Friday, November 15, 2013

2 shot at Nat'l Guard armory; gunman in custodyby By ADRIAN SAINZ Friday November 15th, 2013 at 6:08 PM AP Top Headlines At 3:44 P.M. EST 1 Share MILLINGTON, Tenn. (AP) -- A member of the National Guard opened fire at an armory outside a U.S. Navy base in Tennessee, wounding two soldiers before being subdued and disarmed by others soldiers, officials said Thursday....

2 shot at Nat'l Guard armory; gunman in custody

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MILLINGTON, Tenn. (AP) -- A member of the National Guard opened fire at an armory outside a U.S. Navy base in Tennessee, wounding two soldiers before being subdued and disarmed by others soldiers, officials said Thursday....

Montana bride says fatal push was instinct

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MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) -- A Montana woman charged with shoving her new husband off a cliff to his death testified Friday that she instinctively pushed him away when he grabbed her arm during an argument in Glacier National Park....

Opinion: Can Rouhani change course? - Asharq Alawsat English

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Opinion: Can Rouhani change course?
Asharq Alawsat English
If it is within reasonable limits—like the anti-Americanism espoused by Vladimir Putin in Russiaor the leftover Hugo Chavez regime in Venezuela—it could be regarded as political propaganda and understood, if not justified, in this context. Even the ...

Russia returns - Le Monde diplomatique - English edition

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After his return to the presidency in 2012, Putin faced large demonstrations of popular opposition in Moscow, and to strengthen his position he has been cultivating anti-Americanism as an element ofRussian nationalism.

Russia slashes long-term growth forecast - Financial Times

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Russia slashes long-term growth forecast
Financial Times
Russia has slashed its long-term forecast for the economy in the first official admission that the growth model underpinning President Vladimir Putin's rule is falling apart. The economy ministry said it expected annual growth of just 2.5 per cent to ...

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Is John Kerry Too 'European' for American Diplomacy? - Huffington Post

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Is John Kerry Too 'European' for American Diplomacy?
Huffington Post
Trying to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, launching another set of Arab-Israeli subtitle diplomacy, investing time and energy on dealing with Iran, or schmoozing with the Russians, seem like parts of an outline for a plot of a movie from the ...

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Brazil's Plan to Isolate Its Internet Is a Terrible Idea - Motherboard (blog)

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Brazil's Plan to Isolate Its Internet Is a Terrible Idea
Motherboard (blog)
Brazil found itself in the company of Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran as one of the most spied-upon countries in the world. In fact, this has less to do with the quality ... Anti-Americanism is rarely far from the surface in Latin America. Whereas ...

Vox Popoli: Anti-Americanism in Europe 

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It's completely understandable why average Europeans are beginning to turn anti-American: US intelligence has been operating a global network of 80 eavesdropping centres, including 19 European listening posts in cities ...

On Anti-Americanism | Notebook C - Tony Frame

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On Anti-Americanism. Third Draft - Query: “Inflection Point;” isn't this the kind of vocabulary Dunford would use? As in: 'The alliance faces what many here call an inflection point;” ref. To preview and listen to this mind during a ...

Alleged Drug Kingpin of Mexican Organization Extradited to US

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“There is no escape from the reach of the law, no matter where drug kingpins operate their poisonoustrade,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch. “Juan Juarez Orosco may have operated an international drug trafficking network that stretched across the ...

Russia must track down masked assailants after insidious homophobic attack 

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Headline Title:
Russia must track down masked assailants after insidious homophobic attack
04 November 2013
The Russian authorities must promptly find and bring to justice all those responsible for a violent homophobic attack in St Petersburg that has left two people injured, including one who has been left blind in one eye, Amnesty International said.

According to local activists in St Petersburg, on Sunday night two masked men brandishing air guns and baseball bats attacked the office of LaSky, a non-governmental organization that provides support to gay people living with HIV.

“This latest insidious attack is sadly characteristic of a widespread atmosphere of homophobia in Russia today. If nothing is done to combat the hate, the ground is fertile for further violence,” said Denis Krivosheev, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

“The Russian authorities must seek out, investigate and prosecute all those responsible for these violent attacks. Russian President Putin has publicly said the country would welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists at the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, but such pledges ring hollow in the face of these ongoing hate crimes.”

The St Petersburg Public Prosecutor has reportedly opened an investigation into “hooliganism” after the attack.

“This was a serious violent assault that has caused severe injuries and could have resulted in death. Those responsible must face serious consequences to the full extent of the law,” said Denis Krivosheev.

