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08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot 07/31
Zeta Makripoulia aka Zoe in "Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos" aka Ilektra in "Molis horisa" aka Greek Model aka DJ for well-known radio stations, including Ciao FM and Sfera 102.2 (Europe) (age 33)
Jennifer Gareis aka Donna Logan Forrester in "The Bold and the Beautiful (Soap TV)" aka Virtual Girlfriend in "The 6th Day" aka Sheri in "Boat Trip" aka Honey O'Hara in "Venus on the Halfshell" aka Brooke in "What Boys Like" aka Sugar in "Luckytown" aka Miss New York USA 1994 (age 41)
Ann Dvorak aka Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte in "Scarface" aka Jean Morgan in "'G' Men" aka Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry in "Flame of Barbary Coast" aka Rita in "Abilene Town" aka Susan (Sue) Ellen Younger in "The Return of Jesse James" aka Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips in "I Was an American Spy" aka vor'shack, the D remains silent (Died in 1979 age 68)
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Unidentified gunnies late on Sunday night rubbed out a Somali politician as he left a mosque in Mogadishu.
Two masked men armed with pistols shot Mr Khalif Jire Warfa several times in the chest before fleeing the scene.
Mr Ali Hersi Barre, a senior police commander, told state-run radio Mogadishu that Khalif was struck down in his prime.
The police have cordoned off the area around Marwas Mosque in Mogadishu's business district of Hamarweyne in search of the perpetrators.
Although no group has so far grabbed credit for the attack, Mr Barre said that the killing was carried by beturbanned fascisti after they have been defeated in recent days by government forces on the battle fields in Mogadishu and other provinces controlled by the radical Islamist al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban. The organization's current leader is Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghani. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a Kenyan al-Qaeda member, is considered the group's military leader... group.
"It is a desperate act by the anti-peace elements who were defeated by the national armed forces in the past days in Mogadishu and elsewhere. That is very clear."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] La Belle France on Monday said it had given Libyan rebels 259 million dollars (181 million euros) in frozen funds that used to belong to the regime of strongman leader Moammar Qadaffy ...whose instability has been an inspiration to dictators everywhere... ."The NTC (National Transitional Council) will now be able to use these funds for purchases of a humanitarian nature," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
The NTC's new ambassador to Gay Paree, Mansour Saif al-Nasr, said after meeting French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that "these are funds that belong to the Libyan people" that will be used to buy "food and medicine."
The Libyan rebel movement installed ambassadors in Gay Paree and London last Thursday, formalizing ties with its main allies in the fight to topple Qadaffy from power in Tripoli.
La Belle France and Britannia are taking part in NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... -coordinated strikes against Qadaffy's military assets. Gay Paree was the first outside state to formally recognize the rebels as the country's legitimate rulers.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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Dunno. While the Muslim Brotherhood sat out the regime change battles in Egypt, they pushed the Revolutionaries out of the "unity" rally.
It is time to call it: BHO is bombing Gadawful for the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya. I would like to know how that serves National Security.
[An Nahar] Egyptian armed forces and riot police moved into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday to disperse several dozen protesters who refused to leave the area after most groups had suspended a sit-in.
Military police shot into the air to disperse the protesters, and proceeded to beat them with batons when they refused to leave the square, a security official said.
The only ones surprised by this being those at the receiving end.
The protesters responded by throwing stones and rocks at the army and security forces and several protesters were maimed in the festivities, the official said.
Activists said several protesters had been tossed in the slammer.
The government said on its Facebook page that "several thugs had been tossed in the slammer."
Army and security forces had marched onto the square and removed tents set up by protesters, a day after over 26 parties and political movements said they had suspended their three-week sit-in during Ramadan, the Mohammedan month of fasting which started on Monday.
"Based on our belief that sit-ins are a means, and not a goal ... the political parties and youth movements have decided to temporarily suspend their sit-in during the holy month of Ramadan," they said in a joint statement.
Several dozen however had insisted on staying in the square.
Traffic was seen flowing through Tahrir Square -- the epicenter of protests that toppled president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in February -- for the first time in three weeks.
