Hat tip to Blackfive
Sports Illustrated is having its annual Sportsman of the year contest. Who more fitting than Pat Tillman? Go to the link and select him from the sliding thingy on the left hand side of the site. He is second from the bottom.
He's currently in 3rd place but you can vote multiple times just by refreshing the page.
The United States has approved a project to maintain the command and control network of the Royal Saudi Air Force. Under the project, the Defense Department and private contractors would operate and maintain the Saudi air force's command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems over the next three years. The project would ensure the deployment of U.S. personnel in several air force bases in the kingdom. The Pentagon has awarded a $16.6 million award to Abacus Technology Corp. for support for the C4I systems in the Saudi air force. The contract called for Abacus, based in Chevy Chase, Md., to provide 34 man-years of contractor engineering and technical support to the Royal Saudi Air Force for the "operation, maintenance and support of their C41 Systems each year for up to three years." A Pentagon statement said the contract would be conducted in "several locations in Saudi Arabia." The statement said no funds have yet been obligated.
I have no comment. The implications are too obvious. I will now go hoist a beer or two.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:17:46 AM ||
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#6
What's not to like? One of our worst enemies has consented to having us do everything short of placing transponder beacons on their aircraft so they can be more easily shot down.
Amidst all the Saudi hue and cry about America's role as "the great satan," somehow we nonetheless are seen as the lesser evil. That terrorism should come to be regarded by the Saudis as being more demonic than the devil himself, while rich in irony beyond all words, should surprise no one.
#10
Is there a way to let Israeli aircrafts pass through Saudi airspace without the tech-backwards locals realizing what's going on?
Kalle,
We dont need that, we simply direct the Zionist
desynaptifier beam at the locals, and drive through their country with blue and white painted
SUVs.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
11/27/2004 15:19 Comments ||
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#12
hmmm ...Saudi aircraft now show IAF jets as friendly in IFF
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2004 16:21 Comments ||
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#13
To assure pilot saftey, Saudi aircraft now show all contacts as friendlies.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
11/27/2004 16:40 Comments ||
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#14
Just FYI, the outfit I worked for in Saudi manages these contracts and built the entire Saudi C&C system. Been running it for about 19 years, now.
There is much about the Saudi setup that would truly amaze people... and none of the good stuff is above ground. Massive (and I mean massive) self-contained facilities with supplies, equipment, arms, vehicles...
To borrow one of Fred's favorite lines, "I can say no more!", lol!
North Korea on Saturday condemned news reports that portraits of totalitarian leader Kim Jong Il have been removed from public places, calling them "a foolish attempt to take the sun down from the sky." North Korea's state-run news agency, KCNA, said the reports were spread as part of a "psychological warfare" by the United States and other "hostile forces" to undermine the communist regime.
That's why we planted the first reports with ITAR-TASS...
North Korea warned that the psychological warfare will further hamper international efforts to resolve a disputer over its nuclear weapons programs. "This is part of an anti-North Korean racket aimed at tainting the lofty authority of our supreme leadership and creating a false impression that there is a problem within our republic," KCNA said in a dispatch monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "Any plot to defame our supreme leadership is nothing more than a foolish attempt to take the sun down from the sky," KCNA said.
"Or the cheese from our crackers. Or maybe the white slag from the Juche-inspired Songun Army First policy..."
You know better than to mention "crackers" to the NKors, Fred ...
Kim Jong Il, who inherited power from his late father and founding President Kim Il Sung, is "the destiny of our people and the destiny of our socialism," the dispatch said. It added that the North Korean military and people's trust in Kim "is getting stronger as the times pass."
"He's not in stable condition! Really! Trust us on this! He's just... depressed. For now."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 11:30:26 AM ||
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#1
"Kim Jong Il ... is 'the destiny of our people and the destiny of our socialism,' the dispatch said"
Uh oh, that might not be such a good idea there, guys... before you know it, weird shit will happen. Hell, you could even end up being the butt of jokes in a weird puppet movie or something. Hey, it could happen, trust me. I suggest you fall back and punt - Kim Jong Il (the artiste formerly known as Dear Leader)...
#5
He paid 40 years worth in a bizarre country-sized concentration-camp. But agree--- Man Without a Country. The price of panic and stupidity was never extracted at so high a cost.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:26:34 AM ||
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This is just a small sample of the invaluable information I get from the CIA that you can't get anywhere else. I don't know how we could make or implement policy without the CIA. Subscribe today for 6 months and save $30.
I am Geroge W. Bush and I approved this ad.
Posted by: George W. Bush ||
11/27/2004 9:41 Comments ||
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The wife of a jailed Al Jazeera journalist charged by Madrid with belonging to Al Qaida said on Thursday that Spain's prisons had become "another Guantanamo" after authorities isolated suspected militants. Fatima Hamed said her husband Tayseer Alouni, best known for interviewing Osama Bin Laden shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, had been placed in solitary confinement on Wednesday without his lawyer being notified. Spanish authorities are isolating suspected militants in an attempt to stem the spread of radicalism in jails. A spokeswoman for the prison system confirmed Alouni and some 85 other suspects were being held in isolation. Alouni must eat meals in his cell and can only exercise alone on the prison patio for one hour a day despite ill health, his wife said.
Investigative judge Baltazar Garzon has charged the well-known journalist, who holds Spanish nationality, with providing money and information to Al Qaida and recruiting fighters. Alouni says he is innocent. "I found out they had moved him to another prison when he called me yesterday," Fatima said in a telephone interview. "He told me he is in a cell without any heating, despite the cold, and he has problems with his back and heart. This is like Guantanamo with a make-over," she said in reference to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where "enemy combatants" are denied protection normally given to prisoners of war.
The prison system spokeswoman said all cells had heating although no radiator was visible. Syrian-born Alouni, a father of five, was first arrested in September 2003 at his home in Granada but was bailed for medical reasons around a month later due to a serious heart condition. He was re-arrested earlier this month for fear he may flee. Fatima said her husband had been due to undergo hospital treatment for his heart condition on Sunday and had not received similar medical attention in prison. The reporter's initial arrest sparked outrage among Arab human rights groups, journalists and colleagues at Qatar-based Al Jazeera, who called it an attack on press freedom.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:54:23 PM ||
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They put these guys into administrative segregation which is not solitary confinement. These stupid jurnos don't know or understand anything. I am sure that Spanish jails; meet or exceed EU human rights requirements.
This assclown met Ben Laden post 9/11? Sorry Charlie screw you.
In a further blow to US efforts to broaden the involvement of other countries in Iraq, the Danish parliament has voted overwhelmingly to bring their 500 troops home.
Well, that would be the eager announcement of world news outlets if it was indeed the case. Instead, the parliament voted overwhelmingly to extend the mission by six months. Therefore expect the development to pass by with nary a mention.
Posted by: plainslow ||
11/27/2004 10:49:24 AM ||
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Hey, mixing Dutch and Danes can be dangerous. See the warning label!
#9
"Pass me some more of those cool mushrooms, Olaf."
It has been suggested that Vikings consumed fly agaric to produce their berserk rages ... "Going berserk occurred as follows: The Norse took the mushrooms so that the effect came on during the heat of battle or while at work. During the berserk rage they performed deeds which otherwise were impossible. The rage started with shivering, chattering of the teeth, and a chill. Their faces became [s]wollen and changed color. A great rage developed in which they howled like wild animals and cut down anyone in their way, friend or foe alike. Afterward their mind became dulled and feeble for several days."
Viking 1: "Are they all dead yet?"
Viking 2: "Nope, you're still alive ... [hack]"
From Bartleby's Dictionary:
"When we say that we are going berserk, we may not realize how extreme a state this might be. Our adjective comes from the noun berserker, or berserk, which is from the Old Norse word berserkr, âa wild warrior or champion.â Such warriors wore hides of bears, which explains the probable origin of berserkr as a compound of *bera, âbear,â and serkr, âshirt, coat.â These berserkers became frenzied in battle, howling like animals, foaming at the mouth, and biting the edges of their iron shields. Berserker is first recorded in English in the early 19th century, long after these wild warriors ceased to exist."
