Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies are showing renewed confidence that the momentum in the civil war is shifting in their favour, due in part to the rapid rise of al-Qaida-linked extremists among the rebels and the world's reluctance to take forceful action to intervene in the fighting.
His invigorated regime has gone on the offensive both on the ground and in its portrayal of the conflict as a choice between Assad and the extremists.
Several factors appear to have convinced Assad he can weather the storm: Two years into the uprising against his family's iron rule, his regime remains firmly entrenched in Damascus, the defection rate from the military has dwindled, and key international supporters Russia and China are still solidly on his side.
Moreover, the regime has benefited from the fallout created by audio distributed last month in which the head of the extremist Jabhat al-Nusra group, one of the most powerful and effective rebel groups in Syria, pledged allegiance to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
There are signs of Assad's renewed confidence.
After dropping largely out of sight following an hour-long speech at the Opera House in central Damascus in January, Assad has appeared in two TV interviews in the past month. His wife, Asma, appeared in public in March for the first time in months, surrounded by women and children for a function honouring mothers.
#1
Ditherer n chief at the helm. I still say he is working a deal with Putin. Give me this and give me that and you may have Assad. However even that deal may have been lost. Putin may not even need Obama now.
A hacker compromised a U.S. Army database that holds sensitive information about vulnerabilities in U.S. dams, according to a news report.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams contains information about 79,000 dams throughout the country and tracks such information as the number of estimated deaths that could occur if a specific dam failed. Its accessible to government employees who have accounts. Non-government users can query the database but cannot download data from it.
The breach began in January and was only uncovered in early April, according to the Free Beacon, a nonprofit online publication, which first published the news.
Pete Pierce, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, did not return a call from Wired but confirmed to the Free Beacon that the breach occurred.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is aware that access to the National Inventory of Dams (NID), to include sensitive fields of information not generally available to the public, was given to an unauthorized individual in January 2013 who was subsequently determined to not to have proper level of access for the information, Pierce said in a statement to the publication. [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] immediately revoked this users access to the database upon learning that the individual was not, in fact, authorized full access to the NID.
BOSTON (CBS/AP) Boston police say three additional suspects have been taken into custody in the Boston Marathon bombings investigation. Their names have not been released. Police said more details will be revealed later today.
According to CBS News, the three people arrested are friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Two will be charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. They are not U.S. citizens.
Oh quelle surprise. Two non-citizens are obstructing justice and making false statements? That's another way of saying that they were accomplices. We now have the fun of figuring out where they were in the org chart for the boom team.
According to WBZ-TVs Karen Anderson, their names are Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev. Both are originally from Kazakhstan and attended the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
So south Russians by the sounds of their names. I bet by tomorrow we know all about them.
The third suspect, according to CBS News, is an American citizen and he will be charged with making false statements.
Part of the team or a dorm-mate who wanted to 'help' Dozar?
Sources told CBS News senior correspondent John Miller that investigators arrested the three for harboring or aiding Tsarnaev after the fact. These will be federal charges.
The three were not arrested in the city of Boston, but nearby, according to Miller. This is possibly connected to the house raided in New Bedford on the Friday after the bombing.
According to CBS News correspondent Bob Orr, the charges are under seal, but they are related to incidents after the bombings and interfering with investigators. Orr said, at this point in the probe, there is no evidence of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev having direct help before the bombings.
Earlier today, lawyers for Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev said their clients have been extensively interviewed by federal investigators.
The two men appeared via video for a visa violation hearing in immigration court in Boston on Wednesday. They have been held in a county jail for more than a week on allegations that they violated their student visas while attending UMass-Dartmouth with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Whatever it takes to jug and sweat them...
Their attorneys said afterward that authorities have not indicated their clients had anything to do with the bombings.
Attorney Robert Stahl said Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were drawn to Tsarnaev because he also spoke Russian.
Among other things...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2013
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Tazhayakov and Kadrbayev, who are reportedly in FBI custody, drove around in a black BMW with Terrorista #1″ license plates and were also photographed with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Times Square.
Three college students have been arrested by federal authorities in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, a law enforcement official familar with the case said this morning. The Boston police Web page said that three additional "suspects" had been taken into custody. It emphasized that there was no threat to public safety.
The three people were connected to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the surviving bomb suspect, at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where Tsarnaev was a student. They allegedly helped him after the bombing, a different source told the Globe.
Oh that's going to get them long, long stretches in prison. What I want to know is this: why didn't the brothers have a better escape plan? They clearly planned the bombing itself rather meticulously. One would think that a team with that level of competence would also have planned a careful escape, particularly if the next stop was (supposedly) New York. So who were the helpers, etc. These three might be part of that, but there has to be more, unless the Tsarnaev brothers were meant to be caught.
"Additional details will be provided when they become available," police said in a statement. No news conference was scheduled.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2013
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#1
Key word: "after".
In the manner of, "Look....squirrel!"
If things go on that direction it distracts from the real problem, which is what came before the bombing.
But stressing that would undermine the "GM is alive and OBL is dead" narrative that the Dear Leader and his party cherish so much.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/01/2013 12:03
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Well, Clever_Pink_Note...I really suspect their offshore keepers did not plan in depth for an escape. Nor do I thing these 2 or 5 were meticulous bomb planners.
These are the remote robot hands(R2H) of other players.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/01/2013 13:29
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What I want to know is this: why didn't the brothers have a better escape plan?
They're amateurs? A little training, perhaps, but still amateurs.
And, I think escape plans are unusual in these cases. None of the "spontaneous" jihadis I can think of appeared to have any planning beyond "start killing and keep going until I can't".
(Heck, Mohammed Salameh's escape plan in the '93 WTC attack required everyone else in the plan be absolutely trustworthy. He learned too late that wasn't true, and had to resort to trying to get the deposit back on the bomb van.)
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/01/2013 15:16
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"why didn't the brothers have a better escape plan?"
Because they didn't think they'd be identified and caught?
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/01/2013 15:29
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I agree, Barbara. They simply thought they were oh, so much more clever than the infidels.
#9
As per CNN + CNBC, it looks like the legal defense of these three boyz + Brothers Tsarnaev can be summed up as they were just simple, beer-n-pizza fun-loving College Boyz whom came up wid the idea of making their own fireworks-n-only-fireworks for the Boston Marathon after coming back from one or more late-nite frat party(s).
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN "PORKY'S', "SPRING BREAK",
"ANIMAL HOUSE", ... ...@ETC. + "JERSEY SHORE", + A GOOD DOSE OF "REDS"???
D *** NG IT, WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR ... ... ... AND IT TAINT OVER NOW!?
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has confirmed an Australian man is on trial for alleged terrorism-related offences in Saudi Arabia.
DFAT says the 25-year-old, named in the media as Shayden Thorne from Perth, was arrested 18 months ago and is being detained in a prison outside Riyadh.
His brother, Junaid Muhammed Thorne, 23, is also in the country but is in hiding after being released from prison after two months of detention without being charged.
Junaid's cousin, Stephanie Riley, says Shayden was arrested after police found terrorism-related material on a laptop that he had borrowed.
Their mother, who did not want to be named, told NITV that Shayden has been tortured during his detention.
Both brothers have lived in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade, although they have kept their Australian citizenship.
"I want them to clear his name and I want them to send him home," their mother said. "All the evidence they got against him was extracted through torture. They deprived him of sleep; they continually had him under bright lights."
Sounds like Momma has learned the party line, which is in itself suspicious...
Junaid, who was arrested for protesting his brother's imprisonment, says he is in hiding after having his passport confiscated by Saudi authorities.
#1
When I was in high school in Texas in a very small farm and ranch community, there were easily 200-300 weapons in the parking lot at our small high school. Every pickup truck had at least a .30-.30, a 12 ga shotgun and a .22 rifle plus usually a .357 mag or a .45 pistol in the glove compartment for snakes and such.
Nothing new here. I doubt we would have ever had a school shooting because the kids would have outgunned most any armed assailants.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/01/2013 12:25
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I really hope this goes all the way followed by them allowing concealed carry on campus. My wife and I both feel like she'd be better protected armed. She's been glad to have cops taking her glasses but you can't always count on that.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent a written warning about accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2012, long before pressure-cooker blasts killed three and injured hundreds, according to a senior Saudi government official with direct knowledge of the document.
The Saudi warning, the official told MailOnline, was separate from the multiple red flags raised by Russian intelligence in 2011, and was based on human intelligence developed independently in Yemen.
Citing security concerns, the Saudi government also denied an entry visa to the elder Tsarnaev brother in December 2011, when he hoped to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the source said. Tsarnaev's plans to visit Saudi Arabia have not been previously disclosed.
