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Today: 63 articles and 142 comments as of 9:39.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Pak: Dozens killed in poll day violence
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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21 20:56 Uncle Phester []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Chloe Sims [English][Filmography](age 31)



Aftermarket parts added to original Design

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 05/12/2013 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Aftermarket maybe, but they still like Genuine Mr Goodwench parts to me.

Posted by: USN,Ret, || 05/12/2013 2:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Original equipment's always best.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 8:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Yes, OEM is the desired outcome but sometimes it's difficult to discern in low level lighting. Cataracts and transition lenses are no help either. So why bother.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/12/2013 8:12 Comments || Top||

#5  ...but where did she get the teeth.....?

Posted by: Uncle Phester || 05/12/2013 8:22 Comments || Top||

#6  teeth?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/12/2013 8:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Happy Mother's Day to all the Rantburg Moms!
Posted by: Frank G || 05/12/2013 9:04 Comments || Top||

#8  What Frank said. :-D
Posted by: Barbara || 05/12/2013 9:23 Comments || Top||

#9  Three Millennia of Motherhood.
- Emily Wilson
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/12/2013 11:44 Comments || Top||

#10  Yuup
Posted by: Spot || 05/12/2013 12:37 Comments || Top||

#11  She's WAY too plastic for me.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/12/2013 19:46 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Nuristan Blast Kills Deputy Chief of Intelligence
[Tolo News] The Deputy Chief of Intelligence of Nuristan province Mohammad Faiz was killed when a bomb went kaboom! in his home in Wigal District on Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Mohammad Faiz Deputy Chief of Intelligence of Nuristan province was killed today afternoon when a bomb went kaboom! in his home, Nuristan governor's front man Mohammad Zahir Bahand told TOLOnews.

"Today at 12:00pm afternoon, a bomb that was placed in his home went kaboom! wounding him seriously, but unfortunately he died after an hour," said Zahir Bahand.

He is the most senior police officer to be killed in a Taliban attack in the province this year.

No group including the Taliban has grabbed credit for the attack.

Wigal District is among the most insecure districts in Nuristan province.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Libya protestors force out Ministry militiamen
[Libya Herald] Militiamen who have been besieging the Foreign Ministry this evening fled when hundreds of pro-democracy supporters arrived at the building to demonstrate their support for the government.

Around 200 demonstrators had marched from Algeria Square along the Corniche to the Ministry but were quickly joined by others along the way, overwhelming the couple of dozen or so bully boyz who were still mounting their siege outside the Ministry buildings.

Some of these retreated further along the Corniche. Around six or seven others rushed behind the walls of the Ministry annexe across the road from the main building and from there tried to berate the protestors. When these ripped down the militiamen's signs, one of the latter tried to hit out at protestors from the top of the wall with a long stick. The result was that dozens of demonstrators started banging on the gate to try and get in and then rushed round to the side entrance, hoping to grab the man.

There then followed some quick negotiations at the gate between the two sides in which the militiamen, claiming to be from Benghazi and there to guard the ministry, said that they would deal with the man. They then retired to a corner of the compound and took no further part in proceedings.

Earlier in Algeria Square, around 400 anti-militia protesters brought traffic to a halt. Placards read: "With our blood we will defence the legitimacy of the government", "No to bringing down the government with arms" and "Get rid of the guns in your hands and start building Libya".

"I don't like Zeidan", said a protestor, "but he was appointed by a democratically-elected Congresss. "We must support him".

Others agreed. "I don't want him removed this way", said one of them. "It must be Congress that decides."

The crowd roared anti-militia chants interspersed with takbeers ("Allahu Akbar") and occasional barbs at Qatar.

"We don't want to be ruled by Mozah and Hamid," they shouted -- a reference to the Emir of Qatar, Hamid bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his wife, Sheikha Mozah, who was brought up in Libya. Qatar is accused by many of interfering in Libya by funding Salafists
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
and other Islamists.

