Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing Andrews Sisters trio whose hits such as the rollicking "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and the poignant "I Can Dream, Can't I?" captured the home-front spirit of World War II, died Wednesday. She was 94.
Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, said family spokesman Alan Eichler in a statement.
Patty was the Andrews in the middle, the lead singer and chief clown, whose raucous jitterbugging delighted American servicemen abroad and audiences at home.
#1
Aaawwwww - many of their hits were still being requested + played on late 1960's-early 1970's Radio here on Guam during the Vietnam era, along wid Sinatra + others.
100 foot waves counts as 'weather', right?
This is some seriously awesome surfing!
Surfer Garrett McNamara catches what could be the largest wave ever surfed, off the coast of Nazare, Portugal, on Jan. 29. The estimated 100-foot wave, if confirmed, would beat the current world record of 78 feet, which McNamara has held since 2011. Go look at the picture.
#1
Yuuuppp - reminds me of all those "Surfin' Hawaii" + "Cliff-Dive Acapulco" movies from the 1970's, + for some mysterious reason Ron Ely as "Tarzan"!?
Israeli jets reportedly carried out an unprecedented airstrike along the Lebanon-Syria border today against an arms convoy carrying advanced anti-aircraft missiles to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
If the alleged arms shipment is confirmed, it would be a significant development that crosses Israel's repeated "red line" regarding the transfer of advanced air defense systems to Hezbollah.
The convoy was carrying SA-17 "Grizzly" mobile medium-range anti-aircraft missiles, according to the Associated Press, which quoted Israeli and US officials. The location of the attack remained unclear, although reports said it occurred on Syrian territory close to the border with Lebanon.
Since 2006, when Hezbollah and Israel fought a month-long war, the Lebanese group has steadily expanded its arsenal, both in size and capabilities, in preparation for a possible conflict with the Jewish state.
The Lebanese Army acknowledged in a statement that three waves of Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace between 4:30 p.m. yesterday and 7:55 a.m. today. Israeli jets and reconnaissance drones stage flyovers above Lebanon on a near daily basis -- the white contrails made by the passing aircraft are a common sight on clear days -- but a Western diplomat said that there had been a "substantially unusual and very high level of air activity in the past two days."
Lebanese security sources denied all knowledge of an airstrike along the border and there were no reports in Lebanese media this morning of any such incident.
#3
If he's doing that, he may in fact be on the verge of losing power. Ultimately, the Alawites may end up withdrawing to Lebanon, where a Shiite majority already exists, and an experienced force of Hezbollah fighters is available to fend off a Sunni invasion force from Syria, which will occur because Syria has, since inception, considered Lebanon to be a part of Syria. I expect Assad to move his air assets to Lebanon before a collapse in Syria.
#4
from my point of view ... Assad is almost out of the game. The question is - what do the other players in the Syrian conflict do now that Israel has struck? Granted, Israel's actions are not really all that inflammatory ... since they have only struck pinpoint targets. It's more that the Israeli action provides a catalyst to the next steps in the Syrian War.
So the questions is - how do the Iranians respond through their Al Quds operations? How do the Russians respond? And who - if anyone - still has any ownership in the "piecemeal mess" that used to be called Syria???
#5
The strike actually works in Assad's favour. He's rid of the shipment; can't be blamed for proliferation; and can instantly blame the Jews. Note the apparent lack of Russian advisor casualties.
#8
Zhang: northwest Syria is an Alawite majority region. Pencilneck could make his last stand there. It would have the advantage of sea access so that the Iranians and Russians could supply his forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2013 16:25
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#9
Odd how they fail to mention that one of the conditions for Israel to stop kicking the living sh*t out of the Hezbo's back in '06 was that the arms shipments would stop.
#10
Hezbollah will hit back .. but possibly at Israeli assets outside of Israel. The Sudanese still haven't taken revenge for the Israeli bombing raid inside their country. I wouldn't be surprised if Hezbollah and Sudan form a joint operation - maybe something in the Sinai, or an Israeli embassy in places like Ethiopia, Kenya, or Tanzania.
#13
I agree wid #10 as per Hezbollah, + also der Quddies - Iran must know that iff they respond militarily Israel firstly will strike back wid something harder, + perhaps more importantly all gloves will be off in the ME to which by most accounts Iran + Armed Forces are NOT ready for at this time. Iran will only be giving Israel + IDF an excuse to attack, invade Lebanon + Syria.
The fact remains, however, that by this action Israel has effec called Iran's bluff - its now up to wannabe Rising Iran to put its money = credibility where its mouth is.
#14
Joseph ... agree with you. Iran is on record as stating they will take action. They can't ignore what just happened in the last 24 hours.
You know - the perpetrators who killed the Israeli tourists in Bulgaria were never caught. Which means that there's a hit team out there in Europe that is still active. Of course, they may no longer be located in Europe. But they could be activated to hit again - somewhere.
#15
Zhang: northwest Syria is an Alawite majority region. Pencilneck could make his last stand there.
Assad's problem is manpower. He doesn't have enough of it. That's what he gets in Lebanon. Wouldn't be the first time a king left his country and was crowned elsewhere. Lebanon is attractive because it's got a lot of infrastructure and 3x the GDP per capita of Syria. The question is whether Lebanon's Christians and Shiites will want Assad as king.
#16
"The question is whether Lebanon's Christians and Shiites will want Assad as king."
Not if they've got one functioning brain cell amongst the lot of them.
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/30/2013 20:29
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#17
Not if they've got one functioning brain cell amongst the lot of them.
The alternative may be conquest by the jihadists about to take power in Syria. Assad can bring the Syrian treasury and all of Syria's heavy equipment and ammo dumps with him. Ultimately, Lebanon is in the cross hairs if the Syrian rebels win. They can't attack Israel, but Lebanon is definitely within reach. Syrians did it once under Hafez al Assad and they can do it again.
Ultimately, the casualties in Syria (about 60K) are small potatoes compared to the Lebanese civil war, which killed 150K people. Since Syria has 5x Lebanon's population, the equivalent body count in Syria would be 750K dead.
#18
In fact, the Christians and the Shiites in Lebanon have every reason to like Assad for slaughtering the Sunnis who have oppressed them for a thousand years. Identity politics doesn't have much purchase stateside, but it's a fact of life overseas. In the modern context, Sunni rule has almost universally been oppressive, with religious minorities being made to deal with all kinds of humiliations, big and small.
If Assad moves into Lebanon, the country immediately acquires an air force and air defenses able to deter the routine and humiliating Israeli incursions into the country's airspace. I think that's the only reason that makes sense. Why would Assad move his air defense equipment to Lebanon when he needs it to deter Western intervention? He must be retreating to Lebanon.
The governments decision to fly an armoured vehicle to India at a cost of more than $1-million for Prime Minister Stephen Harpers state visit last November mystified Indian diplomats, and prominent security analysts in the country say it reflects a shocking lack of understanding of modern India on the part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, whom the government says recommended the move.
To think that India cannot protect a visiting dignitary is testament to very poor intelligence in Western countries and a failure of comprehension its just plain stupid, said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in Delhi and a leading expert on terrorism in South Asia. From a pure security perspective, its money down the toilet.
The Indian government had offered Canada the use of an armoured Mercedes Benz for Mr. Harpers visit but after a threat assessment the RCMP decided it was not sufficient.
Indias president uses an armoured Mercedes Mercedes Benz S600, while prime minister Manmohan Singh whose security team receives roughly a dozen serious threats to his personal security each day uses an armoured 2009 BMW 7 Series for his travel in the country, security sources say. Canada instead brought an armoured Cadillac limousine and SUV.
#2
India may take it as an insult, but bringing your own is one way to make sure the vehicle has not been tampered with. Not that the Indians are untrustworthy per se, but they live in a nasty neighborhood.
#3
Hey! What a million bucks, anyway? Chump change for a government that just can't stop spending no matter what. No wonder the so-call "Conservative" Party of Canada call me about one a month for more money.
An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in Arghandab district, Kandahar province, today. I have not heard that he's been released yet.)
The leader was responsible for planning and executing improvised explosive device attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Prior to his detention, he was planning an IED attack against Afghan civilians, according to coalition officials. Planning to blow up civilians? If there's good proof, release & distribute it and be sure to broadcast when & where 'bunnie is to be released.
The security force also detained one suspected insurgent and seized ammunition Send it to me - my store is sold out.
as a result of the operation.
#1
The security force also detained one suspected insurgent and seized ammunition
Send it to me - my store is sold out.
Just so's y'all know, The ever-vigilant Seattle Pooleece Department is planning ANOTHER outdoor gun swap, disguised as a buy-back program, because the first one went oh-so-well. Y'all might want to consider a lil' ol' road trip out this-a-way to stock up.
In response to the news today that the economy contracted -.1 percent in the final quarter of last year, Democrats are touting the claim that this is "the best-looking contraction in U.S. GDP you'll ever see."
Seriously? Wow. Nothing more need be said, then, while we sit back and admire for a while.
The claim was originally made by chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics Paul Ashworth.
"The drag from defense spending and inventories is a one-off. The rest of the report is all encouraging," Ashworth also claimed.
The claim was quickly seized upon by Democrats,
...organized by Journolist and Media Matters...
looking to share good news about a contracting economy.
Because the good news isn't apparent?
Democratic party communications director Brad Woodhouse quickly began spreading the word on Twitter:
Never get in the way of your opponents shooting themselves in the kneecaps.
FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. -- who has denied what he calls the "fallacious allegations."
Amid the suspicious circumstances of the complaints, Democrats have tried to characterize the reports about Menendez and Melgen as a right-wing smear job. Oh yes, obviously a smear! Now if he were a Rethuglican...
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid refused to comment on the possibility of an FBI investigation when he was asked Tuesday about the case.
Said Reid: "Always consider the source. All anyone here has to look at is the source where this comes from."
Tuesday night's raid, however, shows that there is at least an investigation tied to Menendez's longtime friend and ally.
#2
I love Reid, of all people, playing the "consider the source" card. Excuse me, Harry, weren't you the one citing anonymous sources claiming Mitt was a criminal?
Consider the source, indeed!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/30/2013 17:04
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#3
#2 I love Reid, of all people, playing the "consider the source"
The Clintons were good at covering up Bill's dalliances with various women by following this approach.
Because the source URL is PrisonPlanet. That website is just plain nuts. It's an Alex Jones site, and we at Rantburg aren't going to cite or forward anything that comes from him.
Part of what helps Rantburg punch above its weight (and we do) is that our posts are coming from sources that can be verified. Even if it is Dawn News (the Lebanese, Bangladeshi, or Pakistani Dawns) the news contained in the posts can be tracked down. The opinion pieces that are posted here are respectable, clear-thinking, and thought provoking.
We don't do paranoia. That means no black helicopter citations.
Do not post anything from Alex Jones; it will be deleted. Thx.
#5
Yeah, SteveS, just go check out Pravda. There have been some recent examples of the Ruskies attempting to appear as if they're making sense. But upon closer examination it had a strong odor of nutty, state sponsored propaganda, kinda like ABC.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/30/2013 11:39
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#7
I have mixed feelings about these sites. There's some stuff they cover that doesn't get covered in the mainstream press, but it comes with an enourmous amount of baggage, almost like they're trying to tell the truth in such a way as to discredit it at the same time.
#10
Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they are NOT out to get me.
Now, since we're talking yellow journalism, there is this from the National Enquirer. But remember, National Enquirer is the rag that went after John Edwards for his philandering with Rielle Hunter. Ordinarily I wouldn't bother you with such nonsense but I was standing in a super market checkout line and it caught my eye.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/30/2013 14:22
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#5
Wait until the rest of the tax increases, more government regulations and Obamacare hit as well.
With those things piling on a already stumbling economy, it will be the equivalent of a bunch of people pulling on the feet of a strangling man and finish it off that much faster.
