[Tolo News] The Afghan High Peace Council has proposed a Taliban Office be hosted in Turkey to serve as a contact point for peace discussions.
Discussion are going on and Turkey has already expressed cooperation to host a Taliban office, the Council said.
Deputy Chair of the High Peace Council, Maulawi Attaullah Ludin, said Turkey is expected to host a Taliban office and also provide an office for the High Peace Council in Turkey.
"Head of the Peace Council Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the legitimate president of Afghanistan... has been in contact with the Afghan government on this and discussion are also going on in Turkey and we hope the office will soon be opened," Mr Ludin said.
According to the officials in the Peace Council some other countries including Germany, Iran, Soddy Arabia and United Arab Emirates have expressed cooperation to host similar offices to facilitate peace talks with the Taliban.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... some Afghan human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... and civil society organisations believe that host a Taliban office in any country would mean official recognition of the group.
"As soon as they have offices in Turkey and Europe or any other countries, they will turn into a political opposition of the Afghan government and will no longer be referred to as terrorists," Aziz Rafiee, Head of Afghanistan Civil Society Forum in Kabul, said.
Ajmal Baluch, a member of Afghan Transitional Justice Coordination Group, also believe hosting a Taliban office will mean recognition of the group.
The Transitional Justice Coordination Group has previously called on the Afghan government and international community not to ignore the Afghan people and the victims of war in any talks.
"If Turkey hosts a Taliban office, it will not mean anything else but officially recognising the Taliban and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Mr Baluch said.
The Afghan High Peace Council believes 50% of challenges for peace talks will be resolved after the Taliban office is opened in Turkey.
While it is believed that peace talks should be held in Afghanistan, the High Peace Council says there is no guarantee for the safety of the Taliban in the country and that there has to be an office outside Afghanistan.
The Council says it expects to hold its first face to face talks with the Taliban representatives in Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
The original objective of "Operation Infinite Justice" was the destruction of the Taliban, as punishment for their support of the 9/11 attacks.
At the end of this "High Peace Council" road is a humiliating defeat for the West, especially for the US as it was a high fatality attack on the CONUS that started this war.
It is true that non-negotiated, consequences be damned, precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan would signal defeat. But it would be an implicit defeat only.
The West would be spared the humiliation of having to subsidize, to protect and kowtow to a renewed Taliban regime, created by the "High Peace Council."
Out of all the terrible options, immediate withdrawal is the least terrible.
[Tolo News] Pakistain is behind insecurity in eastern Nuristan province, Governor of Nuristan told TOLOnews in an exclusive interview on Monday.
Governor of Nursitan, Jamaluddin Badr warned that if the Afghan government did not take serious action, insecurity in the province could also destabilise the situation in the northern provinces. He says hard boyz are trained and armed in Pakistain and then sent to Afghanistan.
"They infiltrate into Afghanistan from the Pak side of the border. They are supported by some source there and it is clear to all Afghans," Mr Badr said.
Mr Badr said three districts of Nuristan that link the province with Kunar have been closed by cut-throats for the last two years.
Afghan and foreign officials have often expressed concern about existence of Taliban sanctuaries on Pakistain's soil. Foreign forces in Afghanistan have also been urged to target terrorist sanctuaries and hide-outs beyond Afghan borders.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sea battle, the Terror of the Baltic's career had come to a sudden and watery end... Mr Badr called on the Afghan government to take immediate action to prevent infiltration of hard boyz into the province and retake the key district of Waigal that recently fell to the Taliban.
Talibs captured Waigal district around two weeks ago, but it has not yet been retaken despite plans by Afghan Ministry of Interior to launch an operation there.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Pakistan are the US/Nato/Afghan main enemy in Afghanistan Shocka!
[Tolo News] The Afghan government has long been making efforts to make peace with the Taliban, but the Taliban have kept rebuffing peace talks and increased jihad boy attacks in different parts of the country.
The main victims of Taliban attacks in the recent years have been Afghan civilians.
The Afghan government even established the High Peace Council to speed up the grinding of the peace processor.
Although the Peace Council claimed to have made progress with peace talks, but on the contrary the Taliban increased their attacks in different parts of Afghanistan.
The Peace Council has been able to get some Taliban prisoners released from government prisons and it is also struggling for the release of the one imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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A SHIP-BASED laser tested by the US navy's research arm could put the heat on Somali pirates.
