[BOSTON] In his final address to Afghanistan's parliament Saturday, President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... told the United States its soldiers can leave at the end of the year because his military, which already protects 93 percent of the country, was ready to take over entirely.
He reiterated his stance that he would not sign a pact with the United States that would provide for a residual force of U.S. troops to remain behind after the final withdrawal, unless peace could first be established.
The Afghan president has come under heavy pressure to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement, with a council of notables that he himself convened recommend that he sign the pact. The force would train and mentor Afghan troops, and some U.S. Special Forces would also be left behind to hunt down al-Qaeda.
All 10 candidates seeking the presidency in April 5 elections have said they would sign the security agreement. But Karzai himself does not appear to want his legacy to include a commitment to a longer foreign troop presence in his country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 12:48 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
As I understand it, before NATO arrived poppy production---Afghanistan's main source of income---was much lower.
#2
1. Pull ALL Americans and American equipment out (or sabotage the equipment so it won't work after a certain date), including embassy personnel. Suggest American civilians (if there are any) also leave.
2. Once all the Americans are out, send in planes with fighter escorts to spray ALL the poppy fields.
3. Hilarity ensues.
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/15/2014 14:59 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Barbara, to add to your list:
0. Pull Karzai's American security detail, including his escape plane
0.1 Hilarity ensues
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/15/2014 15:19 Comments ||
Top||
#4
That's what Maliki thought. Of course, he had the Iranians...
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/15/2014 16:19 Comments ||
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#5
Good catch, Rambler. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/15/2014 16:56 Comments ||
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#6
Wonder if we could transplant some of those Nile Locusts over to their poppy fields?
Posted by: Charles ||
03/15/2014 17:54 Comments ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Al-Qaeda's breakaway bandit has found himself in real trouble.
The French and African military offensive against armed terrorist groups in northern Mali, the crackdown on the Algerian-Tunisian border, tough security measures along the Mauritania-Mali frontier and in Niger have all hampered al-Qaeda's ability to execute attacks.
And for former al-Qaeda emir turned independent terrorist commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, Mali is becoming a dangerous place to base his fledgling Mourabitounes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
[MAGHAREBIA] The Council of Arab Interior Ministers on Thursday (March 13th) wrapped up a two-day session in Morocco with a call for member states to co-operate in the investigation, prosecution and extradition of terrorists.
The Marrakech Anti-Terror Declaration included a condemnation of sectarian discourse and called for reinforcing border surveillance in order to deal with weapons trafficking and terrorist infiltration.
All undertakings, the council agreed, are to uphold human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... and reinforce co-operation between security services, citizens, and civil society in the fight against terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[ALLAFRICA] Abuja -- Senate President, David Mark, has called on Nigerians to rise against the terrorist attacks perpetrated by the Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... sect, saying there was an orchestrated plot by the bully boyz to destabilise the country.
His call came on a day Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, Ike Ekweremadu, solicited greater sub-regional synergy to tame the menace of insurgency in West Africa.
Senator Mark, who bemoaned the gruesome murder and destruction by Boko Haram, said now the group had refused to follow that the part of dialogue in expressing its grievances; there was no other option left with the government than to deploy its might to face the problem head-on.
According to the Senate President, "if the perpetrators of these violent crimes would not come to the negotiating table to dialogue with authorities in order to address whatever grievances they may have, government would be left with no option than to deploy its might to deal with the situation."
Mark, who spoke while decorating the newly promoted coppers attached to his office with their new ranks, stated that government would no longer tolerate a situation where bully boyz and gunnies continued to hold it and the citizens hostage.
He said: "No matter how disgruntled or angry they may be, they cannot continue to kill our citizens and destroy property at will as way of life.
"It is a high time wise counsel prevailed among these bully boyz to drop their arms and embrace peace."
While expressing worry over the high rate of attacks by the bully boys, he said, "Nigeria is passing through very difficult times and challenges and certainly does not need these wars and destructions .
"We need to live and work together as free people. We need a country where all citizens have equal opportunities, where no one is oppressed or molested."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
Top|| File under: Boko Haram
#1
solicited greater sub-regional synergy to tame the menace of insurgency in West Africa.
bet there was a powerpoint presentation involved
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/15/2014 10:11 Comments ||
Top||
#3
When a greater sub-regional synergy
Leads to harnessing free buzzword energy,
We'll accelerate sentiments
'Round a axis of excellence
And a breath ray will zap the insurgency!
