Naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have intercepted and impounded a Somali tanker smuggling 500,000 liters of diesel fuel to a Persian Gulf Arab state.
The tanker was stopped by an IRGC patrol 18 miles off the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a strategic route for oil transit, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday. The tanker had reportedly picked up the diesel fuel from small vessels selling smuggled fuel in the Persian Gulf waters.
So the Somalis didn't pay the vig?
IRGC forces also arrested 13 Somali crew members aboard the tanker and handed them over to judicial authorities in the southern Hormuzgan Province.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] In fear of upsetting Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Sudan distances itself from the Islamic republic while denying any connection to Moslem BrĂźderbund.
Sudan turned down an Iranian offer to set up air defenses on its Red Sea coast after a 2012 air strike Khartoum blamed on Israel, fearing they would upset Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, Sudan's foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
They also wanted a system that would work...
In an interview with the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper that seemed aimed at improving frosty ties with Riyadh, Ali Karti played down Khartoum's links to Iran and to the Moslem BrĂźderbund, which is outlawed in Saudi Arabia.
"Iran, in truth, offered to set up air defense platforms on the Western coast of the Red Sea after the latest Israel raid, but Sudan rejected that because this would require Iranian arms experts (on the ground)," Karti said during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia, al-Hayat reported.
"We rejected that because it is an Iranian presence against Saudi Arabia, something which we do not accept," he added.
The 2012 air strike killed four people and partially destroyed an arms factory in Khartoum. Sudan blamed Israel, which did not comment at the time on the accusations.
Israeli officials have in turn accused Sudan of funneling weapons from Iran to the Islamist Paleostinian group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in the Gazoo Strip. Iranian officials were not immediately available for a comment on Karti's comments.
Sunni-powerhouse Saudi Arabia, a key regional ally of the United States, has been locked in a contest with non-Arab Shiite power Iran for influence in the Middle East.
The rivalry has effectively divided the region into two camps, with countries either allied to Saudi Arabia or to Iran.
Qatar factor
Sudan has been entangled in a complex web that put it at odds with Saudi Arabia when the world's top oil exporter tried to shore-up Egypt's military-backed government in its struggle with the Moslem BrĂźderbund after the army ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... from power last year.
Sudanese media have said Karti travelled to Saudi Arabia two weeks ago for talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal to improve 'lukewarm' ties between the two countries.
Karti denied that Khartoum supported the Moslem BrĂźderbund, which has been outlawed by Egypt as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Brotherhood's embrace of the ballot box challenges the principle of dynastic rule in the Gulf.
"There is a belief in the Gulf states that we have feelings towards the Moslem BrĂźderbund in any country in the Gulf or even in Egypt. But Sudan has refused to join the Moslem BrĂźderbund group," Karti said, according to al-Hayat.
Sudan said last month after a visit by Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani that Doha would deposit $1 billion at Sudan's central bank as part of an aid package to Khartoum -- a move likely to be seen in the region as evidence of Sudan's ties to Qatar, an ally of the Brotherhood.
In his interview with al-Hayat, Karti also played down Sudan's relationship with Tehran. "Our ties with Iran are quite ordinary," Karti said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... on Tuesday (May 27th) lashed out at opponents, threatening to turn the country into a new Syria.
The terror group issued the ominous warning during a presser called to denounce General Khalifa Haftar's "Operation Dignity".
"We thank God that we were able to defeat Haftar and we challenge him to attempt entering Benghazi again. We warn him that if he continues this war against us, Moslems from across the world will come to fight, as is the case in Syria right now," Libya Herald quoted Ansar al-Sharia leader Mohammed al-Zawahi as saying.
The leader of the al-Qaeda-inspired group went on to label Haftar a "new Qadaffy", AFP reported. "If he insists on this dirty war, it will open the gates of hell on him and the whole region," al-Zawahi said.
The message came as Libya witnesses a wave of violence that many blame on rogue Islamist militias.
On Monday, top Libyan journalist Meftah Bouzid was rubbed out in broad daylight in the centre of Benghazi. Bouzid, the editor of Brnieq, was a vocal critic of jihadist groups.
Then on Tuesday, a Libyan student fell victim to the bloodshed. The severed head of a young man was found in the Sabaha mosque in Derna, Libya Herald reported.
According to witnesses, Turkawi had challenged members of the Islamic Army in Derna who had seized his car at a checkpoint.
"Derna is considered a hotbed and a starting point for myrmidon jihadist fighters, who have benefited from the rugged mountains in the city," explained Salah Mohammed, a 35-year-old computer engineer. "Thus Derna is considered an extension to al-Qaeda and to Islamic fighting groups."
For her part, Derna high school student Hanane Massoun said that Libya had become "a scary country with no security or safety".
"You are at risk whether at home or in the street. This is what we are facing in Derna," she added.