The Navy for the first time last week successfully tested a solid-state high-energy laser from a ship.
The beam, which was aimed at a boat moving through turbulent Pacific Ocean waters, set the target's engine on fire.
The Office of Naval Research says the laser travelled over "miles, not yards".
For now, the test is a proof of concept, and it's not yet known when it might be deployed as a weapon.
The baseball-sized laser beam, though, could be used to stop small crafts from approaching naval ships.
It could also target pirates.
"You can use the laser to ward off an attack, or you can dial it down to a non-lethal level where it basically becomes a very bright light so they know they are being targeted," Michael Deitchman, the director of air warfare and weapons at the Office of Naval Research, said today.
Mr Deitchman said the laser provides two benefits not seen in other military weapons. The laser is precise, unlike bullets that can ricochet and hit unintended targets, and the laser's strength can be dialed down from a lethal level to a nuisance level.
Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, the head of Dryad Maritime Intelligence, said the test was "remarkable" for how the Navy was able to concentrate the beam over such a long distance at sea, and given how the boat was being tossed about in rough water.
#3
and the laser's strength can be dialed down from a lethal level to a nuisance level.
If they do end up using this thing on pirates, I see no need to dial down the level.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/13/2011 22:25 Comments ||
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I'm sure the fuel and ammo on the pirate boats are properly stored and secured as not to be effected. /sarc
Britain has agreed to supply body armour to Libyan rebels fighting leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, it has been revealed.
Downing Street confirmed the UK would be sending out 1,000 sets of body armour to the rebels from surplus UK defence supplies.
It said that the decision was in line with UN Security Council resolutions and would enable the opposition forces 'to defend themselves and their communities against regime forces that attack civilians'.
#2
Anyone want to quote odds on this stuff turning up in Afghanistan?
Posted by: Matt ||
04/13/2011 16:56 Comments ||
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#3
Sad thing is, Talibs might have the body armour before all the Brit troops in Afghanistan have it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2011 17:34 Comments ||
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Does anyone need a friendly reminder about what eventually happened to all of that hardware and weaponry we gave Osama Bin Laden when he was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/13/2011 18:30 Comments ||
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#5
But Unicorn skin armour only works on good guys.
#1
Excellent article. It reveals a lot of alliances. And fears. For example:
The Chinese company Huawei Technologies Ltd., one of the original contractors for Libyana's cellular network backbone, refused to sell equipment for the rebel project
Sounds to me like the Chinese have some major oil uncertainty.
By March 21, most of the main pieces of equipment had arrived in the U.A.E. and Mr. Abushagur was ready to ship them to Benghazi with three Libyan telecom engineers, four Western engineers and a team of bodyguards.
Hmm. Western engineers. Who provided the bodyguards given the western personnel?
But Col. Gadhafi's forces were still threatening to overrun the rebel capital and trying to bomb its airport. Mr. Abushagur diverted the team and their equipment to an Egyptian air base on the Libyan border. Customs bureaucracy cost them a week, though Egypt's eventual approval was another show of Arab support for rebels. Egypt's governing military council couldn't be reached for comment.
I'll bet not. Not a very secure situation given Obean's habit of sitting on the fence so much that his butt crack has probably gone horizontal.
The last piece of the puzzle was securing a satellite feed through which the Free Libyana calls could be routeda solution provided by Etisalat, according to Benghazi officials.
Notice the ".ae"? That means UAE. I wonder if the UAE is beholden to anyone else on this venture. Probably not, but if so, they may have had to get approval from them, too.
On April 2, Mr. Abushagur placed a test call on the system to his wife back in Abu Dhabi. "She's the one who told me to go for it in the first place," he said.
Obean looks to the UN for approval, and these guys look closer to their hearts. Which is better?
The Swedish JAS Gripen aircraft deployed in Sicily as part of NATO's Libya mission remained grounded on Thursday as the fuel available is suitable only for US navy aircraft.
So British/French complaints that nobody else is stepping up to the plate aren't quite fair.
The eight fighter jets are located in the US part of the Sigonella airbase on Sicily and the only fuel available it that which is used for US navy aircraft. The Gripen were due to participate in their first mission over Libya on Thursday but this has now been delayed and test flights have been postponed.