[An Nahar] Thousands of Zaidi Iranian catspaws marched through a picturesque provincial capital in northern Yemen on Friday to demand the resignation of the central government, which they accused of corruption, witnesses said.
With many toting assault rifles and accompanied by vehicles mounted with rocket launchers, they chanted "down with the corrupt government," as they paraded on the streets of Omran.
They were closely watched by a large number of troops and security forces, backed up by tanks and other armored vehicles.
They also demanded the sacking of provincial governor Mohammed Hassan Dammaj, a member of the Al-Islah party, an alliance of Zaidi tribal notables and Sunni Islamists, as well as of General Hamid al-Qushaiby, commander of the army's 310th Armoured Brigade.
Last month, President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi and party leaders in Sanaa agreed to transform the restive country into a six-region federation as part of a political transition.
The rebels, who complain that Yemen would be divided into rich and poor regions under the plan, have been trying to enlarge their zone of influence by pushing out from their mountain strongholds in the far north to areas closer to the capital.
In early February, they seized areas in Omran province, leaving more than 150 people dead and overrunning the home base of the Al-Ahmar clan, traditional leaders of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation and of the Islah party.
Military sources said their objective is to seize Omran city and, from there, lay siege to Sanaa.
Ironically, an army officer in Omran told AFP Friday that the rebels had been allowed in to the city to demonstrate after giving assurances that there would be no violence.
Friday's demonstration, which passed off peacefully, came a day after six rebels and two soldiers were killed in a firefight near Sanaa, as the rebels pressed southward.
That exchange came after days of festivities between the rebels, known as Ansarullah (Partisans of God), and rustics loyal to the Al-Ahmar clan, in which at least 22 people have been reported killed since the weekend.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Houthis
[An Nahar] recent meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a source close to someone who attended the talks told AFP Friday.
Riyadh demanded the closure of the pan-Arab broadcaster as well as the Brookings Doha Center and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, the source said on condition of anonymity.
After the reportedly heated March 5 GCC meeting, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors from fellow member Qatar, which they accuse of interfering in their internal affairs and supporting the Moslem Brüderbund.
The source said Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal had demanded three things of Doha -- "to close the (Qatari-owned) 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... network, which stirs sedition; close the research centers in Doha, and turn over all outlaws" on its territory.
Doha's foreign minister replied that the demand constituted "interference in Qatar's internal affairs," the same source said.
Gulf officials do not usually comment on closed-door meetings.
Qatar is seen as a supporter of the Moslem Brüderbund and its affiliates across the region, which are banned in most Gulf states.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies have long been hostile toward the Brotherhood, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their authority.
Saudi Arabia and the other two states accused Doha of giving refuge to opposition figures and of even giving some of them citizenship.
Critics have long accused the influential pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera of biased coverage in favor of the Brotherhood, and several of its journalists are on trial in Egypt for allegedly supporting the group.
Most Gulf states hailed the Egyptian military's July overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... -- a former senior member of the Moslem Brüderbund -- and pledged billions in aid. Qatar, which had strongly supported him, has seen its influence in Cairo evaporate.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
With Arab countries i dont know who are the good guys from the bad guys?
Posted by: Paul D ||
03/15/2014 6:12 Comments ||
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[Egypt Independent] Dozens of Saudi Islamist hard boyz have left the battlefields of Syria and Iraq for Yemen, where their experience appears to have contributed to a spate of lethal al Qaeda attacks, a senior Yemeni security official said.
The influx detected in the last few months is worrying for Yemen, a turbulent country where several hundred Saudi hard boyz are already thought to be fighting alongside their Yemeni counterparts in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The initial core of Saudis fled to Yemen after the kingdom defeated a violent al Qaeda campaign between 2003 and 2006, helping to create AQAP with their Yemeni comrades in 2009.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia
#1
Saudis love looking for jihad/early death.
Posted by: Paul D ||
03/15/2014 6:08 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It is not like you can get a job as a "prince" that easy.
Posted by: Steven ||
03/15/2014 18:54 Comments ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] The two leaders of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who beat feet from a prison van while being transferred have slipped out of the country immediately through the border in northern region.
Intelligence officials of the Detective Branch of police have said they have reached the suspicion after analysing information gleaned from the tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! faceless myrmidons involved with the daring escape of three JMB leaders.
The DB officials also say they have information that the JMB has a strong hold in the West Bengal, India, where the two faceless myrmidons -- Salauddin alias Salehin alias Sajeeb and Zahidul Islam alias "Boma" Mizan -- remain holed up.
Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the DB, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: "We suspect that JMB leaders Salehin and Mizan illegally crossed the border as per their plan along with their guide Faruk.
"We have scrutinised some information and clues extracted from the interrogation of JMB activists arrested soon after the incident, and also the laptops, computers and diaries seized from those JMB cadres."
Shafiqul Islam, deputy inspector general (crime) of police, said the faceless myrmidons had used the Mymensingh-Gazipur-Tangail road to reach the North Bengal region.
In reply to a query, he said the investigation into the incident of snatching of three JMB leaders was on but the information they put out could be considered as the conclusion on the escape of the myrmidons.
On February 23, a gang of JMB activists snatched top three JMB leaders Salehin, Mizan and Rakib from Trishal of Mymensingh from a prison van during transport from Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur. The JMB men also killed a police constable.
One of the runaway JMB men, Rakib, was recaptured by police and was killed in a "shootout" with police the next day.
The intelligence officials are now investigating the funding of the outfit. The officials said the JMB had not only link with West Bengal but also with several countries of the Middle East and Europe.
The West Bengal chapter of the JMB developed its base in Murshidabad, Maldah and Nadia districts during the stint of the 18-party alliance government.
JMB leader Sohel Mahfuz is leading the outfit in those districts. Intelligence officials came to learn about it in 2010 after the arrest of JMB leader Saidur Rahman.
JMB founder Abdur Rahman in a statement in 2006 mentioned the West Bengal chapter, saying West Bengal was the 65th branch of the myrmidon outfit.
Sources say that JMB leaders are involved in fake Indian currency business in West Bengal.
The intelligence officials identified two persons who had funded the myrmidons' escape from the prison van in Trishal. They are Mohammad Rahath and Azmir Sharif.
Officials at the Criminal Investigation Department have already tracked down their mobile phones and found several phone calls made to West Bengal and other parts of India.
Ashraful Islam, superintendent of police of a CID special team, said they were investigating the cases with the help of the Rapid Action Battalion and police.
He said they had also got some important clues about the JMB's activities but denied to divulge any of it in the interest of investigation.
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... police arrested two more JMB leaders -- Alamin, 25, and Tito, 28 -- from Trishal's Saudkandi area on Thursday for their alleged involvement in snatching the three JMB leaders.
Majedur Rahman, officer-in-charge of the DB in Mymensingh, said detectives from Mymensingh and Dhaka had conducted drives in different places of Bhaluka to arrest the two JMB leaders.
They were now in jug of the DB police in Dhaka, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
[Dhaka Tribune] Bangladesh is set to start search operation in the Bay of Bengal from today to look for the missing Malaysian plane, joining an ongoing international effort by several countries.
Mahbubul Hoque Shakil, special assistant to Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. , told the Dhaka Tribune that the prime minister had issued directives to begin the search operation.
"Two frigates and two patrol aircraft will conduct search operation in the Bay of Bengal," he said. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared last Saturday (March 8) with 239 people on board.
Bangladesh will join the search at a time when the search area had been expanded following reports that the plane had been "deliberately flown across" the Malay peninsula towards the Andaman Islands. The disappearance of the airliner remains a "mystery" as there is still no trace of its wreckage.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Upon sensing the search party's presence,
the pax opened fire with a vengeance
on our brave personnel,
but all's well that ends well:
the survivors have made full confessions.
[Dhaka Tribune] The government would take initiatives to ban 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... by June this year for the latter's involvement in crimes against humanity and massacre during the country's independence war, said Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq yesterday.
"There is no plan to ban religion-based political parties, but we have certainly a plan to impose ban on Jamaat's politics on the grounds that it committed crimes against humanity," he said.
"No matter what the final verdict comes, the Jamaat-e-Islami will be banned because of its war crimes. We hope to declare that by this June," Mozammel said in reply to a series of queries from journalists at a programme in the Dhaka University's central playground.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
[DAWN] 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... on Friday gave approval to the law enforcement agencies to take action against the patrons of criminals without taking into account their political affiliation in the next phase of the ongoing targeted operation 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... .
Informed sources told Dawn that the next phase would be known as 'fast-track operation' and the PM gave the go-ahead to proceed against influential patrons of criminals while chairing a high-level meeting to review the overall law and order situation.
The PM directed the authorities to relocate the anti-terrorism courts to the Malir Cantonment area for the protection of judges, witnesses, Sherlocks and prosecutors.
