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Today: 63 articles and 168 comments as of 3:05.
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Mexican Army bags 11 bad guys in Tamaulipas state
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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17 00:00 JosephMendiola [336096]
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Agnieszka Włodarczyk (Poland) aka Stella in "E=mc2 (2002)" aka Telimena Hoffman in "Rób swoje, ryzyko jest twoje (2002)" aka Jolanta 'Jola' Zablocka in "Nigdy w zyciu! (2004)" aka Karolina in "Job, czyli ostatnia szara komórka (2006)" aka Zxnsfsfjuue in "Ysdasdjks Wpopdgfldfj Xsjdffsaudi" (age 31)



Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/13/2011 1:46 Comments || Top||

#2  It make agnieszka Włodarczyk 2002 ( ) " = ( ) " " Poland aka Stella in E mc2 aka Telimena Hoffman in, never risk is in (to) your ( 2002 ) " jolanta ' ' " aka Jola Zablocka in zyciu! 2004 ( ) " Carolina " aka in Job, or last grey cell (cellular phone) ( 2006 ) " " aka Zxnsfsfjuue in Ysdasdjks Wpopdgfldfj Xsjdffsaudi"

Somethings lost in the translation.

A Polish guy goes into the eye doctor and the eye doctor says: "Please read the letters on the chart. The Polish guy says: "Hey I think I know that guy's name, he lives down the street from me."
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/13/2011 9:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh, come on. It's pronounced exactly like it's spelled.
Posted by: mojo || 12/13/2011 11:19 Comments || Top||

#4  She really does have beautiful wrcxuebthij's!!
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 12/13/2011 12:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Djunkuya, GB
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/13/2011 13:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Agnieszka W³odarczyk (Poland) aka Stella in "E=mc2 (2002)" aka Telimena Hoffman in "Rób swoje, ryzyko jest twoje (2002)" aka Jolanta 'Jola' Zablocka in "Nigdy w zyciu! (2004)" aka Karolina in "Job, czyli ostatnia szara komórka (2006)" aka Zxnsfsfjuue in "Ysdasdjks Wpopdgfldfj Xsjdffsaudi"

Obviously fake Polish, too many vowels!
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 12/13/2011 13:50 Comments || Top||

#7  I made up the last aka and it looks official or I'm a savant and don't know it.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/13/2011 14:06 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Heavy fighting in Sudan, 19 dead
[Pak Daily Times] Heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
between the Sudanese army and southern-aligned rebels in the embattled state of South Kordofan has killed at least 19 government troops, a rebel front man said on Monday.

"There was heavy fighting on Saturday in Warni, in the far east of Talodi locality. The SPLA repelled an attack by the army. They left 19 bodies on the ground," Arnu Ngutulu Lodi told AFP.

The Sudanese army front man could not immediately be reached for comment.

Lodi said the festivities followed three days of fighting in the northern Rashad locality, where the rebels managed to expel the army from the Abu al-Hassan area, and that the two sides were battling on Monday in the Taruje area, near the disputed southern border. "The fighting now is going on in Taruje. There are heavy artillery bombardments. The SPLA has surround the SAF (Sudanese armed forces), who are under a lot of pressure. Any time now they will be driven out," he claimed.

The conflict erupted in South Kordofan in June between the army and snuffies who fought alongside the ex-southern rebels during their 22-year conflict with the north, as Khartoum moved to assert its authority within its borders ahead of South Sudan's independence in July.
Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Arabia
Al-Qaeda militants flee in Yemen jailbreak
ADEN: At least 16 prisoners, including members of Al-Qaeda, escaped from a prison in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Monday, Yemeni officials said. A security official in the south of the country, where Islamist fighters have seized chunks of an entire province, said detainees fled by digging a tunnel leading beyond the prison’s walls. Sixteen were at large, another local official said.

It was the second major jailbreak involving Al-Qaeda members since June, when dozens of Al-Qaeda militants escaped from a jail in another city, Mukalla.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A noose is a great way to prevent jailbreaks.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 7:51 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexican Army bags 11 bad guys in Tamaulipas state
For a map, click here. For a map of Tamaulipas state, click here
An army unit with the Mexican 4th Military Zone killed 11 armed suspects Saturday in a firefight in Tamaulipas state, according to Mexican news accounts.

The unit was on patrol in the town of Villa Hermosa near the intersection of Avenida Independencia and Calle 16 de Septiembre when an unknown number of armed suspects hiding in a nearby building fired on them.

