LONDON (AP) - Britain said Monday it was sending 900 more soldiers to southern Afghanistan to combat resistance from a resurgent Taliban.
Britain has around 5,000 troops in Afghanistan - about 3,600 in volatile Helmand province, 1,200 in the Afghan capital Kabul and the remainder in the southern city of Kandahar. The additional British soldiers will be sent to Helmand, a hub of the Afghan opium trade, Defense Secretary Des Browne said. Some 200 would deploy in the next few weeks and the rest by October, he said.
Browne told the House of Commons that commanders decided recently to move troops into northern Helmand to stabilize the province, creating the need for more soldiers. "We have taken casualties, but we have overmatched the opposing forces every single time we have faced them," Browne said. "They have tried to block our mission and failed."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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I certainly welcome the cousins' heart and commitment, I just don't want to see them take casualties because the MoD has intentionally put them a decade or two behind the curve.
Question for Tony and Howard -- The moronic MoD decision of about 6 months ago to "go Euro", and cut off joint efforts with the US on military tech, puts the lives of these soldiers in far greater jeopardy. The US operational methodologies are at least a decade ahead of the Euro model... Does Des Brown intend to address that flagrant bit of stupidity?
Meanwhile, did they dig up any new helo and close air support, per the previous week's stories?
#2
I think we should be rotating a National Guard A-10 squadron through Bagram all the time, and that squadron should be tasked soley to helping our cousins. They need the air support and the NG guys could use the air time.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2006 0:43 Comments ||
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#3
We need AC130's on orbit. Targets need to be obliterated. Take out all the mud huts and anyone in them. There's no way to kill enough of these roaches, but the entire villages conspire in these ambushes. They should suffer until they quit harboring the Lions.
#4
From what I understand we don't have enough AC-130s, and they're kinda busy. Whereas the A-10s are plentiful, the NG pilots capable, and the Brit cousins needful.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2006 1:10 Comments ||
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They'd be better off with a few OH-6s armed with MGs and rockets at each base.
Posted by: ed ||
07/11/2006 1:17 Comments ||
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A WW2 mosquito would do the job.
Plus try hitting a plane made of balsa with a rocket.
#7
You can bet this whole operation is bare boards and brass tacks. Was reading in The Times today that 2 French soldiers and 12 Afghanis were killed and mutilated by Taliban and villagers. Wheteher co-erced or not we need to get stuck in. When the adjective used by those in charge is 'challenging' you know this could go tits up. I'm just thankful that these guys are there.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/11/2006 15:02 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- A Saudi security official denied complicity of Saudi security men in the escape of seven detainees from Milz prison in Riyadh last Thursday. The Ministry of Interior's Security spokesman Major General Mansour Al-Turki said in statements published in Okath newspaper Monday that the reports which claim Saudi security men helped the detainees escape are baseless. Saudi security men are loyal to their country and king and they are determined to exert all efforts in fighting terrorism in all its forms, he said.
Rewards have been issued for any person who gives information that leads to the capture of the fugitives or that leads to the foiling of terror plots, he said. All the fugitives are radical Islamists who have played a supportive role in terrorism in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia announced the escape of the seven terrorists from Milz prison in Riyadh last Saturday. The fugitives are six Saudis and one Yemeni.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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So, Prince TurkiBoy, your "security men" are either complicit - or incompetent. You choose incompetent. Can't really argue with that.
The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Japan agreed Monday to postpone a vote on possible sanctions against North Korea in response to a missile test that rattled the region last week. France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, the current council president, said there would be no vote Monday. China's U.N. ambassador said that council members have agreed to continue discussions on the Tokyo-sponsored resolution.
Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters after a meeting with envoys from Russia, the United States, Britain, France and Japan that the resolution would have to be altered for the council to approve it. "If they wish to have a resolution, they should have a modified one, not this one," he said.
China's consideration of any resolution was considered significant, since Wang had been pressing for a weaker Security Council statement, which would not be legally binding. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Washington would look at any Chinese suggestions for changes, and the council would reevaluate "on a daily basis" whether to proceed with a vote.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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"China's consideration of any resolution was considered significant..."
Jesus, what a dance. Nobody could possibly be so stupid as to fall for the notion this exercise will actually produce anything of substance, could they? Excepting diplomats and the MSM, of course.
#3
Sure! Got the one where you jump off the Good Ship Lollipop, chase down the wounded VC and shoot him in the back?
I don't have a problem with it, mind you, but I can't help wonder what your moron PC addled base would think of it if they had the chance to see it happen... Obviously they don't think too hard about you or your "exploits", both fabricated and real, else they'd have some serious head issues to work out.
As for the UN - LOL. Doesn't get any more irrelevant than that, does it? I hope Bush stops this foolish exercise sooner, rather than later. Every time he plays along it makes me wonder just how little I know of the facts in a given situation. Sadly, I'm stuck with (mainly) MSM reporting and always stuck trying to read between the lines.
Here's hoping your private jet crashes or something. I can't see any other way to get rid of you. :)
#4
Why in hell do we waste US money on this obscenity called the UN ? Cut off all funding ASAP. Give them 30 days to get their useless asses off US soil.
#6
The issue here is not Korea but the Security council flipping off the two members of the UN that contribute half the budget. If the Japanese are ready to consider operations against Korea, they are certainly ready to flip off the UN if there's no resolution. And Abe is no Haille Selasie. Likewise the US on Korea or Iran. China and Russia can only play their game so long before the piper doesn't get paid. It's a silly Kabuki, but it will have a very important conclusion.
Oh Goody! Does this mean we get to shoot them now?
The new policy comes on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling last month invalidating a system of military tribunals the Pentagon had created to try suspected terrorists, and just before Congress takes up the question of a replacement system in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today.
As part of its decision, the court found that a key provision of the Geneva conventions, known as Common Article 3, did apply to terror suspects, contradicting the position taken by the Bush administration.
Article 3 guarantees detainees a minimum level of rights expected in a civilized country. But what that includes and what procedures should govern their trials is expected to be the subject of lively Congressional debates all summer, beginning with todays Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.
One of the more intriguing hearings will be held Thursday, when the current top military lawyers in the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines are due to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Longstanding custom allows serving officers to give their own views candidly at Congressional hearings if specifically asked, and some in the Senate expect the current uniformed lawyers to generally urge that Congress not stray far from the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the system that details court-martial proceedings.
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/11/2006 10:57 ||
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Oh Goody! Does this mean we get to shoot them now?
It would if by "follow Geneva treaty" they meant "follow what it says". Unfortunately, they mean "follow what we think it says".
How many years does civilization have left? We're not gonna win this one -- not enough of us want to -- so I need to plan on seeing and enjoying some of the fruits of civilization before they're gone.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/11/2006 12:51 Comments ||
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Simple - dont detain them anymore. All illegal combatants (according to the same GC) get summarily shot dead in the field.
#3
dont panic (for those of you so inclined) this applies to military prisons only. IE not CIA prisons. The really important detainees wont be effected, only the cannon fodder being held at Gitmo. And we can still toss people to "friendly" countries as appropriate.
Also, IIUC, article 3 still doesnt give them POW status. They can still be detained indefinitely, and can still be interrogated.
The end of civilization may be upon us, but probably not because of this.
#4
Also, IIUC, article 3 still doesnt give them POW status. They can still be detained indefinitely, and can still be interrogated.
No shit they're not entitled to POW status. That's been the administration position -- and mine -- all along. They're not protected by the GC because the GC is quite explicit about who is protected; terrorists in general and AQ specifically fall far outside the definitions.
But now we're going to toss out what the GC says in favor of what people WANT it to say. We're bound by imaginary laws; our enemies are bound by none.
Unless we stop this nonsense we cannot win, because it's quite clear we don't want to win.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/11/2006 13:37 Comments ||
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I see it differently. This represents basically no material change in how prisoners are actually handled. The DoD has long complied with the GCs in all conflicts as a matter of policy.
