(SomaliNet) Somalis interim government has endorsed new law of anti terrorism, which the cabinet in Baidoa city, the governments seat in southwest of Somalia, had long been debating, reports say on Monday. Madobe Nunow Mohammed, the newly appointed information minister, told the local media overnight that ministers finally approved the anti-terrorism law.
Under the new law, anyone who destabilizes the peace and security in the country will be recognized as a terrorist. He said several articles were excluded from the new bill after long standoff, pointing out the government adopted 18 articles that the law is made up to fight terrorism. When asked whether the people opposing the government will face the terrorism law, Mr. Nunow said the government might have an opposition. The government will not tolerate destabilization and terrorism in the country, he said.
He said the government regards the double suicide bombings against president Yusuf on 18 September and other bombing in Baidoa as terrorism. The people who are caught with terrorist acts will face several punishments: execution, property confiscation, life imprisonment and deportation, Nunow said.
Despite the new laws, barrage of artillery and mortar bombs happens in the capital Mogadishu nightly and daily.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"Hint" laws do no good unless enforced.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/13/2007 10:42 Comments ||
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Ugandan President Museveni has said that no amount of pressure or threats from the ousted Islamist hardliners in Somalia would stop the deployment of Ugandan troops there. Speaking exclusively to IRIN, a UN news agency, at the weekend, Mr Museveni said Uganda is ready to deploy against all odds "because what the Somalis need is someone to train them, that is all."
"We are used to those so-called Jihadis ... because we had Turabi here on our border, he was using that language - 'Jihad'. We are black people, this is a black continent - our continent. You cannot bring that Middle Eastern nonsense here. We are not going to accept it. If you bring Jihad, we'll bring back Black Jihad to you."
Asked about the Islamists death threats against the peacekeepers Mr Museveni said; "That is no problem - we are used to those so-called Jihadis ... because we had [Hassan al] Turabi [a prominent Sudanese Islamist politician] here on our border, he was using that language - 'Jihad'. We are black people, this is a black continent - our continent. You cannot bring that Middle Eastern nonsense here. We are not going to accept it. If you bring Jihad, we'll bring back Black Jihad to you. These are Somali people. They are all Muslims. So Jihad to do what now? [Somalis] have a temporary government now. Restore a normal life; then go for elections, after a little while. So, Jihad against whom?"
Near-daily attacks blamed on ousted Islamist hardliners have put pressure on the interim government, which is struggling to restore stability so that Ethiopian troops who helped it take the capital over the New Year can return home. But the Islamists under the umbrella of Islamic Courts Union have been warning foreign troops not to set foot on Somali land. They have threatened to attack all peacekeepers.
Continued on Page 49
#1
We are black people, this is a black continent - our continent. You cannot bring that Middle Eastern nonsense here. We are not going to accept it. If you bring Jihad, we'll bring back Black Jihad to you. These are Somali people. They are all Muslims. So Jihad to do what now? [Somalis] have a temporary government now. Restore a normal life; then go for elections, after a little while. So, Jihad against whom?"
LOL!
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2007 10:59 Comments ||
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#2
"That is no problem - we are used to those so-called Jihadis ... because we had [Hassan al] Turabi [a prominent Sudanese Islamist politician] here on our border, he was using that language - 'Jihad'. We are black people, this is a black continent - our continent. You cannot bring that Middle Eastern nonsense here. We are not going to accept it. If you bring Jihad, we'll bring back Black Jihad to you. These are Somali people. They are all Muslims. So Jihad to do what now? [Somalis] have a temporary government now. Restore a normal life; then go for elections, after a little while. So, Jihad against whom?"
I wish more politicians would think in the same way!!!!!
When Lee Williams saw a parent-and-toddler session advertised at his local pool, he thought it was the perfect chance to teach his young daughter to swim. Arriving at the leisure centre already in her swimming costume, two-year-old Darby was desperate to get into the water. But she was left in tears when staff said they were not allowed in the pool because the session was for Muslim women and their children only.
Mr Williams, 34, bitterly criticised Manchester City Council yesterday after it admitted that advertising for the session, on its website and on leaflets, had been misleading. 'I can understand why Muslim women need to have this kind of session, but the council should not be advertising it as parent and toddler,' he said. 'They made out I'd got it wrong, but I had checked on the council's website for the times.'
The incident happened at Abraham Moss Leisure Centre in Crumpsall. Mr Williams, a delivery driver from Blackley, had seen the parent-and-toddler session being promoted on the council's website and a leaflet. But when they arrived, reception staff told Mr Williams he could not swim with Darby because it was a women-only session and they would have to come back later. Despite his protests that he had specifically checked the time of the session, the staff were insistent.
It was only when he telephoned the council to complain that he was told the session had been privately booked for Muslim women. A spokesman for Manchester City Council apologised to Mr Williams. He said: 'We were sorry to hear that he had been turned away. We are ensuring that our website is updated and staff are briefed so this does not happen again.'
The incident is the latest in a series of rows between local authorities and the public over swimming lessons for ethnic minority groups. In December last year, Croydon Council in South London came under fire for running Muslim-only sessions at one of its leisure centres.
Non-Muslim members of Thornton Heath leisure centre were angry that they could not swim during the Muslim-only sessions on Saturdays and Sundays unless they obeyed the strict dress code. For men, this involved wearing shorts which kept the navel hidden and were extended below the knee, while women bathers had to wear a swimming costume which covered their body from the neck down to the ankle.
Similarly, Wolverhampton Council and South Lanarkshire local authority have also been criticised for operating women- only swimming for Muslims.
#2
A terrible policy--encouraging and enpowering voluntary segregation. A Christian organization should demand equal time for only Christians to swim, and fight any denial in court.
#3
Women only swims are ok, I think there was a beach in Boston that used to have them (mainly for the local O Jewish community) and of course many Jewish Comm Centers (private orgs, of course) have them. But they should make clear that its for ANYONE who wants a gender seg swim, not only for muslims.
Also they need to make sure its not taking up the prime swim times.
#5
I think you Americans have probably missed the small detail that this woman has been thrown out of a swim center she paid with her taxes. I don't know in America but in Europe there are nine chances if ten this swimming pool is owned by the city or the region. In both cases owned by the tax payer except that tax payers can't use it; it is reserved for people who have never paid taxes.