Activists said they would return to the square to push for reforms once Ramadan is over.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] At least two people were killed and twelve others injured when the elite republican guard continued to shell villages in Arhab district on the outskirts of Yemen's capital Sana'a late Sunday and early Monday, eyewitnesses said.
Several villages came under attacks as more army reinforcements arrived in the district following fierce battles over the past few days. On Thursday, tribes took over the elite republican guard camp in the area triggering the army to carry out Arclight airstrikes killing scores of rustics and soldiers.
Clashes in Arhab have been non stop for the last month and at least 78 people have been killed, sources confirmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Two non-combatants were killed and three injured after government forces bombarded residential areas in northern regions of Taiz. Two of the injured are children and one of them is at death's door.
Eyewitnesses said that the government plane was targeting residence of those tribes who opposed it and supported the revolution against President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... 's regime.
The pro democracy youth in Taiz freedom square condemned the attack and called on the international community to stop the attacks of the regime against unarmed civilians.
Taiz has been out of government control over since May, and governmental forces have been clashing with pro revolution rustics for the last month.
At least 45 people were killed in July in ongoing festivities.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Tribes in Marib province and Nihm district on the outskirts of Yemen's capital Sana'a denied power towers were attacked after the capital and several cities were plunged into darkness on Sunday and Monday.
Living the metaphor.
Electricity has been cut off in Sana'a since 3:00 pm Sunday until the moment.
It is untrue that power towers had been attacked and the government is just misleading the people as usual, the tribes said in a statement, after the government blamed the long power outages on sabotage acts.
The regime is deeply involved in all crises here and the current blackouts come to deepen these crises, the statement said, holding state media responsible for accusing the people in Marib and other areas of illegal acts.
Meantime, observers said the blackouts started hours after the departure of the UN envoy who paid a ten-day visit to the country. The regime is exposed because it returns electricity when a foreign envoy arrives here, but cuts it off after they leave, observers said.
On his visit, UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omer, held talks with the political parties in an effort to bring them together to solve Yemen's problems. Most recently, he warned in a presser of the collapse of or Somalizing Yemen if the political parties don't agree and reach something to start a practical transitional period immediately.
The blackouts also coincided with the arrival of the month of fasting, Ramadan, though the government promised a day ago to improve all services and tackle all shortages during it.
Fuel, water and cooking gas shortages and the dueling protests in downtown main cities are continuing and the people are afraid these crises might intensify making it difficult for them to perform rituals perfectly.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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The blackouts also coincided with the arrival of the month of fasting, Ramadan, though the government promised a day ago to improve all services and tackle all shortages during it. Fuel, water and cooking gas shortages and the dueling protests in downtown main cities are continuing and the people are afraid these crises might intensify making it difficult for them to perform rituals perfectly
Hey, Mo didn't have any electricity, fuel or cooking gas.
Enjoy your old school Ramadan...
[Emirates 24/7] Yemeni military officials say government Arclight airstrikes have killed at least 15 suspected Al Qaeda-linked faceless myrmidons in southern Yemen.
They says the Arclight airstrikes early Monday also destroyed a tank seized by faceless myrmidons and several artillery positions in the Dufas area near Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with army rules.
The Arclight airstrikes are the latest in an ongoing government campaign to try to dislodge al-Qaeda-linked faceless myrmidons from Zinjibar and Jaar, another city in Abyan.
Emboldened by the turmoil from nearly six months of unrest, the faceless myrmidons have been seeking to capture and hold territory in Yemen's nearly lawless south.
Yemen is home to the world's most active al-Qaeda branches.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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Reuters, 1 Aug 2011 - Blas "Woody" Gutierrez, 30, a former Columbus NM village trustee, pleaded guilty in federal court in Las Cruces NM to one count of conspiracy, three counts of making false statements in the acquisition of firearms and three counts of smuggling firearms from the United States.
Between January 2010 and March 2011, the defendants used their positions to facilitate and safeguard the trafficking of around 200 guns worth about $70,000, including assault rifles, to Mexico.
It's good to periodically turn on the lights and stomp the cockroaches running about. This doesn't eliminate the cockroaches, but does reduce their numbers to a bearable level for a while.
