VOCR Gazette -061313

Thursday June 13th 2013

-----------------------

Grim New Death Toll In Syria

BEIRUT — Nearly 93,000 people have been confirmed killed since Syria's civil war began more than two years ago, the U.N. said Thursday, a sharp rise in the death toll as the fighting turns increasingly sectarian and the carnage gripping the country appears unstoppable.
The grim benchmark came as President Bashar Assad's regime has scored a series of battlefield successes against the rebels seeking his ouster and international efforts to forge a round of peace talks have stalled. After regaining control of the strategic town of Qusair near the border with Lebanon, regime forces appear set on securing control of the central provinces of Homs and Hama, a linchpin area linking Damascus with regime strongholds on the Mediterranean coast, and Aleppo to the north.
In continued violence, a mortar shell slammed into an area near the runway at the Damascus International Airport Thursday, briefly disrupting flights to and from the Syrian capital, officials said, a few weeks after the government announced it had secured the airport road, which had been targeted by rebels in the past.
The country's transportation minister Mahmoud Ibrahim Said told Syrian TV that a shell fired by "terrorists" struck near a warehouse, breaking its windows and wounding a worker there.
He said the attack delayed the landing of two incoming flights, from Latakia and Kuwait, as well as the takeoff of a Syrian flight to Baghdad. No passengers were harmed and no planes were damaged, he said. The regime refers to rebels as "terrorists."

Turkish PM vows to rid 'lawbreakers' from park within 24 hours 

 "Lawbreakers" will be removed from Istanbul's Taksim Square, Turkey's prime minister declared Thursday, rejecting the European Parliament's resolution condemning the excessive use of force by Turkish riot police against demonstrators.

Ratcheting up his defiant tone, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears determined to end two weeks of protests that have put an unflattering international spotlight on his Islamic-rooted government and its handling of the biggest street unrest of his 10-year tenure.
Erdogan's comments came a day after his Justice and Development party proposed a referendum over a development plan at Taksim Square that has fanned the protests. Police have repeatedly fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters; five people have died and over 5,000 have been injured. The government says 600 police were injured as well.

Jordan passes Abu Qatada treaty

Jordan's parliament has approved a treaty with the UK designed to lead to the deportation of Abu Qatada.

The treaty is now awaiting approval by Jordan's King Abdullah - the final key stage before the deal becomes law.
The vote in Parliament means the process to deport the radical cleric is likely to resume within weeks.
The cleric has already indicated he will not challenge deportation if the treaty is passed because the document guarantees him a fair trial.
In a statement to the BBC, Dr Mohammad Al- Momani, Jordan's information minister, said: "The government has ratified the treaty as well as parliament.
"The Treaty is mutual legal assistance and can include any persons from each country."
Jordan's Parliament approved the treaty in two stages over the last week as it passed through the lower and upper house. The treaty goes into law after the king issues a royal decree and the document is published in the Jordanian government's official gazette.

Iran candidates in final election push

Iran's six presidential hopefuls are wrapping up their final day of campaigning ahead of Friday's elections.

Momentum has recently been building around moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani.
But he faces a tough challenge from hardline candidates like top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
The election will decide a successor to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not eligible for a third term.
His eight years in power have been characterised by economic turmoil and Western sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called on all Iranians to vote.
"Whoever is elected, if he enjoys a strong and overwhelming vote, he will be able to stand up against enemies and aggressors more properly," Ayatollah Khamenei's website quoted him as saying.

Maoist rebel attack on train in India kills 3

Dozens of suspected Maoist rebels fired at a passenger train passing through their stronghold in eastern India on Thursday, killing three people and injuring two others, police said.

The attackers surrounded the train and opened fire during a scheduled stop near Jamui, a town 230 kilometers (140 miles) southeast of Patna, the Bihar state capital, police officer S.K. Bhardwaj said.
The dead were a security guard and two passengers, Bhardwaj told The Associated Press.
Two other people, including the train driver, suffered bullet wounds, he said.
Police officer Abhyanand, who uses only one name, said the attackers fled into a forested area after security guards on the train fired back.
Bhardwaj said the motive of the attack appeared to be to loot the guards' weapons as the suspected rebels took two guns. The train carrying 1,500 people later resumed its journey.

Libya: tensions between government and militias come to a head

Militias urged to disband after Libya Shield killed protesters in Benghazi last week, but government lacks means to enforce this

Tucked away inside the battered Benghazi militia base where 31 people were killed in fighting last weekend is its greatest secret – a makeshift prison inside the toilets.
The Libya Shield militia who occupied the base, now pockmarked with bullet and shell holes, had converted toilet cubicles into prison cells, with metal grilles and doors welded on.

Scratched on to the wall of one cubicle are a line of numbers, ending in 147, but police now occupying the base say they don't know what became of the inmates. Until security forces stormed the base, the authorities had no idea the prison existed.

"I don't know what happened [to the detainees]," said First Officer Basim Omran, commander of riot police now guarding the base. "We didn't know this [jail] was here."
The weekend violence, which broke out when the militiamen opened fire on protesters, has acted as a catalyst for Libya's government.

