Schools in the capital were closed on Wednesday, in the third day of violence prompted by a cut in fuel subsidies. According to an Al Arabiya correspondent, several users said access to the Internet had been cut. Meanwhile, the education ministry said schools in the capital would remain shut until Sept. 30.
At least seven people were killed in Sudan on Wednesday as anti-government violence flared in the capital Khartoum, prompting authorities to completely shut down the internet. Protesters torched cars and petrol stations and threw rocks at police, who fired tear gas to try to disperse the biggest display of public anger against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government in more than a year. Some 20 demonstrators were arrested.
The United States embassy in Khartoum appeals for calm, urging "all parties" to avoid the use of violence.
[USATODAY] Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , the armed Somali Islamic krazed killer group that attacked a shopping mall in Kenya, said Wednesday that foreigners were a "legitimate target" and confirmed witness accounts that gunnies tried to let Moslems go free while killing or taking the others captive.
In an email exchange Wednesday with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, al-Shabaab said the jihadis "carried out a meticulous vetting process" so the Moslems would not be harmed. According to published accounts, witnesses have said the gunnies rounded up people, asked questions about Islam that a Moslem would know and told the Moslems to leave the mall.
At least 18 foreigners were killed, including six Britons, citizens from La Belle France, Canada, Trinidad, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, India, Ghana, South Africa and China, when the snuffies entered the Westgate Mall on Saturday, slaughtering men, women and kiddies with assault rifles and grenades. The current corpse count is 67 and is likely to climb with uncounted bodies remaining in the rubble of the Nairobi mall.
"The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken every possible precaution to separate the Moslems from the Kuffar (disbelievers) before carrying out their attack," al-Shabaab said in an email from the HSM Press Office. HSM are the initials of al-Shabaab's full name in Arabic.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Everytime a mooselimb terrorist puke is caught the proper response should be to do a full sex-change operation and hormone treatment on them and then release the transgendered back in on their streets in a red mini-skirt and heels.
[An Nahar] The Pentagon is shifting its drone operations from a U.S. base in Djibouti to a more remote airfield after local officials voiced concern about possible collisions with commercial aircraft, officials said Wednesday.
"There was a concern over what would happen if a MQ-1 (Predator drone) obstructed a runway, and that it would have a significant impact on commercial air operations," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
After the attacks of September 11 2001, Camp Lemonnier -- located next to the Djibouti international airport -- took on crucial strategic importance for Washington as a site for stationing special operations forces and drones for assaults on al-Qaeda gunnies in Yemen and Islamist Shabaab forces in Somalia.
But after five accidents involving MQ-1 Predators since January 2011, the government of Djibouti demanded the Americans halt the drone flights out of Camp Lemonnier, where about 3,000 U.S. troops are deployed, said the defense official, confirming a report in the Washington Post.
Under an agreement with Djibouti, the U.S. military will move its drone fleet from Camp Lemonnier to Chabelley airfield, about 10 kilometers southwest of the capital, according to a document from Congress authorizing defense spending for 2014.
Lawmakers are "aware that the government of Djibouti mandated that operations of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) cease from Camp Lemonnier, while allowing such operations to relocate to Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti," it said.
The decision to shift flights to Chabelley raised questions about Pentagon plans to spend $880 million to improve the infrastructure at Camp Lemonnier.
The U.S. government plans to invest $13 million for infrastructure at Chabelley airfield to support the drone flights, according to the document. But politicians wrote that they remained concerned about how operations at the new location would be sustained over the long-term and at what cost.
The move from Camp Lemonnier to Chabelley has been under discussion for more than six months, the defense official said.
"We have a really strong relationship with Djibouti... And this was a way to accommodate Djibouti in a mutually beneficial way," the official said.
The official said the move might have some temporary, minor effect on current military operations in the region, but there would "no significant operational impact."
Other U.S. military aircraft, including cargo planes and fighter jets, would continue to fly out of Lemonnier, he said.
The French military also uses the airfield at Lemonnier for about a dozen aircraft based there.
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09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Kenya's interior minister said Wednesday that only an "insignificant" number of bodies were thought to remain in the wreckage of Nairobi's Westgate mall.
Countries including Britannia, the United States, Israel, Germany and Canada are assisting the probe into the four-day siege by Islamist gunnies, which left 67 dead and dozens more missing, Joseph Ole Lenku told news hounds.
"We strongly believe... that there are insignificant numbers of bodies still holed up," the minister said, playing down fears that the bodies of 71 people listed as missing by the Red Thingy may still be inside.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced an end to the 80-hour bloodbath late Tuesday, with the "immense" loss of 61 civilians and six members of the security forces. Police said the corpse count was provisional.
