Russian superpatriots disclose their plans to conquer the world

23 December 2011

Russian superpatriots disclosed their plans for the future in the person of reserve Colonel-General Ivashov, who gave an interview to Russian news agency Novy Region.

It is worth mentioning that Ivashov was the head of Russia's Defense Ministry's Central International Military Cooperation Directorate, at the time of the Kosovo war.

Ivashov was in charge of following the situation in Kosovo for the Russian Government. In that capacity he had detailed and confidential information coming from intelligence sources, contacts with senior military officials of other countries and meetings of the Russia-NATO Council. He also had contacts with the Yugoslav military leadership, and met seven times with Slobodan Milosevic.

The plans of Ivashov's superpatriots are unchanged and are not much different from those of Putin, except in details: militarization of Russia to seize the whole world under the leadership of a Russian leader like Stalin. Ivashov said in particular:

"The tandem is just a toy in the hands of those forces, both internal and external, that wish to destroy Russia, and the Russian army - they do it, so there will be no one to defend our space, our people, our territory.

All my colleagues, everybody who supports me will fight for Russia, and we are ready for a new phase of our struggle for Russia. I will not talk about our plans, but believe me, we have a strong desire not to allow to ruin Russia, not to permit it to be further robbed, and we'll use the whole arsenal of means in order to defend both our present and our future.

We are a great nation, we won great victories, we saved several times humanity from destruction.

I urge my colleagues, especially those who wore or wear army uniform: it is important to fight for the army, for the safety of the Fatherland!

This Kremlin is not so strong, just nobody has smacked its face before.

We are to take from the West all the best they have. If they do not give us - then steal it l! Why do we have intelligence?

I talked about that to Zyuganov (head of Putin's Communists - KC) , my colleagues talked to Sergei Mironov (head of Putin's parliamentary Nationalists from Justified Russia party - KC), all of them are for Russia! It's time to sweep away the scum out of the Kremlin, but we should not be limited with the Kremlin. After sweeping them away, the others will come. This sweeping should be carried out throughout Russia, simultaneously. We will try to sweep them away from the Kremlin, but you need to do the same in provincial towns, villages, regions, districts.

Russia will have many allies in the East and South, and in the West. Well, look at the protests which are taking place in the Western world, and they increase. These people are our allies. We have a mission to bring the most valuable to this world. We have brought peace, and we must do it again, that is our historic mission. Today, all over the world, the peoples want to see a leader who will lead them to the normal path of development.

We do not have enough population in Russia for that mission. At the same time, we see a very large population growth in Central Asian republics, Ukraine, the Caucasus. We are to organize the inflow of these people into our country.

Colonel General Ivashov concluded his interview in a purely Russian style - he denounced his political competitor to the KGB:

"Boris Mironov (former Russian information minister in Boris Yeltsin's government - KC) suggested to me, watching how graduate officers are received in the Kremlin, to go in there with explosives, or at least with a pistol, and to shoot them all dead".

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/12/23/15538.shtml.

Darfur rebel group confirms leader killed

Dec 26, 2011

Johannesburg - The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the main rebel group in Darfur, has confirmed that its leader was killed by the Sudanese military and vowed revenge, according to a statement carried by local media on Monday.

While the Sudanese army had said the rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim was killed in battle as he was trying to sneak into South Sudan last week, JEM countered that he was killed in an airstrike and charged that foreign powers were involved in the attack.

'This indicates a collusion and conspiracy by some quarters in the regional and international milieu with the regime of genocide in Khartoum,' JEM was quoted as saying by the Sudan Tribune daily.

'By this plot, Khartoum opened the door for political murders,' according to a spokesman for the group, which pulled out of a peace deal with the government last year.

Ibrahim reportedly returned from Libya this year, after the downfall of the Moamer Gaddafi's regime, from whom JEM allegedly received support. Newly independent South Sudan is also accused by Khartoum of aiding the rebels.

According to reports and video footage circulating online, police in Khartoum dispersed supporters of JEM who tried to pay condolences at the house of Ibrahim's family on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital.

It was unclear who would replace the rebel leader at the helm of the group, which he helped found in 2000.

