International officials confirmed Wednesday that a brazen attack by suicide bombers on a popular hotel in Afghanistan that left 19 dead was the work of the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based insurgent group that are closely allied with the Taliban. U.S. military officials have said the Haqqani network is the most dangerous militant group battling foreign forces in Afghanistan.
Eight insurgents stormed the Western-style Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul Tuesday night, setting of explosions and exchanging gunfire with authorities for hours until pressure from Afghan snipers and a NATO helicopter forced three of the remaining bombers to blow themselves up. Hours later, an injured suicide bomber holed up in one of the hotel rooms detonated his explosives, signaling an end to the fight.
Eleven Afghan civilians -- all workers at Kabul's Inter-Continental hotel -- were killed, along with two policemen. Thirteen others were wounded, but none of the hotel's guests were killed.
The attackers were heavily armed with machine guns, anti-aircraft weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and grenade launchers, the Afghan officials said.
NATO air strike killed Haqqani Number Three
ISAF identified the Haqqani network leader killed in an air strike as Ismail Jan, who it described as a deputy to the senior Haqqani commander in Afghanistan, Haji Mali Khan. It said he and "several Haqqani fighters" were killed in the air strike in the Gardez district of Paktia province south of Kabul on Wednesday.
A major problem in Afghanistan is the failure of the Afghan justice system, and Afghan insistence that foreign troops use it anyway. Currently, only about ten percent of Islamic terror suspects captured by foreign troops are prosecuted, and only half of those are convicted. Those arrested who can afford to bribe their way out, or have someone who can intimidate the right people, never get convicted. When dealing with Afghan police and troops, the terrorists can often arrange a bribe, and freedom, on the spot.
#1
This works both ways. If the judge is corrupt, pay him more than the bad guys can pay. All they can offer is likely Afghan or Pakistani money, which is worth only a fraction of USD (at least for now). So slip the judge a $20, and watch him hang bad guys like there is no tomorrow.
[Tolo News] Governor of Afghanistan's Central Bank has accused 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... of having role in Kabul Bank crisis.
Abdul Qadir Fitrat, former governor of Afghanistan's Central Bank, told Aljazeera television from Washington that Kabul Bank shareholders covered the costs of Karzai's Presidential campaign in several occasions.
Mr Fitrat decamped the country and presented his resignation in Washington because his life was in danger in Kabul.
He told Aljazeera television that Kabul Bank shareholders bought seventy expensive vehicles using the money of the bank to provide transportation to Karzai's presidential campaign.
"Several central bank officers said that they gave money in various occasions to the presidential campaign to his closest aides. They bought seventy expensive cars for the campaign. They covered the entire media campaign of the President," Mr Fitrat told Aljazeera.
He said he stepped down because his life was in danger, especially after he disclosed names of people close to high-ranking Afghan government authorities who he says were involved in Kabul Bank crisis.
"The President's brother also took millions of money illegally under fictitious names from the bank and also relatives of other high-level authorities of Afghanistan took millions and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars from the bank," he claimed.
"Because of the way the government reacted, I now have come to a conclusion that that information was reliable that the government was part of the plot, because the government, particularly the president was aware that I knew a lot of facts about how they stole depositors'
money."
He said all documents proving his allegations are with the central bank and Kabul Bank audit team, but he said he is not sure whether the documents will be exposed because of the risky nature of the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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A senior Saudi Arabian diplomat and member of the ruling royal family has raised the spectre of nuclear conflict in the Middle East if Iran comes close to developing a nuclear weapon.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Washington, warned senior Nato military officials that the existence of such a device "would compel Saudi Arabia to pursue policies which could lead to untold and possibly dramatic consequences".
He did not state explicitly what these policies would be, but a senior official in Riyadh who is close to the prince said yesterday his message was clear.
"We cannot live in a situation where Iran has nuclear weapons and we don't. It's as simple as that," the official said. "If Iran develops a nuclear weapon, that will be unacceptable to us and we will have to follow suit."
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/30/2011 8:38 Comments ||
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#2
Build?
LOLA!
