[Al Ahram] South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has ordered his country's army to pull out of a buffer zone area on the border with Sudan as agreed at African Union-brokered talks, South Sudan's army spokesman said on Monday.
The two former civil war rivals agreed at the talks on Friday to order the withdrawal within a week to ease tensions that have plagued them since South Sudan seceded in July 2011.
After teetering on the brink of full-scale conflict in April during the worst border clashes since their split, the two countries had agreed in September to set up the buffer zone. However, they did not implement it.
The agreement, if adhered to, would be a major step toward resuming oil exports from landlocked South Sudan through pipelines in Sudan, which Juba shut off during a row over fees more than a year ago.
Both countries depended heavily on oil for revenue and the foreign currency they use to import food and fuel for their conflict-weary and impoverished populations.
"The Sudan People's Liberation Army has received instructions from the commander in chief of the SPLA (army), President Salva Kiir, to effect the withdrawal from the proposed safe demilitarized buffer zone," South Sudan armed forces spokesman Philip Aguer said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] A military source who spoke to Ahram Online on Monday slammed recent statements by the office of Egypt's prosecutor-general in which the latter gave the green light to members of the public to make citizen's arrests of anyone found committing acts of vandalism.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the move would open the door to the formation of "private militias" and raise the spectre of "civil war."
The military source supported his assertions by pointing to the reaction to the statement by Islamist groups, some of whom quickly announced plans to set up 'popular committees' to replace striking police officers.
"This policy crosses the state's red lines...the armed forces will not accept anything that threatens national security," he said.
"Egypt's armed forces don't stand on the side of any political faction, but that's not an excuse for certain groups to begin forming militias," he added.
The source went on to warn that such a step "could prompt the military to intervene."
In a Sunday statement, the prosecutor-general's office urged members of the public "to exercise the right afforded them by Article 37 of Egypt's criminal procedure law to arrest anyone found committing a crime and refer them to official personnel."
The statement came within the context of an ongoing strike by Egyptian police officers that began last Tuesday. Police personnel in several Egyptian governorates -- including Cairo and Alexandria -- have since joined the strike to demand the dismissal of the interior minister and a halt to what they see as their being used as pawns in the country's ongoing political stalemate.
Meanwhile, ...back at the desert island, Irene was indignant at the thought of doing such a thing without benefit of clergy... Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya's Construction and Development Party announced plans this week to establish 'security committees' in several Upper Egyptian cities to replace police in the event that the strikes persist.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Coalition to Support Tourism (CST) condemns the prosecutor-general's decision to allow citizens' arrests announced on Sunday, arguing it raises many worries among tourists.
Many tourism agents called the head of the CST, Ehab Moussa in alarm. He told Ahram Online that they wanted to confirm the rumour over what they feel is a strange decision.
The "judiciary policing" (the direct translation for the criminal law) will allow any citizen to arrest someone committing a crime.
Moussa claims that tourists would then be mistreated and blackmailed in Egypt.
"If a tourist rebuffed an Egyptian merchant, refusing to buy something, the merchant might accuse the tourist of spying and arrest him," he said.
Several political powers criticised the decision, expecting that it could lead to a civil war in Egypt if citizens are given the right to arrest each other.
Only Islamist political powers, represented by the Freedom and Justice Party and Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, welcomed the decision as an attempt to curb the security deterioration in the country.
Egypt has fallen to the lowest rank out of 140 countries in terms of safety and security, just behind Pakistan, Chad and Yemen, in the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s Travel and Tourism (T&T) competitiveness index released last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't believe the wife and I will be vacationing in Egypt this summer.
[Al Ahram] "We are taking back this territory almost meter by meter. There will doubtless be other violent battles. Three weeks from now, if all goes as planned, we will have covered all of this territory," French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French media published on Monday.
Le Drian said to Le Monde in an interview that while the results of DNA tests were still being awaited, it seemed likely that top al Qaeda leaders in the region had been killed in recent fighting and that it was now a matter of flushing out foot soldiers.
His view on the timetable was in line with France's goal to start winding down its eight-week-old military intervention in Mali in April and handing over to African forces.
Asked whether that meant the rebels' sanctuary around the Ifoghas mountains would be safe, even if some Islamist militants were still hiding out there, Le Drian said: "Overall security will have been restored in this space. I am not going to tell you that we are going to hunt them down to the last man."
Le Drian said on Friday at the end of a brief visit to Mali that French forces were now deep in the Islamists' stronghold in the remote valleys of northern Mali and had uncovered big caches of weapons stockpiled by the al-Qaeda-linked fighters.
Chad has said its soldiers killed al Qaeda's two top leaders in the region, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid and Mokhtar Belmokhtar. If true, that would be a major coup, but Le Drian cautioned that hundreds of lower level militants had been found in the area.
