CANBERRA (Reuters) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said his government talks to the Taliban every day through intermediaries, according to an interview by Australia's SBS television for broadcast on Tuesday.
"We talk to the Taliban every day. We were talking to them just a few days ago somewhere around this region," Karzai said in an interview taped a week ago in Kabul with SBS, adding his contact with the group's one-eyed leader Mullah Omar was through indirect means.
"(But) not personally," Karzai said when asked if he had spoken with Omar. "I mean not directly, person to person. But through intermediaries, yes."
Karzai and many Western analysts say the reclusive leader is based in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
Which is why we have drones orbiting there...
Karzai also stressed that peace talks with the Taliban, who were originally backed by Islamabad, are key to regional stability and bringing peace as well to Pakistan, a player seen as crucial to efforts to end the war in Afghanistan.
"It's no longer Afghanistan that's the subject of conversation, or the issue. It's Pakistan as well. It's peace in Pakistan as well. It's stability in Pakistan as well," he said.
The interview was recorded before Karzai's visit to Islamabad last week, where he upset Pakistan by asking for access to Afghan Taliban leaders belonging to the so-called Quetta Shura, or leadership council, named after the Pakistani city where it is said to be based.
Afghans have always been suspicious of Pakistani intentions because of historical ties between Pakistani intelligence and insurgent groups like the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has consistently denied the existence of the Quetta Shura. Karzai said despite the history, he is also keen to work together with Islamabad to help advance peace talks with the Taliban.
"We as the Afghan people and government are willing to help Pakistan work for peace in Afghanistan and work for peace in Pakistan, together," Karzai said in fluent English.
Karzai added that Afghanistan was making progress on security in the eleventh year of a costly war, local and foreign support for which is souring.
Which would be easier if we didn't have to worry about your people gunning down our soldiers...
The Afghan leader also said the Taliban would not return to power in a total capacity.
"I don't think the Taliban will ever come back to take Afghanistan, no," he said. "Two years ago I would have been uncertain and unwilling to give you an answer as firm as I do today. The Afghan people will not go back to the nothing of 10 years ago."
NAIROBI, Kenya: The commander of African Union troops in Somalia says that close to 300 members of the militant group Al-Shabab fledran away streamed out of Somalia in the direction of Yemen in recent days, a sign the militant group is under increasing pressure.
"Curly toed flippers don't fail me now!"
Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha said Thursday that the recent announcement that Al-Shabab has formally merged with Al-Qaeda was an attempt to give a boost of confidence to an insurgent force that is losing power. He said the 300 militants -- mostly foreign fighters -- fled Somalia only days after the announced merger.
Perhaps we could chum the water...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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are they walking or driving?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/24/2012 8:06 Comments ||
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#2
Swimming...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 8:49 Comments ||
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BENGHAZI: A Libyan military court ruled on Wednesday that 50 people accused of fighting for Muammar Qaddafi and helping a mass jail break by alleged supporters of the deposed leader should be freed and tried instead in a civilian court.
Defense lawyers welcomed the ruling, saying most of the accused were civilians and that the military court on a base in the eastern city of Benghazi was struggling to try the case.
We feel this court is under pressure and... does not have the necessary judicial independence, said Saleh Omran, who represents 17 of the accused, denying that his clients were Qaddafi supporters. They helped the prisoners escape from jail because some of those held were their relatives and they were protecting them. It has nothing to do with Qaddafis men."
A transitional government has been keen to try Qaddafis family members and loyalists at home, but human rights activists worry that a weak central government and a lack of rule of law could rob them of the right to a fair trial.
The defendants are facing charges of using force against the revolutionary forces, terrorizing civilians and helping prisoners escape, as well as inciting people to commit crimes. Omran said some of those charges carry the death penalty.
The defendants are part of a militia that helped what officials from the transitional council said at the time were about 300 Qaddafi loyalists escape from custody in July.