"It is an elaborate process. Among the things that are going on now are fingerprinting, DNA identification (and) ballistic examinations," Lenku said of the probe, adding that the evidence collection would take at least a week.
"We expect the exercise of the forensic audit will take not less than seven days, but for the exact results coming out of that, we leave for the experts to determine."
He also said he could not comment on media reports that the attackers had rented a shop inside the mall before the attack.
"We are getting a lot of information, and suggestions and input from people of good will, also from rumormongers," he said. "As for whether they had a shop in the mall, it is something that we cannot categorically give you a position on."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Very strange term of reference [insignificant number of bodies], but then again, it is Africa.
[Shabelle] Kenyans and the world are waiting anxiously over the corpse count of the Westgate shopping mall attack moments after attackers claimed they killed 137 people in the deadly massacre.
Families who reported missing persons are equally traumatized as forensic experts delayed the retrieval of bodies from the ill-fated mall in the heart of the Kenyan capital.
The BBC and News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported on their twitter accounts that the murderous Al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... gang reported that it had snuffed out life of 137 people.
The government has however dismissed the claim with President Uhuru Kenyatta's front man Manoa Espisu referring to it as fake.
"We have discovered some claims about total deaths from the attack, some of the claims are fake and we have to wait until the experts count all the bodies and do analysis," he said.
According to Standard Digital Reporter, forensic experts are still trapped in rubles. There are more than 60 people said to be missing according to Red Thingy.
Security forces reported on Tuesday that voices of hostages were heard during the final moments of take over of the besieged mall by joint security forces as the building's walls caved in after a mysterious fired burned a section of it.
Six Kenya Defence Forces soldiers are among the 69 dead according to official records released by the government authorities. The soldiers were involved in the rescue efforts to free the hostages held by the gun-men.
It is believed the final corpse count will be known once the forensic experts okay the building for retrieval of bodies buried inside. Witnesses who escaped to safety reported dozens of bodies lay on floors of the-ill-fated mall after the Saturday attack.
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09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Protesters rallied in a Tunis suburb on Wednesday at the call of the main trade union confederation, which is seeking to pressure the government into accepting a blueprint for ending the political crisis. Dozens gathered in the Ariana district to demand the fall of the coalition government and shouted slogans hostile to the Islamist party Ennahda that leads it. But the crowds hoped for by the UGTT, which has been leading mediation efforts to end two months of political deadlock, failed to materialize.
"The gathering is a response to the decision of the union leadership announced on Monday," Mohammed Chebbi, secretary general of the union's local office, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The powerful confederation boasts 500,000 members and is capable of bringing the country to a standstill. It warned on Monday that the gathering in Ariana would mark the start of a nationwide campaign of peaceful mass protests to end the crisis sparked by the July liquidation of an opposition MP.
The UGTT has accused Ennahda of doing everything to ensure the failure of the roadmap, which it drafted along with the employers' organization Utica, the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the bar association. Ennhada rejects the charges, and accuses the largely secular opposition of distorting the mediators' proposals by demanding the government's immediate resignation.
The roadmap sets a three-week deadline for the formation of a cabinet of independents to replace the government, after the launch of a dialogue with opposition parties. It also sets a four-week deadline for adopting a new electoral law, announcing a timetable for fresh elections and completing a long-delayed draft constitution.
On Wednesday, Ennahda reiterated "its acceptance of the initiative... and its willingness to begin immediate talks (with the opposition) on the basis of this initiative."
The opposition accuses it of not doing enough to rein in Islamist krazed killers, whose influence has grown since the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and of failing to improve economic conditions.
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09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Terrorist groups are looking to profit from mostly non-existent borders to smuggle weapons into Tunisia, local law agencies and international police organizations warn.
"Tunisia is living with the threat of the proliferation of weapons because it is a neighbour of Libya, " Theoneste Mutsindashyak, the head of the Regional Centre on Small Arms, said at a recent Interpol conference in Algeria.
Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou raised the same alarm to National Constituent Assembly members on Thursday (September 19th).
"The large number of seized weapons inside the country could sustain a war," Ben Jeddou said.
The ministry chose not to display the arms, he said, in order to protect the tourism sector and avoid causing anxiety among Tunisians.
Algeria faces the same threat of incoming weapons from Libya. As a result, Tunisia's ties with its other neighbour are growing stronger.
"There is an on-going project to facilitate communication between governors and mayors of cities on the border between Tunisia and Algeria in order to combat smuggling," Ben Jeddou said.
Algerian security forces last week warned their Tunisian peers about a plot to smuggle Libyan weapons into the two countries.
