[Egypt Independent] Afghanistan on Monday rejected as baseless a US intelligence forecast that the gains the United States and allies have made in the past three years will be significantly rolled back by 2017. The US National Intelligence Estimate also predicted that Afghanistan would fall into chaos if Washington and Kabul failed to sign a pact to keep an international military contingent there beyond 2014.
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... 's front man dismissed the US forecast, reported by the Washington Post on the weekend, and suggested there was an ulterior motive for it.
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Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Yes, we are klueless. We've only been watching this rubbish for 13 years, with another one hundred fifty plus years of history to back that up. Klueless I tells ya. We're the bloody problem! Exactly the reason we should leave immediately and let these poor buggers get on with their lives.
[MAIN.OMANOBSERVER.OM] South Sudanese fighters allied to ex-vice president Riek Machar sought to retake control of a key town yesterday, the army said, as hopes faded that an upcoming ceasefire deadline will be met in the violence-wracked nation.
United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... peacekeepers said they were concerned over claims that thousands of armed youths from Machar's Nuer tribe were readying to attack Bor, the capital of Jonglei state.
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[An Nahar] War-torn Somalia flew back home Monday some 130 citizens who had been working in troubled South Sudan, the latest of thousands of foreigners to flee violence in the world's youngest country.
Western nations including the United States and Britannia flew in military aircraft to evacuate their citizens after fighting began in South Sudan two weeks ago.
Regional countries including Kenya and Uganda have also organized airlifts for their citizens, but the evacuation organized by Somalia challenges the basket case image the Horn of Africa nation has had for many years.
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[Libya Herald] There are unconfirmed reports tonight that Misrata intends to release all its captured Qadaffy fighters who have not been found guilty of any war crimes. Y'gotta turn 'em loose eventually, if you don't chop their heads off.
A statement, apparently from the Misrata Revolutionaries, said that in co-ordination with the city's council, all soldiers and volunteers taken prisoner during the three-month siege of Misrata, who had not found involved in any crimes or who had completed their sentences, would be released "in accordance with law, human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... standards and society's noble values". The Battle of Misrata between February and May 2011 was one of the longest and bloodiest engagements of the Revolution.
It was not immediately clear how many former Qadaffy combatants the release might cover.
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12/31/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Egypt urged Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... members Monday to enforce a counter terrorism treaty that would block funding and support for the Moslem Brüderbund after Cairo designated it as "terrorist" group.
Cairo also wants the League's members to hand over wanted Islamists linked to the Brotherhood to which deposed president Mohammed Morsi
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[Egypt Independent] Prosecutors in Daqahliya continue to search for the leader and remaining members of the Ansar al-Quds terrorist cell implicated in the Mansoura bombing, which have caused initial losses of LE40 million.
The damage affected the Security Directorate, the National Theater, the al-Saleh Ayoub Mosque, 180 shops in the area, in addition to more buildings on the other side of the Nile, such as the Judges Club, the Teachers Club, the Talkha Police Station and more shops.
[Egypt Independent] Cairo University President Gaber Nassar has referred law professor Yasser al-Serafy to an investigative committee on charges of affiliation with the Moslem Brüderbund and raising political issues during lectures that led to altercations between him and students.
"This has nothing to do with his lawsuit against the university presidency elections," Nassar said. "He was not a candidate in the first place."
Serafy denied the charges. "I was not informed of the matter," he said. "Never had I had altercations with the students throughout my 25-year teaching career."
He also denied affiliation with the Brotherhood.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2013 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Government orders freeze on assets of Moslem Brüderbund guidance bureau and NGO members, says its lawyer Hassan Saleh
Egypt's government ordered a freeze on the assets of all members of the Moslem Brüderbund guidance bureau and its linked NGO, Hassan Saleh, the lawyer of the Islamist organization, told Ahram Online on Friday.
A total of 132 Brotherhood leaders saw their assets frozen in execution of a judicial ruling to ban all their activities and takeover their assets, Ezzat Khamis, assistant to the minister of justice, announced in a presser on Thursday.
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[Egypt Independent] An American citizen based in the United Arab Emirates was sentenced to a year in jail on Monday after a court ruled that a satirical video he posted on YouTube last year in which he mocked Emirati young men who "imitate US hip-hop culture" was a threat to national security.
A court ruled that a satirical video he posted on YouTube last year in which he mocked Emirati young men who "imitate US hip-hop culture" was a threat to national security
The family of 29-year-old Sri Lankan-born Shezanne Cassim said they were "utterly horrified" and "inconsolable" after he was given a one-year prison sentence and fined 10,000 UAE dirhams by the Abu Dhabi court (about US$2,700). The video that was intended to be funny was perceived by Emirati officials as serious act that tarnishes the international reputation and image of the oil-rich country.
[Dhaka Tribune] Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. yesterday said the government had no problem with the agitation programmes of the opposition as it is their democratic right.
"You can go for your agitation programme, we have no objection. It is your democratic right. But you have to stop the killing of innocent people and hindering the academic life of the students," she said.
