Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Joan Leslie aka Mary Cohan in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" aka Gracie Williams, York's girlfriend and future wife in "Sergeant York" aka Joan Manion in "The Sky's the Limit" (age 86)
The Afghan Army Disperses and Pashtun Soldiers Join the Taliban
Afghan army near collapse due to ethnic discrimination.
Last Tuesday Italian Defence Ministry reported the death of the 36th Italian soldier in Afghanistan. The declaration of the Italian Defence Ministry stated that on 18th January this year, in a terrorist attack at the combined Italian and Afghan army base in the Bala Murghab District of Badghis province, a low ranking officer of the Italian army was killed and another was seriously wounded.
But at the funeral of Luca Sanna in Italy, news spread that the soldier's death occurred at the hands of an Afghan colleague. Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, announced at a press conference, "This news is really tragic for our people because our youth, who are in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people, are now being attacked and killed by members of the Afghan army who are also our colleagues."
He added that an emergency meeting of the Italian parliament may be called regarding this issue, and provided the Italian parliament consented, all Italian soldiers would be withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately.
Italian opposition parties in a separate declaration have demanded that the government to take immediate practical measures for withdrawal of Italian troops from Afghanistan. Four thousand (4000) Italian soldiers are in Afghanistan. Most are settled in the Herat provinces, Badghis and Farah. These declarations disclose that there is no need to jeopardize the lives of our soldiers for the sake of a government which doesn't have the support of the Afghan people and is led by a violator of human rights and chooses identified terrorists for his cabinet.
In this context, the Daily United of Italy disclosed in an article about the considerable influence of the Taliban soldiers in Afghan army, "The Taliban extremists use their influence in the Afghan army with ease and force them (Afghan troops) to carry out terrorist attacks against their foreign colleagues".
This is not the first time that members of foreign troops in Afghanistan have been attacked by their Afghan counterparts. In 2010, at least four attacks were carried out by members of Afghan police and army against foreign troops which killed seven.
On the other hand, Mewati -- one of the Italian reporters who recently returned from Afghanistan -- stated in a televised interview, "Those army personnel who are Pashtun by ethnicity have close contacts with the Taliban groups and they never fight against the Taliban in the battlefields." He added that he had interviewed soldiers in South and South-west Afghanistan in units that included both Pashtun and non-Pashtun soldiers.
He stated, "the soldiers who belong to other ethnicities, (non-Pashtun), have been attacked and killed by their colleagues several times."
In some cases, it has also been reported that some Pashtun soldiers of the Afghan army pass on secret information about the Afghan army to the Taliban.
Additionally, when the Taliban arrest Afghan army personnel, Pashtun soldiers are released while the non-Pashtun are killed. Cases of discrimination by Pashtun soldiers against other ethnic service members have been reported regularly by international media. Pashtun soldiers in Afghanistan enjoy more privileges like additional holidays and in some cases enjoy exceptionally high salaries.
The continuous process of discrimination in the Army and the defection of Pashtun soldiers to the Taliban overtly or covertly, indicates the collapse of the Afghan army is not far.
#2
No, you're not. Where they can, the Taliban try to set up parallel governments, starting with courts and enforcers. It's not always unwelcome, if the local area has seen a lot of chaos.
[Tolo News] Organiser of suicide kaboom that targeted Kunduz governor has been jugged, a top official at National Directorate of Security (NDS) announced on Tuesday.
The NDS said the efforts are on the ground to detain organisers of Islamic exemplar attacks on India's embassy and Indian citizens' guesthouse in Kabul.
Kunduz governor Mohammad Omar, who had gone to his house to neighbouring Takhar province, was killed along with hundreds of Friday prayer performers in a kaboom in a mosque last year.
NDS officials highlighted that the attacks on Indian locations were carried out by the Haqqani network.
While praising Pakistain's cooperation in the fight against Islamic exemplars, national directorate of security emphasised that bulk of terrorist attacks were planned by Pak citizens.
When asked about Pakistain's involvement in attacks against Indian locations, Lotfullah Mashal NDS Spokesperson said, "They were Pak citizens, but there is no solid evidence to prove whether Pakistain's intelligence or government was involved in the attacks."
"Pakistain's government has recently increased cooperation with us," Mr Mashal added.
Insurgents' leader in southwestern region in the country was jugged. The leader had pivotal role in terrorist attacks in southern Afghanistan, Mr Mashal said.
Mr Mashal said an car bomb was seized by NDS personnel in western Herat province.
In recent months, NDS has made significant gains in the fight, but it called on Afghan citizens to help the department to stop cut-throats targeting innocent people.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Six Taliban capos were killed in Afghan and Coalition forces' Arclight airstrikes in southern Helmand province on Monday, local officials said.
The Taliban capos were killed in Gerishk district of Helmand province, Helmand governor's media office said in a statement on Tuesday.
The commanders conducted Improvised Explosive Devices attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, added the statement.
Taliban have not yet commented about the commanders.
"Mahmudullah -- answer your phone, Allahdammit! Maulana, he's not answering his phone, either!"
"Shut up, and help me with my burqa -- we've got to get out of here before the UAVs backtrack to this compound!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
What, just chiefs, no injuns? Is this one of those outfits where everybody trades off being captain for a day?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/26/2011 10:28 Comments ||
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#2
"Six" dammit; your quota is 600.
Posted by: Jack Angurong1317 ||
01/26/2011 21:36 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] A group of 14 bully boyz in the western Herat province has renounced violence, Afghan National Directorate of Security said.
A 14-member bully boyz group led by Mirwais has joined the Afghan grinding of the peace processor in Shindand district of Herat province yesterday, Afghan Nation Directorate of Security said on Monday in a statement.
Taliban have yet to comment.
In the past one month, more than 250 bully boyz have laid down their weapons and surrendered to Afghan government.
Local elders are said to have played an important role in mediating between the government and bully boyz to encourage anti-government gangs to embrace the Afghan government's peace call.
Afghan and Nato forces have increased their military operations in the country to wipe out the bully boyz from the insecure areas.
The Afghan forces are to take full security responsibility by the end of the year 2014, the target date for the end of foreign troops' gradual withdrawal.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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The US secretary of state said Egyptian government should allow protesters to demonstrate over poverty and repression.
Finally checked the wind vane and anemometer, did she?
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has said that widespread anti-government protests over poverty and government repression in Egypt represent an opportunity for the 30-year administration of president Hosni Mubarak to implement "political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people".
In unusually blunt remarks regarding the longtime US ally, delivered on Wednesday, Clinton also said that the Mubarak government should not prevent peaceful protests or block social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, which have helped Egyptians plan and spread news about the unrest.
Could have said this in the beginning, Hilde, and kept some of the protesters thinking that we'd support them against repression and tyranny. But no, you and your boss value 'realpolitik', even if that means keeping people in chains.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2011 17:41 ||
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#1
Day late and a few thousand injuries too late, bitch.
#4
yes, the Hildabeast and the Obama admin have been inept on this
however, it really doesn't matter
Carter said lots of 'don't repress the people' stuff and we all know the rest
The fact is that most of the Egpytian 'street' just hates America and has no problem saying so. Of course a lot of the Egyptian street hats the Islamists too but they don't dare say so (at least when using their full legal name).