A man who pleaded guilty to shooting two soldiers outside a military recruiting station in Arkansas said he also shot at the home of a rabbi in Little Rock days earlier, according to a letter he wrote to the FBI.
In the letter obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request, Abdulhakim Muhammad said he fired 10 rounds at the home of Rabbi Eugene Levy days before he fatally shot Pvt. William Andrew Long and wounded Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula in June 2009.
But he was just practicing, so that's ok. And it was kind of him to clear up the case...
[Dawn] Unidentified motorcyclists rubbed out a tribal elder of South Wazoo Agency in Tank district on Sunday while three hard boyz were killed in fresh fighting between rival groups in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.
Sources said that tribal elder Malik Arsala Khan was going from bazaar to his home when three armed persons riding a cycle of violence opened firing on him. He received serious injuries and was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
The assailants managed to escape. However, Denver is the capital of Colorado... police said that search was continued for arrest of the attackers. No group has grabbed credit for killing of Malik Arsala Khan.
Being a pro-government tribal elder, the dear departed was appointed chief of a peace committee four months ago when displaced Mehsuds began returning to their areas from Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... and Tank.
In Tirah valley, three persons were killed and two injured in festivities between two myrmidon groups.
Sources said that Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansaarul Islam once again intensified their armed struggle to gain control of Sanda Pal hilltop. Both sides used heavy arms against each other, sources said, adding three combatants were and two others received injuries. "The victims belong to both sides," they said.
Khasadar Force in Malagori area of Jamrud incarcerated four kidnappers and recovered an kidnapped trader on Sunday. Officials said that Mohammad Alam, an electronics dealer of Karkhano Market, was kidnapped for ransom on July 18. Khasadars raided the hideout of kidnappers on a tip-off of local informers, officials said.
In Landi Kotal, khasadars defused a time device planted at a football ground. Officials said that a final match between local football teams was to be played on Sunday.
Organisers later arranged the final match, which was won by Hamza Club by defeating Khyber Union.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
How the tribal elder could afford a tank, I'll never know...
[Dawn] The exodus of tribal people from Ghariba locality of Jawaki in Frontier Region of Kohat has picked after increase in attacks of Orcs and similar vermin at residential areas ahead of the holy month of Ramazan.
The rustics from the affected areas told Dawn by telephone that regular rocket and gun attacks especially on volunteers of lashkar forced their families to shift to Kohat district to save their lives.
They appealed to government to provide facilities of transport and ration to their families.
Earlier, the rustics had threatened to launch protest against government for its failure to control attacks on their villages. "We have taken control of the strategic mountains between Ghariba and Darra Adamkhel but even then Orcs and similar vermin come from other secret routes and ambush our villages in the night," they said.
The officials, when contacted, said that migration of tribal families continued from the area for the past one year. "The Orcs and similar vermin also fired rockets at checkpost of security forces in the area few days ago without causing any loss," they said.
Officials said that rustics should identify black, who were providing shelter to cut-thoats, otherwise attacks would never end. "The attacks are not conducted form across the mountains but from within the Jammu and Jawaki areas," they said.
Shafarish Khan, a tribal elder, told Dawn that Orcs and similar vermin came to Jammu town and burnt several houses by sprinkling petrol at them. He said that rustics were walking on foot to reach Kohat. He criticised administration for not offering any kind of help to them.
"There is no fire brigade in any of the tribal areas. It resulted in losses to the tune of hundreds of thousands of rupees to the residents as all household items were burnt in the fire last month. Similarly dozens of tribal people including women and kiddies have been killed in rocket attacks since 2008," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] At least four people died in a kaboom Monday in a market place in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, which has been plagued for decades by separatist Death Eaters, a police official told AFP.
Five others were maimed in the kaboom, which occurred just outside the state capital of Imphal, said deputy inspector general of police Clay Khonghai.
"I can confirm that four people have been killed and five are injured. We suspect the involvement of separatists," Khonghai said by telephone from the site of the blast.
So far none of Manipur's several separatist outfits has grabbed credit for the attack.
