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Today: 67 articles and 188 comments as of 16:01.
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Syrian Dissidents Declare Creation of 'National Alliance'
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Ex-Taliban denies reports of Qatar office
[Dawn] An ex-Taliban envoy said on Thursday that he had no knowledge of plans by the Afghan cut-throats to set up a political office in Qatar, even though media reports billed him as a potential chief of a possible Taliban mission in the tiny Gulf state.

By opening an office, the Taliban would indicate a willingness to talk peace after 10 years of war in Afghanistan and signal their intention to try and find a political solution to an insurgency that has cost the lives of thousands.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistain, said he was unaware of such an office being planned. A top member of the Afghanistan peace council, ex-Taliban official Arsala Rahmani, said he was also unaware that such an office was about to open.

Their remarks follow reports in an Indian newspaper, The Hindu, quoting unnamed Indian diplomatic sources that said work was being finalized on a Taliban office in Qatar that Zaeef may run.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  BASE-TOO-FAR QATAR + US-IRAN WAR > IMO A Taliban diplomatic mission there woul be akin to all those 1940 British maritime, naval vessels delivering the 300,000-plus British, etal. survivors of the Allied expeditionary force into the hands of the Wehrmacht forces [pre-Commie Motherly Nazi Airborne?] in England after saving the former at Dunkirk.

D *** NGED NORTH KOREANS!

[RED DAWN III - PERSIAN GULF here].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/16/2011 21:58 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Fistfight erupts in Somalia parliament
[Iran Press TV] A heated debate on the appointment of the new speaker for Somalia's parliament has turned physical when a fistfight broke out and rival politicians punched each other, Press TV reports.

Chaos erupted in the parliament on Wednesday when politicians loyal to ousted Sheikh Sharif Hassan Adan and opponents got into a bitter argument as they were attending a session. Dozens of politicians then exchanged punches and threw chairs at each other.

The fistfight comes a day after more than 280 politicians decided to remove Sheikh Aden, who is currently on a visit to Italia, and nominate Madobe Nunow as the new speaker of Somalia's transitional parliament.

The politicians accused the ousted parliament speaker of making unilateral decisions, disregarding authority granted to all branches of the government, failing to develop a plan for implantation of parliament's bills, and lack of accountability.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Abdiweli Sheikh Ibrahim Mudey refused to chair the parliamentary session on Tuesday, and called on Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to deal with the crisis.

President Sheikh Ahmed, in a presidential decree on Wednesday, called on the Somali politicians to put aside political discords and assist the transitional federal government in its fight against nationwide militancy.

Boilerplate follows...
Somalia has not had a functioning government
since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds too familiar.
The politicians accused the ousted parliament speaker of making unilateral decisions, disregarding authority granted to all branches of the government, failing to develop a plan for implantation of parliament's bills, and lack of accountability.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/16/2011 8:41 Comments || Top||

#2  He must have been making unilateral decisions about which palm to grease with the largesse that we are surely providing him. Couldn't have been anything constructive.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/16/2011 20:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe they want to be pirates.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/16/2011 23:59 Comments || Top||


Malawi threatens to withdraw from ICC over al-Bashir spat
Malawi has threatened to withdraw from the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
Treaty after a dispute over its alleged failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
.

Bashir is wanted by the court for genocide. The court has issued a warrant for his arrest and as a signatory to the Rome statute that created The Hague-based world court, Malawi was obligated to detain the Sudanese leader on its soil.

The Sudanese leader attended a Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) meeting the country hosted in October 2011.

Malawi's Information minister Patricia Kaliati said it was surprising that the ICC decided to report the country to the United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
Security Council whereas it had not taken any action against some of the countries Bashir has visited in the past.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan

#1  "Not fair! The ICC is supposed to harass only American and European infidels, not Muslims!"
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/16/2011 8:52 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Country Summoned Ambassador Over Wilders
Egypt is concerned about a book that Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders plans to publish in the spring.

Earlier today, the German Press Agency DPA reported that Dutch ambassador Susan Blankhart was summoned by the Egyptian Foreign Minister in November to explain anti-Islamic comments by the controversial MP.

According to diplomats, Egypt says it is unable to ignore Mr Wilders unacceptable behaviour. In early November, Egypt refused to issue a visum to Freedom Party MP Raymond de Roon after Mr De Roon accused Cairo of the ethnic cleansing of Christians Copts.

As a result a parliamentary foreign affairs delegation of Dutch MPs cancelled a working visit to the Arab country.

A spokesperson for the Dutch Foreign Ministry says various issues were discussed at the meeting on 21 November including the publication of Mr Wilders book.

The ambassador told the Egyptian authorities that freedom of speech is a right in the Netherlands and everyone is at liberty to write a book. The book believed to be about the history of Islam and argues that the religion is an ideology.

In response to the news Mr Wilders said: "Fortunately we have freedom of opinion here.

The Egyptian military regime should concern itself with the rights and protection of Christians in Egypt and preventing further bloodshed rather than worrying about me."
Posted by: tipper || 12/16/2011 06:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There's nothing quite like a critic who can pester you with impunity from a place of safety.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/16/2011 8:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Egyptians, show what you're made of! Refuse to accept any more Dutch aid money. Refuse to sent any more immigrants to live off Dutch welfare.
Posted by: Ulose Munster2089 || 12/16/2011 8:41 Comments || Top||


Gaddafi's daughter demands ICC probe into father's death
[Emirates 24/7] The daughter of slain Libyan strongman Muammar Qadaffy
... who is now deader than a rock...
has asked the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
if it will probe the killing of her father and her brother, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Aisha Qadaffy's
"The Claudia Schiffer of North Africa"...
lawyer Nick Kaufman said he had written to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asking for more information on the October 20 killing of Muammar Qadaffy and his son Muatassim Qadaffy.

"Aisha wants to know if he is investigating the murders and if not, why he is not," Kaufman told AFP.

The former dictator and his son were killed after their capture by forces loyal to the National Transitional Council.