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/26/2011 18:24 Comments ||
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#5
I heard part of her speech. She called on the Egyption government to allow the people to protest peacefully. The problem is the protests have long since passed the peaceful stage.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2011 19:20 Comments ||
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#6
Shah of Iran Part II (Another Donk Production - because the Best and Brightest are on hand at State*)
*So, that reset button went back lot further than they thought.
Why is Mubarak under pressure? On 9-11 there were 19,000 muslim brotherhood animals rotting in Egypt's prisons. After 8 years of the "islam is peace" president, that was down to 1,000. The State Dept worked for "inclusion" of said animals in the country's political system.
Hell, I don't want them to vote; I want them to die. A sane US President would indulge an Islamonazi turkey shoot in Egypt, and pay for the bullets.
Posted by: Jack Angurong1317 ||
01/26/2011 21:33 Comments ||
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#8
Everything in this admin is a remake- the next JFK, Sputnik, START, Vietnam, Bush Bailout, Bush Tax Cuts, HillaryCare.
Maybe Mubarak could go dinnerjacket-thumping people around, that seemed to garnish the sympathy of the Oh Crew. And for an Admin which ran on (at least publically) not meddling in other nations' affairs seem to have an official opinion about every effn thing and so consistantly increase the instability Ivory Coast should be glad they slipped under the radar.
But I'm not concerned about State and diplomacy gaffes, not getting used to it its just after watching a drunk monkey on frozen banana peels just not surprised to see shit on the walls. Not downplaying what seems to be a fairly upset crowd and people getting hurt, I'm throwing out the obvious what happens if the canal closes scenario, then it gets international real quick.
Holy cow. Hosni is on the way out the door. This post is current to 1630 CT and includes most of what happened in Egypt today with some man-in-the-street commentary.
Two civilians and a police officer have died after a wave of unusually large anti-government demonstrations swept across Egypt, calling for the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
In central Cairo, crowds numbering in the thousands protested and clashed with police throughout the day. Shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, security forces violently dispersed those who remained in Tahrir Square, the heart of the city, Al Jazeera's Adam Makary reported.
Security officers fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to drive the protesters from the square, where they had chosen to remain throughout the night in protest. An Al Jazeera cameraman was shot with rubber bullets several times, including once in the face, Makary said.
Telephone communication with people in central Cairo was nearly impossible, but Makary reported that the crowds, which had been peaceful, had been forced to escape the police, who fired dozens of tear gas canisters.
The protests in Cairo were reportedly the largest in the country on Tuesday, a date chosen by activists to emulate the recent uprising in nearby Tunisia. But demonstrations occurred throughout Egypt.
Two civilians died in the eastern city of Suez, according to an interior ministry offical. One, who had respiratory problems, died after inhaling tear gas; the other died after being hit with a rock thrown during a protest, the official said.
In Cairo, a police officer died after being hit in the head with a rock during earlier protests in Tahrir Square, the official said.
On Tuesday night, hours after the countrywide protests began, the interior ministry issued a statement blaming the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's technically banned but largest opposition party, for fomenting the unrest. But the Brotherhood denied the accusation and had earlier stated its intention to stay out of the protest; indeed, some observers noted the lack of Brotherhood mobilization on Tuesday.
The Muslim Brotherhood is no more interested in democracy than Mubarak himself.
Inspired by events in Tunisia, thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo and elsewhere, calling for reforms and demanding an end to Mubarak's presidency, which has now lasted for nearly three decades.
The scale of the demonstrations prompted US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to assert during a press conference that "Egypt's government is stable."
Nice going, Hilde, way to stick your foot in your mouth -- again -- and antagonize all the protesters. Didn't you go to Yale?
Some protesters in Cairo hurled rocks and climbed atop an armoured police truck. Police responded to the demonstrators with blasts from a water cannon and set upon crowds with batons and acrid clouds of tear gas.
Amateur video posted on YouTube showed crowds of Egyptians pushing against and breaking through police cordons.
Police have also used rubber bullets against protesters, resulting in some injuries, reported Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo.
At least 30 people are already reported to have been arrested in Cairo, official sources said.
Protests also broke out in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Mansura and Tanta, and in the southern cities of Aswan and Assiut, witnesses reported.
The rallies had been promoted online by groups saying they speak for young Egyptians frustrated by the kind of poverty and oppression which triggered the overthrow of Tunisia's president. More than 80,000 people signed a Facebook group saying they would participate in the protests.
Egyptian blogger Hossam El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera that new media had been important in facilitating "the domino effect" needed for demonstrations like this one to progress, but he noted that it was the people in the street making the difference.
"We want a functioning government, we want Mubarak to step down, we don't want emergency law, we don't want to live under this kind of oppression anymore," Mamdouh Khayrat, a 23-year-old man who travelled from the governorate of Qalubiya to attend the protests, told Al Jazeera's Makary in Cairo. "Enough is enough, things have to change and if Tunisia can do it, why can't we?"
El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera the protests were necessary "to send a message to the Egyptian regime that Mubarak is no different than Ben Ali and we want him to leave too."
Black-clad riot police, backed by armoured vehicles and fire engines, were deployed in a massive security operation in Cairo. They were said to concentrate on a few likely flashpoints, including the Cairo University campus, Tahrir Square, and a main courthouse.
Coinciding with a national holiday in honour of the police, a key force in keeping president Mubarak in power for 30 years, the outcome in Egypt on Tuesday was seen as a test of whether vibrant web activism can translate into street action.
"Activists said they wanted to use this particular day to highlight the irony of celebrating Egypt's police at a time when police brutality is making headlines," Al Jazeera's Rageh reported.
The Egyptian government had earlier warned potential protesters.
"The security apparatus will deal firmly and decisively with any attempt to break the law," the government's director for security in Cairo said in a statement released ahead of the protests.
Habib el-Adli, the interior minister, had earlier issued orders to "arrest any persons expressing their views illegally."
Activists have been relying heavily on social networks to organise the protests.
"Our protest on the 25th is the beginning of the end," the organisers of the Facebook protest group wrote.
"People are fed up of Mubarak and of his dictatorship and of his torture chambers and of his failed economic policies. If Mubarak is not overthrown tomorrow then it will be the day after. If its not the day after its going to be next week," El Hamalawy told Al Jazeera.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2011 17:36 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The Egyptian president's son has decamped to Britain as thousands continue to protest across the country against Hosni Mubarak's decades-long rule.
Mubarak's son, who is considered his successor, left the country along with his family amid the anti-government protests across Egypt which are the largest since Mubarak took power three decades ago.
The plane with Jamal Mubarak, his wife and daughter on board left for London Tuesday from an airport in western Cairo, the US-based Arabic website, Akhbar al-Arab reported on Wednesday.
Officials did not immediately confirm the report while a front man from the US Embassy in Cairo categorically denied that Mubarak's decamped Egypt.
His departure comes as situation in Egypt remains tense with people pouring into the streets across the country to protest against Mubarak.
Heavily armed riot police have been deployed in major cities as the Egyptian government has banned any demonstrations, warning that protesters would be nabbed.
The opposition groups have called on people to take to the streets to continue anti-government protests.
