Hardline Saudi clerics have called on the government to ban women from appearing on television and to prohibit their images in print media, which they called a sign of growing "deviant thought." In a letter to new Information Minister Abdul Aziz al-Khoja that appeared on websites this week, the 35 Islamic clerics also condemned the increase of music and dancing on television, as well as images of women in popular newspapers and magazines that they labelled "obscene."
"Our faith in you is great to carry out media reform, for we have seen how perversity is rooted in the ministry of information and culture, on television, radio, in the press, literary clubs, and book fairs," the letter said.
It cited an alleged plan to "westernise" Saudi women by "reducing their rights to a question of removing veils, wearing makeup and mixing with men." It added that the ministry had permitted the import of "obscene newspapers and magazines that are filled with deviant thought and pictures of beautiful women on its covers and inside."
"There should be no Saudi woman on television, in any case," they said. "There is no doubt that this is religiously impermissible."
The clerics, including justice officials and academics from a conservative Islamic university, cited several cabinet-endorsed orders and policies from years past which they said supported their argument. They appeared to be challenging a growing push for liberalisation of tough restrictions on women, including near-mandatory use of black, full-face veils, which are rooted in its ultra-conservative Wahhabi version of Islam.
Both Saudi television and print media increasingly feature women, while Arabic-language magazines showing women in Western garb and makeup are also widely sold in the country.
The letter came in the wake of an information ministry-sponsored book fair in Riyadh in early March at which religious conservatives complained that men and women were allowed to mix freely, and that some books on sale violated Islamic principles. The book fair was marred by the muttawam, or Islamic morality police, harassing a woman author promoting her book and trying to prevent men from obtaining her autograph.
#1
Women can only be kept down when they agree to be kept down. When the light dawns that these old, misogynist pederasts are doing this just because they personally hate and fear women, suddenly such nonsense is shown for what it is, and quit playing along.
And if women refuse to cooperate, some will be brutalized, but women will win, because of the truism, "When women stand up, men sit down and STFU."
Bangladeshi authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating dozens of Muslim charities in the impoverished country over allegations they are funding militants.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith told AFP the government had decided to launch the probe a month after a mutiny at a military base in the capital, in which authorities suspect militants played a role. "The investigation is under way. We are scrutinising their activities," Muhith said about the charities.
He said authorities were closely investigating organisations that were created between 2001 and 2006, under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition government.
Thirty groups were under investigation, according to Bengali language paper Samakal, which said there were more than 78,000 non-government organisations (NGOs) operating in the grindingly poor nation of 144 million people.
It is not known how many are classed as "Islamic". More than 70 people were killed in the mutiny last month at the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters in Dhaka. At least 56 of the dead were senior army officers. The government has said it has found links that suggest militants from the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were involved in the revolt.
The JMB was blamed for a series of bombings and suicide attacks throughout Bangladesh in 2005 in which 28 people died. The group's leaders were hanged under the last military-backed government, in power for two years from January 2007.
Raid: Meanwhile, Bangladesh soldiers raided a madrassa on Tuesday as part of countrywide hunt for militants and seized a cache of arms and explosives stored there by suspected militants, police said. The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) force raided the Green Crescent Madrassa at a village near Bhola district town, 350 kilometres south of Dhaka, following an intelligence tip, a police officer told Reuters by telephone from the scene. "The raid is still continuing," said police inspector Muhammad Sohrab Ali. Two suspected militants from the madrassa were detained, he added.
Police last week said militants had threatened the principals of several English-language schools if they did not pay "tolls".
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Another Pakistani source said: "We know the number of British Pakistanis engaged in what we would call suspicious activities is much higher - probably in the hundreds - but, to be frank, this isn't a Pakistani priority.
Says it all about our ally Pakistan.As long as terrorism is abroad they dont care just like the Saudis!!!!
Britain unveiled on Tuesday, March 24, its latest counter-terrorism strategy which seeks enlisting the "widest range" of people to battle a "severe" terror threat.
