RIYADH â The Saudi government said yesterday it would set up a human rights agency, the second such watchdog in the kingdom.
They're going to watch the first such watchdog.
During its weekly session in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, the cabinet agreed to set up the âhuman rights agencyâ as the government body mandated to âprotect human rights and spread awareness about them ... in keeping with the provisions of Islamic law,â said a statement carried by the SPA news agency.
The watchdog would have a chairman with ministerial rank and a deputy, both appointed by King Abdullah. Its board would include at least 18 full-time members.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2005 00:14 ||
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You have the right to do as we say. You have the right to believe what you are told to believe. You have the right to a halal meal of goat and falafel before your beheading.
Those should be enough rights for anybody.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
09/13/2005 2:36 Comments ||
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Advisers appointed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair are proposing that Britain get rid of Holocaust Memorial Day because Muslims find it offensive, the British Sunday Times reported.
The draft proposals - which provoked a backlash from British Jewish leaders - want to replace Holocaust Memorial Day with a Genocide Day that would include recognition of Muslim deaths in the West Bank and Gaza, Chechnya and Bosnia, the Times said.
A Home Office spokesman said it would consider the proposals but said it regarded the Holocaust as a "defining tragedy in European history," according to the report.
"The very name Holocaust Memorial Day sounds too exclusive to many young Muslims," a member of one of the committees was quoted as saying. "It sends out the wrong signals: that the lives of one people are to be remembered more than others. It's a grievance that extremists are able to exploit."
The recommendations, which will be finalized Sunday and submitted to Blair on September 22, were prepared by four committees Blair appointed after the London bombings in an effort to combat extremism.
"There are 500 Palestinian towns and villages that have been wiped out over the years," Ibrahim Hewitt, chairman of the charity Interpal, told the Times. "That's pretty genocidal to me."
Mike Whine, a director of Britain's Jewish Board of Deputies, said the group would fight the proposal.
"Of course we will oppose this move," he told the Times. "The whole point is to remember the darkest day of modern history."
"These Muslim groups should stop trying to evade the enormity of the Holocaust," said Louise Ellman, Labor MP for Liverpool Riverside and a Holocaust Memorial trustee.
Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001, and has been held on January 27 every year since then.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 02:35 ||
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Why does Britain hold a Holocaust Day exactly?
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
09/13/2005 4:46 Comments ||
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The proposal was rejected.
Britain, like the 43 other countries who were part of the initiative to set up a Holocaust Remembrance Day, probably did it because they realise that the rise of Islam has brought with it a resurgence of anti-Semitism. And while they can't directly say or do anything to offend the Saudis and other Muslim terrormasters who prop up their economies, countries such as Britain can, and do, take steps to ameliorate the effects of feeding the crocodile.
Posted by: Alexandra ||
09/13/2005 11:06 Comments ||
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#3
I don't know who I find more offensive. The Western revisionists who deny the Holocaust or the Muslims that act as though the only bad thing about it is that the Nazis didn't finish the job.
#4
I don't see what's so "exclusive" about the Holocaust. We can include moslems. We can talk about the moslem SS division. We can talk about the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
#5
That would be the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who spent so many years as Hitler's personal house guest, the radio personality who spoke directly to the folks back home in Egypt and Palestine, urging them to rise up in support of the NAZI war effort... they could start by killing all the Brits and the Jews in their beds,then keep the women and children as their personal slaves... the Grand Mufti whose favorite nephew and acolyte later went by the name of Yasir Arafat the Palestinian?
Gee, such a swell character, why would anyone want to deport him?
Yasir al-Sirri is exactly the sort of man the British government hopes to be able to expel with its new, tougher deportation policy: He keeps very dubious company and the police are sure he is up to something, but have not been able to pin anything on him or put him on trial.
In Egypt, Mr. Sirri is thought to have been a leader of the radical "Gama'a Islamiya" group, and was sentenced him to death for his alleged role in an assassination attempt against the prime minister. But British judges have refused to extradite him to Cairo, citing weak evidence. Sirri claims he had nothing to do with the plot. He did, though, have ties in those days with Ayman al-Zawahiri, now Al Qaeda's second-in-command. And US authorities want him for carrying messages for Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life term for trying to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993.
Sirri was held in Belmarsh prison in London for eight months for providing a letter of journalistic accreditation to the two men who assassinated the Afghan warlord Ahmed Shah Massoud in 2001. But a British court finally decided he had been an unwitting accomplice in the affair, and let him go. Sirri insists that "I did nothing illegal in this country and I have not broken any law in this country." Islamic law, he adds, demands that "anyone who arrives here under asylum cannot do anything against this country. Tony Blair is just using [the London bombings on] 7/7 as an excuse to carry out his agenda."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:35 ||
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Yasir al-Sirri is no stranger to British courtrooms. Since he sought asylum here 11 years ago the Egyptian Islamic radical has been in and out of jail, and has successfully fought off attempts to extradite him on terrorism charges to both the US and Egypt.
Now, however, in the wake of July's London bombings, he faces perhaps his greatest challenge yet as the British government prepares to join a Europewide crackdown on extremist Islamic circles and deport dozens of individuals deemed "not conducive to the public good."
As European governments lower their traditional levels of tolerance for radicalism, they are redrawing the lines between civil liberties and national security in the face of terrorist violence.
"Anything can happen," Mr. Sirri says, with a shrug of his shoulders. "I am expecting something to happen."
Last week, the Italian authorities summarily expelled a Moroccan imam and two other Middle Eastern men, giving them no chance to appeal under powers introduced since the London bombings that killed 52 people on July 7.
European human rights activists are up in arms, complaining that those sent back to their countries of origin, mostly Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Algeria, face torture.
"It is absolutely scandalous," says Jean-Pierre Dubois, president of the French Human Rights League. "Are human rights not for all humans, or have we decided that radical imams are monsters?"
The United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, also condemns the growing trend. "The risk is very high that these people would be subjected to torture," he warns. "Most of the Muslim fundamentalists' countries of origin unfortunately do have a clear record of torture."
Recognizing the dangers, the British interior minister, Charles Clarke, nonetheless insists that "it really is necessary to balance very important rights for individuals against the collective right for security."
Sirri, who runs the "Islamic Observation Center" in London, (he says it monitors human rights abuses in the Muslim world, but US and British police say it is a conduit for messages among Al Qaeda militants), would undoubtedly be arrested if he were sent back to Egypt.
The government there has been seeking his extradition from Britain for 10 years in connection with his alleged role in a 1993 assassination attempt by the "Islamic Group" against the Egyptian prime minister.
Britain, like other European countries, is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, and by a UN treaty, not to send anyone to a country where he or she runs a serious risk of torture. The British government, however, is seeking to circumvent this restriction by demanding diplomatic assurances from 10 Middle Eastern and African countries that they would not mistreat any deportees.
So far only Jordan, which has been widely accused of torturing suspects, has agreed to offer an assurance. Britain says negotiations with Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and other governments are still under way.
But no such understandings would be valid, insists Dr. Nowak, an Austrian human rights expert. "Jordan is already a party to the UN Convention against Torture," he argues. "Why should they suddenly stop torturing? They are already violating a legally binding treaty, so why should they not violate a nonbinding diplomatic agreement?"
The Egyptian government broke a similar promise it made to Sweden in 2001, when Stockholm deported Ahmed Agiza only on condition that he be well treated and given a fair trial, Nowak points out. Stockholm later complained that Mr. Agiza had been tried unfairly before a military court, and he complained that he had been tortured. Sirri trusts British judges not to rubber-stamp government deportation orders. "If the government gives any judge the political agreement between the UK and Jordan, he will throw it in his rubbish bin," he says confidently.
Mr. Clarke, on the other hand, said Friday he hoped that judges reviewing deportation cases would "recast the balance" between individual human rights and national security. "The right to be protected from torture and ill treatment must be considered side by side with the right to be protected from the death and destruction caused by indiscriminate terrorism," Mr. Clarke said in his speech last week.
British judges have long protected radical imam Abu Hamza al-Masri from extradition to Yemen, where he is wanted on terrorism charges, for example. His fiery sermons appear to have inspired one regular visitor, shoe bomber Richard Reid.
Clarke last month issued a list of "unacceptable behaviors" that would prompt deportation orders against foreigners living in Britain. It includes fomenting, justifying, or glorifying terrorist violence; seeking to provoke others to terrorist acts; and fostering hatred that might lead to intercommunity violence.
That would appear to cover websites carrying videos of British soldiers being blown up in Iraq or of hostages being beheaded, and the distribution of messages encouraging jihad from such figures as Osama bin Laden.
The move appears to enjoy strong public support. A poll carried out for the Guardian newspaper last month found that 71 per cent of respondents agreed that "foreign Muslims who incite hatred should be excluded or deported from the UK."
Announcing the list, Clarke insisted that it was "not intended to stifle free speech or legitimate debate about religions or other issues." Officials pointed out that the government had backed off a plan to deport foreigners who expressed "views the government considers to be extreme and that conflict with the UK's culture of tolerance."
That is not how Sirri sees things. "Tony Blair is changing this country from one respected for its human rights to a graveyard of human rights," he charges.
In Egypt, he says, military courts that the British government does not regard as fair have handed down three sentences against him: the death penalty, 25 years' hard labor, and 15 years' hard labor. If he were sent back, he says with a bitter laugh, "I don't know which one they would apply first."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:33 ||
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"Are human rights not for all humans, or have we decided that radical imams are monsters?"
Ummm, "Yes"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 10:44 Comments ||
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"The risk is very high that these people would be subjected to torture," he warns. "Most of the Muslim fundamentalists' countries of origin unfortunately do have a clear record of torture."
so we need to worry that they'll be subject to exactly what they would force on us?It's a feature, not a bug. Send em back to their torture and death, I don't care.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/13/2005 11:24 Comments ||
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Murat Zyazikov, the pro-Kremlin president of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, is a hunted man.
Since taking office in 2003, he has narrowly escaped assassination at the hands of a suicide car-bomber and a sniper, allegedly sent by local Islamic militants. In the past month alone, insurgents have bombed the motorcade of his deputy premier and opened fire on his security chief. A year ago, fighters loyal to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev briefly seized the Ingush capital of Nazran, killing almost 100 police officers and government officials.
Mr. Zyazikov, a former general of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), shrugs all that off. "Things here are calm and peaceful," he told journalists at a meeting in his plush, golden-domed presidential palace. "These attacks against me and my officials are the work of desperate men who want to destabilize the situation in southern Russia. They hate the fact that we are building a worthy life for our people."
As the war in neighboring Chechnya grinds into its seventh year with no resolution in sight, conflicts are metastasizing around the troubled north Caucasus, which has been a zone of tension since it was conquered by Russia in the 19th century. The region is a patchwork quilt of warring ethnic groups and rival religions that makes Europe's other tangled knot, the Balkans, look tame by comparison.
Many experts say the Kremlin's grip, iron-hard in Soviet times, has slipped disastrously in recent years. "The Chechen conflict is spilling into neighboring republics, escalating the process of destabilization," says Alexei Malashenko, an analyst with the Carnegie Center in Moscow.
