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Today: 71 articles and 176 comments as of 9:30.
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Syria allows Arab observers
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Mavis knew how to put the #### in Fluck!
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 12/20/2011 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Mala Powers aka Roxane in "Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)" aka Ann Walton in "Outrage (1950)" aka Laura Reno in "Rage at Dawn (1955)" aka Barbara Bissle in "Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)" aka Valerie 'Val' Owens in "Death in Small Doses (1957)" aka Sally 'Angel Face' Connors in "City That Never Sleeps (1953)" And lots of Oaters (Died in 2007 at age 75)



Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/20/2011 1:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Mavis has a name you just don't mess with.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/20/2011 21:12 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Suicide Bombers Hit Afghan Market
[An Nahar] Twin jacket wallahs on a cycle of violence struck an Afghan market in the southern province of Nimroz on Monday, killing themselves but causing no other casualties, officials said.

The interior ministry said the attackers with "suicide-loaded vests" blew up their cycle of violence at around 8:50 am (04:20 GMT) in the Haji Zahid market of Dilaram district, but that "fortunately nobody was killed or injured".

Government and police officials said there was a nearby police post, but that the target was unclear.

"The attack took place near the Haji Sharif roundabout and a police check post was also nearby," Nimroz police chief Abdul Jabar Pordili told Agence La Belle France Presse.

A front man for the Taliban grabbed credit for the attack, but gave no further information.

The Islamist militia have led a 10-year insurgency against the Afghan government and 140,000 U.S.-led foreign troops since they were ousted from power in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Nothing says 'Jihad' like blowing up women and vegetables.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/20/2011 8:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Nothing says 'Jihad' like failing to blowIng up women and vegetables.

Fixed it for you, Mullah Richard. ;-)
  
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/20/2011 20:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Nothing says 'Jihad' like failing to blowIng up women and vegetables.
And dying for it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 20:48 Comments || Top||


NATO to continue Afghan night raids
KABUL: NATO will continue to carry out nighttime kill-and-capture raids that target suspected insurgents despite repeated protests by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the alliance said Monday. Spokesman Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson said that Afghan special forces, however, now take part in nearly all night raids and their participation is constantly increasing.

The raids have become a flashpoint for anger over foreign meddling in Afghanistan and whether detention operations will be run by the Afghans or Americans. Karzai has demanded that foreign troops stop entering homes, saying Afghan citizens cannot feel secure if they think armed soldiers might burst into their houses in the middle of the night.

Jacobson countered that the raids remain the safest form of operation to take out insurgent leaders. They account for less than 1 percent of civilian casualties, and in 85 percent of cases no shots are fired, he said.

Last month, Karzai convened a traditional national assembly known as a Loya Jirga that stopped short of demanding a complete end to night raids. Instead, it asked that they be led and controlled by Afghan security forces -- a demand that the US says it has met.

Adm. William McRaven, who leads the US Special Operations Command, said last week that about 2,800 raids were carried out against insurgent targets in the past year.

But some analysts
...and what would we do without unnamed experts dogging us at every step...
have questioned the military and political value of the operations, saying that when guerrilla commanders are taken out they are usually replaced by younger and more aggressive fighters less disposed to making any compromise with the government.
Those younger commanders also have less training and experience, which means they are more likely to get caught and killed. I believe it is called getting inside the training cycle, and it quickly degrades the ability of the bad guys to accomplish much of anything. See Iraq during the surge.
The issue also has held up the signing of a security agreement with the US that could keep thousands of American troops here for years beyond the 2014 deadline for most international forces to leave. Remaining American troops would train Afghan forces and assist with counterterrorism operations.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the US to conintue using Drones as per IRAN.

Meanwhile, INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > INDIA'S SECRET-ISH ROMANCE WID NORTH KOREA, + late dictator Kimmie for expanded influence vee Rising China.

Uh, uh, CHINA TO PAKLAND > STOP BEING A SLUT!

Time for Kabul to be jealous ala Menage a Trois'???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2011 23:15 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Clashes in Somalia leave 18 dead
[Iran Press TV] At least five Somali government troops and 13 al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
forces of Evil have been killed in an exchange of fire in southern Mogadishu, Press TV reports.

According to a Somali military officer at the Gashandhiga Military Base, the incident took place early Monday in south Mogadishu's Industrial Street after the forces of Evil attacked an African Union and Somalia government bases.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard...
African Union forces have continued their attacks against Dayniile district, killing at least four civilians and wounding dozens of others over the past days.