In the conflict in Darfur, ongoing since 2003, some 300,000 people have died according to the UN, though Khartoum says the figure is lower.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1682725.php/Darfur-rebel-group-confirms-leader-killed.

Indonesia's Aceh marks 7 years since Indian Ocean tsunami

Dec 26, 2011

Banda Aceh, Indonesia - Aliya Humaira scribbled a message on yellow paper in the shape of a petal: 'I love Papa, I love Mama, I love Sister Icha, I love Brother Kiki.'

The 8-year-old Aliya lost her parents, a brother and a sister in the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated Aceh province on Indonesia's Sumatra island.

She and other children marked the 7th anniversary of the tsunami by planting 5,000 paper flowers containing messages of hope from their Japanese peers on a golf course in Aceh Besar district.

The yellow paper flowers were sent by children in the Japanese city of Kobe, where more than 6,000 people were killed after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck 16 years ago.

'Let's rise up together,' read one message written by a Japanese earthquake survivor.

Aliya is now being raised by her grandmother in Medan, the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province.

'Every year I take Aliya to Aceh so that she won't forget her family,' said the grandmother, Khamariyah, wiping tears that rolled down her eyes. Like many Indonesians she uses only one name.

Aceh was the region hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami.

The disaster, triggered by a magnitude-9.3 earthquake off Sumatra, killed an estimated 230,000 people in 13 countries along the Indian Ocean, including 170,000 in Aceh and Nias island.

Thousands attended the ceremony marking the anniversary in Aceh Besar attended by Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf and guests from Japan.

'The paper flowers are called Shinsai Mirai No Hana, which means flowers of the future,' said Ryo Nishikawa, a Japanese social worker who organized the project.

He said Achinese children would also send similar flowers to their Japanese peers in Kobe.

Relatives gathered Monday at mass graves where thousands of Achinese victims of the tsunami were buried to say prayers.

At a mass grave in Siron, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists offered joint prayers while others in the staunchly Islamic province gathered at local mosques.

Days before the anniversary, an Achinese girl who was thought to have died in the tsunami was found and reunited with her parents.

Her grandfather said she was forced to beg by her adopted mother for years before she left her to look for her biological parents.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1682718.php/Indonesia-s-Aceh-marks-7-years-since-Indian-Ocean-tsunami.

Gaza Hamas leader leaves Gaza for first time since 2007

2011-12-25

Hamas premier Ismail Haniya leaves Gaza Strip for regional tour that will take him to Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia, Bahrain.

GAZA CITY - Hamas premier Ismail Haniya left the Gaza Strip for a regional tour on Sunday for the first time since Israel and Egypt imposed a siege in 2007, his office said.

Sources in his office said that Haniya would visit Egypt and Sudan, after which he plans to go to Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia and Bahrain.

The primary purpose of the trip was to obtain "help and aid" to rebuild Gaza City, but Haniya was also likely to address the issue of Palestinian reconciliation in talks, they said.

Earlier reports suggested that Haniya is planning to move Hamas offices located in Damascus to Doha, following the ongoing unrest Syria is witnessing.

The brutal regime crackdown on protesters in Syria has presented an embarrassment for Hamas, which was embraced by President Bashar al-Assad and given a home in Damascus for several years.

However, staying in Syria would tacitly suggest that Hamas supports Assad, who has already become the loneliest and most isolated leader in the Middle East.

Haniya entered Egypt through the Rafah crossing, recently opened after remaining largely shut since June 2006 when Israel imposed a blockade after militants snatched soldier Gilad Shalit, who was freed in October in a prisoner swap.

The blockade was tightened a year later when the Islamist Hamas seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Egypt had largely complied with the restrictions, although it occasionally opened Rafah -- the only Gaza crossing that bypasses Israel -- to allow aid in and students and medical cases out.

In May, Egypt officially reopened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza, more than three months after Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak resigned, allowing people to cross freely for the first time in four years.

Haniya's regional tour begins three days after Palestinian factions, including Hamas, met in Cairo to thrash out implementation of a surprise deal they signed in April.

The two factions had previously been at loggerheads ever since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007, leaving the Palestinian territories with rival administrations.

On Thursday, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Syria-based Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal discussed reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization, in a bid to allow the Islamist movement and 13 other Palestinian factions to join.