Army return fire killed 11 suspects. Two suspects were arrested at the scene.

One Mexican soldier was wounded in the encounter and evacuated for medical attention.

Following the encounter, the unit seized 73 rifles, 422 weapons magazines, 3,730 rounds of ammunition, seven trimmings, four bulletproof vests and two vehicles.
Posted by: badanov || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336101 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Gunman Assassinates Two Senegalese Street Vendors In Florence
An Italian far-right militant Tuesday killed two Senegalese vendors and wounded three people in a shooting spree in broad daylight in Florence after which he was found shot dead, media reported.

Eyewitnesses said they saw the man calmly getting out of a car at a street market on Piazza Dalmazia, north of the historic city centre, and firing off three shots that killed two vendors on the spot and gravely wounded a third.

The middle-aged white man, named as Gianluca Casseri by Corriere della Sera daily, then moved to a market in the centre where he wounded two more people.

Casseri was then shot dead, the reports said, although it was not immediately clear if he shot himself or was shot by police.

The reports said Casseri, a published author from the city of Pistoia in the Tuscany region, was using a large Magnum revolver handgun.

Around 200 Senegalese street vendors protested in the city centre after the shootings, crying and shouting "Shame! Shame!" and "Racists!" The vendors knocked over mopeds, rubbish bins and street signs in anger.

"I heard the shots but I thought they were fireworks. Then I turned around and I saw three men on the ground in blood," a street vendor was quoted by La Repubblica as saying at the scene of the Piazza Dalmazia shooting.

Another man said: "There are often Senegalese guys here who sell the usual stuff, they don't bother anyone and no-one was expecting this."

African vendors can often be seen on the streets of Italy's main cities selling African sculptures, trinkets and fake designer handbags.
Gunman is a published author, and believed to be a member of the neo-fascist group Casa Pound.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 13:58 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under:


Gunman kills two in Florence
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 13:58 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under:

#1  mods: sorry, premature post.

Header: Gunman Assassinates Two Senegalese Street Vendors In Florence

Footnote: Gunman is a published author, and believed to be a member of the neo-fascist group Casa Pound.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 14:03 Comments || Top||


Dupe entry: Terror Attack In Belgium
Posted by: Grunter || 12/13/2011 10:18 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under:


Pak family sentenced for Belgian honour killing
Moved to Page 1: WoT because of the guns-and-grenades attack immediately following in Liege.

trailing wife at 9:48 ET
.BRUSSELS: A Belgian court on Monday sentenced four members of a Pakistani family to prison for the "honour killing" of a law student, national TV news reported.

After pronouncing the family members guilty for the shooting death of Sadia Sheikh in October 2007, the jury said father Tarik Mahmood Sheikh should serve 25 years behind bars, mother Zahida Parveen Sariya 20 years, brother Mudusar 15 and sister Sariya five years, RTL television reported.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/13/2011 08:10 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I prefer the term Arab Cultural murder.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/13/2011 9:35 Comments || Top||

#2  All-in-the-family Jihad.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/13/2011 15:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Liége attack: death toll climbs to six – including 'gun freak'
A convicted gun fanatic threw hand grenades and opened fire on a square bustling with Christmas shoppers in the centre of the Belgian city of Liège, killing at least six people, including himself, and wounding dozens, some critically.

Hours after failing to show up for police questions about his preoccupation with guns, the 33-year-old unleashed a lunchtime attack on Place Saint Lambert, which was hosting a Christmas market that attracts 1.5 million visitors a year....The gunman threw three hand grenades on the busy square, one at a bus shelter, killing two teenage students instantly...The Liège prosecutor's office said 75 people were injured in the shootings and explosions, with many of them reported to be in a grave condition in local hospitals and in the Netherlands next door...While police, prosecutors and politicians all emphasised that the Liège tragedy was no terrorist or politically-inspired assault – "he has no history of terrorist acts," the Liège prosecutor, Daniele Reynders, told journalists – there was no persuasive motive given to explain the rampage.

All that's missing is "Allahu Akbar" but the alleged perp could have been just plain nuts.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/13/2011 15:44 Comments || Top||

#4  All that's missing is "Allahu Akbar"

It's there. Perp is named Nordine (i.e. Noordin) Amrani.
Posted by: Slatle Bumble5851 || 12/13/2011 17:09 Comments || Top||


Guns and grenades rock Liege, Belgium
Moved to Page 1: War on Terror because it is now claimed the attack is linked to an honour killing conviction.