#2
Most interesting. Not only do we now have a second foreign sources providing warnings on Tsarnaev, we may even have a Saudi Intelligence Agency (al-Istikhbarat) agent injured in the Boston blast. With the exception of the Dallas Cowboys connection which may be revealed soon, the pieces are coming together.
#4
You know, history indicates that when you actually hold people accountable for failure, future performance of successors tends to tic up. How many were fired after 9/11? encouragement d'auteurs!
#8
Holy cow, is the Jamie Gorelick wall back in place?
Now there is an example of incompetence. She writes the memo forbidding the CIA and FBI to share intell, THEN the dems sit her on the 9/11 panel to investigate the disaster she helped cause and then she gets appointed to Freddie Mac and makes a butt load of money demolishing our housing market.
Geez Louise, we should put that cow in Gitmo for what she's done to the US. Fits every definition of terrorism I know.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/01/2013 10:10
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The difference between the Magic Kingdom, Russia, and the current US administration is that the former two do not treat "threats to the State" solely as judicial matters. Aside from the NYPD, there aren't many law enforcement bodies that assign assets to actively identify and continuously monitor threats.
The United States on Tuesday condemned the terror attack at the Tapuah Junction in the West Bank in which 31-year-old Israeli Evyatar Borovsky was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Patrick Ventrell also condemned rioting and attacks by settlers which came in response to the terror attack. It's sure nice to have loyal friends.
[SEATTLE.CBSLOCAL] A man has died at an Oregon packaging plant after falling into a meat grinder. Bet that was very painful. Briefly.
Clackamas County authorities say 41-year-old Hugo Avalos-Chanon, a contract employee for DCS Sanitation Management, fell into a meat blender at Interstate Meat Distributors while cleaning, KOIN-TV reports.
An employee pressed the emergency switch in an effort to stop the blender, but it was too late. Dr. Cliff Young, deputy state medical examiner, tells The Oregonian that Avalos-Chanon died from "blunt-force injuries and chopping wounds."
Darrin Hoy, president of Interstate Meat Distributors, called it an "extremely unfortunate incident."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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#1
NOTE, Eat no Hamburger this month.
Probably none next month as well.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/01/2013 12:34
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[THEHILL] Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) demanded transparency from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on their relationships with environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, so the public can see how these groups are shaping policy.
"The American people deserve to understand the process EPA follows when crafting the environmental policies under which they must live," Inhofe and Vitter wrote Monday in a letter to acting EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe.
"It is important for Congress to understand the relationship between EPA and nongovernmental organizations, particularly as it relates to the coordination and influence over public policymaking," the letter stated. "Moreover, these relationships have the potential to push states and other stakeholders out of the process. Accordingly, releasing the correspondence between the EPA and these entitles is in the public interest."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#5
..just another government agency with rotating jobs between the industry/sector and public service - see: Fed/Treasury and Banks/Investment Firms. The Instapundit recommends that when government appointees leave and take up public sector jobs in the industries or lobbying on behalf thereof the sector they had oversight or regulatory responsibilities for, their personal income tax should be at 50 percent for a number of years.
[Pak Daily Times] The Torkham border was closed down by Pak security officials for several hours on Tuesday, while protesting over the incident involving an Afghan soldier slapping his Pak counterpart. According to Pak officials, an Afghan soldier had slapped a member of the Khasadar Force while he had been checking the passport of an Afghan. The incident led to the border closure from dawn to dusk. Thousands of Afghan nationals were stranded on both sides of the border for several hours. NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... supply trucks and other vehicles, including those carrying old people or dead bodies were also not allowed to cross the border. Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio wondered: Where the hell was Chumbaloni? And where was his $600?... Commandant Khyber Rifles, Col Fayaz Mughal while putting floral wreaths on the memorial site of martyred FC soldiers and officers said that security forces "have rendered great and unforgettable sacrifices for the nation and rustics to create durable peace in the area, particularly Landi Kotal and the adjacent areas. The martyred soldiers will not be forgotten and their families would be supported."
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[An Nahar] NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured stunning views of a monster hurricane at Saturn's North Pole.
The eye of the cyclone is an enormous 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) across. That's 20 times larger than the typical eye of a hurricane here on Earth. And it's spinning super-fast. Clouds at the outer edge of the storm are whipping around at 330 mph (531 kph).
The hurricane is parked at Saturn's North Pole and relies on water vapor to keep it churning. It's believed to have been there for years. Cassini only recently had a chance to observe the vortex in visible light.
Scientists hope to learn more about Earth's hurricanes by studying this whopper at Saturn.
Cassini was launched from Cape Canaveral in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#7
this vortex has been there for several years but the NH of Saturn has only recently entered its 'spring' and thus, up until just a few months ago there were more imaging issues
[An Nahar] Three members of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... -led International Security Assistance Force were killed by a roadside kaboom in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, ISAF said in a statement.
A front man declined to give any further details about the attack, which came a day after a civilian cargo plane crashed at Bagram airfield north of Kabul, killing all seven crew members.
"Three International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised bomb attack in southern Afghanistan today," the statement said without stating the nationalities of the victims, in line with policy.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Talibs frequently use roadside kabooms against U.S.-led foreign troops and their Afghan allies.
Afghan police and soldiers are taking over responsibility for security, but there is growing concern over the war-torn country's prospects after 2014 when all foreign combat deployments will finish.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Probably the same incident:
Two of the soldiers who died in the attack on Tuesday were Corporal William Savage, 30, and Fusilier Samuel Flint, 21, from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment Of Scotland (2 SCOTS).
The third was Private Robert Hetherington, 25, a reservist with the 51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment Of Scotland (7 SCOTS), who was deployed with 2 SCOTS.
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Military chiefs are urgently reviewing the protection offered by the Armys heavily-armoured Mastiff vehicles after three British soldiers were killed in one by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
They are the first troops to have died in one of the 23-ton personnel carriers which have withstood hundreds of attacks since they were brought in specifically to combat the threat from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in 2007.
Six other soldiers were injured by the Taliban bomb which may have contained up to 440lb of high explosives.
The blast does not appear to have penetrated the £1million Mastiffs armour.
Instead, the casualties were apparently caused by the vehicle being blown into the air and the force of the impact when it landed and rolled on to its roof.
Yesterday David Cameron confirmed he wanted defence chiefs to look into whether the right equipment was being used.
He said: We have done an enormous amount to improve the quality and quantity of protective vehicles that our soldiers use out in Afghanistan and, as I understand, it had a pretty good record of withstanding blasts from IEDs.
'Im sure well want to look at that carefully and put in place everything we can to make sure that our brave men and women have the best protective equipment they have.
The troops have said to me they were pretty satisfied with what they had, but we must always look at this.
[An Nahar] President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. has pardoned six members of Sudan's powerful security service just days after they were tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! over a coup attempt last year, state-linked media said on Tuesday.
Several army officers convicted this month for the same plot have also been released under a presidential pardon.
The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) members received similar treatment "according to a request of amnesty they presented to the presidency," said the Sudanese Media Center, which is close to the security apparatus.
Analysts say the case reflects a political struggle within the 24-year government of Bashir, who himself took power in a coup.
Officials have never revealed more than vague details about the plot which analysts said was linked to hardcore Islamist officers who had once firmly backed the regime.
NISS said last Thursday that a special court convicted the security agents for various prison terms up to eight years.
They had "participated in the plot" last November, it said.
Salah Gosh, who headed the NISS until 2009, was also incarcerated Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in the case but has not been tried.
His family says he filed a case with Sudan's Constitutional Court alleging he has been illegally held in jug.
A military court on April 7 issued prison sentences ranging from two to five years for the army officers convicted of "attempting to undermine the constitutional and security system", threatening national unity and harming the armed forces.
The army originally said 11 military men were convicted but one of their defense lawyers gave the total as nine.
Sudan has been through at least seven coups or attempted coups in its 57 years of independence.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[REUTERS] A six-passenger spaceship owned by an offshoot of Virgin Group fired its rocket engine in flight for the first time on Monday, a key step toward the start of commercial service in about a year, Virgin owner Richard Branson said.
The powered test flight over Caliphornia's Mojave Desert lasted 16 seconds and broke the sound barrier.
"It was stunning," Branson told Rooters. "You could see it very, very clearly. Putting the rocket and the spaceship together and seeing it perform safely, it was a critical day."
The spaceship and its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port at 7 a.m. PDT (10.00 a.m. EDT), heading to an altitude of about 46,000 feet, where SpaceShipTwo was released.
Two pilots then ignited the ship's rocket engine and climbed another 10,000 feet, reaching Mach 1.2 in the process. Additional test flights are planned before the spaceship will fly even faster, eventually reaching altitudes that exceed 62 miles.