Boilerplate follows...
Somalia has not had a functioning government
since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Egypt politicians and new MP's to begin sit-in against state repression
[Al Ahram] A host of prominent Egyptian political forces and figures announced plans on Monday to stage an open-ended sit-in before Cairo's Supreme Judiciary Court to demand an immediate cessation of violence against anti-government protesters.

Thirteen civilians have been killed so far and more than 500 injured following four days of festivities outside Egypt's Cabinet building in downtown Cairo between security forces and protesters who demand an end to military rule.

Political figures convened on Monday to discuss possible ways of ending the standoff. Participants in the discussion included, among others, Freedom and Justice Party Secretary-General Mohamed El-Beltagy; presidential hopeful Ayman Nour; Kefaya protest movement leader George Ishak; and newly-elected parliamentarians Mostafa El-Naggar and Amr Hamzawy.

The group of prominent political personalities has reportedly decided to stage a sit-in outside the courthouse until all violence is brought to a halt; all those jugged during the festivities are released by authorities; security officials are held accountable for the violence; and state-run media abandons efforts to defame protesters.

The assemblage of politicians is also demanding that Egypt's ruling military council hand over power to an elected civilian authority immediately following the third and final round of Egypt's first post-Mubarak parliamentary polls in January.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Prosecution detains 123 accused of violence near Cabinet, releases 28
[Al Ahram] South Cairo Prosecution has continued investigations in the violence near Cabinet where 11 were officially reported killed and tens injured. The prosecution heard the accounts of 178 accused of torching fire to the parliament and Shoura buildings, the Scientific Compound, the district of Boulaq as well as West Cairo.

The prosecution ordered the detention of 123 of the accused and released 22 children and 6 young women and 31 young men pending investigations.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Egypt activists call for Friday demo against military rule
[Al Ahram] Nineteen different political and cultural movements released a statement on Monday calling for a million-man march in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, 23 December, to protest military rule. The various groups are urging all factions to set aside their political differences and rally under the single slogan, "Down with military rule."

The statement stressed that the aim of the proposed Friday demonstration was to "regain the nation's honour," which had been tarnished by the military following the February departure of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak.
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
Thirteen civilians have been killed so far and more than 500 injured following four days of festivities outside Egypt's Cabinet building in downtown Cairo between security forces and protesters who demand an end to military rule.

The statement condemned what it described as "lies" by Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), adding that -- despite video footage clearly depicting crimes perpetrated by military personnel -- the SCAF had continued to deny responsibility for its actions and blame ongoing violence on a "third party."

Activists, for their part, hold the SCAF responsible for the mounting corpse count outside the Cabinet building, accusing military personnel of starting a fire that partially destroyed a nearby scientific institute housing tens of thousands of rare manuscripts.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Three killed during failed attempt to clear Tahrir Square
[Al Ahram] Military police and Central Security Forces (CSF) killed three protestors in a failed attempt
Curses! Foiled again!
to clear protesters from Tahrir Square on Sunday night.

Protesters accused security forces of using sewage water mixed with kerosene gas during the attack.

Two protesters were rubbed out by security forces. It is unclear precisely who fired the fatal bullets but video taken from the scene shows both military police and CSF officers shooting into the crowd.

A third protester nabbed during last night's attack died in detention. He was due to be transferred to the prosecutor's office for interrogation. Human rights activists and lawyers have accused the military of torturing the dead man during his detention.

The field hospital at Omar Makram mosque received nine injured protesters as a result of the attack.

Protesters announced they had captured an injured soldier who was treated at the field hospital and later transferred to hospital in an ambulance. Protesters shared photos and video clips showing the injured solider and how he was treated after security forces denied any of its personnel had been captured.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Egypt Parliament evacuated due to 'arson threats'
[Al Ahram] The Egyptian parliament building (the People's Assembly) was evacuated today after the authorities allegedly received threats to set it ablaze.

Major General Adel Emara, deputy defence minister and member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), interrupted a presser this afternoon to read out an intelligence brief stating that unknown assailants were planning to set the building on fire.

Shortly afterwards, employees evacuated the building and military and police forces flooded the nearby streets.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


SCAF hails security forces, warns of foreign plots
[Al Ahram] Deputy Defence Minister and Supreme Council of the Armed Forces member Adel Emara described soldiers who attacked protesters in downtown Cairo in recent days as "heroes" at a Monday presser.
At the conference, convened in the aftermath of a violent security crackdown on a three-week-long anti-government sit-in in front of the Cabinet building in downtown Cairo, Emara also spoke of a "systematic plan to ruin Egypt" and "prevent the peaceful transition to a democratic system." He also described anti-government protesters as "saboteurs."