-- trailing wife at 9:36 am ET
A gun and grenade attack in the centre of the Belgian city of Liege has killed at least two people and wounded about 25, Belgian media say.

They say several men threw grenades and fired on a crowd at a bus stop in Place Saint Lambert, a busy square.

Some reports say one of the attackers is among the dead. Local media said another had been seized by police but gunfire was continuing.
BBC article updated as of 9:04 ET:
...wounded 47 including a toddler, media say.

Witnesses say a man in his 40s threw grenades at a bus stop in Place Saint Lambert, a busy square. At least two other men are thought to be involved.

Reports say one of the attackers is among the dead. Local media say another has been detained, while a third is involved in a stand-off with police. There are reports of a fourth man escaping the scene.

It is not clear who the attackers are.

Place Saint Lambert is a busy intersection, served by hundreds of buses daily. It hosts an annual Christmas market which attracts some 1.5 million visitors a year.
The Telegraph adds, as of 12:36 pm GMT:
The attack took place around noon on Saint-Lambert square, home to the town's courthouse and located near a busy Christmas market, Belga news agency said.

The Karachi Post in Pakistan claimed that the attack was linked to a sentence in an honour killing case. It said the parents of Sadia Sheikh were sentenced on Monday when there had been a bomb alert in the court.
A two-year-old child is reportedly fighting for life in hospital. Six other victims are said to be gravely injured.

One of two or more assailants threw stun grenades into the courthouse while another was hurled at a bus shelter, RTL-TV1 said. Shots were fired across the square by gunmen posted on the rooftop of a bakery shop, with further shots heard later from across town.

Police cordoned off the square and gave chase to the assailants, one of whom was reportedly killed. The gunmen are thought to be hiding in Liege cathedral.

The Karachi Post in Pakistan claimed that the attack was linked to a sentence in an honour killing case. It said the parents of Sadia Sheikh were sentenced on Monday when there had been a bomb alert in the court.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/13/2011 08:05 || Comments || Link || [336113 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How would Karachi know? OTOH, that they'd make such a claim so soon might mean they've been paying particular attention.
If they're right, this is a spectacular form of what in this country would be Muslim juror null.
If not, then WTF??????????/
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 12/13/2011 9:38 Comments || Top||

#2  More on the murder of Sadia Sheikh.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 9:38 Comments || Top||


#4  64 injured, 2 dead
Posted by: Frank G || 12/13/2011 9:59 Comments || Top||

#5  Clearly, this is an example of "workplace violence."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 10:35 Comments || Top||

#6  several men threw grenades and fired on a crowd at a bus stop

Not much honor in that.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/13/2011 17:28 Comments || Top||

#7  Doesn't look like Islamic terror, more like an ordinary criminal running amuck.

No other attackers were involved. The KP is making this up, no idea why.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/13/2011 20:24 Comments || Top||

#8  Euro-trash opine, "...this might have just as easily occurred In Bruges". Ach!
Posted by: Grease Jith3343 || 12/13/2011 22:24 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Ex-Iran Guard commander visits White House with Iraq leader
h/t Belmont
A former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the FBI says played a role in a 1996 terrorist attack that killed 19 U.S. servicemen, accompanied Iraq's prime minister to the White House on Monday, attending an event at which President Obama trumpeted the end of the Iraq War.

Hadi Farhan al-Amiri, transportation minister in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, was part of the delegation that visited the White House to discuss Iraq's future and Iran's influence there, among other topics.
Bambi doesn't even bother to hide his animus for our people, particularly our military people, does he.

Also: gromgoru, this belongs in Home Front WoT, not tech/moderator notes. AoS.

This article starring:
Hadi Farhan al-Amiri
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/13/2011 14:26 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh, oh, I got it! He was a party crasher! Pres. Obama will fire the social coordinator for failing to check the invitation.
Posted by: American Delight || 12/13/2011 17:46 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Deadly raid on Nato convoy in Pakistan
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Gunmen attacked NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
oil tankers stranded in southwest Pakistain for the second time in days as Islamabad warned it could enforce its blockade of the US lifeline into Afghanistan for weeks.

The attackers rubbed out a driver and destroyed seven tankers in a blaze of fire late Sunday, the second attack in four days in Pakistain's volatile region of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, which is rife with separatists and Talibs.