"We have clearly killed leaders and lower-level chiefs. Even if it still needs to be confirmed, it's likely that Abou Zeid is gone. That does not solve everything," he told Le Monde.
He said the fact that neighboring countries had shut their borders with Mali made it harder to hunt down fighters, including mercenaries, who had fled abroad.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] The Libyan interior ministry said on Sunday (March 10th) that it would provide full security for the General National Congress (GNC), Libya Herald reported.
Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail previously stated that security for congress was the responsibility of the assembly's own guards. News of the shift comes in the wake of a number of attacks on political leaders in the capital and elsewhere.
In one of the latest incidents, hundreds of demonstrators attacked lawmakers last week in attempt to force passage of the Political Isolation law, which would ban former Kadhafi officials from serving in government. GNC President Mohamed Magarief came under fire as he drove away from the scene.
Bullets smashed the side windows of the president's vehicle but failed to penetrate a second internal glass shield. The car was also equipped with run-flat tyres.
On Saturday, Magarief declared in a press conference along with a number of deputies that the parliament refuses views dictated by force, and refuses that its meetings take place under the pressure of arms and terrorism.
"It is not the right of a group of Libyans to claim to speak on behalf of all Libyans, nor to resort to tactics that are not peaceful and threaten to lead the country into a tunnel, an abyss and sedition. Libyans have only the right to express themselves with peaceful civilised manners," the president said.
The situation in Libya is still unstable despite the fact that the interim government headed by Ali Zidan has prioritised building the army and police forces.
Insecurity has also impacted the country's economy. Gas exports to Italy were suspended for a week after a tribal clash at the Mellitah Oil and Gas Complex, west of Tripoli. Members of the Zintan militia had exchanged gunfire with armed groups from Zuwara before the Libyan army intervened to quell the violence.
The flow of gas through the Greenstream pipeline was resumed on Friday, according to an official with Italy's Eni, which jointly owns the complex with Libya's National Oil Corporation.
Sporadic tribal shootouts have also erupted in southern Libya. Saad el-Orfi, spokesman for the military command of the southern region, said on Sunday that a clash took place in Al-Minshia area of Sabha between the Warfalla and the Qadhadhfa tribes, resulting in a total of three dead and 12 wounded.
He added that the troops of the military command in co-operation with security forces had the situation under control with the help of elders, notables and prominent figures of the region.
In the Nafusa Mountains, the Mashashiya and Guntrar tribes have battled it out over control of Mizdah, about 170km southwest of Tripoli. According to the Red Crescent, thousands of people have been displaced by the violence.
At least five people were killed and fifteen injured in the latest Mizdah skirmish, according to Ibrahim Abu Shaala, the congressman representing the town. He said that shots fired by the Guntrar tribe lasted throughout Sunday morning, along with Grad rockets and tank shells.
Mizdah local council chief Abdul Hakim Badran also reported an exchange of heavy weapons in the town. According to the General Staff of the National Army, troops are moving to the region to separate the two sides.
Meanwhile, this past week witnessed an attack on Alassema TV, which broadcasts from Tripoli, and the brief detention of a group of workers at the station. Alassema resumed broadcasting a few hours after the attack, though some of its equipment was destroyed.
Benghazi has also seen a number of attacks by rogue gunmen. Two weeks ago, an unknown group of people attacked a church in Benghazi, which drew condemnations from residents.
Fatima Mansour, 43, a primary school teacher, said those who attacked the Egyptian church were "an irresponsible group that only represents a few people".
"They didn't show what their goals were behind this individual act. As a people, we respect all religions, and we're against the assault on the church vicar, Rev. Paula, and his assistant," she said.
Moussa Ali said, "The attack was carried out by extremists who give themselves a license to trample on the blood of their fellow Muslims, let alone Christians' blood. Their behaviour is against the teachings of Islam, norms, human rights and divine religions."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Saudi authorities have freed all but two of a group of women arrested early this month while staging a sit-in to demand the release of Islamist prisoners in the city of Buraida, police said on Monday.
"All women arrested have been freed, with the exception of two of them who refused to leave even after all procedures for their release were completed," a police spokesman in the northern Qassim province said in a statement carried by the SPA news agency.
"Contacts are ongoing with their families to convince them to implement the judicial order," said the spokesman.
SPA had previously reported that Saudi police arrested 176 people on March 1 for holding a protest.
Authorities have accused the protesters of acting on behalf of "deviant groups" -- a term they usually use to refer to the Al-Qaeda jihadist network.
During a Thursday tour of Buraida, Qassim's main city, interior ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki said that all prisoners had been released "with the exception of 19 women, 55 Saudis, and an Egyptian who had impersonated a Saudi."
Demonstrations are banned in Saudi Arabia, an ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom that has remained relatively untouched by the Arab Spring uprisings.
Small groups of women have gathered almost daily in Buraida, north of Riyadh, to demand the release of imprisoned Islamist relatives, and dozens of protesters held a rare sit-in outside the Buraida prison in September.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
#1
Really freed?
