SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
Puppet MastersS
Eight people were killed and fifteen wounded by a suicide bombing in the Russian Republic of Ingushetia, according to reports by the country's main law enforcement agency.
Both police and civilians were injured in the blast, according to the latest casualty figures.
The bombing targeted mourners at a funeral for a police officer killed in a shootout on Saturday.
The force of the explosive device was reportedly equivalent to ten kilograms of TNT, and was packed with shrapnel to increase the likelihood of casualties. Earlier reports suggested the force of the bomb was equivalent to three kilograms.
"According to preliminary results, it was a suicide bomber who blew himself up at the mourning ceremony," RIA Novosti quoted the secretary of the Region's Security Council as saying.
"A head of a man whom nobody was able to identify was found several meters from the site of the bombing," Interfax news agency reported, quoting a source in the Republic's police agency. "It may suggest the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber."
© MilitaryPhotos
In the first strike, missiles fired from unmanned American spy planes hit two vehicles near the Afghan border, killing at least seven militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The strike came in the Mana area of North Waziristan, the officials added.
The officials say the area is dominated by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a commander whose forces often strike U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but they did not know whether his men were the targets of Sundays' strike. A U.S. drone strike Saturday also in North Waziristan killed five Gul Bahadur allies.
About 10 hours later on Sunday, two missiles destroyed a home also in the Mana area, killing three militants, the officials said.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The drone program is hotly contested in Pakistan.
© Press TVChildren gather near a house destroyed in a US drone attack on civilians in northwest Pakistan (File photo)
Pakistani officials told Press TV that nine people were killed after a US drone fired four missiles at two vehicles in Mana area of Shawal district in North Waziristan on Sunday morning.
This is while on Saturday twelve people lost their lives when a US drone targeted a building in the same troubled region.
Washington claims its drone strikes target militants, although casualty figures clearly indicate that Pakistani civilians are the main victims of the assaults.Despite Pakistani government's repeated calls on Washington to end the drone attacks, the US government continues its strikes on the tribal regions of the country.
© The Associated Press
Aug. 17, 2012: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the conclusion of an annual pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran.
Aug. 17, 2012: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the conclusion of an annual pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said confronting Israel is an effort to "protect the dignity of all human beings."
"The existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to all humanity," Ahmadinejad said. He was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
The comments are "reminiscent" of a letter written about the Jews and signed by Adolf Hitler in 1919, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wisenthal Center, says.
"Even though Ahmadinejad is attacking the state of Israel, we know what he means," Rabbi Hier said.
Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, support for radical anti-Israel groups on its borders and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction.
Ahmadinejad himself has repeatedly made such calls, as has Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
© The Associated Press/Vahid SalemiIranian demonstrators burn an Israeli and British flag during a an annual pro-Palestinian rally marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day, on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) St. in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012.
The remarks by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's air force, were reported Saturday by the official IRNA news agency.
Hajizadeh says in the event of an Israeli strike, Iran's response would be "swift, decisive and destructive." But he also claims Israeli threats of a strike are just part of a psychological war against Iran.
His comments are the latest in a war of words between the archenemies.
Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its suspect nuclear program. Iran denies seeking atomic weapons, saying its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes only.
But the agencies, most recently the Social Security Administration, are trying to put a damper on the speculation -- noting the ammunition is "standard issue" and simply used for mandatory federal training sessions.
"Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately," said a message on the official blog for Social Security's inspector general office explaining the purchases.
The bullet purchases drew widespread attention as the website Infowars.com published several stories on them that were linked off the widely read Drudge Report and other sites. Infowars.com catalogued a string of recent purchases -- first by the Department of Homeland Security, then by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and then the Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Administration solicitation, posted Aug. 7, called for 174,000 rounds of ".357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition."
Infowars.com speculated that the purchases were being made in preparation for "civil unrest," imagining a scenario of economic collapse where seniors could cause "disorder" if denied their Social Security benefits.