According to the outline plan, the eight aircraft were all due to monitor the UN no-fly zone over the civil-war torn country from Thursday but on arrival at the base they discovered that no fuel was available.
The Sigonella base is designed as a naval air force base, lieutenant colonal Mats Brindsjö, head of the Swedish Air Operation Center, said.
"And US navy aircraft use somewhat different fuel to that which we use in our planes," he told the TT news agency.
The US fuel variety is known as JP5 while the Gripen normally fly using a civil fuel known as Jet A1.
"Certain additives and some equipment are needed to change JP5 to Jet A1 in a controlled manner. This equipment is not as yet in place down there and in the time being we are trying to buy the fuel from a place off the base."
From a commenter at ID:
The Navy still uses JP5. JP8 replaced JP4 but not JP5. Sigonella does not have JP8. If it ever had it in the past, it was many years ago. The former Fuels Chief (3 tours at Sigonella) never dealt with JP8 at Sigonella.
Swedes knew before they showed up that Sigonella had only JP5 but were under the impression it would not be an issue. Turns out the engine burns JP5 just fine, it is some of the ancillary systems on the aircraft that require the properties of JP8 (or Jet A1) that JP5 does not have.
Yes, there is a commercial airport down the road, and when the refuelers showed up to refuel the Swedish aircraft, they were unable to refuel the aircraft due to not being the proper type of refueling truck.
First deployment outside of Sweden in 50 years--there were bound to be issues to be worked through.
"This really should have been investigated as soon as we arrived, but we didn't have time with all the other details," Mats Brindsjö said, adding that he expects the Gripen aircraft to be in the air on Friday.
The Swedish aircraft will undergo a test flight in order to familiarize themselves with the airspace before NATO authorities are informed that the Gripen stand at the ready.
Sweden is not a member of NATO, although it has been in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme since 1994 and has contributed some 500 troops to the alliance's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force in Afghanistan. Sweden also took part in operations in Kosovo.
Nevertheless Sweden's air force has not been involved in action since it took part in a UN-mandated operation in the then Belgian Congo from 1961-63.
The Libyan operation will be the first combat tour for the JAS Gripen 39, produced by the Swedish defence group Saab.
Pic at this link: April 8th; a Gripen gets a drink from a Swedish AF C-130 tanker.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The Saab Gripen, aka "Griffin", the mythological flying lion.
#3
The Gripen will fly fine on JP-5 (see F-18) but the Swedes were too cheap to certify it for JP-5. After all the the Gripen is land based, therefore needs only Jet A-1/JP-8. Coalitions? The Swedes don't need no stinkin' coalitions.
military capability entails more than just buying equipment. Logistics matter a lot, as do doctrine, training and political clarity about military operations.
NATO has atrophied in all those areas. Both the US and Europe are complicit in this - the US asserting a dominating leadership (for good historical reasons) and the resentful free-riding Europeans having, as Fred wrote a while back, their hands in our pockets while also criticizing the style and color of our clothes.
#6
...Not to mention that one reason (of several) that the F-22 isn't patrolling the skies of Tripoli is that its secure comm system can only talk to other F-22s and US AWACS (E-2, E-3) - it can't talk to Allied aircraft except over an open channel, which is like, you know, dangerous in combat. For some reason, our Allies never decided to develop a secure comm unit that would talk to the airplane that was intended to defend their butts. (There is a US unit in low rate production that can do it, but we're pretty much paying for the whole program and we're equipping our birds first) There was a VERY strong concern that an Allied pilot, being sneaky and all that, might somehow track a -22 (it can still be seen visually, it does have an IR signature albeit a small one, and there are any number of possibilities that could create an increased radar signature) and blow it out of the sky thinking he'd just whacked one of Qadaffi's finest. Wouldn't have looked at all good for the USAF to be explaining a $135,000,000 hole in the ground caused by one of our Allies.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/13/2011 8:45 Comments ||
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#7
Interoperability bites back. One of the key functions often overlooked in Coalition warfare is the ability of members sharing logistic support. Gas quality, size of the gas nozzles to feed equipment, size of the loaders to reach the place to transfer material, size of bullets, ability of radio communications to talk to each other, etc etc etc. It's hard enough to get our own services to cooperate, image the teeth pulling to get NATO members to play and then again to non-NATO. That creates its own army of administrators and bureaucrats.
