An appeals court in Houston has ruled that two men can proceed with their intended class-action lawsuit against six strip clubs for having added a $5 fee to the price of a lap dance when paid for with a credit card, a practice they say violates Texas law. As has been previously noted (see Sept. 10, 2003), the fun is likely to begin if and when standard notices go into the mail informing past lap dance customers that a lawsuit has gone forward in their name; many of these notifications are likely to be opened by wives and other family members in the class member's absence.
Posted by: mojo ||
05/03/2005 10:32:47 AM ||
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it's a Pole Tax
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/03/2005 11:43 Comments ||
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Sponsored by divorce lawyers.
Posted by: ed ||
05/03/2005 11:48 Comments ||
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You know, I have always had problems when I tried to slide my credit card through the slots on these dancers. For some reasont I was always escorted out.
Posted by: Bill ||
05/03/2005 11:53 Comments ||
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Kuwait's Parliament failed yesterday to pass a law giving women the right for the first time to vote and stand in municipal elections. "Parliament will vote again on the bill tomorrow," MP Ali Al-Rashed told reporters after 29 lawmakers voted in favor of the legislation while the same number abstained and two voted against. Islamist and tribal legislators are staunchly opposed to giving women in the Gulf state the right to participate in municipal or parliamentary elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2005 00:00:00 ||
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05/03/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Italian investigators blamed U.S. military authorities for failing to signal there was a checkpoint ahead on the Baghdad road where American soldiers killed an Italian agent, concluding in a report that stress, inexperience and fatigue played a role in the shooting
yeah, those well-announced checkpoints catch so many insurgents
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/03/2005 9:57 Comments ||
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''Turn right at flashing sign for checkpoint detour.''
And Sgrena was certainly stressed, inexperienced and fatigued.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/03/2005 10:04 Comments ||
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Maybe a few Italians commies would like to volunteer to stand holding a flashlight about 1 kilometer in front of checkpoints, just so the next ransom exchange will go smoothly.
Posted by: ed ||
05/03/2005 10:08 Comments ||
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Perhaps some blame on the driver using a cell phone driving at a good clip on a road he didn't know failing to stay alert to his surroundings? Perhaps some blame on the two passengers for not focussing on their surroundings during the dangerous drive back to the airport. Fair to say the driver could have used an extra pair of eyes on the road? It's not like it was a Sunday drive to grandmom's house. There were two highly trained officers in that car weren't there? It wasn't as if the soldiers dismounted a quarter mile away and set up an ambush from concealed positions. Plenty of iraqi's driving can figure it out without incident, even at night! Yes it was a tragedy but it needn't be made into a political football by the Italian govenment to placate those who probably wouldn't support that government in the first place.
#5
Italian investigators blamed U.S. military authorities for failing to signal there was a checkpoint ahead on the Baghdad road where American soldiers killed an Italian agent,..
More like driver/passenger stupidity, quite frankly. But hey, go ahead and blame Americans - that is standard practice, isn't it?
#7
Title: ''Italy: Agent's Shooting Not Deliberate''
I would say it was plenty deliberate! When you charge a checkpoint at breakneck speed in Iraq, you get what you ask for.
Posted by: BA ||
05/03/2005 12:18 Comments ||
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Agreed. The fewer accidental shootings, the better. All shots should be taken deliberately.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
05/03/2005 12:36 Comments ||
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''It was a dark and stormy night'' begins Snoopy's great unfinished work of fiction. I see the Italians love fiction too.
''...the checkpoint had been the site of 13 attacks...'' Is this the same checkpoint the driver who claimed he knew the road said didn't exist?
Pesky satellite shows our people were lying,so now we'll say is not relevant what speed our people were traveling at.
3 seconds warning was not enough time to stop given the speed our car was going...oops,forget that bit.
Almost immediately after incident the Italian General in charge in Iraq sent message to Rome saying he didn't tell Americans there was a secret mission underway because HE didn't know there was one. Yet we find his second-in-command telling his laison there was one,just keep it secret. Did politics in Italian Army contribute to incident?
Okay,our journalist has lied about every detail,but that doesn't mean we'll believe you.
Bottom line,the Italian Government f*****up massively but will never admit it.
Posted by: Stephen ||
05/03/2005 15:51 Comments ||
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Oh! (dark sucker appears over head) that kinda satellite! Makes sense.... GPS.
From the Rantburg Diplomacy Desk:
The US embassy will be moved in 2010 from The Hague to Wassenaar to resolve a dispute over the security measures taken after the 11 September terrorist attacks. The city council of The Hague said on Monday the US government has indicated it was willing to relocate the embassy to the Clingendael park area.
"Take your scary security measures somewhere we can't see them."
It also said the Dutch government has agreed to assist the move.
"We took up a collection of everyone's leftover guilders and florins."
The full council of The Hague must still approve the relocation, as do the Wassenaar city council and the province of South Holland, news agency AFP reported.
So it's not really a done deal. I wonder how the environmental impact studies are coming along?
Located on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague, the US embassy is protected by chain-link fences, barriers and mobile police observation posts. This has caused traffic problems and sparked disputes with inner-city residents.
The Hofstad Group has lodged a complaint. All those heavily armed Marines really interfere with their culture.
"The heavy security measures taken since the attacks of 11 September 2001 disrupt and mar this part of the inner city," the city council said. "These measures remain necessary until the relocation of the embassy, but it has been agreed with the US that improvised measures will create a better appearance." A 3m high fence will be constructed around the embassy and anti-ram poles will be put in place. The present space needed for the security measures will remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Clingendael location is an area of parks and open spaces along the coast where construction is limited, raising the spectre of conflict over the US plans for an embassy that would cover four hectares. The foundation Protect Clingendael has resisted the relocation of the embassy for some time. It previously warned last year The Hague was involved in "silent diplomacy" to finalise the relocation of the embassy. The chosen location, a grassland area, is situated on the Wassenaarseweg between the office of the Dutch motorists association ANWB and the main entrance to the park.
Like I said, how are those environmental impact studies coming along?
Posted by: seafarious ||
05/03/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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disrupt and mar this part of the inner city...improvised measures will create a better appearance.''
So the embassy must move because it isn't picturesque enough with all the new security bits?
