Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said timing and the need for the unit to help with casualties from Benghazi resulted in orders for the special forces to remain in Tripoli. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, died in two separate attacks several hours apart on the night of Sept. 11.
Gregory Hicks, a former diplomat in Tripoli at the time of the attack, told a House panel last month that the unit was told to stand down.
Dempsey said that was not the case.
"They weren't told to stand down. A `stand down' means don't do anything," he said. "They were told that the mission they were asked to perform was not in Benghazi, but was at Tripoli airport." Strange, I don't recall the head the Site Security Team ever mentioning an order to assist the evacuated in Tripoli.
[An Nahar] Supporters and opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi clashed on Tuesday outside the culture ministry, where artists have been protesting against what they see as efforts to impose a religious agenda.
Dozens of Islamist protesters and anti-government demonstrators fought outside the ministry headquarters in the Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek leaving several lightly injured, Agence France Presse reporters said.
Tensions began earlier this month after new minister Alaa Abdel Aziz sacked several arts chiefs, including the heads of the Opera House, the Fine Arts department, the General Egyptian Book Organisation and the National Archives.
Abdel Aziz, appointed in a recent cabinet reshuffle, is considered close to the Brotherhood, although he is not a member.
The sackings caused a furor within cultural circles, prompting artists to take to strikes, demonstrations and cancel shows to counter what they say are Islamist designs on key cultural institutions.
Since Friday, novelists, filmmakers, painters and dancers have been holding a sit-in at the ministry to demand Abdel Aziz's sacking.
Dancers from the Cairo Opera Ballet Company performed a short version of "Zorba" and singers held concerts outside the ministry drawing nightly crowds.
"We are against Muslim Brotherhood control of state institutions," said producer and protester Dina Abu Zeid.
"Egypt is not a religious state," she told AFP.
Hani Hassan, the lead dancer at the Cairo Opera Ballet Company slammed the minister for pandering to ultra-conservative Islamists.
Last week, a member of parliament from the Salafist Noor Party called for banning ballet on the grounds that it is "obscene" and "spreads immorality."
"Why didn't (the minister) respond to the Noor MP? Because he's scared but we are not," Hassan told AFP.
The Muslim Brotherhood has denied it wants to control cultural institutions.
At the demonstration, Islamist protesters argued that the ministry has been a den of corruption since the time of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, and that Abdel Aziz is simply getting the house back in order.
"We suffer from corruption in all our institutions. The minister came and began cleansing... We say to him: carry on cleansing," said Khaled al-Bouhi.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on the Libyan authorities on Tuesday to rein in allied militia it said were responsible for detaining journalists.
The Gay Paree-based group said it was "extremely concerned" about the deteriorating security situation in Libya and the behavior of certain militias towards media personnel.
It called on the government to control the behavior of militias operating under the command of the defense or interior ministries or integrated into other state entities.
Since the 2011 uprising that ousted veteran dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... , the central government has struggled to tame the former rebel groups that overthrew him.
A journalist with an international news agency was locked away Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! by members of a militia in broad daylight in Libya's second city Benghazi on May 20, Reporters Without Borders said.
A photographer was locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! for several hours on May 28 by gunnies nominally under the command of the defense ministry, it added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[USATODAY] Libya's interim army chief of staff insists militias will have to lay down their arms or join the military by the end of this year.
His comments come just days after 31 people, mostly civilians, were killed in deadly festivities with pro-government gunnies in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Col. Salem Qineydi told news hounds there on Tuesday that the government needs the militias to assist in securing the country, but that ultimately they will have to join the army or return to civilian life by year's end.
Qineydi did not give specifics on how the government would implement the timeline.
He says some of the militias are rooted in the rebels that fought to oust dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years until he was ejected from the gene pool by his indignant citizens... , but that others were not and have instead fought one another.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Egypt's president has warned Ethiopia that all options are open" in dealing with its construction of a Nile dam that threatens to leave Egypt with a shortage of water.
In a live televised speech on Monday, Mohammed Morsi said Egypt was not calling for war, but it is willing to go up against any threats to its water security.
"If it loses one drop, our blood is the alternative," he said to a raucous crowd of largely Islamist supporters that broke into a standing ovation.
"We are not calling for war, but we will not allow, at all, threats against our water security," Morsi said before adding, "all options are open."
He told the crowd, "The great Nile is that which all our lives are connected to. The lives of the Egyptians are connected around it ... as one great people."