There will be a lot of people asking themselves, "Why did I vote for Obama?"
"Because you are a fucking idiot, now live with the mess you created."
#7
What is propping up the stock market?
Posted by JohnQC
Global markets and continued profits are two important factors John. Capitalism survives in spite of the socialists in D.C. Imagine would could have been achieved with a businessman at the helm.
Posted by: Andy Snatch8562 ||
01/30/2013 10:20
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#10
The economy is going to hit the floor faster than a stunt man in a Jackie Chan movie...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2013 10:27
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#11
4th Qtr also included the presidential election, which can make people skittish. Personally, I am interested in January sales compared to previous years.
The entertainers were harping about the news that the market is approaching the 2008 mark. Great. I do know my can of beans does not cost the same as it did four years ago.
#12
my can of beans does not cost the same as it did four years ago
so I sacrifice convenience and buy dried beans and cook 'em. For now natural gas for my stove IS less than it was 4 years ago (thank you, fracking.)
#15
IMO, the drop in Federal expenditures (not just defense) was mostly due to agencies getting ready for the sequester; without that drop, the 4th Q number would have been about +2.5% (annualized)
that kind of drop in Federal expenditures is just one thing that needs to happen;
the other is entitlement reform - that will be more difficult
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/30/2013 12:39
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#16
SW, I like that one "The economy is going to hit the floor faster than a stunt man in a Jackie Chan movie..." thats original.
The declaration of the beginning and end of a recession is not via a precise formula and there is no actual statute that requires such declarations
In practice, there is a business cycle committee within the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER is a private not for profit NGO. They do not make policy recommendations. I think they get funding from large corporations and govt contracts but I'm not sure on this.
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/30/2013 12:53
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#18
interesting personal take....(well to me anyway)
A week ago a 90' tall pine tree snapped in a high wind. Fortunately it only grazed the house, unfortunately it caught my car square. Well, a 10 year old Honda Accord fought the tree and the tree won, it was totaled.
So, I've gone out to buy a new car and decided on another Honda Accord sedan. When digging out the title to the junker I found the original bill of sale. 10 years ago it cost $23,000. My replacement is going to cost $23,000. The price has not gone up; the sales tax on the other hand is $400 more.
#22
It is my understanding that there is absolutely no truth to the rumour that Senator Mary Landrieu form Louisiana is blaming Fox News and Rush Limbaugh for a severe case of Candidasis.
Unable to tow the minesweeper USS Guardian off a reef in the Philippines, the Navy has decided that the only way to free the ship without causing further damage to the reef is to cut the ship into pieces.
The ship's wooden hull - covered in fiberglass That should be easier to cut up than steel - or maybe they could just hire some teredo worms
- is punctured and parts of the ship have been flooded. As part of the salvage effort the 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the Guardian were transferred to a Malaysian tug contracted by the Navy. Other materials that might damage the reef have also been removed including : 671 gallons of lubricating oil; dry food stores; paints and solvents contained in storage lockers; and the crew's personal effects left behind on the ship. I wonder what interesting items turned up in the personal effects.
A preliminary Navy review found that the digital chart the crew was using to navigate the ship incorrectly listed the reef's location by 8 miles. A review of additional charts created by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency found another navigational aberration off the coast of Chile. Both have been corrected. Not sure that will help the skipper get another command.
#3
A preliminary Navy review found that the digital chart the crew was using to navigate the ship incorrectly listed the reef's location by 8 miles.
Pretty much what I figured. aside from the idiocy of working off electronic-only. Paper charts may be 'archaic', but there are/were regular chart update notices sent out.
Congratulations, Skipper. You lost a ship and saved the Navy the hassle of breaking it up due to sequestration instead. I figure that's worth a Meritorious Service Medal. Maybe a White House mil-staff job as well.
#1
It doesn't bother me so much when government buys broken crap. But the collector items sold by ignorant widows and destroyed by blinkered bureaucrats really rankle. It's the US version of burning the Timbuktu archives.
#2
it's what's known as an empty tube. I have some semi-automatic toilet paper dispenser cardboard tubes rounds for the next gun buyback. Similar to those used on the battlefield
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/30/2013 8:10
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#3
I have an antique lamp in the attic which Ms. Besoeker purchased in the "Atomic City". I would gladly surrender it for $10.
#5
another empty tube that can be bought at an Army/Navy Surplus store. why would dumbass cops waste their budget buying crap like that unless it was hoped to be used to cause shock and panic?
#7
This new HP sometimes lists my name correctly, sometimes it comes off as 'Hidirgher Of Thorsville1011' or some other nuttiness. Sometimes I types it in wrong :-(
#8
What was amusing were the collectors who showed up at the buy-back, offering to pay more than the '$200 gift card'. They did a rather brisk business.
#9
Buy a $50 trinket, sell it to the city for $200 turns a nice little profit quickly. I liked the part where officials seemed baffled that people would not take an IOU from the city in exchange for turning in a gun; wonder how many went ahead and turned the gun in and said to keep the money.
#10
Too lazy to go find the web link, but in $(YOUR_CITY_NAME_HERE), people were buying guns at Gander Mountain and selling them to the cops for a profit. If you call it arbitrage, it sounds dignified.
The Hawaii Senate has introduced SB219 which reinstates the 1994 "assault weapon" ban. As I read it. it makes owning any semi-auto illegal (class C felony) and also prevents you from selling it (Class B felony). It makes owners instant criminals with no way out, other than giving it to the cops, who are of course exempt.
#3
Going after semi-automatic firearms? The government is going to transform large numbers of law-abiding citizens into lawbreakers with the stroke of a pen? This will not bode well. I see civil disobedience and possibly insurrection on the horizon. People are passionate about their freedom especially rights that insure these freedoms.
#4
Since they've decided to ignore the Article 5 process, someday after it all sorts out, I look forward to these people being prosecuted for conspiracy to deny the fellow citizens their civil rights, just like the Klan.
#9
Now, now, we can't have Angry Amerikkans of the OWG Mighty USSA = OWG Weak USRoA GSSR shooting up Mexican, Canadian, + Greenlander Citizens-Migrants + Communities can we???
OWG NAU 2015 = "BORDERS" ARE JUST LINES/SYMBOLS ON AN OBSOLETE OR KID'S PLAY MAP.
STATE SOCIALISM-GOVTISM = NEW "SOVEREIGNTY/
INDEPENDENCE/NATION-HOOD" + similar. The Globalist NAU-n-Higher will have the Power-n-Authority, NOT "Nationalist" Washington.
INTENTIONAL INTERNATIONAL OR MULTI-STATE CHAOS > NO NEED FOR TIME-WASTING THINGS SUCH AS NATIONWIDE OR STATE-LOCAL VOTES ON "GLOBALISM" + OWG-NWO + STATE SOCIALISM.
Ergo, STATE SOCIALISM = NEW "SOVEREIGNTY" = aka NEW "1917" [Gun Sex = Civil War, Domestic Militancy OPTIONAL?]???
#10
I am starting to believe our country is run by the insane. The FBI has proven that more private ownership of guns and carry permits reduce crime. The two areas of the US that have the highest crime rate are the ones with the greatest gun control.
Our Federal government is confined to very specific functions by the Constitution of the United States. The "Bill of Rights" prohibits any and all branches of the Federal Government for legislating away any of the rights listed in the first ten amendments; and the tenth amendment says any right not listed in the first ten amendments is reserved for the states or the people. The US Supreme court has always ruled that when the Constitutions states "the people" it means the individual citizens have that right which cannot legally be infringed or abridged. This to me conveys that the states are also prohibited from legislating away a right listed in the "Bill of Rights". I believe our federal and state governments have grossly overstepped their boundarys on this matter. We are approaching the legal point at which insurrection is justified and legal.
A federal judge has awarded more than $1 billion each to 26 victims - including estates and family members - of the deadly 1985 terrorist attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola issued the award against Syria. He concluded the attacks by the Abu Nidal Organization could not have taken place "without Syria's direct support."
The money includes compensatory and punitive damages, as well as interest. It will be difficult to collect, as Syria is unlikely to pay it.
Among those awarded money in the lawsuit is Victor L. Simpson, the Rome bureau chief for The Associated Press. His 11-year-old daughter, Natasha, was killed in the attack at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport. Simpson and his son Michael were injured.
An Iraqi man who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in Kentucky was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole and a co-defendant received a 40-year sentence for his role in a plot to ship weapons and cash to insurgents in Iraq.
Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 25, protested U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell's decision to send him away for life while granting 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan less time in prison.
Alwan must have 'cooperated'...
Hammadi told Russell about growing up poor in Bayji, Iraq, and said his role in the scheme was merely helping a friend load a truck for much-needed money.
Hammadi's attorney, James Earhart of Louisville, had sought 25 years in prison for his client and said he would appeal the life sentence.
"A 25-year-old getting a life sentence is a tragedy," Earhart said. "The life that he lived is a tragedy."
Hammadi and Alwan pleaded guilty in 2011 and 2012 to working with a man they thought was an insurgent in the United States to ship thousands in cash, machine guns, rifles, grenades and shoulder-fired missiles to al-Qaida in Iraq from 2010 through 2011. Prosecutors said the two were actually working with a confidential informant who recorded the pair's activities and no money or weapons ever left the United States.
The two were arrested in May 2011 in Bowling Green, Ky., after a federal sting operation.
Former Pennsylvania National Guard Sgt. Brandon Miller of Chadds Ford, Pa., described the sentences as "outstanding."
Ford received a Purple Heart for burn injuries sustained when his Humvee blew up after hitting a roadside bomb near Bayji, where Alwan and Hammadi admitted to planning explosives.
[Dawn] A local court on Monday acquitted Lal Masjid Khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz along with his spouse and two other clerics in the kidnapping case of four policemen.
On January 10, Senior Civil Judge Sheikh Sohail had framed charges against Maulana Aziz, his wife Majida alias Umme Hassan, Maulana Afzal and Maulana Abdul Basir for kidnapping the police officials on May 18, 2007.
They were also accused of obstructing the policemen from performing their duty and using the loudspeaker for inciting people against the government.
The clerics, however, pleaded that they had neither kidnapped the police officials nor committed any other illegal act.
It may be noted that it is a routine practice under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that statements of witnesses are recorded and they are cross-examined after the indictment of an accused.
However, in the kidnapping case of the police officials, in which Maulana Aziz and his associates were booked, the court had recorded the statements of the witnesses even before framing the charges against the accused persons.
Later, in order to complete the CrPC requirement, the court offered the prosecution -- the Islamabad police -- to produce witnesses and reserved judgment on Jan 12. However, no witness appeared before the court.
On Monday, the judge announced the short order acquitting all the four accused persons of the charges.
According to the FIR registered by the Aabpara police on May 18, 2007, students of Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa, the two seminaries affiliated with Lal Masjid, kidnapped the policemen at the behest of Maulana Aziz and his associates.
It said the seminary students while attacking the policemen were chanting slogans against the government and demanding the release of Khalid Khawaj, a former ISI official and a close friend of Maulana Aziz and his brother Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, who was at that time in the custody of law enforcement agencies.
The FIR also alleged that in May 2007 during a Friday sermon Maulana Aziz had warned of suicide attacks if the government launched an operation against Jamia Hafsa.
During the hearing of the case, Qari Wajihulllah, the counsel for Maulana Aziz, maintained that the police had framed his client. He claimed that Maulana Aziz was not present at the place from where the policemen had been kidnapped.
According to him, in order to please the then military dictator Pervez Musharraf, the police had fabricated 27 'bogus' cases against the Lal Masjid cleric.
He pointed out that the police had produced eight witnesses in the court but none of them deposed against the clerics of Lal Masjid.