Emara pointed the finger at unnamed foreign entities that he claimed were working behind the scenes to aggravate political tensions in Egypt. When asked, Emara did not rule out the possibility that the instigators of the recent violence might be figures associated with the toppled regime of former president Hosni Mubarak.
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
"History will not forgive those who harm this nation," he said. "Some are trying to defame the military by spreading false rumours, but this will fail. There's no evidence that we assaulted protesters... we exercised enviably high levels of self restraint."
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Clashes with al-Qaeda in Abyan Province leaves three soldiers dead
[Yemen Post] Three soldiers were killed and ten injured on Sunday in festivities between the army and al-Qaeda in Abyan province.

Media outlets reported a military source saying that three soldiers were killed in festivities with the elements of al-Qaeda in Zonjubar town.

The source confirmed that the 201 Camp dominated number of al-Qaeda sites. Adding that 15 of al-Qaeda elements were killed some were maimed in the confrontations.

Pointing out that the military forces were supported with aircrafts in bombing the sites of the so-called Ansar Alsharia " Sharia Supporters ". This group is expected to belong to a al-Qaeda organization.

The confrontations between the Yemeni military forces and al Qaeda began last May on the 3 towns of Abyan province.
Last May Al Qaeda elements totally controlled the city of Zonjubar, the capital of Abyan, which was declared by them an "Islamic emirate".
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Protests in Yemen Demanding Release of Bin Laden's Widow
[Yemen Post] Tens of rights activists protested in front of the Pak Embassy in Sana'a demanding that the late Osama bin Laden's
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
widow be released.

Pak authorities have held Amal Sadah since US Navy Seals raided Bin Laden's residence last July.

Family members said that their daughter is being harassed and held illegally. They threatened to take this case to international courts if she is not released.

According to Sadah family, Pak authorities have been very uncooperative and have not even allowed close family members to meet her.

"We are surprised that human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
organizations are not racting to this violation. She committed no crime and is being held without any legal reason," said Sadah's brother to Yemen Post.

Her brother confirmed that Sadah has been facing serious health problems since she was jugged and has not been getting the needed medical attention.

Banners were raised in front of the embassy demanding the release of Sadah.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  "Tens of rights activists" - you could put that many in a cargo container and drop it at sea....
Posted by: Frank G || 12/20/2011 8:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Good catch, Frank!
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/20/2011 20:47 Comments || Top||

#3  actually, I was suggesting....
Posted by: Frank G || 12/20/2011 22:01 Comments || Top||

#4  ROFL, Frank. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 12/20/2011 22:09 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Death in Durango: 10 more dead found, death toll rises to 290
For a map, click here. For a map of Durango state, click here.
Data at Rantburg shows the total dead found in Durango since April, 2011 to be 290. El Universal says it's 290. Proceso says it's 282. All Mexican outlets (and Rantburg.com, for that matter) agree these graves are the worst mass murder in modern Mexican history.

Ten more dead bodies were exhumed Monday in Durango city, bringing the total dead found since April, 2011 to 290, according to Mexican news sources.

The dead were found on Cristobal Colon ejido in Durango city.

The Durango state attorney general could give no other details.

When the first of the discoveries were made, the state forensics unit rented a truck trailer for the additional dead to be stored since its own facilities were not adequate.

Since the last find last November, it was reported that of the 290 dead found so far, only 25 have been identified and claimed by relatives.

Proceso reported Monday that the murders were probably committed by Sinaloa Cartel operatives in the normal course of organized crime business. Many of the dead found since April 2011, were killed as far back as 2004.
Posted by: badanov || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Kimmie's body displayed
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - North Korea displayed the body of ruler Kim Jong Il in a glass coffin surrounded by red flowers Tuesday, and his young heir was one of the first to pay respects - a strong indication that a smooth leadership transition was under way.
More likely, the generals are waiting for the funeral to finish before making their moves. The U.S., South Korea and the MSM have little insight into the workings of Nork-land. How in the world can an AP reporter have a 'strong indication' of anything? In such situations, it's better to examine human nature and assume that the most cynical outcome will be the likeliest...
As the country mourned for a second day with high-level visits to Kim's body at a memorial palace and public gatherings of weeping citizens, state media fed a budding personality cult around his youngest known son and anointed heir, Fat Boy Pudge Sonny Kim Jong Un, hailing him as a "lighthouse of hope."

