[Pak Daily Times] Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Tuesday that Pakistain was not responsible for all the ills of Afghanistan, and the country would formulate polices keeping in view core objectives and supreme national interest.
The foreign minister said the people and governments of Pakistain and Afghanistan have close contacts, and Pakistain seeks to further cement ties with all neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan, she told the senators during question hour. "We seek best possible good relations with Afghanistan." However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... she dispelled the impression that Pakistain was responsible for every ill in Afghanistan. There are some hard questions between the two countries and difficult to resolve quickly, she admitted. She informed the House that after the liquidation of Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... , there was threat of attack on Pakistain's embassy in Kabul, but security was tightened.
Talking to media outside parliament, she said "We will make polices keeping in view core objectives, and national interests of the country are supreme". To a question, the minister said the ambassadors' conference discussed how to reevaluate the country's polices, keeping in view national interests. Pakistain's interest was defined in the conference and the means to protect it were also discussed in detail. Khar said the issue of regional security also came under discussion, as well as ways to move forward and make cordial ties with other countries without compromising on the national interest.
All this, she said, is part of the consultation process. She said recommendations of the conference would be sent to parliament and its National Security Committee for approval. "Being a supreme body, parliament has the authority to make polices," she added. To a question, she said there was complete unity among institutions and political parties on important national issues. She was of the view that conflict with any country was not in Pakistain's interest.
"We do not want to end our ties with any country; we are just protecting and safeguarding our national interests," Khar said, adding that the president, prime minister and all the institutions were on the same page. Replying to a question about NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... supply, she said parliament and its National Security Committee had the mandate to make the decisions. "Every institution has its mandate and is working according to that," she said. The minister said although making of polices was the responsibility of the politicians, other institutions should also give their input.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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Iran is ready to help Afghanistan to create a strong army, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said today at the meeting with Afghan deputy FM Mohammad Umayum Fuzi, IRNA reported.
They'll even provide a drone...
The talks were a part of Iran-Afghanistan Joint military commission meeting, which was organized in Tehran yesterday.
In his turn, Fuzi noted that Afghanistan "is interested in developing its relations with Iran".
The Iran-Afganistan Joint Military Commission was first created on the initiative of Iranian and Afghan Defense ministries this summer in Kabul. The sides also signed an agreement in order for comission to start its work. Comission tends to develop perspectives of military cooperation between Afganistan and Iran.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
This is just a bald-faced attempt to see if Karzai is a whore.
#7
Don't you need a strong army yourself to be able to show others how it's done, or does this work on the same premise as an academic course on business studies?
An MQ-9 Reaper is retrieved after crashing at the airport in Seychelles. (Courtesy Le Seychellois Hebdo) One of the Air Forces premier drones crashed Tuesday morning in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago that serves as a base for anti-piracy operations, as well as U.S. surveillance missions over Somalia.
The Seychelles, where U.S. officials have worked closely with local officials to establish the drone base, is hardly enemy territory, and the drone that crashed Tuesday was operated by the Air Force, not the CIA, which operated the stealth RQ-170 that crashed in Iran.
Still, Tuesdays crash once again illustrates the fallibility of unmanned aerial vehicles.
It happens.
The Air Force acknowledged the crash at the Seychelles airport, and a spokesman for the service said the crash happened as the drone was landing. No one was injured.
The Air Force said the cause of the crash the first ever of a Reaper in the Seychelles was under investigation. A statement from the civil aviation authority in the Seychelles attributed it to engine failure, saying that, after landing, the drone failed to stop before skidding into an outcropping of rocks at the end of the runway.
It has been confirmed that this drone was unarmed and its failure was due to mechanical reasons, the statement said. The Air Force confirmed that the MQ-9 was unarmed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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KHARTOUM: About 417,000 people have been displaced in Sudan's border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile as a result of ongoing fighting between the army and insurgents, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Fighting broke out between Sudan's army and SPLM-North rebels in June in South Kordofan which borders newly independent South Sudan. Violence spread to the neighboring northern border state of Blue Nile in September.
About 82,000 people have fled both northern states to South Sudan or Ethiopia to escape fighting, UN officials told reporters in the capital Khartoum. Some 35,000 people from South Kordofan have fled to Khartoum to stay mostly with relatives.
The humanitarian situation was deteriorating, especially in areas controlled by the SPLM-North, as UN and aid agencies were still being denied access, said Peter de Clerq, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.
"We have made many interventions with the government in terms of going back to South Kordofan and Blue Nile, so far we have not yet been successful in accomplishing that," he said.
"We are in no position to verify the actual needs on the ground as we are simply not there...we have little information," he said.
