A Darfur rebel faction is reconsidering its rejection of a peace deal signed by the Sudanese government and the main rebel group this month.
Time to hop on the bandwagon and be virtuous. Lots of time later to ignore the agreement...
Abd al-Wahid al-Nur, leader of one faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, rejected the peace agreement signed on May 5 between the government and Minnin Arcua Minnawi, the rival SLA leader. However on Thursday, Nur said he had written to Salim Ahmed Salim, the African Union negotiator, asking to reopen discussions with the government. He also said he would sign the agreement if a list of demands were addressed in another document. "We are ready to sign if there's a supplementary document ... we did this because we want to avoid chaos in Darfur," he said.
"We're special. We want two agreements!"
He said his demands were more compensation from the Sudanese government for Darfur, greater political representation for his group and more involvement in implementing a ceasefire and disarmament programme. Alpha Oumar Konare, the African Union Commission chairman, confirmed that an approach had been made by Nur's faction. "There are no perfect solutions. [We must have] a compromise with guarantees that can improve the solution and that is the only way we can move forward," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Mike N. ||
05/12/2006 10:53 Comments ||
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I don't think it's personal, bigjim -- they seem to be aiming this at general nosy parker officialdom, mostly the AU, UN and perhaps the EU, I think.
Thousands of riot police broke up pro-reform protests Thursday, chasing and roughing up demonstrators who had gathered to support two judges facing disciplinary action after they blew the whistle on fraud in Egyptian elections. The two judges boycotted their disciplinary hearing to protest the treatment of the demonstrators ahead of the planned session Thursday. At least eight people were arrested during the scuffles, and Al Jazeera television said one of its cameramen was beaten by security forces, who had turned out in massive force around the court where the judges had been due to appear in expectation of demonstrations.
Hosni was big on reforms before the election. The rubes buy that stuff every time, then end up getting their heads cracked.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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As the dusk call to prayer fades, Amin al-Mashreqi glances at the expectant faces surrounding him and begins to read from his slim, handwritten book of verse that is helping to bring a measure of peace to this mountainous Arab country.
O, you who kidnap our guests,
Your house will refuse you,
These violations are against Islam
Crammed into a mud-brick shop, his audience, some with their hands resting on their gold-trimmed daggers, listen to his verse denouncing violence and Islamic militancy. When he finishes, there is silence. Then the room erupts in applause.
"Other countries fight terrorism with guns and bombs, but in Yemen we use poetry," says Mr. Mashreqi later. "Through my poetry I can convince people of the need for peace who would never be convinced by laws or by force."
For years Yemen has been known as a breeding ground for extremism. It is the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden and where Al Qaeda bombed the USS Cole in 2000.
But today this country is quietly winning a reputation for using unorthodox tactics to take on Islamic militancy.
"Yemen has turned to poets because they are able to speak to diverse groups of people who the literati and the elite cannot reach," explains W. Flagg Miller, professor of Anthropology and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin who has studied Yemeni poetry for about 20 years.
For centuries, Yemen's rulers have relied on poets like Mashreqi to take the government's message into remote areas where regular soldiers and officials feared to tread - and where using force could create more, and angrier, enemies.
"There is a long tradition of leaders turning to poets right across the Arab world," explains Dr. Miller. "The prophet Muhammad himself worked with a poet, Hassan ibn Thabit, to spread the word and compose poetry against other poets and tribes who refused to acknowledge Islam."
But the long and rich history of Yemeni polemical poetry, the idea of using tribal poets to fight extremism began with a chance meeting nearly two years ago, explains Faris Sanabani, a friend of Yemen's president and editor of a weekly English-language newspaper The Yemen Observer.
Leading Yemenis in Sanaa had gathered to chew khat, a narcotic shrub, talk politics, and listen to poetry, Mr. Sanabani recalls. Suddenly, one guest turned to Yemen's most popular tribal poet, Mashreqi, and asked him if he could recite any poetry about terrorism, he says.
Mashreqi rose eagerly to the challenge. He stood up, adjusted the broad, curving dagger hanging at his waist and proudly declaimed a handful of verses glorifying suicide bombers.
As the applause faded, the man who had asked him to recite the verses, Sanabani himself, took him aside and quietly invited him to visit his office.
The next day at the office of the Yemen Observer, Sanabani asked Mashreqi to watch a video made after Al Qaeda's 2002 suicide boat-attack on the French oil tanker SS Limburg off the Yemeni coast.
"I showed him footage of the environmental damage caused by the oil spill and of Yemeni fishermen and their families whose livelihood had been destroyed because their fishing grounds were polluted," recalls Sanabani.
Chastened by the images of oil-stained beaches, dead fish, and seabirds and sobbing, destitute Yemeni fishermen, Mashreqi left Sanabani's office appearing troubled and lost in thought. When Sanabani next saw him he seemed a man transformed.
"Three days later he came back with the most beautiful poetry I have ever seen," says Sanabani, recalling his amazement at the poet's new verses that now condemned violence and promoted peace and tolerance.
Sanabani and Mashreqi realized that the historic respect accorded to poets gives them a unique power to win over illiterate tribesmen in remote areas where villagers are traditionally skeptical of all that the government has to say and offer.
"The Yemeni people are very sensitive to poetry - especially traditional poetry like this," says Mashreqi. "If poetry contains the right ideas and is used in the right context, then people will respond to it because this is heart of their culture."
And although Yemen has used force to tackle Al Qaeda cells and rebel groups, Mashreqi's poems also fit into Yemen's wider strategy of defeating Islamic extremism by appealing to their countrymen's sense of pride, honor, and patriotism.
O men of arms, why do you love injustice?
You must live in law and order
Get up, wake up, or be forever regretful,
Don't be infamous among the nations
The poems, however, also robustly argue that carrying out terrorist attacks in Yemen will succeed in scaring away much-needed foreign investment and tourism - an argument that few impoverished Yemenis can dispute.
"You have to talk to people about the dangers and effects of terrorism," says Ahmed al-Kibsi, professor of political science at Sanaa University. "Education, the media, and the military complement each other."
So far Yemen's tactics seem to be helping. Since Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh joined President Bush's War on Terror in late 2001 the country has not experienced any major Islamist attacks - although internal tribal conflicts regularly flare up, as does a long-running Shiite Muslim uprising in the country's far north.
But while there have been few successful attacks by Islamic militants in Yemen, the country has still had its troubles with Al Qaeda.
In February, at least 23 suspected and convicted Al Qaeda members escaped from a jail in Sanaa. The Yemen Observer reported that, "some of the escapees were the most important and dangerous members of Yemen's Al Qaeda network, and have been blamed for bombing the USS Cole warship in Aden."
Also, there may have been other unintended side effects of Yemen's successful campaign to persuade would-be jihadists not to carry out their attacks on Yemeni soil.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that many Yemenis have instead traveled to Iraq to fight against the US-led occupation. In the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s, Yemenis are said to have made up the second largest contingents of Arab volunteers.
Others worry that while Yemen has succeeded in suppressing the visible symptoms of Islamic militancy, the root causes of violent radicalism remain and the Islamic militancy in the country is not defeated but is instead merely dormant.
Rising poverty, a lack of opportunity, and the arrogance and corruption of an increasingly authoritarian ruling class mean that Yemen's victory over terrorism may be only temporary.
"I've become aware of a real anger on the streets," says Robin Madrid, resident director of the National Democratic Institute's program in Yemen, adding that many Yemenis can despairingly point out second and third homes built by government ministers.
"Yemen has the potential to make excellent progress on all the fronts that we're concerned about," says Nabeel Khoury, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy, Sanaa, citing Yemen's need to tackle corruption and international arms smuggling while also extending democratization and protecting press freedom.
"At the same time, Yemen faces so many serious challenges that if it doesn't make the right decisions it risks deterioration on all these fronts," says Mr. Khoury, "with potential consequences for domestic as well as regional stability."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/12/2006 03:21 ||
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#1
The poetry is nice and all, but it wasn't revealed to the Profit (may his infinitives never split.) As a matter of fact, my Spidey senses are tingling; I definitely think I detect the influence of Shaytan in this 'verse'. It merely distracts the believers from the One True Path and there will be a fatwa against this as soon as the Elders can properly draw it up.
Washington accuses Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdul Majid Zendani of being an ally of Osama Ben Laden but the cleric operates freely in Yemen with the blessing of the pro-Western government. The red-bearded sheikh, complete with "jambiya" (traditional dagger), is the second most senior official of Yemen's main religious opposition party. He runs an Islamic university described by its critics as a hotbed of radicalism. Respected as a religious scholar throughout the Gulf, loathed in the West as an advocate of Al Qaeda leader's virulent brand of political Islam, Zendani is personally protected by America's ally, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Zindani's another member of the Supreme Council of Global Jihad.
The preacher has been on the cutting edge of radical politics, often working at cross purposes with the West. He has worked closely with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, helping them raise funds in March in the face of Western sanctions to pressure the militants to recognise Israel.
More to the point, he's a proponent of jihad and the caliphate...
Zendani and Saleh's tight-knit relationship serves as a pointed lesson for the United States of the difficulties it faces with crucial allies in waging its war on terror.
Yeah. The pointed lesson is that cannon fodder and even middle management is cheap and easily replaced. The holy men are protected at the highest levels.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the White House and Saleh forged a strategic partnership to crack down on militants in Ben Laden's ancestral homeland.
Saleh had visions of being run out of town like the Taliban were.
Famously, Saleh even tolerated a US Predator missile strike on a wanted Al Qaeda member in 2002.
Like I said about middle managers, they're easily replaced.
The government has hauled dozens of suspected Al Qaeda militants to state security court, although a recent jail break by 23 militants proved an embarrassment to the government and strained Sanaa's ties with Washington.
It wouldn't have been quite so embarrassing if it hadn't been quite so unlikely.
Yet, cooperation goes only so far in Yemen's labyrinth of politics where even Washington's friends are often chummy with America's enemies.
Yemen is an Arabic-speaking version of Pakistan, without the civilizing influence of Sindh.
Zendani is a case in point. In February 2004, the United States branded Zendani "a global terrorist", "one of [Ben Laden's] spiritual leaders," a recruiter for Al Qaeda training camps and a weapons procurer for the terror network. Citing "credible evidence," Washington persuaded the United Nations to add the preacher to the world body's list of terrorists. But back in this impoverished land of guns and daggers, Sanaa has resisted pressure to deliver Zendani to Washington.
Zindani also leads a powerful political party and lots of yokels with guns would go nuts if he was jugged.
In a recent interview with AFP, Zendani exuded confidence, certain he was far beyond Washington's reach. The preacher quite happily gave an account of Washington's latest bid to pressure Saleh to arrest him. The appeal took the form of a telephone call from a White House official to Saleh. Saleh then summoned the US ambassador, Thomas Krajeski, and Zendani for a meeting during which he played the call from Washington. He then defended the cleric in front of the diplomat, calling him "a moderate and wise man," and adding emphatically that "the government vouches for him and I personally vouch for him," according to Zendani.
