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The A-O Weekly News
Round Up
For
Week Ending
5-11-8
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The
"In
Memoriam"
For A-O Contributing
Author
Deborah Fenech
Has Been Updated
With New Details
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The 5-11-8 Edition
of
The A-O Intelligence Digest
Has Posted
+
2 Special A-O Insider
Reports
Lebanon on the Brink
Iran Prepares For War
On The
A-O Insider Report
Private Webpages for Donors
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Rioting In Lebanon
Country Facing New
Civil War
Hebollah & Gov't
Mobilize Their Troops For Battle
Supporters of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, trying to enforce a general
strike called by labor unions, clashed with government supporters and
blocked roads in Beirut
on Wednesday, escalating tensions as the country remained mired in its
worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. More details LINK HERE.
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Hebollah
Pushes For Fight
LINK
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Lebanon
Violence Spreads Beyond Beirut
LINK
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Hezbollah
Says Gov't Is Declaring War
LINK
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Lebanon on
the Brink
Of
Civil War?
LINK
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New
Fighting Erupts In Lebanon
Heavy fighting broke out between pro- and anti-government supporters in
northern Lebanon
amid the country's power struggle, security officials said Sunday.
Beirut, for four days the focus of bloody sectarian
clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, spent a quiet night. However, many
of its roads remained blocked, including the one to the airport, by the
ongoing civil disobedience campaign of the opposition.
The heaviest clashes took place in the northern city
of Tripoli, where pro-government supporters in the Tebaneh neighborhood
exchanged rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine gun fire with
opposition followers in Jabal Muhsin, the officials said.
One woman was killed in the clashes, bringing the
toll across the country for the past five days of violence to 38
— the worst sectarian violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil
war.
The fighting in the north intensified in the early
hours Sunday but the situation calmed down later as Lebanese troops
began deploying, said the officials, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
At midday, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and some of
his ministers and staff members held a moment of silence at the
government building in honor of people killed in the violence. A nearby
downtown church tolled its bells to mark the moment.
Meanwhile, Muslim West Beirut
has been mostly calm since Hezbollah and its allies seized control of
many neighborhoods Friday from Sunnis loyal to the government.
In the eastern Bekaa Valley,
sporadic clashes took place between the two groups in different towns
and villages. The road leading to the main border crossing point with Syria
was still closed by pro-government supporters in retaliation for the
opposition's closure of the airport road. More details LINK HERE.
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Rockets
Rain On Gaza
Again
A total of seven Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip Saturday morning landed in various
areas of the western Negev damaged buildings in the western Negev.
Two Sderot residents were treated for shock as three
rockets landed in the Sderot area and four in the Sha'ar Hanegev
region.
One Kassam fell in the courtyard of Sapir College
in Sderot and damaged the building, and another landed next to a
synagogue, according to the IDF. A third rocket hit a house in Sderot,
also damaging the building. The remaining four rockets landed in open
areas.
No casualties were reported the barrage. LINK HERE.
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Israel
Celebrates Birthday Under Cloud
New
Olmert Scandal Emerges
LINK
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NYC Man May Bring
Down Israel's
PM
LINK
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New Israeli Electsion
Look Likely
Amidst New Scandal
Charges
Against Prime
Minister Olmert
Israel is entering a period of increased danger without an elected
leader, if reports about the latest political scandal are true and
Olmert is forced from office. The best guess for holding new elections
suggests some time in the fall. Until then, Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni would become "acting Prime Minister." For more
details, LINK HERE.
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Olmert
To Resign IF Indicted
For
Bribery Charges
Israeli Prime Minister Olmert announced Thursday that if the current
police probe of bribery allegations results in an indictment, he will
resign from office rather. LINK HERE.
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Maybe
No Early Elections In Israel?
Some Israeli politicians think that if Israel's Prime Minister Olmert
is indicted and resigns there may be no need nor desire for early
elections. Read the details, LINK HERE.
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Is Olmert
Hyping Peace Negotiations
To
Forestall Criminal Prosecution?
Rumors Abound
LINK
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US
Prepares For Mideast
Without
PM Olmert
The United States appears
to be quietly preparing for a post-Ehud Olmert Israel, amid a political
crisis that could unseat the prime minister.
Mr Olmert has denied allegations that he accepted
illegal campaign contributions from a US businessman, Morris Talansky,
while he was Jerusalem
mayor and a later period as industry minister.
Newspapers have demanded his resignation and sources
within his party suggested he was weakening its political future by
remaining at the helm. More details, LINK HERE.
