#2
We should have developed Agent Orange 2.0 to eradicate the opium crop, and sprayed it with a UAV variant that can act as a crop duster. These farmers and their families should starve to death for all the misery they have caused with their crops.
#6
Well DC, the same could be said for child p0rnography. And I'm not against all drugs, but I am against heroin. Especially when the profits go to murderous thugs like the Taliban.
#9
taking the drug harms the taker, the proffits from drugs often go to violent gangs and criminals and that harms the people they directly victimize. the users of the drugs often resort to crime to feed their habit harming innocents completely outside the production/consumption loop. chronic users prioritize the drug use above feeding their children, harming them in the process. not to mention the 'missing mama' while she is out high and her boyfriend raping the little girl (happens).
yup - just like sports.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
04/20/2012 14:47 Comments ||
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#10
We long ago should have napalmed the fields.. Oh yeah then the grift would be lost...
Summarizing: The Afghan adventure brought down the Soviet Empire, why shouldn't it be allowed to bring down the US empire?
Russia's foreign minister sharply criticized NATO's plan to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by 2014, saying Thursday that coalition troops should remain in the country until Afghan government forces are capable of ensuring security.
"As long as Afghanistan is not able to ensure by itself the security in the country, the artificial timelines of withdrawal are not correct and they should not be set," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
NATO plans to hand over lead responsibility for the war against the Taliban to the Afghan army and police by the middle of next year, then withdraw its troops by the end of 2014. The alliance already has started drawing down its forces, which reached a peak of about 140,000 last year.
NATO leaders say that Afghan forces are improving rapidly and will be able to counter Taliban guerrillas after 2014. But critics have pointed to widespread drug use and the high desertion rate among government forces as signs that it remains unprepared to handle the insurgents.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance's secretary general, responded to Lavrov's criticism by saying the Afghan government has agreed with the withdrawal schedule, and that it is "definitely not artificial." He also urged Russia, China and other non-NATO countries to help fund the post-2014 Afghan armed forces.
#1
OTOH CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > NATO HEAD ASKS CHINA, RUSSIA TO HELP FUND AFGHAN FORCES, after 2014.
ARTIC = US calculates Afghanistan's Security forces will require approxi US$4.0Bilyuhn per annum, + would like its NATO/Coalition Allies to contribute up to US$1.3Bilyuhn [EUR$1.0Bilyuhn]annually.
WEHELL, SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SGT. CARTER, ONCE AGAIN ITS ONLY THE UK THATS WILLING TO PAY UP, BUT CAN ONLY GIVE $110.0MILYUHN, N-O-T $1.3BILYUHN.
#4
Afghanistan, like Vietnam, damaged the home country because the draft was used and then those unwilling soldiers rotated back injured or dead to a nation that swathe loss as pointless. The us war in Ag
Aghanistan has been different because we have professional volunteers. It the feeling of pointlessness is starting to dominate.
#6
The Russians like us to keep dying there so we can keep a lid on the problems on their border. Besides, they greatly enjoy criticizing us - why not have the best of both worlds?
[An Nahar] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... called Thursday for an "accelerated" transition of security responsibilities from NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... forces in the wake of a scandal over U.S. troops abusing Afghan corpses.
"The only way to put an end to such painful experiences is through an accelerated and full transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces," his office said in a statement.
Pictures published by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday showed U.S. soldiers posing with the remains of Taliban bad boys, one of them with a man's hand draped over his shoulder.
Karzai condemned the pictures as "inhumane and provocative," adding: "It is such a disgusting act to take photos with body parts and then share it with others."
The president noted that similar incidents in the past had sparked an angry reaction by Afghans and the international community.
Every month this year a fresh scandal has rocked the alliance between the U.S. and the Karzai government in their joint efforts against Taliban bad boys.
In January, a video showed U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban corpses; in February U.S. soldiers burned copies of the Koran; and in March a U.S. soldier went on the rampage and murdered 17 villagers in their homes.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I agree, there is no hope for that third world toilet. We should remove our modern footprint and let them go back to the 7th century. Everybody knows that before we interfered the Afghans were peace loving people that ate lolly pops and danced with unicorns.
Make sure that caped POS with the fuzzy piss cutter stays there to enjoy his reward.
#3
Maybe we could send some of the upper echelon sell outs from the United States government to go over and kiss his ring and slide him a brief case full of money from Saudi Arabia or maybe Iran. Bush years we will not negotiate with terrorists now they beg and grovel and apologize to the freaks and worry about pictures of our troops picking up road kill in country they are freaking pathetic jokes at best! Wonder how many troops those families money have killed from Saudi Arabia alone. Wonder why there hasn't been any attacks there yet they suck!
Taliban leaders are appealing to Moslems worldwide to support their war effort and have set up fundraising hotlines for donations.
Whatever happened to their cut from the opium trade?
In a rare move for the cloistered leadership of the group, Taliban leaders posted telephone hotlines and e-mail addresses where sympathizers in the Moslem world can donate money, according to recent news reports.
The contact and donation information was posted on one of the group's websites on Wednesday, according to Agence La Belle France Presse.
Moslems across the globe are "duty-bound to join the Jihad" against U.S. and coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan, according to the website.
"[The Taliban] are still waging legitimate Jihad single-handedly with mere help from common sincere Islam-loving masses and is in dire need of financial assistance from the Moslem brothers worldwide for its military and non-military expenditures," it added.
The new plea for funds comes less than a week after Taliban and other bad turban groups launched a series of coordinated attacks against American and 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... positions, including targets in Kabul.
U.S. Secretary Of Defense Leon Panetta has issued an apology for photos that appear to show soldiers posing with dead Afghans, Reuters reports. Panetta called the behavior "foolish" and "unacceptable."
The Los Angeles Times released the pictures on Wednesday, which were given to the paper by an American soldier "on the condition of anonymity."
"This is war, and I know war is ugly, and is violent. And I know young people sometimes caught up in the moment make some very foolish decisions," Panetta told a news conference during a meeting of NATO allies in Brussels. "I am not excusing that."
