Twelve years after the Taliban was ousted from power Afghanistan is planning to reintroduce public stoning as punishment for adultery, according to a new draft penal code.
The move has shocked human rights campaigners and will dismay donors who have poured billions of pounds into the country for reconstruction. It will be viewed as another backwards step at the end of a year that has seen women's rights undermined, with a slew of legislation and murders of prominent women.
Human Rights Watch called for international donors to withhold funding if the government went ahead with the plan. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "It is absolutely shocking that 12 years after the fall of the Taliban government, the (President Hamid) Karzai administration might bring back stoning as a punishment.
"President Karzai needs to demonstrate at least a basic commitment to human rights and reject this proposal out of hand."
The draft -- devised by a working group led by the Justice Ministry and parts of which have been obtained by The Telegraph -- states that unmarried adulterers should be subject to 100 lashes. If they are married, the punishment is stoning in a public place.
Stoning was used as punishment for adultery during Taliban rule, a brutal period which included bans on radio, television and music.
#2
European companies won't sell propofol or sodium thiopental to the US if it is used as part of a lethal injection protocol. But they will still send money to Afghanistan. And the systerhood remains shamefully silent also...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/25/2013 14:23 Comments ||
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#3
Nice to see the US-Allies has successfully modernized Muslim Afghanistan - NOT???
#5
given that there are more than a half dozen haditha authorizing stoning and given that Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Mali, and Pakistan have had stoning for adultery lately, nobody should be surprised about this
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/25/2013 20:34 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... has argued that recent statements and moves by President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... indicate he is abusing the security pact negotiation process and preparations for the upcoming elections to suit his own interests.
Abdullah's comments came on the last day of the Loya Jirga, in which participants voted to approve the BSA to the Afghan government.
According to Abdullah, Karzai has given mixed messages when it comes to the upcoming elections, asking foreign nations not to interfere in the elections process while also demanding the U.S. guarantee transparency for the elections.
Transparent elections were one of Karzai's preconditions for the signing of the BSA, which would ensure a close military partnership between the U.S. and Afghanistan in the years following the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... troop withdraw in 2014.
On Thursday, at the opening ceremony of the Jirga, Karzai told the some 2,500 participants that he would wait to sign the BSA until after the Presidential elections in April.
Abdullah claimed that Karzai was looking to benefit his preferred candidate by postponing the signing of the agreement.
Abdullah ran for President in 2009 and lost to Karzai after the first round of voting left them dead-even, despite widespread documentation of voter fraud and other electoral improprieties in favor of the incumbent Mr. Karzai.
"We want good elections from the Independent Election Commission and from Electoral Complaints Commission, so what does the recent statement of President Karzai mean? - It means that President Karzai is trying to get approval ratings through this national issue," Abdullah said. "The candidate he is favoring is not and will not be acceptable to Afghanistan."
Abdullah is not the only candidate that has come out against Karzai's apparent move to delay the signing of the BSA. Former Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak has also been a vocal supporter of the accord and critique of the President's decisions.
U.S. officials have urged Karzai to sign the agreement before the end of the year
Peace in Afghanistan is among the new preconditions Karzai has set in front of the U.S. for signing the pact. Abdullah scoffed at this demand, and said that bringing peace to Afghanistan, immediately, was impossible and that President Karzai was simply trying to get the support of the people by setting expectations he himself could not meet.
The April vote will be the first time Karzai cannot run, with his term limitation imposed by the Afghan Constitution.
"Our demand is that the fate of this agreement be decided as soon as possible because the same way the political transition will take place in 2014, security responsibilities will also transfer," Abdullah said. "That is why people are concerned as investments are leaving Afghanistan and unemployment is increasing, corruption has reached its limit and many people think that this year is the last year...it is the responsibility of the President to calm these concerns."
Abdullah elected not to participate in the Loya Jirga this week in Kabul, which saw some 2,500 leaders from around Afghanistan gather to discuss the BSA. He argued the event was illegal and defied logic in determining the future of Afghanistan's relationship with the U.S.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] On the last day of the Loya Jirga in Kabul, on Sunday, the gathering's Chairman, Sebghatullah Mujadadi, said that if President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... did not follow the Jirga's recommendation to sign the Kabul-Washington security pact, then he would flee Afghanistan.
Mujadadi's comments come at a time when many are anxious about the next few years in Afghanistan, with the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... coalition withdrawing in 2014 and the country's first potential democratic transition of Presidential power lying around the corner in April.
In recent weeks, Afghanistan has been consumed by debate over the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which would ensure a close military partnership between the U.S. and Afghanistan post-2014.
The Loya Jirga on Sunday voted to approve the BSA, which will now be forwarded on to both houses of the National Assembly for formal ratification.
"We want to sign this agreement and it must be signed," Mujadadi said on Sunday. "This is something that we cannot give up. For now, the President should promise us that he will sign the agreement soon and as far as our experience, knowledge and Islamic law shows, Inshallah this agreement is in our favor."
On Thursday, during is opening speech at the Jirga, President Karzai said he would not sign the accord - even if it was approved by the Jirga and Parliament - until after the spring Presidential elections.
However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... U.S. officials have demanded the pact be finalized before the end of the year.
Mujadadi assured TOLOnews that if the BSA was not signed, then he would leave Afghanistan
"We request for this agreement to be signed soon and if President Karza does not sign, then I promise you that, though I have been a servant to this nation for the past thirty five years, I will resign," Mujadadi said. "I will resign from everything and will emigrate from this country and will say that I have fled the bad policies of our government."
Many have argued the BSA is essential to Afghanistan's future stability and progress.
And if the agreement is not lived-up to by the U.S., Mujadadi said the Jirga would be responsible.
"If our friends the Americans deny any article of the agreement, then we, the nation will be the ones to answer."
Many experts have argued the Jirga is more in Afghanistan's interest than the U.S., which is war-weary after 12 years of combat.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Afghan tribal elites concluded a four-day Loya Jirga on Sunday, endorsing the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States, which allows a residual U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
A unanimous majority of the 2,500-member Jirga called on President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... to sign the document by the end of this year. But the Afghan president has laid out three pre-conditions to the U.S. before he will sig the security pact: transparent elections in April, no raids on Afghan homes and a breakthrough in talks with the Taliban.
Washington has said that it's "neither practical nor possible" to delay the signing. President Karzai in his speech on Thursday in the opening of the Jirga said that the BSA would be signed after the April elections.
"If there is one more raid on Afghan homes by U.S. forces, there is no BSA. The U.S. can't go into our homes from this moment onward," President Karzai said in his closing remarks at the Jirga on Sunday.
The issue of U.S. unilateral operations was the final point of contention between Kabul and Washington last week, but was put to rest at the Jirga as participants voted in favor of the agreement that allowed for America to launch its own missions under certain circumstances.