"Going from Mach 1 to Mach 4 is relatively easy, but obviously we've still got to do it. I think that the big, difficult milestones are all behind us," Branson said.
Virgin Galactic is selling rides aboard SpaceShipTwo for $200,000 per person. More than 500 people have put down deposits.
Branson and his grown children plan to be the first non-test pilots to ride in the spacecraft, about a year from now.
SpaceShipTwo is based on a three-person prototype called SpaceShipOne, which in October 2004 clinched the $10 million Ansari X Prize for the first privately funded human spaceflights. Microsoft ...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign... co-founder Paul Allen bankrolled SpaceShipOne's development, estimated at $25 million.
So far, Virgin Galactic and partner Aabar Investments PJC of Abu Dhabi have spent about $500 million developing SpaceShipTwo, and expect to sink in another $100 million before commercial service starts, Branson said.
The company plans to build four more spaceships and several WhiteKnight carrier jets, which also will be used for a satellite-launching business.
In addition to flying passengers, Virgin Galactic is marketing SpaceShipTwo to research organizations, including NASA, to fly experiments, with or without scientists.
Other companies planning to offer suborbital spaceflight service include privately owned XCOR Aerospace, which expects to begin test flights of its two-person Lynx rocket plane this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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There's a BIG difference between "supersonic" and "sub-orbital", ya know.
[An Nahar] The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that Ukraine's detention of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful, in a decision the opposition leader's camp saw as a key step towards her release.
Tymoshenko herself said she hoped the decision by the Strasbourg-based court would put paid to the "dirt and black lies" against her.
"The court considered that the detention had been arbitrary and unlawful during the entire period," the judges said.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... is mulling a trade and association accord with the ex-Soviet republic and has clearly said it wanted Kiev to release the charismatic Tymoshenko.
Her daughter described the court's decision as a "first victory" and her lawyer argued that her nemesis President Viktor Yanukovych now had no option but to release her.
Tymoshenko herself, who has dismissed all charges against her as politically motivated, welcomed the ruling in a statement from jail.
"I am happy all the dirt and black lies the authorities have been drowning me in over the past years have been removed," she said, adding that the decision meant the court had "de-facto" acknowledged her as a political prisoner.
"I do not know what Viktor Yanukovych will do after this decision," she said. "Most likely, nothing. But after the decision of the European court I am already morally free."
"Free despite all their bars, cells, walls, fences and tinted windows," she said.
The judges also found that the legality of her detention had not been properly reviewed by the Ukrainian judiciary and that she had no possibility to seek compensation.
However they threw out a complaint over alleged ill-treatment during her transfer to hospital last year.
Tymoshenko, who lost a disputed presidential election to Yanukovych in 2010, was placed in durance vile Book 'im, Mahmoud! for seven years on what she says are trumped-up charges of overstepping her authority while premier to sign a gas deal with Russia.
Western governments have condemned her jailing as the result of selective persecution by the authorities and it has led to a sharp deterioration in ties with the European Union, which Kiev wants to join.
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[Pak Daily Times] At least twelve people including three political workers were bumped off in separate firing incidents across city on Tuesday, police said.
Two workers of Pakistain People's Party were bumped off and three others were maimed in a targeted attacked near Noorani Mosque located in 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.... within the precincts of Kalri Police Station.
Police officials said that victims were identified as Haji Guddu, 40, and Mohammad Niaz, 40 were bumped off and three others Tasleem, Aslam and Ruqaya Khatoon, maimed. Police said that victims were sitting near to home, when unidentified armed riders shot up them. Resultantly all of them sustained multiple bullet wounds and were taken to hospital, where doctor pronounced Guddu and Niaz as dead, while others were admitted for treatment.
Police officials said that injured were the passersby and shopkeepers however the motive behind firing could a political one.
Separately, a worker of Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... was rubbed out in a targeted attacked in Khuda Ki Basti within the jurisdiction of Surjani Police Station.
Police officials said Aftab Ismail, 22, left his home for some work, when unknown assailants targeted him.
In the same police remits, Gadap division in-charge of the Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and assassinations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... was bumped off and a former sector in-charge, Qamar Qadri was maimed in Sector 5-B, in Surjani locality. Police officials said the victims were sitting at a street, when four gunnies riding two cycle of violences waylaid them and fired shots multiple times.
Separately, a chemical shop owner, Qadir Hussain, 40, was rubbed out by armed motorcyclists, when he was sitting at his shop situated in Juna market in Kharadar area. Police officials said that the motive behind the incident was yet to be ascertained.
Similarly, a man was rubbed out in Rasheedabad area of Manghopir. The identity of the man could not be ascertained as yet. The body was shifted to Edhi morgue, Sohrab Goth for identification. In another incident, a suzuki driver, Ghulam Mohammad, 38, was rubbed out by armed motorcyclists in Memon Goth police remits. The victim lived in Agra Taj Colony while the motive behind the incident was uncertain.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... Waseem Baloch, who was said to be associated with the Akram Baloch, a rival opponent of Lyari gangsters, was shot to death by unknown gunnies in Nayabad area of Kalri.
Separately, Rashid Hussain, 25, was rubbed out by gunnies in Orangi Town. Police officials said the motive of killing could not be determined.
However, you can observe a lot just by watching... Javed Mehsud, who was maimed in a firing incident in Manghopir locality on Monday, departed this vale of tears during treatment at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features. If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... Police found two bodies of young men from Sher Shah and Pak Colony areas. The victims were later identified as Azeem and Zahid. Police officials said that victims lived in New 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... . Police said unidentified culprits kidnapped them from somewhere and later dumped their bodies.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah commander Hussein Habib's family is still mourning his death in Syria, where he fought alongside regime soldiers. But they say they are ready to offer another son up as a "martyr".
In their town of Baalbek and other Hizbullah strongholds in eastern Leb, it's no longer a secret that the group's members are crossing the border to bolster the ranks of government troops battling rebels.
Supporters of the movement, a long-standing ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... , proudly describe the fighters they say are defending Shiite land and religious sites in Syria.
Habib, a Hizbullah field commander, was killed in the countryside around Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province, according to his family.
He died about two weeks ago, they say, but they are still waiting for his body to be returned.
"We're tortured by the fact that his body hasn't been delivered and is with the gunnies (rebels)," says Fatima Habib, a cousin.
She says Habib was born in a village in the Qusayr countryside in Syria, but lived in Baalbek.
"He went to defend his family and his home," she says.
"We have lost someone dear to us and the situation is hard but if other people from the family were needed, it would be no problem for them to go and be martyred."
Habib, a married father of two, is known in the area as a senior fighter with Hizbullah, but his family insists he was killed fighting alongside the so-called Popular Committees -- groups of local pro-regime militia in Syria.
A few kilometers (miles) from Baalbek is the entrance to the town of Qasr in the Hermel region, which has been targeted by Syrian opposition shelling.
The sympathies of residents are clear: posters of Assad hang in the streets and locals refer to opposition fighters as "terrorists," just like Syrian state media.
"Terrorists were oppressing thousands of Lebanese in Syrian border villages and they asked the resistance (Hizbullah) to help defend their land and their honor," says Abu Fadi Kanaan.
As he speaks, he looks over from the roof of his house into Syria, where black smoke is rising from Qusayr in the aftermath of a regime air raid.
"We protect our homes in these villages," he says. "Yes, we send our children to defend them and we are ready to fight the battle."
The narrative advanced by Habib's family and Kanaan -- of Lebanese residents of Syria fighting to defend their homes -- is the official party line that Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... first outlined last October.
He pointed to the plight of 13 villages inside Syria that are home to Lebanese citizens, saying Hizbullah members in the town "have bought weapons in order to defend themselves against armed Syrian and non-Syrian groups."
"The party has nothing to do with their decision, but I cannot tell them not to go fight," Nasrallah said.
But the claim is belied by the fact that dozens of bodies of fighters killed in Syria have been brought to Hizbullah strongholds in southern and eastern Leb for burial.
And senior Hizbullah leader Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, speaking at a mourning ceremony for a fighter killed in Syria in April, described the group's actions in Syria as "a national and moral duty."
"Hizbullah's deaders are the deaders of the entire nation because they are defending their Lebanese compatriots," he said at the ceremony in south Leb.
One expert estimates between 800 and 1,500 Hizbullah fighters are now in Qusayr, with more further north at the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine near Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... Kanaan brushes aside critics who say Hizbullah has strayed from its stated focus of "resistance" to Israel.
"We're keeping an eye on Israel... and these (rebels) are Zionists as well," he says.
"We have the right to defend Lebanese wherever they are, and particularly if they are Shiites," he adds, accusing rebel forces of trying to "finish us off."
