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UK expels Iran diplomats after embassy attack
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Arabia
Vice President Hadi not Ready to take lead in Yemen
[Yemen Post] Senior sources within the office of Vice President Abdul Rabu Mansoor Hadi said that he continues to call President-for-Life Saleh
... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
for every move he takes, forgetting the Saleh is now only an honorary president.

"The vice president tells the opposition parties that he cannot take a decision on certain matters only with the approval of Saleh. Hadi knows the timing in sensitive and he wants to ensure all his steps are carefully taken," said an official close to Hadi.

The power transfer deal signed in Riyadh last week gave Hadi complete presidential authority and left Saleh with the honorary name of president but with no authority.

President Saleh has been meeting with bigwigs in the ruling party since his arrival to Sanaa last week.

Saleh wants to ensure the complete loyalty of the majority of the government army and elite republican guards before he leaves power, and is now coordinating ton make that possible.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
FBI Criminal Informant Complicit in Brian Terry's Death
In the growing Fast and Furious fiasco, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder in Peck Canyon, Arizona was previously described as a chance meeting that led to a shootout: an illegal alien "rip crew" working for the Sinaloa cartel was hoping to find other illegal aliens and to rob them at gunpoint. Instead, they stumbled across a Border Patrol unit and murdered Agent Terry.

The rip crew was not hunting illegals, but Border Patrol teams -- with the intention of engaging them in combat.
Last week, the Washington Times offered a new version of the encounter: they reported that the rip crew was not hunting illegals, but Border Patrol teams -- with the intention of engaging them in combat.

Sources now tell PJ Media that neither version of events is accurate: the rip crew was not waiting for a chance encounter with other illegals, nor did the members intend to engage American law enforcement agents.

The rip crew was in Peck Canyon that evening with the intention of stealing money and drugs from a specific shipment of which they had prior knowledge...

The rip crew knew to be in Peck Canyon that December evening because a CI working for the FBI found out about a smuggling run -- from the FBI.
The rip crew knew to be in Peck Canyon that December evening because a CI working for the FBI found out about a smuggling run -- from the FBI. It is not clear if the information was provided intentionally, but a possible motivation for the FBI to provide the information is known to exist: the CI had previously lost a shipment of drugs, and wanted to regain the trust of the cartel with an offering of drugs or money. The other possibility is that the FBI mistakenly allowed the CI to discover the information.

The CI used this information to organize an ambush of the drug convoy. A source tells PJM that the FBI knew from wiretaps that the CI was using their information to set up an ambush.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) -- through its own CIs and communications intercepts -- was also aware of the planned assault.
Posted by: Beavis || 12/01/2011 12:40 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Eric Holder and his political minions need to be weeded out and PROSECUTED. They broke international laws in shipping weapons to illegal cartels in a foreign neighboring country. Hundreds, perhaps thousands may have died at their culpability
Posted by: Frank G || 12/01/2011 21:00 Comments || Top||

#2  "The rip crew knew to be in Peck Canyon that December evening because a CI working for the FBI found out about a smuggling run -- from the FBI."

Rope. Tree. Some assembly required. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara || 12/01/2011 21:03 Comments || Top||


Economy
U.S. Nears Milestone: Net Fuel Exporter
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/01/2011 03:55 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The article is deceptive. There is a difference between being a net exporter of petroleum products and a net exporter of generic petroleum.
From The Atlantic:
We're still importing 8 million barrels of crude oil per day!

What the numbers mean is that we have more refining capacity than we need to supply our domestic needs. So, we import the crude oil, refine it, use almost all of it, and sell a percentage of it to the rest of the world. The biggest surpluses are in "unfinished oils" and "motor gasoline blending components." Mexico's rising petroleum product use is a big part of the story, as you can see in the by-country net import numbers.

So, the Journal's story is good news, in a general sense, but let's not make it bigger than it is. We're still buying massive amounts of crude oil from other countries.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/01/2011 4:32 Comments || Top||

#2  What the numbers mean is that we have more refining capacity than we need to supply our domestic needs.