The Afghan president said he believed peace in Afghanistan is "first in the hands of the U.S. and secondly in the hands of Pakistain."
He said now that the Jirga has endorsed the document, he will continue bargaining with officials in Washington over his three pre-conditions.
The U.S.' residual forced post-2014 would be stationed in nine military bases in Afghanistan, according to the BSA, but representatives of central Bamyan province in the Loya Jirga requested an additional base in their province as well.
The U.S. is expected to keep roughly 10-15,000 troops in-country if the pact is finalized.
The Jirga has accepted that U.S. soldiers should be prosecuted under American criminal jurisdiction, while also still suggesting that an Afghan government representative should be present during any trial.
Article 13 of the accord, which addressed criminal jurisdiction over troops, was considered the most controversial element of the agreement. The same provision proved a deal-breaker in Iraq in 2011 when the U.S. was negotiating a similar pact with Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
The Jirga outcome also includes that the U.S. cannot have any prisons in Afghanistan and it must handover all Afghan detainees to the government of Afghanistan. This would likely lead to a continuation of the Kabul strategy of releasing bully boy prisoners in hopes of building good-will with the insurgency ahead of possible peace talks.
The U.S. insists the deal, which has taken months to negotiate, must be signed before the end of this year in order to secure plans for how many troops will remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
The U.S. government's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistain James Dobbins on Friday said that the security pact between the countries ought to be signed in the next few weeks.
"We feel strongly that the agreement ought to be signed as soon as it's approved by the Jirga and then it ought to be sent to the parliament and approved and this ought to occur at some time in the next few weeks," Ambassador Dobbins told TOLOnews.
"The Afghan people are anxious whether the United States and the international community remain committed to their security and wellbeing and frankly the American people and the international community are uncertain about whether the Afghan people really want us," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The 50-member committee entrusted with amending Egypt's suspended 2012 constitution is struggling to reach consensus over the charter's preamble and 17 other controversial articles.
Bishop Paula, the committee's Coptic Church representative, threatened to withdraw from the committee for a second time in protest of the constitution's preamble, which currently reflects a large input from the ultraconservative Salafist Nour party. The committee's representatives from the Catholic and Anglican churches have also threatened to withdraw over the preamble.
Paula told parliamentary correspondents on Monday that "representatives of Egypt's churches withdrew from the 2012 constituent assembly [which first drafted the suspended constitution] after Islamists insisted on drafting a new article that would define the principles of Islamic sharia. It seems that we will have to withdraw again, because the revised constitution's preamble offers a definition of Islamic sharia as per the Nour Party's demand."
Paula also charged that committee members decided to remove the word "civilian" from the preamble's description of the Egyptian state at the request of the Nour Party.
The current preamble in circulation amoung committee members now states "we are writing a new constitution that will establish a modern and democratic state in Egypt, and it is a constitution which stresses that the principles of Islamic sharia are the major source of Egypt's legislation."
Representatives from the Nour Party and Egypt's leading Sunni institution Al-Azhar have threatened to withdraw if the word "civilian" is included, because they argue that it reflects secular and western values.
The 50-member committee held lengthy closed-door meetings on Saturday and Sunday in a bid to reach consensus over the preamble and some 17 other articles which have not attained the required 75 percent approval over the past weeks.
Some press reports have estimated that the constitution draft will be put to a final vote on Thursday, but the growing distrust between the Islamists and their opponents may delay the committee's vote.
Sources said the committee has reached consensus over one of a total 17 remaining issues.
According to Amr El-Shobaki, chairman of the system of governance subcommittee, the agreed-upon article is the charter's article 121.
Article 121 has been amended to state that the president -- in consultation with the majority party or the coalition with the most seats in parliament -- will name the prime minister. If the parliament refuses the selected prime minister, the parliament itself is entitled to name the premier. The president, in consultation with the prime minister, retains the right to name four key cabinet ministers: defence, foreign affairs, justice and interior.
The above text differs from an earlier version, which gave the majority party or the winning coalition the right to name the prime minister. According to the article's former wording, if the selected prime minister failed to gain the parliament's approval within 30 days, the president would be entitled to name the prime minister.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Speaking at last night's late presser, Defence Minister Abdullah Al-Thini revealed that Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... will get checkpoints at its 9 main entry points.
Al-Thini confirmed that no one would be able to get into Tripoli without having to pass through these points, which he revealed would be manned by the Military Police.
The Defence Minister was indirectly alleviating concerns that some of the militias or their arms might be sneaked back into Tripoli unnoticed.
Al-Thini confirmed that 3,000 troops had been deployed all over Tripoli since the militia pullouts and that military personnel were currently covered by existing rules of engagement which protect them against legal action.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
And I believe the Libyan army's ROE for dealing with the militias is to shoot first and ask questions later. The militias have killed dozens of Libyan soldiers under the guise of "oops, sorry, we thought you were someone else" and I think the other shoe has dropped on the militias...or at least I hope so, I have clothes and about $15,000 in dinar stuck in a bank in Tripoli and I can't get back there.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
11/25/2013 10:30 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour approved a controversial law Sunday that regulates demonstrations and gives authorities the power to ban protests deemed a "threat" to national security, officials said.
The law also says protesters can be tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... for up to five years if found guilty of offenses ranging from covering their faces to carrying weapons while participating in demonstrations, presidency front man Ehab Badawi told news hounds.
Egypt's military justified its July 3 overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... by saying it was responding to massive protests against his turbulent year-long rule.
But Egyptian rights groups said during the drafting of the bill that it would "criminalize all forms of peaceful assembly" and give authorities a "free hand" to forcibly disperse demonstrators.
Interim prime minister Hazem Beblawi, of the military-installed government, defended the measure in an interview with Agence La Belle France Presse, saying: "It is not a law that limits the right to demonstrate, but it aims at protecting the right of protesters."
Presidency front man Badawi said protesters must give "three day written notice" to a cop shoppe near to where the demonstration is to be held.
He said it also bans demonstrations "at places of worship" or starting from such places.
The advance notice would need to include details about the organizers of the demonstration, its purpose and what slogans will be chanted, he added.
Badawi said the authorities have the right to prohibit a demonstration "if it is felt to be a threat to national security."
But he said security forces must first verbally warn protesters at prohibited demonstrations to disperse before using water cannon or tear gas, and should only gradually escalate to the firing of birdshot if other means fail.
Rights groups had strongly criticized earlier drafts of the law.
"The draft law seeks to criminalize all forms of peaceful assembly, including demonstrations and public meetings, and gives the state (a) free hand to disperse peaceful gatherings by use of force," a group of 19 Egyptian rights groups said in a joint statement on Sunday before the law was given the green light.
