TRIPOLI: Libya's newly elected national assembly on Wednesday suspended three members for having links with former leader Muammar Qaddafi's government, a spokesman said.
Omar Al-Hassabi, spokesman for the assembly's High Organization for Transparency and Nationalism, said the suspensions had followed an investigation into the three.
"We discovered the three representatives were either members of the Qaddafi Revolutionary Guards or involved in criminal anti-revolutionary activities," Hassabi told Reuters. "For this reason, we advised the National Congress which suspended their membership on Wednesday morning."
In July, Libyans elected the 200-member national assembly which is charged with overseeing the writing of the country's constitution. The elections followed the ousting of Qaddafi in a popular revolt last year.
The three suspended members are Anfish Abdel Moneim representing Tarhouna, Salma Akheil of Zlitan and Ibrahim Adah of Obari. They could not be immediately reached for comment. Hassabi said they would have 10 days to appeal the decision in court.
The High Organization for Transparency and Nationalism is tasked with investigating the backgrounds of citizens wishing to run for office.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Security forces in Yemen must stop targeting students and other political activists engaged in peaceful protests in the south of the country, Amnesia Amnesty International said today.
There are fears in particular that Aden University student activist Abdul Raouf Hassan Zain al-Saqqaf -- who has already been tossed in the clink Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! twice this year -- may be at risk of arbitrary detention and torture or other ill-treatment before he sits an exam at his university on 3 September.
"Peaceful political activists in Aden and other parts of southern Yemen face repression from the Yemeni authorities, including widespread intimidation and arbitrary arrests, as well as torture or other ill-treatment in some cases," said Philip Luther, Amnesia Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme Director.
"This repression needs to stop and authorities throughout Yemen must uphold the right to exercise freedom of expression."
Abdul Raouf is an active member of the Southern Movement, and at the time of his most recent arrest on 10 August he and four other activists had been organizing an event for the Movement in Aden's al-Mu'alla area.
The Southern Movement (known also as al-Hirak, a short form of its name in Arabic) is a loose coalition of political groups, many of whom call for the peaceful separation of southern Yemen, which was independent until its unification with the north in 1990.
Their gathering was interrupted around 6am when around eight security officers arrived in two vehicles -- one of them mounted with a machine-gun turret -- and tossed in the clink Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! all five activists.
The five were taken to Khormaksar cop shoppe in Aden, where they were held until late that night. They were said to have been beaten with rifle butts and a stick that day. The security officers and men in plain clothes singled out Abdul Raouf, accusing him of "teaching" the other activists.
While the other four activists were released by around 10pm on 10 August, Abdul Raouf was hooded and handcuffed before being taken to the Central Prison in al-Mansurah, a district of Aden.
He said he was beaten again in the prison and then held in solitary confinement in a tiny cockroach-infested cell without light or fresh air.
"I had to lie on the cockroaches," Abdul Raouf told Amnesia Amnesty International. "I was beaten when I asked to see the director of the prison and they handcuffed me to the bars on the door of the cell for three to four hours. When it was sahur time [the dawn meal before observing the daily fast during the month of Ramadan] they brought bread and milk, but I was not given the milk that was given to other prisoners. Two hours later I started to have severe pain in my stomach and started to throw up."
A doctor -- himself an inmate at the Central Prison -- investigated Abdul Raouf's stomach problems and a spasm in his right leg, and insisted that he be given treatment. On 13 August, the locked away You have the right to remain silent... activist was again hooded and handcuffed before being taken to al- Naqib hospital for checks.
He said he was beaten again on his way to the prison. Later on the evening of 13 August, he was released but was threatened that "this is not a complete release; you could be brought in at any time".
Because of an earlier detention in May 2012, Abdul Raouf was forced to miss his second-term exams. He later received permission from the university to take the same exams on 3 September -- missing them again will force him to miss a whole year of his studies, he told Amnesia Amnesty International.
"We're urging for an independent and impartial investigation to be carried out into Abdul Raouf's alleged torture by the Yemeni security forces and for anyone found responsible to be brought to justice," said Luther.
