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Al-Qaeda commander Abu Zeid killed in Mali
Today's Headlines
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Person wearing US Army uniform admits providing classified to Wikileaks
Appears he may have reached out to the New York Times and other members of the MSM as well. Crickets from them of course.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/01/2013 07:59 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bradley Manning, Class-A dumb shit.
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 03/01/2013 11:03 Comments || Top||

#2  He even LOOKS like a doofus.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/01/2013 11:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Reached out to the NYT because they'd already demonstrated they had no concerns about publishing classified information during time of war.

BTW, this is a military court. IF the feds wanted to prosecute on related, not specific, charges under the Espionage Act et al in the civilian system, they can.

He even LOOKS like a doofus.

As was his immediate chain of command who saw he was having personal emotional problems yet let him continue to have access to classified material and systems. Their short term rationale that they were short handed in personnel got big paybacks in the consequences which (as usual) they did not include in their subjective calculation.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/01/2013 12:21 Comments || Top||

#4  In short, they hung him out to dry.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/01/2013 13:34 Comments || Top||

#5  So-o-o IOW we're N-O-T talking about a pre-POTUS Bammer???

D *** NG IT, ITS THE PENN STATE WAY!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/01/2013 22:56 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Kabul Demands Control of Afghan Militia in Three Months
[An Nahar] President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
on Thursday gave U.S.-led foreign forces three months to transfer control over armed Afghan militias to his government, following allegations of abuses by the militiamen.

The move appeared to be a further sign of Kabul's determination to take control of the 11-year war against the Taliban, and in particular of militias reportedly trained by the Americans and operating without Kabul's control.

With the bulk of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
's 100,000 combat soldiers due to leave next year, Karzai has several times sought to set the pace of the transition to full Afghan government control, scheduled by the end of 2014.

A presidential order released by the Afghan council of ministers said Karzai had appointed a delegation assigned "to ask coalition forces to hand over within three months the mentioned gangs to Afghan security institutions".

It said security chiefs decided on February 17 "to identify and merge those gangs which have been established by international coalition forces and are operating out of the structure of Afghanistan's national security institutions".
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the local villages that ARE the militia are gong to say what? Especially the non-Pushtu tribes?
Posted by: tipover || 03/01/2013 17:24 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Somali President Offers Amnesty to Pirates
[An Nahar] Somalia's president has offered an amnesty to young pirates in a bid to end attacks off the Horn of Africa nation's coast as he seeks to rebuild the war-torn country, he told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"We have been negotiating with the pirates indirectly through the elders," said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. "Piracy has to end."

Mohamud, elected by politicians six months ago, said that he wanted to offer an "alternative means of earning a living" to young Somalis who have taken up the gun to join pirate gangs.

However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened...
Mohamud said that the amnesty was not open to pirate kingpins -- those who take the vast majority of the profits from the attacks -- some of whom are wanted by Interpol.

"We are not giving them amnesty, the amnesty is for the boys," he said, speaking on Wednesday in an interview at Villa Somalia, the Italian colonial art-deco palace in war-ravaged capital Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Pirates


Africa North
Search for Chokri Belaid shooter intensifies
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisian security forces on Thursday (February 28th) launched a manhunt in Kef for the suspected killer of opposition leader Chokri Belaid. The search operation is focused on the mountainous region near Touiref.

In related news Thursday, the judge charged with the investigation into the politician's February 6th killing took a deposition from President Moncef Marzouki.

"President Moncef Marzouki received this morning the judge of the Tunis first instance tribunal, who heard his testimony as a witness in the liquidation of Chokri Belaid," a brief statement from Marzouki's office said.

Tunisia has nabbed
You have the right to remain silent...
four Belaid murder suspects -- all of them salafists under age 35 -- Prime Minister-designate Ali Larayedh said on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


Morocco toughens terrorism financing laws
[MAGHAREBIA] Moroccan parliamentarians sitting on the Justice Committee in the Chamber of Representatives on Tuesday (February 26th) adopted a draft law which makes the financing of terrorism a criminal offence.