Buy sure, hope you don't go for the cheap shit. Want to make sure your boom is made by a reputable firm? With a real history? Up to date spec-wise? Ready to dance? Virus Free?
I see no problem, the market is ready to roll.
Posted by: S ||
06/30/2011 18:30 Comments ||
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JEDDAH: A police patrol arrested a woman driving a car in the Sulaimaniya district in south Jeddah on Tuesday.
Police started looking for the woman after they got a call from a citizen saying he saw her driving. The man added that the driver did not cover her face. The drivers brother was also traveling in the car. The two have been handed to the Jamia police and investigations are under way.
According to police sources, the woman started driving from a north Jeddah neighborhood.
A number of women were caught driving over the last few weeks since the arrest of Manal Al-Sharif who drove a car in Alkhobar on May 21. Seven other women have been arrested since then.
Women also organized a campaign on June 17 to legalize women driving in the Kingdom.
(KUNA) -- An investigation has been launched into how leading Paleostinian activist Sheikh Raed Salah managed to get into the UK despite being banned, British Home Secretary Theresa May said Wednesday.
Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was jugged late last night in London by police, the Paleostine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said.
In a brief statement, May said officials from the UK Border Agency were now taking steps to remove Salah from the country.
Mrs May said "We do not normally comment on individual cases but in this case I think it is important to do so.
"I can confirm he was excluded and that he managed to enter the UK.
He has now been jugged and the UK Border Agency is now making arrangements to remove him.
"A full investigation is now taking place into how he was able to enter."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
At least She's smart enough to drive UN-blinded.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/30/2011 4:20 Comments ||
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Mexican security forces since Junr 20th seized 16.7 kilograms of processed marijuana, 45.4 kilograms of unprocessed marijuana, 303.5 kilograms of semisolid methamphetamine, 291.5 liters of liquid methamphetamine, 19.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and eight kilograms of cocaine.
A unit of the Mexican 9th Military Zone found a secret drug laboratory in Sinaloa state June 18th. The unit located the lab in the village of Los Naranjos in the Culican municipality. Seized were 303.5 kilograms of semisolid methamphetamine, 182 liters of liquid methamphetamine, 250 gallons of acetone, 20 liters of hydrochloric acid, 100 kilograms of caustic soda, , 60 kilograms of sodium acetate, 20 kilograms of tartaric acid, 5 kilograms of mercuric chloride, 30 kilograms of a substance unknown solid, 30 gallons of unknown liquid substance and other material.
A detachment of the Mexican 10th Military Zone found a number of drugs and weapons hidden in Durango state June 18th. The discovery was made in the village of Huazamota village in El Mezquital municipality, where soldiers found 45.4 kilograms of unprocessed marijuana, 15.3 kilograms of marijuana seeds, five kilograms of poppy seeds, eight rifles, five handguns, seven weapons magazines and 142 rounds of ammunition.
A unit of the Mexican 24th Military Zone seized 24 kilograms of cocaine in Cozumel, Quintana Roo June 29th. The drugs were found near Punta Arrecifes and totalled 24.9 kilograms in 25 packages.
Units of the Mexican 9th Military Zone found two drug laboratories in two separate locations in Sinaloa state June 21st. The labs were found in the villages of El Salado and Quila Vinata in Culican municipality. Seized materiel totalled 19 liters of liquid methamphetamine, five liters of acetone, 20 liters of ethyl alcohol, 200 kilograms of caustic soda, 10 kilos of tartaric acid, 20 kilos of calcium acetate and various containers and other equipment.
A detachment of the Mexican 9th Military Zone found a hidden drug laboratory in Sionaoa state June 22nd. The lab was found hidden in brush in the village of Nuevo Mundo in the Culiacän municipality. Contraband seized included five kilograms of methamphetamine, 130 liters of acetic anhydride, 35 liters of hydrochloric acid, eight liters of acetone, 1.5 kilograms of caustic soda, 10 kilograms and various containers and other equipment.
