Runtime Error Server Error in ‘/’ Application. Runtime Error Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine. Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on remote machines, please create a tag within a “web.config” configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This tag should then have its “mode” attribute set to “Off”. Notes: The current error page you are seeing can be replaced by a custom error page by modifying the “defaultRedirect” attribute of the application’s configuration tag to point to a custom error page URL. … Read More
First online statement from new Iraqi al-Qaida leader says group returning to old strongholds
CAIRO – The first online statement from the new leader of al-Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq claims that the militant network is returning to the old strongholds from which it was driven by U.S. forces and their Sunni allies prior to the American withdrawal at the end of last year, and that it is preparing operations to free prisoners and assassinate court officials.The audio identifies the speaker as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who became head of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2010. It was posted late Saturday on a website regularly used by the militant movement to make statements.Al-Baghdadi also invited Muslims to come to Iraq to join his movement and warned the United States that it would soon see militant attacks on its territory, although it is unclear whether he was referring to attacks by his Iraqi network or by other al-Qaida affiliates.The statement comes as Sunni insurgents, now believed to be dominated by the ISI, step up attacks against Shiites, government officials and other targets, in what is seen as a bit to undercut the authority of Iraq’s state and revive sectarian conflict in the wake of the pull-out of the last American forces in the country in December.There is little indication yet however that the large-scale fighting between sectarian groups that wracked the country in 2006 and 2007 will return, nor does al-Qaida appear to have restored the domination it once had over many Sunni communities in that period.”I bring you good news: That we are starting a new phase in our struggle with a plan we named ‘Breaking the walls,’ and we remind you of your priority to free the Muslim prisoners,” he said.”At the top of your priorities regarding targets is to chase and liquidate the judges, the investigators and the guards,” he said.He urged tribal leaders to send their men to join al-Qaida as it returns to areas from which it withdrew— a reference to reverses the ISI suffered at the hands of U.S. forces and allied Sunni militias in 2007 and 2008.”On the occasion of the return of the (Islamic) State to the regions it evacuated, I urge you to send your sons to join the ranks of the mujahideen in defence of your religion and honour,” he said. “The majority of the Sunnis in Iraq support al-Qaida and are waiting for its return.”He said that Iraqis who allied with the government and the Americans could repent; reports that al-Qaida killed penitents were “lies.”Al-Baghdadi said to the United States: “You will see the mujahideen (holy warriors) at the heart of your country, since our war with you has only started now.”He urged Muslims to come to Iraq to join his fight. “I appeal to the youth and Muslim men everywhere on this earth to immigrate to us to consolidate the pillars of the Islamic State … The State’s camps and houses are open to any Muslim and Baghdad is the heart of the battle of the Sunnis against the Shiites. So rise up, you Muslim youth, because the battle needs fuel.”Al-Baghdadi devoted almost half of the 33-minute speech to Syria’s uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad, member of a Shiite offshoot sect. The uprising is largely Sunni and fighters from al-Qaida, including Iraqis, are believed to have taken an increasingly active role in recent months.”Our people there have fired the coup de grace at the terror that grasped the nation for decades … and taught the world lessons of courage and jihad and proved that injustice could only be removed by force,” he said.He warned the Syrian rebels “not to accept any rule or constitution but God’s rule and Shariah (Islamic law). Otherwise, you will lose your blessed revolution.”Al-Baghdadi became the leader of the group after Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who was no relation, was killed in an air and ground assault by a team of U.S. and Iraqi forces on April 18, 2010 together with the other top al-Qaida leader in Iraq, Egyptian Abu Ayyub al-Masri. © The Canadian Press, 2012 … Read More
Syrian rebels fight to control Aleppo as government retakes Damascus