The law aims to bring Moroccan legislation into line with international law, Interior Minister Mohand Laenser said, adding that the country has made great efforts in the legal field to tackle terrorism and money laundering.

"One point was raised by the international financial task force, which recommends that Morocco include provisions making the financing of terrorism a criminal offence," he said.

The law would make it a criminal offence to provide funds in the knowledge that they will be partly or wholly used to commit a terrorist act or will be used by a terrorist or a terrorist organization.

It would also regard the financing of terrorism as a crime even where terrorist acts are perpetrated outside Morocco or do not take place at all.

The law defines income as "all types of assets are tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, severally or jointly, as well as acts or legal documents", aufaitmaroc.com reported.

Morocco is in a sensitive region, MP Mohamed Benabdessadek said in a speech.

"We are very much affected by terrorism. On one hand, in geographical terms, Morocco is not far from the Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
, which is experiencing tensions and very violent acts of terrorism," he said.

"On the other hand, our country needs foreign funds. And international investors seek stability. Moroccan citizens also have the right to live in safety," he added.

To achieve the desired goals, terrorism must be clamped down on while respecting rights and freedoms, Benabdessadek said.

MP Hassan Tarik agreed with Benabdessadek's message.

Terrorism is a great danger to security, the economy, politics and society and that it must therefore be tackled while making sure that civil rights are maintained, he said.

MPs warned against accusing innocent people who have engaged in financial transactions without having any intention of financing terrorism.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Libyan PM Denies Jailed ex-Premier Tortured
[An Nahar] Libya's prime minister denied on Thursday reports that Muammar Qadaffy
...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later...
's imprisoned last premier is in a critical condition after being tortured in jail, saying al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi is in "good health."

"Al-Baghdadi is in good health... and is being treated humanely," Prime Minister Ali Zeidan told a new conference.
For a given definition of humane that takes into account the native Arab culture...
The claim has also been dismissed by the commander of the national guard, which runs the Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
prison where Mahmudi is being held.

"Baghdadi al-Mahmudi has not been subjected to any ill-treatment and has been granted his full rights guaranteed by international law and the principles of human rights,"
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
Khaled al-Sherif told Agence La Belle France Presse on Wednesday.

A lawyer of Mahmudi, who is on trial in Libya accused of killing civilians and of financial crimes, charged on Wednesday that the last premier of deposed and slain Qadaffy had been tortured in prison.

Mahmudi "is at death's door as a result of the torture he has suffered," said Tunisian lawyer Mabrouk Kourchid, warning that "he could die".
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Suspected Belaid Killer Named
[An Nahar] A judicial source with access to the murder file told AFP the suspected assassin was Kamel Gathgathi, from the northwestern Jendouba region, who had lived in America.
Watched too much television while he was here, or one of those who went into shock upon immersion in the West, and turned to extremism in response?
Speaking from Jendouba, Gathgathi's father Taieb confirmed that his son had studied in America and now lived in Tunis, while insisting he was innocent.

"From what I know of my son, I can say he is incapable of hurting a fly," he told private radio station Mosaique FM.

"He is a good type, an angel on earth, but if he has committed a crime then I pray to God that justice is done."

Taieb Gathgathi said his son's studies in America had been paid for by the Tunisian state and that he had subsequently been offered a job at Tunisia's interior ministry, without giving further details.

"I have seen him rarely since I separated from his mother. I've seen him maybe once since he's been in Tunis," Gathgathi added.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Bangladesh
Change of govt to change all
[Bangla Daily Star] "Uncle, don't worry, nothing will happen," a junior counsel told Sayedee after the tribunal sentenced him to death.

"Everything will be changed with the change of the government," said another.

The junior counsels for Sayedee wanted to show him a ray of hope when he was being taken to the Central Jail from the tribunal yesterday.