Placards also called on Qatar to stop interfering.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Egypt: 10kg Explosives Found On Cell Planning Bombing
[Ynet] Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said that one of the gunnies captured for planning to carry out a suicide kaboom against a foreign embassy in the country had been a member of al Qaeda in Algeria, and had travelled to Pakistain and Iran to receive training.

The incarcerated
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
cell had been found in possession of statements issued by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and 10 kg (22 pounds) of aluminium nitrate, which is used to make bombs, Ibrahim said.
The Times of Israel added:
Mohammed Ibrahim told a news conference Saturday that the men had been in contact with Dawood al-Assady, a leader of al-Qaeda in southeast Asian countries such as Pakistain.

He said the suspected are also believed to have links with the so-called “Nasr City terror cell,” which was broken up last year and its members tossed in the slammer
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
on accusations of plotting attacks against public figures in Egypt.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Update
3 Arrested in Plot to Bomb Egyptian Cities and Embassy
Posted by: tipper || 05/12/2013 4:39 Comments || Top||

#2  He did not identify the embassy

Not necessary. We should have already known.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/12/2013 4:45 Comments || Top||

#3  We should have already known.

Indeed. And it is confirmed at tipper's link as ours.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/12/2013 17:41 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Five Suicide Bombers Dead in Failed Attacks in Northern Mali
Nb: Posted late, therefore moved to next day.

--trailing wife for the moderators
At least five suicide bombers died in northern Mali on Friday in attacks aimed at Malian and Nigerien troops which failed to inflict serious casualties on their targets, a spokesman for Mali's army said.

One of the towns hit was Gossi, the furthest south al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels
Boko Haram, perhaps?
More likely AQIM...
have struck in a guerrilla war launched against Malian and regional forces since the rebels were driven from their former strongholds in a French-led offensive this year.

The attacks have had limited success so far but threaten to undermine international calls for elections to be held across Mali in July although security is not yet fully restored to a zone that was occupied by Islamists last year.

The suicide raids took place nearly simultaneously between 4 and 5 a.m. in Menaka and Gossi, near Gao.

"The first attack targeted Nigerien soldiers in Menaka. A car bomb entered the (military) camp, but the soldiers ... destroyed the vehicle, which exploded," Lieutenant Colonel Souleymane Maiga told Reuters.

"At the same time in Gossi, three suicide bombers on foot attacked a checkpoint. Again the soldiers ... shot them. The three bombers were killed," he said.

As the men exchanged fire with soldiers, a fourth member of the group entered a nearby military camp and blew himself up, slightly wounding two soldiers, a second military source said.

A bus driver passing through Gossi, 150 km (90 miles) southwest of Gao, told Reuters he saw dismembered body parts strewn along the road, which links Gao and the capital Bamako.
Posted by: tipper || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  A bus driver passing through Gossi...told Reuters he saw dismembered body parts strewn along the road

Technical note to Reuters: Body parts seldom organize themselves into neat rows.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/12/2013 13:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Seldom is the key word there Pappy. In due course, if not in the current universe a further universe, the body parts will by chance assemble in a linear fashion and in time commence to boogalo.

Gawd willing of course
Posted by: Shipman || 05/12/2013 14:06 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
22 Jamaat, Shibir men held in Ctg, Rajshahi
[Bangla Daily Star] Police incarcerated
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
22 leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir
... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh...
in Chittagong and Rajshahi on Saturday.

Of the total, 16 were detained in Rajshahi while the rest in Chittagong.

RAJSHAHI

Police locked away
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
16 Shibir activists at Kharkhari, Narikelbaria and Ujirpur, on the outskirts of the city, for plotting subversive activities in the city ahead of the Sunday's hartal
... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
, said Tanvir Haider, deputy commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.

Jamaat called the countrywide daylong hartal protesting the death penalty against Muhammad Kamaruzzaman.

International Crimes Tribunal on May 9 awarded death penalty to Kamaruzzaman for his crimes against humanity in 1971.

Among the arrestees, Golam Mostafa received rubber bullet injury in his back as he tried to escape the arrest around 6:00am, reports our Rajshahi correspondent quoting Ziaur Rahman, OC of Boalia cop shoppe.