As solemn music played, Kim Jong Un - believed to be in his late 20s - entered the hall to view his father's bier, surrounded by military honor guards. He observed a moment of solemn silence, then circled the bier, followed by other officials.

Outside one of the capital's main performance centers, mourners carried wreaths and flowers toward a portrait of Kim Jong Il. Groups were allowed to grieve in front of the portrait for a few minutes at a time.

There have been no signs of unrest or discord in Pyongyang's somber streets.
With the country in an 11-day period of official mourning, flags were flown at half-staff at all military units, factories, businesses, farms and public buildings. The streets of Pyongyang were quiet, but throngs of people gathered at landmarks honoring Kim.

The AP footage showed Kim's bier decorated by a wreath from Kim Jong Un along with various medals and orders.
"What he'd get the medals for?"
"Starving people."
"Oh, a true communist then."
The body was laid out in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of Kim's father - national founder Kim Il Sung - has been on display in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994.
There's your fate, Kimmie, preserved like a bug in a jar...
Kim Jong Il died of a massive heart attack on Saturday caused by overwork and stress, according to the North's media. He was 69 - though some experts question the official accounts of his birth date and location.

The two-day state funeral is to begin at the Kamsusan Memorial Palace on Dec. 28. North Korean officials say they will not invite foreign delegations and will allow no entertainment during the mourning period.
We at the Burg, however, shall do the happy dance...
Posted by: Steve White || 12/20/2011 12:56 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  All that red and green kinda makes him look like a Christmas present. Thanks, Kimmie!
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/20/2011 13:10 Comments || Top||

#2  As solemn music played, Kim Jong Un - believed Looks to be in his late 20s - entered the hall to view his father's bier, surrounded by military honor guards. He observed a moment of solemn silence, then circled the bier, followed by other officials.


Probably thinking "Good, he's dead, now how to get rid of those admirals, Generals and such following me, and RULE".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 13:33 Comments || Top||

#3  What a waste of good, edible flowers that could feed dozens!
Posted by: Dar || 12/20/2011 14:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Ugh--I really shouldn't be joking about this after all.

From Stern's "Pictures of the Year".


Posted by: Dar || 12/20/2011 15:21 Comments || Top||

#5  You'd think that after all that Hennesey he'd already be pickled. They could add it to his long list of "wonders". And while you're at it, why not throw in another posthumous hole-in-one?

Hopefully your son will be joining you in time for Christmas, and you two can spend the first few million years of eternity wearing high heels and picking pineapples out of a barrel for use on each other while I think of something more appropriate.
Posted by: gorb || 12/20/2011 19:01 Comments || Top||

#6  An apple in his mouth would complete the picture.
Posted by: Grunter || 12/20/2011 19:05 Comments || Top||


Europe
German charged over Islamist propaganda
[Emirates 24/7] A German man has been charged with allegedly spreading Islamist propaganda on the Internet glorifying suicide kabooms and seeking support for gunnies abroad, the federal prosecutor's office said Monday.

The 19-year-old German convert to Islam is suspected of running an Internet site for several months which showed videos, pictures and text containing jihadi and radical Islamist content, it said.

"Among other things, the brutal execution of Iraqi police is shown on it and suicide attacks glorified," the prosecutor, based in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe, said in a written statement.

Some of the videos on the website, entitled "Islamic Hacker Union", also appealed for members and supporters of the bully boy Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Islamic State of Iraq, it added.

The suspect was tossed in the calaboose in June.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Muslims attack Hare Krishna temple in Denmark
Posted by: Durnham Freebody || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  someday...
Posted by: 3dc || 12/20/2011 3:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Islamists are such open minded multiculturalists /sarc

The council should close the muslim school and restrict mosque operating hours as recompense to the wider community.
Posted by: Thrert Elmoluse8003 || 12/20/2011 5:17 Comments || Top||

#3  The police took half an hour to arrive the first time, didn't bother the second time. Do they dislike the yellow robes for some reason?
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/20/2011 7:56 Comments || Top||

#4  They had better be careful. The Hare Krishna are a fairly new religion (1966), and while they prefer non-violence, they are not particularly handicapped by it. Despite appearances, they have a strong undercurrent of cold realism.

In fact, under special circumstances, they are quite capable of going Manson family on violent criminals who threaten them, and this is doctrinally acceptable, again, if not preferred.