Mardiya Faraj, a 37-year-old teacher, said that Ansar al-Sharia "wants to control people with their ideology while they are doing what they want and not what Allah wants".
"We want the army and the police and not masked young men with arms to scare us," Faraj added.
"The government needs to do something against these armed terrorists," commented Yusef al-Sharif, a government employee from Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... . "Things have progressed and they need to do something, not just statements and condemnations, I believe that they have designated Ansar al-Sharia as a terrorist group and they found faceless myrmidons in Sirte, Benghazi and Derna but nothing has been done. The people are really worried."
High school teacher Laila Yusef al-Maslati was equally concerned with the violence.
"Terror attacks and the killings have increased and the security situation in Tripoli and Benghazi has become tense," she said.
"We need to build the army and the police and support the security institutions in Libya. And I ask the Libyans to support the state's security and military institutions, we need actions and not just talk," she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Artic needs correction - AAS has made threat agz both Libya + USA.
[MAGHAREBIA] Experts and military officers from eight African countries on Thursday (May 29th) wrap up a five-day conference in Algiers focused on Sahel-Saharan security.
The event aimed to establish a joint strategy for securing the countries' borders, which are facing threats due to the situation in Mali and in Libya.
The workshop organised by the Fusion and Liaison Unit (UFL), in co-operation with Spain's Guardia Civil, drew officers from UFL member states Algeria, Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... , Libya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad.
Experts and analysts from several regional security bodies, as well as the US and EU, also participated in the meeting.
The event ending today comes in a regional context "marred by a complex security and humanitarian crisis", said Fusion and Liaison Unit representative Sidikou Soumana. "It is also marred by tensions in northern Mali and Libya, and the kidnapping of more than 100 girls in Nigeria." He noted that this situation attracted "the attention of everyone".
Soumana added that "the ease of infiltration across the border" was one factor contributing to the spread of terrorism and the "major" proliferation of weapons and drug and human trafficking in Sahel countries.
For his part, Mauritania's representative in the Fusion and Liaison Unit, Mohammed Ould Chaibat, warned against the Sahel turning into another Afghanistan or Somalia.
He emphasised that there was confirmed information indicating direct ties between Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... in Tunisia, Libya and Syria. In northern Mali, certain groups, such as Ansar al-Din and the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO ...Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, another offshoot of Qaeda in North Africa. Currently active in Mali and southern Algeria, the idea is to do as much good in West Africa as AQIM has done in North Africa... ), are active and have ties with Islamists in Somalia, Sudan and Nigeria.
"This means that the African Sahel may turn into a base for international terrorism and organised crime," he noted.
Ould Chaibat spoke about information indicating that jihadists were coming from Syria to Libya, seeing it as a fertile land for all terrorist organizations.
He added that mechanisms were put in place by the entities concerned and the Fusion and Liaison Unit, but much more work was still needed to protect the border. He noted that the Spanish partnership showed the growing awareness of European countries because any terrorist infiltration would be negatively reflected on them.
For his part, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said his country was following with "grave" concern the developments taking place next door in Libya.
"Algeria, which still adheres to the principle of non-intervention in other countries' internal affairs, is paying full attention to a situation characterised by instability and insecurity, which is causing the brotherly Libyan people huge tribulations and which is creating many challenges for Libya's neighbouring countries."
The workshop coincided with a meeting of Non-Aligned Movement ministers hosted by Algiers.
The Algerian foreign ministry's director-general for political affairs and international security, Taous Feroukhi, said the Sahel security file and the situation in both Mali and Libya would be among the most important issues to be discussed at the meeting.
"The deteriorating situation in Libya was a main reason in smuggling arms to neighbouring countries, followed by drug trafficking," Feroukhi added. "The proceeds of this and that eventually find their way to channels supporting terrorism, which is now threatening the entire region and impeding development therein."
"Faced with all this, we find ourselves forced to have joint co-operation both internationally and regionally," the foreign ministry official concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The EU High Representative's Special Envoy for Libya, Bernardino Leon, has said fighting terrorism, is crucial to the creation of a free and democratic Libya.
You can't get anything past an EU special envoy...
Speaking at a presser in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... yesterday, following a series of meetings with brass hats, Leon said "terrorist groups particularly in the east" were "a serious threat to this country and neighbouring countries". He added that these groups also threatened the safety of the international community. He mentioned Ansar Al-Sharia in particular.
"This county has been facing increasing problems with state officials killed in Benghazi in Derna," Leon said. "No democracy can be built in Libya if this situation continues." He added that groups diametrically opposed to the state had to be removed.
Leon said much was required of Libyan institutions as the country faced "the worst crisis since the civil war". He said "this is not only a message from the European community and the international community ... this is a message from the Libyan streets. Libyans are expecting Libyan parties to live up to this historic moment".