He added: "My apology is on behalf of the Department of Defense and the U.S. government ... Again, that behaviour is unacceptable." Gen Pershing was unavailable for comment.
#2
I think they all know the Afghanistan strategy is never going to work, and these soldiers just set themselves up to be scapegoats, in a long line of scapegoats.
I've read hundreds of reports that only refer to Afghans. There aint no such thing as an Afghan.
By way of comparison, I lived in Belfast in the 1970s, an arguably less divided society than the Ghan, but there was no term in general use that referred to a resident of N Ireland that didn't also refer to whether they were C or P.
#5
Screw that. Panetta, if the dead cared about themselves, they would have not blown themselves up. DO NOT pander to stupid crap. This is stupid crap and a waste of time.
#8
How do we desecrate pieces? Seriously, they blew themselves up, do we throw half-spleen onto a silver platter and present it like Top Chef?
Posted by: Charles ||
04/20/2012 13:36 Comments ||
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#9
FYI ION LEON + PUTTING-ON-THE-NOT-RITZ-BRITS, CHINESE DAILY FORUM > US PENTAGON CHIEF: WE'RE WITHIN "AN INCH OF WAR" ABOUT EVERY DAY IN EAST ASIA.
IMO will be US-China war iff China doesn't get formal sovereign control over TAIWAN.
* SAME > PYONGYANG'S SETBACK [Rocket Launch] OFFERS OPPORTUNITY FOR US "PIVOT". TO SOME EXTENT, NORTH KOREA HAS BEEN A DANGEROUS AND RESTIVE LITTLE BROTHER OF CHINA.
"Some"???
IIUC Artic, North Korea fears future irrelevancy once the US effec sets up BMD in Asia.
versus
* SAME > IMEPERIALIST UK [unfairly]CEDED THREE IRANIAN ISLANDS [to UAE]: FORMER DIPLOMAT.
* SAME > PHILIPPINES DECIRES NEW ROW IN SOUTH CHINA SEAS DISPUTE.
* SAME > PHILIPPINES ASK CHINA: STOP ALL INCURSIONS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA NOW.
PHIL turn to ask = demand, but China is seemingly ignoring it. IMO BEIJING = CHINA WILL FIRE UPON OR SINK THE PHIL VESSEL(S) IFF ITS WARNINGS CONTINUE TO BE DISSED BY MANILA.
(Sh. M. Network)-Some Somali elders hail from Abud-Waq town in centralSomaliahave condemned the recent arrest of a number of the security guards ofSomalia's PM office inMogadishulast week in connection with the national theater kaboom.
Yasin Jama'a Kirkire, a peacemaker living in Abudwaq town told Shabelle Media by phone that the imprisonment of the guards from Abudwaq was a politically motivated move. Mr. Kirkire added they are sorry about the arrest and ask the goverment for their immediate safe release.
"Somali PM Abdiweli Mohammed Ali and Puntland leader Farole both are accountable for the arrest of theses guards who are currently being questioned in jug inMogadishu. We will not leave a stone unturned to this cruel and discriminate act, he added.
It is the firs comments by elders from Abudwaq town about the arrest ofSomalia's PM security guards allegedly connected with the recent deadly suicide kaboom at the newly reopened national theater.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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(Sh.M.Network)--Turkeyis mediating betweenSomalia's government and the bad turban Al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban... group to help bring an end to the years-long conflict in the Horn of Africa nation.
"Through the years,Turkey, the only Moslem member in NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... , andSomaliahave maintained a pleasant relationship," Abdihakim Aynte, an independent Somali researcher, said.
He saidAnkarahas notable advantages in mediating between the Somali rivals to end the bloody conflict.
Turkeyhas spearheaded efforts to provide aid to millions of Somalis ravaged by the years-long conflict in their country.
Last year,Ankaracontributed $201 million to the humanitarian relief efforts to help Somalis affected by a severe drought in the Horn of Africa.
Many Somalis considerTurkeyas their only "true Moslem friend", citing a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan during last year's drought and the resulting famine.
Besides sharing the same Islamic values,Turkeyis also viewed as a country that lacks local proxies or other incentives to meddle in the internal politics ofSomalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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The visit by Egypt's grand mufti to the Al Aksa mosque on Wednesday the Temple Mount was a dangerous act of normalization with Israel, a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leader charged on Thursday.
"We reaffirm that this visit meant a recognition of the Occupation, meant the normalization of relations with the enemy, gave [Israel] ethical testimony, and meant supporting Israeli policies that go against the right of our people in the West Bank and the Gazoo strip to pray [at Al Aksa]," wrote Moussa Abu Marzork, the deputy chairman of Hamas's political bureau.
"It meant giving a boost to the strength of the Israeli economy," Marzouk said in comments published on his Facebook page.
The Egyptian religious leader's visit to the mosque "sent a clear message over the Zionist claims to guarantee religious freedom," Marzouk charged. "The mufti's visit and prayers with those Jews who storm the gates of Jerusalem in order to pray in the courtyards of the Al-Aksa mosque is evidence of this purported religious freedom."
Egyptian Grand Mufti Dr. Ali Goumma caused outrage with the visit, which he called "unofficial" and denies was an act of normalization with Israel, and stood before the Islamic Research Academy on Thursday in Cairo to give his testimony regarding his trip to Jerusalem.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday denounced a rare visit to Jerusalem by the nation's top Islamic theologian that broke with decades of opposition to traveling to areas under Israeli control.
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa replied that his two-hour visit on Wednesday was a show of solidarity with the Palestinians' claim to Israeli-held east Jerusalem. (AP)
Israel is considering sending a police force to South Sudan to assist the UN, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Thursday.
That's going to tighten some turbans...
The UN has approached Israel on the matter, and on Wednesday Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon met Robert Orr, a top aide for UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon, and told him that Israel was considering the possibility of sending 14 coppers to the African country.
Israel sent 19 coppers to Haiti a year and a half go.