There was no claim of responsibility but Pakistain's fragile alliance with the United States crashed to new lows after November 26, when NATO air strikes killed 24 Pak soldiers in what Pakistain said was a deliberate attack.

Islamabad sealed its Afghan border to NATO convoys, closures that entered a 17th day on Monday, forcing trucks back to the Arabian Sea port of Bloody Karachi.

Sunday's convoy was targeted in Dadar town, 90 kilometres southeast of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, police said. Last Thursday, gunnies destroyed at least 34 trucks in a gun and rocket attack at a temporary NATO trucking terminal in Quetta.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
told the BBC that Pakistain's blockade of the border, already the longest since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, will not be lifted until new "rules of engagement" were agreed with Washington.

"We are working together and still we don't trust each other. I think we have to improve our relationship," he said in the interview aired Sunday.

"We want to set new rules of engagement and cooperation with United States," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  "ENFORCE ... ... FOR WEEKS" = FOREVER-N-EVAR ...

versus

* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > GOVT. CONTEMPLATING [in principle only ]RESUMPTION OF NATO SUPPLIES.

Mighty Inter-PAK Govt. Debate in progress - no date of resumption announced yet.

versus

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PAKISTAN TO CONSIDER TAXATION OF NATO AFGHANISTAN TRUCKS.

Road = Operator fees.

Pakistan must thrive whenever theUS-NATO choose to drive.

* SAME > THOUSANDS OF NATO CONTAINERS CLOGGING PAKISTAN SEAPORTS.

* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > 29,000 NATO CONTAINERS BECOME WAR BOOTY FOR PAKISTAN, 29,000 NATO CONTAINERS "HAVE DISAPPEARED" IN PAKISTAN ENROUTE TO AFGHANISTAN | ARMS FROM 3,400 NON-COMMERCIAL CONTAINERS UNLOADED IN PAKISTAN.

ARTIC(S) = the arms-containing 3,400 is not part of the missing 29,000 containers.

* SAME > PAKISTAN HOLDS NATO TRANSIT TRADE [truck]CONTAINERS.

Pakistan's National Exchequer is warning that, be they sitting or lost, etc. Pakistan's REVENUE COFFERS ARE SERIOUSLY SUFFERING DUE THE BLOCKADE OF NATO SUPPLIES INTO AFGHANISTAN.

Moreso given ...

* SAME > US SENATE PANEL AGREES TO FREEZE US$700.0MILYUHN IN AID TO PAKISTAN, until such time Pakistan proves it has improved its domestic anti-IED efforts e.g. stopped or inhibited the flow of IED-useful/capable natural fertilizer ingredients to the Hard Boyz = Pak-based MilTerr Groups.

I'm interpreting the above as Pakland's recognition of a minor or subtle US warning to Islamabad that Washington = US Congresscritters can cut off mucho ducho more than a mere US$700.0Milyuhn in aid to their country.

Clash of Pol Wills = WHOSE BUDGET WILL GO BUST FIRST???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/13/2011 0:44 Comments || Top||


Three policemen killed in Hangu
[Pak Daily Times] Three coppers and an outlaw were killed and two cops injured during an encounter in the limits of the Doaba cop shoppe on Monday, district police said. The shootout started after kidnappers fired a volley of bullets at a mobile police party when the latter asked them to surrender to a search. As a result, coppers Sabir Gul, Abdul Khaliq and Raja Akhtar Khan and an outlaw were killed. Two other coppers also sustained injuries in the encounter, which continued for half an hour. Police cordoned off the area and started search operation.
Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under:


U.S. Sgt Bowe recaptured by Taliban after 3-day daring escape
A U.S. soldier held by the Taliban since 2009 has been recaptured after he went on the run for three days. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's daring escape failed when a manhunt was launched in Pakistain to find him, Taliban capos said.

He is now facing his third Christmas in captivity.

Sgt Bergdahl has been a prisoner of the Taliban since his capture on June 30, 2009, in Afghanistan. Since then, he has appeared in a least five Taliban propoganda videos, one of which was released in May. He is the only known U.S. soldier to be captive of the Taliban.

Sgt Bergdahl made the attempt in late August or early September, after several months when his jailers became more trusting of him. It is thought he learnt Pashto and converted to Islam to build up a rapport with his captors. The soldier then reportedly jumped from a first-floor window of a mud-brick house in Pakistain where he was held, and made his escape into underbrush and forested mountains.