Another etymology of the term that I've heard traces back to a meaning of "without armor." As mentioned above, the Vikings would enter battle clad only in leather jerkins. Considering how properly hardened leather could turn aside blade strokes and unpointed arrow shafts, such light weight gear may have represented an advantage. It is little wonder that the term "berserk" became associated with maniacal, raving, unarmored, hallucinating Norsemen.
To this very day, a traditional Scandihoovian Christmas tree decoration consists of small red mushrooms with little white dots on their caps hidden amongst the foilage.
#10
Their faces became [s]wollen and changed color. A great rage developed in which they howled like wild animals and cut down anyone in their way, friend or foe alike. Afterward their mind became dulled and feeble for several days."
Sounds like Rum and Ripple, my favorite drink, I call it Cripple.
Posted by: Red F ||
11/27/2004 15:00 Comments ||
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The United States has been concerned that its defense firms would be excluded from Turkey's attack helicopter project.
Turkey, on the other hand, should be worrying seriously about the way it's losing ties to the U.S.
The Bush administration has expressed concern that Turkey's Defense Ministry would seek to select European defense contractors in an attempt to win membership in the European Union and acquire industrial expertise and technology. The administration was said to have raised the issue with the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan. U.S. officials in Washington as well as diplomats in Ankara have discussed Turkey's military procurement plans. The U.S. representatives complained that the requirements sought for the Turkish Land Forces helicopter program would rule out U.S. defense contractors. Turkey has sought U.S. help for the modernization of Ankara's military. Last month, the Bush administration announced U.S. plans to upgrade Turkey's entire F-16 multi-role fighter fleet in a sale that could reach $3.9 billion. Congress was expected to approve Turkey's request for the aircraft modernization project, which would include the sale of advanced air-to-air missiles to Ankara.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:20:38 AM ||
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#1
pretending that the Turks are anything but our enemies, and arming them, is a mistake of the magnitude of arming Sadaam Hussein. When are the members of our government going to get a clue that the Turkey of today is not the Turkey of yesterday??? It's like foreign countries dealing with US under GW the same way they dealt with us under Clinton or Carter. It's stupid, ignorant and foolish to do so. 3.9 billion is peanuts compared to what it's going to cost to deal with these backstabbing, lying, two-faced, Chirac-wannabes in the future. We don't need to cut off relations, and we can still shake hands and kiss cheeks - but be sure to wash your hands and shower well immediately afterward. Arm the "good" Kurds and treat the current leaders of Turkey as what they are, Islamist enemies.
#2
Relax, 2b. All this is is a defense pork procurement thing. The Ottomans are just trying to butter up the frogs EU by offering them instead of boeing some defense pork contracts. Sadly, yet amusingly, the Ottomans do not seem to realize that hell will freeze before they are admitted to the EU. Boeing is not hurting for work, their protests notwithsanding, and do you realy want a potential enemy to have real, first line equipment anyway?
Posted by: N Guard ||
11/27/2004 9:43 Comments ||
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#3
I guess I should be glad they are buying their equipment from the French. Maybe we can convince them to purchase a few aircraft carriers from them too.
#6
Turkey will be admitted to the EU once it renounces Islam, all its citizens convert to Christianity, it moves its capital to Constantinople, and says pretty please.
#7
On a more serious note, the truly troubling thing about events in Turkey is the infiltration of the Turkish military by militant Islam. The Turkish Army has been the bulwark of secularism and the forces of modernization of the state since Attaturk. If the Army becomes Islamic, then Turkey will become just another Mideastern backwater.
#8
RWV - I believe that moment of truth came when the Turkish military allowed the Turkish Parliament to vote down their stalwart NATO ally the simple traditional "right of passage" to enter Iraq. We're just now getting around to correcting the "insurgency" that situation allowed to become established. I'd call it a fait accomplis. They are not just anti-war, they're on the other side. I attribute hundreds of American dead to Turkey's betrayal. Q.E.D.
#9
When are the members of our government going to get a clue that the Turkey of today is not the Turkey of yesterday???
True. I mean the Turkeys of yesterday massacred the Armenians, was on the German side in WW1, stayed neutral in WW2, oppressed the Kurds and invaded Cyrpus, while the Turkey of today ohmigod didn't let American troops pass through its soil.
#10
Good God, I'm agreeing with Aris!
Never thought I would ever type that, btw.....
I just wonder what they're going to do once they figure out that they are never going to be allowed to join the EU.
ANKARA (Reuters) Of course
The head of Turkey's parliamentary human rights group has accused Washington of genocide in Iraq and behaving worse than Adolf Hitler, in remarks underscoring the depth of opposition in Turkey to U.S. policy in the region. Lose some people recently?
The United Sates embassy said the comments were potentially damaging to Turkish-U.S. relations. "The occupation has turned into barbarism," Friday's Yeni Safak newspaper quoted Mehmet Elkatmis, head of parliament's human rights commission, as saying. "The U.S. administration is committing genocide...in Iraq. "Never in human history have such genocide and cruelty been witnessed. Such a genocide was never seen in the time of the pharoahs (of ancient Egypt), nor of Hitler nor of (Italy's fascist leader Benito) Mussolini," he said. Don't forget Stalin! Make sure facts don't get in the way of you making an ass out of yourself.
"This occupation has entirely imperialist aims," he was quoted as telling the human rights commission on Thursday. You can tell by the 10 cents a gallon we pay for gas at the pump here.
Elkatmis does not speak for Turkey's government but he is a prominent member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a centre-right grouping with Islamist roots I knew that was in here somewhere
which has become increasingly critical of U.S. actions in Iraq. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul played down Elkatmis's comments but defended Turks' right to speak freely. "In open societies everybody can say what they want," Gul told reporters. "Regarding U.S.-Turkey relations we can comfortably discuss any subject," he added.
"Everybody's got a right to be stoopid. He's merely exercising that right."
The U.S. embassy in Ankara rejected Elkatmis's accusations. "Such unfounded, inaccurate, exaggerated claims are not good for relations, especially at a time of strain when Turkish public opinion is so critical of what the United States is trying to do in Iraq," one U.S. diplomat told Reuters.
"You've got a right to your opinion, we've got a right to ours. Your opinion is that we're worse than Hitler. Our opinion is that you're moving up on the poop list."
Tellingly, Elkatmis's comments, which might have sparked outrage in many Western countries, drew barely a flicker of interest in Turkey, where opinion polls point to a growing tide of anti-American sentiment. Turkey has been especially disturbed by the recent U.S. offensive against insurgents in the city of Falluja in which civilians also died and mosques were damaged. It's called war.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan relayed Turkish concerns over the Falluja offensive in two recent telephone calls to U.S. President George W. Bush and to Vice-President Dick Cheney. Elkatmis accused U.S. forces of deliberately targeting mosques and schools in Falluja. That's where the bad guys were.
Washington says the Falluja campaign was necessary to bring the Sunni Muslim city back under the control of the central Baghdad government ahead of planned Iraqi elections in January. The U.S. diplomat said Elkatmis had overlooked the fact that Iraqi insurgents like those in Falluja had abducted and beheaded a number of Turkish truck drivers in recent months. Underlying Turkish criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq is the fear that Kurds in the north of the country may use the general turmoil as an excuse to seek independence from Baghdad, a move which could reignite separatism among Turkey's own Kurds. Keep saying stuff like this and Kurdistan might start getting thrown on the table.
Posted by: JerseyMike ||
11/27/2004 6:51:07 AM ||
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#1
Keep saying stuff like this and Kurdistan might start getting thrown on the table.
Why wait? I'd have done this when our plans for a northern front in the initial attack were dashed. If the Turks prefer to be in bed with the Phrench, then we should treat 'em like the Phrench.
#5
JFM is right about Hitler, especially since the Final Solution was modeled after the Armenian Genocide.