Zhairakhsky, a sparsely populated district amid the high, snow-capped mountains of southern Ingushetia, has remained relatively untouched by conflict. But, says local administrator Yakhya Mamilov, "if you stand on a mountaintop here and look around, you'll see wars flaring or brewing in every direction. It's impossible to build for the future with any confidence while these conditions last."
Rebel fighters from Chechnya, a few kilometers to the east, often take refuge among their Ingush ethnic kin in Zhairakhsky, locals say.
Further east is the Caspian Sea republic of Dagestan, with 32 constituent ethnic groups, where Islamist rebels stage almost daily bombings and ambushes against Russian security forces.
To the south and west two breakaway republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are locked in long-simmering wars of independence against the post-Soviet state of Georgia. Just next door on another side is traditionally Christian North Ossetia, hereditary enemy of the mainly Muslim Ingush, with whom they fought a savage border war in 1992.
Moscow has tried to maintain its authority by phasing out "unreliable" local leaders, and replacing them with loyalists like Zyazikov. "This tactic is not working," says Alexander Iskanderyan, head of the Center for Caucasian Studies. "Moscow imagines that exchanging 'bad' officials with 'good' ones will change things, but the main trend we see is a steady loss of control."
Passions in Ingushetia and N. Ossetia are still seething over the Beslan school massacre a year ago. On Sept. 1, 2004, a squad of 32 terrorists, most of them ethnic Ingush, drove from Ingushetia and seized 1,200 hostages in Beslan's School No. 1, just across the border in N. Ossetia. Three days later Russian security forces launched a massive assault on the building, leaving 331 people dead, half of them children.
Zyazikov, and other pro-Kremlin officials, blame the outrage on "international terrorism." North Ossetia's acting president, Taimuraz Mamsurov, says the Beslan school siege was a deliberate attempt by "certain forces" to stir up ethnic war between Ingush and Ossetians. "Tensions have increased (since Beslan), that's natural," he says. "But I think we've succeeded in restraining our people from fulfilling that scenario."
Others doubt the danger has passed. "Everyone here is always talking about getting ready for war with the Ingush, to get even with them," says Madina Pedatova, a teacher at Beslan's spanking new School No. 8. "I'm terrified of it, but I'm sure it's coming."
Just across the heavily fortified Ingush-N. Ossetian border thousands of Ingush refugees forced from their homes in N. Ossetia in 1992 live in a sprawling, squalid refugee camp. Here the hatred is palpable. "The Ossetians are like Nazis. They drove us from our homes (in 1992) like cattle, showing no humanity," says Umar Khadziyev, unemployed, who lives in a small hut with his wife and three children.
Mr. Khadziyev says he condemns the Beslan attack, with its terrible death toll of children. But then he adds: "Do you know why the fighters drove past two Ossetian schools before taking School No. 1 in Beslan? It's because the Ossetians used that very school as a prison for our people in 1992. Yes, our women and children were held there, in that same gym, beaten up and denied food and water. Nobody talks about that, do they?"
For Moscow, the spreading unrest, fuelled by Islamic extremists in some republics and ancient ethnic antagonisms in others, poses an almost nightmarish challenge. After Beslan, President Vladimir Putin warned that the cost of failure could be "the destruction of Russia." Says Khadziyev, the Ingush refugee: "Our grandfathers told us the USSR would collapse one day. I'm sure that Russia is going to fall apart too."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:46 ||
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This should be good ...
Representatives to talks aimed at ending
North Korea's nuclear weapons program will try again Tuesday to resolve the standoff at six-nation negotiations, but the main U.S. envoy insisted the key lies with Pyongyang.
The latest round of discussions broke for a recess early last month after a record 13 days of negotiations where participants failed to agree on a statement of principles laying a groundwork for dismantling the North's nuclear weapons programs.
The talks were to resume the last week of August, but the North demanded a two-week postponement â taking issue with annual joint military exercises between the U.S. and
South Korea, and Washington's appointment of a special envoy on human rights in North Korea.
"We know we are ready to sit down and negotiate and try to finish this thing. But the question is what (North Korea) has done during that one month," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in the South Korean capital on his way to the Beijing talks. Hill met Monday evening in Seoul with South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who is headed to Pyongyang this week for Cabinet-level talks between the two Koreas separate from the nuclear forum.
The U.S. diplomat said he would be able to gauge where this week's arms talks were headed after meeting with the North Koreans.
"It's hard to be optimistic or pessimistic at this point. It hasn't started," Hill said.
One key dispute has emerged over Pyongyang's demands for a civilian nuclear program â something Washington has strongly resisted, saying the communist state's past record prove it can't be trusted with any nuclear program.
On Friday, Hill reiterated a set of measures â including energy aid offered by South Korea â that he said would make it unnecessary for North Korea "to go and develop additional capacity, especially through such very difficult and extremely expensive projects as nuclear energy."
The North "has had trouble keeping peaceful programs peaceful," Hill said in Washington.
Hill emphasized Monday that the main issue remained getting a broad agreement on a joint statement of eliminating nuclear weapons from the peninsula.
"I really do hope we can move rapidly and move toward an agreement on these goals and principles," he said.
The head Russian delegate, Alexander Alexeyev, echoed the call Monday for all sides to seek an agreement.
"The main aim, as agreed by everyone, is the Korean peninsula without nuclear arms," he said after arriving in Beijing.
Analysts say the North's insistence on a peaceful nuclear program at the negotiations isn't a tactic aimed at stalling the disarmament talks, but a real concern of the regime as it tries to revive its economy.
Last week, the North reiterated that it was "unimaginable" to dismantle its nuclear power industry "without getting any proposal for compensating for the loss of nuclear energy."
The regime "will as ever make ceaseless peaceful nuclear activity for the economic construction and the improvement of the standard of people's living," the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea has chronic energy shortages and blackouts, even in its capital. As of 2003, the North was able to generate less than 30 percent of its total capacity of 7.8 million kilowatts of electricity, according to South Korean government statistics.
"Economic development has been the regime's top priority since the mid-1990s," said Paik Hak-soon at the Sejong Institute in Seoul. "It's in a situation where it has to secure nuclear energy for economic recovery and development."
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, allows countries following its provisions to get assistance with peaceful nuclear programs, and the North has said it could rejoin the treaty if the current standoff is resolved.
But with Washington against the North having a civilian nuclear program, Paik warned the communist regime would "not have any incentive whatsoever to return to the NPT" â a crucial step toward bringing the North under international monitoring of its nuclear activities.
While Washington tries to portray a united front with South Korea, Japan, China and Russia at the six-nation talks, several of those nations seem inclined to compromise.
South Korean officials, including President Roh Moo-hyun, have said North Korea would be able to pursue peaceful nuclear activities when it dismantles all its nuclear weapons programs, returns to the NPT, and complies fully with safeguards from the
United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:03 ||
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The latest round of discussions broke for a recess early last month after a record 13 days of negotiations where participants failed to agree on a statement of principles laying a groundwork for dismantling the North's nuclear weapons programs.
The "Stainless Steel Rat" comes instantly to mind.
Seriously, I remember the endless wrangling (Read "Stalling) done by the North Vietmanese (The Table used is not acceptable, it's the wrong shape, etc.) until Nixon lost his patience, mined Haipong Harbor and bombed Hamoi, after that the "Talks" proceded without a tenth as much stalling.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 10:51 Comments ||
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Germany is home to between 3,000 and 5,000 potential Islamic suicide attackers, a senior security official touted as the country's next interior minister has been quoted as saying.
Guenther Beckstein, currently interior minister in the German state of Bavaria, said on Monday in an interview with the online Netzeitung newspaper that he was worried small cells of "fanatics" could prepare attacks without detection. "In Germany we have between 3,000 and 5,000 of these Islamists who are prepared to use violence and do not shrink from suicide attacks," Beckstein was quoted as saying.
He said they included individuals who are ready to fight in Iraq and Chechnya.
Beckstein is widely tipped to become federal interior minister, the country's top security post, if opposition conservatives win Sunday's parliamentary elections. Beckstein, a member of the conservative Bavaria-only Christian Social Union, argues that security laws toughened after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States are still too soft.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:44 ||
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Germany is home to between (Zero and Population of Germany) potential Islamic suicide attackers.
Sounds like a "Duh" moment, make up a figure, then blare it loudly untill believed.
"Animal Farm" anyone?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 10:57 Comments ||
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I note that these figures are being cited by officials in Bavaria, who have deported at least 14 radical clerics in the last year or so. I also note that these officials are willing to discuss the potential problem without the religion of peace gobbledygook. Good work TGA. Please let Mr. Beckstein know he has some fans in the US.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/13/2005 11:15 Comments ||
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#4
Well, maybe he is basing his statistics on those who have applied for police permits to become registered suicide bombers. It is German law, you know.
Norway's left-leaning opposition was on course for an absolute majority in Monday's parliamentary elections, which would allow it to squeeze the ruling centre-right coalition out of power. After 80.7% of the votes had been counted, the opposition parties were projected to win a combined 88 of the 169 seats in parliament, against 81 seats for Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and his allies.
The leftist coalition, comprising Labour, the Socialist Left Party and the agrarian Centre Party, thereby appeared to have won the absolute majority they have said they needed to form a new government. "We promised an absolute majority and that's what we're going to give the country," Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, adding however that he was still waiting for the final results before claiming victory.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2005 00:00 ||
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Norway is interesting in that it is one source that seems not to have caught petroliosis, the other being Texas and Alaska. It will be interesting to see how Norway fares after the field is dry.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/13/2005 12:44 Comments ||
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Thousands of unsuspecting Muslims break one of the Koran's most important commandments every day and consume pig meat, as most prescription medicine contains gelatine made of hog's hide, daily newspaper Urban reported. 'There is gelatine in almost every capsule and tablet today. It's also possible to process gelatine from cattle products, but because of the risk of mad cow disease, pig gelatine is the most frequent ingredient in medicine,' said department chief of the Danish Medicine Agency, Finn Clemmensen.
Oh, well. Guess they might as well become Lutherans.
Fahmy Almajid, immigration consultant, said he found the discovery shocking. 'I've never heard before that medicines contain pork residues, and the average Muslim doesn't have a clue, either,' he said. 'Since Muslims will do anything in their power to avoid eating pig, I find it grotesque that doctors do not warn them about it.'
I find it grotesque that Moose limbs are sensitive about everything under the sun, except when it comes to chopping people's heads off...
Michael Dupont, chairman of the Organisation of Practicing Doctors, however, rejected the idea. 'This is the limit,' he said. 'They can ask about this at the pharmacy or read the ingredients list. We can't spend our time on that. There's a limit to everything.'
"Tell them to go to hell!"
Almajid said the medical industry was responsible as well, but Lise Rud, chairman of the Medical Industry Association's technical and environmental committee, said ingredients in medicines would not be altered because of religious sensitivities. 'Up until we find something better than pig gelatine, it will continue to be the most frequently used kind. And as long as we haven't heard that this is a problem, we won't work on changing it,' she said.
I'm sure you'll hear lots of squalling over what a problem it is. Of course, they could just not take the medicine, couldn't they?
I'm sure the high-tech medical industrial complex in Lahore will come up with a solution ...