He asked the Sindh government to expedite establishment of isolated high-security prisons in the province to confine terrorists.
The PM was briefed on law and order by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah. It was followed by a briefing session with the chief secretary, director general of the Intelligence Bureau, Rangers DG and Sindh police chief regarding the operation in Karachi. Federal ministers Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ishaq Dar and Khurram Dastgir were also present.
PM Sharif directed the Sindh government to lift a ban on recruitment in all civil armed forces.
He asked the authorities to use army recruitment centres for fresh recruitment and ensure transparency and merit in the process.
He and also asked the interior ministry to expedite the process to block illegal mobile phone SIMs and ensure issuance of the SIMs through a biometric system.
The prime minister agreed to set up more cop shoppes in the strife-hit Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... area.
During the meeting the matter of illegal Afghans and Bengalis in the metropolis also came under discussion and the prime minister assured the provincial government that it would get all-out support from the federal government for the success of the operation, which he said would continue till achieving its objectives.
He asked the provincial government and the Rangers to remove operational flaws to make the targeted action more effective against criminals and against the land mafia to protect government land.
"The Karachi operation will continue until its objectives are achieved," he said and termed the sacrifices of security personnel invaluable.
He said the Karachi operation was not a matter of routine but of immense importance and he would continue to regularly monitor and supervise the operation and would help the provincial government to resolve its all related issues.
He said that a high-level meeting would be held during the next week to review the overall security situation of the country.
The PM said: "We will also discuss coordination mechanism regarding border control, intelligence sharing and combating terrorism."
He said the police and Rangers should use new anti-terrorism laws to combat terrorism, extortion and land-grabbing.
Earlier, the chief secretary briefed the PM on the law and order situation and apprised him that 393 cases of heinous crimes had been registered.
The PM was informed that illegal migration of foreign nationals was also causing the law and order problem.
He was also informed that fresh inductions in the police force were needed in order to strengthen the force.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] AS people hoped for peace in the wake of a ceasefire announced by Taliban, a suicide kaboom on an armoured personnel carrier of police in a market 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. and a powerful kaboom near a college in Quetta left at least 19 people dead and 60 others injured on Friday. The attacks dealt a fresh blow to the process initiated by the government for talks with the bully boys. The TTP distanced itself from the terrorist attacks but an increasingly active Taliban splinter group, Ahrarul Hind, grabbed credit for both the dastardly incidents. The attacks took place on the day a negotiating team nominated by the Taliban reported that TTP leaders had agreed to meet the government's representatives to present their demands.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
[An Nahar] Around 1,000 people demonstrated Friday near the Israeli embassy in Amman to protest the killing of a Jordanian judge by Israeli soldiers, demanding a peace deal between the countries be annulled.
Israeli troops shot 38-year-old Raed Zeiter, a Paleostinian-Jordanian, at a border crossing on Monday, saying he attacked them and igniting a diplomatic row between Israel and Jordan.
Opposition Islamists, youth groups, leftists and nationalists took part in the demonstration that started after Friday prayers in Kaluti mosque, near the Israeli embassy in the Rabia neighborhood in West Amman.
Amid tight security, protesters waved Jordanian flags and banners reading "the people want to cancel the (1994) peace treaty," and "shut down the Zionist entity's embassy and kick the ambassador out for the sake of the martyr's blood."
"Zeiter you are a martyr and our rulers are slaves. We will not forget you," demonstrators chanted.
They tried to approach the Israeli embassy, but police prevented them.
On Wednesday, the lower house of Jordan's parliament, incensed by Zeiter's killing, demanded in a non-binding resolution the government free Jordanian soldier Ahmad Dakamseh, who was placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! after he opened fire on a group of Israeli schoolgirls in 1997, killing seven.
Lawmakers have also demanded the government expel the Israeli envoy in Amman and recall the Jordanian ambassador in Israel.
It gave the government until Tuesday to meet its demands, threatening a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur if he failed to meet the deadline.
Nsur has held Israel "completely responsible" for Zeiter's death and demanded an apology for the "hideous" killing.
Israel has expressed regret for the shooting but stopped short of apologizing to Jordan, which is the only Arab country besides Egypt to have made peace with the Jewish state.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
consider the rabble "roused"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/15/2014 10:17 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... has criticized Israel's insistence that the Paleostinians publicly declare Israel to be a Jewish state.
Kerry said Thursday that recognition had already been made in U.N. resolutions and by the late Paleostinian president Yasser Arafat and it is a mistake for Israel to keep insisting on it as the two sides work towards a two-state peace agreement.