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Israeli
Gov't Believes:
Iran
N-Bomb in 2009
The Jerusalem Post reports that Israeli
government leaders have concluded that Iran will master the skills
necessary to develop enriched uranium on a military-industrial scale
for bomb-making this year. The latest assessment moves up the timetable
assessment from previous estimates by one year, from the end of 2009,
meaining by mid-2009 Iran
would have enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb. Even as the Jerusalem Post
article was published, an Iranian official announced that the nation
was now on track to master massive-scale enrichment production by the
end of this year. This is not the only worry for Israel.
Iran is
also developing its own cruise missile capable of deliverying a nuclear
warhead and evade Israel's
anti-missile technology now developed as the Arrow ABM. The new Iranian
cruise missile is based upon an old Soviet-Era X-55 cruise missile of
which Iran obtained
6 from the Ukraine
via the black market several years ago. More details on these
developments and Israel's
response, LINK HERE.
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Pentagon
Chiefs Signal Possible Strike
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last week
provided the clearest signal to date that the U.S. military is preparing to strike Iran
to cut off covert supplies of weapons to Iraqi insurgents. More details
LINK HERE.
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Drums
Beat For Wider Mideast War
The Levant could be the starting point
of a major international conflict with global ramifications and which
could quickly spin out of control. Such a conflict could even involve
the use of Israeli or American nuclear weapons against Iran and Syria. Syria has additionally declared that it
is preparing for an inevitable war with Israel despite the fact
that it believes that the chances of a war in 2008 are slim.
In the scenario of a war against Iran, the reaction of Syria will be pivotal. Damascus plays a central role and how it acts and
reacts will have a definitive impact on Israeli military strategy in
regards to Iran.
It is in this context that Israel,
the U.S. and the
E.U., with the help of Saudi Arabia,
Jordan and Egypt, have been attempting to undermine
and ultimately destroy the alliance between Syria
and Iran.
This is part of a geo-strategic stride to foreclose the possibility of
a Mediterranean battle-front that might emerge in the Levant as a
result of an attack on Iran.
The casus belli for an Israeli attack or a joint
Israeli-U.S. attack, possibly involving NATO, against Syria or against
both Syria and Iran could use the pretext of any form of retaliation by
Hezbollah against Israel for the assassination in Damascus of one of
its leaders, Imad Fayez Mughniyeh. Read the full article - LINK HERE.
(Note: The author is decidedly anti-war and
anti-Jewish, but the author's perceptions about regional developments
is worth taking note.)
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Former
US
Ambassador Says:
"Bomb
Iranian Camps"
The former US
ambassador to the UN, John Bolton says that the United States should bomb
Iranian camps. LINK HERE.
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Growth of Iranian
Power & Influence
LINK
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No Chance For Peace Summit
For Israel & Syria Til Bush Leaves
Office
As Turkey works to
hold meeting between Israeli, Syrian officials, source in Damascus tells Egyptian newspaper there is no
chance for such a session, as real talks can only begin under new US
administration
Turkey is interested in getting senior Israeli and
Syrian officials to sign a joint declaration in an upcoming meeting,
which may take place in Istanbul, the London-based Arabic-language
newspaper al-Hayat reported Thursday.
This declaration is mean to be the first result of the secret
mediation, but it appears that it is too early to be optimistic. A
Syrian source has told the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram that the
negotiations can only move forward when after the Bush administration
era.
Turkey
postponed the meeting after Damascus
declared that Israel
had agreed to fully withdraw from the Golan
Heights. According to the sources, the Turkish
mediator preferred to reveal his moves only after the signing of
the joint declaration.
Although Turkey expressed its anger over the
disclosure of the move, it showed understanding to the Syrian stance
interested in verifying Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's views and
examining the response on the Israeli street before entering a new and
public peace adventure, and before Syrian officials are photographed
with Israeli ones.
According to the sources, the Syrians were satisfied
with Israel's
response, as Olmert did not take back his declaration or deny it.
Meanwhile, Ankara
continues to insist that the talks, which have been going on for about
a year now, be kept in the dark. The sources told al-Hayat that the
Turkish officials believe secrecy is the main reason for the talks'
success and for the creation of trust between the parties. This is why
Turkish officials refrain from discussing the issue and addressing
suspicions regarding Turkey's
intentions. More details LINK HERE.
Meanwhile....
Bush Extends Syria Sanctions
US President George W. Bush said Wednesday he was extending US
sanctions against Syria
following Washington's charge
that Damascus had been building a
nuclear reactor with North
Korea's help. Bush announced his
decision to continue for one year a freeze on Syrian assets and the ban
on the export of certain goods to Syria
in an executive order and a message to the US Congress. More details, LINK HERE.
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Iran Prez Says:
Israel On
It's Way To Annihilation
Israel a
"Stinking Corpse" - "A Dead Rat"
Israel's President
Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel's
weeklong 60th Birthday celebrations by using several derogatory
metaphors about Israel
and warning that Israel
is about to be annihilated. SEE LINK HERE.