In a letter to the prosecutor, Kaufman wrote that Muammar and Muatassim Qadaffy were captured alive at a time when they threatened no one.

They were both killed soon after and their bodies put on display.

"As you are aware, your analysis of the situation in Libya requires you to investigate the commission of alleged crimes by all parties to the conflict," Kaufman said.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Moamer Qadaffy on June 27 for crimes against humanity carried out as he tried to suppress the Libyan revolt.

Another son, Seif al-Islam, and former information minister Abdallah Al-Senoussi are subject to similar warrants. Seif al-Islam Qadaffy was jugged November 19 and there are unconfirmed reports Al-Senoussi was also captured.

ICC spokeswoman Florence Olara could not confirm if the prosecutor had received the letter.

The ICC has jurisdiction in Libya matters under a UN Security Council resolution from February 26.

Aisha, her brothers Mohamed and Hannibal, her mother Safiya and other family members were allowed to flee to Algeria for humanitarian reasons, according to Algiers.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shouldn't she be repatriated to Libya about now?
Posted by: gorb || 12/16/2011 2:14 Comments || Top||

#2  It is probably a good sign that the new Libyan government has been rather subdued with its public statements of late. Which implies "more doing and less jawboning".
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/16/2011 8:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Mods, our Colon Commenter seems to have developed a stutter.
Posted by: gorb || 12/16/2011 16:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Probe the death? He got shot in the head by a rebel who admitted to it on camera! That's what happened! Take your funneled millions of Daddy's cash and hid in Paris.
Posted by: Charles || 12/16/2011 16:23 Comments || Top||

#5  Cleaned up, gorb.
Posted by: lotp || 12/16/2011 18:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Colon cleansing?
Posted by: Frank G || 12/16/2011 18:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Until the ICC becomes a sharia enforcement entity, forget about anything being done about this complaint.

Didn't BHO brag about the "liberation" of Libya for "under one billion dollars" on the Leno Show? BHO likes what they have in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. And he would like the same time of islamonazi regimes in Morocco and Algeria and Syria and Lebanon. The US will get nothing but misery from a paper US-Sunni alliance.
Posted by: Chesney Gluter6645 || 12/16/2011 19:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Yep, he's dead all right.
Anything else you want us to check out, hon?
Posted by: The ICC || 12/16/2011 22:04 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Forgive, forget Jamaat urges all at V-Day discussion
[Bangla Daily Star] Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. 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...
, the party that opposed the country's Liberation War and collaborated with the invading Mighty Pak Army, yesterday said they wanted to forget their past.

They also said they now want everyone to "forgive them and forget what they did" during the 1971 war.

"Many countries fought wars and earned independence, but they were not divided after liberation," said Mian Golam Parwar, central working committee member of Jamaat.

Every nation has forgotten and forgiven bad deeds committed in the past, he said at a discussion on Victory Day arranged by the city Jamaat at Jatiya Press Club in the capital.

His comments come at a time when call for the war crimes trial is at its highest. Currently, five top Jamaat leaders including party chief Motiur Rahman Nizami
...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them...
, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayeedi
...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami...
are jugged on war crimes charges.

On the trial, Golam Parwar said the government formed the "so-called war crimes tribunal" to erase Islam from the country, fearing the growing popularity of the Islamic and nationalist parties.

He claimed that Jamaat is the most patriotic party.

Referring to the ruling Awami League, he said, "You've a place to go. But we don't. We've India on three sides and Bay of Bengal on the other. We love this country because of that reality and also because of our Islamic ideals."

Nurul Islam Bulbul, acting secretary of Dhaka City Jamaat, said people will not accept any farcical war crimes trial. Because they know that the Jamaat leaders who are now jugged safeguarded the country during the post-independent era.

Referring to the party's current situation, Central Working Committee Member Abdullah Mohammad Taher said, "Don't be afraid. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. We'll find our way again."

Other party leaders called on the government to work together with them to build a prosperous nation.

They urged the government to establish national unity and give the nation a real taste of liberation.

They warned that the government will not be able stay in power by torturing political opponents.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Sayedee's counsel slanders witness
[Bangla Daily Star] Defence lawyers of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. 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...
leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi
...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami...
yesterday continued their attempt to discredit the first prosecution witness and called him "a very opportunistic person".

The five-day cross-examination of witness Mahbubul Alam Hawlader continued yesterday in the case filed in connection with Sayeedi's crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. Hawlader had recorded his deposition with the International Crimes Tribunal on December 7 and his cross-examination finally finished yesterday.

After defence counsel Manzur Ahmed Ansary yesterday called Hawlader an opportunistic person, Hawlader protested and several prosecutors objected to such labelling.

Going with the prosecution, tribunal chairman Justice Nizamul Huq termed the remark "scandalous".

Defence counsel Mizanul Islam then told Hawlader that the present government is creating a list of fake freedom fighters. And Hawlader has filed a false case and gave a false statement against Sayeedi to please the government so that he remains in the freedom fighters' list to enjoy government facilities.

Hawlader said it was not true.

The three-member bench of the tribunal yesterday began recording the cross-examination at 10:30am after Sayeedi was brought to the tribunal from Dhaka Central Jail.

Ansary began the proceedings by asking Hawlader about the residents of Pirojpur's Parerhaat area, his family members and how he came to know the name of Mighty Pak Army Capt Ezaz, who according to Hawlader had been leading 52 soldiers in Pirojpur's Parerhaat area since May 1971.

Ansary went on to say that the price of looted valuables which Hawlader had mentioned in his deposition was incorrect since only a trader can ascertain their true value.

Ansary said Hawlader speculated the worth of the valuables which Hawlader claimed his client had looted.

In response, Hawlader said only a trader could tell the accurate value; so he tried to make a reasonable estimate of the goods that were looted.

The defence lawyer then stated that the alleged collaborators of the Mighty Pak Army did not loot Hawlader's home and that is why none of his neighbours were listed as prosecution witnesses. The counsel also claimed that Bisha Bali, who Hawlader said was killed in front of his house in Parerhaat on Sayeedi's instructions, was actually kidnapped by the Mighty Pak Army before he was shot at the Baleshwar river port.