They won't start killing the holy men until the final days of the war. If then.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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Rome, May 12, IRNA-Visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in Rome on Thursday in case of a military attack against Iran, no country in the world would have access to crude oil. Chavez made the remark at a press conference, adding, "As Iran's President Ahmadinejad has reiterated, if Tehran would come under attack, oil would get scarce for everyone."
He also said that the US President George W. Bush should be put to trial at the international court of justice for having launched genocide in Iraq. The Venezuelan President added, "For all the horror it has created around the globe in the course of the past century, the United States' war machine should be dismantled, since under the current conditions it is a threat against the entire mankind, particularly against our children."
Chavez added, "The North American empire is the most cruel murderer regime that has ever come to power in world history and a serious threat for all nations." He believes the death of the United States had better taken place in the course of the 21st century, because "otherwise the entire world would face the threat of annihilation."
The revolutionary Latin American President concluded his remarks, arguing, "Although in terms of military power the United States ranks first in the world, but in the public opinion of the world nations it ranks rock bottom low, and many nations fell stronger in terms of logical reasoning than the United States."
Hugo has really been sampling his own product, hasn't he?
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez who was in Italy's capital, Rome, on a two day visit left for Vienna, Austria, on Thursday evening. During his stay in Rome President Chavez in addition to his Italian counterpart, met and conferred with the new Italian Parliament Speaker Fausto Bertinotti, the Head of Italy's leftist Democratic Party Piero Fassino, and in Vatican, with Pope Benedict XVI.
#7
this whelp needs to be taken to the shed - laser dot and *SPLAT*. My tax dollars should pay for it, dammit. I'm tired of third-rank tinpots standing on a couple boxes attempting to look tall. Knock his ass off
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 20:10 Comments ||
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#12
If Chavez wants to be a secondary target in the Iran clean-up, so be it. Suits me just fine. It'll be worth every tax dollar to replace a few more cruise missiles after it's over.
#13
"...Death of the United States had better taken place in the 21st century" - iff he means Year 2015-2020, the Lefties + Russia-China, directly andor indirectly, had already spilled the beans years, yarns and yarns, ago. OH, DUBYA, CAN WE HAVE A DRAFT NOW, ESPEC BEFORE PAULA "DELILAH/
BATHSHEBA" "KNIGHTS OF MALTA" ABDUL DECIDES TO KICK ANOTHER COCONUT, AGAIN, THIS TIME ON AMERICAN IDOL!?
#16
"Upper thigh" is an adequate target description for spraying bullets I should think, TMH. The gentleman in Gaza(?), so targetted on Page 1, may never walk again.
MOSCOW, May 11 More than a year after the killing of Aslan Maskhadov, the guerrilla commander and the president of the separatist government of Chechnya, his relatives are seeking political asylum in Finland, they have said.
The request, made public this week by the family, rekindles questions about the state of the war in Chechnya and about the reputations and prospects of separatists who have survived it.
Mr. Maskhadov's widow and two adult offspring live in Azerbaijan, where the government has allowed them to reside for several years just beyond the Russian border.
Their request to leave for Finland reflects worries about their safety, Mr. Maskhadov's son, Anzor, said in an e-mail message, and recognition that with Russia and its proxies now the dominant forces in Chechnya, they have little chance to return home.
Their Russian passports have expired, and they have become stateless, he said. "We cannot travel to, nor spend any time in, our republic," he wrote. "There have been threats made to our family directly."
Officials in Finland have declined to discuss the family's request, citing privacy rules associated with asylum applications. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which can process recommendations for resettlement, also declined to comment publicly.
The Maskhadovs have sought asylum elsewhere before, unsuccessfully, and their effort reflects the difficulties often associated with having a Chechen identity, and the influence Russia has had over countries that admit prominent people with ties to Chechen independence efforts.
Russia has complained of the presence of former separatist political figures in the United States and Britain. It has been quiet on this case.
The latest war between Russia and the separatists began in 1999 and has caused the near destruction of Grozny, the Chechen capital, and an unknown number of civilian deaths.
As Russia seized more control of the republic, some separatists resorted to terrorism, including suicide bombings and hostage takings in a Moscow theater in 2002 and a public school in 2004. The campaign killed hundreds, including 186 children in the school, and hurt the separatists' reputation. The fighting slowed in late 2004, and Aslan Maskhadov a former Soviet Army officer who was elected president of Chechnya and who spoke against terrorism and sought a cease-fire with Russia was killed early last year. Critics have said his killing removed a moderate from the separatist ranks and left remaining fighters under the command of extremists and terrorists, including Shamil Basayev, who planned the hostage sieges and has tried, with some apparent success, to encourage pockets of fighting in Russian regions near Chechnya.
Russia insists Mr. Maskhadov was a terrorist, complicating the family's chances for Western help.
Anzor Maskhadov said he was confident of finding support, saying his father tried "to stop the war and to stop the bloodshed from both sides."
by Melanie Kirkpatrick, Wall Street Journal EFL, go read it all; it's heartbreaking.
Old habits die hard--especially those whose disregard could mean death. So it is understandable that the North Korean refugees with whom I met this week set strict ground rules for our interview: no names, no photographs, no indication of their location in the U.S., and no identifying details of the Southeast Asian nation whose government risked the ire of China to permit them to depart for asylum in this country after they sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy there.
"Hannah" and "Naomi" are the noms de liberté of the women who were willing to savor a taste of their new freedom by meeting an American journalist. Even so, they remain fearful for the safety of the families they have left behind in North Korea. The relatives of defectors can simply disappear--sent to the gulag or worse. "North Korea has many spies," says Naomi, through an interpreter. Even, it went unstated, in this country.
The women's new names were bestowed on them by Chun Ki-won, the South Korean pastor whose underground railroad led them, and four others, thousands of miles across China to sanctuary in Southeast Asia this spring. . . . Pastor Chun is a man of "miracles," the women say. Their own particular miracle is to have stepped off a plane in this country late last Friday, the first refugees to enter the U.S. under asylum rules set up under the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act. Naomi, Hannah and the four compatriots who traveled with them had spent years in virtual servitude in northeast China, along the North Korean border.
Hannah and Naomi are willing to share their stories, but first they wish to make a statement. Hannah settles herself in her chair, opens a small notebook, and reads in Korean the words she has prepared: "Before we begin this interview, I want to thank God for bringing us to this land of dreams. We sincerely thank President George Bush and the American government for letting us enter as refugees." She bows slightly, closes her notebook, and prepares to relive her ordeal. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
05/12/2006 06:38 ||
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Don't let the speak to anyone on the House or Senate Intelligence committees. USA Today will have their pictures on the front page and they'll be dead by week's end.
BEIJING (Reuters) - A former leader of China's far western region of Xinjiang criticized the United States on Friday for allowing five Chinese Muslims released from Guantanamo Bay to seek asylum in Albania.
Ismail Amat, a vice-chairman of China's parliament and formerly a senior Communist Party official in the Central Asia border region that is home to the country's Muslim Uighur minority, said the men should have been released into Chinese custody.
"The way the U.S. has handled this case is not right," Amat told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference.
The United States said last week the men had been released from nearly four years of U.S. military detention but it declined to return them to China out of concern they would face persecution. Instead, they were flown to Albania.
China's Foreign Ministry has protested to the United States and Albania over the issue.
Beijing has waged a campaign in Xinjiang against what it says are Islamic extremists and says the men are connected to a group agitating for an independent "East Turkestan".
Amat said the cases would be handled according to the law if they were returned, but repeatedly referred to them as terrorists.
He also said they had received training under the Taliban in Afghanistan, indicating that despite being cleared of charges in Guantanamo, China still viewed them as suspects.
Uighurs, whose language and culture are similar to those of Turkic peoples in Cental Asia, have chafed at Beijing's controls on religion and culture in Xinjiang, sparking occasional violence in the oil-rich region.
But human rights groups say China has used its support for the U.S.-led war on terror to justify a wider crackdown on Uighurs characterized by arbitrary arrests, closed trials and the use of the death penalty.
(KCNA) -- Jo Il Min, chief of the Pyongyang Mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, issued a statement on May 9 denouncing the desperate maneuvers of the south Korean pro-U.S. conservative forces, notably the "Grand National Party," to grab power again. He recalled that the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front some time ago issued a manifesto as regards the persistent drive of the south Korean pro-U.S. conservative forces to use the "local self-governing body election" slated at the end of May as a stage for building a foothold for their return to power with the 17th "presidential election" next year in mind and it called for turning the "local self-governing body election" into a theater of struggle for taking stocks of the crimes of the GNP.
He continued: It is a unanimous desire of the south Korean people and also a demand of the June 15 era of independent reunification for achieving national reunification and common prosperity of the nation by its concerted efforts to totally ostracize the GNP, the malicious enemy of the history and nation, in the political arena. The GNP is no more than a vassal party of the United States worshiping the latter as its forefather and working devotedly only for its interests, clean indifferent to the dignity and interests of the country and the nation. If the "GNP" returns to power with the instigation and support of the U.S. and conspiracy and challenge of the pro-U.S. conservative forces, the favorably developing inter-Korean relations will be blocked and reconciliation, unity and reunification between the north and the south will again move back to mistrust, confrontation and anti-reunification.
The south Korean people should heighten vigilance against the plots and dastardly moves of the U.S. imperialists to revive the pro-U.S. conservative regime through the up-coming "local self-governing body election" and "presidential election" scheduled next year and shatter them to smithereens by a vehement fight against the U.S. and war. Through the "local self-governing body election," all the south Korean people should bring a stern sledge hammer of history down on the pro-U.S. conservative forces led by the GNP, the war servant of the U.S. imperialists going against the June 15 era of independent reunification and working to bring nuclear holocaust on the head of the Korean people.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#5
Shows you the effects of malnutrition on propaganda ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 10:52 Comments ||
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He recalled that the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front some time ago issued a manifesto as regards the persistent drive of the south Korean pro-U.S. conservative forces
someone should tell them this is the 21st century now. It's like if I started saying, "where for art thou" instead of "where are you". Hark! Perchance it is Satan who bedevils me.
East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, says he has not been told by the Australian Government about the deployment of Navy ships toward his nation.
The HMAS Kanimbla and the HMAS Manoora have been sent to Australia's northern waters.
The vessels are on stand-by in case East Timor requires assistance to quell any further rioting in the capital, Dili.
Dr Ramos-Horta says the Australian Government has not informed his Government about the deployment of the ships.
"It might not even be for East Timor because I haven't heard anything about that," he said.
"But accepting at face value Australia's good faith, accepting at face value that Australia cares about East Timor and cares about security here, well then I am touched.
"I wait to hear a proper briefing from the Australian ambassador."
Troops 'not required'
Prime Minister John Howard says East Timor has not requested help but Australia is ready to lend a hand if required.
Dr Ramos-Horta says he sees no need for the ships to be dispatched, because he does not believe there will be any further violent flare-ups.
"It's quite peaceful - the incidents we had on April 28 was only on April 28," he said.
"The rest of the week the country was largely the victim of rumours that caused people to flee to the mountains, but as everybody knows there [were] no more incidents.
"The situation has very much calmed down."
