Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 8:36 Comments ||
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#4
Looking over some Showboat tunes I saw some really good Irene Dunn performances. I just wanted to put this classic up of Fred Astaire who was of that time. A bit cheerer;
#1
Made it! popular place today. I don't like the tone of this story. Vexing is a bad choice of words. Then winding down two wars to reduce costs. They are under the gun to cut spending. This is a warning of what is to come.
News released by a Taliban spokesperson and an Afgan Border Patrol General. illiterate, 35 year old punk Karzai warlord and drug smuggler. Strange is it not, Americans must learn of this sad event from vermin such as these? Perhaps bad nuus about the "good war" doesn't set well with the WH.
[Al Jazeera] Thousands of protesters have returned to downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square for what they called a "second revolution", calling for Egypt's military rulers to speed up the pace of democratic reforms in a country that is still charting its political future.
Protesters streamed into Tahrir Square - the symbolic heart of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... on February 11 - carrying banners reading "Egyptian revolution is not over".
Youth groups that had helped to launch the uprising against Mubarak have dubbed Friday "the second day of anger".
In a Facebook call, the Coalition of the Revolution Youth, which consists of several movements behind the Egyptian uprising, urged protesters to rally for "an end to political corruption."
A large banner hung over the flag-waving crowd, demanding a new constitution "now and not later".
But Moslem Brüderbund, the country's best organised opposition movement, said on Thursday it was "very concerned" by Friday's protest.
The group, that decided not to participate in the demonstrations, said the revolution had achieved many of its goals, including not only the ouster of Mubarak, but also his referral to trial along with his sons and associates.
The call to protest can therefore "only mean that the anger is directed at the people themselves or at the army," said the group, urging protesters not to divide the people and the military.
Al Jizz's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Cairo, said that the Moslem Brüderbund had given several reasons why they did not believe this was an appropriate time for them to participate, even though they did support the right of public protests and peaceful demonstration.
"The Brotherhood disagrees with the protesters' demands that the constitution be rewritten prior to the elections," he said.
"While some of the protesters are calling for a civilian council to be sitting alongside the military council currently ruling the country, the Brotherhood disagrees with this."
"They say there is already a national referendum that was held several weeks ago in which an overwhelming majority of people agreed to having a constitution amended by an incoming parliament that would be elected in September. They don't want to see that overruled by the military leadership of this country."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Citing British intelligence reports, a European diplomatic source said on Friday that aging dictator Muammar Qadaffy has become increasingly goofy "paranoid" about most everythingNATO air strikes, and for safety has been hiding in hospitals.
"One quite striking thing is the fact that Qadaffy appears to be moving from hospital to hospital, spending each night in a different one, and his motive appears quite clear," the source said.
"He is hitting the nursing stations for morphine moving from one place that we won't bomb to another place that we won't bomb."
Perfidious Albion deployed Apache helicopters to Libya on Friday, marking a shift in tactical approach toward ending Qadaffy's rule.
According to Nick Harvey, British junior defence minister, the helicopters would offer "a weapon with a greater degree of precision, which is better able to hit targets, including moving ones, and with a lower risk of collateral damage."
But Jim Murphy, the shadow defence front man, warned that the Apaches would "put British service personnel in greater danger", as they fly lower and are more vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles and potentially smaller weapons than they had been with higher-flying vehicles.
The commander of NATO's operation for the North African country said on Friday that French and British helicopters will be put into action in Libya under the military alliance's command as soon as they are ready.
"These helicopters will be operated under the Unified Protector mandate... they will be brought into action as soon as they are ready," Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard told a briefing.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Is it paranoia when everyone really IS out to get you?
#2
... 'daffy appears to be moving from hospital to hospital ...
Time for Nurse Ratched. http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjE4MTQ3ODc4MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjYzNTIwNA@@._V1._SX640_SY428_.jpg
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
05/28/2011 10:14 Comments ||
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#3
'Paranoid' makes for a snazzier headline. 'Fear' & an 'attempt to evade consequences of one's actions' are descriptions too mundane, although more accurate.
Karma's a bitch.
[Al Jazeera] The Libyan regime rejected G8 calls for eccentric dictator Muammar Qadaffy to stand down and said any initiative to resolve the crisis would have to go through the African Union. ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... "The G8 is an economic summit. We are not concerned by its decisions," said Libya's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaaim.
Tripoli also rejects Russian mediation and will "not accept any mediation which marginalises the peace plan of the African Union," he said. "We are an African country. Any initiative outside the AU framework will be rejected."
Kaaim said it had no confirmation of a change in Russia's position.
"We have not been officially informed. We are in the process of contacting the Russian government to verify reports in the press," the official told a presser.
But Kaaim declared that "no one can dictate to Libyans their political future. All political decisions in the country only concern Libyans."
Russia has been critical of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... -led bombing campaign, but after months of violent and bloody festivities, agreed that Qadaffy should step aside.
Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... , the French president, thanked Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, for helping efforts to resolve the conflict in Libya.
The French leader also confirmed that he planned to visit Benghazi, the rebel stronghold of eastern Libya, and suggested the trip would be made with 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 ... , the British prime minister.