#7
I wonder what would happen if a Christian organization had booked the pool and forbid non-Christians?
I dunno, let's ask Amanda Marcotte ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/13/2007 13:04 Comments ||
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#8
How did I know even before opening the article that this was Briain?
And then to find out that it was Thornton Heath, just down the road from Croydon where you will have to join the queue for Visa extensions at a place called, believe it or not, Lunar House!
#10
Lemme see; Muslims can use public facilities anytime, but have the discretion to ban non-Muslims at will? Hmm.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
02/13/2007 14:46 Comments ||
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#11
Not only that, but I imagine it's the busiest of times during the week (on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday) that this gov't allowed this "booking"? Taqiyya, baby!
Posted by: BA ||
02/13/2007 15:35 Comments ||
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#12
Don't know if Williams would have wanted his daughter to swim that day. All that camel piss...
The spineless Dhimmis in Briton are DONE. Right now they rate right down there with the french.
Followup to Russia's Ivanov slams U.S. missile shield plans in Europe (RIA Novosti) - Russia is prepared to cooperate with the West in creating a European anti-missile defense system, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Sunday. Ivanov spoke at the international security conference in Munich. The Russian defense minister said Russia has no military and political enemies today. "We have no countries, the relations with which have been significantly impaired," Ivanov said.
At the same time, Ivanov said the global system of stability is disintegrating. "There are more conflicts in today's world than during the Cold War period," the Russian defense minister said. Ivanov also said the so-called "threshold" countries, including North Korea and Iran, will be unable to create intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the near future.
Speaking about the political situation in Russia, Ivanov said there will be no successors to the Russian presidency. "I want to announce that we have no successors or crown princes. The Russian people will decide at the March 2, 2008 elections who will be the president of Russia," he said, adding that he was not thinking about presidency.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Have the Rooskies demonstrated working systems against ICBM's or TBM's? Otherwise it sounds like they want the Euroweenies to develop systems for them on the cheap. The feckless Euros will take the bait, of course.
#3
Where to begin - Lotsa of articles [SPACEWAR, RIAN, etc.]today vv Russia andor Iran. RUSSIA PREPS TO FIGHT "WARS OF FUTURE" + RUSSIA SHOULD RENEW ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL. *ITAR-TASS > America's vetures for global hegemony via Iraq-ME is eroding the One-Polar [Unipolar] World.
KOMMERSANT > USA won't guarantee that bases = BMD/GMD missles in Poland or Czech won't be used against Russia; + AMERICA CLUTCHES AT IRANIAN ARMS article > Gist/Nutshell - War/Inter-Muslim Sectarianism in Iraq ascribed/inferred to as [Iran] WILFUL PRE-PLANNED "GUIDED CHAOS"!?
#6
"I want to announce that we have no successors or crown princes. The Russian people will decide at the March 2, 2008 elections who will be the president of Russia," he said,
This reality should really be reflected in a name change. How about (Peoples) Russian Democratic Republic?
Posted by: ed ||
02/13/2007 7:24 Comments ||
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#7
"The Russian people will decide at the March 2, 2008 elections who will be the president of Russia"
Indeed.
And I expect he will win with about 99.7% of the vote.
Posted by: kelly ||
02/13/2007 12:08 Comments ||
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#8
He gets to count the votes, Right?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/13/2007 12:29 Comments ||
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The US envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program said Tuesday a tentative agreement had been reached on initial steps for Pyongyang's disarmament, setting the stage for the first concrete progress after more than three years of negotiations.
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill declined to give details of the draft, but said it outlined specific commitments for Pyongyang and would set up working groups to implement those goals to begin meeting in about a month. "I'm encouraged by this that we were able to take a step forward on the denuclearization issue," a weary-looking Hill told reporters after a fifth day of negotiations at talks in Beijing that lasted more than 16 hours.
The agreement could mark the first step toward disarmament since the talks began in 2003, marked by repeated delays and deadlock. The process reached its lowest point in October when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test explosion.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmm. The phrase "trust but verify" comes to mind. Except in this case, "distrust and verify like a crazed proctologist" would be more apt.
Good sign... if true; on the other hand, there are about 3000-3500 conversions to islam each year (often for relationships & marriage issues, though, knew 4 of them in the last 12 months alone, and while this was mostly nominally - didn't change their name for example - they still insist on not eating pork, this seem a big issue).
In the face of ostracism and death threats -- in accord with Muhammad's command to kill those who leave Islam. "Muslims converts face ostracism in France," from ZeeNews, with thanks to Morgaan Sinclair:
Muslims are converting to Christianity in their thousands in France but face exclusion from their families and even death threats. Most Muslims hide their conversion and Protestant ministers do their utmost to protect new converts. It is estimated that every year in the world some six million Muslims convert to Christianity.
The Muezzin call to prayer. But here in France it is no longer reaching all Muslim ears. Around 15,000 Muslims each year are converting to Christianity - around 10,000 to Catholicism and 5,000 to Protestantism....
Many Muslims in France hide their conversion but the trend is continuing. World wide around six million Muslims a year convert to Christianity.
#1
Btw, this is funny regarding the dechristianization of France; someday, soon, the only believers left wil be arabs & africans, both muslim and christians, with the odd chinese or vietnamese buddhist or gallic scientologist.
Oh, well, there always will be Jehova witnesses, we can count on that.
#4
The Saudis track Muslim numbers and are pissing themselves about losing so many people. This also explains why there is such a desperate worldwide push to install Sharia as national legal code, to prevent conversions.
The biggest losses are in Africa, where both the (very conservative, thank you) Anglicans and Evangelicals can't build churches fast enough. Both of them, however, are right at their peak in getting money pipelined from the US right now, which helps a lot.
Some of those African Anglican Archbishops are veritable Popes based on their following.
#5
"Two former Kentridge High School students, whose Bible club was denied a charter at the school in part because it required members to swear allegiance to Jesus Christ.... (from yesterday).
Swear on this here Bible.
How far does Taqiya go when there is no soul to save?
#6
I've been seeing small stories like this, here and there for the last five or six years... never really played up much outside the religious press, and I am wondering if it might be an indicator of Islam actually beginning to implode. The hair-trigger touchiness, the endless boasting of how many conversions to Islam, the relentless insistance on adherance to rules about every aspect of life... I wonder more and more about how many so-called Moslems are just concluding it is madness and quietly walking away. I had read once of an interview with a Berber convert in Algeria (I think) who said that Islam had come to mean death, conversation to Christianity meant life. Sounds kind of trite and Sunday-School, put that way, but when you read all about what the modern practice of Islam demands of its' followers, it's not too surprising that a lot of them are quietly slipping away.