But cracks have emerged lately between the Damascus and Gaza branches of Hamas regarding future strategy.

Last month, Meshaal voiced support for "popular peaceful resistance," which presumes that Hamas would ultimately renounce armed struggle against Israel.

He also said he was open to the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including the West Bank and the Gaza strip with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Such a strategy in effect calls for a Palestinian state next to, and not in place of, Israel, and would be a departure from the position held by Hamas since its founding 24 years ago.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=49658.

Yemenis brave death to call for Saleh to face trial

2011-12-25

By Jamal al-Jabiri – SANAA

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Yemen's capital Sunday calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to face trial, a day after his forces and loyalists killed 13 people at a similar demonstration.

"The people want to bring the slaughterer to trial," shouted the protesters who marched from Change Square, epicenter of the uprising that began nearly a year ago, towards Sittin Avenue in the northern district of Sanaa.

"We won't rest until the slaughterer is executed," they chanted. "We don't want Abdrabuh, Ali Saleh controls him," they chanted, referring to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

Saleh is still honorary president but handed authority over to Hadi last month when he signed a Gulf-brokered deal in which he won immunity from prosecution in exchange for ending his 33-year rule when polls are held in February.

Angry youths have staged defiant protests against the plan, which is backed by the United Nations, despite a bloody backlash by Saleh's forces and loyalists that has seen hundreds of them killed.

But Saleh's General People's Congress party insisted on Sunday that the parliament would confirm the immunity deal.

"Measures will be taken to issue the immunity law as per the Gulf plan" after a parliamentary vote of confidence on the newly formed unity government expected this week, Sultan al-Barakani, who represents the GPC's bloc in parliament, said.

The veteran leader said Saturday that he would soon visit the United States ahead of transferring power following a February 21 presidential election.

A diplomat from one of the countries that has sponsored the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Saleh has presented "a list of 412 people" he wants the immunity deal to include.

The list includes his relatives, aides, and officials who had worked with him during his rule, the source said, adding that Saleh was given a US visa "two weeks ago."

But Sunday's protesters reject any such agreements.

"No guarantee, no immunity to Saleh and to those close to him," they shouted.

The protesters, backed by tens of thousands who were met by gunfire from Saleh's forces and loyalists after they arrived on foot Saturday from the second-largest city Taez, called on Hadi to hand over those responsible for the violence to justice.

"Take up your responsibility and hand the killers of the youths over to justice, or resign," said one of the organizers on a loudspeaker as the demonstrators gathered outside Hadi's residence on Sittin Avenue.

Thirteen people were killed on Saturday when security forces and gunmen loyal to Saleh attacked their march in which they were calling for him to be put on trial.

"Thirteen people were killed and 50 others were wounded by live rounds," a medical official said Sunday, updating an earlier toll of nine dead.

The medic from a field hospital in the capital said that 150 other people suffered from breathing difficulties due to tear gas inhalation.

Another medic who confirmed the toll said three of the wounded had succumbed to their injuries while a fourth was shot dead in another protest later on Saturday.

The objective of the five-day-long "March for Life" that turned deadly on Saturday was to press for Saleh and his top allies to face criminal charges for their roles in the violence committed against anti-regime protesters.

Despite being met by live rounds, water cannon and tear gas upon their arrival in Sanaa's south, the crowds who set off from Taez on Tuesday for the 270-kilometre (167-mile) march to Sanaa poured into the capital where they spent the night in Change Square.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=49655.

Russia opposition activist to be held 10 more days

December 25, 2011 — MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent Russian opposition activist had barely half an hour of freedom Sunday before being sentenced to 10 more days in jail — making it the 14th time this year he's been detained.

The decision by a Moscow court late Sunday to find Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov guilty of a charge of resisting police came a day after Russia witnessed the largest protest rally in its post-Soviet history. As demonstrators vented frustration Saturday with the scandal-marred parliamentary election of Dec. 4 that left Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in control, many prominent figures called for Udaltsov's release.

How the Kremlin chooses to deal with Udaltsov could prove a litmus test for how it approaches the opposition in the coming days. During Putin's decade-plus long tenure as president and prime minister, opposition activists have faced numerous crackdowns, but their cause appears to have been boosted by allegations of fraud during the recent election.