"Threats to keep on disrupting activists' lives by hinting that they could be whisked away at any moment are outrageous and the Yemeni authorities must not allow such intimidation to continue."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un inspected the 318th military unit on the eastern frontline "in tempestuous rains," the North's official KCNA news agency reported Tuesday. Earlier on Aug. 23 it said Kim visited a women-only coastal artillery battery on the eastern coast.
Kim did not return to Pyongyang last Saturday, when the regime marked the 52nd anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il's "military-first revolutionary leadership." Instead he attended a commemorative concert given by the Morangong troupe at an unidentified location on the eastern frontline. The Central Military Commission and the National Defense Commission also threw a banquet marking the anniversary on the eastern frontline.
So he went where the buffet was...
He did not even attend a massive event in Pyongyang celebrating August 28 Youth Day, which he himself had launched.
The extended stay on the eastern frontline is being linked to annual joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises that began last week.
Only cheaper...
"Suet Face Kim Jong-un has been inspecting frontline units since he visited a defense detachment on Mudo Island in the West Sea and made threats against the South each time," a South Korean military source said. "This seems to be his way of responding" to the joint drill.
But a South Korean security official disagreed. "It seems Kim Jong-un is enjoying a summer vacation at a guest house in Wonsan and visits nearby military units to mollify the military elite, who have been on edge since Army chief Ri Yong-ho was purged."
Wonder if he plays rounds of golf in-between appearances...
Other experts speculate that floods are preventing Kim's return to Pyongyang. A Unification Ministry official said, "Given the bad road conditions there, it's likely that roads and railways crossing the Taebaek Mountains east to west have been washed away by recent heavy rains. It's possible that he is waiting there until they're restored."
So like his daddy he has a fear of flying...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Kim visited a women-only coastal artillery battery on the eastern coast...The extended stay on the eastern frontline is being linked to annual joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises that began last week.
ARTIC = indics that Nippon plans to garrison a number of JSDFS Troops + Assets there to prevent more diplomatically-troublesome "activist landings".
* SAME > [Philippines] DFA: CHINA KEEPS [Naval] PRESENCE AT SCARBOROUGH, PNoy STILL HASN'T ORDERED [PHIL Navy andor CG] SHIPS TO RETURN NEAR DISPUTED SHOAL.
3 ea. Chinese Maritime Surveillance ships still there.
* SAME > [Real Clear Politics] ITS UNWISE FOR THE US TO CONTAIN CHINA.
* SAME > CHINA PREPARED FOR ANY ESCALATION IN ISLANDS' STANDOFF.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINA [has] LANDED AT [Pakistan's] GWADAR PORT.
Singapore-based company has pulled out of its 40-year lease, Chin State company has repor taken over.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > IFF THIS PATROL BOAT [LCS-esque Indonesian FPMV Stealth Trimaran] CAN CARRY ACCURATE MISSLES, ITS GOING TO BE DEADLY.
#4
ION KOGURO TOPIX > NORTH KOREA SAYS/ADMITS IT HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > NEW BOOK CLAIMS THAT DURING THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION, NORTH KOREA'S KIM IL-SUNG EXPLOITED THE GROWING CHAOS INSIDE MAO ZEDONG/TSE-TUNG-LED RED CHINA AND DEMANDED THE RETURN OF A LARGE PART OF CHINA'S NORTHEAST, CITING THEM AS ANCIENT KOREAN TERRITORY. CHINA'S REFUSAL LED NORTH KOREA ALL BUT ABANDONING RED CHINA AND TO SEEK ANTI-CHINESE DIPLOMATIC FAVOR WID RED CHINA'S IDEOLOGICAL COMPETITOR [nemesis] THE SOVIET UNION.
versus
* TOPIX > MANILA: US HELPS FORTIFY DEFENCE IN
WEST [Phil] SEA.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > JAPANESE SCHOLARS: CHINA'S DESIRED "BLUE-WATER" NAVY WILL MOST LIKELY NOT FOLLOW IN THE "OFFENSIVE" OR "AGGRESSIVE" FOOTSTEPS OF THE COLD WAR-ERA SOVIET NAVY WHICH INTIMIDATED THE US NAVY THROUGHOUT ASIA-PACIFIC AND ELSEWHERE. PLAN'S CENTER-OF-GRAVITY REMAINS THE YELLOW SEA, EAST CHINA SEA, AND SOUTH CHINA SEA DESPITE ITS ON-GOING DEVELOPMENT OF EXTRA-REGIONAL EXPEDITIONARY CAPABILITIES. PLAN IS "REGIONALLY OFFENSIVE", NOT "GLOBALLY OFFENSIVE".
