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Majid al-Majid pegs out in custody
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Officials Rethink Poppy Strategy
[Tolo News] Minister of Counter Narcotics Din Muhammad Rashedi suggested this week that the strategies used over the past 12 years in fighting endemic poppy cultivation in Afghanistan have been ineffective. He also went so far as to claim that local government officials had been supporting poppy farming around the country.

"The current strategy for fighting narcotics is not working and has problems that need to be addressed," Minister Rashedi said. "We can't fight narcotics with this traditional method, that is why we have new programs."

Poppy cultivation has increased by 36 percent in the last year, making 2013 a record breaking year for Afghanistan in terms of the amount of land allocated to poppy plants.

In addition to drug smugglers and bad boy groups, who are known well to be the major profiteers of the industry, reportedly some government officials are also involved in poppy production and the opium trade.
Say it ain't so!
"In some instances, local government officials not only fight narcotics, but they also give the green light to farmers for production," Rashedi said.

He said the most important thing moving forward was for the relevant government institutions to work alongside one another and cooperate in their shared effort to curtail the illegal drug trade in Afghanistan.

"Lack of cooperation among government institutions is among the key problems in fighting narcotics," the Minister said. "Institutions such as the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, National Directorate of Security, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health must cooperate with each other, and if they don't cooperate in fighting drugs then I will have to deal with them."
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "In some instances, local government officials not only fight narcotics, but they also give the green light to farmers for production," Rashedi said.

Think Chicago, it's a licensing and revenue thing.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 8:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds like a job for Monsanto - GMO poppy. Lots of possibilities there - maybe a cross with Bhot Jolokia. And just the rumor of Monsanto ought to be good fun.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/04/2014 9:46 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm sure drones could be equipped to deliver Agent Orange. But that'd be hard on the locals...
Posted by: Bobby || 01/04/2014 11:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Agent Grape would be even better, a new market for Thunderbird would be created.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2014 13:02 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Haniyah: Hamas ready to enhance relations with Egypt
[Egypt Independent] The head of the Paleostinian government in the Gazoo Strip, Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
, said on Thursday that his government is more willing in 2014 to strengthen relations with Egypt and other Arab and Islamic countries.

In a speech during a graduation ceremony at Gazoo's military academy, Haniyeh described Egypt as "the advocate of the people and the Paleostinian cause."

"We are ready to address all the issues that solidify the relationship between us and our Arab and Moslem brothers," he added. "We are in a balanced relation with Egypt, Syria, Leb, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, Turkey and Iran, and we have relations with Russia and other countries."

Hamas had recently announced its pride in belonging to the Moslem Brüderbund, which Egypt has dubbed as a 'terrorist' group. Some Hamas members face charges in Egypt for allegedly helping members of the Brotherhood to attack prisons in order to help prisoners escape during the January 2011 revolution.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  "please quit blowing up our tunnels"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2014 11:05 Comments || Top||

#2  "C'mon, guys. It's just "business"..."
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2014 21:29 Comments || Top||


GNC denies Nuri Abu Sahmain arrest
[Libya Herald] The General National Congress (GNC) this evening denied reports that GNC head Nuri Abu Sahmain had been jugged.
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
"Abu Sahmain asked me to deny this news and he is now heading to the presidential palaces," GNC front man Omar Hemaidan told the Libya Herald. He added that Abu Sahmain said that there was "confusion in the story."

Reports that Abu Sahmain had been arrested were published on Libya International Channel's official Facebook page. It said the news of the arrest came from "reliable sources."
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Tunisia Assembly Begins Historic Vote on New Charter
[An Nahar] Three years after its uprising, Tunisia's parliament began voting Friday on a long-delayed new constitution whose adoption would mark a crucial democratic milestone in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.

A tight deadline of January 14 has been set for the adoption of the charter, which could end months of political crisis and further distance Tunisia from the chronic instability plaguing other countries in the region rocked by regime change.

At Friday's opening session, politicians approved, by 175 votes out of the 184 MPs present, the title of the charter, which also has to be voted on article by article.

"We have had difficult moments, marked by a lack of trust. It is a complicated step which requires sacrifices and patience," said parliamentary speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafara before voting began.

Elected in October 2011, just months after the ouster of long-time autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the National Constituent Assembly was due to have drafted and adopted a new charter within one year.

