Deadly narcotics like compact heroin, crack, is only produced, under the guidance of certain Western countries in Afghanistan, for consumption in Iran, commander of the drug squad says.
Of course, another aspect of the war of the World vs Iran. *sigh* Some people ought to put training wheels on their brains.
"During the latest visit to neighboring countries, we found no signs of crack use. Crack is produced in Afghanistan under the guidance of western countries and sent to Iran," Commander of the drug squad General Hossein-Abadi told IRNA. Afghanistan has coca plants?
Crack is a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted. The freebase narcotic is considered a highly addictive drug. But what is known as Crack in Iran is the compact heroine that is often compounded with psychedelic drugs, potent acids, Ammoniac, stimulant drugs (amphetamine) and etc.
Hossein-Abadi said Europe is the main producer of the basic ingredients of crack and other narcotics extracted from heroin.
"Some 13,000 tonnes of acetic anhydride and hydrochloric acid, which are the main ingredients for producing crack, are brought to Afghanistan from Europe. The production of crack will cease if the acids are not provided," he said.
"Heroin appears to constitute 80 percent of the drugs seized by the Iranian police. It seems that western countries have direct influence in drug trafficking," Hossein-Abadi noted.
"All western countries worry about is business. According to UN statistics, one kilogram of heroin that is sold for $2,180 in Afghanistan, costs $80,000 in London," he said.
"Crack has become popular because it has very strong psychological addictive properties. Crack gives an instant high and then the user wants more," the commander of the drug squad said.
"It carries a lot of health risks, particularly with its association to violent crime. To feed their addiction, users spend hundreds of dollars a day and they get that money from burglary, robbery and shoplifting," Hossein-Abadi finalized.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#2
If we really wanted to screw with Iran, we would send in a combination of crack cocaine and PCP. It was briefly called the "Superman" drug, because you feel like you have godlike powers. More than anything else, you want to smoke as much of it as you possibly can.
So if a person has enough, the odds are very high that they will keep smoking it until they drop dead. One of the few times there was an outbreak of it in the US, there were some 60 ODs in a few days.
#3
We have the best forensics labs in the world--let us help determine the origin of those chemicals. If Iranian crack is coca-based, it would be proof of their meddling in South America, where Hezbollah has known cells.
#5
"If we really wanted to screw with Iran, we would send in a combination of crack cocaine and PCP. It was briefly called the "Superman" drug, because you feel like you have godlike powers."
How do you know Amedinejad is not already smoking it?
It would explain alot.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/17/2010 11:30 Comments ||
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#6
"Compact heroin(e)"? Suuure, because normal heroin is such a damn bulky drug! I guess finding adequate storage space can be a real challenge.
The Taliban Movement of Afghanistan has issued new guidelines/directives titled 'Nusrat (Victory) Declaration' to its fighters to use all available means to target the interests of the United States and Europe.
The 'Nusrat Declaration' issued by Mulla Brother, the second-in-command of the Islamic Emirate (a term Taliban use to refer to their movement), says: "America and Nato announced that they would deploy more troops in Afghanistan. However, we warn them to refrain from the practice and if they ignored our warning, our Mujahideen are ready to defend their soil.
"Their soil," he said, speaking from deep within Pakistan. Fanatics so often miss the subtle pleasures of irony.
We have formulated a strategy by the name of 'Nusrat' to ensure freedom of the country.
"Under this strategy, I order all our fellowmen to be ready for all types of war ranging from gun to suicide, guerrilla warfare and target the interests of foreigners as well the present government which is led by stooges of America and Europe."
According to the declaration, a copy of which was made available to The News here on Tuesday, the Taliban fighters have been directed to target the foreign forces, local police and Afghan army, politicians, government ministers, parliament members, government offices, diplomatic missions, defence and interior ministries.
"With the Grace of Allah, Mujahideen should start attacks, encircle the enemies, attack without missing time if a target comes to it, enhance capacity of intelligence gathering, establish local intelligence units and also keep an eye on spies," says the document.
Through the declaration, the Taliban Movement warned all private and government officials to refrain from and stop working for foreigners and the present government and help Mujahideen. It said if they could not do so, then resign from the office and wait for the establishment of the Islamic government of Taliban. It said this exercise is a must for the freedom of the country and regaining dignity; otherwise, they would be responsible for their acts.
"The Islamic Emirate warns all technical and non-technical staff and organisations, including building contractors, transporters etc to refrain from construction of civil and defence buildings, roads and other infrastructure to be used by foreign forces, NGOs and the present government and not to rent or sell any transport to the abovementioned institutions for safeguarding the interests of Afghanistan. As all referred above came here to capture our land, respect and honour, we have to defeat them and force them to withdraw from the country. If anyone violated our instructions, he would be punished and no excuse would be accepted from them," the directive concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
HMMM, HMMMM, so IOW M.OMAR has issued a tote ULTIMATUM.
That being said, my instincts are telling me there's more to "NUSRAT" than the topical definition.
#2
"Under this strategy, I order all our fellowmen to be ready for all types of war ranging from gun to suicide, guerrilla warfare and target the interests of foreigners as well the present government which is led by stooges of America and Europe."