Egypt's new military-installed authorities are engaged in a sweeping crackdown on Islamist supporters of Morsi, who regularly stage protests demanding the reinstatement of the country's first freely elected leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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A number of news outlets have reported that Angola has "banned" Islam and started to dismantle mosques in a bold effort to stem the spread of Muslim extremism.
This needs to be much better sourced before I buy a word of it.
Weekly French-language Moroccan newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune published an article on Friday sourcing "several" Angolan officials, including the Southwest African nation's minister of culture, Rosa Cruz, who reportedly offered the following remarks, which have been translated from French: "The process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, their mosques would be closed until further notice."
The media reports have not described why exactly Islam apparently faces a need to be legalized despite its presence in the country for many years.
OnIslam.net reports that the African economic news agency Agence Ecofin wrote that Cruz made the statement at an appearance last week before the 6th Commission of the National Assembly. The website goes on to note that, "According to several Angolan newspapers, Angola has become the first country in the world to ban Islam and Muslims, taking first measures by destroying mosques in the country."
Even Angola President José Eduardo dos Santos has weighed in on the controversy, as he was quoted in Nigeria's Osun Defender newspaper on Sunday as saying, "This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country," according to the OnIslam.net report.
The reported comments by Cruz and Santos echo the stance of the governor of the country's Luanda province, Bento Francisco Bento, who reportedly maintains "that radical Muslims were not welcome in Angola and that the government was not ready to legalize the presence of mosques in the country," according to a La Nouvelle Tribune summary of Bento's take on the issue.
In a physical extension of the officials' sentiments about Islam's place in Angola, La Nouvelle Tribune said that a minaret of an Angolan mosque was dismantled last October, and that the city of Zango "has gone further by destroying the only mosque in the city."
The emerging reports about Angola "banning" Islam and dismantling mosques point to the anti-Islam sentiments held by many in the nation's citizens, but they could not immediately be independently verified by International Business Times.
Salt, 48 hour rule, etc.
Angola is a majority-Christian nation of about 16 million people, an estimated 55 percent of whom are Catholic, 25 percent of whom belong to African Christian denominations, 10 percent of whom follow major Protestant traditions, 5 percent of whom belong to Brazilian Evangelical churches and where only between 80,000 and 90,000 people are Muslim, according to the U.S. State Department.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2013 07:39 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The full text of the Supreme Court judgment that awarded death penalty to war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah is likely to be released in a few days, as judges have completed writing their shares of it.
On September 17, the apex court sentenced the 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... leader to death for committing crimes against humanity during the country's Liberation War in 1971, overruling the judgement of the International Crimes Tribunal-2 that awarded him life imprisonment.
The SC sources said all the five apex court judges, who delivered the verdict by majority view, have completed writing their parts of the judgement.
Now, those will be compiled and then a full-text verdict will be released, according to sources.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star that the government will execute the SC verdict immediately after the certified copy will be released as per the provisions of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The role and participation of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... in national politics require close scrutiny by authorities as the organization has created deep concerns about protecting the rights of women, minorities and others, according to a pre-election observation report.
The BNP, in particular, must also reflect on the possible role that Jamaat may be playing in its party and work to distance itself from this bad boy organization, said the report prepared by two Canadian politicians.
"Concern was expressed that women's and minority rights may be impaired, and other Islamist ideals such as Sharia law may gain traction should a Jamaat-influenced BNP take power after the election," it said.
This Islamist party has recently been de-listed by Bangladesh's Election Commission and is unable to run candidates in the next polls.
"Even so, there was widespread agreement that Jamaat is still a major factor in Bangladeshi politics, as the organization is well-financed and may be gaining influence within the main opposition party, BNP," the report said.
The SADF (South Asia Democratic Forum) Pre-election Observer Mission, comprised of Canadian MPs Russ Hiebert and Joe Daniel, spent three days from November 12 in Dhaka, examining the national political situation.
The politicians were accompanied by two support staff -- Antonio Vieira da Cruz, SADF executive director for Canada, and Peter Stock, chief of staff to Hiebert.
The members of the mission met leaders from a large cross-section of people, including religious leaders, journalists, lawyers, academics, former government and military officials, and representatives of various civil society organizations.
The mission is convinced that lasting political stability can be achieved if both the government and opposition parties commit to fundamental reforms that will move Bangladesh towards democratic maturity.
It observed that the International War Crimes Tribunal has served an important role in addressing a tragedy from the country's recent history and allowing the nation to move forward.
The Anti-Corruption Commission legislation must be changed to ensure that the commission is arm's length and does not need the government's permission to commence investigations.
While the calling of peaceful general strike by the opposition BNP to pressure the government on critical matters may be acceptable, what is clearly unacceptable is the widespread violence.
Finally, the mission found that political stability is essential for Bangladesh to move forward socially and economically and to hold free, fair and credible polls.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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North Korea may be pushing a highly potent form of methamphetamine into the United States, a development that came to light in an indictment unsealed today in New York.
Yet another reason why, in a just world, we'd figure out where Pudgy sleeps at night and bomb him...
Five foreign nationals arrested in Thailand were charged with being part of an Asia-based syndicate that plotted to smuggle meth produced in North Korea to New York. Court records indicate that the suppliers agreed to sell 100 kilograms of North Korean meth -- at $60,000 a kilogram -- to a drug trafficker who was actually working with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to Stanton, the suspects have been extradited to the U.S. They aren't going to be too happy so they'll likely sing in return for a reduced sentence.
One of the defendants bragged that his organization was the only one that could procure meth from North Korea after a government crackdown. "The North Korean government already burned all the labs," court records quoted the defendant as saying. "Only our labs are not closed. To show Americans that they are not selling it anymore, they burned it. Then they transfer to another base."
He said his group had a stockpile of more than a ton of meth, the purity of which was at "Breaking Bad" levels of 99 percent.
A federal official briefed on the case told ABC News that evidence over the years had suggested that North Korean meth -- considered to be extremely pure -- typically found its way to China, where it was then sold. The Chinese government, while not open about the issue, has cracked down on the pipeline.
The indictment released today stemmed from a larger investigation, which led to the arrest in September of former Army sniper Joseph Hunter and four others. Hunter, nicknamed "Rambo," was accused of recruiting the four former soldiers from the U.S. and Europe to murder a DEA agent and the agent's informant.
Prosecutors in New York said the planned double murder was part of what the defendants believed was a larger scheme to import large volumes of cocaine into the U.S.
The investigation is ongoing and is expected to yield additional arrests in the coming weeks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I know Ron Reagan would have already sent Pudge a love note attached to a cruise missile to punctuate his displeasure at this development.
Why in the FUCK haven't we done something about this regime...who is protecting them? HELL even the freaking Chinese are fed up with NORK. Everyone would be thrilled if someone would just blow up him and his entire command staff, like send a couple of harpoon missiles to the grand stand at one of his periodic, look at all my soldiers sucking at the tit of a regime starving its people.