The Algerian army also reportedly called on its Tunisian counterpart to heighten border controls after the recent escape of dangerous detainees from a Libyan prison.
"There is good operational and intelligence co-operation with our neighbours," Algerian National Security (DGSN) chief Abdelghani Hamel said.
But Libya has yet to control the spread of weapons that began after the ouster of Moamer Qadaffy. According to Libyan blogger Zouhair Boujalled, security problems are deepening by the day because of the government's failure to disarm the population.
Jihadist snuffies are also able to cross the border at will, he says.
"Chaos at the border and the resultant smuggling of weapons and infiltration of terrorist jihadist groups is the biggest threat to regional security and the internal stability of North African countries," the Libyan blogger tells Magharebia.
Lawlessness on the shared border with Libya has dragged Tunisia into a tunnel difficult to exit, political activist Ahmed Inoubli agrees.
Extremist groups move easily in the region, via mountainous, unpopulated terrain, he notes, adding that they are "benefiting from the expertise of smugglers" get around.
In order to put an end to the infiltration of bully boyz and weapons, Tunisia just set up a buffer zone in the border triangle with Algeria and Libya.
According to the Tunisian defence ministry front man, the idea for the militarised zone was a response to "growing security threats from terrorist organizations".
"The activity of organised crime networks in the trade of weapons, ammunition, drugs and subsidised goods" and attacks on border security agents also prompted the decision to put the vast desert region under army command, Brigadier General Tawfiq Rahmouni said on September 6th.
Algerian security services also gave their Tunisian counterparts a list of terror suspects who may attempt to enter the country for Eid al-Adha next month, Tunisie Numerique reported on September 9th.
The alert followed the discovery of a letter from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abdelmalik Droukdel ... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb.... , who called for attacks on Tunisian cities to reduce pressure on the jihadists holed up in Jebel Chaambi.
Algeria, meanwhile, is not taking any chances. It just deployed 3,000 more soldiers along its borders with Tunisia and Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic youth movement, met on Wednesday with the 50-member committee charged with amending the constitution, to propose several amendments to the charter.
According to union member Bishoy Tamry, the group proposed amendments to articles related to religious rights and issues.
The activist told Ahram Online that the group "is against any religious article including Article 2" which states "Islam is the main source of legislation." The group also proposes that an article is included that states Egypt is a "civil state."
The group also proposed amending Article 3, which states that Christians and Jews have their religions as the main source of legislation for personal status laws. Tamry said that the group proposed the article include other religions, instead of Christianity and Judaism only.
The activist group also suggested the removal of the phrase "without violation of the principles of Islamic sharia" in Article 11, which states that the state should guarantee equality between women and men in the political, social, cultural and economic spheres.
Tamry also stated that the group proposed adding an article that criminalises religious discrimination.
Islamist parties, led by the Moslem Brüderbund, dominated the constituent assembly which drafted the 2012 constitution. The constitution was frozen after the ouster of the Brotherhood's Morsi on 3 July, and is currently being amended.
The Maspero Youth Union is a Coptic youth group which sprang up shortly after the 2011 revolution to agitate for Christians' rights. The group became well-known for their opposition to military rule after Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's ouster.
There is no official account of the number of Christian Egyptians but they are estimated at around 10 percent of the population.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
How 'bout: Egypt shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.
[Al Ahram] Egypt has warned of a military response if Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, or other Paleostinian groups try to violate Egyptian security, increasing tension over what Cairo says is support from Gazoo for Islamist gunnies operating in the Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt's army says gunnies from Hamas-run Gazoo have staged joint attacks with hardline Islamists in North Sinai, where the government has ramped up security operations after a surge of violence set off by President Mohamed Morsi's downfall in July.
Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy told the London-based newspaper al-Hayat there was "tension" in Cairo's relationship with Hamas, an ideological offshoot of Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund. He suggested Hamas was not helping enough to secure the border.
The Sinai gunnies expanded into a security vacuum that emerged after president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... was ousted by a popular uprising in 2011.
"If Hamas proves through actions and not words - and unfortunately there are many negative indicators - its good intentions, then it will find an Egyptian party that ... protects the Paleostinian side," Fahmy said.
"If we feel that there are parties in Hamas or other parties trying to violate Egyptian national security, our response will be severe," said Fahmy, foreign minister in the interim cabinet that came to office after Morsi was deposed by the army.
Asked whether any response would include a closure of the Rafah border crossing between Gazoo and Egypt, Fahmy said: "Options are military-security, and not options that result in suffering for the Paleostinian citizen."
The Rafah crossing is the only way in and out of Gazoo not controlled by Israel, with which Egypt made peace in 1979.
Fahmy did not elaborate on what kind of military action Cairo might take.