His captors found him three days later hiding in a trench, covered with leaves and virtually naked, according to the report. The sources described Sgt Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, fighting 'like a boxer' when found.

Quoting a Taliban source, The Daily Beast reported that Sgt Bergdahl told his captors that he wanted to find civilian villagers who would help him and notify the U.S.. But that hope proved futile as villagers had long since decamped Pakistain's North Wazoo region because of the conflict.

Now he is back in captivity, Sgt Bergdahl is once more restrained at night and being moved frequently to avoid detection by U.S. forces.

Drone strikes have killed several senior hard boyz in the area he is being held and sources say the Taliban is ready to make a deal to release the soldier. A source told The Daily Beast: 'There's a fear that a dronecould hit the golden [goose].'

Colonel Tim Marsano, an Idaho National Guard front man based in Boise, was quoted in the report and has spoken with Sgt Bergdahl's family. 'There is certainly a lot of new information in that article that was news to the Sgt Bergdahl family,' he said. 'Any mother would be glad to hear that her son is alive and well at this point.'
Posted by: || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  May God Bless you Sgt Bowe with another chance.
Posted by: Creregum Glolump8403 || 12/13/2011 4:04 Comments || Top||

#2  dem Idaho boys is sneaky ain't they muhammad? Godspeed Sgt.
Posted by: Ominous1 || 12/13/2011 4:10 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Explosion rips through Syria gas pipeline
AMMAN - An kaboom destroyed a gas pipeline near the town of Rastan in the central Syrian province of Homs and fire was seen rising from the site, a witness said on Monday, the second reported blast at an energy pipeline in Homs in a week.

The region has been the focus a crackdown by forces loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
on a pro-democracy protest movement, and increased fighting has been reported in the area between the army and faceless myrmidons in the last few weeks.
Posted by: || 12/13/2011 10:14 || Comments || Link || [336109 views] Top|| File under:


Russia sent military ships to base in Syria
Posted by: Creregum Glolump8403 || 12/13/2011 08:09 || Comments || Link || [336100 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why does this remind me of sending gunboats to China to protect the opium trade?
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/13/2011 10:52 Comments || Top||

#2  "Having any military force, other than the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is very beneficial for the region, as it will prevent the outbreak of a military conflict," said [retired Admiral Viktor] Kravchenko, who was head of the Russian Navy from 1998 to 2005.

Also reinforces the Russian 'claim' to their facilities at Tartus.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/13/2011 11:22 Comments || Top||

#3  See also WAFF > THE KUZ ARRIVES OFF THE UK.

RNS ADM. KUZNETZOV, ostens anchored seeking storm shelter just outside of UK territorial waters off POrtsmouth - HMS ASTUTE is on the case!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/13/2011 19:06 Comments || Top||

#4  OTOH WAFF [paraph] > TURKISH MP CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF "TURKISH OCCUPATION ARMY" IN CYPRUS, any + all plus to include those covert "troops/forces" Ankara doesn't formally recognize as its military servicemembers.

versus

* INDIAN DEFENSE FORUM > UK BUDGET-CUTTERS HAVE SLASHED US$15.0BILYUHN [UK L$10.0Bilyuhn+] FROM ARMOR PROGRAMS.

Few = No? Tanks or other Armor for the UK-ies, + only one "QUEEN LIZ" CVF that may or may not become fully certified until decades in the future when its ready to be retired or scrapped???

* SAME > NATO TO RUSSIA : MISSLE RESPONSE [anti-US,NATO counter-BMD Shield] IS A WASTE OF MONEY.

Mama Russia informed that the US, NATO are not their enemy.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/13/2011 20:57 Comments || Top||


Shoes miss Ahmadinejad
The whole shoe thing is so played...
TEHRAN: A conservative Iranian news website reported that a jobless man had thrown his shoes at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to protest not having received his unemployment benefits.

The Monday report by Shafaf.ir is a rare example of the Iranian media reporting a humiliation reportedly suffered by the president. The website is close to Ahmadinejad's opponents.

The website identified the man as a laid-off worker in a textile factory in the northern city of Sari, which the president was visiting. It said that the shoes missed Ahmadinejad, and the man began to shout abuses at the government for his failure to receive his benefits.