Qari Wajihullah told Dawn that Maulana Aziz had been acquitted in all but one case. The only pending case against the cleric is related to raids by the seminary students on CD shops at F-7, F-6 and Aabpara market. The case was registered a few days before the Lal Masjid operation in 2007, he added.
It may be mentioned that the Islamabad administration in its reply submitted to the Lal Masjid commission had mentioned a series of cases registered against the cleric.
According to the administration, Maulana Aziz on February 25, 2007, was booked in the abduction case of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the special branch. On March 27 the same year, he was nominated for abducting a woman and her daughter and on March 28, a case was registered against the cleric and others for kidnapping two police officials and seizing their official vehicles.
On March 28, a case was registered against him for launching an FM radio without obtaining permission from the government. On April 14, the cleric was booked in the CD shops burning case. On May 18, he was booked for kidnapping the four police officials and on May 21 for abducting three other policemen. 0n July 3, the Lal Masjid management snatched weapons from the police.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2013
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[Libya Herald] Misrata is imposing a partial gun ban and another ban on vehicles with no number plates. There is also a partial curfew and action will also be taken against any militia group not acting under the express orders of the authorities.
The move follows Saturday's liquidation of Misrata local council member Mohamed Ben Othman and those of two security officials on Wednesday.
Any vehicle found with weapons at new checkpoints set up across the city, other than those of authorised security agencies, will be seized along with the weapons and the occupants tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! Any vehicles or armed individuals caught during the curfew will be arrested.
Other measures decided the local council yesterday, Sunday, following discussions with the city's security forces, include a ban on vehicles with no number plates and those with tinted film on their windows. Security in prisons is to be tighten and coordination between security bodies strengthened.
The council said that "Any battalion or entity caught in violation of this decision will be dismantled and all its affiliated members will be held accountable".
The timing of the partial curfew has not been announced other than that it is "outside official hours".
Following Wednesday night's killing of two coppers, there were calls for a curfew and a prominent revolutionary leader, Mohamed Al-Qanduz, announced that he was going to enforce one.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2013
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Feeling bullied by Rahm Emanuel? Bring your business down to Texas.
That's the message Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is sending big banks and firearms companies, after the Chicago mayor urged those banks to stop lending to the gun manufacturers.
The freshman senator sent a letter Tuesday to the CEOs of Bank of America and TD Bank Group offering up the Lone Star State as a place where they could do business without hassle from the government. He said he understands that, since they do "considerable business" with Chicago, they might be worried about the "risks" of not complying with Emanuel's request.
"In light of the reception you have received in the Windy City, please know that Texas would certainly welcome more of your business and the jobs you create," Cruz wrote in his Jan. 29 letter. "Texans value jobs and value freedom, and over 1,000 people a day are moving to Texas (often from cities like Chicago), because Texas is where the jobs are."
#1
Bring your gun manufacturing business to Texas? The next step would be to pass legislation under the 10th Amendment which should allow firearms to be bought and sold within Texas.
#3
Bought and sold within Texas without the scrutiny and control of the Federal government
No doubt Texas would then get masses of gun tourists, just as California is getting masses of pregnant tourists, come to give birth to American citizens.
The Muslim Brotherhood, amidst widespread public anger, wanted to mark the second anniversary of Egypts revolution by planting 500,000 trees, helping a million hospital patients and renovating 2,000 schools. Instead, the country looks like it is falling apart. The past two days in Egypt looked at times like a slow-motion repeat of the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak two years ago: the marches, the gas, the shouted demands to topple the regime, and a miscalculated response by the president (Mr Morsi took to Facebook and Twitter to express his condolences to the families of those killed).
The unrest felt darker, more anarchic, than the uprising of 2011. The peaceful protests that began on Friday in Cairo to mark the two-year anniversary of the revolution by Sunday had been overtaken by the armed street battles in Port Said. Hard-nosed Suez, where the first demonstrator was killed in 2011, again provided the spark. Protesters ripped down police shacks and set government buildings alight. The police killed ten of those protesting.In the coastal city at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal, 33 civilians and two police officers were killed after relatives tried to storm a prison housing 22 local football fans sentenced to death on Saturday over a bloody stadium stampede last year.
The riots have revealed worrying signs of a state that is both absent and untrusted by the people. Two years of transition and seven months of Brotherhood administration have failed to restore a sense of accountability. The Port Said families took matters, violently, into their own hands because they did not trust the court. The Ahly fans threatened to do the same. Protesters in Tahrir Square believe that Mr Morsi has lied to them too often to remain in office. The opposition says it will boycott elections unless the president reviews the transition process. Who will lead Egypt out of its current crisis is unclear.
#3
Morsi has been busy the last few months trying to ensure that the army is on his side. He's been elevating officers who were members of the Bruderbünd and removing officers who weren't. Not sure that's enough to save him, but the Egyptian military isn't necessarily what it was a couple years ago.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/30/2013 8:25
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He's been elevating officers who were members of the Bruderbünd and removing officers who weren't. Steve White
#5
The Arab Spring is in a free fall and no one knows where it will end up. At some point, with the disorder in these various countries, food will become a problem.
#6
What's bitterly amusing is reading all the comments on this at the Economist and Foreign Policy sites; most of them are along the lines of "the Muslim Brotherhood won the election and the secularists should acccept it" and "this is not the way Democracy is supposed to be", and "if they're unhappy, they should deal with it in parliment and not on the streets".
Kind of like the old-hippies-turned-wealthy-retirees in Haight-Ashbury complaining about the new breed of hippies 'infesting' the streets in front of their condos.
#13
U.S. better shut off the 16 F16 aircraft and 200 Abrams tanks going to Egypt. They have no external threats on their borders. Such a transfer of weapons will only threaten Israel.
[An Nahar] The worsening Syrian war is "breaking up" the country while the international community watches, peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
Diplomats inside a closed briefing by Brahimi said he had "no progress" to report in his efforts to establish talks on a political transition in the country where 22 months of conflict have left more than 60,000 dead.
He also told the council that Syrian President Bashar Assad might be able to cling to power for now, but noted that "the Syrian regime's legitimacy has been seriously, probably irreparably, damaged."
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#1
misread at first glance:
Brahimi Tells Assad Regime U.N. May Survive but Legitimacy Seriously Damaged
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01/30/2013 9:37
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[An Nahar] Paleostinian fighter Saeed Marragha, alias Abou Moussa, died of illness Tuesday in Syria where his Fatah-Intifada group was based decades after splitting from the mainstream Fatah faction, his group said.
Abou Moussa "died at dawn at a hospital" in Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... , succumbing to a long illness, a Fatah-Intifada front man said, adding the veteran military commander would be buried in Syria's capital following noon Mohammedan prayers on Wednesday.
Abou Moussa, 85, who held the rank of colonel and had close ties with both Syria and Iran, rebelled against the Fatah faction of iconic Paleostinian leader Yasser Arafat in 1983 and set up his own group, Fatah-Intifada.
Backed by the Syrian army, which was then deployed in Leb, he helped chase Fatah from that country during heavy festivities.
Fatah-Intifada is among several radical Syria-based Paleostinian groups hostile to the Israeli-Paleostinian grinding of the peace processor and in favor of the armed struggle against the Jewish State.
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[Ynet] In unusual move, ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency says in response to question it has no sign of any kaboom at one of Iran's most sensitive nuclear plants
The UN atomic watchdog made clear on Tuesday it had seen no sign of any kaboom at one of Iran's most sensitive nuclear plants, backing up Tehran's denial that such an incident had taken place last week.
The ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in an unusual move, made a brief statement following media reports at the weekend of significant damage at the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site.
IAEA inspectors regularly visit Iranian nuclear sites, including the one at Fordo, and the UN agency suggested in its comment that they had been at the site after the reports in some Israeli and Western media of an kaboom there.
"We understand that Iran has denied that there has been an incident at Fordo. This is consistent with our observations," IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said in an emailed comment in response to a question.
#1
It was mentioned here the other day about checking for seimic activity; last night i did that and there was none reported in the Fordo area. a 5.4 was recorded several hundred miles SE on the Monday in question, but Fordo was quiet. This from numerous non-Iranian earthquake monitoring sites.
Iff something radioactive did occur at Fordo, it may had been a Design-Manufac leak, NOT a Kaboom - the question remains what exactly was Iran trying to test???
#4
FYI DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > FOX NEWS: SOON TO SEE A IRAN-NORTH KOREA JOINT NUKE TEST? | [Fox News]TIME TO GET TOUGH WID NORTH KOREA + IRAN AS IMMINENT NUCLEAR BOMB TEST LOOMS.
and
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > [Infowars.com] IRAN AMBASSADOR HASSAN DANAIE-FAR: WAR [attack, invasion? agz Iran] THE ONLY REAL OR EFFECTIVE WAY FOR PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA + US TO STOP IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMS.
versus
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > NORTH KOREA'S UNJUST NUCLEAR MOVE AGZ CHINA: "OVER-SIZED" ATOMIC BOMB, AKA "ENHANCED" ATOMIC BOMB, TO BE DETONATED IN TEST NEAR NORTHEAST SINO-DPRK BORDER. EXPLOSIVE YIELD OF NORTH KOREA DEVICE BELIEVED TO BE WEAKER THAT FOR A HYDROGEN BOMB BUT STRONGER THAN FOR A URANIUM BOMB [Small/Light Hydrogen Bomb?]. DANGER OF CROSS-BORDER RADIOACTIVE TEST FALLOUT TO AREA CHINESE. THREE NATIONAL SACRIFICES MADE BY CHINA IN HISTORY TO SAVE OR ASSIST NORTH KOREA FROM FOREIGN DOMINATION.
[Dawn] Gunmen on cycle of violences on Tuesday opened fire on a cop shoppe in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , killing one policeman and wounding two others, officials said.
The attackers fired automatic weapons at the main gates of a cop shoppe in the low income and restive eastern suburb of Sohrab Goth and threw an explosive "cracker" which damaged the boundary wall before fleeing, police said.
"At least one policeman embraced martyrdom and two others were maimed after unknown gunnies on cycle of violences fired at a cop shoppe," senior police official Aleem Jaffry told AFP.
"The assailants also threw a cracker which damaged the outer wall of the cop shoppe," Jaffry said.
Police front man Imran Shaukat confirmed the incident and casualties and added that police had returned fire before the gunnies fled.
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[MAGHAREBIA] Another al-Qaeda attack on an Algerian energy facility turned deadly Sunday night (January 27th) in Djebahia.
Terrorists targeted a camp where guards were keeping watch over a gas pipeline linking Bouira and Tizi Ouzou. The assault left three Algerian security guards dead and seven injured, Tout sur l'Algerie reported on Monday (January 28th).
The victims reportedly prevented al-Qaeda's El Farouk brigade from blowing up the Sonatrach pipeline.
After the attack, "the army was deployed in the region and launched a massive combing operation", the source added.
Aside from the criminal act itself, it is the terrorists' choice of target which is worrying the Algerian public and authorities. Once again, terrorists have targeted the very heart of the national economy: gas facilities.
Since the In Amenas hostage crisis, Algerian officials have agreed that security arrangements at strategic oil and gas sites should be reviewed.
In a statement given to Associated Press on Saturday, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said that it was necessary to reassess and reinforce security at oil and gas installations.
"The attack at In Amenas probably makes it necessary for both Algeria, as the host country for these investments, and also companies operating in Algeria to reassess security arrangements with a view to reinforcing them," Medelci said.
"What happened at In Amenas will probably lead to some adjustments in this regard," he added.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi said Sunday that Algerian authorities would "conduct a review of security arrangements at industrial facilities".
Yousfi had previously given assurance during a visit to the In Amenas complex on January 21st that "Algeria has the means necessary to make its energy installations secure".
"We will strengthen security and we will rely first and foremost on our own means," Yousfi said at the time.