But the process was heavily delayed by deep divisions between the ruling Islamist party Ennahda and the opposition, aggravated by a rise in attacks by Islamist forces of Evil and sometimes violent social unrest.

The deadlock, which became a full-blown crisis with the liquidation in July of an opposition MP by suspected jihadists, paralyzed political life and prevented the formation of functioning state institutions.

Ennahda and the opposition negotiated a series of compromises during intense negotiations in recent weeks, aimed at securing the approval of two thirds of the assembly's 217 elected members needed for the constitution to be adopted.

In the absence of such a majority, it must be put to a referendum.

But if approved by the January 14 deadline, the charter is expected to end the political impasse.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Murdered Briton worked for oil services company
[Libya Herald] A British man, one of two foreign nationals from the UK and New Zealand who were found rubbed out yesterday on a beach near Sabratha, worked for a UK-based oil services company operating in Libya.

The murdered pair have not yet been named but are understood to be a 49 year-old English man and a 47 year-old woman from New Zealand. An image which was circulated on social media networks showed a man and woman, said to be the victims, lying face-down in the sand, with a picnic blanket spread behind them.

Bullets from a 9mm gun are said to have been found near the scene of the crime. Robbery has apparently been discounted as a motive because the possessions of the two had not been taken, according to a Rooters report. The Toyota vehicle the pair drove to the beach was also left untouched.

Reports have said that at least one of the victims worked for Blue Energy Oil Services. The official Facebook page for Blue Energy's Training Centre describes it as: "A long-established British company registered in 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...
, with worldwide connections and experience." Blue Energy, which offers training services, including driving, first aid and health and safety courses, described itself as "well-established in Libya."

Sabratha local council released a statement denouncing the killings. It said both the council and local residents were awaiting the outcome of investigations. The killing was contrary to the country's ethics and religion, the statement said, adding that the council hoped the incident would not affect Libya's relations with the UK and New Zealand.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Blue Mountain Energy Oil Services.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 4:12 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Attacks on Chadians in C.Africa Will Not Go 'Unpunished'
[An Nahar] Chad's President Idriss Déby Itno on Friday vowed that attacks on Chadian nationals in the restive Central African Republic would not go "unpunished".

While visiting families repatriated to Ndjamena, Deby said that "attacking women and kiddies, and targeting Chadians, assassinating, killing them is intolerable," according to an Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent at the scene.

"Those who attack Chadians and continue to attack them, those who kill Chadians and continue to kill them, will not go unpunished, I assure you, whatever the means," Deby told them without elaborating.

Deby also appealed for national solidarity to help the roughly 12,000 Chadians -- mostly women and kiddies -- who have been repatriated from violence-wracked Central Africa and who are being received back home at four planned centers.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Seleka


Arabia
Bahrain Accuses Iran of Training Opposition Militants
[An Nahar] Bahrain accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards Friday of providing opposition forces of Evil with explosives training in order to carry out attacks in the Gulf kingdom, announcing that it had locked away
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
five suspects.

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni Moslem dynasty but has a population that is majority Shiite. The government crushed a mostly Shiite-led uprising in 2011 and has long accused predominantly Shiite Iran of meddling in its affairs.

Chief prosecutor Osama al-Oufi said the intelligence service reported last month that "Bahraini Ahmed Mahfuz Mussawi, currently living in Iran, had planned terrorist bombing operations targeting institutions and places vital to the illusory sovereignty and security of the kingdom."

Quoted by state news agency BNA, he added that five people had been arrested and "admitted joining a group to carry out terrorist attacks... and traveled to Iran to receive training in Revolutionary Guards camps and then received sums of money."

On Monday, Bahraini authorities said they had seized a boat smuggling explosives made in Iran and Syria into the country.

Since the 2011 uprising, which called for democratic reforms, demonstrations have regularly been held in Shiite villages around the capital, often sparking festivities with security forces.

At least 89 people have been killed in Bahrain since the protests began, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Several kabooms have taken place in recent months, including one that targeted a Sunni mosque close to the royal court in July but caused no casualties.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Bangladesh
Bangladesh government failed to arrange free and fair elections: US
[PRIMENEWS.BD] Bangladesh government has failed to arrange a free, fair and credible poll. It is not a good sign.

The United States (US) has been monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and taking steps accordingly.

Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State came up with the statement in a regular briefing in Washington on January 2.