Or simply turned loose?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/12/2013 2:02 Comments ||
Top||
#2
depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
#3
Running out of manly men for beheadings, no longer stoning the uppity womynz, outsourcing teh jihadz.
Are the Lords of the Sod getting 4th/5th generation plump?
Perhaps if they had spent their time greening the desert the world would be more at peace and they would only be worried about who mows the grass. The Mighty Arab - benefactor of tourism and mineral rights, no longer even able to keep the girlie folks wrapped up and in the home.
[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami, in collaboration with BNP, had been attacking the minorities in a planned way as it had done in 1971 and 2001 to force the Hindus leave the country, alleged Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee yesterday.
"There is no alternative to banning Jamaat right now to protect the minority communities, eliminate militancy and accelerate socio-economic growth," said acting president of the Nirmul committee Shahriar Kabir.
He was addressing a press conference on "Recent communal violence of Jamaat and duties of the government and citizens" organised by the committee at Dhaka Reporters' Unity.
Religious fanatics have been attacking minorities at different places of the country since February 28, the day International Crimes Tribunal-1 awarded Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee death sentence on charge of committing crimes against humanity during Liberation War in 1971.
In the last 11 days, at least five Hindu people had been killed in more than 2,000 incidents of communal violence across the country, said Shahriar Kabir.
He emphasised forming "mass resistance committee" at every neighbourhood to defend against communal attacks.
"Resistance committees, comprised of officials of local administration, local MPs, political leaders, and social and cultural organisations, and imams of mosques, should be formed," Kabir said.
On war crimes trials, he said it was urgent to pass the witness protection act to safeguard the witnesses, especially those of the war crimes cases.
"Some Hindu witnesses have already fled. If protection cannot be ensured, no witness will turn up in the tribunals," said Kabir, adding that none involved with the trial process were safe.
Prosecutor of an international crimes tribunal and Nirmul Committee law affairs secretary Tureen Afroz also stressed the need for the witness protection act.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
[Independent] The two Irfans spoke of how they cowered for hours in 45 Celsius heat to avoid being attacked by drone missiles in a graphic description of life in terror camps in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistain.
The heavyweight Naseer said that he resorted to eating berries as he hid beneath a tree while hearing drones overhead as the recruits prepared to set off explosives in a valley, a 40-minute drive from the 'classroom' where they were taught terror skills.
The pair were forced to stay there for more than four hours, according to the account by Naseer, picked up on secret recording devices rigged up by the authorities.
"Was so dry, so dry I was... I was forcing spit to come up so I could swallow it again yeah, I was about to die of dehydration yeah, for two days after that my peshab (urine) was orange colour almost," he told his colleagues. He recalled thinking: "If I have to stay here for another hour I will pray that I get hit by a drone."
The ability to train recruits has been hampered because of the threat of drone strikes in the mountainous region of Wazoo, said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. "I think the conclusion for the security services is that the pressure in Waziristan is working," he said.
The difficulty of the training meant that the pair feigned illness and were expelled after hiding in a room watching jihadi videos during one of the two men's trips to Pakistain.
After their return to Britannia, they later sent four young men to the same camp but the project was undermined when one of them phoned home to his family within hours of arriving.
Rivals at a backstreet gym, used by Birmingham Death Eaters, were furious that inexperienced young men had been sent and feared that it would lead to police attention.
The court has heard that a man due to stand trial over this terror plot and a second man dubbed "the terrorists' favourite bookseller" -- Ahmed Faraz -- both had financial interests in the gym.
Faraz ran the former Maktabah Islamic bookshop in Birmingham, distributing terrorist books and DVDs that ended up in the hands of bully boyz including the leader of the 7/7 jacket wallahs. He was locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! last year but was cleared on appeal of some of the charges and is free.
Bugged messages suggested that Mr Faraz passed Irfan Naseer's name to the family of one of the men who travelled to Pakistain, who were desperately trying to get him back.
Naseer subsequently received a death threat from the member of the family, according to transcripts of the bugged conversations. The dispute was painted as between "armchair" jihadists and a group who had actually sent people abroad for training.
During bugged conversations, Irfan Naseer said: "I asked big people about Maktabah guys. You know what they go to me? They go, all right they're doing these books and stuff, but why they do nothing physical? They said it."
The family of one of the men sent abroad, Shahid Khan, recruited a community leader to take them to several mosques to try to find associates who could tell them where he was, The Independent has learned.
One of the plotters' associates refused to say where Khan was until he was threatened with the police, said Nazir Shah, a local campaigner whose family helped with the search. The friend responded by saying he would call them in 24 hours.
A day later, the family received a call to say that he was in Pakistain. "One of the uncles had a relative there who was a policeman. He told him: 'Wherever they are, get them out'," said Mr Shah.