Posted by: ed ||
11/27/2004 9:07 Comments ||
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"To call a man a thief gives him the right to be one."
- Ancient Arabic Saying -
I say, let this rectal cavity's dreams come true. If he wants to compare us to Hitler, let's whack his sorry ass like any Nazi worth his salt would have done for such mouthing off. These stupid fucks need to be shown that there's a pricetag attached to such distortion and propagandizing.
Most astonishing of all is that the head of a "parlimentary human rights" group would spew this sort of horseshit. Some 30,000 fewer Iraqis per year are dying now that America has deposed Saddam. But those sort of figures mean nothing so long as we continue to gut Iraq's insurgency.
Tough shit, Mehmet Elkatmis! Your side is losing because their moral compass is demagnetized, not because we are emulating Hitler. Why don't you try and inspire emulate Hitler once again, like you already have, and see what happens to your sorry genocidal asses this time?
#7
hmmm - I was thinking we could send a "Corleone" message and have a horse's ass put in his bed, but that would just be redundant, wouldn't it?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2004 9:56 Comments ||
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#8
If he's this worked up now, just think what he'll say when the 20,000 Turkish troops try to cross the Iraqi border next year and find that the Kurds have 30,000 heavily armed American friends that are more than willing to kick a little Turkish ass.
Blood, tears and compassion fatigue at crowded sanctuary for US war casualties
Long, generally positive piece on the American hospital in Landstuhl.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2004 12:28:38 AM ||
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#1
I will never forget and always be graitfull for the German soldiers gaurding the approch to Ramstien.When the first wounded arrived from Iraq the German soldiers turned around and rendered a salute for our wounded soldiers.Hug a German soldier for me TGA.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2004 00:11 ||
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#1
Caterpillar quite rightly takes the position that they are in the buisness of making and selling heavy equipment. What their customers do with the heavy equipment is not their buisness.
#2
Can these people become even more of a looneytune outfit of wankers? Hard to imagine. Why not get upset that Israelis might breathe air or drink Cokes... same effect...
#3
HRW is flatass wrong. All that must happen for Israel to stop the bulldozing is for the paleshitians to stop blowing themselves up amidst innocent Israelis.
The bulldozing is a result of the homicide bombers. Not the other way around. Israel will stop bulldozing as soon as they quit seeing their old people, men, women, babies, school children, tourists, boys, and girls blown all to hell on their city buses and streets.
#5
The patron Saint of Pancakes, Rachel Corrie's hippy throwback parents have been involved with HRW I read somewhere, wouldn't be suprised to find out thats where this retarded idea came from.
Since they weren't smart enough to teach their asshole kid to stay out from under them, maybe they're trying protect other asshole kids who are as obnoxiously stupid from similar fates at the hands of evil Jews.
JFM, its all about the JOOOOS! Lefties think the Israelis are to blame for the Paleos being murderous wackjobs.
#7
I agree with HRW, taking Caterpillars from their families when they are but little larvae is cruel. We should only be sending chrysalides. Pupas for Israel!
The Republican-controlled Congress has stepped up its campaign to curtail the power of the International Criminal Court, threatening to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in economic aid to governments that refuse to sign immunity accords shielding U.S. personnel from being surrendered to the tribunal. The move marks an escalation in U.S. efforts to ensure that the first world criminal court can never judge American citizens for crimes committed overseas. More than two years ago, Congress passed the American Servicemembers' Protection Act, which cut millions of dollars in military assistance to many countries that would not sign the Article 98 agreements, as they are known, that vow not to transfer to the court U.S. nationals accused of committing war crimes abroad... "Republican-controlled Congress..." Is the WaPo implying that democrats would allow American soldiers to be tried with war crimes by other countries?
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
11/27/2004 9:59:47 AM ||
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"Republican-controlled Congress."
That has a nice ring to it. I like it.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 11:29 Comments ||
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#2
Well, Clinton did sign it - and Bush promptly negated the agreement, so uh, yeah - Donks love the ICC and think it's peachy-keen to have unaccountable EuroJudges plying their various Gov't's politics with the lives of American soldiers...
#3
Billy-boy did sign it but he knew better than to submit it to the Senate, especially after the Senate knocked down any consideration of the Kyoto accord on a 95-0 vote. I think he didn't want the same thing to happen to the ICC. While I have no love for the left-hand wing of the Donks, there are still a number of reasonable voices there, and I don't think the ICC would get 20 votes in the Senate.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2004 12:10 Comments ||
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With the prospect of continued fighting in Iraq, the Marine Corps is offering bonuses of as much as $30,000 — in some cases, tax-free — to persuade enlisted personnel with combat experience and training to re-enlist.
"No amount of money is too much to retain combat experience in the corps, rather than starting over," said Maj. Mark Menotti, assistant head of enlisted retention for the Marine Corps.
Giving bonuses to encourage Marines to re-enlist is not a new program. But this year's bonus schedule marks the first time that "combat arms" specialties have received the largest of the bonuses. The top bonus for those specialties a year ago was about $7,000.
The plan is working, officials said. Fewer than two months into the fiscal year, Marine re-enlistment rates in several key specialties are 10 to 30 percent ahead of last year.
Officials are confident that by midyear they will have reached their target for encouraging re-enlistment among riflemen, the "grunts" who are key to the Marines' ability to mount offensives against insurgent strongholds such as Fallujah, Iraq.
In most cases, the young Marines are agreeing to stay in their current jobs for four years. In others, they are allowed to transfer into jobs that the brass considers equally vital: recruiters, embassy guards and boot-camp drill instructors.
Along with riflemen, machine-gunners and mortar-men, other specialties receiving sizable bonuses are those critical to success in Iraq — including intelligence officers and Arabic linguists.
Lance Cpl. Matthew Jee, 21, of Borrego Springs, Calif., received $19,000 to re-enlist for four years. An assault-man with expertise in firing the Javelin rocket, he plans to shift to the intelligence field.
"They need a grunt's view of what kind of intelligence you need when you're out there on the street," Jee said at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he recently returned after seven months in Iraq.
The Marine Corps has earmarked $52 million in bonuses for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, up from $51 million the previous year. Officers — except in particularly difficult-to-retain specialties such as aviation and law — are not eligible for bonuses.
The amount of the individual bonus is determined by a formula involving the length of re-enlistment, how early the Marine makes the commitment to re-enlist and a multiplier determined by the commandant of the Marine Corps. If a Marine re-enlists while in Iraq, his bonus, like his regular pay, is tax exempt.
Among combat veterans, there is a sense they are being paid for having learned things that cannot be taught at the school of infantry. Many are eager to pass that knowledge on to others.
Cpl. William Jones, 22, of Tulsa, Okla., a rifleman, received $19,000 and now wants to teach Navy medical corpsmen how to handle combat. "The more Marines we have who've been over there, the better off the corps is going to be," he said. "It's going to cost money, but it will save lives."
Sgt. Joey McBroom, 30, of Lafayette, Tenn., a rifleman, said he had planned to re-enlist even without the bonus, but that the $28,039 "helped my wife to agree to my re-enlisting."
In an e-mail from Iraq, McBroom said he plans to put 40 percent of the bonus in a mutual fund, 30 percent in an account for his children's college education, 15 percent in savings and the remaining 15 percent for "a nice wedding ring for the wife, finally."
Another rifleman, Cpl. Anthony Mazzola, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, has more immediate plans for his $21,700: "I plan to take all of my money to Vegas and have a crazy weekend," he said in an e-mail from Iraq.
#1
A more appropriate use of my tax money (and more deserving recipients), I cannot imagine. I lift a grateful toast to those who are the "first in harm's way."
#4
Oh no doubt, they can double the bonus money and it'd still be a bargain.
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
11/27/2004 22:39 Comments ||
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#5
I'm sure Charlie Rangel (D-Asshole) will find some way to claim this is racism
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2004 23:41 Comments ||
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#6
Oh no doubt, they can double the bonus money and it'd still be a bargain.