Israel's final decision is being delayed due to the war that broke out between Sudan and South Sudan recently.
Foreign Ministry officials said Israel would not send the officers if there is any chance that their lives would be in danger. "The Foreign Ministry has recommended sending the officers to South Sudan, but we must examine the issue further. The situation there is unclear," one official said.
Israel recently decided to deport 1,000 refugees from South Sudan back to their country of origin beginning April 1. However, ars longa, vita brevis... the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court issued an injunction against the expulsion of migrants from South Sudan before April 15 due to the volatile security situation there.
#1
Af first I thought, why get in the middle of that, then I realized the Islamic world is unlikely to hate Israel less no matter what they do. Might do some good helping those on the fringe of the Islamic world.
[Yemen Post] Yemen's Interior Ministry has imposed tight measures around the Saudi Embassy , its offices, residential compounds of its staff and its consulate in Aden.
This move came three weeks after the abduction of a Saudi diplomat, Abdullah Al-Khalid, in the port city of Aden, and Al-Qaeda's claim that it kidnapped the diplomat.
According to the ministry's website, the ministry ordered its security services to be alert and ready to protect the embassy and its staff.
Saudi authorities have said that the Saudi Ambassador to Sana'a received a call from a Saudi Al-Qaeda operative, Mishaal Al-Shadokhi, who is based in Yemen and asked the ambassador to release Al-Qaeda Islamic fascistiin return for the release of Al-Khalidi.
Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. It smelled phony... an assistant of the Saudi Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Saud, said that the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry will do best to release the Saudi diplomat, stressing that the Soddy Arabia will not bargain or negotiate Al-Qaeda Islamic fascistiwho kidnapped Al-Qaeda.
Saudi officials said Tuesday the terrorist network's regional affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, claimed the kidnapping in a phone call to the Saudi Embassy in Yemen. They identified the caller as a wanted Saudi terror suspect, Mashaal Rasheed al-Shawdakhi.
The Saudi government said al-Shawdakhi demanded the release of Islamic fascistilocked away in Soddy Arabia and a ransom payment in exchange for the diplomat. It said the caller warned that al-Qaeda will kill the diplomat, attack a Saudi embassy and assassinate a Saudi prince if the demands are not met. Riyadh rejected the threats.
Yemen's turmoil has caused a security vacuum, which al-Qaeda has used to seize large swaths of territory across the restive south.
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04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The CIA is seeking permission to launch more airborne drone strikes in Yemen, even when there is a risk the victims might not always be terrorists, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The targets would be chosen based on intelligence reports indicating suspicious behavior, such as images of snuffies unloading explosives or gathering at al-Qaeda compounds.
If President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... 's administration gives the CIA permission for the strikes, it could represent a politically dangerous escalation of U.S. military activity in Yemen, the Post said.
There have been at least eight U.S. Arclight airstrikes in Yemen in the past four months, the Post reported.
The B.O. regime has tried until now to limit its drone operations in Yemen to avoid being drawn into internal conflicts that could turn local snuffies into al-Qaeda recruits, the Post reported.
The Post quoted an unnamed B.O. regime official saying that "there is still a very firm emphasis on being surgical and targeting only those who have a direct interest in attacking the United States."
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... disputes have arisen over the number of civilian deaths from drone strikes.
A U.S. drone accidentally killed the teenaged American son of al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... last year, despite the fact he never was accused of terrorist activity.
Some critics of the drone program say killings of innocent victims could become more common if the strikes are expanded.
The CIA proposal for the "signature strikes" is awaiting a decision by the National Security Council, the Post quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying.
The CIA has been flying drones in Yemen since last year from a secret base on the Arabian Peninsula, the Post reported.
The agency has been building networks of informants in Yemen to assemble intelligence reports that could guide the signature strikes, similar to its drone attacks against al-Qaeda in Pakistain, the Post reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
The agency has been building networks of informants in Yemen to assemble intelligence reports that could guide the signature strikes, similar to its drone attacks against al-Qaeda in Pakistain, the Post reported.
These networks were key enablers to victory in Afghanistan. [angry snark off]
Bring the CIA's clandestine Air Force and Army home! They get us into trouble we absolutely don't need.
#3
Try flying one over the mother f'ining compound of the family supporting terrorists killing our troops and fry the mothers! Makes a lot of sense huh!?! We can't touch them will get sent to the principals office wahhhhhh!
Posted by: Flerese Prince of the Bunions1219 ||
04/20/2012 19:47 Comments ||
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[Yemen Post] Pakistain announced that they will delay the release of the late Osama bin Laden's ... who no longer exists... wives and daughters until their governments accept certian terms.
Pakistain said that the Yemeni government is not willing to accept the Yemeni family.
Yemen's Foreign Minister rejected such claims and said that Pakistain is delaying the deporting of Bin Laden's widow and children for it's own reasons.
One of Bin Laden's wives is Yemeni and was expected to arrive to Yemen on Wednesday after serving a jail sentence for illegally entering Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
"...For its own reasons" > Read, OSAMA'S BABES AND KIDDIES MAY HAD SEEN OR READ SOMETHINGY(S) THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO - OR, WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER???
Pakland wants its Skeletons in the closet forever, + isn't taking "NO" for an answer???
* ION WORLD NEWS > OSAMA'S [youngest] WIDOW WANTS TO LIVE IN BRITAIN, perhaps one day even to meet the Royals.
[Yemen Post] Media Secretary of President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi has said that significant decrees will be issued during the upcoming week, pointing out that all Yemen's problems will be resolved through peaceful ways and dialogue.
Yahya Al-Arasi revealed that all Yemeni political sides agreed on the success of the GCC-brokered initiative and its implementing mechanism, indicating that there are some differences and that they will be overcome.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti Al-Rai Newsapaper, Al-Arasi said Hadi has not accused any part of rebellion or refusal of his decrees, asserting that Haid has the full legitimacy to conduct changes of senior military commanders.