The four men were swiftly tracked down to a terror camp and three were sent home within three days, according to court documents. The fourth, Mr Khan, was kept virtually imprisoned by his family until he was sent back several months later.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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The United States has expelled two Venezuelan diplomats, the State Department said Monday, a diplomatic tit-for-tat following the Latin American oil giant's expulsion of two American military attachés last week.
The two mid-level diplomats left the country Sunday, one day after the State Department notified the Venezuelan Embassy that each had been declared "persona non grata," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The move is described by an official as unrelated to any specific actions the pair might have taken. Nuland would not say whether the explusions were delayed until after the funeral of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's long-serving and stridently anti-American leader. Chavez's recent death has complicated the already difficult diplomatic dealings between the two countries. Embassies are open in both capitals, but without full ambassadors in charge.
The two expelled officials are second secretary Jose Orlando Montanez Olivares and consular officer Victor Camacaro Mata. The State Department gave no information on the length of the men's service in the United States or their specific duties, but said their expulsion was a commensurate response to Venezuela's action, not a reaction to specific actions the two might have taken.
Chavez's March 5 death was the impetus for Venezuela's expulsion of the two Americans. Chavez's leftist backers have, at times, accused the United States of poisoning him or causing his cancer.
The Obama administration has said it wants to repair badly frayed relations with Venezuela, but Chavez's death is unlikely to provide much of an opening. Venezuela will hold a presidential election next month, and Chavez's chosen successor is firmly anti-American.
"Clearly, when you have an incident that you consider unjust, and then you need to take reciprocal action and make your point," Nuland said.
That's all this is about.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
"Tit and Tat"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/12/2013 8:13 Comments ||
Top||
South Korean and U.S. authorities have found dozens of accounts presumed to belong to North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un in several banks in Shanghai and other parts of China. They contain hundreds of millions of dollars.
Yet for some reason the accounts were excluded from financial sanctions under the new UN Security Council Resolution 2098, which was adopted last Thursday, posing questions over the effectiveness of the measures.
For some reason indeed...
A government source here said an investigation that lasted for several years led South Korea and the U.S. to the accounts. "We have located the names of the account holders and account numbers, some of them set up in the days of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il," the source added.
South Korean and U.S. officials urged China to include the accounts in the latest sanctions against North Korea, but Beijing apparently refused.
They gotta keep their boy in twinkies and cognac...
"Following North Korea's third nuclear test, China has demonstrated willingness to take part in sanctions against the North," the government source said. "But Beijing is reluctant to touch North Korea's real Achilles heel."
There's a lesson there for you gullible Westerners...
The South Korean government believes freezing the bank accounts would have a stronger impact than freezing Kim Jong-il's accounts held at Macau's Banco Delta Asia some years ago because they hold much more money.
In 2005, the U.S. froze US$25 million Kim Jong-il had deposited in some 50 accounts at BDA. North Korea hit back by boycotting the six-party nuclear talks, launching a long-range missile and conducting its first nuclear test in 2006.
The latest UN sanctions in response to North Korea's third nuclear test require banks in member countries to halt financial services for the North involving funds that could be used to develop nuclear weapons or missiles. The sanctions also prohibit North Korean banks from engaging in new financial activities in UN member nations and vice versa.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Were the confiscated?
If not, why hot, it'll help the budget crunch.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/12/2013 2:13 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Not confiscated -- the money is in Chinese banks.
Remember, North Korea is China's lapdog. China funds it, cares for it, looks after it, and in return the Norks do as they're told.
China's agreeing to a UN strongly-worded resolution on a nuke test? Window-dressing for gullible Westerners.
China's refusal to impound Pudgy's money? That's the real business right there.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2013 7:55 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Geez, I know a couple of kids down at Game Stop that for a case of Mountain Dew and a case of corn dogs would hack those mothers and drain them for posterity.
Where do you want the money deposited? The kids need a routing number to do the transfer.
I mean the CIA could be a bit more imaginative than that...crap half the kids in LA can hack a Chinese freaking bank.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/12/2013 9:47 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Well, that explains the threats and bluster coming from the Norks. Dear Leader's wallet is in danger!
#5
Bill C, hacking is of course illegal, and we'd never condone that here.
But watching the Chinese, the masters of hacking, and the look of incredulity (then horror) on their faces, and the rage as Pudgy pounds his tiny fists on a desk and executes a few Nork generals, would make me want to contribute to the Mountain Dew and corn dog fund.
Just for educational purposes, you understand...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2013 11:52 Comments ||
Top||
#6
A clever hacker would hack the accounts and leave a trail leading back to that Chinese hacker den that poked into US government stuff recently.
[USATODAY] Increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and provocations are pushing more South Koreans to raise the once unthinkable: developing their own nuclear deterrent, analysts said Monday.