The gas complex at In Amenas, which produces 8 billion cubic metres of gas per year, is jointly operated by BP, Sonatrach and Statoil. The British giant is responsible for internal security at the site and the Algerian gendarmerie is responsible for external security.
Internal security officers are unarmed. BP said it did not feel it was necessary to request armed security guards prior to the terrorist attack because of the significant presence of security officers.
"We and Statoil decided not to have armed guards on site. Given the large military presence in the area, we took the view that armed guards were not required on the site," BP spokesman Robert Wine told the New York Times.
After the terrorist attack on the In Amenas complex, Norwegian company Statoil announced its intention to review existing security measures.
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[REUTERS] Yemeni forces intercepted a ship on January 23 carrying a large cache of weapons - including surface-to-air missiles - that U.S. officials suspect were being smuggled from Iran and destined for Yemeni turbans, officials said on Monday.
Yemen's government said the arms intercepted aboard the ship off the country's coast also included military grade explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and bomb-making equipment, according to a statement by its embassy in Washington.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , confirmed the operation was coordinated with the U.S. Navy and that a Navy destroyer was nearby.
A second official told Rooters the intercepted shipment was believed to have been from Iran and destined for turbans, likely Houthis.
"This demonstrates the ever pernicious Iranian meddling in other countries in the region," said the second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iran denies any interference in Yemen's affairs.
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#1
I think they need to be donated to Israel instead.
#2
"This demonstrates the ever pernicious Iranian meddling in other countries in the region," said the second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
If you think the meddling is pernicious now, wait til they get a nuke.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/30/2013 11:35
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No worries John Kerry will be all over this and will write a letter to Iran... In French expressing his concern. After all John is a person who has a few boats and understands all things related to the water and war.
The Obama administration's decision to give non-combat, air support to French forces trying to beat back Islamic militants who are threatening to overrun Mali, so far, hasn't caused much of a ripple among war-weary Americans.
But it should. Mali, a poor, landlocked nation, was considered a model African democracy
Tallest dwarf in the circus...
until its elected government was toppled last year in a coup led by a U.S.-trained Malian army captain.
Of course the U.S. training is to blame...
However, like the civilian leaders he deposed, Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo failed to uproot the country's jihadists, who now control large swaths of the mostly desert nation.
Only the French intervention in its former colony has turned the tide in the battle for control of Mali, which shares its border with seven fragile African states that could easily be threatened if Mali fails to defeat its Islamic militants.
They could be easily threatened if Mali succeeds in defeating its Islamic militants...
Many of these fighters were once mercenaries in the pay of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. When Gadhafi's regime was toppled in a popular uprising that received significant military and financial assistance from a U.S.-led coalition, they returned to Mali, heavily armed and champing at the bit to overrun its American-backed government.
Too bad we didn't think that one through and put a premium on whacking Daffy's hard boyz early in that conflict.
Though France has blunted that effort, it doesn't have the military resources to sustain its fight against Mali's jihadists without help from the U.S. military.
This is what happens when you neglect your military in favor of free health care for about four decades or so...
For now, that amounts to the use of giant transport planes to ferry French troops into Mali, and planes to refuel French combat aircrafts that are pummeling the militants' positions.
This point is sad: big transport planes are moderately expensive as far as military equipment goes, but France knows how to build them. It is, after all, the home of the Airbus assembly plant. France could build tanker aircraft. It wouldn't need many for what it might need to do, but it needs a few. They didn't do even that, and now they have to ask us for help. It has to gall them.
But that might not be enough. As recent events have shown, Northern Africa has become an expanding battleground for jihadists groups with links to al-Qaeda. The attack on the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan port city of Benghazi, which took the lives of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, was the work of Islamic militants.
Oh, so it wasn't a cheesy video, was it...
So was the botched takeover of a natural gas production plant in the Algerian desert that took the lives of three Americans and 35 other foreign workers.
"Those who sow the wind, reap the whirlwind," said Charles Stith, a former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, of the widening attacks by Islamic militants in Northern Africa.
"In our exuberance to depose the Libyan despot, Gadhafi, we didn't think through the potential bad consequences," said Stith, director of the African Presidential Center at Boston University, who is in regular contact with African leaders. "Gadhafi was only able to stay in power as long as he did because of the mercenary force he mobilized. It was clear to many folks in Africa that once he was gone, they would go somewhere else on the continent."
That's right, we should have considered that better -- that's one of the reasons why we employ a DIA, CIA, and director of national intelligence, I'm told.
In the end, a multinational air campaign destroyed much of Gadhafi's military hardware and demoralized his troops, who eventually were overrun by rebel forces.
Getting rid of Daffy was still the right thing to do -- he was a thug and a monster, and his kids, especially Seif, were worse.
The U.S. has tried to counter the actions of Islamic militants in Mali by pressing African nations within its sphere of influence to create a multinational military force to combat such threats. And while several of these countries have agreed to send troops to Mali, they lack the military capability to do much more than garrison towns regained by French forces.
It's not like Niger or Benin can build transport aircraft...
The tougher job of hunting down and destroying the Islamic militants will be left to the French -- a fight they cannot sustain without a growing demand for help from the American military. For now, that doesn't involve U.S. combat troops fighter aircraft. But if, as I suspect is likely, other al-Qaeda-linked groups in the region step up their efforts to strike blows in support of their comrades in Mali, the U.S. will not be able to avoid a bigger military involvement.
Remember when the French helped us remove Saddam? Yeah, me too...
Given the large numbers of countries at risk if the conflict in Mali spreads beyond its borders, the demand for the U.S. to do at least as much to save its friends in this region, as it did to topple Gadhafi, will be hard to ignore.
Ev'rybody runs to Uncle Sugar when they need help...
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
It looks like USAF and USN will be conducting air strikes in Africa for a while yet. We're about to become the air force of choice for pro-Western African nations.
[FRANCE24] Troops from Mali and Niger entered the northern Malian town of Ansongo on Tuesday. Hundreds of people spilled onto Ansongo's streets, which had been under Islamist militant control, to cheer as they entered the town.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Both "kids" were in their 20's. To me that's not a kid and the interview and tone make it sound like there are little kids or at most early teens.
There's a cultural problem here that never gets addressed. Read Patrick O'Brien's tales of the British navy during the Napoleanic era and see what ages went with what responsibilities.
Pretty soon "Cradle to Grave" will mean that you never leave the cradle till they bury you.
#7
Frank, not only can empty guns do that - today I was told in no uncertain terms that "assault weapons" could accidently kill kids if they're carried about. or even allowed to exist.
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisian salafists attacked two more Islamic shrines, TAP reported on Monday (January 28th). The Gafsa mausoleum of Sidi Ben Naji and the mausoleum of Sidi Baghdadi in Monastir were ransacked and desecrated on Sunday night.
Last Saturday, the government announced an emergency strategy to protect the Sufi mausoleums.
I thought the Tunisians were more moderate. Can't they just kill the Salafists and be done with it?
Posted by: Fred ||
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[CNBC] The story of bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962... 's decline is decades old: Its tax revenue and population have shrunk and labor costs have remained out of whack. But the city's budget problems have deepened to such an extent that it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks or months and ultimately be forced into what would be the largest-ever Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing in the United States.
Frustrated by the lack of concrete progress, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, last month appointed a team to scour the city's books. The audit could result in a state takeover of Detroit's finances through the appointment of an emergency financial manager. Such a manager, who would seize control of the city's checkbook, could then propose federal bankruptcy court as the best option.
Snyder, who has called the situation "a crisis in terms of financial affairs," said the team would deliver its report in February.
"Detroit is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy after the City Council has failed to make the necessary cuts to deal with having a smaller population," said Rick Jones, chairman of the Republican majority caucus in the state Senate.
Jones, who has indicated he does not favor a bankruptcy, said he would like to see an emergency manager installed to fix the city's problems. If that failed, there would be a case for finding a way to shrink the Detroit municipal area, he argued.
Detroit's population is now just over 700,000 - down 30 percent since 1990 - but the city still has to provide services to an area encompassing more land than the Socialist paradise of San Francisco, ...where God struck dead Anton Lavey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... Boston and the borough of Manhattan.
While Democratic Mayor Dave Bing and the Detroit City Council have moved to reduce spending and initiate some reforms to stave off a takeover, including layoffs and wage and benefit cuts, the progress may not be enough for Michigan officials and politicians.
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Fordism was lost on them. Recovery is doubtful.
[FRANCE24] In Timbuktu, order was somewhat restored by Tuesday afternoon when Malian troops finally moved in.
Electricity had not returned and residents said there was no water supply since water-pumps were not working. The telephone network has also not been in service over the past few days and there were still food shortages.
With Timbuktu controlled by French and Malian forces, the north-eastern city of Kidal is the last major northern Malian city still under rebel control.
Rebels from a Tuareg separatist group have told FRANCE 24 that they are in control of the city and are ready to negotiate with French troops. However, the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad) said it would not allow Malian soldiers into Kidal, underscoring the political challenges that continue to confront Mali.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Turkey's Kurdish rebels will declare a ceasefire and withdraw to their bases in northern Iraq in the spring as part of a deal brokered between their tossed in the slammer Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! leader and the country's intelligence agency, media reported yesterday.
According to the agreed timetable, the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) will declare a ceasefire in February at the urging of their tossed in the slammer Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! leader Abdullah Ocalan, daily Hurriyet reported.
As a confidence-building measure, some 100 PKK members will lay down arms and withdraw to northern Iraq in the spring, once the snow melts off the mountains along the two countries' border, according to the daily.
But the complete disarmament will depend on the course of negotiations with Ankara, it said.
There is an estimated 4,000-4,500 Kurdish rebels and more than half of them are based in northern Iraq where the group enjoys safe haven.
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#1
The Iraqi and Syrian Kurds need Turkey as their protector. So I expect the Iraqi Kurds have been doing some heavy duty arm twisting.
#4
Not clear yet iff this attempt at preemption worked, as the Iraqi Kurds have repor warned BP not to drill for oil - exploratory or otherwise -for the IGA, or else.
[STARTRIBUNE] The oil boom has meant explosive growth for North Dakota, but life there can be frustrating and lonely, as well as lucrative. Shucks, who'd want to be frustrated and lonely if all they got in return was prosperity? If you have prosperity you can fix lonely...
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#1
30 years ago I'd be putting a fresh coat of paint on my wagon.
#3
Author was one of Fred's cub reporters at the Times-Picayune. When she finds herself a handsome, Okie roustabout, she'll probably come around. I'll give her the benefit.
Pam Louwagie writes about various topics around the five-state region. A Star Tribune reporter since 2001, she has worked on the newspapers investigative team and covered federal courts and legal affairs. She previously worked at the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
#4
The way it's worded makes it sound like prosperity created the loneliness when it probably allows people to mitigate it (by attracting other people).
Productive people move away from poverty (see california).
#8
There's a fair amount of resentment, mostly from people not directly benefiting from the oil boom. I spent a great deal of time in Watford City and Williston. Alot of the smaller stores jack their prices way up and then give locals these discount cards so they're not being fleeced. This sort of thing breeds resentment in the rig workers who basically trash the town with alot of minor damage and such. I remember stopping to refill the gas tank when I was heading to a rig and finding "Rig jerks leave!" written on the trash can next to the pump. Another time, some lady followed me to the grocery store to yell at me for "turning right in front of her and nearly causing an accident." Given her car had been 300 yards down the road when I turned and the roads were ice free and the speed limit was 20mph, I felt fairly sure she wasn't in much danger. But she felt she had to abuse one of the horrible rig workers when she had the chance.
Many people there are nice and happy to do business with you, realizing that you're far from home and don't have many choices but to spend money in their stores. There was several places I ate that served decent food with good service and I tried to be generous in my tips in return. And I must also thank some of the postal workers there, who let me get letters and packages general delivery so that I could get mail from my then girlfriend.