"We can't tackle terrorism simply from Whitehall," Home Secretary Jacqui Smith told the BBC News. "I don't think tackling terrorism is simply something we can rely on our police and intelligence agencies to do... we need to enlist the widest possible range of support."
The new strategy, called Contest Two, will update the Contest strategy developed by the Home Office in 2003. Contest was later detailed in the £45m ""Prevent" strategy released in 2006, following the July 7, 2005 attacks on London subway and bus stations, which was designed to curb extremism and raise awareness in public local.
According to the 174-page document outlining the plan, some £3.5bn a year on would be spent on counter-terrorism by 2011, which goes beyond police and security services to 60,000 civilians in places that may be targeted by terrorists.
"We have provided security advice to sport venues and shopping centres and expanded protective programmes for air, sea and rail travel to provide proportionate, sustainable and efficient security for passengers and staff."
Preventing access to internet information on setting up attacks is another angle of the policy.
The government also said its updated counter-terrorism policy would still focus efforts on trying to prevent young Muslims from being radicalised by extremists.
Tackling anti-democratic extremist voices in the community and supporting mainstream pro-democratic Muslim voices are two main goals of the new plan. "We need to get in early to prevent people actually supporting violent extremism or supporting terrorism," said Smith.
Britain's two million Muslims have taken full brunt of anti-terror laws since the 7/7 attacks. They have repeatedly complained of maltreatment by police for no apparent reason other than being Muslim.
The UN human rights committee in July disparaged Britain over growing anti-Muslim sentiments, urging a review of its draconian anti-terror measures. A Financial Times opinion poll has showed recently that Britain is the most suspicious nation about Muslims.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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(RIA Novosti) - Almost three kilograms (six pounds) of heroin have been seized by narcotics police in two separate incidents outside Moscow and in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk, police officials said on Tuesday.
According to a Krasnoyarsk police official, a Tajik national was arrested in a sting operation selling 50 grams of heroin. During a search of his apartment, officers found 1.7 kilograms of heroin stashed on a shelf in the bathroom.
In the Moscow suburb of Zheleznodorozhny, authorities arrested another Tajik national carrying more than 1.2 kilograms of heroin.
Most of the heroin and hashish coming into Russia originates in Afghanistan and is trafficked into the country through the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Most of the drugs are then sold in Russia's largest cities, or shipped on to Europe.
In another incident in the airport of Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, a Tajik was arrested early on Tuesday morning by customs officials for attempting to smuggle 400 grams of heroin into the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. The Tajik had swallowed 68 drug-filled capsules to hide the drugs.
The arrest was the second heroin bust at Dushanbe airport within a week. On March 17, a Filipino woman attempted to smuggle into Turkey some 3,300 grams (7 pounds 4 ounces) of heroin stuffed into 758 fabric buttons stitched onto 33 Tajik national robes.
During 2008, some 20 kilograms of heroin were seized on flights from Dushanbe to Istanbul, leading to the arrest of five smugglers from South Africa, Uganda, the Philippines and Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON North Korea is loading a Taepodong rocket on its east coast launch pad in anticipation of the launch of a communications satellite early next month, U.S. officials say. U.S. counterproliferation and intelligence officials have confirmed Japanese news reports of the expected launch between April 4 and 8.
North Korea announced its intention to launch the satellite in February. Regional powers worry the claim is a cover for the launch of a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said earlier this month that all indications suggest North Korea will in fact launch a satellite. North Korea faked a satellite launch in 1998 to cloak a missile development test. In 2006, it launched a Taepodong-2 that blew up less than a minute into flight.
Both the satellite launch rocket and long-range missile use similar technology, and arms control experts fear even a satellite launch would be a test toward eventually launching a long-range missile.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have urged North Korea to refrain from launching a satellite or missile, calling it a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution barring the country from ballistic activity. North Korea insists it bears the right to develop its space program and on Tuesday warned the U.S., Japan and its allies not to interfere with the launch.
Officials at the South Korea's National Intelligence Service and the Defense Ministry were not available for comment early Thursday in Seoul.
