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Post by dan on Apr 6, 2011 8:35:46 GMT 4
Really? The words "...going to take..." would then mean he does not presently have the stromatolite in his possession? I am getting the feeling he tried to twist your arm? You mean he "wants" $750.00 for 1/2 interest? To how many decimal points to the right of the period does he present?
Dan He writes he doesn't have it yet but has been there, and goes to the same school as the man who gave you the Lat/Long. Angling for money for sure and yeah my mistype. The number he provided goes to the tenths position, N/W. sesq It sounds to me like he's hearing something from the discussions of others and is trying to make good off it. He has the precision of 1/10 of a degree, whereas I have 1/100 of a second. He admittedly has nothing in his possession (except whatever data claim) and his College is in session at the moment, quite a distance from here.
Provide this counter-proposal:
Should I arrive on scene and find the material detached from the substrate and/or likewise prepped for transport loading, I'll not touch it. Should I arrive and find the material still attached to the substrate, I will initiate my protocols for sample extraction. Either way, I am by no means interested in a half share of anything...especially when someone is suggesting to me to spend $750.00 for something he says he doesn't physically possess! ;D
Dan
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Post by sesq on Apr 6, 2011 8:40:03 GMT 4
He writes he doesn't have it yet but has been there, and goes to the same school as the man who gave you the Lat/Long. Angling for money for sure and yeah my mistype. The number he provided goes to the tenths position, N/W. sesq It sounds to me like he's hearing something from the discussions of others and is trying to make good off it. He has the precision of 1/10 of a degree, whereas I have 1/100 of a second. He admittedly has nothing in his possession (except whatever data claim) and his College is in session at the moment, quite a distance from here.
Provide this counter-proposal:
Should I arrive on scene and find the material detached from the substrate and/or likewise prepped for transport loading, I'll not touch it. Should I arrive and find the material still attached to the substrate, I will initiate my protocols for sample extraction. Either way, I am by no means interested in a half share of anything...especially when someone is suggesting to me to spend $750.00 for something he says he doesn't physically possess! ;D
Dan You don't work and play well with others! ;D sesq
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Post by dan on Apr 6, 2011 8:43:29 GMT 4
It sounds to me like he's hearing something from the discussions of others and is trying to make good off it. He has the precision of 1/10 of a degree, whereas I have 1/100 of a second. He admittedly has nothing in his possession (except whatever data claim) and his College is in session at the moment, quite a distance from here.
Provide this counter-proposal:
Should I arrive on scene and find the material detached from the substrate and/or likewise prepped for transport loading, I'll not touch it. Should I arrive and find the material still attached to the substrate, I will initiate my protocols for sample extraction. Either way, I am by no means interested in a half share of anything...especially when someone is suggesting to me to spend $750.00 for something he says he doesn't physically possess! ;D
Dan You don't work and play well with others! ;D sesq I absolutely do! ...just not when they come hat in hand for $750 over something I have no proof they've ever once seen! ;D
Dan
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Post by sesq on Apr 6, 2011 12:38:58 GMT 4
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110406/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_libya_deadlocked_opponentsAirstrikes leave Libyan rebels and govt matchedBy PAUL SCHEMM and RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press – 1 hr 56 mins ago
BREGA, Libya – The Libyan rebels' battlefield tactics have come a long way since their chaotic, amateur performance just weeks before when their untrained fighters madly charged ahead and then fled just as wildly in the face of bombardment.
On a recent day on the front lines, a truck-born battery of rockets moved methodically, unleashing a whooshing volley of Grads on government forces, then advanced several hundred yards (meters) ahead to avoid counter-strikes before firing again. Forward observers with newly acquired satellite phones and GPS trackers guide the strikes.[/size] But despite being more organized, as well as reinforced with captured heavy weapons and backed by some of the world's finest air forces, the rebels are a long away from overpowering Moammar Gadhafi's forces, much less marching on the capital, Tripoli.
The core of the rebel force is about 1,000 military troops who defected to the opposition backed now by hundreds of civilian volunteers who underwent at least some quick training in the past weeks. Alongside them are thousands of other untrained volunteers, most of whom are of little use in a real fight.