Weary of two years of militia violence which has kept the country in chaos and stalled reform, the government ordered security forces to seize four Islamist militia bases in the city. But few here believe the militias will disband.

Greek General Strike Over State TV Closure

ATHENS, Greece — More than 10,000 protesters rallied outside Greece's public broadcasting headquarters Thursday in support of fired staff, who for a third day occupied the building to continue broadcasts in defiance of the government.
Unions staged a general strike against the closure of Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., or ERT, which has divided the fragile coalition government and raised the possibility of early elections that could endanger the country's bailout program.
Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has called a meeting Monday with center-left coalition partners who are demanding that ERT be reopened.
"We are totally against seeing television screens going dark and we side with the overwhelming majority of the Greek people," Evangelos Venizelos, leader of the Socialist Pasok party and coalition partner, told parliament.
"The country does not need an election, but Pasok does not fear elections ... To think it does would be a major mistake."
The government pulled ERT off the air late Tuesday, axing all 2,656 jobs as part of its cost-cutting drive demanded by international creditors. Samaras insisted the broadcaster will remain closed before a new public broadcaster opens at the end of the summer. But Pasok and Democratic Left, the other junior partner, submitted legislation to parliament to cancel ERT's closure.
The conservative party, which holds most of the government posts, defended the decision to shut down the broadcaster.

France air traffic control strike hits Europe flights

European travellers are facing further disruption because of an ongoing strike by French air traffic controllers.

More than a quarter of flights from France's busiest airports had to be cancelled on Wednesday amid protests at plans for a single European airspace.
Controllers say the plans will affect public safety and working conditions.
Airlines based outside France have also suffered upheaval. Ryanair was forced to cancel more than 240 flights on Wednesday, while EasyJet scrapped 128.
Air traffic workers elsewhere in Europe were expected to join the French strikers by working to rule, picketing and distributing leaflets.

NSA revelations will test China-US ties, say Chinese media

Chinese media awash with news of scandal as the internet surveillance whistleblower says he plans to remain in territory, despite Washington 'trying to bully' Hong Kong
Hong Kong is bracing itself for what could become a protracted legal battle after the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to a local newspaper that he had no plans to leave the territory.
"I am not here to hide from justice, I am here to reveal criminality," Snowden told the South China Morning Post, adding that he had evidence of US-led cyberespionage in both Hong Kong and mainland China and that Washington had been "trying to bully" the territory into extraditing him.
Regina Ip, a member of Hong Kong's legislative council who was once the city's top security official, said: "It's not a question of bullying or not bullying. I can't speak for the Hong Kong government now, but if the US gives a request, the government will deal with it in accordance with due process."

'Blast' at chemical plant in US state of Louisiana
A chemical plant in the US state of Louisiana has been hit by a large explosion, officials say. The blast happened at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, south of Baton Rouge, the fire service said.

One report said there had been an unknown number of injuries but this has not been confirmed. The plant produces ethylene and polymer grade propylene, according to the Williams website.

Photographs posted online by local media showed a huge pall of smoke over the area.
Major roads around the site have been sealed off, police said.

 Google detects Iran phishing attacks

Google says it has detected and stopped thousands of phishing attacks targeting email accounts of Iranian users ahead of the 14 June presidential election.

In an online statement, the firm said it had noticed a "significant jump" in the region's overall volume of phishing activity in the last three weeks.
The timing and targets suggested the attacks were "politically motivated".
Friday's poll is the first since 2009 when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a controversial second term.
The election had triggered angry protests, with voters accusing Mr Ahmadinejad's camp of rigging the results in his favour.

US spy chief in rare Senate briefing

America's electronic spying chief has promised to give the entire US Senate a rare classified briefing later about dozens of terror plots he says were thwarted by secret surveillance.

On Wednesday, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Keith Alexander defended the programmes revealed by a former intelligence worker, Edward Snowden.
He said the US was less safe as a result of Mr Snowden's actions.
China says it has "no information to offer" on Mr Snowden's whereabouts.
The leaker, who has pledged to fight any attempt to extradite him to the US, fled his home in Hawaii for Hong Kong shortly before reports of the top secret programmes were published by the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers last week.

 Dem Presses Court To Open Its Books On Phone Surveillance

WASHINGTON -- Towards the end of his hearing Wednesday on cyber threats and the intelligence community’s surveillance efforts, Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency, was asked if he’d support making public the legal decisions justifying some of those surveillance programs.
“Do you support the standards of law, the interpretations of the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance] Court -- of the plain language -- to be set before the American people, so we can have this debate?” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wanted to know.
For Merkley and other lawmakers who have raised concerns about the NSA’s data-mining operations, the FISA Court opinions are not some shiny political object. They’re a linchpin for understanding the scope of the surveillance regime currently in place. Having been kept secret from the public -- on grounds that disclosure could have national security ramifications -- the opinions would reveal how the government views its legal authorities under the Patriot Act.
And so, when Alexander answered his question in the affirmative, Merkley was pleasantly surprised.
“I think that makes sense,” said the NSA leader. “I’m not the only decision-maker in the administration on this process ... I don’t want to jeopardize the security of Americans by making the mistake and saying, yes we are going to do all that. But the intent is to get the transparency there.”