"'Jewish state' was resolved in 1947 in (U.N.) Resolution 181 where there are more than 40-- 30 mentions of 'Jewish state,'" Kerry testified at a Congressional hearing.
"In addition, chairman Arafat in 1988 and again in 2004 confirmed that he agreed it would be a Jewish state. And there are any other number of mentions," he added.
"I think it's a mistake for some people to be raising it again and again as the critical decider of their attitude toward the possibility of a state and peace, and we've obviously made that clear," Kerry said in a session of testimony on the State Department budget.
Israeli public radio on Friday broadcast Kerry's comments, followed by what it said was a recording of Arafat commenting on a 1988 decision by the Paleostinian National Council, the Paleostine Liberation Organization's parliament-in-exile at the time.
"The PNC had accepted two states, a Paleostine state and Jewish state," Arafat says in English.
There was no official Israeli response to Kerry's comments, but the radio quoted an unidentified political source as saying that it was "easier for the Americans to pressure Israel to give up on the demand for recognition of a Jewish state than to deal with the Paleostinians."
Israel and the Paleostinians have been locked in talks that Kerry fought hard to kick-start in July after a three-year hiatus, but the negotiations have faltered over key issues.
After a meeting chaired by Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... on Wednesday, the PLO Executive Committee blasted "attempts to extract recognition of the Jewishness of the State of Israel in order to erase Paleostinian history and rights in one sentence."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
Of course the 'Paleostinians' didn't even exist in 1947 so I don't think they feel that they are bound by any U.N. Resolutions.
And in case Frenchie-boy didn't notice. Arafat, the old murderer, is dead. It doesn't matter what he said back then.
#4
so if it's already accepted by Arafat, the current Paleos should have no issue with it, right, Jahn? Those pesky Juice self-protection instincts keep interfering with his Nobel Prize
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/15/2014 10:19 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Kerry - His LEGACY is to make Retarded people look like geniuses compared to US Sec of States.
#8
There's a young Senator from New Jersey. Although given all the holes in his story I wouldn't think Booker would get far. Obama had the presence of mind to at least HIDE his past.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/15/2014 17:57 Comments ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Military radar-tracking evidence suggests the Malaysia Airlines jetliner, which has been missing for nearly a week, was deliberately flown across the Malay peninsula towards the Andaman Islands, sources familiar with the investigation have said.
Two sources told Rooters yesterday that an unidentified aircraft, which Sherlocks believe was Flight MH370, was following a route between navigational waypoints - indicating it was being flown by someone with aviation training - when it was last plotted on military radar off the country's northwest coast.
The last plot on the military radar's tracking suggested the plane was flying toward India's Andaman Islands, a chain of isles between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, they said.
Waypoints are geographic locations, worked out by calculating longitude and latitude, that help pilots navigate along established air corridors.
A third source familiar with the investigation said inquiries were focusing increasingly on the theory that someone who knew how to fly a plane deliberately diverted the flight, with 239 people on board, hundreds of miles off its intended course from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
"What we can say is we are looking at sabotage, with hijack still on the cards," said that source, a senior Malaysian police official.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#2
A former 777 pilot on the news last night [Hank somebody], opined that...paraphrasing here, the route taken and wild altitude deviations indicated a less than fully 777 familiar pilot fighting with the auto-pilot.
Looks like we may be back to box cutters and hijacking.
#5
..re route and altitude excursions:
Route: "Red Herring" attempt to disguise true destination?
Altitude: Climb while depressurizing a/c? Somebody controlling the a/c demonstrated familiarity to the extent that O2 system could have been disabled to pax only. Hypoxia->sleep->death = "clean" removal of potential pax resistance.
The "PIC" was familiar w/systems, but my experience is that, although MS FlightSim has some conceptual use, limitations exist..who knows..
[Dhaka Tribune] Malaysian authorities yesterday said there was no evidence that a jetliner missing for almost six days flew for hours after losing contact with air traffic controllers and continued to transmit technical data.
The Wall Street Journal said US aviation Sherlocks and national security officials believed the Boeing 777 flew for a total of five hours, based on data automatically downloaded and sent to the ground from its Rolls-Royce Trent engines as part of a standard monitoring programme.
"Those reports are inaccurate," Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference. "As far as both Rolls-Royce and Boeing are concerned, those reports are inaccurate. The last (data) transmission from the aircraft was at 1:07am (local time) which indicated that everything was normal." Boeing and Rolls-Royce have yet to comment.