At least four people, including a police officer, have already been killed in anti-government demonstrations across the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 14:37 ||
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#1
From what I can glean (Israeli news source), the protests are a response to "alleged" election rigging. Since rigging is a way of life in this part of the world, most likely it is not only alleged but true. The election rigging has been an attempt to get rid of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian government. The rigged elections have swept out something like 88 Muslim Brotherhood seats in the government.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/26/2011 17:19 Comments ||
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#5
Ho-ly crap.
As Claire Berlinski via Instapundit notes, the US has been supporting Mubarak ever since he gained power, and Sadat before him. The Egyptian 'street' isn't going to think to kindly of us.
Wow. Two Arab countries revolt in the same month. What were the stated odds of that happening back around Christmas?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2011 17:26 Comments ||
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#6
Saudi next?
Posted by: Paul D ||
01/26/2011 17:30 Comments ||
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#7
If Egypt loses Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherbood (or similar) group gets power, what are the chances Israel does something like regrabbing the Sinai to get a defendable depth?
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
01/26/2011 17:31 Comments ||
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#8
The United States bluntly urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday to make political reforms in the face of protesters demanding his ouster, marking a pivot in its stance toward a key Arab ally.
Goodbye Shah, hello Khomeini. Another Democratic administration, another anti-American administration in the Mid-East. I'm kinda hoping we can skip a re-enactment of the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut.
#9
Most likely the Muslim Brotherhood is instigating and fueling the protests despite claims of being non-violent. When it's over, they are waiting in the wings to take over. In the short run they don't care about losing seats in the government. They plan to get them back the next time around. Another Muslim country goes fundamentalist.
#10
I don't think Hosni was 'pro-US', he was more 'pro-greenbacks'.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2011 17:48 Comments ||
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#11
As Claire Berlinski via Instapundit notes, the US has been supporting Mubarak ever since he gained power, and Sadat before him. The Egyptian 'street' isn't going to think to kindly of us.
Both Berlinski and the Egyptian street are off their meds. US aid is mainly used to buy American weaponry. And the primary use for that weaponry? Fighting off Israel. Egypt's GDP is $188b. American aid = $1.3b. If Uncle Sam stops handing out free weaponry to Egypt, it will simply buy fewer tanks and F-16's. It's got no problem buying the stuff required to keep Mubarak in power. The primary reason Egyptians are angry at Mubarak (and Sadat) are not that they are dictators, but that they are not as hostile to Israel and the US as Egyptians think they ought to be. The Muslim Brotherhood is gaining in popularity despite the fact that it would merely create a religious dictatorship in place of a secular one because it is extremely virulent in its professed hatred for the Israel and the US. If Mubarak is weak enough to give in to Obama's demands that he step down, Egypt will eventually become the Middle East's third nuclear power, next to Israel and Iran.
#12
I don't think Hosni was 'pro-US', he was more 'pro-greenbacks'.
Mubarak's the most pro-US person who could simultaneously be a leader of Egypt. And that's his Achilles heel. The unfortunate bottom line is that our problem isn't with allied Muslim governments, most of which are presenting as pro-American a face as they can without being toppled - it's with the Muslim public.
#16
ElBaradei -- member him? former director of the UN nuclear "watchdog" and angered long ago by Sadat's refusal to let him develop nuclear weapons -- called on the Egyptian masses to join the street rallies against Mubarak.
#17
Do the Marines at the Cairo embassy have live ammo?
I'm kind of hoping they evacuate the embassy before we get another hostage type situation. On the other hand, it would be amusing to see how Obama, the uber-Carter, handles an embassy hostage situation.
#18
I don't think anyone pays attention to Dr. Elbaradei. Yes, he was once in charge of Egypt's nuclear program, but he's been away for an awfully long time.
Mubarek wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with the common people hating Israel if it weren't such a prominent part of the educational curriculum and so many government-sponsored television programs. Jew-hatred has been a convenient distraction for the peepul since 1948, while those who would rule them played with pan-Arab socialism (and got aid from the Soviet Union) and national strong man-ism (and got aid from the U.S.). America-hatred is a mere offshoot of the antisemitism, as the U.S. is seen as the country that keeps good Muslims from driving those juices into the see as they are entitled to do.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/26/2011 19:25 Comments ||
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#21
Mubarek wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with the common people hating Israel if it weren't such a prominent part of the educational curriculum and so many government-sponsored television programs. Jew-hatred has been a convenient distraction for the peepul since 1948, while those who would rule them played with pan-Arab socialism (and got aid from the Soviet Union) and national strong man-ism (and got aid from the U.S.). America-hatred is a mere offshoot of the antisemitism, as the U.S. is seen as the country that keeps good Muslims from driving those juices into the see as they are entitled to do.
No offense, but this is complete tosh. For non-Western countries, territorial issues are extremely emotionally-charged*. We view Israel as a tiny sliver of land in the Mid East. They view Israel as land that was stolen** from them by Jews at gunpoint with assistance from the US. (The unfortunate thing is that Muhammad chose to make Jerusalem Islam's third holy city. That rubs salt into the open wound). Nobody has to wind a Muslim up about Israel - teaching an alternate view of Israel would be tantamount to treason. The US is hated not for its modernity or decadence - Japan and Europe are equally modern and arguably more decadent, and you don't really see that level of animosity. It is hated because it is seen as the only thing between the Muslim world and the re-establishment of Muslim rule over what is now Israel.
* Note the strong expressions of anger among ethnic Chinese around the world over Japan's temporary detention of Chinese fishermen who were fishing illegally in Japanese waters around the Senkakus.
** Now, the fact is that title to every piece of land in the world was originally established - some recently, some in antiquity - via the right of conquest. But you're going to have trouble convincing the average Muslim that land that he sees as legitimately Muslim really justly belongs to Jews. As to the idea that land titles established by the right of conquest ought to be frozen, in Israel's case, in 1948? Muslims are simply not going to accept it, barring some major revolution in thinking at the street level.
Note that during the Sino-Japanese war, it was not Chiang Kai-shek who wanted to escalate towards total war with Japan, despite Japanese incursions into China. He understood that China was weak and would suffer grievous losses against the Imperial Army. It was the Chinese people who were spoiling for a fight. In the end, they forced his hand. He went all against the Japanese, while the Communists sat out the war, and in so doing, lost the cream of his army (millions Nationalist dead vs 100K Communist dead) and eventually, China itself.
Bottom line, in the Mid-East, as elsewhere, the people are not zombies who will adopt the attitudes whatever ruler is in charge. Dictators do not command the absolute obedience of their generals or the public. If a dictator deviates too much from the attitudes of the public, especially in a way that is seen as treasonous, he will be deposed. There are many generals waiting in the wings for an opportunity to replace him.
#22
The EGYPTIANS are agz Israel until Saddam, now Iran, etc. comes over the proverbial Hill agz them, then they're suddenly Israel's BFF-N-ALWAYS-WERE.
[ACTOR-COMEDIAN ROBIN "THE FRENCH ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY UNDENIABLY CATEGORICALLY ... HATE AMERICANS UNTIL THE GERMANS INVADE" WILLIAMS' post-911 TV skit here].
#25
Shereter Poodle9774, I've only just seen your comment, so I won't be able to respond to your link before the rollover. But I will read it, as thoughtfully as I am capable of. The problem -- for me at least -- is that for so many things I don't know what I don't know until someone educates me. So thank you. Please do so again, the many times that I need it.