Geez, please someone have the balls to rid this planet of this festering boil of a country.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
11/25/2013 10:35 Comments ||
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The left-wing euphoria over the signing of a historic nuclear agreement with Iran gave way to sober reality Sunday as the parties clashed over a key element of the deal and congressional skeptics threatened to thwart it. I'm having a hard time finding the "clash" in the WaPo article. Except the right vs. left, of course.
In Tehran, officials welcomed the deal as the beginning of a new era for the Islamic republic, with President Rouhani asserting that language in the agreement affirmed Iran's right to enrich uranium, which Iranian officials had demanded as an element of any agreement. They'll sign up for anything, as long as they can keep doing whatever they want.
"Let anyone make his own reading, but this right is clearly stated in the text of the agreement that Iran can continue its enrichment, and I announce to our people that our enrichment activities will continue as before," Rouhani said in a statement broadcast live on television in Iran on Sunday morning. In the mean time, most of the rest of the world keeps scheming to make them stop enrichment. Top men in their field Specialists are working on the framework for the comprehensive nuclear deal to be negotiated with Iran by late spring. The stakes this time will be substantially higher, as Western governments will seek concessions that Iran has fervently opposed, including dismantling several of its key nuclear facilities. Iran, for its part, is expected to demand a suspension of sanctions on its oil and banking industries, relief that would require approval from Congress.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/25/2013 07:22 ||
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#1
As I read this, I wondered why State released the photos since this administration had been stone-walling all along. The only reason I can think of is that Davies released most of the photos already.
A Watergate-style investigation would be appropriate--ANYTIME NOW.
#2
If this had been Reagan, Bush, Bush, or Ford, the press would already have their head on a platter and there would have been a special prosecutor six months ago.
Everyone tired of the media carrying water for a coverup instead of investigating it? Tired of eyewitnesses being more closely scrutinized than those whose orders created this debacle?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
11/25/2013 10:25 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Terming the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... 's (PTI) move to stop NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... supplies as a wrong one, Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid has said that Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... is "fixed in his purpose of ruining" Pakistain's relations with NATO countries and neighbouring Afghanistan.
Talking to news hounds at the 4th International Literary and Cultural Conference at Alhamra, the minister said, "Anyone who wants to disturb our relations with neighbours is not serving the country," Rashid said. "Because of Imran Khan we could be isolated in the world."
He said that demands regarding closure of NATO supplies by PTI Chairman Imran Khan were unrealistic and did not serve the cause of Pakistain.
"The NATO containers transport food items for the Afghan brethren and not arms, while Paks have close ties with the people of Afghanistan," he added.
He said any step by the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) to stop food supplies to the Afghans could be detrimental to the regional ties.
He said that all Central Asian countries, besides Afghanistan, had cordial relations with NATO countries, and even Iran had improved its ties with the United States.
"Stalled diplomatic relations with Afghanistan could only benefit Pakistain's foes," the minister added.
Commenting on Imran Khan's statement of a thousand-year war, he said the masses always had to bear the consequences of wars.
"Pakistain wants to spread love not hatred," he added.
Pervaiz said that no NATO supplies were run on Saturdays and Sundays, and it was beyond comprehension which NATO supply Imran Khan's PTI wanted to stop on November 23 and 24, the weekend.
"It seems that the PTI leader has always preferred to hold protest rallies on the weekends," he added.
The information minister said that Imran Khan spoke for the Taliban, while his sword was for the US. To a query, he said that no representative from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... was allowed to address the protest rally 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. , which raised questions whom the PTI was representing and serving.
He also said that Imran Khan had a dubious stance on drone strikes.
"In the first information report (FIR) lodged against the drone attacks, he (Imran) had not mentioned anyone's name. Didn't Imran know the perpetrators of the drone strikes?" he asked.
"Prime Minister 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... had established himself as a great leader at a time when Imran Khan was frolicking on the cricket fields," he recalled.
He said the PML-N government supported peace and rejected the politics of hatred, intolerance and isolation.
He said that Pakistain could not afford the politics of isolation, as it needed friends, not foes, in today's world.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Thousands of demonstrators staged a protest against US drone strikes blocking a main road 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. on Saturday and threatened to continue their demonstration until the attacks ended, whereas the provincial secretary information of the PTI announced the party would block NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... supply routes.
The protest was led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... and his party, the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) along with their allies in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... provincial government.
The 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... (JI) and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad (AJIP) also confirmed their participation.
''We will put pressure on America, and our protest will continue if drone attacks are not stopped,'' Khan told the protesters.
Provincial secretary information of PTI Ishtiaq Ormar announced that NATO supply containers to and from Afghanistan via Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would be stopped at the border points.
In a statement issued here Saturday, he said, "We by this step wanted to tell the world that we could do what we said and we could do anything for our people."
Ormar said that PTI's teams would stop NATO supply from entering into the borders of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at any point including Khairabad, Charsadda, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... and Hangu, while this blockade of NATO supply would continue till US stopped drone attacks and formally sought apology on human killings in Pakistain.
He said that American drone attacks were brutally extended to the settled areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and if this was not noticed and properly reacted then such attacks could also be made at any other part of the country as well.
Earlier during the day, Khan called for a complete blockade of NATO convoys to Afghanistan to put pressure on the US to abandon its drone programme. "We will not allow NATO supplies to pass from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and in any case will stop drone strikes," Khan told the gathering.
"We are here to give a clear message that now Paks cannot remain silent over drone attacks," Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi, a senior member of the PTI, said in a speech to the protesters.
Party workers of the PTI and JI had arrived at Ring Road in the lovely provincial capital from across the country. According to some estimates, around 10,000 people participated in Saturday's protest. The protesters shouted anti-US slogans, such as "Down with America" and "Stop drone attacks."
Strict security arrangements were put in place by the provincial government, including deployment of over 500 polce personnel to ensure safety and order. Transporters were directed to use alternative routes.
"I am participating in today's sit-in to convey a message to America that we hate them since they are killing our people in drone attacks," said Hussain Shah, a 21-year-old university student. "America must stop drone attacks for peace in our country."
The US Embassy in Islamabad declined to comment on the protest.
The protest comes only two days after a rare US drone strike outside of Pakistain's remote tribal region killed six people, including senior commanders of the Haqqani network, at a seminary in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Hangu district. ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them...
The attack outraged Pak officials, as did one on Nov 1 that killed the former leader of the Pak Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, a day before the Pak government said it was going to invite him to hold peace talks.
Khan earlier set a November 20 deadline for the halting of drone strikes and threatened to block NATO convoys in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
But on Saturday he said he will take the issue to the country's top court and, if necessary, to the international court of justice.
NATO supplies were suspended Saturday because of the rally, which was held on same route used by NATO trucks.