"As I've been clear, they haven't taken steps to hold free, fair, and credible elections, so clearly that's not a good sign. But I don't want to prejudge the outcome or what we'll say afterwards," said Marie Harf.

The response came when she was asked whether the US will recognise the election results as more than half of the seats in Bangladesh parliament are remaining uncontested because the opposition parties are not contesting the election.

"I don't want to get ahead of what we'll say in response to the election results," said the Deputy Spokesperson.

Asked about any update on the current situation in Bangladesh, Marie Harf said the US is disappointed that the major political parties have not yet reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair, and credible elections.

"Obviously, that's what we're encouraging, and we'll keep monitoring the situation and engaging as necessary."

Reiterating its call for urgent dialogue between political parties to reach a consensus, the Deputy Spokesperson also said "As I said then and I still will repeat it today, we believe it's even more urgent than ever for the major parties to redouble their efforts to engage in constructive dialogue."

They (political parties) need to find a way forward, to hold free and fair elections that are credible, she said adding that violence is not acceptable because it subverts the democratic process.

Over the 'house arrest' of BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia
Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
, Marie Harf said, "I don't think that I do. I can check with our team and see -- I don't have anything on that. I'm happy to check with our folks."
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Marie Harf is a lying political hack. The perfect Spokeshole for Kerry
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2014 11:07 Comments || Top||


Countrywide hartal on polls day
[PRIMENEWS.BD] The BNP-led 18-party alliance on Friday called a 48-hour countrywide hartal
... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
on the day of polling as well as on the polls eve protesting the farcical polls scheduled on Sunday.

The ongoing non-stop blockade programme will continue alongside its shutdown.

BNP chairperson's adviser Osman Farruk made the announcement at a press briefing at his residence.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

violence escalated across the country on the third day of the opposition's nonstop blockade on Friday, two days ahead of the 10th parliamentary elections, leaving two people dead.

Incidents of arson attack, vandalism and crude kabooms were reported from different parts of the country, including the capital.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Kim Jon-Un execution unconfirmed update.
[Time World] Kim Jong Un's late uncle was "worse than a dog," according to the blustery state media account of his purge. But was he killed by a pack ten dozen half-starved dogs?
'Gone to dogs' and eaten up by dogs, not same-same.
That's the claim of Beijing-linked Hong Kong newspaper, We Flung Poo Wen Wei Po, which on Dec. 12 reported that the instead of being executed by a firing squad, as is typical, Jang was stripped naked, thrown in a cage with five of his associates, and devoured by 120 hounds as Kim Jong Un and 300 officials watched. The dogs preyed on the prisoners "until they were completely eaten up," according to the Straits Times, a Singaporean newspaper, who picked up the story on Dec. 24.
Additional reporting indicates 120 hungry dogs probably like everyone else, still hungry. Kim remains dead.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 07:32 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...what happens in NORK stays in NORK - unless trumped by propaganda requirements...
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/04/2014 11:23 Comments || Top||

#2  General MacArthur wanted to clean it up all the way to the Yalu, but he too was fired by a Dem president.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 11:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Pudgy didn't think the Chinese would mind
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/04/2014 11:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Whatever happened, it seriously upset the Chinese.

What would it take to do this?
Posted by: gorb || 01/04/2014 12:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Words like "barbaric" would be a start.
Posted by: Grunter || 01/04/2014 14:09 Comments || Top||

#6  Preceding "vassal of China".
Posted by: Grunter || 01/04/2014 14:12 Comments || Top||

#7  The darkest part of night is usually just before dawn. What the fat kid doesn't realize is this will really upset the population. If China also is appalled, look for them to open the flood gates of a Chinese invasion that will roll through pudgy's regime like a paper sack.
Posted by: Omavising Ebbemp9815 || 01/04/2014 16:20 Comments || Top||

#8  Besoeker: MacArthur did get his chance to "clean it all the way to the Yalu." While attempting that feat, he over-confidently let his Divisions get completely strung out, rather than massed, believing that our overwhelming air superiority would crush any attempt by the Chinese to cross the Yalu to reinforce the NORKs. What MacArthur missed was that numerous Chinese Divisions were ALREADY across the Yalu, infiltrating at night and camouflaged in the hilly terrain. It took a long time and a lot of blood for us to regain the initiative (Matt Ridgway deserving much of the credit). MacArthur expressed his policy disagreements to the point of insubordination and any President with more balls than Jimmy Carter would have had to have fired him.
The dog story originated in a dubious paper (one that makes DEBKA seem infallible by comparison). Uncle was almost certainly shot. The interesting thing to ponder is whether Kim Jung Un is consolidating power or whether he is weakening and a cabal of generals forced the move. I'm guessing the latter, but real evidence is hard to come by in the Hermit State.
Posted by: Odysseus || 01/04/2014 16:39 Comments || Top||

