Glenn Reynolds notes that "The American Street" is angry at the Palestinians and Yasser wonders "Why do they hate us."
The Palestinians are losers, and for evidence I point to the cover of Newsweek's rival Time, which shows a Palestinian shooting an SKS rifle at an Israeli tank -- from the hip, of course, just to insure that he's more likely to hit innocent bystanders than the tank, which the SKS is as likely to harm as a water balloon. It's the perfect combination of boyish macho posturing and ineffectiveness, and sums up the entire Arab world in one photo. Losers!
Those are "camera shots." If the photog wasn't there, he'd be waving his gun, hollering, and impressing the hell out of the girlies. Yup. Losers. But I like the point he makes: Why do we have to please them with no vice for our versa?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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In my continuing quest for the perfect interface, I've fiddled the links again. They'll show you either On Blogger or Not on Blogger. If Blogger's down (which it was when I started fiddling), just hit refresh a time or two to get the non-Blogger sites. Whatever comes up is random, based on the second. Next I'll prob'ly do away with having to hit Refresh.
I'm also slowly bringing my old pre-Blogger stuff on-line, if anyone's interested in ancient history.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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The United States flew A-10 Warthog warplanes into Afghanistan over the weekend in apparent preparation for further attacks on al Qaeda and Taliban forces. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Bryan Hilferty said Sunday fewer than 10 of the planes, nicknamed for their squat appearance, would operate out of Bagram, an air base just north of Kabul. The Warthogs flew in before the arrival of 1,700 British commandos, who are due to be on the ground and operational by mid-April in the next phase of U.S.-led operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Warthogs are truly ugly tank busters, and for some reason the Air Force doesn't like them. They can fly at treetop level give or take six inches, and while they're not fast in comparison to F16s, they're quicker than the eye can follow when they're in the process of demolishing your armor. For my money, the Blue Boys should accept the idea of reverse glamor -- they're so ugly they're beautiful -- and treasure the things. Their presence at Bagram would indicate we expect to meet some more of those antique T54s in the fairly near future, and what the hell, the pilots can always use a bit of target practice.
The A10 has loiter time and weapons versatility that the F16 can only approximate. Moreover, the A10 units have as their first training priority ground support, while the F16's have air-air as their first training priority. Of the two, I'd say the training issue is the more important. One probable outcome of the A10 deployment is that next week we'll hear about how the depleted uranium is poisoning the Afghan countryside. Posted by Tom Roberts 3/24/2002 7:52:17 PM
The basing of A-10 Warthogs doesn't, to me, at all indicate any expectations of running into tanks. They'rve brought them in because of their protective armor, including that titanium bathtub the pilot sits in. A-10s won't be knocked down while doing ground support, unlike the Apaches and Blackhawks, of which notice at least four were damaged by RPG and heavy machine gun fire at Shah-i-Kot. Posted by Gary Farber [www.amygdalagf.blogspot.com] 3/24/2002 9:46:30 PM
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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U.S. troops have found a laboratory under construction in southern Afghanistan where al Qaeda apparently planned to produce biological weapons. U.S. officials said the facility near Kandahar was apparently being built to produce anthrax and other agents when it was found earlier this month. "It wasn't completed, so they weren't at the point of producing weapons yet. There were no samples of biological agents," Air Force Maj. Bill Harrison, a spokesman for the military's Central Command, said in response to questions. It was an al-Qaeda Baby Milk Factory.
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03/24/2002 ||
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Gunmen opened fire on the security chief of Khost province, killing one person and injuring two others. Sur Gul, the security chief, escaped unhurt. But the culprits, suspected to have been allies of the U.S. Special Forces in Khost, have taken refuge in their fortified airport compound, said Hazratuddin, intelligence chief of Khost. "We have asked the Americans to hand them over but so far they haven't," he said in a telephone interview. The governor of Khost, Mohammed Ibrahim, also has demanded their arrest.
According to Hazratuddin, the men opened fire on Gul because the security chief had tried to disarm them a day earlier in the market. "We will talk again tomorrow (Monday) with the Americans and I am sure they will hand them over. I was busy today with the funeral, but I don't think they will refuse," Ibrahim said in a telephone interview. The intelligence chief said the vehicle was demolished. "They fired many rounds into the truck. Two people are in very bad condition," said Hazratuddin. The man who died was Gul's driver and bodyguard.
A volatile city, bristling with men with guns, Khost has been carved up into areas of control by warlords of varying strength. The majority of the city is under the control of warlord Bacha Khan Zardran, but within Zardran's group there are rivalries. Cheeze. We give you one simple little task and what do you do? You screw it up.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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Palestinian President-for-Life Yasser Arafat has forged an alliance that involves Iranian shipments of heavy weapons and money to Palestinian groups involved in action against Israel, The New York Times reported. "The partnership, officials said, was arranged in a clandestine meeting in Moscow last May between two top aides to Mr. Arafat and Iranian government officials. The meeting took place while Mr. Arafat was visiting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, according to senior Israeli security officials," the Times reported.