They face a government force at the front lines that is believed to be somewhat smaller. But Gadhafi's troops are better trained and remain better equipped, even after international airstrikes have destroyed nearly a third of their weaponry.
The back and forth fighting, with NATO stepping in case the rebels lose too badly, has left Libya a divided country mired in a military stalemate.
On paper, Gadhafi's army looks much stronger.
The three crack security brigades run by his sons Khamis, al-Saadi and Muatassim — the best forces Libya has — are estimated to total up to 20,000 men, said George Joffe, a Libya researcher at the Center of International Studies at Cambridge University. "The only organized military formations in Libya are under the control of the Gadhafi government."
But only a fraction of those are available to deploy on the main front against rebels trying to advance from the east. The rest are busy laying siege to the main rebel-held city in the west, Misrata, or are needed to hold down the rest of the fractious country.
"They've got to keep forces in the south, in the center, in the rest of Tripolitania," said Joffe, referring to the western half of the country. "They must be stretched rather thin."
Even if airstrikes hadn't stopped Gadhafi's forces from using heavy weapons, Joffe said, they still wouldn't have had the manpower to occupy the rebel-held east and take the de facto opposition capital, Benghazi. "It's taken them two weeks or more just to subdue Misrata, you can imagine how much longer it would have taken them to deal with Benghazi."
In their 2009 "Balance of Forces," the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the Libyan army had a staggering 1,914 tanks. More than half of them, however, were believed to be out of operation due to a lack of spare parts at the time and only 181 were the comparatively modern Russian-built 1980s-era T-72 tanks.NATO announced on Tuesday that since March 19, the U.N. mandated no-fly zone and accompanying campaign of airstrikes across the country has destroyed 30 percent of Gadhafi's weaponry, forcing the Libyan army to protect the rest with human shields or conceal them in cities. Others are entrenched, guarding the approach to Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.However, the government has still managed to stall the rebel advance with rockets and artillery in battles this week over the oil town of Brega.
"It depends on airstrikes, or we get more reinforcements and weapons," said Lt. Muftah Omar Hamza, a professional soldier fighting for the rebels. "We need tanks, rocket launchers and Grad (rockets)."
The first month of fighting saw bands of lightly armed rebel volunteers, known as the "shebab" or youth, making disorganized rushes across the desert only to be pummeled by the government's heavy weapons. At one point, Gadhafi's men nearly took back Benghazi until they were stopped by the airstrikes.
But now dissident military units are taking the lead on the rebel side, and it seems to be paying off for them — with careful tactics, cautious advances and a policy of keeping the rank amateurs away from the front. The rebels have also been better at bringing into use dozens more rockets and mortars captured from government forces.There are also now spotters equipped with satellite phones and GPS trackers to improve the accuracy of the rebel barrages.
"Now we have orders to hold certain positions," said Mansour Obeid, a representative of the rebel's military council, who was helping coordinate the fighting at the front. "We're still getting back-up forces from across the east and we have told the shebab to go back and get training in Benghazi." Everywhere in the long stretches of desert between the towns of Benghazi, Ajdabiya and Brega lie the burned out hulks of Gadhafi's once proud tank force, blasted by airstrikes.
But now the regime forces have changed their tactics as well. They have stopped using their heavy armor at the front because of its vulnerability to airstrikes. Instead, they move in pickup trucks like the rebels, but they also have greater numbers of rockets that they can rain down on the opposition.
That and the heavy weapons they have in reserve make it highly unlikely the rebels will be able to take heavily defended Sirte, which they would have to do to advance beyond to Tripoli.
Only a much more aggressive campaign of airstrikes would be likely to break the deadlock.
"At the current juncture I don't think the will is there unless the situation becomes more serious and it becomes politically expedient to do so," Theodore Karasik of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai said of the prospect of closer air support from NATO.
"It's going to take more discipline and order within their ranks plus the addition of extra types of weaponry in order to take out Gadhafi's entrenched forces, and that at this juncture seems difficult to do," said Karasik, predicting a long drawn out stalemate and a divided country.
For now the airstrikes have bought the rebels time. Time for the rebel army to organize themselves and start buying heavy weapons of their own, but it is unclear if they will ever be equal to Gadhafi's army.