Later in the speech, Morsi said that Egypt considered Ethiopia a "friend" and pointed out that he had visited the country twice since taking office.
Ethiopia's $4.2 billion hydroelectric dam challenges a colonial-era agreement that had given Egypt and Sudan the majority of rights to water from the Nile.
Experts believe that Egypt could lose as much as 20% of its Nile water in the three to five years needed for Ethiopia to fill the massive reservoir.
Reminds of Stalin's infamous "...Or else" letter to a Factory threatening to shut down its production of STORMAVIK ground attack planes - IIRC STALIN SAID "THESE PLANES ARE AS VITAL TO THE RED ARMY AS BREAD + BLOOD"!
[An Nahar] Dozens of demonstrators on Tuesday held a sit-in in front of the Lebanese embassy in Kuwait to protest Hizbullah's interference in the Syrian crisis.
"The protesters burned a picture of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah," Naharnet correspondent in Kuwait reported, adding that they demanded placing the party on the list of terrorist organizations.
He noted: "They referred to Hizbullah as the party of the devil."
"The protesters also held banners calling for the expulsion of the Lebanese ambassador in the country."
Pictures of the sit-in published on social media websites revealed that the demonstrators are Islamists.
On Sunday, tens of the supporters of the Moslem Revolutionaries movement in Egypt staged a sit-in in front of the Lebanese embassy in Cairo to protest Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war.
Meanwhile in Doha, demonstrators rejecting Hizbullah fighting alongside Syria dth:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:gray;' title='President Bashir al-Assad'>Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's forces in the neighboring country also held a protest on Sunday in front of the Lebanese embassy in Qatar's capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[HINDUSTANTIMES] South Korea said on Tuesday that high-level talks with North Korea scheduled to begin in Seoul on Wednesday had been called off, after the two sides wrangled over who should lead the respective delegations. "There will be no talks on Wednesday," a spokeswoman for the South's unification ministry said without giving a reason. It was not immediately clear if they had been postponed or cancelled indefinitely.
A South Korean government official had said earlier that there had been problems in agreeing what level of official should lead the talks on either side.The two Koreas finally exchanged lists of proposed members of their delegations on Tuesday afternoon.
"But the North said it had an issue with the chief delegate from our side," the government official told AFP.
The scheduled talks had been seen as an opportunity to improve relations after months of elevated military tensions, that included threats from Pyongyang of nuclear war and warnings from Seoul of deadly counter-strikes to any provocation.
On the proposed agenda was the resumption of two suspended commercial projects, including the Kaesong joint industrial complex which the North shut down in April as the recent crisis peaked.
South Korea had wanted the two-day talks to be between its pointman on North Korea, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae, and his counterpart in Pyongyang, Kim Yang-Gon.
A dialogue at that ministerial level has not been held since 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Now there is a right decision by SKor.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/12/2013 7:25 Comments ||
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#2
Norks are desperate. Don't back down. Demand the return of the return of the Kaesong hostage ransom before any talks - in real cash, not fake $100s
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/12/2013 10:25 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] German intelligence voiced concern Tuesday over the growing number of ultra-conservative Islamic Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
in the country, some of whom are swelling jihadist ranks abroad, while warning of an increasingly violent German extreme right.
"Salafism is a particularly rapidly growing and extremely worrying group within the bad turban Islamist movement," Hans-Georg Maassen, head of domestic intelligence, told a news conference as he presented his agency's 2012 annual report.
Salafists in Germany numbered 42,550 in 2012, according to surveillance services, and the number of Salafists, who espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam, within the movement grew to 4,500 from 3,800 in a year, he said.
Maassen added that while not all Salafists are jihadists, it was clear that those who departed Germany for Syria or Egypt were there for that purpose.
"One can say that Salafism is an essential step towards jihadism or for people ready to conduct terrorist attacks," Maassen said.
He also stressed that the number of bad turban Islamists in Germany did not signify there were "42,500 potential terrorists" in the country.
Still, some 1,000 people including some Salafists are considered dangerous and 130 are seen as a particular threat and are monitored around-the-clock.
The intelligence report also showed that Egypt had replaced the Wazoo region of Pakistain as the main center for the training of jihadists.
Syria is also a favored destination. "We counted more than 60 people who left Germany to fight in Syria," Maassen said.
In March Germany banned three Islamist Salafist groups which officials said aimed to sweep aside democracy and set up a system based on Sharia Islamic law.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder how many Islamist Salafists there might be in other places such as the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, and France?
Surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden has spoken for the first time since blowing his own cover in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.
The ex-CIA analyst has been holed up in secret locations in Hong Kong since fleeing Hawaii ahead of highly sensitive leaks revealing details of US top-secret phone and internet surveillance of its citizens.
Snowden's actions have been both praised and condemned globally.
But he told Post reporter Lana Lam: "I'm neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American."
Today, he reveals:
more explosive details on US surveillance targets
his plans for the immediate future
the steps he claims the US has taken since he broke cover in Hong Kong
#1
A news show last night said:
1) He worked for the CIA for some time.
2) He quit and worked for Booz Allen for 3 months
His revelations come from 3 months with Booz.
3) Booz Allen was recently purchased by The Caryle Group (yes them)
#3
His choice of safe haven was Hong Kong, and after a video debut, now speaks from there through a Chinese newspaper and will trust their judicial system, deciding not to leave there after all? Does anyone else wonder how long he will be missing from public view, speaking through the newspaper and how much time he will spend being debriefed, pumped as dry as a Death Valley well, and eventually traded to us for some ChiCom agents? How amazingly stupid he must be, and one wonders if his departure from the Agency and brief sojourn at BAH was merely another in a long line of failures that had him skipping out just ahead of eomthing? Just wondering....oh and by the way, the girlfriend, his taste in women says so much about him!
#6
At least he had the guts to go public, and bear repercussions personally. Unlike that little POS Manning, who go people killed. Aside from that, any competent enemy would have already figured such a system exists, and would have long ago emplace countermeasures against it, Teh tools to do so have been out there since the 1990's, thanks to public key cryptography, and simply good attention to decent counter-surveillance basics.
That's why raises such huge questions for me about this - apparently they are not only collecting, but retaining large amounts of infromation in a manner that violates protection against probable cause (4th amendment), and violates individual due process (5th and 14th amendments) as well as casting a shadow on 1st amendment suppression by intimidation.
I dont condemn this guy, but neither do I praise him. There has to have been a better way to go about this, unless things have truly become dire in the SCIF world.
Old Spook, if all the gov't was collecting was phone numbers and times of connection, that data is not 'yours, the individuals', but belongs to the various third party companies, and is not protected by the various Amendments, at least if I understand correctly.
That said, there has to be more to this story than has appeared - it just doesn't make sense. If Snowden's motive was to make the information public, he could have done so without WaPo or Guardian, through any number of internet sites, where it would have gone viral and reached way more people. And why his initial demand that the whole slide deck be released? What is in those slides that even the Guardian was not willing to print? And what did/does Snowden have beyond what was in the slides - presumably the Chinese have all of it now in any case. Was he a Chinese agent from the start and is this all just cover? I have so many questions that will never be answered.
#9
Glenmore, wrong. What number I call (or email, or chat, or SMS, or text, etc), and when I do that is not allowed to be collected without a warrant or probable cause.
Its established legally as "generally prohibited" under wiretap law. Look up the term "Pen Register". And 18 USC as well as plenty fo case law marks it as illegal excpet within certain narrow cases defined in the law and court case precedents.
The reason I know that is I have had to work under those strictures, and to report inadvertent violations of those laws - it was very serious, very strict and procedures to insure the destruction of such data were thorough (degaussing then destruction in flame were done). It was a serious career-ending move to not report an incident, and if it was deliberate, you'd possibly end up in fed PMITA prison.
Not to be flippant about it, but there is a world of difference between this Snowden's leak, however moronic he is, and Manning (who destroyed a lot of sources, and got allies killed, some in fairly gruesome manner)
#11
OldSppok sums up my view as well, and he's right: the data collected potentially violates the 4th, 5th, and 14th amendments. The test is whether one had a *reasonable expectation of privacy* of a given piece of information. And certainly Prism has a chilling effect on activities protected by the 1st amendment. That is, now that its existence has been confirmed.
Random legal commentary: much to the dismay of LEOs, Justice Scalia has consistently been a real hardass about when there is a "reasonable expectation of privacy" for 4th amendment purposes.
For example, he opined that a guy brought up on drug charges had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the heat from the lamps he used to grow marijuana in his attic, so that infrared photographs police used to bust him should be inadmissible.
His rulings have long irritated law and order types, but abuses of power like Prism is exactly the kind of thing he worries about. He usually writes the dissent, but I bet his stock with the other 8 just went through the roof.