Hamas has denied Egypt's accusations. A front man for the Hamas government said Fahmy's comments "contradicted Egypt's history and role in protecting the Paleostinian nation".
Fahmy said: "There are very many flaws in the Hamas relationship with the former (Morsi) regime, and the relationship of Hamas, or other Paleostinian Islamist parties, with terror activity in Sinai."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Paleos gotta be fighting, terrorizing, and killing somewhere. If they can't reach the Jooooz, they'll kill Egyptians
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2013 10:55 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi promised on Wednesday to eradicate terrorism in Yemen, plagued by al-Qaeda and by homegrown unrest, as yet another member of the security forces was killed.
"The blood (of victims) will not be in vain," Hadi said in a televised speech to mark the anniversary of the 1962 revolution that established a republic in Sanaa.
"The gunnies and those who support them, among local or foreign forces, will end up paying dearly and will be brought to justice.
"Our people remain vigilant in the face of those crimes and will soon inflict defeat on them," he added, referring to spectacular dawn attacks on three police and army positions in Shabwa province last week that claimed the lives of at least 56 security personnel.
Hadi, who is himself a southerner, also defended the vision of a united Yemen, as forces of Evil in the formerly independent south press for autonomy or even outright secession.
"The problem has never been one of unification, but of erroneous practices marked by corruption and bad administration," he said, in allusion to former president 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... , forced to step down in 2011 after 33 years in power.
Reconciliation talks, known as the national dialogue, are underway to complete the transition that began with Saleh's departure. They are aimed at drafting a new constitution and laying the groundwork for elections next year.
Hadi said "we are putting the final touches" on the documents, which have managed to find "radical solutions to the problems of Yemen."
Earlier Wednesday, a jacket wallah killed an army intelligence officer when he blew up his car bomb in a market in Ataq, capital of Shabwa province, a security official said.
The blast killed Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Saidi and seriously maimed a passer-by, the official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Ateya said Wednesday that the Gulf country has supported Egypt since the 25 January 2011 uprising, not only following president Mohamed Morsi's rise to power in 2012. The FM also denied rumours of a rift with Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... over their support for Egypt's interim-government regarding Morsi's ouster.
"Qatar was the first Arab country to support the 25 January revolution without knowing who was going to take power. It supported the military council and the interim-government led by Essam Sharaf," Al-Ateya told London-based Al-Hayat newspaper Wednesday.
"I personally signed the Cooperation, Development and Investment agreement with [then] minister of international cooperation Fayza Abol-Naga."
"When Dr. Morsi became the president through the ballot box, we dealt with him as the president and not as a member of a certain party," he added.
Qatar, which has been a prominent donor of foreign aid to Egypt since 2011, was criticised by Morsi's opponents as an ideological ally to the Moslem Brüderbund, from which the deposed president hails.
The Gulf country condemned the violent dispersal of two pro-Morsi camps in Cairo by security forces last month, during which hundreds were killed, and has also called for the release of tossed in the slammer Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! Moslem Brüderbund leaders and members.
Qatar's statement created tension with Egypt's post-30-June interim-government, which condemned it as a "clear interference in Egyptian affairs."
Al-Ateya went on to deny that there are rifts between Qatar and Saudi Arabia over contrasting stances regarding the ouster of Morsi.
"The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) practices democracy within itself," Al-Ateya said. "A GCC member state could have a different stance from another, without affecting the council's composition."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The FM also denied rumours of a rift with Soddy Arabia
The Magic Kingdom has been none too pleased with Qatar's slow-and-steady move to position itself as a major Islamic player in competition with the Sauds and the Turks. I 'spect the Emir's retirement was one of the consequences of that displeasure.
[Bangla Daily Star] Some civil society members yesterday demanded that the government ban Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , Hefajat-e Islam and other like-minded organizations before the next general elections, to ensure a congenial atmosphere during the polls.
They also criticised the government for "negotiating and compromising" with Jamaat and Hefajat, and said the Awami League would not get votes from these groups no matter what "compromise" it made with them.
"The government will have to ban these organizations through executive order before the polls. Otherwise, vulnerable groups like women and religious minorities will not be able to cast their votes without fear," said Shahriar Kabir, executive president of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, which champions the demand for war crimes trial.
The consequences will be dangerous if Jamaat is allowed to participate in the polls, he said, adding, "Why should we be frightened [to ban Jamaat]?"
The recent verdicts by the war crimes tribunals described Jamaat as a terrorist organization and the prime minister herself branded the party as a terrorist organization, he added.
The remarks came at a discussion on "Jamaat-e-Islami's involvement in militancy and international terror network" organised by the Nirmul Committee at the National Museum in the capital. A documentary titled "The Ultimate Jihad" by Shahriar Kabir was screened before the discussion.