Zhang Fe, we agree on the reason America is hated more than the rest of the non-Muslim world by the Ummah. For the rest, you are right, but Muslim governments do push the anti-Zionism/antisemitism hard -- trying to distract them from bad governance. (Not that it appears to be working any more.) But their people are not better educated for Ramadan television series based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and maps missing a neighboring nation, however much they may not want it to be there. Were the maps correct, the teachers might (would probably) teach that Israel ought not be there, but that is different than "I can't see you, so you're not there!"
(Xinhua) -- New clashes between police and protestors happened in Cairo and Suez on Wednesday, local sources said. Police had detained 90 people who were attempting to continue protests in the Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, official MENA news agency said. But... But... But they banned further protests!
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 12:48 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Egyptian authorities said Wednesday that further protests will be banned after Tuesday's mass gatherings in Cairo and some other places in Egypt.
A statement of the Interior Ministry said anyone who organizes protests would be subject to legal questioning.
The statement called on people to discard attempts to exploit their problems and to bear in mind the dangers of stirring the sentiments of ordinary people to open doors for havoc and chaos.
"Police separated the crowds after we learnt that the protesters planned to escalate matters and invite other groups," the ministry's statement said.
The statement also denied that massive protests took place in other places, saying the intensive presence was in Tahrir Square in central Cairo where no more than 10,000 protesters amassed and by the evening they were reduced to half.
Thousands of Egyptian protesters hit the streets on Tuesday in an unprecedented demonstration against the government, causing downtown Cairo to become standstill and gaining momentum all over the country rapidly. The protests in downtown Cairo were dispersed by police at 1:00 am Wednesday (2300 GMT Tuesday), with the use of tear gas and water cannons as protesters refused to leave.
A number of activists called for a second day of protests, but none has erupted yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 12:40 ||
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#1
Egyptian authorities said Wednesday that further protests will be banned
Let us know how that works out, mmmmkkay?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/26/2011 13:24 Comments ||
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[Haaretz] Egyptian anti-government activists continued to clash with police for a second day Wednesday in defiance of an official ban on any protests. Beefed up police forces on the streets quickly moved in and used tear gas and beatings to disperse any demonstrations.
After nightfall Wednesday, more than 2,000 demonstrators were marching on a major downtown boulevard along the Nile when dozens of riot police with helmets and shields charged the crowd. It was a scene repeated throughout the day wherever demonstrators tried to gather.
They were the latest in outbursts of political discontent in Egypt that have been growing more frequent and more intense over the past year. Protests have erupted sporadically over police brutality, poverty and food prices, government corruption and mismanagement, and more recently sectarian strife between Christians and Mohammedans. Parliamentary elections in November were widely decried as fraudulent.
Many in Egypt see these events as signs of the authoritarian president's vulnerability in an election year. There is speculation that 82-year-old Mubarak, who has been in power for nearly 30 years and recently experienced serious health problems, may be setting his son Gamal up for hereditary succession.
But there is considerable public opposition and, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic memos, it does not meet with the approval of the powerful military. And the regime's tight hold on power has made it virtually impossible for any serious alternative to Mubarak to emerge.
The crackdown by authorities brought harsh words from European leaders, who expressed concern and said the events underline the need for democratization and respect for human and civil rights.
However, The infamous However... U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not criticize Egypt's government - a key U.S. ally in the Middle East - but only said the country was stable and Egyptians have the right to protest while urging all parties to avoid violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 12:40 ||
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[An Nahar] Egyptian police and protesters clashed in the center of the capital and in the port city of Suez on Wednesday, the second day of anti-government rallies that had been threatened with a massive security crackdown.
With the interior ministry having banned all protests, police fired tear gas at hundreds of people gathered near the journalists' syndicate in Cairo demanding the ouster of geriatric President Hosni Mubarak, an Agence La Belle France Presse news hound said.
Protesters chanted "The people want the ouster of the regime," and threw rocks at police in response to the tear gas.
In Suez, where three demonstrators died on Tuesday, witnesses told AFP police used batons to try disperse at least 2,000 protesters gathered outside a morgue and chanting "Down with Mubarak."
Riot police trucks lined the streets of downtown Cairo where thousands had gathered the day before to demand that Mubarak step down.
Officials said four people -- three protesters and a policeman -- had died in Tuesday's protest in a "day of anger" inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.
The United States, a key Egyptian ally, said Cairo should be "responsive" to its people's aspirations, while both La Belle France and Germany urged restraint on all sides.
An Egyptian security official told AFP around 200 people had been nabbed by Wednesday in the largest protests in Egypt since bread riots in 1977.
Security forces had surrounded the journalists' syndicate on Wednesday, briefly detaining one of its board members.
The pro-democracy youth group April 6 Movement, the driving force behind Tuesday's protests, had urged people to head back to Cairo's main square on Wednesday.
This despite the fact that in the early hours of Wednesday, police had ended the Cairo protests by firing tear gas and rounding up protesters, with reports of dozens jugged or missing.
"Everyone needs to head down to Tahrir Square to take over the square once again," the group said on its Facebook page which, along with Twitter, had helped to organize Tuesday's protests.
In a separate statement, it urged Egyptians to carry on protesting.
"To continue what we started on January 25, we will take to the streets to demand the right to life, liberty, dignity and we call on everyone to take to the streets ... and to keep going until the demands of the Egyptian people have been met," the group said.
The interior ministry said further demonstrations were banned and anyone taking part would be prosecuted.
"No provocative moves, or protest gatherings, or marches or demonstrations will be allowed," the ministry said.
"Legal measures will be taken against anyone (in contravention), and they will be transferred to the prosecution," a statement continued.
April 6 Movement members said they would take to the streets regardless.
"We've started and we won't stop," one told AFP on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a police deployment of some 20,000 to 30,000 personnel had allowed demonstrators to march to Tahrir Square, where they chanted in unison: "The people want the ouster of the regime."
Demonstrators also tore down posters of Mubarak and chanted, "Mubarak get lost," "Bread, liberty, dignity," and "We will follow Tunisia."
Among demands are the departure of the interior minister, whose security forces have been accused of heavy-handedness; an end to a decades-old state of emergency; and a rise in minimum wages.
Late Tuesday, the interior ministry said security forces had decided to allow demonstrators "to voice their demands and exercise their freedom of expression," with a commitment to "securing and not confronting these gathering".
But it accused the Mohammedan Brotherhood of rioting and causing public disorder, which the group denied.
Egypt's stock market saw a sharp decline and the Egyptian pound hit a six-year low to reach 5.83 to the dollar a day after the mass protests.
The White House said on Tuesday that Egypt's government should be "responsive" to its people's aspirations.
"The Egyptian government has an important opportunity to be responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and pursue political, economic and social reforms that can improve their lives and help Egypt prosper," a statement said.
French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said in Gay Paree on Wednesday that La Belle France regrets the loss of life in the anti-government protests and supports calls for more democracy "in all countries."
"I can only deplore that there were deaths ... One must be able to demonstrate without there being violence, let alone deaths," she told La Belle France's RTL radio.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Berlin was "very worried" by unrest in Egypt and called on all sides to refrain from violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 12:40 ||
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[Iran PressTV] - Egyptian security forces have broken up a cell of 19 militants with links to the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq network.