Almajid, however, said he feared Muslims would even die rather than eating pills containing pig products. He said the Koran allowed people to consume pork if it was essential to survive, and doctors needed to explain to their patients that they might in fact develop life-threatening diseases unless they took their medicine.
If they'd rather croak than consume a gel cap, let 'em. No skin off my fore.
Western medicine is a Zionist plot. Ev'rybody knows that.
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/13/2005 00:00 ||
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Ask your doctor if pork products are right for you.
See our ad in Health Magazine.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/13/2005 0:54 Comments ||
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#2
I'm curious just how "Religious" these idiots are, My bet is that this "Pork Gelatin" finding goes completely ignored.
They're only religious when their own comfort is not disturbed.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 2:21 Comments ||
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#3
I guess that strict Muslims are sh*t outta luck, unless they can feel comfortable with the special cases in the Ops Manual Q'u'o'r'a'''''n.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/13/2005 2:26 Comments ||
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#6
A vegetarian friend of mine once pointed out that, despite gelatin being made from animal products, most vegetarians ignore that fact. Something about the amount of processing it goes through essentially rendering it not-animal.
I suspect there's a similar judgement -- particularly in regards to medicine -- for Jews.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 7:42 Comments ||
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#7
Gummy bears are made from cattle so..... I will likely catch mad cow one of these days.
#8
AAAAKKK, "Gummy Bears" I wondered why I've been staggering around lately, (I'm Doomed)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 11:11 Comments ||
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#9
Sometime during the Dark Ages, the rabbis ruled that, "Anything is permitted in the saving of a life." This would include not only pork-based pill capsules, but my father's ultra-Orthodox grandmother preparing the doctor-prescribed pork boullion with her own lovely hands (and kosher utensils!) when my father was severely ill as a toddler. In fact, the rabbis have forbidden adhering to Jewish law if to do so will put life in danger, except for choosing to cling to Judaism under threat of martyrdom. That becomes a matter of individual choice.
#12
Trailing Wife is right. I think the rules on pikuach nefesh were promulgated very early on, during the time when the Babylonian Talmud was being collected. Jews have no problems with pig-derived replacement heart valves, pig-derived medicine, not fasting when that would endanger the subject's help, and violating Shabbat rules to preserve life. The philosophy is that "The Law was made to live by, not to die by."
For example, Talmudic law prohibits a woman from fasting for three days after childbirth, and makes it optional for seven. Modern rules extend that to the entire pregnancy, of course.
The only three laws that may not be broken to preserve human life are the laws forbidding idolatry, murder, and adultery.
I once read a book on Judaism and medicine; Jewish writings on medical matters has always been very observant. One example is somewhat gruesome: the Rabbis ruled that if two brothers or maternal cousins suffer excess bleeding after their circumcisions, then their brothers and maternal cousins are exempted from the procedure. They may not have known the mechanism of the inheritance of [X-linked] hemophilia A, but they could see the problem clearly.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
09/13/2005 18:32 Comments ||
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#13
Lutefisk is cod soaked in lye (Drano), dried and then water added. This fits no known food group. Its of the object_class: drain cleaner.
#14
well the kashrut medicine question is a bit more complicated than that
First of all, there is a question of whether geletin made from pig hooves is really a pork product. Many of the rabbis say 'no' (most of the Israeli rabbis say 'no'). There was a very famous American rabbi (Joel Solovechik) who said 'yes' so most Kashrut labelling organizations do not give certification to products using geletin made with pig hooves.
This is somewhat similar to the aspirin problem where the coating of the aspinin comes from calcium extracted from the shells of shellfish.
prescription medicines are considered to be for the preservation of the soul (pichuach nefesh); however, non prescription medicines that are taken as 'good practise', such as vitamins are covered by the 'no pork rule'. There is a multivitamin available that doesn't use gelatin available by mail and many Jews and Muslims use this product.
September 13, 2005: Canada, which will have to replace its fleet of 122 American built F-18 fighters by 2017, is seriously considering buying combat UAVs (UCAVs). The United States already has several UCAVs in development, and so far, the testing has gone well. Recently, one UCAV design, the X45A, even carried out a bombing raid, after first finding the target, without any operator intervention. The production version of this aircraft, the X45C will be 39 feet long (with a 49 foot wingspan.) weigh 19 tons, and have a 2.2 ton payload. The X-45C has a combat radius of 2,300 kilometers, or can go out 1,800 kilometers, hang around for two hours, and return. The X-45C can stay in the air for about six hours on internal fuel. The X-45C will also be able to perform in-flight refueling. Since it doesnât carry a pilot, aerial refueling can be done several times if thereâs a need to keep the aircraft up there, and there are no equipment problems. The 20 ton F-18 used by Canada (as the CF-18) has less range than the X-45C, and is not as maneuverable. While thereâs little doubt that UCAVs can carry out recon and bombing missions, the big unknown is air-to-air combat. The software guys believe this will be no problem, the pilot community is less sure. However, tests with remotely controlled fighter aircraft in the 1970s showed that unmanned aircraft had an edge over those with pilots aboard (because many aircraft maneuvers are limited by the physical limitations of the human body, not the aircraft. )
American military pilots are not looking forward to the first air-to-air combat tests between piloted aircraft and UCAVs. At the moment, the air power generals (nearly all of them pilots) insist that such tests wonât take place any time soon. But if Canada expresses interest in buying the X-45C, but only if it can handle air-to-air combat, Congress can pull rank on the air force generals, and the Canadians will get their flying killdroids. The U.S. Air Force will get heartburn. So if a foreign power is to adopt UCAVs, it might as be our closest ally (although we have lost one war, and several battles, to the Canadians in the past). The main reason the United States is spending so much money on UCAVs is because it is obvious that someone out there will eventually have these aircraft. If the U.S. cannot match foreign UCAVs, America will no longer rule the skies. The UCAVs are 20-30 percent cheaper than comparable manned aircraft, but their biggest selling point is their potential to have a significant combat edge over manned aircraft.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/13/2005 09:12 ||
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I can see UCAVs having an edge in manuvering but I question the situational awarenenss of a piece of software much less an operator sitting in a remote location someplace. Plus IMO UCAVs will cost enough that there will be a certain amount of trepidation about putting them at un-nessecary risk.
#2
The Canadians may well be looking at the cost of UCAVs in comparison to fielding a trained, equipped and supported pilot, especially given how difficult it is to get funding for their Armed Services now.
#3
Oh I'm sure the training/operating costs are one thing they are looking at. IMO UCAVs will have an enormous in the realm of tactics but they won't be the be-all end-all
#4
I can see UCAVs having an edge in manuvering but I question the situational awarenenss of a piece of software much less an operator sitting in a remote location someplace.
With computerized systems, it's not the single unit that needs situational awareness, but the entire network. While each plane would have a brain flying it, they'd be getting orders from a "master" brain back on an AWACS. The "master" would be able to use data not just from the AWACS sensors, but also the individual fighters; human input would consist of grading targets as to their value and acceptability.
The result would be very nasty to face; a fighter unit that is fully coordinated. Plane A may have an easier angle on a target than plane B, but since the target is "below" its sight line, a human pilot wouldn't see it in time. The "master" brain, though, could determine that A has an easier hit and shift its orders.
Plus IMO UCAVs will cost enough that there will be a certain amount of trepidation about putting them at un-nessecary risk.
That's a non-issue; it's still cheaper than a trained pilot, particularly one trained to the degree necessary to be effective. I don't recall anyone worrying that the first jets were too expensive to be used in combat.
Also, the UCAV won't retire and doesn't have a family fearing the "we regret to inform you" letter.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 13:00 Comments ||
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Resistance is Futile....
Posted by: john ||
09/13/2005 15:14 Comments ||
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Flying Bolos from the skies -
Metal men who do or die...
Volunteers on Sunday slowly read the names of each of the 40 passengers and crew aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 as peals from two bells marked the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Calvin Wilson, whose brother-in-law, copilot LeRoy Homer Jr., was killed, thanked the community for embracing victims' families. "This is always tough, but I'll do it every year," said Wilson, speaking through tears as he addressed the crowd of 1,000 people, which included U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
United Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers crashed the plane as passengers tried to take control of the cockpit. Officials think the hijackers had targeted either the White House or the U.S. Capitol. Ridge praised those who died, saying their actions saved others. "The passengers and crew are an emblem of America's great glory: freedom and patriotism demonstrated at its highest regard," Ridge said. "Here upon this field of honor, lives were saved and heroes were made."
The Flight 93 Advisory Commission on Wednesday announced the winner of a design competition for a memorial at the 2,000-acre site. The "Crescent of Embrace" memorial, created by a team of designers led by Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles, will feature a chapel with 40 metallic wind chimes symbolizing each victim. The design must be approved by the director of the National Park Service and the secretary of the Interior. Officials hope to raise about $30 million for the memorial. Pennsylvania has donated more than $10 million. Just a nice, classy story about sane people putting up a memorial, unlike the mess in NYC.
I didn't get a chance to check in on Sunday, so I want to take a second and thank Fred and all my Rantburg friends for keeping the WoT in perspective. This site is THE most comprehensive clearinghouse site for WoT news and I thank each and every one of you for that. Take care all.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/13/2005 00:13 ||
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Lovely. I hope the chimes are properly tuned, just as the victors of flight 93 were in tune with one another at the end.
Never forgive. Never forget. Never retreat. "Let's roll," the man said, and we've been rolling ever since.
A British businessman convicted of trying to smuggle shoulder-launched missiles into the U.S. was sentenced Monday to 47 years in prison, effectively a life sentence for the elderly man. British, eh? Let Me guess his name. Nigel perhaps? Or maybe Thomas?
The alleged plot involved the sale of missiles to a group that Hemant Lakhani, 70, thought would use them to shoot down commercial airliners. The weapons' buyer and seller were actually government agents.
Lakhani was convicted in April of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, unlawful brokering of foreign defense articles and attempting to import merchandise into the U.S. by means of false statements, plus two counts of money laundering.
Federal prosecutors were seeking the maximum on each count, for a total of 67 years. U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden rejected pleas for leniency from Lakhani and his wife, referring to what she called his "reprehensible conduct."
Lakhani's trial defense hinged on the argument that he was the victim of government entrapment. Yeah. They weren't real arms dealers.
He was arrested in August 2003 at a hotel near Newark Liberty International Airport where he had been meeting with a government informant posing as a representative of a Somali-based militant group. The government asserted that Lakhani planned to arrange the sale of at least 50 more missiles after the sale of the first one.
The assembly of more than 170 world leaders to mark the United Nations' 60th birthday gives Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a unique opportunity to advance U.S. foreign policy goals on several difficult fronts. Success is by no means assured. While the United States is the largest contributor and the world's only real superpower, it cannot count on the United Nations for automatic support. But the UN can count on US money, unfortunately.
Rice's drive to pressure Iran to resume negotiations on its nuclear program is a key test. Any U.S. resolution in the U.N. Security Council to censure Iran or to impose sanctions runs the risk of being vetoed. So Rice is appealing openly to China and Russia, which have veto power, to join in sending a "unified message" to Tehran. Secretary of State Sisyphus
Russia remains dubious about having the council take up the issue. On Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Treebeard Alexander Yakovenko called it a hasty step. Hroom. Hum. Mustn't be hasty.
