Assassination Plots Against Vladimir Putin Foiled As Chechen HitMen Arrested'.(RN).Ukrainian and Russian security services have gathered information about a plot to assassinate Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is poised to be elected president on Sunday, the state-run Channel One reported on Monday. The group of criminals involved were already on the international wanted list and were detained in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa in early January, after they survived an explosion in a rented apartment.
They had reportedly tried to produce a home-made explosive device. The two men were arrested, while a third man, who was also in the apartment, died during the explosion, the TV channel said.
According to the TV channel, after weeks of interrogation, the gang members confessed they were planning to assassinate Putin in Moscow, soon after the March 4 presidential elections. One of the surviving militants, Ilya Pyanzin, said that the Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov, who is believed to be behind the deadliest terrorist attacks in Russia, hired him and the late Ruslan Madayev to kill Putin. Pyanzin and Madayev came from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey to Ukraine. In Odessa, they were met by a local fixer, Adam Osmayev, who was supposed to brief the militants about the plan and send them to Moscow.
The TV report, featuring Osmayev 's interrogation, says that the militant, who had been on the international wanted list since 2007, is cooperating with investigators, as he hopes not to be extradited to Russia.“The final task was to go to Moscow and carry out an assassination attempt on the premier Putin,” Osmayev said during questioning, adding that the late Madayev was ready to become a suicide bomber.
According to the assassination plan that was found in the militants’ laptop, they had to learn the structure of Putin’s security team and how his bodyguards worked, the TV report says.
“The deadline was set up for the period after the presidential elections,” Osmayev said.
Osmayev confessed that he scrutinized the routes of government corteges and that the preparation for the attack was in its final stage.The TV report also said that the militants were going to use mines hidden along Moscow’s Kutuzovsky Avenue, which Putin passes every day on his way to the government building in downtown city.An unknown security official told the TV channel that the mines were powerful enough to “tear apart a truck.”
Ukrainian Security Services confirmed the information released about the assassination plot.Hmmm.......A year ago i warned about the cancelling of visa duty between Turkey and Russia that Terrorists would use this , Russia be warned for the 2014 Sochi Winter games.Read the full story here, more here.
Previous Assassination Plots Against Vladimir Putin .(RN). Russian and Ukrainian special services have arrested a group of suspects over a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia's state television said Monday.
The suspects were acting on the orders of Chechen warlord Doku Umarov, Channel One said. They were allegedly plotting to kill Putin in Moscow immediately after presidential polls on March 4, which the 59-year-old is widely expected to win. The group, the subject of an international arrest warrant, was arrested in Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odessa.
Putin has previously been targeted by assassins.
In February 2000, Russian media quoted security sources as saying Chechen militants were plotting to kill Putin, then acting president, during his upcoming trip to St. Petersburg for the funeral of his mentor Anatoly Sobchak . The Federal Security Service (FSB) neither confirmed nor denied the information.Read the full story here.
Britain's battle plan for war with Iran.(TheSun).BRITAIN is drawing up plans to send hundreds of troops and an extra nuclear subto the Gulf as tension mounts with Iran.Defence chiefs are convinced the UK will be swiftly sucked into any new conflict with Tehran's fanatical regime. They say it is a matter of WHEN not IF war breaks out - with 18 to 24 months the likely timescale.
A senior Whitehall official said: "MoD planners went into overdrive at the start of the year. Conflict is seen as inevitable as long as the regime pursue their nuclear ambitions. Read the full story here.
Gospel of Barnabas Text that reveals Jesus’ prediction of Mohammed a fake?Turkey says it has acquired a 1,500-year-old Bible in which Jesus Christ is believed to have foretold the advent of Prophet Mohammed, according to press reports.Pope Benedict XVI has reportedly requested to see the book, which has been hidden in Turkey for the last 12 years before it was revealed this week.
The book in question, appraised at a value of $28 million, is said to contain Jesus’ prediction of the Prophet Mohammad’s coming; but the book was suppressed by the Christian Church for years due its similarities to the Islamic view of Jesus. This, according Turkish culture and tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay.“In line with Islamic belief, the Gospel treats Jesus as a human being and not a God. It rejects the ideas of the Holy Trinity and the Crucifixion and reveals that Jesus predicted the coming of the Prophet Mohammed,” Gunay told the UK’s Daily Mail.“In one version of the gospel, he is said to have told a priest: ‘How shall the Messiah be called? Mohammed is his blessed name’. And in another, Jesus denied being the Messiah, claiming that he or she would be Ishmaelite, the term used for an Arab,” he added.
According to the report, carried by Gulf newspapers and the Saudi Al-Arabiyya news network, Muslims believe the text, which many say is the Gospel of Barnabas, is an addition to the original gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. St. Barnabas is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Church, an early Christian later named an apostle.Gunay said the Vatican has officially requested to see the book, which Turkey had discovered during a police anti-smuggling operation in 2000.Read the full story here.
If Turkey can prove it is from 500 AD it obviously scores a huge point since Mohammed doesn’t come until the end of that century, and thus the book would clearly be a prophecy about his coming. Lots at stake then, and no surprise the Turkish authorities are not so readily handing it over to the Vatican and are instead keeping it under military control.What could be really funny is that at the bottom it appears to read something like 1500 AD. It is admittedly tough to read, but it would quite a mistake to claim it is 1500 years old when it was produced in 1500. This date would also conform to what most scholarship believes anyway, that this gospel was produced around this time.
Another colleague just wrote: Another modern fake, I’m afraid – hence the gold ink, and the uncured skins. (Forgers are obsessed with using skins instead of vellum or paper.) For once the forger seems to know some Syriac, but not very well. Not sure about the last date – looks like 1500 of ‘our Lord’, which is itself very dubious!
Anyway, this is interesting but read it with discernment:
Aydoğan Vatandaş, a Today’s Zaman journalist and author who has written two books on the Gospel of Barnabas, said there is no clue that the Bible mentioned in the Turkish press dates back to 1,500 years ago, but he said it is sure that the Gospel of Barnabas had been written in the Aramaic language and Syriac alphabet.Read the full story here.
Hedge Fund AIJ May Have Lost/Stolen/ 'CHANGED' All Customer Pension Fund Money.(BLN).(BLB).The suspension of AIJ Investment Advisors Co.’s operations amid concerns hedge funds it manages had lost pension money may undermine plans by Japan’s retirement funds to boost returns to meet demand in an aging society.The Financial Services Agency ordered AIJ on Feb. 24 to suspend business operations for one month. The company had collected about 210 billion yen ($2.6 billion) from about 120 corporate pension funds. However, AIJ officials told investigators with the SESC that the company was now only managing an investment portfolio worth about 20 billion yen, meaning that about 90 percent of the assets deposited by the corporate pension funds are wiped out.
The Financial Services Agency on Feb. 24 ordered the Tokyo- based firm with 183.2 billion yen ($2.3 billion) of client money to stop business for a month as the regulator investigates “possible losses” at AIJ’s hedge funds. The FSA also will undertake a nationwide probe of 263 asset managers.