Nothing in the GCs accords POW status to Gitmo detainess, so our position doesn't change at all. We'll continue to interrogate them (not okay for POWs) and detain them as long as we want (okay even for POWs).
One of the major issues in the Hamdan ruling was that military commissions do not meet the GC's "regularly constituted court" standard to prosecute war crimes. For whatever reason, the Sup. Ct. said ad hoc courts don't meet that standard, which is what all courts-martial and military commissions are. But that's easy to fix. The pres can appoint a panel of officers (say, military judges) as a new, permanent federal circuit court -- a "war crimes" court -- or something along those lines. Problem solved.
Further, under the GCs, ad hoc military commissions DO meet the standard to prosecute crimes committed while in custody (like the ambush last month). Commissions haven't been outlawed, and they still have utility.
And, of course, nothing prevents commanders from hunting down terrorist scum and killing them on the spot like the dogs they are.
In other words, this "new policy" represents no tangible change at all. About the only thing that changes is the appointing authority. Big whoop.
The Senate committee hasn't even started discussing how to deal with the Hamdan ruling, a process I expect to take months, at least. Congress doesn't overrule the Sup. Ct. very often, but they can. I'm not sure Hamdan was bad enough to make it necessary.
So this "new White House policy" seems like a huge publicity stunt, intended to appease the rabid left and make them think they've won some kind of victory, when they haven't won shit at all. Clever -- but it also looks like an admission of wrongdoing, which it ain't.
#8
There has to be a penalty for not following the Geneva conventions. When you don't wear a uniform and get caught on the battlefield, you are not entitled to the protections that those who follow the conventions are entited to.
Rob Crawford's point about "imaginary laws" is spot on.
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 17:41 Comments ||
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detain them as long as we want (okay even for POWs).
Or at least for the duration of the conflict.. and the WOT will last decades.
Hicks and the other scum will grow old waiting in Gitmo.
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 17:43 Comments ||
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"But now we're going to toss out what the GC says in favor of what people WANT it to say. We're bound by imaginary laws; our enemies are bound by none.
Unless we stop this nonsense we cannot win, because it's quite clear we don't want to win."
No,youre missing the point. Third Geneva is MAINLY a long document with lots of detailed stuff about POWS and how to treat them. Article 3 of third Geneva is a short, vague section that assures everybody some baseline minimal rights. Even non-POWS. This decision does NOT accord the detainees full POW rights, (which would mean the right to be detained only for the duration of the conflict, and the right NOT to be interrogated, IIUC) but only the minimal vague, rights under article 3. Now that includes the right not to be subject to degrading treatment, but we've ALREADY moved to that, with regard to MILITARY prisons, including Gitmo. It also seems to require standards for trials, WHEN they are tried - but the UCMJ seems to be in accord with that. Now there are SOME aspects of the UCMJ procedures that would seem to be problematic for AQ terrorists (like facing your accuser - a big problem if theyre killing informants) But who says we have to have trials for ANYONE? We dont. We just keep them and dont try them, like POWs, except that since theyre not POW's, we can hold them as long as necessary.
#11
The headline is an overstatement. Bush is acknowledging the Supremes authority (while interviewing additional judical candidates) without accepting the decision.
Two attornies stated as much today during Senate hearings.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/11/2006 18:35 Comments ||
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The vague 3rd Article of the Third Geneva Convention:
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: * violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
* taking of hostages;
* outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;
* the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.
The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.
The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.
This entire problem goes away, and so do many attendant problems, if we simply kill them all while they are still taking part in active hostilities.
It seems to me very clear which side has continuously and as a matter of policy, without punishment for offenders, violated this agreement in every major term and abrogated its right to any protection under it. We should fight this war exactly as we fought in the Pacific Theater in WWII. It did not prevent the Japanese from making peace with us and living together for 40 years now. The sooner we start, the fewer horrors the world will have to endure. Let's get it over with.
#13
Right, sorry for the imprecise language. The GCs permit the detaining power to hold anyone, up to and including POWs, for the duration of the conflict. I tend to think of that as "as long as we want" because this conflict is likely to outlast us all.
Common Article 3 is actually pretty specific:
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character
This is important. This means internal armed conflicts, civil wars -- inapplicable to the US in Iraq & Afghanistan. Common Article 2 is the relevant one -- it says the GCs are applicable in their entirety to international conflicts, "even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them." US policy has long been to comply either way.
occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties,
Iraq and Afghanistan both ratified the GCs in 1956 -- and the GCs have become customary international law by now, binding even non-signatories.
each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed out of combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
POWs have the right not to be interrogated and the right not to be prosecuted, except for crimes commited while in custody. That "regularly constituted court" part is what the Sup. Ct. was all ornery about.
Bottom line, everything the critics whine about is stuff we already do -- and were doing long before GWOT. US policy has been to comply with the GCs in all conflicts, whether legally required to or not. So this "dramatic shift" business is illusory, other than in perception. I don't see how it will change much at all about the way we actually do business.
#14
Thanks for the "Each Party" info JAG. Might take all the lawyers on the planet to get the terrorists to agree however. They're too much into the 'Chop Chop Square' thing. For my part, if I never saw or heard from another donk lawyer I'd be very pleased. Shakespear was right, "hang them firstly."
At a rally outside the New York Times's office last night, protesters called on the government to "prosecute" the newspaper for its recent publication of government security secrets.
Led by a radio talk show host and Caucus for America president, Rabbi Aryeh Spero, almost 100 people gathered on 43rd Street to voice their outrage at the Times's decision to publish "national security secrets relating to our government's financial monitoring programs to track down terrorists."
Rabbi Spero said that publishing the secrets was an act of "treason and betrayal that put the public safety of the country in jeopardy.
"It is directly in violation of Article 18 of the Espionage Act," Rabbi Spero said. "I ask the government to prosecute the Times and the people to boycott it."
He added that the patriotic image of the Times had disappeared about forty years ago, saying that it was now only read by the "snobs on the Upper West Side", islamists and "trans-nationalists and cosmopolitans," who called themselves "citizens of the world, not Americans."
"They think that they have had graduated from America and see themselves more as Parisians or something like that," he said.
Protesters stood facing the Times's office carrying signs displaying angry messages, such as "Osama's Favorite Paper." Men dressed as Osama bin Laden clutched copies of the newspaper, and held up signs declaring, "I Love the New York Times" and "It Makes Me Feel Like I'm In the Know!"
Or my own "Treason!"
Speeches were given from political organizations, human-rights groups, the press, and family members of victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The ten or so dingbat counter protesters tried to drown out Deborah Burlingame when she spoke.
A spokeswoman for Action Alliance, sponsors of the event alongside the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, said that the Times had "fully informed the Jihadists and creeps over in Europe" of American security efforts. "They might as well have just sent an e-mail to bin Laden," she said.
On the other side of the street, opposition came from a small group of people calling the protesters "fascists and racists."
Which the good Rabbi promptly turned back in their faces and had the protesters chanting "Fascists!" at the dingbats and the Times itself. Other things chanted included "The Al Jazeera Times", "Lynch Pinch!", and "Prosecute the Times".
The executive editor of the Times, Bill Keller, has defended his paper's decision to publish the information. "Our job as news organizations is to tell the people how well their elected representatives are doing in the war on terror," he said in an interview on PBS's "NewHour" on July 5. "That doesn't mean that we just tell them what they're doing wrong. It means we also try to take the measure of what they're doing that works."
He added that the first amendment gave the press the right to decide to what is and is not dangerous to publish. "What gives us that right is the guys who wrote the Constitution," he said. Police officers prevented violence from escalating by creating a barrier between the two sides of the street. The barrier was breached, however, by one of the bin Laden impersonators and a heated verbal exchange between him and two of the opposition ensued. The exchange was easily separated and no arrests were made.
The best the dingbats could do was scream "Answer the Question" referring to a question they had written on a sign asking "If the NY Times committed treason why haven't they been prosecuted?". Their other tactic was for some lard ass bimbo to keep blowing a whistle every time someone spoke at the microphone.