Fifteen witnesses called to give evidence on Wednesday did not show up and hearings have been postponed twice since the trial began on Feb. 5, for security reasons and pending a request by some of the lawyers to review the evidence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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Not Predators, helicopters. Probably black and making that whomp-whomp-whomp sound. They got two vehicles, three imported jihadis -- one of whom may have been a Number Three from Kenya, the others appearing to be from other continents -- and a local al Shabaaber. The rest of the convoy got away. Also a nice map of the disposition of forces, for those who crave such things.
China has already sent back several of the North Korean defectors who were recently arrested there, despite pleas from Seoul and international human rights groups, sources said Thursday.
The source said nine defectors who had crossed the Duman (or Tumen) River into China in early February were repatriated last weekend and have since been under investigation by security forces in Onsong, North Hamgyong Province. They were reportedly while traveling to Changchun from Yanji headed for South Korea.
It is unclear how many defectors are facing repatriation as there is wide discrepancy between sources. According to defectors' group North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, three defectors were arrested on a train bound for Changchun last Friday and repatriated on Monday.
"Security forces and senior party officials are intimidating and threatening their families. Rumors are spreading that they will be executed to set an example," the group added.
According to sources in China, about 200 defectors were caught by Chinese police and face repatriation.
Chinese police have arrested far more North Korean defectors than was previously known, Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Park Sun-young claimed Tuesday. Park has been vocal in recent days warning that China will repatriate the defectors.
In a telephone interview with the Chosun Ilbo, Park said a total of 34 North Korean defectors were arrested in six groups since early February, and some of them face being sent back to the repressive country.
She said the 19 were arrested on Feb. 8, five on Feb. 12, three on Feb. 13, four on Feb. 17, and three on Feb. 18. Intelligence reports say there are others, Park claimed, but she decided to delay disclosure because she had not confirmed the facts.
Asked where her information came from, Park cited "a reliable source who has access to Chinese police." She added, "Based on this information, I was able to confirm their arrests by checking with family members who are already in South Korea."
"I verified personal data of at least one member of each group of defectors who were arrested recently," she said. "I'm also trying to verify another piece of information I got on Monday that North Korean security forces raided the North Korean homes of the arrested defectors."
Park said it is clearly possible for a single lawmaker to obtain information about arrested defectors and their personal data through various channels, "but the Foreign Ministry only says, 'We haven't grasped the situation yet' whenever defectors are arrested in China." She called on the government to do more to find out the real situation of North Korean defectors in China by using intelligence networks, rather than merely watching the reaction of the Chinese government.
Park the same day started a hunger strike in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul in protest against China's attempt to repatriate the defectors.
The government has decided to raise the issue of North Korean defectors who face repatriation from China with the UN Human Rights Council when it meets at the end of this month.
A government official said on Monday, "Since we have decided to take firm steps to prevent Beijing from repatriating North Korean defectors under UN treaties on the treatment of refugees and the prohibition of torture, we will raise the issue before the UN Human Rights Council." A Foreign Ministry official said, "According to new guidelines announced on Sunday, we are discussing at what level to bring up the matter at the UNHCR."
The government will dispatch Choi Soo-young, the director of human rights and social affairs at the Foreign Ministry, to the UNHRC in Geneva this week.
The government plans to seek measures to ensure the safety of North Korean defectors should they be sent back to the North. Also to be discussed is the inclusion of a clause in the North Korean Human Rights Resolution, adopted by the UNHCR every year, that would prohibit China from repatriating defectors from the North.
A high-ranking government official said, "If no solution can be found through the UNHCR, then we will consider filing a complaint against China at the UN to raise international awareness of the issue."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
China Already Repatriated N.Korean Defectors
Well, that says it all, Don't it. Very unfriendly people.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/24/2012 0:40 Comments ||
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#2
ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINA EXPELS [2] JAPANESE SURVEY BOATS, from East China Sea.