He anticipated that decrees of forming a national dialogue committee will be issued in the next week, expressing hope that Commander of the Air Force will hand over the command to the newly-appointed commander Rashid Al-Janad, stressing that the refusal of the handover is merely an attempt hamper Hadi's boldness,
The UN Envoy Jamal Binomar arrived in Sana'a on Wednesday to discuss with the top government officials and army commanders the obstacles facing the GCC-brokered power transfer deal.
The visit of the UN Envoy came after some relatives of Saleh refused to abide by the deal and refused decrees issued by Hadi.
Yemeni analysts reiterated that Benomar's visit aims at convincing rebellious Saleh's relatives to change their minds about Hadi's decrees.
Media sources said Benomar is to meet the elderly son of Saleh who runs the Republican Guard, Ahmed President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , to inform him that the countries overseeing the GCC deal are discontented about the involvement of the Republican Guard in supporting rebellion of some military commanders against Hadi's decrees.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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All they have to do is remove any security they give him. Then put a million pound, wanted dead or alive, bounty on his head. That wonderful salafist beard of his would be country mile behind him trying to catch up as he bolts for Dar al Islam.
Abu Qatada, the extremist Muslim cleric, could be released back into society within days because of the confusion over his deportation appeal to Europe, a senior immigration judge suggested.
Mr Justice Mitting indicated that he would reconsider the preachers detention if his deportation was not imminent.
Yesterday Theresa May, the Home Secretary, was faced with mounting evidence that her officials had made an error over a deadline for Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which may have allowed him to prolong his stay in Britain for up to a year.
Any prospect of a lengthy legal process would greatly increase the chances of the cleric once described as Osama bin Ladens right-hand man in Europe being granted bail, the judge suggested.
Mrs May insists she was free to arrest Qatada and restart deportation proceedings on Tuesday because a deadline to appeal to the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg court passed at midnight on Monday.
But Qatadas lawyers argue that the deadline was 24 hours later, and submitted a last-ditch appeal on Tuesday night.
British police on Thursday tossed in the clink five men on suspicion of posting material on social networking sites which incite racial hatred.
The North-East Counter Terrorism Unit said police have seized computers, laptops and mobile phones from seven locations, the addresses around the country where the men were jugged and two others spots.
A court in Kazakhstan sentenced 47 people to jail terms of up to 15 years on charges related to a spike in terrorist attacks in the Central Asian nation last year, prosecutors said Thursday.
One group of 42 defendants was incarcerated on charges including forming a terror group, financing hard boy activity and organizing a series of attacks. The remaining five defendants, who were tried in a parallel case at a separate location, were linked to specific attacks in the western oil city of Atyrau in October.
Comments by Volker Kauder, head of Chancellor's conservatives in parliament, draw ire of country's 40 million Muslims.
BERLIN - A leading conservative politician said on Thursday that Islam did not belong in Germany, fueling tension at a conference on integrating Mohammedans that also debated a controversial Salafist campaign to hand out copies of the Koran across the country.
"Islam is not part of our tradition and identity in Germany and so does not belong in Germany," Volker Kauder, head of Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... 's conservatives in parliament, told the Passauer Neue Presse.
"But Mohammedans do belong in Germany. As state citizens, of course, they enjoy their full rights," he added.
His remarks added to a highly charged nationwide debate about a campaign by an ultra-conservative Salafist Mohammedan group to hand out millions of free German translations of the Koran to non-Mohammedans.
The conference was one of a series hosted by the government to improve the integration of the four million Mohammedans living in Germany, about half of whom have German citizenship.
Many came from Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s and their hard work contributed to Germany's post-war economic miracle. Germany has a population of about 81 million.
While some people of Turkish origin have risen to prominent political and public positions, many others live in their own communities and studies show many youngsters struggle to learn German properly, limiting their chances of finding work.
In response to concern about radicalization and aware of the stimulus a well-qualified cohort of young Mohammedans could give to Europe's biggest economy, Merkel set up forums, or conferences, six years ago to improve integration.
Kauder's comments quickly drew fire.
"Volker Kauder is the last crusader for the conservatives. He is putting a bomb in the Islam conference," said senior opposition Social Democrat (SPD) politician Thomas Oppermann. "(He).. is denigrating and marginalising all Mohammedans in Germany. That course is utterly wrong," he said.
Critics say that the campaign is ideological
Participants at Thursday's Islam conference, comprising delegates from the federal and state governments and Islamic groups, discussed the controversial distribution of the Koran by Salafist group "The True Religion" in Germany.
Critics, many from Merkel's traditionally Catholic party, say the campaign is ideological, aimed at recruiting supporters.
"Religion must not be allowed to be misused for ideological claims to power," said Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich.
"We (the conference) agree that Salafist extremism is not acceptable and does not fit in a free society as we have in Germany," he said, adding that 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... did not enjoy the support of the majority of Mohammedans in Germany.
The group has already handed out at least 300,000 copies of the translated Koran at stands on the streets of German cities.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency has described Ibrahim Abu Nagie, who launched the campaign, as a prominent exponent of Salafism, which has its roots in Soddy Arabia, and German authorities view his website as a hub for radical Islamists.
Some Mohammedan groups have also criticized the handouts, though for a different reason. The chairman of the Central Council of Mohammedans in Germany has said the Koran is not a PR pamphlet for mass distribution.
The campaign poses a dilemma as any move to stop the distribution of the Koran - a perfectly legal activity - could be seen as anti-Islamic.
Kenan Kolat, the head of Turkish Communities in Germany, warned against hysteria. "If there is a glorification of violence or an infringement of free, democratic basic values, then there are police measures that can be used," said Kolat.
The Islam conference also discussed gender equality and condemned domestic violence and forced marriage.
Two years ago a painful row erupted over a bestseller by former central banker Thilo Sarrazin, who said Turkish and Arab immigrants sponged off the state and threatened German culture.
Soon after, Germany's then-President Christian Wulff won wide praise from Mohammedans by saying that Islam was part of Germany.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The gunman behind Norway's massacres told court on Thursday he had planned an even bigger killing spree, with three car booms and more shootings at targets across Oslo.