The Special Envoy said it was of crucial importance that elections to the House of Representatives go ahead on the proposed date of 25 June and that "all Libyan political actors and stakeholders work democratically and inclusively".
Leon also referred to the ambiguous situation in the General National Congress (GNC) saying that Congress members had offered a deal to Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni allowing him to remain at his post. "The door is open for agreement between the different actors," he said. At the time the GNC was pushing through a last minute vote to approve an incomplete cabinet which would unseat Thinni.
Responding to a question about retired general Khalifa Hafter, Leon said he had not spoken with the leader of the Dignity Operation. He said, however, that "what is important to take into account is not Hafter but what he represents", referring to Libyans' desire for the removal of gangs.
Leon said in the case of Hafter he hoped all current problems could be resolved through established institutions.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] In view of the deteriorating security situation, the Philippine Embassy raised its crisis alert level from Level 2 (Restriction Phase) to Level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation Phase), effective Thursday, 29 May.
Under Level 3, Filipinos in Libya -- of which there are an estimated 13,122--are encouraged to leave the country voluntarily as soon as possible. The Philippine government has promised to bear the repatriation cost.
The decision came this week after Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario visited Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and met with Philippine Embassy officials and the embassy's Rapid Response Team to carry out the government's contingency plan.
When asked if there was anything specific that had prompted this decision, Filipino community leader John Puno said, "Well, many embassies are closing here and it's becoming more and more difficult for Filipinos to wire money back to the Philippines. We have daily quotas, and we've reached them already."
To date, diplomats have left several of the Arab State embassies, including Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Algeria, the UAE, and Egypt. The US government asked Americans to leave Libya on 27 May, while British Ambassador Michael Aron assured British citizens via Twitter that UK travel advice had not changed. No official statements have been made regarding possible closures by other European or Asian embassies.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Daily NK has confirmed that China is currently supplying oil to North Korea through a pipeline running between the two. Though there have been cases where Beijing has suspended such shipments in response to North Korean intransigence, particularly over nuclear issues, but this has not happened recently.
On April 10th, Daily NK visited an oil storage and pipeline facility in Dandong. There, our team interviewed Chinese Ministry of Public Security officials guarding the facility, which is owned by a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, or CNPC.
When asked about oil assistance to North Korea, one of the officers acknowledged, "We are continuously supplying oil (to North Korea)," but "cannot say how much we send each month or how much remains as of now."
Oil deliveries to be transferred to North Korea are received at this facility from a larger nearby facility, Basan, and then are shipped to a partner storage facility at Baekma in Pihyun Couunty, North Pyongan Province. The pipeline is 11km long.
According to sources, these deliveries are not recorded in Chinese customs data, or in foreign trade statistics. The oil from the pipeline is rather characterized as de facto aid, either in the form of low interest loans or free of charge.
This is why, on April 24th, Korean agency KOTRA released a figure of 'zero' for oil exports from China to North Korea for the first quarter of 2014, basing it on Chinese customs data. The data says zero for commercial transfers; however, supplies in the form of aid and assistance may not have stopped at all.
In this regard, a diplomatic source said, "China has the ability to stop the oil supplies whenever they want, but they've never done so for a long period of time." He went on, "Above all, China places as much importance on security as North Korea places on nuclearization, and it doesn't want to see disorder in the North Korean regime. This explains why China keeps providing this assistance." Please don't implode! I need a picture of a guy threatening a room full of people with a gun to his head.
There you go, Squinty dear. One picture of a man holding a gun to his head in a sharing manner.
Meanwhile, Chinese trade statistics show that 520,000 tons of oil was exported to North Korea every year from 2009 to 2012. Mostly small North Korean tankers shipped this oil.
#1
All numbers from China regarding the economy (i.e. ex-im figures, banking, etc) are basically fantasy. They write down what they think looks good, and know if they're lucky, they won't be around when the waiter brings the bill.
This is regarded by Wall St as an investment opportunity.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/30/2014 7:17 Comments ||
Top||
#2
IIRC Beijing time back officially announced it will be reducing its oil exports to NOKOR in response to NOKOR's on-going threats agz SOKOR + espec its desire to continue wid indigenous Nuke Tests.
Given that China is covertly actually the one in de facto charge or control of NOKOR's military + Spaceprog + Nucprog, the above + this Artic must be taken wid a grain of salt.
Anyhoo, ...
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > ABE TO PITCH FOR JAPAN AS CHINA'S COUNTER [weight] - JAPAN TIMES.
* SAME > PHOTOS: US GLOBAL HAWKS ARRIVE IN JAPAN, to monitor China + NOKOR.
* SAME > [NYT] JAPAN OFFERS HELP [advanced MilTech = Equipment] TO NATIONS IN DISPUTE WID CHINA.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > ABE'S STRATEGY: RE-ARRANGE REGIONAL POWER BALANCE.