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Russia's New President
Takes Over
Dmitri Medvedev has now taken over as President of Russia while Vladimir Putin
will move over to take the post of Prime Minister. Experts believe that
Putin's powers will remain similar as new powers will be delegated to
the office of Prime Minister. More details, LINK HERE.
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Baghdad
Fighting Intensifies
City
Exodus Expected
The authorities in Baghdad
say they are preparing for an exodus of thousands of people from
eastern parts of the city.
Fighting between government and US troops on one
side, and Shia militia on the other, has intensified recently.
Two football stadiums are on stand-by to receive
residents from two neighbourhoods in the Sadr City
area.
The government has warned of an imminent push to
clear the areas of members of the Mehdi Army, loyal to the anti-American
cleric, Moqtada Sadr.
In the last seven weeks around 1,000 people have
died, and more than 2,500 others have been injured, most of them
civilians.
The fighting so far in Sadr City
has been fierce - street to street, and house to house. Full story
details, LINK HERE.
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Russia
Joins UN Sanctions on Iran
LINK
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China
Preparing for Nuke War
Defense analysts for the British intelligence service MI6 believe China
is preparing for the "eventuality of a nuclear war." The
conclusion follows evidence that Beijing
has built secretly a major naval base deep inside caverns which even
sophisticated satellites cannot penetrate, says a report in Joseph
Farah's G2 Bulletin.
In an unusual development, the analysts have provided
details to the specialist defense periodical, Jane's Intelligence
Review, which published satellite images of the base location which is
hidden beneath millions of tons of rock on the South China Sea island of Hainan. For more details, LINK HERE.
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Leading
America
Into Hell?
WND
Editorial
LINK
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$200
Oil Predicted
By Major Investment Brokerage House
The investment brokerage house of Goldman Sachs has rocked the
investment world today with a prediction that oil prices could rise to
$150 to $200 a barrel within two years. The prediction comes as the oil
markets set a new price record for oil as the price climbed over the
$122 mark in trading on Tuesday. LINK HERE.
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Car
Owners Scramble
To
Dump Gas Guzzlers
LINK
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Special
NASA Discovery Announcement
For
May 14
WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media teleconference Wednesday, May
14, at 1 p.m. EDT, to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy
astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was
made by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with
ground-based observations. LINK HERE.
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In-body
Wifi To Call 911
IF
You Have Heart Attack
Shades
of 6-6-6?
LINK
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More
Twisters Batter Mid USA
Again
20
Dead In Midwest
On
Mother's Day Weekend
More
Storms Forecast for Southeastern USA
Sunday
Severe weather continues to rake America's midwestern states
this weekend. Tornadoes were spawned in Oklahoma,
Arkansas and southern Missouri
overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning. 18 are reported dead so far
but that death toll may yet climb as rescuers continue to search through
the rubble of towns impacted by the storms. A Joplin, Missouri
newspaper reported more than 90 storm victims had been treated at area
hospitals so far. More details, LINK HERE.
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Cyclone Ravaged Myanmar Suffers
Hundreds
of Thousands Affected
LINK
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Global
Famine?
LINK
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Rice
Prices Hit New Records
Amid
Cyclone Disaster
The cyclone that has devastated Burma is not only set
to push world rice prices higher but may have jeopardised the
country’s long-term ability to feed its own population, Asian
food experts say. As well as unleashing a catastrophic loss of life,
Cyclone Nargis appears to have been fiercest in Burma’s main rice-growing region,
the Irrawaddy delta. Full details of
the damage are not yet clear, say World Food Programme officials, but
the growing fear is that millions of tons of salt water have flooded
onto the precious rice paddies, making them unfit for planting for some
time. More details, LINK HERE.
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Australian
Drought Worsens
Farm
Crisis Down Under
Worst
Drought in 100 Yrs
LINK
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36%
of US Beehives Lost
A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with
36.1% of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year.
Last year's survey commissioned by the Apiary
Inspectors of America
found losses of about 32%.
As beekeepers travel with their hives this spring to
pollinate crops around the country, it's clear the insects are buckling
under the weight of new diseases, pesticide drift and old enemies like
the parasitic varroa mite, said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, president of the
group.
This is the second year the association has measured
colony deaths across the country. This means there aren't enough
numbers to show a trend, but clearly bees are dying at unsustainable
levels and the situation is not improving, said vanEngelsdorp, also a
bee expert with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
"For two years in a row, we've sustained a
substantial loss," he said. "That's an astonishing number.
Imagine if one out of every three cows, or one out of every three
chickens, were dying. That would raise a lot of alarm." More
details, LINK HERE.
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Big
Changes Ahead For Internet
In
Next 10 Years
LINK
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