South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac, said Wednesday after returning from talks with his Beijing counterparts, that a launch would trigger a response. "If North Korea launches rocket, certain countermeasures are unavoidable," he said. He refused to elaborate, saying the measures, including any sanctions, would be discussed among U.N. Security Council member nations.
It probably won't be clear if the latest launch is a satellite or a missile test until footage can be analyzed after the event; the trajectory of a missile is markedly different from that of a satellite.
Analysts have been watching for signs of a satellite or missile on the launch pad in Musudan-ni, the northeast coastal launch site. Satellite imagery from March 16 showed progress toward mounting a rocket, with a crane hovering over the launch pad, said Christian LeMiere, an editor at Jane's Intelligence Review in London. He said that once mounted, scientists would need at least a week to fuel and carry out tests before any launch. Images from earlier this month did not indicate the rocket or missile had been mounted, he said Wednesday.
#3
TOPIX/MIL FORUM > NORTH KOREA is threatening to PROCEED = ESCALATE NUCDEV [weapons?] iff the UNO imposes any new SANCTIONS on it for launching this rocket. ALso on TOPIX > US AEGIS WARSHIPS NEAR KOREAN COASTS FOR MISSLE LAUNCH.
#4
OOOPSIES, forgot to add WORLD MIL FORUM > IIUC seems CHINA is seemingly planning to develop REMOTE CONTROLLED, FIRE-AND-FORGET, STRATEGICALLY LOCATED UNDERWATER + SURFACE "CAISSON" TORPEDO, LR MISSLE PLATFORMS FOR ANTI-USN/CARRIER DEFENSE OF THE CHINA SEAS + TAIWAN STRAITS.
*FAV CONCEPT = CONVERTED OIL-RIGS. Also under PLA consideration are PERMANENTLY-STATIONED ARSENAL SHIPS???
Two American journalists detained at North Korea's border with China are under investigation by North Korean military intelligence officers who suspect they were engaged in espionage activities, a report said Tuesday.
North Korea has said its border guards arrested two Americans on March 17 for "illegally intruding" after they entered the country from China. The two have been identified as Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based media outlet Current TV.
South Korea's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said Tuesday that the American women had crossed the border from China while reporting on North Korean refugees. They were taken to Pyongyang a day after their arrest, and were being held at a guest house run by the military intelligence agency on the outskirts of the capital, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed South Korean intelligence officer.
North Korean investigators were checking the journalists' cameras, video tapes and notebooks to try to establish if they had been spying on the North's military facilities, the report said.
North Korea "will not treat the female journalists harshly, although they will undergo intense interrogation," the paper quoted another unnamed South Korean intelligence officer as saying.
South Korea's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said Tuesday that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities had been keeping a close watch on the case, but that it could not immediately confirm the JoongAng Ilbo report. Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, also said it could not confirm the report.
A U.S. official said Saturday that the U.S. has been in touch with North Korean representatives about the journalists and was awaiting a reply. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the issue, said the U.S. did not know where the North was holding them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
They were reporters practicing their trade. That *is* espionage by Hermit Kingdom standards.
I'm kind of surprised to hear that they were New Media types, though. I thought that the web kiddies didn't do actual ground reporting. I guess I was wrong.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/25/2009 11:45 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe its time to start using journalism as a cover for spies. Why show deference to the news trade when they show none back? I think I'd start with making all my guys claim they work for the NYT. Work it to the point where most places on the planet if you say you work for the NYT they chuckle and just assume you are CIA.
#3
ION WORLD MIL FORUM > SOUTH KOREAN MEDIAS: MILITARY SOURCE REVEALS US-SOUTH KOREAN MILEX INCLUDES SIMULATED "WAR MARCH" TO THE YALU RIVER BORDERS [Post-NOKOR "first strike" US-SK WAROP];
+ US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REIETRATES US SUPPORT FOR "TAIWAN RELATIONS ACT" [support for Taiwan Democracy = pro-Taiwan Mil defense agz CHINA].
The US Treasury Department isn't the only government agency with a lot of openings left unfilled.
The U.S. administration has not yet lined up its North Korea specialists within the State Department, leading in the view of some critics to delays in dealing with North Korea's impending rocket launch and the detention of two American reporters in the North.