The attack on LaSky happened during a so-called “coffee party” – a weekly gathering of young LGBTI and heterosexual people aimed at establishing tolerance and understanding. About 25-30 people were present at the Sunday gathering.

The violent attack has sent shockwaves through the LGBTI community, both in St Petersburg and around Russia.

Anastasia Smirnova of the Russian LGBT Network has told media that police arrived at the scene of the attack but quickly left, because “they did not see any evidence of the crime”.

But Amnesty International today confirmed with a local LGBTI activist that two people have been injured, including one who has lost sight in one eye as a result. The activist, who asked not to be named, said the attack has contributed to the climate of stress and fear amongst the city’s LGBTI community.

Earlier this year, a vaguely worded federal law went into effect in Russia that institutionalizes discrimination against LGBTI individuals and a wide range of organizations that promote LGBTI rights in Russia.

The law restricts the rights to freedom of expression and assembly of LGBTI individuals, and has provoked a wave of violence by vigilante groups across the country.
“The Russian authorities must repeal this homophobic legislation without delay,” said Denis Krivosheev.
The Russian authorities must promptly find and bring to justice all those responsible for a violent homophobic attack in St Petersburg that has left two people injured, including one who has been left blind in one eye, Amnesty International said.
Media Node:
Story Location:
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This latest insidious attack is sadly characteristic of a widespread atmosphere of homophobia in Russia today. If nothing is done to combat the hate, the ground is fertile for further violence
Source:
Denis Krivosheev, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International
Date:
Mon, 04/11/2013
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Azerbaijan: Journalist and writer jailed as ruthless crackdown continues 

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Azerbaijan: Journalist and writer jailed as ruthless crackdown continues
13 November 2013
The Azerbaijani authorities must halt their crackdown on freedom of expression, Amnesty International urged today as a journalist and a writer who criticized the government were jailed on trumped-up charges.

"Azerbaijan's ruthless and relentless attack on any dissenting voices in the media continues apace with these shameful convictions and jail sentences, which appear to be based on offences fabricated by the prosecution," said John Dalhuisen of Amnesty International.

Rashad Ramazanov, a writer and blogger who spoke out against the authorities in his posts on Facebook and YouTube, was sentenced to nine years in prison on dubious drug charges.

Also today, pro-opposition newspaper editor Sardar Alibeyli was handed a four-year prison sentence on charges of "hooliganism".

"Rashad Ramazanov and Sardar Alibeyli are prisoners of conscience, jailed solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and they must be immediately and unconditionally released," said John Dalhuisen.

Today's jail sentences come amid a continuing and widespread crackdown on government critics in Azerbaijan, including media workers, NGOs and human rights activists.

Amnesty International believes that there are at least 18 prisoners of conscience in the country, many of them jailed for speaking out against the authorities in the media.

Rashad Ramazanov was arrested on 9 May 2013 and taken to the Organized Crime Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where officials claimed to have found 9.05 grams of heroin in his trouser pocket. He denied the charges and insisted that the drugs had been planted on him.

The writer's family and lawyer were not notified of his whereabouts for four days and, when his lawyer was finally allowed to meet him on 17 May, he saw that Rashad had serious and extensive bruises on his head.

Rashad Ramazanov told his lawyers that he had been severely beaten several times while he was held in custody by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police have denied the claims. There has been no official investigation into them.

His wife, Konul Ismayilova, told Amnesty International that he had been beaten to punish him for his criticism of President Ilham Aliyev and his family, and in order to force him to confess.

"By law, Rashad Ramazanov  should have been transferred to an Investigative Detention Centre within 24 hours of the court decision ordering him to serve three months of pre-trial detention, but he was inexplicably kept at the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 11 days," said John Dalhuisen.

Requests for Rashad Ramazanov to undergo medical examination were ignored by investigators, while the only witnesses in his trial were the officials who detained him.

“We have nothing to apologise for, and though we are suffering, we are not guilty of anything,” Konul Ismayilova told Amnesty International.

Sardar Alibeyli, the editor of newspaper Nota Bene and its accompanying news site PS Nota, was detained on 31 July 2013 after a man claimed that he had beaten him and struck his face with a stone.

The man accusing Sardar Alibeyli subsequently changed his account, but this was ignored by the court.

None of the defence witnesses were permitted to give evidence during his trial, while Sardar Alibeyli, who denies the charges, said he did not recognize the man who accused him.