Sayedee's chief counsel Abdur Razzaq said they would lodge an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court "to seek justice".

"The verdict was delivered to satisfy some third party," Masud Bin Sayedee, son of Sayedee, reacted immediately after the verdict. He, however, did not elaborate on the third party.

When the tribunal completed reading out the verdict at 1:45pm, Sayedee stood up on the dock and began to say something.

"Honourable tribunal, I think, you didn't try (me) being accountable to your conscious and oath. You delivered the verdict being instigated by some atheists of Shahbagh...," Sayedee could not complete his words.

The prosecution and some observers present at the courtroom sharply reacted to his comment, saying "You Razakar, you have been proved as Razakar. Shut up." The judges, however, left the courtroom.

Then, police took Sayedee away from the dock and kept him at the tribunal's jail where Sayedee offered his prayers.

As Sayedee was being taken to the Central Jail, he kissed Masud on the forehead, while one of his junior counsels said, "Uncle, nothing will happen."

"Everything will be changed with the change of the government," said another.

After bidding farewell to his father, Masud expressed his reaction to the newsmen in front of the tribunal.

"He [Sayedee] is okay. He asked the countrymen to keep him in their prayers," said Masud.

He also said, "We didn't get justice here [in the tribunal]. We must lodge appeal against the verdict. We believe, we will get it [justice] there [Appellate Division]."

The tribunal mentioned that his father was not involved with any political party in 1971, and he was a common people, Masud said.

"So, as a common people, it was not possible for him [Sayedee] to control Peace Committee and Razakar Bahini [two anti-liberation forces] in entire Pirojpur district (during the war)," he claimed.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami

#1  Hang Him, and be done with it.

I don't know a single criminal that thinks being caught is anything but a Mistake.

NOT his mistake.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/01/2013 11:46 Comments || Top||


Europe
Ireland: Suspect in Terrorism Case Faces Extradition to U.S.
The United States government has petitioned the Irish High Court to extradite an Algerian man living in Ireland on terrorism charges relating to a plot to assassinate a Swedish artist, officials said Thursday. The United States alleges that the man, Ali Charaf Damache,
From the clan Damache...
planned to set up terrorist training camps and kill several Europeans, including a Swedish artist, Lars Vilks, whose sketch of the Prophet Muhammad's head on a dog, published in 2007, had enraged the Islamic world.

On Wednesday, Mr. Damache pleaded guilty in the Waterford Circuit Court to making a menacing phone call to an American peace activist, a charge for which he was arrested and detained in 2010. The judge sentenced him to time served and released him, but Mr. Damache was immediately rearrested on the American extradition warrant. Mr. Damache arrived in Ireland in 2000 and married an Irish woman in 2002. The relationship ended in 2008 and he then married an American citizen, Jamie Paulin Ramirez. Ms. Ramirez has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of conspiring with Colleen LaRose, also known as Jihad Jane, to support and train terrorists.
This article starring:
Ali Charaf Damache
Posted by: tipper || 03/01/2013 14:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Erdogan calls Zionism a ‘crime against humanity
The mask slips further...
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday described Zionism as a “crime against humanity” on par with anti-Semitism and fascism.

Speaking in Vienna at a United Nations event devoted to dialogue between the West and Islam, Erdogan decried rising racism in Europe and the fact that many Muslims “who live in countries other than their own” often face harsh discrimination.

“We should be striving to better understand the culture and beliefs of others, but instead we see that people act based on prejudice and exclude others and despise them,” Erdogan said, according to a simultaneous translation provided by the UN. “And that is why it is necessary that we must consider — just like Zionism or anti-Semitism or fascism — Islamophobia as a crime against humanity.”
Note the comparison of Zionism to fascism.
The Turkish leader’s comments, made at the official opening of the fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, drew harsh criticism from UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog group monitoring anti-Israel bias and human rights abuses at the organization.