[The Peninsula] President Barack Obama mounted a defiant defence of his global leadership yesterday, rebuking critics who see him as weak but warning that not every global threat justifies a US military response.
In a major speech at the West Point military academy, Obama denied US power had ebbed under his watch, after he withdrew troops from Iraq and as he does the same in Afghanistan.
He also pledged to ramp up support for Syrian rebels, vowed to stand up to Russia over Ukraine and promised to make drone strikes against terror suspects more transparent.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
*cough*Libya*cough*
The EO prez doesn't seem to grasp that other components of not being weak, are decisiveness and effectiveness. The proverbial amateurish Chinese Fire Brigade approach to events comes across as, indeed, weak.
#5
I'm using that (unless you're one of the Righthaven folks), swksvolFF.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
05/30/2014 11:18 Comments ||
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#6
Take it.
As Bobby noted, this guy's speeches are never about the audience. If it were, he wouldn't be up there bragging about how he is going to arm the very people these graduates are about to go out and combat.
#9
We will fight them on the platitudes. We will fight them on the hash tags. We will fight them in the fields of straw men. We will never surrender without a vote. And if by no fault of ours we are overcome we will wait for the day when the new world is better able to adapt to diversity and gather our strength, which is our diversity, and regain the old. Or not, depends actually.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/30/2014 21:26 Comments ||
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#11
OTOH CHINA DAILY > [Daily Sheeple] USDOD SECRETARY HAGEL ADMITS, [21ST Century] "NEW WORLD ORDER BEING BUILT".
Title paraph for clarity.
* DRUDGEREPORT > [FT.com] FIGHTING TALK AMID SHRINKING OF AMERICAN MILITARY MIGHT, OBAMA SEEKING TO SCALE BACK US GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY WIDOUT SIGNALLING A RETREAT.
As a reminder, as the US retreats or pulls back across the world, it may decide to destroy stratgic Pacific isles, e.g. GUAM, ETAL., wid "Earthquake/Tectonic Bombs" in order to deny to enemies, ala so-called "A2/AREA-DENIAL".
[DAWN] THE US drones were better weapons to use against hard boyz as compared to Pakistain Air Force jets, believes Rustam Shah Mohmand, a 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.... -appointed member of the government committee to negotiate with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP).
"Drones are more precise in targeting hard boyz than the jets the air force is using, which cause heavy collateral damage," he told Dawn. "The government should have formed a strategy in collaboration with the US to carry out strikes using drones."
Last year, the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) organised sit-ins over several months to force the US government to bring drone strikes to an end, and the B.O. regime practically halted these operations.
However, you can observe a lot just by watching... Mr Mohmand, whom PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... declared the party's point man on the TTP and militancy, now thinks Pakistain should have utilised the accuracy of drones.
"Pakistain should have had acquired drones from the US and operated them for the North Wazoo strikes, or it should have had collaborated with the US over authentic information about ground targets to reduce collateral damage," he said.
The former bureaucrat who has served as Pakistain's ambassador to Afghanistan, federal interior secretary, and political agent in Khyber and South Waziristan Agencies added that collateral damage caused by PAF jets in North Waziristan has forced several families to migrate to Afghanistan.
"Many civilians have been killed in the recent air strikes," he commented. "Many markets, bazaars, shops and houses have been destroyed. This has forced hundreds of families to migrate to the Afghanistan province of Khost ...which coincidentally borders North Wazoo and Kurram Agency... despite the fact that American forces bombard those areas. They are so frustrated that they prefer Khost over Bannu despite the unrest in Afghanistan."
North Waziristan Agency is now the focus of the government given that most of the hard boyz have reportedly moved here from South Waziristan.
"All of the leadership is in North Waziristan," said Mr Mohmand. "Almost 80 per cent of the Mehsud tribes have left South Waziristan."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I thourght Imran Khan was against the use of drones!
My gut agrees. But alas, the death eaters are using the locals as human shields. They aren't stupid enough to follow the Geneva convention. With the AGM-114R, the operator can dial up the exact (well, one of four choices) blast effect that they want. The locals appreciate it when you destroy the death eaters next door but leave their house standing.
That being said, after an arc light strike any survivors would be long gone.
[DAWN] The CIA's assassination program in Pakistain, once the mainstay of President Barack Obama If you like your coverage you can keep it... 's counterterrorism effort, is winding down.
Because of stricter rules, diplomatic sensitivities and the changing nature of the al Qaeda threat, there hasn't been a US drone strike in Pakistain's tribal areas since Christmas. And American officials say opportunities for drone attacks will dwindle further as the CIA and the military draw down in neighboring Afghanistan, reducing their intelligence-gathering footprint.
"The program (in Pakistain) appears to have ended," said Peter Bergen, who has closely studied drone strikes for the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank.