Syria's opposition has reacted with dismay and anger to Hizbullah's role, and in recent weeks has openly targeted towns like Qasr in response.
At the entrance to the town of Hermel, some 15 kilometers from the Lebanese border with Syria, 54-year-old Ali Shamas is on the roof of a three-floor building under construction, holding pieces of shrapnel in his hands.
They come from a rocket that hit the building, which he had planned to move into with his family.
He wants the Lebanese government to protect the region.
"If you don't do your duty," he warns the government, "the resistance and the people are ready to defend themselves."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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#6
I'd rather that they return to Lebanon mangled; that means Hesb'allah and their families have to take care of them and they're around as reminders (as what happened after the Iran-Iraq war).
[Pak Daily Times] You can't lead a revolution and hide behind bullet-proof glass -- at least not according to Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... , wildcard contender for power at the ballot box in Pakistain next week.
Visibly tired by 15-hour days, frenetic flying and driving round the country to address tens of thousands in a campaign dominated by threats and fear of attack, the cricket legend is nothing if not focused.
"This is a revolution taking place," he told AFP after a couple of days of hard campaigning in Punjab, his home province and the political backbone of Pakistain which elects a little over half the seats in the national assembly.
"When I came to politics 17 years ago, I had already conquered my fear of dying because I knew I was going to challenge the status quo," the 60-year-old said. But security is clearly a major preoccupation.
Khan says he's on the "top five hit list". He may not use the bullet-proof glass screens used by other politicians at public rallies, but he travels in an armoured car with an armed police escort.
A rally 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... , Pakistain's largest city, was cancelled on Sunday after attacks on rival parties killed more than 20 people. Attacks targeting the election campaign have so far killed nearly 60 people ahead of the May 11 polls.
"We couldn't take a risk. It's just too dangerous. I mean you can't risk the life of other people," the 60-year-old said.
The three main parties in the outgoing government, the PPP, the MQM and the ANP, have curtailed public gatherings in the face of direct Taliban threats.
Khan has two sons by his ex-wife Jemima Khan ...first gained notice in the United Kingdom as a young heiress, the daughter of Lady Annabel and Sir James Goldsmith. She was married to the retired Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan between 1995 and their divorce in 2004. For the next three years, from 2004 to 2007, Khan gained worldwide media attention by sharing the baloney with British film star Hugh Grant. She has nothing to do with pancakes... , daughter of the late billionaire tycoon James Goldsmith, but they live in Britannia and he has not seen them for several months.
"My older son worries. You know he worries, obviously, because when he hears what's going on in Pakistain," he says.
Khan and 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... , the two-time prime minister whose PML-N party is tipped to win, are the only two leaders addressing big rallies.
The three main parties in the outgoing government, the PPP, the MQM and the ANP, have curtailed public gatherings in the face of direct Taliban threats.
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[Pak Daily Times] Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... said on Tuesday that general elections would be held in the country on May 11 and emphasised that the future of the country depends on their fair conduct.
"We must not harbour any suspicions or misgivings about it," he said while addressing the participants of the "Yaum-e-Shuhada" (Martyrs Day) ceremony at the GHQ. He said this indeed was a golden opportunity, which could usher in an era of true democratic values in the country. The COAS said that in his opinion, it is not merely retribution but awareness and participation of the masses that can truly end this "game of hide and seek between democracy and dictatorship".
"If we succeed in rising above all ethnic, linguistic and sectarian biases to vote solely on the basis of honesty, sincerity, merit and competence, there would be no reason to fear dictatorship or to grudge the inadequacies of our present democratic system," he added. Gen Kayani said that the nation's salvation resides in transforming the government into a true platform of public representation. "This would come to pass once the construct of public representation in Pakistain is oriented towards affording primacy and precedence to larger public interest over personal interests."
"Otherwise, may it be democracy or dictatorship; governance would continue to remain a means of self aggrandisement and that of plundering national wealth and resources," he added. He assured that armed forces stand committed to wholeheartedly assist and support in the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections, to the best of their capabilities and remaining within the confines of the constitution. He also assured that this support shall solely be aimed at strengthening democracy and rule of law in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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#1
Future of Pakistan hinges on fair elections: Kayani
Same could be said about the US, but it might be a bit too late.
[FREEBEACON] A developing scandal in the Maryland prison system could pose a major obstacle for Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's presidential ambitions, critics say.
Incarcerated members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang, with help from female prison guards, hijacked the Baltimore City Detention Center over the past few years, according to federal charges announced earlier this month. Gang leaders allegedly ran street operations on cell phones smuggled in by the corrections officers, built a robust drug trade behind bars, and impregnated several of the guards.
Republicans say this could make for a potent political attack against O'Malley, who ran for governor on a tough-on-crime platform in 2006 and claimed he drastically reduced criminal incidents during his time as Baltimore mayor.
"It's the kind of thing that, whether you're a conservative or a liberal you can't explain it, you can't justify it, you can't defend it," said former Republican state politician Don Murphy. "It would be the big, 20-point type on the fliers that went into homes of unaffiliated voters."
Maryland GOP executive director David Ferguson noted O'Malley's history of promoting his crime-reduction efforts.
"It's going to be difficult for him to distance himself from this because he's been involved with the penal system at every level of his career," said Ferguson.
Critics are already making the connection to former Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was pummeled during his 1988 presidential campaign for his "prison furlough" policy that led to the release of Wilie Horton.
"If Martin O'Malley wants to be president, he could learn a thing or two from Michael Dukakis," said Murphy. "The only thing worse than letting the prisoners run wild outside the prison is letting them run the prison."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The way things are headed in Maryland this just looks like O'Malley securing is base.
Two people were killed and 20 others were injured in the Syrian city of Saraqib when warplanes dropped bags containing "strange substances," Al-Jazeera reported, saying the suspicious material was apparently chemical weapons.
Videos uploaded onto the Internet show victims suffering from breathing problems being treated at makeshift hospitals.
Going to make it harder and harder to keep the 'red line' in one piece...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2013
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#2
They called his bluff. Obama wouldn't fight for his own mother.
Putin, the North Koreans, just about every monkey out there can give him the ass and he won't do anything but make a speech.
And they did kill our Ambassador in Benghazi and he never did jack about that either. He's a suit with a mouth. I-N-C-O-M-P-T-E-N-T. And who did he appoint to be head of the State Department? Lurch who thinks you go in the military because you are too stupid to get a good job like his. And John Edwards....another real democrat. They certainly know how to pick 'em.
#5
Chemical weapons are banned because they are seen as 'Weapons of Mass Destruction.' So, if they are being used, shouldn't they destroy masses of people or stuff? Should there be a question of whether they were actually used or not?
#8
The Obama fiscal policy is a weapon of mass destruction.
CBR are designed to deny territory or maneuver to the enemy...if a few thousand enemy soldiers get in the way of denying territory...well stuff happens.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/01/2013 12:54
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#9
Bambi seems to be playing the Kadaffy role in an old Robin Williams bit where Reagan kept crossing Kadaffy's "Line of Death".
[DETROITNEWS] Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick said Monday she's excited about presiding over a week's worth of testimony about the existence of extraterrestrials. "Meb! Run, Beldar! They are on to us!"
The bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ...a small town in France...
Democrat and mother of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick signed up with five other former members of Congress to listen to testimony aimed at proving alien contact with Earth and a government effort to cover it up. "When my people come to colonize this planet, you will be on the protected rolls, and no harm will come to you.
"You are wise, Beldar. But there is a sadness to your wisdom."
"I've been interested for a while," Kilpatrick said before the kickoff of the hearings, known as the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure sponsored by the Paradigm Research Group, a private ET lobbying organization. "Take my car, its re-enforced alloy superstructure is far superior to that of your broken down, rusted out shit box."
The hearing lasts through Friday at the National Press Club and will be the basis for a documentary on UFOs. For her service -- listening to about 30 hours of congressional-style testimony -- the private group will pay her $20,000 plus expenses. "When the High Master hears of this he will surely cut off my plargh and hand it to me. "
Kilpatrick said she'll await the evidence before drawing conclusions on whether there's a government effort to hide existence of flying saucers. "What choice do I have? It is as if you have grabbed me by the base of my snarglies!"
"I'm waiting to hear," Kilpatrick told The Detroit News as she settled on the panel before the hearings kicked off. "I'm not making any of those kinds of statements. "I have learned much from watching the Garthok battle. It has weaknesses. I believe I can take it."
"Uh-huh. And let me know when Elvis gets here."
"It's good to be here. We're excited. I've been reading and watching and so I'm looking forward to the week's activities." "My plubar has broken,....the birth spasm has begun!"