In an interview with the state-owned al-Ahram daily on Tuesday, Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al-Adly said the group was using Egypt as a transit point on their way to Iraq to carry out terrorist attacks. He said security services have also confiscated weapons and ammunition, as well as classified documents in the group's possession.
Boy howdy, the Widows Ammunition Fund is going to be unhappy. They'll have to run an emergency appeal...
Al-Adly added that that the men were detained before January 1.
VOA adds:
Egypt's interior minister said in an interview with the state-owned Al-Ahram daily on Tuesday that the group includes Tunisians and Libyans.
[VOA] - An Egyptian opposition group has called for a second day of protests in Cairo, just hours after police fired tear gas and beat anti-government protesters to clear a central square in the city.
The 6th of April Youth Movement used its Facebook page to urge protesters to continue Wednesday, after the largest demonstrations in years against President Hosni Mubarak's decades-old rule.
Egypt's Interior Ministry said Wednesday no new demonstrations would be allowed, and warned that protesters would be prosecuted.
At some point people lose their fear of prosecution. Then they lose their fear of batons and clubs. Then they lose their fear of bullets. At that point the revolution is on, baby, and the question becomes one of whether the police and troops remember their fear of thrown rocks...
Waves of rock-throwing demonstrators occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square for hours Tuesday, beating back attempts to dislodge them by police wielding tear gas and water cannons. Several thousand people demonstrated in Alexandria, and there were reports of large protests in other cities including Mansoura and Mahalla al-Kobra.
Three protesters and a police officer were killed in Tuesday's unrest, which was inspired by uprisings in Tunisia.
Opposition groups, including Egypt's Kifaya movement, used Facebook and Twitter to organize the protests. Twitter said Tuesday its site had been blocked in Egypt."
Tuesday's demonstrations began peacefully, with police at first showing restraint. Several people said the clashes began in Cairo after protesters attempted to take control of a water cannon truck.
Such a coordinated wave of anti-government protests has not been seen in Egypt since Mr. Mubarak took power in 1981 after former President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamists.
The protests were promoted online by groups saying they speak for young Egyptians frustrated with the kind of poverty and oppression that triggered Tunisia's unrest.
Legal parties such as the liberal Wafd, as well as the banned Muslim Brotherhood - Egypt's largest and best organized opposition group - did not formally endorse the demonstrations, but a number of their members took part.
Emergency laws in place since 1981 outlaw demonstrations without prior permission. Opposition groups said they were denied such permits for Tuesday's rallies, planned to coincide with a national holiday honoring the police, a key force in keeping President Mubarak in power.
Since Tunisia's anti-government protests, at least five Egyptians have attempted suicide by self-immolation, imitating the young Tunisian whose burning death in December first galvanized protesters there.
[Maghrebia] An Algiers court on Sunday (January 23rd) sentenced Ahmed Allouat, 37, to one year in jail for sending internet threats on behalf of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to Algerian and foreign ministries, embassies and security services, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. In 2004, the Laghouat native sent e-mails to the US and Canadian embassies about impending terrorist attacks on their territories. In 2010, he sent e-mails with the AQIM logo to French, Italian, Canadian and Belgian security services, in which he claimed that North African and Afghan bully boyz were preparing imminent strikes.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Two protesters and a police officer have been killed in Egypt as anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets to demand political and economic reforms.
The protesters were killed in festivities with security forces in the city of Suez on Tuesday, and the police officer was killed in a demonstration in Cairo on the same day, AFP reported.
On Tuesday, the opposition called on political activists to hold nationwide demonstrations against the government.
The protesters say it's a day of revolt against torture, poverty, corruption, and unemployment. Some have gathered outside the Supreme Court and the parliament building, calling for the resignation of geriatric President Hosni Mubarak.
The police have fired tear gas to disperse the protesters in Cairo, injuring several people.
Over 30,000 coppers have been deployed to the city center to crack down on the demonstrators.
Demonstrations have also been held in Alexandria and other parts of the country.
Kamal El Helbawy, the former front man of the Mohammedan Brotherhood, told Press TV that Tuesday's demonstrations have been the largest and most significant in Egypt's recent history.
Former Arab League ambassador to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society Clovis Maksoud has said that the ongoing revolution in Tunisia is inspiring the people of the Arab world, who are tired of dictatorial regimes.
The revolution "is the prognosis by which many frustrated people in various countries -- suffering dictatorship, poverty, and marginalization, are now being empowered," Maksoud added.
Egypt has many of the same social and political problems as Tunisia, like rising food prices, high unemployment, and corruption.
[Yemen Post] The Interior Ministry announced that it jugged five Al-Qaeda suspects blamed for the attack on a military convoy in Lowdar, Abyan, on Sunday.
In a release sent out by the ministry, it said that the main jugged suspect is Ameen Saleh Al-Maksar, and he was injured in festivities that took place with security forces in the Lowdar attack.
In the attack, four troops were also injured.
Due to his bad medical situation upon arrest, the Interior Ministry took him the hospital, but is currently under tight security presence.
The other four suspects are currently being interrogated with in the Abyan Political Security office.
Over the last month, Lawdar has seen numerous Al-Qaeda attacks and is considered a safe haven for Al-Qaeda cut-throats and separatists.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Yemeni soldiers confessed to kidnapping four Czech tourists in the capital Sana'a last Sunday, saying the kidnapping aimed to draw the attention of the government to the case of a brother of one of them being nabbed on land dispute murder charges.
Appearing at the Penal Court specializing in terrorist cases on Tuesday, three soldiers out of five, tow still on the lam, said they exchanged fire with the police who were escorting the tourists in Manakha district, but the police could rescue the Czechs.
After we failed to take the foreigners as hostage, we beat feet to the Haima Dakhiliya district where tribal elders caught and handed us to the authorities, they said.
One of the kidnappers, Ahmed Al-Walidi from the first armoured battalion in Sana'a, said he was drugged by qat and went for the kidnapping just for the sake of friendship with his accomplices.
The two others were identified as Ali Al-Khalidi, a soldier in Saada and who planned the kidnap for his brother, and Abdul Salam Al-Muafa, a soldier in Dhamar.
After the confessions, the court ordered to hire a lawyer for the defendants for the next hearings, first of which start next Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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A total of 37 individuals were murdered in ongoing drug and gang violence in northern Mexico including five individuals shot to death in a bar in Tijuana, Baja, California, which included a former police officer. For a map, click here
Two unidentified men were shot to death in two separate shootings in Juarez Monday, according to the Mexican daily La Polaka.
A man was shot near the inetrsection of calle Ponciano Arriaga and Candelario Cervantes near an Oasis convenience store in the División del Norte colony.
A man was shot near the intersection of calles Santiago Troncoso and Valle del Cedro in the Torres del PRI colony.
Six unidentified young men were shot to death and two others were wounded in an attack on a community center in Juarez Sunday night. The shooting took place at the Centro Comunitario Municipal Francisco I. Madero near the corner of calles Balderas and Soto Gama, where armed suspects interrupted a sporting contest, and shot them.
An unidentified woman was shot to death early Monday morning in Juarez. The victim was dumped in the streets near the corner of calles Irma Ferriz and Maria Teresa Rojas in the Olivia Espinoza colony, and shot three times.
An unidentified teenager was shot and later died early Monday morning in Juarez. The victim was shot on calle Isla Caledonia in the Guadalajara Izquierda colony, and then transported by a friend to the Delicias municipal police station, but died on the way.