* SAME > CHINA SHOULD BUILD NEW MILBASES ON HAINAN ISLAND IN SUPPORT OF ITS THREE NEW
"SASHIS" [Offshore "Sansha" City-Province] + TO CONSOLIDATE ITS SOVEREIGN CONTROL OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AREA. HAINAN-NANSHAS TO BE CHINA'S EQUIVALENT OF THE US' HAWAII-GUAM LINE OF DEFENSE AND MARITIME, GEOPOL SECURITY. FOR-PROFIT TOURISM TERTIARY TO MILITARY AND GEOPOL REQUIREMENTS IN EAST ASIA INCLUDING SE ASIA.
Lest we fergit, NET > China sees TAIWAN, HAINAN, SRI LANKA, + SINGAPORE [iff it can get it] as its major offshore linchpins for the PLA in its "First Island Chain" Offensive-Defensive strategy, espec Taiwan.
* SAME > US "STRATEGYPAGE" WEBSITE: CHINA'S LARGE "BOHAI FAI PEARL" CLASS OF DUAL-USE, RO-RO-CAPABLE AUTOMOBILE AND PASSENGER SHIPS CAN QUICKLY CARRY ONE PLA ARMORED OR ONE MECHANIZED COMBAT BRIGADE IN AMPHIBIOUS CAMPAIGN AGZ TAIWAN.
* SAME > RUSSIA SAYS CHINA'S DF-41 MIRV ICBM CLOSELY RESEMBLES ITS "TOPOL-M" MIRV STRATEGIC MISSLE. RUSSIAN ANGST AT THE HIGH VULNERABILITY OF MOSCOW AND OTHER MAJOR RUSSIAN CITIES, MILBASES AND RUSSIAN FAR EAST TO DF-41 ATTACK.
FYI CHINA DAILY FORUM > US PENTAGON RELEASES STATEMENT SAYING CHINA HAS ONLY TEN (10) DF-41 MRIV ICBMS.
#3
Certainly a general would be reluctant to get involved in a war. But using 'complicit' is a curious turn of phrase given the word usually refers to illegal acts.
Yet another case of timing and who is saying it being more interesting than the actual statement.
#4
which he believes won't stop Tehran's nuclear program
I keep hearing this. Okay bozo, what WILL stop the program? Those oh so porus intn'l sanctions?
I really think that there are a lot of high level folks that would not be all that unhappy with an Iranian bomb cause it would put those uppity Jews in their place.
"The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is ... the principal military advisor to the President of the United States. While the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff outranks all other officers, he does not have operational command authority over the Armed Forces; however, the Chairman does assist the President and the Secretary of Defense in exercising their command functions." Wikipedia
I think Gen Dempsey is just speaking for the administration. Obama cannot be as candid because he wants to get reelected.
According to the UN inspectors Iran now has about 155 pounds of low-enriched uranium (20% concentration). That amount of material could be enriched to about 39 pounds of 80% uranium in a matter of a couple of months. No doubt that is EXACTLY why Iran is currently boosting their centrifuges at Fordo. Fordo is the endgame for waepon production.
According to Wikipedia, the first bomb on Hiroshima used about 141 pounds of 80% uranium. So if we work on the latest UN figures, Iran is already about 30% of the way to a bomb.
If you make a wild guess that maybe - just maybe - the Iranians are AHEAD of the UN estimates, then they're probably around 60-75% of the way to their first bomb.
The ball is now entirely in Israel's court. They either go with a nuclear-armed Middle East, or they don't.
