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Suicide bomb blast hits hotel in Somalia, two MPs believed dead
Today's Headlines
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
NY judge rejects Strauss-Kahn immunity claim
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn must face a civil trial over an alleged sex assault in New York, a judge here ruled Tuesday, rejecting his last ditch attempt to claim diplomatic immunity.

The judge hearing the suit brought by Nafissatou Diallo ruled Strauss-Kahn had lost immunity because he'd resigned from the International Monetary Fund well before the civil action was lodged.

Bronx Supreme Court Judge Douglas McKeon called Strauss-Kahn's attempt to escape the civil trial "his own version of a 'Hail Mary pass'," -- an American football reference to the often desperate, long-distance throw a team will attempt in the final seconds of a losing game.

Diallo alleges the French politician forced her into oral sex
Can't be done unless the woman has no teeth...
when she went to clean his room last year on May 14 at the luxury Sofitel in Manhattan.

Criminal charges were filed, but then dropped when Manhattan prosecutors decided that Diallo would not make a credible witness.

She subsequently filed the civil suit seeking unspecified damages over what she says was a brutal and "sadistic" assault by one of the world's most powerful men.

Strauss-Kahn's lawyers argued in court last month that his position as head of the IMF protected him from further legal action.

He had never claimed immunity at the time of his arrest and he resigned voluntarily from his post -- losing his privileges -- even before criminal charges were filed. But lawyers said this was a conscious choice so that Strauss-Kahn could clear his name through legal channels.

In his ruling, however, McKeon ripped Strauss-Kahn's bid to now reclaim immunity when he faced civil action.

"Mr Strauss-Khan cannot eschew immunity in an effort to clear his name only to embrace it now in an effort to deny Ms Diallo the opportunity to clear hers," McKeon wrote.

Strauss-Kahn says there was a consensual sexual encounter with Diallo in his hotel suite and denies any assault. Regardless of what happened, the scandal destroyed Strauss-Kahn's career, both as head of the IMF and as a would-be candidate for the French presidency.

Opinion polls at the time of his disgrace had pointed to Strauss-Kahn being able to beat incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy
...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit...
, who is now struggling to avoid defeat against Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande in a runoff vote Sunday.

The incident in New York irreversibly tainted Strauss-Kahn. His increasingly sordid public image took another hit when separate, prostitution-related criminal charges were filed in La Belle France.

Last weekend, Strauss-Kahn, or DSK as he's popularly known in La Belle France, struck back, claiming that his downfall had been orchestrated.

Strauss-Kahn said that although he did not believe the incident was a setup, the subsequent escalation of the event into a criminal investigation was "shaped by those with a political agenda."

"Perhaps I was politically naive, but I simply did not believe that they would go that far -- I didn't think they could find anything that could stop me," he told The Guardian newspaper.

The Guardian said it was clear that "they" refers to people working for Sarkozy and his center-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party.

Sarkozy responded by saying Strauss-Kahn should "explain himself to the law and spare the French his remarks."
Posted by: Fred || 05/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Civilians die in army deserters' attack on DR Congo troops
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] A woman and a young girl were killed in a battle between soldiers and army deserters suspected of ties to a local militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the military said Tuesday.

A regiment "was attacked overnight Monday to Tuesday in Kirumba," in restive Nord-Kivu province, "by suspected Mai Mai hard boyz and soldiers who deserted" the army in early April, a commander told AFP.

"The attack left two civilians dead, a woman and her young daughter, who were killed when their home was destroyed by a bomb," said the commander who requested anonymity, adding that four Congolese soldiers were maimed.

In the past month, more than a dozen senior officers, former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) rebel group led by an indicted war criminal, have left its ranks along with several hundred men in Nord and Sud Kivu provinces.

The FARDC government troops have been pursuing the ex-CNDP fighters and violent festivities have erupted between the opposing sides since Sunday. An army statement on Monday said six deserters were killed and three soldiers maimed.

The latest attack took place for the first time in the region of Lubero, where the deserting ex-rebel soldiers are suspected of becoming allies of the Mai Mai militia, which was accused of mass rapes in 2010.

The CNDP was integrated into the national army in 2009 following a peace deal with their leader Jean-Bosco Ntaganda, nicknamed "Terminator", who was indicted by the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
in 2006.

