[An Nahar] Probes into the liquidations last year of two opposition figures that plunged Tunisia into crisis have gathered pace this week, with authorities saying they tossed in the slammer Book 'im, Mahmoud! a suspect and killed another in a firefight.
Early on Sunday, the interior ministry said it arrested a man suspected of involvement in the murder of leftist MP Mohammed Brahmi after a fierce shootout during an overnight raid on a Death Eater hideout near Tunis.
The announcement came after the government said Tuesday that the suspected Islamist assassin of opposition politician Chokri Belaid had been killed in a police raid.
Belaid and Brahmi were bumped off in February and July 2013 respectively. The moderate Islamist Ennahda party that was leading the government at the time blamed jihadists for their murders.
The killings came as Tunisia was grappling with the political transition after the 2011 uprising that toppled the autocratic regime of veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and a surge in Islamist violence.
The politicians' killings triggered massive anti-government protests, plunging the country into crisis and forcing two consecutive governments led by Ennahda to resign.
Tunisia is only now emerging from the crisis, with the adoption in January of a new constitution after a government of independents took the oath to steer the country towards fresh elections.
On the eve of first anniversary of Belaid's murder on February 6, authorities said his suspected Islamist assassin, Kamel Gadhgadhi, had been killed in a police raid.
On Sunday interior ministry front man Mohammed Ali Aroui told Agence La Belle France Presse that security forces had carried out a raid overnight and arrested Hmed el-Melki, better known as the "Somali," over Brahmi's murder.
Security forces "surrounded a house where a terrorist group had holed up. Following a sustained exchange of fire, four elements were arrested," Aroui said.
"Among them is Hmed el-Melki, alias 'Somali,' one of the elements implicated in the liquidation of the martyr Mohammed Brahmi," he said, adding weapons were seized during the raid.
Brahmi's son, Adnan, told Agence La Belle France Presse that Melki's arrest was a relief for the family "because it will shed the whole truth on my father's liquidation, and especially who ordered the killing."
Authorities blamed the murders on the Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... , a jihadist outfit accused of having links to al-Qaeda, but the group never grabbed credit for those or any other attacks.
Relatives of the murdered leaders and members of the mainly secular opposition had accused Ennahda of responsibility for its failure to tackle a rise in jihadist violence since the 2011 uprising.
Earlier this week Belaid's widow, Basma Khalfaoui, accused Ennahda of hiding key documents in the murder inquiry.
"We don't know anything (about what really happened). All scenarios are possible," she told AFP.
She also said she expected the new government of independents that replaced the Islamist-led administration to shed new light on her husband's murder.
Khalfaoui said the suspect killed during a 20-hour siege of a Tunis house earlier this week and identified as Gadhgadhi may have pulled the trigger, but "there are other suspects" in Belaid's killing.
Belaid's brother Abdelmajid echoed her remarks saying: "We want to know the whole truth. Gadhgadhi was not alone."
Brahmi's widow, speaking Saturday during a rally marking the first anniversary of Belaid's funeral, accused the authorities of having "done everything to wipe out the traces of the crime."
A group of lawyers, meanwhile, said they planned to ask for a U.N. special rapporteur to look into what one of them called a "state crime."
Ennahda won Tunisia's first free elections in October 2011, following Ben Ali's ouster in the uprising.
Last month, following a hard-won agreement with the opposition, Ennahda stepped down in favor of a government of technocrats, as parliament approved a new constitution.
The new government tasked with preparing elections not only faces the challenges posed by the rising violence carried out by jihadists, but must also deal with social unrest fueled by economic difficulties.
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A court in the Algerian desert city of Ghardaia Sunday detained 10 people for their alleged involvement in sectarian festivities in the area that killed five people.
The city of 90,000 inhabitants has been rocked since December by festivities between the Chaamba community of Arab origin and the majority Mozabites, indigenous Berbers belonging to the Ibadi Moslem sect.
The 10 people were caught "red handed" and another 16 were released on bail, Algerian news agency APS reported.