"We cannot match their weapons," said Kamal Mughrabi, 64, a retired soldier who joined the rebel army as shells drove the rebels back once again from Brega on Tuesday. "If the planes don't come back and hit them we'll have to keep pulling back."
____
Schemm reported from Cairo.
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Post by sesq on Apr 7, 2011 15:11:54 GMT 4
Eagles Disobey has had no time to move threads, or anything like that. Through the night into the day now in Libya, our Ground Forces have been in a pitch-battle near Misrata. We are opening corridors where we can, for innocent women and children to flee to areas of safety, while standing in the way of Gadhafi's forces. After each incident like that, we withdraw, and find where other innocents are being trapped by the movement of Gadhafi's forces then the same thing plays out over and over. Our air fore is being stifled because the Gadhafi forces are HIDING BEHIND innocent people. We are deployed under sometimes incoming tank fire, meet up with local leaders and Rebels, and try to coordinate innocents out of the line of fire. While Dr. Marci was overseeing the direction of our actions, Dr. Dan has been in teleconferences with Rebel Leaders in Benghazi.
I have to go. No more time. sesq
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Post by sesq on Apr 7, 2011 16:21:35 GMT 4
Breaking our hearts, a few minutes ago, we were informed that Majestic has lost its first female operative in the hostilities. CiC Dr. Marci has instructed that even though special honors in prayers and statements will be said, after the return of our fallen, other details are being covered due to her being a female: a special Honor Guard of 3 armed Agents, 1 of which a female, and continuous live (recorded) camera coverage is being placed showing the whole room and where she is temporarily resting in honor. We have many support staff in Tunisia and Egypt, many we do not know "personally" and who are not Sworn agents. So, unitl her return to the U.S., these arrangements will be in effect without let up. On her return home, she will be carried by an all female Honor Guard. sesq
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Post by ann on Apr 8, 2011 4:50:16 GMT 4
Breaking our hearts, a few minutes ago, we were informed that Majestic has lost its first female operative in the hostilities. CiC Dr. Marci has instructed that even though special honors in prayers and statements will be said, after the return of our fallen, other details are being covered due to her being a female: a special Honor Guard of 3 armed Agents, 1 of which a female, and continuous live (recorded) camera coverage is being placed showing the whole room and where she is temporarily resting in honor. We have many support staff in Tunisia and Egypt, many we do not know "personally" and who are not Sworn agents. So, unitl her return to the U.S., these arrangements will be in effect without let up. On her return home, she will be carried by an all female Honor Guard. sesq The SOPs about this are over 500 pages on this but I see nothing where the S@A and MJ1 can't bear her. The Maj never envisioned this happening. The COS has a position leading the procession, but it doesn't say anything about the S@A probably because the S@A did not much in the past, eh? When the group is scheduled to arrive on the East Coast Marce and I will be there and join the official guard at that time. Marce will accompany and be another one bearing her. MJ1 can designate anyone to act as Lead Escort with the COS behind Clergy. She'll designate Dan. Need to call all the Ladies later tonight to discuss creating a new policy for how the women should be dressed. The SoF will fly our uniforms in with external armor but the 12 Second March could become too much for all of us? I strongly feel that even though it is a Maj burial, she must be provided with an SoF Guard by Sword and Armor. We'll talk it out. A
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Post by marci on Apr 8, 2011 5:04:49 GMT 4
Breaking our hearts, a few minutes ago, we were informed that Majestic has lost its first female operative in the hostilities. CiC Dr. Marci has instructed that even though special honors in prayers and statements will be said, after the return of our fallen, other details are being covered due to her being a female: a special Honor Guard of 3 armed Agents, 1 of which a female, and continuous live (recorded) camera coverage is being placed showing the whole room and where she is temporarily resting in honor. We have many support staff in Tunisia and Egypt, many we do not know "personally" and who are not Sworn agents. So, unitl her return to the U.S., these arrangements will be in effect without let up. On her return home, she will be carried by an all female Honor Guard. sesq The SOPs about this are over 500 pages on this but I see nothing where the S@A and MJ1 can't bear her. The Maj never envisioned this happening. The COS has a position leading the procession, but it doesn't say anything about the S@A probably because the S@A did not much in the past, eh? When the group is scheduled to arrive on the East Coast Marce and I will be there and