“If the funds actually suffered losses, this could potentially have a massive impact on pension plans that actually invested with them,” said Taro Ogai, who oversees consulting for pension fund investments at Towers Watson in Tokyo. “Pensions already face difficulties. At a time when they are trying to boost returns and cut risks, investing in hedge funds may become difficult for them.”
The inquiry is a setback for Japan’s pension industry that has been looking to diversify away from bonds and equities into alternatives investments, including hedge funds, to maintain steady returns and fund retiree benefits in a country with the world’s fastest-growing aging society and two decades of slumping markets...
Regulators have been investigating AIJ, which invests in futures and options of equities and bonds, since the end of January, and discovered that the company has been unable to explain to investors the current state of the way their money is being managed, according to the FSA... AIJ’s funds have been traced from Japan to the Cayman Islands, followed by a trust bank in Bermuda and ultimately to “a major European Bank” in Hong Kong, the Asahi newspaper said Feb. 25, citing an investigation by Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. AIJ kept money-flow records up to the unidentified bank in Hong Kong and no further records have been found, the newspaper said... AIJ may have lost most of the 200 billion yen it manages for companies’ pension plans, the Nikkei newspaper reported Feb. 24, citing unidentified securities investigators...Japan’s financial regulator is also planning to investigate trust banks that handle pension money as well as corporate pensions, the Nikkei newspaper reported over the weekend. The regulator penalized at least 35 financial institutions last year including Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG for breaching securities rules, according to its website...AIJ, led by Kazuhiko Asakawa, was established in April 1989, and had 120 clients including pension plans with 183.2 billion yen in assets as of the end of 2010, according to a statement from the FSA. It has 12 employees. Phone calls to AIJ’s main office were answered by an automatic recording which didn’t allow messages to be recorded. Asakawa was a former employee at Nomura Holdings Inc., according to a person familiar with his employment. Keiko Sugai, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman at Nomura, declined to comment... AIJ’s fund was ranked top among pension funds in 2008, said Fujio Nakatsuka, a spokesman at Rating and Investment Information Inc. in Tokyo. He said the rankings were based on responses from pensions and not what R and I had recommended to investors...Read the full story here.
Israel Concerned Hizbullah Has Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon.(VC).By Elad Benari.INN –
According to the website, Israel is trying to verify reports that the terror organization has obtained a certain quantity of the Russian RPG-30 rocket. The report added that the Russians have designed the newest models of this rocket to overcome “special” armored vehicles such as the IDF’s Merkava tank The RPG-30 anti-tank rocket, Israel Defense noted, is a revolutionary innovation. Just before the rocket is launched, a decoy missile is launched which causes the tank’s active defense system to act. Only then is the real rocket launched. Experts have estimated that the RPG-30 can penetrate through steel at a thickness of 65 cm. Israel Defense also reported that the Rafael weapons development authority has developed a similar system, the “Trench Coat”, which takes the RPG-30’s defense system a step further. The “Trench Coat”, the report noted, consists of a 360-degree radar that detects all threats and launches 17 pieces of metal, one of which should strike the incoming missile.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently warned that sophisticated weapons could be transferred from Syria to Lebanon and to Hizbullah should Bashar al-Assad fall.“You have to be alert to the possibility, so that during the fall of the regime there will not be the transfer of sophisticated Syrian weapons to Hizbullah and Lebanon,” Barak said, adding, “We are tracking this issue constantly and carefully.”
The United States has also said that it is closely monitoring the activities of the Iran-linked terror group, particularly in the wake of the recent terror attacks against Israeli targets in India, Georgia and Thailand.Last week, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to hurt senior Israeli officials as revenge for the death of the group’s senior member, Imad Mughniyeh.Read the full story here.
Toronto-area Train derailment sent Passenger flying, kills 3 engineers.(Yahoo).BURLINGTON, Ont. - Terrified passengers were sent flying through the air along with their luggage when a Toronto-bound train derailed Sunday, killing three engineers and injuring 32 passengers — three of them seriously.A slight "bump" followed by utter chaos was how one passenger described the harrowing crash of train No. 92.
The time between the train leaving the tracks and it slamming to the ground was only about 10 seconds, but it felt like "forever," said Deanna Villella of Welland, Ont."The train just flipped on its side and it just kept going. I didn't know what was happening," Villella said."Everybody's stuff was flying by and people were flying by. Everything was crashing and people were screaming."
The six-car train, which had originated in Niagara Falls, Ont., derailed at 3:30 p.m. in Burlington — about 100 metres from where a freight train derailed some four years ago.
Area residents described a chaotic scene of emergency vehicles, sirens blaring and helicopters buzzing overhead one of Canada's busiest rail corridors. The three dead Via engineers — one a trainee — were riding in the cab of the locomotive. When asked if the trainee was the one driving, emergency officials said they didn't have that information.
A fourth Via worker was also injured.The train's manifest listed 75 passengers. Although only 50 had been located as of Sunday night, Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell said it wasn't clear that the manifest was accurate. A sweep of the area did not turn up any injured passengers.
"Quite often people will self-evacuate," he said. "They'll determine that they don't need to stay at the site or require minimal treatment and will walk away."
The bodies of the three engineers were removed from the wreckage around 8 p.m. Their names weren't immediately released pending notification of family.Via's chief operating officer called the derailment "tragic."The train came off the tracks at Plains Road and King Road near Aldershot station. It was not immediately known how fast the train was travelling, and conditions were clear and dry at the time. When Matt Kernaghan heard about the crash, he immediately guessed where it had happened, saying he's seen the aftermath of two previous derailments there."A lot of trains come through here, so yeah, maybe it's just the frequency of trains that causes the derailments," he said.Read the full story here.
Updated - Via said three passengers were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries and 42 other passengers and one crew member were also taken to local hospitals.Read and see (Foto's) the full story here.
Bashar's 'Iron Fist'.........Severely corroded?(MEF).By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi and Oskar Svadkovsky.The American Spectator.
The iron fist against "terrorist gangs" as promised by Bashar Assad got off to a fairly impressive start two weeks ago. Homs -- the Benghazi of the Syrian rebels -- has been subjected to massive and sustained shelling for days, causing hundreds of fatalities among the defenders. With the fist heading for its third week, however, the spectacular artillery barrages seem to have delivered little.
This is not the first time during the uprising that the Syrian army has stormed urban areas. In July and August, the army recaptured Hama, Deir ez Zor, and Latakia after these had been taken over by crowds of protesters reinforced by army defectors.
However, while it took the Syrian army approximately five days to regain control of Hama and two days to take Deir ez Zor, Latakia turned into a drawn out battle that lasted several days. Homs was shelled, but an all out assault failed to follow.This time Homs is clearly the primary objective. But once again the shelling failed to be backed by meaningful advances of ground forces. Whatever the reason the Syrian army is always struggling in Homs, by now, the death tolls in Homs have dropped to the low dozens as many locals have apparently fled the city. Large chunks of Homs have become ghost towns populated primarily by insurgents and a particularly hardened version of local residents. The "shock and awe" effect of the first days is fading away as the remaining population is getting used to the daily bombardment. "We are safe. They can't hit here," said a local guide to a BBC reporter as shells and mortars were falling all around.