It did not say whether those tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! were from the Chaamba or Mozabite community.
Authorities have also launched an investigation into the events that led to the deaths, APS quoted a security source as saying.
The latest violence between youths from the two communities erupted on Tuesday when a Mozabite teaching center was torched.
A young Berber died of his wounds two days later, bringing the number of dead from the Mozabite community to four.
Local press reports said a fifth person died of hi injuries in January.
More than 30 people have been maimed and dozens of shops and houses torched in the hilltop city in the M'Zab valley, which is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site and lies 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Algiers.
Officials told AFP the city was quiet on Sunday, but "that they were remaining vigilant" and helicopters flew surveillance sorties over the area on Saturday.
Analysts have warned that the fragile region could be engulfed by the sectarian violence in Ghardaia, which both sides accuse the other of starting, but which was inflamed by the destruction of a historic Berber shrine in late December.
The two communities have coexisted for centuries, but as elsewhere in the region, limited economic opportunities, despite Algeria's vast oil and gas wealth, have aggravated social tensions.
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] EU ambassador to Egypt, James Moran, said in a news conference on Sunday that the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... was not attacking Egypt but wanted to see it succeed.
Moran also said the resolution about Egypt that was passed by the European Parliament, which raised objections in Egyptian circles, was viewed by some as "positive" for welcoming certain articles of the constitution on human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... but also raised concerns about other events taking place in Egypt.
"Pointing to the situation in Egypt does not mean attacking Egypt," he said. "You all know that we cooperate with Egypt and offer all support for prosperity and stability."
The European Parliament had called on the political and security forces in Egypt to exercise restraint and avoid violence and had pointed to the prosecution of journalists. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry objected to the European Parliament's calls and said that the ministry considered them "unacceptable interference in Egyptian internal affairs."
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty said the European Parliament's resolution contained paragraphs that were rejected in form and substance as they dealt with issues still under consideration in the Egyptian courts, such as the referral of a number of journalists to criminal courts.
"No internal or external party may comment on issues being addressed by the independent Egyptian judiciary," he said.
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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Egypts Interior Ministry has accused the ousted presidents Muslim Brotherhood group of forming a military wing to stage attacks on the security forces.
Bet you didn't know that...
In a televised statement, the ministry spokesman Hani Abdel Latif named 12 people he said belonged to the alleged military wing. He said five were arrested and aired what he said was one of their confessions.
He said the group, headed by the Brotherhood provinces leader, killed five policemen in a drive-by shooting last month in the southern province of Beni Suef.
The Muslim Brotherhood group has been branded as a terrorist organisation after a series of bombings that rocked the country since the ouster of Mohammed Mursi in a military coup in July. An Al Qaida-inspired group claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Be sure to have a close look at the political, financial, and logistical support cells wings as well. Locating those remote Idaho and Montana religious camps is only the tip of the iceberg.
A moderate Islamist who came fourth in Egypts 2012 presidential election won by the Muslim Brotherhoods Mohamed Mursi, accused the army-backed authorities on Sunday of creating a republic of fear.
Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, 62, one of the few Islamists left in public life after a crackdown on the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies after Mursi was ousted by the army, said Egypt was not on a path to democracy as the government says.
Not that it was on a "path to democracy" when the Muslim Brotherhood and Mursi were in charge, but let's not quibble: we could both be right!
Our conscience does not let us participate in an operation to deceive the Egyptian people and act like there are elections when there are not, Abol Fotouh said, confirming his decision not to run for president this year.
Although he has not yet confirmed he will run, army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is expected to win after the army said it would back him. He has wide support among many Egyptians who were relieved to see an end to Mursis rule, but is reviled by Mursi sympathisers as the leader of a coup.
Popular leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election, on Saturday became the first politician to clearly state he would run.
This is a republic of fear, Abol Fotouh told a news conference convened to declare his final decision on whether he would run in the election that could happen as soon as April.
Abol Fotouh pointed to what he said were 21,000 jailed activists and said a hotel manager had turned down a request to host Sundays news conference not because of instructions from the authorities but because of his own fears.