Sudan said it would continue to deny access, citing security reasons.
"The government cannot allow NGOs to these areas at least this time because the government cannot guarantee their safety. Still there is fighting...there is kidnapping," said Mohammed Fadlallah, acting commissioner of the official Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC).
He said Sudanese aid agencies were providing aid in government-controlled areas to where some displaced persons had been returning.
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12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The former deputy Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour responded to a recent wave of statements by various religious figures in Egypt regarding a wide range of issues, mainly to do with tourism and a ban on alcohol.
Ashour's statement comes days after Nader Bakar, spokespersons of the Salafist ...Salafists espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam that seeks a return to practices that were common in the 7th century. Rather than doing that themselves and letting other people alone they insist everybody do as they say and they try to kill everybody who doesn't... Nour Party stated his party would ban alcohol for Egyptian nationals and foreigners in all hotels, unless they purchase it themselves and drink it privately.
In an interview on Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel Monday evening, Ahsour stated that religious Death Eaters lack true understanding of Islamic law and should in fact look to famous Islamic leaders as role models.
Ashour asserted that turban rhetoric is "ignorant and lacking [in] responsibility."
"Amr Ibn Al-Ass [one of the prophet Mohammed's companions who conquered Egypt in the 7th century]... never spoke of the possibility of destroying ancient Pharaonic monuments [that some see as encouraging idolatry]," he stressed.
On the topic of democracy, he pointed to a precedent for such a form of governance found in the Islamic principle of Shura, or consultation, which the Prophet Muhammad applied during his rule.
A religious Fatwa endorsing political pluralism was announced on Monday by Dar Al-Ifta - the Islamic authority responsible for issuing religious edicts - as it was practiced under the rule of the prophet Mohammed and his disciples
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12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] The Libyans are making full use of their new-found freedom after 42 years under a dictatorial regime when even the slightest protest could get you in trouble and locked into prison. It did not take tens of thousands of protestors in the eastern city of Benghazi long to organise a spontaneous demonstration to express their frustration with the new National Transitional Council leaders.
In what has been described as the biggest demonstration in the city since the beginning of the revolt in February that eventually ousted Al Qadaffy from power, the crowds gathered at the central Shajara square and Abdel Nasser Street demanding changes to Libya's interim leadership.
Following the protests the NTC declared that Benghazi as Libya's economic capital. The announcement was made at a news conference by Council member Abdelrazzak al-Aradi, who added that adding ministries related to the economy would be located there.
Asked if the decision was taken after the protests, Aradi said it was. Reading from a statement, he added: "Since the revolution the people of Benghazi feel they are marginialised and forgotten. Benghazi hosted the revolution for several months, and was one of the factors that enabled its success."
"So there will be no marginalisation or exclusion and the economic future that awaits this city and other cities will exceed all expectations. Benghazi will the economic capital of Libya," he said.
During the protests on Monday, chants of: "The revolution started in Benghazi" filled the air as they demanded changes. They are impatient for improvements and are putting intense pressure on the NTC, for these changes to come.
They did not appear to be too happy with the few changes made and feel that progress is hampered by the presence of former Al Qadaffy regime members in the leadership. They don't want anyone associated with the former regime in a position of leadership.
Ordinary people are impatient for improvements, and regional interest groups seem reluctant to hand over to an unelected central government the power they won during the fighting against Al Qadaffy.
The leaders of the NTC on their part have been trying to explain that they are trying as best as they could, to get the country back on its feet and to rebuild democratic institutions.
NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil himself on Monday appealed to Libyans to give the new authorities time as he outlined plans to help people who fought against Al Qadaffy to lay down their arms and find roles in civilian life, to beef up border security, and to redistribute central government funds to allow regions and cities more autonomy.
Abdul-Jalil said: "All that we want from you all is to bear with this transitional government and to be patient. We have been patient for 40 years and I believe that being patient for a while longer with this government is not a long time."
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... at a conference on human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. in Tripoli, Fred Abrahams, an official of the New York-based Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said the group was concerned by the lack of transparency among Libya's interim National Transitional Council rulers.
He said: "We don't know when they are meeting, what they are discussing and some of the new laws are not available to the public." He went on to say that he does not think this is done on purpose.
"They are not trying to hide anything. It's a problem of organization, but that is an explanation not a justification," Abrahams added.
After the fall of the dictaorial regime, HRW said thousands of people had been tossed in the slammer without legal review.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzuri said on Tuesday that 20,103 political prisoners had been released since February when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak, state media reported.