#2
No, it's an inconvenient reminder that Holland is not ready to deal with its problem. Theo van Gogh's killer was part of the Hofstad terror group located in The Hague.
#3
Do we really need an embassy in the Netherlands?
There could be some savings in shutting down embassies in countries that don't want us and, making redundant State Deparatment staff that also don't like their country.
Posted by: Jim K ||
05/03/2005 11:56 Comments ||
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Even better, let's shut down all embassies on the continent except for the embassy in paris.
Save us a lot of money.
Not wreak the local scenery.
We help the french with their economoy and self image (for which I am sure they will be ever so grateful).
And finally, if anyone needs to see us about something they know where to find us.
Everyone wins.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/03/2005 14:43 Comments ||
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Germany is more central, and the people are less likely to explode... The parks are nicer, too.
I expect this will become a re-occurring "sound bite" from the Dems
Democrats and their mainstream media allies have been peddling a new and highly inventive theory about North Korea's nuclear-weapons program: that Pyongyang only makes nukes when Republicans hold the White House.
As the theory goes, North Korea's nuclear ambitions go on holiday when Democrats take office and only return with the election of someone like George W. Bush. If a President John Kerry were in office to hand out concessions to North Korea the way Bill Clinton did, the tyrants in Pyongyang would presumably be rolling out red carpets for the International Atomic Energy Agency and turning their reactor fuel back over to the power plants.
The reality is that Pyongyang has been building its nuclear capacity for decades, and has done so regardless of who occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But a different notion, preposterous as it sounds, seems to be gaining momentum in Democratic circles.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton voiced this opinion last Thursday after the Defense Intelligence Agency chief, Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that North Korea can hit the United States with a nuclear warhead. Mrs. Clinton asserted that "they couldn't do that when George Bush became president, and now they can." She fired off a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bristling over Adm. Jacoby's remarks. Earlier in the week, a much-circulated column by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times attempted to discredit President Bush by suggesting that President Clinton's record on North Korea was better.
The irony of Mrs. Clinton and her ideological kin accusing the Bush administration of failure on North Korea is rich. By Mrs. Clinton's own standards, husband Bill must be responsible for Indian and Pakistani nuclear advancements -- as evidenced by the series of 1998 nuclear tests that caught the United States by surprise -- and for the continuing rise of the A.Q. Khan proliferation network during the 1990s. Since the first lady of the Clinton administration apparently cannot remember the facts about her husband's eight years in office or the decades before it, we're happy to remind her with a brief chronology of the North Korean bomb.
North Korea started developing its nuclear-weapons capabilities in the 1970s. Bill Clinton's first director of central intellligence, James Woolsey, told Congress in 1993 that there was a "real possibility that North Korea has manufactured enough fissile material for at least one nuclear weapon." It didn't happen overnight. Decades of effort had brought North Korea to a point where it could go nuclear.
In fact, major advances in North Korea's nuclear capabilities took place during the Clinton administration. North Korea greatly improved its missile technology. It successfully tested the Nodong missile to a range of 500 kilometers in 1993. In October 1997, a North Korean defector testified before the U.S. Senate that Pyongyang had two or three nuclear warheads. In 1998, North Korea tested a Taepo Dong-1 missile which flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. In February 1999, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet told Congress that North Korea's missile-development program includes missiles that will be able to hit the continental United States. During the 1990s, North Korea repeatedly shut its nuclear reactors to harvest fuel for bombs. It built facilities underground to evade international inspectors.
The Clinton administration's eight years compounded these North Korean successes. The diplomatic enticements and sweetheart deals it engineered or endorsed, including the Agreed Framework, all gave Pyongyang more resources and time to pursue its bomb.
The truth is that North Korea will likely continue attempting to pursue its nuclear-weapons program regardless of who occupies the White House. In her letter to Miss Rice, Mrs. Clinton called on the Bush administration to engage in bilateral talks with North Korea, as though such talks would be more fruitful than the Agreed Framework the North Koreans walked all over during the Clinton administration. Pyongyang has been demanding bilateral negotiations. The Bush administration has rightly opposed them, but it is hardly clear that the six-party talks it has pursued will yield better results. The record to date is that every diplomatic effort, whether by Democratic or Republican administrations, to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear-weapons efforts has been unsuccessful. Instead of pointing fingers, responsible people in Washington, regardless of party affiliation, need to come to grips with this unpleasant reality.
#1
As the theory goes, North Koreaâs nuclear ambitions go on holiday when Democrats take office and only return with the election of someone like George W. Bush.
Kinda like the homeless phenomenon. Or that 'subversive religious theocratic neocons' want to run roughshod over the Constitution. Or that 'partisan political operatives' are taking shots at CBS news anchors. Or...
#3
Mrs. Clinton asserted that ''they couldnât do that when George Bush became president, and now they can.''
Is she talking about Iraqis voting? Is she talking about Afghans voting? Afghan girls going to school? Lebanese living without the Syrian boot on their necks? Ukrainians not selling weapons to the Norks and Mullahs? Libyans not having a nuke program? Iraq not having Saddam, Uday and Qusay? Gulf Arab states not having municipal elections? Judicial nominees not being filibustered? What is she getting at?
Posted by: Tibor ||
05/03/2005 15:06 Comments ||
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If a President John Kerry were in office to hand out concessions to North Korea the way Bill Clinton did
So the Donks would prefer the American tax payer to pay for the nuclear development instead of the poor, over-taxed North Koreans.
#5
I know how to stop North Korea's nuclear ambition and it would only take one or two wll placed Nuclear-Tipped JADAMs. Heck if would remove most of the countries ability/ambition to do anything. File under: ''More Kool Aid for the left.''
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/03/2005 10:31 ||
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HT to LGF
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/03/2005 10:32 Comments ||
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Note to ''Muslim moderates'': Time to start actively and publicly disowning your extremist kin; some people aren't going to be as reserved as Americans in lumping y'all together and taking all of you OUT if they get angry enough.
#3
As noted yesterday the MSM lables these people vigilanties but calls the muslims activists/insurgents
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
05/03/2005 10:50 Comments ||
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Vigilante groups - why do they hate you? Just remember that this is a small group of extremists and that their views do not necessarily reflect those of the Filipino population in general. Look inside yourself and try to understand the root causes. You might wish to hold a festival to celebrate all that their rich culture offers. Have a nice day.