#12
Old Spook - didn't they (NSA) have those blanket FISA warrants for - network connection records (is that the same as pen register)? Or did they collect more data than those warrants would cover (do they cover names or just numbers & times)? Without names those data would hardly seem to be covered by reasonable expectation of privacy, since they 'belong' to the company, not me. IANAL and have no intel experience, and am just trying to make the non-sensical make sense.
"The United States usually accepts about half the refugees that the U.N. agency proposes for resettlement. California has historically taken the largest share, but Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia are also popular destinations ("popular destinations"..?!)."
#1
Despite its extant humanitarianism, I'm interpreting this as yet another sign the Bammer has failed or lost in Syria.
WHICH IN TURN IS N-O-T GOOD VEE IRAQ, AFPAK, IRAN'S NUCPROG, + ESPEC AGZ CHINA OVER IN EAST ASIA [ECS + SCS].
Iff the Bammer's goal remains the formal removal of Assad from power, the only way he can effec do it now is to send in US ground troops to do what the Rebs didn't.
#2
Settle them in predominantly rich Democratic Party neighborhoods. Just what the US needs...combat trained Moslems and shell shocked Moslem families.
Moslems ready to fight for what they believe in as your neighbors. In the schools, in the supermarkets. And as we know in Boston, they adapt so well to American community life.
Sent them by the thousands, Obummer. Follow your inner Hussein.
Of course, settling them all around Hollywood might have its good points. West Texas needs population...and its dry and hot just like back in the Middle East. How about southern Arizona...out toward Ajo somewhere....near the Mexican border. Let the incoming meet the incoming.
What "skills" do the Syrian Resistance have that they can add to our communities? How do you spell "can of worms"?
Evil Islamophovic, historic republican enclave communities of course. Begin the gerrymanderingVoting Rights Act legal actions at once! You know the drill.
#4
Settle them and they rarely assimilate and never go back.
Better to take a page from the Palestinian book and establish refigee canmps until Syria is safe enough to return. Put those camps in Kurdish Iraq (for any Kurd refugees) and Lebanon (for any Christian or Shi'te) and Jordan (for Sunni). Then the neighbors are invested in ensuring the covil war is settled.
#5
Areas of Alaska could use a community out there, in the back, without neighbors to bother them. In fact there are a number of unpopulated islands in the Aleutians that would be prime for development.
#10
Step and Two of the assimilation process: Sir- here is a toilet and here is a a woman not clothed in blackout curtains...yes, outwardly she has about every body part as you except one.
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
06/12/2013 11:57 Comments ||
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#11
AlanC. If I misunderstood your comment, I apologize. Thought your comment was directed towards my comment. One of those kind of days.
[Breitbart] The sordid revelations from The Champ administration are coming at a pace that can only be described as, well, fast and furious. So lets lay down some markers here, as a sort of road map for the months and years ahead, or whatever time we have remaining:
First, if the PRISM program and all the rest of the governments surveillance programs were so good and necessary, then why didnt the feds catch the Tsarnaev brothers, who earlier this year blew up the Boston Marathon? Or Major Hassan, the 2009 Fort Hood mass-murderer? Or the underwear bomber, also from 2009, who nearly succeeded in blowing up the passenger jet flying into Detroit?
Second, if and when everything is revealed about PRISM and all the rest, its likely that we will learn of important and inculpating connections between the National Security Agency (NSA), on the one hand, and many civilian agencies, and Booze Allen on the other. Or we could just ask Maxine Waters.
I am not just referring to Eric Holders Justice Department; I am also referring to the gleefully gushing leakers and win-at-any-cost politicos in the White House. And oh yes, lets not forget The Champ administrations partisan allies at the IRS, as well as the Affordable Care Act minders overseers at the Department of Health and Human Services. Special Note: The HHS private donations programme is now on hold.
Moreover, since we know that the IRS was eagerly willing to share secret tax information with favored private groups, we shouldnt be surprised, in the end, to learn that NSA/PRISM material ended up in the hands of Champ friends and allies outside of the country government.
Third, we now know that Silicon Valley, and the telecommunications industry, are the key to The Champ strategy for total information awareness. In fact, the internet companies, and the phone companies, were the spearpoint for PRISM. No, wait, thats not the right image. Lets try this: These communications companies put peepholes into all of our private lives, through which Uncle Sam could sneak a peek. Every e-mail, every phone call, every text-message--the government knows about them all. I blame Bill and Melinda.