Ring Road leads to Torkham, one of two border crossings used to ship supplies from Pakistain to Afghanistan, and is a key transit route to transport supplies to NATO troops in the war-torn country.
Tahir Khan, a government official at Torkham, says there is normally little NATO supply traffic on the route on Saturdays. Most trucks arrive at the border by Friday evening to clear customs.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe we can run some B-52s full of dumb iron over Jalalabad and 'miss' next time they're having one of these protests.
[Pak Daily Times] The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) on Sunday threatened Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid of dire consequences for following the tone of Awami National Party (ANP) leaders while issuing statements.
TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid warned the minister that if he continued to tread the ANP's path, he would be treated in the same manner as the Taliban had been treating the ANP. He said that the minister should keep up with the Pakistain Musselmen League-Nawaz and not come close to the ANP, otherwise his fate will be worse. A few days ago, the front man had said in a statement that the terrorist organization would teach a lesson to the Pakistain government for helping the US "kill our leader".
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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Originally titled, Analysis: Iran deal leaves Israel few options
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) - After feverishly trying to derail the international community's nuclear deal with Iran in recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has little choice but to accept an agreement that he has derided as deeply flawed.
So Josef, you think Bibi doesn't have a choice? Really? You should keep watching. No doubt you'll term Israel's response 'unexpected'!
Netanyahu believes the six-month deal leaves Iran's military nuclear capabilities largely intact, while giving Iran relief from painful economic sanctions, undermining negotiations on the next stage. At the same time, Israel's strongest piece of leverage, the threat of a military strike on Iran, seems to be out of the question despite Netanyahu's insistence it would remain on the table.
Why is it out of the question? Israel can certainly put a strike package together. It's easier if they have the covert support of the Saudis, which one shouldn't discount. They might get the support of certain Gulf states. They could use their Dolphin-class diesel submarines which are rumored to have cruise missile capability. And of course there's the usual cloak-and-dagger work for which Mossad is famous. Israel has options. You're a reporter in Jerusalem, you would know that if you and your editors weren't trying to use your news agency to manipulate the Israelis and the public. Did Champ ask your editors to do this?
"Today the world became a much more dangerous place because the most dangerous regime in the world made a significant step in obtaining the most dangerous weapons in the world," Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday, calling the deal a "historic mistake."
He said Israel was not bound by the agreement, and reiterated Israel's right to "defend itself by itself," a veiled reference to a possible military strike against Iran.
He's telling you, Josef, but you aren't listening...
Netanyahu has spent years warning the world against the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran, calling it an existential threat due to Iranian references to Israel's destruction, its support of hostile militant groups on Israel's borders and its development of missiles capable of reaching Israel and beyond. Israel also believes that a nuclear-armed Iran will provide militant groups like Lebanon's Hezbollah an "umbrella" of protection that will embolden them to carry out attacks.
Absolutely correct. Even if the Mad Mullahs don't nuke Israel directly, they can and will intimidate every state in the region.
As momentum for a deal built the past week, Netanyahu delivered speech after speech and held meeting after meeting, urging the world to seek better terms from Iran. Last week, he hosted French President Francois Hollande, then rushed off to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin in a last-ditch attempt to alter the agreement.
Netanyahu had said that any deal must ensure that Iran's enriching of uranium - a key step toward making a nuclear bomb - must end. He also said all enriched material should be removed from the Islamic Republic, and called for the demolition of a plutonium reactor under construction.
Which of course the Iranians won't do, and Bibi knew it. The west has no way to compel Iran do shut down enrichment short of a military strike.
But after the deal was announced, it was clear that Netanyahu made little headway. While freezing parts of Iran's enrichment capabilities, it will leave others, including the centrifuges that are used for enrichment, intact. The deal relies heavily on Iranian goodwill, a still-to-be-defined system of international inspections and the continued pain of sanctions that remain in place.
Bibi knew he was making little headway with Champ. That's why he continues to reserve Israel's right to fix the problem itself.
Yoel Guzansky, who used to monitor the Iranian nuclear program for Israel's National Security Council, said a deal that would satisfy Israel was unlikely from the outset due to differing "red lines" between Israel and the U.S.
While Israel sees any enrichment as a cause for concern, the U.S. was willing to tolerate nuclear development as long as it was unable to produce weapons, said Guzansky, who is now an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.
"It's a bad agreement because of what it symbolizes," he said. "It means Iran is getting an acceptance, a signature that it's a legitimate country." Even worse for Israel, he added, the agreement amounts to "acceptance of Iran as a nuclear threshold state."
Correct. And how do you 'tolerate nuclear development' and then verify that there are no weapons? It's double-speak and a way to obfuscate so as to justify a retreat and surrender. That's what Champ did; he's been wanting to do this since he took office.
U.S. officials said Sunday's deal was just a first step and further negotiations aim for a final agreement that would prevent any threat from Iran's nuclear program.
Those negotiations will take longer than a Carla del Ponte prosecution at the World Court...
They said the relief from sanctions was minimal and that the most biting economic measures, including sanctions on Iran's vital oil industry, remained in place and more could be imposed if Iran fails to follow through.
Bet the four billion dollars will help...
Guzansky predicted that despite the tough rhetoric, Israel would move quickly to repair relations with the U.S., its closest and most important ally, and do everything possible to influence the outcome of the world's final-status talks with Iran. That could include speeches, threats of military action or behind-the-scenes diplomacy. Israel is not a direct participant in the talks but remains in close contact with many of the negotiators.
The relationship with the U.S. will be critical as Israel conducts peace talks with the Palestinians in the coming months. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is mediating the talks, has set an April target date for reaching an agreement, and there is widespread speculation that the Americans will step up their involvement as the deadline approaches.
Israel need not make peace with the Paleos. The Paleos will do something stupid (count on it) to allow the Israelis to back away from the sham of negotiations.
Guzansky also said Israel's main card - military action - appears to be out of the question right now.
"How can Israel, after the entire international community sat with Iran, shook hands with Iran and signed an agreement, operate independently?" he said. "It will be seen as someone who sabotages 10 years of trying to get Iran to the table and trying to get a deal."
Because the entire international community, now including the U.S., doesn't give a rat's hind end if Israel survives. Whereas it truly is an existential threat to Israel.
Enrichment is at the heart of the dispute because it can be used for peaceful purposes or for producing a nuclear bomb. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for civilian usage such as energy production and cancer treatment. Uranium at low levels of enrichment, up to 20 percent, is used in research or generating electricity. Uranium must be enriched to a far higher level - above 90 percent - to produce a warhead. So far, Iran is not known to have produced any at that level, but Israel argues that the technology for doing so is the same as that for enriching at lower levels.
Israel is correct again. And 20 percent uranium, while it won't go 'boom', can be a radiological weapon.