US officials won't go that far, but Obama announced this week a plan to pull nearly all American troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.
The assassination program in Pakistain relies on drones flown from, and intelligence gathered in, US bases in Afghanistan that would then be closed.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] U.N. peacekeeping missions should deploy more drones and state-of the art technology to become more effective, limit boots on the ground and keep aid workers safer, their chief said Thursday.
On International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers, staff paid tribute to more than 3,000 peacekeepers who have died since 1948, including 106 last year, and to those still serving on the frontline.
The head of U.N. peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous, said, on average, a peacekeeper dies every 30 days, and technology needs to be upgraded to assist a record number of U.N. boots on the ground.
The Security Council last month approved a new mission in Central African Republic and in December voted to send an extra 5,500 soldiers to war-torn South Sudan.
"Clearly we cannot continue to afford to work with 20th century tools in the 21st century," he told news hounds in New York.
Ladsous said drones had already helped in DR Congo and could be vital in improving humanitarian access.
"They (convoys) can use the images of the machines to make sure they are not going to be attacked or hijacked on the way. That I think is a very significant development," Ladsous said.
"We do need them (drones) in countries like Mali, like Central African Republic and clearly in South Sudan it would be my desire that we might deploy them," he said.
Surveillance drones could replace some military observers and make a big difference.
"In some cases using technology can make it necessary not to have so many boots on the ground and also, lets never forget, to improve on the delivery," Ladsous said.
Ladsous expressed hope that the quickening departure of Western troops from Afghanistan could see more EU and 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... countries take part in U.N. peacekeeping missions.
"This is an opportunity for them to come back or move into United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... peacekeeping, especially with high-tech assets, state of the art equipment... that could make the difference."
He pointed to Ireland, in the Golan Heights, and the Netherlands and Sweden, in Mali, as examples of EU and NATO countries who had also served in Afghanistan.
Ameerah Haq, head of field support, told news hounds that fuel-efficient cars, solar power, night-vision capabilities and tethered balloons would also be useful.
"What gives the best capability to the troops? And if that is technology then certainly we want to study to see what is in our means to deploy," she said.
Haq said U.N. peacekeepers were more at risk than ever.
"We are facing the specific targeting of peacekeepers and also we are seeing the merging of conflict and international criminal activities," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Anything to keep the peacekeepers rapists away.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
05/30/2014 9:19 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] Israel incarcerated Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! a major Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, figure earlier this month as he attempted to infiltrate the country via the Allenby Bridge crossing, the Shin Bet security service revealed Thursday afternoon. Mahmoud Toameh, a "top-ranking overseas operative of Hamas," gave the security agency a wealth of details about the activities of the radical Islamic group during his interrogation, it said, including its funding sources, international activities and activities inside Israel. Notably, he revealed that Hamas pays hundreds of young Israeli Arab citizens to harass Jews seeking to enter the Temple Mount area.
Toameh was arrested on May 14, the Shin Beit said, and formally indicted on undisclosed charges on Thursday.
In his interrogation, Toameh revealed that Hamas works with the Islamic Movement (an Israeli organization that promotes Islam among Israel's Arab citizens) to keep Jews from entering the Temple Mount compound, by retaining a group of young men to harass and throw stones at Jewish visitors. These men, who ostensibly are studying Islamic theology at the site, are paid a monthly salary of NIS 4,000 to NIS 5000 ($1,150-$1,440) for their activities, the Shin Bet said.
Toameh said that before this, Hamas backed another project which similarly acted to prevent Jewish visits to the Temple Mount by employing hundreds of young men to harass Jews entering the compound. That venture was closed down by Israeli authorities in 2013, prompting the new cooperation between Hamas and the Islamic Movement regarding the Temple Mount, which he said Hamas took pains to keep hidden from Israel.
Toameh also said that Hamas maintains a secret connection with firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... holy man Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch. Salah, an Israeli citizen, has been arrested several times for his activities, and was tossed in the calaboose Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! between 2003 and 2005 for providing funding to Hamas.
Until about a year ago, Hamas was primarily funded by Iran, Toameh told the Shin Bet. The closing of the tap by Tehran has caused economic hardship for the group, but at the same time, Hamas runs several civil groups and companies abroad, most of them real estate groups in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and other Gulf states, which work to provide funding.
Toameh sits on the main economic council of Hamas, and, according to the Shin Bet, detailed various arrangements the group makes to transfer funds to both its Gazoo base and to supporters inside Israel or the West Bank. Several of these involve Islamic charities operating abroad. According to Toameh, it was at his suggestion that Hamas began surreptitiously transferring funds via real estate deals -- for example, a Saudi Arabian-backed mosque, built several years ago in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, resulted in some 750,000 riyals (about $200,000) being transferred to Hamas operatives.