Any Egyptian who wants to express his opinion is afraid that he will be harmed, detained, that his house will be stormed, or a case against him will be fabricated, or it will be said that you are insulting the judiciary, he said.
Abol Fotouh was a senior member of the Brotherhood until 2011, when the movement expelled him after he decided to stage an independent bid for the presidency.
So he's not exactly an 'independent' 'moderate' Islamicist...
A doctor who was jailed under deposed President Hosni Mubarak, Abol Fotouh was fiercely critical of Mursi during his one-year presidency and called for early presidential elections before the armys decision to remove him on July 3.
You could always come to America. Newark needs docs and you might find it a step up from your present situation...
Activists from Abol Fotouhs Strong Egypt party were detained while campaigning against a new constitution approved in a referendum in January.
Egyptians will not live in this republic of fear after January 25, he said, referring to the 2011 uprising that led to Mubaraks downfall. The nations that have broken the fear barrier will not again surrender (to it), he said.
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Iranian catspaws and Yemeni rustics agreed a ceasefire on Sunday after deadly festivities between the two sides in the Arhab district near the capital Sanaa, state news agency Saba said.
Iranian catspaws from the Ansarullah group, also known as Huthis, have been advancing from their mountain strongholds in the far north to other Zaidi Shiite-majority areas nearer Sanaa in a bid to expand their hoped-for autonomous zone in a future Yemen.
Sunday's truce is part of an agreement signed by the two sides committing them to an "immediate" ceasefire and to reopening roads in the area.
The deal will also see the army deployed to positions evacuated by rebels and rustics, and all fighters who do not come from the Arhab area will be pulled back.
In early February, Iranian catspaws seized areas in the northern province of Omran, leaving more than 150 people dead and overrunning the home base of the al-Ahmar clan which heads the powerful Hashid tribal confederation.
Political sources have said the rivals had been seeking to gain ground ahead of the demarcation of provinces for the creation of a federal Yemen, as agreed in a national dialogue which concluded in late January.
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] BNP units of three upazilas in Bogra withdrew their support from the party's key ally 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... yesterday, saying it was endorsed centrally.
The BNP shifted its support to the rebel candidates in the district weeks ahead of the upcoming upazila elections.
Bogra BNP Organising Secretary Mir Shahe Alam said an announcement had been made in this regard in a presser in the afternoon.
In Dhunat upazila, BNP withdrew support from Jamaat's AKM Touhidul Islam and endorsed a rebel candidate Shahjahan Ali.
In Shahjahanpur, it favoured rebel candidate Sarkar Badal, withdrawing support from Jamaat leader and incumbent Chairman Yeasin Ali.
In Sherpur upazila, the party turned to Mahbubur Rahman Hares against Jamaat's Dabidar Rahman.
The local Jamaat rebutted in an instant reaction to the move.
Bogra Jamaat chief Alamgir Hossain said they would not follow the decision of the BNP and continue with its candidates.
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] In her latest presser, BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... gave figures on the killing of BNP-led alliance leaders and activists between December 26 and January 27 this year, which are not supported by facts on the ground.
The Daily Star investigated the high death figures in nine districts presented by the BNP chief, and found them incorrect, exaggerated and false.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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#3
..they're religiously killing each other (Sunni, Shi'ite, etc), why treat anyone else different - other than someone who has the means to quickly and efficiently kill in even greater numbers those of your own.
WASHINGTON Intelligence officials investigating how Edward J. Snowden gained access to a huge trove of the countrys most highly classified documents say they have determined that he used inexpensive and widely available software to scrape the National Security Agencys networks, and kept at it even after he was briefly challenged by agency officials.
Using web crawler software designed to search, index and back up a website, Mr. Snowden scraped data out of our systems while he went about his day job, according to a senior intelligence official. We do not believe this was an individual sitting at a machine and downloading this much material in sequence, the official said. The process, he added, was quite automated.