"20,103 political detainees have been released since the beginning of February," Ganzuri was quoted as saying, Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Wait until the Muslim Brotherhood is in charge...
He said that 68 political prisoners remained in detention, including 48 who have been sentenced, the official MENA news agency reported.
Human rights groups had said that thousands of Egyptians were detained under a controversial emergency law that Mubarak wielded for decades against his political opponents, particularly Islamists. Under the law, which Mubarak narrowed in his last year in office to cover only terrorism and narcotics cases, suspects could be detained indefinitely with no charge and sentenced by summary panels to harsh prison terms.
The military, which took charge of the country after Mubarak's overthrow in February, has kept the law intact and even expanded it to cover labour protests, but it says it does not target people for their political activities.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Bahrains king is quoted by a British newspaper as saying some members of the opposition in Gulf kingdom are being trained by Syria.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was quoted by Britains Telegraph newspaper Tuesday that he has notified Syrian authorities of the allegation, but they deny involvement.
Wouldn't be surprising. Good way for Pencilneck to get away with what he's doing at home is to cause trouble elsewhere...
The kings interview coincided with his visit to London on Monday to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Bahrains rulers has previously accused Iran of involvement in widespread protests this year in Bahrain. Syria is a longtime ally of Iran.
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12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Anti-Corruption Commission is likely to press charges against former prime minister Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... and several others in Shaheed Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.
Yesterday at a monthly press briefing, the anti-graft body declared that an investigation that started from September into the case was completed.
"The investigation findings substantiate the allegation that money was collected using the influence of the then prime minister for setting up the organization," an ACC official told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity as the service rule prohibits disclosing probe findings unless approved by the commission.
He, however, said the commission's decision based on the investigation would not be known before December 15 as until then its chairman Prof Ghulam Rahman would be staying abroad on an official tour.
The corruption case, filed on August 8, was the first against opposition leader Khaleda Zia after the Awami League-led grand alliance assumed office in January 2009.
The other accused are Abul Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to the then prime minister; his assistant personal secretary Ziaul Islam Munna; and Monirul Islam Khan, APS to the now defunct Dhaka City Corporation's mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
As per the first information report, a piece of 42-katha land had been purchased from Suraiya Khan for Tk 6.52 crore of the trust fund, but the land had not been registered under the name of the organization. Moreover, sources of Tk 1.25 crore spent in purchasing the land is unknown.
Complainant ACC Assistant Director Harunur Rashid, immediately after filing the case, told news hounds that Khaleda's two sons Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... and Arafat Rahman Koko, trustees of Zia Charitable Trust, might be accused in the charge sheet if their names would come up in the probe.
Harun, also investigation officer of the case, told The Daily Star yesterday that the probe report was submitted last week.
According to ACC rules, the investigation report has to be approved by the commission prior to pressing charges against the accused.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart... Director General of ACC (admin and establishment) Farrukh Ahmad said at the press briefing that the ACC had requested the organizations, which had participated in the tender process of Padma Bridge construction, to apprise it of the irregularities in the process, if any.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Big deal. It will die in the Senate. Obumble may try to campaign against a "do-nothing" Congress, but really it's a do-nothing Senate Clown College.
#2
It's really that ass crack from Las Vegas, Ried. That corrupt from hell politician from that piece of shit useless city. I will never visit Vegas until his crusty keister is out of the Senate.
#3
Now the State Department sez, "Should Congress impose an arbitrary deadline for the permit decision, its actions would not only compromise the process, it would prohibit the department from acting consistently with National Environmental Policy Act requirements by not allowing sufficient time for the development of this information. In the absence of properly completing the process, the Department would be unable to make a determination to issue a permit for this project."
Spoken like a true bureaucrat. So they will enforce The One's will administratively.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/14/2011 9:38 Comments ||
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#4
Link for the quote: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/198851-state-department-warns-that-gop-plan-wont-lead-to-keystone-pipeline-permit
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/14/2011 9:39 Comments ||
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#5
Except the act can be written in such a way as to override the NEPA requirements AND short out any Dept. attempts at this.
#6
correct. Make it a National Security Issue (like it is) and you can limit NEPA exposure/suits. Duncan Hunter did just that to build the border triple-fence in San Diego region, effectively shutting down 95+% of illegals crossing in the district
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/14/2011 13:53 Comments ||
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POLICE have discovered the body of a woman at the home of the gunman who killed four people when he opened fire on Christmas shoppers in the Belgian city of Liege.
The body was found today in a search of the home of 33-year-old Nordine Amrani, who is believed to have turned his revolver on himself after going on the rampage at midday yesterday.