"Soitanly!!!"
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/17/2010 5:17 Comments ||
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#3
led by stooges of America
But Curly Joe died in 1993, and he was the last of them.
#4
I am reminded of the one panel comic by S. Gross, that shows an elderly, but enthusiastic Roman man sitting on a chaise lounge, next to a rather unhappy looking naked woman. He is happily shouting "Veni!"
[Al Arabiya Latest] International peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region received their first five military helicopters on Tuesday, ending a more than two-year wait for air support in a strife-torn territory the size of Spain.
Military commanders and activists have repeatedly called on Western powers to provide tactical helicopters for the joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force since it arrived in Sudan's rebellious West in January 2008.
Senior U.N. officials said they struggled to find any of the vital aircraft because so many helicopters had already gone to other conflict zones, including Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, Sudan's neighbor Ethiopia became the first country to respond to the call by sending five tactical helicopters to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, said UNAMID.
"This will make a huge difference ... Only one country has been able to help us. An African country has supported us," force spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Reuters.
"We still need more, at least 18 in total. Up to now we have had zero tactical helicopters ... Imagine managing without this mobility in such a huge area."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
So now all they need is pilots, and maintenance and maintenance and maintenance...
Egypt's main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, accuses Cairo of "tyrannical practices," protesting the government's detention of many of its members in the lead-up to a key ballot.
"The brotherhood have become used to these kinds of tyrannical practices from the regime," said the group's Secretary General Mahmoud Hussein on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Egyptian authorities arrested some 16 members of the group around a week ago as the country gears up for next April's parliamentary vote. Those detained included newly-elected deputy leader, Mahmoud Ezzat, and two other members of the top-level Guidance Council, Essam el-Erian and Abdul-Rahman el-Bir.
The group, which holds indirect sway over one-fifth of the seats in parliament, has its members regularly arrested ahead of decisive elections.
"If this indicates anything, it is the bankruptcy of the regime and their inability to deal with the problems that they are facing as a result of the oppression that the various sectors of the society are suffering from," Hussein added.
"We never talk about personalities, we talk about principles. We want there to be free elections that have integrity. The country should not invest all its resources into one personality or for one candidate, and there should be equal opportunity for all of the candidates."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"Yeah! We oughtta be in charge of Tyrannical Practices. We're wayyyy more Islamicky!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/17/2010 18:41 Comments ||
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#2
Not happy here. Not happy there. Where in Hell are they happy...I'm not sure, but I suspect they'll have many places to choose from.
[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami chief Matiur Rahman Nizami yesterday said that launching united movement against the failures of the government and repression on the opposition is an inevitable demand of the people.
Talking to UNB at his office, Nizami gave a broad hint that the four-party alliance would be expanded with like-minded parties, but he would not elaborate on this point.
"There is no doubt about the united movement... four-party alliance is already on the street and time will say who else will be in the movement," he said.
The Jamaat Ameer alleged that the Awami League-led government could not fulfil any of its pledges and said "everyone with political or non-political background started speaking against its activities."
Refuting allegations that Shibir activists cut tendons of Chhatra League workers at Rajshahi University, he said he had thrown a challenge in the fifth parliament on this issue, but none came up with any proof that Shibir was involved with politics of cutting tendons.
"Such allegation has no reality. This is part of a false campaign to undermine the Chhatra Shibir," Nizami said.
Replying to a question, he said the unfortunate incident at Rajshahi University was a "pre-planned move to divert the public attention" from the failures of the government, particularly the failure of the prime minister's visit to India.
He said, "By staging the incidents at Rajshahi University, the government prepared the ground for launching the combing operation against Jamaat-Shibir.
"This has become clear from the recent statements of the home minister and the state minister for home."
The Jamaat chief alleged that the government wants to stop the path of constitutional politics, but he said, "People would never ever accept any undemocratic political system in the country."
He cautioned that it would not be good for anyone if the door of constitutional politics is shut.
Asked whether he apprehends involvement of any third force in the recent spate of incidents that may lead to another one-eleven episode, Nizami thinks that the government is staging these incidents by using its agencies.
"Eruption of new incidents following the unfortunate happening at Rajshahi University tends to raise question by some civil society members whether the country is again moving towards the one-eleven."
He said imprudent decisions by previous governments had created scope for intervention by the third force. "We don't have any information about it but all political parties should think over it."
The Jamaat leader said his party will project "government's repression on them in a democratic way, as they did not take any hot headed steps in the past."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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A helicopter flight low over Port-au-Prince reveals whole neighborhoods of flat, collapsed roofs next to areas that seem barely touched. The earthquake gods are not only cruel but arbitrary. The Presidential Palace leans drunkenly. Soccer fields and other open spaces are carpeted with tarp tents, offering scant protection as the rainy season arrives.
The pilot navigates toward a white lighthouse along the coast, between the earthquake epicenter at Leogane and Port-au-Prince. On the site of a collapsed amphitheater and park, the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines has established a camp in the city of Carrefour -- a scene of beach and barbed wire, aqua sea and warships on the horizon, camouflage tents, milling Marines and chopper noise.