The market doesn't reflect that when a plant goes off line for maintenance or because of an accident, there's a spike at the pump that is excused for exactly that - processing capacity is down. Someone is fibbing.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/01/2011 8:47 Comments || Top||

#3  I would suspect that "refining capacity" covers a lot more than just the production of gasoline.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/01/2011 11:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Agreed, P2K. And if we have all the refining capacity we need, why do we need to run a pipeline from North Dakota/Canada to Texas refineries?
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 12/01/2011 11:17 Comments || Top||

#5  "why do we need to run a pipeline from North Dakota/Canada to Texas refineries?"

Maybe so we can buy oil from nice friendly Canadians rather than middle eastern/pizza faced dictator types. Instead, it looks like the Canadians WILL build another pipeline to Vancouver for further transport to China. Leaving us still stuck with needing blood oil from Arabs etc.
Joy.
Posted by: Slomolet Whiper9894 || 12/01/2011 12:02 Comments || Top||

#6  Agreed, P2K. And if we have all the refining capacity we need, why do we need to run a pipeline from North Dakota/Canada to Texas refineries?

Because that's where the refineries _are_.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/01/2011 12:13 Comments || Top||

#7  Now, now, Snowy. ;-)
Posted by: lotp || 12/01/2011 14:11 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pakistan cable TV operators block BBC
The president of the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan, Malik Furqan Riaz, criticised the BBC for showing what he called an "anti-Pakistan documentary" and said the channel had been taken off air in several cities.

The move came as anger rages over Nato attack on Pakistani posts near the Afghan border on Saturday that killed 24 soldiers.

Viewers in Islamabad and the eastern city of Lahore said they were not receiving the BBC channel while the suspension was partial in the country's largest city Karachi.

"BBC World will be totally blocked across the country on Wednesday, unless the channel tenders an apology for showing anti-Pakistan documentary," Riaz said.

He gave no details about the documentary, but the BBC said on its website that the move was a response to "Secret Pakistan", a two-part programme questioning Pakistan's commitment to tackling Taliban militancy.
Posted by: tipper || 12/01/2011 06:36 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  New market for Internet TV.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/01/2011 7:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Damn, the Beeb must be doing something right. Who'd a thunk it?
Posted by: Spot || 12/01/2011 7:42 Comments || Top||

#3  How many fee-paying households will be affected by this move? The poverty rate in Pakistan is horrendous and getting worse, as I recall, and cable television is generally a middle class indulgence (except in America, where most of the so-called poor aren't).
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/01/2011 19:22 Comments || Top||


Muharram security plan for capital: Six Ulema barred from city
ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: The local administration has banned the entry of six Ulema belonging to different sects and put army on high alert in the capital to maintain peace during the holy month of Muharram, a bigwig told Dawn .

The official said the decision regarding banning the entry of Ulema was taken in a meeting held in the office of chief commissioner Islamabad.

"In view of security threats we have banned the entry of eight Ulema under Maintenance of Public Order," said the official. Those were banned from entering into the capital included Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi (Punjab), Allama Muzzafar Hussain Najfi, Maulana Abdul Majeed, Maulana Abdul Khaliq Rehmani, Syed Maqbool Hussain, and Allama Ghazanfar Taunsavi (Punjab).

The official added that army would remain alert in barracks and they could be called out for assistance of the district administration in maintaining peace.

Elaborating preventive measures adopted by the district administration, the official said section 144 had been imposed against wall chalking, display and firing of arms, literature, distribution of books and pamphlets, use of loud speakers, playing of cassettes and holding of processions and rallies other than Azadari (mourning) processions and rallies.

"Nobody would be allowed to hold Azadari meetings outside Imambargahs and other specified places," the official said.

To a question, he said a traffic plan was being prepared to provide alternate routes to the commuters during Muharram 8 and 9 and special arrangements have been made for the women participating Azadari meetings and processions.

Talking about administrative measures, he said Capital Development Authority had been asked to cover open manholes and trim bushes and trees on the routes of processions. Similarly Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) was asked to provide better lighting arrangements en route.

All hospitals of the federal capital would remain on high alert during Muharram 8, 9 and 10 to provide prompt medical treatment, if required.

Security had been tightened in the vicinity of all mosques, Imambargahs, airport, exit and entrance points of city, bus stands and other public places while personnel of different law enforcement agencies had been deployed in different commercial areas in plain clothes to keep vigilance on the activities of suspicious persons.