``It was found in a shed which he used, notably for cannabis plantations,'' the prosecutor general in Liege, Cedric Visart de Bocarme, said on public radio RTBF.
Amrani, known to have had at least 20 brushes with the law, was sentenced to almost five years in prison in 2008 for growing cannabis and illegal possession of arms.
The woman was apparently killed before Amrani went to the central Saint Lambert square where he opened fire and threw grenades into the crowd, killing four people including a 17-month-old baby, the prosecutor said.
The dead woman, aged 45, worked as a cleaner for a neighbour of Amrani, who had in the morning asked her into his home on the pretext of offering her work and then attacked her, the regional press group SudPresse said.
#1
Bodies and gunmen - like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, mooselimb perps and no-identification-of-origins.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/14/2011 6:03 Comments ||
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#2
Amrani, known to have had at least 20 brushes with the law, was sentenced to almost five years in prison in 2008 for growing cannabis and illegal possession of arms.
Jared Loughner: Too much ganja
Anders Behring Breivik: Too much meth and steriods
Nordine Amrani: Too much ganja
Starting to see a pattern here.
Rather than three men who had a political statement to make and couldn't make said statement without someone receiving small arms fired, maybe -- just maybe -- they had a little too much of the "good stuff" and it fried their brains.
#6
TW - I believe it was Seafarious who said, "What's wrong with a little lysdecxia?"
Still makes me smile.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/14/2011 13:30 Comments ||
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#7
I'd forgotten that particular Seafarious-ism, Bobby. Thank you for giving me a smile, too,
From tipper's link:
The Belgian, of Moroccan origin, was on parole and had been summoned to police, where he feared being arrested and being returned to prison because his car number plate had been seen at the scene of an "immoral act".
One must wonder if Mr. Amrani's grudge against society was primed and lit by his background... Most petty criminals do not suddenly embark on attempted mass murder, even when facing deserved returns to prison.
A Calgary-based Imam says Muslims are being attacked in the same way Jews were before Hitler ordered their extermination.
Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, says a regulation change requiring Muslim women to remove their niqabs and burkas when swearing the oath to become a Canadian amounts to Muslim bashing.
From intimidating and bad-mouthing the Muslim faith and belittling the Koran and Muslim beliefs, he drew a parallel with the treatment of Jews in Germany.
Muslims are going through that situation right now that the Jews faced before the Holocaust, Soharwardy told CFCN TV in Alberta.
That was going on in Germany before the Holocaust, same thing is happening now about Muslims. So this is absolutely an alarming situation.
A Queens University expert on constitutional law specializing in womens rights says Kenney is conforming regulations to his stereotype of the good Canadian woman.
And professor Bev Baines said the changes could violate the Charter.
The Charter should protect women who wear the niqab when they assert a nexus between their right to gender equality and their right to freedom of religion, she says.
Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of Winnipegs Islamic Social Services Association, said Kenney has pushed the envelope too far.
People need to pay attention because today it is the niqab, tomorrow we could have a minister who doesnt like nose rings Like, where do you draw the line?
Kenney says the issue is not about religion, and says if Muslim women dont like the changes they picked the wrong country to call home.
This decision underscores the essentially public nature of the oath, he said in the Commons.
It also underscores our belief in social cohesion and such democratic values as the equality of men and women and our equality before the law.
#5
See also WORLD NEWS > [Siasat Daily Commentary = Egyptian Coptic Author] ISLAM WILL SAVE AMERICA | SIGNS OF JIHAD [violent + non-violent/political] ARE EVERYWHERE IN THE US.
IIUC ARTIC = Islam will protect America from Islam, but first America must surrender to Islam???
FBI Director Robert Mueller heads to the Hill today to update the Senate Judiciary Committee on how the detention provisions in this year's defense bill will affect FBI operations.
The Defense Authorization bill that came out of a House/Senate conference committee contains a provision that would expand military power over suspected terrorists and require detention of those suspects to be held in military custody even if they were caught in the U.S.
Director Mueller is also expected to be asked about the "Fast and Furious," an ATF sting operation aimed at stopping the illegal flow of weapons into Mexico.
A good history and a tribute to Brian Terry
One year ago today, The Washington Post published its "Hidden Life of Guns" article exposing how under-regulated gun sales along the Mexican border were sending firearms into that country feeding its crime and instability.
The paper's four-reporter team operated as full-partners of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives PR department receiving internal statistics, documents and even an interrogation video.
One of the two gun stores were correctly singled out by the Post: Lone Wolf in Arizona and Carter Country in Texas. But, one year later, we know it was for the wrong reasons.