#11
Umm, General, news flash for ya - the Iranians are going to blame us anyways. Just hope you have a plan in place to protect our boys if the shit goes down and the IAF hits the towel-heads. Not sure if Iran will take it or do something stupid and try to attack U.S. positions in the CENTCOM AOR.
A former Marine who was forcibly transferred to a psychiatric ward by government officials who didn't like his Facebook postings will sue for unlawful arrest, say his attorneys.
Nisha Whitehead, assistant to the president at the Rutherford Institute, the nonprofit civil rights firm defending Brandon Raub, said,"We are definitely going to move forward with a lawsuit."
Raub, a decorated former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested at his home Aug. 16 for anti-government statements and song lyrics he posted on his private Facebook page.
That's not supposed to happen in America. You don't get arrested for what you write.
Secret Service, FBI and Chesterfield County police took him to John Randolph Medical Facility in Hopewell, Va., for a psychiatric evaluation. Over the objections of attorney and Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead, Mr. Raub was then placed in the VA Hospital in Salem, Va.
Raub got his freedom on Aug. 23 when a circuit court judge found his forced detention "so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy."
Raub is now filing a civil complaint targeting all the government officials involved in both his arrest and detention.
#3
I'm fast reaching the opinion that incidents like these merit kidnapping charges against those involved, not 'false arrest.' as the arrests are much worse than grabbing the wrong guy who broke into a store or something.
#5
B-HO did want us to be more like Europe. Nobody ever said exactly which part of Europe.
(hey, am I gonna get in trouble with the State Department for using the word 'more' which is a homophone for 'Moor' which... wait, 'homophone' is probably taboo also)
[An Nahar] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... was to submit a plan to end Syria's conflict on Thursday based on a halt to violence and formation of a unity government that could include Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... , his front man said.
Maliki was to outline the initiative, under which a Syrian regime figure would negotiate with opposition groups and elections take place under international and 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... supervision, in a speech to the Non-Aligned summit in Tehran.
"This initiative is a developed version of a proposal that Iraq informally presented during the vaporous Arab League summit (in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... in March) to some Arab leaders," Maliki's front man Ali Moussawi told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone from Tehran.
The proposal includes an agreement by all parties in Syria to end violence and a call for all countries to "stop interfering in Syria's internal affairs."
It also calls for roundtable talks under Arab League supervision and the formation of an interim unity government which "includes all components of the Syrian people, with all factions agreeing upon who heads the government," Moussawi said.
The plan proposes the formation of an independent election commission and polls to be carried out under supervision, as well as the appointment of a regime official to negotiate with opposition groups.
Iraq, which shares a 600-kilometer (375-mile) border with Syria, has pointedly avoided calling for Assad to step down or criticizing his government, urging instead an end to violence by all parties.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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A U.N. official Thursday condemned an Israeli court finding that cleared the army of any blame for the death of U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie as "a defeat for justice and accountability."
Richard Falk, United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... special rapper rapporteur on human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... in the Israeli-occupied Paleostinian territories, also called Tuesday's decision in a civil case brought by Corrie's family "a victory for common sense impunity for the Israeli military."
Corrie, 23, was killed by an army bulldozer in Rafah, in the southern Gazoo Strip, in March 2003 as she and other activists were trying to prevent troops demolishing a house.
Judge Oded Gershon at the District Court in the northern Israeli city of Haifa said her death was the result of "an accident she brought upon herself", and there was no negligence on the part of the bulldozer driver.
"The dear departed put herself into a dangerous situation, she stood in front of a giant bulldozer in a place where the operator could not see her. She did not distance herself as a reasonable person would have done," he said.
The whole point of her little exercise was to be unreasonable and force the Israelis to be responsible for her well-being...
The verdict echoed the findings of an internal investigation by the Israeli military in 2003 which was concluded just four weeks after her death and cleared troops of any responsibility, saying the bulldozer crew did not see Corrie.
Falk, a bete noire for Israeli authorities, said, "The court ignored the testimony of several eyewitnesses that, while non-violently protesting the demolition, Corrie was in the direct line of vision of the bulldozer driver and was wearing a bright florescent orange vest that made her clearly visible at the time of her gruesome death."