Around 200 coppers conducted the raid at three spots for two hours, the DC said adding that police conducted the raid acting on a tip off from the always reliable Mahmoud the Weasel given by some Shibir activists arrested earlier.

All the arrestees were brought to Boalia Police Station, the OC added.

CHITTAGONG

Police nabbed six leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir on charges of vandalism after their leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman was given death penalty for his wartime offences.

Jamaat activists Md Ali Asgar and Kamal Uddin at Rampura and Latifpur of the port city were arrested during a drive from 1:00am to 4:30am, reports our Chittagong correspondent quoting officers-in-charge (OCs) of Halishahar and Pahartali cop shoppes.

Faruk-e-Azam, a central leader of Shibir and also the office secretary of its district unit, was nabbed from Mistripara, according to the police.

Police picked up party activists Hassan Mahmud from Rampura and Md Monir and Md Ismail from Karnaphuli Bridge.

Jamaat-Shibir men set a bus ablaze in second Shah Amanat Bridge area of Chittagong city Thursday evening protesting the verdict against Kamaruzzaman that sentenced him to death for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


The Grand Turk
Car bombs kill 40 in Turkey near Syrian border
[Pak Daily Times] Twin boom-mobiles killed around 40 people and maimed many more in a Turkish town near the Syrian border on Saturday and Turkey said it suspected Syrian involvement.

The bombing increased fears that Syria's civil war was dragging in neighbouring states despite renewed diplomatic moves towards ending fighting in which more than 70,000 people have been killed.

The bombs ripped into crowded streets in the early afternoon in Reyhanli, scattering cars and concrete blocks in the town in Turkey's southern Hatay province, home to thousands of Syrian refugees.

Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
's administration was the "usual suspect" in the attacks, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

"We know that the people taking refuge in Hatay have become targets for the Syrian regime," Arinc said in comments broadcast on Turkish television. "We think of them as the usual suspects when it comes to planning such a horrific attack."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Nor was there any comment from Damascus.

NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
member Turkey supports the uprising against Assad and violence has crossed the border before, but not on the same scale.

Turkey is far from alone in fearing the impact of Syria's war, which is already helping inflame the Middle East's tangle of sectarian, religious and nationalist struggles.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was no coincidence the bombings came as diplomatic moves to end the Syrian conflict intensify.

"There may be those who want to sabotage Turkey's peace, but we will not allow that," Davutoglu told news hounds during a trip to Berlin. "No-one should attempt to test Turkey's power."
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Nothing Al Caca wont do to get Erdogan off his sleepy ass...or is it Assad trying to get the Mullahs to invade Iraq on the way to Yzbollah's Lebanon...
Best time to try these A-bombs they surely have up their sleeves!
Posted by: Pliny the Cheap6130 || 05/12/2013 22:54 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Tsarnaevs quick to grab EBT cash
A mountain of new welfare records shows numerous EBT card cash withdrawals made by the Tsarnaev family, but so far there is no information about how terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev and others may have spent the money.
Even if they just used the EBT (Even Benefits Terrorists!) card to buy pork and beans it means they were eating while they were building bombs in pressure cookers...
The EBT receipts were handed over by the state to the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee as part of its probe into the Russian family's $100,000-plus taxpayer-financed life in the Bay State. The committee met yesterday behind closed doors to review Medicaid and welfare awards.
So they had EBT money, other welfare assistance, and money from the wifey's family (you just know they were putting up cash, particularly after the little girl was born). Plus whatever 'assistance' came from certain people overseas...
The EBT records are now part of thousands of pages of documents listing the government assistance doled out to the Cambridge clan from 2002 to November of 2012.

The purchases show specific stores, but not the items bought. But further details could be available to investigators.
Specific stores could be very, very interesting...
The legislative committee is also asking for records from the Cambridge Housing Authority on Section 8 assistance given to the Tsarnaevs, who lived in an apartment on Norfolk Street.