Dr Ramos-Horta says East Timor does not need peacekeepers, but believes more international police advisers would help provide stability.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Nine Muslim men arrested in Australia's biggest security swoop, and charged with planning a terrorist act, pretended to be women texting girlfriends to secretly communicate, a prosecutor told a court on Friday. "Hi babes, I'm missing you," one message read, while another said: "How you going love, did Sue want to meet me".
During a bail application for one of the men, Khaled Cheikho, 32, in the New South Wales Supreme Court, a prosecutor said the men used "covert phones" under false names and code to communicate, Australian Associated Press reported from the court.
One message between Cheikho and co-accused Mohammed Elomar referred to the purchase of some insulation tape allegedly used to make explosives, said prosecutor Wendy Abraham. "Hello darling, could you let me know if you still have rolls of the silver tape," a message from Cheikho read.
Abraham said the text messages were also used to organize meetings between the men.
Cheikho is the first to have a bail hearing. The bail hearing has been adjourned until June.
Eighteen Muslim men, one an Islamic cleric, were arrested in raids in Sydney and Melbourne last December and charged with being members of a terrorist organization and/or plotting a terrorist attack.
In an earlier court appearance in Melbourne, a prosecutor said the men discussed revenge attacks against Australia and killing Prime Minister John Howard. In a Sydney court, a prosecutor said the men arrested in Sydney may have been planning to attack the city's small research nuclear reactor.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/12/2006 12:55 Comments ||
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#2
I met her in a mosque down in old Beirut
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Zam Zam cola
Z A M cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to text
I asked her her name and in a swarthy voice she said Moamar
M-o-a-m-a-r Moamar M-o-a-m-a-r Moamar
Posted by: ed ||
05/12/2006 13:09 Comments ||
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#3
LOL ed
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 13:40 Comments ||
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#4
Could be an innocent explanation here- once or twice I've said "Hi babe" and got a response of terror, too.
Trials will be carried out on a mobile phone jamming device that could be used in prisons, federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has rejected requests from the NSW government for permission to install mobile phone jammers in maximum security prisons.
The NSW government fears mobile phones could be used to direct terrorist attacks from prisons but ACMA believes phone jammers could interfere with communications devices outside jails.
Senator Coonan said technological advances meant new jamming equipment would result in less interference to mobile phone users near prisons.
She said laboratory testing of a phone jammer would be conducted on behalf of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) before prison trials were considered.
"This limited testing provides the opportunity for a number of technical issues to be considered in more detail and to fully assess the effectiveness of the device," Senator Coonan said in a statement.
NSW Justice Minster Tony Kelly urged the federal government to permit a trial of phone jammers in Lithgow and Goulburn jails as soon as the laboratory tests were completed.
"Blocking the use by serious criminals of mobile phones in our jails is a key counter terrorism weapon," Mr Kelly said in a statement.
#4
cluster bombs and cholla cacti (as noted earlier)
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 21:50 Comments ||
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#5
Build the Wall/Fences, dev a fair impartial and effective guest worker program, deport those whom refuse to become American citizens, and deport those coming illegally over the border from now on. For the duration of this WOT, Dubya + Congress/NPE + Dubya's successor need to do whatever it takes to assure America is effectively defended, protected, secured, AND VICTORIOUS - IFF WE NEED A DRAFT, THEN DO IT. NEVER MIND THE LEFTIES BECUZ THEY'LL SUPPORT ANYTHING< EVERYTHING AND NOTHING, ANYONE EVERYONE AND NO ONE, THAT EMPOWERS THE SOCIALIST, ANTI-AMERICAN, OWG AGENDA. THEY'LL DEFEND THIS COUNTRY ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT AMERICA PC/PDENIABLY LOSES OR IS DEFEATED IN THE END. Britain had its capable Home Guards, Texas has the Texas Rangers, and the post-Pearl Harbor Fed Courts upheld FDR putting Japanese nationals in isolation/detention camps during wartime or uncertainty. AMERICA IS DEALING WID FOES THAT HAVE NO SCRUPLES KILLING OR DESTROYING US BY WAR, TERROR, OR DIPLOMATIC-PC POLITENESS BEHIND OUR BACKS. JUST G****** D**** DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR THE SURVIVAL AND GOOD OF THE NATION.
#6
We as a class may no longer have the agility of our youth, but older Army, SPECOPS, and INTEL vets like myself are not likely to run just becuz we're being shot at. I know Osama, etal. and I know their backgrounds and hiding places - you don't, and all the PC bravado and buyouts of Internet websites for the control of information isn't going to change anything.
Psychiatrist, writer and activist Dr. Wafa Sultan, a Syrian expatriate and American-by-choice, has become one of the most famous Muslim heretics in modern times. And she did it in a thoroughly modern way condeming Islam during two television apperances, the most recent on Feb. 21, on Arab television network al-Jazeera.
In her televised comments, in Arabic, she called the clash between Islam and the West a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality.
Last week, in Los Angeles, she spoke in a public forum for the first time in English, at an appearance hosted by the conservative-leaning Center for the Study of Popular Culture.
I have lost hope for Islam and I think its the duty of all thinkers to be blunt and straightforward to change the minds of Muslims, she said confidently, flanked by two bodyguards, to a receptive audience of about 150 at the Luxe Hotel on Sunset Boulevard.
Time magazine counted Sultan, 47, as among the worlds 100 most influential people for pioneering public criticism of Islam by Muslims. That she is a woman makes her voice almost unique in the Muslim world, which she characterizes as routinely suppressing women. This outspokenness has resulted in frequent death threats against Sultan, who lives in a suburb of Los Angeles. Some Muslims reformers, on the other hand, have praised her.
The daughter of devout Muslims, Sultan first began to question Islam as a medical student at the University of Aleppo, where she witnessed members of the radical Muslim Brotherhood political group shoot dead her professor while shouting Allah is great. She and her husband immigrated to the United States in 1989. She describes her mission as educating the world about what she calls the dangers of Islam and fostering an intellectual rebellion among oppressed and brainwashed Muslims.
There is no moderate Islam at all because Islam is different from any other religion, Sultan said. They believe the Quran is the absolute word of God and were not supposed to play with it or change it.
In addition, she said, in Islam religion and politics are intertwined, making state enforcement of Islam a religious goal among devout Muslims in any country. Islam, she said, shouldnt be classified as just a religion but a policy which applies its teachings violently.
Sultan didnt reserve her criticism for Islam alone. She faulted President George W. Bush for referring to Islam as a religion of peace. She said that America has the responsibility and right to lead the ideological change that needs to occur among Muslims, to liberate them, but through books not only tanks.
We dont only need [Donald] Rumsfeld, but we need Dr. Phil and Oprah, she remarked, to applause and laughter.
Shes working on her third book, The Escaped Prisoner: When God Is a Monster, which, she said, will examine the ideology of Islam from a scientific perspective.
Tammy Bruce, feminist and conservative radio host on KABC, moderated the question-and-answer period at the May 3 event. The subject of Israel and its future in West Bank came up in a question.
The problem is not the land, she said, its deeply rooted in the hatred [of the Jews] in the Islamic teachings.
#3
She's right, except for one thing. The problem is not that Muslims believe the Koran "is the absolute word of God and we're not supposed to play with it or change it". Fundamental Christians believe that the Bible is the absolute word of God as well. Orthodox Jews believe that the Torah, Prophets and Psalms are the word of God as well. No, it's not that they believe it, but WHAT IT SAYS. If I absolutely believe and am devoted to a book that says to love my enemies and live at peace with all men, no problem. If I absolutely believe and am devoted to a book that instructs me to murder all infidels, the problem is obvious. The problem is simply one of content. The Koran's content is poisonous to a free and peaceful world.
1. While orthodox jews do believe the Torah is the word of God,the psalms and prophets are accorded a lower standing because the composers have a lower level of prophesy than Moses.
2. even in the Torah, there are some nuances, e.g., Deutoronomy has essentially no direct quotes from God and in the previous books there are direct quotes from many not so nice people, for example, Pharoah or Baalam
3. The Torah is interpreted in a less than literal way. The phrase, "eye for an eye" (more literally translated eye-under-eye) was, long before the Talmudic era, considered as a requirement for monetary compensation.
#5
MHW, I don't mean literal interpretation so much as message. Of course the Torah is held to be of a higher order of inspiration than the Psalms, because of it's Mosaic authorship, antiquity, etc. In the NT, the Pauline writings are generally considered to have more authority than others, for various reasons. What's the overall message of both the Jewish scriptures and the New Testament? Compare that with the overall message of the Koran. Again, a content problem.
#6
The difference between the Quran and the other books is that the latter are the words of G*d through His chosen authors, while the former was given to Mohammed by an angel (as were Joseph Smith's tomes). Thus the Quran is "inviolate" and not to be subjected to interpretation.
#7
I'm going to disagree with those (including I think the Pope) who say the Koran is not subject to interpretation.
The Koran absolutely needs to be interpreted (or possibly explained is a better term). There are numerous phrases which contradict other phrases (either partially or wholely) or ambiguities (not to mention many sentences which seem to be nonsense and many sentences with words missing). For example, the Koranic verses having to do with alcohol are filled with these ambiguities, etc. It took several hundred years after the reign of the 'rightly guided' caliphs for alcohol to be placed on the harem list.
The problems, are, as I see it,
(1) that the interpretations, at least as done by the mainline moslem jurists and scholars make the nasty Koranic verses take precedence over the nicer verses (and there aren't that many nice verses to start with)
(2) there are a whole lot of nasty verses and a whole lot of verses about heaven and hell which motivate moslems to take the nasty verses very, very seriously
(3) even the ambiguous verses have been interpreted to give extra emphasis to violence and
(4) the hadiths and sunna add even more momentum to the violence means.
(5) The culture of many moslem countries adds even more nastiness (e.g., honor killings)
(6) the history of Islamic thought gives enormous comfort to people who seek to declare other people heretics or infidels or apostates and then kill them. It also gives enormous comfort to people who want to expand Islam to other countries.
Unfortunately, the 6 points are far more complicated to go through than saying "no interpretation"
#8
They should revoke Erin Ebadi's Nobel prize and give it to Wafa Sultan instead.
But then the Nobel peace prize ppl have long debased the value of it and it's long been given out for PC Piss rather than related to the truth rcognisable by the measure of the Golden Rule of Mankind. Without truth and common decency in reciprocity how can peace be attained?
#11
If God supports Islam, he wouldn't have invented machine guns.
This woman, Dr. Wafa Sultan is one cool babe. She has a clear view of the caveman culture and is alarmed by the lack of alarm about Islam. Islam is a caveman's attempt to control the population. Control of the population, itself is a stupid, backward idea. Life is much more involved than how can I benefit materially from my neighbors loss. That kind of shit is childish. Yet, that's what most of the world's governments are all about. Parties and individuals in power living off the fat of the masses.
There is a higher calling, but eliminating the Islamic caveman violently on the way toward that calling is not a criticism, rather a duty.
Carry on.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House on Thursday approved a $512.9 billion military bill that addresses a host of concerns arising from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from combatting makeshift roadside bombs to equipping more vehicles and troops with armor.
Passed on a 396-31 vote, the measure includes a plan to spend $50 billion for the first part of next year's war costs. ``The theme of the bill this year was troop protection,'' said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the House Armed Services Committee chairman. ``It gives the tools to the troops in the war on terror that they need.''