Which of course would make the hard-line Islamics seeth all the more. What if Islam is actually hollow, dying on it's feet and not anywhere near establishing a world-wide caliphate?
#10
John QC: Hate to belittle your point, but I think you carried a few too many zeros in your calculation there. At 6 million/year and 20 years, you get 120 million. By that count, that's probably less than what the baby factories wimmmins in tents will reproduce in the ME.
Posted by: BA ||
02/13/2007 15:39 Comments ||
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#11
I suppose the figures in France are from Baptism records. However, I doubt the world figure of six million is anything more than someone's guess (hmmm., the number 6 million seems to ring a bell - wonder what it could be).
#13
MHW,
I beleave the 6 million convert figure comes from the Muslims themselves (in an article posted here at the RB). You're right that it does not cover the rate of Muslim births, but it cuts the rate of increase by about half.
Also this figure does not count the people leaving Islam and not choosing Christianity.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/13/2007 18:36 Comments ||
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#14
See also STRATEGYPAGE today > DON'T BLAME THE TURKS article > Many Muslims starting to look inside Islam as to why serious probs continue to exist in Muslim communities/societies. E.g. FRANCE in SP reportedly has a larger GDP than all the Muslim nations in the world combined, + 1/2 of all Muslims remain illiterate.
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Monday he fears an offensive by Iraqi insurgents similar to the Tet offensive by the Viet Cong that sent U.S. casualties soaring in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago. McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, said in an interview with The Associated Press that it's not the U.S. presence in Iraq that upsets voters but rather the number of casualties and the possibility those numbers could rise. The U.S. death toll is more than 3,100 in the nearly four-year-old war.
In the GOP presidential field, McCain is one of the strongest proponents of President Bush's plan to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by some 21,500. "By the way, a lot of us are also very concerned about the possibility of a, quote, 'Tet Offensive.' You know, some large-scale tact that could then switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did," the Arizona senator said. Last month, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that 62 percent said the United States made a mistake in going to war in Iraq.
McCain made his comment in explaining why he did not believe the Bush administration should set a date by which it should deem Bush's troop increase a success or a failure. "I think that it should be publicly open-ended because I think that if you set a date, that there's every possibility that the insurgents would just lay back and wait until we leave," McCain said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
We lost over 400,000 men in WW II; over 57,000 in Vietnam. We lost almost 7,000 Marines on Iwo Jima in just a few weeks. While I mourn the loss of every serviceman, we need to realize that our casualties after four years in Iraq are historically miniscule by comparison. Public opinion after Tet was turned by the traitors in the MSM, particularly Walter Cronkite, who personally managed to frame a battlefield victory as a strategic defeat. Of course they're trying to repeat their "triumph" in this war, and they appear to be succeeding. Thank God for Fred and Rantburg.
#3
I can't believe I supported this turd back when he made a presidential run. McCain an ex-POW of all people should know to keep his mouth shut, he is helping the media savy enemy and our treason spewing media with ideas.
#4
Radical Islam is attacking where the US-Brits, etc are NOT, and that is agz their fellow Muslims.
As said before, Many Netters years ago,including US servicemenbers, post-9-11 had no probs iff Dubya's strategy was to let Radical islam attack America where they would be destroyed on selective battleground of Amer's choosing. Dubya is being obscenely criticized, among other reasons, for NOT ENGAGING IN COSTS-PROHIBITIVE, WORLD-WIDE, MIL DIRECT INVASIONS OF ROGUE NATIONS OR NATIONS IN SUPPORT OF TERROR - you know, "America First", "NO WMDS IN IRAQ" Anti-War/Anything ISOLATIONISM.
Since Tet was a huge victory for the U.S., and since this time there are noncontiguous information streams wehich will prevent it from being spun as a loss, this can only bode well.
Keep wishing, John.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
02/13/2007 6:13 Comments ||
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#6
I think McCain's comments are of use, and critics of him on this are missing the mark. Much of the domestic criticism on Iraq is related to the daily losses of troops there aggravated by the widespread perception that US leadership isn't serious about using the forces available to it properly.
McCain's discussion of the problems associated with setting a date for withdrawal from Iraq is unfortunately poorly formulated. Of course the enemy will just lay back once a firm date is set. D'oh!
#7
Does this mean we can we begin the Christmas Ramadan Bombing Campaign? Take a right at Basra and look for the lights of beautiful downtown Tehran.
Posted by: ed ||
02/13/2007 7:27 Comments ||
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#8
I think McCain is correct - though he used the word 'concerned', which the writer changed to 'fear'. Tet was a military disaster for the Viet Cong, but it was still quite costly to the US (see Hue, for example), and had we been more alert to the possibility of such an offensive we could have squashed it more easily. And had it been squashed more efficiently Cronkite et al could not have spun it into a US defeat and 'proof' we needed to run away home. So, be 'concerned', be prepared, and if in desperation AQ mounts a Tet-type offensive, exploit the opportunity to squash a whole bunch of them like cockroaches.
#9
I think any massive terrorist offensive in Iraq is being held in readiness to respond to a US strike against Iran. This may explain US's hesitation in delivering some long-overdue negative feedback to the Mad Mullahs of Iran. The terrs certainly have a mountain of ordnance to support whatever they try to do.
#10
If we could convince the enemy to continue trying for military Tets, we'd be doing a lot better, if by "Tet" he means military-style attempts to convert insurgency to open-field surprise assaults. You know, like that affair last month outside of Najaf.
Personally, I'm more worried about those 600 missing Steyr sniper rigs. That's a lot of potential for pointless attrition right there.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/13/2007 8:18 Comments ||
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#11
Cronkite was in the ETO when the Germans launched their surprise attack in the Ardennes in Dec '44. He also covered Tet. If you look at the balance sheet of dead, destroyed units, failed intelligence, etc, if Tet was a victory as portrayed by the MSM, then the Bulge had to been an incredible success as well for the Germans. But you're right. It's not about facts. It's not about who's occupying the ground when the battle is over. It's all about an insidious cancer that masquerades as a profession and hawks fiction as fact to sell doom and disaster to make money. It's an AIDS virus to the republic.