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[NEWAGEBD] Opposition leader the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... virtually remained in confinement in her Gulshan house as the police prevented her from going out to join the 'march for democracy' programme for the second straight day on Monday.
Police picked up former minister Selima Rahman, politician Rasheda Begum Hira and former politician Halima Newaz Arali from in front of the house when they went there to meet the opposition leader. The three were released two hours later after they gave undertaking that they would not go there again.
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[NEWAGEBD] Opposition leader the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... virtually remained in confinement in her Gulshan house as the police prevented her from going out to join the 'march for democracy' programme for the second straight day on Monday. I'll bet her phone's out of order, too.
Police picked up former minister Selima Rahman, politician Rasheda Begum Hira and former politician Halima Newaz Arali from in front of the house when they went there to meet the opposition leader. The three were released two hours later after they gave undertaking that they would not go there again.
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[An Nahar] The United States on Monday called for closer security cooperation with Russia ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics, after two deadly bombings in the city of Volgograd.
"The U.S. government has offered our full support to the Russian government in security preparations for the Sochi Olympic Games, and we would welcome the opportunity for closer cooperation for the safety of the athletes, spectators, and other participants," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.
At least 14 people were killed Monday when a jacket wallahwent kaboom! on a packed trolleybus in the city during the morning rush hour. On Sunday, another similar attack claimed 17 lives.
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#2
yes, given how they treated the warning about the Boston bombers, the Russians are probably justified in their natural paranoia that this is just another way for intelligence gathering against them. It's not like this administration is gathering such stuff by the billion bits on its own people and bugging systems. /sarc off
#3
Exactly my sentiments P2kontheroad. Worked CT for 25 years and our current approach is not efficient and hindered by PC and accommodation to Islamists.
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
12/31/2013 10:32 Comments ||
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#4
After Benghazi, Fast and Furious, ObamaCare, Ft. Hood, etc. the Russians might ought to be a bit paranoid offers of help.
#5
Will be interesting to see what Putin does. As the Hearst publishing used to say "follow the money"
The Saudis have already admitted that they finance and control the Chechnyan terrorists.
Should the terrorists disrupt the Winter Olympics, will he let The Soddies get away with it?
[DAWN] A Pak trade delegation's talks with Afghan counterparts and senior functionaries were overshadowed by veiled complaints from the hosts about the 'unpredictability' of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... 's land route due to protests and insecurity.
Trade delegates, who just returned after a three-day visit to Kabul, told Dawn that Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
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[DAWN] 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... , while chairing a high-level security meeting, said on Monday that attacks on citizens and personnel of Pakistain's armed forces would not be tolerated and that the anti-terror draft bill would be finalised soon, DawnNews reported. Then his lips fell off.
The meeting was also attended by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Director General of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Zahirul Islam, Director General of Military Operations of Pakistain Army (DGMO) Major General Aamer Riaz and other high-ranking security officials.
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[An Nahar] Loyalty to the Resistance That'd be the Hezbullies, natch... bloc MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi declared on Monday that the resistance is an integral part of Leb, while reiterating Hizbullah's rejection of the formation of a "de facto" government.
He said: "There can be no national consensus without agreeing on the resistance."
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[An Nahar] Israel stated on Monday that jihadists seeking to spark a conflict between Hizbullah and Israel may have been behind Sunday's firing of rockets against the Jewish state from southern Leb.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said that the rocket attack may have been aimed at luring Hizbullah into an a conflict as part of the jihadists' war against the party.
Moreover, he commented that the civil war in Syria has spread to Leb in that a Sunni-Shiite struggle has emerged in the country.
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12/31/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Paleostinian refugees held a sit-in on Monday near the southern gate of the Ein el-Hellhole Paleostinian refugee camp that lies near the southern city of Sidon to protest measures undertaken by the army.
The state-run National News Agency reported that Abou Ahmed Fadel, front man for Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement in the south, contacted the army command, specifically, the intelligence bureau to "urging on the army to reduce its measure."
"Cooperation between the Paleostinians and the Lebanese army is ongoing," Fadel said, considering that the "safety of Leb is that of the Paleostinians."
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[An Nahar] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO that has become a key source of information on the war in Syria, said Monday it had received death threats from Islamist krazed killers.
"Recently, we have received a large number of death threats... on the SOHR (Facebook) page and the (Skype) and email accounts of numerous members and activists," the group said in an email.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that the threats originated from Islamist krazed killers, declining to specify which ones.
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[An Nahar] Iran on Monday tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! on corruption charges a tycoon who reputedly played a major role in busting sanctions imposed on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program, media reports said.
The news of Babak Zanjani's arrest was announced by prosecutor general Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, who did not provide any other details, the official IRNA news agency reported.
But IRNA said the case against Zanjani -- who is said to have become rich by helping Iran to circumvent global sanctions on its vital oil exports -- was related to "financial crimes."
It added that Zanjani had been taken to Tehran's notorious Evin Prison.