Visible to others. The point of an armored dozer, Mr. Falk, is that it can't be penetrated easily. The flip-side (as it were) is that you can't easily see out of the darned thing.
But again, read his statement: she was wearing an orange vest and was 'visible'; therefore it was up to the Israeli driver not to run over her even though she was interfering with his work. In other words, the Israelis were supposed to stop what they were doing, which is what the solidarity types wanted. In other words, the Israelis were just supposed to give in, pack up and go home.
"The judge ruled that there were no grounds for imposing any penalty on Israel, exonerating both military and political officials, from those on the ground in Gazoo driving the bulldozers and commanding the troops, to the highest levels of decision-making.
"In so doing, Judge Gershon seemed to endorse the view of a reportedly high-ranking officer who told the court that there are 'no civilians in war.'
"Such a shocking rationale flies directly in the face of the Geneva Conventions, which impose on an occupying power an unconditional obligation to protect the civilian population.
So long as the civilian population meets its obligations, which is to stay out of the way and not interfere with the occupying power.
"Additionally .... a humanitarian aid worker such as Rachel Corrie
'Agitator' does not equate to 'humanitarian aid worker'...
is specifically entitled to protection by occupying forces, and the house demolition itself seemed an unlawful encroachment on Article 147, which prohibits targeting civilian property, in this case a home belonging to a civilian pharmacist, his wife and children."
Who allowed a tunnel entrance to be built inside the house. They never seem to mention that. That makes the 'pharmacist' a collaborator with the enemy; such people are not entitled to protection. The Israelis would have been justified shooting the pharmacist; that they didn't shows their restraint and humanity.
It was "a sad outcome" both for the Corrie family and "for the rule of law and the hope that an Israeli court would place limits on the violence of the state, particularly in relation to innocent and unarmed civilians in an occupied territory."
Falk charged that Israeli governmental institutions had "consistently embraced impunity and non-accountability in responding to well-documented violations of international humanitarian law and in many cases Israel's own criminal law."
He cited as previous instances Israel's investigations of the killing of Paleostinian civilians during the assault on Gazoo in 2009 and the deadly boarding of a Turkish aid flotilla to Gazoo by Israeli commandos in 2010.
"The Corrie family has announced their intention to appeal this verdict to the Israel Supreme Court. But it becomes a mockery of justice to leave their application to the partisan mercies of the Israeli judicial system," Falk said.
Better to leave it to Carla del Ponte...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 02:26 ||
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#1
This case will stack up in the history of Israeli jurisprudence as the Pancake Decision.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/31/2012 2:52 Comments ||
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#2
Nothing from the UN on the recent Lonmin mine massacre of miners, who were all black by the way.
[Kabar] More than 100 suspects in the Philippines' worst political massacre are in jug after another member of a prominent political clan linked to the 57 killings was nabbed, Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! AFP reported Wednesday (August 29th).
Sajid Anwar Ampatuan, 22, grandson of the accused criminal mastermind Andal Ampatuan, Sr, was tracked down Tuesday at a middle-class housing development in Manila, police front man Don de Dios said.
He is accused of direct participation in the November 2009 murders in the southern province of Maguindanao.
The massacre was allegedly orchestrated by the Ampatuans in a bid to stop a political rival from challenging one of them for the post of governor in Maguindanao, which they had ruled for a decade.
The clan patriarch's son and namesake, Andal Ampatuan, Jr, allegedly led the family's relatives and bodyguards in kidnapping the rival's wife, relatives, lawyers and 32 journalists, and shooting them dead. The ensuing manhunt for 102 suspects spanned nearly three years.
But more than 90 of the gunnies, many of them earlier armed by the Philippines government to help the military and the police fight Moslemfaceless myrmidons in the south, remain on the lam.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 11:15 ||
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#5
Letting Israel 'go it alone' could actually be more catastrophic to the area than assisting them. If they find themselves pushed into a Masada scenario, all hell will break lose. They will kill everybody in the region before they go down.