It was on a Dec. 13 Houston's KRIV-TV news broadcast that the lawyer for Carter Country, responding to that morning's report in the Post, made the outrageous charge that agents from the BATFE actively encouraged reluctant Carter Country employees to sell weapons to suspected "straw purchasers."
The charges were ignored by The Washington Post and everyone else, and would have stayed ignored, if not for the events of the following night. During the overnight of December 14 into 15, an AK-47 sold to a straw purchaser with the blessing of the ATF at the Lone Wolf gun store was used in the firefight that cut down Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry.
Within a few hours, four men who fired upon Terry were wrapped up, while a fifth was tracked down the next day in a manhunt that included federal agents on horseback and in helicopters. Within 24 hours of Terry's death, federal officials had traced the AK-47 to Fast and Furious.
Behind the scenes, ATF and other federal agents aware of the gun walking program called Operation Fast and Furious, staged a mutiny and the operation was shut down.
In the next week, two cabinet officers visited Arizona, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., for the funeral and Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano, to meet with members of Terry's special tactics unit, known as BorTac. Holder's Justice Department oversees the BATFE and Napolitano's department includes the Border Patrol.
By Napolitano's December 18 visit, both she and Holder, who both were aware of Fast and Furious, knew that Terry was killed with a Fast and Furious AK-47. They were both fully briefed on Fast and Furious, and though the operation was still a secret, they had both touted in public speeches the overall program it was a part of called Operation Gun Runner.
Conceivably, Napolitano was even better informed than Holder because her former gubernatorial chief of staff Dennis K. Burke was the U.S. Attorney for the Arizona Department. It is fair to guess, that Burke briefed his former boss, who sponsored his appointment.
Burke was a useful part of the Fast and Furious cover-up and damage control. After waiting more than two weeks to charge the men who killed Terry, he charged them with unrelated gun violations. This move allowed him to deny Terry's parents' request for victims-of-crime rights. Under federal law, victims of crimes are afforded special briefings about the progress of investigations and prosecutions.
Burke also saw to it that the Terry case was sealed and all press relations were handled through the local FBI office that he controlled rather than through Border Patrol public information officers.
One year later, the Post has published the obligatory articles about Fast and Furious, and the various hearings and shuffling of personnel. But, it may not get the Pulitzer it was gunning for when it launched its blowout expose on the wrong side of the story.
The poor Carter County clerk, whose indictment for facilitating illegal guns sales the paper celebrated as validation of its crusade, had all charges dismissed--lest he explain in court what really happened.
Holder and Napolitano have weathered the storm and still enjoy the confidence and support of the President. But, Burke has resigned and awaits what other shoes may drop.
One year ago today, we had no idea that the Obama administration was funneling guns to Mexico at the same time it blamed under-regulated gun sales for destabilizing our neighbor to the south. We have learned many of the details in the last year, but there is still so much that does not make sense or add up.
Most troubling of all, if Terry knew the full extent of what his government was doing, the 6-foot, 4-inch former Marine and Iraq veteran might have had a better chance.
Long article
U.S. officials are investigating reports that Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats in Mexico were involved in planned cyberattacks against U.S. targets, including nuclear power plants.
Allegations about the cyberplot were aired last week in a documentary on the Spanish-language TV network Univision, which included secretly recorded footage of Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats being briefed on the planned attacks and promising to pass information to their governments.
A former computer instructor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico told Univision that he was recruited by a professor there in 2006 to organize a group of student hackers to carry out cyberattacks against the United States, initially at the behest of the Cuban Embassy.
In an undercover sting, instructor Juan Carlos Munoz Ledo and several selected students infiltrated the hackers and secretly videotaped the Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats.
Reports about Irans involvement in the suspected plot come amid the Islamic republics refusal to return a sophisticated, unmanned U.S. spy plane that crashed inside its borders this month. Iranian officials have laid claim to the drone, vowing to research it for its technology.
Calling the reports disturbing, State Department spokesman William Ostick said federal authorities are examining the cyberplot allegations but added that U.S. officials dont have any information at this point to corroborate them.
Sen. Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, called for hearings in the new year about Iranian activities in Latin America.
Some House lawmakers called for the expulsion of a Venezuelan diplomat in the U.S. who is implicated in the suspected plot.
The Univision documentary fanned fears among lawmakers that Irans recent diplomatic outreach in the region, particularly to Venezuelas anti-American leftist President Hugo Chavez, might be a front for nefarious activities.
Earlier this year, U.S. prosecutors charged an Iranian official based in Tehran with trying to recruit a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States by bombing a Washington restaurant.