Carrefour is the fourth area these Marines have helped stabilize since the quake. Initially the greatest needs were order, food and medical treatment. Order came more quickly than the Marines expected. Haitians didn't require a show of force, just the knowledge that someone was in charge. With the port in ruins, supplies were delivered on four beaches by landing craft. Long-range heavy lift -- the ability to move masses of equipment, supplies and people across the world -- is a demonstration of American global influence. It may be the best definition of that influence.
But Marine operations in Haiti have reached another stage. As I arrived at Carrefour, a Marine officer in charge of civilian relations was convening the first meeting of community activists, nongovernmental organizations and local officials -- a group that will gather every day to assess the needs of eight sectors of the city.
The officer explained to me the complex Haitian class dynamics that determine local leadership. American Marines of Haitian background were speaking a rapid Creole -- one of the benefits of a multicultural military. The goal was to begin handing out food through community institutions instead of distribution sites or coupons, so Haitians could begin taking ownership of the effort. The Marines are practicing a kind of noninvasive surgery -- providing structure and security, but cultivating community institutions that must continue to stand after America leaves.
Where in the world did U.S. Marines learn this kind of cultural sensitivity? Lt. Col. Rob Fulford, in charge of the Carrefour operation, answers: "In Iraq and Afghanistan, where the equivalent was dealing with tribal sheiks. . . . There is a maturity level inside our Marines that didn't exist in 2003 when we invaded Iraq. A cultural awareness. An ability to leverage relationships."
Another officer on Fulford's staff adds: "It is very similar to Iraq and Afghanistan, except that here there is no bad guy. We're helping the populace, winning their trust. This is right up our alley. All of us are products of the COIN manual."
He is referring to the counterinsurgency field manual authored by Gen. David Petraeus, which involved a dramatic shift in military thinking -- increasing the focus on population security, cultivating indigenous capabilities and isolating the enemy by improving the lives of the locals. This strategy helped save the American mission in Iraq. Its reach and benefits can now be seen on a Haitian beach.
Major military deployments such as Haiti involve a paradox. They put a tremendous strain on military equipment. Traveling from ship to ship off Haiti's shore, I was told of clean-water condensers that had broken down, of scavenging for essential parts, of preventive maintenance postponed.
But the people of the military gain skill and experience -- moving supplies, treating trauma cases, dealing with complex cultural challenges. Despite many hardships, those who train for a mission love performing their mission.
No empire of history could boast such tenderhearted legions. The crew of the USS Fort McHenry managed to secure tens of thousands of jars of peanut butter to distribute at schools onshore. On the USS Bataan, a 96-year-old Haitian woman in intensive care is attended like an admiral. The Bataan crew is particularly proud of the Haitian baby they helped deliver aboard. Lacking a proper incubator, they improvised -- using a heat lamp normally employed to cure fiberglass.
These soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines know that much was broken in Haiti even before the quake and much will remain broken after they leave. But back on the beach at Carrefour, the Marines are packing up and moving one of their facilities. A group of Haitian American investors wants to begin building on the site. These Marines, at least, know that their presence was a preface to better things.
North Korea has reportedly replaced its ambassador to China for the first time in 10 years. Choe Byong-ryol has been chosen as the new ambassador to China.
Pyongyang notified China early this month, and once Beijing gives the green light, he will assume his new post in March, a diplomatic source in Beijing said.
Little is known about Choe other than that he served as North Korean ambassador to Laos between 2000 and 2004 and director of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Consular Department. Choe would be the lowest-ranking official to serve as ambassador to China, but the source said he has either been promoted already or will be promoted before his new posting. Until now, North Korea has dispatched only vice minister-level diplomats as ambassadors to China.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
He's just an ordinary Choe.
Posted by: Grunter in Oz ||
02/17/2010 1:03 Comments ||
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#2
Your room, Grunter. ;-) One wonders what brought about the change...
North Koreans in the border area with China have abandoned the won since a shock currency reform, Internet broadcaster Open Radio for North Korea reported.
The regime in November suddenly introduced a new won at an exchange rate of 100:1 to the old currency, a move which instead of curbing inflation sent it sky-high.
The broadcaster quoted a North Korean source as saying North Korean banknotes are nothing but pieces of paper, and almost all goods are traded in yuan. "Not even cart pushers would accept won for their work," the source said.
Having watched their new currency plummet in value over less than a month after the reform, North Korean residents realized that the yuan is a safer asset, the station added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Misleading headline, this is only happening near the border with China.
Young North Korean refugees are shorter and lighter than South Korean adolescents, according to a government health report of North Koreans who entered South Korea between 2005 and 2008.
The average height of North Korean boys between 13 and 18 stands at 155.7 cm, 13.5 cm shorter than their South Korean counterparts. Girls from North Korea in the age group are 151.1 cm tall on average, 8.3 cm shorter than their South Korean counterparts. The average weight of young male North Koreans is 47.3 kg, 13.5 kg lighter than South Korean teenage boys. North Korean girls weigh 46.9 kg, as against 52.3 kg for South Korean girls.
The report was recently presented by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to Grand National Party lawmaker Son Sook-mee of the National Assembly's Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Committee.