There were one or two heated exchanges with passers by, but for the most part people went on about their business or stopped and lent support however briefly to the protest. There were about 200 protesters from 5pm to 7:30pm when a very large American Flag was unfolded and held aloft by about a dozen or more protesters as we sang "God Bless America".
One proposal made by the Rabbi didn't make any press account I have seen yet. Specifically he demanded that the City of New York rename Times Square to Liberty Square or Giuliani Square to remove the Times' name from that New York landmark.
Warning: some photos or videos of the event may show a larger crowd on the Times' side of the street than was actually supportive of the paper. Many of the protesters (you will notice many of them wearing T shirts with a NY Times masthead (revealing the June 6, 1944 date of the d-day invasion of Normandy) walked to the other side to be better able to hear the speakers.
I was particularly touched by a WWII veteran who must have been about 90 years old who came down to protest with his sign "Loose Lips Sink Ships".
After 7:30 I left but there were still many there trading insults across the street with the dingbats.
Later that evening my wife and I were thanked for taking part in the protest and helping to try "to keep her husband safe" by the wife of one of our servicemen in Iraq.
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/11/2006 08:22 ||
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Awwwright!
Prosecute, persecute, boycott, bankrupt - whatever it takes.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/11/2006 9:45 Comments ||
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Indy Media has posted an article which uses fake quotes (or at least nothing I heard and I was right behind the cound truck) to disparage the protest:
One of their commenters has posted some photos as well. As in the multiple cases of the left publishing home addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, etc... of those who disagree with them, they posted a description of the vehicle and a photo of the license plate of the sound truck.
Heh, one of the commenters asked: where were the counter-protesters??
The National Review was not impressed...
They thought we were too rough edged for their taste. I think I saw one of these guys. He gave me a frowning patronizing look everytime he heard me yell something. Looked like he needed an enema or something.
To the National Review: Get real! When someone as high profile as "Pinch" has committed treason and there appears to be no action to hold him accountable for his acts then it is time to take to the streets and demand justice. We better not turn into a caste system where the hierarchy is exempt from the rule of law. I see way too many examples of this happening, Sandy Berger, Bill Clinton, etc... to be comfortable not protesting each and every occurance. There is a time for high brow debate and then there is a time to take to the streets. So far the debate has been ineffective. It is time for the other remedy.
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/11/2006 9:50 Comments ||
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Thank you for your report from the front, Dan, NY. Well done!
#4
A further note about the counter protesters from a comment I just posted at Indy media:
There were never more than ten counter protesters. Most of the people on their side of the street were passersby who stopped to watch for a few minutes or protesters who moved to the other side to be better able to hear the speeches.
Only four of the counter protesters were in any way memorable:
There was Sunglass guy who seems to believe that President Bush should have an army of black or brown shirts available to knock down doors in the dead of the night and drag traitors off to prison, the law be damned...
There was 'Dropkick' who didn't say anything memorable, but had a cool T shirt which must have reflected what happened to knock whatever brains he had out of his head in his youth.
There was 'bumper sticker to nowhere' man who held up a stick with bumper stickers attached. Apparently I was too far to read whatever snarky quotes might have been displayed. He might have been a vendor or something...
And then there was 'Androgenous Pat' who sat it's fat butt on a bicycle and blew a whistle everytime it wanted. We may finally know now where the infamous missing chads from 2000 went...
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/11/2006 10:18 Comments ||
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Good on ya, Dan.
Later that evening my wife and I were thanked for taking part in the protest and helping to try "to keep her husband safe" by the wife of one of our servicemen in Iraq.
I can't think of a higher honor.
Posted by: Matt ||
07/11/2006 10:55 Comments ||
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An instructor at the University of Wisconsin who has said he believes US officials orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks, will be allowed to teach a course on Islam. Some state politicians had called for the University of Wisconsin-Madison to fire Kevin Barrett, a part-time instructor, after he spoke about his theories on a radio talk show last month.
The university provost, Patrick Farrell, said in a statement late on Monday: "We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas. "To the extent that his views are discussed, Mr Barrett has assured me that students will be free and encouraged to challenge his viewpoint."
Barrett can present his view as one of many perspectives on the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington DC when he teaches Islam: Religion and Culture this fall, Farrell said. Farrell began a review after Barrett said he believed the attacks were the result of a conspiracy designed to cause war in the Middle East.
Barrett said he was happy the school "did the right thing". "This university is a pretty professional organisation that is not going to buckle from political pressure from politicians," he said.
Politicians who had called for Barrett's dismissal criticised the decision. Matt Canter, a spokesman for the governor, Jim Doyle, said: "The governor would have come to a different conclusion about this."
Steve Nass, a state representative, said he would push next year for cuts to the university's budget. The university does not endorse Barrett's theories, Farrell said, noting that they are widely believed in parts of the Muslim world.
#3
I keep saying that when you fund universitiies with taxpayers money all you grow is socialists and other parasites, not education.
LOAN students the money, but not ONE cent of taxpayers money should be forced from them to fund this "education". You could also cut taxes and therefore have more jobs for graudates and enable graduates to pay the loans off much faster.
#5
I have a theory that models with eating disorders can be cured by having sex with me. Maybe Dr. Steve can recommend me for a clinical position at the university.
Posted by: ed ||
07/11/2006 8:43 Comments ||
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The university provost, Patrick Farrell, said in a statement late on Monday: "We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas.
I wonder if Kevin Baby believed that, say, university provosts had tendencies towards pedophilia and espoused that belief, if his "free exchange of ideas" would be tolerated.
#7
I saw this dude last night on H&C. He believes 9/11 was an inside job. He's scary sincere about that. Also says he has credible evidence that the WTC was imploded w/demo gear - supposedly has debris/dust from said demo explosives - imho, prolly more likely the angel dust he's been sniffing since the 60's. Colmes asked him if students had to buy into his conspiracy theories to get a good grade - of course this guy said no. Barrett also said that 60% of Madison believes that 9/11 was an inside job - frightening if true.
#8
It always amuses me when we on the right get our panties in a wad over some moonbat teacher. American universities are full of them! We act surprised. This guy was on Hannity and Colmes last night and Sean tore him a new one. I can't see the benefit of giving them airtime, unless you hold to the theory that the more people see the left for the psychopaths they are, the more they will gravitate to the right. I'm not convinced.
#9
How long would an instructor work at a university if he publicly said slavery didn't exist and its all a bunch of propaganda created by the left? That statistical studies show that race 'x' is consistently 10 points below the norm for others? That females exercising free choice do not pursue advanced degrees in engineering or math, generally speaking?
Don't think we'd have to wait long, would we?
Once again, Elitism - one set of rules for us and a separate set of rules for everyone else.
#10
Tu, youre on a good point. If there was a professor at UoW that believed all Muslims are terrorists do you think they would keep him on staff? This is just another shining example of when moonbattery meats education. Unfortunately Professor moonbat is in a position to shape minds to his way of thinking.
#11
Barrett also said that 60% of Madison believes that 9/11 was an inside job
So 40% are able to resist group-think? Presumably a good many of those are in the hard sciences and engineering, but even so that's better than I would have expected at Berkley/Wisconsin.
#12
On last night's Hannity and Colmes, "Professor" Kevin Barrett denounced FOX NEWS CHANNEL as extreme. Okay, that's his opinion and he's entitled to it. But then he revealed his true totalitarian nature when he added "...and you guys should be banned."
Ah yes, censor FOX, take it off the air.
"Within the Revolution, everything! Outside the revolution, nothing!"--Fidel Castro, 1974
#13
Well, the whole town is known locally as PROM, Peoples Republic of Madison . The really sad fact is far too many students get an education find a job with the state and stay.
#14
Barrett also said that Madrid, Bali, and several of Zarky boy's ops in Iraq probably were "Black bag" operations carried out by US intel and SF.