#5
It's push back. The past history of this group isn't so good. But they have a issue and it's being poorly addressed by the Phillipine government and the muslim community in the Phillipines.
#9
It's only tacky if you point and laugh while saying it. If you use a sincerely sympathetic tone, your reputation as a lady will remain secure. ;-) (Nb: only the tone need be sincere, not the sympathy.)
On March 9, Malaysian security forces arrested five armed Thai Muslim militants at Kuala Lumpur's Sentral Station, sparking concerns that the insurgency in southern Thailand was threatening to spill over into neighboring Malaysia, potentially including terror attacks in Malaysian cities. But TIME has now learned that the men were in the country to collect a cache of arms hidden by Jemaah Islamiah (J.I.), the al-Qaeda-linked militant network widely blamed for the Oct. 2002 Bali bombings. The connection raises its own set of concerns. In particular, analysts say, ties between Thailand and a wider Muslim militancy might signal a new escalation of violence in the south, where more than 600 people have died since the insurgency began in early 2004.
Malaysian police have consistently refused to confirm the arrests publicly, and the head of the force's criminal investigation department, Fauzi Shaari, did not respond to repeated phone calls seeking an interview on the issue. But Malaysian security sources and a regional intelligence official have told TIME that the five separatists—who are still under interrogation in Malaysia—were forced to retrieve the arms because intensified security in the Thai south had made it hard to source weapons at home.
The revelation that the militants were seeking to pick up arms left behind by Jemaah Islamiah is "consistent with what we know from depositions of arrested J.I. members," says Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, who has studied the network intensively. "They were running arms out of southern Thailand, through Malaysia and into Indonesia in 2000 in cooperation with the Thai [insurgents]." But Jones cautions that these past links don't necessarily mean that J.I. is forging new bonds with the Thai separatists. "It's possible, of course," she says, "but we need more information before we can make a definite judgment."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/03/2005 12:15:35 AM ||
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05/03/2005 11:32 ||
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COFFEE ALERT! .. Asefi said Iran expected the New York conference to also focus some attention on protecting nuclear facilities from military strikes...
#2
On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged states like Iran to step back from the nuclear temptation as he opened a monthlong conference in New York that is to review how well the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is keeping the lid on atomic weapons.
Not very well, Kofi. So next time, just go to lunch, and don't waste our time, all right?
#5
Another demand was that it be made a war crime if a nuclear nation attacked a non-nuclear nation even with non-nuclear weapons - (watched the speech on C-span)
Lately, it's kinda funny, Iran has cast a certain glow. Not to worry, we will just play nice with them and they will not develop nuclear weaponry. What? I didn't see anything.
-- Hans Blix
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/03/2005 20:14 Comments ||
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The Bush administration said Monday that Iran was trying to build atomic weapons in secret and suggested the international community should respond by taking away Tehran's right to nuclear energy technology.
Other world leaders attending a nuclear conference seemed to dismiss the U.S. call for punitive measures. Instead, they spoke of incentives and negotiations as a way of encouraging the Islamic republic to give up worrisome aspects of its energy program that could be diverted for weapons work.
The Bush administration went into the conference hoping to increase pressure on Iran, but its speech highlighted the differences between the United States and its allies over how best to handle emerging nuclear issues.
The crises in Iran and North Korea took center stage on the opening day of a month-long conference to review and possibly strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Written in 1970, the treaty provides countries that forgo nuclear weapons with access to sensitive technology to be used only for nuclear energy. As part of the deal, the five original weapons states -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China -- agreed to eventually eliminate their own stockpiles.
The treaty is credited with reducing the spread of nuclear weapons, but it has come under enormous strain in recent years with the discovery of a nuclear black market and a decision two years ago by North Korea to walk away from the agreement. India, Pakistan and Israel never signed the deal, and North Korea now says it has nuclear weapons.
The discovery of secret nuclear facilities in Iran two years fueled suspicions it was using its nuclear energy program as a cover for weapons work. So far, international inspectors have found no proof of a bomb program in Iran, which denies it intends to build nuclear weapons. But the top U.S. representative to the conference rejected both the findings of the inspectors and Iran's position.
"For almost two decades, Iran has conducted a clandestine nuclear weapons program," said Assistant Secretary of State Stephen G. Rademaker. He said Iran had failed to live up to its obligations under the treaty and that "no state in violation" of its main articles should receive its benefits.
Iran, which sent a high-level delegation to the conference led by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, was planning a tough response Tuesday. Kharrazi met privately Monday with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and with Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is leading the inquiry in Iran.
The Islamic republic has been engaged in two years of negotiations with Germany, France and Britain over the future of its nuclear energy program. The negotiations are guided by an agreement that Europe would offer Iran incentives in exchange for guarantees that the nuclear program is peaceful. But after a difficult round of talks last weekend, Iranian officials threatened to resume some nuclear work unless the European nations demonstrate progress in the negotiations.
Kharrazi would not say which way the Iranians would go. "That depends on the decision of our leaders," he said.
ElBaradei urged Iran not to make any unilateral decisions, but he acknowledged that the process between Iran and the Europeans is at "a delicate phase. There's no question about it."
Fischer said it has been "a difficult negotiation, but the challenge is an important one." He said he hopes the Iranians will avoid any resumption of nuclear work while the negotiations are continuing. "We want to reach a success."
Fisher did not accuse Iran of secretly working toward nuclear weapons and said the negotiations are aimed at achieving a permanent cessation of the more sensitive aspects of its program.
Rademaker called for complete dismantlement of those components in a speech that focused heavily on Iran, mentioning the country 10 times. North Korea was mentioned half as often.
"The assertion that Iran is making nuclear weapons hasn't been backed up by direct evidence," said Daryl G. Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association in Washington. "And the conference isn't going to endorse the plan Rademaker laid out when Iran and the Europeans are engaged in discussions about the program."
Over the next four weeks delegates will discuss suggestions to limit the spread of nuclear weapons and technology. There is little agreement on most issues, including the conference agenda.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan suggested the delegates "create incentives for states to voluntarily forgo the development" of nuclear energy programs that rely on sensitive technologies. And he called on the United States and Russia to move quickly toward reducing the thousands of nuclear weapons in their own stockpiles.