My father used to have a heck of a time keeping 12 volt batteries in oil lease pumping units out in the field. Locals would steal them as fast as you could carry them out, padlock bar or no. Got so bad he finally had mechanics rig pos/neg posts through the grill of the pumper's pickups so they could use jumper cables to start the old Buda engines. Putting junk batteries in the pumping unit battery boxes was good revenge as well. :-)
[Dawn] Seven men, including two workers of the Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and liquidations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... , were bumped off in the city on Monday, police said.They said that a young man was rubbed out and his two companions were maimed in an armed attack on Kashmire Road on Monday morning.
They said that gunnies riding a cycle of violence targeted three men, also riding on a bike, within the remit of the Jamshed Quarters cop shoppe and rode away.
The maimed were taken to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... where one of them, identified as Riaz Sheikh, was pronounced dead. His two companions, Adnan and Kamran, both brothers, were admitted for treatment.
The police said that victim Riaz had suffered five bullet wounds. All of them were in their late twenties and employed at a company dealing with the installation of cellphone towers. Riaz was a resident of North Nazimabad while the two brothers lived in Nazimabad.
"The three victims are not affiliated with any political or religious party. Initial information suggested that they were labourers and heading for work when they were targeted," said Jamshad Quarters SP Usman Bajwa.
The police suspected personal enmity as a likely motive for the killing.
Two ST activists killed in attacks An activist of the ST was rubbed out and a two-year-old boy was maimed in a New Bloody Karachi locality in the small hours of Monday, police said.
They said that assailants opened indiscriminate fire on 26-year-old Muhammad Khalid alias Khalda when he was standing close to a paan cabin in New Bloody Karachi's Sector 11-J. He died before he could be taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
A two-year-old boy, Ansar, who was also there along with his father also suffered bullet wounds in the attack and was admitted to hospital for treatment. His condition was said to be stable.
The police said that Khalid was an active ST worker, who also had a criminal record and was recently released from prison.
Another ST worker was rubbed out in New Bloody Karachi's Sector 5-E within the remit of the Bilal Colony cop shoppe.
Police said that Mohammad Akram Qadri, 30, was targeted by armed motorcyclists, who escaped after their swift operation.
The body was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.
Ex-'SSP man' rubbed out
A former activist of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain ...a Sunni Deobandi organization, a formerly registered Pak political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. Its stated goal is to oppose Shia influence in Pakistain. They're not too big on Brelvis, either. Or Christians. Or anybody else who's not them. The organization was banned in 2002 as a terrorist organization, but somehow it keeps ticking along, piling up the corpse counts... was bumped off in Landhi on Monday.
Police said that assailants riding a cycle of violence came to a grocery store and opened fire on the shopkeeper, Qari Khalid Saeed, in Awami Colony near Singer Chowrangi and fled.The victim, father of two, was struck down in his prime.
Police said that he had lately not been active, but in the past he remained associated with the banned SSP.
A front man for the Ahle Sunaat Wal Jamaat strongly condemned the killing and claimed that the victim was a sympathiser of his party.
Killed in Saeedabad A car dealer was rubbed out in the Saeedabad area on Monday, police said.
They said that Mohammad Akbar was targeted when he was cleaning a car in the Saeedabad area. He died before he could be taken to the Civil Hospital, the police said.
He was a resident of the same area.
Initial police investigation suggested that the victim used to hang out with some gangsters and his suspected involvement with them was being considered as a likely motive for the killing.
Man found rubbed out
The body of an unidentified man was found along Mauripur Road on Monday morning.
Police said that victim appeared to be in his mid-20s. The trussed-up body was found near Crown Cinema. The victim was shot in the head.
The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi for medico-legal formalities.
Businessman killed by bandidos
The owner of a garment factory was rubbed out when he tried to resist a cash snatching bid near the Taj Complex on Monday.
Police said that gunnies riding a cycle of violence intercepted Ahmer Ahmed, 30, who was retuning from a bank branch near the Taj Complex within the remit of the Preedy cop shoppe after withdrawing Rs250,000.
The suspects tried to snatch the cash from him and upon resistance fired shots at him, took the cash and rode away. The victim was rushed to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi where he was pronounced dead. He's dead, Jim! on arrival.
The police said that the victim was the owner of a small garment factory and was a resident of Baloch Colony.
Body found in gunny bag The body of another unidentified man, stuffed in a gunny bag, was found in a drain near Paper Market on Monday.
Police said that it appeared that the body had lain there for the past several days.
The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi for a post-mortem examination, as the police were not sure about the exact cause of death.
MQM man rubbed out
An activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... was rubbed out in the Korangi Industrial Area late on Sunday night, police said.
They said that assailants targeted Ismail Magsi, 28, in Mehran Town within the remit of the Korangi Industrial Area cop shoppe. The victim was said to be a member of the Muttahida Organising Committee of the MQM's organizational structure.
The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.
PPP worker killed in Surjani Also on late Sunday night, an activist of the Pakistain People's Party was bumped off in Surjani Town.
Police said that armed motorcyclists fired shots at a bike rider near Abdullah Mor and fled.
They said that the victim died on way to hospital.
He was later identified as Mohammad Fahad, a worker of the PPP.
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[BLOOMBERG] United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi ...a spitting image of Henry Kissinger in looks but not competence...
offered the grimmest picture yet of Syria's descent into chaos, leaving little doubt that all diplomatic paths have been exhausted as the conflict drags on indefinitely.
Syria is unraveling before the eyes of the world, Brahimi told the UN Security Council in New York, according to an account provided by two UN officials who declined to be named because the meeting was closed to the public. The embattled regime, which has defied forecasts of its imminent collapse, is instead surviving with no end in sight even if its legitimacy has been irrevocably lost, said the two officials.
"Brahimi is sadly confined to playing the tragic chorus in a drama over which he has no control," said Richard Gowan, associate director of New York University's Center on International Cooperation, said in an interview.
U.S. intelligence and military officers and diplomats, along with those of nations such as Britannia, Turkey, Jordan and Israel, are increasingly worried that what they consider the slow death of Assad's regime will destabilize neighboring Jordan and Leb, unleash new Kurdish passions for independence and could put chemical weapons in the hands of both Sunni and Shiite beturbanned goons.
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[An Nahar] French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday that Paris is set to deport a string of radical religious imams as part of a fight against "global jihadism".
"Several radical foreign preachers will be expelled in the coming days," Valls told a Brussels conference called to tackle extremism in Europe, without identifying any of the individuals concerned.
"I don't confuse this radical Islam with the Islam of France but there is a religious environment, there are Salafist groupings, who are involved in a political process, whose aim is to monopolize cultural associations, the schooling system," he added.
"We will expel all these imams, all these foreign preachers who denigrate women, who hold views that run counter to our values and who say there is a need to combat France.
"We have to be extremely firm and that I will be," he said.
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[MAGHAREBIA] The military court of Sfax on Tuesday (January 29th) sentenced two officers to prison for the death of five protesters during the uprising against Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Commander Mourad Jouini received a 10-year term and Lieutenant Bassam Akremi was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for repressing demonstrations in Regueb on January 9th, 2011.
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[MAGHAREBIA] Brakna regional security services arrested three salafists in Chegar, Al Akhbar reported on Monday (January 28th). The alleged al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members were transported to Nouakchott for further investigation.
Since the outbreak of the Mali conflict, Mauritanian police have reportedly increased surveillance of extremists.
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[An Nahar] Violence raged in Aleppo province, where seven children were killed in air strikes on the town of Safireh, the Observatory said, giving a toll of 91 people killed across Syria on Tuesday.
And in Damascus a member of parliament was seriously injured when a explosive device strapped to his car exploded, the Observatory said.
The bloodshed came as rebels captured a vital bridge across the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor city, largely severing an army supply route to Hasakeh province further north.
The nearby regime security headquarters and a smaller bridge were also captured, prompting retaliatory air strikes on the critical crossings.
"These gains in Deir Ezzor are very important because this strategic city is the gateway to a region rich in oil and gas resources," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
"If the rebels continue to progress and gain control of what is left of military-held positions... it will be the first major city to fall into the hands of the rebels," said Abdel Rahman.
On the eve of a donors' conference in Kuwait, charity organizations pledged $182 million (136 million euros) for Syrians displaced at home or who have fled abroad.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced an extra $155 million dollars to aid refugees fleeing what he said was "barbarism" propagated by the government of President Bashar Assad.
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[Dawn] At least one person was killed Tuesday when explosives planted in an open field blew up on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A police official at the local Sarband police station initially confirmed that four people were wounded by the explosion in the Achini Meira area, close to Ring Road.
The injured were shifted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex. However, one of the wounded lost his life at the hospital.
Police said the blast targeted an illegal gambling den being operated in the area.
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[Libya Herald] Two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were thrown over the wall of an unused United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) compound in the capital in the early hours of this morning.
No-one was injured in the attack which took place at around 1.30 am.
"One device exploded causing minor damages to the building and breaking several windows," said UNSMIL spokesperson Radhia Achouri.
"A second, similar device was later found and successfully removed by the Libyan police who reacted swiftly and effectively to the incident," she added.
The devices were thrown over the back wall of the compound on Gurji Road in the city's Ghut Shaal district . In the past UNSMIL has considered using the compound as its headquarters but it is unoccupied at present.
The IEDs are reported to have been 'gelatina' bombs -- improvised gelignite bombs particularly popular with fisherman. This type of device and the amateur manner of the operation suggests that this was not a planned attack by an organised terrorist group but rather the action of individuals.
Achouri said that the police are now investigating the incident.
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A new law is advancing in the Mexican national legislature which could limit preventative detentions to eight days, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news report which appeared on the website of El Sol de Mexico news daily last Saturday said that Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) deputy coordinator of the senate, Arturo Zamora Jimenez, claimed that Mexican senators are discussing limiting the prosecutorial maneuver of arriago, or preventative detentions to just eight days.
Current law permits Mexico's Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) or national attorney general to detain suspected criminals for up to 40 days without charge or trial. The maneuver is colloquially known in Mexico as "rooting", and is typically used against suspected drug traffickers and corrupt government officials.
Arraigo can only be imposed with the consent of a Mexican federal judge and can be extended under certain conditions for up to 80 days.
According to a news report which appeared on the website of Animal Politico news website Saturday, Zamora Jimenez said that the law violates Article 17 of the Mexican Constitution which limits detentions by the PGR to just 48 hours. The procedure, according to the senator violates criminal defendants right to a speedy trial.
Mexico has a Napoleonic law code, which means that detained criminal defendants begin serving time for their crime immediately, but may be released if they can prove their innocence.
According to the article, Zamora Jimenez wants to limit use of arraigo to only drug traffickers and organized crime defendants.
During the term of President Felipe Calderon, drug traffickers could and were routinely be held incommunicado on military bases until the prosecutorial investigation was complete. Arraigo has been used against government officials as well. In the case of the massacres in La Laguna during 2010, prison officials in Durango's Centro de Readaptacion Social Numero 2 prison in Gomez Palacio, Durango, were detained for 20 days after it was learned they had spent months permitting prisoners passes at night in order to attack Los Zetas facilities in La Laguna. Those series of massacres cost the lives of more than 30 individuals in 2010.
Prison director Margarita Rojas Rodriguez was ordered detained for 20 days, then was sentenced three months later to serve time in a prison in Nayarit. Ten other officials were eventually sentenced for their role in the massacres as well.
Another example of the use of arraigo is Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, AKA Diego, one of the bloodiest capos in Mexican Drug War history, who was ordered detained for 40 days for his role in more than 1,500 murders during his reign of terror between 2007 and 2011 in Chihuahua state.