Read, TAIWAN.
* SAME > US CAN SURRENDER EAST ASIA TO CHINA | GWYNNE DYER: CHINA SUPREMACY NEED NOT MEAN WAR WID US.
* SAME > [ChinaNews.cn] CHINA COULD LEASE HAINAN TO PAKISTAN FOR 50 YEARS IN RETURN FOR GILGIT.
NOT-INDECENT Bilateral Proposal.
THE TALIBAN ARE COMING, THE TALIBAN ARE COMING? i.e. Pak-sponsored Taliban + Al-Qaeda + Haqqannis, etal. in South China Sea/SE Asia = PHILIPPINES, SOPAC, GUAM-WESTPAC???
D *** NG IT, I THOUGHT IT WAS THE CHINESE WHOM WERE COMING!
#3
It's important to remember stuff like this when doing business with China.
The US and Britain did some things like this, in the 19th Century, when non-western lives were considered trivial compared to American lives.
Now the Chinese are at that point. This is important to us if we are buying their stuff, because like we were at that point, "pure food and drugs", "safety" and such things are not real considerations compared to profits.
If they sell us something that could poison thousands of Americans and we don't catch it before it does, their only concern will be the loss of business, not the death of Americans, to which they will be utterly indifferent.
A 54-year-old imam was found shot in the head in Strömsund in northwestern Sweden on Wednesday in what police have classified as attempted murder. Police received a call around 1:30pm on Wednesday afternoon that the man, identified by Sveriges Television (SVT) as Obydkhon Sobitkhony, had been found bullet shot with gun shot wounds.
"He was shot at least once in the head, but there may have been more shots. He was improving for awhile last night but during the day on Thursday certain complications came up which have made his condition worse," Östersund police detective Ted Persson told the local Östersunds Posten (ÖP) newspaper on Thursday.
Sobitkhony, who is known by the surname Nazarov, serves as a holy man in Strömsund, where he has lived since coming to Sweden in 2006 as a political refugee from Uzbekistan.
He is being treated at hospital in Umeå for what have been described as life threatening injuries.
According to SVT, a gun believed to be used in Wednesday's shooting was found near where Sobitkhony lay and around 30 officers participated in the preliminary investigation by combing the scene for clues and knocking on doors in the vicinity.
"The door knocking as yielded positive results thus far," Persson told the newspaper.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
local police have made an appeal to the public for more information about the shooting.
Sobitkhony is a known critic of the regime in Uzbekistan and came to Sweden along with scores of other political refugees after a 2005 crackdown by Uzbek government troops in Andijan in which hundreds of protesters were killed, although the exact number of casualties remains in dispute.
At the time of the incident, known as the Andijan massacre, the Uzbek government claimed the demonstrations were organized by Islamic radicals.
In the wake of the influx of Uzbek refugees, Strömsund, a town of just over 4,000 residents, has seen a rise in hate crimes ranging from racist graffiti to the burning down of a mosque in the city in 2008.
According to SVT, there were threats against Sobitkhony but, police were unwilling to confirm or deny the existence of threats directed against the imam.
"However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
there are threats against other Uzbeks who are currently in Strömsund," said Persson.
While local police are running the investigation, both Interpol and Swedish security service Säpo have been informed of the incident.
"For the moment, we don't have any suspects, but we do have some forensic evidence," Persson told ÖP.
STOCKHOLM A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was pelted with eggs during a university lecture when he presented another drawing of Islams revered prophet, police and the artist said Wednesday.
Lars Vilks told The Associated Press that he was not harmed in Tuesdays attack at Karlstad University in central Sweden and that he continued his lecture on the limits of free speech after police evicted the protesters from the building.
Vilks, who has received numerous death threats from radical Islamists, said about a dozen people started yelling and hurling eggs at him when he presented a sketch showing Muhammad and 19th-century Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen at a beer factory.
They were just waiting for the right moment to go to attack, he told AP.
