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Showing posts from July 19, 2009

Prank callers get a kick out of terrorism in Medan

Seems like India is not only the place where the pranksters are active here in Jakarta as this report suggests have loads of them and they even get a kick out of making the police run around and make people run around in fear. Gosh.... Apriadi Gunawan , The Jakarta Post , Medan Sat, 07/25/2009 1:51 PM The Archipelago Unidentified callers have made a series of bomb threats at hotels and schools across Medan in North Sumatra, despite the recent arrest of a young suspect. The threats followed last Friday's twin bomb explosions at two luxury hotels in Jakarta, the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, which killed nine people. The latest target was two schools in Medan on Friday, causing panic among hundreds of students and forcing them to flee for their safety. The bomb threats were received simultaneously by the SD Soetomo elementary school and the SMP Methodist junior high school. Students were panicked when they were suddenly ordered to leave the classrooms and gather in the school ground

Osama-bin-Laden in FATA, may strike US from there: Mullen

Well here goes again the USA saying Osama is here there and everywhere. Now they are CONFIDENT he is in FATA in Pakistan. Well good luck boys. Freshnews US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen has said Al-Qaida chief Osama-bin-Laden is hiding in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and can strike the United States from there. Admiral Mullen said it was due to this fear, crushing Al-Qaeda was on top of Obama Administration’s agenda. “Al-Qaeda could certainly strike the US from Fata, that’s why the top objective of the current US strategy is to defeat al-Qaeda,” said Admiral Mullen. When enquired as to why the US is not taking on Al-Qaeda directly in FATA when it has credible information that bin-Laden is there, Mullen said: “FATA is in Pakistan and Pakistan is a sovereign country and we don’t go into sovereign countries.” In an interview with Qatar based Al-Jazeera television network , Mullen said the Pakistan Army, it appears, is serious about th

Sutli bomb blast sends Wadi residents into a tizzy

Wow now miscreants are also pranking the bomb blasts great, as if its not enough for us to face the increasing no of fundamentalist Islamic, left and separatists now one more headache. Great go boys go to hell. Indian Express story Residents of Gaindi Gate area went into a tizzy after a sutli bomb went off inside a vacant plot at Killewalo no Wadi locality on Friday. Although there was no damage, residents said the sound of the explosion was heard in one a kilometre radius. Later, senior officers, including Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, and officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) took stock of the situation. FSL officials took samples from the blast site for further investigation. “We will check the samples. Prime facie, it looks like a prank by some miscreants,” said Sub-Inspector L G Gamit from the Wadi police station. The police added that the plot belongs to one local businessman, Gautam Kadam. The plot has been vacant for several years and many residents dump waste

Medics 'need bomb wound training'

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The British Lancenet reports that the number of dead can be drastically reduced if they are empowered with the necessary knowledge of the blasts and a special training. BBC Report The bombing of a London bus took place outside the doctors' union Doctors need more training to deal with the victims of bomb blasts given the current threat of terrorism, a Lancet paper says. The injuries wrought by explosive devices are unique and the chances of survival depend greatly on recognition, US doctors write. From air entering the arteries to serious damage to the bowel wall, the wounds can be diverse. UK experts agreed there was an urgent need to understand these injuries. Figures on terrorism are notoriously controversial in part due to varied definitions of what constitutes a terrorist act. But doctors from the Denver Health Medical Center cite "conservative estimates" suggesting such events have risen four-fold from 1999 to 2006 worldwide. "Special-int

Indonesia suffers slight tourists' cancellation after hotel blasts

 The Indonesian economy also seems affecting after the Slight Tourist cancellations. Hope everything is fine and it is back on tracks and leads the war on terror in the region. Xinhua report  JAKARTA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia suffered only minor tourists visit cancellation following bomb blasts in two luxurious hotels in South Jakarta, the chairman the Association of Indonesia Tours and Travel said Friday.     "Until August 31, we have insignificant tourist arrival cancellation ranged 0-30 percent," Chairman Ben Sukma told reporters here.     He explained that cancellation to North Sumatra and West Sumatra province stood at 5-10 percent, consisting of tourists from Malaysia, Singapore, and Western Europe.     "Meanwhile, we saw large cancellation to Jakarta of 20-30 percent or 7,000 tourists from South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Europe. We haven't counted domestic tourists that were expected bigger than that," Ben said.     The provincial capital