join the official guard at that time. Marce will accompany and be another one bearing her. MJ1 can designate anyone to act as Lead Escort with the COS behind Clergy. She'll designate Dan. Need to call all the Ladies later tonight to discuss creating a new policy for how the women should be dressed. The SoF will fly our uniforms in with external armor but the 12 Second March could become too much for all of us? I strongly feel that even though it is a Maj burial, she must be provided with an SoF Guard by Sword and Armor. We'll talk it out. A I asked Dan about the two traditions colliding and you already pointed to the answer he came up with to solve the problem. She will be carried by 6 Sworn women, wearing the traditional mourning black with fedoras. The Guard and Clergy will lead the Casket. That prevents heat exhaustion in the 12 Second March. 4 women, at the Guard corner points will be mounted, in the armor of the SoF, and carrying steel, accompanying the Lady to her resting place. I will carry the Sword of the Consistory. This means we'll need 4 heavy horses and all that entails. M
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Post by ann on Apr 8, 2011 5:09:22 GMT 4
The SOPs about this are over 500 pages on this but I see nothing where the S@A and MJ1 can't bear her. The Maj never envisioned this happening. The COS has a position leading the procession, but it doesn't say anything about the S@A probably because the S@A did not much in the past, eh? When the group is scheduled to arrive on the East Coast Marce and I will be there and join the official guard at that time. Marce will accompany and be another one bearing her. MJ1 can designate anyone to act as Lead Escort with the COS behind Clergy. She'll designate Dan. Need to call all the Ladies later tonight to discuss creating a new policy for how the women should be dressed. The SoF will fly our uniforms in with external armor but the 12 Second March could become too much for all of us? I strongly feel that even though it is a Maj burial, she must be provided with an SoF Guard by Sword and Armor. We'll talk it out. A I asked Dan about the two traditions colliding and you already pointed to the answer he came up with to solve the problem. She will be carried by 6 Sworn women, wearing the traditional mourning black with fedoras. The Guard and Clergy will lead the Casket. That prevents heat exhaustion in the 12 Second March. 4 women, at the Guard corner points will be mounted, in the armor of the SoF, and carrying steel, accompanying the Lady to her resting place. I will carry the Sword of the Consistory. This means we'll need 4 heavy horses and all that entails. M I will find 2 other women in the SoF in the U.S. who can ride, maybe not the way we can, but they'll be able to ride. A
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Post by caspa on Apr 8, 2011 5:18:41 GMT 4
I asked Dan about the two traditions colliding and you already pointed to the answer he came up with to solve the problem. She will be carried by 6 Sworn women, wearing the traditional mourning black with fedoras. The Guard and Clergy will lead the Casket. That prevents heat exhaustion in the 12 Second March. 4 women, at the Guard corner points will be mounted, in the armor of the SoF, and carrying steel, accompanying the Lady to her resting place. I will carry the Sword of the Consistory. This means we'll need 4 heavy horses and all that entails. M I will find 2 other women in the SoF in the U.S. who can ride, maybe not the way we can, but they'll be able to ride. A Ladies I'm FEI rated. I used to jump in college. We only need one more. I'll call you. F
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Post by caspa on Apr 9, 2011 8:07:39 GMT 4
I am creating a hidden subboard, per D's suggestion, with the subboard name and password handed to the admins. The subboard will contain a thread tracking the text of the recebnt "incident." The infomration will be sent to them via PM.
Once it is done, I am returning Eagles Diosbey to normal Chatter Mode for the public to see. This will also allow the members of the GT access to the Eagles subboard.
Why have we been so silent? We just lost our second female of 10 we have in Libya. A careful look of both incidents shows that their gender played no part in their demise. They both died in the act of using their light weapons against the oppressors. Still, Majestic is facing opposition from NATO, the U.S., the Gadhafi government (obvious), and now some of the REBEL units because many of their groups want things done "their way" and their way involves pressuring with force the population members who don't want to follow them. Maj faces toughs choice in the near future. Nothing, except unethical/immoral behavior, is on the table. That includes the status quo, breaking from all alliances and goingit alone to stand in the way of the people instead of them being harmed, a reduction of our force to humanitarian and enforcement-protection to safety only (favored at this time by Dr. Dan), to the possibility of complete withdrawal. Many more things are going oin, on the business/contracts/economics level than the force deployments. We will keep you informed.