The 65-year-old artist said he made the drawing in 2006, inspired by the debate that year over 12 Danish newspaper cartoons of Muhammad, which sparked furious protests in Muslim countries.
Karlstad police spokesman Per Strom said the attackers had been identified and the incident was being investigated, but no arrests have been made.
So the attackers are identified and there is video of their attack, but no arrests. I'm guessing no prosecutions. I'm guessing the police want Vilks dead.
Though there was a police presence at the lecture, the audience had not been searched because such measures must be announced in advance, Strom said.
So announce it...
Vilks has faced a string of threats and violence over his more well-known drawing of Muhammad as a dog in 2007. In 2010, he was forced to abandon a lecture at another Swedish university when protesters rushed toward the stage and scuffled with police.
Last year, a woman from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in a plot to try to kill Vilks, and a year earlier two brothers were jailed for trying to burn down his house in southern Sweden.
A woman from Pennsylvania. Must have been Amish. And the brothers must have been Lutherans...
Vilks said he wont be deterred from making public appearances.
Ive experienced this so much now. It is what it is. You have to expect these things, he said. I have good protection and it works the way it should.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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Pakistan on Friday urged leaders of the Afghan Taliban to enter direct peace negotiations with the government of Afghanistan, a sign that Islamabad may be stepping up support for reconciliation in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in a statement said that Pakistan was "prepared to do whatever it takes" to support the reconciliation process. He called on Hizb-i-Islami and other terrorist militant groups to negotiate peace.
Rahimullah Yusufzai, an expert on regional affairs, said Gilani's comments indicate a shift in Pakistani policy. He said, "It's important because I am hearing this for the first time, that the Pakistani prime minister or somebody that important is urging the Taliban ... to talk directly to the Afghan government."
Tuesday Kandahar peace council head Ata Mohammad Ahmadi said that Afghan officials had been meeting for "some time" with mid-level Taliban commanders in Quetta, where their leadership is based.
It is not likely that such meetings could take place in Quetta without the knowledge of Pakistani intelligence agencies. Pakistan may have increased its cooperation with the Afghan government by allowing the meetings in Quetta.
PESHAWAR: At least 15 terrorists were killed and several injured when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets bombed suspected terrorist hideouts in Upper Orakzai Agency on Thursday.
Official sources said the jets targeted suspected hideouts in the Bermela, Khadizai, Mamozai and Samarbazar areas, and destroyed four compounds in the rugged terrain near the Afghan border.
Two warplanes were sent to the area early this morning after reports from local intelligence sources that terrorists from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were hiding in the mountainous region, a senior military officer told AFP. Sources said that death toll might rise, as several terrorists were reportedly trapped under the rubble.
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02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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PESHAWAR: Thirteen people, including two children, fell victim to Thursdays devastating car bombing at a city bus terminal packed with southern districts-bound passengers in the morning rush hour, officials said.
Around 25 passenger vans were destroyed in the bombing, Peshawar District Coordination Officer (DCO) Siraj Ahmed told the media after the remote-controlled car-bomb exploded. The DCO said that passengers from Darra Adamkhel, Kohat, Hangu, Karak and Bannu used the bus terminal.
Chaos followed the blast, as people from nearby localities rushed to the site help in relief and rescue efforts, witnesses said. It was a huge blast, heard far off, said Dilawar, a shopkeeper.
High-grade explosives were used in the attack, said Shafqat Malik, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa additional inspector general of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS). He said the bomb was apparently remote-controlled, as no body parts were found to indicate a suicide bomber carried out the attack.
The explosion comes just days after a federal intelligence agency warning that vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IDE) attack was likely in the city. However, the target was not specified in the report, a senior police official told Daily Times.
It is not clear whether it was a targeted attack, or just a random activity to create chaos in order to put pressure on the government to stop action against terrorist organisations in neighbouring Khyber and Orakzai regions.