The remote state bordering Myanmar has long been affected by bully boy violence and is home to dozens of tribal groups and small guerrilla armies that resist rule from New Delhi and often compete against each other.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Personnel of an intelligence agency incarcerated two terror suspects from Kot Abdul Malik, Sheikhupura district, on Sunday.
Sources said Muhammad Akeel and Khuda Bux alias Shahbaz were picked up in the light of information provided by four suspects incarcerated by agencies from Islamabad recently.
Some explosives were also seized during the Sunday raid.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A US drone strike targeting a bully boy vehicle in Pakistain's northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border killed at least four suspected gunnies on Monday, local security officials said.
Two missiles fired by the drone hit the vehicle in Azam Warsak, 15 kilometres west of Wana, the main town of the South Wazoo region, where Pakistain's military has been fighting gunnies for two years.
"At least four gunnies were killed in the strike," a local security official told AFP.
The latest US drone attack was the first since July 12, when missiles hit a compound and a vehicle in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing at least six bully boys.
Another security official in the area confirmed Monday's strike and casualties, but said the identities of those killed were not immediately known.
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08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Ninety vehicles -- trucks, passenger coaches and 80 cycle of violences -- were torched in different strife-hit localities of the city on Monday, police said.
They said that dozens of arsonists stormed a factory in the Sohrab Goth area on Monday evening and torched at least 80 cycle of violences parked outside the industrial unit. The area DSP confirmed the incident.
However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... fire tenders could not reach the scene due to security concerns despite the fact that the Sohrab fire station is located right across the road.
Earlier in the day, two minibuses and two trucks were torched in Surjani Town's Sector 7-A.
Similarly, in Surjani Town's Sectors 4-A, 4-B and 7-A myrmidons also set five roadside tea stalls and food outlets and half a dozen pushcarts on fire.They also struck in Orangi Town and set a route 7-Star passenger coach and one rickshaw on fire.
Another passenger coach was also set on fire within the remit of the Mominabad cop shoppe, the police added.
A truck belonging to the Bloody Karachi Electric Supply Company and another belonging to the Bloody Karachi Metropolitan Corporation were also torched in the Soldier Bazaar area. A private car was also set on fire within the remit of the Mobina Town cop shoppe.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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Good for them.
I've always felt that motorcycles were un-islamic, and only distract from worshiping alan.
Is five times a day really enough? I think it's time we asked the question.
Hold on while I go light up this Vespa.
#2
5 times a day prayer is a sure sign of an Automat Arab and surely a trap by the MOSSAD, before al-Nakba and speedy drive thru piety, Good Moslems hammered the invisible nail 11 times a day.
Posted by: S ||
08/02/2011 19:50 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Nearly two dozen people were on Monday rubbed out, several others maimed and around 90 vehicles and some tea shops set ablaze in gun and arson attacks in different parts of the city, causing the Sindh home minister to approach the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... and Awami National Party to seek their support for what is being described as an indiscriminate action against culprits.
The strife-hit areas of the city witnessed 23 killings on the first day of the month, surpassing the daily average corpse count of July during which a total of 318 people, including a few lawyers, had been killed.
In protest against the killings, representatives of the city and provincial associations of lawyers boycotted court proceedings and marched towards the Chief Minister's House, demanding a judicial probe into the recent wave of violence.
The Surjani Town remained the worst-affected area with arson attacks on two minibuses, two trucks, several tea shops, eateries and pushcarts besides three killings.
Only a day ago, five people had been killed in the town.
In a major arson attack, at least 80 cycle of violences were set on fire on the premises of a factory situated in the Sohrab Goth area.
No fire engine could rush to the spot because of security reasons.
When the SSP for district west was asked about the identity of the groups involved in the violence, he said that apparently the MQM and ANP were fighting it out. He said police had placed in durance vile some suspects involved in gun and arson attacks and also seized weapons found in their possessions.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... the violence forced residents to stay indoors, traders to pull down shutters and transporters not to ply vehicles in the strife-hit areas.
Amid the renewed wave of violence, Home Minister Manzoor Wasan, in an attempt to muster their support and ease out the city's volatile situation, visited the MQM headquarters, better known as Nine Zero, and met the members of the coordination committee of the party. They discussed the situation for over an hour and the minister assured the MQM leadership that their reservations would be addressed and requested the party to extend cooperation in bringing a durable peace to Bloody Karachi.