“Erdogan’s misuse of this global podium to incite hatred, and his resort to Ahmadinejad-style pronouncements appealing to the lowest common denominator in the Muslim world, will only strengthen the belief that his government is hewing to a confrontational stance, and fundamentally unwilling to end its four-year-old feud with Israel,” UN Watch said in a statement.

The group also criticized UN chief Ban Ki-moon — “who was present on the stage yet stayed silent” — for not condemning Erdogan’s remarks.
Of course he stayed silent. That's his job...
“We remind Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that his predecessor Kofi Annan recognized that the UN’s 1975 Zionism-is-racism resolution was an expression of anti-Semitism, and he welcomed its repeal,” the statement said.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Israel should start mentioning the rights of the Kurdish people to self determination and turkish genocides...
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/01/2013 13:55 Comments || Top||

#2  BTW what's Islam doing at a conference of civilisations?!?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/01/2013 13:56 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Now Al-Qaida Wants to Torch Your Car and Snarl Your Commute
Once they turned hijacked airplanes into missiles. Now al-Qaida is encouraging jihadist wannabes to set your car on fire and blow out your tires on the highway.

That’s the advice from the DIY jihad section in the latest issue of al-Qaida’s English-language web magazine, Inspire. The new “Open Source Jihad” (.pdf) is all about vehicular vandalism.

One suggestion, penned by “Ibnul Irhab” in the new issue of Inspire, is to run up on parked cars with gas cans and a matchstick. “How safe will the West feel when parking their cars, knowing they’re up for a TORCHING,” Irhab writes. His helpful tips: avoid CCTV cameras; hide the gas in an apple juice bottle; and, importantly, “don’t get petrol on yourself.” This is what Open Source Jihad bills as “America’s worst nightmare.”

Nor is it safe to drive to the store or the office. Inspire encourages the inspired to smear “lubricative oil” on roadways right before sharp blind turns to cause a traffic accident. (“Demolition Derby Style,” it promises.) If that doesn’t sound terrorist-y enough, another tip is to hammer nails into a pegboard painted black so oncoming cars blow out their tires. There’s even a chart explaining the physics behind car crashes for Inspire’s slower readers.
Posted by: tipper || 03/01/2013 14:51 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hate when that happens....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 03/01/2013 18:55 Comments || Top||

#2  "Tis more than Vehiiickles ...

* MEMRI.ORG > [Aka AQIY] RELEASES ISSUE "X' OF ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MAGAZINE "INSPIRE", CALLING TO ASSASSINATE TOP US, BRITISH, + FEENCH HEADS OF STATE + POLITICIANS, plus for experienced Doctors to use their knowledge to produce Poisons + Anthrax.

High-profile US Personages-Targets include
- Dubya.
- Bill Clinton.
- Colin Powell.
- Condi Rice.
- Tony Blair.
- Nicholas Sarkozy.

* WORLD NEWS > [PR Newswire] REPORT WARNS OF AL-QAEDA LAUNCHING PAD CLOSER TO US, EUROPEAN SHORES
IN NORTH AFRICAN "ARC OF INSTABILITY" [Sahara/Sahel regions].

Iff "sequestration" = means or infers that the US = POTUS Bammer can't effec confront either China andor Iran, iff only for a time, DITTO AS PER VIOLENT JIHAD = MILTERROPS DIRECTLY TARGETING CONUS???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/01/2013 23:16 Comments || Top||

#3  TerrOps agz the Bammer + GOP-DEM Congress can't be discounted.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/01/2013 23:18 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Iran, Pakistan to establish four security border posts
Bonus coverage below:
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik said today that Iran and Paklistan will establish four security stations on the borders between the two countries.

Malik also said that Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar will soon be visiting Pakistan to sign the joint agreement. Pakistani official also said that a free trade zone between the countries will be established near the security posts at the border.
And here's the bonus:
Speaking on other issues, the minister noted that starting from March 8th, no one would be able to cross Afghan-Pakistani border without visa.

