreds of Islamist fighters are coming in from across the Middle East, preparing to defend their safe haven.
According to the Associated Press, French drones will soon be patrolling the skies above the Malian desert:
A French defense official said Monday that France plans to move two surveillance drones to western Africa from Afghanistan by year-end, though he did not provide details.
Top-level American and French military leaders and diplomats, including U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson, began two days of talks in Paris on Monday on intelligence-gathering and security in Mali and the rest of the Sahel region, officials from both sides told the AP.
Meanwhile, according to Voice of America, the Islamist fighters are calling in reinforcements:
Hundreds of additional Islamist fighters have deployed in northern Mali. . .
According to witnesses, the fighters began deploying last week, after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution asking West African bloc ECOWAS to submit its plans for a Mali force.
Residents report seeing hundreds of Tunisian and Egyptian militants in the city of Gao, while many other militants went to the central town of Douentza, close to Malian army positions in Mopti.
African soldiers will likely lead the invasion force, with the U.S. and France supplying intelligence and operating behind the scenes.
Mali was first destabilized thanks to NATO's intervention in Libya, which sent weapons and fighters streaming into the northern deserts, where they found little opposition from the government. Other Islamist fighters from the Middle East soon came flocking in to this sandy patch of ungoverned territory. Their ranks are reportedly bolstered by thousands of local child soldiers.
The Libyan afterparty--the unintended consequences of NATO's little Libya misadventure--sadly drags on well into the night. Libya is going to haunt US policy for years, if not decades. When the fight for Libya was starting, and our high ranking officers were wondering out loud what the hell we were doing there is shows pretty clearly that this wasn't a well thought out, long range plan in geopolitical action.
#1
The biggest spectre haunting the Libya fiasco is that we double crossed a guy who turned over his nuclear weapons program. What better justification do the mullahs need for continuing their nuke development? The only way they can be sure to be protected is to have nukes. The Koreans proved the positive case and Ghadaffi proved the negative.
Beyond that, any lawless state will become fertile territory for Islamists regardless of our involvement. Libya was probably destined to become lawless after the departure of Ghadaffi. Perhaps our intervention increased the probability that lawlessness would occur, but only minimally. The same thing appears to be going on in Syria where our involvement is less kinetic.
#2
It's long been the goal of the more radical muslim world to obtain nukes, from Pakistan, to former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, to the Iranian theocracy. The mulluahs don't need the justification of Qadaffi getting dumped.
We focus on the WoT and matters related to the WoT. That includes general thuggery around the world, such as Zim-bob-we, and the politics surrounding the WoT. The farther away it is from that, the less likely people here want to read it here on Rantburg. We assume y'all read other weblogs for the other news. Rantburg has been getting some posts that are -- frankly -- a distraction from what we want to cover. The more we get away from the WoT, the more we look just like any other blog, and that's not the point for us. We have an eclectic readership and we want to keep it that way.
We do carry a fair bit of politics ('seedy politician') but even there the focus is on how that news relates to the fight against terrorism and the defense of the good. We have the separate 'Election 2012' category if you can't restrain yourself about your country's elections; put those posts there.
Very simply: domestic issues in Australia, surface crawlers on Mars, and the general state of Tiger Woods' rehab shouldn't be posted here. Unless Fred does it in which case it's okay.
I say this again in salmon color: we focus on the WoT!
Check for duplicates before you post. We've had a number of these lately, so please check on the Burg, particularly if it looks like 'breaking news'.
I say this in salmon color as well: check for duplicates!
Provide a source URL for your post.. This goes into the 'source' box in the poster. If you don't provide a URL your post will be deleted. None of the moderators have enough time to look for the source of your post.
Shorter, not longer, titles. Remember, the URL does NOT go into the title box. Snarky and catchy titles are fine.
File it in the right place. If it's about the current insurrection in Yemen, don't file it under 'Great White North'.
Opinion pieces go into the 'Opinion' category. Tricky, eh? This includes blog pieces. Some exceptions exist: VDH, Lileks, and Marc Steyn can go into any appropriate category. All the rest go into Opinion. And that's not an invitation for other blog-owners to post stuff in Opinion just to advertise their own blog.
Your opinion is welcome. Opinion is also for your own original articles, for everyone, but especially for Rantburg regulars. If you have an opinion, post it here. And don't forget your byline.
Please format the post. Help us make posts readable. Think of it as a chance to teach English composition to the MSM. Delete the fluff and the stuff we already know. Some gentle editing to make a post readable helps all of us, especially the moderators who then don't have to go back and re-edit stuff.
No 'more at the link', no ellipses and no 'snips'. Readers assume you're editing the post to just the good stuff (see above). Therefore you don't need ellipses or [SNIP]'s to tell us that you edited the post. Since you gave us the source URL (right?) a reader can always go to the original. That means you don't need to say at the bottom, 'hit the link to read the rest'. The readers already know that.
Your in-line comments are in hilite (yellow) text. Use the 'HILITE' button. Start your comments on a separate line. If you do it will look like this. This is the ONLY acceptable format for your comments.
Don't put a leading line space before or after, as illustrated. And don't bury it like this. Do not use italics instead of hilite. Do not insert FONT commands: Fred has already settled the proper font and size for your snark. And do NOT put your comments into blockquotes.
Strikout text can be placed in-line in the text. Some here complain when we use too much of it. Unless you've got a sure-fire 'mad-libs' winner, use strikeout text sparingly.
Don't embed pics from outside Rantburg. We have an ever-expanding library of pics (even after Fred cleans out the attic we have more than when we started). Embedding a pic with a URL takes bandwidth and it may upset the owner of the site from where you're getting the image. We'd love to allow users to upload images, but if we did we'd be dumping 100k erectile dysfunction ads and pictures of nekkid 40-year-old teen hotties all day and not have time for any posting of our own. Finally, outside posts also die as links can (and will) rot. A Rantburg image will be around as long as there's a Rantburg.
Submitting pics to the Burg. E-mail us the pic, but format it first. 250 pixels width for portrait, 300 for landscape or square. On a case-by-case basis, max 500 pixels (width of the yellow comments box) wide for charts, diagrams, and maps. Please compress: images should be under 20k if at all possible. It's not the single image we have to worry about, but 80 articles x 20k. Too many images will slow page load dramatically.
And as always, thanks for all your support. You make Rantburg a special place.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2012
08:38 ||
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#1
And a key point: Just under the Rantburg heading at the top of page one you will see the following:
Post a news link Post your own article
Click on whichever is appropriate, and everything necessary is laid out for you as Dr. Steve described above, including the same options to mess with the text, including bold and italics, and with the additional option of highlighting, as when one makes comments like this.
USN, Ret., yesterday you put the article link in the place for the commenter's own website/blog URL in your comment. While not standard operating procedure, it was certainly a creative solution... and effectively caught my attention. Dr. Steve's post is my answer. I look forward to your next article post, my dear, and am confident you will climb this learning curve more quickly than I did.
For those who would like to add a link to their comments in a discussion thread, instead of posting the article separately:
1. highlight the URL of the article
2. type a few appropriate words of text in the comment box and highlight
3. look down to the box of options below My Original Nic and click on the little icon of the globe
4. paste your URL in the box that pops up, then click OK
5. finish typing your comment, then click on PREVIEW (this step is critical!)
6. when the preview pops up, click on your beautifully formatted link to make sure it actually works. We will not mention how often I have had to post a second comment with a working link after I figured out what I'd done wrong. :-(
#2
I would like to add (from experience): Check for duplicates immediately before you post your new article. Open up a second window or tab, go to rantburg, and check for a duplicate which may have been posted in the 10-60 minutes you've spend grooming your masterpiece.
If your post doesn't immediately appear, especially if its close to 12 midnight eastern (U.S.) time, don't immediately repost. It might be awaiting moderation _or_ awaiting the next day's edition.
(Also the rule for Embedding pics has one exception - GB's Birthday postings under 'Good Morning' :)
#3
Dear TW,
Perhaps I am denser than the fog surrounding Washington DC, but I do not see a 'source' box, only this one I am typing in, and the Name, email and the attention-grabbing (but optional) website box.
I have been dubbed a techno-peasant, due in no small part to my inability to grasp the ways of the modem world.
#4
USN, Ret, I susoect you are looking in the comment box you posted. You need to scroll to the top of Page 1: WoT. Just under the Rantburg logo are words to click on to open the article submission page.
You are not a techno-peasant, just missing that critical piece of information. I went through this, too -- and so I have faith you will find it.
#5
IIUC, Mama Russia's S-400 + follow-on repor has Surface-to-Surface [SSM] strike capabilities, not just Air, Aerospace, or BMD???
SYRIA = NORTH KOREA VEE CHINA [Iran] - I suspect the Hezzies Hizzies Huzzies Hassies Hibbies are doing what the PLA will do soon, i.e. helping to "motivate/inspire" Syria = NOKOR to stay loyal.
--------------
ION NOT-MISS-TURKEY ...
* WAFF > PUTIN HAS DIRECTLY THREATENED ERDOGAN?, i.e. allegations Putin has warned Erdogan that any Turkish attack or crossover into Syria will be deemed by Moscow as an attack agz Russia???
* SAME > TURKISH CIVIL WAR BREWING IN THE SOUTH, ALAWITES SEEN AS TRAITORS. Pro-Assad/Alawite Turks of Arab origin, versus incoming anti-Assad, pro-Rebel Sunni Syrian refugees.
* SAME > SE TURKEY UNDER PKK CONTROL | MILITARY DELIVERIES [Troops, Cargo-Equipment] ORDERED TO BE LAUNCHED BY AIR FOR SECURITY REASONS, by the Turkish General Staff due to pervasive Kurd attacks.
Every Man or MilThingy goes by Armed Helicopter or fixed-wing Cargo Plane, even iff just for short or very short distances.
* SAME > IRAQ STARTS TO PUNISH TURKEY FOR HER BAD BEHAVIOR | IRAQ BLOCKS 128 TURKISH BUSES HEADED FOR MECCA [Saudi Arabia = Haj].
* WAFF > TURKEY BECOMING EUROPE'S THIRD [largest] ECONOMY [ + World's 10th]: TURKISH FINMIN. Turkey's Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek.
Turkey's econmy performing better that the US or Europe/EUZ.
* TOPIX > EXPERT: LARGE-SCALE MILITARY ACTION AGZ SYRIA WILL TURN INTO SECOND VIETNAM, espec for Ankara = Turkey.
* SAME > WHERE TURKEY IS ALREADY AT WAR [Troops in combat, Syria bombardment], ARE KURDISH MILITANTS [PKK] DOING SYRIA'S BIDDING?
#4
If you google the headline, the BBC article should pop up as the first option. I tried copy/pasting that URL into the source box, but for whatever reason that did not fix the problem.