Its now evident that all these wonderful digital services--many of them, such as Googles Gmail, given away for free--were, in fact, a kind of Trojan Horse. That is, on the outside, it all seemed like a good deal--but then the real truth comes tumbling out, and its too late. Some might recall the rueful lesson of the Trojan War: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. The rueful lesson of our own time: Beware of geeks bearing gifts. Beware of all "free stuff" and them that bring it.
Yes, Big Brother walks among us now, jiving, peeking and snooping into everything. And we, innocently and unwittingly, invited Big Brother into our midst.
#3
Seventh, as far as the American people are concerned, this domestic spying is a big deal. Yet revealingly, to the political class--that is, our leaders in Washington DC--its not such a big deal. And there we see the central cleft in our politics today: the widening gap between the government and the governed.
Well, it is a BFD, it trashes the 1st Amendment [free speech, rights of assembly (albeit electronically)], and the 4th Amendment [the right of people to be secure in their houses, papers, effects against unreasonable search and seizures and the requirement of probable cause and a Warrant]. But as Hilldebeast said: "What difference does it make?" We'll see if it is a BFD and if such things make a difference anymore.
#4
If Spying is NOT a "Big Deal" To them, spy ON THEM and listen to the screams.
Suddenly it will become a "Big Deal" And must be stopped RIGHT NOW.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/12/2013 12:58 Comments ||
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#5
"Yes, Big Brother walks among us now, jiving, peeking and snooping into everything. And we, innocently and unwittingly, invited Big Brother into our midst."
[Dawn] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the military authorities to conclude within three months the trial of a suspected hard boy held at an internment centre in Lakki Marwat.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, while disposing of the petition of Rashida Amir, wife of Amir Ahmed, also directed her to approach the commissioner of Bannu for the treatment of her ailing husband.
In her petition filed with the court on May 28, 2011, Ms Rashida had said her husband was picked up by security agencies from Rahim Yar Khan on February 20, 2011. She requested the court to order the recovery of her husband.
The ministry of defence, in its reply to the petition in April this year, maintained that Amir was tossed in the calaboose
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
from the Khajoori checkpost of North Wazoo on January 13, 2012, for his involvement in carrying out attacks on a convoy of armed forces.
The respondent told the court that they recovered a boom jacket, a Kalashnikov, 20 rounds of bullets and 20 hand grenades from his possession at the time of his arrest.
On the directive of the IHC, the suspect was produced before the court on May 15. The accused told the court that he was tossed in the clink
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
from Rahimyar Khan and kept there for a few days.
Later, he was shifted to Bahawalpur, then Lahore and onward to Beautiful Downtown Beautiful Downtown Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistain. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
. From Peshawar, he was shifted to the internment centre at Lakki Marwat.
The court then allowed his relatives to meet him at the internment centre.
The meeting was arranged by the military authorities about a week after the court directive.
Wajihullah Advocated, the counsel for the petitioner, on Monday told the court that he also met Amir at the internment centre along with his brothers.
"The medical condition of his client was poor and he told me that there were around 550 other people at the internment centre," the counsel told the court.
Fazle Qadir, a section officer of the Fata secretariat, was present at the time of the hearing.
The counsel argued before the court that his client had been kept under illegal confinement without a trial.
However, the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... deputy attorney general Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri told the court that the secretary defence himself had stated before the court that Amir was kept under legal custody.
"This is by no mean an illegal act as these internment centres were established under the law," he contended. Mr Jehangiri also said the court lacked jurisdiction in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... police are capable of maintaining law and order situation in Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... and other districts of the Malakand division if the security forces are withdrawn from the region, says provincial police chief Ihsan Ghani.
He was talking to news hounds after launching website of the provincial police department at the central police office here on Monday. He said the website would ensure effective communication between police, press and public to improve policing in the province.
Talking about myrmidon violence, the police chief said: "The situation in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. is more challenging because the district is surrounded by tribal regions. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... the police have controlled the situation and put the forces of Evil now on the defensive," claimed Mr Ghani.
He said the traditional 'thana' culture would be changed in consultation with stakeholders to bring a positive change in officials' behaviour to curb crimes. "We will soon hold a workshop attended by politicians, media persons, students, lawyers, retired judges, bureaucrats, women and other professionals to seek their input in setting up model cop shoppes," he said.