South Korean politician Chung Mong Joon of the governing Saenuri, or New Frontier Party, indicated that the South may have to look into a nuclear deterrent given that North Korea is acting like "a gangster."
The South Korean newspaper Joong Ang Ilbo suggested in an editorial that the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" may not be enough. Although the South is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty, which means the country cannot legally develop nuclear weapons, the newspaper says the North's threats mean new defenses must be considered.
"Nuclear weapons can be stopped only with nuclear weapons, as in the mutual assured destruction that prevented a nuclear conflict during the Cold War," it said.
Bruce Klingner, former deputy chief for Korea in the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence under President Bill Clinton, says a nuclear South is a "non-starter."
A nuclear-armed South Korea could cause Japan, a U.S. ally that has tense relations with South Korea, to go nuclear, too, creating unnecessary instability in the northeast Asia region, Klingner said. Besides, he said, South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953 has had the same assurances that the United States would defend it that Western Europe has had since the end of World War II. So lemme get this straight: NKor, which is led by a family of lunatics, gets nuke weapons. But SKor, which is usually rational, shouldn't get them because that would make Japan, also usually rational, get them, too. Instead they should both rely on the U.S. "nuclear umbrella," which is under the control of B.O., who could give a projectile crap whether SKor and/or Japan get nuked as long as his party picks up seats in the next election. Y'gotta hand it to "Some." The guy's a genius. Of sorts.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
"Mahanist" Rising China is unlikely to accept either the DPRK or ROK going Nukulaar, let alone main rival Japan, espec iff it China does not have de facto sovereign or military control over
"post-US","Manifest Destiny"-important TAIWAN.
OTOH pragmatically procurement of NucWeaps may SSSSSSSSSHHHHHH ... CCCCCCC be the only way the two Koreas can effectively finally integrate + reunify despite China's eye.
Again, IMO China still desires to have tech-saavy Japan under its Nuke or Geopol Umbrella than under the US, + also desires to keep SCO-CSTO BFF Russia out of any NE Asia mil conflict agz the US-Allies + UNCOM.
To keep Mama Russia happy nothing can go boom or glow-in-the-dark over in Japan.
'TIS GOOD FOR NIPPON AS IT MAY MEAN CHINA WON'T ENGAGE IN ALL-OUT CONVENTIONAL OR LIMITED-VS-FULL NUCLEAR CONFLICT AGZ JAPAN PROPER, + KEEP ANY COMBAT OER THE SENKAKUS [Okinawa?] limited to "MIG ALLEY II" or "FALKLANDS" STYLE WAR SCENARIOS [Nippon = secondary, not primary combat front for PLA]. Japan + SDF may still see attacks agz key or select milbases by the PLA.
'TIS B-A-D, HOWEVER FOR US + TAIWAN + ASEAN, AS IT MEANS THE PLA MAY ENGAGE IN DIRECT OR INTENSIVE DEDICATED MILACTIONS FROM TAIWAN ALL THE WAY TO THE PHILIPPINES + SOUTH CHINA SEA, TO INCLUD INDIA-PAKISTAN ON THE MAINLAND.
Again, from the mostly empty Northern PHIL the PLA can cover any approach by intervening US CVBGS + EBGS.
#5
ION TOPIX > [Korea Herald] NORTH KOREA FIELDING MOBILE ICBM: US INTELLIGENCE CHIEF [USDNI Director James Clapper].
* WORLD NEWS > [Guardian.UK] NORTH KOREA PUTS TROOPS ON "MAXIMUM ALERT" FOR POSSIBLE WAR WITH SOUTH.
Anytime, anywhere, perhaps right now???
* Also from GUARDIAN.UK > US DEEMS NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR STRIKE UNLIKELY WIDOUT THREAT TO DYNASTY.
* KYOTO NEWS > NORTH KOREA READY FOR [sudden = surprise] MILITARY ATTACKS WIDOUT WARNING: US OFFICIAL, even iff warnings were made long past.
* GLOBAL TIMES > MILITARY CONFLICT ON KOREAN PENINSULA "INEVITABLE", SAYS CHINESE MEDIA [various sources].
ARTIC > ROK = SOUTH KOREA is too reliant or over-dependent on its security alliance wid the US; SITUATION IS NOW SUCH THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR INTERVENTION ON THE PENINSULA BY ANY FOREIGN POWER.
versus
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > NORTH KOREA: NUCLEAR DETERRENCE IS VITAL TO CRUSHING US-LED ANTI-REUNIFICATION IMPERIALIST DESIGNS + INDUCING OR FOSTERING SAIDSAME FINAL INTER-KOREAN REUNIFICATION VIA THE "UNIVERSAL SWORD".