#6
I'm a professional geophysicist - don't try this at home. My prediction: If you are near a known fault there will be an earthquake; if you are not near a known fault there will be an earthquake; the only difference is probabilities. Probabilities are just statistical variation around the unknowable answer.
#9
It is a terrible verdict, and a terrible prosecution, but in your heart of hearts, don't you wish even a teensy weens bit that Obama's economists who assured that the stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent were next?
Canadas top diplomat blasted Iran for human rights violations and religious intolerance at a meeting Monday of world parliamentarians, drawing an angry response from Tehran's delegation.
Addressing 1,400 lawmakers at the gathering in Quebec City, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said Bahais and Christians in Iran were consistently threatened with death and torture, simply for believing.
He also said the evil regime in Iran... remains the most significant threat to global peace and security, accusing Tehran of fomenting hatred against the Jewish people and supporting terrorist groups.
Iraj Nadimi, head of the eight-member Iranian delegation at the gathering, threw up his arms in a display of protest, and held up a small sign identifying his country.
Later he accused Baird of meddling in Irans sovereign affairs, likening the remarks to Tehran using the forum to promote Quebecs independence from the rest of Canada.
In his speech, Baird called on delegates to return home after the 127th conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and press their respective governments to throw their support behind a human rights resolution on Iran at the United Nations.
This regime stands for everything we parliamentarians should stand against, he said.
After Ottawa on Sept. 7 announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran and expelled Iranian diplomats from Canada, the Iranians attendance at the IPU was initially in doubt.
Ottawa did not cite a specific incident for the breakdown in relations, but issued a strongly worded attack on the Islamic Republics support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assads regime and its incitement to genocide against Israel.
Ottawa has also accused its rulers of failing to account for their disputed nuclear program.
Iran, which has been ruled by an Islamic theocracy since the 1979 revolution, is locked in a diplomatic stand-off with the West over its nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are entirely peaceful.
While Iran claims it is pursuing purely civilian atomic energy and research, Washington, Israel and their allies argue it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability.
In a scrum with reporters on Monday after his speech, Baird dismissed the Iranian delegation's reaction to his comments, saying sometimes the truth hurts.
Staying silent is never an option when people stone women, when they hang gays, when they incite genocide, when they say they want to wipe the Jewish people and the Jewish state off the map, he said.
It is never good for anyone in civilized society to stay quiet. It is tremendously important as an international community that we speak with one voice.
In his speech, Baird was also critical of children being forced into marriages in Niger, of actively and viciously implemented laws against homosexuality in Uganda, and of the Assad regime for despicably slaughtering innocent civilians.
The delegation of Uganda condemned what they called Bairds arrogance and ignorance for his criticism of Ugandas treatment of gays and lesbians.
#5
Meh...we got plenty of commies to hang too, would appreciate the help! By the way, would you take British Sodomia off our hands?
It would make a nice set
with Californication...
Was Obama gun-walking arms to jihadists? It sure looks that way. Mr. Gaffney's article is well-sourced. Apparently Ambassador Stevens, among other things, was working to have some of the massive amounts of Libyan weapons left over from the Qadaffi regime shipped to the Syrian rebels. Much of these were landing in the hands of al-Qaeda types in Syria, not the 'moderate' rebels we're supposedly supporting. Definitely worth the read this morning.
#1
Very likely another F&F cock-up. We failed to deal affirmatively with the first F&F, and we now have another? DoD and the SOF community watching, reading the traffic, and shaking their heads. A West Point general with his head in his hands at McLean asking, why did I take this phueching job.
Just hours before he died, a State Department cable showed, Stevens met with members of the Benghazi local council, who insisted security in the city was "improving" and the U.S. government should "pressure" American companies to invest.
Later that day, it said, Stevens was scheduled to launch a project called "American Space Benghazi," a public outreach center containing a "small library, computer lab and open space for programming."
With the security situation as bad as it was, I never bought the "American Space Benghazi" library story.
...should "pressure" American companies to invest
I believe we now know what the "investment" entailed.
#2
Finally a story that actually 'makes sense' - fits the known facts and explains behaviors.
Explains why Romney did not get aggressive on the topic in the debates - he probably knows the real story and understands that if he wins HE will have to deal with underlying national security issues (whether the actions that created the mess were good judgement or not.)
#3
Fox News is all over it, waving the e-mails, etc. Liz Cheney is on in a few minutes to talk about it. Champs story is falling apart. I suspect someone whispered in Willard's ear prior to the debate: Hey governor, this one is going Chernobyl and we're not sure how many will survive.
#4
The gun-walking story makes sense and accounts for what Amb. Stevens was doing. But we are still left with the question of why nothing was done about the attack. Events were monitored in real time. The 'spontaneous demonstration' story has been shredded like dog-eaten homework. Wretchard's theory of a kidnapping gone awry still holds up.
#5
Romney knew this story had legs in the press and there was no need to bring it up in the debate--someone else would carry the water and he wouldn't look like a tattle-tale smuck leaker for political purpose. Obama tried to sting him about the night of 911 (or 912) for bringing up the attack. Moreover, if elected, he would have to clean up this mess. He has enough class not to blame his predecessor. Now, if the election just works out in Romney's favor. IMO "O" doesn't know what the hell he is doing in the Mideast--likely has been arming people not friendly to us and it backfired.
#6
Not discounting it entirely, but the kidnap theory seems doubtful. I am putting my money on an F&F initiative with the MB backed gov't of Turkey, gone terribly wrong. Not something that the administration would wish to try to explain or justify just prior to an election, hence the video cover story.
Operators positioned on the roof of a consulate building or Safe House points to a likely observation post and good firing position. Also an ideal location for communications and signaling position for incoming rescue aircraft, which sadly, never arrived.
The SOF community and personnel on NEO/in extremis stand-by know the answers, as likely do the British Blue Mountain Security folks who got out a week or so earlier earlier. All in all, a giant shi* sandwich.
#7
I believe we now know what the "investment" entailed.
Um...a solar panel factory? /s
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
10/24/2012 11:56
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#8
Supposedly, there was a drone that was tasked to overfly and monitor the Benghazi consulate at the time of the attack. Who would give approval to task a drone? For what reason would such a decision-maker task a drone other than protection (if armed) or observation? It seems like this would be a decision coming from a high level.
#9
It all is starting to come together. Why the SOF troops never went in to get them always bothered me. Now it looks like with the 20 or so that attacked his house, was the blocking team to take the warehouse full of weapons. What was the size of the force that took the warehouse down??? Would sending in a small SF team to a site that has SA7s turn it into another Somalia? This story is only partially exposed. Bring popcorn!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/24/2012 13:30
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#10
Drones or UAV's have capabilities beyond that of "observation" (persistent surveillance), or kinetic action (bombing). Tasking and dynamic re-tasking authorization for surveillance and collection would likely come from the AFRICOM or US Intelligence. In this particulr case, authorization for kinetic attack would likely be elevated to the White House.
#11
Apparently Hillary's advisor MB Abedi was among those receiving the State Dept memo that AQ took responsibility from the Gitgo, too. Very interesting from the WT's comments:
Glenn Beck did an hour show yesterday on this . He named the Turkish point man who worked alongside Stevens to funnel the weapons to the jihadis . Glenn went much deeper on the rest of it. The first phone call Obama made as president was to the Turkish president and has now called him 13 times .The Turkish president hates Assad in Syria . These weapons were being funneled into Turkey to be distributed to jihadis to take out Assad in Syria.Why would the United States president help Turkey take out Syria ?? Was Stevens security weakened to take him out as a potential witness to Obamas gun walking?? Not to far to reach , when we know Obama uses people then throws them under the bus and it would explain why the White House watched from a drone on September 11 as Stevens and others were murdered.For eight hours this attack went on , forces could have been brought in from Tripoli , they weren't . A plane could have been sent in within an hour , YET NOTHING was done to help Americans as they were attacked! The kicker to this whole story is Obamas new "trusted friends " , the Muslim Brotherhood is the one who advised Obama as to who to funnel these weapons to . Turkey and Russia are aligning with Iran and our president is arming our enemies . Lovely !
#12
As to why the US would want to take down Assad, it might have something to do with his close alliance with Iran, something Bush started to weaken and Obama arrogantly thought he could charm away.
As to not intervening during the Benghazi attack, the administration is deeply invested in the (false) narrative that Libya is now governed by a democratic government after we helped overthrow Ghadaffi. Having committed to that stand, they needed Libyan govt approval to fly in. And that govt, remember, refused even FBI access to evidence afterwards for over a week.
#13
As their contents were raided in the course of the attack, we may never know for sure whether they housed and were known by the local jihadis to house arms, perhaps administered by the two former Navy SEALs killed along with Stevens.
Think of this as the worst possible scenario in a hostage negotiation. Its when a shaky deal (With no Plan B.) is struck and before its too late it completely unravels. The bad guys then kill the cops; take their weapons, then for good measures kill the hostage. And to make matters worse they also make off with the ransom.
(BTW, whatcha spose a buncha Libyian MANPADS goes for these days?)
Hattip USN, Ret. In his honour a tutorial on how to post articles will be posted in the near future. As I once upon a time unintentionally demonstrated, this stuff is not intuitively obvious, however much it makes perfect sense once one knows how.
A Delaware judge is overruling government objections and approving a bankruptcy exit plan for failed solar power company Solyndra LLC.
#2
Executive bonus payments outrank bond holders in the new world disorder - or at least labor executive payments do (Chrysler), so I figure campaign contributors all rank the same.
#3
Almost all big companies are Delaware ones. Look at a typical politician from there - slow boy Biden...
What do you think rules his ilk would approve of would look like?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
10/24/2012 14:31
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#4
"US won't recover loan" > D *** NG IT, I'M NOT SHOCKED, I TELL YA, I'M NOT SHOCKED!
With Benghazi and the presidential election, you know, deep down inside, that Rantburg U is your choice of getting the real stories... I'm betting that 96.5 percent of those hearing Romney in the last debate, didn't know of this Molly (Mali) of which he spoke.
Rantburgers do -- so get ahead of the Christmas rush. Gift yourself another year, month or day of Rantburg...
See that Breitbart pic? Isn't that just about the best name to have to stand for this colossus man?
There's a PayPal and an Amazon button close to it.... you know how to use each one.... so try one of them out.... they both work....
#4
I'm going to have to take the Amazon button off. They've decided donations only apply to tax-free operations.
I'll see if I can find a replacement.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012 9:24
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#5
Okay, switched the account type. I'm hoping it works now.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012 9:47
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#6
Still not working.
I got,
Invalid Request
Error Message:
An Amazon Payments Business account with verified email address and credit card is required to accept payments using Amazon Simple Pay.
#7
[Sigh!] I've turned Amazon off. I'll be looking for an alternative.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012 10:32
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#8
Check will be coming on payday, Fred.