Some years ago, there was concern in the US, because the leader of a really enormous temple had assembled a respectable armory, by US standards. Eventually the feds convinced that temple that this was becoming anti-social, so they should tone it down. They did.

But for the most part, they have also wisely discontinued a lot of their earlier oddities. For example in the US, only their clergy now wear saffron robes, and many of their temples more resemble Christian churches. Recruitment is more of Hindu immigrants instead of disaffected white kids. They no longer fund raise in public.

And unlike Muslims, they behave like other Hindus, which is to say they make an effort to integrate into society.

But in Europe, who knows? I wouldn't mind seeing a group of Hare Krishna settling difference with a group of rowdy Muslims trying to oppress them. Though unfortunately, as seems to be the case, the authorities take the side of the Muslims.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/20/2011 8:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Can't say I didn't think about such things, back in the airport solicitation days....
That Muslims would attack Hare Krishna, or anybody, is a given. What is important, and what varies from place to place, and what is worrisome, is the response of the authorities.
Pretty lame in this case. Probaby not going to get any better absent some action so horrendous that the authorities and the chattering classes, can't tell the population that it didn't really happen, that it wasn't that important, that it wasn't about Islam, and that getting upset about it is racist.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 12/20/2011 8:42 Comments || Top||

#6  To diminish the risk of confrontations with the Muslim-dominated neighbourhood, the devotees of the temple are from now on requested to not wear their characteristic clothes outside the temple, in order to not provoke similar attacks in the future.

WTF??? This sounds like the old cat meat argument. Those poor Muslim youths just can't help themselves, right? So it's the Hare Krishna's fault? WTF??? C'mon, Vikings. We KNOW you can do better than that. Somebody draw a cartoon or something.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/20/2011 11:31 Comments || Top||

#7  Richard - regarding airport solicitation you reminded me that I once took out an esp. pesky one while racing between concourses in O'Hare. - late 70s - A suitcase to the crotch does clear a path...
Posted by: 3dc || 12/20/2011 21:02 Comments || Top||

#8  3dc
Wow. Now I recall O'Hare back in the day. You'd have thought Hizzoner got a cut from those clowns. Come to think of it....
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 12/20/2011 21:41 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
13 Qaida Suspects Arrested in Turkish Raids
[An Nahar] Police have jugged 13 people during a series of raids in southeastern Turkey over their suspected ties to the al-Qaeda network, Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.

Police nabbed the suspects during simultaneous raids at 15 different addresses in southeastern Anatolian province of Gaziantep, Anatolia said.

Turkish security forces have regularly targeted suspected al-Qaeda supporters since twin suicide kabooms hit Istanbul five days apart in November 2003.

A Turkish cell of al-Qaeda was held responsible for the attacks, in which explosive-laden trucks first targeted two synagogues, and then the British consulate and a British bank, killing a total of 63 people, including the British consul.

Seven men were placed in long-term storage for life in 2007 over the bombings, among them a Syrian national who criminal masterminded and financed the attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Turkey


India-Pakistan
Pakistan restores Afghan border centres in step forward
[Dawn] Pakistain has restored liaison officers at coordination centres on the Afghanistan border, NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
said on Monday, in a slight easing of tensions, after NATO air strikes last month killed two dozen Pak soldiers and provoked fury across the country.

But the US-led coalition's supply lines that run through Pakistain remain closed since the Nov. 26 incident and it is both in the interests of foreign forces as well as Pakistain that the routes be opened sooner rather than later, the alliance said.

Ties between the United States and Pakistain are fraught, with Islamabad blocking the Afghan supply line for one of the longest periods yet.

Last week, US politicians agreed to freeze $700 million in aid to Pakistain demanding it disrupt the movement of fertilisers used in making homemade bombs, the deadliest killer of foreign troops.

But the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, US General John Allen, had spoken to the Mighty Pak Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
and there were signs of progress over the last few days, Brigadier General Carsten Jacobsen, a front man for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told news hounds.

"We have seen liaison officers, Pak officers, return to border coordination centres, General Allen has spoken to General Kayani, so we are moving in the right direction," he said.

The border control centres were set up to help NATO and Afghan forces and their Pak counterparts on the other side of the mostly non-existent border to coordinate operations against hard boyz and avoid the kind of the incident that occurred last month in which two Pakistain army posts in Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
came under NATO fire.

Pakistain said the United States had carried out an unprovoked attack, an accusation rejected by Washington. An investigation has been ordered and Jacobsen declined to go into details of the incident ahead of the results.