It seems that todays bombing was a reaction to the action being taken against terrorists, Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Imtiaz Altaf said, adding that it was one of the worst attacks the city had witnessed over the past year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD: A rapid series of attacks spread over a wide swath of Iraqi territory killed at least 50 people on Thursday, targeting mostly security forces in what appeared to be another strike by Al-Qaeda militants bent on destabilizing the country.
The apparently coordinated bombings and shootings unfolded over two-and-a-half hours in the capital Baghdad where most of the deaths were and 11 other cities. They struck government offices, restaurants and one in the town of Musayyib hit close to a primary school. More than 200 people were injured.
What is happening today are not simple security violations it is a huge security failure and disaster, said Ahmed Al-Tamimi, who was working at an Education Ministry office a block away from a restaurant that was bombed in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. He described a hellish scene of human flesh and pools of blood at the scene.
We want to know: What were the thousands of policemen and soldiers in Baghdad doing today while the terrorists were roaming the city and spreading violence? Al-Tamimi said.
Good question. But this is the problem of playing defense: it's never perfect, and the bad guys will at some point find a way to hurt you. You have to go on offense and kill the hard core thugs, and you have to get the semi-hard boyz to decide to drop the heat and take up auto mechanics for a living.
While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, targeting security officials is a hallmark of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. In December, a wave of bombs tore through mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, killing 69 people in a similar onslaught of violence that Sunni-dominated Al-Qaeda claimed.
Nationwide, security forces appeared to be targeted in at least 14 separate attacks, including a drive-by shooting in Baghdad that killed six policemen at a checkpoint before dawn. Police patrols in the capital and beyond also were besieged by roadside bombs and, in once case, a suicide bomber who blew up his car outside a police station in the city of Baqouba, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad.
Iraqs police are generally considered to be the weakest element of the countrys security forces, and 20 were killed earlier this week by a suicide bomber outside the Baghdad police academy that angry residents blamed on political feuding that is roiling Iraq.
But the latest violence spilled onto commuters, restaurant patrons, passers-by and school children as well.
In the single deadliest strike, a car bomb in Baghdads downtown shopping district of Karradah killed nine people and wounded 26. The blast effects could be felt blocks away, shaking buildings and windows. Associated Press TV footage of the scene showed people walking away from the scene, covered in blood.
In Musayyib, a car bomb parked on the street between a restaurant and an elementary school killed one person and wounded 62. Most of the injured were school children, said police and health officials.
The casualties were tallied by local security and hospital officials in the cities where the attacks occurred. Nearly all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Late Wednesday, Iraqs Interior Ministry announced the capture of Waleed Khalid Ali, accused as a top leader of the Ansar Al-Sunna insurgent group linked to Al-Qaeda. The government said Ali was caught trying to enter Iraq from Syria, where Al-Qaeda groups recently have been surging to assist opposition forces seeking the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
But the coordinated nature of Thursdays attacks show the likely were planned long before the arrest. A Western diplomatic security official said recent intelligence indicated that an unspecified attack was in the works.
Widespread violence has decreased since just a few years ago when Iraq teetered on the brink of civil war. But bombings and deadly shootings still happen almost daily.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 00:00 ||
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Four of the terrorists released in the bargain for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have gone back to terrorist activity.
Say it isn't so!
The four were recently arrested, and may return to prison. Military prosecutors are asking to send the four back to finish their original sentences. But their lawyers are asking for a new trial and sentencing based only on their latest crimes.
Either way a life sentence solves the problem. A death sentence solves it more quickly...
The four have been identified as Hana al-Shalabi, 25, of Islamic Jihad, Iman Sharwana, 36, of Hamas, Iman abu-Daoud, 34, of Hamas, and Majdi al-Ajouli of Islamic Jihad.