#12
"McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war . . . "
Blah, blah, blah. He's been using that smokescreen crybaby label for too long. I have it on authority from the men who served with him in Nam that he betrayed many in his company to the enemy. They hate him and all spit when his name is mentioned--liked the old Southerners with their one-word moniker "damnYankee". That's a wee bit o' news he doesn't want to get out. Shades of John Kerry.
"McCain made his comment in explaining why he did not believe the Bush administration should set a date by which it should deem Bush's troop increase a success or a failure. "I think that it should be publicly open-ended because I think that if you set a date, that there's every possibility that the insurgents would just lay back and wait until we leave," McCain said."
Wasn't John Howard (Australia) saying the same thing and got blasted for it? There's a lot of sneakiness going on this election season.
#13
I don't like McCain. I won't vote for McCain, but anyone who makes a argument denouncing him based on what he or anyone did or did not do under years of torture from the North Vietnamese deserves to be ignored. I do not approve of the post by ex-lib claiming 3ed, 4th or 5th hand information about McCain.
If keyboard heros want to criticize POW behavior, I think they better reflect on the issue some more. Lock themselves in a small, dark, hot closet and have someone beat the hell out of them every day for a year. This will give the critic a better understanding of the "moral ambiguities" involved.
#14
I'm with Dogsbody on that. There's PLENTY of reasons to not like/support McCain, but his POW terms are not one of them. He was a war hero. He's a pompous arrogant backstabbing ass now, but that's a prerequisite with the Senate, it seems
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/13/2007 11:30 Comments ||
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#15
McCain's reference to Tet proves his head is up his ass. This is 2007, Johnny.
#16
McCain's reference to Tet proves his head is up his ass. This is 2007, Johnny.
It is you who have your heard on your ass. The Tet was a militaruy disater for the VC but thanks to their complices in the MSM it became a BIG victory where it mattered: the American pubklic opinion.
We can expect that in politically sensitive periods, say in the two months preceeding elections the Islamo-nazuis will launch a similar big offensive. For Al Quaeda it doesn't matter if it results in a military disaster annd the loss of thousands of useful idiots, as long as their complices in the MSM get a cut-and-run candidate elected.
#17
ex-lib, not to argue with your sources but the stories I've heard had more to do with McCain and the wives of other fliers than with any kind of military betrayal.
Perhaps that's what you or your sources mean. It's a betrayal none-the-less if true but not treasonous the way 'betrayal' seems to implicate.
#19
McCain had his own little Tet against us. McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform.
Reformed campaigning so the incumbent never loses.
This ass has done enough damage to America.
Fade out, John boy.
House Democrats rolled out their resolution opposing President Bush's troop increase in Iraq on Monday, setting up a likely rebuke in a political landscape turned upside-down since Congress' overwhelming 2002 endorsement of force against Saddam Hussein. Lawmakers are expected to vote on a resolution by week's end opposing Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. The measure states simply that the House "will continue to support and protect" troops serving in Iraq but "disapproves" of the troop buildup.
Debate was to begin Tuesday, and the House vote will mark its first on the war since Democrats won control in the November elections. While the measure is not binding and would not affect the funding of the war, passage would be an embarrassing rejection of Bush's Iraq war policy and could force many Republicans to choose between backing the president or criticizing a deeply unpopular war. "What the American people want to know is: Does their member of Congress support the president's proposed escalation or do they not?" said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters he had heard from about 20 Republicans who said they opposed the troop buildup, and from one Democrat reluctant to support the resolution. The measure's simple language - it totaled just a few dozen words - was crafted to maximize the number of Republicans who would support it and to emphasize support for the troops
While Democrats predicted the measure would pass easily, Republican leaders tried to refocus debate on the measure in hopes of putting Democrats on the defensive. "This resolution is the first step in the Democrats' plan to cut off funding for American troops who are in harm's way, and their leaders have made this abundantly clear," said House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe they should write a book about Great Congressional War Plans. Or Great Congressional Generals. Or Backstabbing is Fun and Easy.
#2
Todd Beamer, your sacrifice was in vain. Your valiant actions, and those of your fellow passengers, saved the lives of worthless men and women whom I'm ashamed to call my countrymen. Rest Peace Todd, God knows you did what you thought best.
#3
I like how ITAR-TASS's belabeling "GUIDED CHAOS", just substitute Dems in future OWG Amerika USSA = SSR/USR, in place of Iran in Iraq-ME. "GUIDED CHAOS" > befits CLINTONISM > "FASCIST" = both HATED DESPICABLE SHOOT-ON-SIGHT NAZI-HITLERIST as well as well-meaning but error-prone LIMITED COMMUNIST WHOM MUST BE TRAINED AND CORRECTED AND RE-EDUCATED BY MOM = GULAG. COMMIE SOCIALIST PERFECTIONISM > e.g. MAINSTREAM CHINESE livin' on a US$1.00+/- a day.
FREREPUBLIC POSTER > America under Dubya is moving towards Communism, etc. and - GOD HELP US ALL - the Commies, etc. don't know how to stop it.
D ***NG it, ITS AMERICA'S = AMERIKA'S FAULT THE COMMUNISTS DON'T KNOW HOW THEY CAN STOP COMMUNISM, HOW TO STOP WHAT THEY DESIRE. D ***ng it, JUST BECUZ THEY FOUGHT AND BETRAYED AND PROTESTED, etc .............@HARD FOR THEIR -ISM DOESN'T MEAN THEY WANNA LIVE UNDER IT. All together now, boyz, wid feeling, AND DON'T YOUSE FORGET IT.
#5
Way past time for commercials showing airliners slamming into the World Trade Centers, people jumping out of the burning skyscapers, decapitated African and Thai villagers, blown up shoppers, hijacked airliners.
Hear the words of Death to America ayatollahs, Saudi and Al Azhar imams and terrorists quoting surahs straight from the koran without the filter of the honey coated media.
Then show the faces of our appeasing Quislings. Come on you Republican leaders. Don't be such pussies.
Posted by: ed ||
02/13/2007 7:50 Comments ||
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#6
Why ed... that would be 'politising the war'. Only Democrats such as Mumra Murtha, Kennedy and the MSM are allowed to do that.