Talking about religious groups, he said all religious parties assured their full cooperation to police in their efforts to maintain law and order during Muharram. The official said police had also chalked out a separate security plan under which they had increased police patrolling in sensitive areas of the city.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Truckers want Nato supplies stopped permanently
[Dawn] The owners of oil tankers and public transport vehicles blocked G.T. Road here on Tuesday to protest attack by NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
forces on a border post in Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
tribal region.

The provincial chapter of All Pakistain Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA) and Sarhad Transport Owners Association held separate protest demonstrations, asking the government to stop NATO supplies on permanent basis.

The owners of oil tankers blocked the road at Taru Jabba while the public transport operators held demonstration near General Bus Stand. The protesting transporters were carrying banners and placards inscribed with anti-Us and anti-NATO slogans.

They also held a sit-in on road and demanded of the government to stop supply of oil and other containers to NATO forces in Afghanistan permanently.

The oil tanker owners marched from their main office near Pakistain State Oil depot in Taru Jaba and blocked G.T. Road to all kinds of traffic to express their anger against the US-led forces.

Talking to journalists, APOTOA president Nasir Ali Khan appreciated the government`s decision of suspending supply of goods to NATO troops in Afghanistan. He assured the government that they would fully support it in that regard.

"We can`t tolerate US hegemony any more in this part of the region and its notorious act," he said. He condemned the unprovoked NATO air strikes on military checkposts. He said that it was not the first incident of its kind wherein security forces were targeted but several such attacks had been carried out in the recent past.

Mr Khan termed the attack against the illusory sovereignty and integrity of the country and open aggression by the US-led troops.

APOTOA general secretary Jan Mohammad Khan and central secretary information Dost Mohammad also spoke on the occasion.

Later, the protester offered fateha for the departed souls and prayed for integrity and solidarity of the country.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Yup! They would rather haul goats. No pressure here.... /s
Posted by: tipover || 12/01/2011 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Truckers want Nato supplies stopped permanently

That's also the American plan; sooner than they think.
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 || 12/01/2011 2:04 Comments || Top||

#3  I sure hope it is sooner than they think. Supplying a war through enemy territory when the closest port is over a thousand miles away is a fools errand.
Posted by: remoteman || 12/01/2011 18:46 Comments || Top||


Pakistan may summon BBC as news channel blocked
[Dawn] Pakistain said on Wednesday it was looking at summoning the BBC to demand an explanation over a documentary about the Taliban that has left the BBC World News channel blocked nationwide.

Cable operators pulled the channel late Tuesday amid anger over NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
air strikes that killed 24 Pak soldiers.

The move raises concerns about censorship in the conservative Moslem country of 167 million, where Facebook was briefly banned in 2010, just days after the Pakistain Telecommunication Authority sought to ban "obscene" text messages.

Khalid Arain, chairman of the Cable Operators Association of Pakistain, confirmed that BBC World News was off-air nationwide and that other Western news channels had been ordered "not to indulge in anti-Pakistain propaganda".

The row relates to a two-part BBC documentary, "Secret Pakistain," which questions Pakistain's commitment to tackling Taliban militancy.

The BBC said it was deeply concerned by the move, and called for its channel to be speedily reinstated.

Pakistain's media regulator, PEMRA, said: "Definitely, since an issue has been highlighted, the authorities will review the contents of the broadcast and their programmes."

The authorities can summon BBC representatives and seek an explanation from them," PEMRA front man Tahir Izhar told AFP.

Arain said Pakistain was not legally bound to show any foreign channels and was also monitoring Britannia's Sky News for "any objectionable content."

Pakistain has aroused increasing criticism overseas and from human rights
...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
campaigners within the country over censorship. The row over the BBC saw people post links to the documentary on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

"It is clear violation of our basic right to information. I condemn it," said Shujauddin Qureshi, a human rights activist.

Saad Haroon wrote on Twitter, "They have taken BBC off the air in Pakistain, great, now we will be the LAST to know when they bomb us."

Last week, the Pakistain Telecommunication Authority was forced to row back from banning text messages containing any of nearly 1,700 "obscene" words, many of which were seemingly innocuous, following outrage from users and campaigners.