Mr Ghani said officials involved in misuse of powers and politics would be dismissed rather than being transferred. He asked people to visit cop shoppes and check performance of the staff by themselves. He said these steps were meant for reforming police and facilitating complainants. "Complainants will be kept informed about the action of the police high ups and fate of their complaint," said the police chief.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Violence that broke out in Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... on Saturday further escalated on Monday amid the absence of law-enforcement agencies and effective move by the security administration to ensure lasting peace for the inhabitants who in some cases preferred to leave their neighbourhood for safer places.
Life remained paralysed on a third consecutive day in most parts of the old city areas where people stayed indoors amid off and on hand-grenade attacks that sowed fear in the densely-populated locality. "We heard at least sound of three powerful kabooms within the span of a few hours," said a resident of Ali Manzil, one of several affected areas.
"Business remained closed, people stayed indoors and it's the third consecutive day in the scorching heat that resident are forced to live in this condition."
A large number of families in Chakiwara, Bihar Colony, Juna Masjid, Rahimabad, Mandra Muhallah, New Kalri, Agra Taj Colony and Hangorabad were seen fleeing to safer places.
Officials confirmed to Dawn that at least four hand grenade attacks were carried out on Monday in different parts of Lyari though no major casualty was reported.
In the evening, a large number of people from the Kutchhi community took to the roads against the violence. They marched towards the CM House and Governor's House to stage protest demonstration, but failed to reach there. They later staged a demonstration outside the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... Press Club.
"We were compelled to do this (protest) and it's the only peaceful option we have," said a front man for the Katchhi Rabta Committee (KRC), which organised the protest rally.
He alleged that the Sindh government was backing a certain criminal group in Lyari that led to this situation. "They want us to talk with them but cannot explain how one can talk to criminals and then expect peace."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[BETA.DAWN] The first parliamentary clash between the ruling PML-N and the opposition PTI will likely be over a resolution submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat by the latter on Monday, calling upon the government to use military force, if needed, to halt drone strikes in the tribal areas.
Terming the resolution submitted by Dr Shireen Mazari of 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.... a "premature" move, a PML-N member of the federal cabinet categorically said it could not be passed in its present form and the opposition party would have to amend it with mutual consent for the purpose.
"We also want to stop drone attacks, but not through the use of military force because it can have serious and dangerous consequences," Minister of State Khurram Dastagir Khan said.
He said such a decision could affect the country's defence relationship with then US which was providing assistance to Pakistain in the sector.
He said the country was getting very little US assistance for civilian purposes.
"The use of military force could be an option, but only after exhausting all diplomatic means."
The government, Mr Dastagir added, had already lodged a protest with the US over a recent drone strike. Saying that drone strikes were unjustified, the minister said the focus of the PTI's foreign policy was mainly on drone strikes whereas the PML-N considered it a "small part" in the Pakistain-US relationship.
He said all parties considered drone attacks to be a violation of the country's illusory sovereignty, but the PML-N and the PTI had differences over the "framework of analysis" on the issue.
The parliamentary party of the PTI in its meeting held at the Parliament House just before the address of President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... to a joint sitting of both houses endorsed the resolution submitted by Ms Mazari. The meeting was presided over by PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi.
Through the detailed resolution, the PTI has called upon the government to "immediately take steps" and ask the US to end its drone strikes and "take diplomatic and, if need be, military measures to respond firmly to any such attack".
It reminds the government of its obligations in the light of a judgment by the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. High Court in April.
"This resolution demands the government to protect the illusory sovereignty of Pakistain, the international law and enforce the judgment of the Peshawar High Court as soon as possible," it says.
Quoting excerpts from the judgment, the resolution says that the court had declared that Article 199 of the constitution "put this court under tremendous obligation to safeguard and protect the life and property of the citizens of Pakistain and any person for the time being in Pakistain, being fundamental rights".
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06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[An Nahar] U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... appealed Tuesday for dialogue and greater efforts at "national reconciliation" in Iraq after a wave of deadly attacks.
Ban "underscores the pressing need for dialogue between political blocs in order to overcome the current crisis," his front man Martin Nesirky said.
He said the U.N. chief was concerned about "the escalating political tensions and the appalling upsurge of violence that has killed a high number of civilians over the last two months."
"He urges all parties to redouble their efforts to ensure that the momentum of national reconciliation is not lost to those groups that strive to reignite sectarian violence in Iraq," Nesirky added.
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06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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"The GBU-57 contains 2.4 tons of explosives and costs $3.5 million each. In the last few years several B-2 bombers have been equipped to carry these weapons (two bombs per B-2). This was apparently meant to send a message to Iran and North Korea.... But Iran and North Korea do have radars, and a B-2 could slip past those radars Jeebus, we're putting a lot on the capabilities of this aircraft....hope it measures up....
and take out the air defense system command bunkers, or any other targets buried deep."