The guy's a complete idiot. I watched his facial gestures and I thought he reminded me of somebody. Then it dawned on me... President Logan of 24! Watch H&C and then compare Barrett to Logan. Cut from the same cloth save for the fact that Logan's a fictional character while Barrett lives in a fictional world.
#15
To the extent that his views are discussed, Mr Barrett has assured me that students will be free and encouraged to challenge his viewpoint.
I remember doing that, once, in college. Had a whackjob English instructor at ASU with a bug up her ass for PETA. I made a point of going to class wearing my leather jacket and Reeboks and a Mickey D's hamburger for a in-class snack. (I was a senior, and didn't care...that helped. ASU required me to take a English 101 class, but couldn't get into one until my last semester....go figure.)
I "challenged" the viewpoint that animal testing wasn't necessary. I also "challenged" the viewpoint that vegetarians were better human beings than the rest of us (she didn't appreciate my reference to Adolph Hitler, for some reason....)
I was rewarded with a D in composition.
Considering that the sickly-looking ho-bag could barely write a coherent sentence in her native language, while I could do it in four, I found that pretty damn rich. She was quite proud of herself for it, too, when she let me know what the grade was. I asked her if she could go back and change it, and she refused. She gleefully told me that there was absolutely no way she could do that. I figured, what the hell....and let her know that even though I too was in the liberal arts, at least I could get a job offer outside of academia.
I'm sure if she could have she would have changed it to an "E" right then.... ;)
#17
Careful with that, CrazyFool. Lots of teachers hang out here, including Dr. Steve, Pappy and lotp. ;-) The teaching profession does seem, however, to attract the extremes of capability -- both ends of the bell curve are well represented.
#18
Well, I guess our special ops guys were busy blowing up trains in Bombay a few hours ago.
What amazes me is that the same people who cannot plan and execute a second rate invasion and occupation, are able to secretly bomb various buildings and trains and ships around the world without getting caught by local authorities. Also, this worldwide terror campaign is against innocent bystanders, rather than against those with whom we are at war. When one's logic is so twisted, he displays the fact that he has no basis for his beliefs.
#19
I'm really excited about this Wisconsin thing. I'm thinking I could get a job there teaching astrology, or the caloric theory of heat. Or the Phenomenological Theory of Unicorn Invisibility (PTUI), which holds that current theories of gravity are rubbish. In reality, the effect we perceive as gravity is actually due to the mediation of tiny invisible pink unicorns.
My outstanding work in these fields should get me a job in the Physics or Astronomy Dept. I need to get that cv out today.
#20
TW is correct. There are a lot of wingnut professors in universities but there are also the kind that spend a lot of time at Rantburg. I taught at a university. I taught a lot of military members over 25 years who were in our live program as well as our distance education engineering program. Some were test pilots, some were operational pilots, some were helicopter pilots, some went on to become astronauts. Some were in the Canadian airforce. I really enjoyed these students. They were the cream of the crop of students. A great bunch of men and women. Serious students--no BS.
Personally, I think the guy, Barrett, at Wisconsin is a self-indulgent asshole who thinks someone gives a shit about his sel-important opinions. Sounds like he likes the spotlight--has sh*t for brains.
#21
Ok. I offically apologise to any teachers and professors out there. Some teachers and professors are very good - some (like this guy) use their profession as a soapbox.
I am still wondering if there is an Intro to Christianity or Judism course out there....
#24
What's the issue here? If they're going to blame Bush for everything, then they might as well blame him for 9/11. It doesn't make them any crazier -- just more consistent.
As for university provost Patrick Farrell, somebody needs to fill him in: the free exchange of ideas should not be the ultimate goal -- truth should be the ultimate goal. He needs to decide whether he wants to run a university or an asylum.
#25
Darrell, my boy, you're stuck in the past. For enlightened postmodernist types such as the professorate here at UW Madison, there is no such thing as "truth." It's all just one's individual point of view, you see, and those are all equal. Only benighted Philistines like engineers or deluded, semi-coherent "religionists" think that there are actually things that are "right" or "wrong."
From your post it's quite obvious that you're one of those "absolutist" types who sees everything in black and white and who doesn't understand the subtle nuances of existence that sculpt and inflect every meme and paradigm. Why, I suspect you would even categorize running your auto's engine without oil as "wrong" or "stupid" rather than seeing it for what it truly is, an "alternative operating method."
Don't trouble your mind about such things though. Frankly speaking, they're too deep for you. Just sit back, drink your Budweiser and watch your NASCAR, and keep paying the taxes which support those of us who truly understand the world. It's the least you can do. Oh, and try standing a bit straighter, as well. Having one's knuckles drag the ground is prole to the point of Neanderthalism...
Sincerely,
Patrick Farrell
Provost, UM-Madison
/sarcasm off
Posted by: mac ||
07/11/2006 18:38 Comments ||
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#26
*happy sigh* I do love a pretty bit of sarcasm, mac.
AKRON, Ohio -- A local Marine who service in Iraq earned several medals for serving his country, but he's giving back one of the medals to the White House as a form of protest. "In a fashion reminiscent of John Kerry"
Sgt. Matthew Bee is a decorated Akron Marine who spent seven months in Hadeetha, serving with the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines Weapons Company based in Brook Park. Bee received six medals of commendation, but one of them he will give back to President George W. Bush, calling the medal political, NewsChannel5 reported.
The medal is the War on Terrorism service medal, and Bee calls it "eye candy" from Bush. "So, he took something noble and honorable and made it kind of dirty. And I always thought that medal was the one he pinned on us and said, 'This is my war. This is my stamp in history,'" said Bee.
Bee said he is not anti-war, but rather pro-peace. He plans to travel to Washington, D.C., with a small group of Marines who feel the same way he does. They will all try to return their War on Terrorism medal to Bush personally or to members of Congress. I always thought the GWOT Service Medal was "gee-dunk" anyway. Wonder why he does give his Iraqi Campaign Medal back? Or maybe just the ribbon....
Posted by: Louisiana Son ||
07/11/2006 10:17 ||
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#6
Why just the one? Why would he want to keep the rest? Or was that the only one he earned in Iraq?
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/11/2006 13:06 Comments ||
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#7
Number of Marines not returning medals?
Why does one get coverage and hundreds of thousands don't? Rhetorical question. Its MSM. Just as they dont cover the hundreds of thousands of automobile events everyday, but only the wreaks.
Carla J. Martin's moment of infamy ended nearly as quickly as it began.
An obscure government lawyer, she had been a minor player in the most major of cases: the death penalty trial of Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. But that all changed in an instant, when she violated a court order by sharing testimony with witnesses and coaching them about what to say.
Suddenly, the former flight attendant rocketed across TV screens and newspaper front pages, cast as the villain whose misconduct nearly derailed the prosecution's case. Berated by a federal judge, Martin, 51, walked out of an Alexandria courtroom with her head down -- and back into anonymity.
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New Combat Action Ribbon rules reflect modern warfare
By Christian Lowe
staff writer
Its the swatch of silk most Marines point to when you ask them whats the most important award on their chest.
Sporting the gold, red and blue of the Combat Action Ribbon is a subtle way of telling fellow leathernecks youve done your job when the bullets were flying.
But after two years of work and growing controversy over whether too many or too few CARs were being awarded, the Navy and Marine Corps have revised the criteria that govern who can earn one, modernizing the Vietnam-era rules in recognition of situations encountered in todays combat environment.
Those situations can be summed up in one term that anybody whos been to Iraq knows all too well: improvised explosive devices.
The revised rules, which are detailed in the June 26 Corps-wide message AlMar 025/06, change the language of the official instructions for awarding the CAR to include those whove actively participated in a ground or surface engagement instead of a bona fide ground or surface combat firefight or action during which he or she was under enemy fire. The change broadens the criteria for awarding the CAR to include situations where Marines and sailors may not be under small-arms fire, such as in an IED ambush.
This is all tied to the IED piece, said Lt. Col. Jim Taylor, acting awards branch chief with Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va. If I am the recipient of an IED explosion, I have not returned fire, in some cases.