Posted by: Large Darling of the Antelope3345 ||
08/31/2012 03:11 ||
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#1
Morsi failed to support the Sunni who are being oppressed in Iran (and to some extent Iraq) while supporting the Sunni in Syria who are being oppressed by the Alawites. Of course, he doesn't mention the Shiite who are being oppressed by Sunni in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Etc.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/31/2012 11:02 Comments ||
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#2
failed to support is not the same as opposed, right?
#6
See TOPIX > MURSI: IRAN IS EGYPT'S STRATEGIC ALLY, NOT RIVAL. Mursi/Morsi attempting to downplay the damage vee new BFF Iran.
IMO Iran will placate it also given how its MilPol surrounding main Sunni rival KSA, vee Hezbollah + IRGC elements.
Nothing like controversy to start off a new Leader's national or foreign policy, espec agz a state that is likely to ultimately end up being a de facto future rival, among others.
Again, GWOT + OWG-NWO = as much an INTER-MUSLIM/ISLAMIC COMPETITION FOR POWER [dominance] + INFLUENCE AS ANYTHING ELSE, ESPEC AS PER DESIRED FUTURE OWG "CALIPHATE" + "UMMAH". The KSA's long-standing position os Defender of the Faith + Islamic Holy Places is being challenged by several historical Centres of Thought in which Shia Iran is but one.
FYI Iran announced it wants to set a troika of several nations, including Venezuela, to solve the Syria crisis.
Syrian government troops committed war crimes when they dropped bombs and fired artillery at or near at least 10 bakeries in Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... province over the past three weeks, Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said on Thursday.
"The attacks are at least recklessly indiscriminate and the pattern and number of attacks suggest that government forces have been targeting civilians. Both reckless indiscriminate attacks and deliberately targeting civilians are war crimes," the New York-based watchdog said.
Attacks on bread lines in the Northern Province have killed and maimed scores of civilians, HRW said, after its researchers visited six of the targeted bakeries and interviewed witnesses.
One of the bloodiest attacks was on a bread line in the Qadi Askar district of Aleppo city on August 16, which left 60 people dead and maimed more than 70, according to local hospital records.
The battle for Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, has been raging since July 20, with the army unable to dislodge the rebels and civilians hit hardest by the fighting.
"Day after day, Aleppo residents line up to get bread for their families, and instead get shrapnel piercing their bodies from government bombs and shells," said emergencies researcher Ole Solvang, who had just returned from Aleppo.
"Ten bakery attacks is not random -- they show no care for civilians and strongly indicate an attempt to target them," he added.
Moreover, the 10 bakeries which came under attack were located in neighborhoods or towns where "no fighting was taking place before or during the attack", the watchdog said.
HRW noted that in one case, a Free Syrian Army facility was located near the bakery, but it was not damaged in the attack.
In five other cases, several FSA fighters were seen maintaining order at the bread lines, but their presence alone would not justify the attacks on substantial numbers of civilians, it said.
"Every pilot who deliberately launches a rocket at a bread line of civilians, and every commander who gives such an order, should face justice for their crimes," Solvang said.
Human Rights Watch urged Russia and China to "stop obstructing United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Security Council action to protect civilians in Syria" and said that the situation in Syria should be referred to the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... .
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 02:28 ||
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[An Nahar] Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi of using his speech at the Non-Aligned summit in Tehran on Thursday to incite further bloodshed in Syria.
Morsi's speech condemning the regime in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... , prompting a walkout by the Syrian delegation, amounted to "interference in Syria's internal affairs and ... incites continued bloodshed in Syria," Muallem said, quoted on state television. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Syria's delegation to the summit in Tehran walked out when Morsi began an address in which he referred to the "oppressive" Syrian regime, official Egyptian media reported.
"The Syrian delegation withdrew as President Morsi began discussing the Syrian file," the official MENA news agency reported.
Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist president was in Tehran to hand over rotating leadership of the movement to Iran, Syria's closest regional ally.