I like the way you think, RJB.
Some things are beyond worldly measure. The willingness of our warriors to preserve America's way of life is nigh well priceless. Whatever puny contributions I have made to our Cold War give me slight comfort as I watch good souls go into direct combat. My thanks to them mean nothing, save to me alone.
From The New York Times
..... As an embassy [the US Embassy in Sana, Yemen] employee for five years, until 1984, he cut an intriguing figure. "He [Mohamed Alanssi] dressed sharply and spoke good English," said Mohammed Almelahi, an embassy accountant. Mr. Alanssi coordinated travel arrangements for the embassy. But his tenure was rocky. He was fired twice, embassy employees said. Citing confidentiality, officials would not say why, and it is unclear whether the F.B.I. knew of that history when he signed on as an informer. "Let's just say that the embassy found him to be untrustworthy," said Mr. Almelahi, the accountant. ....
After his embassy job, Mr. Alanssi dabbled in the construction business. He opened a travel agency and eventually moved it to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. But the business dried up, people who knew him said. Back in Sana in the late 1990's, he became enmeshed in a bizarre confrontation over a $71,700 loan he took out by mortgaging his house. He fell behind on the payments. A bank repossessed it, and his family, including several of his six children, was evicted. Days later, court records show, Mr. Alanssi broke into the house and the family remained there for the next four years in spite of repeated eviction notices. ....
Maybe because of his problems in Sana, Mr. Alanssi shipped out for New York a year or so before the Sept. 11 attacks, which put intense pressure on federal agents to develop sources of information among Arabs in this country. In Brooklyn, he kept at his big plans. But they sputtered out. He could spin a sympathetic story about his travails, sometimes literally through tears. But the sympathy often curdled after he borrowed money and disappeared. ....
But soon, Mr. Alanssi's Brooklyn contacts brought a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He could be a paid informer for federal agents who were desperate for leads in those days. His good fortune, it appears from court records, began with the arrest in October 2001 of a Yemeni man who ... had briefly been a partner in one of Mr. Alanssi's failed ventures. The former partner was charged with currency violations for trying to ship $140,000 in boxes of honey jars to Yemen. Soon, court filings show, the former partner agreed to cooperate in an investigation of Yemeni money handlers in Brooklyn, as investigators sought, among other things, to crack down on the kind of illegal money transfers that terrorists could exploit. Federal agents have said that their star informer, "CI1" - Mr. Alanssi - came to them through that investigation of the Yemeni money handlers. ....
... within a month, he [Alanssi] was offering a catch so big that an arrest promised worldwide headlines. It was Sheik Moayad, whose mosque he had sometimes attended in Sana. .... Soon Mr. Alanssi was going back and forth to Yemen at least three times, according to court filings. He provided tantalizing accounts of admissions he said Sheik Moayad had made in conversations there.
Before long ... on instructions from his F.B.I. handlers, Mr. Alanssi was to lure Sheik Moayad to Germany, where he could be introduced on tape to the supposed former Black Panther who wanted to give millions to the jihad. In Frankfurt, it was a dance of sorts over three days in January 2003. Sometimes, Mr. Alanssi and the agent who was playing the part of the former Black Panther seemed nearly frantic to get comments that would convince a jury that the sheik "provided material support to terrorist organizations," as the charges would eventually read.
Sheik Moayad, 55, a slender man with a loud, high-pitched voice, was no easy catch. He mentioned the need for secrecy and he had the men swear on the Koran. He did talk about preparing for jihad and supporting martyrs. But sometimes, he seemed ready to bolt because of the directness of these Muslims from America. On the hidden-camera videotape, the transcripts say, the sheik's assistant, Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed, 29, fluttered about nervously. The assistant was also charged and extradited by Germany. Both men are in jail in Brooklyn awaiting trial.
The supposed Black Panther did not speak Arabic, so Mr. Alanssi translated, placing him in the center of the action. In a transcript prepared by the defense, the Black Panther seemed impatient. He asked directly if the next attack would be against Israel or the United States. ....The sheik often slipped through their grasp. He flatly denied that he had had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks. Asked if he knew of Islamic warriors in New York who might do battle against "the big Satan," his answer was, "We'll talk about this in its proper time." ....
Some of the most charged material prosecutors have amassed, like the comment Mr. Ashcroft highlighted about delivering the $20 million to Mr. bin Laden, is based on Mr. Alanssi's accounts of conversations he said he had with the sheik, but which were not recorded. Those accounts of conversations could not be put before the jury without him. But if Mr. Alanssi does testify, the defense may turn the trial into a test of his credibility. And that could include his tangled history, from his dismissal from the embassy up to his bad check charge in May and beyond. ....
Mr. Ashcroft's announcement of the charges against the sheik was made in March 2003. By that fall Mr. Alanssi appeared to have been tearing through the money he received. In Washington, where he was sometimes seen, he left $100 tips in barbershops and cheap restaurants, people who saw him then said. ....
He ran Friendly Dry Cleaners for a while. But soon, the money was gone, people involved with him at the time said. .... He stopped making payments on the dry cleaning shop. His checks started bouncing. He was back to talking about his heart problems and diabetes. He was telling people he worried about his sick wife back in Yemen. He was borrowing money again. By December 2003, records show, he was in New York State court, pleading for more time to pay his debt on the dry cleaner.
In early 2004, he seemed to be living out of hotel rooms in Washington. But he could still be persuasive, said a Washington hotel housekeeping manager who met him then. He literally cried, about his troubles, she said. "I believed him because he seemed like a successful man who was having just a little bit of bad luck," she said .... She lent him $3,800. She never heard from him again. ....
... in the letter he sent to an agent on Nov. 15, the day he went to the White House, he said the agent had sent him $200 that was supposed to have gone for a train ticket to New York, where he was evidently expected to begin preparing for his testimony. He had spent the $200 on diabetes medicine, he wrote. He would not testify, he wrote, unless he was sent first to Yemen to see his wife, who had stomach cancer. .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/27/2004 1:16:00 PM ||
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Geebus, call me next time. I have friends in the lizsrd world.
One of the next big chapters in the United Nations oil-for-food scandal will involve the family of the secretary-general, Kofi Annan, whose son turns out to have been receiving payments as recently as early this year from a key contractor in the oil-for-food program. Surprise meter time. I know I am as shocked as the rest of you are.
"What other bombshells are out there being hidden from the public and U.N. member governments?" asked an investigator on Rep. Henry Hyde's International Relations Committee, which has held hearings on oil-for-food. Mr. Investigator, I'll be more than happy to save us all a few tax dollars to help you come up with your next two bombshells. 1) Kofi actually knew what was going on, I know, a really difficult inference to make, and 2) Kofi actually took money himself. Remember, Mr. Investigator, you heard it here first. So hat tip Rantburg on your next report.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American ||
11/27/2004 7:32:46 AM ||
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I thought the zero'd-out surprise meter represented the fact Mike S didn't post this.
Minumum: Clean house at the UN and strip Kofi and Kojo of all their ill-gotten gains! Preferred: Snuff the UN and make all these kleptocrats find real work - cancel their visas and send their asses back to the thirld-world hellholes they crawled from!
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2004 9:46 Comments ||
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Here is some more information about this issue.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/27/2004 12:38 Comments ||
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It's information but not very illuminating. What is illuminating is that you chose to comment in this post instead of the one that links to a post at Belmont Club that links to stories from Reuters, CBC, AP and UPI regarding the payoffs totalling over $125,000 over four years.
It may all be innocent.
But my experience indicates the innocent try to get as much information out as quickly as possible because it establishes innocence. The guilty do everything they can to withhold evidence because they fear the consequences of its exposure.