Man Utd cancel Indonesia trip after bomb blasts

Seems like things are getting affected and Indonesia has had the first blow with the withdrawl of Man Untd from playing there. AFP Reports By Martin Parry (AFP) – Jul 16, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR — Manchester United's pre-season tour was thrown into chaos when they were forced to cancel the Indonesian leg after a bomb exploded at the Jakarta hotel they were due to stay in next week. Sir Alex Ferguson's team of multi-millionaire superstars arrived in Kuala Lumpur from England to be told about the carnage in the Indonesian capital, where at least nine people were killed and more than 40 were injured. They were due to play an Indonesian All-Star squad at the sold-out 100,000-capacity Bung Karno Stadium on Monday on their first-ever trip to the sprawling country and were booked into the Ritz-Carlton. But the hotel, along with the JW Marriott in the upscale Mega Kuningan business district in the city centre, were hit by explosions at around 8:00 am (0100 GMT), sending a huge plume of sm

Shielding Taliban? Pak refuses to move troops from Indian border

The Double standards and double speaks of pakistan seems never ending, after it refused to pull out troops from Indian border in the fight against terror it has nothing but exposed itself. will Pakistan learn ever that the Fundamentalists are more of a destructive force and not the Indians. The TOI Report TNN 24 July 2009, 04:48am IST  NEW DELHI: After a beguiling interval when Pakistan seemed prepared to see its internal challenges as more serious than those on its eastern border, Islamabad has flatly refused to move troops from the Indian front in what looks like a bid to protect the Taliban from a US surge in Afghanistan. In briefings to prominent US media, Pakistan officials have suggested that the American military surge in Afghanistan — post the review ordered by Barack Obama after he took office — would result in a sharp spillover in Balochistan where an insurgency is already raging. Containing increased levels of insurgency in Balochistan would require moving troops fro

The fight against Jemaah Islamiah is going better than it might seem

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The Economists' article on the Jakarta blasts is supportive of Indonesia and kinda shows it as different from the rest of its south east asian neighbours who havenot done much regarding the Terror linkages adn actionable evidences. Interesting one but I still wonder why Terrorism ? Jul 23rd 2009 | BANGKOK From The Economist print edition EPA As many thorns as petals CROSS-BORDER co-operation tops the agenda whenever ministers in South-East Asia meet, as they did this week on the Thai island of Phuket. Until now, legitimate businesses have struggled to build a common presence in the region. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Jemaah Islamiah (JI), an extremist group blamed for suicide bombings at two fancy business hotels in Jakarta on July 17th. The group cross-pollinates jihadists from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. It feeds on sectarian strife, lax policing and anti-Western hatred. Indonesia has felt the brunt of its rage: one of the two hotels hit last we

Force alone cannot eradicate terrorism

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Prof Sam Makinda is right when he says Socio- economic barriers and inequalities are to be removed. But why is it in the case of Muslims that it always happens that they take to violence and over and above the suicide attacks involving 16 years and even younger kids. I am perplexed by the arguments that so many people put forward but have not bee able to convince myself. Business daily africa columns Sam Makinda  By Sam Makinda  Posted Friday, July 24 2009 at 00:00 The suicide terrorist bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia, last week were partly designed to remind security forces in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, including Kenya, of their inability to protect all soft targets all the time. The attacks left at least eight people dead and hundreds injured, but their effect on Indonesia’s tourism industry, economy, level of employment, fledgling democracy, and its image abroad are not easy to calculate. One of the places targeted, the Marriot Hotel, had been bombed

Jakarta bombers' images released

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Wow thats a little late but an impressive outcome from the investigation of the Jakarta hotel blasts. And come on the Fugitive is 16to 17 year old, do they have a heart and if yes how can they make a young boy die like this. Something terriblly wrong with the Islamic Fundamentalists. The CBC report Last Updated: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 | 10:15 AM ET CBC News Sketches released Wednesday by the Indonesian National Police in Jakarta show the two men believed to have carried out the suicide bombing attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels last week. (Indonesian National Police/Associated Press) Indonesian police released on Wednesday images of the two men believed to have carried out the suicide bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta last week that left nine dead and more than 50 wounded. The sketches were based on the heads of two bodies found in the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the aftermath of the explosions, police said. Th

Taliban say Swat leader 'alive'

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Well Who's dead and who is alive, its Allah :) that decides but the Taliban is a pain in the arse no dobt about that, espl the USA and the western powers to be. He seems to be not getting rid of the US and the International forces looking for a peaceful if not comfortable AF PAK BBC reports Maulana Fazlullah commands the loyalty of many militants in Swat The Taliban has denied reports that their leader in Pakistan's Swat valley, Maulana Fazlullah, is close to death. A Taliban spokesman told the BBC he had not been injured and played a recording purportedly by the cleric. It was not clear when the message was recorded. Maulana Fazlullah was reported by the military to have been critically wounded during the army's recent offensive in the Swat valley. Pakistan's army says it has now largely defeated militants based in the region. The latest fighting in the Swat valley began in April when Pakistani Taliban forces expanded their operations into dis