BEIRUT – Syrian rebels have launched an offensive to “liberate” the country’s largest city of Aleppo, an opposition commander said Sunday, while in Damascus government troops backed by helicopter gunships wrested back control of rebel-held neighbourhoods.The opposition attack on Aleppo, Syria’s commercial hub and traditionally a bedrock of support for President Bashar Assad, was a sign of the rebels’ growing confidence and capabilities even as regime forces appeared close to regaining control of the capital Damascus after days of bloody street battles.With Syria’s civil war moving from the countryside and smaller cities into the country’s two main urban centres, an activist group said the death toll had risen to more than 19,000 since the uprising began in March 2011. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said July is shaping up to be the deadliest month of the conflict so far, with 2,752 people killed in the first three weeks.The bloodshed has escalated as the rebels have taken the fight to the government with a week of fighting in Damascus, including a bombing that struck at Assad’s inner circle, killing four senior regime officials. In a bid to seize the momentum, the opposition also has taken control of several border crossings with Iraq and Turkey.Most recently, a video posted online by activists Sunday showed about a dozen gunmen standing in front of the Bab al-Salamah crossing on the Turkish frontier as they raised the Syrian opposition flag.Yet, in an indication of the see-saw nature of the conflict, even as the rebels seized one crossing, they abandoned another on the Iraqi border.Iraqi military officials and state television reported that Syrian government forces retook control of the remote Rabiya crossing between the two countries after rebels pulled out.Gen. Qassim al-Dulaimi, commander of Iraq’s forces around the border region of al-Qaim, also reported the sounds of fighting at the Bukamal crossing, suggesting Assad’s troops are trying to retake that one as well.The fighting in Damascus and Aleppo has shaken the government’s once seemingly iron grip on the two cities, which are both home to elites who have benefited from close ties to Assad’s regime, as well as merchant classes and minority groups who worry their status will suffer if Assad falls.Col. Abdul-Jabbar Mohammed Aqidi, the commander of rebel forces in Aleppo province, said “we gave the orders for the march into Aleppo with the aim of liberating it.”"We urge the residents of Aleppo to stay in their homes until the city is liberated,” he said in a video posted by activists on YouTube. He added that rebels were fighting inside the city while others were moving in from the outskirts.Aqidi called on government troops to defect and join the opposition, and said rebels will protect members of President Bashar Assad’s Alawite minority sect, an off-shoot of Shiite Islam, saying “our war is not with you but with the Assad family.”The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Saeed said the fighting is concentrated in several neighbourhoods.Saeed said rebels are in full control of the central Salaheddine district and the nearby Sakhour area. He added that thousands of residents have fled tense quarters of the city for safer neighbourhoods and the suburbs.”Aleppo is witnessing serious street battles” and many shops are closed, Saeed said.He said there were fierce clashes on the road leading to the city’s international airport, known as Nairab, as rebels tried to surround the airfield to prevent the regime from sending reinforcements.Syrian state TV, however, played down the scale of the violence, saying government troops were hunting down terrorists and killing large numbers of them.In the capital of Damascus, the Observatory also reported attacks by government forces in the neighbourhoods of Mazzeh and Barzeh that had once been held by rebels. It said that troops used helicopters gunships in the attack, causing heavy casualties.Maj. Gen. Nabil Zughaib, described as a missile expert, was also shot dead along with his wife and a son in the Damascus neighbourhood of Bab Touma, according to the Observatory.Syrian state TV denied government forces were using helicopters in Damascus, and said the capital was calm and troops were just mopping up the remnants of the “terrorists” in co-operation with residents. The government refers to those trying to overthrow Assad’s regime as “terrorists.”Television also showed images of calm streets in Damascus and workmen cleaning up rubble in the once-rebel held Midan neighbourhood, in effort to portray a capital where everything has returned to normal.Assad, meanwhile, appeared on state TV receiving Gen. Ali Ayyoub, the new army chief of staff, whose predecessor replaced the defence minister slain in the bombing. It was only Assad’s second appearance since the attack.Despite the regime’s efforts to present an image of calm in the capital, Malaysia’s government said it was shuttering its embassy in Damascus and evacuating more than 130 students and diplomats, while Italy ordered of its citizens to leave the country because of the “progressive deterioration” of the situation.The escalating bloodshed and increasing chaos in Syria also has put the country’s neighbours on edge, particularly Israel.