``With this bill, we continue to support them by providing equipment, training, resources and peace of mind for their families,'' added Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the committee's top Democrat.
Even though many supported the bill, Democrats were angry that Republican leaders prevented the House from debating some amendments, and they used procedural maneuvers to delay work on the bill for a few hours in protest. At least one of those Democratic amendments would have addressed the status of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Oh, we should have a vote on that -- I'd like a recorded vote of the Dems against the war, please.
The House bill plans $109.7 million for jamming devices that detect roadside bombs - known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs - and prevent their explosion. It also plans $100 million for at least 10 manned surveillance aircraft to patrol roads where the bombs are prevalent.
On a voice vote, the House added a provision Thursday that would require jamming devices on all military vehicles used in Iraq and Afghanistan outside of a military compound by Sept. 30, 2007. Additionally, the bill would let the services spend far more money than Bush sought to continue putting armor on Humvees and providing body armor for troops. It also would devote more dollars to war-zone equipment, such as night-vision devices.
The Pentagon would be allowed to spend more money on weapons involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as M-1 Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. The bill also directs the Pentagon to increase the number of F-22 aircraft and submarines being built.
At the same time, the bill would slice millions of dollars from plans for new weapons systems - the Joint Strike Fighter and the Future Combat System - as well as for the presidential helicopter and the ballistic missile defense program. Against administration wishes, the bill says the Navy must have 12 aircraft carriers. It also requires the Air Force to maintain a fleet of 44 combat-ready B-52 bombers until 2018 or until a comparable long-range strike aircraft is developed.
House lawmakers also want to give survivors of slain civilian Defense Department employees a $100,000 death benefit that's currently available to families of service members killed in combat zones since Oct. 7, 2001. The administration opposes that plan.
It also objects to House plans for a 2.7 percent pay raise for military personnel, which is 0.5 percent above Bush's request. Additionally, it opposes a provision that requires the Army to maintain an active-duty force of at least 504,400 and the Marine Corps to maintain one of 180,000.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 00:49 ||
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big money
Posted by: bk ||
05/12/2006 11:37 Comments ||
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60% + for pay, housing, health care, and benefits.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A single holdout kept the jury from handing a death sentence to Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in this country in the 9/11 attacks. But that juror never explained his vote, said the foreman of the jury that sentenced the confessed al-Qaida conspirator to life in prison last week.
The foreman, a math teacher in Northern Virginia, told The Washington Post that jurors voted three times - 11-1, 10-2 and 10-2 - in favor of the death penalty on the three terrorism charges that each qualified Moussaoui for execution.
On April 26, the third day of deliberations, the jury's frustrations reached a critical point because of several 11-1 votes on one charge. But no one could figure out who was casting the dissenting vote, the foreman said, because that person didn't identify himself during any discussion - and each of the votes were done using anonymous ballots.
``But there was no yelling,'' she said in an interview for the Post's Friday editions. ``It was as if a heavy cloud of doom had fallen over the deliberation room, and many of us realized that all our beliefs and our conclusions were being vetoed by one person. ... We tried to discuss the pros and cons. But I would have to say that most of the arguments we heard around the deliberation table were'' in favor of the death penalty.
I served as a juror on a murder trial once. I can't imagine being the lone hold-out and then not speaking out as to why. It's dishonest -- being the lone 'no' vote is fine, but you have to explain your vote, even if it's to say, simply, 'the state hasn't proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt'. Then you can talk about what the doubts are.
The foreman, who was not identified by the Post, said she voted for the death penalty because she believed the government proved its case. She was the second juror to be interviewed by the Post since the trial ended. The first juror said he voted for life in prison because he thought that Moussaoui, 37, had only a marginal role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema had ordered the identities of the jurors withheld for security reasons. The Post said the foreman contacted the newspaper and was interviewed on the condition of anonymity by a reporter who recognized her from the trial.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 00:43 ||
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#1
Prob the same person whom left the Alamo, shot Jesse James in the back of the head, and shot Liberty Valance also!?
#4
The AP reporter obviously knows the identity of the sole hold out and his reason for not approving the death penalty: The first juror (of two interviewed) said he voted for life in prison because he thought that Moussaoui, 37, had only a marginal role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. I just wonder why he didn't share those thoughts with the other jurors.
#10
Technically this person failed their duty to deliberate. Voting up or down is not deliberating. Aslo I would check this persons bank deposit history; there may be a big spike after jury selection.
#11
On April 26, the third day of deliberations, the jury's frustrations reached a critical point because of several 11-1 votes on one charge. But no one could figure out who was casting the dissenting vote, the foreman said, because that person didn't identify himself during any discussion - and each of the votes were done using anonymous ballots.
While I personally think rotting in Supermax is more fitting, this was cowardly and inappropriate. How can a jury deliberate the issues pro and con, hear all sides, attempt to convince hold-outs, gain consensus, etc? The lone hold-out did so clandestinely it appears, which is cowardly. This is a pretty good argument in favor of a military tribunal I'd say.
#12
Why did the other 11 agree to take the verdict in? They were only out a week. I'd have waited the jerk out at least a month and kept the jury going until the person was uncovered and made to present their case. The jury foreperson should also have called for a hand vote instead of a secret ballot in order to expose the holdout.
#14
Frankly, I can't see killing someone because of what they knew and didn't tell us, yet for his silence, his life will be a torture of nothingness. I'd rather be dead. Putting him through this kind of confinment is cruel and it shows just how out of touch our judicial system has become.
If he was a soldier planning for an attack, but was captured, he would be right not to talk. In his mind that is the case. No doubt he was read his Miranda rights. Was he not just following his rights ?
It's the issuing of the Miranda which should be on trial here. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be assigned to you.
#16
Life in supermax.
Moussaoui went from "I won, you lost" to wanting a do-over after the stark reality of life in supermax hit home. Rotting slowly in solitary is WORSE than death. It's a dungeon, a well lit dungeon, but a dungeon none the less. That jury holdout did him no favor at all.
#17
It is, but the point of a justice system is to punish people and deter others. I'd say the penalty does both.
I'd suggest it does neither.
Deterrence:
We've been executing people for murder for at least 10,000 years. During that time the prevalence of murder has fluctuated but there is no evidence that this is strongly related to the imposition of the death penalty. If we really believe deterrence is the purpose, executions should be televised and done in the most painful manner possible under the cruel and unusual punishment rule. I would favor hanging as it was the primary method in use at the time of the drafting of the constitution.
Punishment:
Make the punishment fit the crime. In this case the punishment is separation from society, either through execution or imprisonment. Execution has the advantage of being unappealable. Imprisonment has the advantage of no drawn out mandatory appeal process. I prefer whichever is less expensive.
#18
Guilt and innocence should be left to juries to decide. The Constitution guarantees trial by jury. But it says NOTHING about a jury deciding the punishment for a crime. That should be a matter of the Judge simply reading codified law. There will always be some loon on the jury who, despite overwhelming evidence that the defendant is a monster, will veto the death penalty because they have no concept of the law, nor of the concept that a man should get what he deserves. Not retribution, not revenge but just desserts.
#19
A agree with you,mc. However, the US Supreme Court doesn't agree with us. June 2002: In a 7-2 decision in the case of Ring v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the practice of having a judge, rather than a jury, decide the critical sentencing issues in a death penalty case.
That decision took three heinous killers off of death row here in Colorado and converted their sentences to life in prison.
#20
You're right GK. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has "ended" alot of practices that are clearly defined in the Constitution. Contructionism has been almost entirely replaced by activism.
Posted by: bk ||
05/12/2006 11:38 Comments ||
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#22
Moussaoui is a failure, not a martyr. But by allowing him to live, he becomes a symbol of turning failure into success by sucking millions of $ enemy resources that could be used for battle. Even in failure, he shows the muslim world that they can continue to inflict damage to the soft west.
Posted by: ed ||
05/12/2006 12:05 Comments ||
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#23
How long will Moussaouis's success comfort him, as feels his borderline insanity become full-blown? He changed his mind after only a weekend in his new home -- I don't think it will take long. The remainder of his life won't be terribly expensive. Think of it as Gitmo-isolation tank... and he won't even have the satisfaction of throwing his feces at the guards.
#24
Absolutely - he'll end up just like the polar bear at Bristol zoo - totally mental within a year, pacing up and down.. no better fate for a wannabe jihadi..
Posted by: Howard UK ||
05/12/2006 14:13 Comments ||
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#14: "Putting him through this kind of confinment is cruel"
Not half as cruel as what he wanted to do.
Let 'im rot in Supermax - until time for him to rot in HELL.
None of these jihadis or jihadi-wannabees will get one iota of sympathy from me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/12/2006 14:21 Comments ||
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#26
The Prison Journal
(In 2002?) The average daily cost for inmates at the supermax facility in Colorado in 1999 was $88.72, compared to the daily cost of $50.82 for a maximum security prison. Annually, the cost per year in a supermax prison was $32,383 compared to $18,549 for a maximum security prison.
I would be more in favor of forming a prisoner army to conquer and pillage the middle east than in boarding any Moussaouis.
Posted by: ed ||
05/12/2006 14:24 Comments ||
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#27
"That jury holdout did him no favor at all."
That jury hold out may have been the sartest one on the jury. Someone else here said the sentence was "cruel".
I dissagree, it is harsh, but it should be. But it is not cruel.
-2 cents more.
Posted by: I will add 2 cents more. ||
05/12/2006 15:48 Comments ||
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#28
Oops! sartest=smartest
Posted by: I will add 2 cents more. ||
05/12/2006 15:49 Comments ||
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#29
May be I am just a redneck from Carolina, but when did the Constitution become the mantra for foriners in such cases?
I personally am tired of this. Just because your caught in the U.S. dosent mean you get the benefits.
Personally, I think the Constitution is reserved for United States Of America's actual citizens and not transients. This loser should have never been tried in this manner.
#30
Frankly, I can't see killing someone because of what they knew and didn't tell us,
Why not? What he didn't tell us was a plot that killed 3,000 and was intended to kill 10's of thousands, destroy the Capital Building, and disrupt our military command and control.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/12/2006 19:29 Comments ||
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SRINAGAR, India - Indias top investigating agency on Thursday charged five army officers with murdering five civilians who had wrongly been described as militants in Indian Kashmir, a court official said.
The charges were filed against a brigadier, a lieutenant colonel, two majors and a junior commissioned officer in Srinagar, summer capital of Muslim-majority Indian Kashmir where a revolt has raged against New Delhis rule since 1989. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed charges against the accused army men for their involvement in the killing of five civilians, a court official said in Srinagar.
He said the charges filed before a chief judicial magistrate in Srinagar included murder, abduction with intention to murder, wrongful confinement, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. The army must say by the next hearing on May 24 whether it would launch court martial proceedings against the accused or would like them to be tried by a civilian court.
The army claimed in March 2000 it had killed five hardcore Islamic militants whom they said were involved in the massacre of 37 Kashmiri Sikhs in the southern district of Anantnag earlier that month. But huge public protests over what villagers said was the gunning down of innocent civilians forced the government to have the bodies undergo DNA testing. The tests proved the five were civilians and not rebels.