Speaking on the 52-minute documentary, which was made based on interviews, Shahriar said the film showed the fact that the US was the patron of all terrorist activities and it had decided to promote political Islam in different Mohammedan countries to resist Soviet Union soon after the World War II.
The US does not want any Mohammedan country to become a secular state, and efforts for establishing secular countries by the statesmen from Turkey to Indonesia were thwarted by direct and indirect intervention of the US, he said, adding that the US had roles in the killings of statesmen of many countries.
"They [the US] are not worried about Bangladesh as they already assumed that the secular and progressive government will not be able to come to power in 2014 elections," he added.
Muntassir Mamoon, vice-president of the Committee, said, "Banning only Jamaat will not solve the problem. We have to be vocal against all the organizations that operate like Jamaat."
The government will not ban Jamaat in its tenure, but it will be possible only when the people get committed and take to the streets to realise their demand, he added.
Eminent historian Syed Anwar Husain demanded for banning all religion-based politics.
Presided over by Justice Ghulam Rabbani, the discussion was also addressed by State Minister for Social Welfare Promode Mankin, Bangladesh Mahila Gay Pareehad Chairperson Ayesha Khanam and Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A UK-based independent organization launched on Tuesday a project aimed at identifying the victims of drone strikes in Pakistain and released its first list of over 550 victims -- both civilians and krazed killers.
The list, released by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism on its website, contains the names of 295 civilians, 255 alleged snuffies (74 of them are classified as senior commanders), 95 children (counted in the civilian total) and only two women.
The project, titled 'Naming the Dead', builds on the bureau's two-year work tracking drone strikes in Pakistain and the number of people reportedly killed. In its research the bureau has found that at least 2,500 people, including 400 civilians, have reportedly been killed. But almost nothing is known about the identities of the dead.
The B.O. regime has claimed that drones are a highly precise weapon that target Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups, while causing almost no civilian harm. But it does not publish its own account of who it believes has been killed.
The bureau's journalists have revisited all media reports, court documents and other sources to compile data which identified 568 individuals by name. But an estimated four out of five drone victims are not named in the available sources.
At the launch of the project, the bureau will publish case studies of 20 individuals -- both civilians and alleged krazed killers. Over the coming months, it will extend its research to add to the list names and biographical details of more individuals.
The bureau expressed the hope that families and friends of those killed in drone strikes would come forward to corroborate, contradict or offer additional details to help build a full picture of the victims.
"Reporting from Pakistain's tribal regions is challenging and there are many individuals whose name is the only thing we know of them. Sometimes we only have part of a name," says the bureau.
"Casualty recording efforts such as 'Naming the Dead' are an important step towards avoiding future conflicts," says Hamit Dardagan, co-director of the Every Casualty Campaign which calls for every death in conflict to be recorded.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I am thinking The Flying RAB maybe paint some RayBans on the nose of the Predators.
#3
will they also be publishing a study of how many civilians were killed by the dronezapped snuffies?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/26/2013 10:59 Comments ||
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#4
Of course not Frank - that would be offensive to the Islamists...
Keep in mind that by hiding dressed as and among the civilians, they (the illegal combatants) are responsible for any resulting deaths - but of course the study won't mention that either.
[Dawn] Piously Strongly condemning the attack on the Christain community in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , Maulana Sami ul Haq has said that peace is unlikely without talks with the Taliban, DawnNews reported.
Denouncing the Peshawar church blast that led to 84 deaths, he said that Islam safeguards the rights of the minorities.
He said that he was saddened by Chaudry Nisar's statements and went on to add that the decision to meet with the Taliban would be reviewed upon Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... return to the country.
He called the All Parties Conference (APC) a 'waste of time'.
"Our politics is based on defending the nation and enforcing shariah," he said while discussing politics in the country.
"If drone attacks are carried out on people, then they were will be forced to carry out suicide kabooms," he said.
Calling the 'Taliban peace talks' a positive move, he said the initiative "must not be cast aside to facilitate a war waged by others".
"The prime minister must inform the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... about the issues faced by Pakistain. The entire country is burning due to this war on terror," he said.
On the subject of law and order situation in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , he said that the parties involved in assassinations have been exposed by the Supreme Court and must be declared as terrorist organizations by the government.
He demanded the dissolution of Council of Islamic Ideology at the earliest and stressed that no change in blasphemy laws would be tolerated.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Let me tighten that headline up a bit. 'Peace unlikely without talks with the Taliban'
Posted by: James ||
09/26/2013 14:39 Comments ||
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#2
I suggest a three stage approach,
1. Invite the Taliban to talk.
2 Be sure that they are who they sy they are.
3.Question them for close friends, and fellow Imams, then KIll them, and their Imams.