#1
"Deputy Foreign Minister Treebeard Alexander Yakovenko called it a hasty step"
Translation #1: The checks haven't cleared.
Translation #2: We haven't finished fleecing these clucks. Fuck everyone else's security.
Translation #3: We finally find an endless source of hard currency and you do-gooders wanna screw it up.
Translation #4: Tsar Prez Puttyputz figures this game with the MM's is his best current option to have his cake and eat yours, too.
Translation #5: We worked it out with the ChiComs during our recent group hug - we'll Good Cop / Bad Cop you suckers over the MM and NorKie thingies until we figure we've milked you, too, for everything we can get.
#2
I mean, isn't it obvious...CONDOLEEZZA RICE HATES BLACK PEOPLE!!!
What this has to do with anything in this story, I don't know, but it has to be said over and over and over and over again...
The Indonesian Mujahadeen Council (MMI), a radical Islamic group founded in 1999 by Abu Bakar Bashir - a controversial imam who was sentenced to two and half years in prison for his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people - has signed an anti-terrorism declaration. The document, signed on the 11 September in remembrance of the 9/11's victims, was also signed by Indonesian key figures of other religions - Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
Bashir was born on 17 August 1938, in East Java's Jombang city, from a family of Yemeni descent.
In 1979 he was jailed under former president Suharto for his political activity aimed at establishing an Islamic state in South East Asia. In 1985, he escaped to Malaysia and returned in 1999, a year after Suharto's downfall.
On his return in Indonesia, Bakir founded the MMI, which favours the application of the Sharia - Muslim law- in the country. The organisation has, according to security experts, close links with al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations.
Bakir is also considered the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the terrorist group, which while not being outlawed in Indonesia, is accused of orchestrating the bombings in Bali (2002) and Jakarta (2003) - carried out against the Marriot hotel and the Australian embassy - which claimed a total of 225 lives.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:48 ||
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The United States ambassador to Iraq lashed out at Syria on Monday, saying that its government continued to allow terrorists to operate training camps within Syria that have sent hundreds of insurgents into Iraq.
"Our patience is running out," said the ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad.
While other administration officials made similar accusations early this year, the focus of American attention to Syria in recent months has been its occupation of Lebanon. Over the summer, Syria said that it had cracked down on insurgents operating within its territory.
But Mr. Khalilzad, in remarks to reporters in Washington, made it clear that the United States believed that Syria was providing assistance to insurgents operating in Iraq and that such help might have increased.
Government-controlled Syrian newspapers "glorify the terrorists as resistance fighters," he said. Syrian authorities "allow youngsters misguided by Al Qaeda - from Saudi Arabia, from Yemen, from North Africa - to fly into Damascus International Airport," attend training camps and then cross into Iraq, he contended.
Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, called Mr. Khalilzad's allegations "100 percent rubbish," and said Syria had repeatedly invited American and Iraqi officials to discuss the problem and find solutions. But, he added, neither country had responded.
"We have more troops on our border with Iraq than we have ever had before" as well as "sandbags, barbed wire," Mr. Moustapha said. "We understand the stakes are high."
The Americans, Ambassador Moustapha said, "just continue talking as if they're talking to a TV camera."
For all of Mr. Khalilzad's assertions and warnings, senior American officials said the government did not have any plans for new actions against Syria, except to "continue trying to isolate it, as we have been," as one senior State Department official put it.
Another government official said Bush administration policy was to "keep the heat on Syria, keep the criticism up."
He said the administration had picked up indications that the United Nations investigation of the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in February might implicate senior Syrian government leaders. The chief United Nations investigator, Detlev Mehlis, arrived in Damascus on Monday to question senior Syrian officials.
If those indications prove true, the official added, the administration was poised to pounce on Syria and perhaps offer a new, critical resolution to the United Nations Security Council.
Mr. Khalilzad's statements, he added, fell into the general policy of "focusing more attention on Syria's negative activities."
Mr. Khalilzad said insurgents were traveling to Damascus as well as to Latakia, a seaport, and Aleppo, near the border with Turkey. From these and other locations, "people are coming out from Syria to Iraq to kill Iraqis," he said.
"Syria has to decide what price it's willing to pay in making Iraq's success difficult," he added.
In addition to his remarks on Syria, Mr. Khalilzad offered an unusual plea for continued American support for Iraq, even as numerous recent public opinion polls have indicated that public support was waning, particularly after Hurricane Katrina.
"The American public needs to know that what's involved here is huge, as what we did with the Soviet Union was huge," he said. "Iraq is the centerpiece of the defining challenge of our time."
Mr. Khalilzad explained that during his confirmation hearings last summer, he "got a sense" of "a crisis of confidence, perhaps, in what we're doing in Iraq." Now, following Hurricane Katrina, he added, "I can understand" that "there will be a focus, as there should be, on dealing with that crisis."
Still, he spent several minutes trying to explain why Americans should care about Iraq.
"Iraq is part of this region that we call a vital part of the world" that is "producing most of the security problems of this era," he said. "And the way to deal with it is to get Iraq right, first."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:25 ||
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The Americans, Ambassador Moustapha said, "just continue talking as if they're talking to a TV camera."
Syria has rejected US accusations that it allows fighters to sneak into Iraq, saying Washington's "threat" of using force was part of relentless pressure on Damascus. "It is regrettable that such language should come from the ambassador of a great power who is supposed to show more commitment to the norms of international relations," Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhlallah said on Monday.
The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, fired a strong warning to Syria earlier during the day over help that Washington accuses the Damascus government of giving to radical groups in Iraq. "Our patience is running out with Syria," Khalilzad told a press conference in Washington. When asked how the United States could respond, he said "all options are on the table", including military. "I would not like to elaborate more, they should understand what I mean," he added.
"There is a threat of aggression there, and a style which is reminiscent of colonial eras and cold and hot wars," Dakhlallah retorted. "Moreover, there are old, groundless accusations relating to the Iraqi-Syrian borders. Syria has exerted efforts almost beyond its capacity as a small and developing country to protect the border because Iraq's stability is a Syrian concern, not just an Iraqi concern. Stability is indivisible and dangers most often come from two directions. In any event, we have gotten used to this language from the United States. It represents a clear escalation in a chain of successive pressures on Syria."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2005 00:00 ||
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What is up with these asshats?
How many authoritarians have blown off the US when it made a direct diplomatic statement of intent? Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq. Hello, anyone home?
Do their Intel people lack the ability to see the disconnect between what MSM proclaims and what his president does? So you read the papers and listen to the reporters and you end up dead or on the run. Hello anyone home?
Have you noticed that this current resident of the White House isn't all that concerned about politically generated MSM polls. He knows he can't be reelected by law, he does what he thinks is right. And you, baby, are not right.
Do you understand that under the American way of war which is to push authority to as low a level as you can, could result in a situation of 'hot pursuit' allowed by the Hague Convention of 1907, with an American and Iraq force on the outskirts of Damascus in hours before someone could call and ask the enemy Left in America for help? You don't have a half a million Chinese on your border to intervene to stop the Good Humor men from knocking on your door.
Syria agreed yesterday with chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis on the procedures for questioning Syrian witnesses in the probe into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri. âAn agreement has been reached on the procedures and arrangements for hearing Syrian witnesses,â a Syrian official said after a meeting between Mehlis and a Syrian Foreign Ministry legal adviser, Riad Al-Daoudi. âMr. Mehlis will leave Syria later today and return toward the end of next week,â the source said without elaboration. Mehlis, probing the February assassination of Hariri in Beirut, arrived in Syria earlier in the day, starting a sensitive phase of the investigation which some Lebanese media say could implicate some Syrians.
Damascus denies Lebanese allegations of Syrian links to the killing. It agreed to the visit by the German prosecutor after international accusations that it was not cooperating with the probe, which began in mid-June. A Syrian source close to the talks in Damascus said Mehlis wanted to interview at least eight Syrian officials, including top officers, who were serving in Lebanon at the time of the murder, and other senior figures. The source said the Syrian authorities might ask for judges from Saudi Arabia and Egypt to examine evidence that showed the interviews were necessary to the investigation, and might ask them to attend the questioning of witnesses in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2005 00:00 ||
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That's good, UN. The suspects determine how they'll be questioned. Shrewd...
#1
"The utter destruction wrought by Palestinian mobs and the total failure of the Palestinian Authority to save from vandals and looters - even the greenhouses and industrial center that would have provided 26,000 jobs for a needy populace, will make well-intentioned outside bodies think twice before offering development and reconstruction assistance."
Nope, the EU will just cough up more aid money. It will go to Abbas and his cronies, and then the Euro-media will blame the plight of the poor, poor Paleos on the Jooos.
* From the United States: Doubling the present $275 million to $550 million â this after Palestinians have already received $1.5 billion (and how much of that was stolen by the late Yasser Arafat?)
* In May, President Bush pledged $50 million in direct U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority to build housing and other infrastructure in Gaza once Israel completes its disengagement.
* From the Group of Eight countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, Russia and the U.S.): $3 billion more to the Palestinian Authority to help with Gaza's reconstruction.
* From Israel: an agreement in principle to allow the P.A. to construct a seaport, and rebuild the Gaza Airport â as well as a possible trade corridor between Gaza and Hebron as existed before the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.
* From Arab states: "Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will seek to rally Arab financial support at a summit of the 22-member Arab League expected in September or October."
Posted by: ed ||
09/13/2005 21:55 Comments ||
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Same rules should apply to all Kleptocracies, Palestine, Louisiana, UN. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give cash to the locals. If you must give aid, give it in kind or under the direct supervision of someone accountable and trustworthy. Don't pour money down a rathole.
The U.S. military unveiled this week a concept combat vehicle that combines new blast-deflection technology with the safety features of a commercially available truck and
NASCAR engineering. Everything from the materials to seating configuration has been rethought.
Built on the skeleton of a Ford F-350 truck, the vehicle is called the ULTRA AP (Armored Patrol). Its builders melded some of the latest advancements in vehicle defense with the maneuverability and safety features of an "off-the-shelf" truck to develop a concept vehicle that may one day replace the familiar Humvee in the battlefield.
"The idea of using an off-the-shelf vehicle is that it already has that stuff in it," Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) principal research engineer Gary Caille told LiveScience. "The automotive industry has spent a lot of money evaluating these chassis for safety and we can make use of that."
Safer seating setup
The ULTRA AP was developed at the GTRI, which brought together engineers from the commercial automotive and military worlds. The idea was to save money by marrying advanced armor materials and designs with proven safety designs from the automotive industry.
"By bringing together experienced commercial vehicle designers with experts in advanced materials and cutting-edge engineering, we are providing a test bed for evaluating technologies that can help the military develop true 'leap-ahead' concepts," said David Parekh, GTRI's deputy director. "By including persons with high-performance automotive engineering and NASCAR expertise as part of our team, we were able to root this advanced concepts project in real-world vehicle design."
Specifically, GTRI engineers wanted to safety and survivability. The first step was to use lightweight, cost-effective armor.