Robert Einhorn, a senior adviser in the Center for Strategic and International Studies, had been expected to take charge of strategies for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction as the next U.S. undersecretary for arms reduction and non-proliferation. But he has suddenly declined to accept the offer.
Apparently he can spell 'Titanic' ...
Ellen Tauscher, a seventh-term Democrat member of the House of Representatives, has been nominated in his place.
Laficornia Bay Area Dhimmicrat: you can guess her policies ...
Kurt Campbell, a former deputy assistant secretary, has not yet been nominated as assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs. Stephen Bosworth, who worked part-time as special representative for North Korea policy, has returned to his job as dean of Tufts University's Fletcher School after visiting nations participating in six-party nuclear talks.
There is speculation that the reason the two reporters are still being held in the North is that there is no "control tower" for North Korean issues at the State Department. No senior American officials have officially demanded their release in the week since they were captured. The U.S. is ostensibly trying to solve the problem through quiet diplomacy, but in reality there is no senior U.S. government official who wants to take the initiative.
The Hildebeast is off doing other things, Bill Richardson is nowhere to be found, Chris Hill is -- thankfully -- off the case, and there are no adults at the Nork desk at Foggy Bottom. And the Norks are about to test-launch an ICBM. Wonderful.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I think their policy is roughly: 'we'll just stop being mean to them and they'll like us.'
Pretty amazing that we have yet to officially demand their release. I thought the State Dept had a macro for that sort of thing. Should be automatic.
#2
U.S. is ostensibly trying to solve the problem through quiet diplomacy
This is just a taste of what things will be like for 4 years as "quiet diplomacy" is waged and strongly worded notes are brandished.
#6
I'd be careful about the "our citizens" part. They were just a couple of typical traitorous media, who got busted by a regime they probably sympathize with. Oh, and they're in the predicament because they were stupid and thought that their shit didn't stink and that they were immune because they were "journalists". Doesn't matter if the norks ran across the border or not, they still set them off either way.
#7
I work for the state department, how dare you question our methods! (not really)
But I do have a solution: We should just fling cabbages at North Korea using large catapults emplaced at the DMZ, that way the journalists and Norks can eat the cabbage and we can start a war. Thats a strategy the US state department can use! Dont bother to thank me, it was nothing! Heres the address where you can send my consulting fee....po box dont give a fig, c/o the us state departments suck it division, 10034.
#9
Seafarious, Al Gore is here in East Tennessee giving a talk on his favorite subject, Global Warming and looking for Idjits to buy his carbon credits. The temperature went from 74 yesterday to 50 today but at least it's not snowing. Yet.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/25/2009 11:29 Comments ||
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North Korea warned Tuesday that attempts by members of the six-party talks on curbing the North's nuclear ambitions to impose fresh sanctions if it goes ahead with a planned rocket launch would ''deprive the six-party talks of any ground to exist or their meaning.''
The six-party talks haven't done anything so far except allow the Norks to stall for time. We certainly haven't gained anything from continuing these talks the last fifteen years, whether part of the 'Six-Party' talks or directly with the Norks.
''The attempts of Japan and the U.S., the parties to the six-party talks, to deny the DPRK's right to use space for peaceful purposes and infringe upon its sovereignty as a discriminatory measure diametrically run counter to the 'spirit of mutual respect and equality' enshrined in the Sept. 19 joint statement on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,'' a spokesman of the North Korean Foreign Ministry said, referring to a 2005 accord reached at the six-party talks, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency.
The Norks continue to bang their rattle on the high-chair tray, confident that Bambi -- who doesn't yet have a full team at the Nork desk at State -- will back away from confrontation. If the Norks push hard enough they'll get a resumption of 'direct' talks with the U.S., which will allow them to make their demands publicly and loudly, and put us in the usual position of having to make concessions for the sake of the 'process'. This is why, even though Bambi has not said one word about shooting down the TD-2, the Japanese have made clear that they will.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The end of 6-party talks? Oh noes! Now we will never get the table shape question resolved.