4. Talks over.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/26/2013 17:19 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Pakistain registered a strong protest with the Afghan Charge d' Affaires over the unprovoked mortar shelling in North Wazoo by the Afghan Border Police on September 24, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The Afghan Charge d' Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office on the evening of September 24 and the protest was lodged over the cross-border shelling which killed two civilians and injured another in the Bangi Dar area near the Afghan border.
In addition to conveying its concern over the cross-border shelling, the Government of Pakistain also called on Afghan authorities to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
The Foreign Office reiterated that such incidents undermined border coordination and cooperation mechanism in place and were detrimental to cooperative ties between the two neighbouring countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The Pakistain People's Party and the PML-Q held demonstrations here to condemn the attack on a Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. church and expressed solidarity with the Christians.
Led by PPP Secretary-General Sardar Latif Khosa, the participants were holding placards and banners chiding the PML-N government for its failure to protect the lives of the people and arrest the culprits.
They took out the rally from GPO Chowk to Faisal Square and expressed solidarity with the Christians.
Mr Khosa demanded constitution of a judicial commission to probe the Peshawar incident.
He said the PPP had expressed its reservations over talks with gunnies at the All-Party Conference as they could not be trusted.
He said the government should revisit its approach towards them (militants). "Can the government hold talks with beasts," he asked and said the gunnies were not Taliban but 'Zaliman'.
The former governor said the PML-N and the PTI had no right to stay in government if they could not even protect minorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Tuesday termed bombing of the All Saints Church an "attack on Pakistain".
He was talking to media persons during his visit to the church on the third day of the twin suicide kabooms there.
"No Moslem or a human being can commit such a heinous crime," Mr Khattak said.
The perpetrators of the attacks killing innocent worshippers inside the church have no religion and they can not be called human beings, he said. The chief minister said that the killing of members of Christian community was a big loss due to which dozens of families had been devastated.
"The killing of Christians by forces of Evil has conveyed a very negative message to the world," he said and added that forces of Evil had not spared mosques, seminaries, churches, funeral prayers and other religious places.
He said that Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... was on a visit to the United States and the occurrence of such a terrorist incident was a conspiracy to damage the image of Pakistain. He said that people, police and army had rendered great sacrifices in the war on terror in the previous 10 years.
About negotiations with bully boys, Mr Khattak said that all political parties had empowered the federal government's All Parties Conference to go ahead and initiate the grinding of the peace processor. "Whatever decision is taken by the APC about the talks with bully boys, will be acceptable to us," he said. He strongly condemned the tragic incident and vowed that the elements involved in this incident would be awarded exemplary punishment. The chief minister also participated in prayer services inside the church.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[FOXNEWS] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... on Wednesday signed a controversial U.N. treaty on arms regulation, riling U.S. politicians who vow the Senate will not ratify the agreement.
As he signed the document, Kerry called the treaty a "significant step" in addressing illegal gun sales, while claiming it would also protect gun rights.
"This is about keeping weapons out of the hands of snuffies and rogue actors. This is about reducing the risk of international transfers of conventional arms that will be used to carry out the world's worst crimes. This is about keeping Americans safe and keeping America strong," he said. "This treaty will not diminish anyone's freedom. In fact, the treaty recognizes the freedom of both individuals and states to obtain, possess, and use arms for legitimate purposes."
U.S. politicians, though, have long claimed the treaty could lead to new gun control measures. They note the U.S. Senate has final say on whether to approve the agreement.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Executive decree bypassing the legislature in 5..4..3..
#2
Well isn't that nice John. Given that in 'international' law there is no protection against ex post facto, how do you explain to the White House and your buddies at State that gun running in Libya puts them all before the docket of the International Criminal Court? Wait you say it doesn't infringe upon your Bill of Rights protection, then that must also protect all of the American gun owners too.
#4
Did he just say that conventional arms should only be sold to diplomatically recognized states with a uniformed professional military?
Is this how it works: since the Administration is making this promise, and if the Senate rejects this law over the people of the USA, then the law applies to all members of this Administration and they can be prosecuted for Fast and Furious, Fast and Furious: Benghazi Drift, and 2Macain2Syrias? Heck, throw in any Senator who votes for this.
Ambassador Ed Kerry, you are a man of law and an action hero: define legitimate.
A legit use of a 308 is hunting. A legit use of a handgun would be to protect myself, family, and employees from these pods of meth heads. A legit use of an AR platform would be to help engage security clearance psychos, rogue California cops, and check on the meth dealers. I've been told a legit use of a double barrel shotgun is to blast it up in the air.