The journalist's arrest came after his newspaper had been highly critical of the government and provided a platform for other government critics, including political exiles.

"With this wave of arrests and convictions, Azerbaijan's government is sending a clear and ominous message that dissent will not be tolerated," said John Dalhuisen.

In the months before and after the 9 October presidential election, there has been an increasingly repressive media environment and a continuing crackdown on civil society and political activists in Azerbaijan.

The prosecution of journalists has been accompanied by increasing pressure against opposition and independent newspapers.

Mounting compensation claims, freezing of bank accounts and bans on the sale of critical newspapers in kiosks in the underground system has resulted in two of the most popular opposition newspapers, Azadliq and Yeni Musavat, to halt publication of their daily issues in the past week.

“Ilham Aliyev’s recent re-election appears to have done nothing to reduce the Azerbaijani authorities’ enthusiasm for persecution and censorship. These new cases and the squeeze on the two leading opposition newspapers sadly confirms the Aliyev regime’s determination not just to beat – but to silence – all political opposition,” said John Dalhuisen.
Azerbaijani authorities urged to halt crackdown on freedom of expression as journalist and writer who criticized the government are jailed on trumped-up charges.
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Twitter Tag: 
azerbaijan
Story Location: 
United Kingdom
46° 3' 30.4632" N47° 55' 20.5068" E
Azerbaijan's ruthless and relentless attack on any dissenting voices in the media continues apace with these shameful convictions and jail sentences.
Source: 
Amnesty International's John Dalhuisen
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Putin: Foreign rivals trying to weaken Russia - Aljazeera.com

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euronews

Putin: Foreign rivals trying to weaken Russia
Aljazeera.com
A day after a suicide bombing in Russia's Volgograd region, President Vladimir Putin accused foreign rivals of using radical Islam to weaken the country. "Some political forces use Islam, the radical currents within it ... to weaken our state and ...
Foreign rivals use radical Islam to weaken Russia: PutinReuters
Russia not interested in tensions between West and Muslim world - PutinThe Voice of Russia
Putin proposes restoring Russia's Islamic theologian schoolRussia Beyond The Headlines

all 13 news articles »

The alleged leader of a Mexican narcotics trafficking organization responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, Juan Juarez Orosco, aka “El Abuelo,” was extradited to the United States from Panama on Nov. 8, 2013, and arraigned on Nov. 10, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Alleged Leader Of Mexican Narcotics Trafficking Organization Extraditied To U.S.


The U.S. Justice Department released the below information today:

The alleged leader of a Mexican narcotics trafficking organization responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, Juan Juarez Orosco, aka “El Abuelo,” was extradited to the United States from Panama on Nov. 8, 2013, and arraigned on Nov. 10, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom in the Eastern District of New York.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes Jr. of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) and Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division made the announcement.

According to court documents, from the early 1990s until his arrest by Panamanian law enforcement in March 2012, Juarez allegedly led a large-scale maritime and land transportation operation that was responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Central America via ship to the coast of Mexico.

Once the cocaine arrived in Mexico, Juarez and his co-conspirators would transport the cocaine from the coast to Mexico City, where it was then destined for the United States.  Throughout the 2000s, Juarez allegedly worked with major narcotics traffickers based in Colombia and Mexico, including the Norte Valle Cartel, the Beltran-Leyva Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.

Through the mid-2000s, Juarez’s organization allegedly transported at least 35,000 kilograms of cocaine for the Beltran-Leyva organization alone.  At the height of its activity, Juarez’s organization allegedly transported approximately eight tons a month in conjunction with the Sinaloa Cartel.

“As alleged in the indictment, Juarez’s trafficking organization was responsible for the importation of massive quantities of cocaine, across oceans and continents, into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman.  “Juarez’s arrest and extradition are a testament to the tenacity of law enforcement officers across the world, and show what we can accomplish when we work together with our partners around the globe to capture major drug traffickers and bring them to justice.”

“There is no escape from the reach of the law, no matter where drug kingpins operate their poisonous trade,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch.  “Juan Juarez Orosco may have operated an international drug trafficking network that stretched across the Western Hemisphere, but today he faces justice in a courtroom in Brooklyn.  Thanks to our law enforcement partners in Panama, today’s extradition also shows that there is no safe haven for drug traffickers on the run.”