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A unit of the Mexican 13th Military Zone arrested four suspects at a traffic stop and seized a number of drugs and munitions June 22nd in Nayarit state. The stop took place in the La Bomba colony of Tecuala. Seized items included three rifles, one handgun, 25 weapons magazines, 2,248 rounds of ammunition, 16.7 kilograms of marijuana, 730 grams of crystal, amounts of cocaine and glass, five vehicles and miscellaneous equipment.
On June 24th a unit of the Mexican 15th Military Zone was dispatched to an area near El Rancho Rincón de las Marianas in the village of La Capilla in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos municipality in Jalisco state concerning armed suspects in the area. Soldiers arrested one individuals and seized 14.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, small amounts of marijuana and cocaine, two AR-15 assault rifles, four .223 caliber weapons magazines, 98 rounds of ammunition and one vehicle.
A Mexican Army units encountered armed suspects in Veracruz June 24th killing four and seizing an amount of munitions. The firefight took place in the Ignacio Zaragoza colony in Veracruz. Following the battle soldiers seized five rifles, one handgun , a grenade launcher attachment, two hand grenades, 77 weapons magazines, 1,830 rounds of ammunition, one vehicle and police uniforms.
A unit of the Mexican 9th Military Zone in Sinaloa state June 23rd found and destroyed a hidden drug laboratory. The raid took place in the village of El Realito in the Culiacan municipality. Seized material in the raid included 90.5 liters of liquid methamphetamine, 35 liters of hydrochloric acid, 80 liters of ethyl alcohol, 120 liters of unknown substances, 10 kilograms of caustic soda, five kilograms of sodium acetate, two kilograms of tartaric acid, 800 milliliters of ammonia, one pickup truck and other equipment.
A joint raid including elements of the Mexican 22rd Motorized Cavalry Regiment, 45th Military Zone and municipal police of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora hit a location in La Mesa colony in San Luis Rio Colorado June 25th arresting three and seizing a number of weapons and vehicles. According to the SEDENA press release the detainees were drunk and stoned and offered little resistance. Seized material included six rifles, two handguns, six weapons magazines, 510 rounds of ammunition, eight vehicles, one motorcycle, 25.8 grams of methamphetamine, USD $3,400.00 and MP $13,460.00 (USD $1,144.03).
Arrested included Raul Ibarra de la Paz, 49, Eddy Raul Ibarra Luna, 18, and Iriams Sadan Ibarra Luna. All three detainees listed addresses in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.
A unit of the Mexican 10th Military Zone found munitions and weapons hidden in Durango state June 25th. The materiel was found in the village of La Venada in the Coneto de Comonfort municipality. Seized materiel included six rifles, 11 handguns, eight weapons magazines, 79 rounds of ammunition, one bulletproof vest and various tactical gear.
A detachment of the Mexican 9th Military Zone came under small arms fire in Sinaloa state June 26th. The unit was in the village of El Marcol in the Guasave municipality when armed suspects inside a residence opened fire on them. Soldiers returned fire killing one. Four suspects were detained at the scene. Weapons seized included one Barret .50 caliber rifle, nine rifles, one grenade launcher attachment, five grenades, one 40mm grenade, 39 weapons magazines, 1,174 rounds of ammunition, six vehicles and tactical gear.
A unit of the Mexican 7th Military Zone seized cocaine in a traffic stop in Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon June 26th. Soldiers stopped a vehicle with a single individual in Hacienda Los Portales colony where they found eight kilograms of cocaine in the vehicle.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un's "youth and inexperience increase the likelihood of miscalculation," the next commander of the U.S. Forces Korea has warned. "These factors make him less predictable in the near term."
This does seem obvious, but perhaps a fair bit of the world doesn't follow the news in Korea.
Kim junior seems to be trying to "establish credibility with the military hardliners he needs to support [his] succession," Gen. James Thurman added.
But until full control of South Korean forces is handed back to Seoul next year, the CFC "must continue readiness preparations to fight and win a war with North Korea and at the same time prepare to deal with the complexity of a regime collapse and the attendant consequences," he said.
Thurman said the North has an inventory of more than 800 ballistic missiles and continues to build intercontinental ballistic missiles.