Elsewhere, according to Reuters, many opposition centers have been transformed into a bunch of mini-Homs and half-Homs. All of them seem to be subjected to the same kind of artillery siege and blockade, but Zabadani was apparently the only prominent opposition stronghold to fall into the regime's hands until now. An attack on Rastan was repelled. A CNN reporter, who traveled to Northern Syria, found much of its countryside under the control of the opposition; and while the fighters are waiting for Bashar's tanks to appear in force every moment, these are yet to come. In fact, the situation may be no better in other parts of Syria, but many areas are harder to reach for reporters (the Idlib province in the north is adjacent to Turkey).
There is an obvious danger for the regime in projecting weakness for so long. Many Sunni soldiers are deterred from switching sides only by the perception that the regime is strong enough to defeat the rebels. Failure to take over Homs anytime soon is likely to trigger an avalanche of defections. Homs is a must now. It's become the bare minimum for the survival of the regime.
This is not to say that the opposite is true, as throughout this uprising the rebels have demonstrated a high ability to recover and re-infiltrate lost areas. Some besieged towns were repeatedly reported to have already been brought under the regime's control in the past. For example, this is the second time the army is storming Rastan.
Large chunks of Syria, including the cradle of the revolution in Deraa, are part of a massive tribal belt stretching from the Persian Gulf across several countries in the region, with Bedouin tribes reportedly at the forefront of the armed resistance in many areas. The tribal dimension of the uprising makes for a curious historical analogy. Bashar's situation is beginning to resemble the military campaign waged by the Emperor Tiberius' adopted son Germanicus in 15-6 CE, who unsuccessfully tried to subdue under Roman rule the German tribes that lived beyond the Rhine. Even when Germanicus was able to defeat the Germans in an engagement, the tribes were able to re-group so quickly that in the end he could only achieve short-lived, skirmish victories: true conquest was simply impossible.
The prevailing expert opinion at the beginning of the current campaign against the rebels used to be that the rate of defections was rather low and the bulk of the armed forces remained intact. For example, in his recent article on Syria, Israeli analyst Jonathan Spyer estimated that the regime can still marshal 300,000 troops, as opposed to at most 20,000 guerrillas in the Free Syrian Army. Yet, after two weeks of an iron fist that appears unable to decisively hammer the opposition anywhere, one question is begging to be asked: Where exactly is Bashar hiding his 300,000 strong army? The Syrian army may have more troops than it appears from its muddling in Homs, given that it apparently pursues offensives on several fronts at once. Yet, the army is clearly severely short on ground-troops. For it is no longer capable of being present in all areas of revolt nor mustering enough forces anywhere to smash the opposition with a decisive local Blitzkrieg.
Two weeks ago Mustafa Ahmad Al-Sheikh, a high level defector, who has fled to Turkey, claimed that the Syrian army was so depleted by defections that he expected it to collapse by the end of this month. This assessment was dismissed by many as rebel propaganda, but now Al-Sheikh is starting to look closer to reality than his critics. In fact, not so long ago the same Al-Sheikh estimated that he needed a whole year to topple the regime with guerrilla tactics and at that time he was not treated as a rebel propagandist.
With each passing day that the Syrian army remains bogged down in Homs and elsewhere, the graver the consequences for the regime. Two weeks of intense bombardment televised on Al-Jazeera and other Arabic channels have already triggered a tsunami of outrage across the Arab world. Weapons and foreign fighters are reported to be streaming into Syria from neighboring Arab countries and Turkey.
More ominously for the regime, it has finally witnessed jihad declared against it by radical Islamists, including al Qaeda. The religious and sectarian dimensions of the conflict are clearly escalating. A good example of the latest trend is a video, purportedly from Homs, that shows Free Syrian Army soldiers with members of al-Qa'ida. February 17, 2012. Some rebel groups in Homs fly their and al Qaeda's flags together.
In the background, alongside the banners of the Free Syrian Army, there are the familiar black flags of al Qaeda's Iraqi branch, with the black background and white Arabic script, featuring the Shahadah on top and a circular logo bearing the words "Allah, Rasul Mohammed." The black background indicates the Islamist militants' mindset: they are fighting in Dar al-Harb against an infidel regime. This point is corroborated by the fact that they identify the Free Syrian Army with the "mumineen" ("believers").
In the Missile East, failure to trumpet one's strength can have severe consequences. You cannot promise to come down with an iron fist and then fail to deliver. By now even roosters in Homs are no longer impressed with Bashar's artillery. If there is still some of this iron fist we haven't seen until today, Assad Junior had better show it now. Otherwise, the chickens may soon come Homs to roost for his regime. February 17, 2012. The chickens in Homs are no longer impressed.
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a student at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and an adjunct fellow at the Middle East Forum. Oskar Svadkovsky is a computer networking professional based in Tel Aviv, and the owner of theHappy Arab News Service blog. He graduated in Indian and Chinese Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Source MEForum.
Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation New Zealand 5.6 ; Russia 6.8 ; Tonga 5.5 - 5.7 !More info here.
Fed Writes Sweeping Rules From Behind Closed Doors.(CG). Via: Wall Street Journal:The Federal Reserve has operated almost entirely behind closed doors as it rewrites the rule book governing the U.S. financial system, a stark contrast with its push for transparency in its interest-rate policies and emergency-lending programs.While many Americans may not realize it, the Fed has taken on a much larger regulatory role than at any time in history. Since the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul became law in July 2010, the Fed has held 47 separate votes on financial regulations, and scores more are coming. In the process it is reshaping the U.S. financial industry by directing banks on how much capital they must hold, what kind of trading they can engage in and what kind of fees they can charge retailers on debit-card transactions.Read the full story here.