#8
My, how things change. The Russians were late in getting to Austerlitz because nobody noticed that they were still on the Julian, not Gregorian calendar. That, and the Prussians were not too cool about three Russians armies crossing their turf.
#9
I had a Saab in the late 80's awful car. You can't drink and drive when the ignition is in the floorboard, one spilled drink and you have buy a new ignition.
#10
The most common equipment is US and ex-USSR. IF you wish to sell into a market dominated by giants like that you should be certified to be able to eat the same supplies. If you don't... your stockholders should EXECUTE your Board and make the CEO eat his bennies.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
04/13/2011 14:28 Comments ||
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#11
Water Modem: I strongly suspect that the whole situation was contrived by some people in the Swedish forces who really didn't want to get involved in the cluster$$$$ and used this as a way of dealing with the situation.
[Maghrebia] A group of Algerian journalists are determined to bring their demands to the halls of power. Tahar Fattani is one of the members of the recently-formed Initiative for the Dignity of the Algerian Press. Magharebia spoke to the journalist about the vision and future plans of the campaign.
Magharebia: Your group was launched on April 3rd, amid mounting calls for greater press freedom in Algeria. Can you tell us what this initiative is about?
Tahar Fattani: The initiative began well before the General Assembly of April 3rd, when a group of 11 journalists was appointed to communicate the platform of demands to the relevant authorities. This meeting was preceded by two other meetings which enabled the present journalists to decide on the platform of demands. This document was adopted by all of the journalists. It concerns socio-professional grievances and the protest action that might take place.
Magharebia: What are the main points of your agenda?
Fattani: The platform includes the promulgation of a new private status for journalists, the beginning of official negotiations with press workers to discuss the realities of the profession, the introduction of press passes, the revival of the National Ethics Council and the decriminalisation of "press offences", among many other demands.
Magharebia: Have the journalists begun communicating these demands to the authorities?
Fattani: May I point out that the 11 journalists who were appointed on April 3rd were not empowered to negotiate or to speak on behalf of the initiative. Today, I am replying to your questions as an Algerian journalist who has supported this initiative, not on behalf of my colleagues. I do not have the authority to speak for them. The committee responsible for communicating the platform of demands to the authorities has ten days to carry out its task. A meeting which all of the journalists will attend will be held on April 12th to sum up the situation and publish the reports of the 11 journalists.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] The UN Special Rapporteur on free speech began his first official visit to Algeria, Liberte reported on Monday (April 11th). "This mission will provide me with an opportunity to better understand issues concerning freedom of opinion and expression in Algeria, by allowing me to collect first-hand information from the people concerned," UN Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue said ahead of his Sunday arrival.
Through April 17th, the independent expert on the right to freedom of opinion and expression will meet with representatives of Algeria's judiciary, legislature, media and civil society. He will present his findings to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] La Belle France and Britain, who first launched air attacks on Libya in coalition with the United States, on Tuesday criticised NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... 'S bombing campaign, saying it must do more to stop Muammar Qadaffy bombarding civilians.
Canada's running this operation, right? They probably have airplanes with missiles -- they seem to have everything else important to running a war. Sweden's planes are waiting in Italy for fuel trucks with the right nozzles...President Obama has made it plain America has shot off all the missiles they're going to... is there anyone else in NATO who can conduct a bombing campaign?
NATO took over air operations from the three nations on March 31 but heavy government bombardment of the besieged western city of Misrata has continued unabated with hundreds of civilians reported killed.
The criticism by London and Gay Paree followed new shelling of Misrata on Monday and the collapse of an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... peace initiative.
Echoing rebel complaints, Alain Juppe told La Belle France Info radio, "It's not enough."
He said NATO must stop Qadaffy shelling civilians and take out heavy weapons bombarding Misrata. In a barbed reference to the alliance command of the operation, Juppe added: "NATO must play its role fully. It wanted to take the lead in operations, we accepted that."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague also said NATO must intensify attacks, calling on other alliance countries to match London's supply of extra ground attack aircraft in Libya.
NATO, is operating under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians, stepped up air strikes around Misrata and the eastern battlefront city of Ajdabiyah at the weekend. It rejected the criticism.