#9  the 120 dog story is probably wrong but the fact that the chinese are pushing the story is important

it seems that KJU's uncle was a Chinese friend
Posted by: lord garth || 01/04/2014 17:02 Comments || Top||


Europe
Paleostinian Embassy Must Move after Blast, Say Prague Neighborhood Officials
[An Nahar] The Prague district hosting the embassy of the Paleostinian Authority wants it moved after the ambassador was killed in a mysterious New Year's day kaboom on the premises, local officials said Friday.

"We asked the Czech foreign ministry for the embassy to be moved out of our district," Petr Hejl, senior councilor of Prague's Suchdol district told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"The district feels betrayed by the behavior of diplomats who kept weapons and explosives at the embassy, violating Czech and international law," he added.

Police said they found unregistered weapons at the Paleostinian diplomatic mission, but would not elaborate on the type or quantity of illegal arms.

A banner saying "We like (the) city, not weapons" was strung on the embassy's fence Friday.

"We understand the fears of Suchdol residents," Czech foreign ministry spokeswoman Johana Gohova told AFP Friday. The ministry would "look into it," she added.

A ministry statement also said Friday that Czech and Paleostinian authorities had agreed to cooperate fully in the probe "so that mutual relations between the Czech Republic and Paleostine are not damaged in any way."

Paleostinian ambassador to Prague Jamal al-Jamal, 56, suffered lethal injuries to his head, chest and stomach in a mysterious blast on Wednesday at the new Paleostinian residence and embassy complex when he was handling a safe.

Police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova told AFP Czech and Paleostinian Sherlocks have been working on the premise that "an explosive system was placed in the safe."

"The question is what was it doing there," she said, while denying a media report that the device was a bomb.

Czech police have ruled out terrorism and homicide, while Paleostinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki described the blast as "an accident".

"The safe was old, and it was made in a way that if it is being opened in a wrong way, an bomb attached to its door would explode, and this is what happened."

He told Voice of Paleostine radio that Jamal had opened the safe "without consulting with anyone" and that no crime had been committed.

But Paleostinian embassy front man Nabil al-Fahel told AFP the safe was in almost everyday use and "according to our information there was no built-in anti-theft system."

The Czech Republic is a staunch ally of Israel but Prague has hosted a Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission since 1981, when it was the capital of Czechoslovakia.

The mission became an embassy in 1988, but in November 2012 the Czech Republic was one of nine countries which voted against the U.N. General Assembly move to upgrade the Paleostinians' status to a non-member observer state.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  God bless the un-PC Czechs
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2014 13:59 Comments || Top||

#2  "Paleostinian Embassy Must Move after Blast"

Great idea - may I suggest Gaza?
Posted by: Barbara || 01/04/2014 20:24 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Lawyer Convicted on Terror Charges for Helping Blind Sheik Freed (With Help From Obama Admin?)
A civil rights lawyer convicted of aiding infamous terrorist the blind sheik has been released from a Texas prison early on the grounds that she is dying and has only 18 months to live due to Stage 4 breast cancer. And critics are pointing out the request was only honored because the government backed it.

74-year-old Lynne Stewart was released from Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday. She arrived in New York a day later, according to the Associated Press. She had been sentenced to 10 years in 2005 for passing messages for the sheik, Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted of being behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

So how was the determination made to let her go? The news organ that shall not be named says the judge ordered her release “after prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Prisons recommended she be set free because she has less than 18 months to live.

“In the current context of Ms. Stewart’s terminal and incurable medical condition, the Bureau of Prisons believes compassionate release is appropriate at this time,” a joint filing by the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Attorney’s office said, according to the New York Daily News.

According to the Daily News, a similar request had been made by Stewart’s attorney in August but was denied. What changed? The Bureau of Prisons backed this latest attempt.