Iran officially reports its unemployment rate at about 11 percent, but some experts say it is much higher.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under:


Syrian opposition: Massacre could follow deadline
(CNN) -- The corpse count in Syria's violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters has risen to close to 5,000 people, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
said Monday.

More than 300 of them have been children "killed by State forces," Navi Pillay said in a briefing for the U.N. Security Council, citing "reliable sources."

"This situation is intolerable," she said.

More than 200 people have reportedly died in violence in Syria since December 2, she said. "The Syrian population continues to live in fear of further violent repression."

Pillay named the city of Homs, one of the uprising's main centers, as a particular flash point.

As nightfall arrived Monday in Syria, many residents of Homs went to bed afraid that a historic siege on their city could be imminent.

Opposition figures said the Syrian government had warned people in Homs to stop anti-government protests, hand in weapons and surrender defecting military members by Monday night or face attack by the government forces.

Syrian forces gave a 72-hour warning, said Lt. Col. Mohamed Hamdo of the Free Syrian Army, an opposition group of defected Syrian military personnel. Activists on the ground said the ultimatum was issued Friday for Homs.
Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Israel: Rocket was Aimed at Kiryat Shmona, Hizbullah Playing with Fire
[An Nahar] Israeli security sources on Monday noted that the trajectory of the rocket fired overnight from the southern town of Majdal Selem into the nearby town of Houla "indicates that it was aimed at the (northern Israeli) town of Kiryat Shmona," warning that "Hizbullah's continuous playing with fire may lead to a security deterioration."

Israel's public radio quoted the sources as saying that the incident was part of a spate of attacks "in which the Hizbullah organization has a hand, including the firing of rockets into the western Galilee two weeks ago and the targeting of the members of the French UNIFIL unit in the Tyre region last weekend."

Hizbullah on Monday slammed recent accusations by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who claimed Sunday that the party had a hand in the latest attack on French U.N. peacekeepers in southern Leb.

"Juppe made blatant accusations against Syria and Hizbullah and he himself acknowledged that he had no proof to substantiate his allegations," Hizbullah said in a statement.

"Hizbullah deplores this condemned behavior, which was inappropriate coming from the foreign minister of an important nation such as La Belle France," the party added.

It called on the top French diplomat to "correct his stance and realize the gravity of such type of accusations, which represent major injustice."

Five French members of the United Nations
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
Interim Force in Leb (UNIFIL) were maimed on Friday when a bomb targeted their patrol on the outskirts of the coastal city of Tyre. Two passers-by were also maimed.

Juppe said on Sunday that Syria was "undoubtedly" behind the bombing, adding however that so far he had no proof to back his claim. He also claimed that Syria had used Hizbullah for such attacks in the past, describing the party as "Syria's armed wing" in Leb.

The Israeli sources suggested that the latest wave of security incidents in southern Leb was most likely linked to "the hardship Hizbullah is going through these days, in light of the waning position of its ally, the Damascus
...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations...
regime, and its attempt to aid this regime by creating tensions on Leb's southern border to deviate attention from the events in the Syrian arena."

"Hizbullah does not want a real escalation of the situations, but its continuous playing with fire may lead to a security deterioration that would pose a threat to the residents of south Leb and all the Lebanese," the sources noted.

A woman was injured overnight in southern Leb when a rocket apparently fired towards Israel landed instead in a Lebanese border village, a security bigshot told Agence La Belle France Presse early Monday.

The Katyusha rocket, fired from the southern region of Bint Jbeil, landed in the village of Houla, near the border with Israel, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...

The incident took place amid a number of security incidents in recent weeks that have heightened tension that the nine-month uprising in neighboring Syria could spill over and destabilize Leb.

On November 29, a series of rockets were fired from the border area into Israel, prompting a retaliatory strike by the Jewish state.

A Lebanese website initially said an obscure al-Qaeda-linked group calling itself the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam grabbed credit for the November attack in an email message.

But the Brigades later denied the claim, laying the blame instead on a group linked to Hizbullah and Syria.

And on Friday, a roadside kaboom maimed five French U.N. peacekeepers on the outskirts of the southern coastal town of Tyre.

La Belle France and the Lebanese opposition have blamed the embattled regime in Damascus for the attack on the U.N. Interim Force in Leb (UNIFIL), saying it was carried out with the help of Hizbullah.

The Shiite party in 2006 fought a devastating war with Israel that destroyed much of Leb's infrastructure and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese -- mainly civilians -- and 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.