As for the Nork missile, let the Japanese take a shot. They have the same Aegis/SM-3 tech we have and they could use the practice.
A senior South Korean government official recently remarked that if the U.S. and North Korea speed up too much in bilateral talks, Japan could play a role in "slamming on the brakes." He appeared to be suggesting that any bilateral negotiations bringing Washington and Pyongyang together after the North has launched a rocket next month could proceed too fast in the direction of normal diplomatic ties for the comfort of South Korea.
While is not against direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang, it feels a stop must be put to North Korea's brinkmanship tactics, i.e. to ratcheting up tensions to speak to the U.S. direct and make diplomatic gains. And it is here, the official suggested, that Seoul-Tokyo cooperation comes in. "Japan was once considered a stumbling block to solving North Korean issues," another South Korean official said. "But now has the most important role."
This convergence of interests means Seoul is focusing more than ever on seeking cooperation with Tokyo. The new South Korean nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac visited Japan as his first stopover after he assumed the post on Mar. 15.
The government official added Seoul-Tokyo cooperation is important because "the U.S. has no choice but to listen first to its allies, Japan in particular, no matter how important it is to seek a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue."
The fact that Japan has been our closest ally in the Pacific is ample evidence that Bambi will soon pee on them publicly ...
Seoul also expects Tokyo to play a role in any discussion at the UN Security Council of sanctions against the North in the aftermath of the rocket launch. "As a member of the Security Council, Japan has many roles to play than South Korea," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Japan had better shoot down the "satellite" because Bambi will sell them out as sure as his teleprompter orders him around.
South Korean intelligence authorities have been able to reveal some further detailed information on the two American journalists detained by North Korea.
And still no clue as to whether they truly strayed across the border or were pinched while standing in China.
According to a South Korean intelligence source quoted in an article issued on the 23rd by the Joongang Ilbo, a daily paper in South Korea, The two journalists are staying in a special villa under the control of the Defense Security Command (DSC) of the Peoples Army near Pyongyang and are under interrogation. An organization with links to the U.S. has been asked to provide information through a cooperative channel in Seoul, and the information network has begun operating.
The source is said to have relayed, The two journalists passed the border in North Hamkyung Province and were arrested by sentries of the 27th Border Guard Brigade. They have been being examined by the DSC after being sent to Pyongyang.
According to the explanation by the source, sending them to Pyongyang after only a day in custody implies that the North Korean authorities consider this a very serious case.
The information source also released that, The emergency, that they had arrested American citizens, was immediately reported to the DSC, which supervises the border guard units. It was also reported to the headquarters of the 9th corps, which has jurisdiction over North Hamkyung Province. The two were sent to Pyongyang in the morning of the 18th after investigation by the special agents of the DSC. They were taken in separate cars, so as not to have contact with each other, escorted by armed vehicles.
The DSC has responsibility for this case because it is in control of the border guard units.
The DSC will have closely examined their recordings, cameras, notes and other belongings in order to figure out whether or not they had obtained film of military or related facilities. After the DSC examination, they may be transferred to the National Security Agency, according to the source.
The Souths information authorities reported to the U.S. that North Korea may be focusing on attempting to obtain admissions of espionage. Espionage is a felony carrying a sentence of over 20 years detention under North Korean law. The source explained, however, The North Korea authorities will have restrained themselves from treating them harshly. They may be provided with American food, beds and other commodities. This is because the North intends to ensure they testify in a press conference that they were treated well from a humanitarian viewpoint when they get back to the U.S.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
And still no clue as to whether they truly strayed across the border or were pinched while standing in China.
Straying is unlikely. The Tumen river forms the border in that area. Much more likely the NK border guards saw something they did not approve and crossed the border to snatch them. Probably never seen well fed ethnic Korean girls before.