Second was to shift the four passengers from the traditional two-by-two seating configuration to a diamond arrangement with one person facing out the front, one facing out the back, and one facing each side. Not only does this give all around better visibility, but it provides better protection from land mines.
"This moves people away from the wheels, which are typically what initiates a mine," Caille said. "The idea is to move passengers further way from the blast."
Passengers are also tucked into what is called a "blast bucket," an armored shell in the vehicle that deflects explosions and acts as a roll cage if the vehicle flips.
Computers integrate steering, suspension and braking, Caille said, providing a level of mobility and safety that's unparalleled by even the most advanced current production military vehicles.
"The performance features are standard stability control and anti-lock brakes," Caille said. "And because the vehicle is based on a commercially available model, other features like active cruise control can easily be added."
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) provided funds to help build the ULTRA AP to evaluate technology that could improve future vehicle designs. The vehicle has been delivered to the ONR, which will now evaluate it and determine whether to move on with the project...
Well, NASCAR knows some stuff - might as well integrate it and bring a fresh view to the table. It sounds as if they are thinking well outside the usual box. If it proves out, then they will help save the lives of the one who risk the most everyday.
ONR? Lol. Does it like go amphib and pull some skiers or sumthin?
#2
OK so its a cool NASCAR inspired truck, lets put some guns on it and do some live fire testing! Screw going to Alabama and road testing. I'll bet a months pay they are better than an unarmored HUMMER. Gun them up and send four to Iraq and let them run the Airport Highway. Before the Navy Safety centers screw up a good design.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
09/13/2005 20:48 Comments ||
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ONR has an extremely long and illustrious history of fostering research. Good to hear they're still in the business.
If it's amphibious, fast, and light, I'd bet on the Marines being involved.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 21:52 Comments ||
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.com: don't underestimate ONR. They are the equivalent of DARPA in practice, and are involved with a heck of a lot of research--much of which has some shady application for the US Navy.
http://www.onr.navy.mil/
I keep noticing them or their various affiliated research institutes cropping up all the time on science websites.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/13/2005 22:01 Comments ||
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I'm not underestimating them - it just seems to be a totally land-based vehicle, so I was a wee bit surprised - and decided to have some fun. Agreed, they do good work. This might be a very useful test platform. I definitely like ideas that can use off-the-shelf parts, at least to some degree, for the obvious cost savings. It was innovative to have involved NASCAR, IMHO. Kudos.
#8
The article left out that it can do 200 mph on straightaways.
Posted by: ed ||
09/13/2005 22:10 Comments ||
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Where's the friggin' snorkel?
Damn squids can't get anything right.
Should have asked a bunch of hard core off-roaders. Plenty of guys around who have modified their jeeps and stuff for all kinds of outrageous conditions. Bound to be some very good ideas to be had.
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/13/2005 22:15 Comments ||
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What, no "left turn only" jokes?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/13/2005 22:23 Comments ||
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looks like they took some cab designs from the Israeli St. Pancake brigade for the windows, etc...
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/13/2005 22:33 Comments ||
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They'll each have "3" painted on the sides and room in the back for bootleg booze. A red paint job is optional.
#13
ONR funds lots of things, including basic research. Back in the 60's, I augmented my AF scholarship by working on a nuclear magnetic resonance project in college funded by ONR. No immediate or direct application to Navy weapons systems, but still useful work.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Colorado congressman is asking the Interior Department to reconsider the crescent-shaped design of the memorial to those aboard a plane hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, because some may think it honors the terrorists. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., says the design, called "Crescent of Embrace," could invite "controversy and criticism." In a letter sent Tuesday to National Park Service Director Fran Mainella, Tancredo said many have questioned the shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam - and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists."
Flight 93 crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania near Shanksville as its passengers tried to take control of the plane. Forty passengers and crew died in the struggle. The memorial design was approved last week at a meeting of the Flight 93 Advisory Commission. It still must gain the approval of the director of the National Park Service and the secretary of the Interior Department.
The park service and family members of crash victims said that the memorial's shape - a circle broken by the flight pattern of the plane - simply follows the topography of the crash site. The memorial consists of a chapel with 40 metallic wind chimes, one for each of the victims. It is designed to spread across 2,000 acres and would include pedestrian trails and a roadway to a visitor center and the actual crash site. At the site would be a crescent-shaped cluster of maple trees and a white marble wall inscribed with the victims' names.
Regardless of whether "the invocation of a Muslim symbol" was intentional, "it seems that such a symbol is unsuitable for paying appropriate tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 or the ensuing American struggle against radical Islam," Tancredo wrote. Earlier this summer, Tancredo angered Muslims and others by suggesting on a Florida radio program that the United States could "take out" Muslim holy sites if Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. with nuclear bombs.
Joanne Hanley, superintendent of the Flight 93 National Memorial, said the design team led by Paul Murdoch Architects followed what the memorial mission statement requested: It honors the plane's passengers and crew and touches very lightly on the land. "Crescent of Embrace" is the name of the design, not the memorial, and can be changed, she said.
"The name is irrelevant, really," she said. "There's a lot of misinformation out there and conjecture and hidden meaning that just isn't there."
Oh, you've got that right. From Belmont Club: I tried to follow the FreeRepublic poster's calculations for bearing but found them obtuse. I could never come up with an azimuth of 124.80 degrees. So I went to two sites to independently calculate the bearing from the Flight 93 crash site to Mecca. You can go to the Marine Great Circle Calculator or WhereAreWe?. Both these sites accept the coordinates of points A and B and calculate the true bearing to get from A to B. Both give a result of 55 degrees true, or its reciprocal 235. I can tell you that my jaw fell open. The bearing given by both Great Circle Calculators corresponded near enough to the measured opening of the Crescent from the PDF map.
Architect Paul Murdoch was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
Gordon Felt, whose brother, Edward Felt, died in the crash, invited Tancredo to contact the family members and learn more about the design.
"We feel the jury that selected the final design did a good job," he said. "It was in no way designed to memorialize the hijackers. I cannot even fathom a family member on the jury thinking that they were trying to memorialize the people who murdered our family members."
Posted by: Steve ||
09/13/2005 16:08 ||
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Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/13/2005 21:07 Comments ||
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a broken crescent works for me....
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/13/2005 22:04 Comments ||
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Make a complete circle, a wall around the entire site. The only people allowed on it are the grounds keepers. To paraphrase Lincoln, those who died there sanctified it; we're just recognizing what they did.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 22:10 Comments ||
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Yeah. Get used to it...
NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (AFP) - Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei surveyed the wreckage of Israel's former Gaza Strip settlements after his government was handed control of the whole territory. As locals continued a looting spree the day after Israeli troops left the territory, Qorei urged the Palestinian people to protect the land and infrastructure bequeathed by their occupiers, and build for the future. A little louder, Ahmed. They can't hear you over the riot noise...
The looting and chaos at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, where control has effectively broken down, illustrates the huge task facing the Palestinian leadership to reverse the fortunes of the impoverished strip of coastal land. The international community has placed major stock in the pullout, hoping it can help revive the ailing peace process and put an end to bloodshed that has claimed some 5,000 lives over the last five years, mainly Palestinian.
UN General Secretary Kofi Annan congratulated both Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the pullout's architect Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as the world body prepared to host new talks on the peace process. Thanks, Kofi. That'll help loads. As usual...
"Please protect this land. It is for you and yours to protect," Qorei said as he toured the main Gush Katif settlement bloc in southern Gaza which housed 15 of the 21 former Jewish enclaves.
In some of the settlements, security forces half-heartedly tried to expel looters but stopped short of using force or confiscating their booty. Hey! Stop that! Save some for me when I get off shift!
"The (Israeli) tanks destroyed our farms. The Palestinian Authority is all talk and no action," said one looter as he ripped out a 10-foot (three-metre) irrigation hose in Netzer Hazani while others made off with the tarpaulin covering of greenhouses which had been handed over to the Palestinians. Now we do it ourselves! Self government is a great thing!
People living in nearby towns such as Rafah and Khan Yunis, long barred from entering Gush Katif, ransacked the settlements on Monday. Synagogues which Israel refused to destroy were torched, tiling and piping carted off and the handful of municipal buildings left intact were vandalised. Qorei attributed the scenes of chaos to the pent-up fury felt by people towards their former Israeli neighbours who lived in relative luxury, denying that it exposed any weakness from the Palestinian Authority. Yeah...pent up fury! That's it!
"This is not a matter of weakness. It is people expressing their feelings that the situation should be changed," he told AFP. Yeah...expresing their feelings! That's it!
"They wanted access to see there is no more occupation and no more settlers in Gaza," he added. "The nightmare has left." Oh, I think the nightmare has just started myself...
The mayor of Khan Yunis predicted that the looting would soon die out."Yesterday was horrible, today is less bad and tomorrow will be taper off even more," Osama al-Sarra told AFP. ...as there will be nothing left to loot.
Among their more immediate challenges is how to deal with the situation at Rafah where people were moving back and forth at will between Egypt and Gaza with holes punched through the metal and barbed-wire security fence. On Monday, a Palestinian was shot dead and another wounded as hundreds stormed the Gaza-Egypt buffer zone just hours after Israeli troops withdrew. Well it looks like we know how Egypt will handle that "immediate challenge"...
Under an agreement with Israel, Egypt has been deploying a 750-strong force to take security responsibility for the border, in an operation to be completed by the end of this week. The torching of several synagogues has angered if not surprised the Israeli government, which ultimately decided it would be better for the Palestinians to demolish them rather than the forces of the Jewish state. The images filled the front-pages of Israeli newspapers on Tuesday, raising fears of possible revenge attacks on mosques. Oh, no! It's "Muslim oppresssion" time again!
Israel's chief Sephardic rabbi, Shlomo Amar, said he may ostracise any Jew who damages a mosque to avenge the ransackings, as police strengthened surveillance around Muslim places of worship. They torch synagoges, we protect their mosques.Think there's a moral in there someplace?
Amid the continuing fallout from his disengagement plan, Sharon left for New York where he is to address the UN General Assembly and milk plaudits for his pullout. Nice dig, AFP. I knew you couldn't let him slide...
#2
The logical answer to this is to give the West Bank to Jordan and Gaza to the Egyptians. That way, they will be the ones to tell the Palestinians to shape up or die. Arabs killing Arabs, like Africans killing Africans, is of no interest to most of the world. If there is no way to denigrate either the US or Israel, nobody cares.
They may be Islamic radicals but even Hamas values a catchy pop tune, cranking out 10 new victory songs about Israel's historic pullout from the Gaza Strip. Isn't music Halal? Shouldn't there be a fatwa against this?
Notorious for its use of suicide bombers in Israel, the extremist faction has now released "Gaza Victory News", its latest weapon in its propaganda war with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party. Seeking credit for the end of Israel's 38-year occupation, the album, with a sinister masked man and an Israeli soldier's boot in flames on the cover, boasts songs by the Yassin Band, named after the late Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
The songs are generally drum machine and violence violin-filled. Thunderous baritone choirs and a male tenor or child's soprano weave in and out on tracks called "Gaza, it has come", "We liberated Gaza" and "It is returned with blood". Bah. I'll take Dick Dale any day.