Three unidentified men were shot to death in the Francisco I Madero colony in Juarez Monday, says news reports from the Mexican daily La Polaka.
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Two men were shot to death and a third wounded near the intersection of calles Marcelo Caraveo and Almada.
An unidentified man was shot to death near the intersection of Cromo and Hospital in the Barrio Alto.
Two men were shot to death and a third was wounded in a shooting in the San Francisco de Conchos municipality in Chihuahua state. Armed suspects dismounted from an SUV shot the victims near the Iglesia de Cristo Mateo on Kilometer 14 of the Camargo-Boquilla highway. Carlos Talamantes Valverde, 37, was found dead inside his Ford Fiesta sedan, while the other two victims, Alfonso Retana Escarcega 54, and his son Alfonso Retana Talamantes, 24, were found inside the church. Retana Talamantes died of his wounds
Two Chihuahua state police agents were shot to death and a third was wounded in Juarez Monday. The victims were attacked at the Plaza Juarez Mall near the corner of calles Tecnologico and Ejercito Nacional when an armed suspect aboard a Chevrolet Cheyenne pickup truck fired on the victims who were riding in personal vehicles.
An unidentified man was shot to death in his residence in Juarez Monday. Armed suspects aboard a pickup truck entered the front courtyard of the house, near the intersection of calles 40 Ejidatarios and Ecuatorial in the Rincones de Salvarcar colony, by tying rope to the front gate and pulling it down using the vehicle. The suspects then shot the victim and fled the scene.
An unidentified man was shot to death in Juarez Tuesday. The victim was shot three times near the corner of Calle Che Guevara and Bulevar Zaragoza near a school in the Manuel Valdez colony.
An man was found dead in an area south of Caborca, Sonora Monday. Jesus Sanchez Barragan, 22, was reported missing last January 22nd.
A man was found shot to death in Tijuana, Baja California Tuesday. Raul Ayon Hernandez, 30, was found in an area east of the city. Several .45 caliber spent shell casings were found at the scene.
Five individuals were shot to death in Tijuana, Baja California Sunday and Monday, according to the Mexican news daily La Frontera.
An unidentified man was found beaten to death in Tijuana near the intersection of bulevar Lazaro Cardenas and Rinconada del Laurel in the Rinconada de Otay colony.
An unidentified man was found shot to death in Tijuana, Baja California Sunday. The victim was shot on the Buena Vista pedestrian bridge in Zona RÃÂo near Via Rapida Oriente and Bulevar Padre Kino shot twice.
A man was found shot to death in Tijuana Sunday. Emiliano Mondragon Cruz, 51, was found in a mechanical shop in Tres de Octubre colony shot multiple times. Several 9mm spent casings were found at the scene
Four individuals were found murdered in Torreon, Coahuila Sunday and Monday in three separate crimes, according to the Mexican news dailEl Sol de Laguna.
The heads of two unidentified men were found near the intersection of Bulevar Revolucion and Calle Valdes Carrillo near the Ferrocarril museum Sunday. The headless body of one victim was found near a shopping center while the other was found near the corner of Avenida Morelos and Calle Torreon Viejo in the Sector Alianza colony.
The beheaded body of an unidentified man was found in Torreon, Coahuila Sunday. The victim's head was found near Plaza Civica on Bulevar Constitucion, while the victim's torso was found nearby.
An unidentified man was found shot to death on Calle Luis Reyna in Antigua Aceitera. The victim was shot three times. Ten spent 9mm casings were found at the scene.
The bodies two unidentified beheaded men was found in Torreon, Coahuila and Gomez Palacio, Durango. Both victim's heads were found near the interswction of Bulevar Rio Nazas and Calle Cobian.
A victim's torso was found near the intersection of Salvador Creel bridge and Calle Tamazula in an industrial area of Gomez Palacio. The victim had been stabbed to death.
Placing in non-WOT for now. Placing under WoT, since it's terrorism regardless of who dunnit.
The bomb found along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Wash., may have been packed with a blood-thinning chemical that's found in rat poison in an effort to inflict worse injuries.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told the Spokesman-Review that the bomb -- which officials have already described as sophisticated, with the potential to be devastating -- had some sort of chemical in it, and authorities have speculated that it may be a chemical found in rat poison. The bomb, which was defused without incident last Monday, has been sent for testing to a lab at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va..
The FBI and other officials have declined to release any information about the bomb's makeup. Knezovich said, though, that the bomb was also packed with shrapnel.
The theory is that someone hit with a piece of shrapnel covered in an anti-coagulant is more likely to bleed to death. Israeli officials have claimed in the past that Palestinian terrorists were using rat poison to make their bombs more deadly.
Whether such methods would have the intended effect, if used by the Palestinians or the person who built the Spokane bomb, remains unclear.
Authorities have not released any information about a potential suspect in the case. They are, however, calling it an act of domestic terrorism.
A man who was pulled over in Queens during a routine traffic stop was arrested after cops found bomb-making materials in his car, authorities said.
The driver, who has not been identified, was pulled over in Jamaica at about 2 p.m. after a cop spotted him illegally crossing a lane, sources told The Post.
The officer arrested the driver, who is in his 30s, after spotting a car battery, fertilizer and glass jars with aluminum shavings inside -- materials commonly used to make bombs.
The man was taken to the 113th Precinct stationhouse for questioning. Sources said the FBI was notified of the arrest.
The NYPD has been on heightened alert since 9/11 to be on the lookout for suspicious activities.
A man who was pulled over in Queens during a routine traffic stop was arrested after cops found bomb-making materials in his car, authorities said.
The driver, who has not been identified, was pulled over in Jamaica at about 2 p.m. after a cop spotted him illegally crossing a lane, sources told The Post.
The officer arrested the driver, who is in his 30s, after spotting a car battery, fertilizer and glass jars with aluminum shavings inside -- materials commonly used to make bombs. The man was taken to the 113th Precinct stationhouse for questioning. Sources said the FBI was notified of the arrest.
The NYPD has been on heightened alert since 9/11 to be on the lookout for suspicious activities.
#4
Doubt it, tipper - nunchucks and fertilizer are kinda different.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/26/2011 13:36 Comments ||
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#5
I clicked on the news link - are Rantburgers moonlighting over there as commenters? :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/26/2011 13:38 Comments ||
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#6
I've no idea, tipper. If so, then it isn't a big deal. I've never understood the fuss about nunchucks -- lots of Korean martial arts students have them, but they are very hard to learn to use well. Most of those who own them are covered in bruises and still could barely hit the broad sided of a barn without harming themselves.
#7
Nunchucks are banned for the same reason that AR-15s are banned in some states : evil-looking weapons that the banners do not understand, have never trained on, and their only experience with them comes from movies that make the weapons out to be much more effective and damaging than they are in real life.
The Arizona shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner has pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to charges he tried to kill Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords and two of her aides.
The plea on monday by Loughner marked his second court appearance since he allegedly shot the congresswoman and 18 others at Gifford's meet-and-greet event on January 8 outside a grocery store in Tucson. Six people died, including US District Judge John Roll and a 9-year-old girl. Thirteen others were maimed.
Loughner, 22, faces federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and attempting to murder two of her aides. He will later face state charges dealing with other victims.