"Despite numerous requests from Pakistan, Afghanistan did not set control over the illegal border crossing from its side," Malik said. "Thus the Pakistani government has decided to take it under precise control to stop the drug smuggling into the country."
Because we all know the biggest problem Pakistain faces is drug smuggling from Afghanistan...
Posted by: Steve White || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


APC calls for immediate peace talks with Pakistani Taliban
[Dawn] Pakistain's government should take immediate steps to initiate peace talks with Talibs, says a declaration by the All Parties Conference (APC) called to discuss ways to restore peace in the country's militancy-hit tribal areas.

The APC, summoned by the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
-Fazl (JUI-F) and attended by major political parties and tribal leaders, also agreed on using the platform of a grand tribal jirga for peace negotiations with the Pak Talibs.

The declaration also agreed on expanding the membership of the grand jirga to include stakeholders representing all schools of thought.

The APC statement also emphasised on taking steps towards peace, keeping in consideration the law and the writ of the government.

The main ruling Pakistain People Party (PPP) and the leading opposition party, the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N), assured their complete support for steps taken for the establishment of peace in the country.

Addressing the conference, PML-N President 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...
urged all political parties to play their due role in meeting challenges faced by the country.

Sharif said that the offer of dialogue by the Pak Taliban should be taken seriously. He said that today not only Pakistain, but the entire region was plagued by terrorism.

He congratulated the JUI-F for convening the APC, adding: "We should keep aside our political differences and play our due role in maintaining peace in the country."

PPP President Makhdoom Amin Faheem said that his party would support every step taken for peace in accordance with the Constitution.

Speaking earlier at the inaugural address of the APC, the JUI-F chief said that talks with Pak Talibs would be useless without taking the military into confidence. Fazl also stressed that peace in Pakistain's tribal region is closely linked to peace in neighbouring Afghanistan.

"Peace in the tribal areas is linked to peace in Afghanistan. We should put the past behind us and move forward towards peace talks," said Rehman.

Pakistain Moslem League-Quaid Secretary General Mushahid Hussain asked that if dialogue with India could be pursued, then why not with the Taliban.

The moot was also attended by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI) chief Syed Munawar Hassan
... The funny-looking Amir of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. He joined the National Students Federation (NSF), a lefty student body, and was elected its President in 1959. He came into contact with the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and studied the writings of Mawlana Syed Abul Ala Maududi, The Great Apostasizer. As a result, he joined IJT in 1960 and soon he was elected as President of its University of Karachi Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistain in 1992-93, and became Secretary General in 1993. After years of holding Qazi's camel he was named Amir when the old man stepped down in 2009...
, MQM Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Chief Minister Akram Durrani, Mehmood Achakzai of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), tribal elders and other leaders.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan's Hazaras to take up arms over attacks
[Dawn] Ismatullah holds an AK-47 and checks vehicles on the road. "Enough is enough. We have no trust in the security forces any more and we'll protect our community ourselves," says the teenage Shia student.

Extremist bombers killed nearly 200 people in Pakistain's southwestern city of Quetta in the two worst kabooms to strike Shia Mohammedans from the minority Hazara community, just weeks apart on January 10 and February 16.

After each attack, thousands of Hazaras, including women and kiddies, camped out in the bitter cold demanding that the army step in to protect them.

The government brokered an end to the protests, but refused to mobilise the troops.

Outlawed Death Eater group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
(LeJ) grabbed credit and has threatened to exterminate all Shias. Few believe that dozens of men rounded up after the kabooms will ever be brought to justice.

Pakistain's Supreme Court and rights groups accuse the authorities of failing to protect Hazaras and now young men like 18-year-old Ismatullah are taking up arms to defend themselves and their families.

Ismatullah's best friend was rubbed out last June near Hazara Town. He lost more friends when jacket wallahs flattened a snooker hall on January 10 and a massive bomb hidden in a water tanker destroyed a market on February 16.