Posted by: ed ||
03/25/2009 9:46 Comments ||
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A lawyer arguing on behalf of the Obama administration on Tuesday echoed Bush administration policies to back a decision to deny one of Europe's leading Muslim intellectuals entry to the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jones told a U.S. federal appeals court panel that they should uphold a decision to bar Swiss Muslim Tariq Ramadan, an Oxford University professor and a vocal critic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, from entering the United States. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, had hoped Tuesday's arguments would see a reversal of Bush administration policies that they argue exclude foreign scholars from visiting the United States due to their political beliefs.
"Consular decisions are not subject to litigation," Jones told the three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, broadly arguing the courts have no power to examine visa denials. The ACLU argued against a judge's ruling in late 2007 that upheld Ramadan's ban.
Ramadan is the grandson of Hasan al-Banna, an Islamist thinker and activist who in 1928 founded the Muslim Brotherhood, which opposed secular and Western ideas. The ACLU has championed Ramadan's case as part of a larger pattern of scholars and writers being excluded due to unwarranted or unspecified U.S. national security grounds.
"It's disappointing to come here today and hear Obama administration lawyers argue the same sweeping executive power arguments," ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer said after the hearing. "There should be a clean break of the Bush administration national security policies."
During arguments, Jones said if the courts questioned a consular officer's decision to bar Ramadan, then that would leave the U.S. government in a "quagmire" with others seeking such reversals. When questioned how high up the chain of command Ramadan's case had been considered by the new Obama administration, Jones only said it was "upwards in the State Department."
Academic and civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ramadan in 2006 against Bush administration officials for denying scholars foreign visas. The United States has revoked Ramadan's visa several times since 2004. Washington initially gave no reason for its decision, but later said Ramadan had been barred based on a provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows people to be excluded for supporting terrorism. The ACLU argued the government was using the provision more broadly to deny entry to people whose political views they did not approve of.
Government lawyers later argued in 2007 Ramadan was barred because he gave 1,670 Swiss francs, then worth $1,336, to the Association de Secours Palestinien, or ASP, from 1998 to 2002. Washington listed ASP as a banned group in 2003, saying it supported terrorism and had contributed funds to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The Taliban on Tuesday warned the government to stop expanding its mobile telephone network in Waziristan, claiming it would be used to spy on them.
They circulated a pamphlet in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, telling authorities to stop the network expansion and ordering vendors to stop selling SIM cards, residents and officials said. "A Jewish, Zionist-backed company is setting up the mobile phone network in Waziristan, which would be used to spy on Taliban activities and for drone attacks," said the pamphlet.
"This network is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) and can give the location of a person even if his mobile phone is switched off," it said. "In Iraq and Afghanistan such a system has been used to launch attacks against mujahideen," the leaflet added. "The government and those selling SIMs will be treated as criminals by us," it warned.
A local administration official confirmed that a leaflet had been circulated in Wana.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"Local residents can use mobile phones to inform on the Taliban"
WASHINGTON: The Pakistani state could collapse within six months if immediate steps are not taken to remedy the situation, warned a top adviser to the US Central Command.
David Kilcullen, who advises CENTCOM commander Gen. David H. Petraeus on the war on terror, urged US policymakers to focus their attention on Pakistan as a failure there could have devastating consequences for the entire international community.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Kilcullen, who is credited with the success of the US troop surge strategy in Iraq, warned that if Pakistan went out of control, it would Â'dwarf' all the crises in the world today. Â"Pakistan hands down. No doubt,Â" he said when asked to name the central front in the war against terror.
Asked to explain why he thought Pakistan was so important, Kilcullen said: Â"Pakistan has 173 million people, 100 nuclear weapons, an army bigger than the US Army, and al-Qaeda headquarters sitting right there in the two-thirds of the country that the government doesn't control.Â"
He claimed that the Pakistani military and police and intelligence service did not follow the civilian government. Â"Were now reaching the point where within one to six months we could see the collapse of the Pakistani state, also because of the global financial crisis, which just exacerbates all these problems,Â" he said. Â"The collapse of Pakistan, al-Qaeda acquiring nuclear weapons, an extremist takeover Â-- that would dwarf everything we've seen in the war on terror today.Â"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
US advisor urges immediate steps to strengthen Pak govt
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police said that it has collected important information about yesterday's suicide attack occurred at the main gate of Special Branch of police station.