"The use of security assurances would also help to reduce security concerns," ElBaradei told the conference as a reminder that countries such as Iran are more likely to keep their nuclear options open if they feel threatened.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/03/2005 12:03:27 AM ||
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''the international community should respond by taking away Tehranâs right to nuclear energy technology''
Right? What right? WaPo. They suggest it in the very first sentence to plant the seed that we are taking something away that is, by right, theirs. TFBS. WaPo.
''Other world leaders attending a nuclear conference seemed to dismiss the U.S. call for punitive measures.''
and ''its speech highlighted the differences between the United States and its allies''
We're all alone is the message. *sniff* Everyone disagrees with us - so we must be wrong. It's not that those who want to pursue negotiations to cut a sweet deal for Iran have no alternative, or are sympathetic to the Muzzy Bomb, or playing anti-US triangulation games, or are just foolish appeasers, no no no, of course not. It's cuz they're so sophisticated and right, and we're so dull and brutish and wrong. Force is bad, y'know. That's been peddled in the US since the end of Vietnam, at least - prolly well before that. It's called the Wussification of America. Anyone who uses force is obviously wrong and bad. It's flip side is that there are no ''bad'' or ''evil'' people in the world, except the US, of course. Right - everyone give Khomeini a big group hug. He'll change his tune and flowers will bloom. These notions are the ultimate Tranzi meme.
There is one single quote by a US official, used merely to officially state the US position, one quote from the Iranians which does nothing to further the story or inform the reader, and five quotes from four of the appeaseniks who have no effective alternative to being appeaseniks - except for agreeing with or allying with the US, which is unthinkable. ElBaradei, arguably the guy most culpable for the rise of nuke programs in Nork and Iran, gets two quotes. Must be cuz he's so credible with his Int'l Law degree and zero technical expertise.
The big finish is, basically, that the Iranians should be paid off, for some reason, and that they feel threatened - by the bad US, of course.
That they developed a secret program, lied to the IAEA about it, broke the Non-Proliferation Treaty in several substantive ways, dealt under the table with Little Kimmie and Khan, and have ''bargained'' in bad faith with the E3 tools is obviously small stuff, to the WaPo tools. The flimsy lie that they need nukes when sitting on an ocean of oil and gas, and their conduct since the Mad Mullahs began this search for Muslim Viagra, demonstrates clearly to anyone who is not in league with them that the entire process is a sham. They want weapons. If they get them, they'll use them.
The ONLY issue is this: will the US / Israel have to act alone to stop it? Everything else is wanking off. WaPo ranks wanks at the top of the scale.
#2
Great rant, .com! May be the Rant of the Day (tm)! Here's what summed it up for me:
Over the next four weeks delegates will discuss suggestions to limit the spread of nuclear weapons and technology. There is little agreement on most issues, including the conference agenda.
More talking and 4-star hotels/meetings. When they can't even f'ing agree on the AGENDA of the meeting, something's terribly wrong. I got to completely inform my wife (she wants nothing to do w/ this stuff) this weekend about the U.N. after she and I watched The Interpreter and Hotel Rwanda. Her eyes have been opened as to why 80-90% of the world's issues lie at the feet of the U.N. now!
Posted by: BA ||
05/03/2005 11:41 Comments ||
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This is a fart gesture into a stiff wind.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/03/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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A top Iranian hard-line MP pulled out of the race for the presidency yesterday to help prevent what he said was the "danger" of a victory of top cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, seen as a more moderate conservative.
Oh, spare me...
In a statement carried by the Iranian press, Ahmad Tavakoli said his decision to stop campaigning ahead of the June 17 poll was made to "favor the designation of a single candidate" representing the right-wing camp. He also cited the need to "avert the danger" of a continuation of "the process of the past 16 years" - a clear reference to Rafsanjani who served as president from 1989 to 1997. Incumbent President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who was first elected in 1997, cannot stand again because the constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms in office.
And because by now nobody'd vote for him...
Rafsanjani, a pragmatic conservative and still one of Iran's most powerful figures, has already clearly signaled that he will attempt a comeback in next month's election. His presidential bid is expected to benefit from divisions within the ultra-conservative camp, which has so far not managed to rally around a single candidate. Iran's main conservative alliance, the Council for Coordinating Forces in the Islamic Revolution (CCFIR), has chosen the hard-line former state television boss Ali Larijani as its candidate. But two of his rivals, populist ex-police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezai, have refused to pull out. In addition, Tehran's Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad is also believed to be considering joining the race. Speaking to AFP, Qalibaf said he believed he was still "the most serious rival for Mr. Rafsanjani". Another conservative candidate, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, is seen as being closer to Rafsanjani and may pull out in his favor, analysts said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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That the ArabNews present this ''race'' as if it has any real substance is hysterical. Oh, gee, do we want Himmler or Heydrich for President? Oooh, the tough choices like this make my brain hurt!
...What is perhaps most significant is that they continue to volunteer. In a normal year, the Army National Guard expects 18 percent of its soldiers to leave because of retirement, injury, and death, or because they do not reenlist. This year, the attrition rate is only 18.9 percent. Meanwhile, reenlistment rates for the Army and Marines are either exceeding goals or are within a few percentage points of them. Some data even show that reenlistment rates are higher for units deployed overseas than for those that have remained at home... The CSM must have hated to run this article.
#1
Inconceivable! How can this be when the Man is forcing his little brown, black and yellow brothers to fight in an illegal war? It's a quagmire I tell you! Pure propaganda from the VRWC media!
The wish to see a resolution of the grueling Arab-Israeli conflict is both understandable and perilous for journalists. During the Oslo period, wishes all too often stood in for facts, with a constant blind eye turned to the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate industry spawned by Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.
Who can say whether history might have been different had there not been such glaring journalistic neglect of hate-indoctrination by the PA, and theits fundamental role played by such indoctrination in preparing Palestinian sons and daughters, mothers and fathers for suicide/murder?
Today too, in the midst of a so-called hudna, or time of relative quiet, the wish for an end of the conflict is reflected in an inclination to discount, overlook and minimize realities in the Palestinian world lest one dash cold water on the promise of peace.