#8
"What the American people want to know is: Does their member of Congress support the president's proposed escalation or do they not?"
Hoyer pretty much tips his hand with that statement. These disingenuous whores only care about politics. If not, why dont they allow any amendments or a Republican alternative to be offered and debated. Simple they want to whip the Democratic caucus into lockstep so as to appear unified at the same time attempt to portray the Republicans as divided. Damn if these poseurs had any idea how transparent they really are they might actually act on principle for once.
#9
Americans are winners, and if and when they mistakenly elect losers to represent them, they will rectify the situation. We are only 20 and a half months from election day, 2008. Pelosi and her band of idiots have already buried their desire to impeach. By the time November, 2008 arrives, their lack of character will become unsustainable. They will also fail on the border issue.
The 18-year-old man who shot and killed at least five people Monday night at Trolley Square has been identified as Sulejmen Talovic, a Bosnian refugee who lived in Salt Lake City. "Bosnian refugee", eh? Christian? Jew? Bhuddist? Zoroastrian? Wiccan? Which is it????
As trailing wife notes in a duplicate post, "So we can hope it wasn't Sudden Jihad Syndrome. But hope is not certainty."
Little additional information was released about Talovic. The Bosnian community, which numbers about 3,000 in Utah, planned a news conference later this afternoon.
Talovic parked his car in the west parking lot and walked into the mall, encountering two people, whom he shot. Then he walked further into the mall and shot a woman, said Police Chief Chris Burbank. He then walked to a gift shop and shot five people. He shot several other people before he was gunned down by an off-duty Ogden police officer assisted by four Salt Lake City police officers, Burbank said.
He had a backpack that carried numerous rounds of ammunition as well as a .38-caliber handgun, said the chief. Police have no motive in the killing. Of course not. We couldn't possibly imagine, could we?
I think he was unhappy the Colts won the Super Bowl. That has to be it.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/13/2007 18:40 ||
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#1
The first name "Sulejman" appears to be a fairly common Bosnian Muslim name. I assume it must be a variant of the name Suleiman as in Suleiman the Magnificent.
Via Captain Ed, who has some good commentary. However, he fails to ask the questions: Why here? Why now? IMO Perv ought to hire another food taster or two...
A children's library in Pakistan's capital Islamabad has become the frontline of a tense standoff between President Pervez Musharraf's government and Islamist extremists. Scores of burka-clad female students
Are we sure that all of them are female? Are we sure that any of them are?
are occupying the public library in protest at plans to demolish Jamia Hafsa, a religious school that houses 7,000 students but was illegally built on public land. The protesters, aged between seven and 30, have threatened to violently resist any police operation to end their sit-in; some have threatened to become suicide bombers.
Yesterday the library was closed to the media but a white flag with a pair of crossed swords fluttered from the roof. Bearded young men with wooden and metal staves patrolled the street outside. "If the police come, we will face them," said Noor ul-Haq, 17, who was carrying a three-pronged metal spike. "There is no greater law than Allah."
The confrontation has become a test of the government's mettle against extremists groups at a time of surging anti-state violence. The madrasa is run by Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his brother Abdul Aziz, clerics who have met Osama bin Laden and openly call on Muslims to participate in an anti-western jihad during Friday sermons. Security forces raided it after the London bombings of July 2005. Three weeks ago city authorities moved to demolish Jamia Hafsa because, like many mosques and madrasas in the capital, it was built without official permission. The standoff has acquired greater urgency after two suicide attacks - one at the upmarket Marriott Hotel, the other at the city's international airport last week.
Television pictures of a young woman carrying an AK-47 rifle inside the library shocked many Pakistanis. The police have cordoned off the streets and, according to one report, drafted a plan to forcibly end the protest using 4,500 security personnel including army rangers. Hundreds of female police officers from across Punjab province have been called to the capital. The government says it would prefer a negotiated solution. Ijaz ul-Haq, religious affairs minister, has convened a committee of Islamic scholars and city officials to help break the impasse and yesterday offered an olive branch. A smaller mosque on the city outskirts, recently demolished by authorities, would be rebuilt. "We need to find a consensus. Let the committee decide," Mr Haq told the Guardian.
But at Jamia Hafsa Mr Ghazi maintained his stance. "The government has committed a sin in trying to destroy this mosque," he said, adding that religious groups had the right to build on any public land, even if it was against the law. The preacher, who speaks fluent English, played down threats by the women to become suicide bombers if the standoff continued. "They are young and energetic; they were not serious," he said with a smile. "Students will be students." But he refused permission to interview the students, saying they might "get a little emotional".
The government's approach to Jamia Hafsa contrasts sharply with its treatment of other groups that break the law. When street traders a mile away resisted eviction, they were forcibly removed.
Analysts say the standoff indicates the government's complex relationship with extremist groups. "It's a collapse of governance when you have gun-toting mullahs refusing to allow the government to destroy an illegal structure," said Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, a defence analyst. "We allowed these characters to ... build their strongholds for two decades. Now it has become a game of negotiation."
#2
How long?
Given that both the Army and the Air Force have refused direct orders to crack down on these groups, I think Perv needs to pack his bags and fly to a country with no Muslims.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/13/2007 16:16 Comments ||
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#3
Well, Perv's parents live in the US and his only son is a Boston resident as well
Posted by: john ||
02/13/2007 16:29 Comments ||
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#4
Everything he does must have balance to achieve the ultimate goal: for Perv to have total control over his country. The US sees this desire as aligned with our own interests, so we generally back his play, even give him advice, in navigating the political minefield.
But the stronger he gets, the more stable Pakland gets, and the less able the fanatics are to use it for a base, training area and recruiting ground.
The only way he can even confront a madrassas now is because he humiliated the extremist religious parties in the debate over women's rights. And every other thing he does is based on several of his earlier victories.
He has also overextended himself several times and had to back down.
So always remember it is a process. The end result will be a stable, more secular Pakistan that it a US ally, if he wins. If he loses, we face another Taliban government hosting al-Qaeda openly, national hostility to the US, loss of regional security with a big gain by China, and maybe tens of thousands more radicals being generated from the madrassas.
To win we must be patient and determined. Bush and company have been very effective so far.