Afghan war is 'worth the effort'

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Ofcourse it is Mr Joe BBC Report US Vice-President Joe Biden has told the BBC that the war in Afghanistan is in the interests of the US and the UK. "It is worth the effort we are making," he said, warning that the terror groups on the border with Pakistan could "wreak havoc" on Europe and the US. The number of foreign troop deaths has jumped recently, sparking questions in the UK over its involvement in the war. Mr Biden suggested more sacrifice would have to be made during what he termed the "fighting season". He was speaking to the BBC's Jonathan Beale during a European trip which has taken him to Ukraine and Georgia. The vice-president insisted that "in terms of national interest of Great Britain, the US and Europe, [the war in Afghanistan] is worth the effort we are making and the sacrifice that is being felt". He added: "And more will come". &#

Bombing and global terrorism

The analysis in the Jakarta Post discusses how Globalisation has fast paced not only our lives and communications but also the Terror.  Anak Agung Banyu Perwita ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 07/23/2009 10:45 AM  |  Opinion The latest terrorist attacks, on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta, highlight the fact that containing the global threat of terrorism remains crucially important. Global terrorism spreads with globalization. By making the world’s borders more porus, communications faster and the transfer of funds easier, globalization facilitates terrorism. Morover, globalization creates more fertile ground for international terrorism by exacerbating ethnic and religious conflicts. In this era, the relationship between terrorism and globalization is indeed complex. As a result, the issue of terrorism affects security at national, regional and international levels. Terrorism has taken the center stage away from c

The terrorist nature of "East Turkestan" separatists

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Well this is another ideal case of Islamic seperatism / should we call it again freedom struggle against the oppressive regime.China and teh Uighars / East turkmenistanis ? well it is a difficult thing to say coz every country has its own mark on its problems. Now we shall wait for beijing and here is a report from China view www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-23 18:49:43     BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- With explosions targeting civilians, assassinations, arson attacks, poisonings and al-Qaeda style video footages threatening dire actions, the "East Turkestan" separatists have long been terrorists.     The three "East Turkestan" groups -- the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), the East Turkestan Union in Europe and the East Turkestan Information Center, have proved to have close links with terrorism.     Dolqun Isa, WUC secretary general and president of

Baluchs in US seek Indian help to end Pak’s "state terror"

 Well if India Supports the Balloch struggle is it supporting freedom fighters / is it supporting Terrorism. May be Pakistani Kashmir argument is a correct answer. India doesnt need to to say anything. The HT Report A Baluchi group based in the US on Wednesday appealed to India to help them end the "illegal occupation" and "state terrorism" perpetuated by Pakistan in Baluchistan. Welcoming the joint statement released after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani last week on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt, the 'American Friends of Baluchistan' said, "This text gives a rare opportunity to New Delhi to fulfill its international obligations to the long suffering people of Baluchistan." AFB leaders Rasheed Baluch and Mohammed Ali Baluch said, "now is the chance for India to put Pakistan on the mat" as the threat in Baluchistan comes from Pakistan's illegal occupation o

Bin Laden son 'believed killed'

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See now terrorism is also heridatory and the Osama Son has been killed in US missile strike, poor guy if only he was out of the terror net like the niece of the dreaded man modelling a bikini ooops a brief / vest he would have been enjoying life.  BBC reports It is not known if Osama Bin Laden was in the same location as his son One of Osama Bin Laden's sons is believed to have been killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan earlier this year, a US intelligence official says. The official told National Public Radio agents were "80 to 85%" sure Saad Bin Laden was dead, but added that without a body it was hard to be certain. The son was not deliberately targeted and happened to be "in the wrong place at the wrong time", the official said. Saad Bin Laden was active in al-Qaeda but not a major player, he added. House arrest "We make a big deal out of him because of his last name," the senior intelligence official told the US-based rad

Suspect motorcycle destroyed at ASEAN meet: Thai officials

The Tai security forces seems to be taking no chances, and the world has become such an insecure place that a loud noice can prompt the blasting / destroying of the source. TOI Report on the strange but interesting incident AFP 23 July 2009, 10:34am IST  |     PHUKET: Thai security forces destroyed a suspect motorbike on Thursday at a major Asian security forum, causing the sound of a large blast, but found no evidence of a bomb, the army said. A sniffer dog alerted police to the bike about 300 metres (yards) from a hotel complex in the resort island of Phuket where US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was attending the conference, they said. Security forces destroyed the motorcycle using a high-pressure water gun designed to take out the electronics of any possible explosive device, Thai army Lieutenant General Kanit Sapitak told reporters. "No explosives were found at all. We think it may have been traces of urea, or it could have been traces of fireworks," Kanit

Was there a Pakistani dossier?