According to Toameh, the "Paleostinian Business Forum," ostensibly a business organization promoting Paleostinian economic development, was founded by Hamas operatives, who use the group to further the economic interests of Hamas.
Hamas maintains close ties with the global Moslem Brüderbund movement, Toameh said, and noted that eight members of Hamas's guiding Shura Council were members of the Moslem Brüderbund's international arm. He said that Turkey and Qatar are major centers of Hamas activity abroad, and Hamas operates there with the tacit approval of the governments of those two countries.
Regarding the recent reconciliation between Hamas and the Fatah faction of Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , Toameh said that it was the result of a practical decision by Hamas and did not have any bearing on the group's ideology. Hamas, he said, realized that in order to have a voice in the direction of the PA, and to gain greater political influence beyond Gazoo, it would have to join the PLO and participate in general Paleostinian government.
According to the Shin Bet, Mahmoud Mahmoud Issa Toameh was born in 1951 in Tulkarem and lived in Saudi Arabia for a brief period during the 1970s. He joined the Moslem Brüderbund in 1983 and then because a founding member of Hamas when it split off in 1987. He is married and a father of eight. In 2008 he joined the Shura Council, the body headed by Khaled Mashaal which oversees policy, including military policy, for Hamas.
[Ynet] Mahmoud Tuama tells Shin Bet Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, funds Islamic Movement religious lessons on Temple Mount meant to prevent Jews from entering holy site.
A member of Hamas' Shura Council, who was jugged ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... last month when he tried to cross the border from Jordan into Israel, has shed more light on Hamas' ties to the Islamic Movement in Israel, the Shin Bet said on Thursday.
Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Tuama, who was born in Tulkarm and has been living in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , told the Shin Bet of the extent of the cooperation between Hamas and the Islamic Movement in Israel in general and specifically in Jerusalem, particularly in the financial field.
According to Tuama, Hamas has funded Islamic Movement projects in Jerusalem. One such project paid for religious lessons for Arab youths on the Temple Mount, in an attempt to prevent Jews from entering the holy site. Hamas paid hundreds of youths NIS 4000-5000 per month to study at the site.
The Shin Bet linked that project to an increase in the number of violent incidents and festivities with Moslem worshippers on the Temple Mount in recent months.
Tuama assessed that the ties between the head of the northern branch, Raed Salah, and the Hamas leadership were kept secret to avoid unwanted attention to the Islamic Movement in Israel.
He also revealed in his interrogation that Turkey and Qatar often host Hamas officials and provide the origanization with political and financial support.
Hamas was raising funds in the Gulf using private companies, mostly in real estate, he said. Several years ago, Tuama transferred 750,000 Saudi rial, that were seemingly meant to fund the building of a mosque in Tulkarm, but in reality were used in Hamas operations.
According to an indictment filed on Thursday at the Samaria Military Court, Tuama was in charge of Hamas' financial overview committee. Up until recently, Hamas's main funder was Iran, but in the last year, Tehran's backing stopped, likely due to Hamas' ties to the Moslem BrĂźderbund in Cairo.
[The Peninsula] The two main Paleostinian factions, Fatah and the Islamist movement Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, appeared on the verge of forming a historic unity government after seven years of bitter rivalry as Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... named a new prime minister agreed by both sides yesterday.
The announcement brings Paleostinians a substantial step closer to a final reconciliation between Abbas's Fatah and Hamas, which set up separate governments in 2007 after Hamas took control of Gazoo following a sweeping win in legislative elections, that Fatah and the West refused to recognise.
A new unity government backed by Hamas -- even a technocratic one -- would be a popular move with Paleostinians but poses big challenges to any attempt to revive a grinding of the peace processor with Israel and to Paleostinian Authority's foreign aid donors, including the US, EU and the UK. It could also bring threats of punitive measures from the government of Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yesterday's deadline for naming the new government was set five weeks ago, after Fatah and Hamas agreed to reconcile under a unity administration and the promise of long-delayed elections.
Abbas appointed Hamdallah, prime minister in the West Bank, as chief minister in the new arrangement and said he had asked him to form a government.
In a brief ceremony with Hamdallah by his side, Abbas declared: "This letter designates Dr Rami Hamdallah to form a new transitional government. I wish him luck in this difficult task which he will undertake."
According to sources, announcement of the full government, which was expected yesterday, has been held up over disagreements over the posts of foreign and interior ministers and may now be announced next week. The five weeks of talks to secure a new government followed the announcement of a reconciliation deal as the last round of peace talks between Paleostinians and Israelis collapsed amid recriminations. The Guardian
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05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Hackers, most likely in Iran, have been using fake profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks to mine data from Israeli, American, and British corporations and government bodies. An American security group, iSIGHT Partners, on Thursday published details of the scam, describing how the hackers conducted "a coordinated, long-term cyber espionage campaign" to target more than 2,000 government and business officials.