© Reuters/Adriane OhanesianSouth Sudanese disembark from a plane from Israel that arrived at the airport in Juba June 18, 2012. Israel deported a planeload of migrants to South Sudan early on Monday, the first of a series of weekly repatriation flights intended as a stepping stone to dealing with much greater influxes of migrants from Sudan and Eritrea.
More than 100 Sudanese nationals in Israel were given passports or birth certificates incorrectly labeling them as citizens of South Sudan, the report said. Israel has no repatriation agreement with Sudan, but can deport the asylum-seekers to the country's neighbor, which seceded last year from the North.
The revelation comes two months after Israel initiated a controversial 'emergency plan' to deport 60,000 African migrants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified the plan, claiming that "The breach of our borders by infiltrators could threaten the Jewish and democratic state. ... We will begin by removing the infiltrators from South Sudan and move on to others."
Comment: The things some countries will do to protect their xenophobic and racist identities.
Julian Assange calls on US to release Bradley Manning, charged with leaking classified info.
Source: The Associated Press
Source: The Associated Press
I haven't written about the so-called fiscal cliff because, against increasing evidence, I hold to Abba Eban's quote, "When all else fails, men turn to reason." But maybe not in today's America.The fiscal cliff is the set of budget cuts and tax increases that would automatically kick in next year. That is, unless Republicans and Democrats, the Congress and the White House, can agree to new tax and budget provisions, especially the shape of extending the Bush tax cuts. If we fall off the cliff, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the total effect could mean a 3.9 percent contraction in the growth rate of gross domestic product next year.
The fiscal cliff is replacing the eurozone crisis as the big deal facing the U.S. economy. As the New York Times reports, businesses are reducing their investments for fear that reason won't prevail. "Executives at companies making everything from electrical components and power systems to automotive parts say the fiscal stalemate is prompting them to pull back now, rather than wait for a possible resolution to the deadlock on Capitol Hill."
The fiscal cliff is replacing the eurozone crisis as the big deal facing the U.S. economy. As the New York Times reports, businesses are reducing their investments for fear that reason won't prevail. "Executives at companies making everything from electrical components and power systems to automotive parts say the fiscal stalemate is prompting them to pull back now, rather than wait for a possible resolution to the deadlock on Capitol Hill."
Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, is set to defy the British Government as he makes a dramatic public statement on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Mr Assange, 41, was due to make his first public statement this afternoon, two months after he walked into the central London building seeking asylum.
Australian - born Mr Assange is facing extradition to Sweden, where he is accused of the sexual assault of two women, which he denies.
Mr Assange remains at the centre of a diplomatic row involving six countries on five continents, having skipped bail to avoid extradition.
He is currently in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, which, under the terms of the Vienna Convention, British police cannot enter.
His legal adviser Balthasar Garcon emerged from the Ecuadorian embassy in London and said: "I have spoken to Julian Assange and I can tell you he is in fighting spirits and he is thankful to the people of Ecuador and especially to the president for granting asylum.
Mr Assange, 41, was due to make his first public statement this afternoon, two months after he walked into the central London building seeking asylum.
Australian - born Mr Assange is facing extradition to Sweden, where he is accused of the sexual assault of two women, which he denies.
Mr Assange remains at the centre of a diplomatic row involving six countries on five continents, having skipped bail to avoid extradition.
He is currently in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, which, under the terms of the Vienna Convention, British police cannot enter.
His legal adviser Balthasar Garcon emerged from the Ecuadorian embassy in London and said: "I have spoken to Julian Assange and I can tell you he is in fighting spirits and he is thankful to the people of Ecuador and especially to the president for granting asylum.
Comment: For more information about the use of drones please read:
Celebrating our "Warrior President"
Obama's Death Panels: Jeremy Scahill at the Drone Summit
Spy in the Sky: Is It Only a Matter of Time Before Drone Technology is Used in Civil Society?
Police State: "Robots R'US": Military-Style Drones on 63 Military Bases In The USA