Rooters has previously reported that the plane's transmission of the so-called ACARS technical data ceased after it lost contact with air traffic control.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, with 239 people on board, dropped off air traffic control screens at about 1:30am on Saturday, less than an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were no reports of bad weather or mechanical problems.
It is one of the most baffling mysteries in the history of modern aviation - there has been no trace of the plane since nor any sign of wreckage despite a search by the navies and military aircraft of over a dozen countries across Southeast Asia.
"It's extraordinary that with all the (satellite and telecommunication) technology that we have got that an aircraft can disappear like this," Tony Tyler, the head of the International Air Transport Association that links over 90% of the world's airlines, told news hounds in London.
"It will trigger a desire to see how can we avoid this from happening again... I would not be surprised that the technology did not exist already but is not being used."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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#2
Is anyone else getting an ever-stronger impression that Malaysia has been holding back data / evidence of what happened? Sure looks like that from here.
#4
I'm watching Malaysian PM on live TV admitting someone took the missing plane west, although just where is not known from available data.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/special-live-1-14476486
When does "improvised itinerary" join "man-made catastrophe" and "workplace violence" in the euphemisticon of the professional political weasel-word class?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/15/2014 9:39 Comments ||
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#7
So.. When does ... China ... MAKE .. Malaysia ... it's .. B I T C H ?
#13
In a stinging commentary on Saturday, the Chinese government’s Xinhua News Agency said the Malaysian information was “painfully belated,” resulting in wasted efforts and straining the nerves of relatives.
“Given today’s technology, the delay smacks of either dereliction of duty or reluctance to share information in a full and timely manner,” Xinhua said. “That would be intolerable.”
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140315/NATION/303150027#ixzz2w5TB5ZYe
Founding leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), known as the Top 90 batch, have declared MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari a "persona non grata" for leadership blunders, including the three-week attack in Zamboanga City in September last year.
Hadji Abul Khayr Alonto announced the new development in a public forum before thousands of residents in Lanao del Sur earlier this week. He said, "We have declared Nur Misuari a persona non grata with the MNLF. There is no other MNLF now but us.
Alonto added, "In the same manner, we invite all factions within the Misuari faction, including the MNLF Council of 15, to join us."
Alonto said the 32 surviving members of the Top 90 agreed to declare Misuari a persona non grata for his "leadership blunders that put the organization into disarray."
Presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles said, "After 17 long years of arduous negotiations, we are finally arriving at a political settlement that will seal enduring peace and progress in Mindanao. The signing of the CAB is expected to benefit not only the Bangsamoro but the entire country, and will radiate beyond our borders to the regional community, and perhaps the whole world."
Sure, why not?
The CAB will prepare the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro - a political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Posted by: ryuge ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Put lipstick on a pig and its still a pig. The ARMM will now be replaced by the CAB, Same thing different leaders, same poor people, no economy, Muslim leaders that got rich and corrupt are now being replaced with new ones that will get rich and corrupt. I was in Nur Misuari's mansion in Zamboanga the day after the uprising in 2001. Red carpet, a hot tub in his bed room, the place was a brothel, a bit shot up, but a brothel. Paruok Hussain took over the ARMM after Nur was imprisoned. Parouk move his family to Switzerland and his kids went to private school. He would travel back and forth staying in hotels while the Bangasomoro people starved. He is now very wealthy. My wife did more to help the starving and poor people and orphans there than this ass clown. Now we have a new set of leaders who have probably never set foot on Jolo or Basilan island. But they will certainly get their 10% of all relief efforts, and yes they charge people to bring relief to the starving and poor, it an administration fee. That is if they don't require you to give it to them so they can distribute it, read sell it. What a sham.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/15/2014 12:51 Comments ||
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Move reflects compromise between Sunni gov't, Shi'te Hezbollah fighters showing gov't support for Hezbollah to step up warfare, use weapons arsenal against Israel.
#1
What, your country isn't enough of a shambles? Now you want the Israelis to come and blow stuff up? Is there a Lebanese word for 'counter-battery fire'?
#2
A policy outcome resulting from the US Secretary of State and his 'no need for Israel recognition' statements. A policy others will no doubt, soon be rushing to embrace.
#6
With this feckless fumbler in the news daily, I'm beginning to wonder if he's actually a Democratic 2016 candidate back-up, or potential Hildebeast running mate.