Speaking to newsmen here on Tuesday, DIG Operations Bin Yamin said that important evidence had been gathered from the sim card and mobile phone found at the crime scene.
He said that head of the suspected suicide bomber was also found which had been sent for surgery. He also paid tribute to the martyred police constable Faisal Khan for his bravery, which saved the lives of dozen of other policemen.
To a question, he said that it was too early to reach a conclusion about the perpetrators of the blast.
DIG Yamin said that any of Faisal Khan's relative would be offered the job in addition to Rs5 lac prize and one day salary of Islamabad police.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
He said that head of the suspected suicide bomber was also found which had been sent for surgery.
So what's the prognosis, doc?
Ummmmmmmm...not good.
Tanzim-e-Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad on Tuesday threatened to halt his efforts for the restoration of peace if the government did not immediately nullify all ìun-Islamicî laws in the Malakand Division and empower Qazi courts to hear all cases.
Addressing a press conference here, Sufi Muhammad said though he was satisfied with the announcement of Shariah by the government, he was disappointed with the progress of the peace deal.
"I am not convinced of the progress so far made with regard to the peace deal. The government had promised to declare all unIslamic laws in vogue in Malakand null and void but it is yet to be done despite the passage of 38 days," the TNSM chief said.
He also accused the government of not entrusting Qazi courts with authority to hear all cases. "Qazis in the newly-established Shariah courts are sitting idle as they have not been mandated to hear crucial cases. I am not satisfied with the Qazi courts either," he said.
Sufi Muhammad threatened to quit the peace efforts in Swat if the government did not act to practically rescind all ìunIslamicî laws and authorise Qazi courts to take up all cases. Meanwhile, a crucial meeting attended by the Taliban Shura members and key commanders was held in Biha village of Matta Tehsil. Sources said the meeting would continue for three days. They said the peace deal between the government and the TNSM and release of Taliban prisoners was on agenda.
Meanwhile, hundreds of students of Government Postgraduate College and Degree College Mingora took out a procession to protest the collection of admission fees from students despite a clear-cut directive by the government to write off the charges.
They blocked road for all kinds of traffic at Kutchery Chowk and demanded of the government to keep its word. The students of the Government Degree College Matta also protested the collection of fees.
Speaking on the occasion, the students alleged that the Malakand University in Chakdara and Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Saidu Sharif were still taking fees from the students, which was a violation of the government orders. In Ningolai area of Kabal Tehsil, people blocked Matta-Mingora road to protest the security forces' check-posts, bunkers and other blockades in civilian areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Former president Pervez Musharraf's decision to storm Islamabad's Lal Masjid and provide logistic support to the US in the war on terror was wrong, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid President Shujaat Hussain said on Tuesday. Talking to a private TV channel, Shujaat said he had supported Musharraf as the president of the country and not as the army chief. He said the 17th Amendment and Article 58(2b) should be abolished. He said Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was not responsible for "the political mess" in the Punjab. However, the Punjab crisis had politically harmed President Asif Zardari, he added. Shujaat claimed that an alliance between the PPP and the PML-N could not work, as it was unnatural.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Thats because PML support terrorist/sharia law!!!!
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a Norwegian of Pakistani origin over charges of committing fraud in Norway.
According to FIA officials, Chand Pervez, a resident of Sialkot district, had been living in Norway for 38 years and had returned to Pakistan in January 2008.
He was accused of monetary fraud in Norway and Interpol had issued 'red notice' for him following which the FIA and police had been directed to arrest the accused.
According to sources in the FIA, the accused was arrested on Tuesday when he was attempting to board a plane for Oslo. The Interpol had been informed of the arrest, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Hamas announced on Tuesday that it was planning to press charges against Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad for "collaboration" with Israel and "squandering" public funds. Hamas's threat to prosecute Fayad is likely to hamper Egypt's efforts to end the power struggle between the Islamist movement and Fatah. especially since Egypt and the US like Fayad and consider him the least corrupt and least terror loving PA official of any consequence
Fayad could either be charged in absentia (in Gaza), or arrested if he decides to enter the Strip.