The findings are striking because the N.S.A.s mission includes protecting the nations most sensitive military and intelligence computer systems from cyberattacks, especially the sophisticated attacks that emanate from Russia and China. Mr. Snowdens insider attack, by contrast, was hardly sophisticated and should have been easily detected, investigators found.
#4
Wait till they discover he's still queuing searches.
LOL - I wouldn't be suprised - and emailing the results to him... "What are these batches of 5Mb emails being sent to some rsnowden@google.ru on a nightly basis for?".
[DAWN] Iran on Sunday denounced what it called Pakistain's inability to secure its own borders after five Iranian soldiers were kidnapped and taken into its eastern neighbour by bully boys.
"We are unhappy with the Pak government over the abduction of our guards and their transfer to Pakistain," Fars news agency reported quoted police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghadam as saying.
Jaish-ul Adl, the rebel group formed in 2012 whose name in Arabic means Army of Justice, has said it was behind the kidnapping in Iran's restive southeast province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
The group posted pictures on its Facebook page it said were of the soldiers, handcuffed and being held in an unknown location.
The foreign ministry in Tehran summoned Pakistain's charge d'affaires, demanding that Islamabad "act firmly against the leaders and members of the terrorist group who have fled into Pakistain", media reports said.
Home to a large Sunni minority and ethnic Baluch in a predominantly Shiite country, Sistan-Baluchestan province has been the scene of unrest in recent years.
Jaish-ul Adl said in November it assassinated a local prosecutor, and in October it ambushed Iranian border guards, killing 14.
In response, Iranian authorities executed 16 "rebels" eight Sunni snuffies and eight narcos.
Another Sunni myrmidon group Jundallah (Soldiers of God), whose leader Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged in June 2010, has also attacked civilians and officials in Sistan-Baluchestan.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Containing post-2014, potentially Taliban/Radical Islamist-controlled Pakistan + its Nuke arsenal may be Rising Iran's greatest utility to the US-Allies as a new BFF + OWG Co-Superpower, besides of course the Qaeda Boyz + aligned Jihadis.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN READY TO BROADEN [Political + Econ] TIES IWD PAKISTAN: ROUHANI.
* SAME > PAKISTAN WILL SOON EMERGE AS A GREAT NATION: SAUDI PRINCE.
Great Power, or another OWG Co-Superpower???
Secular Pakistan versus Militant-controlled Pakistan, NOW WID KINDER GENTLER NUCLEAR ICBMS FOR THAT SPECIAL RADIOACTIVE JIHAD = TERROR-OP???
[DAWN] Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has urged the Army chief to take notice of what he terms 'injustice and harassment' that is taking place in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , DawnNews reported.
Speaking to party supporters in Karachi via telephone, the MQM chief said Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt Gen Zaheer ul Islam should take notice of atrocities being committed against workers from his party.
He said police, rangers and other law enforcing agencies were involved in the killing of party activists.
Altaf Hussain said that even during the 1992 operation in Karachi, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's government was at the helm of affairs.
He said that even in 1992, false allegations were leveled against the MQM and used as an excuse for conducting an operation against his party.
Altaf Hussain said the army not only defends the land but also the people living in it. He demanded justice for the people of Karachi.
The MQM chief said the people who migrated to Pakistain are also patriotic.
He said he has tried repeatedly to contact PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari but to no avail. He also demanded of the former president to do justice with the Karachiites.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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Golly. Is that how they're doing 'negotiation' nowadays?
[DAWN] The Taliban Shura has finalised a fifteen point draft for negotiations with the Pakistain government and the draft proposal is likely to be handed over to the peace controllers and their representatives who are in Wazoo, DawnNews reported.
The Taliban Shura had been meeting since Saturday under its deputy Ameer Sheikh Khalid Haqqani.
Professor Ibrahim Khan and Maulana Yousuf Shah who are in Waziristan for a meeting with the Taliban Shura are likely to convey these points to the committee formed by the government for mediation.
The points are as follows:
1) Stop drone attacks.
2) Introduce Sharia law in courts.
3) Introduce Islamic system of education in both public and private educational institutions.