To use these items legitimately, they must first be available. And you gun grabbers at any cost, Kerry's empty words and gestures are actually hurting your cause, the simple case can be made that we let the UN make our laws, we might as well let Vatican City make our laws. I was under the impression that gun running was already illegal so what are they trying to do here, corner the market?
#5
swksvolFF Threatening Cops with your "AR platform" is despicable. I was on the beat for 28 years and enlisted USAF for six before that. How many years did you serve?
Posted by: retired LEO ||
09/26/2013 18:39 Comments ||
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#6
No sir, that is not what I meant, and have great respect for our local Sheriff and only wish the circumstances were better when I serve alongside them.
I was talking about that doofus ex-cop who went looney in California and started ambushing cops and their families. No, if some crazy a-hole like that showed up in town I would be volunteer to be deputized until professional assistance could relieve me, and an AR platform is what I would want.
#7
I saw this coming a long time ago. I just thought it would be Hillary who tried to push it down our throats. We do not want to cede our sovereignty to a bunch of people who are our enemy and hate us. Kerry ought to be ashamed of himself for trying this end-around to by-pass the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution. Everyone ought to be raising holy hell with their Congressman and the President. The Donks have these pet agendas that never go away--they just morph into some other form and when they think they can get away with it.
#8
Thank you for supporting the locals, accepted I did forget about Donner - yeah he was rouge. No offense taken.
Posted by: retired LEO ||
09/26/2013 19:26 Comments ||
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#9
I hate to even call him an ex-cop, doesn't seem fair.
I live near a drug route and hub. Meth and tweek are a growing problem in our nice little town. I had a customer in at 9:30 with a ball of powder stuck in her nose. I used to run with some people who got hooked on that crap, they were irrational, emotional, and armed.
My wife caught one of them shoplifting and told her to leave. She came back after an hour in different clothes and a Deputy was called to witness and escort the theif out.
We had a shooter drill. Teammate and I concured that if the escape route was by us, all we had was a PA and harsh language.
About a week ago there was a robbery. A suspect was approached the next day and fled. Fortunately the Sheriff had called in help but the schools were locked down. He was caught quickly. Meth head.
And I don't even have to worry about monster coyote or wolf packs around the calving cows, raccoons in the feed, bobcats around the house, rattlesnakes by the horses. I do have to worry about when these losers' dogs get out around town, and arm wrestling a half ferel pitt does not sound like a good time.
[An Nahar] The Special Tribunal for Leb has "convincing" evidence that Iran and the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... are involved in the 2005 liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, reported The New Yorker magazine.
It said that Hizbullah likely "pulled the trigger" in the liquidation, but could not have done so without Syria and Iran's blessing and logistic support.
The perpetrators behind the liquidation had in their possession a telephone that they used to make at least 12 calls to Iran before and after the crime, added the magazine.
The STL Sherlocks sought to determine who the perpetrators were contacting in Iran and they requested the aid of western intelligence agencies.
Meanwhile, ...back at the comedy club, Boogie ducked another tomato... the magazine quoted a senior CIA official as saying that Iranian agents were heard talking minutes before the liquidation.
The Iranians were orchestrating the liquidation over the phone, added the former CIA official.
Head of the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani had to be involved in Hariri's liquidation if the Islamic republic was truly linked to the crime, noted the official.
Four Hizbullah members have been named suspects by the STL in the Beirut truck bombing that killed Hariri on February 14 , 2005.
The party denies the charges and has refused to hand over the suspects.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran, Hezbollah - just like it was when it happened.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Wednesday called for the release of a top Bahraini opposition leader, stressing that his detention by the kingdom's authorities is "totally at odds with the peaceful nature of the popular protest movement."
"Despite the stark condemnations that have been voiced by all the Arab and international rights groups and humanitarian organizations against the Bahraini authorities' detention of Mr. Khalil al-Marzooq -- the resigned first deputy speaker of parliament and the political aide of the secretary general of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society -- these authorities seem to be determined to continue their repression and violence against this esteemed legal figure," said a statement issued by the bloc.
Loyalty to Resistance also deplored "the repression of the aggrieved Bahraini people, who have been rejecting, in a completely peaceful manner, this policy which is violating the human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... of the Bahraini citizens, while relying on foreign interference and support and impeding the opportunity to engage in a responsible dialogue aimed at rescuing the country."
The bloc urged the immediate release of Marzooq and "all political prisoners in Bahrain," saying the top dissident resorted to the law and human rights to demand "reforms and measures that would achieve the minimum level of justice, citizenship and human dignity."
