(KUNA) -- Spain said Friday it was extremely annoyed by Venezuelan His Excellency President-for-Life, Caudillo of the Bolivarians Hugo Chavez's accusation that Madrid was blaming Caracas for allegedly supporting separatist group ETA.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said that Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiminez had conveyed Madrid's concern and annoyance to Venezuelan Ambassador to Spain and told him that Chavez's statements were "unacceptable and unjustifiable." At a news conference, Rubalcaba said the Spanish government was still keen to continue cooperation with Venezuela to crack down on ETA and capturing all of its outlaws.
He said Spain was doing its best to cooperate with Venezuela to "fighting terrorism." Chavez announced earlier today his firm rejection to recent statements by a number of Spanish ministers who were accusing the Venezuelan government of collaborating with ETA and backing its activities in Venezuela, under supervision of one of the officials in the Venezuelan Ministry of Agriculture.
Chavez said these accusations were "vague and unust" against the Venezuelan people and government.
He said the accusations were an attempt to justify inability of the Spanish government to fighting ETA.
Chavez called on the Spanish government and media to stop these "unjust" accusations.
Spain had officially asked Venezuela last week to extradite Arturo Cubillas, allegedly accused of having links with ETA. Spain wanted to question Cubillas in Madrid on charges of committing terrorist acts, cooperating with ETA and facilitating the separatist group's mission in Venezuela.
Two ETA separatists confessed in the court that they had received military training in Venezuela in 2008.
Venezuela refused to hand over Cubillas because he is a Venezuelan citizen. Caracas, however, investigated the incident and Cubillas testified before a court last Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
The Peruvian president is "considering" her request to be allowed to return to the US. Maybe he should also consider extraditing her to Japan, over any part she had to play in her Tupac Amaru buddies seizing their embassy.
North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS) says that a popular North Korean childrens song has been changed to include satirical references to the Kim family dynasty, and the new version is spreading in North Korea, unsettling the authorities.
NKIS, citing an inside source, revealed, The lyrics of a childrens song satirizing Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun have been found in a classroom and the restroom at Osandeok Senior Middle School.
The childrens song is a well-known one in South Korea called Three Bears.
The re-written lyrics of the song, NKIS claims, are as follows: Three bears in a house, pocketing everything; grandpa bear, papa bear and baby bear. Grandpa Bear is fat, Papa Bear is fat, too, and Baby Bear is a doofus.
Even though when singing the song the Kim family members are not named, a short glance reveals the songs satirical nature, leading the authorities to reportedly treat it as a reactionary element and investigate its origin.
The real song, which is about a cute bear family with a chubby papa bear, a slim mommy bear and a cute baby bear in a house, has been popular since 2007, when a famous South Korean drama, Full House, in which main characters sing the song several times, reached North Korea.
Since then, it has been sung widely by children, including in kindergartens, since it does not contain any ideological element and has only simple, repetitious lyrics.
The NKIS report adds that people who sing the song now risk inadvertently getting punished.
According to NKIS, in one case students from Haebang Senior Middle School were caught and beaten overnight by National Security Agency agents because they sang the song to the tune of a guitar.
The NKIS source added, The authorities are extremely sensitive because there have been several attempted arson cases and negative opinions directed at the Kim Jong Eun succession, so, For the time being, it is impossible to sing South Korean or other foreign songs.
Kim, who escaped from North Korean in 2009, explained that people tend to sing songs to satirize their dire situation or thumb their noses at tough regulations by changing lyrics, a trend which is booming among teenagers. However, directly satirizing the Kim family is a much more recent phenomenon.
She introduced another example, One of the representative Kim Jong Il idolization songs is The rolling thunder at Jong Il Peak. One part says, Jong Il Peak is rising, but children change it to Jong Il Peak is collapsing, just for fun.
She said even though parents try to stop children from singing like that, kids just enjoy it and cannot easily be stopped.
#3
"Even though when singing the song the Kim family members are not named, a short glance reveals the song's satirical nature, leading the authorities to reportedly treat it as a reactionary element and investigate its origin."
Oh, so another culture discovers Mother Goose. Many of the nursery rhymes we grew up with were originally designed as political satire.
The North Korean regime has launched a crackdown on prostitution, the Daily NK reported last Sunday.