The border region had since been largely quiet.

Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336101 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  See also FREEREPUBLIC > IRAN MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN HAVING A [nuclear] BOMB + [existential] SURVIVAL: ISRAEL.

Lines in the sand???

Reminds me of an OLD DREAM/VISION = ARCHANGEL DRAWING "LINES IN THE SAND" ala POTUS BUSH 41 [Herbert = "Herbie" COULD-BE-A-LOVE-BUG Bush] + DESERT SHIELD/STORM.

Iff Rising Iran = Rising Iran, then Iran will inevitably go for the Bomb, come hell or Jewish party favors.

versus

* SAME > [Jamestown.Org] THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: THERAN RETHINKS ITS COMMITMENT TO AN IRANIAN-BUILT AIRCRAFT CARRIER.

Ancient Persia now Iran = China = historically is a major land power, although this is not to argue that it did not have good or potent maritime or naval warfighting activities or traditions.

Pragmatically, IFF RISING IRAN = HOPES TO EMULATE RISING CHINA in BEING A POST-US GLOBAL POWER OR SUPERPOWER, NOT MERELY "REGIONAL" OR TRANSREGIONAL, ESPEC AS PER PREMISES FOR SO-CALLED "OWG/GLOBAL CALIPHATE", THEN LIKE "RISING CHINA" WANNABE RISING IRAN MUST BE ABLE TO BOTH PROJECT + PROTECT ITS OVERSEAS INTERESTS AT WILL.

Put it this way - IFF THEY DON'T, THEY WON'T.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/13/2011 1:33 Comments || Top||

#2  WAFF > {Wapo] LEADERS DEFIANT, BUT MANY IRANIANS FEAR WAR.

and

* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [FarsNews = Iran] 90 US DRONES BROUGHT DOWN IN FOUR YEARS, since January 2007, including 25 Drone crashes this year alone [13 of the 25 crashes oer last 10 months].

Also from FARSNEWS > DEPUTY DM: NO ONE ALLOWED TO USE AFGHANISTAN TO ATTACK IRAN

* SAME > {Retired Lebanese General] IRAN TO FORCE US OUT OF REGION WID ELECTRONIC WARFARE.

* SAME > [Basij] IRANIAN COMMANDER: DOWNING HI-TECH DRONE MEANS US TECHNOLOGICAL FEEBLENESS.

* NEW YORK DAILY NEWS > IRAN: BUY AND STORE: WAR [wid US, Israel?] IS LOOMING.

Marketplace/Street-level dialogue, fears between ordinary Iranian Vendors + their Customers.

* [Basij] COMMANDER: US COMPLETELY UNABLE TO CONFRONT IRAN.


* WORLD NEWS > VIOLATION OF IRAN'S AIRSPACE BY US IS BREACH OF INTERNATIONAL LAWS: MP [Hossain Garrousi].

ARTIC > various multiple breaches by US demonstrates or proves US intent to unilater + maliciously interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

* SAME > LINDSEY WILLIAMS: US/NATO TO INCITE WAR WID IRAN BY SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/13/2011 19:36 Comments || Top||

#3  OOOOPPSIES, forgot BHARAT RAKSHAK > RUSSIA TRAINING MYANMAR OFFICERS IN NUCLEAR SCIENCE, MISSLE DESIGN, at Bauman University in Moscow.

Ditto NORTH KOREAN + IRANIAN STUDENTS at same.

ARTIC = Iff-n-when any reliable + accurate DRPK, IRAN LRBMS strike at Japan + Israel, THEY WILL HAVE "BAUMAN U/GO BAUMAN!", ETC. STAMPED ON THEM.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/13/2011 21:04 Comments || Top||

#4  A classically rendered tutorial on understatement, diplomacy and martial self-restraint (from Israeli, of course).

"Hizbullah's continuous playing with fire may lead to a security deterioration."

Posted by: Grease Jith3343 || 12/13/2011 22:53 Comments || Top||


Syrian Forces Battle Deserters, One Killed
[An Nahar] Syrian security forces rubbed out at least one person early Monday as they launched a raid in the northwestern province of Idlib, where mutinous soldiers were fighting army troops, a rights group said.

The violence came as freedom fighters pushed a campaign of civil disobedience launched Sunday with a general strike across Syria designed to bring down the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...

Five people were also maimed in Idlib, the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Army deserters were locked in heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
since dawn with regular troops in two Idlib villages, it added.