Sorry I've been lax lately - I've been sending all my spare cash to conservative politicians.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/24/2012 12:01
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#9
phil_b, I'm also in Aus. I just use the donate button on the right using PayPal. If you don't see it, turn off Adblock for this site, if you are using Adblock. Maybe that might help.
Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after the assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, on September 11 that an Islamic terrorist militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.
The emails, obtained from government sources not connected with U.S. intelligence agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks. The short emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, while it was still under way, to Washington.
Spokesmen for the White House and State Department had no immediate response to requests for comments on the emails.
The records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department's Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11.
The first, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time - or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began - carried the subject line "U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack" and the notation "SBU", meaning "Sensitive But Unclassified."
The message said the State Department's regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was "under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well."
It continued, "Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four ... personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support."
A second email, headed "Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi" and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that "the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared." It said a "response team" was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.
A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack." The message reported, "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."
While some of the content identifying recipients of this message was redacted from copies of the messages, a government source said that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White House Situation Room. Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command Center, according to the source.
#6
Darth Bolton just held up a copy of one of the e-mails on Fox. While the recipient names were redacted (blocked out), the office symbols were not. Bolton named off a couple of very high ranking State Dept. offices.
How can we tell Bambi and his minions are lying? Their lips are moving. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/24/2012 11:58
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#8
Quoting Vodkapundit, Stephen Green:
So why the coverup? Why the lame attempt to blame it on a video, the producer of which is still in jail? Why send Susan Rice out on five Sunday shows in one morning to plead ignorance?
Simple.
Its hard to do victory laps around al Qaeda while al Qaeda is running victory laps around the smoldering remains of our consulate.
#12
OK, I'm going to agree with the Administration on one point: the fact that an Islamicist group claimed responsibility is really not necessarily reliable evidence they did it.
Groups jostling for street cred make such claims often. We know that Ansar al Shariah was making a play to lead Islamist groups overall because they organized a meeting in Benghazi earlier this summer and attempted to assert their leadership there. It's quite conceivable that they would lie to promote that assertion.
What chaffs me badly is the overt false assertion about a video-inspired riot. THAT was clearly false and they damned well knew it, or should have.
#14
Gaffney has a great article on Benghazigate in the Washington Times that would explain why they would try to blame it all on a video: In short, it seems President Obama has been engaged in gun-walking on a massive scale. The effect has been to equip Americas enemies to wage jihad not only against regimes it once claimed were our friends, but inevitably against us and our allies as well. That would explain his administrations desperate and now failing bid to mislead the voters through the serial deflections of Benghazigate.
#15
What chaffs me badly is the overt false assertion about a video-inspired riot. THAT was clearly false and they damned well knew it, or should have.
Obama and Hill are both lawyers, yet scapegoated a video producer and US citizen--what about his Constitutional rights? King O arrogantly acts with impunity but this may be his Waterloo.
[Dawn] Six persons were maimed as two blasts rocked Swabi when Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti arrived in the district on an official visit on Monday.
The first bomb, planted in a cycle of violence near Sehsat Medical Centre on Swabi-Jahangira road, went kaboom! as soon as the motorcade of chief minister passed through the area.
The officials of bomb disposal squad said that three kilograms of explosives were used in the expulsion. No casualty was reported in the blast. The chief minister was on his way to inaugurate Swabi-Jahangira and Swabi-Topi roads.
The second blast occurred in Shewa Adda that injured six persons including a traffic constable. Sources said that an bomb was planted in a bicycle parked in Shewa Adda Chowk that went off with a big bang, injuring six persons.
The local people took part in rescue work and shifted the injured to a hospital in Kalu Khan. The injured were identified as Rashid Bahadar, Khursheed Ali, Shad Ali, Iqbal Hussain, Waris Khan and 11-year-old Sadiq Usman.
Sources said that two of the injured were at death's door.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the chief minister didn't cancel a public meeting of Awami National Party and returned to its venue at Swabi grid station on the same route. The public meeting was shortened and only Provincial Minister for Usher and Zakat Zarshed Khan and Mr Hoti addressed it.
"As you know, we were also welcomed by some other people (militants) here today," the chief minister said in his address. He said that after the kaboom security staff advised him to move back to Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. instead of attending the public meeting.
"I told the security staff to let me die with my brothers. The people, who were killed in mosques, in police uniform and in operations, all are our brothers and we want to stand with them," Mr Hoti said.
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10/24/2012
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[An Nahar] March 14 camp MP Ammar Houri revealed that he and four colleagues were texted death threats from a Syrian telephone number before and after Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan's liquidation on Friday.
"On the eve of the attack, we received an SMS from a Syrian number that read: 'Sons of bitches, we will get you one by one,'" Ammar Houri said on television on Monday night.
He named the other MPs as Ahmed Fatfat, Hadi Hbeish, Khaled al-Daher and Nuhad al-Mashnouq.
"At the time, we didn't pay any attention to it, until the liquidation of Hasan," which was widely blamed on Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... that also left two others dead.
"After the liquidation, we received a second SMS that read: 'Congratulations, the countdown has begun. One of 10 eliminated.'"
Hasan was noted for his investigation of Syrian political crimes in Leb. His murder plunged the country, divided between partisans and opponents of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... , into a political crisis.
Houri and the four other MPs belong to the March 14 opposition, which is led by former Premier Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. , a strong opponent of Assad, whom he blames for the 2005 liquidation of his father and former premier, Rafik.
The opposition has demanded that Prime Minister Najib Miqati resign, accusing him of covering for the murderers of Hasan.
Since Rafik Hariri's murder, several other Lebanese political figures hostile to the Damascus regime have also been assassinated.
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10/24/2012
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[Dawn] "THE elections are stolen," a stunned Benazir Bhutto declared after the 1990 general elections. More than two decades later, she has been vindicated by the Supreme Court judgment.
The landmark ruling implicating the ex-army and ISI chiefs in the election rigging does not make amends for past wrongs, but it certainly sends a strong message to potential plotters. The ruling entails far-reaching political consequences as the country comes close to the next general elections. Whether or not Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Asad Durrani, the two main accused in the Asghar Khan case, are put on trial for violation of the constitution as directed by the Supreme Court, the ruling has opened up a Pandora's box the political fallout of which will not be easy to contain. There was nothing in the case which the people were not aware of or that had not been written about. The Supreme Court has only validated what has been known all along.
It is not just the army and intelligence agencies that have been hit by the Supreme Court ruling. It has also brought into question once again the complicity of some top politicians in this sordid game of political manipulation. They were equally responsible for undermining the democratic process in the country. Notwithstanding a few exceptions, most of the political parties wittingly or unwittingly played into the hands of the military and intelligence agencies in the game of musical chairs of power played out in the 1990s. Many of them later on even became part of Gen Musharraf's military regime.
What happened in the 1990 elections was not an isolated phenomenon. The long shadow of the generals had darkened the political scene throughout the so-called decade of democratically elected civilian rule. To be sure, the restoration of democracy in 1988, following the end of Gen Zia's military regime, was not a clean break from military rule.
The return to the barracks did not mean that the military's structure of control and manipulation had been dismantled. The army chief remained a power behind the scenes in alliance with the president as has become evident in the Asghar Khan case.
This arrangement of power without responsibility best suited the military.
The disclosure about the distribution of money by the ISI to the politicians during the 1990 elections is just the tip of the iceberg. The involvement of the military and the intelligence agencies in political manipulation has been much more deep-rooted. It all started with the formation by the military of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI,) an alliance of right-wing parties representing Gen Zia's legacy to counter the PPP and prevent it from coming to power. The ISI chief would even sit in at IJI meetings.
Also, there is absolutely no doubt that the 1988 elections were rigged to contain the PPP's sweeping win. The generals never reconciled with Benazir Bhutto's first government. Not to forget that the ISI was directly involved in the infamous operation Midnight Jackal to buy over support of PPP members for a no-confidence vote against Ms Bhutto. She was finally ousted from power in a constitutional coup just 18 months into her term. Ms Bhutto publicly accused Gen Durrani, the then head of the Military Intelligence, of plotting against her government.
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10/24/2012
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#1
From the title, I thought this would be about our Benghazi attach.... Just where were our generals?
[An Nahar] Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... issued an amnesty for all crimes committed in Syria "up until today," with the notable exception of "terrorist crimes," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said on Tuesday.
Assad, who has been fighting a 19-month revolt against his regime, "decreed a general amnesty for crimes committed before October 23," except for those carried out by "terrorists" -- the regime's term for rebels.
The decree applies only to criminals who surrender to the authorities and not those on the run, the report said. It was not immediately clear if the amnesty includes those in prison.
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BEIJING: The United States believes that Myanmar is on the right track toward giving up its remaining military ties with North Korea but recognizes it will take time, the US envoy for the North Korean nuclear dispute said on Monday.
Not too long, though. A month should do it...
US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies told reporters in Beijing that Washington continued to be worried about that relationship and it was an issue raised with their counterparts in the former Burma.
I think that Burmas on the right path, that they have made a strategic decision to fundamentally alter their relationship with the DPRK and to ultimately end these relationships with North Korea, Davies said, using the countrys official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. But its a work in process. It was a long relationship that the two countries had and so it does take some time to work through it.
The Southeast Asian countrys defense minister said in June that Myanmar had abandoned research on a nuclear program that never progressed very far and had stepped back from close military and political ties with North Korea. News reports two years ago indicated Myanmar had obtained technology for enriching uranium from North Korea along with parts for a nuclear weapons program.
A UN panel that monitors compliance with sanctions on North Korea has also investigated reports of possible weapons-related deals between Pyongyang and Syria and Myanmar.
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[Bangla Daily Star] International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday closed recording the testimonies of defence witnesses for Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... in connection with crimes against humanity after the defence failed to produce witnesses.
Now only the closing statements of the prosecution and defence are left before the tribunal delivers the verdict in the case against 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... nayeb-e-ameer.
The tribunal on Monday had asked Sayeedi's counsel to produce the remaining four witnesses yesterday.
But Sayeedi's counsel produced only one witness, Ganesh Chandra Saha, who was actually listed as a prosecution witness and was supposed to testify against Sayeedi.
After his cross-examination, the tribunal asked the defence whether they would produce any more witnesses for Sayeedi.
Defence counsel Mizanul Islam replied in the negative.
"Defence witness production closed," said tribunal Chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq.
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10/24/2012
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[Dawn] NO sooner had the TTP's heinous shooting of Malala Yousufzai hit the headlines than right-wing politicians and analysts flooded our TV screens. Before a debate could even begin, they started to spin the event for their politically expedient purposes.