"We spoke about this with David Cameron. It should be a Franco-British initiative," he said at the Deauville summit, but added no date had been set.
Cameron, who did not confirm the journey, said NATO's campaign in the northern African nation was entering a new phase and that "momentum against Qadaffy is really building".
"So it is right that we are ratcheting up the military, economic and the political pressure," he said.
Earlier in the day, Barack B.O. Obama, the US president, said the UN mandate in Libya could not be met while Qadaffy stayed in the country.
"We agreed that we have made progress on our Libya campaign, but that meeting the UN mandate of civilian protection cannot be accomplished when Qadaffy remains in Libya, directing his forces ... and we are joined in [our] resolve to finish the job," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sandwich shop, Caroline was experimenting with ingredients... fierce fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Qadaffy broke out on the Western outskirts of the city of Misrata, according to reports.
A medical worker on the rebel side said that six fighters had been maimed in the fighting, two of them critically.
"We are being attacked from all sides with rockets, RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and mortars," Faraj al-Mistiri, a rebel fighter, told the Rooters news agency.
"It started between 05:30 and 06:00 local time (03:30-04:00GMT). They have advanced. It's normal to and fro. They are trying their hardest to get back into Misrata," he said.
Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, is the biggest rebel stronghold in the west of the country and has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in Libya's three-month-old conflict.
The government forces have also launched rocket attacks overnight in the rebel-held town of Zintan.
In a fresh jolt to the Qadaffy administration, the Libyan central bank governor told Arabiya TV that he is abandoning the government to join the rebel movement.
NATO also continued with its fourth night of Arclight airstrikes on Tripoli, the capital, leaving smoke rising from Qadaffy's compound where five loud blasts were heard in the vicinity.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Better step down, before they LAY you down.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/28/2011 9:23 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] Russia has agreed to mediate the exit of Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's leader, after leaders at the Group of Eight (G8) meeting in La Belle France called on Russia to take the role.
Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, told news hounds on Friday that "Qadaffy has forfeited legitimacy" and that Russia is ready "to help him go".
Soon after, Mikhail Margelov, Moscow's special representative on Africa told news hounds that his country is ready to negotiate Qadaffy's departure.
Margelov explained that Russia is in contact with Qadaffy's entourage, and that they are willing to negotiate Libyan leader's fate.
"We shouldn't talk to Qadaffy himself but with members of his cabinet, possibly with his sons. And we are making such contacts, so there is a hope for a political resolution," Margelov told news hounds at the G8 summit in northern La Belle France.
When asked to specify who Russia's main partner would be in such talks, he said, "Can you imagine, if I give you this person's name and his head were to be cut off the next day? But yes, we do have people in Qadaffy's camp."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"Can you imagine, if I give you this person's name and his head were to be cut off the next day?"
Oh, that lovely laconic Russian realism. Gotta love it.
Posted by: American Delight ||
05/28/2011 7:50 Comments ||
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#2
My, my, 'dafi must have failed to pay his bills on time.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
05/28/2011 9:15 Comments ||
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#3
The Kremlin to the rescue. What could possibly go wrong?
#4
If Gaddafi stays, he competes with Russia to control oil supplies to the Euros. If Libya descends into chaos, oil prices go up and Putin's bid for re-election is that much shinier ....
#5
Plus, if the Russians help Daffy to land somewhere halfway reasonable, he and his clan, his tribe, and his supporters can be counted on to take their money with them. That means that Russia will be getting all sorts of new weapons orders from the new Daffy compound and the local government, that will be paid in hard currencies. And most of the stuff that will be ordered will be the older stuff that most countries are not buying nowadays, and that keeps the ammunition and parts orders rolling in for the Russian factories.
A few months ago Yemen was a pro-American regime.
Now Al-Qaeda has its capital there. Armed al-Qaeda fighters took over all key government headquarters in Zinjubar, the Abyan capital, on Friday.
#3
Looks like the Saudi National Guard will be taking a road trip in the near future, there are agreements between the Saudis and the Yemenis about how to deal with Al-Q, and the Saudis are not about to let Al-Q set up shop right on their border.
[Iran Press TV] Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked anti-government protesters in several villages across the Persian Gulf sheikdom.
Witnesses say regime troops used tear gas and concussion bombs to disperse protesters in Diraz, Bani Jamrah and some other villages on Friday.
The protesters called for an end to the Al Khalifa rule and the immediate release of jugged anti-government protesters.
According to witnesses, Bahraini protesters in recent days have their faces covered to avoid recognition by regime forces.
Saudi-backed Bahraini troops have placed in durance vile hundreds of anti-government protesters during overnight operations after identifying them based on pictures taken from opposition rallies.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or arrests on Friday.
Since the beginning of anti-regime protests in Bahrain in mid-February, Manama has launched a harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters, rounding up senior opposition figures and activists in dawn raids and arresting doctors, nurses, lawyers and journalists who have voiced support for the protest movement.
While the whereabouts of many detainees are still unknown, Bahraini authorities have begun to try a number of jugged activists in what the opposition calls kangaroo courts.
Protesters have been charged with several counts such as attempting to overthrow the monarchy, and they are being tried in a special security court set up under martial law.
Amnesia Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... have criticized the Bahraini government for its brutal crackdown on civilians.