* SAME > US CIA ANALYST: NORTH KOREA POSSESSES THIRD-GENERATION EMP NUCLEAR WARHEADS/BOMBS CAPABLE OF DESTROYING THE US TECHNOLOGICAL GRID IN A SINGLE BLAST. CONVENTIONAL-ONLY NEW KOREAN WAR COULD RESULT IN UP TO ONE-MILYUHN CASUALTIES.
* SAME > NORTH KOREA SPOKESMAN: DPRK SOLDIERS AND PEOPLE READY TO BECOME "HUMAN BOMBS/BULETS" TO DEFEAT US-ALLIED FORCES ON THE PENINSULA, + DEFEND KIM-JONG-UN + REGIME.
* SAME > US NAVY: MOBILIZATION, DEPLOYMENT OF LAND-BASED BALLISTIC MISSLES + AIRPOWER BY MAINLAND CHINA DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM TAIWAN EFFECTIVELY CHANGES THE "BALANCE OF COMBAT POWER" IN THE TAIWAN STRAITS TO THE ADVANTAGE OF CHINA + PLA. US NUCLEAR CARRIERS TO SUFFER MORE DIFFICULTIES IN DEFEATING THE THREAT FROM CHINESE LAND-BASED MISSLES IN THE DEFENSE OF TAIWAN.
[Al Ahram] A UN human rights monitor accused North Korea of committing a string of crimes against humanity, laying out a litany of abuses before the world body's top rights forum.
Marzuki Darusman told the UN Human Rights Council that he had identified nine areas of key concern, including depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
"I believe that many, if not all, of the nine patterns of violation, identified in my present report, may amount to crimes against humanity, committed as part of systematic and or widespread attacks against civilian population," Darusman, who hails from Indonesia, told the Council as he presented a report on the situation in North Korea
He pressed his demands for an international commission of inquiry into the human rights record of North Korea, which repeatedly has refused to cooperate with Darusman and other UN investigators.
Japan and the European Union are set to lodge a resolution at the Council -- which wraps up its month-long sitting on March 22 -- creating such a commission.
Last month, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay decried the "deplorable" situation in North Korea, saying a commission of inquiry was "long overdue".
But North Korea rejected the criticism on Monday, with its delegate Kim Ju-song claiming that Darusman was in league with "hostile forces", citing Japan, the EU and the United States.
"We make it clear again. The human rights violations identified in this report do no exist," Kim said.
"The government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will continue to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of its people."
North Korea won support at the Council from China, whose delegate said creating a commission of inquiry could "escalate tensions" on the Korean Peninsula.
Iran, Cuba and Venezuela also criticised the plan, calling for dialogue, not naming and shaming, and accusing the West of double standards.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
Name your favorite 4th world country...
U.S. intelligence leaders said for the first time on Tuesday that cyber attacks and cyber espionage have supplanted terrorism as the top security threat facing the United States.
That stark assessment, in an annual "worldwide threat" briefing that covered concerns as diverse as North Korea's belligerence and Syria's civil war, was reinforced in remarks by the spy chiefs before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
They expressed concern that computer technology is evolving so quickly it is hard for security experts to keep up.
"In some cases, the world is applying digital technologies faster than our ability to understand the security implications and mitigate potential risks," James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, told the committee.
In written testimony, Clapper softened his analysis somewhat, playing down the likelihood of catastrophic attacks on the United States in the near term - either through digital technologies, or from foreign or domestic militants employing traditional violence.
But this year's annual threat briefing underscored how, a decade after the Iraq war began and nearly two years after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, digital assaults on government and computer networks have supplanted earlier security fears.
Good little dhimmies.
Civic officials joined Arab and Muslim leaders to denounce what they call offensive anti-Islamic ads that will appear on 10 buses for the next month in San Francisco.
The ads were paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative and feature Osama bin Laden, the Times Square car bomber and the alleged gunman in the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings accompanied by quotes about warfare and weapons that the group links to Islam.
At least one of the ads contains a quote attributed to the militant Islamic group Hamas that reads: "Killing Jews is worship that brings us closer to Allah."
Officials said the ads were racist.
"These offensive ads serve no purpose than to denigrate our city's Arab and Muslim communities," District Attorney George Gascon said on Monday.
One of the ads contains a quote attributed to the militant Islamic group Hamas that reads: "Killing Jews is worship that brings us closer to Allah."
Mayor Ed Lee added, "San Francisco is a city that celebrates its diversity and hateful speech and discrimination against our Arab and Muslim communities will never be tolerated."
Board of Supervisors president David Chiu was expected to introduce a resolution on Tuesday condemning the ads.
Similar ads have appeared on transit systems in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Portland, Ore. The group ran similar ads in San Francisco in August and has also posted ads in New York City, including one in September that called enemies of Israel "savages."
Officials with San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Authority believe a First Amendment court decision protecting freedom of speech means it must accept the advertising.
As it did last summer, the transit agency plans to give the $5,000 paid for the ads to the city's Human Rights Commission to study the impact of discrimination on San Francisco's Islamic communities and run its own ads against discrimination.