Punjab Housing Minister Syed Raza Ali Gillani said on Monday that Pakistans future could not be put at stake only to satisfy Qazi Hussain Ahmad and his companions. Gillani said the country was in safe hands, and all state matters were being dealt with in accordance with the Constitution. He said that Ahmad should set his own party in order instead of worrying about national affairs. The minister said that the elections were still a year away, but some politicians were spreading rumours to gain importance.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Qazi and his ilk are enemies of Moderate Pakistan and the West!!!
Nineteen Pakistanis are detained at US jails at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, and the government is trying to get them released, the National Assembly was told on Monday.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, in a written reply to a question by Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha, said that 99 Pakistanis had been detained at both jails, but 80 had been released. Five of the remaining detainees are in Guantanamo and 14 in Bagram.
Sherpao said a Pakistani delegation visited Guantanamo Bay in August 2006 to ensure Pakistani prisoners, including Saifullah Piracha, get consular access. The delegation interviewed the Pakistani detainees and engaged representatives of the US State and Defence departments in talks, urging them to release the Pakistanis, he said.
This article starring:
SAIFULLAH PIRACHA
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday urged clerics to help the government project the true image of Islam to counter confusion being spread against Muslims and their faith.
Talking to a delegation of clerics led by Saleemullah Khan and consisting of Maulana Taqi Usmani, Dr Abdul Razzaq Iskandar, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhri, Dr Abdul Khan, Maulana Anwarul Haq, Saifullah Rabbani, Maulana Naeem, Mufti Muhammad, Qari Saeedur Rahman, Qari Abdul Rashid and Mufti Abdul Hameed at Prime Ministers House, Aziz said that madrassas were playing an important role in imparting religious education to students. He urged the clerics to press madrassa students to acquire contemporary education with religious education.
After the meeting, Qari Hanif Jalandhry told Daily Times that the clerics had suggested to the prime minister that the government should make legislation if it wanted to resolve the mosques issue. We have proposed that a Tahafuz-e-Masajid (protection of mosques) bill should be introduced to deal with such issues, he said, adding that Aziz had promised them that the government would consider their proposal.
Qari Hanif said that Aziz had also agreed to consider a clerics proposal for setting up government-clerics committees at the district level to prevent issues like the occupation of a library by Jamia Hafsa students from happening again.
We also discussed the issue of foreign students studying in Pakistani madrassas and asked the prime minister to honour his commitment made to clerics on convening a meeting of senior officials of the education, religious affairs and interior ministries and clerics to resolve the issue, said Qari Hanif, adding that Aziz had assured the delegation that the meeting would be held soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Fred's nailed the True Image of Islam.
Posted by: ed ||
02/13/2007 7:28 Comments ||
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#2
For me, the true image of Islam is a jihadi holding a severed human head in one hand and a bloody knife in the other. But, that's just me.
Hmmmm. From Pakistan, you say? Nah, couldn't be related to A.Q. Khan, now could he?
Posted by: BA ||
02/13/2007 15:28 Comments ||
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#8
I have little ones. That picture always breaks my heart. But it also inspires me to fight against the cancer that is islam so this does not happen again.
Israel is considering suspending contacts with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if his new unity government with Hamas does not meet international demands, Israeli officials said yesterday. The unity deal and Israel's response could hamper US efforts to revive long-stalled peace talks. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans a three-way summit with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on February 19. "One option under serious discussion is severing contacts with Abu Mazen," said one of the officials involved in the deliberations, referring to Abbas by his nickname.
An Israeli defence official said ties with Mohammed Dahlan, a top Abbas aide who had spearheaded Fatah's power struggle with Hamas, were also in doubt. Dahlan took part in the unity talks though his role in the new Palestinian government is unclear. "Things are really in the air," the defence official said.
Israeli officials said any suspension may only be temporary. Top advisers to Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other ministers were to meet later on Monday to consider the options. Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, declined to comment on what she called "hypotheticals."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Ehud has been getting testosterone shots? Or, just feels Bibi's breath on the back of his neck?
The European Union will resume aid to the Palestinian government when a government of national unity is in place there, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Monday. When it becomes possible to re-engage with a national unity government, and we are not there yet, we could gradually resume support to Palestinian Authority ministries and agencies, Ferrero-Waldner said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The European Commission will closely study the political agreement between the Fatah movement Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and rival Palestinian faction Hamas, which has been running the Palestinian government and which the EU has not been dealing with, she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
Europe wants to finsh off the Jews once and for all. EU aid = support for removoing Isreal off the map and the killing of all the Jews in that land.
#4
SPoD, few Europeans would ever admit it, perhaps not even in their own minds. But you're right. Watch the hands and ignore the mouth, and it's hard to reach any other conclusion.
If so, then the US gov wants to finish off the Jews almost as much as the Europeans, to the tune of $450 million yearly. Write your congressman to quit subsidizing the murder of the only free and democratic society on that ass end of the earth.
Posted by: ed ||
02/13/2007 7:37 Comments ||
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#8
The dance is still on, to see what Abbas says is the cabinet position. Russia has already bought off on it, at least the Euros are still tap dancing. We shall see.
The European Union foreign ministers assessed a power-sharing deal among Palestinian factions Monday but remained silent on the possibility of resuming direct aid, an issue pressed by a senior aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The aide, Nabil Amr, met with EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana, who said later he hoped a unity government of Hamas and Fatah could trigger "progress in the Middle East peace process." But officials stressed that a normalization of relations between the Palestinian government and the EU, its biggest aid donor, hinged on a coalition government's commitment to recognize Israel and its existing accords with the Palestinians and abandon violence.
The Europeans were grateful to Saudi Arabia for forging an accord that would see the current Hamas-led Cabinet resign to make way for a coalition government with Abass's rival Fatah movement, said German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. "We do hope this agreement will enable us to see an end to the shedding of blood in Palestine," Steinmeier told reporters. "But we do appreciate that this process has not reached an end," he added. "We are looking forward to the formation of a government."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Please do not worry, if it is irresponsible and irritates Israel and the U.S., the EU will go ahead with funding. It is a balancing test - irresponsibility and anti-Israel and anti-US on one side and nothing on the other side.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced Monday his Hamas government would resign in the coming days - a formality that should clear the way for a new coalition with Fatah. Haniyeh returned to Gaza from abroad on Monday and was greeted by fireworks and ululating women. He said his government planned to resign in the coming days to start the process of forming the new coalition. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's aide Rafiq Hussein said that the agreement moved in the direction of the international community's demands. "We hope the international community will look at the agreement from a positive side," Husseini added.