Why haven't we reported on the possible U.S. government business shutdown? Both sides are just political grandstanding. They do it over and over again.
A note on Security and the Mail. We have two new physical mail screeners. They check the P.O. Boxes, and run all letters and packages through their scanners. (Once more: positive letters and letters regarding pruducts or product troubles reach Dr. Marci. Most of the others don't even make it out of the Mail hub, let alone being seen by the Eagles.)
Fran
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Post by auroralaura on Apr 14, 2011 19:37:28 GMT 4
www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/14/libya.war/index.html?hpt=T2Residents report fierce fighting in besieged Libyan cityBy the CNN Wire Staff April 14, 2011 10:24 a.m. EDT Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi's forces again pounded the besieged Libyan city of Misrata on Thursday, targeting the port where a medical aid ship was expected to dock and destroying a cement factory and cargo containers, residents said. At least 20 people were killed and more than 20 others were wounded in the dawn attack at the port and a nearby residential area, said Mohammed, a medical assistant who did not want his full name used for security reasons. " If people do not die here from shelling, they will die from starving since Gadhafi is preventing aid from arriving to the port," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Gadhafi's forces reportedly destroyed crucial food supply warehouses in Misrata and cut off water and power to the city "in an apparent attempt to starve (residents) into submission."Misrata resident Abdlsalam told CNN the road leading to the port had also been attacked and that the shelling had prevented a ship intended to evacuate people from docking."I couldn't hear any NATO planes today," said Abdlsalam, also not identified fully for security reasons. CNN could not independently verify the reports but the International Organization for Migration said it chartered a 800-person capacity boat to evacuate at least 6,000 stranded migrant workers in Misrata, many of whom have been living in warehouses with little food and a lot of fear.The organization said the boat was carrying hundreds of tons of medical aid to Misrata and was en route to the port."From reports on the ground, this rescue mission cannot come soon enough," an IOM worker on the boat said in a news release. "It is going to be heartbreaking not being able to take everyone out at once."Misrata has been under siege for weeks and its residents, especially vulnerable. Reports of civilian casualties streamed in Tuesday and Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation is particularly grave in the cities of Misrata, Zintan and al-Brega in the east because of critical food and water shortages."We are also deeply concerned with the fate of third-country nationals who are trapped in the areas of fighting," Ban said at an Arab League meeting on Libya in Cairo. European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said the first priority is to work toward a cease-fire and clear the way for humanitarian assistance.At a NATO meeting in Berlin, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen endorsed the message that came out of Wednesday's international summit in Qatar that Gadhafi must step down immediately.Rasmussen told reporters that NATO has the necessary assets to continue aerial strikes but the tactical nature of the fight has changed. "Now they hide their heavy arms in populated areas, where before many targets were easier to get to," Rasmussen said. "To avoid civilian casualties, we need very sophisticated equipment. So, we need a few more precision fighter ground-attack aircraft for air-to-ground missions."STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* A medical assistant says at least 20 people are killed; 20 others are wounded * NATO chief says sophisticated equipment is needed now * The shelling targets the port where ships are bringing in aid and evacuating people * The situation is dire in Misrata, the U.N. chief say--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AL
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Post by ninathedog on Apr 27, 2011 23:43:21 GMT 4
Egypt gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan explodesBBC.com 27 April 2011 Last updated at 06:50 ETA pipeline carrying gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan has exploded after an attack by an armed gang in the north Sinai area of Egypt. A tower of flames shot into the air and forced the pipeline to be shut down, Egyptian security officials say. The flames shot into the air as dawn brokeIt is the second such attack in a month on the pipeline, south of the town of el-Arish, just 30 miles (50km) from the border with Israel. On that occasion, when gunmen planted explosives, they failed to detonate. "An unknown armed gang attacked the gas pipeline," an unnamed security source told Reuters, adding that the flow of gas to Israel and Jordan had been hit. Neighbouring Jordan depends on Egyptian gas to generate 80% of its electricity while Israel gets 40% of its natural gas from the country. Syria also imports gas from Egypt. Any disruption would force Jordan to rely on more expensive diesel fuel. The valves controlling the flow of gas from the main terminal in Port Said, on the Mediterranean coast, were shut down to dampen the flames and people living nearby were forced to leave their homes. However, there have been no reports of casualties. 