"I couldn't control myself when I saw scattered pieces of so many children and women of our community," said the first year college student.

"Our community is only interested in education and business, but Islamic fascisti have forced us to take up whatever arms we have and take to the streets for our own security."

At the moment they operate as volunteers under the name, Syed-ul-Shohada Scouts, registered as part of the Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Scouts Association, an affiliate of the worldwide scouting movement.

For years, young men like Ismatullah have volunteered to protect sensitive events, such as religious processions during the holy month of Muharram.

But their chairman says the threat is now so great that they should be paid full time as an auxiliary to government security forces.

"We have around 200 young men who perform security duties on specific occasions, but most of them are students and workers, and can't work full-time," said Syed Zaman, chairman of the Hazara Scouts.

"We are trying to make a system to start their salaries for permanent deployment and also coordinate with the security agencies. Hopefully, we will be able to form a regular force... and salaries in a month," he said.

Scouts president Ghulam Haider said it was a mistake to rely on government security when the first of two suicide bombers struck at the snooker hall in the Alamdar Road neighbourhood.

"It resulted in another kaboom minutes after the first one and we lost many more people," Haider told AFP.

"We didn't want that to happen again, so immediately after the blast on February 16, we armed our youth to man the streets and entry points, which helped to prevent the chances of a second attack," he claimed.

Hazara Town, where the market was bombed, is very exposed, in the shadow of the Chiltan mountains and near the bypass which links the Afghan border town of Chaman to Pakistain's financial capital 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...
While paramilitary Frontier Corps and police patrol the main approaches, they are not visible inside the neighbourhood.

"Security agencies can't protect us. They don't know the area because most of them come from outside Quetta. So we're planning to set up our own permanent posts inside our areas," said Haider.

The police, however, have their doubts.

"If we start private policing by arming one particular community, it will set the wrong precedent," said Fiaz Ahmed Sunbal, head of Quetta police operations.

He claimed police were planning to close entrances to Hazara Town, and would recruit 200 young Hazaras to patrol their own areas.

Haider says closing off roads will isolate the community but welcomed the recruitment of Hazara Scouts as a long-term solution.
And that, my dears, is how the Jewish ghettos were formed in Europe.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  See also BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Tenran Times] MASSACRE OF SHIAS MEANT TO SULLY IMAGE OF ISLAM.

versus

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAQI SHIA MILITIAS THREATEN TURKEY AGAIN.

* SAME > [NOW.MMedia] IRAN CALLING THE SHOTS IN SYRIA.

More specifically, the IRGC includ Quds Force, whom more + more is seens as engaging in milactions = direct combat agz anti-Assad Rebels - domestics + foreign - in lieu of Baby Assad's main Syrian Army???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/01/2013 23:04 Comments || Top||


Zardari reiterates govt's commitment to curb sectarianism
[Dawn] President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
on Thursday reiterated the commitment of the government to curb militancy and sectarianism with an iron hand and would bring to justice the killers of innocent people in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
"The fight against the bad boy and sectarian mindset may be hard and long, but we will not rest until we have defeated this enemy of the state," the president said.

Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that Zardari held a series of meetings in Quetta on return from his visit to Iran, with parliamentarians, religious leaders and elders of the Hazara community, during which he called upon them to augment the efforts of the government.

The first meeting in the series was held with parliamentarians of Balochistan belonging to various political parties.