But facts are stubborn things. Current reports by monitoring agencies of a diminution of PA media incitement are mixed with counter-reports of new and virulent invective. According to Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, there have been some broadcasts on television and radio conveying gentler, conciliatory themes of peace. But Palestinian Media Watch notes the introduction, in the same recent period, of a television segment including a song that accuses Israel of "torturing, mutilating and killing Palestinians in the name of God."
Cartoons in the official Al Hayat Al Jadeeda newspaper continue to offer readers images of ghoulish Israeli soldiers and, on April 10, a spider-like Star of David menacing the Muslim Dome of the Rock. This is the same publication that ran on its front page a color photo of the terrorist who took the lives of five Israelis in Tel Aviv on February 25 - and called him a martyr.
None of the monitoring groups report change in the key areas of religious and educational indoctrination. Mosques, which have been one of the worst channels of venom against Jews and Israel, continue to incite, most recently stoking fears that Jewish radicals would attack Islamic holy sites on the Temple Mount. The incendiary sermons were in turn aired on PA television.
The extensive official Israeli measures taken to protect Muslim shrines and Muslim lives were entirely unmentioned.
Likewise Palestinian schoolbooks remain a vehicle for teaching that Israel is illegitimate and will rightly to be replaced by Palestine. No map in any book identifies the state of Israel within any boundary. Only Palestine appears, encompassing all of Israel, while Israel's cities, geographic sites and water resources are said to be features of Palestine.
Can anyone doubt that when children are taught such things for a dozen impressionable years there is a grave effect? When the hatred is amplified continually by television, radio, religious teaching, political leaders, summer camps, public rallies and neighborhood posters, what other outcome could be expected than the rejection of peaceful accommodation with Israel?
On April 16, WAFA, the PLO News Agency, issued a story claiming Israel had installed what it termed a "radial spy machine at Rafah border point."
According to WAFA, the screening device would cause "horrible side affects on their health (sic)." Doctor Joma'a al-Saqa from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza warned that the device "may cause a very dangerous diseases Thrombocytopenic, Sterility, Congenital anomalies, Cancer, Leukemia and Mental retardation (sic)."
A day later, having been challenged about its ludicrous claims regarding a device that is not, in fact, a dangerous X-ray apparatus, WAFA modified its story to denounce Israel instead for employing "the controversial naked spy machine" that supposedly violates the modesty of individuals passing through Rafah.
Israel has regularly been subjected to bizarre allegations of damaging Palestinian health, including charges of distributing poisoned candy, poisoning water, using poison gas and depleted uranium, and so on. Such absurd charges are in keeping with the dark anti-Israel mythologies of the schools, mosques, media and political class - and all explain in major part the failure of the Palestinian body politic to reconcile itself to Israel's existence.
The information about inculcating hatred is readily available to journalists. They could, for instance, explore the impact of textbooks on children by simply asking some of Palestinian students what they've learned with regard to Judaism and Israel's right to exist.
The media's record of covering Oslo was deplorable, and there is as yet little sign of lessons learned.
Andrea Levin is Executive Director of CAMERA, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.
#1
'' Doctor Jomaâa al-Saqa from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza warned that the device ''may cause a very dangerous diseases Thrombocytopenic, Sterility, Congenital anomalies, Cancer, Leukemia and Mental retardation (sic).''
The guy who wrote that piece already suffers Mental retardation, so the story might be true after all.
May 3, 2005: The army and the air force fight over who can be trained to call in air strikes just keeps on getting uglier. The basic problem is that the air force is stonewalling U.S. Army efforts to expand the FAC (forward air controller) force. The army wants FAC support as widespread as their current artillery FO (Forward Observer, for artillery and attack helicopter) support. The air force insists that air force pilots be part of the FAC teams (which mostly contain air force sergeants), have higher security clearances and generally remain air force personnel. The army wants to train their people to perform FAC duties. The air force fears losing up to 5,000 personnel slots if the army wins this tussle. If you lose missions, Congress takes some of your money away, and that's what all this is really about.
The latest army ploy is to develop ways to do without a lot of the air force bomber support. This is being done by introducing more army GPS guided weapons. This year, the army will issue artillery units the 155mm GPS guided Excalibur shell. If this works in combat (it has in tests), that will mean fewer calls for air force bombers. The army is also developing a GPS guided MLRS rocket. This is important, because the rocket carries ten times as much explosives as the 155mm shell, and has a longer range as well (up to 70 kilometers). Some army officers are wondering why they can't have their larger transport helicopters fly high and drop 500 or 250 pound JDAMs out the back. The air force would fight that one, but the army is the service with people in combat right now, not the air force. So air force arguments carry less weight. Even if the army doesn't start using JDAMs, they have more equally accurate missiles under development as part of their FCS (Future Combat System) effort.
The main army problem is not with getting bomber support for Special Forces and other commando operations. The air force has no problem putting a B-52 or B-2 at the army's disposal, anywhere in the world, on short notice, for these operations. Where the army does have a problem is getting air force support for larger army units engaged in sustained combat. There just aren't enough air force FACs to support the way the army wants to fight. The army wants smart bombs and missiles available all the time during combat, for all the combat troops involved. For the army, it's a matter of life and death. For the air force, at least according to many army officers, it's more of a budgeting problem.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/03/2005 1:00:05 PM ||
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Some army officers are wondering why they canât have their larger transport helicopters fly high and drop 500 or 250 pound JDAMs out the back.
Arclight a la Chinook, Bay-bee!
Posted by: Dar ||
05/03/2005 13:49 Comments ||
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Now if only they could figure out how to get Smart Opponents.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
05/03/2005 15:54 Comments ||
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Some army officers are wondering why they canât have their larger transport helicopters fly high and drop 500 or 250 pound JDAMs out the back
One word why, SAMs. Choppers survive by moving quickly by NAP of the earth (Near As Possible) or by using terrain to mask their movement. That was one thing pounded into the chopper pilots in the 101st, when I was there, over and over again. Stay low, stay alive. Go high, and you will die. Somolia proved that concept when Blackhawks were forced to fly slow and not very low to have the terrain protect them. The apachies that were dropped in Iraqi Freedom had the same issue. They flew high and right into a kill box and some got shot down. A chinook(sp?) is a lumbering target anyway and above enemy positions is just begging to be blown away.