But a group of several hundred CNDP loyalists defected earlier this month, citing unpaid salaries and inhumane living conditions among other complaints.
Posted by: Fred || 05/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
'Jinn cure' scam nets hundreds of Saudis
Several Saudi people suffering from physical and mental problems have fallen prey to an unknown man who lives in Egypt and claims he can cure them by sending over a “Muslim jinn” (genie).

All they had to do was to contact his aide in Saudi Arabia to arrange for a phone chat, so he can identify their exact malady and decide which genie they need.

“People who spoke to the man in that country were asked to transfer a specific sum of money to his account so he can send them a Muslim jinn,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Sabq said.

Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Gulf Kingdom’s feared religious police, discovered the scam when they arrested the man’s aide in the central town of Onaiza.

“They asked a member to pose as a patient and contact that aide….the undercover was then told to phone the man in Egypt…when he did, the man asked him to remit money so he can send him a Moslem jinn to treat him.”

Sabq did not mention how many victims had been duped or say whether that man’s recipe was useful for any of them.
Posted by: tipper || 05/02/2012 00:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  they should have just looked at an image of Jeannie
Posted by: lord garth || 05/02/2012 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  If Jeannie appeared on a Riyadh street, your typical Saudi would spontaneously combust:
"Allan Snackbar!! aiiieeeeeeghhh....!"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/02/2012 9:46 Comments || Top||


Great White North
EBay: 19 Acre ATLAS-F ICBM Missile Silo Base Underground Doomsday Fortress Bunker!
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If it comes with a missile, I would consider buying it.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 05/02/2012 8:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Seems kind of steep for 19 acres in rural Kansas, but the bragging rights would be awesome.
Posted by: Iblis || 05/02/2012 10:12 Comments || Top||

#3  You damn well know it's still Targeted, so much for safety.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/02/2012 10:12 Comments || Top||

#4  While a shift in demographics can turn anyone's home into a "Doomsday Fortress Bunker," I suspect rural Kansas is pretty safe.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/02/2012 13:34 Comments || Top||

#5  "Atlas was unusual in its use of balloon tanks for fuel, made of very thin stainless steel (with the uncoated steel necessitating Convair to develop the anti-corrosive spray WD-40) with minimal or no rigid support structures. Pressure in the tanks provides the structural rigidity required for flight. An Atlas rocket would collapse under its own weight if not kept pressurized, and had to have 5 psi nitrogen in the tank even when not fueled."

Atlas F was LOX/Kerosene fueled, so no nasty oxidizer leftovers to worry about. And it's got a really BIG elevator...
Posted by: mojo || 05/02/2012 16:20 Comments || Top||

#6  There's many yards of well-hardened concrete in those silos, plus, the US Geological Survey "USGS)lost the bubble" on their map filing system a decade ago...Silos are spread across a wide swath of rural US geography.

I'd take one. ASAP.
Posted by: canalzone || 05/02/2012 22:26 Comments || Top||

#7  D *** NG IT, this Artic makes me miss my Hobby/Amateur Rockets. The Atlas was so cool.

I'm also wondering how the above as an industry + weekend hobby is doing nowadays, espec given that OWG-NWO = also akin to PROTO SPACE GOVT-ORDER.

D *** NG IT, NASA-JPL, ETC. SHOULD HAD DEVELOPED THE VOSTOKS, NOT THE SOVIETS!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/02/2012 23:29 Comments || Top||

#8  JM, I always used to love the "J" in Joint Propulsion Labs.

You too, prolly, Huh? It's one of the primary reasons that I don't partake any more.
Abstinence has made my life better, I think.
Posted by: canalzone || 05/02/2012 23:39 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Rushdie books discarded: Peshawar varsity rights the wrong
[Dawn] After protests on the campus and outside, the University of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar syndicate on Monday set aside the Academic Council's decision to include a controversial writer's books in MPhil and PhD courses offered by the English Literature department.

During a meeting, the syndicate decided to drop 'Shame' and 'Midnight Children' written by Salman Rushdie from the list of suggested books for PhD and MPhil courses of English Literature, according to a front man for the university.

"No book of Salman Rushdie is or will be included in MPhil and PhD courses of English Literature at the University of Peshawar," Akhtar Amin told Dawn.