During the meeting, the president reiterated the commitment of the government to make Pakistain and particularly Balochistan prosperous.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Olde Tyme Religion
Chickenshit, Er, Courageous Dissenter Dick Dawkins On the God of the Koran
As Glenn Reynolds says:

Don't want your religion attacked? Behead a few attackers. It doesn't take many -- most of them are cowards and poseurs, and will shut up at the least hint of risk. Hey, don't blame me. I didn't set up this incentive system.
Posted by: charger || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dawkins can rip into Islam when he wants to.
Richard Dawkins "Islam Is One Of The Great Evils In The World"

There is also a good case to be made that the US along with Saudi Arabia has been one of the main enablers of Wahhabism or Salafism in the world today, due to what Sun Tzu would say not knowing their true enemy.
Posted by: tipper || 03/01/2013 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  The origin of the Dawkins quote about the God of the Koran is Al Jazeera. I wouldn't take of Al Jazeera says on face value.
Posted by: lord garth || 03/01/2013 4:54 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Cyber sleuths unravel Stuxnet mysteries
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 03/01/2013 18:46 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syrian Air urges foreign carriers to return
The head of Syrian Air on Thursday invited foreign airlines to resume flights to Damascus, offering discounts and giving assurances that security has been restored on the airport road.
Big opportunity for Air Ukraine here...
"I call on airlines to resume their flights and operations through Damascus International Airport, as well as Latakia airport (western Syria) and Qamishli airport (in the east)," Ghaida Abdel Latif told AFP.

"Companies which take the initiative to restore flights will be entitled to 25 percent rebates on ground services. Depending on the volume of operations, companies may receive additional discounts," she said.

"The airport road is safe and the security of passengers guaranteed," she said. "The airport continues to function and Syrian Air flights are running on schedule" to Arab capitals, Moscow, Tehran and Yerevan.
Yerevan?
Not to mention Tehran, which last I looked was in the land of the Medes and the Persians -- peoples with millennia of experience being civilized, unlike those barbarian Arabs...
In the midst of the Syrian conflict which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the past two years, several airlines have suspended flights to Damascus because of security concerns.

The airport lies 27 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of the capital and runs through Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus where military operations including air strikes have been carried out against rebel forces in past months.

The European Union has banned member-nation companies from operating flights to Syria and Syrian Air from landing in European territory as part of sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  SA-7's can be fun!
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 03/01/2013 11:04 Comments || Top||

#2  "We have commenced our descent into Damascus and the plane is now in a vertical dive..."
Posted by: Grunter || 03/01/2013 12:09 Comments || Top||


FSA Says Hizbullah Occupying Border Villages: We'll Regain Control at any Cost
[An Nahar] The Free Syrian Army accused Hizbullah on Thursday of occupying eight border villages in the neighboring country, vowing "to regain control of these towns".

"We will take back these villages at any cost," FSA media official Fahd al-Masri told the Turkish state-run Anadolu agency.

Addressing Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, al-Masri said: "These towns are Syrians".

He elaborated: "Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites and Christians reside in them and there is Lebanese presence in only two Shiite villages".

"The party has a plan to evacuate border regions of Sunnis," he expressed.

"Hizbullah is deeply involved in Syria's bloodshed", the FSA official said, adding that "most of the killing is taking place in Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
' countryside.

He revealed that a HA members was killed on Wednesday in the Aqraba area of Damascus' countryside, after the FSA had spied on the conversations he made with party officials.

Nasrallah had denied reports on Wednesday saying Hizbullah is trying to take over Sunni border towns, expressing that these are "lies and baseless accusations."

"Lebanese residents, predominantly Shiite and some of them belong to Hizbullah, have not managed until the moment -- and they have no such plans -- to seize control of any Sunni village."

"What happened is that the armed opposition seized control of villages inhabited by Lebanese Shiites and displaced the residents. That happened in the town of Umm al-Damamel," he explained.
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAQ SHELLS FSA POSITIONS IN SYRIA | IRAQI ARMY HELPING SYRIAN GOVT. RETAKE BORDER CJECKPOINIT - REPORTS? RUSSIA TODAY [RT] NEWS.

and

* RELATED SAME > IRAQ BOLSTERS SECURITY ALONG SYRIAN BORDER.

Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/01/2013 21:02 Comments || Top||


Qassem: We Have Reassured Christians over their Presence in Lebanon More than Any other Side
[An Nahar] Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
stressed on Thursday that the Shiite sect had played the most important role in reassuring Christians over their presence in Leb.
Guess that wasn't him that got killed.
He said: "We have undoubtedly presented them with the most reassurances after they had once been fearful of us."

"We reassure them more than any other side in Leb because we are honest in our dealings," he explained.

He added however that the resistance "does not represent one dominant sect in Leb."

"We reject the idea of having one dominant sect in the country because Leb belongs to all powers and we are all equal under the law," Qassem declared.

"Hizbullah's political strength stems from its popular support," he added.

"We have decided to separate the resistance path from the political one," he added.

The resistance's achievements have not been employed for political gain, he continued.

Qassem wondered however: "What have the others done in protecting the border and kicking out the occupiers?"
Posted by: Fred || 03/01/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Telling Christians "we'll kill you last?"
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/01/2013 12:00 Comments || Top||

#2  *knock knock*

Hello? You again?

Yes, just making sure you are in your home and safe.

But this is the eighth time just today?!

Yes. Yes it is. Please remember to answer to door for us; it would be..unfortunate..if we thought you had been hurt.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/01/2013 15:56 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Salman Rushdie targeted in Al Qaeda mag's most-wanted
AN al-Qaeda magazine encouraging terrorism has revealed its most-wanted list of Islam critics to kill - and it includes British author Salman Rushdie.

The shocking article reads: "Wanted: Dead or alive for crimes against Islam."

Alongside the images is the slogan: "Yes we can. A bullet a day keeps the infidel away."

The list includes Molly Norris, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Flemming Rose, Morris Swadiq, Salman Rushdie, Girt Wilders [sic], Lars Vilks, Stephane Charbonnie, Carsten Luste, Terry Jones, and Kurt Westergaard.

The article also states: "Defend Prophet Muhammad. Peace be upon him."

The banned extremist web magazine is published by the Middle East Media Research Institute based in Washington D.C.
No, it's not published by MEMRI, it was noted and covered by MEMRI.
It is used to target Western governments by encouraging terrorism from home-grown jihadist groups.

Last September Muslim extremists ramped up the price on Mr Rushdie's head.

A fatwa -- death sentence -- was issued by Iran's late leader Ayotollah Khomeini in 1989 over passages in the British writer's book The Satanic Verses. Iran's Khordad Foundation has raised the reward offered for his killing by £500,000 to £2.5million.

The hardliners upped the ante in the midst of protests over an offensive anti-Islam American movie which alleged insulted the Prophet Mohammad.
Posted by: tipper || 03/01/2013 14:43 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2013-03-01
  Al-Qaeda commander Abu Zeid killed in Mali
Thu 2013-02-28
  Syrian Rebels Say They Killed Hezbollah Deputy Chief
Wed 2013-02-27
  Syria Rebels Push into Police Academy as Jets Strike
Tue 2013-02-26
  Over 50 killed in battle for Syria police academy
Mon 2013-02-25
  Taliban suicide bombers hit Afghan cities, Kabul attack foiled
Sun 2013-02-24
  Karzai orders US special forces out of Afghan province
Sat 2013-02-23
  Syrian Rebels Claim To Seize Nuclear Facility
Fri 2013-02-22
  Boko Haram Denies Ceasefire, Pastes Threat Posters In Borno
Thu 2013-02-21
  Bombing in Indian Hyderabad, at least 11 killed
Wed 2013-02-20
  French nationals kidnapped in northern Cameroon
Tue 2013-02-19
  Mortars land near Syrian presidential palace
Mon 2013-02-18
  Five killed in attack at government office in Peshawar
Sun 2013-02-17
  Egyptian police publicly beat to death man suspected of killing officer
Sat 2013-02-16
  Bomb kills at least 20 in Pakistani city
Fri 2013-02-15
  Meteorite Hits Urals, Up to 500 Injured

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