That led the likes of Megyn Kelly to now categorize the release as being backed by the Obama administration:

The move has elicited other outcry. Powerline blogger Paul Mirengoff had harsh words for the administration and Eric Holder:

By enabling the extraordinary release of Stewart out of sympathy for her medical condition, did those in the administration responsible for this outcome — among whom, presumably, are Attorney General Holder and President Obama — show themselves to be terrorist sympathizers? That conclusion seems too sweeping. But I think it’s fair to say that they sympathized with this particular terrorist.


Stewart will live with her son in Brooklyn, NY.
O an Ho helping fellow traveler.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/04/2014 18:49 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So if she isn't dead in 24 months she goes back in her cage. Fair enough?
Posted by: gorb || 01/04/2014 21:24 Comments || Top||

#2  no personal grooming tools either!

j/k - she doesn't use any
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2014 22:05 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Army Says 'Secret' Investigations Ongoing over Arrest of Terrorist
[An Nahar] The Lebanese Army denied on Friday media reports concerning the circumstances that surrounded the arrest of a "terrorist," stressing that investigation are ongoing in a "disclosed manner."

"Secret investigations are ongoing and we are not responsible for any information published regarding the matter," the army said in a communique.

Media reports had said that the "emir" of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which claimed it carried out a deadly November 19 double suicide kaboom at Iran's Beirut embassy that killed 25 people, was locked away
Please don't kill me!
by the army intelligence.

The statement said that any alleged reports published in TV stations and newspapers, including al-Akhbar, An Nahar, As Safir and al-Liwaa are fabricated.

"We will hold on to our right to file a lawsuit against any media outlet and any source publishing fabricated and false news concerning the military institutions and its tasks," the statement added.

The group was formed in 2009 and is believed to have branches in both the Arabian Peninsula and Leb.

It has sporadically fired rockets into northern Israel, and the Brigades also grabbed credit for the 2010 bombing attack of a Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Islamist sites, al-Majed was revealed to be the leader of the Brigades in 2012.

On Wednesday, a Twitter account belonging to Sirajeddin Zreikat, a member of the Brigades, appeared to have been suspended.

Zreikat had grabbed credit in the group's name for the Iranian embassy bombing.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abdullah Azzam Brigades


Zarif Says Iranian Delegation to Be Sent to Lebanon and Take Part in Probe with Al-Majed
[An Nahar] Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif' announced on Friday that Tehran will send a delegation to Leb to take part in the investigation with Majed al-Majed, the Saudi national suspected of being behind the bombings of Iran's embassy in Beirut.

"Iran decided to send a delegation to Beirut to participate in the investigation with al-Majed because he played a role in threatening stability and in killing two Iranian employees at the embassy and several Lebanese nationals," Zarif explained.

Iran's Islamic Theocratic Republic News Agency said Zarif telephoned caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and conveyed to him Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's appreciation of "efforts made by Lebanese officials to arrest the prime suspect in the terrorist attack on the embassy in Beirut."

Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, the little lost dog backed into the corner and showed its teeth. And what big teeth they were!...
Mansour hoped that security and stability would be restored in the country and the region.

The caretaker FM also "valued Iran's readiness to cooperate with Leb in the investigation."
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abdullah Azzam Brigades


Video Shows Movement, Explosion of Haret Hreik Booby-Trapped Car
[An Nahar] Al-Manar television on Friday broadcast a video showing how the booby-trapped Grand Cherokee went kaboom! Thursday in the middle of a street in Haret Hreik.

The video, which was captured by a security camera in the area, shows how the car's driver was moving forward in a hesitant manner. At a certain point, he swiftly steers left after making a right turn.

As the metal barriers prevented the driver from parking the SUV on the side of the road, according to the TV network, the car suddenly went kaboom! in a ball of fire, creating a big plume of smoke that quickly dissipated due to the bomb's relatively small weight.

A number of citizens fleeing the blast scene also appear in the footage, which shows a school bus moving directly behind the explosives-rigged car.

Al-Manar however said the bus did not contain any students.

As the Hizbullah-affiliated television did not confirm the jacket wallah hypothesis, it noted that this is the most likely scenario.

The blast killed four people and maimed more than 70 others while causing extensive damage to the nearby cars and buildings.

The Lebanese army intelligence believes a young man from the north of the country may have let 'er rip in the deadly attack, an official in the area said Friday.