If Iran is using regional actors to facilitate and direct activities against the United States, this would represent a substantial increase in the level of the Iranian threat and would necessitate an immediate response, Mr. Menendez said.
An aide to Mr. Menendez told The Times that the Univision report, which also said that Iranian extremists were recruiting young Latin American Muslims, is one of a variety of concerns we have about Irans efforts to engage with countries and other actors in the region.
Next years hearing will examine Irans political and commercial outreach, as well as more nefarious activities, the aide said.
We monitor Irans activities in the region closely, Mr. Ostick said. That vigilance led to the arrest of the individual responsible for the recent assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador.
We constantly monitor for possible connections between terrorists and transnational criminals.
[Pak Daily Times] The top NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... commander in Afghanistan says he's seeing signs of a possible lifting of Pakistain's communications blackout imposed on the US-led coalition after NATO Arclight airstrikes killed two dozen Pak forces. Marine Gen John Allen tells news hounds at a news briefing in Kabul that he recently spoke on the phone with Pakistain Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... . Allen says that by the end of the call on Monday, both expressed a commitment to work through the incident. He says he believes Pakistain will soon send liaison officials back to NATO headquarters in Kabul that were pulled after the November 26 incident. Allen says the two did not discuss when Pakistain would reopen its border crossings to NATO convoys transporting supplies for troops in Afghanistan. Allen made his comments shortly after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... arrived in Afghanistan unannounced to talk with commanders about the war. In addition to chilly relations with Pakistain, the US also is grappling with ongoing plans to withdraw tens of thousands of troops in coming months, handover security to Afghan forces and the impact of potentially big budget cuts to the military. The supply routes carry roughly 30 percent of the fuel, food and other items needed for troops in Afghanistan. The blockades have forced the US to use alternative northern routes into Afghanistan that are more costly and take longer.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS [CCM.com]: NATO DRIVERS TO US, PAKISTAN: KEEP US TRUCKIN'.
FYI ARTIC = Freezing weather in CENTASIA is bogging down truck/convoy travel on the overland land routes via Russia + Stans, forcing the USAF to fly in essential fuel + food, etc. at high cost.
{BJ + THE BEAR, SHERIFF LOBO, CLINT + CLYDE THE ORANGUTAN here].
[Pak Daily Times] Pakistain expressed disappointment on Tuesday over US plans to freeze $700 million in aid pending assurances of more cooperation from Islamabad in fighting thugs, but said it could cope without the cash. "It is most unfortunate and untimely," the chairman of Pakistain's Senate committee on foreign affairs, Salim Saifullah Khan, said. The bill comes with the fragile American-Pak alliance at an all time low since November 26 Arclight airstrikes. The measure would freeze roughly $700 million in aid to Pakistain pending assurances that Islamabad has taken steps to thwart faceless myrmidons who use improvised bombs against US-led forces in Afghanistan. "I think we will survive without aid, but it is most unfortunate to see these things after 31 years of sacrifices by Pakistain," said Khan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
freeze it ALL
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/14/2011 7:35 Comments ||
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#2
Fair is fair. You cut us off, so we cut you off. So spare us your crocodile tears.
Hundreds of Iraqis set alight U.S. and Israeli flags on Wednesday as they celebrated the impending pullout of American forces from the country in the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah.
Shouting slogans in support of the "resistance," the demonstrators held up banners and placards inscribed with phrases like, "Now we are free" and "Fallujah is the flame of the resistance."
Surrounded by the Iraqi army, demonstrators carried posters bearing photos of apparent insurgents, faces covered and carrying weapons.
They also held up pictures of U.S. soldiers killed and military vehicles destroyed in the two major offensives against the city in 2004.
"We are proud to have driven the occupier out of Iraq, at the cost of enormous sacrifice," said Khalid al-Alwa, the local leader of the Islamic Party, a Sunni Muslim grouping. Not missing a beat in the history rewrite, it seems.
Those who destroyed Iraq paid the price because the people here held them accountable. Demanding each and every penny they were owed for acting as informants.
The demonstration, which was held in Al-Khadra Mohammediyah Square in the centre of Fallujah, was dubbed the first annual "festival to celebrate the role of the resistance." Check out the crowd pictures, and you will notice some peculiar details, like lots and lots of red, white, and blue-brimmed baseball caps. There are also clusters of red-and-white keffiyeh headdresses which are a symbol of Jordanian heritage, and is strongly associated with Jordan.
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See also TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > IRAN TO FILL POWER VACUUM AFTER US IRAQ PULLOUT.
The Shias are coming, the Shias are coming???