4) Free Pak and foreign Taliban captured in jails.
5) Restoration and remuneration for damage to property during drone attacks.
6) Hand over control of tribal areas to local forces.
7) Withdrawal of army from tribal areas and close down check posts.
8) All criminal allegations held against the Taliban to be dropped.
9) Prisoners from both sides to be released.
10) Equal rights for all, poor and rich.
11) Families of drone attack victims to be offered jobs.
12) End interest based system.
13) Stop supporting the US on the war on terror.
14) Replace the democratic system of governance with the Islamic system.
15) Stop all relations with the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Negotiators representing the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) in the talks with the government reached Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... , North Wazoo, on Saturday for consultation with the Taliban Shura.
Official sources said that Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, Maulana Yousaf Shah and Maulana Haseeb arrived in Miranshah in a military helicopter.
They were briefed at the office of the political agent. Later they were taken to an unspecified place for talks with the Taliban high command.
Maulana Yousaf Shah, coordinator of the Taliban negotiating team, is representing Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , but details about Maulana Haseeb were not available.
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. Bureau adds: The TTP chapter of Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... alleged that bodies of two of its activists had been found on the outskirts of Peshawar on Saturday.
A front man said his organization was sceptical of the success of negotiations because it now had doubts about the government's sincerity.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, front man for `Commander' Umar Khalid Khurasani, said Mohammad Zaib and Asad were kidnapped by security forces on Jan 20 and Jan 22 from phase 6, Hayatabad Township. Their bodies were found in Matani and University Town areas.
He said it was unfortunate the killings took place at a time when talks between the TTP and the government had started. "The government wants to cheat us once again as it had done in the past."
He alleged that a former front man for the Taliban, Haji Mohammedan Khan, was tossed in the slammer Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! when talks were in progress while TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud was killed in a dronezap.
He alleged six TTP activists were killed in a fake encounter with police in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... last month after start of the first round of talks.
"Now we are forced to rethink if it is possible for us to participate in such talks. Are the government and its forces not going to kill us under the pretext of peace talks and whether these incidents will not affect the future of talks."
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02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post] Prime minister warns that Ayatollah Khamenei's recent verbal attacks against the US show true nature of Islamic Republic; says Tehran should be allowed to have "zero centrifuges."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday that the purpose of his upcoming visit to the United States next month is to warn against the Iranian threat and to discuss the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Speaking at Likud Beytenu's weekly faction meeting, Netanyahu warned that Iran continues its role as a "terror state," and therefore it must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Zero Iranian centrifuges should be everyone's goal.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
02/10/2014 11:08 ||
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#1
They do sponsor terrorism in Iraq,Afghanistan,Lebanon and Syria so its true we still need regime change in Tehran.
They believe in Global/revolutary Islam too!
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/10/2014 14:09 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Again, Rising Iran is Bammer Amerika's new [quasi] BFF agz the Qaeda Boyz, as well as OWG Co-Superpower as per desired future Islamic/Muslim Union, Middle East Union, Mediterranean Union, Persian Gulf Union, Central -West Asia Union ...@etc.
The common prob for both mainstream Amerika + "moderate" Globalists or Globalist-Socialists is that America = Amerika GIVES UP TOO MUCH SOVEREIGNTY + TOO MUCH POWER = "TOO MUCH, TOO SOON" SUCH THAT AMERICA = AMERIKA IS EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED BY BOTH ITS OWN HAND + FOREIGN HAND(S) E.G. THE "GREAT GAME".
Lest we fergit, MSM-NET > POST-COLD WAR ANTI-US OWG-NWO + GLOBALISM = AMER DEVOLS INTO BEING JUST ONE NATION = GREAT POWER = SUPERPOWER AMONG MANY.
IOW, the seeming end of so-called "AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM", TO INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED GLOBAL LEADERSHIP OR DOMINANCE, that is currently under intense National, Internationl debate.