But he urged Pakistain to reopen the two supply routes into Afghanistan, which carry just under a third of all cargo for foreign forces fighting in the landlocked nation.

"It is in our interest as well as Pakistain's interests, for economic reasons that they reopen these routes sooner rather than later," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "give us some money now"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/20/2011 10:57 Comments || Top||


Head of Karachi's Punjabi Taliban Potted in Shootout
[Dawn] The suspected jihad boy, Shahid Khan alias Qari Shahid, said to be the Bloody Karachi chief of Punjabi Taliban, was killed along with accomplices when he fired two shots at law-enforcers with his pistol after being captured, sources privy to the raid on his hideout told Dawn on Sunday.
It's a good day when another one bites the dust.
Police claimed that the 32-year-old jihad boy was involved in a number of terrorist attacks, including the one on PNS Mehran base.

The sources said Qari Shahid, a former activist of a students' organization, was in fact captured by the law-enforcement agencies during a raid on a house in Korangi. However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
they said, his attempt to kill the law-enforcers triggered a barrage of AK-47 rifle fire by the police, killing him and his two associates on the spot.
"Which spot?"
"That one over there, marked as usual by the X."
The slain jihad boy being described by the security forces as the Bloody Karachi Ameer of Punjabi Taliban had a Masters degree in Political Science from Bloody Karachi University.

At the university he was extremely reticent but used to fight with ferocity with the rival student groups, Sherlocks said.

The wife of the slain jihad boy was no less ordinary woman, Sabiha, 26, either, the sources said.

They added that the couple along with their one-and-a-half-year-old boy had toured the PNS Mehran Base, pretending that they did not know one another. They even went to the back of the base from where the attack was launched, the Sherlocks said.

They said the law-enforcement agencies had raided the Korangi house after they had picked up two suspects while seeking the whereabouts of a businessman, Riaz Chinoy, who had been kidnapped in October.

"We were initially treating it as a common kidnapping for ransom case but as the time passed and during the interrogation with the two suspects we realized that we were not dealing with ordinary people," said a law-enforcement official seeking anonymity.

The ransom calls for Rs1 billion from Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri...
lent strength to our doubt, the official added.

The sources said that Sabiha was also present in the 100-yard house, located at the junction of Allahwallah Town and KDA Overseas Society, in Korangi where Mr Chinoy had been kept. His location had been changed twice before he was shifted to Korangi, they added.

The law-enforcement agencies had earlier picked up an accomplice of Qari Shahid who had once performed a guard duty at their Korangi hideout.

The information provided by the guard led to the raid though he had claimed that he had been taken blindfolded to the place and had been sent back in the same manner, the sources said.

He was quoted as saying that he didn't actually have an idea where the house was located. But he added that he used to peep out from a window slit and see a pile of thick cables and a vacant plot. He also had told the Sherlocks that there used to be moisture in the air.

However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
the sources said, much information was provided by Qari Shahid's widow who was forthcoming during the interrogation.

"We didn't have to take the assistance of women police to make her talk, she has been giving us information quite willingly," said an investigator.

Her two brothers had been killed in drone attacks on the outskirts of Miramshah.

Following Sabiha's arrest, the security agencies had been receiving threatening calls from the Miramshah demanding the release of the tossed in the clink woman, sources told Dawn.

The Sherlocks said Sabiha did her college studies in Bloody Karachi. Before her arrest, she used to read newspapers and editorials of a particular newspaper with deep interest on a daily basis, they said.

A cache of compact disks recovered from the house had been taken away by some intelligence agencies, the sources said.

Apart from the PNS Mehran Base and passing on a bomb to forces of Evil at Bloody Karachi University, Sahiba had also prepared a meal for the forces of Evil who wanted to attack the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine but got killed at the Sea View, the Sherlocks said.

Shrine blasts
They went on to claim that in the twin blasts at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine October 2010, at least one bomb was planted and the explosives had been planted by Sabiha. The Sherlocks quoted her as saying that she had left a small bag containing the bomb at the shrine.

The Sherlocks said that both Qari Shahid and Sabiha were in contact with the mother of two Miramshah-based Tehreek-i-Taliban capos Irshadullah and Waheedullah who lived in Bloody Karachi.