Hawlader said all of it was a lie.

The attempt to discredit the witness went on and Ansary claimed that all allegations Hawlader brought against Sayeedi were false, adding that his statement and allegations against Sayeedi were the "greatest lie of the century". He went on to tell Hawlader that he has received special training for the trial under the supervision of the government, and that he was the convener of the Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal, which was formed in Pirojpur's Zianagar in 2003.

Hawlader said they were untrue.

Later, defence counsel Mizanul Islam concluded the five-day cross-examination by telling Hawlader that he gave his statement against Sayeedi so that his government allowances continue.

Hawlader called it untrue.

During his deposition Hawlader had said Sayeedi and the collaborators greeted the Mighty Pak Army personnel in early May, 1971, when they arrived at Parerhaat bazaar of Pirojpur. He said the collaborators led by Sayeedi showed the army around 40 homes and shops of the Hindus which were looted. The loot was taken to Sayeedi's father-in-law's home from where it was distributed. He also said fluent Urdu speaking Sayeedi developed a close relationship with Capt Ezaz and supplied girls to the army personnel to be raped.

Cross-examination of second prosecution witness Ruhul Amin Nobin will begin Sunday after the weekend.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Caribbean-Latin America
US Panel approves counterinsurgency plan to fight drug cartels
Direct translation of Mexican version only, not rewritten.
A panel of the House of Representatives today approved a counterinsurgency plan to Mexico to fight drug cartels and terrorist organizations.

The Enhanced Border Security Act was passed by the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House over the objections of Democrats who rated it as wrong.

"I do not think this is the right direction, we must work with our partners, not to dictate or force policies," said Eliot Engels, the senior Democrat on the committee.

The objections of Engels, who at one point in the audience asked if there was a quorum due to the presence of only three Republicans, were not enough to stop the vote.

Engels warned that the legislation "will shatter the Merida Initiative aims at a different direction" in U.S. efforts to support the Mexican government's fight against organized crime.

Connie Mack, Republican of California and lead author of the initiative co-sponsored by only six Republicans, justified the action by insisting that the drug "is a terrorist insurgency."

He also justified the substitution of the Merida Initiative this strategy plan noting that the whole of Mexico and the U.S. "can not stop the terrorist threat we face" of drug traffickers.
Posted by: badanov || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder who they're funneling money to with this new plan.
Posted by: gorb || 12/16/2011 2:12 Comments || Top||

#2  That did the Cartels do---stiffed O & Co on the gun payments?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/16/2011 4:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Extension of the Bush plan from 2002.

For more details:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-3401
Focused on Mexico as a gateway but addresses trans-national entities.

a counterinsurgency strategy that--transnational criminal organizations... within the United States...to combat the operations...doubling the number of Border Patrol agents...build additional infrastructure to support Border Patrol activities...such as roads and tactical double layered fencing...including cameras, radars, sensors, and unmanned aerial vehicles;

Pretty much 'lessons learned' from difficult environment border work in IRQ and AFG.

increase intelligence gathering utilizing classified technologies...and increased use of Border Patrol Special Response Teams

More 'snatch and grab' intervention.

a multi-agency action plan...incorporating United States military and law enforcement lessons learned...and, securing the environment

Further details under the Merinda Initiative.
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/merida/
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/16/2011 8:38 Comments || Top||

#4  I thought the official position of the Bammer + Admin was that there was + is no insurgency taking place in Mahico/Mexico, hence no need to dev official US "counter-insurgency" schemas for foreign struggles that officially don't exist???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/16/2011 23:35 Comments || Top||


Mexican government apologizes to rape victim
For a map, click here
By Chris Covert

Fulfilling a requirement set forth by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in October 2010, the head of the Secretaria de Gobierno, Alexandro Poire formally apologized to an Indian woman who claimed she had been raped by Mexican Army soldiers almost ten years ago, according to Mexican news accounts.

Then 17 year old Valentina Rosendo Cantu filed an accusation in March 2002 claiming a group of Mexican soldiers had raped her as she was washing clothes near a stream in southern Guerrero state.

The case was never investigated by civil authorities because it had been turned over to local military investigators, who subsequently claimed no military personnel were in the area at the time of the assault.

Despite the Military Prosecution Service interviewing 108 officers and enlisted from a nearby military base, no attackers were ever identified. A cursory physical examination, albeit not a gynaecological examination of Rosendo Cantu had been conducted by a physician appointed by the local civilian prosecutor's service. That examination failed to find recent evidence of assault.
To read the Rantburg report on the rape of Rosendo Cantu, click here
No biological evidence was ever collected by either the state authorities or by military authorities.

The case eventually made its way to Washington DC at the Organization of American State's Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which issued its ruling last year.

Recent Mexican news reports say that Rosendo Cantu had been paid unspecified monetary damages in the case.

The case was most recently transferred late last August from a Procuradoria General Republica (PGR) or Mexican national attorney general liason for military affairs to a federal court, along with another high profile rape case, Fernandez Ortega, for investigation.
To read the Rantbrug report on the rape of Fernandez Ortega, click here
To read the Rantburg report on the transfer of the two rape cases to civilian courts, click here
With no biological evidence collected or preserved from the attack, short of a massive lineup of military personnel in the area, it is unclear how either case can be resolved.
Posted by: badanov || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There a many valid reasons why allowing our national government to establish a 100% DNA database is a bad idea.

I would very much like to be able to lock up as many rapists as possible, though.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/16/2011 20:13 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia finds radioactive material in luggage bound for Iran
Russian authorities have seized radioactive material that can only be obtained from a nuclear reactor from the luggage of a passenger on a flight from Moscow to Tehran. The luggage contained 18 metal objects in individual steel cases, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service. Initial tests showed that radiation levels in the area were 20 times more than normal.