"North Korea grows closer to threatening the western United States and striking Okinawa, Guam and Alaska," he said. "This missile development program presents a threat which cannot be ignored."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > KOREAN PENINSULA: NORTH KOREA DIGGING DEFENSIVE CAVES [West coast = maritime border], SOUTH PREPARES FOR [DPRK Commando] INFILTRATION.
* SAME > US SENATE REOLUTION [agz China]ON SOUTH CHINA SEA IS UNTENABLE.
* WORLD NEWS > [Lowy Institute = Australia] THINK TANK FEARS [Regional = Asia] WAR OVER SOUTH CHINA SEA, espec among US, China, Japan, + India as per increasingly crowded maritime lanes.
* RELATED > DEFENCE FORUM INDIA = ASIA ON MARITIME CRASH [collsion] COURSE. Lowy Institute.
ARTIC = Asia fast becoming a "danger zone" due to State-specific NATIONALISM [manifest destiny], + HUNGER FOR RESOURCES.
* SAME > [China-Defence-Mashup reprint = Jan 01, 2011] CHINA'S SCENARIO TO SEIZE ISLANDS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA.
Massive preliminary PLAAF Air Strikes, as quickly ASAP by rapid Amphibious Assaults, PLAN North China Sea Fleet + East China Seas Fleet [espec Subs?] to take up "blocking positions" agz any incoming US-Allied naval relief.
Prob safe to say the Air, Amphib campaigns also includs coordinated Airborne-Paratroop Assaults. MORE, IMO CHINA LIKELY WILL CHOOSE TO IGNORE ANY MASS CASUALTIES INCURRED, as "time is of the essence" as per deterring or defeating US-Allied relief or reinforcement???
#2
I just have to wonder at the Fat young Man ruling such an austere , food free nation, sounds like a bar-b-que is in the offing, with HIM as the main dish
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/30/2011 4:15 Comments ||
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#3
I've got Junior in the Dead Pool for "24 hours after Kimmy croaks"
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has apparently canceled a visit to the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"It's my understanding that a summit between Chairman Kim Jong-il and President Dmitry Mevedev was known to be scheduled to take place in Russia's Far Eastern region of Vladivostok on June 30 or July 1," a senior South Korean government source told the Yonhap news agency. "We have no idea yet why the talks were canceled."
The cancelation follows weeks of speculation about the visit in South Korea. Government officials said Medvedev will be in Vladivostok from Wednesday to inspect preparations for the APEC Meeting next year.
Security had already been tightened, and Japan's Kyodo News earlier quoted Russian government officials as saying preparations were under way for the meeting between Kim and Medvedev.
But an intelligence source privy to North Korea affairs told Yonhap the two sides may have canceled the meeting because they failed to narrow differences over the agenda.
Kim visited China last month and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and the moment he returned the North said it would have no further contact with the Lee Myung-bak administration, which it claims is sticking to a "confrontational policy."
Experts believe Kim was trying to pressure both China and South Korea by mending ties with Russia. There has been no summit between the two sides since Kim met former Russian president Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok in August 2002.
The North Korean leader is desperate to get approval from his allies for the succession of his son Jong-un to the leadership, but China has been carefully noncommittal.
There is a rail link connecting the two countries that would allow the paranoid North Korean leader to visit because he refuses to travel on anything but his own special armored train.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] North Korea threatened on Wednesday to launch "a retaliatory sacred war" against South Korea for alleged slander as the two sides held rare talks on a stalled joint tourism project.
A Pyongyang government front man accused the South's front line army units of displaying slogans slandering the North's "army, system and dignity" and said they are "little short of a clear declaration of war".
The unidentified front man, in a statement carried by the official news agency, vowed to respond to any provocations with a "merciless retaliatory sacred war".
The South's Hankyoreh newspaper Monday quoted some of the slogans as reading "Let's stick swords and guns into the hearts of North Korean enemy army!" and "A club is the only medicine for a mad dog!"
The North made similar threats when South Korean reservists were found to be using pictures of Pyongyang's ruling Kim dynasty as rifle-range targets.