Waving the flags of an Indo-Israeli-American conspiracy,
"Damn those Hinjooooooo Crusaders!"
the JI demagogues arrived first. They were quickly followed by an influx of their clean-shaven version, Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... and his PTI, remorselessly decriminalising the dastardly act by blaming its 'root causes' on US drone attacks. Many PML-N leaders hardly fared better, condemning the 'kufr' but not the 'kafir'.
I thought the difference was merely a matter of regional pronunciation, but it seems I was wrong. So what is the difference?
Some talk-show anchors and analysts sunk to the lowest depths of shamelessness, one going so far as to call Malala a "foot soldier" in the propaganda war against Pakistain.
As the Islamist-dominated monologue around the brutal incident rages on, it is important to see the 'spin' for what it is. Here are some of the key ways our Taliban apologists dissimulate, distort and divert:
1. 'Whoever has committed this act should be punished.'
That's right. Condemn the attack, but create enough ambiguity about its perpetrators to divert attention from the Taliban's patent criminality. Better yet, call it 'jihad', especially when the 'good' Taliban kill people across the border in Afghanistan.
2. 'Why aren't the many more women and kiddies killed in drone attacks given the same publicity?'
Whether innocent civilians die in drone attacks or are killed by the Taliban, both scenarios are equally condemnable. But two wrongs do not make a right. And as many people have noted, drone attacks had little to do with what the TTP did to Malala, or to scores of other innocent civilians in Swat. Malala was attacked because she challenged their version of the 'right' society where women have no voice and no choice.
3. 'In fact, it is the government that almost killed Malala because it failed to provide her security.'
That's true. The government failed. Indeed, the army and its intelligence agencies failed miserably to prevent this and many other terrorist attacks. But how does this vindicate the Taliban?
4. 'We must talk to the Taliban. Previous peace agreements failed because they were sabotaged.'
Talk to who? Those who shoot teenaged girls in cold blood for spreading 'secularism', those who prize human heads as 'kill' trophies, those who consider democracy as heresy? Imran Khan and his ilk would do well to realise that the Taliban are not here to coexist, they are here to win. And remember the deal in Swat, or the several 'peace agreements' in Fata, the Taliban subverted virtually all of them.
5. 'This is nothing unusual in a society that kills women for marrying by choice.'
This is truly offensive to the victims and survivors of terrorism. But let's suppose for argument's sake, it is true. Then, why did we not see similar barbarism -- the lethal targeting of maidens of tender years and the destruction of schools -- between 1947 and the 2000s.
6. 'These people can't be Mohammedans.'
Who is to determine who is and is not a Mohammedan? The Taliban think they are on the righteous path. They quote from the Koran and Sunnah to justify their crimes against humanity, so do their equally cunning apologists. What difference does it make to those maimed and killed in terrorist attacks whether these people kill in the name of religion or not? Murder is murder. Period.
7. 'We don't know whether those who are claiming to be the TTP are actually the TTP.'
This is a particular favourite of the JI. The Taliban brag about their kills, and make videos of their savage exploits. Yet their apologists in the religious right cast doubts on the 'authenticity' of these claims. Neither have any shame.
8. 'The Indians, the Jews and the Americans finance the TTP.'
And the evidence is ... zero. Amongst others, the PML-N's Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum (retd) claimed on a TV show that 'these' people use Indian guns, Israeli bullets and so on. Very convenient, indeed. Accepting that the spreading cancer of terrorism is a Pak problem would of course turn the focus on the military establishment (and its right-wing allies) for using militancy as a tool of 'statecraft'. Here is the problem: if these 'enemies of Islam' are so smart as to give the military atomic wedgies every second day, the generals should hang up their hats and go home.
9. 'When America leaves the region, terrorism will decline.'
This is Imran Khan's favourite mantra, which is as disingenuous as it is historically wrong. It is no secret that the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), ...Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) is a Pak bad turban group whose objective is to enforce their definition of Sharia law in Pakistain whether anybody wants it or not. It was founded by Sufi Muhammad in 1992, and was banned by President Musharraf in January, 2002 after Sufi dispatched several thousand yokels to Afghanistan to fight the infidel and ended up with most of them killed or captured and held for ransom. In 2007 TNSM took over Swat, which shows how well the banning worked. TNSM is the Pony League of Islamic militancy.. the bad turban organization previously led by Sufi Mohammad, and since 2002, by his son-in-law, Mullah Fazlullah ...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullahs Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan... , was up in arms against the Pak state seven years before 9/11. There was no America in the region then.
10. 'We must understand the disease, not just fix the symptoms.'
This one really takes the cake. Basically, it is akin to saying that doctors should let their patients suffer, even suffocate or bleed to death, until they can come up with a proper diagnosis. The disease, of course, circles back to the American occupation of Afghanistan. However, the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... none of these mard-e-mujahids can tell us how the US exit from the region will prevent Taliban attacks on schools in Swat.
Here is a question for all those who think or would like us to think that Malala's activism or the attack on her and her schoolmates was a foreign conspiracy, or that it must be understood only in a 'broader' context: what if Malala was your daughter? Would you still be talking about 'root causes'? Would you still think this is not our war? Would you still be differentiating between the 'good' and the 'bad' Taliban? I doubt it.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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[Ma'an] The Paleostinian Authority cabinet on Tuesday called on civil servants to go back to work as strikes in ministries, universities, schools and refugee camps paralyzed the West Bank.
The cabinet in its weekly meeting said employees who continued to strike would be "held liable."
Paleostinian Authority employees, including public university staff and school teachers, suspended work Tuesday over the late and incomplete payment of their salaries.
On Thursday, the Paleostinian Authority finance ministry announced it was distributing partial September salaries after repeatedly delaying payment to employees and capping payments to high earners.
Ministers in Ramallah urged unions to "continue the dialogue" and said that while the government understood unions' needs, the financial crisis and challenges facing the PA provided "limited possibilities."
The cabinet urged donor countries, especially Arab countries, to keep providing support to the Paleostinian people.
University staff are also embroiled in an ongoing dispute with the Ministry of Education over employee benefits and demands to abolish taxes on end-of-service pay.
Amjad Barham, head of the union for university staff, said the union would call a general strike if the ministry continued its "policy of procrastination and intransigence."
UNRWA staff on strike
Employees of UNRWA, the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees, also went on strike Tuesday to protest cuts in the agency's services and the dismissal of 130 workers
UNRWA health clinics, schools and offices were closed and shops shut their doors for two hours.
Ahmad Abu Khayran, who chairs a popular committee in Hebron's al-Fawwar refugee camp, said UNRWA's austerity measures were making life harder for refugees who were already suffering from the economic crisis.
Abu Khayran told Ma'an that UNRWA was trying to "shirk its responsibilities" to refugees and treating them as Europeans or Americans, forcing them to pay 25 to 40 percent of their medical costs.
He said UNRWA should reduce the wages of its foreign staff instead of increasing medical expenses for refugees, as well as pressuring donor nations to meet their obligations.
UNRWA criticized the strike, which it said had prevented 51,000 from attending school. The agency said it remained committed to meeting the needs of refugees, but a 50 percent drop in funding since 2010 had forced the agency to "re-prioritize" its emergency services.
Basic services -- including schools, primary health clinics and food aid -- are not affected by the restructuring, the UN agency said in a statement.
UNRWA said it would continue working to secure resources to maintain its emergency services, which depend on donor response to its emergency appeal.
#1
So the Paleos are on strike, the civil servants are on strike, the refugees are on strike, and the UN wankers are on strike. Don't you have to, like, actually do something to go on strike from? Please tell me this is The Onion.
#6
UNRWA said it would continue working to secure resources to maintain its emergency services, which depend on donor response to its emergency appeal.
Heh, they do that more often than PBS.
Maybe they should invest in some tote bags...
[An Nahar] Warplanes raided a district of the northern city of Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... as fighting across Syria kept up unabated on Tuesday, despite hopes of a ceasefire for later this week, a watchdog said.
The latest violence comes three days ahead of the Moslem feast of Eid al-Adha, during which peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has proposed a ceasefire.
In Syria's second city Aleppo, a rebel was killed in fighting, which was taking place in several districts, while planes bombed the Katergi quarter, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
In the Damascus ...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy... provincial town of Harasta, at least two rebels were killed, the Britannia-based group said.
In the capital itself, security forces carried out searches in the Zahira quarter, where gunfire could be heard. Overnight, one man was killed in a kaboom on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus.
The Observatory also reported fighting in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and in Daraa, southern Syria.
"Neither the rebels nor the regime appear to want a ceasefire, and the daily corpse count continues to exceed 100," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
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10/24/2012
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[Bangla Daily Star] The family of Qazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, the Bangladeshi youth tossed in the slammer Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! in New York over an alleged bomb plot, was trying to talk to him through the lawyer the US government appointed for him, reported the BBC Bangla service yesterday.
Nafis's father Quazi Ahsanullah told the BBC Bangla that they had talked to the lawyer who informed them it would take two weeks to complete the process for them to be able to talk to Nafis.
"We have no way to talk to my son. That's why we could not talk to him. We are trying to talk to him through his lawyer," said Ahsanullah.
It would then be possible to know why Nafis refused to talk to the officials of Bangladesh embassy in the US, he added.
Though Nafis's family is frequently requesting the Bangladesh government to provide him legal assistance, the possibility has become thin due to his refusal to talk to the embassy officials.
Ahsanullah, however, said nobody from the Bangladesh government nor the US embassy in Dhaka contacted with them. "We are looking forward to seeing the Bangladesh government's steps."
Replying to a query about the FBI's allegation against Nafis, his father termed it a "total conspiracy".
On another question, Ahsanullah told the BBC that he had not even thought of appointing a lawyer personally as he did not know the process and the cost. It would also not be possible for him to bear a huge expense, he added.
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[Dawn] A car boom and mortar attacks against predominantly Shia neighbourhoods in north Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... killed at least seven people on Tuesday, security and medical officials said.
Multiple mortars struck the Chikouk area while a car boomwent kaboom! in Shuala, all minutes apart at around 6:45 am (0345 GMT), an interior ministry official said.
The official put the toll from the attacks at nine killed and 12 maimed, while a medical source said seven people died and 22 were hurt. The medic warned that the toll could rise.
Conflicting casualty figures are common in the chaotic aftermath of violence in Iraq.
Both of the neighbourhoods are majority Shia, and Chikouk in particular is home to a camp for internally displaced persons, mostly Shia who fled largely Sunni areas during the worst of Iraq's confessional violence in 2006 and 2007.
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[Dawn] Of 4,585 cases of violence against women reported in the country during the first half of this year, about 1,027 incidents -- nearly 22 per cent of the total number of cases -- happened in Sindh, states a report released by a rights group on Monday.
The report adds that the FIRs of around 59 per cent of the cases in the province were not registered.
An overwhelming impunity granted to perpetrators of violence against women has led to a steady rise in the number of cases across Pakistain, the report says.