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has filed a protest with the Philippine government for the arrest of four of its members on separate occasions. The four Muslim terrorists rebels were arrested in Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Lanao del Norte.
"The one arrested in Lambayong Sultan Kudarat was on his way back home when arrested, those arrested in Polomolok, South Cotabao were raided while preparing for subuh (early morning prayer), and the one arrested in Linamon, Lanao del Norte, was just walking around when apprehended," the MILF said, adding that they were "innocent."
The MILF said, "We vehemently condemn these arrests against the MILF members. Clearly, there are violations against human rights, the ceasefire accord between the government and MILF, and adverse effects on the on the confidence of the MILF forces on the government sincerity and commitment to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro."
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06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar]Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he had always believed that Syrian strongman Bashar Assad should have implemented political reforms that could have averted the current bloodbath.
But Putin also stressed that he remained firmly opposed to outside intervention and implied that Russia's position on the crisis remained unchanged.
The Russian leader told a question-and-answer session held in the studio of RT television -- Moscow's state-run international channel -- that Assad should have listened more closely to opposition demands when the conflict broke out in March 2011.
"I have said that it seemed like the country was ripe for changes and its leadership should have sensed this and begun implementing these changes," Putin said.
"This is apparent. Otherwise, everything that is happening -- it would not have happened."
Putin also denied that Russia was acting as a public defender of Assad by blocking three rounds of U.N. Security Council resolutions sanctioning him for violence that has now claimed more than 94,000 lives.
"We are not the lawyers of the current government or President Bashar Assad," Putin said.
"We do not want to get involved in a conflict raging between different branches of Islam, between the Shiites and the Sunnis."
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06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Technically, IMO Assad still can.
Russia + Iran may have seemingly "won" in Syria wid Assad's victory at Qusayr, but that doesn't mean Russia will accept any Iranian domination or control of Syria, as Russia's focii is the security of its southern borders from the Islamist-Jihadist threat.
[An Nahar] Iranian ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a pragmatic conservative without all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012... backed Hassan Rowhani for Friday's presidential election, saying the former nuclear negotiator who champions better international ties is "more suitable" for the post.
"I will vote for Dr Rowhani, who entered the race after consulting me," Rafsanjani said in remarks reported by the ILNA news agency on Tuesday.
"I consider him to be more suitable to steer the executive branch," he said referring to the slate of five other hopefuls, most of whom are conservatives.
It was the second major endorsement of the day for Rowhani, following that of reformist former president Mohammad Khatami, under whom he headed Iran's negotiations with the major powers on its nuclear program.
Rowhani is facing stiff competition from the conservative camp, which has failed to field a single candidate.
Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, ex-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati and former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai remain in the race to succeed President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad.
Mohammad Reza Aref, first vice president under Khatami and the only out and out reformist contender, dropped out of the competition on Tuesday.
Rafsanjani's endorsement comes after his own candidacy was rejected last month by the hardline electoral watchdog, the Guardians Council, whose members are appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, directly or indirectly.
According to the ILNA report, Rafsanjani said his disqualification came after "a high-ranking security official, against the norms and law, attended the vetting meeting in the council."
"The official said: 'Rafsanjani's presence in the election could lead to his decisive victory in a landslide'," the ex-president said of the meeting, without naming anyone.
"The official then convinced the council to disqualify me on excuses of frailty," he said.
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06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"moderate" Rowhani
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/12/2013 10:28 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] The Syrian conflict is at a "turning point" with regime forces gaining ground, the French foreign ministry said Tuesday, adding that it was time to review whether to arm the opposition.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... 's regime has pledged to focus its attention on the northern city of Aleppo after winning a strategic victory by retaking Qusayr, a strategically important town on the border with Leb.
"There are lessons to be drawn from what happened in Qusayr and what is happening in Aleppo," said ministry front man Philippe Lalliot.
"We are at a turning point in the Syrian war. What should we do under these conditions to reinforce the opposition armed forces? We have had these discussions with our partners, with the Americans, the Saudis, the Turks, many others...
"We cannot leave the opposition in the current state," he said.
Lalliot said a French official will on Saturday meet Salim Idriss, the chief of staff of the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , under pressure from Britannia and La Belle France, last month failed to renew an arms embargo on Syria, leaving individual member states free from August 1 to supply weapons to the opposition, if they so decided.