Security sources quoted by the Hebrew-language daily Yediot Aharonot warned that those four Shalit deal terrorists are not alone in having returned to terrorism. Many of those released in the deal would like to free those terrorists remaining in Israel's prisons by arranging another release deal. To that end, they are seeking to kidnap Israeli soldiers or civilians.
1,027 terrorists were freed in exchange for Shalit. Before their release the terrorists were asked to sign forms promising not to engage in terrorism in the future.
#5
there is a decent chance that the 4 were caught because of intel provided by one of the other releasees- that has happened in the past
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
02/24/2012 16:05 Comments ||
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#6
1,027 terrorists were freed in exchange for Shalit. Before their release the terrorists were asked to sign forms promising not to engage in terrorism in the future.
Signed forms (hand writing recognition). Read the form aloud in your native tongue...just to make certain you understand the conditions prior to signing (voice recognition recorded). Photos, mail forwarding addresses, proper haircut (DNA samples). A lift to your old neighborhood. Free cellie. That about wraps it up Mo, please keep in touch.
#8
I wish, just once, they'd actually do that. Drop them from 15,000 ft and say they returned a terrorist. They condemnation would be huge, but not anymore than usual. They'd probably get more pats on the back, behind the scene, than anything else. And it would give the terrorists something to think of. You don't die and get captured, you get X amount of time to pray till you go SPLAT.
Posted by: Charles ||
02/24/2012 21:28 Comments ||
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#9
Nah, next time just give back their heads, wrapped in premium fish wrap, NYT.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division ||
02/24/2012 23:15 Comments ||
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At least six people were killed when gunmen opened fire in southern Philippines in an apparant retaliation attack over the arrest of a suspected Muslim terrorist militant.
Ten gunmen swooped down late Thursday on the village of Tininghalang in Zamboanga del Sur province and opened fire on the victims, said Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang. He said, "Six were killed and an undetermined number were wounded."
Cabangbang said that the victims were relatives of a government militiaman who helped police arrest a suspected Muslim terrorist rebel this month. He said the gunmen were led by the brother of the arrested suspect.
GENEVA: Syrian forces have shot dead unarmed women and children, shelled residential areas and tortured wounded protesters in hospital under orders from the highest level of army and government officials, the United Nations said on Thursday.
Independent UN investigators called for perpetrators of such crimes against humanity to face prosecution and said they had drawn up a confidential list of names of commanding officers and officials alleged to be responsible.
The commission received credible and consistent evidence identifying high- and mid-ranking members of the armed forces who ordered their subordinates to shoot at unarmed protesters, kill soldiers who refused to obey such orders, arrest persons without cause, mistreat detained persons and attack civilian neighborhoods with indiscriminate tanks and machine gun fire, investigators said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.
The commission of inquiry, headed by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, found that rebel forces led by the Free Syrian Army had also committed abuses including killings and abductions, although not comparable in scale.
Syrian authorities could not be immediately reached for comment on the commissions latest findings. But a Jan. 23 letter from its diplomatic mission in Geneva, printed in the reports annex, rejected as totally false allegations contained in the UNs previous report in November that Syrian forces were committing crimes against humanity. The Syrian letter accuses armed terrorist groups of such crimes.
Syria is on the brink of civil war and deep divisions among world powers complicate the prospects for ending nearly a year of violence sparked by protests against the regime, the three-member UN panel said in their latest 72-page report.
The continuation of the crisis carries the risk of radicalizing the population, deepening inter-communal tensions and eroding the fabric of society, it warned.
The UN team was not allowed into Syria but said it had interviewed 369 victims and witnesses. They included people still in Syria whom it contacted by telephone and those who have fled to neighboring countries which it declined to identify.
Satellite imagery of areas where military and security forces were deployed and related reported violations occurred, corroborated a number of witness accounts, it said.
Thousands of people, mainly civilians but also soldiers and defectors, have been killed during the nearly year-long crackdown, it said. Army snipers and Shabbiha gunmen posted at strategic points terrorized the population, targeting and killing small children, women and other unarmed civilians. Fragmentation mortar bombs were also fired into densely populated neighborhoods.