Investigators have said Loughner was mentally disturbed and acting increasingly erratic in the weeks leading up to the shooting. If his attorney uses mental competency questions as a defence and is successful, Loughner could be sent to a mental health facility instead of being sentenced to prison or death.
US District Judge Larry Burns of San Diego asked Loughner attorney Judy Clarke whether there was any question about her client's ability to understand the case against him.
"We are not raising any issues at this time," Clarke said.
Prosecutor Wallace Kleindienst estimated that he would know within the next 30 days whether additional federal charges would be filed against Loughner.
Kleindienst said prosecutors provided defence lawyers with records taken from Loughner's computer and documents of about 250 interviews made in the case.
The judge did not rule on prosecutors' request to move the federal case back to Tucson so that victims and witnesses do not have to make the four-hour round trip drive to Phoenix to attend court hearings.
Clarke said she did not oppose the request, but questioned where Loughner would be jugged in Tucson if the case were moved.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I understand innocent until proven guilty, but "allegedly shot"?
I'm pretty sure he shot the folks, the question is was he legally insane at that time. Or allegedly disturbed, perhaps?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/26/2011 6:20 Comments ||
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#2
I hear that word allegedly a lot. NPR reported that Giffords was allegedly shot in the head.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2011 7:34 Comments ||
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#3
Could've been a micro-meteorite. There are lots of observatories on Kitt Peak near Tucson.
BTW, that triangular one in the back is a solar telescope, which is no mean feat.
#6
Yah, we all hallucinated the atrocity. Says so in the DSM IV
Posted by: Jack Angurong1317 ||
01/26/2011 21:39 Comments ||
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#7
Seems a bit absurd in this case, but innocent until guilty is nice to honor. Now he could be found not-guilty and then we could go, well he shot those people, got it right here on camera, but was let go because of sheriff dipstick leaked the film and laffytaffy couldn't get a fair trial.
[Al Jazeera] A judge has sentenced the first Guantanamo detainee to have a US civilian trial to life in prison, saying anything the Tanzanian man supposedly suffered at the hands of the CIA and others "pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror" caused by the bombing of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998.
US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Tuesday sentenced Ahmed Ghailani to life, calling the attacks "horrific" and saying the deaths and damage they caused far outweighs "any and all considerations that have been advanced on behalf of the defendant." He also ordered Ghailani to pay $33m in restitution.
Kaplan announced the sentencing in a packed Manhattan courtroom after calling it a day of justice for the defendant, as well as for the families of 224 people who died in the twin 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The victims included dozen Americans, and thousands more who were maimed.
As survivors and victims' loved ones spoke behind him, many in tears, Ghailani bowed his head and closed his eyes while gripping the edge of the defence table with both hands.
The judge said he wanted a sentence that "makes it crystal clear that others engaged or contemplating engaging in deadly acts of terrorism risk enormously serious consequences." He said he was satisfied that Ghailani knew and intended that people would be killed as a result of his actions and the conspiracy he joined.
Ghailani, 36, was convicted late last year of conspiring to destroy government buildings but acquitted of more than 200 counts of murder and dozens of other charges. The charge carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life. He had asked for leniency, saying he never intended to kill anyone and he was tortured.
Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was captured in Pakistain in 2004 and later supposedly interrogated at a secret CIA-run camp. He was moved to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006 before being transferred to New York for prosecution in 2009.
The trial late last year at a lower Manhattan courthouse had been viewed as a test case for a goal stated by Barack B.O. Obama, US president - putting other terrorism detainees, including self-professed Sept. 11, 2001 attacks criminal mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, on trial on US soil.
So far, Ghailani's is the only case to be tried as such and on Wednesday, it was reported that the B.O. regime will be lifting the ban on military tribunals, allowing them to resume at the Guantanamo Bay prison facility.
The judge rejected Ghailani's pleas for leniency, saying whatever Ghailani supposedly suffered at the hands of the CIA and others "pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror he and his confederates caused."
Evidence at trial showed that Ghailani helped purchase bomb components prior to the attacks, including 15 gas tanks designed to enhance the power of the bombs, along with one of the bomb vehicles.
Written descriptions of FBI interviews quoted Ghailani as saying he realised a week before the bombings that they were intended to strike a US embassy. The jury did not see those descriptions, but they were submitted for Kaplan to consider for sentencing.
Ghailani's lawyers argued that he was duped by friends into participating in the attack and supposedly was upset when he saw the damage done.
Before sentencing, Peter Quijano, Ghailani's defence attorney, portrayed his client as a hero, saying he had provided US authorities with "intelligence and information that arguably saved lives and I submit that is not hyperbole." He also said Ghailani supposedly cried when he learnt about the attacks. Ghailani declined to speak on his own behalf.
But outside the courthouse immediately after the life sentence was announced, US Attorney Preet Bharara said, "Today, our goal was achieved, as Ahmed Ghailani will never again breathe free air."
This article starring:
Ahmed Ghailani
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
See? It works! He got a fair trial, and the cost to the taxpayers was .. oh, not that much. We need to do this 212 more times, to keep the attorneys working. Plus feed for the media! Oh, and close Gitmo.
Actually, I think I'd of been happier had the 'defendant' just 'disappeared'.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/26/2011 6:12 Comments ||
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#2
33 million in restitution, goodbye cigarette money for 10 thousand years
Posted by: Steven ||
01/26/2011 12:00 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Pak fighter jets pounded thug hideouts in a rugged tribal region near the Afghan border on Tuesday, killing 18 fighters, an official said.
"Security forces targeted thug hideouts in different areas of Mohmand tribal region, killing 18 thugs," senior local administration official Maqsood Amin told AFP.
He added that the security forces also destroyed at least 10 thug hideouts.
"Most of the hard boyz killed during the operation belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), Amin said.
The United States has branded the rugged tribal area, which lies outside Pak government control, a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.
Under US pressure to crack down on thug havens along the Afghan border, Pakistain has in the past two years stepped up military operations against largely homegrown hard boyz in the tribal regions.
Pakistain launched its most ambitious military offensive yet against Talibs in South Wazoo in 2009, expanding the campaign to many of the other seven semi-autonomous tribal districts along the border.
Washington says wiping out the thug threat in Pakistain's semi-autonomous tribal belt is vital to winning the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and defeating Al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and more than five others injured due to a suicide kaboom at a police van in Pak port city of Bloody Karachi on Tuesday, police and witnesses said.
The mobile of the paramilitary force caught fire after the blast in Malir area of the city.
The killed and injured people were shifted to the city hospital. High alert was declared in the hospitals.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Six Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast targeting a bus, carrying them through east Baghdad's Al-Shaab District, during their return from a visit to Karbala.
The civilians were returning from their celebration of the 40th Day of Imam Hussein's Martrydom at the dawn of Islam, a Baghdad security source said on Tuesday.
"An explosive charge blew up on Tuesday afternoon in Baghdad's al-Shaab District, wounding six persons, when they came back from their visit to Karbala," the security source added.
The Shiite holy city of Karbala has witnessed on Tuesday hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and foreign visitors, who commomorated the 40th Day of Imam Hussein Bin-Ali, Prophet Mohammed's Grandson.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] A powerful kaboomdestroyed a passenger bus in the Philippine capital on Tuesday, killing at least two people and wounding at least 18 others, officials said.