[Dawn] The National Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding the government form a judicial commission to probe the riots in Badami Bagh Lahore, besides expediting the payment of compensation to the victims families.
The resolution was moved by Minister for Interfaith Harmony Akram Masih Gill, which was later adopted unanimously by the house.
The house also expressed sorrow over the torching of over 170 houses of Christians following the allegation of blasphemy against Sawan Masih.
Terming the incident as a national disaster, the house condemned any act of blasphemy against any religion across the world.
The National Assembly also demanded of the government to proceed against the people responsible for the riots.
The house also asked the government to ensure early reconstruction of damaged houses.
Opening the discussion, Asiya Nasir of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F) said at the moment, the minorities and other citizens only need protection for their lives and properties. "
Parliament should ponder over these issues instead of legislation and other routine business" she said.
Mentioning to Badami Bagh arson in Lahore, Nasir said the Punjab government was exporting extremism and terrorism.
"The administration seemed to be helpless to control the rioters," Nasir said.
She said the PML-N leadership was responsible for the offence and that the Punjab government should mend its ways and policies for the sake of minorities protection.
Asiya Nasir asked the PML-N leadership to explain as what steps were being taken in Punjab to root out extremism from the province.
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[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... leader and former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that the election boycott by Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... in 2008 had badly affected Pakhtuns in the region.
Addressing 'Islam Zindabad conference' at Khaima Balambat here on Sunday, he said that the political scenario would have been different had the JI taken part in the previous election.
Other JUI-F leaders who spoke on the occasion include Gul Naseeb Khan, Rahat Hussain, Dir Lower amir Qazi Fazlullah and provincial vice chief Maulana Attaur Rahman.
Mr Durrani said that life, property and dignity of people in the region had not been secured during last five years.
"Lawlessness has been damaging the state's integrity and no one is feeling secure in the country," he said, adding that the present rulers had failed to satisfy people of the province.
He said that people of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... were fed up with the present government, as it had done nothing for their welfare. He said that the JUI-F leadership paved the way for talks with Taliban, but the federal government was still hesitating in this regard. "The centre does not allow Maulana Fazlur Rahman to go ahead with the talks," he said.
Other JUI-F leaders said that the ruling PPP and ANP had miserably failed to solve people's problems despite their pro-people slogans. On this occasion, several people belonging to Talash, Lajbok, Maidan and Timergara announced to join the JUI-F.
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[Dawn] Members of Christian community staged a protest demonstration here on Sunday to condemn the torching of over hundred houses of Christians by a mob in Badami Bagh, Lahore.
They demanded of the chief justice of Pakistain to take suo motu ...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard... notice of the incident. The protesters gathered in Kohati area and after marching through different roads held a protest rally near Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. Press Club.
They blocked the Sher Shah Suri Road for some time and rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud against the Punjab government and police for their failure to protect the properties of Christian community. The protesters were led by Anjum Gil, Yousuf George and Javed Piyara. Speaking on the occasion, the speakers demanded of the government to provide security to minorities as they were also citizens of Pakistain.
Sorry, but as kaffirs y'all are subjects, coal inclusions in the Muslim diamond that is the Land of the Pure.
They said that there was no logic in punishing the entire community for wrongdoings of a single person. They said that instead of taking law into their hands those who torched the houses should have waited for the court's decision, as the accused was already in police custody.
The community elders said that all religions preached love and humanity while some anti-state elements had been spreading unrest among Christians.
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[Dawn] The Catholic Board announced on Sunday that its over 50 missionary primary, secondary and high schools in Karachi would remain closed on Monday.
The announcement followed the destruction and torching of houses and shops of the Christian community in Lahore's Joseph Colony by a mob on Saturday.
Besides Karachi, the Catholic Board also announced that all missionary schools would remain closed in Quetta on Monday.
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This guy is a panic merchant. Doesn't he know global warming is the main danger?
IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned on Monday that rebel terror groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad may target Israel next. Only if they want to die...
Speaking at the Herzliya Conference 2013, Gantz said, "The situation in Syria has become unstable and incredibly dangerous. Although the likelihood of war with Syria is low, the terrorist organizations fighting against Assad may see us as their next challenge."
He added that there are "huge strategic capabilities in the hands of the Syrian Army that can reach the terrorist organizations."
The Chief of Staff noted that alongside with the relative stability in recent years, "There is a strategic explosive that may go off at any time. The last seven years (since the Second Lebanon War in 2006 -ed.) have been quiet and safe and we will be happy if this situation remains, but if not, we will know how to operate in a very effective way against Hizbullah. If this thing will explode, I'd rather be a citizen of Israel rather than of Lebanon."
Gantz noted, "Every week there is an incident that can result in a different way and drag the area into an escalation."