Pakistain blocked Facebook for nearly two weeks in May 2010 in a storm of controversy about a competition to draw the Prophet Mohammed and has restricted access to hundreds of websites because of alleged blasphemy.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Y'all be sure that your "ORDER" will be fulfilled BEFORE you screw up and issue it.

Urders that are laughed at only hurt the Regieme.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/01/2011 1:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Summon meteors, b*tches. You are on the shallow end of the civilization pool a-holes, and not moving forward
Posted by: Frank G || 12/01/2011 21:41 Comments || Top||

#3  great, now we will be the LAST to know when they bomb us."

Believe me, if it is important, you will know about it - maybe sooner than most.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/01/2011 22:07 Comments || Top||


Pakistan will not compromise on its sovereignty: Mukhtar
[Dawn] Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar on Wednesday said Pakistain will not compromise on its security and illusory sovereignty and regain control of Shamsi Airbase, according to the deadline.

"We will take over the Shamsi base on December 11 in any case and no drone will be allowed to fly from here after the deadline," he said this while talking to the media persons at the convocation of Preston University here.

The minister said Pakistain does not want conflict with US but cannot tolerate attacks on its sovereignity.

He said that Pakistain will review other agreements with the US in different sectors and all the decisions will be taken in the supreme interest of the country.

Answering a question, Mukhtar said Pakistain's nuclear assets are fully secured.

About Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi's recent statement,the minister said, Qureshi did not point out any flaw in the system when he was minister.

Mukhtar advised Qureshi to avoid issuing statements which are not in conformity with the national spirit.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
'US forces involved in Baghdad raid'
[Iran Press TV]US forces in Iraq have been involved in a recent mortar attack near the Iraqi parliament in the capital Storied Baghdad,
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
an Iraqi politician says.

At least two people were killed and seven others, including one politician, were maimed on Monday after a mortar round hit the Iraqi parliament's parking area in Storied Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

The Americans want to give the impression that the Iraqi security forces are unable to ensure security in Iraq after the pullout of US troops from the country, local Iraqi media cited the Iraqi member of parliament, Etab Aldori, as saying. Everyone knows that the Americans are the source of insecurity in Iraq, the Iraqiya Bloc politician further said, noting that Iraqi troops are capable of taking the responsibly for establishing security in the war-torn country.

According to a Baghdad-Washington security pact signed in 2008, the US troops are mandated to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. Some analysts believe that the US occupying forces are encouraging terrorist groups to conduct attacks in Iraq in a bid to extend their presence in the country after withdrawal deadline.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Enjoy your civil war, asshole.
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 || 12/01/2011 2:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Iraqi troops are capable of taking the responsibly for establishing security in the war-torn country.

They are also highly equipped, ready, willing and able to fight among themselves and suck Iraq deeper into its hellhole.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/01/2011 13:09 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran planning to attack US bases in Germany
Posted by: Durnham Freebody || 12/01/2011 09:30 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ooo. Unlucky for him. I wonder if he was nabbed by KRIPO (Kriminalpolizei, founded 1872), or somebody even less hygienic.

Sucks to be him.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/01/2011 10:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Ah yes, they'll waterboard his sorry butt and there won't be a single word in the press.

That's odd, we all ADMIRE how urbane and civil the Euros are yet we criminalize interrogation techniques the French, Germans, and Spaniards use to get warmed up and the juices flowing for the real interrogation.

Sad, we have become such a nation of sissies.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 12/01/2011 11:34 Comments || Top||


Iran: Quds Force leader is developing a cult status
Diplomats and Iran analysts said that the storming of the British embassy in Tehran revealed the role of a growing, radical actor in Iranian foreign policy: the Quds Force.

There is certainly plenty of debate about how far up the chain of command the orders for Tuesday's embassy invasion went.

The force is the external operations wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard corps (IRGC), one of the regime's most powerful institutions, with extensive economic and financial interests across the country.

Some of the rioters at the embassy on Tuesday held aloft pictures of the Quds Force commander, Qassem Suleimani, around whom a personality cult is developing. There are claims that a known Quds commander was in the crowd.
Me thinks something bad should happen to Qassem real soon. Perhaps he'll be standing in a nuclear facility when it accidentally blows up...
In his statement to parliament, William Hague said that the damage done to the embassy and the residential compound was done by 200 "student Basij militia", but diplomats note that according to a recent restructuring by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, the Basij serve as a youth arm of the Revolutionary Guard.

Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli-Iranian analyst, said: "The Basij falls under the command of the IRGC who answer to Khamenei. Basij members don't turn up in front of embassies, unless they have permission from the IRGC as well as operational procedures, which would certainly include whether to launch a physical attack or not."

Conspicuous in their dark, ascetic clothing, the Basij crushed the opposition street protests of 2009 by driving into crowds of demonstrators on motorcycles wielding batons and knives.

Some diplomats believe that as the target on Tuesday was foreign, the Quds Force was "in the driving seat".

Another western official believes that the Quds Force's leading role is restricted to operations overseas, "but the mob see Suleimani as an icon as he is taking on the enemy directly".

Suleimani has made clear he has big ambitions. In 2008, he had a phone text sent to General David Petraeus when the CIA director-to-be was running the war in Iraq, informing him that he, Suleimani, was the man he should be dealing with on Iranian foreign policy. The text read: "General Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassem Suleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and Afghanistan.

"And indeed, the ambassador in Baghdad is a Quds Force member. The individual who's going to replace him is a Quds Force member."
This article starring:
Qassem Suleimani
Posted by: tipper || 12/01/2011 06:42 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "First you get disciples, and then you get crucified."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/01/2011 8:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Insh'allah
Posted by: lotp || 12/01/2011 14:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Quds Force (Huh, Say wha-?)

A "Force? My ass!"
Posted by: Grease Jith3343 || 12/01/2011 22:59 Comments || Top||


'No takeover at UK Embassy in Tehran'
[Iran Press TV] Tehran Governor Morteza Tamaddon rejected foreign media reports indicating that the British Embassy has been taken over
"No, no! Certainly not!"
and says such claims aim to create political tension.

He told IRNA on Wednesday that things are back to normal at the embassy and police have dealt with any behavior that is against the norms.

"On Tuesday, some students held a legal rally in front of the British Embassy to voice objection to the meddlesome and provocative measures taken by the British government [with regards to our] internal affairs," he added.

Tamaddon said that during the rally some of the student protesters entered the embassy compound but were immediately guided out of the embassy by police who restored calm to the embassy.

Hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British envoy. The protesters also waged another protest outside a second British diplomatic compound in northern Tehran.

Iran's Foreign Ministry expressed regret in a statement over the "unacceptable actions" of a number of protesters during the demonstrations in front of the British Embassy in Tehran.

The gathering was held following the approval of a bill aimed at downgrading ties with the UK by the Iran's Majlis, and in protest to Britannia's hostile policies towards the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

The bill, which was also approved unanimously by Iran's Guardian Council (GC) on Monday, obliges the country's Foreign Ministry to expel Dominick John Chilcott within two weeks, thus reducing diplomatic ties with the UK government to the level of charge d'affaires.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  It was a Panty Raid by some mischevous Students.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/01/2011 19:23 Comments || Top||


Student societies hail severing UK ties
[Iran Press TV] The Islamic student societies of 25 universities across Iran have welcomed the British government's measure to sever ties with Tehran saying that a celebration will be held soon.

Issuing a joint statement on Wednesday, the Islamic societies said that the rally held by the Iranian students in front of the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday represented the longstanding desire of the Iranian nation, Fars News Agency reported.

"The humiliated government of Britannia, in a completely passive and hasty move, recalled the staff of its closed embassy in Tehran and closed the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran's embassy in London," the statement said.

It added that severance of relations is a cause of delight for millions of Iranians and a celebration will soon be held in universities across Iran.

"After many years of struggles, the Medes and the Persians has forced the [British] regime to completely retreat.... This retreat is a clear sign of the confusion and weakness of the British government because they know that after what the students did, they have not even an iota of influence in Iran and will have hard times ahead of them," they added.

The students stated that the British government is not even able to manage its domestic affairs and millions of Britons are currently on the streets protesting against a government which is supported only by one percent of the country's population.

The statement also added that the British government was now too weak to threaten another country and has become too debilitated to even keep its own people happy and respond to their rightful demands.

Britannia's Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday that London is withdrawing its diplomatic staff from Iran and that the Iranian Embassy
...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!...
in London will be closed.