That practice has since been stopped.
Tensions have been high for well over a year, since the South accused the North of torpedoing a warship in March 2010 and killing 46 sailors.
Pyongyang denied the charge, but went on to shell a border island last November, killing four South Koreans including two civilians.
The latest warning came as 12 South Korean government officials and businesspeople traveled to a jointly-run mountain resort in the North to discuss the ownership of South Korean assets there.
Mount Kumgang opened in 1998 as a symbol of reconciliation and helped the impoverished communist state to earn tens of millions of dollars a year.
But the South suspended visits after a North Korean soldier rubbed out a Seoul tourist who had strayed into a restricted military zone in 2008.
Last year the North seized or sealed off several South Korean properties in protest at the failure to restart the tours.
On June 17 Pyongyang warned it would dispose of properties in the zone, and asked South Korean parties to visit Kumgang by June 30 to discuss the process.
The South's unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, said the North should respect all agreements with private businesses and Seoul's government.
"We will make this stance clear to the North during today's meeting at Kumgang in order to protect the property ownership of our companies," said spokeswoman Lee Jong-Joo.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
a round of popcorn for the Chinese and Russians!
President Barack Obama's top adviser on homeland security unveiled a new national strategy for counterterrorism Tuesday, formalizing actions taken over the past two and a half years. The strategy also lays out a vision for U.S. operations going forward given the death of Osama bin Laden and the changing political climate across the Middle East.
Al Qaeda, "its affiliates and its adherents" will be the main focus of operations, said John Brennan,
Another of President Obama's unconfirmed appointees. It seems he and the CIA had some disagreements which would have prevented him winning Senate approval to head the organization.
deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism.
"This is the first counterterrorism strategy that focuses on the ability of al Qaeda and its network to inspire people in the United States to attack us from within," he said in a speech at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "Indeed, this is the first counterterrorism strategy that designates the homeland as a primary area of emphasis in our counterterrorism efforts."
Signaling a shift in emphasis from the policies of President George W. Bush, who once spoke of a "crusade" to defeat al Qaeda, Brennan said the strategy was not aimed at the group's "grandiose vision of global domination through a violent Isalmic caliphate." That vision, he said is "absurd."
"We are not going to organize our counterterrorism politics against a feckless delusion that is never going to happen," he said.
Instead, as President Obama carries out his drawdown plan for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Brennan said the United States would no longer consider its best offense to be deploying large armies abroad, but instead, "delivering targeted, surgical pressure to the groups that threaten us."
Pakistan has stopped the United States from using an air base in the southwest of the country to launch drone strikes against militant groups, the defense minister was quoted as saying, as ties remain strained between the two countries.
Pakistan has long publicly opposed the missile attacks as a violation of its sovereignty, but has in private given support including intelligence to help target members of al-Qaida and the Taliban in the northwest region along the Afghan border.
The Financial Times quoted Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar as saying that Pakistan had ended U.S. drone flights out of Shamsi base in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, long reported to have been used for the covert war against militants.
"No U.S. flights are taking place from Shamsi any longer. If there have to be flights from the base, it will only be Pakistani flights," Mukhtar told the newspaper.
#1
According to the always interesting Nightwatch, Shamsi air base was closed in April 2011. It makes a great sound-bite, but this is mere wankerous political theater from our close, personal friends in the Land of the Pure.
[Dawn] The National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence on Wednesday was briefed by the top military officials who indicated that the attackers of PNS Mehran Base received help from within the base, DawnNews reported.
The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal, PAF briefed the Committee on the Mehran Base Attack.
The committee stressed for making fool proof security of the national assets and adopting necessary measures for preventing them from terrorist attacks in future.
The Committee was informed that four Orcs and similar vermin who attacked the Mehran Base Bloody Karachi were facilitated from inside the base.
Terrorists assaulted the headquarters of Pakistain's naval air force in Bloody Karachi on May 23 in the most brazen attack in the country since the killing of the late Osama bin Laden, ... who was laid out colder than a mackerel... killing 13 people, injuring 16 others and blowing up two military aircrafts.