After meeting the MQM leaders, the minister reached the Mardan House, the ANP office, and met ANP leader Shahi Syed. They discussed the worsening law and order situation. The minister said the government wanted to take the parties on board before initiating an action.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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A car bomb blew up outside a Catholic church in central Kirkuk early on Tuesday, injuing at least 20 people. The attack took place in Kirkuk's Shatterlo neighborhood at around 5:30 a.m.
The victims included staff from the Holy Family Church and people with homes nearby. The Interior Ministry said at least at 23 people were wounded in the attack, while police reports put the number at 20.
The blast damaged the church and a number of nearby houses.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: An Iraqi soldier has been injured in an attack against a joint Army and Police patrol in central Baghdad on Monday, whilst a U.S.
Army vehicle was damaged in an explosive charge blast in the city, a security source reported.
A group of unknown gunmen have attacked a joint Iraqi Army and Police patrol in central Baghdads al-Wathba Square, the security source said, adding that the attack had injured an Iraqi soldier, who was driven to a nearby hospital for treatment.
In a separate incident, an explosive charge blew off against a U.S.
Army patrol in east Baghdads Canal Street, causing damage to one of its vehicles, the security source said, expecting that the blast could have caused human casualties among the patrols men.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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The Lebanese Army opened fire at a group of Israeli soldiers that crossed the border Blue Line into Lebanon in the Wazzani area early Monday, a security source told Xinhua.
The source said the six Israeli soldiers, who had crossed into Lebanon, fired at the Lebanese army post in response. No casualties were reported.
The Lebanese military sent reinforcement to the Wazzani area soon after the incident and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) circulated extensive patrols, said the source.
The security source said the situation along the Lebanese- Israeli border was back to normal.
Israeli military sources said "The Israeli soldiers, who were on a regular patrol along the border," came under fire from the Lebanese army, and returned fire, the IDF Spokesman's Office told Xinhua. There were no injuries among the Israeli troops. Lebanese media at first reported that one soldier had been killed in the exchange, which they said took place at about 7:00 am, but later reported that a soldier had only been wounded.
Some 15 Israeli troops crossed 50 meters into Lebanese territory, prompting LAF troops to fire warning shots at the Israeli patrol, according to the reports. The IDF Spokesman, however, said that "troops remained on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, and did not cross into Lebanese territory."
Israel filed a complaint with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) over the event, which took place at the northern end of the Galilee panhandle, and the UN body reportedly streamed forces to the area.
Calls mounted for an emergency U.N. meeting on Syria Monday after troops killed nearly 141 people in one of the deadliest days so far and the regime praised the army for "foiling" the country's enemies.
Rights activists said Sunday's corpse count included at least 100 when the army stormed the flashpoint protest city of Hama, scene of a 1982 Islamist revolt that was put down by deadly force, killing an estimated 20,000 people.
"It is one of the deadliest days" since the protests erupted on March 15, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Overall, the corpse count from Sunday's nationwide crackdown now stands at 139, including two more people who were rubbed out in Hama and another person who was bumped off in Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... , said the Observatory.
"Two people were killed by militias loyal to the regime in the village of Maar Daftin near Hama, and a third in Kessoua, near Damascus," the rights group said.
President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... , in a speech marking the 66th anniversary of the army's formation, said the military "proved its loyalty to its people, country and creed," state news agency SANA cited the embattled leader as saying.
"Its efforts and sacrifices will be admired," he was quoted as saying, adding that "these sacrifices succeeded in foiling the enemies of the country and ending sedition, preserving Syria."
Assad called the armed forces a "model of commitment to the nation's causes and a defender of its rights," and blamed the unrest on conspirators who wished to cause sedition.
Britannia on Monday called for "stronger international pressure" on Syria, but ruled out military intervention.
"We want to see stronger international pressure all round, and of course to be effective that can't just be pressure from Western nations," Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC radio.
"That includes from Arab nations, it includes from Turkey that has been very active in trying to persuade President Assad to reform instead of embarking on these appalling actions."