On Tuesday, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa slammed Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... as a "criminal," describing any communication with the party as communication with the "enemy."
Nasrallah had strongly criticized Bahraini authorities in a speech he delivered on Monday.
"The Bahraini government is escalating the situation but it cannot continue to oppress and repress its people while pressuring the world to remain silent. This is unacceptable," said Nasrallah.
Marzooq served as deputy speaker in the 40-member parliament before 18 MPs from the influential Shiite opposition bloc al-Wefaq walked out in February 2011 protesting violence against demonstrators.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] More than 100 senior officers of the Free Syrian Army have signed a petition urging a boycott of any peace conference on their country if Iran is involved, an opposition general said Wednesday.
The statement "condemned once more the criminal regime of Assad and any conference which will open any path other than the toppling of the regime."
It accused Tehran, a key ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... , of being a "serious part of the problem," and added that it "should not be involved in any way in any conference on Syria."
The officers sought a "boycott of any conference or discussion which involves Iran in one way or the other."
The statement came after French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... , who has demanded "coercive" U.N. measures against Syria if it does not hand over its chemical weapons, said Iran was welcome to attend an international peace initiative on Syria, dubbed Geneva-2, if it helped in a political transition in Syria.
"I want to emphasize that anyone who will accept and request the presence of Iran in such a conference will be considered as an enemy of the Syrian people," said Methkal Albatich, a general in the Free Syrian Army.
"How could we accept the participation of a country directly involved in killing us?" he said.
"More than 140 countries and organizations are involved in the Friends of Syria conferences. All of them combined, their help is less than what Iran alone provides for Assad," he said.
The general also said there were several imported muscle fomenting dissent among the opposition fighters but they did not pose a real threat as they were few in number.
"Some of these faceless myrmidons come from Chechnya or from Iraq. They say they come to help the Syrian revolution, but they have another agenda. Their numbers are very few, but the Assad regime has a political interest to make the world believe they are many.
"They are not a threat: after Assad falls, we will take care of them in two days. But first, we have to focus on Assad," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The Iranian president's first speech to world leaders toned down anti-Israel rhetoric and offered up negotiations with the US and its allies over the disputed nuclear program, showing a more moderate face of the hard-line regime in Tehran.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... Iran's diminutive President Hasan Rouhani also took repeated digs at America and the West on Tuesday, much like those that were staples of his predecessor's annual messages to the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... General Assembly.
Rouhani's speech signaled Iran's return to a more measured, if still resolute, approach in its foreign policy even as it delivered a reality check that diplomatic warming will not come quickly or easily.
Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said he did not think Rouhani's speech was conciliatory. But his predecessor Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad "set an incredibly low bar for dignified behavior" and Rouhani delivered a less polarizing, less divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... speech, he said.
"Given how vitriolic that Ahmadinejad's language was, in contrast he certainly appears as a moderate," Sadjadpour said.
Rouhani even went a step further in an interview with CNN airing on Wednesday, saying "the crime the Nazis created toward the Jews is reprehensible and condemnable."
Ahmadinejad, in contrast, once called the Holocaust a "myth" and later said more research was needed to determine whether it had really happened.
Rouhani briefly criticized Israel for what he described as Paleostine's deprivation and subjugation, even though he did not directly refer to the Jewish state by name. He also ended his speech with a reference not only to the Koran and Bible, but also the Torah.
Israel, however, was not pacified. The Israeli delegation walked out of his speech, and Israeli Minister for Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Yuval Steinitz called his rhetoric a "game of deception."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... will continue its investigations on evidence of chemical weapons' use in Syria, but will not attempt to accuse any party of responsibility at the time being, a U.N. representative told Al Arabiya.
"The report speaks for itself, the report does not establish who used it [chemical weapons], but whether it was used," Angela Kane, U.N. high representative for disarmament affairs, told Al Arabiya's New York bureau chief Talal al-Haj.
Kane emphasized that member states have decided not to have a "mechanism that establishes the responsibility," adding that the United Nations wants to finish its report in order "to put the evidence before the international community."
On Wednesday, U.N. chemical weapons inspectors returned to Syria to continue investigating allegations of chemical attacks in the war-torn country.
The inspectors confirmed last week that sarin gas was used in an attack in Damascus which killed hundreds of people.
Kane stressed the need to wait for the team's final report after investigation of Khan al-Assal and other sites is completed.
"I think there will be a follow up in terms of accountability," Kane said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/26/2013 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.
[Bangla Daily Star] Some civil society members yesterday demanded that the government ban 
Nawaz Sharif
[Dawn] Pakistain registered a strong protest with the Afghan Charge d' Affaires over the unprovoked mortar shelling in North 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