Kofi and Kojo are running a cover-up. We may never get Spiro Agnew quality evidence that satisfies you, Mike, but for the average person, this smells the same.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
11/27/2004 14:20 Comments ||
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I'm scared to ask what Mike thinks about Edwin Edwards.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
11/27/2004 14:31 Comments ||
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My brother-in-law knew Edwards personally in college. He worked on his campaign for Governor for about two weeks before getting totally disgusted and turning his back on Edwards. The man was a low-class faker trying to be another Huey Long. Louisiana had one too many Huey Longs in the original. They weren't interested in another one.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/27/2004 20:18 Comments ||
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Huh. I think I might know your B-in-law, but don't want to mention his name here.
Did he know him back when he was a preacher?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
11/27/2004 20:50 Comments ||
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Re #3 (Mrs. Davis): What is illuminating is that you chose to comment in this post instead of the one that links to a post at Belmont Club that links to stories from Reuters, CBC, AP and UPI regarding the payoffs totalling over $125,000 over four years. It may all be innocent. But my experience indicates the innocent try to get as much information out as quickly as possible because it establishes innocence. The guilty do everything they can to withhold evidence because they fear the consequences of its exposure.
I'll comment at more length when I get my next instructions and check from Kojo in the mail.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/27/2004 23:06 Comments ||
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Re #4 (Phil Fraering): I'm scared to ask what Mike thinks about Edwin Edwards.
I'll comment at more length when I get my next instructions and check from Edwin Edwards in the mail.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/27/2004 23:07 Comments ||
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CLAUDIA ROSETT - Special to the Sun November 26, 2004 One of the next big chapters in the United Nations oil-for-food scandal will involve the family of the secretary-general, Kofi Annan, whose son turns out to have been receiving payments as recently as early this year from a key contractor in the oil-for-food program.
The secretary-general's son, Kojo Annan, was previously reported to have worked for a Swiss-based company called Cotecna Inspection Services SA, which from 1998-2003 held a lucrative contract with the U.N. to monitor goods arriving in Saddam Hussein's Iraq under the oil-for-food program. But investigators are now looking into new information suggesting that the younger Annan received far more money over a much longer period, even after his compensation from Cotecna had reportedly ended.
Nov 26, 2004 — By Irwin Arieff UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan got monthly payments more than four years longer than was previously known from a Swiss firm that won a lucrative contract under the scandal-ridden U.N. oil-for-food program, the United Nations said on Friday.
Kojo Annan, the U.N. leader's son, was paid $2,500 monthly — a total of $125,000 — by Geneva-based Cotecna from the beginning of 2000 through last February, as part of an agreement not to compete with Cotecna in West Africa after he left the firm, U.N. chief spokesman Fred Eckhard said.
I chose not to answer under this post, because the guilty do everything they can to withhold evidence because they fear the consequences of its exposure.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/27/2004 23:09 Comments ||
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The "others" would include Syria, I'd guess. And Soddy Arabia.
A top US commander has warned Iran and other countries to never underestimate US air and naval power, discounting concerns that US forces are too tied down in Iraq to respond to challenges elsewhere. "To deter a nation state you should never underestimate the air and naval power of the United States," Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of US forces in the Middle East told AFP in a joint interview late Friday.
"We'll fcuk you up and break your shit!"
"Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me. We have an incredible amount of power," he said.
"Those people are crazy!"
Abizaid made the comment in response to questions about whether the United States, with the bulk of its ground forces tied down in Iraq, had the means to meet other contingencies such as a conflict with Iran. The United States suspects Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing atomic weapons, but Tehran insists it is for civilian purposes only. Abizaid pointed to the US-led assault on the former Iraqi rebel stronghold of Fallujah as an example of the overwhelming force that can be brought to bear by a relatively small ground force of some 10,000 troops backed by air strikes launched from US aircraft carriers in the Gulf. "And so we can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on earth, and everybody knows it," he said. "If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power than can match us militarily," he said, speaking as he flew to his headquarters in Doha, Qatar, from Afghanistan. "The question is do you need to have a very, very large conventional land force to deal with the forseeable problems of the next 20 years? My answer is if the international community hangs together and there is not a bloc of nations for example that would come together in some way as to present a threat to the United States, we've got it about right."
As it pursues a long war against Muslim extremism, the United States should rely on local forces to fight insurgents, he said. "My view is that the way to win these wars, to win the insurgencies in both Afghanistan and Iraq, you need to build Afghan and Iraqi capacity, and in the long run the need for large numbers of American troops will come down," he said. "So the priority has to be helping countries help themselves. After all, who better can go against the cellular structures in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, wherever you may find them, but the people that live there," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:16:31 PM ||
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Gen Abizaid basically said, "F*ck with us and we will bounce the rubble. If you don't care what happens to the survivors, you don't need to occupy with ground troops." The comment about nukes might have been too subtle for the mullahs though.
Its the unmistakable Debka-files again,so hit it with a salt-truck and believe what is left.
Syrian and Lebanese military staffs have begun jointly planning the exit by winter's end of most of the 13,000 Syrian troops deployed in Lebanon. This has not been announced publicly by Damascus but conveyed this week in two key conversations: Syrian foreign minister Farouq Shara delivered this assurance to US secretary of state Colin Powell on November 23 at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference on Iraq; President Bashir Assad then gave the news to UN Middle East envoy Terje Larsen who visited the Syrian capital a day later. According to our sources, both will report to their principals that Syria has decided to retain in Lebanon only 4 potential targets radar stations — one each atop Mt. Barukh and Mt. Sanin in central Lebanon, one at the Dahar al Baidar keypoint commanding the Beirut-Damascus highway and the fourth at Bsharri in the north. Syria will not be removing quite all its troops. Evoking its mutual ocupation defense pact with Beirut, Damascus will retain between 3,000 and 5,000 potential targets soldiers in Lebanon to defend its radar stations and their approaches. In the two conversations, The Syrian president and foreign minister stated that a decision had been taken to abide by Security Council resolution 1559 on Lebanese sovereignty. But they also pointed out that once Syria had removed the bulk of its army from Lebanon, it expected Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights in line with Security Council resolutions 338 and 224. Uhmmmm, Yeah, Right....
Uday and Qusay, the notorious evil spawn sons of former Iraqi thug dictator president Saddam Hussein who were killed in Mosul in July 2003, were denied entry into Syria while trying to escape the US Army, the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat newspaper reported yesterday. The paper quoted the wife of one their bodyguards who claimed that her husband was very close to the Hussein family. "Saddam loved him to a high extent. He could tell him all his secrets," she said in an interview to the newspaper.
"And then he tried to have my husband killed, but he really loved him!"
The wife, who didn't want to have her name published, said that her husband had been detained one month before the two brothers were killed. According to Al Hayat, the bodyguard proposed to cross the border into Syria while US forces were searching for Saddam and his two sons.
"I'll go ahead first and make sure it's safe for youse guys. Sure, sure, I'll come back and get you, don't worry."
The bodyguard's wife told Al Hayat that she was also in the convoy and that they received help from some Syrian fighters and Saddam sympathisers, but that the Syrian authorities asked the convoy to return to Iraq. "Someone informed the US forces about my husband and he was arrested one day after coming back from a visit to Syria," the woman said. The US troops found two forged passports at her place so they found out about the attempt to get into Syria. Saddam's sons were righteously killed by US troops one month later.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2004 12:09:35 AM ||
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wow - Syria did one thing out of 9,432 right? Guess they should get a pass, huh? I think not. Regime change - Baath water draining.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2004 0:17 Comments ||
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UN Mideast peace envoy Terje Roed-Larsen reiterated yesterday that Syria was willing to resume peace talks without conditions with Israel, and a Syrian government newspaper said Damascus was ready and willing to make peace based on UN resolutions. But neither Roed-Larsen nor the newspaper clarified whether this meant Syria was giving up its long-held position that negotiations should resume where they broke off in 2000. "I accurately reported on what I was told by Syrian President Bashar Assad, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on Israeli and Syrian public reactions," Larsen said at a Press conference at UN House in downtown Beirut. "Now the parties have to read what I have said," Larsen added.Â
"And hurry it up, dammit, 'cause I want to be a diplohero!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2004 12:07:37 AM ||
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I've just the thing for Terje to do with UN resolutions.