The International Committee of the Red Thingy, which visits detainees in conflict situations, has been trying to see and contact Bahraini jugged activists since mid-March. But so far Manama has refused to grant it permission.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... Bahrain's state news agency says that military prosecutors have asked the country's highest court to review death penalties issued against two anti-regime protesters.
Human Rights Watch as also called on the country to stop trying civilians in military courts.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran Press TV - betcha that the source for this story was an eyewitness from the Revolutionary Guard....
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
05/28/2011 10:25 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV] Yemeni security forces and members of the powerful Hashid tribe have agreed to a ceasefire after days of fierce festivities in the capital killed more than 100 people.
The ceasefire was declared on Friday, the fifth day of heavy streets battles in Sana'a between forces loyal to Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... and rustics demanding his immediate ouster.
"We are now in mediation and there has been a ceasefire between the two sides ... But if Ali Abdullah Saleh returned (to fighting) then we are ready," Rooters quoted Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid tribal federation, as saying.
Sana'a residents say shots and kabooms are still heard but the fighting is not as intense as it was in previous days.
The agreement came shortly after rustics seized a Elite Republican Guards checkpoint outside the capital.
Tribal sources say at least 15 rustics and tens of troops, including the base commander, were killed in the fighting which saw Yemeni air force planes attacking rustics.
Tribal leader Sheik Ali Safi said his forces stormed the camp to prevent government forces from sending reinforcement to the capital, where forces loyal to the Yemeni president and rustics opposing his rule were fighting a fierce battle since Monday.
More than 100 people have been killed and many others were maimed during five days of heavy festivities in Sana'a.
The battle also forced hundreds of Yemenis to flee their homes in the capital, seeking refuge elsewhere.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village our hero was receiving a quick lesson in aeronautics:... thousands of anti-government protesters poured into the streets in major Yemeni cities on the "Friday of Peaceful Revolution," demanding Saleh's departure.
The isolated Yemeni president, who has been in power for almost 33 years, has repeatedly refused to sign a power transition deal that would see him resign in return for immunity from prosecution.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Yemeni rustics said they wrested a military compound from elite troops loyal to President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... outside the capital Sanaa on Friday as fighting spread, threatening to tip the country into civil war.
Yemeni fighter jets broke the sound barrier as they swooped over Sanaa, where battles between Saleh loyalists and the Hashed tribal alliance led by Sadeq al-Ahmar erupted this week after failure of a deal to ease the president out.
Clashes spread northeast of Sanaa on Friday, where tribes said in addition to seizing a military post in the Nahm region, they were also fighting government troops at two other positions south of the capital.
In Sanaa, tens of thousands of people gathered after Friday prayers for what they branded a "Friday of Peaceful Revolution" against Saleh, releasing white doves and carrying the coffins of about 30 people killed in festivities this week.
Tens of thousands turned out for the rally, inspired by the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions, though their numbers had dwindled compared to previous weeks after thousands decamped Sanaa and the government closed roads around the city to keep out tribes trying to reinforce the Ahmars.
Machinegun fire and sporadic blasts rattled the city before fighting eased after mediation efforts. Ahmar's fighters evacuated government ministry buildings they had grabbed this week in return for a ceasefire and troops quitting their area.
"We are now in mediation and there has been a ceasefire between the two sides," Ahmar, close to an Islamist opposition party, told protesters in "Change Square".
"We wanted it (revolution) to be peaceful but Saleh, his sons and his clique wanted war. We will not leave them the opportunity to turn it into a civil war. There is mediation going on now," Ahmar told Rooters.
Battles this week, the worst since protests began in January, killed around 115 people and let Saleh grab back the initiative, overshadowing the protest movement with the threat of civil war. Yet protesters were determined to see him go.
"We are here to renew our resolve for a peaceful revolution. We reject violence or being dragged into civil war,"said Yahya Abdulla at the anti-Saleh protest camp, where armed vehicles were deployed to protect those praying.
A few kilometres away, government loyalists staged a short rally, waving Yemeni flags and pictures of Saleh, who has ruled the Arabian Peninsula state for nearly 33 years.
Worries are growing that Yemen, already a safe haven for al Qaeda and on the verge of financial ruin, could become a failed state that would erode regional security and pose a serious risk to neighbouring Soddy Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.
The United States and Soddy Arabia, both targets of foiled attacks by a wing of al Qaeda based in Yemen, are concerned any spread of anarchy could embolden the Death Eater group.
In Nahm, 100 km northeast of Sanaa, a tribal leader said fierce fighting over three military posts killed 19 and maimed dozens. He said rustics had seized one post and were battling for two more as military planes bombed the area.
"There had been some skirmishes between the rustics supporting the youth revolution from time to time, but today it became a big armed confrontation," Sheikh Hamid Asim said.
He had earlier said anti-Saleh fighters killed the commander of the military post they seized. A separate tribal source said the Yemeni air force dropped bombs to prevent the rustics from seizing an arms cache there.
Yemeni state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, citing a military source, denied any posts were seized. "These are lies with no basis in truth," Yemen TV quoted him as saying.