The Big debate of the Pakistan Dossier that has created headlines in the Pakistani media is a serious dampener. If there exists one should be made public and India will be happy to answer one such. This Times Now report details on how and why there would / wouldnot be a pakistani dossier but for the piece of imagination of a few on the otherside of the border. 23 Jul 2009, 1337 hrs IST Was there a Pakistani counter-dossier? That is the question being asked now, as the Indian government rejects the report and the Pakistani media continues to insist that a dossier containing details of India's involvement in fomenting trouble in Balochistan and other areas was shown to the Prime Minister by his Pakistani counterpart Gilani during the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting. However the Pakistan government has refused to confirm or deny this report. The Indian government today rejected on record reports in the Pakistani media that a dossier of proof of India's involvement in Bal

Action against Lashkar only if proof is found: Pakistan

The flipflops continue forever and ever and ever, will pakistan ever learn from its mistakes and will ever India Nopes... and thats the thrilling and shrilling relationships the two neighbours share, fooling the world and fooling themselves. The TOI reports on If Proof statements from Pakistani stateman IANS 23 July 2009, 02:19pm IST PHUKET: Pakistan will take action against the Lashkar-e-Taiba if proof was found of its involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said here on Thursday. "We will take action against LeT if any proof is found," Qureshi told reporters when asked what action Pakistan planned to take against the perpetrators of the Nov 26 Mumbai carnage. "We are waiting for the confessional statement of Kasab though appropriate channels," Qureshi said. He was referring to the confession Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Mumbai attacker in Indian custody, made in a Mumbai court Monday. Qureshi's co
This piece of article from the TIME has been a nice one thought provoking but iam afraid it doesnt do much to th ground situation in Islamic terror inflicted countries. Coz the Sufi saints over the years themselves have been the source of Islamic zealots. They have inspired them. I am a cynic people call me but practically the ground realities show a difference than what we believe. By Ishaan Tharoor Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009 Kosovo dervishes, adepts of Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that preaches tolerance and a search for understanding, meet during a ceremony in the prayer room in Prizren. Armend Nimani / AFP / Getty In recent years, the dominant image of Islam in the minds of many Westerners has been one loaded with violence and shrouded with fear. The figures commanding global attention — be they al-Qaeda's leadership or certain mullahs in Tehran — preach an apocalyptic creed to an uncompromising faithful. This may be the Islam of a radical fringe, but in an era of flag bur

Terrorism in Indonesia has nothing to do with Afghanistan

 In this article by Jeff sparrow he analyses the link between Afghan and Jakarta blasts or rather no link between them. Crikey by Jeff Sparrow Imagine a parallel universe where Australian soldiers weren’t already fighting in Oruzgan province. Imagine, in that alternative reality, a terrorist bomb struck the Marriot Hotel in Jakarta. If, under those circumstances, a politician claimed that the best response to a bombing in Indonesia was to invade Afghanistan, we’d think they were perfectly mad. But that’s the bizarro world we inhabit, with the Prime Minister offering the Jakarta attacks as evidence for the necessity of war thousand of miles away. The argument, insofar as there is one, holds that, in the past Afghanistan provided a training ground for terrorists and, so if left to its own devices, it might become one again. But the people behind the Jakarta blasts don’t need to take trips to Afghanistan. There’s a much more convenient training ground at their disposal — it’s called In

Terrorism is back in business

The Jakarta Post analyses Terrorism back in business and aftermath of the Ritz hotel bombings. The Indonesian society has been shaken up. Bantarto Bandoro , Jakarta Wed, 07/22/2009 3:51 PM Opinion The relatively quiet Friday morning broke off when the bombings, little more than a week after the country's peaceful presidential election, devastated the lobby restaurants at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, signaling the return of terrorism to the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation after four years without a major attack. The bombings brought swift condemnation from world leaders and the United Nations. The attack is another reminder to us and the region as a whole that peace, security and order are part of a continuing process. It acquires international dimensions in which Indonesia needs to cooperate with other countries in combating terrorism. It is certainly not anything that should be politicized. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was heavily criticized