The cell phone data of the slain jihad boy and Sabiha had contact numbers of the mother of the two commanders, they added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian forces accused of machine-gunning hundreds of deserting soldiers
Syrian forces have been accused of perpetrating one of the deadliest massacres of the country's nine-month uprising after scores of soldiers were mown down by machine-gun fire as they attempted a mass desertion. The dramatic breakout from an army base in northern Syria could have been a pivotal moment in the growing rebellion against Bashar al-Assad, the country's president. Instead it ended in disaster and bloodshed.

Throwing down an unprecedented challenge to his regime, hundreds of soldiers at an encampment in Idlib province made a desperate scramble for freedom on Monday. Their intention, according to opposition forces, was to make a dash for the Turkish border to join the Syrian Free Army, a rebel force made up of fellow defectors.

But the plan was either ill-judged or loyalist forces too well prepared.

As they ran, volley after volley of machinegun fire was aimed at their retreating backs. At least 60 were killed.

Those who managed to escape were mercilessly hunted down yesterday.
Posted by: tipper || 12/20/2011 14:41 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria Opposition Threatens to Seek Arab Military Intervention
[An Nahar] Syria's main civilian opposition alliance will ask for an Arab military intervention if Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's
Leveler of Latakia...
regime continues its deadly crackdown on protesters, the group's leader said Monday.

The Syrian National Council, which held a conference in Tunis in a bid to close ranks and up the pressure on Assad after nine months of bloodshed, also warned that the regime's acceptance an Arab peace plan was a ploy.

"If the Syrian regime continues its violent repression, the SNC will resort to Arab dissuasion forces. We need to make use of force in a limited way and in specific areas," SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun told news hounds in Tunis.

Support for military intervention marks a change of tack for the opposition group, which had until recently sought to oust Assad by supporting street protests and campaigning for his isolation on the international scene.

NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
had made Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
backing of a no-fly zone a precondition for military intervention in Libya earlier this year but foreign players have so far been reluctant to consider the military option in Syria.

"We want civilians and snuffies to be protected and secure, protected zones to be created," Ghalioun said, stressing that his umbrella group wanted "the Arab world to have a crucial role in the Syrian crisis."

"The Syrian revolution is like a pregnant woman, if cannot have a natural delivery, it will require a C-section to save the baby," he said of the uprising against Assad's rule.

Ghalioun also warned that the Assad regime's belated acceptance of an Arab League observer mission was a delaying tactic.

"The Syrian regime is maneuvering to try to prevent the Syrian file being submitted to the U.N. Security Council," he said. "This is just a ploy. They have no intention of implementing any initiative."
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Katyusha Rockets Found in Hasbaya
[An Nahar] Four Katyusha rockets were found in al-Khansa valley near the town of al-Majidiya in Hasbaya on Monday, media reports said, adding that the army engineering unit was seeking to defuse them.

The rockets, each hidden inside disused plastic water pipes placed under a thin layer of dirt, were found by a farmer.

He alerted authorities after stumbling on the weapons, officials said.

Last week, a rocket fired from Leb toward Israel fell short, wounding a Lebanese woman in the town of Houla.

The launch came nearly two weeks after rockets fired from Lebanese territory hit Israel in the first such attack in two years.

It also came after a roadside kaboom injured five French peacekeepers near the southern city of Tyre.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Don't defuse them, send them BACK to Gaza, bt air.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2011 20:55 Comments || Top||


U.N. General Assembly Condemns Syria Human Rights Abuses
[An Nahar] The U.N. General Assembly on Monday passed a resolution condemning human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
in Syria where a government crackdown on protests has left more than 5,000 dead, according to U.N. estimates.

The resolution was passed with 133 countries in favor, 11 against, with 43 abstentions. Syria's U.N. ambassador said the resolution was part of a "devilish" plot against his country.

The condemnation was passed as the U.N. Security Council started separate negotiations on a Russian-proposed resolution which would condemn violence by both sides in the conflict.

Western nations say the Russian draft is unbalanced because it compares the opposition violence to that by the government.

Syria on Monday pledged full cooperation with the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
and agreed to allow an observer mission to monitor a deal to end the bloodshed.

Western envoys at the U.N. said the Syrian pledge would be taken into consideration at the talks but expressed doubts that it would be carried out. "It's all about implementation," said Britannia's U.N. ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, ahead of the talks.

In October, Russia and China vetoed a resolution proposed by European nations condemning the regime's crackdown.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian Butcher's Bill: 25 Civilians Dead
[An Nahar] Dozens of Syrian army deserters were killed by machinegun fire as they tried to flee their military posts in northwestern Idlib province on Monday, as security forces rubbed out 25 civilians across the country, rights groups said.