Similar fighting was also raging Monday morning in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of nearly nine months of anti-regime dissent, it said.

The opposition Syrian National Council meanwhile said in a statement that the "dignity" general strike launched Sunday was widely observed in 12 provinces across Syria against "all expectations."

The SNC urged Syrian citizens from all walks of life as well as labor unions to pursue the strike, saying it was essential "for the success of the revolution and the establishment of a civilian democratic nation."

The general strike is part of a campaign of civil disobedience called by activists who have announced plans to shut down universities, public transport, the civil service and major highways.

Rights groups had earlier reported that at least 13 non-combatants were killed on Sunday by regime forces, five of them in the flashpoint central province of Homs as fears grew of an "invasion" of the besieged protest hub.

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, who has said more than 4,000 people have been killed in the government crackdown on dissent, is to brief the U.N. Security Council on Syria later Monday.

Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


7 Killed as Syrians Vote in Municipal Polls
[An Nahar] Syrians were voting Monday in municipal elections held amid a general strike called by the opposition and as security forces killed another seven people as they pursued a crackdown on dissent.

The elections committee, in a statement received by Agence La Belle France Presse, said "voting is proceeding in a democratic spirit," adding that voting turnout was "good." It did not elaborate.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven people were killed in the flashpoint regions of Homs and Idlib on Monday, while strikes were observed in Daraa, cradle of nine months of anti-regime protests, and near Damascus
...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations...

Opposition activists have urged citizens to intensify a civil disobedience campaign launched on Sunday in a bid to bring down the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...

Polling stations opened at 0600 GMT, with 42,889 candidates vying for 17,588 seats, and were due to close at 2000 GMT.

Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud told AFP the elections were part of a reform package pledged by the authorities to promote democracy and would be followed by legislative polls in February.

"These elections are taking place on time in line with a reform program," Mahmoud told AFP.

"They are taking place although some are trying, in vain, to stop them through terrorist acts carried out by gangs who are terrorizing the citizens," he said.

Last week local administration minister Omar Ghalawanji said a special indelible ink would be used for the first time in the municipal elections "to prevent any fraud."

"I voted because we want to contribute to the reforms (pledged by Assad) and choose the best" candidates, said Zeina, a 35-year-old woman, as she emerged from a polling state in the central Ummayad Square of Damascus.

Ahmed, a pro-regime taxi driver, said the vote was essential "as a response to those calling for a strike."

But a regime opponent, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
, said he did not expect a huge turnout.

"I am surprised that elections are taking place under such circumstances," he said. "Cities gripped by the uprising are not concerned by these elections."

The dissident said he expected voting to be limited to areas where protests against the Assad regime have been scarce or non-existent such as Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
, Syria's second city and economic hub.

There have been little or no anti-regime protests in large urban areas like Aleppo and in many part of the capital Damascus.

The Britannia-based Observatory said authorities "forced dozens of people" in Idlib to go to vote despite raging violence in the northwestern province where three people were killed by security forces in an early morning raid.

Four other non-combatants were killed in the central province of Homs, the Observatory said.

It also reported that army deserters were locked in heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
since dawn with regular troops in two Idlib villages and that similar fighting was also raging in Daraa province.

The opposition Syrian National Council said in a statement that the "dignity" general strike launched Sunday was widely observed in 12 provinces across Syria against "all expectations."

The SNC urged Syrian citizens from all walks of life as well as labor unions to pursue the strike, saying it was essential "for the success of the revolution and the establishment of a civilian democratic nation."

The general strike is part of a campaign of civil disobedience which also aims to shut down universities, public transport, the civil service and major highways.

The Observatory said the strike was observed for the second consecutive day in Daraa and also in the restive northern Damascus suburb of Douma.

A man and a woman were killed in Douma on Sunday, when at least 13 people died in violence across Syria including five in the flashpoint central province of Homs as fears grew of an "invasion" of the besieged protest hub, activists said.

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, who has said more than 4,000 people have been killed in the government crackdown on dissent, is to brief the U.N. Security Council on Syria later Monday.

The unprecedented protests which erupted in Syria in mid-March initially called for greater freedoms in one of the Arab world's most autocratic country.

But faced with a violent government crackdown protesters quickly began demanding the fall of the regime, despite repeated promises by Assad to adopt political reforms to appease his detractors.

Posted by: Fred || 12/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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