The internal committee has completed its investigation whereas the joint investigation team is still carrying out its investigation.
The NA Committee decided to take the issue again after the completion of the report of joint investigation team.
A Sub-Committee was also constituted to look into the recruitment policy, security measures, salary and service structure of Airport Security Force (ASF).
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leader from Holland Amin Abu Rashid has been seen in recent days training with a Gazoo-bound flotilla crew in Greece, according to a report by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Thursday.
Rashid, described as the "brain" behind the flotilla, helped arrange the purchasing of the Dutch boat expected to be used in the expedition, De Telegraaf reported.
Rashid also allegedly organized the majority of the funding for the flotilla, the report said.
In an effort to add to the logistical difficulties of the Free Gazoo Flotilla and to try and prevent it from sailing, the Israel Law Center (Shurat HaDin) and New York attorney Isaac Jaroslawicz filed a civil action in the Florida State Court in Miami on Monday against the UK and US based global satellite company Inmarsat, alleging that it is providing essential communications services to ships used by suspected terror organizations in the Gazoo flotilla, scheduled to set sail in the coming days.
The suit was filed on behalf of Michelle Fendel, a resident of Sderot, who asserts in her complaint that under US law, Inmarsat and its officers have aided and abetted terrorism by providing satellite services to the Gazoo-bound ships and asks that the company cease from providing the services.
According to the lawsuit, Inmarsat and its corporate officers were in violation of US criminal statutes prohibiting the provision of material support for acts of violence and terrorism and the provision of material support for naval expeditions against US allies, and would also be held civilly liable for any damages or harm caused by participants in the flotilla.
"Provision of communications services constitutes 'material support or resources' within the meaning of 18 USC (article 2339A). Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, is a 'foreign terrorist organization' as defined in 18 USC (article 2339B). Therefore the provision of satellite communications services by Inmarsat to the Flotilla Ships constitutes a violation of articles 2339A and 2339B," read the statement of claims.
Before filing the lawsuit, Fendel's attorneys sent Inmarsat a warning letter demanding that it discontinue all satellite services to the boats being utilized to engage in hostile operations against Israel.
Inmarsat could not be reached for comment.
Shurat Hadin has been spearheading the legal battle against the upcoming flotilla, filing lawsuits in several countries, targeting the flotilla's organizers and sponsors as well as essential service providers.
Last week one of the ships that was scheduled to participate in the flotilla was informed that it would not be insured by its maritime insurance company, after the group sent out a warning letter, effectively making it impossible for the ship to leave its port in Marseille.
AN IRISH ship, the MV Saoirse , will not take part in the planned freedom flotilla which is preparing to sail to Gazoo because it has been sabotaged, according to one of the ship's intended passengers.
Speaking last night from the Turkish port of Göcek, Fintan Lane, the national co-ordinator of Irish Ship to Gazoo organization, said that the ship would not be able to sail as it had been "dangerously sabotaged", according to the organising campaign.
He said that the damage to the ship was discovered on Monday night when the captain noticed that there was something wrong. Divers found that a piece was missing from one of the propeller shafts.
"This was the type of sabotage that endangered human life," Mr Lane said last night. "They put divers under the boat who cut a piece out of the propeller shaft. That means that the damage would have happened gradually and what would have happened eventually is that the propeller would have come up through the bottom of the boat, caused a flood in the engine room and would have caused the boat to sink."
He said the attack was "unnerving" for the crew, classifying it as a "violent attack" on the lives of those aboard. He said pictures detailing the damage to the ship would be published by the campaign today during a presser in Dublin.
Mr Lane said that, due to the extent of the damage, the MV Saoirse would not be in a position to sail, adding that just six of the 20-plus crew who had been due to set sail would be able to take part in the flotilla by joining an Italian-based vessel today.
Those passengers who intend to board the Italian vessel include Mr Lane, former Munster and Ireland rugby player Trevor Hogan, Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy, Libyan-born Irish citizen Hussein Hamed, Derry-based Sinn Féin councillor Gerry MacLochlainn, and Zoe Lawlor, who teaches at the University of Limerick and is a member of the national committee of the Ireland Paleostine Solidarity Campaign.