In a statement sent to Agence La Belle France Presse, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said between 60 and 70 deserters were bumped off as they abandoned their positions in the Idlib towns of Kansafra and Kafr Awid.

The LCC, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said regime forces rubbed out six people in the 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...
province, six in Idlib, five in Daraa, four in Homs, three in Deir al-Zour and another civilian in Hama.

Meanwhile,
...back at the bake sale, Umberto's Mom's cannoli were a big hit...
the Observatory said three non-combatants were killed and dozens maimed when security forces peppered the town of al-Quriyeh near Deir al-Zour with fire from heavy machineguns.

The civilians died during festivities between soldiers and military mutineers, the Britannia-based group said, adding: "The deserters were able to take a vehicle belonging to the military."

Army deserters also killed three loyalist troops in Idlib province, the group said in a statement sent to AFP.

In the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising against the regime erupted in mid-March, a young man was killed in a village west of Daraa city by gunfire from security forces, the Observatory said.

It added that two more non-combatants were killed in Herak, eight were maimed -- some critically -- and dozens of people were incarcerated when security forces swooped on the town on Monday morning.

The Observatory added that a general strike also continued "in most towns and villages" across Daraa for the ninth consecutive day.

It also said that "tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through (the central Damascus quarter) of Midan on Monday in protest at the death of a girl," Hala Munajed, who was rubbed out on Sunday.

A child was maimed when security forces opened fire on the demonstrators in Midan, added the Observatory.

According to the LCC, the 13-year-old girl was hit in the back by a bullet when security forces opened fire on a rally staged by students.

Rights activists said that at least 15 civilians and six soldiers were killed across the country on Sunday as festivities raged between regular forces and deserters.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria allows Arab observers
(Xinhua) -- Syria has finally agreed to allow Arab observers into its territories to monitor the unrest, in a bid to avoid internationalizing the country's crisis amid cutting remarks from broad-based opposition that dismissed 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...
' move as "mere prevarication."

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem announced Monday that Syria has signed the long-debated protocol on an Arab observer mission in Egypt's capital Cairo, just a couple of days after the 22-member League gave Syria until Wednesday to sign the protocol, otherwise the AL would turn to the United Nations
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
Security Council for action.

Al-Moallem said that had the amendments suggested by Syria not been agreed upon, the protocol wouldn't have been signed.

The amendments included preserving national illusory sovereignty and agreeing that the observers' mission should be conducted with full coordination with Syrian government.

Also among the amendments is that the duration of the observers ' mission will be just one month and it can be extended to another month upon a prior agreement by the two sides, and that the Syrian government would be briefed, in conjunction with the AL, on the mission's reports.

The protocol provides for implementing the first item of the Arab work plan, Al-Moallem said.

The AL plan calls for Syria to halt its crackdown, hold talks with the opposition and allow in Arab observers to ensure compliance with the deal. It does not call for foreign military intervention, as in Libya.

The AL recently suspended Syria's membership and imposed economic sanctions, but has been divided over whether to seek help from wider international community beyond the Arab world.

Earlier in the day, the private Al-Watan daily said that Damascus has decided to sign the protocol "to prevent some well- known Arab countries from internationalizing the Syrian crisis and making preparations for anti-Syria military action."
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  "Observer?" Is that anything like a consultant?
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/20/2011 19:25 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2011-12-20
  Syria allows Arab observers
Mon 2011-12-19
  20 Civilians, 6 Troops Killed in Fresh Syria Violence
Sun 2011-12-18
  Kimmie Dead
Sat 2011-12-17
  Australian terror conspirators jailed for 18 years
Fri 2011-12-16
  Syrian Dissidents Declare Creation of 'National Alliance'
Thu 2011-12-15
  U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over
Wed 2011-12-14
  33 Civilians, 7 Regime Troops Killed
Tue 2011-12-13
  Mexican Army bags 11 bad guys in Tamaulipas state
Mon 2011-12-12
  Mysterious explosion kills 7, injures 16 in Iran
Sun 2011-12-11
  Syrian Opposition Reports Deputy Defense Minister Killed
Sat 2011-12-10
  Rival Yemeni forces said to quit streets of Taiz city
Fri 2011-12-09
  Twenty trucks torched in attack at Nato terminal in Quetta
Thu 2011-12-08
  Yemen's unity government announced
Wed 2011-12-07
  New coalition government formed in Yemen
Tue 2011-12-06
  Afghanistan: Kabul shrine attacks 'kills 34'

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