The KCDC conducts annual medical checkups of 8,214 North Korean refugees -- 6,967 people aged 19 up, and 1,257 people aged 18 or below -- who came to the South between 2005 and 2008.
Adult North Koreans are also 4 to 6 cm shorter than South Koreans. The average height of North Korean men stands at 165.4 cm while North Korean women were 154.2 cm tall on average. South Korean men and women are 171.4 cm and 158.4 cm tall on average.
The average weight of men from North Korea is 60.2 kg, 11.8 kg less than that of South Korean men. North Korean women weigh 52.8 kg, 4.3 kg less than South Korean women.
There are also health problems. Some 35.8 percent of adolescents and 24.6 percent of adults are infected with parasites, up to 12 times more than the rate among South Koreans. Parasite infection among North Korean defectors dropped from 38 percent in 2005 to 17.7 percent in 2007, but the figure rose again to 28.6 percent in 2008. In the 2008 medical checkup, 48.3 percent of young North Korean refugees were infected with parasites. Some 8.4 percent of North Korean men and 24.7 percent of women had anemia, 4 times and 1.8 times more than South Koreans.
"The report proves that food aid provided by South Korea, other countries and international organizations has failed to help improve the health of North Koreans," Son said. "We must strengthen monitoring to guarantee that malnourished and needy North Korean people receive the food offered by the international community."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Jeebus - as a former Substitute Teacher and related I have had middle school students or younger that were heavier + taller than that.
I'm a'guessin they sacrificed their health for the following:
To wit, FREEREPUBLIC > YONHAP NEWS > [Joel Wit]SCHOLAR: NORTH KOREA MAY PRODUCE 14-18 NUCLEAR WARHEADS BY 2019 IFF TALKS FAIL.
OTOH FREEP POSTER > says NOKORS may produc 50-100 warheads iff the talks succeed???
#2
I was going to make a "Master of the Obvious" joke, but then I read the article, and it sounds like the effects of systemic malnutrition are *compounding* with later generations, which sounds like new information to me. How are they staving off epidemic disease outbreaks with stats like that?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/17/2010 9:51 Comments ||
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#3
How are they staving off epidemic disease outbreaks with stats like that?
The entire country is effectively an isolation ward, Mitch.
Parasites, ick! Not to mention the effective IQ drop due to malnourishment.
#4
So it's not so much a hermit kingdom as a bubble-boy kingdom?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/17/2010 12:27 Comments ||
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#5
I doubt the leadership cares, despite any rhetoric. All they need is enough people to draw on to make problems, and enough food to feed that many people, in order to feel they are meeting whatever goals they have, which seem to involve Kimmie having enough high-end brandy to keep his pancreas properly pickled.
#8
I recall reading that post-war Japan had shorter emaciated, undersized people, and in two generations of decent food they now boast 6 footers, a vast and similar improvement will happen when Kimmie finally bites the dust.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/17/2010 21:10 Comments ||
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam has reportedly been excluded from his father's birthday celebrations for the second year running. "A family gathering was held to celebrate Kim Jong-il's 68th birthday on Tuesday, with third son Jong-un in attendance," a North Korean source said. "But there are no signs that Jong-nam flew to Pyongyang from Macau or China, where he lives."
Kim Jong-nam was in Pyongyang between July and September 2008 after his father collapsed with a massive stroke. But he has been living in exile since January 2009, when it appears his younger brother Jong-un was named as the successor to the leadership.
A South Korean government source said, "Just like North Korean Ambassador to Poland Kim Pyong-il, Kim Jong-il's half brother, who has been unable to return to the North for more than 20 years, there's a sting chance that Kim Jong-nam faces lifelong exile."
Kim Jong-nam fell into disgrace after he was caught by Japanese authorities in May 2001 for trying to enter the country on a forged passport but returned to Pyongyang for his father's birthday in February 2008 bearing gifts he purchased in Macau. He was also spotted at a neurosurgery hospital in Paris in October that year, just after the elder Kim suffered the stroke, which led to speculation that he was been chosen to succeed his father.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Pyongyang or Macau? Hmmm... Don't exile me in that briar patch Macau! Looks like Jong-nam isn't so dumb after all.
The decline of the dollar against the euro and talks of possible punitive measures against Iran has sent oil prices to over the $75 mark.
US crude for March delivery jumped $2.05 to reach a session high of $76.18 per barrel. It later eased back to a $1.86 hike at $76 by 14:51 GMT (9:51 a.m. EST). Brent crude for April delivery rocketed $2.36, or 3.3 percent, to $74.87 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Yesterday marked the euro's biggest rebound against the dollar in nine months. The Euro rose further on Tuesday, reaching a fresh intra-day high. The pair found support earlier at 1.3630 and now is approaching to 1.3700, the NASDAQ website reported.
The United States and its main ally in the region, Israel, worked this week to drum up support in Russia and Iran's Persian Gulf Arab neighbors for tougher sanctions against Tehran.