The committee's request for financial aid records from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth -- where marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was a sophomore flunking some classes and owing a reported $20,000 -- was rejected, the Herald learned. Federal officials have forbidden the school from releasing any records publicly.
Why? And which 'Federal officials' -- FBI or Department of Education?
Rafi Ron, a former top Israeli security official and past consultant to Logan International Airport, said the welfare cash could have been enough money to help the Tsarnaev brothers build their pressure-cooker bombs that killed three and injured more than 260 at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15.

"The budget required for such an attack was extremely limited. We're talking a three-digit dollar investment for purchasing and constructing the devices," Ron told the Herald last night.

Authorities say the Tsarnaev brothers planted two bombs packed with nails and BBs on Boylston Street using gunpowder emptied out from fireworks to ignite the deadly devices that killed and maimed race fans.

It is still unclear from the records whether any welfare cash was used to finance slain bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev's journey to Dagestan from January to July 2012. The 26-year-old, who was finally entombed yesterday in an undisclosed cemetery, left his wife and child behind for the trip during which he made contact with Islamist extremists, authorities said.

The Herald was told the welfare records show the Tsarnaev family all using taxpayer-paid benefits. That help included Mass Health, housing assistance, food stamps and more.
They didn't miss a trick, did they...
State Rep. David P. Linsky, chairman of the oversight committee, said his goal is to make sure the welfare cash was "properly authorized and all the oversights were in place." He declined to go into further detail, but said he hopes to make as much public as he can.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/12/2013 13:45 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  (Even Benefits Terrorists!)

Do you have any use for an Internet? It seems you have won one.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/12/2013 14:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Why? And which 'Federal officials' -- FBI or Department of Education?

Dept. of Education.
Posted by: Raj || 05/12/2013 14:37 Comments || Top||

#3  A week ago, we were told the obammy mis-administration had all this information bottled up. What, Benghazi and the IRS vs Tea Party stuff put them a point down at playing whack a mole scandal?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/12/2013 14:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Exactly, Raj: who the hell is the DoE to tell a college that they can't release records about a jugged terrorist?

Privacy? PRIVACY? The man set off a bomb at the Boston Marathon, HE HAS NO PRIVACY.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/12/2013 17:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Privacy is for criminals and people of the left (but I repeat myself.) If you are Joe the Plumber (not a criminal and not an obooboo voter) your life is an open book...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/12/2013 17:52 Comments || Top||

#6  Isn't there a law against funding terrorist groups?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/12/2013 19:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Even if they just used the EBT (Even Benefits Terrorists!) card to buy pork and beans...

Pork?
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 05/12/2013 21:07 Comments || Top||

#8  Ground Turkey's cheap, and you can make great kafta with it, without the pressure cooker you can't cook with because you're going to use it to blow up an eight year old.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 05/12/2013 22:08 Comments || Top||

#9  Pork?
Keep in mind that Jihadis and Shahids are exempted from Sharia laws.
Of course, if you are a Mollah or moneyed, you are too...
Posted by: Pliny the Cheap6130 || 05/12/2013 22:42 Comments || Top||

#10  Remember, King Saud died of cirrhosis of the liver,
after having tens of thousands of Ay-Rabz beheaded for being alkys...
Posted by: Pliny the Cheap6130 || 05/12/2013 22:44 Comments || Top||

#11  Looks like another case for BENEFIT-control

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/12/as-many-as-12-shot-in-new-orleans-mother-day-parade/?intcmp=trending
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/12/2013 23:04 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
FC seizes explosives, arms in Balochistan
[Pak Daily Times] Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Frontier Corps has foiled a massive terror bid by seizing an explosives-laden vehicle and a large quantity of weapons in Saranan area of the province. According to the front man of the FC Balochistan, seven rockets, 4 RPG fuses, 75 snipers and other explosives were seized by the FC. The Death Eaters intended to use this explosives-laden vehicle to sabotage polling drive or to carry out other major acts of terror in Balochistan, but timely action of the security forces foiled their designs, added the FC front man.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Balochistan also borders Helmand. And, several Pashtun tribes are indigenous to Northern Baluchistan, including the evocatively named Lunis!
Posted by: pakinut || 05/12/2013 21:05 Comments || Top||