The decision came after hundreds of Iranian students staged a major protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British envoy.

The gathering was held following the approval of a bill aimed at downgrading ties with the UK by Iran's Majlis, and in protest to hostile British policies towards the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Yup, students are ALWAYS right./s
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/01/2011 1:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Let"s see how many Iranian students try to go to European and US graduate schools this year, shall we?
Posted by: Perfesser || 12/01/2011 22:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Can't speak for the UK, Perfesser, but if they want to come here, Bambi et al. will welcome them. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara || 12/01/2011 23:11 Comments || Top||


Iran Criticises UNSC for Hasty Condemnation of Students' Rally
[Tripoli Post] The UN Security Council strongly condemned, "in the strongest terms" the storming of Britannia's embassy in Tehran on Tuesday and warned Iran that it must protect diplomatic personnel, it said in a statement agreed by the 15-nation body.

But Iran's Speaker has today criticised as "hasty" the condemnation of the student rally and advised London against exploiting the incident.

Addressing an open Majlis (Parliament) session on Wednesday, Ali Larijani said: "A group of students infuriated by the behaviour of the UK gathered outside the British Embassy in Tehran yesterday and some of them entered the compound,"

He stressed that the anger of students stems from decades of British domineering measures in Iran, adding that the Islamic Revolution cut the hands of the US and UK, which insisted on enmity with the Iranian nation.

Larijani described the hasty UNSC condemnation of the student protest as a means to cover up past UK and US crimes, adding that Iranian police and security officers did their best to maintain calm and order around the embassy.

"Why is it that when in 1980 a group of counter-revolutionaries attacked the Iranian Embassy
...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!...
in London, destroyed the embassy compound, injured people and martyred a couple of others no emergency UNSC session was held and the UK did not condemn the incident?"

Larijani said that such a deceitful approach was the reason for insecurity in the world.

"Majlis invites (all) to calm, restoration of order and the execution of the law and considers the hasty behaviour of the US and UK and their adventurism with regards to issues involving the actions of students, as opportunism," the Iranian news agency, IRNA quoted him as saying.

Larijani added the UK is trying to exploit the situation.

On Tuesday, hundreds of Iranian students from different universities entered the compound of the British Embassy in Tehran and pulled down Britannia's flag, and in northern Tehran, police entered a second British diplomatic compound to bring the security situation there under control.

The gathering was held following the approval of a bill aimed at downgrading ties with the UK by the Majlis, and in protest to Britannia's hostile policies towards the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

The bill, which was also approved unanimously by Iran's Guardian Council (GC) on Monday, obliges the country's foreign ministry to expel British Ambassador to Tehran Dominick John Chilcott within two weeks, thus reducing diplomatic ties with the UK government to the level of charge d'affaires.

On Tuesday, the 15-member UN Security Council president Jose Filipe Moraes Cabral condemned the storming, and highlighted the Vienna conventions which protect diplomats. The council "called on the Iranian authorities to protect diplomatic and consular property and personnel, and to respect fully their international obligations in this regard."

Meanwhile,
...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system...
following the attack on the embassy in Tehran, Britannia's foreign secretary William Hague siad London is withdrawing its diplomatic staff from Iran and that the Iranian Embassy in London will be closed.

Addressing the UK parliament on Wednesday Hague said the Iranian Embassy in London will be immediately closed and its diplomatic mission will be expelled from Britannia, adding that British diplomatic staff in Tehran have been evacuated, with diplomatic sources saying that a first group of embassy staff were reportedly flying to Dubai.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


'US sends terrorists to fight Syria govt.'
[Iran Press TV] The US has reportedly released hundreds of faceless myrmidons from its prisons in Iraq on condition that they leave the country for Syria and fight against the government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad.
Light of the Alawites...
More than 400 terrorist have been freed from US prisons in Iraq to help fuel unrest in Syria, Islam Times quoted Lebanese political analyst Anis al-Naqqash as saying. He added that they have entered Syria illegally via Turkey.

Naqqash also criticized Arab media for leading a propaganda campaign against the Syrian government and trying to implicate the Syrian army for the killing of hundreds of civilians and unarmed demonstrators.

He added that the Arab media refuse to report the atrocities committed by gangs in Syria which has left nearly 2,000 security personnel dead.

Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase...
Turkish politician Birgul Ayman Guler, the deputy chairperson of Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), said that Western media outlets are not reflecting the reality in Syria.

Guler, who visited Syria about one month ago as part of a Turkish delegation comprised of 38 women, told Press TV on Tuesday that the reality in Syria is different from what the Western media outlets are reporting.

''What we understood during the visit was that the Western media were lying about the situation in Syria,'' she said, adding that foreign elements, such as the United States and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, are trying to carry out a plot in Syria.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March, with demonstrations being held both against and in favor of President Bashir al-Assad. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.

The opposition and Western countries accuse Syrian security forces of being behind the killings in the country, but Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
blames what it describes as outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups for the deadly violence, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

President Assad has warned against any foreign attack against Syria, saying the military action will cause instability in the whole Middle East.
Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  We don't need to, Ya'll have enough trash already.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/01/2011 1:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Wonder where their concern was when they were pushing terrorists across their border into Iraq a couple years back?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/01/2011 8:39 Comments || Top||

#3  We can only wish this were true...
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 12/01/2011 11:36 Comments || Top||

#4  We don't have to feed them anymore and they go cause trouble for Pencilneck. Win-win.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/01/2011 12:59 Comments || Top||


Qassem: Lebanon Cannot Exist without the Resistance
[An Nahar] Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
stressed on Tuesday that the equation of the army, people, and resistance has granted Leb its stability.

He said during a Ashuora sermon: "The Resistance is no longer an element in Leb, but one of its major components."

"Leb cannot exist without the Resistance
That'd be the Hezbullies, natch...
because in the past it used to be weak without it, but now it has become a force to be reckoned with," he remarked.

"The Resistance has preserved the Lebanese state and people and it has established a unique relationship with the army," he noted.

"The army, people, and Resistance equation is unique in the world just as Leb is unique in its sects," Qassem continued.

Furthermore, he said that the Resistance will not respond to the criticism against it, stressing that despite the local and regional developments, the party is not fearful over the future.

"Any hardship can be resolved as long as we are performing our duties correctly," the Hizbullah official stated.

"We are certain that victory will always be on our side," he said.

He renewed the party's accusations of espionage against the American Embassy, saying that it is spying for Israel and stirring strife in Leb.

Reports last week said Hizbullah had uncovered several operatives within the movement working for the CIA.

In the first acknowledgement of infiltration since the group's founding in the 1980s, Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
in June had said members of his group confessed to being CIA agents.

Nasrallah accused his arch-foe Israel of turning to the U.S. spy agency after failing to infiltrate his party, slamming the American embassy in Beirut as a "den of spies."

The U.S. embassy in Beirut dismissed the accusations as "empty."

More than 100 people in Leb have been tossed in the clink on suspicion of spying for Israel since April 2009, including military personnel and telecoms employees.

Posted by: Fred || 12/01/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  It's actually the other way around, raghead.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/01/2011 4:15 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2011-12-01
  UK expels Iran diplomats after embassy attack
Wed 2011-11-30
  Egypt's elections go smoothly amid protests
Tue 2011-11-29
  Iranian brownshirts seize 6 British embassy staff
Mon 2011-11-28
  Enraged Pakistanis burn Obama effigy, slam US
Sun 2011-11-27
  US told to vacate Shamsi base
Sat 2011-11-26
  Pakistan stops NATO supplies after raid kills up to 28
Fri 2011-11-25
  47 Syrians Dead, Including 29 Civilians, as Homs Clashes Rage
Thu 2011-11-24
  Police continue attacks on protesters, Tahrir chants for field marshal to go
Wed 2011-11-23
  Yemen's president signs power transfer deal
Tue 2011-11-22
  Yemen Opposition: Saleh Agrees to Sign Peace Plan. Really.
Mon 2011-11-21
  Colombia Farc rebel radio station 'shut down' by army
Sun 2011-11-20
  Libya: 'the executioner' Abdullah al-Senussi captured
Sat 2011-11-19
  Saif al-Islam Gaddafi captured in Libya
Fri 2011-11-18
  Sufi Mohammad's sons acquitted by Swat ATC
Thu 2011-11-17
  Saleh again refuses to sign power transfer


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