During his hours-long meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Israel's Premier Benjamin Netanyahu tired to convince the Kremlin official to agree to sanctions that would halt Iran's oil exports and prevent the country from importing gas.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also visited the de-facto leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Arabia, in a bid to urge Riyadh to replace Iran as China's main oil supplier. She reportedly left the Saudi capital empty-handed as her attempt to corral Saudi leaders into supporting the anti-Iran sanctions was apparently turned down.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Iranian news article. Oil prices have indeed jumped, in part due to a cold winter and in part due to instability in the regions. However, the Euro is at a 9 month low against the US dollar.
It's true the Saudis aren't hot on more sanctions tho - they want military action against Iran. Preferably by Israel, so that the Israelis can also be pounded and denounced. Win-win from their perspective.
Spain announced Monday it will accept five detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the largest commitment by a European country and a boost for the Obama administration's dragging effort to close the military detention center.
Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos told reporters in Madrid that the detainees will not pose a security threat and that any transfers to Spain "will be done with all the legal guarantees so as to defend the security situation that our country requires."
Spain previously agreed to accept two detainees, a Yemeni and a Palestinian. They have been cleared for release by an inter-agency panel that reviewed the cases of each detainee held at Guantanamo Bay.
Good riddance and welcome to Al-Andalus, suckers ...
Spanish officials told reporters that they still expect to accept the Yemeni and the Palestinian, and that they are examining the files of other prisoners cleared for release and will take three more.
The Obama administration has resettled 24 detainees, including 15 to Europe, two of whom are awaiting trial in Italy. Nine European countries have taken in detainees in the past year. The administration has also repatriated 24 detainees to Yemen, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere. The administration has also received commitments from other European countries, including Latvia and Bulgaria, to take detainees. Other announcements might be forthcoming, an administration official said recently.
Mass acts of stupidity ...
There are 192 detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. Approximately 110 have been cleared for resettlement in a third country or for repatriation.
The administration has suspended the repatriation of Yemeni detainees because of instability in their home country, where the government is battling a branch of al-Qaeda. There are about 90 Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay; about two-thirds of them have been cleared for transfer, but only if conditions in Yemen improve.
Obama last year named veteran diplomat Daniel Fried as a special envoy to work with other nations to accept Guantanamo Bay detainees. His efforts have had some success -- he had met recently with Spanish officials -- despite fears that other countries will not accept detainees for resettlement if the United States is unwilling to do the same.
In the case of Spain, the government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero wants to restore good relations with the United States. Ties had frayed after Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq in 2004, a decision that infuriated the Bush administration.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Last month, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and her senior staff privately met in Washington, D.C., with a select group of Muslim, Arab, and Sikh organizations. Among the mix were three organizations directly associated with an outlawed terrorist entity the Muslim Brotherhood.
Secretary Napolitano spent an hour and a half briefing them on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) counter-radicalization and anti-terrorist programs. The intensive briefings spanned two days (January 27 and 28) and were called by the DHS.
Although there is no evidence of an exchange of classified information, this meeting was the beginning of an Obama administration program aimed at devising a new information-sharing framework with the Muslim organizations some of them regarded as extremist because of their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The group is to meet regularly with DHS senior aides and with Napolitano. This program was imported from the United Kingdom. The Obama administration has decided to replicate the UK program to win over Muslims and to get them to collaborate with the federal government.
Although Matthew Chandler, deputy press secretary and spokesman for Secretary Napolitano, refused to comment on the meetings or identify the groups that attended the two-day session, Pajamas Media has learned the identities of a number of the participants and interviewed them including those linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A former U.S. intelligence officer told PJM:
The counter-radicalization' program is something that the other side created for us. It initially started in Britain. The Muslim Brotherhood groups suggested it. We went over there and got it. We thought it was a great idea and now we're using it. It's the enemy giving us a way to destroy ourselves.
Another Muslim leader from the meeting was Salam al-Marayati, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). MPAC has a long history of defending terrorist acts. Al-Marayati repeatedly defended the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Muslim charity' which was convicted of nine federal criminal counts and in 2001 was identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a Specially Designated Terrorist.'
In a 1999 PBS interview, al-Marayati called Hezbollah attacks on Israel legitimate resistance.'
#2
Anyone surprised? to 'Big sis' the islamics who want to saw our heads off and force our kids to bow down to their pathetic god 5 times a day is not a threat.
However those who believe in America and Freedom...are.
#4
@#2 When I pray I look up to heaven for guidance. Muzzies on the other hand, kneel down and peer into Satan's realm for their religious instruction.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
02/17/2010 19:08 Comments ||
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#5
Wow, must be some seriously nuanced stuff go'in on here 'cause it don't make no sense to me and I aint got a whole lot of nuanced.
[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday branded as "propaganda" reports that the top Taliban military commander had been arrested in a joint Pakistani-US spy operation.
Speaking to reporters outside parliament in Islamabad, the cabinet minister stopped short of either confirming or denying the media reports.
The New York Times and other US media cited US government officials as saying that US and Pakistani intelligence services arrested Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Karachi "several days ago".
"We are verifying all those we have arrested. If there is any big target, I will show the nation," Malik said.
"If the New York Times gives information, it is not a divine truth, it can be wrong. We have joint intelligence sharing and no joint investigation, nor joint raids," Malik added.