Prepared by Aurat Foundation, the non-governmental organization working for women's rights, the report finds 3,153 incidents of violence against women reported in Punjab only. While this figure makes nearly 69 per cent of the total number of cases reported in the country, the report cites better awareness level along with easy access to the media and police for the high number of reported cases in the province.
Aurat Foundation has been collecting data and releasing annual reports on violence against women over the past four years, showing alarming trends prevailing in the country.
Since these reports are based on the incidents published in national dailies, it can be assumed that the actual number of violence cases is much higher.
While studying the cases district-wise, the organization finds Lahore as the district where most cases of violence against women (272) were reported, followed by Okara (262) and Sargodha (223).
The report mentions a total of 15 districts with maximum number of cases. Of these, 12 are in Punjab, one in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and two in Sindh, it says.
In Sindh, 90 per cent cases of violence against women are reported in Khairpur Mirs, followed by 80pc in Ghotki, and 60pc cases in Sukkur, Naushahro Feroz and Larkana.
Forms of violence
The most common form of violence against women was found to be murder, with 153 killings reported in the media, the organization says. It was followed by abduction/ kidnapping (146), domestic violence (140), honour killings (131), custodial violence (194), vani (102), suicide (59), rape/ gang rape (54), attempt to commit suicide (36), threat to violence (35), sexual assault (33), attempted murder (30), and burning (four).
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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#1
The real War on Women alert.
Posted by: jack salami ||
10/24/2012 12:35
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#2
reinforcing culture there is this verse from the qrn
4:34 Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great
Posted by: lord garth ||
10/24/2012 19:56
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The Iranian private sector has exported over 20 million barrels of crude oil to international markets during the past four months, circumventing the West's sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's oil sector, the Mehr News Agency quoted the chairman of the union of Iranian exporters of oil derivatives, Hassan Khosrojerdi, as saying.
That can't be true. The U.S. has the toughest sanctions evah against Iran, I heard Champ say so in the debate...
"A number of new consignments will be also exported to Asian and European markets within the next few days," he added.
On September 9, the private sector delivered the first shipment of crude oil to foreign buyers, despite the U.S. and EU sanctions.
"An agreement has been made that allows an Iranian consortium comprising private firms to export 20 percent of its oil exports to international markets, including the EU," Khosrojerdi said. "This equates to around 400,000 to 500,000 barrels of oil per day."
Economic experts say that Iran's private sector will fill the gap created by international sanctions on Iran's oil sector and central bank.
Where there's a will...
On September 2, Mohammad-Ali Khatibi, who is Iran's OPEC governor and the director of the National Iranian Oil Company, said Iran's oil exports are at their normal level and are unaffected by Western embargoes.
"We don't see anything abnormal, almost everything is progressing routinely," he told the ISNA News Agency.
In July, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that although the West has imposed sanctions on Iran's oil sector with the goal of toppling the Islamic establishment, the country's oil exports will never be halted because oil consuming countries need Iranian crude.
"There are many ways to easily sell oil, one of which is to take advantage of businessmen and the private sector," Qasemi said.
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
U.S. sanctions entered into force on June 28, while EU bans on Iranian oil imports came into force on July 1.
If all this is true then there's another reason why the rial is tanking against the dollar...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2012
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#1
Twenty million barrels? I know where 10 percent of it went:
[Dawn] At least ten Afghan security personnel have been killed in a bloody battle with Taliban bully boyz in the western province of Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , officials said on Tuesday.
Five coppers were among the dead, including the police chief of Obe district, where the battle took place on Monday afternoon, regional police front man Noor Khan Nikzad told AFP.
Nikzad said the shootout erupted at noon when the Taliban attacked a police convoy and lasted several hours.
Najeebullah Ahmadi, the Obe district governor, said five police and five soldiers were killed in the battle. Three Taliban bully boyz including a commander were also killed, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#3
How is it that the fierce, vengeful Afghans we've heard about forever seem to mainly be with the Taliban? We never hear of our Afghan allies going into a village and executing the imams sponsoring the IEDs that are killing THEIR kids. I feel sorry for what's going to happen to the Afghanis who allied with us after we leave, but they're bringing it on themselves by demanding we play patty-cake with people who are shooting at us. If they really don't care what the bastards have done, are doing and will do to them and their families, and/or are just so scared of them that they won't stand up for US, or are so few that they dare not, then why are we there? Just nuke 'em from orbit (so to speak) next time (and sadly, there WILL be a next time.)
[Dawn] Four paramilitary soldiers were maimed Tuesday in a remote-controlled kaboom on Frontier Road in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. 's outskirts, officials said.
The Frontier Constabulary personnel were taking positions on Aziz Market's Faqirabad Chowk when snuffies bombed the room on a plaza's roof top where the personnel were positioned, in-charge Bara Sheikhan checkpost Farman Khan said
He said that four FC men had been injured in the blast, carried out through a remote-controlled device. The bomb carried kaboom weighing about 5 kilograms, he added.
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10/24/2012
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[Jerusalem Post] IDF catch 19-year-old Paleostinian man with eight pipe bombs at Kalandiya check point, confirm he was trying arrive in Jerusalem.
The man, believed to be from Nablus, got off a Paleostinian bus carrying a large backpack, and tried to sneak past security checks for pedestrians at the checkpoint, which separates greater Jerusalem from the West Bank.
Lt.-Col. Yuval Shenkin, commander of the Military Police's Erez Battalion, which controls crossings in the area, said the incide was highly unusual. "To try to get this amount of explosives through is certainly exceptional," Shenkin said.
"Had he gotten past Kalandiya, he'd be in Jerusalem," he added.
After getting off the bus, the man walked around the pedestrian route, arousing soldiers' suspicions.
The soldiers told him to go back to the pedestrian line and undergo security checks.
At that point, the man became even more suspicious, Shenkin added. "He said he was confused, and that he wanted to go back to the West Bank. At this stage, the soldiers understood something was going on. They placed his backpack through X-ray screening, and found eight pipe bombs," Shenkin said.
IDF sappers were called to the scene to deal with the explosives.
As soon as it became clear that the man was a security suspect, he was isolated in the bomb-proof terminal and separated from his backpack, Shenkin stressed. The suspect was transferred to the Israel Police for questioning.
Shenkin praised the alertness of soldiers for seizing the bombs. "They begin their shift at four a.m. Fifteen thousand Paleostinians and thousands of vehicles pass through Kalandiya to go to Jerusalem. They prevented the bombs from getting through," the commander said.
(Sh.M.Network)--The front man of Somali police Abdullah Hassan Barise, has held today a presser in Mogadishu, where he displayed Al shabab fighters found guilty of killings for the journalists.
The men were accused of several separate liquidations in the capital and elsewhere in the country and the police front man said: "These four Al shabab combatants, among them a woman were locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in an army crackdown in Mogadishu in the past few days."
"I would like to show the Media four Al shabab elements who committed in the past a number of murders against officials and civilians in Mogadishu and they remained in jug for days at a prison," he added. "They were under a surveillance that led their caprure."
The three men and the woman charged of the killing cases have neither denied nor admitted all the charges.
Mr.Barise stated they handed such agents alleged to be members of Al shabab to the military tribunal for ruling. The court did not say the date of their verdict.
Mogadishu has seen the biggest army operations for the past two months to improve the security after Al shabab's pull out last years 2011.
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10/24/2012
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
[Ynet] The B.O. regime on Tuesday threw its support behind efforts by Leb's president to form a new government in the aftermath of last week's deadly car booming in Beirut that many blame on Syria or its ally, Hezbollah.
The State Department said the US believed it is time for the Lebanese people to choose a government that will counter the threat posed by the civil war in neighboring Syria, like Friday's bombing that killed an anti-Syrian intelligence official. But it also warned against any leadership changes leaving the country with a power vacuum.
As my German grandmother used to say when we little ones proudly displayed our latest scrawls, "Is that nice!"
Let's watch our language on Fred's site, Menhadden Grumble7602. No need to be trashy.
We can denigrate without sounding like knuckle-dragging losers. Trailing Wife, for instance, is painfully good at it - perhaps you could read some of her comments for instruction on how to be devastatingly insulting without resorting to low-class epithets (after which, she often offers the insultee(s) tea).
Unless, of course, you were talking about actual simians who live in sand somewhere and read cartoons in English.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/24/2012 12:13
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#3
Yeah. Just because they live in a cat box is no reason to insult monkeys.
[Tolo News] 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... on Tuesday condemned two 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... 's military operations in Pashtun-infested Logar and Zabul provinces, calling for a full investigation into both incidents following reports of civilian deaths and disappearances.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) responded that it is also conducting investigations into claims the Pashtun-infested Logar operation killed four children and that three civilians were missing after being incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! by security forces in Zabul.
Karzai denounced the operation in Pashtun-infested Logar's Baraki Barak district, conducted on Sunday, which he was told killed four children.
"As per the information by the provincial governor Mohammad Iqbal Azizi, NATO forces carried out an operation on Sunday afternoon to detain two armed jihad boys, but resulted in killing four innocent children who were just grazing animals," a statement from the presidential office said.
Karzai stressed that despite repeated pledges by NATO to avoid civilian casualties, "innocent lives including children are still being lost in fighting a terrorism whose havens and sanctuaries remain safe outside Afghanistan's borders."
Isaf confirmed there was a military operation in the district on October 20 but it could not comment on the reports of the children's deaths.
"We are aware of the allegations and we take these the very seriously," Isaf HQ spokesperson Jamie Graybeal told TOLOnews.
"We are working very closely with the Afghan officials to determine the circumstances of these events. Once that investigation is done we will have more information."
Karzai also condemned a military operation in Zabul province carried out on October 13 because three of four civilians who were incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! during the operation were still missing, according to provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Naseri.
The president said he would send a delegation from Kabul to assist in investigating the incident if necessary.
Graybeal said the operation was a partnered operation with the Afghan cops and confirmed that some civilians had been briefly incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! "Three Afghans were briefly incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! but they were released from our custody shortly after. We don't have any additional information on their current location," he said.
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10/24/2012
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#1
Don't let him back in Baltimore after we leave.
This story is exactly why we have to leave and should have already done so - it is horribly wrong to force our soldiers to fight a war where the enemy has safe havens and human shields. If you can't or won't fight to win, then don't fight. Watch carefully, and if necessary, nuke 'em from orbit.
#2
Sad thing is, Karzai wasn't even among the top 50% of miscreants, hacks, thugs and politicos of Baltimore. It's like he was sent to the Kabul double-A affiliate so that he could learn to up his game...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2012 8:46
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#3
But Chicago has been exporting its miscreants to the Balto-Wash area so I guess A'stan could too.