Iff similarly "Mahanist" Rising China gets control of GUAM-WESTPAC, 100% or near-100% US dominance of the Pacific shrinks to 2/3-1/3 in the US' favor - iff China gets control of HAWAII, that same 2/3-1/3 in the US' favor devols to 2/3-1/3 in China's favor, correct.
YOU KNOW - US + CHINA-SUPPORTED, GLOBALIST "1/2-1/2" FAIR-N-BALANCED/EQUAL "SHARING OF THE
PACIFIC".
Iff thats NOT good accounting + John Wayne, I don't know what is.
[Jerusalem Post] WASHINGTON -- The White House pushed back on Sunday against reports in the Israeli press that US President Barack Obama does not support US Secretary of State John Kerry's aggressive effort to reach a framework agreement for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Yes, our Champ is indeed that shallow. Nonetheless, everything the Secretary has said has been sent to him in advance by our shadow government team.
[An Nahar] Iran agreed on Sunday seven more "practical steps" with the U.N. nuclear watchdog in talks seeking further safeguards to enhance transparency on the country's nuclear drive, a top official said, as Tehran noted that the deal does not involve access to a controversial military site.
Among the seven new steps agreed with the the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency was Iran's acceptance to clarify to the atomic watchdog its need for detonators used in nuclear devices, as part of a probe into allegations of its past weapons work.
And it appears to be the first time in years Iran has agreed to tackle IAEA suspicions that its nuclear work prior to 2003 had "possible military dimensions."
The development comes with Iran set to resume nuclear talks with world powers later this month, after an initial accord in November imposed curbs on its uranium enrichment to allay concerns that it seeks to acquire atomic weapons.
Capping two-days of talks in Tehran with Iranian officials, the IAEA said Iran agreed to provide "information and explanations for the agency to assess Iran's stated need or application for the development of Exploding Bridge Wire (EBW) detonators."
According to the IAEA, Iran told the agency in 2008 that it had developed EBWs for "civilian and conventional military applications" but has yet to explain its "need or application for such detonators."
Such fast, high-precision detonators could be used in some civilian applications but are mostly known for triggering a nuclear chain reaction. The IAEA believes they form "an integral part of a program to develop an implosion type nuclear device."
Mark Hibbs, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the detonators are "fine wires... designed to perform with exceeding precision and reliability. Without that dependability, the detonations would fail."
Citing an unnamed Iranian nuclear official, the ISNA news agency said Tehran would "provide information beyond what it had already provided to the agency" on the EBWs.
It did not elaborate.
Earlier, Iran's envoy to the Vienna-based IAEA, Reza Najafi, said "seven more practical steps" had been agreed between the two sides in a deal that would be implemented by May 15.
Six other steps were agreed under a framework deal struck on November 11.
In the latest agreement, the IAEA will also have "managed access" to the Saghand uranium mine and the Ardakan yellowcake facility where an impure form of uranium oxide is prepared to be fed into centrifuges for enrichment.
Officially unveiled in April 2013, the plant in Ardakan receives raw material from Saghand, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) away. It can reportedly produce up to 60 tonnes of yellowcake annually.
Iran also agreed to submit updated design information and finalize a safeguards mechanism for the so-called heavy water reactor under construction in Arak.
The reactor is of international concern because it could theoretically give Iran a second route to a nuclear bomb -- an alternative to highly enriched uranium -- through extraction of weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel if it also builds a reprocessing facility.
IAEA director general Yukiya Amano is reportedly expected to brief the agency's board of governors on the details of the latest agreement.
Last month he raised expectations that alleged weaponization studies would be broached in future talks with Iran, telling Agence La Belle France Presse the time was ripe to ask "more difficult" questions.
Najafi said the weekend talks with IAEA experts were "constructive" and focused on "the progress in implementation of practical steps" required of Iran in the November deal.
Iran's enrichment activities are in defiance of repeated U.N. Security Council demands and resolutions, amid suspicions in the West and Israel that Tehran's nuclear drive masks military objectives, a claim it has repeatedly denied.
A sore issue in long-running discussions with the IAEA has been the Parchin military site near Tehran, which the U.N. agency suspects was used for research on weapons development.