Pak: Dozens killed in poll day violence
[Pak Daily Times] Dozens of people were killed in attacks across the country as the nation voted on Saturday. A kaboom claimed by the Taliban killed 11 people and maimed around 40 others in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, but it appeared to have little effect on enthusiastic turnout in other parts of the city, as well as Islamabad, Lahore and Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
. The Taliban targeted a provincial assembly candidate for the Awami National Party (ANP). An AFP photographer said a child aged three or four was among 11 dead laid out in the morgue. Police said one of the candidate's guards was also killed. The target, Amanullah Mehsud, escaped unhurt, senior police official Mazhar Nawaz said. A jacket wallah rammed his cycle of violence into a Rangers' picket in the city on Saturday, killing two personnel and injuring five others. The attack took place on Mangho Pir Road. Meanwhile,
...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin...
as many as seven people, including a child, were killed and dozens injured, including two security personnel and two children, in separate incidents of violence at the polling stations in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
. Many polling stations were shut after they were attacked by the armed hard boyz with bombs and rockets. Unidentified persons threw a hand grenade at the polling stations in Killi Shabo, Quetta, killing one child and injuring eight others. Four people were killed in an armed clash between two rival groups in Chaman's Kili Fezo area. At least 11 people were reportedly killed and 12 others injured in a bomb and gun attack on a convoy in Chhattar some 60km from Dera Murad Jamali. A man was killed and 14 others sustained bullet injuries in a clash between two rival political groups in Shikarpur. One person died on spot while 14 others were maimed. Police and paramilitary forces rushed to the scene. In Peshawar, a suicide bomber was killed and 17 others, including a cop, were maimed in the blast near a polling station.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Nawaz returns to power
Remembering that this is a historic situation for Pakistan: from one elected government to the next without a military coup interceding. However, it does remain to be seen how long the Army of the Pure can restrain themselves before taking over again.
[Pak Daily Times] The Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday emerged as the leading political party in the general election, with Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI)'s 'tsunami' heading towards the second largest gainer, along with the Pakistain People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), the former ruling party in the Centre.
Poor, sad Pakistain. The choice is between the rapaciousness and ineptitude of the PPP, the rapaciousness and incompetence of PML-N, and the lunacy of PTI.
The PTI, of course, never having won enough votes to be able to practice serious rapacity. but they and their formerly handsome figurehead live in hope.
The electoral gains of mainstream political parties -- the PML-N, the PTI and the PPPP -- varied from province to province, as the former overwhelmed the rivals in Punjab and the PTI dominated Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
(KP) and some areas of Punjab. The PPPP dominated the rural parts of Sindh by retaining a majority of its seats in the province.

The ANP, the former ruling party of KP, remained the big loser, as it appeared to lose its grip completely on the province at the hands of the PTI. The MQM's lead on most of the seats in urban parts of Sindh that it secured in the last general election. According to preliminary results of the general election, the PML-N kept its grip on its stronghold in Punjab by dominating a majority of seats, except a few upsets in Rawalpindi, where it faced defeat at the hands of PTI and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed of the Awami Mohammedan League.

The PTI, making a dent in the stronghold of the PML-N and grabbing some seats in the province, secured big electoral gains in KP where it uprooted the Awami National Party and the PPPP, especially in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
and Swat.

The polls results indicate the PML-N leading with more than 110 seats against its political rivals, particularly in Punjab, whereas the PTI seems to have secured around 40 seats, particularly in KP, Rawalpindi division and Islamabad.

The PPPP appears dominating its stronghold Sindh where it is retaining a majority of its seats. In Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, the National Party (NP) was going ahead, with the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party -- led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai -- and the JUI-F overtaking their rivals in the Pashtun belt of the province.

PTI's Chairman Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
was heading towards a big electoral victory in an individual capacity, as the poll results suggested that he had won the NA-1 Peshawar seat. Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
, Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz Sharif secured their seats, whereas Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was comfortably leading in one of the constituencies.