Now let's see if the courts can handle this ...
The Sikh massacre coincided with the arrival of then-US president Bill Clinton in India. Rebel groups denied responsibility for the massacre and blamed security forces whom they charged were seeking to to malign them.
The CBI was asked to investigate the case by former Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 00:34 ||
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Rebels have different DNA than civilians? How's that work?
#2
"rebel" here means Pakistani (ignore for a moment how a Pakistani can be rebelling against India, that is media stupidity).
The army was under pressure to find the terrorists responsible for the massacre and some people were killed. It was claimed by this COIN unit that they were militants .. ie infiltrated Pakistanis..
Villagers however had missing kin and suspected the bodies in the graves were their relatives.
DNA testing revealed this to be so.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 17:11 Comments ||
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#3
The counterinsurgency unit probably laid an ambush and these locals got caught up in it. Then it was a matter of covering their behinds.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 17:19 Comments ||
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#4
Now let's see if the courts can handle this .
From an Indian report...
Allegations that security forces act with impunity seem to be based more on prejudice than fact. Complaints of human rights violations have in fact been on a steady decline, mirroring the overall fall in levels of violence in Jammu and Kashmir. From 142 in 2001, complaints went down to 74 in 2002, 25 in 2003, 16 in 2004, and just seven in 2005. Seventy-nine Border Security Force personnel and 134 soldiers received sentences ranging up to life imprisonment for human rights violations between 1990 and 2004.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 17:22 Comments ||
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#5
"Rebels have different DNA than civilians? How's that work?"
Relatives of the victim come foreward and dna can be matched against the suspect, therefor proving that its not the named individual the Indian army is looking for.
Sorry for being pedantic, but genetics is genetics and always right.
The government on Thursday informed all donors that the country required $25 billion to secure its energy requirements in the next 10 years.
Even PEPCO isn't quite that brash.
Pakistan needs $18.45 billion to construct five big dams by 2016, including Kalabagh Dam, to ensure a water storage capacity of 20.7 million acres feet (MAF), Water and Power Ministry Secretary Ashfaq Mehmood told participants at the 5th Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) on Thursday.
However, the total requirement for agriculture and generating electricity is $25 million in the next 10 years, said Mehmood. The overall investment of $25 billion would be required for constructing new big dams, canals, drainage system, flood control programme and improvements in the water and electricity sector, he added.
The secretary said the countrys installed capacity in electricity stood at 19,590 megawatts (MWs) and total demand was 14,091 MWs. Demand will rise to 20,161 MWs by 2010, 44,653 MWs by 2020 and 64,595 MWs by 2025, he said. Pakistan falls short by nine MAF water for its current agriculture needs, the shortage would increase to 20 MAF by year 2020 and 25 MAF by 2025, he added. The country needs to irrigate an additional 18 million acres of land to produce sufficient food.
The government is also constructing three medium-sized dams (Mirani Dam, Subak Zai Dam and Gomal Zam Dam) and 35 small dams, said Mehmood. The Mangla Dam would improve the countrys water storage capacity by 2.9 MAF on completion, he said. All documentation for the constriction of Kalabagh Dam has been completed and the dams construction will be started after the provinces reach a consensus, he added.
The secretary told donors that the Economic Internal Rate of Return upon investment in Kalabagh Dam was the highest, standing at 23.6 percent as compared to 23.4 percent in Bhasha Dam. He said the country would be able to store water for the Rabi season from 80 percent river flows of the Kharif season after the five major dams were constructed. He added that water seepage level was between 40 to 45 percent and needed to be reduced through the construction and maintenance of the canal system.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
What's the normal skim in Pakistan, 50%? More?
Now that the gig seems to finally be up with us (no more loot for Pervy without hardcore results in WoT), why would anyone but the Saudis "donate" money?
#4
Informed all donors I'm with OU5871. No way should a country with a nuclear program need DONORS. I wonder what they could seel the program and the nukes to India for. Anyone care to guess?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
05/12/2006 11:02 Comments ||
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#5
Perv needs to rethink his spending strategies
Posted by: bk ||
05/12/2006 11:39 Comments ||
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#6
I am amazed at the sense of entitlement, the sheer chutzpah of the Paks.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 17:04 Comments ||
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When Pakistan can summon forth the energy to apprehend Osama bin Laden, maybe then they can come to us and talk about future energy needs. Until then, they can go piss up a rope.
#8
Between my heat, electric and gassing up 2 cars I figure I need about 75 grand for the next 10 years to meet my energy needs.
Who do I talk to about just giving it to me?
#13
No assistance of any kind to non-democratic countries. Limited and accounted assistance for countries following approved and accountable steps towards democracy.
Enough of wasted and detrimental funding. Bugger off.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) demanded on Thursday that the government ban the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) and other "anti-education, violent and anti-state" organisations to ensure permanent peace at educational institutions in Karachi and the rest of the province. "We demand President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and other authorities ban the IJT and other anti-state organisations, which are involved in the reign of terror at our educational institutions," said Wasim Aftab, a member of the MQM's coordination committee, at a press conference at the party's headquarters 90-Azizabad. MPAs Irshad Shah, Akhtar Bilgrami, Abbas Jaffer were also present.
IJT is Jamaat-e-Islami's SA. They specialize is imposing reigns of terror on whatever educational institution they can get close to, enforcing proper Islamic behavior whether their victims feel like behaving or not.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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The Muttahida Majlis-e-Aamal (MMA) will protest against the lawlessness in Karachi today (Friday), especially the Nishtar Park bomb blast, said acting Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Syed Munawar Hasan at a press conference on Thursday. He said the protest would be held to expose the MQM's 'terrorism' against religious parties. He said people responsible for the Nishtar Park bomb blast were still at large despite the president's claim that they would be arrested in 72 hours.
Right. The MMA protesting lawlessness. That's like Paris Hilton protesting sluttishness.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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I believe the guy in the pic has placed an order for 400 hog bellies to be delivered 12/15/2006 at $1.25.
The Indian defence minister told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that no decision had been taken to withdraw troops from Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield. The reply by Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian defence minister, to the lower house of the parliament assumes significance in view of speculations that New Delhi and Islamabad had been close to an agreement on the Siachen issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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India has built more overmatching forces against Pakistan than even South Korea against NK. India's response to the Kargil Incident will be interesting to watch.
Posted by: ed ||
05/12/2006 12:41 Comments ||
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no decision had been taken
...Yet.
Manmohan Singh may very well agree to this.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 16:56 Comments ||
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Just Melt the glacier ... then consider options.
Emboldened by the Muslim Brotherhood's electoral gains in Egypt last year and by the rise to power of Hamas in the Palestinian elections in February, Islamists in Jordan have raised their sights, preparing to take part in possible council elections this year and parliamentary elections next year.
The Islamic Action Front, the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, which controls 17 of the 110 seats in Parliament, is betting that it can now ride a popular wave to win a significant majority and maybe even form a government some day.
"We are a political party and it is natural for us to seek to come to power one day," said Rohile Ghraibeh, deputy secretary general of the Islamic Action Front. "If we were to win, is that worthy of any fear? We would consider it a blessing from God."
There is little chance of an Islamist government under this nation's current political system: King Abdullah has the power to bypass lawmakers in forming a government and can dissolve Parliament by decree.
But the Islamists' bluster and the government's reaction have increased tensions here. In the most significant case, security officials announced in late April that they had arrested several men with ties to Hamas who had been tracked smuggling weapons into Jordan from Syria.
Many in Jordan saw the timing of the announcement, right before a planned visit by Hamas leaders and as the Islamists were becoming more vocal, not only as an assault on Hamas, but also as a swipe at the Islamic Action Front, which is openly sympathetic to the group.
The front's new leadership quickly dismissed the government's smuggling allegation, and the sparse details released with the announcements, as a politically convenient ploy.
On Wednesday, a government spokesman, Nasser Judeh, said the men had admitted under interrogation that Hamas had been trying to recruit Jordanians for training in Syria and Iran to stage possible attacks in Jordan.
A Palestinian security delegation appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas landed in Amman on Wednesday to discuss the allegations.
"The announcement underscored the crisis between the government and the Islamists," said Muhammad Abu Rumman, who is in charge of research at the Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad and an expert on Jordanian Islamists.
Arab governments are seeking to send two messages, Rumman said: One is aimed at Western nations, hinting that true political reform would bring Islamists to power; the other is aimed at the Jordanian public, portraying the Islamists as untrustworthy and full of empty promises.
"They have begun to view Islamist participation as a security issue more than a political one," Rumman said of the Jordanian intelligence services. "The next step will likely be an attempt to weaken them."
He and others said that they have seen a decided governmental shift toward cooler dealings with the opposition since November, when suicide bombers attacked three hotels, killing at least 59 people in the worst act of terrorism in Jordan. New anti-terrorism legislation was soon passed, raising concerns by Islamists that they would be caught in a tighter net.
After the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections in January, Rumman said, that shift became more pronounced.
There are several reports that the intelligence services have become more heavy-handed toward journalists who criticize the government, he said.
And when the Islamists sought to protest the increase in fuel prices last month, the demonstration was quickly broken up and several members of the group reportedly were arrested. Government officials said they have nothing to fear from the Islamists, who have been part of Jordan's political fabric, though a tightly controlled one, since the 1950s.
If there is tension, it has been brought on by the Islamists, said Nasser Judeh, a government spokesman.
The prime minister met for three hours with Islamist members of Parliament after the announcement of the smuggling arrests last month and lines of communication have been kept wide open, Judeh said.
Jordan's election laws work against the Islamists' chances of gaining political control.
After Islamists won a majority of parliamentary seats in 1989, a new law put into effect in 1993, and with modifications in 2001, provided for a one-person, one-vote system in choosing Parliament, rather than allowing voters to choose from among party slates of candidates.
The changes weakened an ideologically based group in favor of traditional tribal ties.
Last year an initiative called the National Agenda, which made recommendations for changes in Jordan sought to overhaul the elections law by creating a hybrid of the existing law and a proportional voting system, but debate over changing the law continues.
Still, critics of the Islamists have begun calling for an even tougher stance by the government.
"The Islamists are growing stronger and their institutions are, too," said Samir Habashneh, a member of Jordan's appointed Senate and a former interior minister who has been an outspoken opponent of Islamist political power. "The government should take action now before it is too late. Although they are seen as pragmatic, this is just a phase before they begin spreading absolute Islamic power."
Ghraibeh of the Islamic Action Front and other Islamists said that they simply wanted a fairer chance at the ballot box, that they seek inclusiveness not exclusion.
"I am not optimistic that we can win a majority now, because the laws have still not been changed," Ghraibeh said. "But we are not trying to take everything away. We just want to take part in a fair process."
JERUSALEM - Israel, pressured by international alarm over a brewing Palestinian humanitarian crisis, has agreed to release millions of dollars in funds it has withheld from the Palestinians and is considering easing restrictions on the transport of goods between Israel and the Gaza Strip, officials said on Thursday.
Israel stopped transferring some $55 million in tax and customs revenues it collects monthly on behalf of the Palestinians after the Hamas-dominated parliament was sworn in three months ago.