The U.S. Treasury put Zanjani on its sanctions blacklist in April after finding he criminal masterminded a network to move oil and money for Iran that involved a Swiss-based company and bank in Malaysia.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... Monday called for a battle against Wahhabism, the political and religious ideology embraced by the Saudi government, a key backer of the uprising against his regime.
The comments came amid ongoing tensions between the two countries, which are fiercely opposed to each other.
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Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Totally agree.Saudi Arabia is the most intolerant country re religious freedom.
They preach hatred of other religions too.
Posted by: Paul D ||
12/31/2013 7:44 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] The Internal Security Forces on Monday called on anyone who has pictures or videos taken immediately after the Starco kaboom to pass them on to the Directorate General of the ISF.
"Following the kaboom on Friday morning, a number of people captured pictures and videos with cellphones and other devices," the directorate said in a statement.
"In line with the authorization of State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr, these individuals are kindly asked to send the pictures and videos they have to the following email: csi@isfid.gov.lb," the directorate added.
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah on Monday strongly condemned what it described as a "flagrant assault" on Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani ... Grand Mufti of Lebanon and the most prominent Sunni Muslim cleric in the country. An assassination attempt against Qabbani was foiled by Leb internal security forces in 2009 during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Beirut. In an interview broadcast in 2012, Qabbani stated that Jews were behind secularism, because they opposed the authority of the church, against Christianity. He also suggested that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were orchestrated by Jews in order to justify the persecution of Muslims worldwide. Qabbani is against the legalization of civil marriage in Lebanon. He has issued a fatwa declaring any Muslim politician who approves civil marriage legislation an apostate. Surprisingly, he is not considered very much of a nut by Moslem standards. , after the religious leader was trapped Sunday by an angry mob inside a Beirut mosque for several hours.
"Verbal attacks on religious leaderships are a deplorable attempt to introduce expressions that are alien to our Arab and Islamic culture which respects and revers scholars," the party said in a statement.
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#1
It's amazing this crowd hasn't drowned in their bile.
[An Nahar] Websites affiliated with the Syrian opposition have published a video they said shows Hizbullah fighters "storming" the famous al-Dabaa neighborhood in Damascus, which was featured by Bab al-Hara, one of the most popular television series in the Arab world.
The footage shows a supposed Hizbullah member humorously breaking a door and entering one of the studio's rooms while shouting Abu Hatem -- a key Bab al-Hara character that was played by renowned Syrian actor Wafiq Zaim.
When the neighborhood's mosque appears in the video, the man capturing it asks the other alleged Hizbullah member about the name of the mosque's imam in the series.
"Sheikh Abdul Alim," his friend answers, in reference to the Syrian actor Adel Ali who played the sheikh's character.
The famed series was watched by tens of millions of people in the Arab world.
It chronicles the daily happenings and family dramas in Haret al-Dabaa, a neighborhood in Damascus, in the inter-war period under French rule when the local population yearned for independence.
Hizbullah has openly sent troops to fight alongside Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... 's regime against mainly Sunni rebels. The party argues that the controversial move was necessary to protect Leb against the threat of Qaeda-linked forces of Evil and to defend Shiite holy sites in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn on Monday stressed that "the Lebanese army has clear orders from the political authority to respond to any attack against Lebanese territory in the vein of what happened in Arsal."
"The Lebanese army is protecting Lebanese territory and we're very clear when we say that the army is separate from politics and political bickering," Ghosn said in an interview with LBCI television.
He noted that ever since the Syrian crisis broke out in March 2011, "the Lebanese army that is deployed on the border was in full preparedness and utilized all its capacities to respond to anything that might affect the country's unity and structure."
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Egypt Independent] Afghanistan on Monday rejected as baseless a US intelligence forecast that the gains the United States and allies have made in the past three years will be significantly rolled back by 2017. The US National Intelligence Estimate also predicted that Afghanistan would fall into chaos if Washington and Kabul failed to sign a pact to keep an international military contingent there beyond 2014. 
[Egypt Independent] Cairo University President Gaber Nassar has referred law professor Yasser al-Serafy to an investigative committee on charges of affiliation with the 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[An Nahar] The United States on Monday called for closer security cooperation with Russia ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics, after two deadly bombings in the city of Volgograd.
Nawaz Sharif
[An Nahar] Loyalty to 
[An Nahar] Israel stated on Monday that jihadists seeking to spark a conflict between Hizbullah and Israel may have been behind Sunday's firing of rockets against the Jewish state from southern 
[An Nahar] Paleostinian refugees held a sit-in on Monday near the southern gate of the 
[An Nahar] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO that has become a key source of information on the war in Syria, said Monday it had received death threats from Islamist
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
... Grand Mufti of Lebanon and the most prominent Sunni Muslim cleric in the country. An assassination attempt against Qabbani was foiled by Leb internal security forces in 2009 during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Beirut. In an interview broadcast in 2012, Qabbani stated that 
[An Nahar] Websites affiliated with the Syrian opposition have published a video they said shows Hizbullah fighters "storming" the famous al-Dabaa neighborhood in Damascus, which was featured by Bab al-Hara, one of the most popular television series in the Arab world.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