[Dawn] Indian officials on Tuesday submitted a clemency plea to the president by the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, opening the final appeal stage against his death sentence. Pakistain-born Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, currently in jail in Mumbai, was one of 10 gunnies who laid siege to the city in attacks that lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people and maimed more than 300 on November 26, 2008. Can't see why they'd grant him clemency. He didn't grant it to his victims.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
#1
D *** NG IT, KASAB looks mighty mighty familiar, but where???
[Dawn] US President Barack Obama The Cambridge police acted stupidly... , in some of his most blunt remarks to date, said on Monday that the late Osama bin Laden ... who has left the building... would have escaped if the United States had sought Pakistain's permission ahead of the raid on the al Qaeda leader's compound.
B.O. regime officials have previously justified the decision not to involve Islamabad by citing the risk that bin Laden might somehow be tipped off and flee his compound in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... before the team of Navy SEALs arrived.
Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... , then the director of the CIA and now defence secretary, said in an interview with TIME magazine shortly after the May 2011 raid that there was a concern that the Paks "might alert the targets."
But in Monday's presidential foreign policy debate against Republican opponent Willard Mitt Romney ...former governor of Massachussetts, currently the Publican nominee for president. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney has a record as a successful businessman, heading Bain Capital, and he rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from the midst of bribery and mismanagement scandals. More to the point, he isn't President B.O... , Obama presented such risk as a certainty.
"If we had asked Pakistain (for) permission, we would not have gotten him," Obama said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
If we had asked Pakistan (for) permission, we would not have gotten him, Obama said.
Air corridor and "Permission to enter" not required with purchase.
Memories of Operation Linebacker comes to mind. One must wonder if NOTAM's were required.
#2
It is difficult to find much to believe that Obumble says--his credibility is shot. What I don't understand is why so many still back him--the election seems to be even?
[Yemen Post] The former Yemeni president Ali Abullah Saleh has strongly slammed the Yemeni interim government, dubbing it as a lame government. So he liked being Mr. Big. Who knew?
In an article published in Alyaman Alyawm (Yemen Today), he said that the GCC-brokered power transfer deal had not been completely implemented, stressing that the General People Congress committees to all articles of the deal.
Saleh emphasized that the interim government presided by Mohammad Salem Basindwa is incompetent and could not fulfill its promises, indicating that it doubled the suffers of Yemenis. He reitrated that he will stay as the leader of the General People Congress, despite efforts exerted to take him away.
Saleh's attacks against the government came amid attempts of states that adopted the GCC deal to persuade him to leave the political life.
Well-informed sources affirmed that the UN Envoy Jamal Benomar who currently visits Yemen seeks to put pressures on Saleh to resign from the GCC.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... fears are raised among population of Yemen that violence acts may break out in Eid Al-Adha, a Mohammedan religious holiday, particularly as Yemeni analysts anticipated that violence acts will break out. Abaad Research and Study Centre (Abaad) had warned that festivities will erupt between the Republican Guard led by the elderly son of the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... and the First Armored Division commanded by the defected Ali Mohsin Saleh.
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10/24/2012
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[An Nahar] The Army Command on Tuesday announced that army units tossed in the slammer Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! around 100 gunnies, including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians, in a security sweep in Beirut and 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... , as calm returned to the areas that witnessed deadly festivities over the past three days.
"Army units deployed in the areas that witnessed unrest over the past few days continued implementing the security plan laid out by the Command to suppress the presence of gunnies on the streets and confront any shooting, rioting or attacks against citizens' properties," the Army Command said in a statement.
"These units continue to raid the hideouts of the gunnies in Beirut and Tripoli in order to restore full calm in the two cities," it added, revealing that "around 100 gunnies were tossed in the slammer Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! , including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians."
"A quantity of weapons, ammunition and military gear was seized, while 15 army troops were maimed by the gunnies's gunfire, including two officers," the statement added.
The Army Command stressed on Monday that Leb's security is a "red line" and that it will take strict measures against all those who are targeting security, as Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji inspected the army units deployed in Beirut.
It said in a statement: "We will not allow Leb to once again be turned into an open ground for regional conflicts."
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10/24/2012
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[An Nahar] Three people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of communal violence between Mohammedan Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, a local official said Tuesday.
"We got the information that three people, an ethic Rakhine man and two Mohammedan women, were killed at Pandeinkone village during yesterday's (Monday's) festivities," Hla Thein, Rakhine State chief justice told AFP.
Hundreds of homes were also torched in the festivities that affected two neighboring villages, he said, adding: "The two villages were very close. More than 300 houses were burnt down."
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[An Nahar] A group of angry Syrians set fire to their tents in protest at "bad living conditions" at the Zaatari desert refugee camp in northern Jordan, a leading charity said on Tuesday. That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but kind of. In an Islamic sort of way... Kinda.
"A number of Syrian refugees torched 20 tents last night, protesting bad living conditions in Zaatari and demanding the authorities replace tents with caravans," said Zayed Hammad, head of the Ketab and Sunna Society, a charity that helps hundreds of thousands of Syrians in the kingdom.
"Police did not make any arrests and no one was hurt. I think Syrian regime supporters did this in an attempt to create riots inside the camp," Hammad told AFP.
There are 5,000 tents and 350 caravans in Zaatari, which houses 37,000 refugees, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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#1
A group of angry Syrians set fire to their tents
[An Nahar] Iran could soon host a "national dialogue" in the region between all the parties to the Syrian conflict, a senior Iranian official said in media reports on Tuesday. Sounds like the fox volunteering to guard the henhouse to me...
"Representatives of the (Syrian) government and all political and opposition groups will soon begin a national dialogue in a regional country, and possibly in Tehran," said Hossein Amir Abdollahian, deputy foreign minister for Arab affairs, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
Abdollahian, who was speaking after meeting his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov, did not say which members of the Syrian opposition had agreed to participate.
"Some opposition groups have however rejected this idea, but we are continuing our efforts to persuade them," he added.
Armed Syrian opposition groups reject any Iranian involvement in finding a solution to the conflict in Syria, reflecting the view the US and some Western and Arab countries hold that Tehran is discredited by its unwavering support for the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... Iran, which in turn accuses Western and Arab countries of arming the rebels fighting Assad's forces, has said repeatedly that it is in contact with Syrian opposition groups, without identifying which ones.
Russia and Iran advocate a political solution and dialogue between the government and opposition groups to end the Syrian crisis.
"Tehran and Moscow strongly support the Syrian people and the reform plans of Mr. Bashir al-Assad," Abdollahian said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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Iraq and Kuwait have signed an agreement on the joint development of deposits which are the subject of a dispute between the two countries for many years, spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry Asym Jihad told Trend today. According to the agreement between the parties, a joint venture will be established to regulate the work in the fields to be the operator. Beats going to war...
"There is a big breakthrough in resolving the problems of joint oil fields with Kuwait," he said. "Iraq intends to fully resolve the problem hindering the development of joint prospective oil fields."
The main joint oil fields between Iraq and Kuwait are Ravdatain, Sabria and Bahra, with most belonging to Kuwait. Zubair, Qurna and Majnoon are located in Iraq. The main point of dispute between the two countries is the Al-Ratka field which is a continuation of giant Iraqi Rumaila field.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2012
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Those brave, brave Lions of Islam! And so ineffective, too.
[Ma'an] Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fighters on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack that wounded an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said in a statement that it was responsible for a bomb that went off beside an army patrol east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. It said no PFLP militants were injured in the operation.
"We in the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades reaffirm the right of confrontation and resistance to the occupation, and we will continue our military response and our resistance so long as the occupation continues its aggression, and we will keep our watchful eye toward protecting the people and the homeland. Our response will continue. No voice is louder than the voice of resistance," the PFLP wing said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would deliver a strong response to the attack. "We will fight and we will hit them very, very hard," Netanyahu said.
The wounded officer was evacuated by helicopter to hospital, the Israeli military said in a statement.
On Monday, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said it had fired mortars at soldiers and cross-border rockets east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters in airstrikes early Monday morning.
[An Nahar] Prime Minister Najib Miqati signed on Tuesday the decree to refer the case of the liquidation of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan's to the judicial council.
The decree has also been referred to 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...
Miqati informed Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi of his step, stressing the need to name the judicial investigator who will handle the case.
Hasan was killed in a massive car boom in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district on Friday.
He played a major role in the investigation in the liquidation of former Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005.
He also played a great role in uncovering terrorist and Israeli espionage networks in Leb, as well as the arrest of former minister Michel Samaha.
The former minister, a close ally of Syria, was tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! in August on charges of forming a criminal gang aimed at carrying out attacks in Leb at Syria's behest.
The March 14-led opposition in Leb and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... accused the Syrian regime of being behind Hasan and Hariri's murders.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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(Sh.M.Network)--Somalia's Islamist al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... militia on Monday warned Britannia it would "pay the heftiest price" for its "war against Islam" and the extradition of radical holy man Abu Hamza to the United States.
In a series of eleven posts written by al-Shabaab's Press Office on its Twitter page, the radical group threatened to inflict on Britannia its worst-ever attack.
"The nightmare that surreptitiously looms on British shores is bound to eclipse the horrors of 7/7 and 21/7 combined," said one message.
The London bombings on July 7, 2005, were a series of co-ordinated suicide kabooms on the city's public transport which killed 52 civilians and the four bombers.
Two weeks later, four attempted kabooms disrupted part of the city's public transport system.
Another message read: "Britannia will pay the heftiest price for its brazen role in the war against Islam and endless brutality against innocent Moslems."
The Al-Qaeda linked group also vowed to "go to every possible length to attain the freedom of imprisoned Moslem scholars."
A 17,000-strong 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... force, fighting alongside government forces, has in recent months wrested control of a string of Shebab strongholds including the bastion of Kismayo, a strategic southern port.
Radical preacher Hamza and four other terrorism suspects were extradited to the US earlier this month after a British court rejected their last-ditch attempts to block their removal.
A legal saga that dragged on for more than a decade in the courts of Britannia and Europe finally ended when two senior judges at the High Court in London dismissed the men's pleas to be allowed a stay of extradition.
The al-Shabaab's messages came as three British Moslem men went on trial on Monday accused of planning a string of bombings that prosecutors said could have been deadlier than the 7/7, 2005 attacks on London.
The three men have all denied the charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
#1
I hear we have the most somalians outside Somalia in the UK many of which are unemployed= potential terrorists!
#3
Well folks they are in the meat packing industry right here in the USA. A thriving community has formed in Matt Dillon's Dodge City and the cashiers at Wal Mart are mostly Muslim. I was shocked to find that mine was very polite and spoke the Kings english.
[Yemen Post] Yemen's interior ministry has demanded to swiftly hand over a son of a military commander who is charged with killing a policeman and wounding three others.
The ministry requested to hand over the son of Murad al-Awbali, a commander of the Republican Guard 62th Brigade, expressing its surprise as some authorities operate to hide criminals and killers.