FEMA denies aid to Texas town where fertilizer plant exploded

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is refusing to provide additional money to help rebuild the small Texas town where a deadly fertilizer plant explosion leveled numerous homes and a school, and killed 15 people.

According to a letter obtained by The Associated Press, FEMA said it reviewed the state's appeal to help but decided that the explosion "is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration."
FEMA already has provided millions of dollars in aid to the town of West and its residents, but the decision prevents them from getting some of the widespread assistance typically available to victims of tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
The decision likely means less money to pay for public repairs to roads, sewer lines, pipes and a school that was destroyed.
The blast killed 10 first responders and brought national attention to the agricultural community. President Barack Obama traveled to the area to attend a memorial service for the first responders and others who died trying to help.
As of Wednesday, FEMA said the agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration had approved more than $7 million in aid and low-interest loans to West residents impacted by the blast. FEMA also is paying 75 percent of the costs of debris removal and will reimburse the state and the municipality for the initial emergency response.

White House Makes Moves to Bolster Gun Safety

WASHINGTON — Six months after the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., and with no major gun legislation on the horizon in Congress, the White House is quietly moving forward on an executive package of gun safety measures.

The package, which includes 23 executive actions announced by President Obama earlier this year, is intended to bolster the nation’s database used for background checks and make it harder for criminals and people with mental illnesses to get guns.

Among other things, the executive orders relax health care privacy regulations that some state executives say prevent them from putting the names of those Americans with mental health records into the database. The orders also give states more money to help them add data to the system and compel federal agencies to share more mental health data on workers. The goal is to add thousands of new people into the database — those with a history of mental illness, for example — who would not legally be allowed to buy a gun under current law.

Mosque’s Are Off-Limits To Obama’s Snooping…

The White House assures that tracking our every phone call and keystroke is to stop terrorists, and yet it won’t snoop in mosques, where the terrorists are.
That’s right, the government’s sweeping surveillance of our most private communications excludes the jihad factories where homegrown terrorists are radicalized.
Since October 2011, mosques have been off-limits to FBI agents. No more surveillance or undercover string operations without high-level approval from a special oversight body at the Justice Department dubbed the Sensitive Operations Review Committee.
Who makes up this body, and how do they decide requests? Nobody knows; the names of the chairman, members and staff are kept secret.
We do know the panel was set up under pressure from Islamist groups who complained about FBI stings at mosques. Just months before the panel’s formation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations teamed up with the ACLU to sue the FBI for allegedly violating the civil rights of Muslims in Los Angeles by hiring an undercover agent to infiltrate and monitor mosques there.
Before mosques were excluded from the otherwise wide domestic spy net the administration has cast, the FBI launched dozens of successful sting operations against homegrown jihadists — inside mosques — and disrupted dozens of plots against the homeland.

Sarah Palin pounds Bill Maher for attacking special-needs son Trig as 'retarded'

On Wednesday, Sarah Palin issued a series of tweets taking Bill Maher to task for calling her special-needs son Trig "retarded" during a live performance in Las Vegas, Twitchy reported.

"Hey bully, on behalf of all kids whom you hatefully mock in order to make yourself feel big, I hope one flattens your lily white wimpy a#*," she wrote. As of this writing, the message has been retweeted over 900 times.
"I'm in your neck of the woods this weekend, little Bill. Care to meet so I can tell you how I really feel?" she asked a minute later.

Maher's statement was witnessed by former Las Vegas sports broadcaster Ron Futrell, who attended his performance at the Pearl Theater on June 8.
Breitbart.com said Futrell began heckling Maher over a reference to Halliburton and was ultimately escorted out of the venue.
Futrell, who has a 27-year-old special-needs son of his own, wrote:

Sarah Palin and son Trig.

Credits: 

Getty Images

Maher chose to make a joke about Palin’s son, Trig and in the process he used the “R” word to describe this 5 year old special needs boy. Of course, since Trig is Palin’s son, he is a target of the left. Special needs be damned, there are jokes to be made by 'caring compassionate' liberals. I was so disgusted and a bit surprised that I forgot the exact joke. Perhaps he saves this joke for live audiences only. The audience of more supposed compassionate, caring leftists loved the joke and roared with laughter.

Futrell has no regrets heckling Maher, and said he would "always be glad" to stand up for those who have no voice.
It's not the first time liberals have attacked Palin's youngest son, who was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome.
In April 2011, we reported that the liberal site Wonkette posted a vile attack against Trig on his third birthday.

British police arrest environmental activists targeting Canadian PM Harper's visit

British police have arrested several environmental activists who allegedly breached Parliament security to protest Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit.
The activists, who campaign against using oil from Canada's tar sands, say they entered the Parliament building and climbed onto its roof to protest as Harper visited to deliver a speech to lawmakers.
The Metropolitan Police said two men and a woman were arrested Thursday for trespassing on a protected site in Parliament. Two other women were arrested outside on suspicion of criminal damage.
Environmental groups have been pressuring Harper over tar sands oil, which they say is more of a threat than lighter forms of crude because of the dangers of spills and because it produces more of the greenhouses gases blamed for global warming.