"Terrorist organizations operate from population centers - the enemy is becoming blurry and has fatal capabilities," said the Chief of Staff, adding, "The threats have not disappeared, they have simply changed ownership and we will encounter them in the future."
[Al Ahram] The uprising in Syria erupted two years ago with largely peaceful protests but escalated into a civil war pitting mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
"In a disturbing and dangerous trend, mass killings allegedly perpetrated by Popular Committees have at times taken on sectarian overtones," the U.N. commission of inquiry on Syria, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, said in its latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
"Some appear to have been trained and armed by the government," they said.
The independent investigators, who cited accounts from witnesses and victims, said people were being harassed or arrested by government-allied militia because they came from regions perceived as being supportive of the revolt.
Popular Committees have been documented as operating across Syria, "where at times they are alleged to be participating in house-to-house searches, identity checks, mass arrests, looting and acting as informants," they said in a 10-page report.
The conflict is mired in a "destructive stalemate" amid heavy shelling and air raids by government forces, they said.
Both sides have committed violations against civilians, the U.N. investigators said. They were pursuing probes into about 20 cases of massacres, including three in Homs at the start of the year, despite their lack of access to the country.
The bodies of some of those killed in massacres have been burned or dumped in rivers, they said.
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#1
depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
[An Nahar] Israel's military chief Benny Gantz said on Monday that "terrorist" groups fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad alongside other insurgents were becoming stronger.
"The situation in Syria has become exceptionally dangerous. The terrorist organisations are becoming stronger on the ground. Now they are fighting against Assad but in the future they could turn against us," Gantz said.
The Israeli chief of staff, who was addressing an annual security conference, warned that the Syrian army's "very important" arsenal "could fall into the hands of these terrorist organisations."
Several radical Islamist groups have joined the ranks of the nearly two-year Syrian rebellion against Assad's regime, al-Nusra Front being the most prominent.
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#1
Dey "could invade or attack Israel" from Syria, as various Headlines say???
[An Nahar] Human rights violations in Iran spiraled in 2012, a United Nations monitor said Monday, spotlighting abuses including repression of freedom of speech, torture and secret executions.
"The prevailing situation of human rights in Iran continues to warrant serious concern," Ahmed Shaheed told the U.N. Human Rights Council.
"The situation for individuals in Iran who advocate for the advancement of human rights, or those that document, report, or protest against human rights violations is grave and continues to deteriorate," he added.
Those who speak out "continue to be subjected to harassment, arrest, interrogation, and torture and are frequently charged with vaguely-defined national security crimes, which is seemingly meant to erode the frontline of human rights defense in the country".
In a written report to the Council -- the U.N.'s top human rights body -- Shaheed pointed to an "apparent increase in the degree of seriousness" of violations in the Islamic republic.
He highlighted "frequent and disconcerting" reports about "punitive state action" against a number of groups, including the jailing of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights campaigners.
He also expressed concern about rights violations affecting women and religious and ethnic minorities, and retaliatory action against individuals that Tehran suspects of cooperating with U.N. monitors.
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#1
depriving the population of food, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, the use of prison camps and the secretive regime's denial of freedom of expression.
#2
Remember the mean old evil Shah. Meet the new boss, worst then the old boss.
Czar - Stalin
Shah - Mullahs
Notice the [Anti-American] Left(tm) never sees the equivalency of their own making.
Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
― George Orwell, Animal Farm
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.
[Al Ahram] A military source who spoke to Ahram Online on Monday slammed recent statements by the office of Egypt's prosecutor-general in which the latter gave the green light to members of the public to make citizen's arrests of anyone found committing acts of vandalism.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Coalition to Support Tourism (CST) condemns the prosecutor-general's decision to allow citizens' arrests announced on Sunday, arguing it raises many worries among tourists.
[Al Ahram] "We are taking back this territory almost meter by meter. There will doubtless be other violent battles. Three weeks from now, if all goes as planned, we will have covered all of this territory," French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French media published on Monday.
[Al Ahram] Saudi authorities have freed all but two of a group of women arrested early this month while staging a sit-in to demand the release of Islamist prisoners in the city of Buraida, police said on Monday.
[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami, in collaboration with BNP, had been attacking the minorities in a planned way as it had done in 1971 and 2001 to force the Hindus leave the country, alleged Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee yesterday.
Wazoo
The United States has expelled two Venezuelan diplomats, the State Department said Monday, a diplomatic tit-for-tat following the Latin American oil giant's expulsion of two American military attachés last week.
South Korean and U.S. authorities have found dozens of accounts presumed to belong to North Korean leader 
North Korea
North Korea
[Dawn] The National Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding the government form a judicial commission to probe the riots in Badami Bagh Lahore, besides expediting the payment of compensation to the victims families.
[Al Ahram] The uprising in Syria erupted two years ago with largely peaceful protests but escalated into a civil war pitting mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