If confirmed, the Republican Guard's loss of a military post to rustics armed with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades would be an embarrassing setback for Saleh, whose country has become the poorest in the region.
Mediators have been increasingly exasperated with Saleh, saying he had repeatedly imposed new conditions each time a Gulf-led transition agreement was due for signing, mostly recently demanding a public signing ceremony.
Leaders of the G8 leading industrialised nations called on Saleh to step down during a summit in La Belle France, but analysts said global powers have little leverage in Yemen, located on a shipping lane through which 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
See also NEWS KERALA > [AQAP aka AQIY] AL-QAEDA GROWING STRONGER IN ABSENCE OF SECURITY VACUUM IN YEMEN.
Yemen = Greece? = Rule of Law nearing total collapse, Al-Qaeda etal. to the rescue???
and
* DAILY TIMES.PK > YEMEN [worsening crisis]WOULD GIVE AL-QAEDA TIME TO REGROUP.
ARTIC > US YEMEN SCHOLAR GREGORY JOHNSEN = US must stop relying on military-led "quickie" solutions, e.g. Drone-Missle Strikes, + instead focus on dev + improving Yemeni public governance in Security + Judiciary, etc. CURRENT US METHODS, POLICIES FAVORS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SHORT-TERM GAINS AT RISK AGZ LONG-TERM INSTABILITY.
More popularly known as National/State Development, National Reconstruction, etc.
POSITIVE OR PROACTIVE IMPERIALISM, as per the promotion, defense of sovereign interests.
"Imperialism" is a concept post-Modern, Hyper-PCorrect minded Politicos hate to say in public but covertly recognize they cannot do widout iff they hope to effec accomplish their State's objectives.
[Bangla Daily Star] Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) tossed in the clink two people as they were out to sell firearms at Napitkhula Battala Bazar in Lama upazila of Bandarban yesterday.
Arrested Ilias, 35, of Dakkhingona in Cox's Bazar, and Kayes Mia, 22, of Ramu upazila of the same district, are involved in gunrunning for long, said Abdur Rahman, deputy assistant director of Rab-7.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rab-7 led by Captain Sheikhar Roy conducted a raid at the bazar and nabbed the two as they were going to sell three light guns (LG) and a single-barrel gun, Rab sources said.
The suspected buyers decamped the spot sensing Rab presence while the arrestees and the recovered firearms were handed over to police.
Two arms cases -- one with Ramu and another with Sadar cop shoppes in Cox's Bazar -- were filed in this connection.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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At least five people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Bajaur on Saturday. At least 10 were injured, and several are in critical condition.
The suicide bomber detonated his bomb in a restaurant in a northern section of Bajaur known as Salarzai.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility, and sources say the bombing appears to be an act of retribution. The target was a prominent member of a local militia that supports the government and fought the Taliban.
A local official, Saad Muhammad, said that the target was Malik Tehsil Khan, whom he described as an active member of the anti-Taliban militia.
The low-intensity blast destroyed the one-room restaurant, where people had gathered over tea in the morning, Mr. Muhammad said. An adjacent jewelry shop was damaged. The owner of the restaurant was also killed in the bombing.
A Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said, We carried out the bombing against the peace committee because they had joined the government and were maligning Taliban.
#1
"Top Pakistani military officials are concerned that their ranks have been penetrated by Islamists aiding militants in a campaign against the state, according to The Washington Post."
yes indeed and then...
"The top Pakistani military commander, General Ashfaq Kayani, was shaken by the discovery of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden close to a Pakistani military academy, the newspaper said."
Posted by: Paul D ||
05/28/2011 3:55 Comments ||
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#3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gf8NK1WAOc
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
05/28/2011 8:17 Comments ||
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#4
Oddly enough, the way around the problem might be to require membership in the equivalent of a Ba'ath party to be in the military, as well as the introduction of a "moderate" (by their standards) chaplain's corps in the ranks.
The end result would be a slow and systematic purge of both wild hairs and those that have fallen under the sway of anti-government radical Imams.
It's far from perfect, but it would be a lot better than what they have now.
ntelligence agencies, in raids in Korangi and Shah Faisal Colony, have arrested seven suspects alleged to be members of al-Qaeda for their involvement in the PNS Mehran attack case. Five of the held are of foreign origin. Moreover, arms have also been recovered from their possession.
The seven suspects were identified as Hamza Abul Qasim, Javed bin Ziyad bin Tariq, Tahir bin Saleem and Ghansham besides others, who were immediately moved to an undisclosed location for interrogation. It was also disclosed that the police had taken into custody the car which was under the use of terrorists. Further probe is underway.
Online adds: Security forces on Friday arrested four suspected terrorists from Karachi. One of the suspects is said to have an alias of Hamza. They were taken to an undisclosed location for questioning.
However, sources said the investigators are still in the dark as far as making a real breakthrough is concerned. After expressing the possibility of involvement of various international intelligence agencies, the investigators have also included seminaries, located in the PNS Mehrans vicinity.
Meanwhile, the investigation team has received the initial forensic report, prepared in Islamabad, which has established the used weapons of Russian make; except the walkie-talkie sets, which are of American make, possibly from the Nato inventory.