PPPP bigwigs in Punjab -- former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Manzoor Wattoo, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Arbab Alamgir -- lost the seats to their rivals.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Blasts Mar Pakistani Elections
Bet you never saw this coming...
Violence on election day in Pakistan has killed at least 16 people, as voters cast ballots in the first election that will see one civilian administration give way to another after a full term in office.

As Pakistanis vote in parliamentary elections to fill 272 seats in the National Assembly, twin bomb blasts in Karachi killed at least 10 people. The blasts took place at a political campaign office for the Awami National Party, one of the parties targeted by the Taliban for election-related attacks.

Shootings in the southwestern province of Baluchistan left another four people dead.

However, considering the huge turnout at polling stations across the country, relatively few attacks have taken place so far on election day.
Day's not over yet...
More than 100 people have been killed and scores wounded since late April in attacks, as the Taliban seeks to undermine the election. Taliban members have warned of suicide attacks on election day.

Bombings on Friday killed at least four people and wounded 18 others. The four died in a blast near political party offices in North Waziristan - a Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold. Thirteen people were wounded.

A blast in the southwestern part of the country wounded five more people outside an office being used by the Pakistan People's Party.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but Pakistan's military says it is deploying thousands of troops to polling stations and counting centers.

The recent bombings of two rallies of a leading Islamic party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, strengthened views the Taliban is opposed to democracy and is targeting anyone taking part in the elections.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
6 Dead in Iraq Violence as Suicide Bomber Targets Senior Intel Officer
[An Nahar] A jacket wallah targeted the home of a senior Iraqi intelligence officer north of Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
on Saturday, killing three people, while three more died in other attacks, officials said.

The bomber detonated a small tanker truck at the home of police Brigadier General Ismail al-Juburi, a senior officer for Nineveh province, killing his son, nephew and sister-in-law -- and wounding 21 others, police and a doctor said.

It was not immediately clear if Juburi was present at the time of the attack, which took place in the al-Sharqat area.

Suicide bombings, usually carried out by Sunni krazed killers, including those linked to al-Qaeda, are a relatively rare type of attack in Iraq. Roadside bombs, magnetic "sticky bombs" on vehicles and shootings are more common.

However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
four suicide bombers struck in various parts of northern Iraq on Wednesday, killing four people.

In the other attacks on Saturday, a roadside kaboom killed two soldiers and maimed two others in Nineveh province, an army officer and a doctor said.

And in Tikrit, also north of the capital, gunnies killed Sabhan al-Ajili, the owner of a money exchange shop, police and a doctor said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


Southeast Asia
Terror Suspects Linked To Poso
[JakartaPost] The National Police's counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, conducted a series of successful overnight operations against bully boyz with links to the Abu Omar and Autad Rawa groups, the police say.

The 20 terror suspects -- seven killed and 13 incarcerated
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
-- in the raids across Java are linked to the groups that collect money to support the activities of mujahidin (those engaged in jihad) in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Early investigations indicated that the men had been involved in armed robberies at Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) offices in three cities.

"They stole Rp 790 million [US$81,192] from BRI in Batang and Rp 630 million from BRI Grobogan [both in Central Java]; and Rp 460 million from BRI Lampung. They also attempted to burn down Glodok Market in West Jakarta," said National Police front man Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar on Thursday as quoted by Antara news agency.

The suspects carried out various initiatives to collect money, including robbery.

"Four alleged bully boyz were planning a robbery in Kebumen [Central Java], when they were arrested in an overnight raid in the regency," said Boy.

It is alleged that one suspect, Abu Roban alias Untung, had been involved in some robbery cases -- a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta; as well as the three BRI offices -- before Densus 88 officers killed him in Batang.

Police linked the suspects with Santoso, who is believed to be behind a series of attacks in Poso over the past few years.

Santoso himself is a former member of a terror group led by Basri, a member of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group. Basri surrendered to police after a shootout on Feb. 1, 2007, in Poso where a Mohammedan-Christian conflict killed at least 1,000 people over the course of 1998 to 2002.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Densus 88 personnel raided areas in Batang, Kebumen and Kendal in Central Java; Bandung in West Java; and Banten. During the raids, the officers rubbed out seven suspects and 3 others were captured alive.