"NATO is conducting its military operations in Libya with vigour within the current mandate. The pace of the operations is determined by the need to protect the population," it said.
Libyan state television said. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
on Tuesday a NATO strike on the town of Kikla, south of Tripoli, had killed civilians and members of the police force. It did not give details.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Hosni Mubarak, ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... the former Egyptian president, has been hospitalised at the Red Sea port of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has been staying since he was ousted from power by a popular uprising on February 11.
"He has been under house arrest in Sharm el-Sheikh ever since he was ousted from power. We are still not sure of what condition he is in, but the former president has been complaining that he's been unwell for some time now," reported Zeina Khodr, Al Jizz's correspondent in Cairo.
Mubarak has kept a low profile since he stepped down from the presidency, but released an audio message earlier this week saying that he would cooperate fully with the prosecutor-general's investigations into allegations of corruption committed by his himself and family members.
Mubarak had been expected to be questioned by Sherlocks for the first time on Tuesday in connection with corruption allegations and violence against protesters during the uprising.
The public prosecutor issued the summons on Sunday.
Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal have also been summoned for questioning.
"He was supposed to travel to Cairo to be questioned about his wealth, about his assets, by the prosecutor-general here, but he said that he was unable to travel. Now whether or not its a coincidence that he falls ill just days after the prosecutor-general decided to summon him as well as his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, for questioning about their wealth and their assets ... in fact, at this hour, ministry of justice officials are questioning his sons," Khodr reported.
"Now this has been a demand of the pro-democracy protesters here in Egypt for the prosecution of the president, as well as high-ranking members of the former regime, in order to hold them accountable for what they believe was the amassing of billions of dollars of wealth."
Mubarak also has a history of illnesses, and while in power would routinely travel to Germany for check-ups. The former president had suffered from a number of health problems and had undergone gallbladder surgery in the days leading up to the end of his rule.
"Definitely this news will not be welcomed by pro-democracy protesters, this is what many of them actually feared, that the president will not be tried, will not be held accountable for his actions over recent decades. And definitely, a lot of them will be sceptical - they will wonder whether or not he is really sick," Khodr said.
She said that many freedom fighters were "ridiculing" Mubarak's hospitalisation, and were of the opinion that the timing of his admission to hospital was not coincidental.
There has been no official statement from the army or health authorities regarding Mubarak's admission, but sources within the army have confirmed that the former president is indeed being looked at by doctors.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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As per CNN + FOX AM NEWS, apparently a number of local Egyptians are NOT convinced Mubarak is actually sick or had suffered a genuine heart attack???
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un was appointed director of the State Security Department, the regime's chief spy agency, in late 2009.
"Signals intelligence we've obtained suggests Kim Jong-un is being called 'director' of the security department," a South Korean government official said. "It seems he has already gained control of the security agency."
The department's main duties are to ferret out dissidents and put residents under surveillance. It has about 50,000 agents.
At an extraordinary party congress last September, the regime appointed U Dong-chuk, the first deputy director of the department, and Kim Chang-sop, the chief of the political bureau of the department, to the Politburo, the first time in the regime's history that the political bureau chief has joined the top body.
Kim Jong-un visited the department twice in October last year. Kim Jong-il has reportedly headed the department himself since its former chief Ri Jin-su died of acute cirrhosis in 1987.
Kim senior was designated the successor to power in 1974 after he seized control of the party apparatus in 1972 as secretary in charge of organization and propaganda. But Kim Jong-un gained control of the security department first.
Another intelligence report says Kim junior was groomed as the successor in the administration bureau of the powerful National Defense Commission. The regime promoted Gen. Ri Myong-su, the chief of the administration bureau, to minister of public security on April 7.
"The North Korean military is under surveillance by Kim Jong-gak, the first deputy chief of the General Political Bureau," a North Korean source said. "The military and police are effectively under Kim Jong-un's control with Kim Jong-gak and Ri Myong-su acting as the front."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION WMF > DANGEROUS RUSSIAN WEAKNESS/WAFFLING ON THE ISSUE OF INTER-KOREAN REUNIFICATION. FAILURE OF RUSSIA TO ASSERT LEADERSHIP + INFLUENCE ON NORTH KOREA IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE "CHEONAN" + "YEONGPYEONG" MILITARY INCIDENTS AGZ SOUTH KOREA. THE ONLY POTENT OBSTACLE TO PRO-US, WESTERN INTER-KOREAN RE-UNIFICATION WILL BE THE ABYSS, MILITARY-LED FEAR + DESPERATION OF CHINA.