Earlier this month, Fayad submitted his resignation to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he did not want to be an obstacle to the establishment of a unity government. His resignation is scheduled to go into effect at the end of this month.
Hamas leaders have repeatedly stressed that they would stay away from any government headed by Fayad.
(RIA Novosti) - Egyptian authorities have decided to postpone a regular round of inter-Palestinian talks until early April to allow Palestinian groups time to reach a decision on unresolved key issues, the MENA agency reported Tuesday.
Earlier the talks were planned to be resumed Thursday. "The national Palestinian dialogue will resume in Cairo in the first days of April immediately after a summit of the Arab League in Doha," a high-ranking source in the Egyptian leadership told the agency.
The sides are expected to coordinate a number of serious issues unresolved during the two previous rounds of dialogue, including a program for the future government, election law, as well as the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and participation by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements in the PLO.
Hamas has held power in Gaza since 2007, while Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, controls the West Bank.
Fatah has renounced violence, while Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and reserves the right to use violence in its struggle to create a Palestinian state.
The rival movements resumed contact only after the three-week Israeli military onslaught in Gaza that ended in January, leaving about 1,300 Palestinians dead. The attack was launched in retaliation for homemade rockets launched by Gaza militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Israel's Labor Party agreed Tuesday to join the coalition led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, assuring the presence of at least one moderate in its top ranks: former Labor Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The accord, approved at a stormy session of the Labor Party Central Committee, will allow Netanyahu, also a former prime minister, to form a government. Some in the Labor Party, however, fear that they'll be used as a fig leaf for a right-wing government.
Netanyahu could have set up a hard-line regime, but instead sought to establish a more broad-based coalition. When he failed to woo Livni, he began building a government based on a coalition with the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu Party, led by Avigdor Lieberman, and the religious Shas Party.
Lieberman, who's now set to become foreign minister, has demanded that citizens take a loyalty oath to the state of Israel or lose their right to vote and run for office. His rise to power has been greeted with deep concern by Palestinians. While his party doesn't oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, it wants to annex parts of the West Bank that contain Jewish settlements and favors active efforts to bring down the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.
Even after reaching the accord, Netanyahu continued his efforts to persuade the center-left Labor Party to join his government, even offering Barak the chance to remain at the prestigious post of defense minister, a post he'd held in the outgoing government headed by Kadima's Ehud Olmert.
The stage is now set for a fierce tug-of-war between Lieberman, a hawkish government neophyte, and Barak, an experienced politician who has an international reputation for his attempts to make peace with Palestinians.
Hebrew University political scientist Reuven Hazan said that Netanyahu sought out moderates to assure the stability of the government. "Relying on only hawkish parties would have made running the country difficult and keeping the government intact a daily necessity that would have incurred the wrath not only of Israelis but also the new administration in Washington," he told McClatchy Newspapers.
Tuesday's accord assures ministerial posts for five of the thirteen Labor parliament members and includes an agreement to abide by Israel's previous international commitments, such as the U.S.-organized Annapolis peace process and the internationally endorsed Road Map, which is to lead to a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu's biggest concessions, however, were in the social and economic spheres, Hazan said. "On the peace process, there are simply declarations which, if they are opposed by the hawkish elements, could turn into hollow statements," he said.
The Labor Party acted after a tense debate. For many in the party, joining forces with Netanyahu was anathema, and a coalition with Lieberman was unthinkable. "We enter this government as a spare part, a wagging tail," Labor member of parliament Sheli Yacimovich told a rally. "This is a government of (Netanyahu) ... of Lieberman, with their principles, not our principles.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
This is a government of (Netanyahu) ... of Lieberman, with their principles, not our principles.
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.
Hardline Saudi clerics have called on the government to ban women from appearing on television and to prohibit their images in print media, which they called a sign of growing "deviant thought." In a letter to new Information Minister Abdul Aziz al-Khoja that appeared on websites this week, the 35 Islamic clerics also condemned the increase of music and dancing on television, as well as images of women in popular newspapers and magazines that they labelled "obscene."