He was the first Egyptian leader to set foot in Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
"The revolution in Egypt is the cornerstone for the Arab Spring, which started days after Tunisa and then it was followed by Libya and Yemen and now the revolution in Syria against its oppressive regime," Morsi told the gathering of chiefs of nonaligned states that included Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad.
"The Paleostinian and Syrian people are actively seeking freedom, dignity and human justice," he said, adding that "Egypt is ready to work with all to stop the bloodshed."
Morsi's description of the conflict in Syria as a "revolution" against oppressive masters jars with the narrative given by Tehran and Damascus that the uprising is separate from the Arab Spring, and consists largely of foreign-backed "terrorists" acting on behalf of the United States and regional countries.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have several times hailed the Arab Spring as an "Islamic Wakening" inspired by Iran's own 1979 Islamic revolution. Syria, they said, was a different case.
Cairo has several times voiced support for the Syrian insurgency, seeing it as a continuation of the uprisings that changed regimes in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Morsi, who comes from Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund, was elected to power because of the revolution in his country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Heck, I'm surprised that IRAN didn't walk away after Morsi/Mursi called on world nations to back the Syruhn Rebs.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN, EGYPT CALL EACH OTHER "STRATEGIC ALLIES".
The US is repor upset that Morsi-led Egypt allowed an Iranian warship to sail thru the Suez Canal. NOT ONLY IS ISRAEL BEING SURROUNDED LIKE CUSTER BY POST-ARAB SPRING, NUCLEAR WANNABE ISLAMIST GOVTS, SO ALSO ARE THE SUNNI SAUDIS BY ALLEGED "NEO-PERSIANIST" RISING IRAN???
* CHINA DAILY FORUM > EGYPT PICKING UP WHERE SADAT LEFT IN '67 [1967 Six-Day War].
versus
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > HOW SOVIET INVASION THREAT FORCED ISRAEL TO CEASE-FIRE IN 1967 WAR | [MERIA] THE RUSSIANS REALLY WERE COMING: THE [unknown = covert]SOVIET MILITARY THREAT IN THE 1967 SIX-DAY WAR.
Very intehwesting, as IIUC ARTIC SOURCE = alludes that Israel's controversial attack on the USS LIBERTY may had been the result of Tel Aviv mistaking the LIBERTY to be part of a SOVIET INVASION FLOTILLA THAT WAS MOVING UP-N-DOWN THE ISRAELI COASTS.
The Cold War USSR instigated the Arab threat agz US ally Israel + then had to militarily scramble to prevent the Arabs' utter defeat in June 1967, I.E. TO SAVE ANTI-US SOVIET CREDIBILITY + INFLUENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
* TOPIX > FROM ANKARA TO TEHRAN, THE PERSIAN-OTTOMAN" RIVALRY IS BACK.
ARTIC = denotes that iff Iran loses Syria, it will be "game over" for the "Shia Axis" [Iran-led "Nexus"].
[An Nahar] Seven people tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! by the Lebanese army in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of thich 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... are expected to be referred to the Military Tribunal for legal measures if there was evidence of their involvement in the latest gunbattles, the National News Agency reported Thursday.
NNA said the men could be referred to the tribunal in the next 24 hours.
Eleven others were recently released for not having ties to the festivities between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, the agency said.
But according to al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... daily, the 11 men, who are from al-Mouri family, were on Sunday seized along with two truckloads of weapons and ammunition in al-Zahriyeh neighborhood.
An Army communiqué had said that it tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! 18 people and seized quantities of arms, ammunition and military hardware after a patrol came under fire in al-Zahriyeh.
Al-Mustaqbal quoted sources as wondering how the 11 men could be released after two truckloads of weapons were seized from them.
"Their release would have blown up the security situation in Tripoli, particularly after they sought upon their release to ignite tension in the area," they said.
Life slowly returned to normal in Tripoli on Monday after six days of gunbattles between the majority Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh and the mainly Alawite Jabal Mohsen left scores of casualties.
The fighting was a clear sign that the Syrian war had spilled over to Leb. Bab al-Tabbaneh residents support the revolution against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... , who is from the Alawite sect.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] The opposition Syrian National Council urged the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to protect civilians caught in Syria's conflict, in a statement issued ahead of a U.N. council meeting on Thursday.