"We are a sovereign state and hence will not allow anybody to come and do any operation. And we will not allow that. So this (report) is propaganda," he added.
Pakistan's government is a close US ally in the war on Al-Qaeda and the eight-year conflict against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, but the relationship is controversial in an increasingly anti-American country.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
If the New York Times gives information, it is not a divine truth, it can be wrong.
We agree there, at least.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/17/2010 8:52 Comments ||
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The U.N.'s food agency on Wednesday rejected claims some of its staff had diverted aid to hardline Somali rebels and called on the United States to free up millions of dollars meant for the Horn of African nation. The World Food Programme said its investigation into the possible diversion of aid had absolved staff and partner organisations distributing food in Somalia.
Washington is withholding millions of dollars in aid amid fears it benefits al Shabaab insurgents, a group that has declared loyalty to al Qaeda and wants to impose its own harsh version of sharia law throughout the country.
"WFP has concluded an internal investigation and we found no evidence that our staff divert food and there was no evidence that our transporters did the same," said Peter Smerdon, the World Food Programme's spokesman in Nairobi. The investigation followed reports that food aid meant for Somali civilians was finding its way into the hands of al Shabaab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia accused Washington of politicising aid funds after negotiations aimed at releasing the millions of dollars for Somalia stalled.
"Where the negotiations have stalled are the practicalities of the measures the agencies have to undertake and that, in my view, is politicisation of serious humanitarian issues," Mark Bowden told reporters in Nairobi. He declined to elaborate on what those measures were. "No U.N. agency has paid any money to al Shabaab," he said.
The U.N. agencies said the curbs on funding for areas under al Shabaab were forcing some to cut back on programmes and leading to even more suffering for desperate Somalis. The United States is the biggest aid donor to Somalia. "We are going into this year in a very worrying financial situation," Bowden said.
#1
The U.N. agencies said the curbs on funding for areas under al Shabaab were forcing some to cut back on programmes and leading to even more suffering for desperate Somalis.
Must not be that bad then if the local warlords won't work with us.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Many Iraqis released by U.S. forces after being detained for suspected links to Sunni insurgents have been killed by tribes seeking revenge or are being driven back into the arms of al-Qaeda.
Their desperation adds to fears that Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election will fail to quell a Sunni insurgency by drawing former militants into the political process, and help heal the wounds of a sectarian war which has killed tens of thousands of Sunnis and Shiites since the 2003 U.S. invasion.
In the desert province of Anbar, families say they are paying thousands of dollars in "blood money" to prevent their sons from being executed when they are released from U.S. military detention. If they can't find the money, their sons often disappear -- sometimes back into the ranks of insurgents.
"This has become a phenomenon in Anbar," said Ali Hammad, a prominent sheikh in Anbar who works on national reconciliation issues and mediates between warring tribes.
"It is difficult for criminals to leave Iraq, and because they are rejected by the community and face tribal prosecution, they end up joining the same groups and killing again."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey, maybe they should have thought of that before joining death squads. I mean, people might get a little irked about that sort of behavior.
#2
It quotes a study by Australian Air Power, which has been of the long-standing opinion that the F-35 is grossly inferior to the Mig-15 but might be able to eke out a 1:3 kill ratio against against the ME-109.
I doubt the F-35 is as good as Lockheed says but I doubt even the F-15 (much less the F-35) is as bad as they say if equipped with a modern AESA radar.
#7
Russia has always been one for big an early claims. Besides that a fighter is only as good as the pilots and their training so if Russia decides to sell these things they better also sell Russian pilots to go with them.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/17/2010 21:35 Comments ||
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#11
Exactly. The plane doesn't really exist. Yes, there is an airframe, and yes there is some marketing fluff, but no it will not meet its hyped performance specs. Ever. And no one will pay for it.
It's another Buran. (http://englishrussia.com/?p=361)
[Al Arabiya Latest] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that any country which tried to impose new sanctions on Iran would regret its actions, and talks were still going on over a proposed nuclear fuel swap.
Ahmadinejad's latest salvo at world powers came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton toured the Gulf to earn backing for possible sanctions against Iran for defiantly pursuing its nuclear program.
"If anybody seeks to create problems for Iran, our response will not be like before," the hard-line Iranian president told a packed news conference in the capital Tehran.
Clinton said a new round of sanctions should target Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which she said were driving the Islamic Republic towards a military dictatorship.
"Of course, if somebody acts against Iran our response will definitely be firm enough ... (to) make them regretful," Ahmadinejad said without elaborating.
"Sanctions will not harm Iran," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/17/2010 8:55 Comments ||
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#3
Regretful is nice. How about a rattlesnake next to your catheter in the hospital bed?( Bring it in an a sanitized bedpan with a nice paper wrap).
Of course its nasty. Of course it evil and excessive. And of course some people deserve it.
Terrorism doesnt have to be dull,use some imagination and get away from cordite and loud noises. Make it precise and personal. Next time Moray Eels and and your face...