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06/12/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Too bad somebody has to win this one (well, too bad except for the millions of non-combatants.)
[An Nahar] Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... said on Tuesday that Iran had a right to a peaceful nuclear program but slammed as "unacceptable" its threats against its regional nemesis Israel.
"Iran is in a very difficult region," Putin told a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow.
"And when we hear threats from Iran against its neighbors, particularly Israel, when we hear from Iran that Israel must be destroyed -- I think this is completely unacceptable."
Putin appeared to be referring to comments made over the years by Iran's outgoing President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, who will stand down when his second terms expires shortly after Friday's national election.
Russia is a close trading partner with Iran and supplies the Islamic Theocratic Republic with weapons and has built its first nuclear reactor near the Gulf city of Bushehr.
But Moscow in recent years has taken a more stern line with Tehran that includes a demand for it to cooperate with United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... nuclear inspectors.
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[LATIMES] The Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four Lebanese men whom U.S. officials say are fundraising and recruiting for Hezbollah in connection with the bully boy group's efforts to expand its influence in West Africa.
The four men were acting as "ambassadors" for the group in Sierra Leone, Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... , Ivory Coast and Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain... , the officials said.
The sanctions freeze any assets the men may have in the United States and sever them from any contact with the U.S. financial system. It was not clear immediately how much they have in the control of American institutions.
The sanctions grew out of an investigation of what Treasury said are Hezbollah's expanding activities abroad, including in South America, the Middle East and Africa. The group has been designated by the B.O. regime as a foreign terrorist organization.
Hezbollah also has been playing a growing military role in the Syrian civil war, defending the rule of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs...
Treasury cited "the alarming reach of Hezbollah's activities" in citing Ali Ibrahim Watfa, Abbas Loutfe Jawaz, Ali Achmad Chehade and Hicham Nmer Khanafer.
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[HotAir] Not only do we know that the National Security Agency (NSA) collects information from emails and telephone calls, not only is the United States government spying on everyone, but it is keeping some 20 billion records on Americans alone and millions of others on Internet users across the world. According to journalist Glenn Greenwald, The NSA sucks up into its systems billions and billions of communication activities every weekbillions and billions. In fact, the data-mining documents that we published reflected it sucks up 90 billion in a 30-day period, including three billion in the United States. If we could only fuse the massive "megadatas" with biometric data such as foto's of the Tsarnaev bros, or prior criminal arrest histories. Just think of the time that could have been saved the FBI.
Despite this, at the same time the US government cant find nearly 6 million potential democrats illegal immigrants.
In 2011 Judicial Watch reported:
Almost a decade after Middle Eastern terrorists with expired visas attacked the U.S., the government has failed to implement a security measure to adequately track foreigners like them who enter the country legally but never leave. But, but, but if we give them free fones and access to our gummit controlled towers providers....
As a result nearly half of the nations estimated 12 million illegal immigrants actually entered the U.S. legally but overstayed their visa, according to a new federal report. Thats because the agency responsible for keeping the nation safethe Department of Homeland Securitycant keep track of immigrants who remain in the U.S. after their visas expire. Do visas contain "megadatas" ?
This clearly creates a huge national security issue because terrorists can plot more attacks from within. In fact, dozens of foreigners convicted of terrorism since the 2001 attacks had overstayed their visas, according to the report, which was published by the investigative arm of Congress known as the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO launched its probe after learning from an independent study that 4 to 5.5 million potential democrats immigrants had entered the country legally and overstayed their authorized periods of admission. In the course of the probe, GAO investigators interviewed a number of high-ranking Homeland Security officials, visited various field offices and reviewed a mountain of documents. They found that the Department of Homeland Securitys program to identify visa violators by comparing entry and exit data is inefficient and can only process around half of the potential overstays it detects. An "inefficient" gummit process you say? New computers and more gummit workers needed ?
But, at least they have your email and megadatas on file.
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.
[An Nahar] Dozens of demonstrators on Tuesday held a sit-in in front of the Lebanese embassy in Kuwait to protest Hizbullah's interference in the Syrian crisis.
North Korea
Wazoo
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
[Dawn] Violence that broke out in 
President Asif Ali 
Mehmood 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Mahmoud 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
The sanctions freeze any assets the men may have in the United States and sever them from any contact with the U.S. financial system. It was not clear immediately how much they have in the control of American institutions.