UK - Fireman Sam creator detained at airport for veil comment at security gate.(Telegraph).As David Jones arrived at the security gates at Gatwick airport, he was looking forward to getting through swiftly so he could enjoy lunch with his daughters before their flight.Placing his belongings, including a scarf, into a tray to pass through the X-ray scanner he spotted a Muslim woman in hijab pass through the area without showing her face.In a light-hearted aside to a security official who had been assisting him, he said: “If I was wearing this scarf over my face, I wonder what would happen.”The quip proved to be a mistake. After passing through the gates, he was confronted by staff and accused of racism.As his daughters, who had passed through security, waited in the departure lounge wondering where he was, he was subjected to a one hour stand-off as officials tried to force him to apologise.Mr Jones, 67, who is the creator of the popular children’s character Fireman Sam, said: “Something like George Orwell’s 1984 now seems to have arrived in Gatwick airport."I feel that my rights as an individual have been violated. What I underwent amounts to intimidation and detention. I was humiliated and degraded in full public view."I am a 67-year-old pensioner and have lived my life within the law. I do not have even one point on my driving licence.”He said that when he made his initial remark the security guard had appeared to agree with him, saying: “I know what you mean, but we have our rules, and you aren’t allowed to say that.”As he went through the metal detecting arch, his artificial hip set off the alarm, prompting a full search from a guard. It was after this, and as he prepared to rejoin his two grown-up daughters, that he was confronted by another guard who said he was being detained because he had made an offensive remark.Mr Jones, a former member of the Household Cavalry and retired fireman, added: “I felt that I made a logical observation. That while everyone was being subjected to an invasive search it was illogical that someone should be let through with their face covered. I am not opposed to having this level of security but it must be equal for all.”Eventually, Mr Jones said, the BA manager suggested that he should agree that what he had said “could” be considered offensive by a Muslim guard.With his flight departure time now fast approaching Mr Jones agreed to the compromise. Escorted by the police officer, he was taken through security where he was again subjected to a full search after his hip replacement set off the metal detector alarms.Mr Jones said he intended to complain formally to the Gatwick airport authorities and British Airways about the incident last Sunday.Department for Transport rules do not prevent people covering their faces at UK airports for religious reasons.However, all passengers must show their faces to UK Borders officials when they pass through passport control. Muslim women who wear hijabs can request that their identity is checked by a female immigration officer and they can also ask that they be taken to a private room before they remove their head wear.A spokesman for Gatwick airport said: “The security team are examining the incident to ensure that the issue was managed in the right way."They are talking to the people involved to understand what the issue was and how it came to have the police involved.”Read the full story here.
Is Israel losing Temple Mount war?(YNet).Ynetnews special: Why is Israeli government covering up Muslim effort to erase any trace of Jewish history on Temple Mount? Archeology expert: Excavations barbaric, a crime. An investigative report by Yedioth Ahronoth revealed the ongoing failure of various Israeli authorities in safeguarding the rare archeological treasures found on Temple Mount. Information elicited by the newspaper showed that the Waqf is consistently erasing any trace of Jewish history at the site. Mideastern affairs expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar says these acts are undertaken in the framework of an Arab practice known as "erasing the signs," aimed at eliminating the remnants of any civilization that preceded Islam. Members of the State Comptroller's Office launched an investigation into the affair four years ago and drafted a report about it. However, the Knesset's State Control Committee decided to impose a gag order on the report for "security reasons." However, Israeli intelligence officials told Yedioth Ahronoth there is no reason to prevent the report's publication. A senior Shin Bet Security Service official said following the Committee's session on the matter: "I'm ashamed. This is akin to cheapening national security to the lowest point possible." Former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan has also questioned the gag order. "There is no connection whatsoever between the failure to publish the report and national security. As far as I know, both Mossad and Shin Bet said there is no reason not to publish the report…apparently there are other considerations here, pertaining to political motives." Conversations and interviews held with dozens of officials involved in drafting the State Comptroller's secret report indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among the senior officials interested in shelving the document. Attorney Yisrael Caspi, who represents a group fighting the destruction on Temple Mount, says the PM is unequivocally responsible for the ongoing failure. Read the full story here.
Euro zone decision on size of bailout fund seen delayed.(AA).Euro zone leaders may not be able to meet international demands to ramp up their own funds for bailing out the bloc's debtors when they meet next week because Germany is showing no sign of dropping its opposition to the plan, euro zone officials said.A bigger European fund is a condition for major non-European economies before they lend more money to the International Monetary Fund to provide an even bigger wall of cash to fight the crisis that has already claimed three euro debtor countries and now threatens the much bigger economies of Italy and Spain.“I would not bet on a positive outcome by the end of the March 1-2 summit,” one euro zone official said. “German opposition to a deal is still very strong.”Euro zone leaders are set to review the 500 billion euro ($675 billion) limit on the joint lending capacity of their temporary and permanent bailout funds, known by their acronyms EFSF and ESM, at the March 1-2 summit.If they decide to merge the funds, they would create a firewall of 750 billion euros which would help convince markets that they were committed to bringing the crisis under control.The European Central Bank supports such an increase as do policymakers around the world who are considering more than doubling the IMF’s resources by $600 billion.“Everybody says there is a pre-condition that Europe makes more efforts first,” South Korea’s central bank governor Kim Choong-soo said before a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of Group of 20 leading economies in Mexico City.But Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy, insists Europe’s current bailout arrangements are more than sufficient and that increasing them would send a signal to markets that the euro zone it expects more trouble ahead.German officials say countries would lose the impetus to carry out badly needed belt-tightening reforms.“It makes no sense, and is rather harmful,” said one German official.Others in Berlin argue the extra obligations under the combined bailout funds could increase the risk of further credit rating downgrades for some euro zone countries. And the sense of urgency is dissipating because Italy and Spain are paying less to borrow on markets.Officials from other countries warn that argument is premature.“The current improvement in markets is very fragile, so we need to be careful not become complacent,” a second euro zone official said.“Most euro zone countries are ready to move now, but I am afraid that Germany will need more time to agree to the increase, mainly to be able to better manage the Bundestag,” the official said.The country’s parliament is due to vote on Monday on the agreement to provide Greece with a new financial lifeline, agreed earlier this month despite much opposition from German taxpayers.A draft set of conclusions prepared ahead of next week’s summit showed that euro zone leaders will call for an international deal to increase IMF resources in April, implying a deal within the euro zone on its bailout funds in March. Yet this was unlikely to come as soon as next week, officials said.“What we can expect, at most, is a reference in the conclusions suggesting Germany is not closing the door,” one senior euro zone official said.The United States has said it will not participate in any IMF funding boost. Canada is reluctant too, unless the euro zone makes a bigger effort. That leaves China and Japan as the two biggest candidates for increasing IMF resources through bilateral loans.One G20 official said there were hopes that China, the world’s second-biggest economy, could contribute some $100 billion to the IMF and Japan another $50 billion.Both countries said last Sunday that the euro zone must move first. Three euro zone officials said a decision on the size of the euro zone bailout funds could be taken after next week’s summit, but still during March.Read the full story here.
Qatar ready for Jerusalem conference.(BM).DUBAI: Qatar officials said on Saturday that they are fully prepared to host the Jerusalem International Conference, which is to kick off on Sunday in Doha.“We are fully ready to host the conference and show our Arab solidarity,” one government official told Bikyamasr.com. “It will be an exciting event for all the region.”The three-day conference aims to show solidarity with the Jerusalem in the face of “Israeli threats.”It has been scheduled to take place since being approved during the 22nd Arab League Summit in Sirt, Libya in March 2010.Ironically, the meetings will come only days after Israeli police attacked Muslims ?at the al-Aqsa mosque on Friday.The conference will address several issues related to the holy city of Jerusalem including the legal status of the city as understood in international law, as well as a historic review.According to organizers, the participants will also tackle Israel’s plans to “forge” the history of the holy city in addition to what they termed as ongoing violations of human rights committed against the Palestinian population, historic sites, cemeteries and Islamic heritage.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to deliver a speech during the conference where he will discuss Israeli practices and the challenges faced by Palestinian residents of Jerusalem on a daily basis.The Moroccan foreign minister will also deliver a speech on behalf of its king, Muhammad VI, who heads the Arab League’s Jerusalem Committee. League secretary Nabil al-Arabi will also address the conference.Among the speakers is the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Akmal Addin Ihsan Oglo and secretary-general of the Cooperation Council of the Arab Gulf States Abdul-Latif Zayani.Hmmmm.....Rumor has it that Sheikh Yusuf Abdallah al-Qaradawi is distributing free candy.Read the full story here.