What we need is something weighing less than a pound that you can carry in a baby's diaper bag that wont set off the x-ray alarms. Like a Sumatran Krait with an attitude problem.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A parliamentary call for the limitation of ties with Britain gains momentum in Iran as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledges to give the move 'some serious thought'.
Ahmadinejad, responding to a question posed by a Press TV correspondent in a televised news conference on Tuesday, said the bossy and intrusive attitude of British officials in the wake of the June presidential election has left the country no choice but to limit the level of its relations with Britain.
Citing the recent interference of some British officials in Iran's internal affairs, Ahmadinejad said that the Iranian people have no willingness, or an incentive, to promote ties with the United Kingdom, particularly after what they have witnessed from the Downing Street echelon in recent months.
Ahmadinejad said Iran's relations with the UK will continue to spiral downwards until British officials discard the mindset they have been clinging to for more than 100 years.
Britain's dark track record in Iran could be traced back to 1813 and the Treaty of Gulistan. The treaty, which was put together by British diplomat Sir Gore Ouseley, forced Persia to concede its territory to Russia, a move that has been regarded in Iran as humiliating.
Then in the 1920s, British forces based in Iran under General Edmund Ironside secured the rise of fifty years of oppression in Iran after placing both Reza Shah Pahlavi and later his son Mohammed Reza on the Peacock throne.
But what really made Britain the bête noir of Iranian politics was the coup against the democratically-elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq in 1953.
Mossadeq sparked the outrage of the British government after he took revolutionary steps to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in which the British had a majority share.
In light of this, the British government joined their American counterparts and organized a coup, which eventually saw Mossadeq placed under a house-arrest while returning the unpopular Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi back to an absolute rule.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Britain became especially unpopular for series of policies, including the support it extended to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the eight-year war he imposed on the Iranian nation.
Also, Iranian people have never gotten over a British ruling that removed the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from the UK terror list.
After the Iranian presidential election on June 12, British officials made a series of interfering comments regarding the country's internal affairs that drew sharp criticism from the Tehran government.
This has prompted the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) to introduce a resolution to reconsider ties with Britain. The bill has received widespread support both in the government and across the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says the US is acting as a military dictatorship in the Middle East by killing countless number of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iran's top diplomat made the comments in response to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said Iran is "moving toward a military dictatorship.
Mottaki described Clinton's remarks as "modern deceit," and added that
"We are regretful that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... tries to conceal facts about the stance of the US administration trough fake words.
This (Clinton's remark) is aimed "at diverting the attention of the public in the region (away from their problems) to unreal and incorrect topics," he added.
The Iranian minister raised questions about the US military dictatorship in the region and said that Washington has killed large numbers of Iraqi and Afghan civilians while Iran has accepted and helped millions of refugees from the two countries.
He accused Clinton of trying to advance Washington's policy in the Middle East through lies, saying that regional countries are well aware of the true nature of such methods.
Mottaki criticized "unsuccessful strategies" of the US government in Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan and said Washington seeks to create crisis for democratic and independent states by waging a soft war.
"The US targets scientific and technological achievements of countries and their independence by interfering [in their internal affairs] and spending vast sums," he said.
He underlined that the US has adopted "wrong" approach in the Middle East and said that Washington pays no attention to realities in the region and forges military dictatorship by stoking tension and instability.
"We recommend Clinton and other US statesmen to open their eyes to realities in the region even one time... They should respect rights of regional states to development, welfare and modern technologies without enmity," Mottaki said.
He noted that regional countries would never be deceived by the US policies.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
And as we all know, military dictatorships are bad.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Lebanon's Hezbollah movement has called on France to "rein in Israeli aggressiveness" amid the regime's mounting threats against Lebanon.
"We ask that France take a firm stand and work with the international community to rein in Israeli aggressiveness," a press release said Tuesday.
"Israeli policies are behind all regional tensions and Lebanon maintains its right to armed defense against any possible Israeli attacks," the movement added.
The statement came after a Hezbollah International Relations Officer Ammar Moussawi met with Gerard Larcher, the visiting president of the French Senate.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, France, bend over for your new Hezbollah master.
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/17/2010 0:19 Comments ||
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#2
LOL! OMG, that's the funniest thing I've read in a LONG time. Haaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha! Yeah, good luck Hezbies. As if France has significant leverage with Israel. Whatta bunch of maroons! I wish I had some of what they're smoking. That Lebanese hash must be GOOOOOD.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Tuesday that his militant party would bomb Israel's infrastructure, including its airports and refineries, if the Jewish state attacks Lebanon.
"I say to the Israelis: if you attack Beirut's Rafiq Hariri airport we will attack Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv," he said in comments transmitted via video link to thousands of supporters massed in Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"I declare to you today that I accept this challenge," Nasrallah said in a defiant speech commemorating the assassination of three Hezbollah leaders.
"If you hit our ports, we will bomb your ports, and if you hit our oil refineries, we will bomb your oil refineries."
"If you destroy one building in the southern suburbs we will destroy several of yours," he added.
His comments came amid an escalating war of words between Israel and Hezbollah that has raised concerns of a renewed conflict in the region that could draw in other regional players such as Syria and Iran.