It was an elaborate, well-organized version of a classic "spear phishing" campaign, in which users are either tricked into giving up personal information, like logins or passwords, or have their data hijacked by malware that gets onto their systems when they click on links, iSIGHT said. And while there's no direct proof that Iran is behind the scam, the company said, there was plenty of circumstantial evidence -- including the times of day when the hackers connected with their victims, connecting at odd hours and taking breaks that corresponded, among other things, with midday "siesta time" in Tehran.
The scam, called "Newscaster," has been going on since at least 2011, iSIGHT said, with hackers building online personalities using detailed, believable personal profiles on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google ...contributed $814,540 to the 2008 Obama campaign... +, YouTube, Blogger, and others. The profiles ostensibly belonged to journalists, defense contractors, and government officials, positioning themselves as strong supporters of Israel and connecting with victims who were also strong supporters of Israel.
Iranians can be very charming when they choose. It's a cultural skill.
At least 2,000 top-level politicians, diplomatic personnel, Congressional aides, journalists, and others were victims of the scam, said iSIGHT.
The hackers would send out links to news stories on a phony journalism site (a hotbed of plagiarism, iSIGHT said) called Newsonair.org. Once friended, victims of the scam would be sent spear-phishing messages, directing them to links where they would be asked to provide personal information or enter a login and password (on the theory that most people use the same login/password for multiple sites), which the hackers would use to break into victims' email and other personal accounts.
In addition, the hackers would attach malware to the links, surreptitiously loading a victim's system with spyware that would stealthily collect password information for accounts. The malware, said iSIGHT, was "not particularly sophisticated, but it includes capability that can be used for data exfiltration."
While phishing scams go on all the time and are conducted by all manner of Internet criminals, the level of sophistication and organization indicates that the people behind the scam belonged to a large organization, and the type of victims targeted indicates that it was conducted by a government seeking to get information about defense systems, strategies, and policies. That the main targets were Israelis and supporters of Israel in the US and the UK -- and that the topic of discussion was usually Israeli defense -- makes it most likely that Iran is the culprit.
The scam, the company said, may have been Iran's cyber-response to Stuxnet, in which Israeli hackers allegedly unleashed malware that significantly retarded the progress of Iran's nuclear development program.
With that, iSIGHT said, "we can't be certain" that it was Iran. "We have no information implicating the ultimate sponsor. In the past we've seen cyber espionage operations carried out by government organizations, corporate intermediaries, and other third parties."
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... there was one damning piece of evidence linking Iran to the scam, said iSIGHT. The phony site the hackers used to disseminate poisoned links, Newsonair.org, was registered to a company located in Tehran.
In addition, iSIGHT said, the hackers made contact with their victims at "irregular" hours, such as late at night in Europe and the US, or very early in the morning, often sending out constant streams of messages -- but taking a break in the middle.
"Though the timing of the social network attack may seem irregular at first, over multiple years the schedule behind the activity becomes apparent," the group said. "They maintained a regular schedule, including what appears to be a lengthy lunch break followed by the remainder of the workday. These hours conform to work hours in Tehran. Furthermore, the operators work half the day on Thursday and rarely work on Friday, the Iranian weekend."
It was mistakes like those, and others that iSIGHT did not elaborate on, that enabled the company to figure out what was going on.
"These actors did not go unnoticed by some targeted entities and they left significant evidence of their activity throughout the Internet," said ISIGHT. "As with many other threats, iSIGHT Partners combined malware analysis, open source research, and research from our global collection network to create our assessment of the Newscaster network."
It also isn't clear what valuable information, if any, the hackers got.
"It remains possible that the actors could selectively reveal information gained through this campaign to embarrass those who were targeted, or already have, but we have seen no evidence of this at this time. Ultimately, we believe the sponsors of the activity are seeking information advantage over rival military forces, defense industries, diplomats, and others," iSIGHT said.
As usual, said the company, the lesson for the Internet consumer is caveat emptor -- let the buyer, or in this case the surfer, beware.
"Newscaster was a brazen, complex multi-year cyber-espionage that used a low-tech approach to avoid traditional security defense-exploiting social media and people who are often the 'weakest link' in the security chain," said iSIGHT.
"Don't be worried, but do be vigilant," the firm advised. "Never provide login credentials with any site or person who contacts to you (rather than you contacting it), use strong passwords and regularly change them."
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05/30/2014 03:29 ||
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[Ynet] Iran's crude oil exports increased in May after a decline in April, according to sources who track tanker movements, moving above the level allowed by November's interim deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear program.
The increase, which appears to be led by higher sales to China in particular, could revive concerns in Washington that a softening of sanctions has given Tehran's economy a bigger boost than planned.
Unexpectedly.