Crisis between Egypt, U.S. Deepens over American Funding to Civil Society Organizations – Part II: The Islamists Join the Government/SCAF Campaign against the U.S.(Memri).By: L. Lavi.Recent months have witnessed an intense campaign by Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), after it accused the U.S. of providing illegal funding to civil society organizations in Egypt. The SCAF has attempted to use the crisis as leverage to win domestic support, attempting to counterbalance its loss of legitimacy among the Egyptian public, which has increasingly called for handing over the rule to civilian hands, especially as Egypt marked the first anniversary of the January 25 revolution.In addition to its legal measures against American civil society activists in Egypt, the country's authorities are waging an anti-American media campaign, manifest in articles in the Egyptian press inciting against the U.S. and lauding what is being depicted as the SCAF's revolutionary stance against American attempts to interfere with Egypt's domestic affairs. In February 2012, in response to calls by Egyptian youth organizations to wage a campaign of civil disobedience on February 11 – the anniversary of Mubarak's ouster – the SCAF has ratcheted up its anti-American campaign, leveling the following accusations against the U.S.: The U.S. administration funded civil society organizations in order to advance political goals, as part of a Zionist-American plan to divide Egypt. The Egyptian authorities announced that in raids on the headquarters of American civil society organizations in Cairo, maps were seized which revealed a plan to divide Egypt into several mini-states. The Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram claimed that this was proof that the U.S. administration had, as early as three decades ago, hatched a plan to divide Egypt into four smaller states and to dismantle the countries of the Middle East in general.The American University in Cairo is working in the service of U.S. goals and inciting Egyptian youth to undermine the stability of Egypt. An announcement was posted on Facebook in the SCAF's name accusing the university's teaching faculty of choosing a select group of 40 students to work toward eroding Egypt from within, by inciting against the SCAF and calling for civil disobedience and general strikes.As part of the campaign, the Egyptian authorities also attempted to calm the Egyptian public's fears over losing U.S. aid, by claiming that Egypt did not need it. Numerous articles in the Egyptian press claimed that this aid served U.S. interests at the expense of those of Egypt and the Egyptian citizen, and that the country could do without U.S. aid and without loans from the IMF, which might withhold them due to U.S. pressure.The Egyptian authorities even played the Iranian card in an attempt to pressure the U.S., announcing that they had not ruled out the option of accepting Iran's proposal to grant Egypt economic aid to replace the U.S. aid. Egypt further indicated the possibility of rapprochement with Iran when, in February 2012, it allowed a number of Syria-bound Iranian warships to pass through the Suez Canal. The Egyptian daily Al-Misriyoun claimed that the warming relations between Egypt and Iran were due to the Saudis' withholding of aid to Egypt, under pressure from the U.S.In February 2012, the anti-U.S. campaign was joined by Egypt's Islamists. Though they had previously made it a point to avoid any direct dispute with the U.S., as Egypt's conflict with the latter intensified they could no longer remain on the fence. Senior officials in the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) Freedom and Justice party, for example, warned that any cuts in U.S. aid would be met with a review of Egypt's peace agreement with Israel, as U.S. aid was a condition of the agreement. Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, deputy to MB General Guide Muhammad Badi', claimed that U.S. Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson was striving to incite fitna (civil strife) in Egypt, just as she had committed crimes in Pakistan. He added that Egypt had no need for U.S. aid, which he described as tainted and as an impediment to a free Egypt.Read the full story here.
Official found dead, head covered with plastic bag after measuring radiation in Tokyo park.(AP).By Madison Ruppert.According to a Japanese news outlet, Iza, on July 1st, 2011 63-year-old Mr. Takashi Kabayama was found dead with a plastic bag over his head in his home office. Kabayama was a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly for the Liberal Democratic Party and had been measuring radiation in an assortment of locations throughout Tokyo. He would then upload his findings to his blog for the world to read, and on the day before he died (June 30, 2011) he measured 0.25 microSv/h in Mizumoto Park in the Katsushika ward located in Tokyo.Fukushima Diary reported on February 22, 2012 via Gendaithat ludicrously high levels of cesium contamination were discovered, also in Mizumoto Park. These levels were so high that they “turned out to be the same level of [the] ‘off-limits zone’ in Chernobyl.”It is strange that this hasn’t been brought to the public’s attention sooner, because the fact that he was found at 3 AM July 1, 2011, meaning just a short while after he posted his update, is quite unusual.Why would someone be taking radiation readings and updating their website the day that they were planning to kill themselves?According to Fukushima Diary, none of his blog posts suggested that he might be suicidal and “he sounded motivated to measure around Tokyo,” something which hardly seems befitting of someone on the verge of taking their own life.This is not the only anti-nuclear official who has died recently. In fact, it was reported on January 3, 2012 that 64-year-old Uemura Yasuhiro, town councilor of Kowaura Minamiise Machi Mie was found dead in his car with a shotgun wound to the chest.Yasuhiro was reportedly taking his shotgun to his farm to keep away crows. Police thought it was suicide or a gun accident, even though the shotgun was reportedly placed outside of the car.He was an outspoken opponent of the construction of the Ashihama nuclear plant of Chubu Electric Power, and after the Fukushima incident he began traveling around Japan lecturing about the dangers of nuclear power. If only one official who came out against the horrors of Fukushima had perished in mysterious circumstances I would be more ready to discount the possibility of foul play.However, when multiple bodies start piling up, all of which are connected to bringing the dangers of nuclear power into the sphere of public debate, I have to start wondering.I don’t know how it is in Japan, but here in the United States we have what I call a “dual justice system” which treats certain sectors of society completely different than others.On one side there is the ludicrously wealthy along with police, most politicians, most so-called officials, etc. and on the other side is the rest of us.This allows for police to literally get away with murdering innocent tourists and brutally assault elderly people (with dementia no less) for no apparent reason only to get a written reprimand among other horrors.Hopefully Japan is a little different and proper investigations into these mysterious incidents can be launched.Hmmmm........once upon a time after a nuclear disaster?So Called nuclear "HotSpots' are known to exsist in Cities in Belarus.Read the full story here.
Iran refuse to sell oil to Greece.(HD).Iran has refused to give Greece a shipment of 500,000 barrels of crude oil in a retaliatory measure against European Union sanctions on the Islamic state's lifeblood, oil, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday. "Oil tankers that had come to transfer 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil to a refinery in Greece had to go back empty-handed after Iran refused to give the shipment," Fars reported, without giving a source. Oil Ministry officials were not available to comment.