[Al Jazeera] Tunisian colonists being held in a compound on the Italian island of Lampedusa have rioted after a controversial deal struck between Rome and Tunis last week paved the way for their deportation.
Some of the colonists shouted "Freedom! Freedom!" at the centre where hundreds are being held. Other migrants started a small fire on Monday which was quickly put out by the fire brigade, local media reported, and dozens decamped the enclosure.
Several of the escapees later returned to the colonist detention centre.
Under the deal, Italy agreed to grant six-month residence permits to colonists who arrived before April 5, while Tunisia agreed to the deportation of anyone arriving after that date.
Lampedusa measures just 20sq km and is closer to North Africa than to mainland Italy. More than 25,000 colonists have arrived in fishing boats from North Africa since the start of the year and most have been moved to detention centres on the Italian mainland.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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Los Angeles has one of the few big-city police departments with a dedicated counterterrorism intelligence program.
Weve tried to institutionalize the idea of [counterterrorism] within the department so that people become collectors. People know what the threat is, they understand the threat domain, they know who the adversary is, what the capability is, what the intent is.
Until several years ago, only 30 members of the police department engaged in counterterrorism intelligence work. That number grew to 750 in November after the special operations branch was added to the 300-member unit of officers working the intelligence operations against terrorists.
The departments intelligence branch uses a hunt-and-pursue strategy employing analysts who study data collected by police and networks of recruited informants and other surveillance to identify groups or people planning attacks. Police forces then act to disrupt the operations.
We spend an enormous amount of time observing prayer, going to festivals, going to events, showing that we are not just asking for these communities for a buy-in, but we want enrollment, participation, Chief Downing said.
We spend a lot of time explaining: You live in this country, youre free to worship how you like to worship, and we protect the sacred text of the Koran, the sacred text of the Torah, and we protect the sacred text of the Bible. And what we need you to do is partner with us in protecting the sacred text of our country, which is the Constitution which gives you these rights and protects you against bigotry and hatred and all those things, he said.
The objective is to win Muslim support for the U.S. system which means supporting our Constitution and creating a bigger gap between the hard-core radicals and the critical mass of people, he said. And then we can weed out the hard-core radicals through our hunt-and-pursue model.
Weve got some equipment that is pretty incredible, he said. If a Mumbai-style attack happened here, it would not last 60 hours, Ill tell you that. It would last 30 minutes and they might have them contained in a building.
Not to mention that some of the citizenry goes about armed. Quite a comforting thought.
Los Angeles has one of the few big-city police departments with a dedicated counterterrorism intelligence program.
I'm under the impressions that New York City is another.
"We've tried to institutionalize the idea of [counterterrorism] within the department so that people become collectors. People know what the threat is, they understand the threat domain, they know who the adversary is, what the capability is, what the intent is."
Until several years ago, only 30 members of the police department engaged in counterterrorism intelligence work. That number grew to 750 in November after the special operations branch was added to the 300-member unit of officers working the intelligence operations against terrorists.
LA has 750 officers doing intel? Who's patrolling the streets?
The department's intelligence branch uses a "hunt-and-pursue" strategy employing analysts who study data collected by police and networks of recruited informants and other surveillance to identify groups or people planning attacks. Police forces then act to disrupt the operations.
"We spend an enormous amount of time observing prayer, going to festivals, going to events, showing that we are not just asking for these communities for a buy-in, but we want enrollment, participation," Chief Downing said.
Orient, Observe...
"We've got some equipment that is pretty incredible," he said. "If a Mumbai-style attack happened here, it would not last 60 hours, I'll tell you that. It would last 30 minutes and they might have them contained in a building."
Not to mention that some of the citizenry goes about armed. Quite a comforting thought.
The following news is so terribly shocking that the prestigious Captain Louis Renault Award must be issued yet again this month. Here goes: the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, was behind the 2008 terror assault on Mumbai. This shocking news comes up in the testimony of two Pakistanis who were detained by the US and are currently on trial for terrorist activities, including the scouting of the Mumbai terror assault.