The women aren't allowed to sell their bodies, only the state can do that for them ...
The defector news website said the North's Ministry of Public Security in July distributed a document to municipal and provincial party committees and local security offices detailing measures to be taken against prostitution.
"There have been serious concerns over the un-socialist engagement of young women and college students in prostitution," it reads and urges law enforcement officers to be "pitiless" in dealing with them.
Sources say it is common to see young women soliciting at bus stops and railway stations during rush hour in the wake of a disastrous currency reform last year that left many jobless, according to the Daily NK.
Prostitution is illegal in all its forms in North Korea.
Local governments are conducting show trials of prostitutes and their customers at public stadiums every week. Most of them are women, but the pimps behind them are rarely arrested amid widespread corruption.
The document also touches on drugs, whose illegal use and distribution are increasing.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
My buddy visited North Korea and said the crossing guards are hot, hot, hot.
[Chosun Ilbo] North Korea is pushing the implausible dream of turning the city of Rajin-Sonbong in North Hamgyong Province into an international freight brokerage, export processing and finance hub. A 3D video elaborating on a blueprint for the development of the city was made right after leader Kim Jong-il visited China in May.
The video, obtained by the Chosun Ilbo from a North Korean source in China, says the North worked out a plan in June to develop the city by giving distinctive roles to each of its six districts. "The video was made as material for reporting to Kim Jong-il," the source said. "Discussion on the blueprint started right after Kim's visit to the city in December last year and it was then hastily completed when people were talking about possible Chinese aid to the North after Kim's visit to China in May."
In December, Kim reportedly reprimanded bigwigs there for making no progress in two decades since it was designated a development zone.
The regime upgraded Rajin-Sonbong to a special city in January. Rumor has it that Kim's brother-in-law Jang Song-taek, the influential director of the Workers Party's Administration Department, is pushing for development there.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
North Korea is pushing the implausible dream of turning the city of Rajin-Sonbong in North Hamgyong Province into an international counterfeiting freight brokerage, drug export processing and money laundering finance hub.
#2
LOL. Chinese influence. China does this sort of crap all the time and usually experiences great success. Good luck getting your products out of customs, though.
The wife of a German Islamist who was convicted of plotting an attack on American targets in Germany went on trial herself Friday on terror related charges.
Women's liberation doesn't only flow in positive directions.
Filiz Gelowicz is accused of helping the Islamic Jihad Union and the German Taliban Mujahideen by raising $4,225 to fund training camps in Af-Pak between 2009 and 2010. She faces up a possible five year sentence.
One male co-defendant, identified only as Alican T., also went on trial in Berlin, suspected of supporting the same terrorist organizations. A second man, Fatih K. is in Turkish custody awaiting extradition.
Prosecutors have said in addition to fundraising that Alican T. posted more than a dozen Islamist videos on the Internet, while Filiz G. posted more than 1,000 videos, comments and texts online. In six contributions, Filiz F. specifically asked Muslims in Germany to join Islamic Jihad Union, the German Taliban Mujahideen and al-Qaida.
Gelowicz's husband Fritz Gelowicz was convicted last March in Duesseldorf of plotting with three other members of the Islamic Jihad Union to attack American soldiers and citizens at various locations including the U.S. Air Force's Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
In another development on Friday, German press, citing anonymous sources, reported that police in Neunkirchen had arrested a man who had been making online bombing threats unless the four were released from prison. Neunkirchen police referred calls to Saarbruecken prosecutors, who had no immediate comment but said there would be a news conference later.
(KUNA) -- Just days after authorities in several EU countries intercepted packages with hidden explosives that were placed on aircraft, the European Union said here today that it will step up measures on air cargo security.
"We need to adapt to the security risk we face. Several EU Member States, as well as the US, have taken emergency measures to deal with the immediate situation. This was the right thing to do to address the short-term risk, and it is fully in line with the EU's security rules," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas told a presser here this afternoon.
He noted that the recent events highlight the need for more coordination at EU level. "We need to develop an appropriate response in order to protect our citizens;preserve an efficient air transport system; and safeguard the crucial role of air transport in the economy," he said.
The European Commission, in cooperation with the Belgian EU Presidency, is holding a special meeting Friday where experts from EU countries and the aviation industry are assessing the situation and working out the next steps to enhance the security system for cargo and mail, Kallas noted.