Juarez was indicted on March 15, 2012, and charged with international narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy.  If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by ICE HSI and DEA.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Adrian Rosales of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gina M. Parlovecchio and Tiana Demas of the Eastern District of New York, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

Syria Rebel Beheaded In Error By Jihadists - 11/15/2013 - | NSA Admits That Edward Snowden Stole Up to 200,000 Documents - 11/15/2013 - Adam Clark Estes | British and Russian Intelligence Services Resume Collaboration - 11 Nov 2013






CIA spills Camp David secrets on 1978 Egyptian-Israeli agreement

Ian Black writes: Declassified documents reveal how US intelligence helped Jimmy Carter strike a Middle Eastern bargain
 Jimmy Carter
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (1913 - 1992, second from left), American National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (centre), US President Jimmy Carter (second from left) and Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan (1915 - 1981) at Camp Daviod in 1978. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In the age of WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden's NSA revelations, declassified secret documents don't create the excitement they once did — even when they deal with the work of intelligence agencies. But it's still interesting to get even a sanitized glimpse of what the CIA was up to as it helped prepare for one of the triumphs of US Middle East diplomacy in the 20th century.
The information the agency put together for President Jimmy Carter on the eve of the Camp David summit in September 1978 includes some fascinating nuggets amidst a mass of banal and routine material. Its "briefing book" includes perceptive and quotable personality profiles of the protagonists - Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian president.
Looking at the Israeli leader the CIA observed "growing oppositional properties in Begin's personality." It pointed too to his "facility for statements of a provocative nature, often precipitated by reporters' questions." Sadat's profile described him as taking "pride in his peasant origins and his reputation for being sensitive to his people's needs." Just months after his sensational visit to Jerusalem in November 1977, Sadat was reported as "having virtually given up hope that Begin will show the imagination and flexibility needed for peace talks to move forward."
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter's national security adviser, told the presidentbefore the summit at the Maryland retreat:

Sadat cannot afford a failure and he knows it; both Sadat and Begin think that you cannot afford failure; but Begin probably believes that a failure at Camp David will hurt you and Sadat, but not him. He may even want to see Sadat discredited and you weakened, thus leaving him with the tolerable status quo instead of pressures to change his life-long beliefs concerning Judea and Samaria. (the biblical Hebrew names for the West Bank.)
Predictably but annoyingly, the CIA has refused to reveal whether their profiles involved bugging the subjects, though one document does say they required "significant background research as well as continuing monitoring of the target leaders."
Carter's mediation efforts over 18 days paved the way for the March 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, which shrunk the circle of hostility in the Middle East. The US relationship with Egypt, battered in recent times first by Barack Obama's reluctance to let go of Hosni Mubarak and then by his support for Mohamed Morsi in the face of mounting popular opposition, still has that treaty at its heart.
The declassified records offer few clues about the part of the Camp David agreement that failed completely — the plan for Palestinian autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement - the heart of the PLO- publicly made clear its "absolute rejection" of the accords. It called on Palestinians to reject the idea of a self-governing authority in the occupied territories and to boycott any elections to establish such a body. Fatah warned that anyone who becomes involved will "pay the price for his betrayal."

The CIA's assessment, however, was that this was not the whole story:

We believe Arafat and his moderate colleagues are engaging in a certain amount of posturing for the benefit of Palestinian extremists and their radical Arab allies. He may also hope to discourage non-PLO supporters in the occupied territories from openly backing the agreements reached at Camp David.
And there were some discreet signs of a readiness to engage with Washington: Arafat, according to the head of Egyptian military intelligence, "does not trust President Sadat and would prefer to deal directly with the United States on the matter of of peace in the Middle East and the role of the PLO." There was, at that time, no US contact with what was still seen officially as a terrorist organization. Israel maintained that position until the Oslo agreement in 1993.
It will be interesting to see, at some point in the future, the declassified intelligence records of another important Camp David summit devoted to the Arab Israeli conflict. For it was in the same log cabins, in July 2000 in the final months of Bill Clintons' presidency, that Israelis and Palestinians - represented this by time by Arafat - edged towards but ultimately failed to reach an historic peace agreement. The catastrophic result, two months later, was the outbreak of the second, armed, Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories — and the bleak, volatile status quo that persists to this day.





British and Russian Intelligence Services Resume Collaboration

11 Nov 2013 — 
Britain has started sharing intelligence information with Russia for the first time since the fallout over the death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in an effort to assist with security preparations for the Sochi Winter Olympics. MI6 chief Sir John Sawers said British intelligence services are exchanging some of the experience they gained from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Source: The Moscow Times
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