From my infantry experiance, I still support the GPS guided weapons for the army's artillery for short range targets. It allows for rapid destruction of the target and the air force doesn't have to have a lot of aircraft lotering over the front line. The air force can then use the freed up aircraft to blow the ever-loving hell out of the enemy's infastructure to deny supplies and reinforcments from reaching the front line.
#7
During Vietnam, the Army tried an experimental program, called ''Deathwatch'' (I believe). Its basic concept was that, instead of having only officers call in artillery, most of whom were infantry, infantry units would be accompanied by highly expert enlisted field artillerymen. These guys were so expert, they could put the right kind of round, right on target, yesterday. It made infantry missions a breeze and the infantry loved it. So, of course, it was cancelled. There was much bitter resentment against having enlisted men calling in fires, and as effective as it was, it was discontinued.
Says more about the Muslim conspiracy mindset than anything.
US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld paid a secret visit to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and offered him freedom and possible return to public life if he made a televised request to armed groups for a ceasefire with allied forces, a media report said.
It was in the dead of night. Rumsfeld was disguised as a Scotchman, complete with kilt,broadsword, false whiskers and caber.
Saddam promptly rejected the offer, Ynetnews reported quoting a London based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily.
"No way, Jose! I'd rather... ummm... die."
The visit came during Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq about two weeks ago and was known only to a few Iraqi officials in Jordan, the Arab daily reported quoting sources.
It's a secret, so don't tell nobody...
Some two weeks ago the British Telegraph had reported that Iraqi gunmen were offered a "deal" to halt all terror attacks in return for a reduced sentence for Saddam, likely to be sentenced to death.
"Let da boss go or ever'body gets it!"
However, an Iraqi government official is said to believe that Saddam's Baath party will request to return to politics, the report said.
Really, we don't make this stuff up...
Well, we do make some of it up, but only the yellow/green/baby blue/mauve/puce/plaid parts...
Posted by: phil_b ||
05/03/2005 9:55:06 AM ||
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Lol, mebbe you don't make it up, Fred, but someone certainly does. Whatever they're smokin', I want me some.
(BTW-isn't Sammy in Iraqi custody, so we would have to spring him ala Jack Bauer?)
What they are about is local, private fiefdoms. Rather than a strong central government, the strategic goal of the Iraqi insurgency may in fact be chaos; the endpoint not a nation-state but warlord-power in an atmosphere congenial to criminal activity. The War College monograph Strategic Implications of Intercommunal Warfare in Iraq by Andrew Terrill points out that the major danger facing Iraq isn't that the insurgency will somehow defeat and expel the US Armed Forces, however devoutly the Left may wish that. The real danger is that the insurgency will ignite a civil war in the years after the US withdrawal.
It covers this issue in many failing states....
Posted by: 3dc ||
05/03/2005 8:42:14 AM ||
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A civil war requires the sides are more or less evenly balanced. That is not the case in Iraq. The better organized Kurds and the more numerous Shiias would quickly overwhelm the Sunnis whose territory has no strategic advantages. It would be a short lived slaughter.
#2
The real danger is that the insurgency will ignite a civil war in the years after the US withdrawal.
This presupposes an American withdrawal. I have no idea what Rumsfeld plans, of course, but I think some carefully placed American bases will be necessary for the better part of a generation, as in post-war Germany and Japan, to support this fledgeling democracy, and protect it against exactly the kind of societal breakdown and warlordism the author describes.
EFL
Ahead of the opening of Pak-China trade corridor through the Khunjerab Pass today (Sunday), the security situation in Gilgit remains volatile threatening the trade passage. The District Gilgit in particular and the northern areas in general remain in turmoil ever since the flare up of sectarian violence back in January when Aga Ziauddin was gunned down and the tit-for-tat violence ensued. The situation turned alarming with the ambush of the inspector-general's motorcade, injuring the family members and killing the top police official along with four of his security guards on March 23. The government spun into action by shutting down educational institutions, clamping curfew and calling in the Army, contingent of the Punjab Rangers and the Northern Area Scouts besides taking other administrative measures. However the situation is far from stable as even the government officials, including those of Army, Northern Light Infantry and police, were identified and murdered while travelling in buses in areas falling under the control of rival sectarian militia. Casualties due to bomb explosions, ambuscades and sniper firing in Nultar have become a daily routine and so is the blockade of the Karakoram Highway (KKH).
But in spite of all this the government has failed to enforce its writ. The federal government and the Ministry of Kashmir and Northern Areas have failed to act on the crucial demands of the police both in terms of posting of security personnel and giving equipment. According to sources, the Gilgit police are without necessary wherewithals inevitable to fight terrorism. In an area which is ranking high in volatility the whole KANA region does not have any armoured personnel carrier besides G-3 rifles, night vision devices, bullet proof jackets, telephone monitoring equipment, etc, the sources said. This all is happening at a time, when the whole trade corridor likely to open today is divided among the rival sectarian factions, ie the route from Gilgit to Khunjerab (border with China), is controlled by Shia militants, while the area from Gilgit to Mansehra falls under the Sunni militants serious, concerted action is required in order to avoid an international embarrassment affecting the trade route.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/03/2005 4:19:26 AM ||
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One wonders - over population, illiterate, drugs and a nutz-o religion....
Why the World Should Welcome American Independence
Via Bros. Judd:
We live in a world of treaties, international law, and global organizations that have become so numerous and so acronymic that they recall the early days of the New Deal. And it seems more and more that other nations, friendly or not, along with motley organizations and activists, seek to exploit these laws and institutions to constrain American policy....
--SNIP--
...A realist might conclude that our competitors and allies, now free from the threat of Soviet invasion, are turning international law against us, employing it as just another tool of international politics, and a cheap one at that. But Jeremy Rabkin's new book, The Case for Sovereignty: Why the World Should Welcome American Independence, gives America's critics and rivals more credit. Unlike many who write in the field of international relations and law these days, Rabkin, a professor of political science at Cornell, has a deep knowledge of American constitutional history and political theory. To him, the conflict between the U.S. and supporters of international law and organizations concerns not merely power and raw national interest, but also ideology. Rabkin shows that the current contest between the United States and other nations who would rely on international law and institutions is not just the effort of middling nations to restrain the world's only remaining superpower through rhetoric and non-military means. It is a competition driven primarily by ideology and belief.