"We should remain smart: simply adding more layers of cargo screening would be hard to implement, and cause great operational difficulties. We need an approach based on risk assessment, better integrated with intelligence," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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ISLAMIC terrorists tried to down a US cargo plane using exploding BULLDOGS, it emerged yesterday.
Two animals, stuffed with bombs and detonators, were found by US officers at Baghdad airport. The bombs had been primed to explode during the aircraft's flight to LA.
But the dogs were never loaded on board as they had been killed by the lethal substances inside them.
The discovery, kept secret for two years, was revealed in France, days after explosives were found inside printer cartridges last week.
One terrorism expert said: "It shows al-Qaeda militants' determination to wreak destruction by any means."
#5
My impression, tw, is that EU leaders are now trying to make the public case for a lot tighter security. This after years of opposing said approach by the US. But I confess I haven't the time to research that impression in any detail ...
As to the use of dogs, it reminds me of the videos of Al Qaeda testing chemical weapons on dogs in Afghan.
[Al Arabiya] Iraq's parliament will meet on Monday to elect a speaker, the chamber said on Wednesday, a move that could break an eight-month political deadlock and lead to Nouri al-Maliki's reappointment as prime minister.
Iraq has been without a new government since an inconclusive March election. The Sunni-backed cross sectarian Iraqiya bloc won the most seats, but Maliki's faction has since combined with other Shiite groups and reached deals with minority Kurds, and that may keep him in power.
In a sign that some in Iraqiya no longer believe it can form a government, one of its politicians said a group of up to 30 of its parliamentarians intend to back a government led by Maliki.
"We are with whoever wins 50 percent plus one and he is the only one who has, so he has the right (to form a government)," said the politician, Ahmed al-Ureibi, who belongs to a mainly Sunni group of Iraqiya politicians from around the country.
Another member of that group said a final decision is likely to be made on Sunday.
The country's highest court last month ordered politicians to get to work and resume sessions, putting pressure on Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions to accelerate efforts to reach an agreement on a governing coalition.
Tensions have grown during the political deadlock, and Arab countries and U.S. officials fear Sunni anger could boost a weakened but stubborn al-Qaeda-led insurgency if Iraqiya does not play a major role in government.
Although violence has subsided since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07, Iraq remains torn along ethno-sectarian lines as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw next year.
At least 64 people were killed and 360 maimed from a series of kabooms in mainly Shiite areas of Storied Baghdad on Tuesday, just days after 52 hostages and police were killed when al-Qaeda-linked gunnies seized a Syrian Catholic cathedral.
The main U.S. military front man in Iraq, Brigadier General Jeffrey Buchanan, said Iraq could expect more attacks like those two major assaults, which he said bore al Qaeda hallmarks.
"We have seen some progress in government formation in the negotiations between the parties ... Once we have a real breakthrough and a government's announced, I think it's likely that we'll see another series of attacks," Buchanan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya] It has become an article of faith in the Israeli-Paleostinian equation: Israel's withdrawal from occupied lands must be accompanied by a removal of Jewish settlers. But perhaps there's another option.
Although it's hardly mainstream thinking, voices on both sides are quietly contemplating an alternative: Perhaps some Jews can live in a future Paleostine, even if only in small numbers, the way Arabs live in Israel.
That would reduce Israel's challenge, perhaps avoiding possible violent settler resistance. It would also absolve the Paleostinians of an uncomfortable charge sometimes leveled at them using a Nazi term -- that they want a state that is "judenrein," or "free of Jews."
By "allowing those Israelis who always claim to love the land more than the state to live out their dreams ... you have the chance to defang one of the most difficult issues (among many) and set a solid foundation for a just, robust, free and democratic Paleostine," said Akram Baker, an independent Paleostinian analyst.
The problem, of course, is that most settlers have no desire to live under Paleostinian rule -- and in fact moved to the West Bank to prevent the establishment of a Paleostinian state. Others are gun-hung tough guys who could well prove problem citizens.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
What do you call a Jew living in Paleostine? Target!