Joining Kilpatrick on the bipartisan panel are ex-Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska (Democrat and more recently Libertarian), as well as former Reps. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., and Merrill Cook, R-Utah. "Excuse me sir, but should they be in fact, creatures from another planet, isn't that the Air Force's responsibility?"
"If they're just visiting, sure... but the minute they try to work here, they're mine!"
Bartlett said in opening remarks Congress has failed to do its job by holding investigative ET hearings and he's pleased this private panel can do the work. If I did not fear incarceration from human authority figures, I would terminate your life functions by applying sufficient pressure to your blunt skull so as to force its collapse!
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
the private group will pay her $20,000 plus expenses.
shouldn't that be in Quatloos and Spice?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2013 7:50
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Si l'espace extra-terrestres terre à Detroit, l'ancien débarquement de la plupart des visiteurs, puis dire qu'ils sont retour à la maison ? Et si tel ne devrait pas Miss Kilpatrick être hospitalier et leur permettre de rester chez elle pour une nuit ou deux ?
If space aliens land in Detroit, the ancient landing spot of most such visitors, then can we say they are returning home ? And if such should not Miss Kilpatrick be hospitable and allow them to stay with her for a night or two ?
[An Nahar] Land mines maimed six soldiers and police in western Tunisia on Tuesday as security forces continued a search for "terrorists" that has already caused casualties, the interior ministry said.
Two men were seriously maimed by Tuesday's kabooms, the ministry said without elaborating, a day after a soldier and a member of the national guard each lost a leg in similar blasts and another was seriously hurt in the eyes.
The kabooms occurred during a search operation in the inaccessible Mount Chaambi region, where the security forces have carried out numerous sweeps since last December when a policeman was killed in festivities with gunnies.
The government said Monday the security forces were searching for a group of "terrorists," but has refused to give further details on the operation. A heavy security presence has been deployed in the region.
Prime Minister Ali Larayedh told news hounds Tuesday he was determined to defeat the terrorist threat facing Tunisia, after a government meeting about the ongoing operations in the country's west.
"Terrorism sows death and has no future, it will not triumph. What will triumph is the will of the people, life, security and stability," he said.
The national guard, or auxiliary police, staged a demonstration in the regional capital Kasserine with the support of residents, demanding better equipment to detect land mines and protect themselves, an Agence La Belle France Presse journalist reported.
Other protesters gathered in the city center and burnt tires.
Security sources contacted by AFP said Tunisian forces were searching for a small gang hiding in the mountainous region which it has mined with homemade bombs, according to preliminary reports.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Physicists announced a breakthrough Tuesday in their quest to answer one of science's great questions: do the same laws of gravity apply to antimatter -- the obscure counterpart of matter as we know it?
Though antimatter is thought to have existed in equal quantities to matter at the moment of the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago, it is rare today and scientists who wish to study antimatter particles have to manufacture them.
In the Universe, antimatter particles are thought to exist mainly around black holes and in cosmic rays.
For more than 50 years, scientists have debated whether gravity would attract or repel antimatter particles -- whether they would fall down like conventional matter or "up" due to a kind of antigravity.
While the question remains unsolved for now, a team of scientists wrote in the journal Nature Communications they had developed the beginnings of a test that should lead to a conclusive answer.
"This is the first word, not the last," said Joel Fajans, a member of the research team at the European Organization for Nuclear Research's (CERN) Alpha experiment.
"We've taken the first steps toward a direct experimental test of questions physicists and non-physicists have been wondering about for more than 50 years."
Antimatter particles have opposite properties to ordinary matter particles, including their electric charge. A positively-charged positron, for example, is the antiparticle equivalent of the negatively-charged electron.
When an opposing pair meets, particles and anti-particles annihilate each other in a flash of energy, which means that if an even balance had continued to persist after the Big Bang, the Universe would never have come into being.
But how this imbalance came about is a great riddle for particle physics.
Scientists also scratch their heads over whether antimatter would respond in the same way as matter to gravity, or whether it would move in an different direction at a different speed.
Some believe the fact the Universe is comprised almost entirely of matter could be explained if antimatter did indeed "fall" up.
But others assume it would behave the same as matter in reaction to gravity. No proof exists for either theory.
"We certainly expect antimatter to fall down, but just maybe we will be surprised," said Fajans, a University of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, physics professor.
"In the unlikely event that antimatter falls upwards, we'd have to fundamentally revise our view of physics and rethink how the universe works."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them." Inspector Clouseau
#2
Why not two kinds of anti-matter - one that falls down and the other that falls up? As well as two kinds of matter? Since we don't (or at least I don't) understand just what makes gravity work on normal matter, I don't see that it has to have anything to do with the 'anti-ness' of matter at all.
Scientists also scratch their heads over whether antimatter would respond in the same way as matter to gravity, or whether it would move in an different direction at a different speed.
Had a college prof who had his own grand unified theory of matter, and that model predicted matter with "negative mass". It wasn't antimatter, it just had a negative sign in front of the mass; you could have -2kg of it.
I wrote a simple gravity simulation to see how negative masses react to regular masses. The two end up chasing each other through space...
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/01/2013 15:21
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#4
Obviously you've never had a stormy marriage that ended in divorce, Rob, or you would've known that. ;)
[Haaretz] Moshe Ya'alon says the Gaza militant killed by the Israel Air Force on Tuesday was involved in the rocket attack on Eilat two weeks ago, adds that Israel has the right to defense itself against terrorism.
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[Pak Daily Times] Unknown gunnies kidnapped a cousin of caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso here on Tuesday. According to details, unidentified gunnies stopped vehicle of Rahim Baksh Khoso, cousin of caretaker PM at Thal Indus Highway in Kandkot area of Sindh. The gunnies forcefully pulled out Rahim Baksh Khoso from his vehicle and took him away in their vehicle. Hundreds of people blocked the Indus Highway after the kidnapping incident and protested. They rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud against law enforcement authorities and demanded early recovery of the victim.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Pak Daily Times] An independent candidate, Abdul Fateh Magsi, was bumped off on Tuesday in the picturesque provincial capital along with his three supporters while two others were maimed in pre-election violence in 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...
Abdul Fateh Magsi had submitted his nomination papers as an independent candidate from PB-32 Jhal Magsi. The election commission postponed elections in the area following the incident. Talking to media, Jhal Magsi Deputy Commissioner Saeed Umrani said that unidentified gunnies opened indiscriminate fire on Abdul Fateh Magsi and his colleagues. Resultantly, Magsi and his three supporters were killed on the spot and two others sustained critical injuries. "Abdul Fateh was on way for some political activities in Jhal Magsi when he got targeted in the area," DC Umrani said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] South Africa's corpse count in last month's rebel coup in the Central African Republic has risen to 14 after the death of a maimed soldier, the army said Tuesday.
"One of the South African National Defense Force members who was injured in Central African Republic, during what has become to be known as the battle of Bangui, has since passed on," said front man Brigadier General Xolani Mabanga.
Thirteen South African troops died and 27 were maimed when they came under fire from thousands of rebel fighters moving on the capital which fell on March 24.
It was the country's heaviest military loss since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The soldier who died was discharged on April 19 from a Pretoria military hospital, where the injured troops were treated after being evacuated from Bangui.
He was due for a check-up on Friday, but collapsed on Monday and was rushed to hospital where he died, said Mabanga.
South Africa's government has faced an outcry over why soldiers were sent to Central Africa, amid accusations of dodgy deals and ruling party business interests in the troubled nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... Tuesday warned against a rush to judgment on Syria's use of chemical arms, but said proof of their use would trigger a "rethink" of his reluctance to use military force.
As critics complain that he let Syria cross a U.S. "red line," Obama said Washington believed chemical weapons had been used in the country's vicious civil war but did not know exactly who had fired them.
At a White House news conference, Obama also appeared to set the criteria for a U.S. military intervention as established proof that 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... 's regime directly ordered the use of chemical weapons.
As more Guantanamo Bay inmates join a hunger strike, Obama also pledged to have another go at closing what he described as the "not sustainable" war-on-terror prison and blamed Congress for the deteriorating situation.
And he praised Russia for its help in investigating the Boston marathon bombings on April 15, which has been blamed on two attackers of Chechen origin, but said "old habits die hard" between U.S. and Russian security services.
Obama faced the press amid rising political pressure over reports by U.S. intelligence that Syrian forces used sarin gas against their foes, despite his previous warnings that deploying chemical weapons would be a "game changer."
"I've got to make sure I've got the facts. That's what the American people would expect."
"If I can establish in a way that not only the United States but also the international community feel confident in the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, then that is a game changer," he warned.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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#1
"Cautious", yes very cautious. With bumbling foreign policy and domestic counterterrorism failures left and right, very cautious indeed. I suspect we'll be seeing much more golf as the weather improves.