The objects were the radioactive isotope Sodium 22 and were sent to a Russian prosecutor's office that deals with air and water transport. A criminal investigation has been opened.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/16/2011 07:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's not Israeli. When the Joooos send radioactive material to Iran, it'll come in a warhead
Posted by: Frank G || 12/16/2011 12:33 Comments || Top||

#2  See also CHINA DAILY FORUM [similar] > URAN + IRAN?, in Moscow.

Uh, uh, A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS = 1980's MTV Video "I RAN"???

Wehell now, lets not fergit ASIA = "EYE IN THE SKY" in honor of the RQ-170 shoot/take-down by Iran agz the US.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/16/2011 23:31 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Armed N.Korean Soldiers Defect
Eight armed North Korean soldiers defected last month across the Apnok (or Yalu) River separating North Korea and China, prompting security to be tightened around the Chinese border town of Dandong, the Daily NK reported Wednesday.

Citing border guards in Dandong, the online news outlet said the soldiers crossed the border in Kuandian around Nov. 20, and that two of them were shot and killed while six escaped. Kuandian is around 100 km northeast of Dandong.

Chinese soldiers were dispatched to Kuandian following the incident and inspected people passing through train stations and other public places. North Korea apparently sent scores of public security agents to arrest the soldiers.

It remains unknown whether North Korean and Chinese soldiers exchanged fire during the incident. The Daily NK reported rumors that Chinese soldiers were bribed to look the other way while the North Koreans defected. A South Korean intelligence official said he has not been informed of the incident and would need to verify it.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A sign that the rations for the troops are starting to get kind of... patchy? Units patrolling the border with China in particular ought to be well-fed and happy - they're the ones with the opportunities for corrupt dealing and smuggling, you'd think.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 12/16/2011 9:55 Comments || Top||

#2  North Korea apparently sent scores of public security agents to arrest the soldiers.

Wonder how many of them they lost?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/16/2011 14:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Enough of that trea-bark soup.
Posted by: Chesney Gluter6645 || 12/16/2011 19:10 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Netanyahu to 'New York Times': Take a hike
Prime minister "respectfully declines" to pen an op-ed piece for 'NYT' citing newspapers negative spin on Netanyahu government.
Besides, hardly anyone reads the grey rag anymore, so why waste the time?
This is going to upset both their readers...
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is refusing to pen an op-ed piece for The New York Times, signaling the degree to which he is fed up with the influential newspaper's editorial policy on Israel.
He should write an editorial for the New York Post, just to goad the Times further...
In a letter to the Times obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, Netanyahu's senior adviser Ron Dermer -- in response to the paper's request that Netanyahu write an op-ed -- wrote that the prime minister would "respectfully decline."

Dermer made clear that this had much to do with the fact that 19 of the paper's 20 op-ed pieces on Israel since September were negative.

Ironically, the one positive piece was written by Richard Goldstone -- chairman of the UN's Goldstone Commission Report -- defending Israel against charges of apartheid.

"We wouldn't want to be seen as 'Bibiwashing' the op-ed page of The New York Times," Dermer said, in reference to a piece called "Israel and Pinkwashing" from November. In that piece, a City University of New York humanities professor lambasted Israel for, as Dermer wrote, "having the temerity to champion its record on gay rights."

That piece, he wrote, "set a new bar that will be hard for you to lower in the future."

Dermer's letter came a day after NYT columnist Thomas Friedman wrote that the resounding ovation Netanyahu received in Congress when he spoke there in May had been "bought and paid for by the Israel lobby."

With Friedman clearly -- but not solely -- among those in mind, Dermer wrote that "the opinions of some of your regular columnists regarding Israel are well known. They constantly distort the positions of our government and ignore the steps it has taken to advance peace. They cavalierly defame our country by suggesting that marginal phenomena condemned by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and virtually every Israeli official, somehow reflect government policy or Israeli society as a whole."

Dermer also took the paper to task for running an op-ed piece by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in May that asserted that shortly after the UN voted for the partition of Palestine in November 1947, "Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened. War and further expulsions ensued."

Those lines, Dermer wrote, "effectively turn on its head an event within living memory in which the Palestinians rejected the UN partition plan accepted by the Jews, and then joined five Arab states in launching a war to annihilate the embryonic Jewish state. It should not have made it past the most rudimentary fact-checking."

That it did find its way into the op-ed pages of the "paper of record," he wrote, showed the degree to which the paper had not internalized former senator Daniel Moynihan's admonition that "everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but... no one is entitled to their own facts."

Furthermore, Dermer wrote, the paper's sole positive piece about Israel since September -- the Goldstone piece rejecting the apartheid charges -- "came a few months after your paper reportedly rejected Goldstone's previous submission. In that earlier piece, which was ultimately published in The Washington Post, the man who was quoted the world over for alleging that Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza fundamentally changed his position. According to The New York Times op-ed page, that was apparently news unfit to print."

Dermer wrote that the paper's refusal to run positive pieces about Israel was not because they were in short supply. In fact, he said he understood that in September the paper had turned down a piece cowritten by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), expressing bipartisan support for direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and opposition to the PA's statehood gambit at the UN.

"In an age of intense partisanship, one would have thought that strong bipartisan support for Israel on such a timely issue would have made your cut," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Rothman (D-New Jersey) called on Friedman to apologize for saying the congressional ovation Netanyahu received in May was "bought and paid for by the Israel lobby."

Rothman said he gave Netanyahu a standing ovation not because of "any nefarious lobby," but because it is in the US's vital strategic interest to support Israel.

"Thomas Friedman's defamation against the vast majority of Americans who support the Jewish state of Israel is scurrilous, destructive and harmful to Israel and her advocates in the US," Rothman said. "Friedman is not only wrong, but he's aiding and abetting a dangerous narrative about the US-Israel relationship and its American supporters."
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/16/2011 01:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Israelis should not maintain any veneer of diplomacy with the NYT, but should call them what they are, an antisemitic, anti-Israel, extreme leftist political organ, with no objectivity or journalistic standards.