The message is clear: that Hamas's military wing forced Israel out of Gaza. The music has scored with Gaza's youth, weaned on a culture of guns and "martyrdom".
"These songs encourage us to fight the settlers in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem, everywhere," says falafel seller Ziad Abu Taha, 26.
A recent poll found 40 percent of Palestinians attribute the most credit for the pullout to Hamas, with only 11 percent putting the withdrawal down to the endeavours of Fatah.
Self promotion or not, Hamas knows what it wants. The party has no hesitation writing violence-fueled melodies that score with the people. "Hamas is the strongest party, so it makes the best music," opines 20-year-old Mahmud.
In an impromptu survey, kids, who have heard the song on the tape or Hamas's Aqsa radio station, raved about "Gaza, it has come."
"The victory flags fly and the wounds are on it, but the brutal army withdrew and the independence fighter cries: "Our people achieved victory by Jihad," go the lyrics.
I bet Time-Warner is working on a recording contract as we speak.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/13/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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Self promotion or not, Hamas knows what it wants. The party has no hesitation writing violence-fueled melodies that score with the people. "Hamas is the strongest party, so it makes the best music," opines 20-year-old Mahmud.
Based on that "logic", John Williams should be King of California.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 12:43 Comments ||
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September 13, 2005: At a recent public demonstration, a new entry in battlefield surveillance was unveiled: a grenade-launcher fired, parachute-deployed camera for use by troops in the field. Fired by the MLG-140 six-round rotating-barrel shotgun, the High-Altitude Unit Navigated Tactical Imaging Round (HUNTIR) floats down over the enemy as it feeds live images back to a TV-compatible computer monitor on the ground, giving aerial surveillance capability at the platoon level.
The HUNTIR Round is a fixed-type cartridge designed to be fired from the MLG-140 as well as from the M79 and M203 grenade launchers. The round consists of a cartridge case assembly, and a metal projectile body containing a first fire charge, a pyrotechnic delay column, an ejection charge, a camera, and parachute assembly. Upon firing, the projectile assembly is launched approximately 235 meters into the air. The first fire charge ignites the pyrotechnic delay element, which ignites another charge that ejects the camera, which is attached to the parachute. The camera provides up to five minutes of both daytime and nighttime (infra-red), real-time, streaming video to either a standard handheld TV monitor or to a dedicated receiver available from the vendor. The camera provides detailed video up to about 1,500 meters. The HUNTIR camera is enclosed in an aluminum body, broadcasting in US-standard television.
The MLG-140 40mm grenade launcher is designed to fire not only HUNTIR but also a new family of âhyper-lethalâ munitions, in addition to all currently available military rounds. The MLG-140 fires six rounds in three seconds at ranges up to 400 meters, effectively covering a minimum destruction area/zone of 20x60 meters. The primary specialized round for the MLG-140 is the MEI HELLHOUND (High Order Unbelievable Nasty Destructive Series) Round, or HELLHOUND 40mm Low Velocity Multi-Purpose Grenade. First the HUNTIR finds the enemy and then the HELLHOUND vaporizes him. True vertical integration.
Each HUNTIR round costs about $400, with the price per round dropping as order quantity increases. First made available in July, 2005, HUNTIR is already being evaluated by US military units worldwide although the dollar value of current and future contracts remains proprietary. The current value to the US soldier in combat is clear.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/13/2005 09:38 ||
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#1
The first thing that came to mind is a toy "GI Joe" I had many years ago that came with a slingshot and parachute.
You could get that thing almost out of sight if you wrapped the parachute real tight.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 11:04 Comments ||
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I wonder if they've considered using a heatproof parachute and a high-temperature smokeless heat source to extend time-in-air?
They could even make a miniature hot-air balloon for greater effect. Of course, if the enemy wants to shoot at it, what better way of revealing their position?
#3
High Order Unbelievable Nasty Destructive Series
Somebody has a truly wicked sense of humor. I like that.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/13/2005 14:33 Comments ||
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#4
Sometimes you have to reach to get the right acronym.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 14:40 Comments ||
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#5
A tiny helicopter with snap-out rotors comes to mind, (Yeah, yeah, Star Wars) I've seen a tiny battery pack on a friends remote control toy aircraft about half the size of a pack of book matches holding enough power for 15 minutes of flight (Or so)
Use a rocket charge instead of an explosion to launch, and it can be much less robust, I picture something like the model rockets I played with as a boy fitted into the grenade shell, but with rotors instead of a parachute, manuverable too.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 15:36 Comments ||
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#6
From the acronym, it sounds like somebody's been playing Doom. Or is it Duke Nukem that has the BFG? But the camera is straight out of Thief II.
#7
Doom had the BFG-9000. Duke Nukem had the Bruce Campbell lines from "Army of Darkness" and the strippers. Duke Nukem Forever has the ... well, we'll never know ...
A masked teenager in an Iraqi army uniform walked slowly through a crowd of 400 detainees captured Monday, studying each face and rendering his verdict with a simple hand gesture, like a Roman emperor deciding the fate of gladiators.
A thumb pointed down meant the suspect was not thought to be an insurgent and would be released by U.S. soldiers. A thumb pointed up meant a man would be removed from the concertina wire-encased pen, handcuffed with tape or plastic ties and taken by truck to a military base to be interrogated.
"Another bad guy right here," an American interpreter shouted when the masked Iraqi singled out a man in a yellow dishdasha , or traditional gown, who shook his head and protested in Turkish. A captive who was spared exhaled with relief and placed his hand on his heart.
This is how the 10-day-old invasion of Tall Afar unfolded Monday. After two days of relatively uneventful patrols in the abandoned neighborhood of Sarai, where commanders had expected insurgents to be massed for a fight, U.S. and Iraqi forces turned north in the morning, to neighborhoods they had already cleared, and found hundreds of men who appeared to be of military age and fighters believed to have slipped through their cordons.
Eventually, 52 men were placed in the open backs of flatbed trucks bound for Camp Sykes, about seven miles south of this northwestern city. During the attack on insurgents here -- the largest urban assault in Iraq since the siege of Fallujah in November -- the only significant clashes came in the early days, when thousands of American and Iraqi troops stormed the city and U.S. jets waged a relentless bombing campaign.
Since then, the fighters who controlled much of Tall Afar for nearly a year have either fled or laid down their arms to blend among the civilian population, commanders here said. Instead of a Fallujah-style assault, the invasion has largely become a citywide roundup designed to prevent insurgents from lying low to fight another day.
Soldiers with little training relevant to the mission have been forced into roles more traditionally assigned to police: gathering evidence, interrogating witnesses and suspects, and following up on leads. In searching almost every house in the city's most violent neighborhoods, they have detained hundreds of young men, some because they possessed weapons or insurgent literature, but others solely on the hearsay of local informants often called "sources" by U.S. troops.
Many of the informants are residents of this city of more than 200,000 who now serve in the Iraqi army. Others had family members who were killed by the insurgents and said they wanted to help purge them from their neighborhoods. The U.S. soldiers who work with them acknowledge knowing little about their backgrounds and motives -- or even their names -- and admit that their reliability varies widely. Some of those named by sources have in turn said their accusers were carrying out tribal or sectarian vendettas, a charge they also level at Iraqi security forces.
The informants "are the first important step in the process of weeding these people out," said Capt. Alan Blackburn, commander of Eagle Troop of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which has led the invasion of Tall Afar. "You obviously can't just go by what they say because they make plenty of mistakes, but since we don't know these places as well as they do, it helps to have them around."
U.S. forces invaded Tall Afar one year ago, then withdrew as insurgents returned and reestablished control over the city. On Monday, Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of the country's main insurgent group, al Qaeda in Iraq, posted a statement on the Internet saying U.S. forces were "repeating their moves against Tall Afar after failing many times to break into it, as its lions many times forced them to taste humiliation, and the bitterness of defeat."
As in the past several days, Iraqi soldiers drawn primarily from the Kurdish pesh merga militia led the operation, joined as always by U.S. Special Operations soldiers, distinctive with their unkempt hair and facial stubble.
Just after 7 a.m., they streamed into the adjoining neighborhoods of Hassan Koy and Uruba, taking every military-age man into custody at a makeshift pen established by U.S. forces along a main road. The U.S. soldiers uncoiled enough concertina wire to hold an expected 50 or so men. But as detainees streamed out from the neighborhoods, the pens were expanded with more coils of wire until the holding area stretched an entire block.
U.S. commanders have praised the performance of the Kurdish forces during the operation, while privately expressing concern that their tactics sometimes verge on being heavy-handed. The pesh merga supports Kurdish rebels fighting the government of neighboring Turkey, and for many years the militiamen were targets of the Sunni Arab-dominated Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The majority of Tall Afar's residents are Sunni Turkmens, ethnic relatives of the Turks.
Iraqi troops who raided suspected hideouts in a separate sweep late Monday killed 40 insurgents, and arrested 27 in clashes with militants, according to the Associated Press.
In a briefing the night before the morning operation, Lt. Col. Christopher Hickey, commander of the 3rd ACR's 2nd Squadron, instructed the Special Operations soldiers working with the pesh merga to avoid alienating residents.
"We lose these people if we go in there and tear people's homes apart," Hickey said.
By 8 a.m., nearly 400 people were assembled, squatting or seated in the dirt beside the road. Two of the men had bloodied faces and spots of red soaking through their green dishdashas.
"They tried to grab my father, and I said, 'He is old, you don't need to take him,' " said one of the men, whose upper lip and right ear were swollen and bleeding. "They hit us with their fists and their rifles."
Many of the men's hands were bound so tightly with plastic cuffs that their circulation was cut off, so U.S. soldiers cut the bindings and instead wrapped their hands with thick green tape.
The Special Operations soldiers, who do not provide their names to journalists as a matter of policy, said the pesh merga had found a former colonel in Hussein's army inside one home. But when U.S. soldiers looked through the pen, they could not find him. One of the Kurdish fighters said he had been delivered directly to a Kurdish commander.
"Get him down here right now," a Special Forces soldier said. "He is going to be processed here, by the U.S., like everyone else."
After about two hours, the informant arrived. Wearing tan camouflage fatigues, a flak jacket, a green ski mask and green helmet, the informant said he was from the neighborhood and was under 20 years old.
"I am doing this because I want to see the fear and violence leave Tall Afar," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
With a U.S. interpreter, he perused the crowd, pausing for less than two seconds to consider each man's fate. He never spoke a word aloud, only whispering occasionally to the interpreter.
After drawing out 52 suspects from the group, he spent longer assessing each of them in depth and providing more detailed information about their activities. He identified a man with a split lip and wearing a purple shirt and filthy white pants as "a beheader," saying he had killed at least 10 people.
"Cuts heads," Capt. Noah Hanners, leader of Blue Platoon in the 3rd ACR's Eagle Troop, wrote in blue marker on the man's forearm.
"You get treated special, buddy. Congratulations," Hanners said.
After conferring with the informant, the interpreter wrote on the white T-shirt of a man who had no identification papers: "His name is Nafe, but he is giving a different name."