Arafat's reported alliance with Iran causes concern in Tel Aviv because "it gives the Palestinians a powerful and well-armed patron in the increasingly violent conflict with Israel," the newspaper said. In a Sept. 11 connection, American officials were troubled by intelligence reports "that Iran is harboring al Qaeda members, including one leader who recently tried to mount an attack against Israel from his sanctuary in Iran," according to the Times. But... But... I don't understand! Yasser said he was against terrorism!
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03/24/2002 ||
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The National Park Service will begin round-the-clock video surveillance at all major monuments on the Mall by October, moving aggressively in the wake of last year's terrorist attacks to tighten security around national symbols visited by millions of tourists each year. Closed-circuit television cameras will be installed for the first time to monitor public areas in and around the Washington Monument and the Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Vietnam Veterans and Korean War memorials, according to John G. Parsons, associate regional director for the Park Service's National Capital Region.
The decision, disclosed in testimony Parsons submitted for delivery to a congressional panel today, drew sharp questioning from members even before his appearance. "I know they need to protect the monumental core, but this is a surprise to us," said Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.), chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on the District, which called a hearing on the expanding use of electronic surveillance in the nation's capital. "How long are they going to capture on these cameras every face of every person who is there? How long do they hold this material? Who will have access to it?" I won't bother dwelling on Congresswoman Morella's silliness. Jeff Jarvis has already done that better than I could. Since there is an organized network of people in the world who are demonstrably trying to kill as many of us as they can, it makes more sense to me to take measures against them than it does to worry about whether some bureaucrat is going to see my face on a screen. I'm a lot more indignant about traffic light cameras, which is a lot more Big Brotherish than surveillance of national treasures. If the government goes overboard and uses the surveillance for other than the announced purpose, then bitch, moan and vote them out of office and into jail.
I suppose the next step for Morella is to legislate hiring preferences for blind, deaf, or wheel chair bound guards at these parks. Posted by Tom Roberts 3/24/2002 7:57:10 PM
I absolutly agree with Jeff Jarvis I lived in Britain for a year and they have cameras everywhere in PUBLIC places. They did not bother most people who were well aware of their existence. Where the hell do people get the idea that they would or should or could have some expectation or right of privacy in a public place Posted by Ken H 3/24/2002 10:05:43 PM
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03/24/2002 ||
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Two more persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on Sabarmati Express at Godhra station in Gujarat on February 27 taking the total number of arrests in connection with the incident to 64. Irfan Pado and Kasim Biryani were arrested on Saturday. The others arrested in connection with the Godhra train carnage, which left 58 dead and 43 others injured, include local civic body president Mohammed Kalota and Haji Bilal. Meanwhile, police have intensified the search for another councillor Farukh Bhana, who has beat it. That's very diligent of them. Sure hope they're rounding up the VHP loons that killed everybody in sight in the wake of the attack.
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03/24/2002 ||
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The Duce of Jamaat-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, rejected the government's proposal to hold a referendum to formalize Gen Musharraf as president of Pakistan saying it is unconstitutional. Speaking at a rally of about 20,000 people, the JI Fuehrer demanded of the army chief to hand over government to an interim set-up and go back to barracks. Qazi thinks he'd be just the man to warm the Seat of All Power for awhile. His heart condition seems to have cleared up pretty well. You heard it here first.
"An interim set-up alone can hold impartial elections in the country. There is no provision for referendum in the constitution. The referendum will be equal to pre-poll rigging,' Qazi said. "Yeah. We don't need no damn' vote. We already know the will of the people, and that's us, cuz we're people, most of us."
Speaking at his first public rally after his release, he said the army officers are administered oath that they would not indulge in government affairs and so there is no room for the army chief to become chief executive or president. Qazi said, if Gen Musharraf is interested in becoming president, he should step down as army chief, wait for two years as required by the constitution and then contest presidential elections. That will give Qazi time to rally his troops for their own Putsch, have all his rivals assassinated, and be in position to have Perv shot.
If referendum is held, elections would be meaningless, he said and warned they would run a campaign against any such move by Musharraf. He said such campaigns would also be launched against the continuing price-hike, the imposition of new taxes, unemployment, deteriorating law and order situation and other illegal and what he termed anti-people steps being taken by the government. One such protest against the policies of government would he held on March 29, he announced. He doesn't approve of the Treaty of Versailles, either, and when he takes power he will have Pakistan occupy the Rhineland. And he only wants the Sudeten Pakistanis - no Slavs, thank you.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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The United States has reached agreement with Pakistan that British-born militant Ahmed Omar Sheikh would be handed over for trial to the US government once the Pakistani criminal justice system had run its course , the New York Times reported on Saturday, quoting Bush administration officials. However, the officials acknowledged that there was no specific time-frame for his transfer, the paper said. That'll happen as soon as there's an ice cube glut in Hell.