Iran's exports have averaged 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, one of the sources said. That represents an increase from 1.1 million bpd in April, as estimated by the Gay Paree-based International Energy Agency.
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05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Check this article out. Here are some teasers:
"In the east (near the Iraq border) al Nusra and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) continue to fight each other with ISIL often getting the worst of it."
"In the south (near the Jordanian border) Al Nusra and FSA units are increasingly hostile with each other. FSA is already at war with ISIL (as is al Nusra) and now there is the prospect of open fighting between FSA and al Nusra."
"In the northwest (Idlib province, where the Lebanese and Turkish borders meet) rebels continue to advance."
"[propping up the pro-Iran dictator of Syria] costs Iran over a billion dollars a month"
"A growing number of Syrian rebels, and pro-rebel Syrian civilians are beginning to suggest the unthinkable; seek an alliance with Israel."
"Turkey and European nations are feuding over who is responsible for stopping European Muslims from illegally (according to European laws) going to Syria to fight (usually for Islamic terrorist rebels)." Where pencil-neck smashes them; what is the problem? Also, at least we know where to send the drones. And if we miss and hit the other side, no love lost.
--
#3
TW,
This was the paragraph that caught my attention. It makes too much sense.
"A growing number of Syrian rebels, and pro-rebel Syrian civilians are beginning to suggest the unthinkable; seek an alliance with Israel. For over half a century nearly all Arab states have waged a military (not successful) and media (increasingly successful) campaign to destroy Israel. But many Syrians have noted that their own government has done far more harm to the Syrian people than Israel ever did. Its been noted that if you bring a badly injured Syrian to the Israeli border the Israelis will provide medical aid and, especially for women and children, take the injured to an Israeli hospital and return them to the border when they are well. Israeli warplanes have carried out several attacks on Syrian government efforts to move advanced weapons to Lebanon. While this is done to prevent those weapons from being used by Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon, it also reminds Syrians that the Israeli Air Force can do pretty much whatever it wants to do in Syrian air space.
[Squinty:]Take out the Syrian AF and Pencil-neck falls. Hmmm.
If the rebels were allied with Israel the rebels could finally get some air support. The Israelis could also provide more access to logistical and medical support (paid for largely by the Arab and Western nations already backing the rebels). Despite obvious difficulties (like death threats from Syrian rebels who still believe all the anti-Israel propaganda) such an arrangement would go a long way towards achieving a long-sought peace deal between Israel and Syria, at least if the rebels won. It is unlikely to happen."
[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader and presidential candidate Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... presented his political rival MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... with two suggestions in an attempt to end the impasse, calling on the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... chief to either run against him for office or to meet and agree on a consensual nominee, media reports said on Thursday.
Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted a Maronite leader as saying that Geagea informed a delegation of the sect's institutions that he has two suggestions to Aoun.
"He said he can either meet with Aoun and agree together on a nominee other than the four top Maronite politicians, or that the FPM chief can run against him for office," the Maronite leader told the daily.
"And if Aoun wins (the presidential race), I will be the first person to congratulate him," Geagea said according to the same source.
Radio Voice of Leb (93.3) reported on Thursday that the Maronite institutions met with Aoun at his residence in al-Metn's Rabieh neighborhood.
They had met with Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel on Wednesday and are scheduled to hold talks with Marada Movement the personal militia of Suleiman Franjieh, president of Lebanon at the outbreak of the civil war, currently Syrian toadies, but you never know when that could change... head MP Suleiman Franjieh over the presidential vote.
Their talks will conclude with a meeting with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi after he returns from his controversial visit to Jerusalem.
Lawmakers failed for the fifth time last week in electing a new head of state over differences between the rival March 8 and March 14 camps.
The March 14 alliance supports the LF chief for office, who managed to gather 48 votes in the first wound of votes.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village Jack was learning how to rub noses with Nootka's wife...... the March 8 forces ... the opposition to the Mar. 14th movement, consisting of Hizbullah and its allies, so-called in commemoration of their Mar. 8th, 2006 demonstration of strength in Beirut ... have not yet announced their candidate and Aoun has repeatedly insisted that he will only take part in the presidential race if he was declared a consensual candidate, mainly by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. 's al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc.
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05/30/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Libya Herald] The EU High Representative's Special Envoy for Libya, Bernardino Leon, has said fighting terrorism, is crucial to the creation of a free and democratic Libya.
Daily NK has confirmed that China is currently supplying oil to North Korea through a pipeline running between the two. Though there have been cases where Beijing has suspended such shipments in response to North Korean intransigence, particularly over nuclear issues, but this has not happened recently.
[The Peninsula] President Barack Obama mounted a defiant defence of his global leadership yesterday, rebuking critics who see him as weak but warning that not every global threat justifies a US military response.
Wazoo
[IsraelTimes] Israel 
Samir Geagea
Michel Aoun