We didnt want the phraseology to eliminate that warrior from being entitled to the Combat Action Ribbon.
Gone, too, are stipulations that include the defense of a ship under enemy attack, riverine and coastal operations and Marines and sailors participating in peacekeeping operations. If theyve actively participated in the ground or surface engagement, theyre eligible.
Marine officials say that no previously issued CAR will be revoked under the revised rules. However, the new rules do mean that more Marines are eligible for the prestigious award than before. And Marines can get them retroactively if the new rules fit their situation on the battlefield.
So far, 85 Marines who had been denied the CAR based on earlier rules have been retroactively approved for the award, Taylor said.
The modernized CAR rules come after years of debate over the equity of the award and the situations under which Marines and sailors should earn it.
In 2002, there was grumbling in the Corps over the awarding of CARs for nearly the entire 26th Marine Expeditionary Units battalion landing team after operations in Afghanistan. The CAR is supposed to be bestowed upon a Marine for his individual action it is not a unit award, officials explained.
The increasing toll of improvised explosive device ambushes in Iraq and the belief among most commanders that the rules did not allow them to award CARs for Marines hit by roadside bombs prompted further discussion in late 2005, including a letter from I Marine Expeditionary Force commander Lt. Gen. John Sattler to Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee asking for a review of the rules.
After intensive discussions between Navy and Marine awards officials, the language was clarified earlier this year to include IED attacks.
The clarification also said the new IED rule would apply to Marines and sailors as far back as Oct. 7, 2001. And in March, the Corps drew up guidelines to help determine who might have been denied a CAR and now deserved one, and how to submit the names of those Marines and sailors who might not have been considered under the old guidelines.
The latest revision takes the eligibility to receive the CAR a step further, deleting or changing language from the original Navy Department rules written in 1969 and giving commanders greater authority to award the CAR in combat situations that can go from humanitarian operations to pitched combat in seconds.
The Marine Corps has the most diligent application of awards in comparison to the other services, Taylor said. From this point forward, I think weve got it right.
Posted by: Louisiana Son ||
07/11/2006 10:25 ||
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. The FBI will look into an online video that shows two men shooting a Quran with a military rifle and then leaving the bullet-riddled holy book at a Chattanooga mosque. F-B-I agent Tim Burke said the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the Justice Department to investigate the incident. He said no one from the Chattanooga Muslim community had complained. Justice Department spokesman Eric Holland said the request would be reviewed carefully. Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Islamic group, said the video may have been recorded in Chattanooga a year ago.
The video titled "kill the koran" was posted on MySpace-dot-com last month. It could still be seen on the Web site today. A man on the Web site identifies himself as "mully88" and claims to live in Chattanooga. The author's profile lists as heroes (quote) "anybody that has killed a muslim or at least tried to kill a muslim." The site also contains slurs against Hispanics and blacks. The video shows the man purchasing a Quran at a bookstore, going to a wooded area and shooting the book, then throwing it on the ground outside the door of the Chattanooga Islamic center.
#3
Only questionable bits I can see are their comments and tossing it in front of a mosque.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/11/2006 6:46 Comments ||
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#4
Does the FBI investigate flag burning? It's a no go from the start.
Then damn well get back to real work like trying to track the money trail of CAIR members now that they are avoiding the NYTs outing of their old methods.
#7
Shooting the Koran is a non-issue -- a man may pretty much do as he likes with his own property, so long as it doesn't risk harm to others. But leaving it at the mosque door contains an implied threat, which is how I would understand if a deliberately damaged Bible were left in front of my synagogue door... The lawyers will argue this is analogous to burning a cross on someone's front lawn.
#8
Hmmm... I don't get anything out of these symbolic acts. A complete waste of time, IMO. It all strikes me as juvenile... not to mention boring and repetitious.
What I think is bullshit is the FBI getting involved in this, wasting manpower on such idiocy. The local cops are FAR more likely to know who's involved - or to be able to find out.
The FBI should stick to productive efforts - such as trying to prevent another atrocity against Americans, not cater to an Islamic terrorist front like CAIR.
#9
If they had only urinated/defecated on it as well they could have just called it pop-art. I wish CAIR would crawl back under the rock from which it came and stay there.
#13
This is where we should make a stand. If they try to harm a single hair on our shooters head, we should overrun our own government. Fucking Islam is the enemy, Goddamnit ! The fucking FBI better wake up along with W and the donks.
WAKE UP !
This may be trapped, but I mean every word of it.
#14
I suspect the FBI got involved over those asanine "hate crime" laws. That's the only Federal hook I can think of.
Now, I'm with you all on having the Feds looking into CAIR itself, vs. what was probably some teenage pranksters. Interesting the timing of this Koran shooting and the other story of the pig's head being rolled up on the mosque's doorstep.
Posted by: BA ||
07/11/2006 12:07 Comments ||
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#15
1. Apply for NEA grant.
2. Shoot koran.
3. Become toast of NYC art world.
4. Be derivative, such as dissected koran in piss and formaldehyde.
5. Get rich and famous.
Posted by: ed ||
07/11/2006 15:43 Comments ||
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#19
Do up the picture as a litho, 6, four versions in different colour waves -- like whatisname's Cambell Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe -- your name will live long after your head recovers from bodily separation.
How about some multi-hued photos of beheaded jihadis? I'm sure it'd get a Fred P./RB Grant of some type, if the NEA didn't fund it.
Posted by: BA ||
07/11/2006 21:13 Comments ||
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#21
Andy Warhol, yes, BA. I can never keep all those "artists" straight. I wouldn't do the jihadi thingy, though -- not artistic enough unless one made them generic and faceless, and what's the point of that? But perhaps a riff on the Iraqi playing cards that the troops took with them when they invaded? That could be fun...
Pakistan on Monday said it was ready to assure the US it would not pass on to any third country the technology of F-16 fighter jets, which Washington plans to sell it, after a lawmaker asked Bush Administration to get guarantees against any such transfers to China.
"This is a standard clause in all defence agreements that such technology would not be transferred to a third country. We are ready to look at appropriate language for such assurance," Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said when asked about fears expressed by Congressman Joseph Crowley that Pakistan may supply the F-16 technology to China.
Asked about the possibility that the deal may get stuck in US Congress, Aslam said, "The US administration has assured us that they would make their best efforts to ensure that it is approved by the Congress and that they live up to their commitments."
Bush Administration has approached US Congress for approving a $5 billion deal to sell 18 latest F-16s with a provision to sell 18 more along with a support package for up to 26 used F-16s. The deal also includes a package to sell munitions and upgradation of Pakistan's fleet of 34 F-16s as also provide logistical support.
Crowley, a New York Democrat, had said that there should be guarantees to ensure that no technological transfer would take place to China through Pakistan.
"I have deep concerns about the process or lack thereof, which the Bush Administration used to inform Congress about pending sale of F-16s to Pakistan. The administration has shown time and time again that they are not interested in congressional oversight on sensitive deals," he was quoted in the media as saying.
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 19:10 ||
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With US mounting pressure on Islamabad to reveal underworld don's whereabouts, Pervez Musharraf has shifted him to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border ---- Mafia don and wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim was living in Karachi with a Pakistani passport under a different name since the serial Mumbai bombings in March 1993, in which over 300 people were killed. The entire operation was orchestrated by him from Dubai, where he was living before March 1993. He had the perpetrators of the blasts trained clandestinely by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Pakistan. After the training, they returned to Mumbai and carried out the bombings with the help of explosives, detonators and timers given by the ISI. These were clandestinely shipped to landing points on the western coast of India in boats hired by Dawood.
When his involvement in the blasts was proved, the Indian Government requested the Dubai authorities for Dawood's deportation. The Dubai authorities advised him to leave their country. He shifted to Karachi. The Pakistani media reported from time to time about his presence in Karachi and the activities of his mafia group from Pakistani territory. They also reported that many retired officers of the Pakistani intelligence community had been employed by him as security officers. At the request of the Government of India, the International Police Organisa-tion (Interpol) based in Lyons, France, issued many look-out notices for his arrest and deportation to India, if found in the territory of any member-country. The notices also gave his Karachi address.