Mr Lane said the damage to the ship was similar to that caused to the Swedish ship the Juliano , which organisers claim was sabotaged in the Greek port of Piraeus by "hostile divers".
Israel sent a message to Syrian President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... in recent days, warning him that if he started a war with the Jewish state in order to divert attention from domestic problems, Israel will target him personally, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the personal warning was sent through Turkey following intelligence reports of unusual Syrian troop movements, including the moving of long-range ballistic missiles that could be used to target Israel.
#3
It's not enough just to whack the top guy there since you don't know for absolute certainty he's the 'center of gravity' of the place. There are probably a number of players in the game. Best to cover the field that you'll hunt each one of them down while letting each think the other is ratting out their competitor.
#5
Khaddafy was a well-behaved little dictator for about 3 years after President Bush put the fear of God in him, even giving up his NBC program and filing cabinets full of documents on terrorist groups. So, making the tinhorn dictator afraid for his life and the lives of his family tends to pay off.
RAMALLAH: The Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Wednesday announced that Israel will start revoking the Palestinian prisoners' privileges.
The Israeli Channel 10 television quoted Aharonovitch as saying that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) will bar the prisoners from enrolling in university studies. Israel holds some 6,700 Palestinian prisoners in 23 jails and detention camps.
He added that the IPS will block the cellular reception in jails to prevent Hamas prisoners from communicating with the movement's prisoners in other Israeli jails and with the Hamas leaders in Gaza Strip. The minister added that the prisoners will not have the right to conjugal visits or vacations.
According to the minister, the measures are part of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to take away prisoners' privileges in order to pressure Hamas into releasing kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still held in Hamas captivity since June 2006.
Netanyahu's decision came in response to Hamas' refusal to let the International Committee of the Red Cross International Red Cross (ICRC) visit Shalit.
About time. Israel should also make clear that in any prisoner exchange, they'll deliver like for like: if Hamas delivers Shalit alive, Israel will deliver the Paleo prisoners alive. If Hamas delivers Shalit dead, Israel will deliver the Paelo prisoners the same way -- and make them as necessary.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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JERUSALEM - An Israeli Cabinet minister says Israel is "prepared for the worst" in trying to block a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists planning to breach Israel's sea blockade of Gaza.
Information Minister Yuli Edelstein urged organizers Wednesday to call off the voyage and deliver their cargo of medicine and construction materials to Gaza via an Israeli port.
The ships are to sail to Gaza from Greece toward the end of the week, and Israel has said it will sink them not let them reach Gaza.
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06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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The four suspects indicted Thursday in the 2005 liquidation of Rafik Hariri are Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Aineysseh and Asad Sabra, according to Lebanese reports.
According to The Daily Star, Badreddine is cousin and a brother-in-law of slain Hezbullies terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in 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... in 2008.
The Lebanese paper quoted a judicial source who named the suspects.
The four suspects indicted Thursday in the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri are Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Aineysseh and Asad Sabra, according to Lebanese reports.
According to The Daily Star, Badreddine is cousin and a brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in Damascus in 2008.
The Lebanese paper quoted a judicial source who named the suspects.
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud ShortRound Ahmadinejad on Wednesday denounced the arrests of several allies, as a months-long power struggle within Irans ruling system flared between the president and rival hard-liners.
Authorities arrested four senior government officials in the past week in a clear challenge to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. Critics of Ahmadinejad accuse him of trying to set up the controversial Mashaei or another loyalist to succeed him in elections in 2013.
The four arrested officials, who have been accused of corruption, are close to Mashaei, who is despised by hard-line clerics and others who believe he is seeking to undermine the ruling system.
Clerics describe Mashaei as the head of a deviant current that seeks to elevate the values of pre-Islamic Persia and promote nationalism at the cost of clerical rule.
These moves (arrests) are politically motivated. Its clear to us that it is aimed at pressuring the government, the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying Wednesday.