Security sources said that three defendants were handed over and that the main defendant, Mohammad al-Awabli, is still on the lam.
Murad Al-Awbali, a loyalist to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... and his son Ahmed, is accused of committing crimes against protesters in the southern province of Taiz. Taiz protesters demonstrated repeatedly, demanding to hold al-Awbali accountable.
He was appointed Ahmed Saleh as a commander of the 62 brigade by after the protests calling for his arrest and prosecutions increased.
President Abdurabu Mansour Hadi ...the second and possibly the last president of Yemen, successor to former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... replaced about high-ranking generals of Saleh's relatives and loyalists in a bid to implement reforms in the army, but the well-equipped military units, the Republican Guard, are still run by Saleh's son, Ahmed.
After carrying out reforms in army and security services, the Yemeni army could defeat al-Qaeda in some districts of 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... governorate.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... Yemen's security authorities have stated that they have taken tight security measures in the capital Sana'a in anticipation of any violence acts in Eid al-Adha, a Moslem religious holiday. Fears are raised among population of Yemen that violence acts may break out in Eid Al-Adha, a Moslem religious holiday, particularly as Yemeni analysts anticipated that violence acts will break out.
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ARLINGTON, Va. -- Expect to see the Navy using lasers on both of its ships within the next couple of years. Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of the Office of Naval Research, tells Wired that they have pushed up the timetable from four years to two to install laser weapons on board ships.
"We're well past physics," Klunder told the magazine. "We're just going through the integration efforts. Hopefully, that tells you we're well mature, and we're ready to put these on naval ships."
Klunder added that tests have been "very successful," telling Wired that lasers were recently able to shoot down drones.
On top of lasers, the Office of Naval Research is also working on drone subs that they hope can go underwater for 60 days at a time. A prototype of the drone sub is expected to be ready by 2016.
"The propulsion systems that I think you're going to see within a year are going to [give] a (unmanned underwater vehicle) with over 30 days of endurance," Klunder explained to the magazine. That's ahead of schedule of what we told the secretary of the Navy a year ago."
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
But we won't need to many, since not only do we have the smallest number since a long time ago, but we cannot count those that we land airplanes on, called aircraft carriers or submarines that go under the water when we count the ships....
BO said so and i b'lieve him (spit)
#8
These are pretty cool actually. They replace the phalanx systems and have longer range, can fire faster and farther and have no ammo limit.
They aren't going to take down swarms of small boats (that is what the Ma-duce is for), but it makes it a lot harder to kill our ships with swarms of missiles from swarms of boats.
#12
I don't think you'd need as large a portion of the ship as you think if you've got a nuclear powered ship you could use that power source. Line of site works as close-in-defense. Much more accurate than any kind of projectile and it woudln't take much to knock a missile out of its path.
#13
Lasers also don't work as well in rain or fog - yes, they work, but the signal is degraded.
Also, controlling the laser and keeping it on target is a major challenge in heavy weather when the ship is rocking and rolling.
This is not as much of a challenge for aircraft carriers, since a six degree roll is considered a major disturbance.
By the way, the only surface nuc ships these days are aircraft carriers.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/24/2012 21:34
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#14
As per FREEREPUBLIC Artics, looks like the Bammer's "horses and bayonets" debate gaffe has re-started controversy oer the size of the post-2014 Navy + DOD in a troubled US, Global economy.
#16
See also WAFF > [StrategyPage] BARACK AND MITT: THE WAR FOR THE US NAVY HAS JUST BEGUN.
and
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > BOEING HAS TESTED [new Cruise] MISSLE THAT DESTROYS ELECTRONICS [+ Computers] ONLY LEAVING EVERYTHING | BOEING PERFECTED A MISSLE THAT WIPES OUT ELECTRONICS AND LEAVES EVERYTHING ELSE INTACT | BOEING'S COUNTER-ELECTRONICS HIGH-POWER MICROWAVE ADVANCED MISSLE PROJECT - BUSINESS INSIDER.
versus
* WORLD NEWS > [Asia Times] ITS THE WORLD OR NOTHING FOR CHINA.
* SAME > CHINA STEPS UP RHETORIC AGZ US MISSLE DEFENSE, as per US-led GMD-TMD in East Asia includ NE Asia + new "Pivot" Asia strategy.
* TOPIX > RUSSIA WARNS OF "TECHNICAL" RESPONSE [ + other]TO US MISSLE SHIELD.
BEIRUT: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton warned yesterday against a political vacuum in Lebanon after the opposition called for the premier to step down over a deadly blast blamed on Syria, state media said.
So she should send in the mighty EU army...
She also claimed, without pointing a finger, that "there are some who are trying to divert attention from the situation in the region by causing problems in Lebanon," the National News Agency reported.
Her handwringing concerns were highlighted when an opposition MP said he and four colleagues had received texted death threats from a Syrian telephone number before and after Friday's car bombing.
The blast in Beirut killed police intelligence chief General Wissam Al-Hassan, who led a series of investigations linking the regime of President Bashar Assad to political assassinations in Lebanon.
"This attack is a terrible thing; we are concerned about the stability of Lebanon," Ashton was quoted as saying after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Did she say that with moist eyes and a quivering voice?
The eyes were bright with bravely unshed tears, the voice quavered with suppressed passion.
Ammar Houry, an MP with the fiercely anti-Assad opposition movement of Saad Hariri, said Monday night that, "on the eve of the attack, we received an SMS from a Syrian number that read: 'Sons of bitches, we will get you one by one'." He said they did not pay much attention to it until Hassan was killed.
Afterwards, "we received a second SMS that read: 'Congratulations, the countdown has begun. One of 10 eliminated.'" Hassan's murder has sparked fears of new inter-confessional strife in Lebanon, where much of the Sunni Muslim community opposes the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and most Shiites support him.
Since the bombing, at least 12 people have been killed and wounded in fighting in the northern city of Tripoli, including a woman who died yesterday. There has also been scattered violence in Beirut since Friday's bombing, in which a Palestinian youth was killed.
Anti-Syria opposition chief Saad Hariri and other political figures have blamed Damascus for the assassination and demanded the resignation of Mikati, whose cabinet is dominated by Syrian ally Hezbollah. Mikati, who expressed his desire to step down, said on Saturday he would stay at the request of President Michel Sleiman in the "national interest."
In a separate meeting with Sleiman yesterday, Ashton expressed her concerns of a possible political vacuum and the EU's commitment to the "sovereignty, independence and stability of Lebanon," the National News Agency said.
But they're not concerned enough to do anything, of course...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2012
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#1
Anybody ever heard this women saying something that makes sense?
[Dawn] The provincial chapter of 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... (JI) has criticised Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... for what it called following the pro-America policies of the federal government.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman was responsible for the destruction caused owing to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... supply, drone attacks, enforcement of secular policies in the country and operations against innocent people because he shouldered the pro-US government of Zardari, JI provincial deputy chief Mushtaq Ahmed Khan told a presser here on Monday.
He asked the JUI-F chief to seek apology from the nation for supporting the government. He added that JUI-F was moving towards secularisation and JI was not ready to go along it.
He said that Maulana Fazl ignored the suggestions put forward by JI for revival of Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).
According to him, the suggestions were about enforcement of Islamic system in the country and end to military operation.
Mr Khan dispelled the impression that his party had demanded 50 per cent seats in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly for revival of MMA. The JUI-F leader was not ready to stop supporting the government and in such a situation JI was not ready to become part of MMA, he said.
"MMA without JI and JUI-S (the faction of Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... ) is meaningless because in the past JUI-F won most of the seats with the support of these two parties but now it will be impossible for it to do so," he said.
Flanked by Israrullah and Bahrullah, Mr Khan said that JI had nothing to do with MMA but the JUI-F leader was busy in
speaking against Jammat and its leadership for no reasons.
"Our agenda for revival of MMA was to decide a roadmap for enforcement of Sharia, creation of job opportunities, provision of health facilities and solution to rest of the core issues in the province," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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[Dawn] Police have rescued a teenage girl from the illegal custody of a couple who were planning to sell her in Afghanistan, police said on Monday.
The recovery of Shahina came after she made a call to Rescue-15 from her detention place and sought police help.
Investigation officer SI Anis Akbar told Dawn that Rescue-15 informed Shahzad Town police that a girl had been placed in long-term storage I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! by a couple in a house at Sanam Chowk and was seeking help for her release.
In response, a police team raided the house and recovered her and took the couple into custody.
In her statement, Shahina told police that she had been sold thrice and the couple, Jamila and Kareem, were her last buyers. She said Ikram, a native of Charsadda, had brought Shahina to Rawalpindi and sold her to them some 19 days back.
She alleged they used her as sex worker, and Kareem raped her several times.
Shahina said she was first kidnapped by Akram in Shabqadar while she was going to school. He dragged her in a car and made her unconscious. When she regained her consciousness she found herself locked in a room.
Akram made Shahina addict by giving her narcotics.
He continued to rape her during her stay with him and later sold her to Rashid for Rs60,000.
Later, Ikram bought Shahina for Rs55,000 and brought her to Rawalpindi.
Shahina said the couple wanted to sell her in Afghanistan, but somehow she came to know about their planning and luckily got a chance to inform Rescue-15 about their move.
The police have started the paperwork but haven't done much else against the couple under sections 371-A (selling person for purposes of prostitution, etc), 371-B (buying person for purposes of prostitution, etc) and 376 (punishment for rape).
During investigation, Jamila and Kareem told the police that they had recently been shifted from Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. to Islamabad to extend their illegal business they had been running for many years. They would buy girls from different sources, including sex traders and kidnappers, the IO added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2012
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planning to sell her in Afghanistan
I wouldn't think there is much of a market for girls in Afgan. Goats, on the other hand...
#3
My first trip into Afghan I was amazed at that this was going on. Mostly run by the russians. It was clear they were not there by choice and it needed to be stopped. I'm certain it is still going on.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/24/2012 8:47
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Isn't there a large number of U.N. in Afghanistan?
Isn't the Food for Nookie program going on there too?
#7
I'm acquainted with an Indian chap (Lawyer) that has worked for the U.N. for years (I have no idea exactly what he does). He makes an obscene amount of money, and brags about all of the "prime" talent (his words) available. He's been all over the place, Bosnia, Africa the 'stan...etc. It would seem that wherever the U.N. is, there is extensive trafficking for the sex trade.
He is a thoroughly despicable person, I've told my wife I'd like to punch his ticket, but it seems he is quite admired by my in-laws. Someday...
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
10/24/2012 11:51
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JFM, prostitution exists everywhere, and especially so where men with money are deployed among impovrished people. This Shahina was quite possibly destined to be sold to a brothel somewhere in Afghanistan, where she would have earned her 'owner' a good bit of money, no doubt some from American soldiers (though I understand that has become a lot more challenging than in wars past), as well as all the rest. Prostitution as seen in most of the west is often called a 'victimless' crime because both parties are willing participants; the sex slave trade in the Third World and even many of the 'rough' areas of the developed world is clearly not victimless.