Anders Behring Breivik also said he had once spent a year playing video games, including role-playing online game "World of Warcraft", and a shooting game to prepare for what he believed would be a suicide mission.
The far-right jihad boy also testified he had named his murder weapons after terms from Norse mythology, calling his rifle "Gungnir" after Odin's magical spear and his Glock pistol "Mjoelner" after Thor's hammer.
Breivik is on trial for July 22 twin attacks, when he killed eight people with a van-bomb targeting buildings housing the offices of Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who was not present at the time.
He then travelled to Utoeya island where, dressed as a police officer, for more than one hour he methodically shot at hundreds of people at a Labour Party youth summer camp, taking 69 lives, mostly teenagers.
On Thursday, on the fourth day of his trial, the 33-year-old said that originally "the plan was three car booms followed by a shooting", describing the initial plan as a "very large operation."
He said he had considered placing a bomb near Labour Party headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
This fellow needs a very painful, fully documented and possibly televised end.
#4
This is the phase when he's doing two things -- telling the investigators everything he thinks they want to hear, and telling them things to fluff up his self-image.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/20/2012 10:10 Comments ||
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Last year, while Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs publicly asserted it was trying to help a Canadian held for more than two years by the Taliban, it was privately telling the RCMP to stop investigating the crime.
Beverley Giesbrecht, from Vancouver, was abducted in November 2008 while working in Pakistan after she converted to Islam and adopted the name Khadija Abdul Qahaar.
In May 2011, the Department of Foreign Affairs revealed that it believed Giesbrecht had died in captivity sometime in 2010, but a spokesperson added that it was continuing "to pursue all appropriate channels" to find out what happened.
Documents obtained through an access to information request, however, expose that months earlier the department not only thought Giesbrecht was dead, but had told the RCMP it did not need to investigate.
Foreign Affairs wouldn't explain why it asked the RCMP to end its investigation. A department spokeswoman issued a written statement that, "as a matter of policy, DFAIT does not, and cannot, instruct the RCMP on any operational or investigative matter," adding that, "only the RCMP can make a decision to terminate an investigation."
The RCMP issued a terse and confusing statement about its investigation. Although the RCMP's own documents show the investigation was concluded, media relations officer Sgt. Greg Cox wrote "the RCMP does not comment on ongoing investigations."
Cox did not reply to further requests for information, leaving Giesbrecht's friends wondering why her kidnapping was a crime worth investigating, but her death in captivity was not.
#1
The Mounties have been living on their snazzy red coats for a long time.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
04/20/2012 7:45 Comments ||
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#2
Beverley Giesbrecht, from Vancouver, was abducted in November 2008 while working in Pakistan after she converted to Islam and adopted the name Khadija Abdul Qahaar.
It sounds like the woman functionally, if not formally, emigrated to Pakistan. It may well be that the Department of Foreign Affairs, whatever that is, thought she had gone over to the Taliban rather than having been taken against her will -- such things have been known to happen.
On March 1, the FBI stopped sharing vital terror intel with state and local officials without explanation.
The FBI has responded to our exclusive reporting this morning [April 19th] that they had cut off intelligence sharing of Terrorist Screening Center watch encounter reports to fusion centers nationwide. According to several fusion center officials interviewed today, the FBI is now saying that they will resume sending TSC watch encounter reports beginning next Monday. However, these reports will no longer contain Personal Information Intelligence (PII) related to the subject on the terror watch list.
As one official said, This is like promising us free bags of M&Ms, but without the M&Ms. There is practically nothing we can do with these reports without PII, which seems to be the FBIs intent. They want to keep up the appearance of intel sharing without actually sharing intel....
On March 1, the FBI stopped sharing vital terror intel with state and local officials without explanation.
The FBI has responded to our exclusive reporting this morning [April 19th] that they had cut off intelligence sharing of Terrorist Screening Center watch encounter reports to fusion centers nationwide. According to several fusion center officials interviewed today, the FBI is now saying that they will resume sending TSC watch encounter reports beginning next Monday. However, these reports will no longer contain Personal Information Intelligence (PII) related to the subject on the terror watch list.
As one official said, This is like promising us free bags of M&Ms, but without the M&Ms. There is practically nothing we can do with these reports without PII, which seems to be the FBIs intent. They want to keep up the appearance of intel sharing without actually sharing intel....
#1
One must BEGIN intelligence dissemination and collaboration before one can END it!
They want to keep up the appearance of intel sharing without actually sharing intel....
'FBI collaboration' is an oxymoron, always has been. They look down their noses at local law enforcement (where they get most of their leads) and possess total disdain for the military.
#4
To be expected for an agency headed up for decades by a dandyish bachelor fond of white linen suits, classical statues of male nudes and antique collecting. His long friendship with a chap named Tolson was capstoned when they were burried side by side. Today some gay activists include Hoover and Tolson in their pantheons of famous gay couples.
It is my view that elected as well as appointed officials should mirror population at large as opposed to paranoid fringe personalities hell-bent on power and dominance. Maintaining "secret" files (under the cover of law enforcement) on US citizens is but one example of the abuse of power. When paranoia, secrecy, and a failure to share information remain unchecked, they can become a disciplined, organizational methodology. When you've got the goods on your opposition and potential enemies, they tend not to divulge your own twisted wardrobe and affaires de coeur. Just my two cents worth.
#11
Something has or will happen that they don't want to get out yet.
Yeah. I can think of three explanations:
a) the FBI are being dicks (and not in the Tracy sense)
b) they know something they don't want to share
c) and/or they don't trust the people they would have to share it with.
AFP - A US general who once blasted the work of military spies in Afghanistan as "only marginally relevant" has been nominated to take over the Pentagon's intelligence agency, officials said.
The decision to name Lieutenant General Michael Flynn suggests a possible shake-up of the sprawling Defense Intelligence Agency as the general has earned a reputation for pushing for dramatic change in his work with special forces.