In response to these notices, Pakistan kept denying the presence of Dawood. The matter was taken up by then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee with President Pervez Musharraf during their meeting in Agra in July 2001, and again in Islamabad in January 2004. Dawood's name also figured in the list of 20 terrorists wanted for trial in India, which was handed over by New Delhi to Islamabad in the beginning of 2002. The stock response from Gen Musharraf was that Dawood Ibrahim "was not in Pakistan".
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07/11/2006 17:49 ||
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#1
It would be worthwhile inquiring whether the company (Sahab), which usually produces and disseminates the features and messages of Al Qaeda, including those of bin Laden and Zawahiri, has any links with Dawood.
Or with the ISI...
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 18:08 Comments ||
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The Bush administration on Monday offered an unprecedented defense and rationalization of Indias missile test and nuclear program, attesting to the growing close ties between the two countries in what is a far cry from the days when any such military exertion by New Delhi would drive Washington ballistic.
The weekend test of Agni- III, since acknowledged to be a failure, was the subject of probing questions both at the White House and State Department briefings, in the context of US anger against North Koreas missile infractions last week. But administration officials dismissed comparisons between the two events while disclosing that India had notified the United States and Pakistan about the tests.
''There is a significant difference and a noteworthy difference between India and North Korea. India has pursued its program in such a way as not to be a threat of provocation to its neighbors. In that regard, it informed the United States in advance, and as it has by agreement, also notified the Pakistanis.
It did it in a transparent and non-threatening way,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Snow also used to occasion to suo motu address U.S views on Indias nuclear program, saying it began in 1958 and New Delhi has had nuclear devices since 1974.
''It began testing missiles in 1983, and had the first successful launch in 1988. Whatever one may think, India has embarked upon a nuclear program,'' he explained.
Such a neutral, non-judgmental assessment was unheard of well into the late 1990s when any test by India was seen as endangering neighborhood security, challenging US-led arms control regimes, and would invite rebuke.
But given the changing geo-politics and security architecture, administration officials chose to downplay Indias test, pointing out that unlike in the case of North Korea, it had not evoked diplomatic concern or protest in the neighborhood.
''North Korea, meanwhile, not only defied the express wishes of its neighbors and others in the neighborhood, it also fired missiles as a provocation, without warning, to others, and therefore, has created the diplomatic activity that you now see. So those are the significant differences between the two,'' Snow said.
When senior wire service correspondent Helen Thomas suggested that the US appeared to be acquiescing to Indias missile test ''in a very contradictory way,'' Snow retorted, ''You may think it's contradictory, Helen. You're wrong.''
Asked if Indias missile test could affect the passage of the U.S-India nuclear deal in Congress, Snow said he did not think so. ''Again, the auspices under which is was conducted, making sure that everybody was notified in advance, are the sort of things that provide reassurance to people on the Hill,'' he said.
Over at the State Department, there were similar explanations about Indias test and the difference with North Korea. ''Look, I wouldn't try to draw any equivalence between India, the world's largest multiethnic democracy, and North Korea, a closed totalitarian state,'' Spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made no mention of the test in her address to Indian-American physicians and hoteliers, but the most piercing observation about US new assessment of India came from Congressman Gary Ackerman.
''If you wanted to be treated like India, be like India.'' Ackerman told a luncheon meeting noting that unlike Iran, North Korea or Pakistan, India is not a state sponsor of terrorism, has not proliferated its weapons or technologies of mass destruction and above all is a ''true democracy.''
The message was evidently aimed at Pakistan, which has repeatedly insisted that it wants to be treated on par with India. But Pakistan's foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri, who met Rice at the State Department shortly before she address the Indian-American gathering, also made no mention of Islamabad's familiar peeves.
The US defense of India's missile tests will go some way towards soothing New Delhi's wounded pride following the back-to-back disasters involving Agni-III and Insat4C this weekend.
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 15:30 ||
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senior wire service correspondent Helen Thomas suggested that the US appeared to be acquiescing to Indias missile test ''in a very contradictory way,'' Snow retorted, ''You may think it's contradictory, Helen. You're wrong.''
Helen is often wrong...
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 15:41 Comments ||
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ISRO had insured neither the Rs 96 crore INSAT-4C satellite, carried by the Rs 160-crore GSLV, nor the rocket. "We don't go for insurance for home launches," an official said.
The 55-million-dollar INSAT-4A, put in space by an Ariane rocket from French Guyana a few months ago, was insured by with a premium of around 16 million dollars.
Had ISRO opted for insuring the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle), the premium for the rocket would have been anywhere between 20 to 80 per cent of its cost, depending on factors like the rocket's past record.
Posted by: john ||
07/11/2006 17:20 Comments ||
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#6
Clowns? We're not talking about Maddy Albright, Xbalanke. Even though they may look alike. Try to stay on topic. ;)
Nepal's Maoist rebels will not surrender their arms before next year's elections, a top rebel leader said on Monday. "Let everybody be clear, we'll never surrender our arms," Baburam Bhattarai, seen as number two to Maoist chief Prachanda, told Reuters in an interview. "We want the restructuring of the state and the army. In that restructured army our army will also be integrated," he said. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, appointed after King Gyanendra relinquished absolute powers following democracy protests in April, last month agreed to include the Maoists in an interim government.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
So much for Nepal. Maoists. Sheesh. This is the new low benchmark for non-Paleo societal suicide.
An Al Qaeda-led group said that Iran was trying to destroy Sunni Muslims in Iraq and blasted the Islamic republic for hosting a conference of Iraq's neighbours, according to an Internet statement on Monday. "Safavids (Shias) in Iran want to support the new Iraqi apostate government to achieve their historic dream to ... destroy Sunnis in Iraq and create the Shia crescent in the region," said the statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council. "To do that they will compromise with crusaders on their alleged nuclear programme," added the statement posted on a website often used by Islamist militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
let em. lets get outta their an let them kill eech other. let em start em hole middel eest war with eech other.
>:(
then we kan fo after em viktorz. why are we playin em refs in thes stoopiditee? shulda playd deevide an conker in em ferst plase. not thes unitin shiat.
#2
Mucky, Machiavelli is not in fashion nowadays. But one day, someone with a bit of clout may perchance pull his Prince out of bookcase shelf and read it, out of curiosity.
Not all of it may be applicable, but the truism remains--as somewhere in Central Europe they used to say--"On a coarse bag, a coarse patch".
#8
Arabs want to 'Destroy' everybody other than their own particular tribe of goat herders. Does this come as any suprise? Sunnis want to 'destroy' shiites, shiites want to destroy sufis, sufis want to destroy Kurds, alawites want to destroy twelvers, and on, and on.
#9
It reads like Grimm's fairy tales....and at night while they slept, the good witch sprayed RAID on all the muzzie tribes. By morning, there was nothing left. You see, the hungry pigs ate all of the dead muzzies and then went to buy land in North Carolina for their retirement homes.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi set out Tuesday for his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, during which he is expected to encourage both sides to engage in dialogue to resolve their conflict.
Koizumi said he will urge the leaders to exercise restraint.
"Tension is increasing lately. Japan will ask for as much restraint as possible and look for ways to prevent the spiral of animosity and violence," he told reporters before leaving.
Koizumi, who will be ending his term in office in two and a half months, will visit Jerusalem on his way to the G8 summit meeting in Moscow.
His visit had been planned for this January, but was delayed due to the illness of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.
Japan is the second largest aid donor to the Palestinians on a country basis after the United States, and Koizumi is likely to offer fresh humanitarian aid through international organizations, the same way some 70 percent of the $844 million Japan has given since 1993 has been dispensed.
"As a result, we haven't really had to change our aid stance since Hamas took power," the official said. "Besides, President Abbas is not from Hamas."