#2
It would also absolve the Paleostinians of an uncomfortable charge sometimes leveled at them using a Nazi term -- that they want a state that is "judenrein," or "free of Jews."
now where would anybody get that silly idea. Oh yeah. History. And the Paleos own words and every other Arab country's record.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/06/2010 16:15 Comments ||
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[Arab News] The United States warned Syria on Friday it may face action by governors of the UN nuclear watchdog if Damascus fails to give its inspectors access to the remains of a suspected nuclear site in the desert. Oh, no. Not that. Sounds like we mean business...
It has been over two years since the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was allowed to visit the Dair Alzour site in Syria where secret nuclear activity may have taken place before it was bombed to rubble by Israel in 2007.
US intelligence reports have said it was a nascent North Korean-designed reactor geared to produce bomb fuel. Syria, an ally of Iran which is under IAEA scrutiny over its uranium enrichment drive, denies hiding nuclear work from inspectors.
Glyn Davies, Washington's IAEA envoy, said in a speech posted on the US mission's website on Friday it was "urgent and essential" that Syria heed UN inspectors' requests for extended access to sites, personnel and material.
"Absent clear action by Syria to cooperate fully with the IAEA, we are rapidly approaching a situation where the (IAEA) board (of governors) and secretariat must consider all available measures and authorities...," he said.
Davies said earlier this year that a number of countries were beginning to ask whether it was time to invoke the IAEA's "special inspection" tool to give its inspectors the authority to look anywhere necessary in Syria at short notice.
The Vienna-based, UN-affiliated body last resorted to such a prerogative in 1993 in North Korea, which still withheld access and later developed nuclear bomb capacity in secret.
Syria is now seen as unlikely to yield to a special inspection. Diplomats and analysts believe the IAEA will refrain from escalating the dispute at a time of rising tension with Iran, which the West suspects of seeking nuclear weapons. Good watchdog. Sit...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
File under: Muslim destabilization of the world/World war
#3
I'm thinking a stern note on the best letter paper, hand calligraphied. They'll feel a chill from the hand of fate running down their spines when they read that, they will.
[An Nahar] French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Leb on Friday hoping to ease tensions between rival factions over a U.N. probe into the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Because nothing eases tensions faster than a visit by your old colonial masters ...
Kouchner began his two-day visit by meeting President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace, in the presence of French Ambassador to Leb Denis Pietton.
The French minister conveyed a French message of support for Leb and its president, according to Leb's state-run National News Agency.
Talks tackled the current developments and means of enhancing Lebanese-French relations in all fields and on all levels.
Kouchner then headed to the Center House for talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who later threw a dinner banquet in honor of the French minister.
Kouchner will also meet the representatives of parliamentary blocs before wrapping up his visit on Saturday.
The French foreign ministry had said Kouchner would urge "restraint" and reaffirm Gay Paree' support for the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the slain ex-premier.
"During this period of increased tensions, Bernard Kouchner will urge everyone to observe restraint and show responsibility," deputy foreign ministry spokeswoman Christine Farges said in Gay Paree.
Kouchner will also reiterate France's support for the Special Tribunal for Leb (STL) tasked with investigating Rafik Hariri's 2005 liquidation in a massive bombing, she said.
France has been a staunch backer of the STL, but the court has become the focus of a standoff between the Western-backed government coalition headed by Saad Hariri and the Iranian- and Syrian-backed gang Hizbullah.
There are unconfirmed reports that the court stands to indict members of Hizbullah in relation to Hariri's murder, and the group has rejected such an outcome and called on the Lebanese to boycott the work of the tribunal.
The crisis has raised fears of an outbreak of sectarian violence pitting Hariri's mainly Sunni supporters against the Shiite Hizbullah, by far the most powerful political and military force in the country.
Hizbullah charges the STL has been politicized and that any indictment against its members would be based on such testimony.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner held talks with Lebanese officials Friday and reaffirmed support to the country's stability.
President Michel Suleiman received Kouchner and discussed ways of further cementing bilateral relations, a statement by the Presidential Palace said.
Kouchner conveyed a message that France was fully behind Leb and President Suleiman, it said.
Koucher, who arrived here earlier today, is due to meet Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butrus Safir and Foreign Minister Ali Al-Shami and representatives of Lebanese political parties.
Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Knobby Berri, the Hizbullah sock puppet visited France last week and met with President Nicolas Sarkozy and Kouchner, and discussed the special international tribunal investigating the liquidation of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/06/2010 00:00 ||
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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.