Arraigo is part of Mexican Article 139 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the State, not of the Mexican Constitution. Part of the law, according to an article entitled El Arraigo es Opesto al Principio de Presuncion de Inocencia, or Rooting is Opposed to the Principle of Presumption of Innocence, found on the website of www.poderjudicial-gto.gob.mx/ by Laura Patricia Ramirez Molina, only freedom of movement of the detainee may be constricted. The government is not allowed to seize property, but is only allowed to detain suspects for the time period to enable prosecutors to complete their investigation. In practice, prosecutors also limit detainee contact with the outside during the term of their detention.
In the article, Ramirez Molina proposed the use of electronic means of tracking criminal suspects detained under arraigo.
According to the article, Ramirez Molina said that arraigo violates Articles 14, 16 and 19 of the Mexican Constitution. It should be noted that Mexican criminal procedure in practice doesn't allow the presumption of innocence in that criminal defendants must prove their innocence.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
[Dawn] Pakistani security forces on Tuesday claimed that they have killed 33 militants affiliated to the outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as fighter jets struck their hideouts in remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency and Mamozai area of Orakzai agency.
The TTP spokesman however has claimed that only two of their fighters have died in the air strikes while rest of those killed were civilians.
The claims however could not be verified from any independent sources, as the area is totally inaccessible to the media.
Security sources told Dawn.Com that the jet fighters have also destroyed ammunition and ration depots of the militants groups in Dawatoi, Bara Gat, Wocha Wona, and Nakai areas of the Khyber Agency during the last 24 hours operation.
They said that at least 23 militants have been killed while scores of others have been injured in the strikes.
In a separate strike in adjoining Mamozai area of Orakzai agency, the jet fighters have also destroyed four militants' hideouts.
Assistant Political Agent Upper Tehsil Muhammad Rafiq says they have reports that at least ten militants have died in the strikes while their four secret hideouts have also been destroyed.
TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Eshan, reacting to the incidents said that they had lost only two fighters in the strikes and most of the people killed by the Pakistani fighter jets are innocent civilians.
"I can confirm that jets have targeted civilians' houses on the border of Orakzai Agency, in Kokikhels area and there is confirmation of civilian deaths, including women and children," he said, adding, "our bases are safe enough to escape the bombing and we know how to remain safe in the area."
About the ongoing clashes with Ansarul Islam (AI) in Tirah Valley, Ehsan said, "We have lost only 7 fighters while 15 others have been injured in the war with the AI, but I don't have any confirmation of deaths on the other side."
To a query about capturing the AI headquarters in Bagh-Maidan, the TTP spokesman said, "I can't say as we are in the middle of the war, but the TTP's fight will continue until the elimination of government-backed fighters of Ansarul Islam."
"Despite a peace agreement with the TTP they have killed more than 29 of our Mujahideen and have also stopped and blocked the supply routes to the tribesmen who are opposed to the AI ideology," he added.
About the dissociation of Tariq Afridi group from the TTP as claimed by their spokesman Muhammad in media reports, Ehsan said, "I am not in knowledge of any spokesman by the name of Muhammad, who had claimed this."
"But I must say... all us TTP fighters are unanimous in defeating Ansarul Islam, who are supported by the Pakistani government," he added.
About Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) backing the TTP in the fight against the Ansarul Islam, he said, "TTP is on its own, but any support from the LI will be welcomed."
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[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian security services on Monday (January 28th) broke up a terror-support network in the Tiaret region, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. Four men and three women, including a public health doctor, are in custody. The case was the fifth alleged al-Qaeda support network to be dismantled in the wilaya since last September.
An AQIM terrorist arrested in December reportedly provided the information that led to the operation.
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[An Nahar] After winning a tug-of-war with the opposition over Egypt's new constitution in December, Islamist President Mohamed Morsi faces a fresh crisis, one that is hard to pass without him making concessions.
The gravity of the crisis was highlighted Tuesday by Defense Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, who warned if the current situation persists it could "lead to a collapse of the state".
Egypt has been rocked by rioting since Thursday night which has killed at least 52 people, forcing Morsi to impose emergency and night-time curfews in the worst-affected provinces of Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez Canal.
On Saturday, violence went kaboom! in Port Said after a court sentenced to death 21 supporters of a local football club for their involvement in a deadly soccer riot last year. Forty-two people have died so far in Port Said.
Sissi, also Egypt's military chief, urged all parties to bury their differences and find a solution to the country's "political, economical, social and security" problems.
The military faced a tough task, he said, as it did "not want to confront Egyptian citizens who have a right to protest" but it also had "to protect vital institutions".
On Monday, the senate ratified a law granting the armed forces powers of arrest and allowing them to "support the police in maintaining order and protecting vital installations until the end of parliamentary elections and whenever the National Defense Council (headed by Morsi) requests it".
In November, Morsi had a showdown with the main opposition National Salvation Front over the Islamist-drafted constitution.
But the president came out on top with the charter being adopted through a referendum in December, despite mass demonstrations by his adversaries.
This time, however, the situation is more complicated.
"This crisis will not pass easily," said Mustafa Kamel El-Sayyed, professor of political sciences at Cairo University.
The tussle over the constitution had "put liberals and leftists on one side and Islamists on the other, with the people not really being involved," he said.
"But this time the people are part of it, protesting over the deterioration of their living conditions."
And also this time, according to Sayyed, a new element has emerged on the scene.
"A group of young anarchists (nicknamed as the Black Bloc) who are ready to engage in violence with the police," he said.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Just the day after launching synchronised attacks on police in the capital and elsewhere, Jamaat-Shibir rioters torched two buses and smashed five others in Old Dhaka yesterday.
Witnesses said a group of 20 to 25 youths, equipped with sharp weapons, sticks and brickbats, damaged vehicles parked in front of Bahadur Shah Park near Jagannath University around 8:30am.
They burned down two passenger buses of Skyline Paribahan, vandalised at least five others and fled as police rushed to the spot. None of them chanted any slogan or carried any banner.
Mohammad Nazir, owner of the Skyline Paribahan, filed a case with Sutrapur Police Station against 20 to 25 unidentified people for torching his two buses.
Gazi Mozammel Hossain, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Wari), said Jamaat-Shibir carried out the arson and the vandalism.
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... and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... went on the rampage on Monday injuring at least 70 people, including 50 coppers, wrecking around 200 vehicles and setting four others afire to pressure the government to cancel the war crimes trial.
Seven cases have been filed in the capital for Monday's violence.
According to police, two cases were filed with Shahbagh, two with Paltan, two with Motijheel and one with Sutrapur cop shoppes accusing 82 named and around 1,000 unnamed leaders and activists of the organizations.
In four of the seven cases, 50 Jamaat-Shibir cadres have been tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! and placed on remands.
Monirul Islam, deputy commissioner of Detective Branch (South), said Shibir cadres are launching terror attacks on Jamaat's instructions only to frustrate the war crimes trials.
The top brass of Jamaat, considered by many an anti-liberation force and a patron of religious bigotry, are facing trials for committing crimes against humanity in 1971.
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion... the party enforced a daylong hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... yesterday at Banshkhali upazila in Chittagong protesting arrest of some of their members while a half-day hartal at Kotchandpur upazila protesting the "arrest of their 17 leaders and activists".
Most of the shops in the areas remained open and traffic was almost normal. Shops were shut only at Chambal of Banshkhali, said witnesses.
The party also called half-day hartal in five other districts -- Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Natore and Chandpur -- for today over the same issue.
Around 4,000 people have been sued in Banshkhali for Monday's assaults that left at least 20 people, including 10 coppers, maimed.
Also, Shibir has called an eight-hour hartal in three districts of Rajshahi division for today demanding release of Mostafizur Rahman, its social welfare affairs secretary, and Atikur Rahman, office secretary. The two have been arrested in the capital.
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[BBC.CO.UK] The bodies of dozens of young men, all apparently summarily executed, have been found in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, rebels and activists say.
At least 71 bodies were found by a river in the western Bustan al-Qasr district, UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
Most had their hands tied behind their backs and gunshot wounds to the head.
Hours after the find, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi reportedly said Syria was "breaking up before everyone's eyes".
He told a closed-door session of the UN Security Council that he had no progress to report, adding that the government's legitimacy had been "seriously, probably irreparably, damaged", diplomats said.
Mr Brahimi has been trying to seek a way out of the crisis on the basis of a peace plan approved at an international conference in June 2012.
The UN says the conflict has left more than 60,000 people dead.
Shot in the head Video footage of the gruesome discovery was posted by activists on YouTube.
It showed a large number of bodies strewn in and around the banks of the Quwaiq river, which skirts the western side of Aleppo.
The bodies were caked in grey mud and showed signs of rigor mortis. There were also signs of blood having poured from many of the heads.
Rigor mortis, a stiffening of the limbs of a corpse, begins around three hours after death, peaks at around 12 hours and is completely dissipated some two days later.
Daily Telegraph correspondent Ruth Sherlock, who was at the scene, told the BBC there was "absolute pandemonium".
"There were pickup trucks outside with people standing crying, screaming over corpses that were being taken away," she said.
Sherlock said she counted at least 71 bodies in different stages of decomposition, mostly between the ages of 20 and 40, as well as two boys aged about 11 and 15.
Hotly contested One volunteer helping to load bodies on to a lorry said there was no identification on the bodies.
People were gathering at the bank to see if they could find their missing relatives, AFP reported.
"My brother disappeared weeks ago when he was crossing [through] the regime-held zone, and we don't know where he is or what has become of him," said Mohammed Abdul Aziz.
Other relatives said their loved ones had gone missing days before. Many had set out for government-held areas, believing that as they were not fighters they would be safe, they said.
Activists say the victims had been killed after being tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... by forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad. Scourge of Qusayr...
A Syrian government source said that many of the victims had been kidnapped but accused "terrorists" - the term officials use to describe the rebels - of carrying out the kidnappings and killings.
"They were kidnapped by terrorist groups... and executed last night in a park in Bustan al-Qasr under their control," the source told AFP.
"Now these terrorist groups are creating a media campaign, showing the bodies being recovered from the Quwaiq river in an area under their control."
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#1
maybe they were all "natural causes"*?
*Syrian definition
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/30/2013 8:45
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[REUTERS] French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday, uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and La Belle France said it aimed to hand over longer-term security operations in Mali to an African force.
An 18-day offensive in La Belle France's former West African colony has pushed the forces of Evil out of major towns and into desert and mountain hideouts to head off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe.
French and Malian troops retook the two Saharan trading towns of Timbuktu and Gao at the weekend virtually unopposed.
Doubts remain about just how quickly the African intervention force, known as AFISMA and now expected to exceed 8,000 troops, could be fully deployed in Mali to hunt down and eradicate retreating al Qaeda-allied hard boyz in the north.
International donors meeting in Addis Ababa pledged just over $455 million for the Mali crisis. But it was not clear whether all of this would go directly to AFISMA, which African leaders have estimated will cost almost $1 billion.
"You will certainly understand that it is not sufficient. But I think it is only the beginning. We hope that it will continue, and that the money we need will come," Malian interim President Dioncounda Traore told news hounds in Addis Ababa.
He earlier announced his government would aim to organize "credible" elections for July 31 in response to demands from major Western backers of the anti-rebel action.
Malian soldiers combed through the dusty alleys and mud-brick homes of Gao and Timbuktu. In Gao, they tossed in the slammer Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! at least five suspected rebels and sympathizers, turned over by local people, and uncovered caches of weapons and counterfeit money.
Fleeing Islamist fighters torched a Timbuktu library holding priceless ancient manuscripts, damaging many.
Residents reported some looting of shops in Timbuktu owned by Arabs and Tuaregs suspected of having helped the Islamists who had occupied the world-famous seat of Islamic learning, a UNESCO World Heritage site, since last year.