Peoples savings are rapidly dwindling, merchants are forced to buy and sell on credit, gas stations have no fuel to pump and schoolteachers have started striking for back wages. International aid workers and government officials say the Palestinian health care system is verging on disaster, and that sanitation and sewage systems are liable to crash if money is not found soon.
In other words, the Paleos got the government they asked for ...
International Mideast negotiators, worried by the reports, agreed at a meeting on Tuesday in New York to release humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and to set up a special fund to administer the transfer.
Israel worries that easing the pressure on Hamas, which is sworn to Israels destruction, would be counterproductive to Western efforts to force it to renounce violence and recognize Israels right to exist. But with the West softening its stance, Israel followed suit. On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Channel 10 TV that Israel, too, was willing to have withheld tax and customs revenues used for humanitarian needs such as medicines and health needs.
Livni said Israel would not agree to use the funds to pay salaries of Palestinian government employees. Officials said the sums of money, and when it would be released, must still be decided.
Think about it for a while. Then debate it, then draft a resolution on the money, then debate that, then ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 00:28 ||
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F*ck 'em.
They have burned too many American flags to get any sympathy from me. I guess they will have to take it up with the U.N.
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Arab League has told the Palestinian Authority it is unable to transfer tens of millions of dollars in aid which have been collected for people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said on Thursday.
Warms the cockles of my heart ...
The leagues secretary general Amr Mussa called (Palestinian Authority president) Mahmud Abbas today and informed him that the league is not in a position to transfer the money offered by the Arab countries, Hanna Amireh, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee, told AFP. This is due to the refusal of the banks to transfer the money as a result of American and international pressure.
The league has gathered 70 million dollars from Qatar and Saudi Arabia to alleviate the plight of residents of the Palestinian territories where government employees have not been paid for the last two months.
That's about two weeks' pay for the uncivil servants.
However banks have been unwilling to transfer the money, wary of falling foul of international laws that prohibit the financing of terrorist organisations.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 00:10 ||
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#1
wary of mysterious hotel room theft in Manama falling foul of international laws that prohibit the financing of terrorist organisations
#2
70 million! They'll go through that in a week! We're talking about the biggest welfare state in the world guys. We need a couple billion over there. Do you have any idea how much a rocket costs?
It is not terroism that spawned the anit-terror laws which the banks are afraid of breaking.
No, fine masters of logic, it is the Americans who spawned the anti-terror laws to prevent Hamas and other Terrorists from getting Arab money. Oh yeah, I see.
I'm betting certain members of The League of Fine Reasoning Skills decided that was a good pot of gold and are keeping it!
#4
Much like the Swiss bankers who smiled ever so graciously as they denied claims from the surviving kin of the victims of the concentration camps. "No death certifcate? So sorry. We can't possibly release those funds without the proper paperwork."
Petrol stations in the occupied West Bank ran out of petrol after the Israeli company that provides fuel to the Palestinian areas cut off supplies due to growing debt. The impoverished Gaza Strip was also feeling the crunch over the Palestinian Authoritys failure to pay 120 million shekels ($27 million) owed to Israels Dor Alon fuel company. Petrol station owners in the Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million Palestinians live, said supplies were likely to be depleted by the end of the day.
A Palestinian official said President Mahmoud Abbas agreed yesterday to dip into investment funds to end the fuel crisis. Mujahed Salameh, head of the Palestinian Petroleum Agency, said Abbas would send a letter to Dor Alon, pledging payment of 132 million shekels ($29.8 million). We expect the fuel crisis to be over soon, Salameh said.
The money would come from the Palestine Investment Fund, the value of which has been estimated by Palestinian officials at close to $1 billion. Abbas took control of it after Hamas won a January parliamentary election. Salameh did not say how quickly the money could be paid. Dor Alon declined comment. Salameh said earlier that factories, bakeries and public transport might be forced to stop work unless fuel supplies resumed. Emergency service workers said they feared they would be unable to reach patients in rural areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
It could be a historic day in the territories: a day without a Molotov cocktail.
#10
No surprise Redneck Jim. The paleo leaders have been loaded for some time. Arafat had homes and millions stashed all over europe, while many of the 'poor' paleos he cared so much about were living in hovels.
#11
I wonder if the official purpose of the investment fund was to pay for retirement benefits. If so, then given how corrupt the PA is, there's probably not much in there, despite the $1 billion claim.
Posted by: James ||
05/12/2006 12:10 Comments ||
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#12
IIRC, I've read that Arafish had stashed about $ 1,2-1,4 billions in various funds, which earned several dozens of $ millions in interest per month. But why go for your own money, to feed a population you truly have no concern for (you're an arab dictator, remember?), when your sponsors, or preferably the infidels, are willing to fork the money?
#14
True, a5089. As I recall, Suha was terribly upset that it all went to Arafat's nephew, who was a mid-level player in the PLO... or at least all they could find.
#15
Investment Fund = MY retirement fund you fil*hy Eurpea*n Snivelin*g Mot*ers. You mean I should actualy have the courage of my convictions and invest & take responsibility as an elected resentative. I THINK NOT.
/taxi to Paris please.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad enjoyed a warm welcome Thursday from students at the University of Indonesia in Depok, south of Jakarta.
The energetic president was impressed by the questions and thankful for the students' support for Iran in its dispute with the United States over its nuclear program.
With the help of a translator, Ahmadinejad delivered a lecture and then fielded questions from students. He was particularly pleased by a question posed by Fatimah, who asked about Iran's ability to stand up to U.S. pressure.
"Does your excellency get inspiration from the martyrdom of Imam Hussein during Assyura?" she asked, referring to the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein, commemorated in Shiite tradition.
"That is an interesting subject and she (the student) deserves a scholarship. The rector should apply to the Iranian Embassy for a scholarship for this student," Ahmadinejad said to applause.
Ahmadinejad also enjoyed electronic engineering student Rizki's enthusiastic support for Iran's nuclear program.
"I personally support Iran's nuclear program. Will Iran accept Indonesians who want to study nuclear technology?" Rizki asked.
In his one-hour lecture, the Iranian leader said students played an important role in shaping the future. "For me, the youth are a precious capital," he said.
The lecture was supposed to end at 11 a.m., but Ahmadinejad spoke for an additional 45 minutes.
The Iranian president used the opportunity to once again denounce Western countries. "While other energy sources are limited, nuclear power is not. We will continue with our nuclear program," he said.
A group of students raised banners reading "Iran in My Heart" and "Nuclear for Peace" after the lecture ended.
"I love you all," the president replied.
Most students in attendance praised the Iranian leader.
"Our leaders should follow him and speak out against (international) tyranny," said Dipo, a computer technology student.
Psychology student Yosi Molina suggested that more time be allotted for similar events in the future, so visiting dignitaries could speak longer.
Later in the afternoon, he gave another lecture at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Ciputat, Tangerang. Earlier in the morning, he visited Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta.
The response by a group of Indonesian editors later in the evening was a little less warm after the Iranian leader kept them waiting for nearly two hours to an invitation for an "afternoon tea" at Hotel Mulia, where he is staying for his state visit to Jakarta.
When asked whether he saw a role for Indonesia to mediate and ease tension between Iran and the United States, he said: "The best thing to help under the current situation is to ask the troublemaker to stop making trouble for us."
But he said he would welcome an Indonesian role in a group of like-minded countries to have dialog to seek global peace.
He underlined the need for nations in the world to work toward "peace that is based on justice and universal teachings of religions".
"Peace that is not founded upon justice will not be sustainable," he added.
He toned down his anti-Israel rhetorics when asked whether he would carry out his threat against Israel if Iran was attacked by the United States. "There is no need to attack the zionist state. It will self destruct."
On Friday, the President is scheduled to meet with leaders of Indonesia's large Islamic social organizations as well as with leaders of the House of Representatives before ending his state visit.
He will fly to the holiday island of Bali to take part in the D-8 summit of countries with large Muslim populations this weekend.
#2
Bali is mostly Hindu, but the Republic of Indonesia is hosting the D-8, and chose Bali as the location for the conference. Probably to promote the idea that everything is A-OK for tourism, again.
FWIW, this link is my take on Indonesian cultural and political climate. A good map of Indonesia and some basic info can be found at this link.
#3
"Our leaders should follow him and speak out against (international) tyranny," said Dipo
Trust a Dipo to ignore the incredible tyranny in Iran and focus on the good old USA.
... the Republic of Indonesia is hosting the D-8, and chose Bali as the location for the conference.
Anyone else want to bet that there's a buncha Balinese who would be more than happy to endure another bombing if it managed to take out the entire D-8 heads of state?
#4
A hearty AMEN to that! However, given that the islamofascist movement in Indonesia gained great impetus with "missionaries" from Iran, and Iran's president is attending the D-8, another bombing isn't likely right now, IMO.
#5
I'm enjoying this moment of concord, cingold. I dread to think how incredibly insulted the peaceful Balinese people must feel, knowing that the ultimate tier of thugocrats are infesting their island under the pretense of some economic summit. Amongst these wastes of skin are certainly more than a few who cheered at the Bali atrocity. How wretched to have these damnable maggots clustered on their turf.
From Geostrategy-Direct, subscription.
MOSCOW Russia has drafted an offer to supply another two nuclear reactors to Iran. Just what the world needs.
Russia's Atom Stroi Export Co. has been preparing to enter an Iranian tender for the procurement of two nuclear power plants. Atom Stroi has been finishing work on Iran's first nuclear power unit at Bushehr, expected to be completed in mid-2007.
Vladimir Pavlov, director of Atom Stroi subsidiary Nuclear Power Plants Organization, said the Russian company would base its tender offer on the Bushehr project. Pavlov said the company was capable of building the most advanced and safest nuclear facility for Iran. "Russia's nuclear industrial units are equipped with the most advanced technologies in manufacturing nuclear power plants," Pavlov said. "We are getting prepared to survey our facilities to participate in the tenders to be held by Iran for building nuclear power plants."
Teheran has budgeted $243 million in its 2006-2007 budget for two nuclear plants, reportedly in western Iran. Officials have said both facilities would be light-water reactors capable of generating at least 1,000 megawatts of electricity each. "If our technical specifications are accepted and the political conditions are favorable, we will participate in the forthcoming tenders," Pavlov said.
Atom Stroi is more than three years behind schedule in completing the Bushehr facility. Pavlov, citing difficulties in adjusting Russian equipment to the infrastructure built by the German company Siemens in the 1970s, said 90 percent of the first nuclear power unit at Bushehr has been completed. "Currently, the final stage of the installation of the equipment is underway and according to the relevant timetable, the first phase is expected to become rubble operational by the end of the current year," Pavlov said.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/12/2006 16:50 ||
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Putin's game is so deep that a walk through the ocean of his soul would scarcely get your feet wet.
#2
Putin's soul was mortgaged on the dead of the apartment blocks he allowed the fsb to sacrifice in order to authorise the second chechen invasion in 1999.
From Geostrategy Direct, subscription.
Iran's state tanker company has invested about $2 billion to procure 17 new oil tankers. Officials said the National Iranian Tanker Co. could order at least 30 more liquefied natural gas carriers by the end of the year. Also known as Persian Gulf Roman Candles.