This article starring:
ISMAIL HANIYEH
Hamas
RAFIQ HUSEIN
Palestinian Authority
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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Testing for some of the systems slated for the first spin out of the Armys Future Combat Systems program has gone well, except for one minor glitch: the soldiers testing them dont want to give the prototypes back.
They wont give me back my stuff, joked Army Maj. Gen. Charles A. Cartwright, program manager for the Future Combat Systems Brigade Combat Team, as he briefed reporters on the progress of the program at the Pentagon last week.
The FCS is a family of a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles, sensors, launch systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. All are connected by a common network with the soldier. Some systems within the family are marked for an early fielding in an effort to get the technologies to the soldier as early as fiscal 2008.
Dubbed Experiment 1.1, the testing ran in three phases, starting in July 2006 and finishing this month. Already, some of the systems are garnering rave reviews from the combat veterans testing them. It was the first time that soldiers collectively employed FCS systems in live training and used the systems computer-based training support package, officials said.
They loved it, said Col. Charles C. Bush, FCS division chief. What the FCS spin-out is all about is getting information down to the soldier level so they can use it. Experiment 1.1 was designed to test the tools that will get them more tactical information on the battlefield.
Soldiers tested the initial version of the network operating system, the joint tactical radio system, the tactical and urban unattended ground sensors, the small unmanned ground vehicle, the Class I unmanned aerial vehicle and the non-line-of-sight launch system.
Officials taped responses from the soldiers testing the equipment and played them at the briefing. The common theme among the mix of commissioned and noncommissioned officers was that using the new systems will save lives in combat. The systems worked together to increase efficiency and mitigate risks to the soldier. The combat veterans extolled the usefulness of the equipment, giving examples of actual fights in Iraq where they could have used the systems.
I became a big believer, one NCO said.
All they need to do is get it out to the soldier and start training on it, another said.
One soldier said the robot vehicles, sensors and the unmanned aerial vehicles help eliminate what he referred to as The Big What if?
Robots can be sent into buildings instead of soldiers to identify booby traps and insurgents. Unmanned aerial vehicles can be flown over hills and walls, allowing soldiers to see what is on the other side. The sensors can be placed on flanks and in buildings to detect enemy movement. All are tied to a network that the soldier can monitor on a screen mounted in his Humvee.
Its about seeing the enemy before he sees you, Bush said.
Instead of sending 'Private Snuffy' in the room to see if there is a booby trap, you send a robot in there, Bush said. From a tactical perspective, giving the soldier the ability to see inside a room is pretty powerful.
Two soldiers testing the robot vehicle agreed.
It would have saved our lives, one said, referring to a booby trap discovered by the robot vehicle during the testing.
Bush said nothing like the tactical and urban sensors currently is fielded at the soldier level. Some sensors are used by specialized military intelligence units, but that information is not immediately accessible by the soldier at a squad or platoon level. An earlier prototype of the small unmanned ground vehicle is being used in Iraq to investigate tunnels and possible improvised explosive devices, he said.
The Class I unmanned aerial vehicle was tested in Hawaii by some 29th Infantry Division soldiers working through a mission readiness exercise.
The soldiers loved that thing, Bush said.
Its effectiveness was problematic for the trainers, though, because the soldiers were finding all of the planted roadside bombs and taking alternative routes. As a result, they were missing out on intentional training on how to react to an IED.
It gives them ability to see the enemy before they run into them, and lets them maneuver more effectively, Bush said.
The FCS systems will also help soldiers make better, faster decisions on the battlefield.
A sensor will let them know, for example, that a vehicle is approaching. Video from the sensor will let the soldier know if it is a suspicious vehicle.
It will put capabilities into the hands of soldiers that they dont have now, Bush said.
Its tough in that kind of environment to identify one individual from another individual whos the terrorist, he said. The more tools you give the soldier the easier it is.
The bottom line for the combat veterans testing the new systems was that robots and sensors and information on the battlefield translates to more troops coming home alive.
If the robot ges blown up, oh well. You still have a soldier with you, an NCO said.
One combat commander said if his unit would have had the systems in Iraq, it would have saved an NCOs life, his squad leaders legs and his team leaders hand.
The initial version of the network operating system, the joint tactical radio system, the tactical and urban unattended ground sensors and the non-line-of-sight launch system are funded for the first spin-out of FCS systems starting in fiscal 2008.
There is no funding currently for the small unmanned ground vehicle and the Class I unmanned aerial vehicle for the first spin-out. They are slated as options in spin-out 2, if funding is available.
#2
"Its effectiveness was problematic for the trainers, though, because the soldiers were finding all of the planted roadside bombs and taking alternative routes. As a result, they were missing out on intentional training on how to react to an IED."
Wrong answer, Mr. Academic: seems to me the guys on the ground did react to the IED, and chose to go around rather than take the time to try to blow it up. Seems to me that if the name of the game is to kill bad guys, then stopping to play with roadside distractions will enabel the turban heads to make their getaway.
Remember, Mr. Training guru: this is about saving soldiers' lives, not giving you unlimited oppotunities to experiment and keep drawing on the gov't teat.
let them keep the toys until congress funds more ( like maybe 2009?)
#3
Rant continued:
Prediction time: The reluctance to turn these systems in will be such that there will be the threat of 'theft of / unlawful possession of gov't property' charges. What a wonderful morale builder.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's offer of talks on its nuclear programme while continuing uranium enrichment is "totally unacceptable," France's foreign minister said Sunday.
You tell 'em, Flippy.
"(Ahmadinejad) says that he will simply no longer put material into the centrifuges, but that absolutely does not correspond to the demands of the UN Security Council," of which France is a permanent member, Philippe Douste-Blazy told a French radio station.
You've got Dinnerjacket's attention, now go in for the kill!
"Such a move would not even be a real pause, neither would it be a measure of confidence because in keeping the centrifuges turning the Iranians will obtain lots of information essential to advancing their banned nuclear programme leading to a nuclear capability which would not be for peaceful means," he said. "This is unacceptable."
Right between the eyes. Good shot, M. le Foreign Minister.