Bangladesh will conduct air raids on pirates harassing commercial vessels off the coast of Chittagong in the Bay of Bengal, port sources said yesterday. Steps will also be taken to intensify coast guard and naval operations to curb piracy. Chittagong Port Authority Chairman Shahadat Hossain said,: "We have requested the air force to help coast guard and navy during anti-piracy operations in the sea and coastal belts. We want to step up the drive to ensure safety and security of foreign cargo vessels calling at the port."
Additionally, Chittagong port authorities have decided to provide high-frequency radio sets to Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company, Chittagong Urea Fertilizer, TSP, silo and oil installations that will help them raise an alarm in the event of a pirate raid. A meeting of law enforcement agencies last week asked local police to launch frequent raids at the hideouts of pirates in the coastal villages of Patenga, Anwara and Banshkali. A top official of Chittagong port said, "We are also sending a proposal to the Ministry of Port and Shipping to initiate formation of an inter-ministerial body involving the home and defense ministries to devise an effective way of combating piracy to ensure security of vessels arriving here."
On Oct. 31, a gang of armed pirates attacked a vessel outside Chittagong port injuring its 13 crew members and looting mobile phones, costly ropes and other goods. Two weeks ago, pirates attacked a North Korean-flagged ship at the same place and looted its valuable merchandise.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:31:12 PM ||
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From The Washington Post
.... It was a little after lunchtime on Nov. 21, 1979. In a day of orchestrated anti-American outrage, Pakistanis were attacking several U.S. facilities across the country. Twenty-five years later, this outburst seems a thin slice of history, sandwiched between the taking of U.S. hostages in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Officially, Nov. 21 was quickly forgotten, seen by the United States as an aberration in its complex but generally productive relationship with Pakistan. ....
By 1:40 p.m., nearly 140 people -- U.S. diplomats, Pakistani staff members, a visiting Time magazine correspondent -- had assembled in the vault, a suite of rooms on the top floor of the three-story embassy building. Marines had covered their retreat upstairs by tossing tear gas canisters as protesters broke their way into the embassy, shattering windows and setting fires in offices. As CIA officers began to destroy secret files and equipment, diplomats maintained contact with officials outside the embassy, including Ambassador Arthur W. Hummel Jr., who had left the building for lunch. He began demanding help from Pakistan's government. A nurse worked to halt Crowley's bleeding until he could be hospitalized. [Marine Cpl. Steven J. Crowley had been shot in the head.]
Smoke started seeping into the vault. The people inside sat quietly, most of them on the floor, crowded into a space intended to hold far fewer occupants. The temperature rose, and the air, tainted by tear gas and smoke, grew hard to breathe. They took off extra clothing and passed around wet paper towels to use as filters.
Time's Marcia Gauger, who had stopped by the embassy that day to have lunch with political counselor Herbert G. Hagerty, scribbled in a notebook, wondering how she might ensure that her record of events would survive, even if she did not. As the afternoon wore on, she would become convinced that she would die.
Noises overhead indicated that protesters were on the roof of the building. Some fired bullets down ventilation shafts. The rioters began beating on a metal hatch connecting the vault to the roof. [Marine Master Sgt. Loyd G. ] Miller had men with guns stand guard under the hatch, prepared to kill anyone who broke through. ....
Earlier that year, Shiite clerics in Iran had overthrown a U.S.-backed dictator. On Nov. 4, Iranian revolutionaries had seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and taken dozens of Americans hostage. On Nov. 20, a Saudi Arabian religious zealot had led a takeover of the Grand Mosque at Mecca. Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini immediately suggested that Americans were behind the attack on Islam's holiest place, a falsehood repeated in media reports the morning of Nov. 21.
But some experts are now seeing a closer link between the motivations of the Pakistani students and the thinking of militant Muslims determined to wage war against the United States. Washington Post Managing Editor Steve Coll writes in his 2004 book, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, From the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, that the uprising was primarily led by the student wing of an Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami, that was rising in prominence and influence. When Osama bin Laden first traveled to Pakistan in 1980 or 1981, he visited Jamaat and donated money to the group, Coll writes. ....
[At the Intenational School about five miles away] Beth Rideout, the 17-year-old president of the student body, took refuge in the school's music room. .... A few months earlier, she had begun dating Crowley, 20, of Long Island. He was blond and, at 6 feet 6 inches, a foot taller than she was. She found him chivalrous and cordial. He seemed a little embarrassed when she asked him to kiss her. A young boy whom Crowley had befriended had told Rideout a secret: Crowley had asked his mother to send him his high school class ring. The Rideouts had invited him over for Thanksgiving, which was the next day. Beth wondered whether he would ask her to wear his ring. Under the piano, she suddenly felt him near her. "I felt his spirit visit me," she recalls now. ....
As evening approached, the vault's floor tiles began to buckle from the heat. A patch of carpeting smoldered. Many people were coughing as they struggled to breathe; some vomited. Hagerty and others began to hope that nightfall would quell the riot and allow an escape. It seemed their only way out. .....
By 6:30, the roof had gone quiet. Fields decided they had to get out. The hatch was too damaged to open from the inside. The only alternative was to send men out the door of the vault into the third-floor hallway to reach the roof by another route. Miller led a handful of Marines and staff members holding shotguns and pistols. The hallway was blackened by smoke and devoid of light. Gas masks afforded them some protection from tear gas but not from the fumes produced by the burning building. As they stepped out of the vault, felt their way along the hallway and climbed onto the roof, they did not know who might be waiting. They were authorized to shoot. "It was pretty harrowing," Miller says now. It was also the beginning of the end of their ordeal. The demonstrators had all but left the building, although some remained around the compound.
The flames of the burning embassy rose up from the sides of the roof, lighting the night, as Marines and others walked the survivors of the vault to a place where they could descend by ladder to the ground. They breathed deeply in the cool air.
After everyone was out, Miller climbed the ladder and went back into the vault. A few minutes later he reappeared, holding Crowley's body in a fireman's carry across his shoulders. The blood of the dead Marine stained Miller's shirt.
Thanksgiving was somber. A search revealed the burned corpse of Army Warrant Officer Bryan Ellis, 30, who died at his apartment in the compound. Two Pakistani staff members, dead of asphyxiation, were found in the embassy. News reports indicated that two protesters were killed during the previous day's chaos. ....
On Nov. 23, Beth Rideout flew out of Pakistan on a jumbo jet with about 400 other Americans, many never to return. She was in shock. She could feel others looking at her, the girlfriend of the dead Marine. She kept thinking how weird it was that Steve was flying home with them, except that he was in the hold of the aircraft. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. President Jimmy Carter sat next to his mother, Georgine, at the funeral. In an earlier phone call, he told her that Crowley died a hero. White House officials initially credited the Pakistani government with rescuing those in the vault, but Marcia Gauger disputed that assertion. "It was our Marine guards who saved us," she wrote in Time. "Nobody else."
Loyd Miller, now 63, retired from the Marine Corps as a master gunnery sergeant in 1984. He received a medal honoring "exceptionally meritorious conduct" for his defense of the embassy; his detachment was also commended. Today he cares for his wife, a cancer patient, at their home in Fredericksburg. .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/27/2004 1:42:18 PM ||
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"Iranâs Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini immediately suggested that Americans were behind the attack on Islamâs holiest place, a falsehood repeated in media reports the morning of Nov. 21."
I remember thinking at tht time that that was just one more little thing to hold against Khoumeini. And it was also my first inkling that we might very well be on a collision course with militant Islam...
#3
Well! This calls for more studies! Lets have lunch in paris and then dinner in Amsterdam. Then we better have a conference in South Africa and another followup lunch in Tokyo......