'Long-term problem'The pipeline has frequently been targeted, including an attack on 5 February during the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak from power. On that occasion, gas exports to Israel and Jordan were stopped for a month. Egypt's agreement to supply gas to Israel, built on the 1979 peace accord, has long been controversial. A former energy minister and other officials face trial for allegedly agreeing below market prices. Recent protests outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo called for supplies to be cut. Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil el-Araby told the BBC that "gas exports are going on". Now though, it appears saboteurs have had their way. Officials in the sparsely-populated north Sinai blame weak security for allowing another attack on the pipeline. There will be suspicion that local Bedouin tribes, who have grievances with the central government, were again involved. Israel relies on Egypt for at least 40% of its natural gas. Yet it does have alternatives. A huge Israeli gas field known as "Tamar" was found two years ago off the north coast. When it starts production in 2013 it will meet all national gas needs. The area is home to Bedouin tribesmen who have often complained of being neglected and oppressed by the central government. Tribesmen attempted to sabotage the pipeline in July 2010, AP reports. The main road in the area was temporarily closed by tribesmen on Tuesday but then reopened by the army, Egypt's Mena news agency reported. Egypt began supplying Israel with gas in 2008 under a 20-year deal.But a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, Danny Yatom, said Israel now should focus on developing its own offshore gas reserves. "We need to understand that this is a problem we're going to live with for a very long time, and we need to start preparing an alternative now," he told Israeli radio. There is widespread opposition to the deal in Egypt because of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
There has also been a lengthy legal battle to ban supplies to Israel, amid claims that the gas was being sold at preferential rates. A ban was imposed by a court then overturned by the Supreme Court last year, though it was never enforced. Are you in the area? Did you see the explosion? Have you been affected by the attack? Send us your comments and experiences.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13204754Saboteurs attack Egypt gas pipeline to JordanPublished today (updated) 05/02/2011 20:07 Ma'an News AgencyFlames rise from a gas pipeline attack in Egypt's northern SinaiEL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- An Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline targeted by an explosion early Saturday in the Sinai supplied Jordan with gas, according to Egyptian officials who said the line was connected to others used by Israel. The Israeli-Egyptian gas company, East Mediterranean Gas, said attackers blew up a measuring station at the Jordanian sub-line. The attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai, near the Gaza Strip, a security official said. Some media initially said the pipeline to Israel was attacked. The pipeline which exploded originates in Port Said before it splits off in two directions, one toward Israel and the other to Jordan through the Sinai, Ma'an's El-Arish correspondent reported from the scene. "The pipeline to Jordan has been attacked and the supply to Israel has been cut off," an official said.Security sources said foreign saboteurs were suspected and Bedouin forces were on heightened alert. Egyptian forces shut down the gas supply from the main source immediately after the explosion. The army has taken precautionary measures to stop the fire from spreading, an official said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible, or whether the attack was linked to the deadly protests against President Hosni Mubarak's rule, which entered their 12th day Saturday. "We still don't have details of how it happened," he added. Israeli public radio quoted an Egyptian official as saying the attack was carried out at dawn, using a small amount of explosives that caused only minor damage. The fire lasted three hours and was under control, while gas supplies to Israel and Jordan were cut, the official said. An armed Bedouin group in June threatened to attack the pipeline, security officials said, leading Egyptian authorities to beef up security around the pipeline and terminal. Police relations with the region's former nomads are often tense, with the Bedouin complaining of routine harassment and discrimination. Activists accuse the police of exploiting concerns about the pipeline to crack down on the community. Human rights groups have criticized Egyptian policy towards the Bedouin, who faced harsh police treatment after a series of bombings in Sinai resorts between 2004 and 2006 which killed dozens of Egyptians and foreign tourists. Egypt supplies about 40 percent of Israel's natural gas, and in December, four Israeli firms signed 20-year contracts worth up to $10 billion dollars to import Egyptian gas.