Flynn was a scathing public critic of military intelligence in Afghanistan, where he served as a top intelligence officer in 2010, saying it failed to provide decision makers with a clear picture of conditions on the ground.
He chose to publish his critique through a Washington think tank, the Center for a New American Security, instead of sticking to customary channels within the Pentagon bureaucracy.
"Eight years into the war in Afghanistan, the US intelligence community is only marginally relevant to the overall strategy," his report said.
"Having focused the overwhelming majority of its collection efforts and analytical brainpower on krazed killer groups, the vast intelligence apparatus is unable to answer fundamental questions about the environment in which US and allied forces operate and the people they seek to persuade," it said.
Flynn is credited with playing an influential role during his tenure at Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the secretive headquarters that oversees elite commandos like the team that killed the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no more... in May 2011.
At JSOC, Flynn reportedly persuaded special forces to place a higher priority on scooping up intelligence while carrying out targeted attacks on bad boys.
His nomination reflects the ascendancy of special forces in policy making both within and outside the American military, a trend reinforced by the successful operation against Bin Laden.
Flynn, whose nomination must be approved by the Senate, currently serves as the assistant director of national intelligence for partner engagement at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
#1
At JSOC, Flynn reportedly persuaded special forces to place a higher priority on scooping up intelligence while carrying out targeted attacks on bad boys.
Easy to be a hero if your budet is unlimited, you have the best and most up-to-date kit, you are providing the suck-up and operator muscle for the CIA, your collection priority trumps everyone else's, you operate with seperate ROE, you receive operational airlift priority, and you generally refuse to disseminate (share intelligence) with the big Army or Marines. Of course everybody but YOU appears ineffective, but that was a goal as well.
#4
It means you get high-vis 'sexy' like the Bin Ladin raid. It does little to improve operational intelligence which is needed to work immediate or short-fuse issues. In other words, the guys actually doing the work on the ground aren't getting any assistance. Anacostia will know the brand of the cigarette a Pak general smokes and what time he calls his mistress. As far as letting a battalion S-2 know that two of the general's majors are directing Taliban operations from two villages over - eh.
Langley can kill any Taliban Number-Three it wants to. Clear and hold a valley and its villages? No.
Note: "Center for a New American Security". In other words, if you crave a return to the wet-dream of a New Cold War, where there's money and work for the academic, a chance for a new tango of words at the diplomatic functions and any politically-detrimental (read "vote losing") deaths are confined to the back alleys like a Tom Clancy novel, this is a great opportunity. Doesn't head off losing or stalemating the hot-wars or even, y'know, actually ending the whole thing.
#5
#4 It means you get high-vis 'sexy' like the Bin Ladin raid. It does little to improve operational intelligence which is needed to work immediate or short-fuse issues. In other words, the guys actually doing the work on the ground aren't getting any assistance. Pappy
Absolutely correct! It also means you have all the political cover and support (money and future funding) you will ever need.
"Much can be accomplished if no concern is given to who gets the credit."
#6
I don't like the fact that he aired his complaints through a think tank. Perhaps he had a reason but it seems as bad as the CIA leaks to the media because they disagreed the policy.
#7
Actually, Flynn has been pushing for the opposite of high-viz sexy ops.
He was and has been a major voice for understanding what is actually going on at the ground level vis a vis various subgroups within Afghan, where the real power influences reside, how to effectively engage them - and when that engagement should be kinetic.
It is true that this emphasis is characteristic of spec ops. But he applied it with a more strategic perspective as well, specifically pushing against a lot of stupid high profile 'agreements' we made with Karzai and the other corrupt boys in Kabul at the expense of traditional tribal leaders. The resulting depowering of those leaders openly, disastrously and (he argued) predictably strengthen the Taliban's support and/or ability to impose itself on local populations. That depowering also was linked to systemic corruption, an issue he kept calling to the attention of senior leadership not only because it wastes our money but also because it undercuts any willingness of most Afghans to support our involvement there.
It's also a mistake to think of Flynn and DIA only in terms of tactical intel. The agency has a lot of missions. Some of them are very tactical ops focused, but others are a bit broader, including military participation in identifying / tracking and possibly interdicting chem/bio/nuke WMD proliferation through various networks.
In the 90s, cooperative threat reduction worked with ex-Soviet WMD specialists because the forms of cooperation offered (employment, transition to civil applications of advanced bio etc. skills) fit their culture and needs. Flynn understands that the equivalent challenge today resides in very different cultures and among very different groups.
#8
but others are a bit broader, including military participation in identifying / tracking and possibly interdicting chem/bio/nuke WMD proliferation through various networks. lotp
Yes, I seem to recall a couple of Saddam's tractor trailers that were investigated at length and were deemed by CIA/DIA to be ..... "mobile WMD manufacturing facilities." All of which, in the final analysis, turned out to be flawed and incorrect intelligence from both CIA/DIA and an embarrassment for Colin Powell who brief the trailers at the UN. In his post inpection report, the contractor and lead microbiologist who headed up the WMD survey team found that the trailers had no connection to the production of WMD. His team's findings were in contradiction to that of the Agency and were summarlily shelved. The microbiologist's preliminary report was met with cold reception even before he departed Baghdad. A few months after his team's finding, he was quietly dismissed.
#10
CIA had the lead on WMD in Iraq. I know one of the players, who left that agency shortly thereafter because of what she perceived (rightly? wrongly?) to be strong pressure from the Bush-Cheney White House to find evidence that Saddam had an active program whether or not it was there. She isn't the only one who felt that their analyses were dictated ahead of time by Cheney and Feith.
Yes, the Klingons and Director George Tennant had the lead. The "fix" was in however, as evidenced by the hostility and comlicit response to the team's finding even before they were wheels up from Baghdad. Much, much easier to kill "the WMD factory" in Iraq than follow the Russians to Syria.
Now is the time when Pakistani complaints of national humiliation are entirely justified.
[Dawn] The Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday issued notices to federal and Punjab governments on a writ petition of Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... and his deputy Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki seeking government's protection against United States' act of announcing bounty on their (petitioners) heads.