The Left Front leader was due to be released Sunday from a hospital, where he was being treated as he served the final days of his previous sentence. Udaltsov, who had been held since election day on claims of staging an unsanctioned rally, had spent much of the month on a hunger strike.

Found guilty of resisting police, Udaltsov was escorted back to the hospital Sunday night after he felt unwell in court. "He was so stressed out that he fell ill," Udaltsov's lawyer, Nikolay Polozov, said.

Prominent opposition leaders came to the court to support Udaltsov. Many have referred to his constant detentions as political harassment. The Left Front leader has spent at least 50 days in jail this year.

The court on Sunday found that Udaltsov resisted police on Oct. 24 while being detained outside the Central Election Committee's building. A video of his detention, filmed by the Associated Press Television, shows the activist arrive on a bicycle and later talk to reporters.

Udaltsov was telling the press that he had come out to the election committee's headquarters to stage a one-man picket, which requires no sanction from authorities. Shortly afterwards, police came and took Udaltsov away. Udaltsov did not appear to be putting resistance.

Udaltsov's lawyer said they would appeal the verdict.

Palestinian factions agree on unified government

Thursday 22 December 2011
Phoebe Greenwood in Tel Aviv

President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal finalize groundbreaking deal in Cairo after heated negotiations.

Rival Palestinian factions have agreed to form a unified government, which will be sworn in by the end of January. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal met in Cairo to agree the groundbreaking deal late on Wednesday after days of heated negotiation between representatives of Palestinian political groups led by Hamas and Fatah.

The talks, mediated by Egypt, are part of ongoing efforts to mend the factional divisions that split Gaza from the West Bank in 2007 and led to the collapse of the Palestinian legislative council. There has not been a functioning Palestinian parliament since.

Initial reports suggested that the announcement signaled Hamas's return to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is internationally recognized as representing the Palestinian people. But Fatah officials told the Guardian that the militant group is yet to sign the PLO charter, which would require it to lay down arms.

Ghassan Khatib, a spokesperson for Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the progress, saying that in order to the achieve independence through the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority must prioritize reunification.

"We are hopeful the reconciliation will be successful," Khatib said. "We cannot say we are ready for independence and statehood before we have a reunified Palestinian system."

On Tuesday, the delegates agreed to set up both an electoral commission and a deadline for the establishment of a caretaker cabinet of technocrats. Both sides agreed that all political prisoners currently held in the West Bank and Gaza would be released by the end of January.

The issue of prisoners has been a critical sticking point. Officials in the Gaza Strip point out that since Abbas promised to release Hamas prisoners held by the Palestinian Authority at his last meeting with Meshaal in November, 89 members of the militant faction have been arrested in the West Bank.

Cynics within both factions maintain that the victories won at the Cairo summit are hollow. While Hamas has agreed to accept the foundation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, the militant group steadfastly refuses to abandon its armed resistance to the Israeli occupation or recognize the state of Israel.

"We want really to end this [division] but I am not optimistic," a spokesperson for Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said earlier this week, indicating that the leadership of acting prime minister Salam Fayyad remained an obstacle. "Abu Mazen [Abbas] has said no government without Salam Fayyad. This is not negotiation."

Fayyad is regarded with suspicion by Hamas.

Hamas officials also predict that heavy diplomatic and financial pressure applied by Israel and the US will ultimately prevent Mahmoud Abbas from forming a unity government.

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has issued an ultimatum to the Palestinian leader, warning that he must choose between reconciliation with Hamas and peace with Israel, a stance confirmed by his spokesperson on Thursday.

"Hamas is openly against peace. Terrorism is not just a tactic it is their very being. The unfortunate reality is that if Abbas moves towards Hamas, he moves away from peace," Mark Regev said.

Washington has indicated it will cut millions of dollars in funding to the Palestinian security infrastructure if the current leadership unifies with Hamas.

If the new Palestinian government is established in late January, its birth will coincide with the deadline presented to Palestinian and Israeli leaders by the Middle East quartet to present roadmaps to peace. The international mediating body has requested serious proposals on border and security issues from both governments by 26 January.

Source: The Guardian.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/palestinian-factions-agree-unified-government.