Greece would be particularly affected by oil sanctions as other exporters have refused to deal with Greek traders.
According to official reports, previous suppliers of crude oil, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, have stopped trading with Greece due to precautionary measures in case Greece is unable to pay, even though thus far no payments have been reneged on. But, Iran has extended credit to Greece, which few other oil exporters are willing to do.
The European Union in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this. Iran stopped selling crude to British and French companies last week after Iran's oil minister said on Feb. 4 that the Islamic state would cut its oil exports to "some" European countries. The European Commission has said that the bloc would not be short of oil if Iran stopped crude exports, as they have enough in stock to meet their needs for around 120 days. Fars said the tankers were "destined to the Greek refiner Hellenic."Traders told Reuters on February 24 that Swiss-based Totsa, the trading arm of French oil major Total, and trading house Mercuria were in separate negotiations with Greek refiner Hellenic Petroleum to help it replace Iranian crude. Read the full story here. More here.
'IAEA report proves Iran continuing nuke program'.(JPost).A report by the UN's nuclear watchdog proves that Israel's analysis of Iran's nuclear program is correct, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Saturday.Netanyahu said the International Atomic Energy Agency report proves that Iran is continuing its nuclear program "without let-up."Iran "is enriching uranium to a high level of 20%, while grossly ignoring the demands of the international community," Netanyahu said in a written statement from the Prime Minister's Office. The IAEA report to member states showed Iran had carried out a significant expansion of activities at its main enrichment plant near the central city of Natanz, and also increased work at the Fordow underground facility.
Enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power plants, which is Iran's stated aim, or provide material for bombs if refined much further, which the West suspects is Tehran's ultimate aim.
At Natanz, the IAEA report said 52 cascades - each containing around 170 centrifuges - were now operating, up from 37 in November.At Fordow, almost 700 centrifuges are now refining uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent and preparations are under way to install many more, the IAEA report showed.
Fordow is of particular concern for the West and Israel as Iran is shifting the most sensitive aspect of its nuclear work, refining uranium to a level that takes it significantly closer to potential bomb material, to the site.Estimated to be buried beneath 80 meters of rock and soil, it gives Iran better protection against any Israeli or US military strikes.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak has warned that the Islamic state's nuclear research could soon pass into what he called a "zone of immunity," protected from outside disruption.The IAEA report showed Iran had now produced nearly 110 kg of uranium enriched to 20 percent since early 2010. Western experts say about 250 kg is needed for a nuclear weapon.Hmmmm.....Presuming Iran did not buy enriched Uranium from Belarus.Read the full story here.
First it's they're not building a nuke, now it's we can't stop them from building one.(JPost).
WASHINGTON – Neither the US nor Israel has the ability to keep Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, a retired top US general said Thursday.“If they have the intent, all the weapons in the world are not going to change that, because the knowledge is there and they’d just build it back,” said retired Gen. James Cartwright, who served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until last year, about what would happen should the US use force to take out the Iranian program.Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Cartwright also said that, should Israel attack, the country “can delay it, some people estimate two to five years. But that does not take away the intellectual capital. That does not take away the ability of the Iranians to then proliferate the sites.”
Cartwright said he didn’t “see a lot of value in going in,” particularly since an attack was likely merely to galvanize Iran to redouble its efforts, and suggested that his feeling was widespread throughout the US military.Retired Adm. William Fallon, who appeared with Cartwright at CSIS, said the idea of either country attacking Iran was “certainly not a preferred option” among US military brass, and said any effective operation would require boots on the ground in Iran.
Fallon, who resigned from his post as the commander of US Central Command during the George W. Bush administration after making outspoken comments on Iran, added that the US was unlikely to undertake such a mission. Cartwright acknowledged that it was possible that speaking openly about opposition to a military attack could erode the credible threat of force underpinning diplomacy with Iran, but said such a scenario was improbable because of the ambiguity Iran would perceive in US thinking. He also said that it wasn’t clear how the US would respond should Israel decide to launch an attack on its own,but that it would be extremely unlikely to try to stop the IAF if its planes were in the air.Hmmmm......."it would be extremely unlikely to try to stop the IAF if its planes were in the air."...like shooting them down with patriot batteries placed in Jordan?Read the full story here.
Facebook's 25 staffers to Handle Requests for User Information from Law Enforcement.(Forbes).If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world and Joe Sullivan would be head of Homeland Security. The dirt Facebook holds on its users makes it as attractive to cops as to criminals. Among Sullivan’s responsibilities are daily decisions about how much user information to give to law enforcement when it comes calling. And, as a digital nation’s DHS, Sullivan and his team actively police the site for user data worth volunteering to the authorities. Still, he says, “we err on the side of not sharing and have picked quite a few fights over the years.” Users may have constitutional rights against unreasonable searches by the state, but the only Facebook Constitution is the company’s dense terms of service agreement.
It focuses on prohibitions for users, such as bullying, creating fake accounts or uploading images of violence or nudity, as well as Facebook’s rights to intellectual property uploaded to the site. It doesn’t spell out when Facebook may dive into data for policing purposes or hand it over to the authorities. Should Facebook give users a Miranda warning before they sign up—that anything they post and do on the site can and will be used against them?
Most of his security team is based at headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. and sits at clusters of desks close enough to take dead aim at one another with Nerf darts. Broken roughly into five parts, the team has 10 people review new features being launched, 8 monitor the site for bugs and privacy flaws, 25 handle requests for user information from law enforcement, and a few build criminal and civil cases against those who misbehave on the network; the rest are handling security situations as they arise and acting as digital bodyguards protecting Facebook staffers (“We have someone trying to hack an employee’s account every day,” says Sullivan). If you include the physical security guards who patrol Facebook headquarters, Sullivan’s team numbers 70 people.Read the full story here.
Pastor Terry Jones to Protest Youcef Nadarkhani's Execution by Burning Qurans.(CP).The organization Stand Up America Now, led and founded by Dr. Terry Jones, revealed on Feb. 22 that it will burn Qurans and images of the prophet Muhammad in protest of the Islamic religion, should Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani be executed for his Christian faith.
The American Center for Law and Justice announced on Tuesday, Feb 21 that the Iranian courts may have issued an execution order for Nadarkhani. Nadarkhani, who has been a pastor at a number of house churches in Iran for the past 10 years, has been imprisoned since Oct. 2009, originally for protesting, but those changes were later controversially changed to apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims. According to the Stand Up America Now website, the organization focuses on many social issues, with a special emphasis on standing up for Christian minorities persecuted in Islamic dominated countries.On Feb. 23, 2012, Stand Up America Now, based in Gainesville, Fla., protested Islamic Awareness Month at the University of Florida, also located in Gainesville.
The organization's president and founder, Dr. Terry Jones, describes the planned burning of the Quran as a form of protest which would "obviously get Islam's attention," saying that Christians "cannot just stand by and do nothing.""We have very little that we can do as a Christian community to protest the inhumane activities of Islam," Jones told The Christian Post.