Four others were identified as local insurgent cell leaders known as emirs, and "emir" was written on their arms. Several men had eagle tattoos on their arms, which the informant said indicated they were former members of the Fedayeen Saddam, a reputedly brutal militia run by Hussein's son, Uday. The informant slapped one man's tattoo, and when the man protested, an Iraqi soldier smacked him across the face with the back of his hand.
"Don't be slapping them," Hanners warned. "That's not how we do this."
Some of the American soldiers taunted the detainees by asking them, "Can you say Abu Ghraib?" referring to the prison west of Baghdad from which photographs of prisoner abuse emerged last year.
"No, Guantanamo," one smiling captive responded, referring to the U.S. military prison in Cuba where suspected terrorists are held. "I just don't want to go to the Iraqi army or police."
"Your source is not good, these are all innocent men," said a detainee wearing a gray dishdasha, who said he was a student in the city of Mosul, 40 miles to the east. "We are all Sunnis. That is why he chose us. He is Shia," he said, referring to the informant. Hanners said the quality of the informants has varied widely. "Some seem to say what they think you want to hear," he said. "Others give us information that pans out."
Another soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he said he would be punished by commanders for his criticism, had a more negative view of the sources' performance. "We almost never get anything good from them," he said. "I think they just pick people from another tribe or people who owe them money or something."
Before boarding trucks and returning to their base, the Kurdish soldiers lined up behind the detainees and posed for digital pictures. They threw packages of food and bottles of water to a large group of children assembled across the road, many of whose fathers had been detained.
Some children picked up the gifts, but several grabbed them and threw them at the departing army vehicles. One truck quickly stopped and a soldier got out and pointed his pistol at the children, causing them to scatter briefly, before he drove away.
Soldiers and some neighborhood children gave the detainees food and water as they waited in the 100-degree heat for trucks to arrive to transport them to Camp Sykes. A woman in a long purple dress and white head scarf shouted at the remaining soldiers in Turkish, and others began to gather behind her.
"I give this 30 minutes before it gets out of hand," said Sgt. 1st Class Herbet Gadsden, surveying the scene. "We have to get these people out of here before their families go nuts."
At noon, two trucks arrived. Soldiers lined up the detainees, photographed each one with a digital camera and loaded them aboard. The crowd of family members faded back into their homes. "Another day of making friends," Hanners said, shaking his head.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 02:32 ||
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#1
The headline is "Informants Decide Fate of Iraqi Detainees", which -as we all know - is not true. They go to Iraqi judges, who turn some/many/most loose.
But we can't write an article without playing the race (tribal) card, can we?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/13/2005 7:36 Comments ||
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#2
After reading this it makes me think most of those "Informers" will be found in a ditch inside of a month.
No mention of any attempt tp disguise their faces, that's fatal when dealing with Murderers and Fanatics (But I repeat Myself)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2005 11:21 Comments ||
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#3
Must not profile, must not profile.
Posted by: john ||
09/13/2005 15:18 Comments ||
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#4
they have detained hundreds of young men, some because they possessed weapons or insurgent literature, but others solely on the hearsay of local informants often called "sources" by U.S. troops.
"They have ruined hundreds of careers, some because of actions they've taken in public, but others solely on the hearsay of local informants often called 'sources' by US media."
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate the press? Seriously, a journalism degree should be grounds for spaying or neutering.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 15:40 Comments ||
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#5
Holy Christ. I hadn't even read the whole story when I made the earlier comment. Then I come across this:
Another soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he said he would be punished by commanders for his criticism, had a more negative view of the sources' performance. "We almost never get anything good from them," he said. "I think they just pick people from another tribe or people who owe them money or something."
Didn't the "reporter" just whine about this? And then he goes and does it?
Is a lobotomy part of the curriculum for journalism schools, or is it provided by their employers?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 15:45 Comments ||
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#6
Another thing -- ever since I heard the origins of "we had to destroy the village to save it", I've never trusted ANY anonymous quote a reporter claims comes from a military man. We have no way of knowing if the WaPo reporter fabricated the whole thing.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/13/2005 15:47 Comments ||
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Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in an interview yesterday that the United States could withdraw as many as 50,000 troops by the end of the year, declaring there are enough Iraqi forces trained and ready to begin assuming control in cities throughout the country.
After the White House and Pentagon were contacted for comment, however, a senior adviser to Talabani called The Washington Post to say Talabani did not intend to suggest a specific timeline for withdrawal. "He is afraid . . . this might put the notion of a timetable on this thing," the adviser said. "The exact figure of what would be required will undeniably depend on the level of insurgency [and] the level of Iraqi capability."
In the interview, Talabani said he planned to discuss reductions in U.S. forces during a private meeting with President Bush today, and said he believed the United States could begin pulling out some troops immediately.
"We think that America has the full right to move some forces from Iraq to their country because I think we can replace them [with] our forces," Talabani said. "In my opinion, at least from 40,000 to 50,000 American troops can be [withdrawn] by the end of this year."
That assessment differs dramatically from those offered by Bush and by U.S. military commanders in Iraq.
Bush has carefully avoided setting a timetable for reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, currently about 140,000, and the Pentagon plans to maintain or slightly increase the force level in anticipation of an Oct. 15 referendum on Iraq's new constitution. White House officials say that Bush's strategy for eventually withdrawing troops hinges on Iraqis' approving the constitution and holding successful elections in December.
Dan Bartlett, a senior Bush adviser, said the president and Talabani have the same goals. "We share the same view: As Iraqis build up their capabilities to defend their country, fewer U.S. troops will be needed to complete our mission," Bartlett said. "The president will continue to work with Iraqi leaders, and base his military decisions on the advice of commanders in the field and the secretary of defense."
A senior Army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the military does not openly discuss withdrawal timelines, said bringing home as many as 50,000 U.S. troops -- or more than 35 percent of those now in Iraq -- by the end of the year is not under discussion. "Any talk of reduction has been for well after the election time frame," the official said. "Are there discussions about how to pull back and when? Sure. But certainly not that dramatically in such a short time."
Talabani's statement has the potential to put Bush in a difficult position if the troops are not pulled out by year's end, since critics are certain to ask why U.S. soldiers cannot come home when Iraq's own president says they can. The two leaders will hold a joint news conference today after their meeting.
In the interview, Talabani said Iraqi troops are prepared to assume control of security in several cities throughout southern, central and northern Iraq, despite continued violence, suicide bombings and killings. Many military experts predict a spike in insurgent attacks ahead of next month's vote.
Talabani said the number of "well-trained" Iraqi security forces stood at 60,000 and would reach 100,000 by the end of the year. All told, there about 190,000 Iraqis enlisted in the military or local security forces. "Some are well-trained, some are not so well-trained," he said. Iraqi troops have light arms, but he said they need 50 tanks and automatic weapons.
Talabani, who is Kurdish, could be influenced by the fact that the Kurds are fairly capable of defending their territory in northern Iraq and are less in need of U.S. military support, said Michael O'Hanlon, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies Iraq.
Many Sunni Arabs oppose the draft constitution, and they are organizing in record numbers to vote against it in Sunni-dominated regions. Talabani raised the possibility of an addendum to the constitution in coming days in an effort to appease Sunni factions. "Of course, we would like to have consensus on all articles of the constitution," he said.
In the interview, Talabani said he did not want to speak critically of neighboring Syria, which the top U.S. envoy to Iraq chastised for interfering there. Many of the foreign insurgents fighting in Iraq are believed to have entered the country along the porous Syrian border. "Our patience is running out, the patience of Iraqis [is] . . . running out. The time for decision . . . has arrived for Damascus," Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at the State Department.
Commenting on the upcoming trial of ousted president Saddam Hussein, Talabani insisted that the former leader had confessed to the killings of tens of thousands of Kurds in the late 1980s, an assertion denied by Hussein's attorney.
Hussein is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 19 on charges stemming from a massacre of Shiite Muslims following a failed assassination attempt on the Iraqi leader in the northern town of Dujail in 1982. Hussein allegedly retaliated for the plot by killing at least 143 people and razing much of the town.
Talabani, based on a conversation with the judge in the case, recounted a scene right out of the movie "A Few Good Men." Asked about the mass killings, Hussein sat silent, refusing to utter a word, Talabani said. But Hussein was taunted, asked if he was afraid to say he carried out such an act. Hussein said, "I am not afraid," and defiantly admitted he ordered the killings. Talabani said the judge has a video and recording of the confession.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:54 ||
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50,000 in a few months time - wow if thats true and lets hope it is if stability can be maintaned without them
Posted by: Shep UK ||
09/13/2005 5:11 Comments ||
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#2
I liked the part where Talibani gave Assad some lip. If they think they can talk trash to Syria and actually back it up, things are definitiely headed in the right direction. At this rate, the dhimmicrats will need new talking points by October 2006.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/13/2005 8:24 Comments ||
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#3
1. the question is SHOULD you withdraw 40,000 just cause you CAN. Right now, lets be honest, theres still plenty of bad happening in Iraq. Two thirds of the country is relatively safe, but control of Anbar provinces is precarious, and theres still terrorist violence in and around Baghdad. So do you "stand down, as the Iraqis stand up" so there are STILL just enough troops to contain the violence? Or do you stand WITH the Iraqi forces, so you actually have enough troops to beat the insurgency? Thats a big decision. Lets hope its made based on the sitution in Iraq.
2. The congressional elections in 2006 will likely be decided on domestic issues, as most congressional elections are.
#4
John McCain: "I've got an idea for our Pentagon planners," he said. "The day I can land at the airport in Baghdad and ride in an unarmored car down the highway to the Green Zone is the day I'll start considering withdrawal from Iraq."
#5
Let's send McCain out in that car and see if we're ready.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/13/2005 10:20 Comments ||
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#6
Of course, Talabani might reconsider when he realizes that the Iraqi army is getting the equivalent of about $15 Billion of the best military training on the planet for free right now. US Brigade, Division and Corps-level organizational planning, training and operations are worth their weight in gold.
Most national armies are organized around battallion operations. They just don't have the skill to mount consolidated brigade operations. But individual battallions are usually outmatched against a consolidated Brigade of equal size. A consolidated division can mop the floor with a half-dozen paper divisions of similar size.
On top of that, we have re-created their officer corps and training academies for officers and NCOs, but they still need a C&GS(*) school for their new breed senior officers. With that final addition, they would be up to NATO standards and could continue top-to-bottom everything for themselves.
(*) Ours was first created by WT Sherman, a fine gentleman.
A discussion concerning the permissibility within Islamic shariâa of purchasing weapons from the âinfidelsâ was conducted on a password-protected al-Qaeda affiliated forum today, September 12, 2005. The author posing the question references the mujahideen purchasing weapons from America during the war with the Soviet Union, which another member believed to be a different case, considering there was an âimperative to get rid of the Soviets.â
Two other members, though agreeing that it is legal within Islamic shariâa to buy weapons from the enemy, diverge in their rationale. One believes that if the weapon cannot be manufactured by the mujahideen, and if once purchased it is to be used for jihad, then it is permissible. The other member asserts that it is legal to buy the weapons, âeven from the mafia gangs in Germany or elsewhere,â since the prophet Mohammad borrowed shields from his enemy, thereby making borrowing and buying/selling analogous.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:38 ||
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Everyone knows infidels have the coolest weapons.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/13/2005 0:52 Comments ||
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I hereby issue a fatwa that sez that it ain't Kosher to buy weapons from infidels, including WMD. However, stealing them or scamming infidels of their weapons is Kosher. Carry on.