#2
ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PAKISTAN'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS: A DETERRENT AGZ INDIA BUT ALSO AGZ THE US?
ARTIC = denotes that POTUS Bammer had warned that there will be "serious consequences" iff any major terr strikes are traced back to Pakistan; LIBYA is the third Muslim Nation-State attacked + engaged in war by the US.
* SAME > CIA EXPULSION SUGGESTS PAKISTAN IS BREAKING WID THE US?
* FOX NEWS AM > powerful PAK ARMY CHIEF warns the USA not to "push/test Him" + PAK ARMY vee Islamabad's demands.
HMS Iron Duke has completed its final patrol of Iraq's oil terminals, heralding the end of the Royal Navy's eight-year involvement in their protection.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Britain's frigate fleet has been committed to almost round-the-clock patrols of the waters around the Khawr Al Amaya and Al Basrah Oil Terminals - known throughout the fleet as KAAOT and ABOT. The two platforms deliver millions of barrels of oil to waiting tankers each day - generating around 80 per cent of the country's income in the process.
The safeguarding of the invaluable terminals, off the Al Faw peninsula at the tip of the Gulf, has been performed principally by Royal Navy, US and Australian forces and, increasingly, Iraqi sailors and marines.
The latter were trained by a UK-US team at Umm Qasr, Iraq's principal port and naval base, and have already taken over responsibility for defending the older KAAOT.
With responsibility for the protection of the ABOT now due to be handed over to Iraq's own forces, last week Iron Duke sailed away from the terminal, for probably the last time, after two months of patrolling. The Royal Navy command team on the platform are expected to follow suit in the coming days.
Congratulations on taking over another aspect of your own defense, Iraq. Good luck.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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Israels security agencies are stepping up targeted attacks throughout the world on Hamas leadership in what one Israeli official called intelligence-based prevention.
In the past two months, Israeli operatives have intercepted a German ship in international waters, fired a missile at a suspected Hamas leader in Sudan, and captured a Hamas engineer in the Ukraine, according to Israeli and Western officials and press reports from the region.
Israel defeated the wave of suicide bombing attacks against it in 2002 by identifying the leadership that was behind it and making it clear to them that they would pay a price, said Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and specialist on international terrorism.
Presently, the effort to cripple Hamas military capabilities is no longer confined to the Gaza Strip alone, but to the entire Hamas global network and that of its allies.
The Palestinian Authority is now largely ready to govern a state, the office of the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said in a report on Tuesday.
"In six areas where the UN is most engaged, governmental functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state," said the report, which will be submitted to Palestinian donor nations meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
But the report warned that it would be difficult for the Palestinian Authority to make any additional progress while the Israeli occupation continued and peace talks remained stalled.
#2
See also PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > HAMAS' POWERFUL NEW WEAPON ALTERS STRATEGIC CALCULATIONS ALONG THE GAZA STRIP.
HAMAS + PA's best weapon agz Israel is NOT a physical weapon at all, but its ability to effec organize, lead, govern + empower any de facto future SOVEREIGN PALEO STATE, TO KEEP PEACE WID ISRAEL WHILE ALSO SATISFYING THE WILL OF THE PALEO PEOPLE.
#3
The office of the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process is clearly mistaken in their understanding of the facts... or come from countries where the standards are different.
#6
Mind you, with all the mayhem worldwide of numerous territorries disputed, http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_disputes, its not good to have your disputed territory gain untoward notoriety. Israel should really just obliterate Palestine and take it back. It would be awesome. These tit for tat thinkers globally are lame. Japan and Korea fighting over a tiny island with a cell tower is one example of this .
Posted by: Fi ||
04/13/2011 10:09 Comments ||
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[Straits Times] THAILAND on Tuesday extended emergency rule in most of its violence-plagued deep south for three more months, a government front man said.
The decree, which was first introduced in 2005 and covers most of the Mohammedan-majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, has been criticised by rights campaigners who say it effectively gives the army legal immunity.
The state of emergency allows the military to detain suspects for questioning without charge.
Suspected Islamic Death Eaters have waged a violent campaign in the region since early 2004, leaving more than 4,500 Mohammedans and Buddhists dead.