Nasrallah, whose party fought a devastating war with the Jewish state in 2006, accused Israel of engaging in a psychological war aimed at sowing fear among the Lebanese.
He said his party was not seeking a new conflict but stood ready to respond to any Israeli attack.
"The only language Israel understands is that of threats," he said.
Hezbollah fought against Israel in a 34-day war in 2006 after the group captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Some 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, were killed and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, died.
Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs as well as mainly Shiiite southern Lebanon where Hezbollah maintains a stronghold and from which Israel withdrew in 2000.
Israeli bombing also hit bridges, roads, airport runways, ports, factories, power and water networks, and military installations, and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Nasrallah was speaking at an event marking the second anniversary of the assassination of military commander Imad Moughniyah.
The Shiiite group has blamed Israel for the 2008 bombing that killed him in Damascus, and has vowed revenge. Israel has denied involvment, and said that it has since foiled several Hezbollah attempts to kidnap Israelis abroad.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Nassralah? isnt he the guy who hid in the basement during the last Lebanese thingy?
That guy? Leads from the front, does he?
Palestine shall be OURS!! Not anytime soon, maybe, but "someday".yeah. As soon as nassirallah...
gets his pants on....
#2
ION WAFF > [Netanyahu]ISRAEL WARNS GREECE: TURKEY WILL SOON BECOME A NUCLEAR POWER [+ also SAUDI ARABIA].
* SAME > FORMER IAEA HEAD HANS BLIX: IRAN JUST WON'T SIT THERE AND ACCEPT AN ATTACK.
* TOPIX > OFFICIAL: POWERFUL TURKEY CAN DEFEAT, TAKE OVER ARMENIA IN SIX HOURS, iff it reelly really Really REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y RRRREEEEAAAAAAALLLYYYYYYY wants to, D*** YOU, iff Turkey holds back from signing the TURKO-ARMENIAN PROTOCOLS.
Amid a White House campaign to drum up support for new anti-Iran sanctions, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Tuesday that world powers would "regret" any moves against the country.
"If anybody seeks to create problems for Iran, our response will not be like before," Ahmadinejad told a press conference in the capital city of Tehran.
"Something will be done in response that will make them [the world powers] regret [their action]," he said. "However, we prefer they steer towards cooperation [with Iran]."
The remarks came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was wrapping up her visit to the Middle East, where she stopped in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to seek the backing of the Arab world's heavyweights against Tehran's nuclear drive.
Iran says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction around the globe.
The West, however, accuses the country of seeking military means in its pursuit. The United States has spearheaded efforts to slap new UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, after the country announced the production of the first batch of 20-percent enriched uranium to make fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran.
At the conference, President Ahmadinejad said negotiations over a nuclear fuel deal with France, Russia and the US were not over. He said Iran still welcomed a deal that would see a "simultaneous" swap.
"The proposal for the fuel exchange is not closed yet. We have announced that we will exchange within a just framework," he said. "We are ready for an exchange even with the United States. The US can come and give us their 20 percent fuel and we will pay them if they want, or we can give them 3.5 percent fuel."
"But the swap should take place simultaneously and we will put our fuel under the supervision of the [UN nuclear] agency in Iran."
Iran is currently under three rounds of UNSC sanctions resolutions, which call on the country to abandon its enrichment work. Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), however, Iran is entitled to continue its drive for civilian purposes.
President Ahmadinejad boasted that Iran has adapted to the sanctions, which, he said, have put the country on a path of constant progress.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
WORLD NEWS > MULLEN: IRAN IS BECOMING A NUCLEAR CAPABLE COUNTRY [Nuke weapons-capable, notsomuch nucenergy].
#2
" Advanced "centrifuges... invented by someone else and shipped in from somewhere else because the Moslems arent too good at making ball point pens yet.
But they are waving their checkbooks at Germany and the Russians...so maybe they get the instruction books next. Inshallah...
Posted by: Titus ||
02/17/2010 9:31 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Deadly narcotics like compact heroin, crack, is only produced, under the guidance of certain Western countries in Afghanistan, for consumption in Iran, commander of the drug squad says. 
North Korea has reportedly replaced its ambassador to China for the first time in 10 years. Choe Byong-ryol has been chosen as the new ambassador to China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam has reportedly been excluded from his father's birthday celebrations for the second year running. "A family gathering was held to celebrate Kim Jong-il's 68th birthday on Tuesday, with third son Jong-un in attendance," a North Korean source said. "But there are no signs that Jong-nam flew to Pyongyang from Macau or China, where he lives." 
The decline of the dollar against the euro and talks of possible punitive measures against Iran has sent oil prices to over the $75 mark. 
Spain announced Monday it will accept five detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the largest commitment by a European country and a boost for the Obama administration's dragging effort to close the military detention center.
The U.N.'s food agency on Wednesday rejected claims some of its staff had diverted aid to hardline Somali rebels and called on the United States to free up millions of dollars meant for the Horn of African nation. The World Food Programme said its investigation into the possible diversion of aid had absolved staff and partner organisations distributing food in Somalia.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Tuesday that his militant party would bomb Israel's infrastructure, including its airports and refineries, if the Jewish state attacks Lebanon.