Mutaa marriage is at the core of Islam and why Mullahs are so wealthy...it is the 20 minutes marriage organized(for alms) by the Mullahz...then you say "I divorce you" three times when you are done and she can service another of the Mullah's customer.
#10
Mutaa marriage is at the core of Islam and why Mullahs are so wealthy
It is my understanding that mutaa marriage is a Shiite specialty, and that Sunnis have to make other arrangements. You might want to look that up, Menhadden Grumble7602.
[An Nahar] The army deployed on Tuesday in Syria Street, the frontier between the rival 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... districts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, as a ceasefire was declared following three days of festivities in the area that left 11 people dead and 39 others maimed.
"All gunnies have left the streets and internal alleys" in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, a security official told Agence La Belle France Press.
Army units reopened all the streets in the two neighborhoods, the official added.
Earlier on Tuesday, sniper fire killed a woman in Jabal Mohsen as a man from the same neighborhood succumbed to wounds he had sustained on Monday.
The festivities were sparked by the liquidation on Friday of Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in a powerful car booming in the Beirut district of Ashrafiyeh that also killed his bodyguard and a civilian woman and maimed more than 100 people.
Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara on Monday urged Tripoli's residents to "fully cooperate with the army in order to restore security."
"Security in the city of Tripoli is a red line," said Kabbara, reciting a statement issued after a meeting for Tripoli's dignitaries at his residence.
The conferees called on the army and security forces to "fully practice their role in restoring security, preventing any violations and creating a safe environment in the city, especially with the advent of the Eid al-Adha holiday."
They stressed that "any security chaos does not serve the cause of the sovereign forces, but rather the interests of those plotting against Leb."
"The army will restore security and we urge Tripoli's residents to fully comply with security forces and deal with things wisely, because security forces will start erecting checkpoints in Tripoli and staging patrols to arrest anyone who disrupts security," said the statement.
The rival districts have been gripped by frequent fighting between pro- and anti-Assad supporters as tensions spilled across the border from Syria, reflecting a split between Leb's parties where the March 14-led opposition backs the revolt in Syria, while a ruling coalition led by Hizbullah supports the Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... regime.
The Army Command on Tuesday announced that army units placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! around 100 gunnies, including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians, in a security sweep in Beirut and Tripoli.
"Army units deployed in the areas that witnessed unrest over the past few days continued implementing the security plan laid out by the Command to suppress the presence of gunnies on the streets and confront any shooting, rioting or attacks against citizens' properties," the Army Command said in a statement.
"These units continue to raid the hideouts of the gunnies in Beirut and Tripoli in order to restore full calm in the two cities," it added, revealing that "around 100 gunnies were placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! , including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians."
"A quantity of weapons, ammunition and military gear was seized, while 15 army troops were maimed by the gunnies's gunfire, including two officers," the statement added.
The Army Command stressed on Monday that Leb's security is a "red line" and that it will take strict measures against all those who are targeting security.
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[Ynet] No injuries, damage immediately reported in attacks on Eshkol; IDF strikes Gazoo terror cells
Seven mortar shells went kaboom! near towns in the Eshkol Regional Council on Tuesday. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.
The IAF retaliated with strikes on the Gazoo Strip.
Shortly before 10 pm, two hours after the mortars were launched, the IDF opened fire on a terrorist cell located in the north of Gazoo, sources on the Strip reported. Medical officials said that one was killed and three were maimed in the attack.
The army confirmed that an IAF aircraft fired on terror operatives who were getting ready to fire more rockets on Israel. A direct hit was indentified.
According to the Paleostinian sources, the dear departed operative belonged to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' military wing.
The IAF mounted a second attack around midnight, again thwarting a rocket attack. Paleostinian sources said that two were killed in the strike.
Due to the mortar fire, security forces instructed Eshkol residents to remain near their shelters. The fortified children's quarters at Kibbutz Re'im were opened in order to allow residents to spend the night.
"We're currently opening shelters and fortified children's homes to anyone wishing to spend the night there. Chances are it's going to be an interesting night," said a resident of the Kibbutz. "People are frightened to stay in their homes; We just received a text message telling us to stay in the protected spaces, but there aren't any around here. It's a well known ritual and we must always be prepared."
Givati officer hurt by bomb
Earlier Tuesday, an IDF officer at the Givati combat unit, Captain Ziv Shilon, sustained moderate to serious injuries when a bomb went off on the Gazoo border fence.
A preliminary inquiry suggested that the officer was hurt upon opening a gate. It was initially estimated the blast was caused by a roadside kaboom, but the IDF had not yet ruled out the possibility of it being a mortar shell kaboom.
Captain Shilon lost the palm of his hand in the attack, and went into a several hours of surgery at the Soroka Medical Center. He remains in intensive care, and is still fighting for his life.
On Monday IAF attacks on the Gazoo Strip killed three Paleostinian Islamic fascistiand injured several others, including officials at Hamas' military wing.
Several Israeli websites were disrupted by hackers earlier on Monday, including those of Habima National Theater, the Chief Rabbinate and the IDF Golani Unit's website; the hackers posted footage of rockets being launched with the phrase "Gazoo hackers were here."
[Dawn] Chief of Pakistain Mohammedan League- Zia Ijaz-ul-Haq decided on Tuesday that he was joining Pakistain Mohammedan League- Nawaz (PML-N), DawnNews reported.
Ijaz remained federal minister for Labour, Manpower and overseas Paks from 1997- 1999 in Nawaz Sharif's government.He stepped down from the post following differences with Sharif, who was tossed shortly afterwards by General Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... in 1999.
Forming his own PML splinter faction, Zia ul Haq, Ijaz was elected to the National Assembly for a record fourth time in the 2002 general election. Initially allying himself with Musharraf's PML-Q party, he was appointed federal minister for religious affairs.
He lost for the first time in the 2008 general election, and resigned from the PML-Q in February 2010.
His revived PML-Zia upset the Pakistain Peoples Party in Bahawalnagar for Member of the Provincial Assembly in March 2010.
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[Dawn] Pakistain on Tuesday rejected statement of Indian Home Minister about "Pakistain helping Islamic fascistito infiltrate into India," and termed it totally baseless and unfounded.
Foreign Office Spokesman, while responding to some media reports about remarks made by Indian Home Minister S. K. Shinde, said that we totally reject these allegations and insinuations.
He said that such unsubstantiated statements are not very helpful in creating a conducive environment necessary for improving the relationship between the two countries.
The front man also said that if the Indian home minister has any information or evidence, he is most welcome to share it with us.
Shinde alleged that Pakistain was helping Islamic fascistiinfiltrate into India.
"We have information that Pakistain is helping Islamic fascistito enter our territory. We have intelligence inputs. But we are alert," he told news hounds in the Indian capital on Sunday.
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[Dawn] Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) on Wednesday night disconnected Lal Masjid's electricity because of non payment of electricity bills, worth Rs 2.2 million by Auqaf Department of federal capital, Dawn has learnt.
Mufti Tehseen Ullah of Lal Masjid said that the mosque is government property, so it is the responsibility of Auqaf Department to pay the bills but the department has made it a routine to delay the payments.
"Although electricity was disconnected on Wednesday night but there was water available in the tanks, all consumed by now, and there is not a single drop left," he said.
Mufti Tehseen said that there is no water in the bathrooms. There are 10 Muftis teaching in Darul Ifta but cannot do their work, especially in the evening.
Internet was being used in the mosque to issue Fatwas (religious edicts) to people from all over the world but for the last five days, the internet could not be used.
"Iesco and Auqaf both are government departments but thousands of residents of federal capital and students of the mosque have been suffering because of a tussle between them," he said.
He said that Iesco office has been contacted many times but officials say that they cannot restore the electricity, until the bill is not paid.
Mufti Haider Zaman, who was studying in the light of small batteries, said that all the officials of the mosque and residents of the area have been annoyed by the power disconnection.
"We are peaceful people and don't want to take law and order in our hands, so decision makers should take notice of the issues," he said.
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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.
Sudanese minister says four planes appearing to approach from the east attacked Khartoum plant
France is sending drones to Mali while hundreds of Islamist fighters are coming in from across the Middle East, preparing to defend their safe haven.
A few simple reminders:
Canadas top diplomat blasted Iran for human rights violations and religious intolerance at a meeting Monday of world parliamentarians, drawing an angry response from Tehran's delegation.
Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after the assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, on September 11 that an Islamic 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Najib Miqati
The landmark ruling implicating the ex-army and ISI chiefs in the election rigging does not make amends for past wrongs, but it certainly sends a strong message to potential plotters. The ruling entails far-reaching political consequences as the country comes close to the next general elections. Whether or not Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Asad Durrani, the two main accused in the Asghar Khan case, are put on trial for violation of the constitution as directed by the Supreme Court, the ruling has opened up a Pandora's box the political fallout of which will not be easy to contain. There was nothing in the case which the people were not aware of or that had not been written about. The Supreme Court has only validated what has been known all along.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Bangla Daily Star] International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday closed recording the testimonies of defence witnesses for Jamaat leader 
[Ma'an] The Paleostinian Authority cabinet on Tuesday called on civil servants to go back to work as strikes in ministries, universities, schools and refugee camps paralyzed the West Bank.
Warplanes raided a district of the northern city of 
[Dawn] Four paramilitary soldiers 
[Jerusalem Post] IDF catch 19-year-old Paleostinian man with eight pipe bombs at Kalandiya check point, confirm he was trying arrive in Jerusalem.
(Sh.M.Network)--The 
[Dawn] Indian officials on Tuesday submitted a clemency plea to the president by the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, opening the final appeal stage against his death sentence. Pakistain-born Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, currently in jail in Mumbai, was one of 10 
[Dawn] US President 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
[Dawn] The provincial chapter of 
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
...the creepy-looking former dictator of Pakistain. Zia was an Islamic nutball who imposed his nutballery on the rest of the country with the enthusiastic assistance of the nation's religious parties, which are populated by other nutballs. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom he hanged when he seized power. His time in office was a period of repression, with hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists executed or tortured, including senior general officers convicted in coup-d'état plots, who would normally be above the law. As part of his alliance with the religious parties, his government helped run the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, providing safe havens, American equipiment, Saudi money, and Pak handlers to selected mujaheddin. Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistain Arnold Lewis Raphel when he was assassinated in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur in 1988...
Nawaz Sharif
Pervez 
Pakistain on Tuesday rejected statement of Indian Home Minister about "Pakistain helping 
Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) on Wednesday night disconnected Lal Masjid's electricity because of non payment of electricity bills, worth Rs 2.2 million by Auqaf Department of federal capital, Dawn has learnt.