Iran plans to register the ships outside the country to maintain oil exports even under sanctions imposed by the United Nations. They said NITC has been awaiting delivery of 13 oil carriers with a capacity of about 318,000 tons each.
"We think about our internal requirements but we are thinking about being a global company," said Sheyedan Seyedhabibollah, commercial director of NITC. Think "Lamp Posts" and you will be closer to the mark, Sheyedan.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/12/2006 16:46 ||
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The head of the UN nuclear watchdog welcomed on Thursday moves to avert possible UN sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme and appealed for compromise as Iran's president said he was ready to talk.
I like this guy a litle less every time he opens his mouth.
Mohammad ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he was pleased the UN Security Council was holding off from sanctions against Iran as Europeans work on a package of benefits to induce Tehran to cooperate. "I'm very optimistic. I hope both sides will move away from the war of words, I hope the pitch will go down, I hope people will adopt a cool-headed approach," he told a news conference at Amsterdam airport. "We need compromises from both sides."
Both sides have been yakking for three years now, with no resolution, culminating in nothing but truculence from the Medes and the Persians. My guess is that a fourth years of passing gas will result in the same thing, only a little more truculent.
"I hope that at this stage we will use more carrots before we think of using sticks," he said. "It is a very good idea that the Security Council is holding its horses."
It's been all carrots so far, with the Euros leading the effort.
Washington and its European allies have been seeking a UN Security Council resolution that would oblige Iran to halt all uranium enrichment work or face possible sanctions. But Russia and China have resisted the move
Very predictably, we might add...
and Washington agreed this week to let the Europeans first devise a package of benefits for Iran in return for cooperating, putting back a decision on a possible resolution for about two weeks.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
They gave him a nobel prize for his compromising potential...it's now very clear.
#2
I can't help but suspect that this guy is a "plant".
He bent over backwards to help Saddam, now he's doing his damndest to drag his feet for the MM's in Iran. What is this guys deal?
Posted by: ed ||
05/12/2006 11:49 Comments ||
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#4
He comes out of Egypt's nuclear effort, bigjim. It's a solidarity thing. His group failed, but at least the brothers will succeed for pride of the Ummah.
#5
Has anyone thought about the possibility that this clown is actually on the take? Not to say that this could actually happen with a UN orginization...
#7
The UN is a muslim, jihadi-oriented culture, despot and welfare rich supporting club. Nothing much to see here. Let's move along and cut off the unaccountable money 'til it's accountable and worthwhile.
#8
MadMoud of the Apocalypse's post-Letres rants > wants the USA to believe America will NOT be attacked wid new terror, or worse, unless it comes to the defense of Israel. Basically no different that CHINA's ultimate strategem to resort to IMMEDIATE NUCLEAR ESCALATION iff need be vv any CHINA-TAIWAN war scenario, NORTH KOREA, etal.
#9
. Basically no different that CHINA's ultimate strategem to resort to IMMEDIATE NUCLEAR ESCALATION iff need be vv any CHINA-TAIWAN war scenario, NORTH KOREA, etal
If Iran goes off then all this goes off as well. Kimmy isn't being quiet right now for nothing. In fact, it's about time for him to create a diversion. And that possibility has be a tad taken aback.
A Gallop poll survey of eight Muslim countries has shown that those who applauded the 9/11 attacks tended to be better educated and more affluent. They were not necessarily more religious that other Muslims. The poll found that those who regularly attended the mosque were no more likely to back terrorism than those who did not. This also held true of Muslims who believed religion to be important in daily life. According to a Washington Post report, about 25 percent of all Muslims with a higher-than-average income supported the 9/11 attacks, more than the less affluent and the poor Muslims did. Among high school or college graduates, 44 percent held extremist views, compared with 38 percent of less educated Muslims. The unemployed were no more likely to back terrorism than those who worked full time. Extremists were only half as likely as moderates to believe that the US would allow people in the Middle East to fashion their own political future.
Posted by: john ||
05/12/2006 00:00 ||
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This roughly pegs the percentage of "extremists" hiding among those hordes of "moderate Muslims", no?
#2
Is it possible that the uneducated muslims preserve a degree of common sense and a rudiments of golden rule, while educated indoctrinated muslims are likely to be FUBAR?
Muslims have NOTHING to be proud of. They live in a region where there is more scientific research and technology innovation in the tiny speck of Israel than in ALL of the rest of the Muslim world. The produce NOTHING. They contribute NOTHING to the world of culture, arts, literature, medicine, science. Nothing. The irony is that they complain of being humiliated, yet they bring it on themselves.
So of COURSE they grab on to Sept 11 as an accomplishment. It's all they have. How pathetic.
#9
I wouldn't be too hard on the poor "educated" muzzies, we've got some highly educated people right here (who claim US Citizenship) that think much the same way.
#11
If an Iranian supplied nuke happens to go off in America, I could probably turn the phrase to 'Educated Americans found to have supported the elimination of the glass pit formally known as Iran'.
#12
More proof that "educated" has nothing to do with common sense - or common decency.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/12/2006 9:40 Comments ||
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#8, the ironic thins is that at one time, the Muslim world DID produce art, literature, science, medicine, etc. Through the radicalization of Islam and the rise of the industrial west over the centuries, these things fell away.
Rather than trying to revitalize their culture into something positive, they'd rather strike out in anger and jealousy at the west for having passed them by.
#14
They are useless, the odd thing is that they give us no choice but to suspect every last one of 'em, and enable the elimination of Islam.
Faster please.
#16
The more educated and affluent they are, the more exposed to Western culture they are, and the more they see the inherent conflict between Western ideas and mores and Islamic ones.
Posted by: James ||
05/12/2006 12:15 Comments ||
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#17
Less jihad = poor, ignorant, blockaded, on the run, and starving.
Posted by: ed ||
05/12/2006 12:19 Comments ||
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#18
Nope, 2x4, the uneducated simply go into direct action mode when offered a questionnaire.
#19
Time to connect some dots. I'd wager that the mythical Moderate Muslim is much more cosmopolitan than your typical dirt-poor Muslim peasant. What commonly drives that more sophisticated world-view is education. But wait! ... it's the more educated Muslims that support the 9-11 atrocity. So, where does that leave us?
Right where I have been obliged to shift my opinion towards for some time now.
Moderate Muslims are merely a silent but enabling faction of radical Islam and are not earnestly seeking peaceful coexistence with the kufir world.
In closing, I'm beginning to feel that they can all f&ck off and die.
#20
The so called 'poor' in the middle east didn't just wake up one morning and decide to initiate Jihad on the infidel world. They were coached, incited, supplied and encouraged by the rich elitest and 'educated' in Riyadh, Damascus, Tehran, Cairo, etc.
#23
"NO, they DID NOT!"
I agree, they plagiarised and bought the skilled dhimmis to do those works and history, as taught, became myopic with the forgetful West. The first major fiasco by way of political correctness occured happened when you guys agreed to call 'em muslims and not, rightfully, Mohammadens as your forebears accurately 'em as. Afterwards they fool you(and many others too) blind (for a very long time) that your God and allah is the same Diety. BS all the way!
Program titles are considered anti-Semitic by some at UC Irvine, site of civil rights probe.
Controversial events scheduled at UC Irvine next week with such provocative titles as "Holocaust in the Holy Land" and "Israel: The Fourth Reich" are sparking outrage among Jewish students who are asking administrators to denounce aspects of the event.
Jewish students and community leaders say the program is the latest in a string of offensive incidents at the university. The U.S. Office for Civil Rights is investigating anti-Semitism at UCI, the first probe of its kind at a college.
"Instead of the university being a place for dialogue and discussion of important issues, it's being turned into a platform for hate speech and bigotry," said Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, a spiritual advisor at colleges in Long Beach and Orange County.
"This is intentionally inciting and hateful toward the Jewish people of the campus."
A complaint filed by the Zionist Organization of America in New York on behalf of Jewish students at UCI prompted the ongoing investigation, said Kenneth L. Marcus, former head of the office and director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
"There are things that are happening on campuses all over the country, but Irvine seems particularly severe to me," said attorney Susan Tuchman, director of the Zionist Organization's Center for Law and Justice.
Federal officials say they have seen an escalation in anti-Semitism at universities across the country since 2000, prompting the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to issue a report on the topic last month. The report, unrelated to UCI, urges university leaders to set a moral example by condemning hate speech.
The latest UCI controversy is centered on the Muslim Student Union's "Holocaust in the Holy Land" program scheduled throughout next week.
Kareem Elsayed, 20, a member of the group, defended the program titles. The dictionary definition of "holocaust" does not include Jews, he said.
"I do understand why they're upset, but of course I disagree," Elsayed said. "We have been doing this kind of programming for years. No matter how you slice the throats of the infidel it, they are not pleased with the fact that we're criticizing the sons of pigs and apes apartheid state of Israel. We change the intentionally provacative name each year. Each year, a small handful refuse to be properly intimidated there's a commotion."
The Southern California Council on American-Islamic Relations also defended the students' right, calling the terms debatable, potentially offensive words that stop short of attacking a religion.
"We should allow students to debate these topics; otherwise we're not going to go forward in this community," council spokeswoman Sabiha Kahn said.
Some Muslims disagreed.
Ijaz Sayed, president of the Ahmadi Muslim Student Assn. at UCI, said, "You'll never find us holding an event like that . We all have to live on this Earth together and somehow create peace here."
Jewish student representatives and Jewish community leaders said they did not want university officials to cancel the event, just criticize the language.
"We understand that anti-Zionism week is something we cannot stop because of the university's free-speech policies," said Alex Chazen, 20, president of Anteaters for Israel and the Hillel Jewish Student Union.
"But when it comes to the term 'holocaust,' it creates a completely different emotion. It's disrespectful."
UCI officials said they would not criticize the event.
"This is an issue of free speech," said UCI's dean of students, Sally Peterson, adding that it would be illegal to prevent the program. "Hate speech is also protected speech . There's no law against being a jerk, basically."
Anticipating the controversy, Chancellor Michael V. Drake issued a campuswide message Tuesday.
He made no mention of the "Holocaust in the Holy Land" but encouraged those on campus "to show appreciation for one another, for people of diverse opinions, backgrounds and cultures and for ideas that may be different from their own."
Muslim students faced their own image woes in February when college Republicans displayed controversial Danish cartoons that depicted the prophet Muhammad and incited international riots. They protested with posters that read "Yes to Freedom of Speech, No to Hate Speech" and "We Can Dish it out, but We Can't Take It."
UCI officials allowed that event to continue.
The tension between Jewish and Muslim students goes back several years. In 2002, the Muslim Student Union posted a sign that read "Israelis Dare to Defend Love to Kill Innocent Children." The complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights also contended that students had been physically threatened and were afraid to wear clothing or jewelry identifying them as Jewish.
Attempts at federal mediation, which could have resolved the complaint, failed after the Zionist Organization of America broke off talks last summer because it did not believe the university was willing to change, Tuchman said.
Last month, the Commission on Civil Rights said anti-Semitism should not continue under the guise of political discourse.