[BBC.CO.UK] A five-year-old girl has died two weeks after being raped in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The girl died on Monday evening, said the hospital in Nagpur City where she was being treated.
At least one person has been arrested in connection with the attack.
This is the latest in a spate of similar cases. Earlier this month, the rape and abduction of another five-year-old girl in Delhi sparked protests.
She is said to be recovering slowly after she was kidnapped, raped, tortured and abandoned in a locked room for more than 48 hours, rescued only after neighbours heard her cries. Two men have been held over the incident.
The young girl raped in Madhya Pradesh was found unconscious at a farm on 18 April, and was initially taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra state two days later.
"She died from a cardiac arrest at 7:45 pm on Monday," the hospital told the AFP news agency. "We were taking all measures... but yesterday her condition got bad and her blood pressure went down. She was not reacting to medications."
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[An Nahar] The trial of 94 UAE Islamist dissidents accused of plotting to seize power in the Gulf state resumed on Tuesday, as rights groups urged Britannia to pressure the visiting Emirati president on their behalf.
Only 86 defendants, including 13 women, were present at the top state security court in the United Arab Emirates, WAM state news agency reported. The rest are being tried in absentia.
The women defendants have been on bail since the trial began on March 4.
The hearing was adjourned until Monday after the court panel heard defense testimony.
Foreign press and rights groups are not allowed access to the trial, but 143 relatives of the defendants, as well as 21 Emirati journalists and representatives of two local rights groups, were present.
Prosecutors say the accused, who were tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... between March and December 2012, are linked to the group Al-Islah, which has ties to the Moslem Brüderbund.
Attorney General Salem Kobaish said they would be tried for "having created and led a movement aimed at opposing the basic foundations on which the state's political system is built and at seizing power."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[PITTSBURGH.CBSLOCAL] Students at Carnegie Mellon say it's freedom of expression, but the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh calls it inappropriate and disrespectful.
At an annual art school parade, a female student dressed up as the pope, and was naked from the waist down while she passed out condoms.
Even more, witnesses say the woman had shaved her pubic hair in the shape of a cross.
The Diocese has asked CMU to take action.
"I think we all know that when we're growing up we do stupid things but to cross over the line in this instance shouldn't happen with anybody," Bishop David Zubik said.
CMU issued a statement, saying "We are continuing our review of the incident. If our community standards or laws were violated, we will take appropriate action."
And so far, no one has named the woman. Does the press think she has any measure of 'privacy'?
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Hey as long as she wasn't dressed as a mullah...
#3
"Even more, eye witnesses say the woman had shaved her pubic hair in the shape of a cross." .... "We are continuing our review of the incident. If our community standards or laws were violated, we will take appropriate action."
Carnegie Mellon University... IF ? Frankly CMU, did your College of Art review and endorse the participation of this girl-child before the parade? If so, your college has no standards of decency.
#4
OK. If she wants to be really "edgy", next time have her shave her pubes in the shape of a crescent (and if there's room, a star). Dress up like a mullah or imam. Have her pass out bacon. See how long it takes for CMU to shut her down for being insensitive.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/01/2013 7:49
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Well, there's your problem. You know what most "art" students should learn while they're in school? The proper method of assembling a fast food order.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/01/2013 15:23
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#10
Well she'll have a lot of witnesses...
Dunno. Seen some of these skanks that I couldn't stand to look at for more than a fraction of a second.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/01/2013 15:24
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#11
what happens when several militant altar boys beat the snot out of said "woman" shave her head and drag her behind a car down the main avenue of the university. Think she'd do it again next year?
[WASHINGTONTIMES] President B.O. on Tuesday said he was unaware of complaints from Benghazi whistleblowers inside his own administration who contend that they are being intimidated over their cooperation with Sherlocks into the September 2012 attack, but pledged to look into the matter.
"I'm not familiar with this notion that anybody's been blocked from testifying," Mr. Obama said in response to a question during a presser in the White House briefing room. "What I'll do is find out what exactly you're referring to."
And shut them up...
"What I've been very clear about from the start -- our job with respect to Benghazi is to find out exactly what happened ... and bring those who carried it out to justice," he added.
At least four career officials at the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency have hired lawyers or are in the process of doing so and are complaining that administration officials are trying to intimidate them as they prepare to cooperate with congressional Sherlocks, according to a Fox News report.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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#1
"I'm not familiar with this notion that anybody's been blocked from testifying,"
but, but, but that's why were holding this surprise press conference, sans opening remarks, and asking the resident Fox news hound to throw the first pitch. [followed by 40 minutes of slow, mindless blathering]
#2
Stevens was there to gather the guns ( about 40 TONS of them) in Libya and pass them along to the Syrian "rebels" plus a little sauce for Jordan and whatever. Monkeying around on Putin's turf.
So "somebody" stripped Stevens down to his underwear and put him in the trunk and drove him to the nearest Moslem ditch and capped him.
And the Russians said too bad and grinned.
No one respects Obama. They have his number and can show him the ass any time they please.
The American people elected this incompetent clown. The only people Obama is gonna go after is anybody who asks him questions about it. ( Americans ) Get somebody like Kerry or Eric Holder on it. They have the lips for the long haul.
#3
I'd guess Putin has already made the call to our Champ. Might have gone something like this:
Yes, yes, yes, good to hear from you as well, now listen up you thick headed, dagga smoking kaffir, for the last fok'n time...stay the hell out of Syria or we'll publish wat we know of your Benghazi cock up, along with some tasty cables with bits on your Boston Bombing klusterfok. How Copy OVER ?
He's not familiar with intimidation of anyone with negative opinions?
That's internally inconsistent.
We will not know the real story on Benghazi, which would definitely NOT fit the administration narrative on the ME, the Moslem Bruderbund, or islam in general, until about 6 hours after the next president is inaugurated.
This smells very bad....something is rotten in Denmark...
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/01/2013 10:17
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#6
He's "Not Familiar" with your constitution either.
[Pak Daily Times] General (r) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... 's counsel has asked the Supreme Court to show restraint while passing any order in his case, arguing that otherwise it would give an impression that the court is interested in prosecuting Musharraf under treason charges. On the other hand, the Supreme Court questioned if the federation does not fulfil its constitutional obligation then should the apex court also not proceed against a person who had subverted and abrogated the constitution. Musharraf's counsel Advocate Ibrahim Satti told the three-member bench headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja that even a slight hint of registration of a complaint against Musharraf would prejudice the special court that will try his client, creating an impression that the court is interested in pressing treason charges. He stated that any intervention on part of the apex court on the registration of treason case against Musharraf will influence his defence before the trial court thus denying the opportunity of a fair trial.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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[The Hindu] Arab countries have collectively agreed to accept an arrangement that would allow Israelis and Paleostinians to go ahead with land swaps to resolve differences, rather than strictly sticking to the pre-1967-war position.
Speaking on behalf of the 22-nation Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... (AL), Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani, appeared to concede land swaps following a meeting in Washington of Arab officials and 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... , the U.S. Secretary of State, to promote Israeli-Paleostinian peace.
The Washington initiative looked Mr. Kerry's brainchild. "The Arab League delegation affirmed that agreement should be based on the two-state solution on the basis of the 4th of June 1967 line, with the [possibility] of comparable and mutual agreed minor swap of the land," said Mr. Kerry after the meeting on Monday at Blair House, the U.S. President's guest house.
The talks came after a "series of productive conversations by the Secretary to explore how we can best move regional peace efforts forward," said acting Deputy front man of the State Department Patrick Ventrell.
The Israeli establishment seemed elated by the development. "This news is very positive," Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told Army radio. She added: "It also gives a message to Israeli citizens: it is no longer just us ... talking with the Paleostinians, there is a group of Arab states who are saying: you reach an agreement with the Paleostinians and we will make peace with you, we will have normalisation with you."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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[Pak Daily Times] Minister for Interior, Malik Mohammad Habib Khan on Tuesday said that the government will ensure security across the board as per Constitution and the guidelines set by the Election Commission for holding free and fair elections.
The minister said this while visiting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he updated ambassadors, high commissioners and diplomats on the security plan for conducting upcoming general elections.
He said that he has visited all provinces and met stakeholders and found politicianship enthusiastic about participating in elections and that the security forces had a high morale.
"We as interim set-up are here to ensure security for process of elections so that the transfer of power to the elected representatives takes place within the prescribed period as in the constitution," he added.
Malik Habib said that the enthusiasm as well as tolerance displayed by all political parties, particularly the MQM, ANP and PPPP who have been the target of beturbanned goons recently.