Koizumi will meet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, President Moshe Katsav and Vice Premier Shimon Peres on Wednesday, and also will visit Yad Vashem.
He is scheduled to meet PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday.
Japan is the second-largest donor to the Palestinians, after the European Union. Koizumi had asked for a three-party meeting with Olmert and Abbas, but the idea was abandoned due to the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians. Japan promised Israel that Koizumi would not meet Hamas officials in the PA.
Israeli officials also plan to discuss with Koizumi the threats from Iran and North Korea.
An Israeli delegation headed by the Foreign Ministry deputy director general for strategic affairs, Miriam Ziv, is meeting officials in Tokyo and Seoul this week to discuss threats posed by missiles and nuclear weapons and efforts to block them.
Tehran, Iran, Jul. 10 A top official of the armed Palestinian group Hamas may have set up camp in Iran, a semi-official daily reported on Sunday. Khaled Mashaal, the political chief of Hamas, has fled left Syria, where he had been based for many years, the hard-line daily Jomhouri Islami wrote.
Life getting a little tough in Damascus? Wore out the welcome wagon?
The report said that Palestinian sources confirmed that Mashaal had left Damascus earlier in the week but did not reveal where he was travelling to. It quoted press reports as saying that the top Hamas official had moved to Iran, but added that Palestinian officials had not confirmed the report.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Gee. You don't suppose that Assad's sonic wakeup call a few days ago might have had anything to do with this, do you? Nah. Pure coincidence...
#2
Lol, PBMcL. I think you're onto something there.
Tehran is the source, so it makes sense he'd go there when the heat rose. That he isn't in the Paleo Zone is certainly proof he's a Lion. That he thinks he's safe in Tehran is proof of something else altogether...
#4
Not wouldn't think too many countries would want his sorry ass right now. He's hotter than hell on a holiday, I doubt even Libya would want him. But Iran or Venezuela...Real champions of peace, they would want him.
Khaled Meshaal, the exiled political leader of Hamas, has said Israel must release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier. Meshaal, who has survived an Israeli assassination attempt, was speaking at a rare news conference in Damascus on Monday. "Our people ... are united on the insistence to swap the captured soldier with prisoners in the jails of the Zionist enemy," Meshaal said. Israel has said it will not negotiate with the governing Hamas movement for the release of the soldier, captured in a cross-border raid into Israel on June 25. "We have told mediators and those who made political efforts [to end the issue] that we support the peaceful, calm handling of this matter but you need to understand the needs of the Palestinian people," Meshaal said. Meshaal reprimanded other countries for focusing on the Israeli soldier, rather than on pressing Israel to halt its assault on the Gaza Strip. The groups that seized the 19-year-old soldier have called for Israel to free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said on Monday: "Khaled Meshaal is a terrorist with blood on his hands and he is not a legitimate partner. I will not negotiate with Hamas." Olmert also reaffirmed his commitment to redraw the Jewish settlement map in the occupied West Bank unilaterally in the absence of peace talks with the Palestinians, but acknowledged that "this will be difficult".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"Khaled Meshaal is a terrorist with blood on his hands and he is not a legitimate partner. I will not negotiate with Hamas."
I think the soldier is dead - God bless him. Its very telling that ham-ass hasn't shown any video of him. They are hoping that once their ruse is discovered the world will press Israel not to retaliate.
#5
CrazyFool---I pray that you are wrong, but I am afraid that you are right. Hamas probably has nothing but a body, so they are stalling to use *cough* world opinion (whatever that is) against the Israelis.
I would like to see the Israelis go apesh!t and put the real hurt on Hamas. So far they are not doing that. The longer this situation drags on, the worse it is for the Israelis. I would think that taking out the entire Hamas leadership would be a start. They have committed an act of war, so they should see what happens when they start a war.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/11/2006 11:57 Comments ||
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The UN World Food Program is in the midst of distributing 2,200 tons (2,000 metric tons) of wheat flour to 300,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank, the WFP said Monday. The flour is part of a US$1.4 million (euro1.1 million) donation from Japan aimed at feeding a population that lost most access to funds after Israel and Western donor governments responded to the Hamas election victory by cutting off aid.
The UN said many impoverished Gaza families are now living on only one meal a day. "The people receiving the food ration have no money left to buy even basic commodities and have had to resort to negative coping measures that include selling their assets," Arnold Vercken, WFP's director in the occupied territories, said in a release.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Well that was stupid, Japan.
Let them live and die with their freely-made democratic choices. That is a key lesson and very important aspect of democracy. Time for everyone to back the fuck off and let them learn it. The harder it is, the faster normal people learn. I think of the Paleos as a uniquely self-destructive population - and this as a remarkable opportunity, taking the clinical view here, to see how long it takes them to catch on. If they never do, then they were obviously slated by Darwin for this end. I'm cool with that.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas left his headquarters in Ramallah on a last-minute visit to Jordan on Monday night, Palestinian officials said. Officials did not disclose the reason for the trip. Abbas, who usually travels to Jordan by car, was transported Monday in a helicopter sent by Jordan's King Abdullah II, according to a Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the visit.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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King:"Look, if these monkeys start flooding into Jordan and raosing hell, I'm gonna have the boys here go and find your worthless ass again, and it won't be pretty what they do when they find you. Got that, Paleo Boy?"
Iran will not give its final answer at a meeting this week to a package of proposals backed by six world powers that aims to end a nuclear standoff with the West, an Iranian nuclear official said on Sunday. Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani meets European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday, when the EU has said it wants a "substantial response" to the offer. Iran previously said it would not give a final response on Tuesday, but by repeating the comment a day before the meeting, the official undermined any prospects of a breakthrough.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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I simply have to get a higher resolution suprise meter. Didn't even touch my 0.0001 resolution meter.
London, Jul. 10 Irans state censors were busy last week after the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution accusing Tehran of obstructing freedom of express on the internet. In its resolution on Thursday, the EP listed Iran alongside Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Libya, Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam as being enemies of freedom of expression on-line.
The EP highlighted the case of Motjaba Saminejad, a weblogger imprisoned in Iran for reporting the arrests of fellow cyber-dissidents.
On the same day, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported the EP resolution and listed all the states but one on the blacklist: Iran.
No kidding.
In May, the international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accused hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of being "predators" of press freedoms.
In its 2006 annual report for press freedom, the watchdog said that the "very exclusive club" of predators of press freedom expanded in 2005 to include Ahmadinejad. It described Iran as "the Middle Easts biggest prison for journalists and bloggers". "Threats, interrogation, summonses, arrests, and arbitrary detention are sharply increasing", it said. "Journalists can often only stay out of prison by paying very high bail. The accession to power of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not improved the situation.
"In Iran, prison often means torture as well", it added.
The watchdog said that Iran had "total control" over news within its borders and was among the worlds "most repressive regimes".
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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LOL. This is redundancy defined. Roll on, Mullahs, roll on. That's not a brick wall with a tunnel painted on it dead ahead, it's a glorious path to martyrdom!
#2
Yes, nevermind judgemental understanding of what it is about and how far the US has strayed from that understanding. This is broomstick up the ass world and there is no "human rights counil" or lobby interest. In Iran, where the Mullahs killed 30,000 dissidents, it is not common to find someone who does not have a family member gone for saying the wrong thing. Iran is the issue and the people are good. I think God's watch over the regime has ended so be ready.
Amazing that Cindy Shehan has survived, huh?
Such an oppressive regime here in America. She even wants to leave but will not beause she is a mindless drone. Go girl, persue your fantisies. Sleep deep.
Lebanon has agreed to deport an Arab Australian who is wanted for an attack on a Sydney police station and hopes that in return Australia will extradite a Lebanese terror suspect, Lebanese officials said Monday. There is no extradition treaty between Lebanon and Australia, but the two sides are studying the legal procedures to hand over Saleh Jamal, a Jordanian-born Australian, to Australia, a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Australian media have forecast the deportation could take place later this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2006 00:00 ||
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The states and localities are taking the initiatie since the Senate and White House won't
Colorado lawmakers ended a five-day special session on illegal immigration with a resounding approval of several bills that Democrats call the toughest in the nation and Republicans say don't go far enough.