'There are still attempts to use violence to attack officials and innocent people,' deputy government front man Supachai Jaisamut said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Syrian security forces in at least two towns prevented medics from reaching maimed protesters when festivities erupted at anti-government demonstrations last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
The New York based rights group said the "inhumane" and "illegal" blocking of access to medical treatment occurred in the southern town of Daraa, the centre of a wave of protests against hereditary President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist presidents-for-life. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... , and Harasta near Damascus. ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
"Barring people from needed medical care causes grave suffering and perhaps irreparable harm," said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director.
"To deprive maimed people of critical and perhaps life-saving medical treatment is both inhumane and illegal."
She urged Syrian authorities to allow injured protesters unimpeded access to medical treatment and to stop using unjustified lethal force against anti-government protesters.
The rights group said it had interviewed doctors as well as injured protesters and their relatives in Daraa and Harasta and the town of Douma.
It said a total of 28 people were killed in the three towns on Friday when security forces fired on protesters.
"Syria?s leaders talk about political reform, but they meet their people?s legitimate demands for reform with bullets," said Whitson.
Witnesses in Daraa said several thousand protesters marching after the weekly Mohammedan main prayers on Friday carrying olive branches.
When they approached a roadblock manned by "several thousand" security force members they were ordered to halt, the witnesses said.
Security forces then fired teargas and live rounds, while snipers on roofs opened fire.
HRW quoted witnesses as saying the security forces did not allow ambulances to approach the road to pick up the maimed, and kept shooting when other protesters tried to carry the maimed away.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini has urged European countries to avoid encouraging Islamophobia. ...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do...
"We expect European countries to guarantee the individual and social freedoms of Mohammedans," Hosseini said, What's the procedure for building a new church in Qom, bub?
calling on Europe to adopt "dialogue among religions" as the basis for cooperation instead of "flaming conflicts and spreading Islamophobia." And how about a nice Buddhist monastery and rest house in downtown Tehran?
No need to go exotic: how about the Baha'i not needing to make Israel their home base because their place of origin is unsafe?
The Iranian minister made the remarks during a meeting with Director General of Austria's National Library Johanna Rachinger in Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.
Hosseini hailed Iran-Austria's relations, and expressed hope for the enhancement of ties between the two countries.
Iran-Austria Cultural Committee was formed after the Second World War, and good steps have been taken to boost relations between the two countries and to have exchange visits by various academic delegations, he said.
During the meeting, a cooperation pact was also signed between Iran and Austria's national libraries.
Rachinger, for her part, expressed willingness to enhance cultural ties with Iran's National Library to familiarize the Austrian nation with the Iranian culture.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
How about Christian rights in Iran and the Middle East?
[Iran Press TV] Iran's envoy to the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the country is not obliged to open up its Taba parts manufacturing factory to the agency's inspections.
"Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has no obligation to allow [IAEA] inspectors to inspect this factory," Ali Asghar Soltanieh was quoted by IRNA as saying.
"Iran is always ready for talks with the 5+1 Group based on its rights and the NPT regulations," said Soltanieh when questioned by IRNA on Tehran's response to a letter by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.
Iran recently announced plans to build "four to five" nuclear research reactors, following the successful production and testing of second and third-generation Iranian-brand centrifuges.
Tehran further announced fuel production or uranium enrichment to a purity level of 20 percent will not be halted.
As a signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, Iran insists on its legal right to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
This comes as the West, particularly the US, accuses Tehran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
Iran has categorically dismissed the allegation as baseless, maintaining that its atomic program is merely aimed at peaceful purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Maghrebia] A group of Algerian journalists are determined to bring their demands to the halls of power. Tahar Fattani is one of the members of the recently-formed Initiative for the Dignity of the Algerian Press. Magharebia spoke to the journalist about the vision and future plans of the campaign.
[Asharq al-Aswat] 
[Al Jazeera] 
[Al Jazeera] Tunisian 
The following news is so terribly shocking that the prestigious Captain Louis Renault Award must be issued yet again this month. Here goes: the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, was behind the 2008 terror assault on Mumbai. This shocking news comes up in the testimony of two Pakistanis who were detained by the US and are currently on trial for terrorist activities, including the scouting of the Mumbai terror assault.
hereditary President Bashir 
Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini has urged European countries to avoid encouraging 
Iran's envoy to the 