The report also discovered that all rifle cartridges were manufactured at the end of 2008, while the rifles used were seven to eight years old. The forensic report stated that all soldiers were fired at from 100 metres distance.
Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry adds: Security agencies conducted a raid at a Madrassa in Chak No 363GB, Sammi Di Jhok, in Faisalabad district on Friday, and arrested a suspected terrorist in connection with the PNS Mehran naval base attack.
The suspect, who was identified as Qari Qaisar, 30, a resident of Dera Ghazi Khan, was shifted to some undisclosed place for interrogation. Sources said the local police of Satiana Police Station were not informed about the raid by security agencies.
According to sources, the raid party entered Madrassa Zainul Abideen and arrested Qari Qaisar, the teacher of the madrassa. The sources said the suspect remained in contact with the attackers of the PNS Mehran base. He was traced through his telephone calls. The Madrassa was built by Master Manzoor of the same village on two-and-a-half Marlas some years back, and Qari Qaisar was appointed as a teacher there.
WASHINGTON Documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed show that he and his aides discussed making a deal with Pakistan in which Al Qaeda would refrain from attacking the country in exchange for protection inside Pakistan, American officials said Thursday. Would that have meant calling off the ISI and the Taliban?
The documents, which officials said included messages between Bin Laden and his top operations chief over the past year, provide the first suggestion that Bin Laden considered Pakistans government amenable to a bargain that would ensure the safety of top Qaeda leaders.
The officials emphasized that they had found no evidence that such a proposal, which one American official said was in the discussion phase, was ever raised with Pakistani military or intelligence operatives.
But the fact that Bin Laden even considered a truce with Pakistan suggests that he thought the idea might have had some support inside the countrys national security establishment. At the same time, Pakistan could argue that the discussions provided evidence that there was no deal already in place allowing Bin Laden to hide in the sprawling compound in Abbottabad, a middle-class town 75 miles by road from the Pakistani capital. No deal at all, other than the fact that he had been living there a few years already...
The Central Intelligence Agency is poring over a huge electronic database that Navy Seal commandos seized during the raid that killed Bin Laden this month. The new details about the information came as American officials said that Pakistan had granted permission for the C.I.A. to send a forensics team to search Bin Ladens compound.
Many American officials are skeptical that Bin Laden could have hidden for so long inside Pakistan without at least the tacit approval of some Pakistani officials. Top American officials said they had yet to see any evidence of official approval from the electronic files. But new information is being discovered about Al Qaedas structure, particularly about a tier of operatives Bin Laden corresponded with who were in charge of the networks daily operations.
In particular, the documents highlight the central role played by Atiya Abdul Rahman, the operations chief with whom American officials said Bin Laden discussed a possible truce with Pakistan. Mr. Rahman is a Libyan operative who came into the job after a drone strike in 2010 killed his boss, Sheik Saeed al-Masri.
The job of Qaeda operations head is particularly perilous, as C.I.A. drone strikes in Pakistan have killed a number of people holding that position over the past year. American officials and terrorism experts said the position was dangerous because the operations chief had to communicate with Qaeda operatives outside Pakistan, communications that are often intercepted by American eavesdropping.
Last year, American officials said, Mr. Rahman notified Bin Laden of a request by the leader of Al Qaedas affiliate in Yemen to install Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric, as the leader of the group in Yemen. That group, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, apparently thought Mr. Awlakis knowledge of the United States and his status as an Internet celebrity might help the groups operations and fund-raising efforts.
But, according to American officials, Bin Laden decided that the groups leadership should remain unchanged. Because even he realized that Anwar was a poseur and full of it...
Pakistans decision to allow a C.I.A. forensic team to search the compound, first reported on Thursday by The Washington Post, comes after weeks of private talks between uneasy allies. Another tidbit that should have been buried in the news, not trumpeted...
It may be more important for symbolic than substantive reasons, as the Obama administration does not appear optimistic that the team would uncover secret tunnels or buried clues that could yield fresh information about Qaeda operations. Not since the Paks have had time to groom the place...
Still, American and Pakistani officials are, at least publicly, trying to play down tensions in a deeply fractured relationship. In another move aimed at thawing relations, Pakistan last week returned to the Americans the severed tail of a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed at the Abbottabad compound on the night of the raid.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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Iff anything, methinks OSAMA had "too much" PAK GOVT. PROTECTION, IN THE WORSE WAY, + I would've told him so out of respect.
A Moroccan al Qaeda operative captured in Afghanistan told coalition forces earlier this month that foreign fighters were "converging" in Pakistan in hopes of carrying out attacks across the border in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force said late Monday.
The unnamed captive, who is described as a "Germany-based Moroccan al Qaeda foreign fighter facilitator," Whaaat? Sounds like a 'kinetic military action'!
was captured by coalition and Afghan forces on May 8 in southeast Afghanistan.
"After his capture the facilitator provided details about his personal travel from Germany," a statement from the ISAF said. "He also observed foreigners from many countries converging in Pakistan to conduct attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan."
In the same operation in Afghanistan in which the facilitator was captured, the ISAF said they recovered passports and identification cards from France, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia among 10 killed insurgents. The Pak passports were, of course, the best...