If all else fails, try plan "DumbAss"
AN Indian army officer has been dismissed and another suspended after a court martial found they splashed tomato sauce on civilians to make them look like dead separatist rebels. An army spokesman said Colonel H.S. Kohli took photos of civilians covered with ketchup and posing as corpses and gave them to his senior officers as proof of separatist killings in the revolt-hit northeastern state of Assam. "The colonel tried to use the photographs to back his claim for a gallantry award and was subsequently tried and found guilty in a court martial," the spokesman said. "The colonel lost his job while a major who connived with him was suspended for five years." The fraud came to light when scrutiny of records following the colonel's claim for a gallantry medal showed no deaths ever occcurred. "It was indeed bizarre to find him trying to claim a bravery award for the kills, which in fact did not take place at all," the spokesman said. The colonel's dismissal, which local media reports dubbed the "saucy scandal", is the latest such incident to shake the Indian army. The Indian Press gets a 10 for originality
Last May, India's Defence Ministry said Indian troops staged fake battles on the world's highest battleground on the Siachen glacier and made false claims about killing Pakistani soldiers in a bid to win medals.
Posted by: Poison Reverse ||
11/27/2004 10:01:56 AM ||
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Obviously, he used too much garlic. The crinkled noses of the "victims" was what gave him away...
Shortly after dawn on a recent morning, two dump trucks and a water tanker pulled up to a new, unmarked complex of buildings at East Potomac Park, the grassy peninsula near the Jefferson Memorial. The drivers exited their cabs, knocked at a gatehouse with blacked-out windows and waited for a security guard to emerge from behind a locked door. A few minutes later, a panel of 10-foot-high security fence slid open, and the trucks disappeared inside, leaving the joggers and cyclists along the waterfront none the wiser about their mission. What goes on beyond the fence is a mystery. The multi-agency review normally required to erect anything on federal parkland did not apply to the beige, metal buildings. The Navy, which operates the site at Ohio and Buckeye drives SW, calls the work a "utility assessment and upgrade" and volunteers nothing more...
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
11/27/2004 10:05:09 AM ||
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Ooooooooh... looks sinister to our friends at the Post.
Lefty reeducation camp? Black helicopter squadron headquarters? The secret government facility where they rig the voting machines?
What could it be???
#2
Well, they've installed aproximately fifteen milles of ten foot high blank white fencing around the Washingon Monument whlie they construct an underground visitors' center and new security measures. The East front of the Capitol looks like Isingard as they rip out trees and install an underground visitors center and new security measures. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is temporarily closed while its being cleaned and polished and they begin construction on a new underground visitors center.
Based on the intense secrecy, and the description of the planned final appearance, I would guess that its a comm center. Prolly a backup for the primary one in the pentagon. after all, the 1/5 bite taken out of fort fumble had to make an impression. Personaly, it seems pretty stupid to be this "what excavation?" about it. Since there appears to be no plan for easy access for wachstanders from the surface (think parking for cars) the facility prolly has underground access (ooh, sekrit tunnels!), or is inteded to operate un-attended. Some guide to size would give me a better Idea of what its importance/function is.
Btw, from the article its clear that all the appropriate political/offical/permit silly walking has been done. along with appropriate secrecy paperwork and dire threats to officials to hush them up. 3 years is about right for a medium importance project.
Nothing to see here, Citizens. Move along, move along...
#end arrant_speculation
Posted by: N Guard ||
11/27/2004 12:27 Comments ||
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I can picture it now... 1/4 mile away are these HUGE parking lots in the middle of nowhere... MIB-III...
#7
Homeland Security is slated to move to Fort McNair in S.W. DC next year. If I remember right that's not far from the Jefferson Memorial, so perhaps it is some sort of comm center.
Are high-level Pakistani military officers conducting secret negotiations with militants based in Waziristan? Corps commander Peshawar Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain labeled his visit to South Waziristan as routine, denying media reports that he went there for a secret meeting with wanted militants' commander Abdullah Mahsud, asserting, "It is baseless. I was surprised by those reports in two Urdu newspapers. It was just a normal visit to Jandola, Wana and Kaniguram to meet the troops and review the situation. I would call a press conference if such a meeting took place.
Modifying the pious denial somewhat, Hussain did admit that during his "normal" visit he met with South Waziristan tribal elders and notables, including Abdullah Mahsud's close relative retired Col. Yaqub Mahsud. Hussian added, "Through them I have conveyed messages to Abdullah Mahsud and other militants to stop fighting and help the government to restore peace in the area. I still believe in a peaceful, long-term solution to the problem through negotiations. These are indirect contacts. Abdullah Mahsud's relations are in touch with me and also with him. But there has been no meeting between me and Abdullah Mahsud." Hussain castigated the Pakistani media for wrongly confirming such a meeting. Mahsud is proving an international embarrassment for the Pakistani authorities, as he is suspected of sheltering more than 100 Uzbek, Chechen, Tajik, Afghan and Arab militants. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has said he would kill Abdullah Mahsud if he could because of the damage his actions caused to Pakistan's close relations with China by kidnapping the Chinese engineers.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:47:43 AM ||
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Most backdoor negotiations in those parts involve trading 10 year old boys.
Posted by: ed ||
11/27/2004 9:09 Comments ||
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Muslim and Christian religious leaders Saturday called for tolerance between peoples and dialogue of cultures to boost international peace and security. The plea was made during a conference of the World's Islamic Daawa, or call, being held in Tripoli and involving clerics, scientists, politicians and delegations from Muslim, Christian, regional and international organizations. Papal representative Mgr Berluggi stressed that mutual respect was at the core of dialogue between different religions aimed at ensuring a world that is just, at peace and tolerant. He said all religions reject violence and encourage mutual respect, dialogue and the right of all peoples to live their lives in accordance with their culture.
All religions except those based on jihad, anyway...
Senior Muslim cleric Lhabib Belkhoja underscored the importance of the conference in boosting joint Islamic action to serve the interests and causes of Muslims and other religions. He said Muslims should work to confront challenges to prove Islam is a religion of love and tolerance.
Start with killing the jihadis, okay?
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:42:29 AM ||
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By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH Associated Press Writer
Jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti dropped out of the race to replace Yasser Arafat on Friday, agreeing to support the candidacy of interim leader Mahmoud Abbas in a move intended to head off a split in the ruling Fatah movement.
That's the one-party system way...
Barghouti's decision not to run in the Palestinians' presidential election Jan. 9 was a big boost for Abbas, a pragmatist who opposes violence and appears to have the tacit support of Israel and the United States. Fatah's old-time leaders had feared Barghouti's popularity among younger activists could carry him to victory - or help other candidates by dividing the Fatah vote, although no other serious candidates have entered the race so far. Barghouti made his decision after Fatah announced that its long-delayed internal elections would be held next summer, a move clearly intended to appease the movement's increasingly restless young guard who feel they have been denied deserved roles in the top leadership.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2004 8:35:23 AM ||
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And 73.72% of the Arab world is disappointed again. When will the humiliation stop?
Posted by: ed ||
11/27/2004 9:11 Comments ||
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I'm in Jerusalem today visiting my daughter (who made aliyah recently). The rumor on the street (actually in the Central Bus Station) is that Marwan was bought off (lots of money, jobs, etc. for his kinfolk).
SOP in the Arab world (well actually in most the world).
#3
..a big boost for Abbas, a pragmatist who opposes violence..
Unfortunately, his opposition to violence appears to run both ways, what with his past unwillingness to deal with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and to a lesser degree, Hezbollah. Now that Arafart's gone, there's no excuses for not doing what needs to be done, assuming that the Paleos and their leadership truly want peace.
This article has a representative sample of the sins of the MSM. First sin is a misleading headline. The way its phrased strongly implies most Iraqas want this.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Seventeen Iraqi political parties demanded postponement of the Jan. 30 elections for at least six months until the government is capable of securing polling places. Over 200 parties have been registered, so 17 is a small minority of parties want the election delayed.
The parties, mostly Sunni Arab, Kurdish and secular groups, made the call Friday in a manifesto signed at the home of Sunni elder statesman Adnan Pachachi. A former foreign minister, Pachachi said he believed the government was waiting for such a request before addressing the question of whether elections could be held by Jan. 30. Might be true, but no indication the claim was checked.