Lest we fergit MUQTADA SADR > demanded ANY + ALL US TROOPS MUST LEAVE IRAQ = NOT EVEN A MINIMAL US PRESENCE IN IRAQ, otherwise there's going to be trouble wid his + aligned Militia Boyz.
H/T Weasel Zippers Izzedeen Al Qassam Brigades (E.Q.B) , the armed wing of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas released on Wednesday morning a new military stats on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of Hamas founding.
The brigades (E.Q.B) said in an official stat released by its Information Office that it has mourned 1848 martyrs from its militants during the past 24 years, since Hamas foundation.
E.Q.B said in its military statement that it has targeted the Zionist occupation entity with 11093 homemade projectiles and mortars, while it has managed to kill 1365 Zionist soldiers and injuring 6411 others since the foundation of the Hamas movement.
The brigades added that total number of the Jihadist operations conducted by its militants since the establishment of the movement reached to 1117, 87 were martyrdom operations, however, the number of the Zionist soldiers who were killed and injured by the hands of the Qassam Brigades mentioned in the stat as (7776).
Relating the abduction operations, the brigades announced that it has implemented 24 abduction attempts against Zionist occupation soldiers since the inception of the movement in 1987.
The brigades said that it has succeeded in releasing 1050 male and female prisoners from Zionist jails in an honorable exchange deal with the Zionist occupation forces, most were from long term and life sentences .
#1
I would like for Hamas to enumerate them. It would interesting to see if they included, for example, the bombings in Argentina or the deaths of various schoolchildren (all of which would be considered zionist soldiers).
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/14/2011 16:09 Comments ||
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Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters, waving the militant movement's green flags and honking car horns in celebration, marked the 24th anniversary of the founding of Gaza's ruling group, Wednesday.
The annual rally turned into an increasingly elaborate show of strength since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, following internal fighting with forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A Hamas statement said Wednesday that "the resistance will continue, in every way, until the movement is able to free Palestine and see the refugees return."
Gaza's rulers criticized Fatah -- without mentioning it by name: "The gamble on the negotiations with Israel has failed. It is important that the Palestinian leadership, which pursued the negotiations, reconsider its political way."
Hamas did, however, stress that "the movement is committed to implement the Palestinian reconciliation deal."
Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades boasted killing 1,365 Israelis since it was founded, as well as injuring over 6,411 Israelis in various terror attacks.
According to the group's military wing, over 11,000 rockets were fired at Israel and it has so far executed 1,117 terror attacks. The number of fatalities among Hamas terror operatives stands at 1,848.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Presidents advisor Buthaina Shaaban has allegedly threatened to expose sex tapes involving rulers from Gulf countries. Shaaban briefed a delegation from the Syrian community residing in region after a meeting was held with Bashar Al-Asad. The advisor reportedly said, officials from Gulf countries will be shown what trump cards we have after we release their sex tapes to internet websites.
Assad's regime receives show of support from Islamic Republic with free trade bill between the two countries
Iran's parliament on Tuesday passed a bill for a free trade agreement with Syria in a show of support for President Bashar al-Assad's regime beset by protests and international pressure.
The bill provides for free trade between Iran and Syria within the next five years, according to Iranian state television.
Both countries are subject to international sanctions on their economies. The bill was introduced into parliament as an emergency procedure by Iran's government
Allaedin Boroujerdi said the proposed pact was "a firm response" to the United States and its allies "investing billions of dollars to change the political structure of the Syrian government
[An Nahar] A U.S. drone captured by Iran is now the "property" of the Islamic republic, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Tuesday, after a request by U.S. President Barack I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick Obama for its return.
"The American espionage drone is now Iran's property, and our country will decide what steps to take regarding it," Vahidi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
"Instead of apologizing to the Iranian nation, it (the United States) is brazenly asking for the drone back," Vahidi also said, according to another news agency, Mehr.
Obama on Monday acknowledged that Iran was holding the reconnaissance drone -- a bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel -- by saying: "We've asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond."
Also Tuesday, the foreign ministry front man stressed the aircraft violated Iranian airspace.
"It seem he (Obama) has forgotten that Iran's airspace was violated, spying operations were undertaken, international laws were violated and that Iran's internal affairs were interfered with," front man Ramin Mehmanparast said in his regular media briefing, according to Fars news agency.
"Instead of an official apology and admitting to this violation, they are making this request," he said.
Iran last week displayed on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
what it said was the drone. A politician said the Islamic republic was unlocking the aircraft's software and was going to reverse-engineer the drone.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
I hope the Iranians have updated their Windows software, otherwise they may be vulnerable to the Stuxnet II virus hidden there. Apparently the folks at the CIA forgot to, otherwise it wouldn't have malfunctioned and been forced to land.