The U.S. military estimates there are approximately 100 al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan at any moment, most from Arab countries and Pakistan, although European fighters have been spotted in increasing numbers in recent years. They're not really 'European'...
Almost all of them enter through the Pakistani tribal areas, according to U.S., Afghan, and Pakistani officials.
"The Afghanistan-Pakistan region seems to be a revolving door for extremists," said an April 2011 report from the Army. "The foreign fighter flow in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region seems to flow strongly both in and out of the region." To and from the Peshawar Hilton...
Two days after the facilitator's capture, ISAF U.S. Maj. Gen. John Campbell told reporters the ISAF had received reports of an influx of foreign fighters joining al Qaeda's cause in Afghanistan following the Navy SEAL raid that killed the terror group's leader, Osama bin Laden, on May 2. However, he said his men had yet to encounter them. If his men had they would have killed them...
"I have not seen a large number of foreign fighters come through since bin Laden's death," Campbell said. "I will tell you, over the course of the year -- if I was to put a guesstimate on the percentage -- it's really around 80 percent are from Afghanistan, and it's probably 15 [percent] to 20 percent foreign fighters... I don't think that's gone up or gone down here over the last several months."
The captured Moroccan is also apparently providing intelligence about how foreign fighters move into Afghanistan from around the world and described his own journey to the front lines from Germany. The ISAF said it hoped that information will "support targeting the network of facilitators who bring global terrorism to bear on coalition forces and civilians in Afghanistan."
Though the ISAF declined to provide details on the Moroccan's personal travels, it did say that the facilitator said that when his travel was delayed in Iran, he was approached and asked to become a suicide bomber.
"However, he declined because of his goal to take part in the Global Jihad," the ISAF statement said.
The facilitator is not the first to successfully travel from Germany to the Middle East in hopes of joining the jihad there. In the fall of 2010, U.S. forces captured German national Ahmed Siddiqui who described a "multi-city" terror plot against Europe. Siddiqui said the plan had been personally blessed by bin Laden.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"FOREIGN FIGHTERS" + IMU, ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF THE CAUCASUS ....
versus
* WORLD NEWS > TALIBAN, JeM RUSH TO RECRUIT YOUTHS, for TerrOps in North Waziristan.
Because wiping out the local infant Daycare just isn't enough to deter juvenile delinquency.
#2
What a shocker Pakistan is the transit point for attacks in Afghanistan.Like OBL Pak army had no idea of this situation!
Posted by: Paul D ||
05/28/2011 3:47 Comments ||
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#3
I see this as an opportunity to exterminate a whole s-load of violent dumbasses. Again, using the "roach motel" tactic, we could help out Europe a whole bunch by setting up a travel agency to help jihadis get to Afghanistan and waltz right in to a permanent ambush.
The underlying theory is that only the most dangerous of the lot have the chutzpah and resources to travel that far, so if we can cull enough of them, the remainder will be far less motivated.
[Pak Daily Times] Pak fighter jets pounded terrorists' hideouts in the country's northwest on Friday, killing 23 suspected terrorists, a government official said.
Javed Khan said the attacks targeted Islamic fascistiin Orakzai and Kurram tribal regions. The jets also destroyed some anti-aircraft guns positioned on high ground, he said.
It was not possible to get independent confirmation of casualties and the identities of those killed in the attacks because the regions are remote, and media access is restricted there.
Security forces have carried similar Arclight airstrikes in both the tribal regions since Islamic fascistimoved there after fleeing an army offensive last year in nearby South Wazoo.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Indian security forces have killed two snuffies in a gunbattle in the occupied Kashmire, including a "most wanted" commander from a Pak group, a police officer said.
The rebels were identified on Thursday in the village of Keller, 50 kilometres south of Srinagar, police superintendent Mumtaz Ahmad told AFP. A top local commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) krazed killer outfit named as Qari Zubair was killed in the ensuing firefight along with his bodyguard. "Qari Zubair was active in south Kashmire for the last five years and was one of the most wanted foreign krazed killers," the police officer told AFP late Thursday, adding that Zubair was a Pak.
In April this year, local chief of JEM Sajjad Afghani and his bodyguard were rubbed out by police in a shootout along the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar. Thursday's killings took to six the number of suspected rebels rubbed out by Indian troops in the Himalayan region since Monday.
India blames Pakistain for backing snuffies in its zone of divided Kashmire, a charge Islamabad denies.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Security authorities have placed in durance vile Ahmed Shahzad, a close aide of Aqeel Ahmed, alias Dr Usman, the criminal mastermind of the terrorist attack on Pakistain Army's General Headquarters, DawnNews reported.
Sources said that intelligence agencies placed in durance vile Shahzad from the Bloody Karachi airport while he was attempting to flee from the country. Shahzad was found in military police uniform.
Security sources told DawnNews that Shahzad's arrest came into effect a week ago, and that he has been transferred to Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location where investigation is underway. According to sources Ahmed Shahzad had links to a banned Pak organisaton.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Security agencies picked up at least six people from across the country on Friday in connection with the recent terrorist attack on PNS Mehran airbase.
Five of the suspects were tossed in the clink in Bloody Karachi and the sixth in Faisalabad.