Among the manifesto's backers were two major Kurdish parties that are among the strongest U.S. supporters in Iraq. The Kurds have a legitimate reason to delay the election. Its the middle of winter and mucho snow in the Kurdish mountains and communications are difficult. No mention of this reason and any tolerably educated person would know or figure this out.
Also appearing on the list of parties attached to the manifesto was the Iraqi National Accord, the party of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. It wasn't clear late Friday whether Allawi himself endorsed delaying the election. The New York Times, quoting an unidentified participant, reported that the INA gave only verbal support to the call for a delay. Sounds like party dissent. A quote from Allawi would be nice.
In Wales, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Bahram Saleh said Friday that holding elections as scheduled in January will be "a tough challenge" because of the security situation. Parties of the majority Shi'ite community strongly support holding the elections on time, but there is widespread doubt within the minority Sunni community because of guerrilla unrest in Sunni regions of central and northern Iraq. No mention of the real reason. The Sunnis will lose the election.
A widespread boycott by the Sunni community could deny legitimacy to the elected parliament and government. Meme du jour.
U.S. and Iraqi authorities believe legitimate elections are necessary to help bring stability to Iraq and curb the insurgency. The journalist introduces a premise in the first sentence and then tacks on a legitimate statement in the second. But the second sentence was *NOT* made in the context of the first sentence.
Mohsen Abdul Hamid, leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party and one of the signatories, said Prime Minster Ayad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, fears the government will be misunderstood if it requests a delay. "The government can't talk about that," Abdul Hamid said. Filler that will cause most readers to switch off.
Entifadh Qanbar, spokesman of the Iraqi National Congress party, said that postponing the elections "would cause a constitutional crisis. What would guarantee that the security issue will be better after six or seven months from now? We want the Iraqis to have the chance to express their clear opinion through the ballots." Then conclude with a sensible and reasonbale statement cos you are not a real journalist unless you have 'balance'.
Posted by: phil_b ||
11/27/2004 6:21:31 AM ||
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Somebody frame this and put it in a museum, because this (and most articles on rantburg) is an excellent example showing why the rise of the blogs is causing the demise of the MSM.
It no longer matters if this news outlet was attempting to spread propaganda or the if their reporter was just lazy and uniniformed. The good blogs are more reliable, accurate and informative than the best and biggest papers around.
#3
Well done, phil_b. Almost scary how similar (great) minds think alike .... I was sighing and snorting through this typical AP monstrosity and thinking much the same things at every point. BTW, Allawi & Co. have repeated their preference for on-time elections since this dreck was moved by AP.
A survey of the Arab world organized by the Al-Arabia network website after the death of Yasser Arafat, showed 73.72% want a Hamas representative to replace Arafat, ITIM reported. In contrast only 0.7% expect that one of the PLO leaders will take over. 25.58% were in favor of an independent candidate. 113,107 participants from across the Arab world took part in the survey. Well, if you believe in the Delphic method, it's a slam dunk.
The organizers of the survey explained that the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad organization stand for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the land of historic Palestine, a concept that the PLO gave up on when the Oslo discussions began.
Posted by: phil_b ||
11/27/2004 5:37:43 AM ||
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The much-vaunted 'Arab Street' speaks! (yawn).
"The organizers of the survey explained that the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad organization stand for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the land of historic Palestine, a concept that the PLO gave up on when the Oslo discussions began."
Two things wrong about this;
1) Historic Palestine is where Israel is.
2) The PLO never gave up the concept, they just said they did.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
11/27/2004 8:01 Comments ||
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The confidence interval is +/- 57.326%
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
11/27/2004 8:34 Comments ||
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A survey of the Arab world organized by the Al-Arabia network website after the death of Yasser Arafat, showed 73.72% want a Hamas representative to replace Arafat
I wonder if the Palestinians will ever finally get the concealed message. So far, the Arab world's inability unwillingness to resettle the Palestinians, and thereby solve the Israeli conflict, has meant only one thing. Namely, the death of even more Palestinians playing the role of so much loudly-lamented cannon fodder, as they are cheerfully flung into Israel's remorseless meat grinder while the Arab world happily looks on.
All Palestinians should carefully reconsider the significance of how the outside Arab world wants them to continue in this self-destructive capacity. While they wear the outer trappings of an organization more benign than the PLO, Hamas will only succeed in leading even more Palestinians, lemming-like, over the precipice of further terrorist activity.
That the Arab street has nominated Hamas as Arafat's heir apparent should serve as a crystal clear indicator of how little the Palestinians' putative Muslim brethern care for their well-being. While Israel may be the nail so often struck at by the Arab world, the Palestinians occupy the hammer's face. It is their bodies that are mangled with each ineffectual blow delivered against the case-hardened nailhead of Israel's intransigent persistence.
Palestinians are the Arab world's collective whipping boy, meant only to absorb Islam's fury at itself for not being able to exterminate the Jews. Only peace will bring prosperity to the Palestinians, something the Arab world will never admit nor bring to light.
#4
Boy, statistics down to 1/100 of a percent. Now there is a confidence level! LOL! Survey uncertainly down to less than one part in 10,000. How do they do that?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/27/2004 14:13 Comments ||
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Posted by: Larry ||
11/27/2004 15:27 Comments ||
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Arabs will fight the Zionists to the last Palestinian!
Posted by: James ||
11/27/2004 18:10 Comments ||
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The Paleos are so revved up on Jihadi go-juice, they are the "Hey Mikey, try this!" of the arab world. And they go for it. Every time. Without fail. Idjits
BRASILIA - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, due to land in Brazil on Saturday, is the first Pakistani leader to visit Latin America and seeks to raise his country's image while opening new commercial markets. Musharraf was to arrive on late Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, and travel Sunday to Brasilia, to meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before leaving November 30. The leaders are set to sign four documents: on drug trafficking; agroindustry hygiene; visa waivers; and mechanisms for regular political elections, according to the director of Brazil's foreign ministry Asia-Oceania section, Edmundo Fujita. "Pakistan wants to broaden its diplomatic horizons, with Latin America and Brazil in particular," Fujita said.
He said that the two countries held non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council, giving them "quite a high level of agreement on positions." "We hope for greater dialogue -- with Asian countries in general and with South Asia in particular," the diplomat said. Under Lula's nearly two-year presidency, Brazil has encouraged alliances among developing countries. Brazil has not, however, gotten Islamabad's backing in its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, should current efforts to reform the world body be realized. "Pakistan recognizes the need for a larger council, but with non-permanent members," Fujita said. Diplomats said that Islamabad's reticence is due to India, its traditional enemy, and one of the strongest candidates to join a larger council, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan. The four countries have launched their candidacies as a slate to coordinate their efforts. Trade between Brazil and Pakistan is small, at 50 million dollars in 2003.
Not counting the secret trade in nuclear technology, of course.
According to Fausto Godoy, Brasilia's ambassador to Islamabad, "There is a lack of policy to define the areas of cooperation."Â However, Musharraf's visit aimed to bridge that gap and promote discussion of various areas. Brazil is interested in deep-sea drilling for Pakistani oil and in Pakistan's privatizations, Godoy said. Pakistan is interested in selling high-quality textiles and in Brazilian technology to distil ethanol, given that Pakistan has sugar cane, the raw material for the fuel. The Islamic republic is out to change its image, Brazilian diplomats said.
Just about any new image would do.
"Musharraf is coming to Brazil to show Pakistan to the world, because of world events, he needs new visibility and wants to leave the region and join the world order," Godoy said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2004 12:13:19 AM ||
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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.
The wife of a jailed Al Jazeera journalist charged by Madrid with belonging to Al Qaida said on Thursday that Spain's prisons had become "another Guantanamo" after authorities isolated suspected militants. Fatima Hamed said her husband 
One of the next big chapters in the United Nations oil-for-food scandal will involve the family of the secretary-general, Kofi Annan, whose son turns out to have been receiving payments as recently as early this year from a key contractor in the oil-for-food program.