"The terror suspects killed during the raids were identified as Abu Roban, Bastari, Toni, Bayu alias Ucup, Budi alias Angga, Junet alias Encek and Sarame," Boy announced.

The suspects captured alive in Jakarta were Agus Widharto, Agung, Endang, Faisal alias Boim and Iman.

Iwan and Puryanto were arrested in Kendal. While four others -- Budi, Farel, Slamet and Wagiono -- were apprehended in Kebumen.

The two suspects arrested in Bandung were Haris Fauzi alias Jablud and William Maksum, alias Acum alias Dadan.

The bodies of the three dead men were flown to Dr. Sukamto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Thursday after being examined at Bhayangkara Hospital in Semarang.
"They're dead, Jim."
"Dr. Quincy, however do you do it?!"
During the raid in Ciputat, Densus 88 officers confiscated Rp 25.48 million, while in the Bandung raid, the police found two revolvers, an FN Browning pistol, hundreds of bullets and Rp 6 million in cash.
But not a shutter gun in the bunch, nor a crossfire, nor Mahmoud the Weasel calling in the tip. The Rab are still Grand Champions at this kind of thing.
In Kendal, the police seized one revolver, nine bullets, a notebook and a USB,
...that last being particularly exciting...
while in Kebumen they found two pipe bombs, grenades and FN pistols, in a house in Kembaran hamlet.

Some residents in Kembaran said that the entourage of alleged bully boyz had only stayed for around 10 days in the hamlet and they had introduced themselves as jamu (herbal medicine) sellers.
Oddly enough, said one resident, the only herbs they had in stock were opium, ganja, and qat, all of which they steadfastly refused to part with.
Following the raids, West Java Police called on the owners of boarding houses to check the identity of their tenants.

"The owners must have copies of their occupants to avoid unexpected occurrences," West Java Police front man Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said.

"We also asked the public to increase their awareness by organizing night patrols."

Some of the villagers in Kembaran, Kebumen regency, had returned to their houses by Thursday afternoon.

One of them, Hastuti, said her family had taken refuge at a relative's house on Wednesday night.

Others began repairing the damage inflicted on their houses following the shoot out between Densus 88 personnel and the alleged terrorists.
Ah ha! They did have a crossfire, after all! Things are looking up.
Santoso's link to a series of terror attacks

September 2012: police arrest a man named Hasan alias Wendi with suspected links to a Surakarta-based terrorist group at Pantoloan Port in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Hasan had reportedly participated at a military training conducted by Santoso in Poso where he was reportedly taught how to assemble explosives.

May 25, 2011: the shooting of three coppers in front of a Bank Central Asia (BCA) branch in Palu. Two dead, one injured.

Oct. 8, 2012: the murder of two coppers, Andi Sappa and Sudirman, in Tamanjeka hamlet, Poso Pesisir.

Oct. 9, 2012: a kaboom at a community hall in Kawua subdistrict, Poso.

Nov. 15, 2012: the shooting of Poso Pesisir Utara Police chief First Insp. Bastian Taruklabi.

Dec. 20, 2012: the shooting of six police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) members in North Poso Pesisir. Three dead and three others injured.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jemaah Islamiyah

#1  "We also asked the public to increase their awareness by organizing night patrols."