The SNC, accusing the government of "crimes" and "barbaric acts," said a no-fly zone and corridors were essential to protect almost 2.5 million civilians displaced by the conflict or who had fled across the borders with Syria's neighbors.
"The SNC considers that if the Security Council does not take serious measures to halt the regime's massacres and crimes, it will have abandoned its role as guarantor of world peace and protector of people against genocide," it said.
The Security Council meeting was called by La Belle France and aimed at "appealing to world conscience and for mobilization" in the face of the Syrian humanitarian drama, a diplomat said in New York.
Turkey has floated the idea of creating buffer zones within Syria to receive those displaced by the conflict so they do not flood across the borders into neighboring countries.
Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... , however, has dismissed the idea.
"Talk of buffer zones firstly is not on the table and secondly it is an unrealistic idea by hostile countries and the enemies of Syria," the embattled leader said in a television interview on Wednesday.
Ahead of the Council meeting, British Foreign Secretary William Hague played down expectations. "We are excluding no options for the future," he said, adding however there were "considerable difficulties with such an idea."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/31/2012 00:00 ||
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The Pentagon warned a former Navy SEAL that he faces legal action and loss of the profit for writing a book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a letter released Thursday night.
The letter, addressed to Mark Owen, the pseudonym for Matt Bissonnette, alleges that he broke two non-disclosure agreements. He signed the agreements after leaving the Navy in April 2012 and in 2007, and they prevent him from releasing classified information.
It was sent to Bissonnette by Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon''s top lawyer.
"I write to formally advise you of your material breach and violation of your agreements, and to inform you that the (Pentagon) is considering pursuing against you, and all those acting in concert with you, all remedies legally available to us in light of this situation," Johnson wrote in the letter, which was sent in care of the publisher, Penguin Putnam.
The book, No Easy Day, gives a first-hand account of the May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden, the terror mastermind.
Bissonnette did not submit the book to the Pentagon for pre-publication review as required by the military, according to the Pentagon.
Dutton, the publisher, has maintained that the book does not disclose secret information. It goes on sale Tuesday.
It''s unclear how far the military is willing to go in punishing a member of the team that killed bin Laden after a decade on the run. Two officials have told USA TODAY that prosecution is unlikely.
#1
Of course, the WH providing open access to film producers doing their work on the raid doesn't count for legal action and forfeiture of 'profits'. Either burn them both or drop it.
#3
It will be alright all the brass and top intel people will be at the DNC BOWING and on their knees that is where their loyalty really is at! Beards on their butts also and lipstick!
#5
If one reflects upon this, would anyone like to take bets that the Administration throws this clown to the wolves for their security leaks?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/31/2012 19:19 Comments ||
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#6
Well, if he signed a non-disclosure statement he might have a problem. Champ is angry at his special operators right now. I wouldn't put anything past him.
#7
Without reading the book, I'd say it's a good bet Mr. Bissonnette didn't betray any operational secrets, which would put his fellow SEALs in harm's way.
UNLIKE THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/31/2012 19:52 Comments ||
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#8
According to Drudge, Mr Seal has responded "Bite me!" (or the legal equivalent thereof).
#9
Leaking classified information and violating a nondisclosure agreement are two very different things. It's misleading to claim one is the other. (HT Blackfive billo)
What a horrible double standard; this author threatened and not follow up on all these leaks. I understand wanting to get the story straight, however frustrating it must be, I would like to see the White House aggressively investigated. In doing so that may be the better way of correcting the slant from Obama and just may start draining the swamp.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/31/2012 23:13 Comments ||
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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.
TRIPOLI: Libya's newly elected national assembly on Wednesday suspended three members for having links with former leader Muammar Qaddafi's government, a spokesman said.
Nouri al-Maliki
International Criminal Court
[An Nahar] Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi of using his speech at the Non-Aligned summit in Tehran on Thursday to incite further bloodshed in Syria.
Mahmoud 
Al-Mustaqbal quoted sources as wondering how the 11 men could be released after two truckloads of weapons were seized from them.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