What can the Pakistani government do? Declare the American bounty nonexistent? That won'qt work. Or perhaps provide him bodyguards? They could put someone on the roof to announcing incoming Predator missiles, and provide bodyguards to call the police as the SEALs' helicopters fly away...
Chief Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed asked a deputy attorney general and the Punjab advocate general to assist the court on a point whether a country had the power to announce bounty on the heads of citizens of any other sovereign country.
Go ahead, Chief Justice Saeed -- declare the United States of America out of order. That'll do the trick.
The counsel argued the US was acting on the instigation of India and the act of announcing head money while visiting India spoke for itself. He mentioned that Pak courts, including SC and LHC, had already exonerated Saeed from all charges levelled against him by India and the US.
No evidence presented by unbelievers can possibly be valid, after all, no matter how true. It's in the Koran somewhere.
He argued the head money was always announced for those who were hiding in mountains and caves and were not traceable, but the petitioners were available and were ready to face any investigation.
He said the Foreign Office made it clear to the US that concrete evidence be provided against the petitioners and even Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. said there was no evidence against the petitioners.
The counsel said the minister also stated the US violated international laws by attacking Pakistain's illusory sovereignty.
He said the prime minister, addressing a joint sitting of parliament, had also said the Saeed issue was an internal one and it concerned Pakistain only.
Therefore, the announcement of bounty was liable to be withdrawn and the petitioners needed to be protected being citizens of Pakistain, said Advocate Dogar.
He prayed to the court to direct the government to protect the petitioners and make arrangements for their security under Article 9 of the Constitution.
He prayed that the government be directed to seek withdrawal of the bounty announcement by the US. The counsel also sought an order against any possible adverse action against the petitioners or their families on the part of the Pakistain government or any agency without taking prior permission from the high court.
After hearing the arguments, the chief justice sought replies from both federal and provincial governments through their law officers and adjourned hearing till April 25.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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Court deems state not liable for chicken coops destroyed in 2006 air attack on terrorist tunnels.
Israel is not liable to pay damages to two Gazoo companies whose property was demolished during a July 2006 IDF aerial raid on the southern Gazoo Strip, the Beersheba District Court ruled on Wednesday.
The air force conducted the raid on July 16, 2006, to destroy the infrastructure of a tunnel intended to be used to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel. Three days later, on July 19, 2006, the IDF bulldozed the tunnels. The army said it carried out these military actions to prevent terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.
Two Paleostinian companies -- named in the lawsuit as Masri Gabon Ltd and Haprahim L'Efroahim Ltd -- complained that the aerial attack and subsequent IDF bulldozer action in the Gazoo border region destroyed their poultry coops, which had been located on land above the tunnels.
The Paleostinians sued the Defense Ministry for NIS 8 million in damages, arguing that there was no operational justification for destroying the privately owned coops, because they were not a security risk.
Therefore, the Paleostinians' lawyer, attorney Zaki Kamal, contended, the state could not argue that it was not liable for damage claims on the grounds that its actions were carried out within the context of a lawful military objective.
In response, lawyers for the state admitted that the IDF had destroyed the coops, but argued that it had done so as part of an act of war, since there had been no way to destroy the tunnels without also demolishing the property above them.
Therefore, the Defense Ministry argued, the state is not liable for damages.
Judge Shlomo Friedlander examined the Paleostinians' claim in the context of the Torts Law, which stipulates that the state is not civilly liable for an act carried out by the IDF as part of an act of war, which includes any act of war against terrorism or insurrection, or to prevent terrorism or hostilities that endanger life.
Referring to testimony from IDF officers involved in the Gazoo operations and evidence from military logbooks, Friedlander said that the specific acts the army carried out in this case met the definition of an act of war, and that the coops had been destroyed specifically because of suspected tunneling operations beneath them.
Based on this evidence, Friedlander said that "the IDF would not have destroyed the coops, causing damage to civilians, if it had not had authoritative expert intelligence providing a basis for the military need to demolish them."
The Paleostinians also argued that the IDF had been negligent because its decision to destroy the coops, which belonged to innocent civilians, was disproportionate in the context of the risk posed by tunnels in the Gazoo Strip.
Friedlander said the burden of proving the IDF acted negligently in destroying the coops fell with the Paleostinian plaintiffs.
"The plaintiffs have not brought any evidence of negligence on behalf of the defendant," the judge said.
However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... Friedlander noted, the Defense Ministry had brought detailed evidence, including excerpts from operational logbooks and aerial photographs, to support its version and to back up its arguments that the military actions regarding the tunnels were justified.
Friedlander said that there had been a "vital necessity" to destroy the tunnels to prevent terrorist activity, and it had not been possible to do so without also demolishing structures above the tunnels, and therefore the collateral damage had been proportionate.
However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... the judge said, since the coops were private property and the Paleostinian plaintiffs themselves had not been involved in any terrorist activity, the court had deliberated whether they had a claim under international humanitarian law to compensation because Israel had taken their property for security requirements.
Friedlander noted that under international law, civilians who suffer proportional damage as a result of a lawful military attack are left to bear the cost of their losses, despite calls for a change in this policy that would entitle such victims to compensation.
"It is unfortunate for those animals who perished and for those civilians who suffered a severe blow to their property rights, their livelihoods and their hard work," he said.
"However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... the State of Israel is not the correct recipient of [the Paleostinian civilians'] grievances and for their compensation claims. The plaintiffs should direct [these] to the terrorists, their agents and their collaborators responsible for digging the tunnels, and to the prevailing regime
Analysts point to change in strategy, say Iranian leaders may be paving the way and preparing their public for a deal with West.
An influential Iranian cleric praised recent nuclear talks between Iran and world powers on Friday, the latest in a series of positive statements from senior figures that analysts said could signal Tehran is softening its stance.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the powerful Guardian Council, said the talks showed "success and progress" but added Tehran would break off the negotiations if Western countries carried on imposing sanctions while negotiating.