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel was closely monitoring the violence in Syria for signs the regime’s chemical weapons or missiles might make their way into the hands of anti-Israeli militants.Over the weekend, Israel’s defence minister, Ehud Barak, said the Jewish state was preparing for a possible attack to prevent that from happening.The increasingly precarious situation of the Assad regime is stoking Israeli fears that, should the Syrian government collapse, militants affiliated with Lebanon’s Hezbollah or al-Qaida could raid Syrian military arsenals for chemicals weapons or sophisticated missiles that could strike Israeli territory.For his part, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has announced the start of a “national campaign to collect donations to support our brothers in Syria,” suggesting the oil-rich kingdom may be looking to boost its financial support for the rebels, which they are already believed to be funding._______Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Sameer A. Yacoub in Baghdad contributed to this report. © The Canadian Press, 2012 … Read More
China Kindergarten Bus Crash Case: School Boss Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison
BEIJING — The head of a Chinese kindergarten has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a school bus crash that killed 19 children and two adults last year. The official Xinhua News Agency said the Zhengning county court in northwest China’s Gansu province handed out the verdict Friday against Li Jungang, who was convicted of a traffic accident crime. A makeshift school bus for the privately run Little Doctor Kindergarten collided head-on with a truck in November. Nineteen kindergarteners, one teacher and the bus driver died in the crash. The bus had been converted from a nine-seat freight van, but was carrying 64 people at the time of the accident. The remaining 43 people on the bus were injured, Xinhua said. Li, the board chairman of the kindergarten, also was the owner of the vehicle. The crash caused public uproar on school bus safety in rural China, where education funds are in shortage and children are forced to travel far to get an education because of school closures. As the demand for school buses increases, overcrowding on buses is common. The family of Li plans to appeal the verdict, Xinhua said. (Source: Huffington Post) … Read More
Canadian B&B Owners Who Refused Room To Gay Couple Fined $4,500
Pictured above is the Riverbend B&B where the Molnars denied a gay couple service. Photo from Pillows & Pancakes. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has fined the owners of a now-closed bed and breakfast $4,500 for refusing to grant a gay couple a reservation in 2009 after learning of their sexual orientation, the Vancouver Sun reports. Les and Susan Molnar, the former owners of the Riverbend B&B, cited religious reasons for why they wouldn’t agree to rent a room to Shaun Eadie and Brian Thomas, who live in Vancouver. The Molnars tried to argue that the B&B was part of their home, saying they pray there and feel responsible for the behavior of their guests. But Enid Marion, a member of the tribunal, saw things differently. According to theBoundary Sentinel, the tribunal’s decision said the following: The Riverbend was not operated by a Church or religious organization. While the business was operated by individuals with sincere religious beliefs respecting same-sex couples, and out of a portion of their personal residence, it was still a commercial activity. It was the Molnars’ personal and voluntary choice to start up a business in their personal residence. In this respect, the Molnars were not compelled by the state to act in a manner inconsistent with their personal religious views. The gay couple told CBC news that they were happy with the ruling. “Sometimes you have to stick your neck out, and we stuck our necks out and we feel good and vindicated that we did for the benefit of people coming behind us,” Thomas told the news outlet. (Source: Huffington Post) … Read More
NWO Soldier 2014
It’s approximately 0300hrs, you are riding in an ICV (Infantry Carrying Vehicle), on your way to a night raid. It wouldn’t be so warm if not for the fact that you are wearing full combat gear and your squad is packed like sardines in the vehicle. These raids have been happening so often that most of the squad is comfortable taking a power nap enroute. … Read More
Woman Gets Naked In Public To Protest Ebook Pirates (NSFW)
In probably the most outrageous protest yet against ebook piracy, an author has ripped off her clothes in front of a government palace. Brazilian writer Vanessa de Oliveira shocked the citizens of Lima, Peru, with nearly everything she has. “I’m doing this for my book so it is not pirated anymore anywhere in the world,” the redhead said, adding that her latest publication is based on her experiences bedding nearly 5,000 men.Source: Woman Gets Naked In Public To Protest Ebook Pirates (NSFW) … Read More