The kaboom was so powerful that it punched a hole in a nearby concrete fence along metropolitan Manila's main highway in suburban Makati city, Mayor Junjun Binay said.
The bus was approaching a commuter railway station when the blast occurred inside the vehicle, taking out half of its front windshield, punching holes in windows and immediately killing a female passenger near the center of the kaboom, Binay said.
He said the damage indicated that it was caused by a bomb.
He said one hospital reported two people dead and 18 maimed.
Metro Manila police chief Nicanor Bartolome said "an explosive" must have been placed under a passenger seat somewhere in the middle of the bus where it caused a "big hole" in the vehicle large enough for a man to pass through.
Bomb Sherlocks were examining the debris to determine the type of explosives used, he said.
Binay said he was one of the first at the scene, describing the carnage to news hounds.
"There were bones and flesh on the pavement. A bloodied body was still there. This is an act of terrorism," he said.
It wasn't immediately clear how many people were on the bus, but some were unharmed. Officials temporarily blocked traffic on the highway, causing a massive gridlock on Manila's busiest thoroughfare.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] POLICE have jugged six suspected terrorists, including four teenagers, during a series of raids in central Indonesia.
Ansyaad Mbai, who heads Indonesia's anti-terrorism agency, says several low-explosive weapons also were seized in the raids on Tuesday.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Mohammedan nation, has battled Islamist bully boyz with links to the Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah since 2002, when bully boyz bombed a nightclub district on Bali island, killing 202 people. There have been at least three deadly attacks across the country since then.
TVOne television reported that among those jugged on Tuesday in the towns of Klaten and Solo were three high school students and one recent high school graduate.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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Live Coverage
9:53pm LBC: A hand grenade has exploded in the Tripoli area of al-Qebbeh.
9:42pm LBC: Young men have blocked the seafront road in the Tripoli area of Ras al-Sakhr.
9:38pm Miqati: Peaceful demos are a democratic right, but I wonder why are they happening? I believe that people will find out that those demos are unwarranted.
9:32pm Miqati: The STL is a controversial issue among the Lebanese and such issues should be settled inside Lebanese institutions. I'm not the one to disregard the blood of the martyrs and the issue of the tribunal will be thoroughly studied.
9:27pm Miqati: I stress the commitment of the Cabinet I will form to all commitments signed by the previous governments -- unless a national consensus was provided through dialogue on annulling them.
9:23pm Miqati: All options are open as to forming a new Cabinet.
9:19pm Miqati: I had never discussed the issue of my nomination with minister Mohammed Safadi, and I thank him for voting for me.
9:19pm Miqati: No restrictions have been imposed on my candidacy ... I have imposed my own conditions, which I won't disclose now. Days will demonstrate Najib Miqati's policy of openness toward everyone.
9:17pm NBN: Mustaqbal gunmen have deployed in Tripoli.
9:11pm LBC: Several youths are firing towards Jabal Mohsen and the army has responded by firing back.
more
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday appointed Hizbullah-backed business tycoon Najib Miqati to form the new government.
Miqati's appointment came in a presidential decree.
"The president informed me of the outcome of his consultations with parliamentarians, which have resulted in my appointment as prime minister," Miqati told news hounds from Baabda Palace.
"I will cooperate fully with all Lebanese to form a new government that protects their unity and illusory sovereignty," he vowed.
He also pledged to maintain a centrist position.
Miqati, 55, received the backing of 68 of parliament's 128 MPs, who had been meeting with Suleiman since Monday after Hizbullah brought down the unity government of Saudi- and Western-backed Saad Hariri on January 12.
The remaining 60 MPs backed Hariri for another term.
Miqati's appointment has sparked widespread anger within the Sunni community. They view it as a bid by the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hizbullah to sideline Hariri, the most popular Sunni leader, and even take control of the government.
According to Leb's complex power-sharing system, the premier must be a Sunni Mohammedan.
Hizbullah brought down Hariri's Western-backed government on Jan. 12 when he refused the group's demand to stop cooperation with a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 liquidation of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Hizbullah, which denies any role in the killing, is widely expected to be indicted.
Hariri has stayed on as caretaker prime minister.
Hizbullah can now either form its own government, leaving Hariri and his allies to become the opposition, or it can try to persuade Hariri to join a national unity government. In a speech Sunday night, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he favored a unity government.
Hariri said Monday he will not join a government headed by a Hizbullah-backed candidate. Hariri's Future bloc declared a day of peaceful protests Tuesday -- but called it a "day of rage" and played on the sectarian dimension of the conflict.
The United States, which has poured in $720 million in military aid since 2006, has tried to move Leb firmly into a Western sphere and end the influence of Hizbullah, Syria and Iran.
State Department front man P.J. Crowley warned Monday that continuing U.S. support for Leb would be "problematic" if Hizbullah takes a dominant role in the government, though he declined to say what the U.S. would do if Hizbullah's candidate becomes prime minister.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Thousands of Sunnis waved flags and burned tires Tuesday in a "day of rage" to protest gains by the Shiite thug group Hezbullies, which is on the brink of controlling Leb's next government.
The Iranian-backed group -- considered a terrorist organization by Washington -- secured support in parliament Monday to name its own candidate, former premier Najib Mikati, for the next prime minister.
The thug group's Western-backed opponents maintain that having an Iranian proxy in control of Leb's government would be disastrous and lead to international isolation.
Hezbullies's Sunni rivals held protests in different parts of Leb, mainly in the northern city of Tripoli, the capital Beirut and the main highway linking the capital with the southern port city of Sidon.
The largest gathering was in Tripoli, where thousands of people converged at a major square calling on Mikati not to accept the post and shouting slogans backing caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Mikati urged calm Tuesday and said he wanted to represent all of Leb.
"This is a democratic process," he told news hounds. "I want to rescue my country." Hezbullies brought down Hariri's Western-backed government on Jan. 12 when he refused the group's demand to cease cooperation with a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 liquidation of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Hezbullies, which denies any role in the killing, is widely expected to be indicted.
The group can now either form its own government, leaving Hariri and his allies to become the opposition, or it can try to persuade Hariri to join a national unity government.
In a speech Sunday night, Hezbullies leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said he favored a unity government.
Hariri said Monday he will not join a government headed by a Hezbullies-backed candidate.
Hariri's coalition issued a statement last week saying Hezbullies is trying to turn Leb into an "Iranian base" and was using intimidation to get its way. Hezbullies has emphasized that the group brought down Leb's government democratically and without resorting to violence.
The United States, which has poured in $720 million in military aid since 2006, has tried to move Leb firmly into a Western sphere and end the influence of Hezbullies, Syria and Iran.
State Department front man P.J. Crowley warned Monday that continuing US support for Leb would be "problematic" if Hezbullies takes a dominant role in the government, though he declined to say what the US would do if Hezbullies's candidate becomes prime minister.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2011 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.
The Afghan Army Disperses and Pashtun Soldiers Join the Taliban
[Tolo News] Organiser of 
[Tolo News] A group of 14 
[Al Jazeera] A judge has sentenced the first Guantanamo detainee to have a US civilian trial to life in prison, saying anything the Tanzanian man 
(Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and more than five others injured due to a 
President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday appointed Hizbullah-backed business tycoon Najib Miqati to form the new government.