"It's a type of protest to let the government know we are totally disgusted with their type of Shariah, with their activities. In fact, with the activities of Islam over the past 1,400 years," he added.
Jones, however, hopes that a Quran burning will help the fate of future persecuted Christians. Jones believes that Islam's goal is world denomination, while "our goal is world evangelism." "We all know that Islam is like a big bully. Most of the time the answer to a bully is not to give in and not to run away, but to stand up to the bully," Jones said.
"I think Islam has proven itself as the ultimate bully and we definitely have to stand up and if we don't they are not going to back down," he added.
However, Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, calls Jones's protest a "stunt.""It's unnecessary," Sekulow told CP. "It's an abuse of freedom. We have those kinds of freedoms here, but if you're going to do it for publicity's sake, it still doesn't make it right just because it's legal."Read the full story here.
Gunman kills two American military advisers with shots to the back of the head, NATO pulls workers.(BH).KABUL, Afghanistan - A gunman killed two American military advisers with shots to the back of the head Saturday inside a heavily guarded ministry building, and NATO ordered military workers out of Afghan ministries as protests raged for a fifth day over the burning of copies of the Quran at a U.S. army base. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Interior Ministry attack, saying it was retaliation for the Quran burnings, after the U.S. servicemen - a lieutenant colonel and a major - were found dead on the floor of an office that only people who know a numerical combination can get into, Afghan and Western officials said.
The top commander of U.S. and NATO forces recalled all international military personnel from the ministries, an unprecedented action in the decade-long war that highlights the growing friction between Afghans and their foreign partners at a critical juncture in the war.Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak called U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to apologize for the shooting and offer his condolences, Pentagon press secretary George Little said in a statement released in Washington."This act is unacceptable and the United States condemns it in the strongest possible terms," Little said.Security is tight in the capital, which is covered in snow, and foreigners working at the U.S. Embassy and at international organizations have been banned from leaving their compounds.
U.S. officials said they were searching for the assailant, who has not been identified by name or nationality.The two American service members were found by another foreigner who went into the room, according to the Afghan official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose details about the shootings. They were shot in the back of the head, according to Western officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information. Authorities were poring over security camera video for clues, the Afghan official said.Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid identified the shooter as one of their sympathizers, Abdul Rahman. He said an accomplice inside the ministry helped Rahman get inside the compound to kill the Americans in retaliation for the Quran burnings."After the attack, Rahman informed us by telephone that he was able to kill four high-ranking American advisers," Mujahid said. The Taliban often inflate death tolls and sometimes claim responsibility for killings they did not conduct.
An Afghan soldier turned his gun on foreign troops, killing two American soldiers, during one riot outside a U.S. base in Nangarhar province on Thursday. It was the latest in a rising number of incidents where Afghan soldiers or policemen, or gunmen wearing their uniforms, have killed NATO forces.
Last month, France suspended its training program and threatened to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan a year ahead of schedule after an Afghan soldier shot and killed four French soldiers on a base in the east.
U.S. Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, met with Afghan Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi, who offered both his condolences to the families of the victims and his apologies, Little said.
Afghanistan's interior and defense ministers are expected in Washington next week. Allen said he recalled all NATO personnel from the ministries "for obvious force protection reasons" but also said the alliance remains committed to its partnership with the Afghan government. NATO forces have advisers embedded in many Afghan ministries. The advisers are helping to develop the ministries so that Afghans can take the lead by the end of 2014, when foreign combat forces are to transfer control of security to Afghan security forces.
Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/02/25/2409504/2-us-troops-shot-dead-inside-afghan.html#storylink=cpy
Karzai has said that the Afghan people have a right to protest the Quran burnings, but he urged them to demonstrate peacefully and refrain from destroying property. In a statement on Saturday, Karzai urged Afghan security forces to be patient with the protesters.In a statement, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said the U.N. had deep respect for the Islamic faith and understood why Muslims were upset about the desecration of their holy book, but urged the demonstrators to exercise self-restraint and not let militants use the protests to foment violence.Hmmmm......January 20 Friday an Afghan soldier shot and killed four French soldiers, Another 16 French soldiers were injured, some seriously.No Korans were burned or desecrated before the shooting ! Just 'normal' Islamic extremism!Rest assured Pres Obama will probably release the five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo bay as a 'sign' of 'goodwill' to the Taliban.Read the full story here.More here.
Update: - A 25-year-old Afghan intelligence officer has been identified as “the main suspect” in the killing of two American military advisers inside the Interior Ministry building in Kabul, local media reports said Sunday. Abdul Saboor joined the police forces two years ago and had one of the highest security clearances in the ministry. He is now believed to be on the run, local television Tolo quoted senior Afghan security officials as saying.Security forces have already raided his house in the north-eastern province of Parwan, just north of Kabul, and have detained several of his relatives, according to the reports. Source BM.
At least 100 killed in Syria as army bombards opposition strongholds.(AA).The death toll in Syria on Saturday soared to 100 as forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad continued the bombardment of several opposition-held areas across the country.
Shelling of the Baba Amr district of Homs resumed after an apparent pause to allow in relief teams, more than three weeks into a deadly assault on rebels in Syria’s third largest city. Police also fired on a demonstration of some 4,000 people in Aleppo city’s Sayef al-Dawla district, at the funeral of a civilian killed on Friday. The state news agency SANA reported the funerals of 18 members of the security forces killed by “armed terrorist groups” in Homs, Deraa, Idlib and the Damascus countryside.
In Homs, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had been in talks to resume evacuations from Baba Amr where two wounded Western journalists are trapped along with the bodies of two others killed on Wednesday.But the negotiations with the Syrian authorities and opposition groups ended in failure Saturday, the ICRC's Saleh Dabbakeh told AFP.
Deploring the outcome of an international “Friends of Syria” conference, opposition activists said the world had abandoned them to be killed by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.“They (foreign leaders) are still giving opportunities to this man who is killing us and has already killed thousands of people,” said Nadir Husseini, an activist in Baba Amro. Red Cross and Red Crescent ambulances entered the besieged Homs district of Baba Amr on Friday and evacuated seven Syrians wounded in shelling by regime forces as well as 20 women and children.But the ambulances did not evacuate two wounded Western journalists and the bodies of two others, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross told AFP.“Three ambulances entered Baba Amr and they have left. They evacuated so far seven wounded Syrian citizens,” Saleh Dabbakeh said.The evacuation was organized by the ICRC along with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and was the first time rescuers had entered the flashpoint Baba Amr neighborhood in 21 straight days of deadly bombardment.The Red Crescent said on its Facebook page that “in addition to the seven wounded, it also evacuated 20 women and children” from Baba Amr.
American reporter Marie Colvin and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik were killed on Wednesday when a rocket hit a makeshift media centre in Baba Amr, a rebel stronghold.
French reporter Edith Bouvier and British photographer Paul Conroy suffered leg wounds in the same attack.French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, in Tunis for an international “Friends of Syria” meeting on Friday, “solemnly” urged Syria to allow for the evacuation of the wounded journalists.