He should point out the irony that the NYT is wholly controlled, and its editorial pages dictated by the Sulzberger family, who at least used to be nominally Jewish, but who now hate and loathe Jews.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/16/2011 8:51 Comments || Top||

#2  "...In a letter to the Times obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, Netanyahu's senior adviser Ron Dermer -- in response to the paper's request that Netanyahu write an op-ed -- wrote that the prime minister would "respectfully decline.""

IMO, the prime minister should have "disrespectively declined"
Posted by: Lord Garth || 12/16/2011 12:34 Comments || Top||

#3  citing newspapers negative spin on Netanyahu government

The PM shouldn't feel bad the NYTs has the same feeling for the U.S.
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/16/2011 16:20 Comments || Top||

#4  He should have accepted, wrote a piece about the NYT anti-semitism, had it declined and then taken it to the NYP.
Posted by: Charles || 12/16/2011 16:21 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
U.S. Jewish conservatives target Obama for treating Israel 'like a punching bag'
Full-page ad in major newspapers by Emergency Committee for Israel criticizes U.S. President for Israel policies, as senior New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says Congress 'bought' by Israel lobby.
But nobody reads the New York Times any more..and Mr. Friedman is starting to whiff of eau d'Andrew Sullivan, poor man.
.A new campaign by leading U.S. Jewish conservatives took aim at President Barack Obama's Israel policies on Thursday, amid attempts by Democratic officials to recuperate the incumbent's image in the American Jewish community.

The full page ad by Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI), and published in such leading newspapers such as the New York Times, the Miami Herald, and Variety, asked: "Why does the Obama administration treat Israel like a punching bag?"

Under the headline the ad included a now infamous exchange between Obama and French President Nikola Sarkozy on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's alleged lack of reliability, as well as a comment recently made by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's remarks at the Saban Forum in Washington, where he called Israel to "get to the damn table," a move interpreted by conservatives as putting blame on Israel for the peace talks stalemate.

Other Obama officials quoted in the ad were U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who recently criticized the discrimination of women in Israel, and U.S. envoy to Belgium Howard Gutman, who recently linked the rise of anti-Semitism in the Arab world to the unsolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Speaking of the ad, the ECI's chair Bill Kristol said that “the Obama administration has been using Israel as a punching bag. The pro-Israel wing of the pro-Israel community is punching back."

The group's director Noah Pollak said: "In a month that has seen Islamists come to power in Egypt, rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza and Lebanon, progress on the Iranian nuclear program, and the continued slaughter of civilians in Syria, the Obama administration has chosen to repeatedly condemn the only liberal democracy in the region: Israel."

The ad quickly garnered Democratic responses, with National Jewish Democratic Council Chair Marc R. Stanley and President and CEO David A. Harris saying in a statement that ECI is "treating the truth like a punching bag," accusing the conservative organization of "spreading fictions and smears about President Barack Obama and his powerfully pro-Israel record."

"When members of their own party repeatedly suggest that foreign aid should 'start at zero' and then make no mention of the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding between Israel and the U.S., they're silent as can be", Harris wrote, adding: "When 100 percent of House Republicans repeatedly side with business over strengthening Iran sanctions, they're nowhere to be found."

"But they have plenty of cash on hand to spread myths about this President, and to shamefully turn support for Israel into a partisan football. The sad truth is that they're more committed to hurting this President than they are to helping the U.S.-Israel relationship, and that's reprehensible," Harris said.

Regarding Secretary Panetta's comments, the NJDC stressed the top U.S. official "delivered a staunchly pro-Israel address at the Saban Center," while Obama's administration "have a perfect voting record at the United Nations"; and the Jewish Community in the US share the same concerns with Secretary Clinton "over Israeli legislation limiting foreign funding of Israel's non-governmental organizations, and regarding women's rights in Israel."

Thomas Friedman: Netanyahu's applause at Congress were bought by Israel lobby

Another story causing a storm amid the U.S. Jewish voting public was stirred by the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who in his column earlier this week titled "Newt, Mitt, Bibi and Vladimir" attacked Gingrich for calling the Palestinians "invented people," accusing him of pandering to Israel.

However it was Friedman's attack against Netanyahu that garnered the attention, as the veteran columnist wrote: "I sure hope that IsraelÂ’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, understands that the standing ovation he got in Congress this year was not for his politics."

"That ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby. The real test is what would happen if Bibi tried to speak at, letÂ’s say, the University of Wisconsin. My guess is that many students would boycott him and many Jewish students would stay away, not because they are hostile but because they are confused," Friedman wrote.

In the ensuing maelstrom, Friedman was accused for "hitting a new low" by conservative "Washington post" blogger Jennifer Rubin, with Democratic Congressman Steve Rothman saying that Friedman "owes an apology" to the pro-Israeli community.

"I gave Prime Minister Netanyahu a standing ovation, not because of any nefarious lobby, but because it is in AmericaÂ’s vital national security interests to support the Jewish State of Israel and it is right for Congress to give a warm welcome to the leader of such a dear and essential ally. Mr. Friedman owes us all an apology," Rothman said.

Once at the briefing with Israeli reporters in Washington Netanyahu was asked about the constant criticism by Friedman. "We might have lost Thomas Friedman, but we didn't lose America," he answered.

An Israeli official told "Haaretz" that "Friedman has crossed a line that true friends of Israel should never allow themselves to cross and inadvertently encouraged anti-Semitism."
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Mr. Friedman is starting to whiff of eau d'Andrew Sullivan, poor man.

Heh. Once again TW demonstrates her black belt in "velvet-lined skewer."
Posted by: PBMcL || 12/16/2011 1:04 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Somali pirates sentenced to life in American prison
NORFOLK, Va.--A former Somali police officer and an electrician whose job it was to bless their expedition were sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for their roles in the hijacking of a yacht that left all four Americans on board dead.

Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali was the commander of a band of 19 pirates that hijacked the 58-foot Quest in February several hundred miles south of Oman. The pirates intended to bring the Americans back to Somalia where a bilingual interpreter would negotiate a ransom payment.