The four arrested officials include Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, who was forced to resign as deputy foreign minister for financial and administrative affairs. The others are Ali Reza Moghimi and Ali Asghar Parhizkar, who both headed free-trade zones, and Deputy Industry Minister Afshin Roghani. All of them deny the corruption allegations.
Seeking to limit the damage, the president warned against the arrest of any senior members of his Cabinet, calling that a red line.
Ahmadinejad has strongly defended Mashaei, whose daughter is married to the presidents son, saying attacks against Mashaei are actually directed at him.
That's correct...
The power struggle surfaced in April, when Ahmadinejad publicly challenged Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by dismissing the intelligence minister without Khameneis approval. Khamenei reinstated the minister in a public slap to the president.
Ahmadinejad boycotted Cabinet meetings for 10 days before finally giving in to Khameneis order. Since then, the president has been under increasing attack by his rivals in Irans conservative camp.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
That odd sqeeeek in the distance? Is that a trumbrel?
Posted by: S ||
06/30/2011 18:39 Comments ||
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#2
my advice? He should nuke Qom
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/30/2011 20:24 Comments ||
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"He should nuke Qom"
From orbit, Frank, just to be sure.
And what luck! They're getting ready to launch a monkey him. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/30/2011 20:48 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Contacts between Premier Najib Miqati and officials involved in striking a consensual deal on the international tribunal clause in the policy statement have reached a standstill, media reports said Wednesday.
Miqati's sources confirmed to al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... newspaper that major progress was made in the drafting of the policy statement except for the tribunal clause. "Contacts are underway to agree on the final formula."
Well-informed sources said that Hizbullah is still insisting on not including any reference to the tribunal in the policy statement while the government's centrist forces -- Miqati, President Michel Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... -- reject the idea.
The three officials want a formula that doesn't widen the gap among Leb's different factions and doesn't put Leb in confrontation with the international community and its resolutions, the sources told al-Mustaqbal.
They believe that Hizbullah would eventually agree to include a clause on the tribunal in the ministerial statement because not doing so would lead to the collapse of the cabinet.
The differences between Miqati and Jumblat on one side and Hizbullah on the other are already threatening the existence of the cabinet, a ministerial source told al-Liwaa newspaper.
The source said that the consultations held by the 12-member committee drafting the policy statement have been divided between the stance of the premier and the PSP chief who want a reference to the tribunal and the position of Hizbullah that is either calling for the adoption of a clause that says the court is biased and politicized or ignoring the entire clause.
The committee is scheduled to hold another meeting on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Donations to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) no longer are tax deductible after the organization was among 275,000 tax-exempt organizations purged earlier this month by the Internal Revenue Service.
The groups failed to file required annual reports, known as form 990s, detailing their revenues and expenses, for three consecutive years. CAIR had been a non-profit on its own, but in 2007, the IRS approved a separate tax-exempt CAIR Foundation. The foundation never filed any subsequent reports. Both the foundation and CAIR national are on the purge list. Note: if you donated to CAIR before June 22, you can still claim the itemization as the finding is not retroactive - also CAIR could file the required paperwork and be reinstated - although they will might claim "Islamophobia" and try to get Dennis K or Sheila L J to submit legislation to give them a special status.
A key bit of information for the many CAIR donors who read Rantburg, although no doubt it's generally applicable to donors to the many other philanthropic organizations who hadn't got round to filing their paperwork by the deadline.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
06/30/2011 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.
JEDDAH: A police patrol arrested a woman driving a car in the Sulaimaniya district in south Jeddah on Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un's "youth and inexperience increase the likelihood of miscalculation," the next commander of the U.S. Forces Korea has warned. "These factors make him less predictable in the near term." 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has apparently canceled a visit to the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
North Korea
[Dawn] The National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence on Wednesday was briefed by the top military officials who indicated that the attackers of PNS Mehran Base received help from within the base, DawnNews reported.
Israel sent a message to Syrian 
RAMALLAH: The Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Wednesday announced that Israel will start revoking the Palestinian prisoners' privileges.
Najib Miqati