He said that Ministry of Interior was providing comprehensive security to the ECP and implementing their guidelines in close coordination with provincial governments.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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For a map, click here. For a map of Zacatecas state, click here
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Seven individuals including four Mexican federal police agents were killed in an aircraft crash midday Tuesday in Zacatecas state, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news report which appeared in the online edition of El Siglo de Durango news daily said that the aircraft was taking off from Zacetacas airport in Zacatecas when the pilot radioed he was returning to the airport. The aircraft was bound for Mexico City.
The aircraft crashed in Morelos municipality just ten minutes after takeoff near an area called Noria de Gringos. The aircraft crashed just a few kilometers from General Leobardo C. Ruiz International Airport in Calera municipality.
The agents were due to return to Mexico City Monday night at around 2255 hrs, but the aircraft was forced to return to the airport because of an unspecified mechanical problem. The aircraft took off at 1200 hrs on Tuesday, but then crashed.
Among the dead were Antonio Andres Alvarez Mota, a ministerial agent with the Ministerio Publico de la Federacion and affiliated with the Subprocuraduria Especializada en Investigacion en contra de la Delincuencia Organizada (SEIDO) or organized crime bureau of the Procuraduria General de la Republic (PGR), the Mexican national attorney general's office.
Also reported dead were two Policia Federal (PF) ministerial agents, Ricardo Martín Flores Benitez and Francisco Leonardo Niño Acevedo. Another PF ministerial agent assigned to Zacatecas, Martín Antonio Gutierrez Cantu, also died in the crash.
Also dead were the pilot, Guillermo Flores Millan, copilot Juan Manuel Garcia Bernal and mechanic Miguel Angel Guerrero Coliev.
The aircraft was a 1985 Kingair 300 twin engine turboprop, which belonged to the PGR.
According to the El Siglo de Durango report, the ministerial agents were in Zacatecas state to serve an arrest warrant for three alleged Los Zetas operatives identified as Juan Luis Gallegos Muro, Fernando Rodríguez Robles Zaldivar and Anacleto Flores. The three alleged drug cartel members were sent to Centro de Reinsercion Social (CERESO) in Cieneguillas.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political new for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com
#1
There's been a rash of plane crashes the past few days. Supposedly all accidents, but we're pushing past the statistical transition from 'coincidence' to 'pattern'. It makes me wonder if some modern, effective anti-aircraft missiles have escaped from either Daffy's old arsenal or Pencil-neck's, into the field.
[An Nahar] Revelations that the CIA handed cash payments to Afghanistan's presidential office provoked criticism but little surprise from opposition groups and transparency campaigners in Kabul on Tuesday.
The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported on Monday that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had delivered tens of millions of dollars in suitcases and backpacks to 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... 's office over the past decade.
Karzai declined to deny the report, instead expressing his thanks to the spy agency for what he called "small" amounts of money that were put to good use such as helping ill and maimed Afghans.
But critics said the secret payments undermined the president's claim that he was fighting against U.S. interference and trying to establish Afghan illusory sovereignty.
"Such money given to the office of the president is no doubt used to strengthen his position and weaken other democratic political groups," Sayed Fazel Sancharaki, front man for the opposition National Coalition, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"These payments highlight President Karzai's lack of loyalty. It's very unfortunate that such money is given in a non-transparent way and by foreign intelligence agencies."
Afghanistan relies on international aid to pay its army and police and to fund most of its investments, but the Times said the CIA cash had been used to pay off warlords, politicians and others on whom Karzai relied for support.
"Karzai is trying to give an independent picture of Afghanistan and of himself, and this definitely undermines his efforts," Waheed Wafa, director of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University, told AFP.
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05/01/2013
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#1
"Such money given to the office of the president is no doubt used to strengthen his position and weaken other democratic political groups," Sayed Fazel Sancharaki, front man for the opposition National Coalition, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Works famously in Chicago an in the beltway. I cannot understand the shock and amazement.
[NY Times] Deadly bombings hit the center of the Syrian capital, Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... , and a major Syria border crossing into Turkey on Tuesday as President B.O. strongly suggested that he would not be rushed into military entanglements in the Syria conflict, where evidence of chemical weapons use has raised the possibility of an American intervention.
The blasts in Syria, which killed at least 13 people in Damascus and at least five at the Bab al-Hawa crossing in northern Syria, came a day after an attempted liquidation of Syria's prime minister in central Damascus from a bomb aimed at his motorcade. The prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi, survived the attack but at least five others including a bodyguard were killed, Syria's state news media reported.
In Washington, Mr. Obama told news hounds at a wide-ranging news conference that despite an American intelligence assessment last week that there was evidence that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, the evidence had not yet surpassed his "red line" for a change of American strategy regarding the conflict, in which Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... is fighting to stay in power against an increasingly violent insurgency.
"We don't know how they were used, when they were used, who used them; we don't have chain of custody that establishes what exactly happened," Mr. Obama said. "And when I am making decisions about America's national security and the potential for taking additional action in response to chemical weapon use, I've got to make sure I've got the facts."
If investigations prove that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in the conflict, Mr. Obama said, "we would have to rethink the range of options that are available to us."
Mr. Obama's remarks came against a backdrop of increasing pressure on the administration to be more precise about what would constitute the basis for an American intervention in Syria if chemical munitions were used, which he has called a "game changer."
While some members of Congress have said the threshold for more active American involvement has been crossed, the administration has resisted. There also appears to be little American public appetite for a military engagement in Syria, according to a new New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... /CBS News poll.
The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to civilians of the two-year-old Syrian conflict and has called on Mr. Assad to resign in a negotiated political transition. The B.O. regime has provided nonlethal aid to the snuffies but has resisted requests to provide them with weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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#1
"We don't know how they were used, when they were used, who used them; we don't have chain of custody that establishes what exactly happened," Mr. Obama said. "And when I am making decisions about America's national security and the potential for taking additional action in response to pressure cooker use, I've got to make sure I've got the facts."
#4
See GLOBAL TIMES > OBAMA UNLIKELY TO SEND US TROOPS TO SYRIA, for any MilAction agz Baby Assad, nor will he risk being seen standing next to Al-Qaeda + aligned for same.
Chinese Pert-Analyst YIN GANG of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
METHINKS THE BAMMER = USA IS IN WHAT IS CALLED A SERIOUS, CONTRADICTORY "DILEMMA/QUANDRY".
[Al Ahram] Saboteurs on Tuesday blew up the main pipeline linking oilfields in Yemen's eastern Marib province to an export terminal on the Red Sea, almost halting the flow of oil, officials said. The gang attacked the pipeline in the Wadi Abida area of Marib, the local government officials told AFP. "Oil flow came to a near complete halt," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered...
The same group late on Monday sabotaged Marib's power lines, leaving the province in "total darkness" and bring the gas plant services to a halt, another official said. The pipeline that runs 320 kilometres (200 miles) from Safer oilfields in the east to the export terminal in the western Hudaydah province frequently comes under attack in the Wadi Abida area.
The last such act of sabotage occurred on April 8.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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[An Nahar] Six Islamic gunnies admitted on Tuesday planning to attack a far-right rally in England with guns, swords and a nail bomb, in a plot that only failed because they turned up late.
Jewel Uddin, Omar Mohammed Khan, Mohammed Hasseen, Anzal Hussain, Mohammed Saud and Zohaib Ahmed admitted preparing an act of terrorism last year.
The court in London heard that their plan to attack the far-right English Defence League (EDL) only failed because the rally in Dewsbury, northern England, finished earlier than expected.
Police only uncovered the plot thanks to a routine traffic stop.
"This will attract significant custody, there is no doubt about that," judge Nicholas Hilliard told the men, whose sentencing was scheduled for June 6.
Police and security services were not aware of the planned attack on June 30, although Uddin was under surveillance in connection with another jihadist plot.
Ahmed was also on bail at the time for possession of terrorist documents.
The court heard that all of the men except Hasseen traveled to the rally in the West Yorkshire town armed with two shotguns, swords, knives, a nail bomb containing 458 pieces of shrapnel, and a partially assembled pipe bomb.
Police estimated there were up to 750 EDL supporters at the rally, as well as dozens of officers and passers-by.
But when the jihadists arrived in Dewsbury, they found that the protest had dispersed two hours earlier.
The plot was only uncovered because a traffic officer stopped Uddin and Khan on a motorway as they returned to their hometown of Birmingham in central England.
The officer found that their car was uninsured, so it was impounded and staff at the pound later discovered the arsenal.
There were also 10 copies of a note addressed to Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... , describing them as "enemies of Allah".
Addressing the EDL directly, the letter said: "We have heard and seen you openly insulting the final messenger of Allah... you should know that for every action there is a reaction.