Malian troops have also been accused by international human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. groups of carrying out Dire Revenge™ killings of suspected beturbanned fascisti and sympathizers in retaken areas.
In the face of reports of such reprisals, La Belle France called on Tuesday for the swift deployment of international observers in Mali to ensure human rights are not abused.
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[FRANCE24] An official says a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside the presidential palace compound in Somalia, killing two people.
Mohamed Ali, a police officer at the state house, said Tuesday that the man blew himself up after he was questioned by soldiers manning a checkpoint in the palace complex known as Villa Somalia.
Villa Somalia has a large compound with several buildings and checkpoints. Ali says the bomber was four more checkpoints away from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's home.
The president is said to be out of the country on state business.
Mohamud survived an assassination attempt on his second day in office in September when two suicide bombers blew themselves up while trying to gain access into a heavily guarded hotel serving as his temporary residence.
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[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Heroine of Tuzla and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Frederick T. Frelinghuysen ... , while lamenting the partisanship of congressional Republicans who grilled her about the Benghazi attack, encouraged Republicans not to imitate the unwillingness to compromise evinced by forces of Evil in North Africa.
That certainly is an interesting perspective, though not, one would think, terribly diplomatic..
"It has been increasingly partisan," Clinton said today at the Newseum when asked to comment on the questioning she faced from Republicans last week. "You can be partisan, you can have a strong sense of the rightness of your position, but democracy and certainly legislative bodies require compromise. And you can't let compromise become a dirty word because then you veer toward fanaticism."
"I mean, we were just talking about hard boyz who think it's only their way, they are the ones who have the truth, none of the rest of us have any kind of claim on what is real in their views," she continued. "And so it's important in our democracies -- like Australia, like the United States -- that yes, be passionate, be intense about your feelings, but at the end of the day you've got to serve the people who sent you there, and that requires compromise."
The "extremists" Clinton had just been discussing included those that carried out the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, resulting in the deaths of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.
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#1
unwillingness to compromise
Thy name is Democrat.
Budget?
Deficit?
Social Security reform?
Secured borders?
#2
I missed it, but the RSM caught a news ticker last night which indicated that the Hildebeast's 2016 campaign finance team had been formed. Evidently 8 years of the Clintons was not enuf.
#4
The only response to this is "What difference does it make?"
Posted by: ed in texas ||
01/30/2013 6:55
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#5
She is making an equivalence between North African terrorists and Republicans? That is deplorable. The Democrats are the ones who are running a government that is rapidly heading towards tyrannical.
#9
Right out of Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" --Isolate, freeze and polarize. As I recall Hillary wrote her thesis about Saul Alinksy. Obama was also a disciple of Alinsky's methods.
[Washington Post] The Senate overwhelmingly approved Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) as the next secretary of state Tuesday afternoon, with three Republican "no" votes.
It's like ripping a Band-Aid off: best to do it quickly...
The vote was 94 to 3, clearing the way for Kerry to formally take over from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ... sometimes described as For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillary and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Tallyrand ... on Friday.
He assumes the post amid a civil war in Syria that has killed an estimated 60,000, stalled nuclear negotiations with Iran and the spread of militancy across North Africa. U.S. relations with Russia are at a low point, the United States is struggling to manage a changing relationship with a rising China and the prospects for new Mideast peace efforts appear dim.
Three Republicans voted against Kerry -- Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma.
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#1
His predecessor has proven competency is not a requirement of the job.
from the Instaprof -
I believe that this is the first time since at least 2001 that theres no woman or minority on the presidential-succession shortlist: After Obama, its Joe Biden, John Boehner, Patrick Leahy, and John Kerry.
How's that working out for you sis? But, they've got you lined up for the next draft.
[ROLLCALL] Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said Monday that so far, he has not counted a single Democratic "no" vote on the question of whether former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel should be confirmed as Defense secretary.
Hagel, whose nomination has drawn fire from his fellow Republicans, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday for his hearing. Though the session with the panel is expected to be testy, Hagel will likely clear that hurdle before facing a 60-vote threshold in the full Senate. But even Republican aides are quietly conceding he is likely to get the three-fifths majority he needs to prevent a filibuster.
"We did whip it. And the numbers were very positive on the Democratic side," Durbin said of a preliminary vote count his office did last week of the Senate Democratic Conference's 55 members.
"I didn't whip the Republican side so I can't say," Durbin continued when asked whether he thought he could pick off at least five Republican votes to get to 60. "I need to do it again this week, but as of last week, we were doing very, very well among Democrats. There were no 'no' votes. There were some who wanted to wait until after his testimony."
The controversy surrounding Hagel has centered comments he made about the "Jewish lobby" and concerns that he may not be pro-Israel enough. Some Republicans have also questioned his stance on engagement with Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
No man either alive, dead, or risen is universally liked. Somewhere, someone thinks meanly or less of him; otherwise the tally is a fraud. In Senator Durbin's defense, I am sure he [Durbin] likes dogs, but I have no proof of it.
#3
Also his very firm stance on American nukes... and his complete inability to manage his little Senatorial office, let alone the large number of personnel in the Department of Defense..
[An Nahar] Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has postponed an official visit to France this week, the French presidency said Tuesday, as days of deadly clashes brought his rule to the brink of collapse.
Morsi had been due to meet French President Francois Hollande on Friday to discuss France's military intervention in Mali, which he has criticized.
Was he going to make a side-trip to Geneva to check on his Krugerrands?
The Egyptian opposition has pledged mass protests on Friday after violence sweeping the country left at least 52 dead in five days.
Morsi's office said earlier Tuesday that his scheduled two-day trip to Germany starting on Wednesday was still on.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
well he was in Germany and we were thrilled to see him... go
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/30/2013 7:02
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"Geh' mit Gott, aber geh'!" EuropeanConservative?
[Dawn] Former chairman of the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Tauqir Sadiq was arrested in Abu Dhabi, DawnNews reported on Tuesday.
Sadiq is accused of having caused a loss of Rs83 billion to the national exchequer and eventually fleeing away. He went into hiding soon after the Nov 25, 2011 Supreme Court verdict which had declared his appointment illegal and had directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate corruption cases against him within 45 days.
Sources told DawnNews a three-member team of law enforcement officials from Pakistan had arrested the former Ogra chairman in Abu Dhabi with assistance from local police.
Authorities are making preparations to bring the former official back to Pakistan.
Last week, the Supreme Court had ordered the NAB to file within a week two corruption references in the case against Sadiq.
One of the references ordered to be filed points a finger at the prime minister who had allegedly approved Sadiq's appointment as chairman of the Ogra.
The other is against the officials who are accused of obstructing investigations against Sadiq and facilitating his escape from the country. They include Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Pakistan People's Party's senior leader Jehangir Badar who is a close relative of Sadiq.
Prime Minister Ashraf was water and power minister and head of the selection committee which had approved Sadiq's appointment.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2013
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[An Nahar] Iraqi officials said Tuesday they would up the salaries of Sunni militiamen who fought al-Qaida during the country's brutal sectarian war, the latest bid to appease mostly-Sunni anti-government rallies.
The immediate two-thirds increase in wages for the Sahwa, otherwise known as the Sons of Iraq or the Awakening, comes as officials have trumpeted a substantial prisoner release in the face of more than a month of demonstrations in the country's north and west.
Around 41,000 Sahwa fighters are to receive 500,000 Iraqi dinars ($415) a month, up from 300,000 dinars ($250), Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told a news conference on Tuesday.
The Sahwa is composed of bands of Sunni tribesmen who sided with the U.S. military from late-2006 onwards against al-Qaida, a key factor helping turn the tide of Iraq's bloody insurgency.
Sunni militants still linked to al-Qaida regularly target Sahwa fighters in violent attacks because they regard them as traitors.
An increase in wages for the Sahwa, as well as their incorporation into the security forces and civil service, has long been a demand of Iraq's Sunni community, calls that have been amplified by the recent protests.
In addition to the salary increase, officials in Baghdad recently claimed to have released nearly 900 inmates from Iraqi prisons, but have not provided a breakdown on how many were being held without charge and how many were simply being released as their jail terms had ended.
Shahristani also publicly apologized in a news conference this month for holding detainees without charge.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Cheaper to pay them off than to fight them. Nobody wants to go back to that.
[Dawn] Putting aside years of mistrust, the Afghan government indicated on Monday its willingness to consider Pakistan's longstanding offer of training its armed forces.
This sense was conveyed during Afghan defence delegation's meeting with Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at the military headquarters.
The Afghan delegation led by Defence Minister Gen Bismillah Khan Muhammadi, which is on a five-day visit to Pakistan, included Major General Afzal Aman, Director General of Military Operations; Major General Abdul Manan Farahi, Director General Military Intelligence and Investigation; Major General Payanda Mohammad Nazim, Inspector General of Training; and Major General Aminullah Karim, Commandant of National Defence College, Afghanistan.
The rare visit of the high-level Afghan defence delegation denoted a paradigm shift in Afghanistan's perceptions about Pakistan.
Because of years of disinformation, Afghan authorities had always sceptically looked towards Pakistan believing that the former ally of Taliban was opposed to the current set-up and was backing Taliban insurgency.
It was this opinion that prevented Afghanistan from considering Pakistani offer to train its troops, which was originally made in 2010 by Gen Kayani. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had at a meeting with journalists last February dismissed the offer as a non-starter till Pakistan rebuilt confidence by addressing Kabul's concerns about its involvement with Taliban terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"to ensure our troops reach the same high level of double-dealing incompetence and graft shown by the Army of the Pure"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/30/2013 8:47
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Single-malt in the evening, after an exhausting day of watching manuevers?
[Dawn] Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused foreign countries on Tuesday of plotting against his war-weary nation's peace programme, saying all negotiations should take place under his administration.
Without pointing a finger at any particular country, Karzai said he had told the US government during a recent visit to Washington that "no foreign party must try to take the Afghan peace process in its hand".
All negotiations with Taliban insurgents should take place through the government-appointed High Peace Council, but unnamed "foreigners" had tried to sidestep the council, Karzai said.
Karzai made the comments in a long diversion during a speech to a water management conference in Kabul, but it was unclear why he raised the issue or who exactly he was targeting.
A senior official told AFP that Karzai was referring "to foreign and internal elements who are trying to tell the Taliban to hold talks with other groups and encouraging political groups to hold talks with the Taliban".
The plan was to weaken the Afghan government, he said, adding that the "foreign elements" were from both Western and regional countries.
Afghan Defence Minister Bismillah Khan Muhammadi is on a five-day visit to neighbouring Pakistan, where he has met Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani.
Afghan-Pakistani relations are understood to have improved recently despite years of suspicion and mutual accusations of Taliban violence plaguing both countries.
"Any effort to conduct peace talks individually is not an effort for peace but it's a plot by the foreigners, aimed at weakening Afghanistan," Karzai said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The British Way
A fleeing Taliban, desperate for water, was plodding through the Afghan desert when he saw something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he hurried toward the oasis only to find a British Fusilier selling regimental ties.
The Taliban asked, "Do you have water?"
The soldier replied, "There is no water, the well is dry. Would you like to buy a tie instead? They are only £5.
"The Taliban shouted, "You idiot infidel! I do not need an over-priced tie. I need water! I should kill you, but I must find water first!"
"OK," said the soldier, "It does not matter that you do not want to buy a tie and that you hate me. I will show you that I am bigger than that, and that I am a much better human being than you. If you continue over that hill to the east for about two miles, you will find our Sergeant's Mess. It has all the ice cold water you need. Inshallah.
"Cursing him, the Taliban staggered away over the hill. Several hours later he staggered back, collapsed with dehydration & gasped ... "They won't let me in without a fucking tie!
#2
I did not fall off my chair laughing, Besoeker. But only just -- and trailing daughter #1 was quite concerned that I wasn't able to breathe... Her exact words, she desires you to know, were "At least when you pass out you'll be able to breathe normally again."