Iran argues that Parchin is not a nuclear-declared site and therefore not subject to inspection.
A visit to Parchin was not included in the new seven-step deal.
The IAEA says it needs to examine Parchin, pointing to new information received since its last visits in 2005.
Iran and six world powers are due to resume nuclear talks on February 18 on reaching a long-term nuclear deal.
Full cooperation with the IAEA is a key demand of the P5+1 -- Britannia, China, La Belle France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
See also TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > IRAN PUTS OUT "RED LINES" AHEAD OF FRESH NUCLEAR TALKS.
Will the Bammer + the "weak/declining" USA dare to violate a "red line(s)"???
[Ynet] 'The Nightmare of the Vultures.' You've heard the threats, now see the movie.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Various related MSM-Net Artics also indic Israel's nuclear reactor complex at Dimona as being a de facto target, besides also Haifa + Ben Gurion airport.
As said or inferred times before, 9-11 + GWOT = as much an INTER-MUSLIM/ISLAMIC STRUGGLE FOR SUPERIORITY BETWEEN COMPETING CENTRES AS RADICAL ISLAM AGZ THE US-WEST + OTHER.
Shia Iran desires to be the world's first de facto Islamic Global Nuclear Superpower, far exceeding anything from the KSA. Egypt, Turkey + already Nuke-armed Pakistan, etal.
POLITICAL DIALECTICISM = CONTROLLING TWO OR MORE AGENDAS/SCHEMEAS ASAP AMAP ALAP = IRAN SENDING WARSHIPS INTO THE ATLANTIC TO NEAR THE US COAST = "MAHANIST"? IRAN FLEXING ITS GLOBALIST OWG CO-SUPERPOWER = SUPERPOWER WANNABE MUSCLES AS MUCH AS TESTING "WE CAN + W-I-L-L DEFEND OUR OWN RED LINES, D *** YOU"! POTUS OBAMA.
* WORLD NEWS > IRAN TO WORK [push/drive] FURTHER IN ACQUIRING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY.
Nucprog, NucBombs, LRBMS, Space, NucEnergy, Medicine, Science - you name it, Iran wants it.
D *** NG IT - PUSH IT, PUSH IT GOOD! IRAN CAN'T DRIVE 55!
[TWISTED SISTER'S "I WANNA ROCK" = "IRAN WANTS TO ROCK" here].
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More on Iran's naval sojourn into the Atlantic ..
To wit,
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > IRANIAN WARSHIP [Destroyer]HEADING TO ATLANTIC BARELY SURVIVED EARLIER TANGLE WID THE US NAVY.
It survived only because the US Navy + Reagan-Bush humanely allowed it to limp home wid very heavy damage instead of sinking it then-n-there in righteous Reagan jelly-bean indignation.
* WORLD NEWS > [Examiner] IRAN WARSHIPS HEADING TO US NOT JUST AN IRANIAN THREAT.
* CNS NEWS > IRANIAN NAVY COMMANDER THREATENS TO SINK [Bahrain-based] US FIFTH FLEET AFTER WARSHIPS DEPLOY [to Atlantic].
Iff Bahrain succumbs to pro-Shia-Rights mass protests + ultimately to any "Islamic/Bahrain Spring", an anti-US New Govt. may demand the total pullout of the USN = Fifth Fleet from its Bahrain HQ.
Which in turn will make BASE-TOO-FAR QATAR that much more important to a USNavy-DOD that is now confined to what left of the similarly troubled Emirates + KSA, to include any US Milbase in distant Myanmar.
[An Nahar] A group of nuns from the historic Christian-majority town of Maalula in Syria appeared in a new video broadcast by the Qatar-based satellite news channel Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... on Sunday.
The women are reportedly 12 nuns from a Greek Orthodox convent of Mar Takla in Maalula who were taken by gunnies in early December. Al-Jazeera said the video it broadcast on Sunday was recorded on February 5.