Under the compromise, enrichment would be capped at the 5 percent level, and Iran's stockpile of 20 percent uranium would be "neutralized," effectively preventing it from reaching weapons-grade level. Also construction on the plutonium reactor is to be suspended. The White House also promised "intrusive monitoring" of Iranian nuclear facilities.
What's the punishment when the Iranians delay or deny the inspectors the ability to monitor "intrusively" the nuclear facilities? A sternly worded note from the U.N.? Double secret probation?
Israel says any enriched uranium in Iranian hands is potentially dangerous, since its centrifuges can quickly convert it to weapons grade. Israel believes that Iran's ability to keep its nuclear infrastructure intact will allow it to can quickly resume the program if the later talks fail.
Or even while the talks continue...
"Iran is a threshold nuclear country," said Netanyahu's Cabinet minister for intelligence affairs, Yuval Steinitz. "So far it was completely against U.N. security resolutions, and now it gets some kind of recognition at least for the next six months as a threshold nuclear country."
In all, about 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of highly enriched uranium is needed to make a weapon. Iran already has about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of enriched uranium.
No, no, one needs less than 250 kg. The Little Boy bomb used on Hiroshima contained 64 kg (141 lb) of enriched uranium. Most was enriched to 89% but some was only 50% uranium-235, for an average enrichment of 80%. You might want to check your sources a little more closely, Josef...
Ephraim Asculai, a former official at Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, said Sunday's agreement was not all bad for Israel, since it capped enrichment activity and slowed construction of the plutonium reactor. But he said Iran's ability to "break out" and make a nuclear explosive device remained intact, perhaps in as little as four to six months once a decision is made.
And shorter if Iran cheats, but boy howdy why would they do that?
"The good part of the deal is that it causes the public to forget about ObamaCare for a week enrichment stops at the present level and that is also some of the bad news because enrichment does go on," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
It's double-speak and a way to obfuscate so as to justify a retreat and surrender. That's what Champ did; he's been wanting to do this since he took office.
No, not Champ - the one pulling his strings, his master - ValJar. Who, it is said, has been heading up 'secret' negotiations [of our surrender] with Iran for months.
#2
Well, of course Israel won't dare do anything contrary to the wishes of international community! Ooops, forgot, we defy international community by just breathing.
#3
International opinion? I recall Israel's Operation Opera (aka Operation Babylon) on Iraq (1981) and Operation Orchard (2007) on Syria to take out growing nuclear threats. I don't know about world opinion today as the world has changed considerably. Today is more like pre-WWII world. But chances are the world would consider a strike on Iran a favor to the world. What the P5+1 signers forget is that Israel won't be victims again--world opinion be damned. Israel is a small country surrounded by enemies but they do have teeth.
#4
Regardless of what the P5+1 think, Jordan Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates want Iran's nuclear program eliminated. So does Azerbaijan.
They will give Israel free passage (and probably real time radar inputs as well). If they give Israel basing rights, the Israelis won't have to worry about the P5.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/25/2013 11:36 Comments ||
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One evening in January last year, Joel Eriksson, a 34-year-old computer analyst from Uppsala in Sweden, was trawling the web, looking for distraction, when he came across a message on an internet forum. The message was in stark white type, against a black background.
"Hello," it said. "We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. There is a message hidden in this image. Find it, and it will lead you on the road to finding us. We look forward to meeting the few that will make it all the way through. Good luck."
The message was signed: "3301".
A self-confessed IT security "freak" and a skilled cryptographer, Eriksson's interest was immediately piqued. This was -- he knew -- an example of digital steganography: the concealment of secret information within a digital file. Most often seen in conjunction with image files, a recipient who can work out the code -- for example, to alter the colour of every 100th pixel -- can retrieve an entirely different image from the randomised background "noise".
It's a technique more commonly associated with nefarious ends, such as concealing child pornography. In 2002 it was suggested that al-Qaeda operatives had planned the September 11 attacks via the auction site eBay, by encrypting messages inside digital photographs. But alas 3301 appears to be not so simple. The code seems to be a riddle wrapped in an enigma surrounded by a conundrum...
[An Nahar] The Paleostinian leadership and the family of jacket wallah Adnan Mohammed, who targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut earlier this week, disavowed him on Sunday after a similar move by the relatives of the other bomber.
The leadership reiterated its condemnation of the attack and stood by Leb and its leaders in "confronting criminal groups that have no religious or patriotic belongings."
"The cowardly act is a private action ... and serves only the enemies of our cause," it said in a statement.
Mohammed's family also "condemned with the strongest terms this criminal act," which it said served Israel.
The family extended condolences to the relatives of those killed in "the cowardly act."
It also condoled the Islamic Theocratic Republic over the death of Ibrahim Ansari, a 54-year-old Iranian diplomat, in the bombing.
"This personal act has nothing to do with the family and its patriotic history in addition to its deaders in resisting the Zionist enemy," said the statement.
Mohammed's relatives also thanked the security and social leaderships of the town of Baysariyeh and mainly the municipal chief for "expressing their understanding to this private act which is far away from our values."
"Our choice was and will always be the resistance," they said.
On Friday, the family of Moein Abu Dahr, the Lebanese bomber, "strongly" condemned in a released statement the deadly kabooms.
"We are deeply saddened that one of our relatives is accused of being behind the Bir Hassan kabooms," the statement posted on several Sidon-based websites said.
"We condemn this awful crime and we do not have enough words to describe it, offering our condolences to the families of the victims," the statement added.
Lebanese Sherlocks have identified the two suspects in the bombings of the Iranian Embassy ...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!... in Beirut's southern suburbs through DNA testing.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Damascus welcomed on Sunday the international community's nuclear deal with Iran, calling it a "historic agreement," Syria's state media said.
Iran agreed with the U.S. and five other world powers to a temporary freeze of its nuclear program for six months in exchange for limited and gradual sanctions relief.
Iran is a chief backer of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators... 's government.
Activists fear the deal will take international pressure off of Iran and embolden Syria's government to use an even harder hand to quash the 3-year-old uprising.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Anybody need any other reason to oppose it?
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/25/2013 18:34 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... has expressed disappointment that one of the jacket wallahs that attacked the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday was from southern Leb.
In remarks to An Nahar daily published on Sunday, officials quoted Berri as saying that he had hoped the two bombers would not be Lebanese to avoid widening the differences between the rival parties.
The southern city of Sidon was the home of Moein Abu Dahr, the Lebanese bomber in the deadly attack in the Bir Hassan neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs.
Abu Dahr's father told authorities he believed his son was involved after the army released a photograph of one of the suicide kaboomers. A DNA test identified his son as the bomber.
The other is Adnan Mohammed, a Paleostinian from the Ein el-Hellhole refugee camp and a staunch supporter of Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir ...Leb Salafist holy man with the usual grouch against Shiites. Currently on the run, he seems intent on reigniting the Leb civil war...