When contacted, chairman of the department Professor Mojeebur Rehman insisted that the matter was based on a misunderstanding.

"There was a misunderstanding. Neither these books are on our list of suggested reading nor have we a single book of Salman Rushdie in our library," he said.

Sources in the university said the Academic Council had approved the two books for MPhil and PhD courses of English Literature but the syndicate decided to drop them from the list of suggested books without much discussion.

The inclusion of the two books in MPhil and PhD courses aroused anger on the campus and outside.

Rushdie is a controversial writer for authoring a blasphemous fiction, Satanic Verses.

Sources said the two books were part of a list presented to the Academic Council as suggested reading for MPhil and PhD courses and since the council 'overloaded with' the items on agenda, it approved the list without thorough examination.They, however, insisted that there were no ulterior motive behind the approval as some books were suggested for reading for the World English Literature for MPhil and PhD classes.

A source in the department said the World English Literature was a new course introduced to let students know of the contributions of non-English writers since all good books were authored by writers of the previously colonised countries.

He said some writers from India and Pakistain had recently produced better writings and the course intended to enlighten MPhil and PhD students about them.

He said the books suggested for MPhil and PhD reading included Arundhati Roy's 'The god of small things', Kamila Shamsi's 'Broken verse', a political fiction, and Daniyal Moheenuddin's 'In other Rooms, Other Wounds', which is about women in Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred || 05/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  They're appropriate for a PhD course; they're damn near unreadable.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/02/2012 11:42 Comments || Top||


Gilani deems PML-N "long march" treason against federation
[Dawn] Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
on Tuesday said no province could launch a long march against the federal government because it was unconstitutional and unjustified and it would amount to be treason.

He was speaking in a TV programme "Prime Minister Online" jointly telecast by PTV and Samaa TV.

Replying to a question regarding the long march announced by the Punjab government, the prime minister said such act could be considered as "treason" as it would be a step of the provincial government against the federal government. "It is totally unacceptable," he added.

Referring to the attitude of Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, he said they had no principles. The PML-N and the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) are making statements without any justification against the Pakistain People's Party (PPP), he added.

"I have full support of all the coalition partners and the long march will not be supported by other political parties," he said.

Answering a question about the achievements of the PPP government in the last four years, the prime minister said the biggest success of his government was the revival of 1973 constitution in its original shape and the consensus NFC award giving more rights to the provinces, besides granting autonomy to the provinces, self-empowerment to Gilgit-Baltistan and freedom to the media.

He said, when he was summoned by the Supreme Court for the verdict in contempt of court case against him, he was mentally prepared to go to Adiala Jail.

The premier said the sentence was just for few seconds as it was till rising of the court and the whole process was completed in just five to six minutes.

About a question regarding his previous statement to quit if he was sentenced, the PM said although a sentence was a sentence but his previous interview was before consulting his lawyer.
Posted by: Fred || 05/02/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2012-05-02
  Suicide bomb blast hits hotel in Somalia, two MPs believed dead
Tue 2012-05-01
  'Egyptians thwart Iranian plot to kill Saudi envoy'
Mon 2012-04-30
  US drone 'kills three militants' in Miramshah
Sun 2012-04-29
  Syria Troops Kill 10 Rebels in Damascus Region
Sat 2012-04-28
   21 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Clashes
Fri 2012-04-27
  Separate bomb blasts rock Nigeria's newspapers, at least six killed
Thu 2012-04-26
  Libya bans religious, tribal or ethnic parties
Wed 2012-04-25
  Sacked Yemen Air Force Commander Quits Post
Tue 2012-04-24
  India orders deportation of 10 French nationals over Maoist links
Mon 2012-04-23
  Kazakh court sends 47 men to prison for terrorism
Sun 2012-04-22
  Tons of Explosives Seized from Militants Planning Attack in Kabul
Sat 2012-04-21
  Sudan Rebels Kill 79 Troops, Militia in Blue Nile
Fri 2012-04-20
  8 die in Michoacan state as conflict goes hot
Thu 2012-04-19
  Qaeda leader suicide bombs himself and family in Iraq
Wed 2012-04-18
  Hadi Refuses to receive Former Yemen President

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