Hague stressed there was no prospect of achieving a U.N. mandate for military intervention such as in Libya.
"It's not a remote possibility, even if we were in favor of that, which we're not," he said.
U.S. President Barack B.O. Obama and European leaders condemned the pre-Ramadan crackdown as Germany and Italia called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
A meeting could be held later on Monday, but such a move could reopen bitter divisions within the Security Council, which has not yet been able to agree even on a statement on Assad's crackdown against opponents.
Britannia, La Belle France, Germany, Portugal and the United States have been pressing for weeks for some kind of condemnation of the violence.
But Russia, China, South Africa, India and Brazil -- which are angry at the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... bombing campaign in Libya -- have refused to support the move. Russia and China have threatened to veto any formal resolution against Assad.
Obama said he was "appalled by the Syrian government's use of violence and brutality against its own people" and paid tribute to the "courageous" demonstrators who have taken to the streets.
"In the days ahead, the United States will continue to increase our pressure on the Syrian regime, and work with others around the world to isolate the Assad government and stand with the Syrian people," he said.
JJ Harder, press attache at the U.S. embassy in Damascus, told the BBC: "There is one big armed gang in Syria, and it's named the Syrian government."
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... strongly condemned the action by Assad, who has been refusing to take the U.N. chief's calls for several weeks, his front man said.
Syria's neighbor Turkey said it was "deeply saddened and disappointed... by the current developments on the eve of holy month of Ramadan."
Abdel Karim Rihawi, who heads the Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights, said: "One hundred non-combatants were killed on Sunday in Hama by gunfire from security forces who accompanied the army as it stormed the city."
The head of the National Organization for Human Rights, Ammar Qorabi, put the Hama corpse count at 95, while Abdel Rahman said at least 47 people were killed there.
"The number of those maimed is huge and hospitals cannot cope, particularly because we lack the adequate equipment," Abdel Rahman added, quoting a Hama hospital official.
He said the Hama crackdown came after more than 500,000 people rallied on Friday following Mohammedan prayers during which a holy man told worshippers "the regime must go."
Activists also reported at least 19 deaths in Deir al-Zour, Syria's main gas- and oil-production hub in the east which has become a rallying point for protests along with Hama.
Abdel Rahman meanwhile told Agence La Belle France Presse protesters set ablaze 24 army troop carriers in the Masrib region west of Deir al-Zour.
SANA charged gunniesrubbed out two security forces in Hama and that a colonel and two soldiers were "martyred" in Deir al-Zour.
In 1982, an estimated 20,000 people were killed in Hama when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of Assad's late father, Hafez.
At least 1,583 civilians and 369 members of the army and security forces have been killed since mid-March in Syria, according to the Observatory.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Syrian troops kept up attacks on the restive city of Hama Monday, the start of the Mohammedan holy month of Ramadan, a day after a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters killed at least 70 and drew harsh rebukes from the US and Europe.
Sunday was one of the bloodiest days since the uprising against President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... authoritarian rule began in mid-March. Six Syrian rights groups said in a joint statement that 74 people were killed throughout the country, 55 of them from Hama and neighboring villages.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... expanded its sanctions against Syria Monday, imposing asset freezes and travel bans against five more military and government officials. The EU decision brings the number of individuals targeted by the EU to 35, including Assad. Four government entities are also on the list.
"Residents are committed to resistance through peaceful means," Hama-based activist Omar Hamawi told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named by telephone Monday. The city's streets are full of barriers as well as thousands of men "who are ready to defend the city with stones," he said.
"People will not surrender this time. We will not allow a repetition of what happened in 1982," he said.
Hamawi said residents in villages and towns around Hama have blocked roads and highways leading to the city in order to prevent the military from bringing supplies.
He added that dozens of checkpoints were set up and activists have blocked the highway linking the northern city of Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... , Syria's largest, with the capital Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... The escalating government crackdown appears aimed at preventing the protests from swelling during Ramadan.
Mohammedans throng mosques during Ramadan for special nighttime prayers after breaking their daily dawn-to-dusk fast. The gatherings could trigger intense protests throughout the predominantly Sunni country and activists say authorities are trying to prevent that.