But the owners of the Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., along with friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were shot to death several days after being taken hostage.

It was the first time U.S. citizens have been killed in the pirate attacks that have plagued the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in recent years. The Americans were killed after U.S. warships started shadowing the Quest and negotiations between the Navy and the pirates broke down.
I guess we're being merciful since we decided not to execute the pirates.
This article starring:
Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/16/2011 01:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does this mean I have to pay for their meals and housing? To quote Hanover Fist, "Gimme a break!"
Posted by: imoyaro || 12/16/2011 1:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Next thing we know they're going to be put in a CA jail ....
Posted by: gorb || 12/16/2011 2:10 Comments || Top||

#3  The best way around this problem is for the USN to arrange a "shore detention" for captured pirates, that involves a special unit with an indeterminate and unmemorable nomenclature, to transport the pirates via helicopter to a classified "detention facility" in some undetermined place.

The helicopter leaves with its cargo of pirates, and returns to the ship empty, with the pirates "no longer under US jurisdiction, so are no longer accountable".
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/16/2011 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Halal meals and a an arrow pointing to Mecca for the next 50 years. And for God sakes, dirty infidel screws, don't touch their Korans.
Posted by: Ulose Munster2089 || 12/16/2011 8:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Not exactly what I had in mind. Just helicopters leaving with pirates, and returning without pirates.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/16/2011 10:58 Comments || Top||

#6  for three squares a day, why wouldn't you hijack a ship?
Posted by: jack salami || 12/16/2011 11:06 Comments || Top||

#7  In Somalia, this is the equivalent of winning the Lotto.
Posted by: mojo || 12/16/2011 15:39 Comments || Top||

#8  An underwater detention facility with sharks and crabs for guards.
Posted by: gorb || 12/16/2011 16:14 Comments || Top||

#9  The blog chronicling Jean and Scott Adam's journey around the world is still up, for anyone who's interested. Too bad it had to end like this.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/16/2011 17:53 Comments || Top||

#10  If it was me they would've been, I dunno,..."abducted by aliens" or sumthin.
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/16/2011 21:57 Comments || Top||

#11  Life in an American prison is probably still better than living in Somalia.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 12/16/2011 22:05 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Foreign ministry criticises 'wrong' US aid freeze
[Dawn] Pakistain on Thursday angrily criticised US moves to freeze $700 million in aid, the latest sign of the fraying alliance that has been in deep crisis since NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
fire killed 24 Pak soldiers.

"We believe that the move in the US Congress is not based on facts and takes narrow vision of overall situation hence wrong conclusions are unavoidable," foreign ministry front man Abdul Basit told news hounds.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the legislation, which the Senate is expected to vote on as early as Thursday.

The bill would freeze the aid, pending assurances that Islamabad has taken steps to thwart Death Eaters who use improvised bombs (IEDs) against US-led forces in Afghanistan.

"If this legislation becomes law, we'll work with the government of Pakistain on how we can fulfill the requirements. But, this requires us to maintain a strategic perspective," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Pakistain shut down the vital US supply line into neighbouring Afghanistan and ordered US personnel to leave the Shamsi air base, reportedly used as a hub by CIA drones, after attacks killed 24 soldiers on November 26.

Pakistain says it is reviewing terms of engagements with the United States and NATO, but parliament has so far stopped short of announcing any specific measures pending a joint session for which no date has been called.

A parliamentary committee is considering a proposal to scrap tax exemptions on NATO goods shipped to Pakistain and trucked to the Afghan border.

The powerful military, anyway, is considered the final arbiter of policy.

It has bolstered its air defence systems on the Afghan border, where officials say 160,000 troops are deployed.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta
...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993....
visited American troops in Afghanistan close to the Pak border on Wednesday, calling on Islamabad to secure its side of the border, by cracking down on Taliban havens on its territory.

"I think the real question has to be what has been done on the Afghan side of the border," Abdul Basit told news hounds.

"Pakistain cannot be held responsible for weaknesses and loopholes on the other side of the border," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Aid freeze to Pak was needed years ago, I'd even suggestion it for Karzai too.
Posted by: Creregum Glolump8403 || 12/16/2011 2:35 Comments || Top||

#2  The right aid would be using all that money to by bombs and dropping them on Pakistain.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/16/2011 4:01 Comments || Top||

#3  "buy" I meant "buy".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/16/2011 4:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Let's freeze any aid to Egypt as well. Give it to Toys for Tots so that the cash doesn't end up funding any green energy initiatives.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/16/2011 21:12 Comments || Top||


No compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty: Gilani
[Dawn] Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
on Thursday emphatically stated that there will be no compromise on Pakistain's illusory sovereignty and its territorial frontiers will be defended at all costs.

In a policy statement in National Assembly on the situation arising out of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
attack in Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
agency, he said in the past Pakistain extended every cooperation to the members of the international community in the counter terrorism domain.

He however, pointed out that our cooperation has certain well defined red-lines including sovereign equality and mutual respect. No unilateral action inside Pakistain and no transgression of its territorial frontiers would be allowed, he added.

He said as a responsible state, Pakistain will continue to uphold and promote the cause of regional peace and stability.

However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
in doing so we shall ensure that our legitimate interests are not only recognised but fully accommodated.

The prime minster emphasised that these fundamental points of principle need to be understood by our international partners.

He reiterated that Pakistain as a peace loving country remains committed to regional peace and stability particularly in Afghanistan.

As a country which suffered from terrorism, elimination of terrorism and militancy remains high priority for the people and government of Pakistain.

He said Pakistain in all earnest extended hand of friendship to the people and government of Afghanistan.

The prime minster expressed satisfaction that the entire nation was united to uphold Pakistain's national dignity and honour and to safeguard the country's illusory sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

He said the government was awaiting recommendations from the Parliamentary committee on national security and the future course of action would be decided by the parliament.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Enough with the insecure attitudes!
Posted by: Creregum Glolump8403 || 12/16/2011 2:30 Comments || Top||

#2  What a joke. The paks submitted the issue of Ahmadi status to senior Saud clerics, who advised treating same as a "non-muslim minority" (and that is scribed in the current pak constitution of the "islamic republic."