Sources said raids were carried out in Bloody Karachi's Shah Faisal and Model colonies and five suspects were taken into custody. All of them belonged to proscribed thug groups.
In Faisalabad, security personnel raided a seminary in Chak 363-GB, Sattiana, and tossed in the clink a man identified as Qari Qaiser for his alleged links with forces of Evil who attacked the naval base.
However, The journalistic equivalent of the teenager's whateverHowever... the police did not confirm the arrest and said no policeman took part in the raid.
The accused was shifted to Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location for interrogation, the sources said.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Sindh police on Friday received a forensic report on the weapons used in the recent PNS Mehran airbase attack.
According to police sources, the snuffies fired seven rockets in the attack, out of which five hit their targets. The snuffies also used Russian-made weapons, including LMGs, SMGs and kalashnikovs in the attack, they said.
The sources further said that the weapons were made in 2004 and the bullets in 2008. The report further revealed that the gun-battle between the security forces and the snuffies took place in the range of 80 to 100 meters. The sources further said that there was no breakthrough in an investigation, as the CCTV footages were still not provided.
They said that the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) had made six arrests at various parts of the metropolis, and added, the persons, who were jugged from Korangi and other parts of the metropolis, were shifted to unknown place for interrogation. However, The mauve However... the officials in police department denied the said arrests.
The sources said that LEAs had also placed in durance vile a man who was the close aide of Dr Usman, who was involved in GHQ attack, from the Bloody Karachi airport, but the police had also denied any arrest from the Bloody Karachi airport.
When SIO Shahrah-e-Faisal Sajjad Ali was approached, he refused to comment on the issue.
DIG investigation Iftikhar Tarrar confirmed that they had received a forensic report on the weapons used in the PNS Mehran airbase assault. He said the ethnicity of the terrorists, which was not confirmed yet, could only be made through a DNA report.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] KARACHI: A team of excise and taxation police seized 16 kgs hashish worth over Rs 1.5 million from a bus in a raid here on Friday. According to an excise and taxation department official, the raid was conducted in a bus at Yousuf Goth bus terminal on Hub River Road. The bus (CH-111516) had come from Quetta. The excise police placed in durance vile four accused who were residents of Quetta and had been working as drivers and cleaners of the bus. They also impounded the bus. The accused were stated to be the members of an inter-provincial gang of narcos. Further investigations were underway.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The United States has drawn up a list of five krazed killer Islamic leaders it expects Pakistain to provide intelligence about immediately and possibly target in joint operations, including the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be but now ain't... deputy Ayman al Zawahiri ... Second in command of al-Qaeda, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... and Taliban capo Mullah Omar, according to a US official and a Pak official.
The list also includes Siraj Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network, the most violent group in the Afghan Taliban and believed to be run out of the Pak tribal areas; Ilyas Kashmirei, a senior member of al Qaeda once dubbed "the next Osama bin Laden"; and Atiya Abdel Rahman, the Libyan operations chief of al Qaeda who had emerged as a key intermediary between bin Laden and al Qaeda's affiliate networks across the world.
The list was discussed during three separate meetings between senior Pak and US officials in the past two weeks, including today in Islamabad with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Jeremiah S. Black ... , according to a US official, a Pak government official and a Pak intelligence official.
The United States views the list as a test of whether Pakistain is serious about fighting cut-throats who have long enjoyed safe havens within its borders.
But the list does not only include gunnies the United States wants Pakistain to target. In the case of Omar, the United States is interested in determining whether he can be part of political reconciliation in Afghanistan, and is pushing the Paks to facilitate such an outcome, according to two US officials. The United States has already opened a dialogue with a man believed to be an emissary of Omar, according to two senior Afghan officials, but is proceeding cautiously.
Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen, who flew into Islamabad ahead of Clinton, today urged Pakistain to support that process and do nothing to scuttle it, according to senior administration officials. Pak intelligence officials have in the past admitted they jugged Afghan Taliban leaders who expressed a willingness to reconcile.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Clinton declined to address specific names but said the United States expects Pakistain to authorize "joint action against al Qaeda and its affiliates," adding, "there is still much more work required, and it is urgent."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
How many are being moved by the ISI as we speak!
Posted by: Paul D ||
05/28/2011 3:42 Comments ||
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#2
How many on the list are ISI?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
05/28/2011 10:32 Comments ||
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#3
Lovely! Now they know precisely whom we are looking for and whom we are not, and can change their names, locations, and other pertinent data accordingly. Very nicely done.
[Pak Daily Times] Iraqi security forces were on Friday hunting the killers of Iraq's controversial anti-Baath committee chief, who was shot in the head while on his way home in east Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... Thursday night.
The brazen shooting came little more than a year after Ali al-Lami made headlines by banning a swathe of would-be MPs in Iraq's March 2010 election, a poll in which he himself was a candidate.
Lami, the executive director of the Justice and Accountability Commission (JAC), was rubbed out while being driven home, a colleague and security officials said. His killers used pistols with silencers.
"Yes, it's true," Entifadh Qanbar, a friend of Lami's who ran with him on the same political slate in a March 2010 parliamentary election, told AFP.