They appeared in the recording without audio, but a commentator said "they say they are in good health, haven't been mistreated... and they are waiting for their release to return to the convent."
The report gave no indication of where the nuns were being held, but said that they were "Syrian and Lebanese" and had been "kidnapped."
On December 6, the station broadcast a short video of the nuns in which they denied they had been kidnapped.
They were reported missing from the town north of Damascus after rebel forces, including jihadists, seized control of Maalula in early December.
Religious officials said 12 nuns and three maids had gone missing from the convent, although one of the nuns in the video said they were 13 nuns and 3 "civilians."
Media close to the Syrian regime had accused rebels of using the nuns as human shields, and fears were expressed for their safety.
In the latest footage, the nuns "thank all those who are seeking to obtain their release and call for the release of all prisoners," Al-Jazeera reported them as saying.
It said "the kidnappers are demanding the release of women held in Syrian prisons to set the nuns free," without elaborating.
Maalula, a picturesque village cut into the cliffs some 55 kilometers (35 miles) from Damascus, has long been a symbol of the ancient Christian presence in Syria.
Its residents are some of the few left in the world who speak Aramaic, the language Jesus Christ is believed to have spoken.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syria's government delegation arrived in Geneva on Sunday for a fresh round of peace talks with opposition representatives, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.
"The Syrian Arab Republic's delegation, headed by (Foreign) Minister Walid Muallem, has arrived in Geneva to take part in a second round" of the talks starting on Monday, it said.
Sources close to the opposition said that some members of the National Coalition had also arrived in Geneva.
"Some of them have arrived, each one arriving separately. Each member is traveling in from a different country," said one opposition source.
The fresh round of a process dubbed Geneva 2 comes 10 days after previous talks ended with no concrete agreement on Syria's raging war, which in nearly three years has killed more than 136,000 people.
Muallem is set to meet U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy Lakhdar Brahimi at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) in Geneva, a source close to the regime delegation told Agence La Belle France Presse.
But the two warring sides appear far from reaching any compromise.
While the regime insists the talks focus on fighting "terrorism" -- its term for the revolt -- the opposition demands the priority in Geneva be agreement on a transition that excludes Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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[ONLINE.WSJ] Iran agreed to seven new measures Sunday to shine increased light on its nuclear activities, including updated information on its Arak heavy-water-reactor plans and a first step to addressing western concerns about its suspected work on a military nuclear program.
In two days of what Iran and the United Nations atomic agency called "constructive technical meetings," the two sides discussed Tehran's progress in carrying out promises made in a Nov. 11 "confidence building" accord and Iran pledged to take... At this point the pay firewall kicks in, so you'll never know, until you read it on a Reuters site or we get it from Pak Daily Times.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2014 00:00 ||
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#3
Then they'll commit suicide.(Threaten/try to use it)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/10/2014 13:30 Comments ||
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#4
Aside from the those waiting on the Mahdi, Iran's mullahcracy is more interested in using the weapon to make itself the strong horse in the Gulf region, boost its influence the Islamic world, and change generally change the calculus in its dealings with the 'satans'.
It's the martyrs that one has to worry about. Khamenei isn't going to be around in a few years; there's nuttier ones than him in the wings.
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[Egypt Independent] EU ambassador to Egypt, James Moran, said in a news conference on Sunday that the 
[DAWN] Iran on Sunday denounced what it called Pakistain's inability to secure its own borders after five Iranian soldiers were kidnapped and taken into its eastern neighbour by
Nawaz Sharif
[DAWN] The Taliban Shura has finalised a fifteen point draft for negotiations with the Pakistain government and the draft proposal is likely to be handed over to the peace 
Wazoo
Mohmand Agency
[An Nahar] Iran agreed on Sunday seven more "practical steps" with the U.N. nuclear watchdog in talks seeking further safeguards to enhance transparency on the country's nuclear drive, a top official said, as Tehran noted that the deal does not involve access to a controversial military site.
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
[An Nahar] Syria's government delegation arrived in Geneva on Sunday for a fresh round of peace talks with opposition representatives, state television