"The father of young Qutaiba al-Satem has been called in by the army intelligence branch in the area, because his 20-year-old son is believed to have let 'er rip yesterday in southern Beirut," Noureddine al-Ahmed, mayor of the northern area of Wadi Khaled, told Agence La Belle France Presse.

There has been no official confirmation yet that the blast was caused by a suicide kaboomer, but the authorities are investigating that possibility.

Mayor Ahmed said the suspicions over Satem's alleged role were based on the finding of a personal identification document at the scene of the blast, in the busy Al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik.

Satem's father was currently undergoing DNA tests, the results of which would be compared to the DNA found in the remains of a body found at the scene of the attack, said Ahmed.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abdullah Azzam Brigades


Cargo ship ready to destroy Syria's chemical arms
A 648-foot government cargo ship with a labyrinth of tubes and valves in its hold should sail within two weeks to destroy some of Syria's chemical weapons, officials said on Thursday. The cavernous cargo hold of the MV Cape Ray was opened for media tours by the defence department to display the two massive treatment units that will neutralise 700 tonnes of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and a form of sarin nerve gas. Called field deployable hydrolysis systems, the technology has never been tested under conditions at sea.
Why don't we park it off the coast of Karachi then...
"This is essentially the same chemical process we have used to destroy our own materials," said Frank Kendall, an undersecretary of defence. "There's no mystery about the process."

Kendall declined to discuss Syria's role in giving up the chemicals or aspects of the mission ahead for the Cape Ray, which is part of the US reserve fleet typically used in international and national disasters such as the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Sandy.

Two chemical engineers who have worked on the sea-bound systems said they have added backup systems and redundancies to ensure the systems work in their new environment.
It's being handled by ... top ... people...
Captain Rick Jordan, a 40-year veteran of the seas, said he has hand-picked the best crew of 35 he could find for the mission at the union hiring hall, which is expected to take three months. He said he has not been told his ultimate port, but the voyage should take about 10 days.

"We've got some really good folks on here," said Jordan, a New Orleans native. The navy will provide security at sea and additional security will be onboard the Cape Ray.

Jordan didn't hesitate to name his greatest concern during the voyage and its unprecedented mission: rough seas.

"Weather is the single most important factor a mariner has to consider," he said. "Far and away, weather is our single biggest obstacle on this trip."

The stout Cape Ray, called a "roro' because cargo is rolled on and off, is berthed along the Elizabeth River in the centre of Virginia's maritime industry. The city's skyline could be seen against a slate-gray sky across the river. The ship, owned by the maritime administration, will be turned over to the navy's Sealift command once it leaves Virginia.

The two chemical-eating systems are bolted in the centre of the cargo hold and covered by a thick tent of white plastic, which will remain closed during the processing of the chemicals. Carbon filters will scrub air vented from the enclosures. The system uses water and a chemical cocktail to break down the toxic weapons in a titanium reactor. The waste product, which scientists compared to drain cleaner, will be destroyed at undisclosed chemical sites.

Perhaps the most dangerous part of the disposal mission will be the transportation of the chemicals from 12 storage sites in Syria to the port of Latakia. Officials on Thursday declined to discuss those land operations, deferring to Syrian officials.

Russian trucks that will be used to transport the chemicals to Latakia are now arriving in Syria. The shipments will be monitored through GPS locators provided by the US as well as surveillance cameras provided by the Chinese.

The most highly toxic chemicals will be dealt with first. They will be transferred from the trucks onto Danish and Norwegian cargo ships, which will carry the cargo to Karachi an Italian port, where it will be loaded onto the Cape Ray.

Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, has warned that there may be delays, including possible heavy fighting near a major highway linking Damascus and the city of Homs.

Jordan was asked if he has any problems fielding a crew because of the possible risks of the mission. No, he said, "once I got the word out to the people I know. This is a legacy trip."
Posted by: Steve White || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  How much gets destroyed, how much just gets dumped in the water?
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/04/2014 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  chemical cocktail
The use of "cocktail" grates. Cure Aids, drug cocktail. Cleanup an oil spill, detergent cocktail. Neutralize poison gas, chemical cocktail. It's just me, sorry. Mixture is a good and useful word.

Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2014 4:40 Comments || Top||

#3  You left out Molotov cocktail.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/04/2014 10:42 Comments || Top||

#4  I did, but for some reason that doesn't grate, I think originally it was supposed to be semi-humorous as the cocktail in Moltov-Cocktail, does harken back to the original use.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2014 13:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Next on the list: "Pots of money".
Because accounts is so 1948.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2014 13:06 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Napolitano: No clemency for Snowden
[THEHILL] Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that she "would not put clemency on the table" for NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
Give him clemency, help him return to the USA, settle him someplace comfy, and help him quietly "decease."
"I think Snowden has exacted quite a bit of damage and did it in a way that violated the law," Napolitano said in an interview airing on "Meet the Press" this Sunday.

She said damage from Snowden's actions will be seen for years to come.
Asked if the administration should consider a deal that would allow Snowden to avoid jail time in return for unreleased documents, Napolitano said she couldn't judge without knowing what information the former defense contractor still had.

"But from where I sit today, I would not put clemency on the table at all," she said.

The New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
and another former B.O. regime official are among the voices calling for Snowden to be given a break.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Apparently there are people on the Left who aren't really motivated by Snowden being a traitor to his country. They think we should all be "citizens of the world". Some of them work for the NYT apparently.

Let Snowden stay where he is. In thirty or forty years he should be able to even sing in Russian. Marry a nice Blovatskya and eat some sashlik and settle down. Why in the hell would a man like that ever want to live HERE?
Posted by: Spereting Tingle4064 || 01/04/2014 7:16 Comments || Top||

#2  It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an Obama.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 7:50 Comments || Top||

#3  I will admit that I am very ambivalent on this whole issue.

The problem I have is that while I don't like the way that Snowden did it, given the seriousness of the anti-constitutional actions of the NSA / gov't, I'm glad that the whistle was blown.

I'm not sure how he should/could have handled it, given the current regime and their media lapdogs, so that the alarm was rung without turning the info over to the enemy.

I'm open to suggestions but personally I am conflicted.
Posted by: AlanC || 01/04/2014 8:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Not 'conflicted' here. Good sprouting from bad is not a fluke of nature. Nor is the bad necessarily something to celebrate.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 8:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Snowden is young. He knew it was wrong but not how to deal with it. Besides, right or wrong, he didn't want to end up like Manning, who deserved the treatment he got.
Posted by: gorb || 01/04/2014 9:11 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm more curious as to how someone like Snowden ever had the security clearance to access all that data; I sense a conspiracy in which he is just a pawn.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/04/2014 10:15 Comments || Top||

#7  It is my understanding, he worked for the Klingons as a contractor prior to going to work at nsa. He undoubtedly had passed [both locations] a full-scope poly as well. Young people such as this fellow don't generally have much trouble passing poly's or gaining access.....as long as they are truthful. Not much background info for an investigator to sort through. Less/no history - fewer problems, quick and easy cases to process. Older buggers however, that's another story.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/04/2014 10:23 Comments || Top||

#8  ...and did it in a way that violated the law," Napolitano said in an interview airing on "Meet the Press" this Sunday.

Irony isn't dead yet!
Posted by: Raj || 01/04/2014 12:27 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2014-01-04
  Majid al-Majid pegs out in custody
Fri 2014-01-03
  Qaeda militants control parts of Iraq
Thu 2014-01-02
  Syria misses United Nations deadline
Wed 2014-01-01
  Leb Army Arrests Abdullah Azzam Brigades Chief
Tue 2013-12-31
  Shamsher Mobin and 250 others arrested
Mon 2013-12-30
  Reports: Second Blast In Russian City Kills 10 On Trolleybus
Sun 2013-12-29
  Breaking: Terrorist bombing Russian train statiion kills 18.
Sat 2013-12-28
  10 Dead In Army Shelling Of Funeral Tent In South Yemen
Fri 2013-12-27
  Egypt Orders 18 Brotherhood Members Held on Terror Charges
Thu 2013-12-26
  French Tanks Deploy at Bangui Airport amid Heavy Gunfire
Wed 2013-12-25
  70 killed as troops, Boko Haram clashes in Nigeria
Tue 2013-12-24
  Turbans attack Iraq TV channel HQ
Mon 2013-12-23
  New Air Strikes on Aleppo Kill Dozens, Schoolchildren among 8 Dead in Homs
Sun 2013-12-22
  Alabama men convicted on terrorism charges get 15-year prison terms
Sat 2013-12-21
  N. Waziristan clashes: Troops pound militant hideouts, 40 killed

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