[An Nahar] Russia on Tuesday said Western accusations that it was blocking U.N. action condemning the Syrian regime's crackdown on the opposition were "immoral" because the West was refusing to put pressure on armed rebel groups.
"There are those who refuse to put pressure on the armed, bad turban part of the opposition and are at the same time accusing us of blocking the U.N. Security Council's work. I would call this position immoral," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in televised comments.
La Belle France's U.N. ambassador Gerard Araud on Monday condemned what he called the "scandal" of the Security Council's silence over the civilian deaths and accused those blocking action of being "morally responsible" for them.
And German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the U.N.'s updated Syrian corpse count of more than 5,000 people showed the need for "countries in the Security Council which are still hesitating to change their mind."
Lavrov said that "armed bad turban groups" were expanding their presence in the Syrian flashpoint city of Homs and staging attacks on cop shoppes and civilian buildings in an attempt to escalate the violence.
"There is no doubt their goal is to instigate a humanitarian catastrophe and obtain the pretext for demanding foreign intervention in this conflict," Lavrov said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] Former premier Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. on Tuesday reiterated that the latest spate of security incidents in southern Leb was a "message" from Syria, accusing Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... 's allies in Leb of carrying out the attacks.
"The truth is that these things just don't happen, it's a Syrian message from Bashar through his guys in Leb," Hariri said in English, answering a question from a Twitter user.
The ex-PM lauded Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's latest stance on the possession of weapons in Leb by non-state actors, describing it as "important."
The patriarch's stance put back "the essential question of weapons on the table," Hariri tweeted, noting that "this is Bkirki's historic position."
He also slammed Premier Najib Miqati's government, saying it "seems to be in a coma" concerning the latest incidents in the south, accusing it of "ignoring what happened or even hiding the truth."
Asked whether he regretted engaging in Syrian-Saudi efforts to resolve the political standoff in Leb prior to his government's collapse, Hariri said: "I did what I did for my country, personally it would have cost me but I never regret anything for my country."
Commenting on Monday's violation of Leb's airspace by Israeli warplanes, Hariri said: "It's a serious breach of (U.N. Security Council Resolution) 1701 and we have to be careful because the Israelis are capable of (doing) anything."
Asked whether Druze leader Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... was "switching alliances again," the former premier and current opposition leader said: "I think Walid Beik is a good reader of the old book called 'the collapse of the great prison'."
On whether he believed Hizbullah would ignite a war with Israel to aid Assad and deviate attention from the Syrian uprising, Hariri said: "I don't think so, Hizbullah won't go to war for a falling regime."
As to the possible rise of "political Islam in the region after the fall of authoritarian regimes," Hariri said: "I am not worried, I think with these new democracies if they don't meet what people need they will fall."
Asked whether he supports the creation of a buffer zone on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Hariri said: "I support anything to protect the Syrian people from these thugs."
"But I think the Turks are doing it," Hariri added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/14/2011 00:00 ||
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It's the type of plot that defense hawks in the United States warn about: a potential cyberattack against the U.S. government orchestrated by none other than Venezuela, Iran and Cuba, with the help of a group of Mexican leftists.
#2
There are also MSM-Net News Repors on alleged temporary rerouting of EURO internet traffic/flows [e.g. Dutch, Germans] to Iran first, ostensib for quick informat scan + collection as pertinent, then routed back again to the Nets of the original Euro countries.
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.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Tuesday that Pakistain was not responsible for all the ills of Afghanistan, and the country would formulate polices keeping in view core objectives and supreme national interest.
An MQ-9 Reaper is retrieved after crashing at the airport in Seychelles. (Courtesy Le Seychellois Hebdo) One of the Air Forces premier drones crashed Tuesday morning in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago that serves as a base for anti-piracy operations, as well as U.S. surveillance missions over Somalia.
KHARTOUM: About 417,000 people have been displaced in Sudan's border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile as a result of ongoing fighting between the army and insurgents, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Khaleda Zia
The top 
Pakistain expressed disappointment on Tuesday over US plans to freeze $700 million in aid pending assurances of more cooperation from Islamabad in fighting
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters, waving the militant movement's green flags and honking car horns in celebration, marked the 24th anniversary of the founding of Gaza's ruling group, Wednesday. 
"The truth is that these things just don't happen, it's a Syrian message from Bashar through his guys in 
Walid 
It's the type of plot that defense hawks in the United States warn about: a potential cyberattack against the U.S. government orchestrated by none other than Venezuela, Iran and Cuba, with the help of a group of Mexican leftists.