Mohammed lived in Zahrani near Sidon.
When Berri found out the identity of Abu Dahr and that he was from Sidon, he said he was "shocked."
"The south has never produced such men in its history," the officials quoted him as saying.
An al-Qaeda-linked group, the Lebanese Abdullah Azzam Brigades, grabbed credit for the attack, one of the deadliest in a series of attacks targeting Hizbullah and its strongholds in recent months.
The group said it was avenging Hizbullah's military involvement in Syria.
The party has been openly backing troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... against the rebels seeking to topple him.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers signaled an acceptance of uranium enrichment in Iran and that punitive sanctions were starting to crumble.
"Iran's right to uranium enrichment on its soil was accepted in this nuclear deal by world powers," he said in a speech broadcast live on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
"The structure of the sanctions against Iran has begun to crack," said Rouhani, referring to Western punitive sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, while adding that the "Iranian nation has never sought nuclear weapons."
Earlier, Rouhani said the agreement would "open new horizons."
"Constructive engagement (in addition to) tireless efforts by negotiating teams are to open new horizons," Rouhani said on Twitter after intensive talks in Geneva produced a long-elusive accord.
Rouhani said the deal had been made possible due to "Iranian people's vote for moderation," referring to his surprise election victory in June against a pool of conservatives.
The historic deal came after five days of intensive negotiations between Iranian interlocutors and high-ranking delegations from the United States, Britannia, La Belle France, China and Russia plus Germany in the grouping known as the P5+1.
The talks had hit snags over a few points of difference, including Iran's insistence to have what it calls its "right" to enrich uranium to be recognized by the six major powers.
The White House said such a right was not inserted in the deal, while a senior Iranian negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said Iran's "enrichment program" had been recognized.
His boss Mohammad Javad Zarif speaking to Iranian journalists shed some light on the issue.
"This right does not need to be independently recognized. Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and the recognition is included in the article" four of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"The sanctions are being reduced," Zarif said in the remarks reported by Iranian media, adding that the reduction would be implemented within "two or three weeks."
Zarif also said Iran's cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog would increase over the next six month, the period for the interim agreement.
Also Sunday, Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed the "achievement" of the country's negotiating team in clinching the deal with world powers, Fars news agency reported.
"The nuclear negotiating team should be thanked and appreciated for this achievement. God's grace and the support of the land of the Medes and the Persians were the reasons behind this success," Fars quoted Khamenei as saying.
"Resistance against excessive demands should be the criteria for (nuclear) officials," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... on Sunday hoped a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers will pave the ground for a "settlement" in war-torn Syria, after he arrived in Tehran for an official visit.
Speaking to news hounds at an airport in the Iranian capital, Berri thanked his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani for inviting him to visit the Islamic republic, hoping his talks there will "strengthen relations between the two countries, especially that this visit comes amid a very delicate period."
"Who said that there are no births in politics? Right now, politics is being born in Iran, specifically in Tehran, after this (nuclear) agreement, or this international deal," Berri was quoted as saying by Leb's National News Agency.
The speaker reminded that he had noted that such an agreement would represent a "political nuclear bomb," adding that the deal is "in the interest of peace in the Arab region and the Islamic world."
Berri also hoped the agreement will "pave the ground for a settlement in brotherly Syria" and for "restoring confidence" between Arabs and Iran.
The speaker is accompanied by a parliamentary delegation comprising MPs Abdul Latif al-Zein, Hagop Pakradounian, Ghazi Zoaiter, Ali Fayyad and Qassem Hashem.
According to NNA, Berri is scheduled to hold talks Monday with Iran's diminutive President Hassan Rouhani and Speaker Larijani on "bilateral ties between the two countries, the developments in the region and parliamentary cooperation."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Pragmatically, iff Iran is now Bammerika's BFF in Syria + ME agz the Al-Qaeda, etal. foreign Hard Boyz, WHAT WILL IRAN BE DOING THAT AMERIKA WILL NOT BE???
#2
Iran helping Assad, been doing a effective job at that so far, now with some more cash will be better able to improve Assad's position. Better fed and equipped, pick up some free agents, retread hezballa, a strange new camp with silkworm missiles pops up unexpectedly in Mauritania?
#3
The deal also allows Iran to boost its influence in Lebanon (thus the reason for Knobby's visit to Tehran.) Hence the concern about a "Shiite Crescent."
[BBC.CO.UK] The US secretary of state has said the deal reached on Sunday over Iran's nuclear programme will make Israel and the Middle East a safer place.
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... was speaking after Iran agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities in return for about $7bn (£4.3bn) in sanctions relief.
However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... Israel has described the agreement as a "historic mistake".
Iran's president said its right to uranium enrichment had been recognised, but Mr Kerry denied this.
Tehran has, however, agreed to stop all enrichment above 5%.
World powers suspect Iran's nuclear programme is secretly aiming at developing a nuclear bomb - a charge Iran has consistently denied.
The deal reached overnight in Geneva will last for six months, while a permanent agreement is sought.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... said it "demonstrates how persistent diplomacy and tough sanctions can together help us to advance our national interest".
US President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... welcomed the deal, saying it would "help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon".
'Larger breathing space'
The White House says President B.O. has spoken by telephone to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu about the Iran deal.
President B.O. said Israel had "good reason to be sceptical about Iran's intentions", a White House front man said.
The two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of preventing Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, the front man said.
Earlier, Mr Kerry told ABC's This Week programme that the US and Israel shared the same goal, and that the deal was a first step in making sure Iran could not have nuclear weapons.
"It leads us into the negotiation so that we guarantee that ... while we are negotiating for the tougher provisions, they will not grow the programme and their capacity to threaten Israel," he said.
"Israel will actually gain a larger breathing space in terms of the breakout capacity [to make a nuclear weapon] of Iran."
The US secretary of state added that he hoped Congress would recognise the benefits of the deal and refrain from passing new sanctions.
However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... leading Republican Senator Bob Corker said he had concerns about the deal and promised to hold the administration's "feet to the fire".
"This administration is long on announcements but very short on follow-through," he said in an interview for Fox News Sunday.
Senator Chuck Schumer Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. , from President B.O.'s Democratic party, was also disappointed by the Geneva agreement, which he said favoured Iran.
"As for additional sanctions, this disproportionality of this agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December," he said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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You bet it will be safer just like the magic our President worked in health care which is now cheaper, more effective . . .wait, what? Oh. Never mind.
[ARABNEWS] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and other GCC countries fear that the landmark nuclear deal concluded by Western powers with Tehran in Geneva on Sunday would boost Tehran's regional ambitions.
Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in the breakthrough interim deal that world powers claimed was the biggest step in decade-long efforts to deny Iran an atomic bomb.