The attack came after Israel expressed concern that its natural gas supplies from Egypt could be threatened if a new regime takes power in Cairo."We again realize that the Middle East is not a stable region. We must act to ensure our energy security without relying on others," a spokesman for Israel's National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said Tuesday. Israel is concerned that a post-Mubarak regime might not respect the bilateral peace treaty signed three decades ago -- potentially threatening the crucial energy supplies Egypt provides. A broad swathe of Egypt's opposition, including the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, as well as public opinion, has called for Cairo to stop supplying Israel with gas. Landau on Monday summoned the heads of Israeli companies that are developing the offshore Tamar gas field -- due to start production in 2013 -- to urge them to push ahead with its timely development, his office said. Landau told them Tamar's importance was even greater "in these times of unrest in our region." The field, off the port city of Haifa in northern Israel, holds estimated reserves of eight billion cubic meters. Israel's Globes financial newspaper reported that Landau's ministry had conducted exercises dealing with emergency scenarios in which gas supplies were cut off. It gave no further details. AFP contributed to this report.www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357092(many thanks to Tom V)
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Post by auroralaura on Apr 28, 2011 23:58:59 GMT 4
www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/28/petraeus.panetta.impact/index.html?hpt=T1New men, new missions at Pentagon and CIABy Alan Silverleib, CNN April 28, 2011 3:13 p.m. EDT STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Gen. David Petraeus has been tapped to head the CIA * CIA Director Leon Panetta has been nominated to lead the Defense Department * Petraeus will provide much-needed leadership for an agency more heavily involved in military missions * Panetta will likely help oversee an era of declining Pentagon budgets and fewer large-scale conflicts Washington (CNN) -- It's Washington's version of the reality television show "Wife Swap." President Barack Obama has tapped one of the country's top military men to head the Central Intelligence Agency, while the current CIA chief is being nominated to take charge of the military. The decision to send Gen. David Petraeus to the CIA and shift CIA Director Leon Panetta to the Pentagon is as much a reflection of the political skills of two talented bureaucratic infighters as it is a sign of the administration's shifting agenda in a variety of hot spots around the world. Faced with a looming reelection campaign and tighter budget constraints, Obama wants to move ahead with plans to complete the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and begin the process of winding down the unpopular war in Afghanistan, according to numerous analysts. New fiscal and political realities are contributing to a growing emphasis on smaller, more flexible, less costly, and potentially more dangerous military and paramilitary engagements in the years ahead.Translation? A smaller Defense Department that is more reliant on solid intelligence gathering, and an increasingly militarized CIA more heavily involved in armed conflicts. Panetta and Petraeus are, by all accounts, uniquely qualified to manage the change. "This team will provide the leadership to help make our nation safer," said South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key congressional voice on security matters. "I could not be more pleased with these selections." The post-9/11 wars have made Pentagon and CIA coordination "essential," former CIA Director John McLaughlin told CNN. "It hasn't always been that smooth, but over time we've learned from experience." Panetta, 72, has been described as the consummate Washington insider. He took over at the CIA in February 2009, and previously served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton between 1994 and 1997. Prior to that, the California Democrat served as director of Clinton's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) -- a position that, by definition, requires mastery of tricky fiscal situations and an understanding of the federal government's sprawling bureaucracies. As of February, more than 1.4 million people were serving in the U.S. armed forces. Panetta also served in the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993, a period in which he established deep congressional ties. His friendships and institutional knowledge of Capitol Hill will be critical in terms of helping to mold congressional opinion and balance Pentagon priorities against growing deficit fears. In taking charge of the Defense Department's changing missions, Panetta will "deal with it the way he dealt with issues at the CIA," McLaughlin said. "He'll seek the facts."Over the last couple of years, Panetta has "had to make difficult decisions on which there were no easy answers," McLaughlin added. "That's pretty good schooling for the kinds of decisions he is going to have to make at the Pentagon, where ... difficult choices are going to be necessary." For his part, Petraeus already has an "intimacy with the (CIA's) capability," McLaughlin said. "He knows its strengths. He knows whatever shortcomings it may have. He knows the people very well. He knows what buttons to push." Petraeus, 58, assumed command of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in July 2010, after serving for more than 