The rebel Free Syrian Army called for outside military intervention against the Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... regime even without U.N. Security Council approval, in a video posted online on Thursday.
General Mustafa Ahmed al-Sheikh, who heads the SLA military council, charged that the government, unlike rebel fighters had failed to respect a ceasefire deal agreed with U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... mediator Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... He called for "the formation of a military alliance of countries friendly to the Syrian people, without U.N. Security Council approval, to carry out surgical strikes on key installations of the regime."
Russia and China have blocked strong Security Council action on the 13-month-old crisis in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
John Mc Cain will be leading the charge after the Spanish get their oil and gas back from Argentina! he will be bringing his boat full of heroes from Libya the same ones that are desecrating tomb stones from veterans of World War 2! There his boys!
(Rooters) - Bolivia could strike 15 vessels linked to the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines off its shipping register just weeks after IRISL found Bolivian replacements for their Maltese and Cypriot flags.
IRISL, its many subsidiaries and their dozens of ships have drawn sanctions from the United States, United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... for their suspected role in transporting military equipment for Tehran.
Merchant ships need a flag from national ship registries to gain access to most of the world's ports and many fly those of other countries - especially Panama, Liberia, the Bahamas, Malta and Cyprus - to cheat on taxes in their home countries.
Despite a 2010 U.N. resolution on dealing with Iranian government front companies, until recently Maltese flags still fluttered at the masts of 48 of 144 IRISL vessels identified by the EU, while Cypriot colors flew above 12.
Malta delisted one Iranian tanker, the M.T.Tour, after reports the ship had loaded up with sanctioned Syrian crude in late March, and threatened to de-flag others found violating EU rules.
With Malta and Cyprus coming under increased pressure to stop flagging Iranian government-linked ships, there has been a flurry of registrations in the last few months half a world away in landlocked Bolivia by two new front companies.
The head of the Bolivian registry told Rooters the authority was not aware that any of the vessels registered over the last few weeks were Iranian, but if evidence of sanctions-violating vessels emerged, Bolivia would remove them from the list.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A coalition of Western and Middle East powers warned on Thursday that they would seek tougher international action if Bashir al-Assad's Syrian regime continues to flout a shaky U.N. peace plan.
Senior officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another James Baker ... and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, accused Assad of breaking the ceasefire and said a U.N. observer mission would have to be dramatically reinforced.
And Clinton called on the international community to press the U.N. Security Council to authorize a so-called Chapter Seven resolution, which would brand Assad a threat to peace and authorize tough international measures.
These could include, she said, "travel and financial sanctions, an arms embargo, and the pressure that that will give us on the regime to push for compliance with Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... 's six-point plan".
Clinton also raised the prospect that Turkey could react to "outrageous" Syrian shelling on its border by invoking a clause in the 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... alliance treaty that would require members to decide if their security is threatened.
Juppe warned that Syria was on course for "civil war" and confirmed the 15 nations present had agreed to seek "other options" if the Annan plan fails.
Earlier, Juppe's leader President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... had spoken of the possibility of setting "humanitarian corridors" in a country where 11,000 have died in the year since Assad launched a crackdown on a popular revolt.
The Gay Paree meeting included foreign ministers and envoys from Germany, Soddy Arabia, Canada, Egypt, the UAE, Spain, the United States, Italia, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Britannia, Tunisia, Turkey and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... But there were notable absentees, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose government wields a veto at the Security Council and would be likely to block any attempt to seek a Chapter Seven resolution.
"We need to start moving very vigorously in the Security Council for a Chapter Seven sanctions resolution," Clinton told the envoys.
"Now, I'm well aware that at this point such an effort is still likely to be vetoed, but we need to look for a way to keep pressing forward," she said, adding she had earlier met her Russian counterpart Lavrov in Brussels.
"He was, as usual, very intent upon laying responsibility on all sides, and in particular on the opposition, but he also has recognized that we are not in a static situation but a deteriorating one," she said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal took an indirect swipe at Russia's refusal to stop supplying arms to Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... , saying: "I'm surprised that the oppressing regime can continue to arm itself while the innocent victims don't have the means to defend themselves."
Earlier, Juppe had insisted: "The Annan plan is a chance for peace, a chance that should not be missed."
"The opposition has fulfilled its obligations under the Annan plan, which was welcomed by the Syrian National Council," he said, referring to the main umbrella body representing the diverse anti-regime forces.
"The Syrian regime... is pursuing without shame repressive tactics that have already left dozens more dead since the ceasefire was due to go into effect," he said.
He called for tough sanctions against Damascus and for the small U.N. observer team on the ground to be boosted to 300 or 400-strong and made "robust and credible" by being given land and air transport to cover the country.
"The Security Council will have to adopt a new resolution to set up an observer mission," Juppe said.
"We feel this must have a mandate and the necessary means to achieve its objectives. La Belle France and its partners on the Security Council will very quickly propose a draft resolution."
Earlier, Lavrov had insisted that Moscow was "honestly fulfilling its part" in efforts to end the violence and said the international community should stop predicting that Annan's peace plan would fail.
"I have today called on my colleagues to abandon the rhetoric of self-fulfilling prophecies," Lavrov said in Brussels.
"Before thinking about what to do in the future, we should do everything to make this plan successful."
Meanwhile, ...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout the long-awaited message arrived. They quickly got to work with their decoder rings... there have been reports of fresh violence in Syria, where the U.N. says over 9,000 people have died in the past 13 months of fighting. Rights groups and Juppe, speaking for the coalition, claim 11,000.
Syrian troops have continued to pound rebel strongholds, including the city of Homs, even while the regime sought to reassure an increasingly skeptical world that it is committed to a week-old ceasefire.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2012 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.
Taliban leaders are appealing to 
U.S. Secretary Of Defense Leon Panetta has issued an apology for photos that appear to show soldiers posing with dead Afghans, Reuters reports. Panetta called the behavior "foolish" and "unacceptable."
[Yemen Post] Pakistain announced that they will delay the release of 
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