[An Nahar] Turkey warned on Friday that it would retaliate "in kind" if a historic memorial that it controls inside war-torn Syria comes under attack.
"Any kind of attack, be it from the regime or radical groups ... will face retaliation in kind and Turkey will take any measures to defend its homeland without any hesitation," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The Tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Ottoman Empire founder Osman, is located in the province of Aleppo, the scene of major festivities between the Syrian government and several rebel groups.
The tomb sits 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Turkey-Syria border and remains Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty signed between Turkey and La Belle France, which was then the colonial power in Syria.
That agreement was renewed after Syria gained independence in 1936.
A Turkish flag flies over the tomb and a small garrison of around 25 troops is permanently stationed there, according to Turkish media reports. It is Turkey's only overseas territory.
The foreign minister's comments came after local media reported that Turkey had put its military on alert against any threat from jihadist groups to the tomb.
Davutoglu said the myrmidon Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was trying to take control of the area around the tomb, but said for now there was no direct threat to the Turkish enclave.
Nonetheless, the soldiers stationed at the tomb have been ordered to strike back against any attack, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.
"Turkey has the right to take any kind of measures for its security and stability," Davutoglu said.
"We hope that the security of our troops and territory there will not be infringed, but we are fully prepared for every possibility."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] In the heart of Syria's devastated city of Homs, once hailed as the "capital of the revolution," Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... looks down from a banner calling for his reelection.
"Because you are a symbol of our victory and our resistance, we implore you to be a candidate for the presidency," reads the caption beneath the smiling Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for more than four decades.
In the early months of Syria's uprising, Homs was the epicenter of peaceful mass protests sweeping the country. Three years on much of it lies in ruin, with small pockets of rebels clinging to a few besieged neighborhoods.
But in pro-regime neighborhoods the campaign for Assad's reelection has begun, despite the fact that he has not yet announced his candidacy.
A constitution adopted in 2012 for the first time opened the door for candidates to challenge Assad in the election, scheduled to be held before June.
But a law adopted by parliament on Thursday requires candidates to have lived in Syria for the past 10 years, thereby excluding the exiled Western- and Arab-backed opposition.
It's unclear how an election can be held in the middle of a raging civil war that has killed 146,000 people and displaced an estimated 40 percent of Syrians from their homes.
But a few blocks away from the Assad banner, signed "Family Restaurant," another banner announces that the employees of al-Waari digital printing and its calligrapher, Fadi Hassan, implore Assad to run.
"We promise with our blood to be loyal to you," it proclaims.
The authors of the banners insist they are acting on their own without government pressure.
"When we heard the president say he will run in the election if the people want it, we decided to hang these posters, because he is a symbol of our glory, our pride and our victory," says Samer Johar, 43, of the Family Restaurant.
"They called Homs the capital of the revolution. Well, I tell you Homs is the capital of the campaign for Bashir al-Assad to seek a new term," says Johar, a member of Assad's minority Alawite faith.
Assad still enjoys support among a significant part of the population fearful of the rebels, who count powerful jihadist groups among their ranks.
Samer, who arranged the hanging of 15 banners throughout pro-regime neighborhoods, says Assad is the only candidate who can bring stability to Syria after three years of war.
"If he leaves his post there will be chaos," he says, adding that seven of his cousins have been killed in the war and an eighth has disappeared.
His views are shared by Issa Youssef, a Christian from Mechref, a village near the Lebanese border.
"All of us, men, women and kiddies, have lived in security under the authority of President Assad and we hope he will be reelected another two or three times," the 50-year-old driver says.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
But in pro-regime neighborhoods the campaign for Assad's reelection has begun, despite the fact that he has not yet announced his candidacy.
Likely the Ready for Pencil-Neck Committee. Altho I guess it could be the work of (yeah wait for it) Committee to Re-Elect the Pencil-Neck.
[An Nahar] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... voiced hope on Friday that the next Lebanese president would support the resistance axis, considering that his country and Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... are united and share the same fate.
"We are interested in the opinions of the upcoming Lebanese president and to what he could offer the axis of the resistance, which is the basic criterion for us," Assad was quoted as saying by his visitors.
The visitors told As Safir newspaper that Assad considers the Lebanese presidential elections as a local affair, whoever who the candidates were.
President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... 's tenure ends in May 2014, but the constitutional period to elect a new head of state begins on March 25, two months prior to the expiration of Suleiman's mandate.
Suleiman on Wednesday said he hoped the adoption of a national defense strategy under which the resistance would assist the Lebanese Army.