The worst carnage on Sunday was in Hama, the scene of a 1982 massacre by Assad's late father and predecessor and a city with a history of defiance against 40 years of Assad family rule. Hospitals there were overwhelmed with casualties, suggesting the corpse count could rise sharply, witnesses said.
It appeared the regime was making an example of Hama, a religiously conservative city of about 800,000 people some 130 miles (210 kilometers) north of the capital, Damascus.
The city largely has fallen out of government control since June as residents turned on the regime and blockaded the streets against encroaching tanks.
President Barack B.O. Obama on Sunday called the reports "horrifying" and said Assad is "completely incapable and unwilling" to respond to the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people.
On Monday, Britannia's foreign secretary William Hague said there is no prospect of international military intervention in Syria, despite an assault by the regime on protest strongholds.
Troops backed by tanks renewed shelling of Hama for a second day in an attempt to subdue the city. Hama resident Saleh Abu Yaman said there was heavy shooting in the northeastern Hamidiyeh neighborhood, which he described as a hotbed of anti-regime activists.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, the head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said troops raided Hamidiyeh and killed at least two people and maimed 10. He cited hospital officials in the city.
Abdul-Rahman said security forces shot another person dead in the eastern town of al-Boukamal near the border with Iraq.
The Local Coordination Committees, which helps organize anti-government protests, said five people were killed Monday of which three were in Hama, one in al-Boukamal and another in the nearby city of Deir el-Zour.
Hamawi said tanks resumed fire on Hamidiyeh Monday morning after a night of sporadic shooting. Syria-based rights activist Mustafa Osso confirmed Hama was being shelled.
More than 1,600 civilians have been killed in the crackdown on the largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime since the uprising began in mid-March.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The Lebanese and Israeli armies exchanged fire in the area of Mountazahat in Wazzani on Monday morning after a Jewish state patrol crossed the U.N.-drawn Blue Line, the Lebanese military said.
Both sides reported no casualties but each blamed the other for the clash.
The Lebanese army command said the incident occurred at around 5:50 am when a 15-member Israeli patrol in the Wazzani area crossed the technical fence and went beyond it about 70 meters.
"Forces stationed in the area confronted it and an exchange of fire occurred," the communiqué said. The Israeli patrol withdrew from the area at around 7:25 am, it added.
The army said no injuries were reported within the military ranks.
A Lebanese army official also said that troops stationed in the area fired warning shots. "The Israeli patrol retreated and then fired at Lebanese army posts," the official told Agence La Belle France Presse
But Israeli military sources accused a Lebanese soldier of opening fire on Israeli troops carrying out work on a border fence.
An Israeli military spokeswoman also told AFP that an Israeli military force "carrying out a routine patrol within Israeli territory near the Israel-Leb border was fired upon from the direction of Leb."
The exchange of fire continued for several minutes, Voice of Leb radio station (93.3) said.
Both sides have challenged the accuracy of the Blue Line in several locations.
The incident led to a state of alert among Lebanese army and UNIFIL troops, which dispatched patrols to the Wazzani area.
Two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer were killed in a rare cross-border clash in Adaisseh in August last year, the worst such violence since the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
It's probably SOP for the Israelis to video record all such activities as fence repair, which remains classified unless needed.
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.
l-Shabaab
Two 
Wazoo
[Dawn] The exodus of tribal people from Ghariba locality of Jawaki in Frontier Region of Kohat has picked after increase in attacks of 
Personnel of an intelligence agency 
Ninety vehicles -- trucks, passenger coaches and 80 
Nearly two dozen people were on Monday 
cycle of violence
Calls mounted for an emergency U.N. meeting on Syria Monday after troops killed nearly 141 people in one of the deadliest days so far and the regime praised the army for "foiling" the country's enemies.
President-for-Life Bashir 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
President-for-Life Bashir 
[An Nahar] The Lebanese and Israeli armies exchanged fire in the area of Mountazahat in Wazzani on Monday morning after a Jewish state patrol crossed the U.N.-drawn Blue Line, the Lebanese military said.