In Tunis, some 60 governments gathered for the inaugural meeting of the “Friends of Syria” group expressed “strong concern” about the humanitarian situation. The group cited in particular “the lack of access to basic food, medicine and fuel” as well as “threats and acts of violence to medical staff, patients and facilities."Read the full story here.
Egypt begins trial of NGO activists amid talks in Cairo to resolve issue ‘within days’.(AA).Dozens of democracy activists including 16 Americans go on trial in Egypt on Sunday in a politically charged case which has set off a crisis in relations between Cairo and Washington and threatened $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid. Forty-three foreign and Egyptian non-profit workers - including the son of the U.S. transportation secretary - are accused of receiving illegal funds from abroad and carrying out political activities unrelated to their civil society work.A senior U.S. official said Washington and Cairo were holding what he described as “intense discussions” to resolve the crisis within days.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in the Moroccan capital after visits to Algeria and Tunisia, has met Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr twice in the last three days, the official said on condition of anonymity.Rights campaigners say the case is retaliation by Egypt’s ruling generals against pro-democracy groups that have been among the army’s harshest critics since it took power when Hosni Mubarak was overthrown a year ago.“The whole basis of this case is unfair,” an Egyptian activist working for one of the organizations told Reuters.It was unclear whether all of the accused - who are banned from leaving Egypt pending trial - would appear in court.A number of them were already abroad when the ban was placed, and some of those who remained in Egypt have taken refuge in the U.S. embassy in Cairo.The U.S. pro-democracy groups whose staff have been charged deny they have done anything illegal. They say the crackdown is an attempt by Egypt’s military rulers to derail democracy.Egypt says the case is a judicial matter and all groups must heed Egyptian law.Negad al-Borai, a lawyer representing the accused in Cairo, said the charges referred only to a short period in the groups’ activities and could therefore be argued against.
“The charges made involve only the period from March 2011 to December 2011,” he told Reuters. “These groups have applied for permits before that period.”Some Egyptian officials have linked the funding of civil society initiatives to a U.S. plot to undermine Egypt’s sovereignty - accusations the United States and the civil society workers deny.Among those accused is Sam LaHood, Egypt director of the International Republican Institute and the son of the U.S. transportation secretary.
The government and the ruling military council say the case was initiated by the judiciary and is out of their hands.However, on Saturday a senior U.S. official said talks are underway in Cairo to resolve the issue “within days.”“Intense discussions (are being held) with the Egyptians to try to resolve the situation within days,” the official said.Hmmmmm........How much or which weapons do they want from the American tax payer?Read the full story here.
Two IDF soldiers in civilian clothing nearly lynched by Arabs in Haifa.(Ynet).Two IDF soldiers in civilian clothing were viciously attacked by a group of Arab-Israeli men early Saturday near Haifa's Rambam Hospital, with guards deployed in the area narrowly averting a lynching.
Police forces detained four suspects on suspicion of taking part in the assault and expect to make more arrests. The uncle of one of the soldiers said the assailants asked the victims whether they were Jewish before attacking them. "They beat the hell out of them, using bats and stones, and resorting to kicks," the uncle said.The soldiers attempted to escape in different directions, at which point some 20 attackers assaulted one of them, the uncle added. "One of the attackers pounded my nephew's head against the ground and engraved his head with a knife," he said. "Security guards in the area arrived at the site, put him in a wheel chair, and evacuated him for treatment at the emergency room." The violent incident took place around 2 am Saturday, when the two soldiers, who serve in the Air Force and Navy, parked near a convenience store.According to relatives of the soldiers, one of the assailants involved in the attack warned the victims: "We'll come to visit you again, because you involved the police."
The soldiers sustained blows to various body parts, hospital officials said. One of them required facial x-rays in order to ascertain the damage he sustained. The officials added that guards at the medical facility heard screams nearby and rushed to the site of the incident while also calling the police. The Haifa Police Commander, Moshe Cohen, said "the incident started as a brawl, apparently based on nationalistic motives…the probe continues and more suspects are expected to be arrested."
Israel Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino was briefed about the attack Saturday evening instructed top police chiefs to ensure that all attackers are detained and face the full severity of the law.
"We cannot treat this type of violent attack as a routine matter," Danino said.Read the full story here.More here. HT: IsraelMatzav.
MFS - The Other News 18 Feb. Holder and DOJ Fail to Prosecute Palestinian Terrorists who Kill Americans Overseas.(BP).By Emily Schrader.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of Justice don’t have a particularly strong track record of enforcing all existing American law – but the U.S. group Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is pressuring Holder to do his job in relation to Palestinian terrorists with American blood on their hands.Calls for extradition of specific Palestinian terrorists arose after Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by terror organization Hamas, was released in exchange for Israel’s release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Reports indicate that at least 15 of these 1,027 prisoners are responsible for killing or wounding Americans.Among those 15 criminals is the driver of the 2001 Sbarro pizza bombing, Ahlam Tamimi. To say Tamimi has expressed no remorse for her actions is almost an understatement. In fact, she has made clear that she would commit acts of terror again. In a recorded interview, Tamimi also grinned and laughed about the fact that her terror attack resulted in the death of 15 civilians, 2 Americans, and 8 children.
The two American victims, by the way, were a 15-year-old named Malki Roth, and a woman named Judith Hayman, pregnant with her first child. Their lives ended suddenly in that pizzeria back in 2001 – while Tamimi now lives as a free woman in Jordan, where she is revered as a hero. So what could Holder and the DOJ do about it? According to the 1991 Anti-Terror Act, the United States may prosecute those who commit acts of terror overseas against Americans, with written permission from the Attorney General. However, despite the fact that a significant number of American citizens have been victims of terror attacks committed by Palestinians, the United States has to date never extradited any terrorists. This is especially bewildering in light of the fact that there is an entire division within the U.S. Justice Department specifically tasked with tracking down perpetrators of these types of attacks, as even its name makes crystal clear: The Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism.
In a press release discussing this matter, ZOA states, “If the Justice Department does not go after the Palestinian Arab terrorists who were recently released and now living in freedom, then it is sending a dangerous and appalling message to victims and their families… that the United States does not value the victims and their families enough to ensure that these criminals are punished and justice is served.” Serving justice is Holder’s job. By ignoring these attacks, he and his DOJ do the families of the American victims of Palestinian terror a great disservice. Why is the American Attorney General so unwilling to enforce American law? The ZOA is precisely right about this: It is not only in the interest of justice to extradite these terrorists, but also in the interest of U.S. foreign policy, in order to demonstrate that the United States will stand up for the rights of American citizens wherever they are. That is an assurance all Americans should not have to question.
However, seeing as how Holder seems to have a difficult time holding anyone accountable within the United States (Fast and Furious, anyone?), it would be quite surprising to see him take appropriate action for the disturbing acts of violence outside the United States.Hmmmmm...........Perhaps to busy counting the houses Israelis build?Read the full story here.