Asked about Prime Minister Tammam Salam, the Syrian president considered him as a "man of morals," urging the political arch-foes to aid him in his endeavors.
Assad also called on the Lebanese to unite "in order to confront the challenges facing their country, warning that "the sharp rift would allow the takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... s to spread in their country."
He stressed that Leb and Syria share the same security.
His visitors quoted him as saying that "there are men in Leb that held onto their stances and choices unlike those who are never persistent."
Assad described Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... as "loyal," pointing out that they "are in the same boat."
Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of President Assad.
The conflict, pitting a Sunni-dominated rebel movement against Assad, has raised sectarian tensions in Leb and Lebanese Sunni fighters have also been killed while fighting alongside Syrian rebels.
Suleiman had continuously urged Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately to disassociate Leb from the regional conflicts and to maintain Leb's best interest.
The embattled Syrian president expressed resentment over the stance of some Arab countries towards his country, warning that "all those who did Syria wrong and conspired against it will pay the price."
He revealed that several Gulf countries have "secret contacts with Damascus," noting that "European countries are extending aid to coordinate security and intelligence cooperation to confront the takfiri terrorism."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Iran's ambassador, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said Friday that he delivered a letter to Lebanese authorities protesting a recent statement made by Interior Minister Nuhad al-Mashnouq against Tehran.
The diplomat told news hounds after meeting Premier Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail that the official letter of protest was made over al-Mashnouq's remarks against Tehran's regime at the meeting of Arab Interior Ministers in Morocco.
"PM Salam confirmed to me that his (al-Mashnouq's) stance against the Islamic Theocratic Republic does not express the position of the Lebanese government," Roknabadi said.
Salam stressed that he is keen on "the best of ties" with Iran, he added.
A Baabda Palace statement said that Roknabadi also briefed President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... on the content of the letter that he delivered to the foreign ministry.
The statement quoted Suleiman as telling the diplomat that Leb stressed mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries.
In his speech at the 31st Arab Interior Ministers conference held in Marrakesh on Wednesday, al-Mashnouq blamed Iran for the rise of terrorist activities in Leb.
"Despite the strong capabilities of the army and security forces, we have failed to" confront terrorism militarily, he said.
"The phenomenon of violence has its political and strategic reasons, resulting from the interference of Iran and Syria in Leb's internal affairs in the past three decades and more," he said.
"The bloodshed in Syria and Leb rose because the Syrian regime is confronting a rebellion and Iran is facing major fateful challenges," the minister added.
He also blamed Iran for the violence in Arab countries.
"The major part of this violence in several Arab states, including Leb, is the result of the unstable ties with Iran," he said.
"This should compel politicians, foreign ministers, leaders of major parties and heads of state ... to confront the challenge," al-Mashnouq added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... stressed during a rally marking the ninth anniversary of the March 14 "Independence Uprising" on Friday that "any resistance outside state's authority" is "illegitimate," calling on his coalition to endorse a "strong" March 14 presidential nominee even if there are "several candidates."
"The previous and current experiences of the Lebanese with Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... and its allies have proven that they do not have any consideration for the Lebanese state and the future of the Lebanese and their security, neither for their own commitments and pledges," Geagea said via video link from Maarab, addressing the rally that was held at the BIEL exhibition center in Beirut.
And as he noted that Hizbullah and its allies "closed the doors of discussions over the policy statement ... from the very first moment, when they rejected any debate over their arms and declared the death of the Baabda Declaration," Geagea underlined that "any resistance outside the state's authority, decision and arms is illegitimate."
"Hizbullah cannot go fight the Syrians then try to convince the Lebanese that the Syrians were going to attack them anyway under the pretext of the presence of takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... s," Geagea said.
"Does Hizbullah understand the threat this involvement poses to the existence of the Lebanese entity itself? Should what was written in Iran be carefully implemented even if that was at Leb's expense?" Geagea asked.
"Hizbullah did not consult the Lebanese when it got involved in Syria but its acts make them bear the consequences of this involvement. Hizbullah cannot continue its involvement and then ask the Lebanese to form 'Sahwa' gangs to defend it," he stressed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[MAGHAREBIA] Al-Qaeda's breakaway bandit has found himself in real trouble.
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[Dhaka Tribune] The government would take initiatives to ban 
Nawaz Sharif
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State 
Founding leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), known as the Top 90 batch, have declared MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari a "persona non grata" for leadership blunders, including the three-week attack in Zamboanga City in September last year.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Samir Geagea