The legislation sent late Monday to Republican Gov. Bill Owens would force a million people receiving state or federal aid in Colorado to verify their citizenship.
It would deny most non-emergency state benefits to illegal immigrants 18 years old and older - forcing people to prove legal residency when applying for benefits or renewing their eligibility. The state Senate passed it 22-13 and the House voted 48-15 in favor. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats.
"At the end of the day, everybody who serves in this building as senators or representatives knows we're making Colorado history," said the bill's sponsor, Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald. "We want to be able to look in the mirror and say we did legislation that is tough, enforceable and humane."
Republicans said the legislation still left glaring loopholes, including allowing benefits for minors and denying voters the chance to have a direct say on the issue.
The bill would apply to Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, energy assistance programs and aging and adult services. Owens has said an estimated 50,000 illegal immigrants could be thrown out of those programs.
"It simply puts teeth into existing federal regulations," Owens said.
Sen. Dan Grossman, one of four Democrats to vote against the measure, said: "I don't think the poor people of the state of Colorado or businesses of the state of Colorado should have to pay because we want to play politics with immigration."
Congress has been debating immigration reform for months, sparking demonstrations this spring involving millions of illegal immigrants and their supporters in several cities. With no major federal changes yet, however, some local governments have been taking matters into their own hands.
Last month, the City Council of Hazleton, Pa., tentatively approved a measure that would revoke the business licenses of companies that employ illegal immigrants; impose $1,000 fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants; and make English the city's official language.
"Illegal immigrants are destroying the city," Hazleton's Republican Mayor Lou Barletta said then. "I don't want them here, period."
Two Florida communities, Palm Bay and Avon Park, are considering similar immigration measures.
Idaho's Canyon County took a different tack - it filed a racketeering lawsuit against agricultural companies accused of hiring illegal immigrants. A federal judge threw the case out, but county commissioners voted to appeal.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/11/2006 10:12 ||
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Local politicians responding to local concerns. And, making the concerns unmistakable for their State and Federal level colleagues. It's working as it should, I think.
#4
This is the essence of federalism,a strong central government with a flexible state by state governance. Amazing that the democrats should seize upon this concept to adopt a policy that may actually work for it's intended purpose.
#5
You should see the seething and loathing going on here in Georgia over our new State law to require (gasp) an ID to vote. The law allows for something like 17 different forms of ID in order to vote, an additional "free" State-issued ID, if you don't have one of the other 17, and allows you to vote by mail WITHOUT an ID.
Demos. sued (of course), and our former Governor (Roy Barnes) is the attorney involved in one case. He had 2 "defendants" he used to push the issue, and even though both of those people ended up having one of the valid ID's (one was a Florida University ID and the other was something like another State's driver's license), the judge still ruled in their favor. Of course, it was a County judge, so I assume his ruling will only apply in that County (Fulton, for those of you familiar with "da ATL"). Bravo to the State for continuing to fight this.
In fact, the Sec. of State (of GA) found something like 650,000 people who were on voting rolls, but didn't have driver's licenses. As the State Attorney said in his arguments...Of those 650,000 they could only find 2 whom this new law would "harm," and those 2 actually had other forms of IDs allowed under the law. Sounds like some clue-bats need to be handed out soon.
Posted by: BA ||
07/11/2006 11:54 Comments ||
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This sounds good on paper, I'll hold off comment until I see how it actually gets implimented.
There's talk of what is deemed emergency care, as one example. Fredrico Pena was part of this deal with Dick Lamm, I can't trust Pena very far, so we'll see how this all shakes out. There are alot of levels of crap going on here...
Posted by: Jan ||
07/11/2006 20:59 Comments ||
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#7
Bad news: Georgia has a new voter ID. Good news: Fayette County's voter ID has a Confederate flag.
#8
lol, besoeker. Unfortunately, us Gwinnettians (hard to believe he actually signed the Declaration of Independence if'n you look around Gwinnett now) are getting an ID with a morphing photo from the Dixie flag to the Mexican flag. At least it's not DeKalb's moonbat flag, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
07/11/2006 21:18 Comments ||
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Pena and Lame are not part of the state gov anymore. Sure they could fluff feathers and all, but they don't really matter anymore. Same with Webb, etc.
As was mentioned, enforcement is key and living where I do in CO, I can say this is serious local issue, so we shall see.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(KUNA) -- A Saudi security official denied complicity of Saudi security men in the escape of seven detainees from Milz prison in Riyadh last Thursday. The Ministry of Interior's Security spokesman Major General Mansour Al-Turki said in statements published in Okath newspaper Monday that the reports which claim Saudi security men helped the detainees escape are baseless. Saudi security men are loyal to their country and king and they are determined to exert all efforts in fighting terrorism in all its forms, he said.
The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Japan agreed Monday to postpone a vote on possible sanctions against North Korea in response to a missile test that rattled the region last week. France's U.N. Ambassador 
With US mounting pressure on Islamabad to reveal underworld don's whereabouts, Pervez Musharraf has shifted him to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border ---- Mafia don and wanted terrorist 
Nepal's Maoist rebels will not surrender their arms before next year's elections, a top rebel leader said on Monday. "Let everybody be clear, we'll never surrender our arms," Baburam Bhattarai, seen as number two to Maoist chief Prachanda, told Reuters in an interview. "We want the restructuring of the state and the army. In that restructured army our army will also be integrated," he said. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, appointed after King Gyanendra relinquished absolute powers following democracy protests in April, last month agreed to include the Maoists in an interim government.
An Al Qaeda-led group said that Iran was trying to destroy Sunni Muslims in Iraq and blasted the Islamic republic for hosting a conference of Iraq's neighbours, according to an Internet statement on Monday. "Safavids (Shias) in Iran want to support the new Iraqi apostate government to achieve their historic dream to ... destroy Sunnis in Iraq and create the Shia crescent in the region," said the statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council. "To do that they will compromise with crusaders on their alleged nuclear programme," added the statement posted on a website often used by Islamist militants.
Tehran, Iran, Jul. 10 A top official of the armed Palestinian group Hamas may have set up camp in Iran, a semi-official daily reported on Sunday. 
The UN World Food Program is in the midst of distributing 2,200 tons (2,000 metric tons) of wheat flour to 300,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank, the WFP said Monday. The flour is part of a US$1.4 million (euro1.1 million) donation from Japan aimed at feeding a population that lost most access to funds after Israel and Western donor governments responded to the Hamas election victory by cutting off aid. 
PA President Mahmoud Abbas left his headquarters in Ramallah on a last-minute visit to Jordan on Monday night, Palestinian officials said. Officials did not disclose the reason for the trip. Abbas, who usually travels to Jordan by car, was transported Monday in a helicopter sent by Jordan's King Abdullah II, according to a Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the visit.
Iran will not give its final answer at a meeting this week to a package of proposals backed by six world powers that aims to end a nuclear standoff with the West, an Iranian nuclear official said on Sunday. Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani meets European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday, when the EU has said it wants a "substantial response" to the offer. Iran previously said it would not give a final response on Tuesday, but by repeating the comment a day before the meeting, the official undermined any prospects of a breakthrough.
London, Jul. 10 Irans state censors were busy last week after the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution accusing Tehran of obstructing freedom of express on the internet. In its resolution on Thursday, the EP listed Iran alongside Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Libya, Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam as being enemies of freedom of expression on-line.
Lebanon has agreed to deport an Arab Australian who is wanted for an attack on a Sydney police station and hopes that in return Australia will extradite a Lebanese terror suspect, Lebanese officials said Monday. There is no extradition treaty between Lebanon and Australia, but the two sides are studying the legal procedures to hand over Saleh Jamal, a Jordanian-born Australian, to Australia, a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Australian media have forecast the deportation could take place later this month.