Centuries of murderous interstate warfare have led Europeans to seek to bury nationalism within broader supranational entities, a tendency that has disabled their confederation from exercising real national-security powers. As a result of their antagonism to independent sovereign states, Rabkin writes, "Europeans are prepared to cede vast governing power to 'common' institutions, but the different peoples of Europe do not trust each other enough to organize themselves into a single state." Europeans have "learned how to coordinate without compulsion, taking over basic law-setting responsibilities from actual governments without any of the threatening aspects of state power." In effect, Europeans attribute their postwar success to international law and institutions, not the aid and protection of the U.S., and thus want to export the former, and restrain the latter, everywhere. Rabkin notes that Europe "is already so diverse, it can see its governance techniques as almost universal—or as an embryo of a pattern of governance that can be global...."
--SNIP--
...If international law or institutions were permitted to become a policy-making forum, the American people would lose their connection to their government and its founding principles. We would no longer be a nation. For this reason, Rabkin writes, "The United States needs to safeguard its sovereignty in order to safeguard its own form of government. It is not simply a matter of legal technicalities. It is about preserving a structure under which Americans—in all their diversity, with all their rights, and all their differences of opinion—can live together in confidence and mutual respect, as fellow citizens of the same solid republic." So, Rabkin seems to say to our diplomats, cooperate all you like, but always remember that the United States, because of the primacy of its Constitution, has the right to ignore international law or withdraw from its institutions.....
--SNIP--
Posted by: anonymous2u ||
05/03/2005 12:11:08 AM ||
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Agreed, but what is to be said about the US Left? Those that want to cede control over international governing authorities, and those justices on the Supreme Court who want to apply the appy the laws of 'Shitland' third-world countries in intrepreting US law?
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/03/2005 5:42 Comments ||
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I think a lot of discusssion about international law misses the mark. Laws are just ways by which socities address their problems. In a democracy the people get to choose which problems are addressed and broadly how they are addressed.
So why have international law? There are really two reasons. One is to regulate dealings between states - things like maritime boundaries. While I may object to the specifics of a particular law, I don't object to the principle. Although bilateral treaties do the same job.
The second reason is to get states to harmonize their internal laws. this is what I object to because it subverts democracy. People can no longer choose through the ballot box or referendum what problems are addressed and how.
I have other objections such as international law is more easily hijacked by special interests and it lets politicians off the hook for dealing with difficult problems becuase they can claim they must follow international law irrespective of whether it works or not (which is a variation on my democracy subverted arguement).
#3
Agreed, but what is to be said about the US Left?
''Hit the road. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Don't write; we'll get in touch with you.''
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/03/2005 7:22 Comments ||
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Phil, I get livid when people use the term ''International Law''. There is no such thing. There are agreements and treaties that two or more nations have signed on to, but nothing more.
No elected legislature, no cops, no (real) courts, no Law.
I DARE the ''International Criminal Court'' to bring me up on charges. They have absolutely nothing to stand on, unless my country signed the agreement.
The violent attacks in Iraq have been largely blamed on terrorists linked to al-Qaeda. Among them is Ansar al-Islam, a shadowy group with roots in the northern Kurdish regions of Iraq. U.S officials believe Ansar al-Islam's attacks have killed hundreds since the U.S. led invasion two years ago.
The attacks have been bold and violent. This is the "war-on-terrorism's" frontline and it is taking a heavy toll on coalition forces and Iraqi civilians alike.
Many of the most violent attacks have been blamed on the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam. It was formed less than four years ago in the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq by the merger of two existing radical groups.
"Both of these groups - Jund al-Islam and the Islamic Revolution of Kurdistan group were groups that had been established with two particular objectives: Kurdish nationalism and extreme fundamentalist Islam," said Mr. Mack.
Ambassador David Mack is a terrorism expert at the Middle East Institute in Washington. He said since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, Ansar al-Islam has expanded its goals to destabilizing the fledging Iraqi democracy and undermining the new government's international support. This tactic has led to devastating attacks on UN headquarters and the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad.
And it has ties to al-Qaeda through Abu Masab al-Zarqawi, a Sunni Muslim and head of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Matt Levitt of the Washington Institute for near East Policy says the ties are growing.
"I think Ansar al-Islam has some pretty strong connections to the al-Qaeda core. They certainly have relationships with Zarqawi. There's debate as to whether or not Zarqawi was the head of Ansar al-Islam, [or whether] he's connected to Ansar al-Islam. The nature of the relationships [is] unclear. What's important is to understand and recognize that they are there," explains Matt Levitt.
The U.S. State Department has designated Ansar al-Islam a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" and says it is one of the leading groups engaged in anti-Coalition attacks in Iraq.
Mr. Levitt believes Ansar al-Islam is also developing closer ties to radical groups in Europe. "But it's clear that today they are most proactive in recruiting European Muslims to go and fight in Iraq. And this has the Europeans very, very concerned," said Mr. Levitt.
Abdeslam Maghraoui, a Muslim specialist at the United States Institute of Peace, sees a "troubling trend" in this recruitment activity. "âŠThat sometimes joining the jihad (has) become something really cool for youngsters. These are not serious, professional terrorists. But the fact that joining the jihad has become something trendy is very disturbing," said Abdeslam Maghraoui.
In addition, many terrorism experts including David Mack fear as stability improves in Iraq, Ansar al-Islam will simply move its base of operation.
"And its also entirely probable that they will turn up in Europe where there are very large Kurdish communities, where they probably have some sympathizers, and where they might be in a position to engage in terrorist activity directly against European governments and against U.S. diplomatic establishments or U.S. companies," says Mr. Mack.
Preventing such attacks is difficult because terrorist groups like Ansar al-Islam are constantly adapting their strategies.
"That means they are not only revolutionary which is how we tend to think of terrorists, but evolutionary. Evolutionary in their tactics, evolutionary in their fund raising and logistical support activities," said Mr. Levitt.
And that, said Matt Levitt, is what makes stopping terrorist organizations like Ansar al-Islam so problematic. Just as quickly as steps are taken to counter their tactics, they find new ways to accomplish their goals.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/03/2005 12:09:37 AM ||
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Actually, I think it's a good thing that joining the jihad in Iraq is trendy. That means it will quickly become passe', and after that only the permanently uncool will even consider the possibility. ;-)
#2
This is the ''war-on-terrorismâs'' frontline and it is taking a heavy toll on coalition forces and Iraqi civilians alike.