Posted by: Al-Aska Paul ||
09/13/2005 2:29 Comments ||
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#3
A friend of mine said infidels use pork residue in the production process of infidel weapons. Honest.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/13/2005 3:28 Comments ||
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#5
Small minds need to know I guess. In the end they can't very well make much of anything themselves and never will so they'll have to buy or steal from infidels. It's really tough isn't it.
KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 12 -- Twenty-one candidates running in Afghanistan's upcoming legislative election have been disqualified for maintaining links to illegal armed militias and seven more for failing to resign from government posts, the joint Afghan and international Electoral Complaints Commission announced Monday.
The move, six days before the Sunday vote, followed dismay among many Afghans over the commission's decision two months ago to exclude only 11 of nearly 6,000 candidates on the basis of failure to disarm. Six others were barred for retaining official positions.
The voting will be Afghanistan's first parliamentary election in more than two decades. The electorate is to choose 249 representatives for the lower house of parliament as well as members of 34 provincial councils that will help select the upper house.
The latest disqualifications did not satisfy human rights advocates who have expressed concern that the field of contenders is rife with warlords who committed well-documented atrocities during warfare that began in 1978. "We're definitely happy to see more names excluded, and to see some mid-ranking names this time as opposed to just district-level people," said Joanna Nathan, Afghanistan director of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based advocacy organization. "But there's still widespread disappointment that the big names are not on there."
"They're ucky."
Nathan said officials in Kabul consider these people untouchable for "reasons of national stability. The past abusers are the ones who continue to abuse power today."
Grant Kippen, chairman of the electoral commission, countered that the body did not have the power to disqualify a candidate on grounds of war crimes unless there had been a conviction. That is a virtual impossibility because Afghanistan has no war crimes tribunals. "We can't deal with complaints that are simply allegations," Kippen said. "Our mandate is to deal with offenses under electoral law. We're not a criminal court."
"Get a clue, Joanna."
Kippen said the commission relied on the recommendations of a disarmament commission that includes representatives of the Afghan government, the United Nations, the U.S. military and a NATO-led international force to determine which candidates retained associations with banned armed groups.
Nathan and other rights advocates have complained that the commission is dominated by the government of President Hamid Karzai and that its work is largely secret. "It's all about bargaining behind closed doors," Nathan said. Although the 21 excluded candidates came from a variety of provinces and ethnic groups, none is considered close to Karzai.
The story continues with the plight of "Deedar".
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2005 00:20 ||
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U.S. intelligence is struggling to expose elements of the insurgency in Iraq made up of former members of Saddam Hussein's regime, John Negroponte, the nation's intelligence chief, said in an interview Monday.
Joint U.S.-Iraqi military efforts have damaged the network of foreign insurgents led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, though Zarqawi himself remains at large, Negroponte said. Indigenous Iraqi insurgents, led by former members of Saddam's ruling Baath Party, have been tougher to track down.
The "former regime elements ... seem to have very good operational secrecy," Negroponte said in a wide-ranging interview with USA TODAY reporters. "And thus far it's not been that easy to make a dent in that part of the insurgency."
Though foreign fighters, mainly Sunni Muslim Arabs from Syria and Saudi Arabia, have grabbed headlines with suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Iraqis, Negroponte said Iraqis dominate the insurgency. Despite intense focus on Iraq, where 138,000 U.S. troops are deployed, U.S. intelligence has not been able to produce anything more than a "speculative" estimate of the insurgency's size, he said.
Based on everything he has seen, Negroponte said, the insurgency is neither gaining strength nor weakening appreciably. The insurgency's stubborn resistance to U.S. and Iraqi military efforts has complicated the development of a democracy.
Negroponte became the nation's first director of national intelligence in April after nine months as U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Congress created the post last year in response to independent commissions that laid out major intelligence failures prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He has spent much of his time in the job setting up special centers overseeing counterterrorism and weapons proliferation. "Mission managers" will be named soon for human intelligence, Iran and North Korea, Negroponte said.
Although the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created in an atmosphere of urgency, "it's really a start-up organization," he said. "It's work in progress."
In his first media interview since assuming the intelligence post, Negroponte also said:
Despite significant failures before 9/11 and the Iraq war, U.S. intelligence "is second to none compared to any other intelligence organization in the world." His task is "making it even better."
Al-Qaeda, though weakened by the U.S.-led global war on terrorism, continues to plan and organize terrorist attacks and regards the U.S. homeland as its top-priority target. Western Europe, Negroponte said, is more vulnerable than the USA to al-Qaeda.
A viable Iraqi government has been slow in getting organized because the war led to the "degradation ... of virtually every single government department. ... They basically had to start practically from scratch."
Negroponte, 66, spoke in a secure room of his office's headquarters a block from the White House. A career diplomat with Foreign Service commissions signed by every president back to Dwight Eisenhower, Negroponte got his first overseas experience in South Vietnam in the early 1960s. He has been ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and Iraq.
When he appointed Negroponte, President Bush emphasized that the new chief needed broad powers over spending and personnel across military and civilian intelligence agencies.
Nevertheless, Negroponte said he cannot rule the 15 intelligence agencies "by fiat" but must "foster a strong sense of community" among organizations that have not always cooperated.
Negroponte said he is close to making a major decision on whether to go forward with a highly classified imagery intelligence network. According to Steve Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, the program probably concerns a costly network of satellites capable of evading radar, reflecting a Defense Department concern about the possibility that an adversary might attempt to "blind" U.S. intelligence operations by attacking its satellites.
Negroponte praised Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for helping the "lash-up between domestic and foreign" intelligence, which the 9/11 Commission called a major contributor to lapses before 9/11.
Following the report of the so-called WMD Commission, which examined the incorrect prewar estimates that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons and an active nuclear weapons development program, Negroponte said he is creating new standards on rating the veracity of clandestine intelligence sources. He is also improving the description of sources behind intelligence assessments.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:23 ||
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#1
master of the obvious. How much we payin this guy?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/13/2005 1:08 Comments ||
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Iraq has officially requested Syria to stop sending destruction to Iraqi lands through their mutual borders. On the other hand, the American-Iraqi attack against the city of Tala'far, which is parallel to these borders and from which gunmen have escaped through a network of tunnels, has continued.
The American army has opened a new front at Al Ratbah in Al Anbar city, targeting elements of Al Qaeda Organization, where they are said to be active.
In a press conference, Sa'dun Al Dulaimi, Iraqi defense minister, has strongly criticized Damascus and has confirmed that it is responsible for the sneaking of hundreds of Arab fighters to his country. He added, "I am calling our dear neighbors to fear Allah and stop sending destruction to Iraq." He continued, "Hasibah, Al Ratbah, Al Rumanah and other regions have become hostages at the hands of terrorists, who came from all over the globe and have not found a comfortable gate to enter the country except through Syria."
He considered, "The borders' problem that we are facing against the Syrians on borders that are 615 km long is that all the murderous dreadful fatal sneaking comes to us through these borders." He added, "This desperate gate that we hoped to be a gate for goodness has become a gate for evil."
Al Dulaimi confirmed, "If there was an intention on behalf of the Syrian party to make the borders with us an entry for the wicked, I have no capacity to place a soldier at each one meter. Nevertheless, we would find the best solution for this problem by the end of the year."
He did not give any additional details.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/13/2005 00:08 ||
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Warning No. 1,700,204,203.6
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/13/2005 1:09 Comments ||
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#2
Nevertheless, we would find the best solution for this problem by the end of the year.
Hmmm, Time to stock up on the popcorn...
Posted by: DanNY ||
09/13/2005 6:09 Comments ||
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#3
I think we should ATTACK,then well see how the SHEEHANEES react!!That'd REALLY blow em' away!!
#4
"I am calling our dear neighbors to fear Allah and stop sending destruction to Iraq."
One man's destruction is another's moral equivalent of our founding fathers. Why, he's calling for the repression of George Washington! Does Mike Moore know about this? A movie must be made!
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
09/13/2005 18:19 Comments ||
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Fed up with accusations it allows Taliban fighters to cross into Afghanistan, Pakistan has offered to erect a fence between the two countries to prevent incursions from either side. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made the offer during talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said after the 75-minute meeting.
If it's good enough for Israel ...
General Musharraf and Dr Rice are among scores of foreign leaders and ministers in New York for the UN World Summit. Gen Musharraf is expected to meet US President George W Bush this week. "Pakistan is prepared to raise a fence so that we can put an end to these allegations," a spokesman for the Pakistani President said. The spokesman did not specify exactly where and when a fence could be erected, how long it would be, or who would pay for it. "Pakistan can do nothing more than that to prevent incursions," he said. "We are fed up of people who say we have to do more."
You heard him, Fred ...
Oh. Well. Sorry I brought it up...
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been strained because of complaints from the Government in Kabul that Islamabad could do more to stop Taliban fighters infiltrating from Pakistan's tribal areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2005 00:00 ||
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IIRC,that is some pretty rugged country to build a fence through.Many years ago I put-up some barbbed wire fence for a rancher in hill country.It was only 3 strands and was a damn tough job.
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.
RIYADH â The Saudi government said yesterday it would set up a human rights agency, the second such watchdog in the kingdom.
Norway's left-leaning opposition was on course for an absolute majority in Monday's parliamentary elections, which would allow it to squeeze the ruling centre-right coalition out of power. After 80.7% of the votes had been counted, the opposition parties were projected to win a combined 88 of the 169 seats in parliament, against 81 seats for Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and his allies. 
Thousands of unsuspecting Muslims break one of the Koran's most important commandments every day and consume pig meat, as most prescription medicine contains gelatine made of hog's hide, daily newspaper Urban reported. 'There is gelatine in almost every capsule and tablet today. It's also possible to process gelatine from cattle products, but because of the risk of mad cow disease, pig gelatine is the most frequent ingredient in medicine,' said department chief of the Danish Medicine Agency, Finn Clemmensen.
A British businessman convicted of trying to smuggle shoulder-launched missiles into the U.S. was sentenced Monday to 47 years in prison, effectively a life sentence for the elderly man.
Syria has rejected US accusations that it allows fighters to sneak into Iraq, saying Washington's "threat" of using force was part of relentless pressure on Damascus. "It is regrettable that such language should come from the ambassador of a great power who is supposed to show more commitment to the norms of international relations," Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhlallah said on Monday.
Syria agreed yesterday with chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis on the procedures for questioning Syrian witnesses in the probe into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri. âAn agreement has been reached on the procedures and arrangements for hearing Syrian witnesses,â a Syrian official said after a meeting between Mehlis and a Syrian Foreign Ministry legal adviser, Riad Al-Daoudi. âMr. Mehlis will leave Syria later today and return toward the end of next week,â the source said without elaboration. Mehlis, probing the February assassination of Hariri in Beirut, arrived in Syria earlier in the day, starting a sensitive phase of the investigation which some Lebanese media say could implicate some Syrians.