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi political analyst and general manager of Alarab news channel, said Gulf states fear the agreement would encourage Tehran to act with a free hand in the region.
"The (Geneva) agreement has reduced the Iran problem to the nuclear level only, while its regional interference is of key concern to GCC countries," he pointed out.
According to Khashoggi, officials in Gulf countries feel the B.O. regime "is no longer interested in regional problems" in the Middle East.
UAE analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdullah said: "Countries in the region no longer have any confidence in the US."
Abdullah Al-Askar, chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the Shoura Council, warned against Tehran's hidden agenda. "The government of Iran, month after month, has proven that it has an ugly agenda in the region, and in this regard, no one in the region will sleep and assume things are going smoothly."
Askar said that if the deal did not succeed in preventing Iran from building a bomb it would lead to a nuclear arms race in the region. "I think Saudi Arabia will go ahead if Iran goes ahead (and gets a nuclear weapon). I think Egypt, maybe Turkey, maybe the UAE, would go ahead and acquire the same technology."
Under the Geneva agreement, Iran will limit its nuclear program in exchange for $7 billion (5.2 billion euros) in sanctions relief. "We are worried," said Anwar Eshki, head of the Jeddah-based Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies, pointing to the $7 billion.
"We need to know whether these funds will be used by the Iranian regime for its own people, or to further finance crises in the region," the Saudi official said.
The UAE and Bahrain have welcomed the deal. "The Cabinet hopes this would represent a step toward a permanent agreement that preserves the stability of the region and shield it from tension and the danger of nuclear proliferation," the UAE said in a statement.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa said: "The agreement removes fears from us, whether from Iran or any other state."
Tehran is a key backer of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... in his fight against a nearly three-year insurrection. It is also seen as feeding instability in Bahrain and Yemen.
President Barack Obama I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go... moved quickly to reassure US allies on Sunday, saying Washington "will remain firm, as will our commitment to our friends and allies -- particularly Israel and our Gulf partners, who have good reason to be skeptical about Iran's intentions."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the nuclear agreement, calling it "not a historic agreement but rather, a historic mistake."
He reiterated Israel's right to defend itself, and his hawkish foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said "all options are on the table."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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Welcome to "Globalism" + "SEVEN OWG CO-SUPERPOWERS FOR SEVEN OWG GLOBAL FEDERAL UNIONS ON/FOR SEVEN KNOWN CONTINENTS".
The lost continents of Atlantis + Lemuria [Other?]notwithstanding.
As I said yesterday, Erdogan wants Turkey to be the 'third way' of Islam, and he's playing off the Salafists on one side and the Mad Mullahs on the other...
Turkey has welcomed the historic nuclear deal struck by Iran today with the United States and five other world powers on the fifth day of negotiations, Hürriyet Daily News reported.
"The agreement reached by the sides today has become the first positive concrete development since the Tehran declaration in 2010," a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry following the announcement said. "Naturally, the deal in question forms the beginning of the process and a part of measures to promote confidence."
"We call on the sides to keep up their constructive approaches to carry the process further," the statement said. "We hope both sides will take the necessary steps required by the agreement, so the problem can be solved in a diplomatic way that would satisfy everyone."
"Turkey is ready to support this process in all ways as it had made every effort to keep the diplomatic process alive to find a solution. Turkey will keep on defending the right to nuclear energy use for peaceful purposes, while expecting the obligations of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NTP) to be carried out."
Turkey also maintained its support to efforts of destroying weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, the statement said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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This weekend's nuclear deal with Iran may have come together after two short rounds of negotiation in Geneva, but it's been long in the making.
For months leading up to negotiations between Iran and world powers in Geneva this month, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, quietly held at least five meetings with Iranian officials, a senior Obama administration official told ABC News.
The meetings began in March, and they followed exploratory, back-channel talks about setting up higher-level meetings. Burns, Sullivan and a team of technological experts discussed Iran's nuclear program with senior Iranian officials at meetings in Oman and Geneva. They also met in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly, which convened in September and October.
In late September, as the U.N. General Assembly convened in New York, Secretary of State John Kerry met, one on one, with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif -- even as experts warned that contact between Iran and the U.S. would prove politically difficult for both sides at home.
President Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke via telephone in late September, marking the first direct conversation between American and Iranian leaders since the 1979 Islamic revolution and ensuing hostage crisis that turned relations between the two countries toxic.
Back-channel communications had been going on for years between Washington and Tehran, but diplomacy gained momentum with the election in June of Rouhani, a self-declared moderate
...he's lying...
with a mandate from Iran's clerical leadership to seek a deal with world powers to ease financial and trade sanctions that have shrunk the nation's economy.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Feltman, the former top American diplomat in the Middle East and current U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, visited Tehran several times since leaving the State Department last year and met with Ayatollah Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran.
American and Iranian officials were aided by Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, a longtime and well-known intermediary, who hosted the Americans and Iranians for talks. He also made a rare trip to Iran in late August to meet with Khamenei.
President Obama personally authorized the talks and sent Burns, Sullivan and five other officials to meet with Iranian counterparts in Muscat, Oman.
Public contact has posed political challenges on both sides. In Iran, anti-American sentiment and the influence of hardliners has made talking to U.S. officials politically risky for Iranians. In the U.S., President Obama was criticized in his first presidential campaign for pledging openness to communicate with Iran. His opponent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., infamously joked about bombing Iran at a campaign event, and Republicans have accused Obama of naivete when it comes to dealing with the Islamic republic.
After those secret dealings, the Obama administration has its deal -- a "first step" agreement for Iran to halt and roll back key parts of is nuclear program for six months, with the intent of a broader deal being hammered out in the interim.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2013 00:00 ||
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"Red Line" or not, any notion that the Obama regime was prepared to do anything about Iran vaporized with the full U.S. pull-out of Iraq. Giving up those valuable forward airbases was a serious strategic misstep and sent a clear message to the mullahs.
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.
Twelve years after the Taliban was ousted from power Afghanistan is planning to reintroduce public stoning as punishment for adultery, according to a new draft penal code.
[Tolo News] Presidential candidate Dr. 
[An Nahar] Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour approved a controversial law Sunday that regulates demonstrations and gives authorities the power to ban protests deemed a "threat" to national security, officials said.
A number of news outlets have reported that Angola has "banned" Islam and started to dismantle mosques in a bold effort to stem the spread of Muslim extremism.
Nawaz Sharif
Mehmood 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[An Nahar] Speaker 
[BBC.CO.UK] The US secretary of state has said the deal reached on Sunday over Iran's nuclear programme will make Israel and the Middle East a safer place.
David Cameron
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
This weekend's nuclear deal with Iran may have come together after two short rounds of negotiation in Geneva, but it's been long in the making.