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03/24/2002 ||
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The PML-Q will support the proposed referendum for the sake of restoration of democracy in the country. This was stated by PML-Q central leader Ejazul Haq on Saturday. He said a PML delegation had apprised president Pervez Musharraf of all pros and cons of his proposed referendum. The president should be elected through direct public votes instead of parliamentarians so that he could be accountable to them, he said. He supported policies of the Musharraf government after the Sept 11 with the only exception of supporting US bombardment in Afghanistan. He opposed the induction of technocrats in the national assembly saying they should be inducted in senate only. The PML-Q would make alliance with religious parties in the forthcoming general election, he claimed. Here's one Qazi hasn't gotten to yet... Be careful starting your car, Ejazul.
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03/24/2002 ||
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Trade union leaders at a Pakistan Day meeting held here on Saturday demanded an end to capitalism and feudalism. Addressing the meeting organized by the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Union at the Bakhtiar Labour Hall, Agha Badrul Islam Abdali and Haji Amin Rathore said that the country could not progress without the abolition of feudalism and capitalism which allowed a handful of people to monopolize the national resources. "Abolish capitalism. We'd rather be ignorant and poverty stricken than have plutocrats running around." Why do we bother with these people?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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Pakistan has the highest prevalence of tuberculosis in the World Health Organisation's Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) with 44 per cent of the region's TB patients living here. A spokesman for The Network for Consumer Protection in a statement issued here on Saturday, the World No TB Day, said Pakistan was rated sixth among the 22 developing countries where highest burden of the disease was experienced. One hell of a regional power here, folks. Now don't forget to abolish capitalism and go on jihad, guys. That's a lot more important that stuff like controlling TB. Oh, and bump off a few doctors, too. They're just plutocrats and anti-Islamists at heart, no matter what they say.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday it was unlikely that he would meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat before this week's Arab League summit in Beirut. Cheney, who refused to see Arafat during a 10-day trip to the region that ended last Wednesday, did not rule out a meeting in the future, but said Arafat had not yet done enough to halt attacks on Israel. "I will not hold the meeting unless we see those circumstances that we specified," Cheney said. "To date we haven't seen them. But if we do then I'm prepared to go forward with the meeting." Watching Tony Snow with PLO spokesman Saeb Erekat this morning was almost funny. Tony kept asking "Will the Palestinians accept a cease-fire?" and Mr. Spokesman kept changing the subject and evading until he was eventually tied in a knot.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Sunday there was a "fair chance" of a Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire ahead of U.S.-brokered talks aimed at clinching a truce in the Middle East. "I think there is still a fair chance and today may be the deciding day because of the meeting and I hope we shall reach an agreement," he told reporters.
Little progress was made in talks Friday to implement a U.S.-brokered cease-fire plan. U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni will resume talks with security officials from both sides Sunday. If a cease-fire is reached, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat would be allowed to attend a key Arab summit in Beirut from March 27-28, Peres said. That summit will discuss a broad Saudi Middle East peace plan. Normally, I'd say the chances were somewhere between slim and none, but Yasser wants to go to Beirut so he can hob-nob, feel important, and try to torpedo any trends that might lead to something substantive from the meeting. So that pushes the chances closer to slim than none, which might be what Peres is talking about. Any cease-fire, of course, won't be adhered to, so I'm not even sure what all the fuss is about.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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Israeli troops shot and killed four suspected militants Sunday after they fired at Jordanian border guards and then slipped into Israel across the usually quiet frontier.
An Israeli woman was fatally shot while traveling on a West Bank road, and Israeli troops killed a Palestinian policeman in a gunbattle nearby.
Israeli soldiers also shot and killed a Palestinian near a crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, Palestinians said. I'm surprised. Nobody exploded. But the day is young...
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03/24/2002 ||
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Crown Prince Abdullah believes his peace overture to Israel has been rejected by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "I found out that everyone wants this proposal except for one person and that's Sharon," Abdullah, was quoted as saying by Al Watan daily. Abdullah's remarks came during a meeting in the Red Sea port of Jiddah Saturday with participants of a symposium on Islam. "If they (Israelis) don't accept it, then we will have exposed them and shown all the world that Arabs and Muslims are the ones who want peace and that some, not all, Israelis don't want peace," he was quoted as saying.
Abdullah will present his initiative to end the almost 55-year Mideast crisis at an Arab summit that begins Wednesday in Beirut, Lebanon. Almost all the league's 22 members have welcomed the proposal, which offers Israel peace and normal relations with its neighbors in exchange for full withdrawal from areas Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war. "If the initiative is accepted, then that's what we want. We don't want to fight and we are not bloodthirsty. We like to live in peace, safety and security," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted Abdullah as saying. Sharon, in an interview published Saturday in The Washington Post, said he was interested in Abdullah's vision of "peace and normalization with all the Arab world," but that Israel's security would be threatened if it withdrew to 1967 borders. Sharon told the Post he was ready to talk with the Saudis, but the Saudis have said negotiations should only involve Israel and the Palestinians, the Syrians and the Lebanese. This has pretty much been a propaganda ploy from the first. Charles at lfg has been on this from the first and has covered it much better than I could.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/24/2002 ||
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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.