Saud-pimps are sovereign in their whore-state
Posted by: Chesney Gluter6645 || 12/16/2011 19:18 Comments || Top||

#3  DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US RESPONSIBLE IFF PAKISTAN FAILS IN WAR ON TERROR: KHAR, in speech before Pak Parliamentary Committee on National Security [PCNS].

and

* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > NATO'S FRAUGHT ROADS TO AFGHANISTAN [costly Northern Distribution Network = Russia + STANS/CENTASIA overland routes].

ARTIC > Assuming that Pakistan doesn't relent on its on-going blockade, anticipated Kyrgyzstan-ordered CLOSURE OF MANA AIRBASE after 2014 may put a really serious crimp on US-NATO efforts to support Afghanistan, espec agz any post-2014 rsurgence of dedicated, anti-Govt violent jihad???

SERIOUS, SERIOUS - spelled S-E-R-E-U-S - SERIOUS!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/16/2011 22:11 Comments || Top||


Opposition not to become part of any conspiracy: Nisar
[Dawn] Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday said that the opposition would fully support the government if any conspiracy was hatched against the democracy.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Nisar said the opposition would never become a part of any conspiracy for derailing the democracy. "We never hatched any conspiracy in the past and would never be part of any conspiracy in future," he said.

He said the government should also evaluate its performance during the last four years.

Ch Nisar said the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
should contradict the statement of former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her book.

He claimed that the Shamsi Airbase was handed over to the US forces on just verbal instructions of former President Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
, which was used for attacks on Pak soil. If there was any agreement in this regard it should be presented to the parliament, he added.

He also criticised the government for creating confusion regarding the illness of President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
. He said the nation and the parliament should have been informed timely about the exact nature of illness of the president but the government officials issued contradictory statements in that regard.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
NY prosecutor: Hezbollah millions laundered in US
Federal authorities in New York have blamed Lebanese financial institutions for wiring more than $300 million into the United States in a money laundering scheme aimed at benefiting the militant group Hezbollah.

The U.S. government says in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan it seeks nearly a half-billion dollars in money laundering penalties from some Lebanese financial entities and 30 U.S. car buyers and a U.S. shipping company. It also says it's entitled to claim their assets as forfeitable under U.S. money laundering laws.

Prosecutors say the $300 million was used to buy used cars and ship them to West Africa in a money laundering scheme. They say Hezbollah money laundering channels were used to ship proceeds from the car sales and narcotics trafficking back to Lebanon.
Posted by: tipper || 12/16/2011 07:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Michigan alone has numerous Shiite money laundering cases. Some of these are from profits of fake prescription drugs. The Feds need to be 50 steps ahead of these animals.
Posted by: Chesney Gluter6645 || 12/16/2011 19:04 Comments || Top||


Geagea Urges Suleiman, Miqati's Intervention to Halt Hizbullah's 'Attack' on Judiciary
[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
leader Samir Geagea
... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ...
criticized on Thursday Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
's agreement on nominating Judge Tannous Meshleb as their candidate for the presidency of the Higher Judicial Council, deeming it an attempt to politicize the judiciary.

He told the Central News Agency: "This is a dangerous and unprecedented development that is part of Hizbullah's ongoing attempt to take over the state."

He therefore called on the concerned presidents and ministers to counterattack the party's "lightening war" against the judiciary.

He explained that Hizbullah and the FPM disregarded all constitutional mechanisms when they made this over Meshleb.

"It is unfortunate that the party is taking over the state instead of the state incorporating the party within its ranks," Geagea noted.

"We are shocked that Hizbullah is actually being given the opportunity to take over the judiciary," he added.

Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Hariri to Hizbullah: The Country is More Important than Your Weapons
[An Nahar] Former premier Saad Hariri
Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
on Thursday stressed that Hizbullah needs to "understand the country is more important than their weapons."

Asked by a Twitter user whether he had any short-term or long-term plans concerning the disarming of Hizbullah, Hariri said: "Very simple, they need to understand the country is more important than their weapons."

The ex-PM lauded Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's remarks earlier in the day on the Arab Spring, saying "they reflect a real vision."

Al-Rahi hoped on Thursday that the people of the Middle East, "who are currently enduring wars and conflict", would soon witness peace and stability.

He said during his Christmas and New Year address: "We look forward with you to the birth of the real and stable Arab Spring, which is based on democracy and the diversity of its religions and cultures."

Asked whether he was ready for a "reconciliation" with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
and about a possible Saudi role in such a move, Hariri said: "There's no need for a reconciliation with MP Jumblat, as we're not at odds, and the kingdom's role has always been for the sake of the welfare of all the Lebanese."

On whether he would engage in an electoral alliance with Premier Najib Miqati under the pretext that "he has finally funded" the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Leb, the ex-PM ruled out such a possibility.

Hariri announced that he will return soon to Leb, although "the (security) risk will always be there."

"That's the price I am willing to pay," Hariri added, tweeting in English.

Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Hizbullah Warns March 14 Against Dangerous Consequences of its Accusations
[An Nahar] Hizbullah snapped back at March 14
Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys...
opposition officials on Thursday, saying they were making "dangerous" accusations over the roadside kabooming that targeted French U.N. peacekeepers last week.

"The dangerous and unacceptable statements" made by some March 14 officials are a sign that they "are part of the scheme targeting the resistance," Hizbullah said in a statement.

"What this team is doing is not new," it said. "We have gotten used to the political accusations made by it without any evidence."

The statement said that the opposition officials are "directly accusing" Hizbullah of involvement in the bombing that left five French troops injured near the southern coastal city of Tyre "without taking into consideration the consequences" of their remarks.

"Hizbullah condemns these political accusations and warns against the dangers of this behavior and its consequences on the country and its citizens," it added.

Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Iran to cripple West economy if attacked
[Iran Press TV] An Iranian politician says Iran can paralyze European and American economies by closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to a possible military strike against the country.

Hossein Ebrahimi, who is also deputy head of Iran Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, added that in case of a US military attack, Iran will use all its might to strike Washington's interests across the world.

"One of Iran's definitive answers to a military attack is to close the Strait of Hormuz," Fars News Agency quoted him as saying on Thursday.

Ebrahimi also stated the Iranian armed forces are planning a military exercise in which they will close the Strait of Hormuz as a serious warning to the US.

"Iran's warning on closing the Strait of Hormuz is very serious and Americans must know that playing with Iran will cost them dearly," he added.

On Wednesday, December 14, head of Majlis Internal Security Subcommittee, announced that if the enemies tried to carry out their threats against the Islamic Theocratic Republic, the country will use all its capacities including the Strait of Hormuz to defend itself.

Parviz Sorouri emphasized that if the Strait of Hormuz becomes unsafe for Iran, the country may close the Strait in line with international regulations.

Pointing to recent military threats against Iran, he added that stability should exist for all countries because the Islamic Theocratic Republic does not believe in the theory of stability for one country and instability for all others.
Stability for all countries... including Israel? Hello? Bueller, Bueller?

The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Mohammad-Ali Jafari said on July 4 that the option of closing the Strait of Hormuz remains on the table and that there is a plan to close the strategic strait in the case of a military strike against Iran.

The Iranian commander also noted Iran is after plans to fully exploit its defensive potential in the high seas.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman.

Iran has repeatedly warned it would not hesitate to take all crucial measures, one of which is to close the strategic oil passage, in the event of a military attack on the country.
Posted by: Fred || 12/16/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  ...and they are planning to cripple our economy if we DON'T ATTACK.
Iran has been a toothache for a long time.
Of course there will be upheaval if we go to war with Iran.
But much more upheaval in the long run if we sit idly by and do nothing.
(See: Hitler, Adolf)
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 12/16/2011 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  (See: Hitler, Adolf)

Oh but we're much smarter than our granfathers. We should be immune from things like the voting socialists into office, the Great Depression, and allowing fascist regimes to take hold.
Posted by: gorb || 12/16/2011 2:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Guess we could take back the canal we built too.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/16/2011 8:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Iran is too late.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/16/2011 11:45 Comments || Top||

#5  What are they going to do, vote Democrat?
Posted by: Hellfish || 12/16/2011 13:38 Comments || Top||

#6  Guess they can now that no IDs are required.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/16/2011 14:36 Comments || Top||

#7  They could make millions selling what theae guys are smoking.

Of course, "crippling West economy" probably means some horrific act of nuclear terrorism.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 12/16/2011 15:51 Comments || Top||

#8  READ : IRAN EMBASSY - cuba
Posted by: Whaiger Sinatra5982 || 12/16/2011 16:17 Comments || Top||

#9  READ : IRAN EMBASSY - cuba
Posted by: Whaiger Sinatra5982 || 12/16/2011 16:17 Comments || Top||

#10  Kind of difficult to close Hormuz when their navy will be at the bottom within 36 hours, and eny missile within range will have had its C2 systems destroyed, and launchers suppressed. Not to mention their only domestic refinery in flames.
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/16/2011 18:30 Comments || Top||

#11  at low tide, some of the shallower parts would be restricted by the diminished draft over Iran's wrecks
Posted by: Frank G || 12/16/2011 18:33 Comments || Top||

#12  Note: my post above is not meant to discount the first 72 hours, which is what it will take to sink their boats and close their ports, as well as a week to two weeks to permanently decapitate their government and military command capacities. No boots on the ground needed, just enough spine to keep pounding away from the air. 2 weeks in, if we hit their comm facilities, power generation and water plants and bridges, Iran slips into the stone age, and several million people get awfully thirsty and hungry, and they have nobody to put their hands on about that except for their own government.
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/16/2011 22:19 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Video: If any country prevents us spreading Islam on its soil, we will wage Jihad on it.
Posted by: tipper || 12/16/2011 06:49 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bad mistake not going mid-evil after 911
Posted by: 3dc || 12/16/2011 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  mid-evil

Disagree. Should have gone Hella-evil on their asses.
Posted by: Ulose Munster2089 || 12/16/2011 9:13 Comments || Top||

#3  How about doing a Temujin?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/16/2011 9:46 Comments || Top||

#4  who is this muppet?

Muslim Brotherhood?

That rhetoric is common in the muslim world.
Posted by: Paul D || 12/16/2011 14:33 Comments || Top||

#5  who is this muppet?

Hizb ut-Tahrir
Posted by: Ulose Munster2089 || 12/16/2011 14:45 Comments || Top||

#6  This guy oughta wake up and find his favorite silky haired goat's head in bed with him...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/16/2011 22:02 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2011-12-16
  Syrian Dissidents Declare Creation of 'National Alliance'
Thu 2011-12-15
  U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over
Wed 2011-12-14
  33 Civilians, 7 Regime Troops Killed
Tue 2011-12-13
  Mexican Army bags 11 bad guys in Tamaulipas state
Mon 2011-12-12
  Mysterious explosion kills 7, injures 16 in Iran
Sun 2011-12-11
  Syrian Opposition Reports Deputy Defense Minister Killed
Sat 2011-12-10
  Rival Yemeni forces said to quit streets of Taiz city
Fri 2011-12-09
  Twenty trucks torched in attack at Nato terminal in Quetta
Thu 2011-12-08
  Yemen's unity government announced
Wed 2011-12-07
  New coalition government formed in Yemen
Tue 2011-12-06
  Afghanistan: Kabul shrine attacks 'kills 34'
Mon 2011-12-05
  France Reduces Tehran Embassy Staff after Attack on British Mission
Sun 2011-12-04
  Iran police arrest 12 over embassy rally
Sat 2011-12-03
  US Hands Over Camp Victory to Iraq
Fri 2011-12-02
  Syria Sanctions Target Assad Brother, 16 Other Senior Figures

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