[Dawn] The men who witnessed the Kargil ... three months of unprovoked Pak aggression, over 4000 dead Paks, another victory for India ... fiasco continue to spill the beans. Lt Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz, a former chief of general staff of Pakistain Army who has till now kept his peace about what he witnessed in the summer of '99, says the 'misadventure' was a four-man show the details of which were hidden from the rest of the military commanders initially.
This is the first time someone this senior in the military hierarchy of the time has spoken in such detail and with such frankness about the fiasco that was Kargil.
According to him, initially the Kargil operation was known only to Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , chief of general staff Lt Gen Mohammad Aziz, FCNA (Force Command Northern Areas) commander Lt Gen Javed Hassan and 10-Corps commander Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmad.
The majority of corps commanders and principal staff officers were kept in the dark, says Gen Aziz. "Even the-then director general military operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia came to know about it later," says Gen Aziz who at the time was serving as director general of the analysis wing of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
He said that Gen Musharraf worked on a policy of "need to know" throughout his tenure as COAS and later president -- in other words, Musharraf would issue orders to only those who were required to implement orders instead of first consulting corps commanders and other military officers.
The Kargil operation began in the summer of 1999 when Pak soldiers infiltrated into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control.
The infiltration, which managed to cut off Indian supply lines, took New Delhi by surprise.
Initially, Islamabad claimed that the infiltrators were mujahideen but it could not maintain this façade for long. The Indian response coupled with international pressure forced the Pakistain military to withdraw.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the aftermath of the operation served to heighten tensions between Gen Musharraf and then prime minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... which culminated in the October coup when the military removed the elected government and took over.
'Operation was never planned'
"The Pakistain Army did not plan the operation because Gen Musharraf never saw Kargil as a major operation. Only the FCNA was involved in it and perhaps a section of 10-Corps," says Aziz, adding that it was a major intelligence failure for India. More details of the operation are expected in Gen Aziz's book which is hitting the bookshelves next week.
"It was a miscalculated move," he says when asked about the operation, adding that "its objectives were not clear and its ramifications were not properly evaluated".
At his picturesque farmhouse in Pind Begwal in the foothills of Murree, about 30km from the capital, Gen Aziz was not averse to speaking frankly about the operation.
"It was a failure because we had to hide its objectives and results from our own people and the nation. It had no purpose, no planning and nobody knows even today how many soldiers bit the dust."
He said he was personally not aware of what information had been shared with then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, but he felt that Mr Sharif "was not fully in the picture".
He, however, recalls a general telling him that Nawaz Sharif asked "when are you giving us Kashmire?" during an informal discussion. This suggests, says Gen Aziz, that Mr Sharif was not completely in the dark.
Gen Aziz himself first discovered that something was up when he came across wireless communication intercepts from which he could tell that something was making the Indian forces panic.
"The intercepts worried me as I thought we were not aware of whatever was unsettling the Indians. I deputed two officers to figure out what was happening." The next day's wireless intercepts were clear enough for Gen Aziz to realise that the Indians' anxiety stemmed from the fact that someone from Pakistain had captured some areas in Kargil-Drass sector but it was not clear if they were mujahideen or regular troops. "I took these intercepts to then ISI director general Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt and asked what was happening."
It was then that Gen Aziz was finally told by Gen Butt that the army had captured some area in Kargil.
This, says Gen Aziz, was not right. In his opinion, he should have been told about the proposed operation in advance so that he could have provided his analysis in advance.
A day after this conversation between Aziz and Butt, the latter called Gen Aziz and told him that he had been invited to the General Headquarters for a briefing on Kargil.
The briefing
During the briefing, which was also attended by all the principal staff officers, Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Tauqir Zia explained that units of NLI (Northern Light Infantry) and regular troops had captured areas in the Drass-Kargil sector.
Aziz feels that even though the briefing was conducted by DGMO Tauqir Zia, it was clear that he had not been aware of the operation from the beginning.
The day after the DGMO briefing, the friction at Kargil operation was reported in the Pak media; interestingly, the Indian media had carried stories a day earlier.
This shows that the military leadership was informed about such a critical operation only after it began and by that time information was trickling down to the media.
At the briefing, Gen Zia did explain the 'objectives' of the operation -- it had cut off India's supply lines to Siachen because of the closure of Zojila Pass on Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Leh road.
This, said Gen Zia, would block India from supplying its troops in Siachen and subsequently, India would evacuate Siachen. That this did not happen is now history.
Gen Aziz says this was because the planners "miscalculated the Indian response and overall repercussions".
At the briefing, Gen Tauqir Zia talked about airing pre-recorded Pashto messages that he hoped would be intercepted by the Indian forces. His objective was that these intercepts would fool India into thinking that the Afghan mujahideen had occupied areas in Kargil.
Gen Aziz says he objected to this plan as "these would get exposed very shortly". He adds that this led to lengthy discussions and finally Tauqir Zia conceded that the truth could not be hidden for long.
In retrospect, Gen Aziz feels that "even if only NLI men were up there, it would be wrong to suggest that the operation was carried out by paramilitary forces because NLI falls under the military chain of command unlike the Rangers that are headed by a military officer but technically they fall under the control of the ministry of interior".
The study that never was
But for Gen Aziz the end of the operation did not mean the end of the matter.
After he was promoted as chief of general staff, he says that in 2004 he ordered a small study to inquire into what miscalculations had led to such a huge loss of men and money. He also asked each battalion concerned for details.
But the reaction was swift.
An angry Gen Musharraf called him and asked what the objectives of the study were. "I told him it would provide a professional understanding of our mistakes and losses but Gen Musharraf insisted that this was not the time for such a study and ordered that it be stopped.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"It was a failure because we had to hide its objectives and results from our own people and the nation. It had no purpose, no planning and nobody knows even today how many soldiers lost their lives."
Except for the butcher's bill, it sounds like Benghazi.
[GUARDIAN.CO.UK] Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma is expecting a fourth child, according to a Lebanese newspaper with a reputation for informed access to the inner workings of the regime in Damascus.
This would be a convenient reason for her to flee move to Moscow, Paris or Tehran. For good pre-natal care, you know...
The news that Syria's first lady is pregnant came from Al-Akhbar, which is published in Beirut. It attributed the news to unnamed "Arab visitors" who also heard her husband claiming to have gained the upper hand in the fight against rebels. But the paper gave no further details.
Nor was there any confirmation of the story from the government in Damascus or from Asma's parents, who live in London. Rumours about a pregnancy have been circulating for several months.
"On the personal level, the man [Assad] seems calm and in control," al-Akhbar reported. "His confidence level stands out. Also, there's the news of the pregnancy of his wife Asma, which could not be dealt with as a simple personal matter between a couple."
The report triggered abusive and vengeful comments from Syrian anti-Assad activists on social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
Assuming a degree of deliberate news management, the story may be part of an effort by the president to project an image of normality in the midst of a bloody crisis which has already seen 60,000 people killed since the uprising began 22 months ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
I guess it's like in the movies, where the adrenaline rush of being in an impossibly dangerous situation leads to great s*x.
[An Nahar] There are still 200,000 armed fighters in "revolutionary brigades" in Libya, a top U.N. envoy said Tuesday, expressing fears that Mali's conflict could spillover into the country.
Foreign governments have raised concerns about security in Libya and U.N. envoy to the country Tarek Mitri said France's military campaign in Mali had opponents in Libya.
"Opposition of armed radical groups to the military intervention in Mali may exacerbate the situation given ideological and/or ethnic affiliations as well as porous borders in Libya," Mitri told the Security Council.
He said that border security was a "concern" because of unrest in Libya, particularly around the eastern city of Benghazi, and "the possible impact of recent developments in Mali."
Mitri told reporters after the meeting there are up to 200,000 armed men in the revolutionary brigades that overthrew late strongman Moammar Gadhafi who are still not under government control.
He added that an estimated 7,000 prisoners are still being held in jails run by the militias since the fall of Gadhafi in 2011.
Mitri said more than 20,000 former revolutionary brigade militia are being trained to become police in state security forces and insisted government control is slowly improving.
But he acknowledged problems. "They know they cannot extend the authority of the state to the whole of Libyan territory, they are aware that they do not have the monopoly of the use of force," Mitri told reporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
AL-QAEDA, or more specifically AQIM, is repor on the verge of controlling most of Eastern Libyuh, wid high risk of formal secession from Tripoli, as due to on-going sectarianism/infighting amongst the post-Uncle Muammar rebel factions + by extens the post-Uncle Muammar Libyan Govt.
[UK.NEWS.YAHOO] A Cairo tribunal on Tuesday upheld death sentences passed on seven Egyptian Coptic Christians in absentia for their involvement in a movie that ridiculed the Prophet Mohammed, a judicial source said.
The accused, including the director of the movie that fired up the rubes across the Mohammedan world when it surfaced last September, are currently living in the United States.
Terry Jones, an American pastor based in Florida who is said to have promoted the film and who had also been sentenced to death in absentia, had his sentence reduced to five years in jail by the tribunal.
Egyptian courts usually hand out the maximum punishment -- execution in this case for a blasphemy verdict -- and send the decision to the state's top Islamic scholar to get his approval.
Tuesday's confirmation of the sentences occurred after his opinions were taken.
If the defendants do return to Egypt, they could get a new trial, according to legal experts.
The movie, in which the Prophet Mohammed is depicted as a buffoon and paedophile, sparked a wave of angry protests across the Middle East in which more than 30 people were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
If the defendants do return to Egypt, they could get a new trial, and prove themselves to be stark, raving, bonkers.
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.
FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. -- who has denied what he calls the "fallacious allegations."
An Iraqi man who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in Kentucky was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole and a co-defendant received a 40-year sentence for his role in a plot to ship weapons and cash to insurgents in Iraq.
[Dawn] A local court on Monday acquitted Lal Masjid Khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz along with his spouse and two other clerics in the kidnapping case of four policemen.
cycle of violence
[MAGHAREBIA] Another al-Qaeda attack on an Algerian energy facility turned deadly Sunday night (January 27th) in Djebahia.
[CNBC] The story of 
[Dawn] Seven men, including two workers of the 
[BLOOMBERG] 
[An Nahar] French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday that Paris is set to deport a string of radical religious imams as part of a fight against "global jihadism".
[MAGHAREBIA] Brakna regional security services arrested three salafists in Chegar, Al Akhbar reported on Monday (January 28th). The alleged al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members were transported to Nouakchott for further investigation.
[An Nahar] Violence raged in Aleppo province, where seven children were killed in air strikes on the town of Safireh, the Observatory said, giving a toll of 91 people killed across Syria on Tuesday.
[Libya Herald] Two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were thrown over the wall of an unused United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) compound in the capital in the early hours of this morning.
[Bangla Daily Star] Just the day after launching synchronised attacks on police in the capital and elsewhere, Jamaat-Shibir rioters torched two buses and smashed five others in Old Dhaka yesterday.
[BBC.CO.UK] The bodies of dozens of young men, all apparently summarily executed, have been found in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, rebels and activists say.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[REUTERS] French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday, uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and 
[FRANCE24] An official says a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside the presidential palace compound in Somalia, killing two people.
Hillary Clinton
[Washington Post] The Senate overwhelmingly approved Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) as the next secretary of state Tuesday afternoon, with three Republican "no" votes.
[Dawn] Former chairman of the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Tauqir Sadiq was arrested in Abu Dhabi, DawnNews reported on Tuesday.
[Dawn] Putting aside years of mistrust, the Afghan government indicated on Monday its willingness to consider Pakistan's longstanding offer of training its armed forces.
[Dawn] Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused foreign countries on Tuesday of plotting against his war-weary nation's peace programme, saying all negotiations should take place under his administration.
Pervez 
Nawaz Sharif