"Today is a day of retaliation (especially) for your blasphemy of Allah and his messenger Muhammad. We love death more than you love life."
CDs of speeches by the American-born Al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... , who was killed by a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011, were also found in the car.
The court heard that Uddin had already come to the authorities' attention because of his minor involvement in another Islamist plot, collecting "charitable" donations on the street for a group of gunnies who planned to detonate a string of rucksack bombs.
Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, both 28, were enjugged Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! for the Al-Qaeda-backed plot last Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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[Pak Daily Times] A bombing in the heart of Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... killed at least 13 people on Tuesday, as Russia banned its civilian planes from Syrian airspace after the crew of one reported coming under threat over the war-hit country.
US President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... , meanwhile, expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s over the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria's regime in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile... The kaboom in the Damascus district of Marjeh came a day after Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Haqi survived a boom-mobileing in an upscale neighbourhood of the capital.
"The number of casualties in the cowardly terrorist blast targeting the commercial and historic centre of Damascus in the Marjeh district rose to 13 deaders and more than 70 injured," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said, citing the interior ministry. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "14 dead, including nine civilians and five members of the security forces, in a car kaboom near the old interior ministry headquarters."
Official television channels aired footage of smoke billowing over the site of the kaboom, which blew out windows of cars, knocked off the bumpers of some and started fires. The windows of the interior ministry building were blown out and a commercial complex, Burj Dismshiq, was devastated. Uniformed and plainclothes security forces could be seen running near the scene, as residents fled. "Internationally financed and supported terrorism committed a terrible massacre against civilians," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.
Mutilated bodies could be seen in the street, and at least one body wrapped in a white sheet was laid out alongside an ambulance.
"What mistake have we committed? I was going to work. Look at the bodies. Is this the freedom they want?" a bystander told state media. On Monday, a boom-mobile targeted Haqi's convoy as it passed through Mazzeh neighbourhood, killing one of his bodyguards and five other people, said the Observatory.
Halqi, appointed prime minister in August 2012 after his predecessor Riad Hijab defected to the opposition, is the latest in a growing list of regime officials to be targeted for liquidation.
In July 2012, a suicide kaboom killed Syria's defence minister and deputy defence minister and seriously maimed the interior minister. As bloodshed continued unabated, Obama raised the issue of chemical weapons in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Putin. "President B.O. and President Putin reviewed the situation in Syria, with President B.O. underscoring concern over Syrian chemical weapons," the White House said.
Obama is under pressure because he warned last year the use or movement of chemical weapons by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... 's forces would cross a US "red line". Key political players in Washington are now saying his credibility is on the line, though the White House is seeking more detailed intelligence into exactly how and when such weapons may have been used.
Washington has been deeply frustrated that Russia has blocked tougher action in the UN Security Council, including sanctions, against its long-time ally Syria.
On Tuesday, Russia's air transport agency banned all Russian civilian flights over Syria until further notice.
The ban comes after the crew of a charter plane flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the Russian city of Kazan on Monday said it had come under threat when it flew over Syria. The plane carrying 159 passengers said it detected "signs of combat actions" on the ground in Syria, Russian officials said without providing further details.
Interfax news agency, citing a source in Moscow, said person or persons unknown fired two land-to-air missiles at the plane. The aircraft did not suffer any damage and landed in Kazan on time. The Observatory said air raids on Tuesday killed 15 people on the outskirts of Mennegh airport, near the northern city of Aleppo which rebels have been trying to capture for months. Warplanes also bombed the Jubar area of Damascus, and areas of Homs, Raqa and Latakia provinces. On Monday, at least 159 people were killed in nationwide violence, said the Observatory.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2013
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[BBC.CO.UK] The head of Lebanese bully boy group Hezbollah has declared that Syria has real friends who will not let it fall to the US, Israel or Islamic radicals.
Hassan Nasrallah said Syria's opposition was too weak to bring down Bashir al-Assad's regime militarily.
He was speaking in an address broadcast on Hezbollah's TV station al-Manar.
BBC Arab affairs analyst Sebastian Usher says the speech tacitly confirmed the group has been involved in fighting in neighbouring Syria.
The Syrian opposition has long claimed the Iranian-backed Shia movement has been supplying fighters to help Mr Assad, a key Hezbollah backer.
"A large number [of rebels] were preparing to capture villages inhabited by Lebanese... so it was normal to offer every possible and necessary aid to help the Syrian army," Mr Nasrallah was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
The Hezbollah leader said it had never hidden its deaders, but that reports thon the lam numbers of its fighters had been killed were lies.
He also warned that if a key Shia shrine south of Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... - that named after Sayida Zeinab, a granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad - were to be destroyed, it would spark Dire Revenge™ that could get out of control.
"If the shrine is destroyed things will get out of control," he said.
Mr Nasrallah tried to reassure his domestic audience that - above all - Hezbollah wanted to avoid the Syrian war coming to Leb, adds our correspondent, but many there may find little to comfort them in this latest show of defiance.
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#1
See also TOPIX > HEZBOLLAH WARNS OF POSSIBLE SYRIA INTERVENTION.
The Hezzies = Nasrallah sez the Syrian Rebs are NOT able to defeat Baby Assad or forcibly take Damascus.
VERSUS
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Times of Israel] "WORLD'S INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES KNOW FULL-WELL ASSAD USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS", TOP ISRAELI OFFICIAL SAYS THE EVIDENCE IS INDISPUTABLE. FORMER ISRAELI DEFENSE MINSTER CLAIMS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION [WMDS] ARE ALREADY LEAKING [trickling] TO HEZBOLLAH.
SYRIA = IRAN's version of the Japan + China claimed SENKAKUS/DIAOYUS, as what Iran stands to lose iff Assad falls is its desire for Mediterranean + ultimately extra-Med "Blue Water" [Atlantic] naval, other military presence.
[Al Ahram] In an interview with Al-Ahram's Arabic language website, chairman of the Cultural Palaces Authority, Saad Abdel Rahman, said that the authority did not ban the play 'Diwan Al-Baqar' (Salon of the Cows) by Mohamed Aboulela El-Salamooni, as was reported in the media, but rather decided to "relocate the show, to avoid problems." "Relocate to where?"
"El Salvador."
The play, which was scheduled to run for seven nights at the Hurghada Cultural Palace, reportedly satirises Islamists and pokes fun at the wardrobe and beards of members of the trend. Abdel Rahman said that following two nights of the show, it was brought to the attention of Islamist figures that the play was critical of them, "which led them to threaten to stop the show and destroy the theatre." Sounds like a satire, but it's not.
"In response, the play's troupe called for help from members of the 6 April Youth Movement and the anonymous Black Bloc, which was when we decided to move the show to a different location, to avoid violence," said Abdel Rahman.
Abdel Rahman admits that the director of the Red Sea Cultural Centre called him to deliberate over the situation, and together they decided to relocate the show. He denies that the play has been banned, and describes the move as a preventative measure.
Liberal political parties have rushed to show their support for the play. According to its official Facebook page, the leftist-liberal Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP) held a seminar at the party's headquarters in Hurghada earlier today about Salon of the Cows, in the presence of its actors, to show solidarity in the face of "intellectual terrorism."
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#1
counterterrorism officer and Prestancias former administrator, Larry Berberich, both said an analysis of gatehouse security records log books and snapshots of license tags had determined that vehicles either driven by or carrying several of the future hijackers had visited the al-Hijji home.
A "game changer" which required more evidence of an actual linkage, and a decade or so of additional analysis.
[sarcasm off]
#5
Convenient, as well as quite thoughtful of the loathsome, arrogant bastards to release fotos of the alleged Benghazi attackers TODAY. Probably no link whatsoever to the Champ's weaker than snail piss presser yesterday.
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.
BOSTON (CBS/AP) Boston police say three additional suspects have been taken into custody in the Boston Marathon bombings investigation. Their names have not been released. Police said more details will be revealed later today.
[REUTERS] A six-passenger spaceship owned by an offshoot of Virgin Group fired its rocket engine in flight for the first time on Monday, a key step toward the start of commercial service in about a year, Virgin owner Richard Branson said.
[An Nahar] The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that Ukraine's detention of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful, in a decision the opposition leader's camp saw as a key step towards her release.
[Pak Daily Times] At least twelve people including three political workers were 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Nawaz Sharif
[FREEBEACON] A developing scandal in the Maryland prison system could pose a major obstacle for Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's presidential ambitions, critics say.
[DETROITNEWS] Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick said Monday she's excited about presiding over a week's worth of testimony about the existence of extraterrestrials.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[BBC.CO.UK] A five-year-old girl has died two weeks after being raped in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Pervez 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
David Cameron
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