20 months as commander of the U.S. Central Command. He has worked with the CIA in helping to oversee the military's predator drone strikes against extremists in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.Petraeus also previously commanded multi-national forces in Iraq, leading the so-called "surge" -- the deployment of more U.S. troops and the implementation of new strategies to reverse setbacks and make strides to defeat the insurgency and end the war. Over the years, he has retained enormous popularity and respect in the halls of Congress. During his time commanding the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, he oversaw the development of the Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual. Petraeus, analysts note, already has a close relationship with intelligence sources around the broader Middle East, including Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and a host of other pivotal countries. In that respect, he will have little trouble transitioning to the CIA's traditional role of intelligence gathering. One major change for the general, McLaughlin notes, is that the CIA director typically does not make policy. The head of the CIA "basically defines the situation as it exists on the ground (and) informs policy, but stops short of actually recommending policy," he said. "Gen. Petraeus will be moving into a job that has a somewhat less prominent policy role than the jobs he has had in the past." Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said a key cultural difference waiting for Petraeus is that, unlike the military, "folks at the CIA don't get the hierarchy thing real well. He will be faced with a degree of informality with which he is unaccustomed." Hayden, however, didn't see that aspect of the transition as a particularly large hurdle. At the CIA, Petraeus will find a culture of "patriotism, service, sacrifice, (and) value of group before self," he said. It is "a culture with which he will have great comfort."
CNN's Pam Benson, Tom Cohen, and Barbara Starr contributed to this report -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AL I wish to congratulate these men and hope they keep what is best for all people in mind (a just-peace) during those times when "difficult decisions" must be made. I'd recommend when troubled, they ask: "What Would Marcia and Dan Do?" or (WWMADD?)
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Post by auroralaura on May 3, 2011 4:40:21 GMT 4
www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Swiss+reveal+funds+stashed+Gadhafi+Mubarak/4711792/story.htmlSwiss reveal funds stashed by Gadhafi, Mubarak, Ben Ali By Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters May 2, 2011 5:02 PM GENEVA — Switzerland has found 360 million Swiss francs ($415.8 million US) of potentially illegal assets linked to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his circle stashed in the Alpine country, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Some 410 million Swiss francs traced to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and 60 million Swiss francs linked to former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali have also been identified, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel said. "In the case of Libya, it was 360 million Swiss francs," Knuchel told Reuters. " These amounts are frozen in Switzerland following blocking orders by the Swiss government related to potentially illegal assets in Switzerland". Both Tunisia and Egypt — where unrest led to the ousting of Ben Ali and Mubarak — are in touch with Swiss judicial authorities regarding their formal requests for legal assistance to seek return of the funds, according to Knuchel. No such discussions are underway with authorities in Libya, where Gaddafi is clinging to power in the face of an uprising and NATO air strikes. Neutral Switzerland had previously announced that it was freezing any assets linked to the three North African leaders, thereby requiring financial and other institutions to report any suspicious funds. The respective amounts were fairly "stable", based on information provided by Swiss-based financial institutions to authorities, Knuchel said. He declined to name the banks or the cantons (states) in which the accounts or properties are held. Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey was shown on Swiss television on Monday night telling Swiss ambassadors from the North Africa and the Middle East holding a meeting in the Tunisian capital Tunis: "The funds that Mr. Ben Ali put in Switzerland were not very significant. We did not have very good relations with his regime." Swiss authorities also froze assets belonging to Ivory Coast's now deposed President Laurent Gbagbo in January.
Switzerland has worked hard in recent years to improve its image as a haven for ill-gotten assets. Its cabinet has previously taken blocked funds in accounts held by deposed leaders including Ferdinant Marcos of the Philippines and Nigeria's Sani Abacha, buying time for foreign prosecutors to build a case for restitution of funds. Knuchel said that Switzerland had returned $800 million, held by Abacha, to Nigeria, although it took some 4-5 years to complete legal proceedings. "It was a good example of restitution," he said. The Swiss Finance Ministry said earlier on Monday it had started proceedings to return assets of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, frozen since 1986, to the Haitian government.© Copyright (c) Reuters ------------------------------------------ AL Thank you Marcia.
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