So they also habitat in what passes for upazillas, they will be active during the nighttime hours, and earlier in the story is sounded like some of the miscreants were wanted on several warrants (systems). And the number od dearly desceased makes it sounds like the Spidey Sense took over and caused them to be undone before they could escape as if they had never been.
I sense the clandestine hand of a RAB Correspondence Course present.
Posted by: USN,Ret, || 05/12/2013 2:28 Comments || Top||

#2  The Famous RAB Writers School?
Posted by: Shipman || 05/12/2013 5:08 Comments || Top||

#3  The pic looks like Randy Savage

Ohhhh Yeahhh
Posted by: Beavis || 05/12/2013 11:57 Comments || Top||

#4  I really do need to get to work (I have joined Adobe Creative Klod!) on the RAB Wanted Posted. But I can't decide between a recruiting poster or a warning poster.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/12/2013 14:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Look closely, I think that guy is wearing sunglasses because his eyes are glowing. Brightly.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 05/12/2013 15:20 Comments || Top||

#6  I guess we'll have to find some pics for "Densus 88."
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 05/12/2013 15:21 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian troops confront, kill infiltrators near Homs
[Iran Press TV] Fighting rages on in Syria between foreign-backed snuffies and government forces as the army continues clearing operations near the western city of Homs.

The latest festivities occurred in the town of Abel, where Syrian soldiers confronted gunnies who attempted to infiltrate the town.

The snuffies were reportedly killed in the raid.

The Syrian government last month seized the town, which lies between Homs and al-Qusayr, a strategic town and Death Eater stronghold near the Lebanese border.

Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase...
an kaboom rocked the northwestern city of Lattakia at dawn, ripping through a number of shops in a gold market.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Interesting development...Al Caca bloweing bombs in Turkey to force Erdogan to invade Syria...hopefully, that will make Iran invade Iraq on the way to help...more popcorn, please!
Posted by: Pliny the Cheap6130 || 05/12/2013 22:48 Comments || Top||


Syrian Observatory: Army Fights to Retake Key Road to North
[An Nahar] Syrian troops fought rebels on Saturday in a bid to take back a key supply route linking the center of the country to Aleppo in the north, a monitoring group said.

"Fierce battles raged pitting troops against rebels. Regime troops fought to reopen the road linking Hama to Aleppo," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Rebels cut off the so-called Desert Road on Thursday. The army had been using it as its main supply route to Aleppo province, large swathes of which are under myrmidon control.

In March the army's command had announced "the return of safety and security" to villages located along the road.

The road leads to Aleppo international airport, scene of heavy fighting pitting rebels against troops for several weeks.

Rebels launched in February a bid to take over airports and air bases in Aleppo province in a bid to take out the air force's capacity to deploy.

With large parts of the province out of army hands, the rebels' main obstacle in the north is the regime's air force.

In central Syria, meanwhile, fierce battles raged in Qusayr in the province of Homs, with rebels fighting troops, pro-regime militia and members of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which supports the Damascus regime.

The town, under rebel hands for more than a year, was pounded Saturday using rockets and tank fire, said the Observatory.

Further south, seven army troops were killed in a rebel raid on a checkpoint in the town of Abel, added the Observatory.

At least 22 people were killed across Syria on Saturday, according to a preliminary toll by the Britannia-based watchdog, which relies on a broad network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reports.

At least 95 people were killed in Syria on Friday, it said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/12/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2013-05-12
  Pak: Dozens killed in poll day violence
Sat 2013-05-11
  Car bombs in Turkey near Syria border killed more than 30
Fri 2013-05-10
  Syria troops, Hizbullah advancing on Qusayr
Thu 2013-05-09
  Nigerian cult ambush kills 46 policemen
Wed 2013-05-08
  Lashkar-i-Jhangvi's Karachi chief arrested
Tue 2013-05-07
  22 dead as police clash with Bangladesh Islamists
Mon 2013-05-06
  Tanzania police: 4 Saudis arrested after blast
Sun 2013-05-05
  Explosions shake Damascus, Syria blames Israel
Sat 2013-05-04
  Egypt: Mob lynches son of Muslim Brotherhood leader
Fri 2013-05-03
  Sarabjit Singh dies in Pak Jail
Thu 2013-05-02
  Brahimi to quit as Syria peace envoy: Diplomats
Wed 2013-05-01
  Three people arrested in Marathon bombings
Tue 2013-04-30
  'Missiles fired at' Russian plane with 159 passengers onboard flying over Syria
Mon 2013-04-29
  Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi survives assassination bid
Sun 2013-04-28
  Blasts at election offices kill eight in Pakistan

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