"The fact that it takes place in a public lecture or that it presents itself as being foreign-policy related doesn't make it any less anti-Semitic," Marcus said.
"University leadership has a moral obligation to make clear that there are limits on civilized discourse."
Moral obligations? Civilized discourse?? How old school!
#2
This is an attempt to move viewpoints into the "accepted as fact" category. So starting with the premise that there is a "holocaust" only allows for discussion about how bad the holocaust is, not whether there really is one.
This needs to be seen for what it is. Stop it now.
#3
This is because in the worldview they (islamo-leftist subversives) are promoting, the paleo are WWII jews, and the jews are nazis. It plays on the western consciousness like a violin.
Also remember that the "muslims are/will targeted by genocide" meme is also being actvely promoted, starting with Iraq. This goes beyong "simple" antizionism.
#5
"The complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights also contended that students had been physically threatened and were afraid to wear clothing or jewelry identifying them as Jewish."
#6
"This is an issue of free speech," said UCI's dean of students, Sally Peterson, adding that it would be illegal to prevent the program. "Hate speech is also protected speech
As long as it directed against Israel and/or Bush/Hitler, right?
#7
'Hate speech' is protected speech? First I've heard of that -- she might want to let all the other college campuses in the country know. Thanks, Sally, for clearing that up.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/12/2006 13:05 Comments ||
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#8
Print the Mohammad cartoons in the school newspaper and see what tune they sing.
#13
Controversial events scheduled at UC Irvine next week with such provocative titles as "Holocaust in the Holy Land"
I think it's very important that there be discussion of "Holocaust in the Holy Land". No ... not the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, that is not any sort of holocaust. Muslim and kufir alike need to have dialogue over the Muslim Holocaust that is becoming almost inevitable as Islamist terrorism continues to spread.
Unless radical measures are taken to genuinely and authentically reform Islam through honest renunciation of violent jihad, the Muslim majority countries are merely so much unfused glass.
Quite honestly, the way things are going, not very long from now I will be forced to abandon my opposition to first use of nuclear weapons. Islamists are such a virulent cancer upon this world that radiation treatments are becoming mandatory.
#14
Stories like this always remind me that Chucky Schumer and Carl Levin and Joe Lieberman and Arlen Specter are jews. There's more, mostly leftists, mostly anti-Bush, anti-WOT, anti-conservative, and ptui, anti-military.
#15
"Stories like this always remind me that Chucky Schumer and Carl Levin and Joe Lieberman and Arlen Specter are jews. "
And........
Being as I can see your knee jerking from here, I wonder what you are trying to say.
Ranking on Schumer.... ok.
But do you really think that Leiberman Specter and Levin are, what?
How do you figure that these three men are against what you say they are against.
Spray the raid directly on the Tucks pad before inerting into anal cavity, shopuld you be able to find it. Should kill that bug.
#16
I'd hope his message was "WTF? Why would American Jews support the Donk Party and how they've got such a history (Clinton/Carter) of caving to Islam and f&^king Israel over..."
It's a legitimate question to pose to American Jews - one they don't want to answer. Evangelicals are blamed for supporting Israel because of the "rapture/end times/etc." but those who don't support militarily/politically, and have Jewish blood, should be called the traitors they are. As a Catholic, if I supported the Caliphate, shouldn't I be called on it by my Christian neighbors?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 20:22 Comments ||
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#17
I do not understand why you would want a ONE PARTY SYSTEM.
Granted the moonbat wing seems to be in charge.
I really doubt that Specter Leiberman and Levin can be classified as "traitors" . I think that's very loose talk.
The sooner we toss both the evangelical right and the mooonbat left the better and more sensible things will all look.
#18
It's a legitimate question to pose to American Jews - one they don't want to answer.
Because it is NOT a legitimate question.
Because from the othere end we have the left ists screaming about the "jewish neocom=n cabal of Perl Feith and Abrahams,
or whoever.
I'm not going to do the one about progressivism, Jewish guilt, cilvil rights etc.
Jews are tire if taking it from every angle and being the perpetual scapegpoat/whipping boy. ( as I think most her know)
And American Jews are allowe to have as widely divergent opinions as everyone else thank you.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 20:59 Comments ||
Top||
#20
Do you really think that Joe Leiberman is Anti-ISrael ?
You really think that Arlen Specter is Anti-ISrael .
Really think that CArl LEvin is Anti-Military ?
This was about JEwish students feeling fear due to revisionist Islamist propaganda on campus.
My Commenbt "Canary is a coal mine"
WX seems to jump in and say "all the democrat fault" for everything. Tiresome.
Calling all demovrats traitors... Tiresome.
You want to make fun of Chuck Schumer go ahead.
But lumping the other three guys as "Taritors"? Not acceptable .
Sorry.
y'all can ban me now.
#22
banning? why? I think that Schumer, et al would sell out Israel (Not Joe, though....he should be a Republican and we give them Arlen - even swap...)...but, agreed , how did the thread swerve?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 21:14 Comments ||
Top||
#23
Let me unswerve it.
Back when I was a young lad in Hebrew school we had a couple of teachers who were young "girebrands". Zionists if you will.
They took us down in the basement of the Temple school and educated us on the Holocaust. They showed us films, and warned us that things could change even here, and though they were fired for "scaring the children" and "being radical" the warning stuck.
Being an " assimilated " Jew I have spen lots of time in unpolite
society, heard what lots of people really think and am probably Hypersensitive.
Being Jewish, American and having read "The SAtanic Verses"
makes me triply nervous .
#32
jim#6, if they ban you for those opinions, they can ban me, too. But I shouldn't worry too much.
Frank, I know you're one of the good guys, but post #16 sounded to me as a blanket condemnation of all Jews -- and I do know you don't mean that.
jim, in my Hebrew school the Holocaust survivors told us their stories, and the Persians talked about being chased out after 1948. Now my mother is on the board of the local Holocaust Rememberence society, and makes the rounds of the schools in the area, talking to the kids about growing up under the Nazis. Daddy, on the other hand, is an Israeli -- has some sort of medal from Haganah for whatever he did in/pre-1948 (he won't tell us kids).
wxjames, you owe jim#6, me, the rest of the many Jewish Rantburgers, and the increasing percentage of American Jews who've voted, and will continue to vote Republican since 9/11, an apology. Hint: a bit of groveling for your ignorant assumptions would not go amiss.
#33
not at all - It was wonderment that so many American Jews(% wise) continue to knee-jerk support the party who hasn't supported them, constantly requiring that Israel do the compromise, with nothing from the other side (see: Carter and Clinton/Oslo). The party that supports and defends Israel and her ideals is the Republican party (Joe L excepted...)
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/12/2006 23:07 Comments ||
Top||
#34
Aaah, but that percentage continues to drop, much to the consternation of the knee-jerkers. And I imagine it's only going to get worse, as the kids who spent 9/11 in lock-down at school hit voting age.
#35
Parents, children 9/11. Yes this is the stuff that matters.
My Ancestors didn't wait for the holocaust, they fled the regular old pogroms.
Dad would just mutter some names of ISlands, IWo Guadalcanal Mindanao Louson BAtaan Leyte, Okinawa, places he spent some time.
Mom riveted Bombers and worked on the Heavy Water project, and Flying Wing.
So when The fit hit the shan, it was like a WWII switch flipped to "on" in my head.
Am I a traitor for coninuing to HOPE for the democratic party ?
Am I wrong to wish that there were some STATESMAN who was willing to explain the stuff we all obsess on here in stern language to the teaming masses , with the credbility to be heard so we could all get on the same page ?
#36
jim, I think most here wish the Democrats would accept the reality of this war and act responsibly. The country would be much the better for it. Some are even still registered Democrats, for what that's worth these days, but in some states you have to do that to vote in the primaries.
#37
The Muslims have been out of control at UCI since at least when I was going to grad school. Back then, the MSA put out an issue of their quarterly rag with a big headline, "Jesus is not the Son of God" on the cover and scattered it all all over campus. Pure provocative BS.
#38
The Primaries have become a joke.
By the time we here in the population center get to vote, the competition is over, settled by fourteen pancake eating hayseeds. Not fair. All on one day please. at least quicker .
But if you kill the D party what kind of elections can we have ?
Granted it's killing itself, and it hurts.
I fear a multi-party deal.
I don't want presidents elected with 35% of the vote. You could get some really bad guys that way.
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.
A Darfur rebel faction is reconsidering its rejection of a peace deal signed by the Sudanese government and the main rebel group this month. 
Thousands of riot police broke up pro-reform protests Thursday, chasing and roughing up demonstrators who had gathered to support two judges facing disciplinary action after they blew the whistle on fraud in Egyptian elections. The two judges boycotted their disciplinary hearing to protest the treatment of the demonstrators ahead of the planned session Thursday. At least eight people were arrested during the scuffles, and Al Jazeera television said one of its cameramen was beaten by security forces, who had turned out in massive force around the court where the judges had been due to appear in expectation of demonstrations.
Washington accuses Islamic preacher Sheikh 
Rome, May 12, IRNA-Visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in Rome on Thursday in case of a military attack against Iran, no country in the world would have access to crude oil. Chavez made the remark at a press conference, adding, "As Iran's President Ahmadinejad has reiterated, if Tehran would come under attack, oil would get scarce for everyone." 
(KCNA) -- Jo Il Min, chief of the Pyongyang Mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, issued a statement on May 9 denouncing the desperate maneuvers of the south Korean pro-U.S. conservative forces, notably the "Grand National Party," to grab power again. He recalled that the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front some time ago issued a manifesto as regards the persistent drive of the south Korean pro-U.S. conservative forces to use the "local self-governing body election" slated at the end of May as a stage for building a foothold for their return to power with the 17th "presidential election" next year in mind and it called for turning the "local self-governing body election" into a theater of struggle for taking stocks of the crimes of the GNP.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Nine Muslim men arrested in Australia's biggest security swoop, and charged with planning a terrorist act, pretended to be women texting girlfriends to secretly communicate, a prosecutor told a court on Friday. "Hi babes, I'm missing you," one message read, while another said: "How you going love, did Sue want to meet me".
SRINAGAR, India - Indias top investigating agency on Thursday charged five army officers with murdering five civilians who had wrongly been described as militants in Indian Kashmir, a court official said.
The 
The 
JERUSALEM - Israel, pressured by international alarm over a brewing Palestinian humanitarian crisis, has agreed to release millions of dollars in funds it has withheld from the Palestinians and is considering easing restrictions on the transport of goods between Israel and the Gaza Strip, officials said on Thursday.
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Arab League has told the Palestinian Authority it is unable to transfer tens of millions of dollars in aid which have been collected for people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said on Thursday.
Petrol stations in the occupied West Bank ran out of petrol after the Israeli company that provides fuel to the Palestinian areas cut off supplies due to growing debt. The impoverished Gaza Strip was also feeling the crunch over the Palestinian Authoritys failure to pay 120 million shekels ($27 million) owed to Israels Dor Alon fuel company. Petrol station owners in the Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million Palestinians live, said supplies were likely to be depleted by the end of the day.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog welcomed on Thursday moves to avert possible UN sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme and appealed for compromise as Iran's president said he was ready to talk.