Some 6,399 civilians and 1,680 army defectors were killed in the violence through Feb. 15, according to figures provided by the Violations Documentation Center, a network of activists in Syria and abroad quoted in the UN report.
The level of fighting has increased since November, especially in Homs, Hama and Idlib provinces, with many areas besieged by state forces, according to the report.
On several occasions in January and February 2012, entire families children and adults were brutally murdered in Homs. On both sides, there is a pattern of abducting people not directly involved in the clashes for the purposes of revenge, ransom or as hostages, the UN panel said.
More than 18,000 people were in detention as of Feb. 15, it said, again citing the Violations Documentation Center.
Security agencies continued to systematically arrest wounded patients in state hospitals and to interrogate them, often using torture, about their supposed participation in opposition demonstrations or armed activities.
The panel, the report said, had documented evidence that sections of Homs Military Hospital and Al Ladikah State Hospital had been transformed into torture centers.
The inquiry, set up by the UN Human Rights Council last August, published a preliminary report in November accusing Syrian forces of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and torture. The 47-member forum is to examine the crisis in Syria at a four-week session starting on Monday.
Its other members are Karen Koning AbuZayd of the United States, a former head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) helping Palestinian refugees, and Yakin Erturk, a professor from Turkey who has served as UN investigator on violence against women.
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Kristin Davis aka Charlotte York in "Sex and the City (TV Series 19982004)" aka Liz in "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)" aka Lucy in "Couples Retreat (2009)" aka Kelly Finch in "Deck the Halls (2006)" aka Rebecca Douglas in "The Shaggy Dog (2006)" (age 47)
#4
Heh. Angie's been busy with that no-account football stud she married.
Seriously, if you'll recall a while back we made an agreement that the Bloid and Daily Gam Shots would 'tone it down' a little. Fred's been good about where the line on the Bloid is, of course, but as he once pointed out, I was a little more 'modern'.
(I take that as a compliment, of course)
So I could run a pic of Angie but I'd have to find a tame one. It would take a while.
This week I've had a theme.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2012 8:38 Comments ||
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#9
Steve, I'd have posted the announcement of her Gracie Award Wednesday, but figured that was your turf.
Feb 22, 2012 · The 2012 Gracie Awards winners were announced today, and Angie Harmon was named Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama Series or Special
#14
Beavis, I don't think it was Jeri who gave us Obama - but "somebody" who managed to convince the judge to release the custody records. Both she and her ex-husband Jack Ryan begged the judge not to release them on the grounds that it would hurt their child. Once the revelations about sex clubs, etc. came out, Jack Ryan withdrew from the Senate campaign, and Obama won by default.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/24/2012 18:08 Comments ||
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#15
Both she and her ex-husband Jack Ryan begged the judge not to release them on the grounds that it would hurt their child.
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.
A 54-year-old imam was found shot in the head in Strömsund in northwestern Sweden on Wednesday in what police have classified as attempted murder. Police received a call around 1:30pm on Wednesday afternoon that the man, identified by Sveriges Television (SVT) as 
STOCKHOLM A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was pelted with eggs during a university lecture when he presented another drawing of Islams revered prophet, police and the artist said Wednesday.
PESHAWAR: At least 15 terrorists were killed and several injured when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets bombed suspected terrorist hideouts in Upper Orakzai Agency on Thursday.
PESHAWAR: Thirteen people, including two children, fell victim to Thursdays devastating car bombing at a city bus terminal packed with southern districts-bound passengers in the morning rush hour, officials said.
Four of the terrorists released in the bargain for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have gone back to terrorist activity. 
GENEVA: Syrian forces have shot dead unarmed women and children, shelled residential areas and tortured wounded protesters in hospital under orders from the highest level of army and government officials, the United Nations said on Thursday.