What is the operating definition of ''heavy toll''? Granted, they've carried out car bombings against police stations and funerals and such, but I haven't heard about very many attacks on coalition forces lately.
A recent security operation in Pakistan has unveiled interesting details about Al-Qaeda's funding of its operatives. A recent security operation in the lawless tribal zones of Pakistan resulted not only in the arrest of several militants linked to Al-Qaeda, but also revealed the terrorist network's ability to channel funds from one place to another and maintain a pension system for its cadres. Counter-terrorism officials in Pakistan said they learned about the financial dealings of Osama bin Laden's network when they arrested two Alegerian militants in the Pakistani city of Peshawar in April.
According to officials, Al-Qaeda runs a sophisticated network for transferring money where and when it is required for various operations, as well as for payment of its operatives. For example, when Pakistani authorities initiated a dialogue with tribesmen in South Waziristan several months ago in an effort to restore peace in the tribal areas, local tribesmen told them that they had obtained huge loans from the terrorist group and had no option but to offer its members shelter or to work for its interests in the region. The Pakistan Army later paid US$533,000 to some of the most-wanted militants in the area of South Waziristan to enable them to clear their debts and bury their guns. Insiders said Al-Qaeda paid out 10 to 12 times that amount to other militants in the last few years in order to keep up the momentum in the region.
Over the years Al-Qaeda has established a solid network to both generate and transfer funds. Experts believe militants have various sources through which they obtain money, including direct donations from wealthy businessmen committed to their cause, donations collected through zakat [poor due] as well as contributions from religious groups. New evidence indicates that these militant organisations have also been raising funds from drug trafficking and money channelled through charity organisations which, experts believe, have became important sources of funds for these networks.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/03/2005 12:05:30 AM ||
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Al Qaeda is still "very active" recruiting and seeking to attack the United States, although it has been hurt since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney said on Monday.
"The enemy that appeared on 9/11 is wounded and off-balance, and on the run -- yet still very active, still seeking recruits, and still trying to find ways to hit us," said Cheney, who reviews intelligence on threats daily.
"As months and years pass, they are hoping that our country will grow complacent, and get lazy, and forget our responsibilities," he said in a speech to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, according to a text released in Washington.
"And it's our job, ladies and gentlemen, to make sure the United States of America never lets down its guard."
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan and has evaded capture since the Sept. 11 attacks. But U.S. forces and their allies have captured or killed other senior members of al Qaeda.
"In a multinational campaign, we continue to make progress in many categories -- financial, legal, military," Cheney said.
"We are dealing with a network that has had cells in countries all over the world -- yet bit by bit, by diplomacy and by force, with our allies and partners, we are acting to shrink the area in which terrorists can operate freely."
Despite efforts to improve security, "America is safer, but that we are not yet safe," Cheney said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/03/2005 12:04:28 AM ||
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A Sudanese opposition alliance, which grouped outlawed northern political parties with southern rebels during the 1990s, is close to signing a peace deal with Khartoum matching that signed by the rebels in January, a spokesman said yesterday. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which has suffered a string of defections in recent years, is to resume Egyptian-sponsored talks with the government on Saturday in the hope of inking an agreement the following Tuesday, spokesman Ali Ahmed Al-Sayyed told AFP. "It has been provisionally agreed that the negotiations will begin in Cairo on around May 7 (next Saturday) and if everything goes on schedule, the agreement will be signed on May 10," Al-Sayyed told AFP. The spokesman said that outstanding issues included the fate of the military wings which some northern opposition groups set up in exile in neighboring Eritrea in the mid-1990s.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Didn't they have a peace deal last week? Or the week before that? Or the week before that?
Egyptian Interior Minister Habib Al-Adli said in an interview published yesterday that the recent terrorist attacks on tourists in Cairo were the work of a small local cell of extremists.
"How small?"
"Very small! Infinitesimal! It was a nanogroup!"
The attackers had no connection with the Al-Qaeda network or with the Egyptian terrorist organizations that killed tourists in Egypt in the 1990s, newspaper Al-Gomhuria quoted the minister as saying.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
"What they did was a reaction to what is happening in the Arab region," he said.
"There's people exploding all over the place!"
A young suicide bomber injured seven people, including four foreigners, on Saturday in Cairo when he blew himself up. An Israeli married couple and a female Italian tourist have already left the hospital, security sources said, while a Swedish man and three injured Egyptians were still receiving treatment. The sister of the attacker and his young wife, who had been described as a fiancee in earlier reports, opened fire on a tourist bus in Cairo on the same day without injuring anyone. They killed themselves after the attack. One witness named Fatma Mahmud saw the two women hurrying through the street crying before the attack. One woman said to the other, "I will avenge your death," the report said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2005 00:00:00 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.
or
Kuwait's Parliament failed yesterday to pass a law giving women the right for the first time to vote and stand in municipal elections. "Parliament will vote again on the bill tomorrow," MP Ali Al-Rashed told reporters after 29 lawmakers voted in favor of the legislation while the same number abstained and two voted against. Islamist and tribal legislators are staunchly opposed to giving women in the Gulf state the right to participate in municipal or parliamentary elections.
A top Iranian hard-line MP pulled out of the race for the presidency yesterday to help prevent what he said was the "danger" of a victory of top cleric 
A recent security operation in Pakistan has unveiled interesting details about Al-Qaeda's funding of its operatives. A recent security operation in the lawless tribal zones of Pakistan resulted not only in the arrest of several militants linked to Al-Qaeda, but also revealed the terrorist network's ability to channel funds from one place to another and maintain a pension system for its cadres. Counter-terrorism officials in Pakistan said they learned about the financial dealings of Osama bin Laden's network when they arrested two Alegerian militants in the Pakistani city of Peshawar in April.
A Sudanese opposition alliance, which grouped outlawed northern political parties with southern rebels during the 1990s, is close to signing a peace deal with Khartoum matching that signed by the rebels in January, a spokesman said yesterday. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which has suffered a string of defections in recent years, is to resume Egyptian-sponsored talks with the government on Saturday in the hope of inking an agreement the following Tuesday, spokesman 