"He was going from Paleostine Street to his house in east Storied Baghdad. His brother was driving. He was followed carefully by a car, then he was intercepted.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrations on Friday, killing at least eight people as thousands erupted into the streets despite the near-certainty they would face gunfire, tear gas and stun guns, human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... activists and witnesses said.
The casualties included three people in Qatana, a suburb of the capital, and four in the southern village of Dael, according to the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, which help organise the protests.
One person also was reported killed near the border with Leb.
The 10-week protests in Syria have evolved from a disparate movement demanding reforms to a resilient uprising that is now seeking President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad's One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... ouster. On Friday, protests erupted in the capital, Damascus, ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... and the coastal city of Banias, the central city of Homs and elsewhere.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed since the revolt began in mid-March -- a corpse count that has enraged and motivated protesters.
Many activists have been opting for nighttime demonstrations and candlelight vigils in recent days, aiming for a time when the security presence has thinned out.
"We refuse to let them sleep," 28-year-old Dael said of the security forces.
"We drive them crazy, as soon as they come to the neighbourhood we go quiet and they get lost. And then we start again when they leave," he told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
An engineer, who asked that his name not be used, said the protest started at 2am and was peaceful until security forces opened fire an hour later. He said three cousins from the same family were killed.
Since then, there has been a curfew in the town.
"I cannot stick my head out the window, if they see a cat they'll shoot at it," he said.
A witness in Damascus, who asked to be identified only by his nickname, Abu Moustafa, said up to 1,500 people were chanting for the downfall of the regime in the Qaboun neighbourhood. More than 20 buses carrying soldiers and security forces arrived on the scene, raising tensions, he said.
Also Friday, human rights activist Mustafa Osso said Syrian security forces shot up demonstrators in the northeastern town of Deir el-Zour, but it was not clear if there were casualties.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] A roadside kaboomdestroyed a UN convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers in southern Leb on Friday, wounding six of them in the first such attack since 2008, officials said.
Two of the peacekeepers were in "grave condition," the Italian joint chiefs of staff's office said. Lebanese security officials said two civilians were also maimed in the kaboom, which struck as the peacekeepers' vehicles travelled south on the main highway in the southern city of Sidon.
The blast left a crater in the road, and debris from the charred UN trucks was scattered on the highway. Police said the bomb contained up to 12 kilogrammes of kaboom. UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack.
"The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... will work closely together with the Lebanese authorities to have a full and swift investigation on the attack to bring the perpetrators to justice," Ban said. The peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, is deployed in southern Leb to monitor the border with Israel.
The last kaboom on peacekeepers was in January 2008, when a roadside kaboom struck a UN vehicle travelling along the coastal highway south of Beirut, lightly wounding two peacekeepers. The deadliest attack was in June 2007, when a bomb hit an armoured personnel carrier near the Israeli border and killed six Spanish peacekeepers. No group has grabbed credit for any of the attacks.
Friday's kaboom comes amid rising tensions in Leb, which has been without a government since January after the Hezbullies terrorist group and its allies walked out of the Cabinet. A deadlock between Hezbullies and its Western-backed rivals in Leb has delayed the formation of a new government. There are also concerns that unrest in neighbouring Syria, which has seen more than 10 weeks of protests against the autocratic government there, could spill over into Leb.
Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... has long held significant influence in Leb. The kaboom came the same day that UNIFIL commemorates the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to honor colleagues who bit the dust in the line of duty. Italian Foreign Ministry officials had initially said one peacekeeper was killed in Friday's blast, but the joint chiefs of staff's office later said nobody was killed.
There are nearly 1,800 Italian soldiers, including a naval component, in the UNIFIL mission.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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BEIRUT - A bomb blew up a U.N. vehicle near the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon on Friday, killing an Italian United Nations peacekeeper, security sources said. The explosion occurred on a busy highway leading to Sidon, and four other Italian soldiers were wounded, a security source and a Reuters photographer said.
A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the bomb had been aimed at a logistics convoy.
We have reports of casualties of UNIFIL peacekeepers, spokesman Neeraj Singh told Reuters. He could not disclose their nationalities.
UNIFIL has about 12,000 troops and naval personnel in Lebanon after its expansion under a U.N. Security Council resolution that halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon. A car bomb killed six U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon in June 2007.
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05/28/2011 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
05/28/2011 08:55 ||
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#1
Let me guess. The fellow had a sever case of peccadilloes. Not allot of information provided here. I did sneak a peak however. You just never know what you might find when you jump into the rabbit hole. I did however get to use my word of the day.
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.
Qadaffy has become increasingly 
Qadaffy to stand down and said any initiative to resolve the crisis would have to go through the 
David Cameron
Qadaffy, Libya's leader, after leaders at the Group of Eight (G8) meeting in 
Pak fighter jets pounded terrorists' hideouts in the country's northwest on Friday, killing 23 suspected terrorists, a government official said.
Indian security forces have killed two 
KARACHI: A team of excise and taxation police seized 16 kgs hashish worth over Rs 1.5 million from a bus in a raid here on Friday. According to an excise and taxation department official, the raid was conducted in a bus at Yousuf Goth bus terminal on Hub River Road. The bus (CH-111516) had come from Quetta. The excise police 
Zawahiri
Hillary Clinton
al-Assad's
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