Ahmadinejad on Sunday said Iran was ready to negotiate with the West over its nuclear programme but would not give in to the key demand that it suspends uranium enrichment. "If you are willing to negotiate why do you insist on a suspension?" Ahmadinejad asked the West in a speech to a mass rally in Tehran marking the 28th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.Iran says that uranium enrichment is to supply its civilian nuclear energy programme but the United States believes it will be used to make atomic weapons. The UN Security Council in December reluctantly imposed sanctions against Iran which is facing a deadline to halt uranium enrichment by February 21.
#1
Whoa-a-a Nelly > Okay, I'll bite, must had missed it becuz the only news I saw on the Net today was how CHIRAC admits to having a tres bon sexual appetite, i.e. likes to have multiple affairs-dallianes wid women not necessarily his wife = current girlfriend(s).
#2
Considering how the French made out like bandits dealing with Saddam during the UN sanctions, "totally unacceptable" is probably best translated as "what's in it for us?".
#3
so far the french are saying all the right things. I really do think the way the Iranians humiliated them in the EU3 (not to be confused with EU3 from Paradox Ent, sounds like a good game) talks still rankles. They are still the weak link among the Euros, but havent broken yet on Iran or on Hamas.
(RIA Novosti) - Iran is ready to start talks on suspending its uranium enrichment program, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. The Islamic Republic has been under international pressure since it resumed uranium enrichment in January 2006, which some Western countries suspect is part of a covert nuclear weapons program. Tehran has always denied the claims, and says it needs nuclear power for civilian purposes. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently stated its readiness to discuss various issues through negotiations, even the issue of suspending work on uranium enrichment," Foreign Ministry's spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said.
In response to Iran's unwillingness to forgo its nuclear ambitions, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1737 last December, which provided for sanctions against Iran banning activities involving uranium enrichment, chemical reprocessing, heavy water-based projects, and the production of nuclear weapons delivery systems.
Foreign ministers of 27 EU countries unanimously supported the UN resolution during a meeting in Brussels January 22. Tehran responded to the resolution by saying it would review its cooperation with the IAEA and on January 23 barred 38 IAEA experts from inspecting Iran's nuclear facilities. The IAEA is expected to file a new report on Iran's nuclear program February 23.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that another session of the Iran-6 mediation group on Tehran's controversial nuclear program could take place before the international nuclear watchdog submits a report to the UN Security Council. The six negotiators on Iran's nuclear program include Russia, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and China. Iran insists its nuclear problem is "fully politicized," but that it is prepared for fair negotiations on its uranium enrichment without preconditions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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ITAR-TASS [Drudge] > Russia has offered to enrich uranium for Iran, and on Russian territory.
Less than a week after IDF troops clashed with Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) north of the Israeli community of Avivim, IDF officers met with LAF officers and newly-appointed UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano for the first time on Monday in an effort to increase the level of coordination and prevent clashes in the future.
The meeting took place at the UN Position at the border crossing at Ras Al Naqoura, just north of Rosh Hanikra. UNIFIL submitted a report and findings of last week's incident to the LAF and the IDF and both parties agreed with UNIFIL's recommendation to improve liaison and coordination to prevent additional clashes in the future.
UNIFIL has set up an office at Northern Command headquarters in Safed which is manned by two officers. Their job, IDF sources said, was to coordinate with the IDF and relay information on incidents in real-time to prevent violence and misunderstandings.
The parties also discussed the continued IDF presence in the northern part of the town of Ghajar, which is split in half by the Blue Line international border between Lebanon and Israel. Graziano asked the IDF to expedite its withdrawal from the village in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/13/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
IDF to expedite its withdrawal from the village in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701
Since the rest of the resolution has been already implemented.
#2
What SHOULD be happening is direct contacts between IDF and LAF, at first with UNIFIL present, but eventually without intermediation by UNIFIL. Thats the real way to keep peace on the border.
Iran will be able to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear bomb and there is little that can be done to prevent it, an internal European Union document has concluded.
In an admission of the international communitys failure to hold back Irans nuclear ambitions, the document compiled by the staff of Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief says the atomic programme has been delayed only by technical limitations rather than diplomatic pressure. Attempts to engage the Iranian administration in a negotiating process have not so far succeeded, it states. The downbeat conclusions of the reflection paper seen by the Financial Times are certain to be seized on by advocates of military action, who fear that Iran will be able to produce enough fissile material for a bomb over the next two to three years. Tehran insists its purposes are purely peaceful.
At some stage we must expect that Iran will acquire the capacity to enrich uranium on the scale required for a weapons programme, says the paper, dated February 7 and circulated to the EUs 27 national governments ahead of a foreign ministers meeting yesterday. In practice . . . the Iranians have pursued their programme at their own pace, the limiting factor being technical difficulties rather than resolutions by the UN or the International Atomic Energy Agency. The problems with Iran will not be resolved through economic sanctions alone.
The admission is a blow to hopes that a deal with Iran can be reached and comes at a sensitive time, when tensions between the US and Tehran are rising. Its implication that sanctions will prove ineffective will also be unwelcome to EU diplomats. Only yesterday the bloc agreed on how to apply United Nations sanctions on Tehran, overcoming a dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar.
Iran has set up several hundred centrifuges to enrich uranium, a process that can yield both nuclear fuel and weapons-grade material. But analysts say that Iran is behind schedule on plans to install 3,000 centrifuges to produce enriched uranium on a larger scale. Last year Ernst Uhrlau, the head of German intelligence, said Tehran would not be able to produce enough material for a nuclear bomb before 2010 and would only be able to make it into a weapon by about 2015.
The EU document is embarrassing for advocates of negotiations with Iran, since last year it was Mr Solana and his staff who spearheaded talks with Tehran on behalf of both the EU and the permanent members of the UN Security Council. The paper adds that Tehrans rejection of the offer put forward by Mr Solana makes it difficult to believe that, at least in the short run, [Iran] would be ready to establish the conditions for the resumption of negotiations. Congratulations, EUROPEAN UNION. You dicked around, and blathered around, and committeed around, and held endless hearings, until it was too late. You could have acted, and by acting, prevented disaster. But you were too convinced that your forked, yet honeyed tongues could talk your way out of anything.
#1
I am a firm believer that illegal immigration from Mexico needs to be pragmatically split into two different solutions, with Mexicans treated differently from other nationalities.
As far as the Mexicans go, no matter what happens in the near future, eventually the problem will solve itself, as the birthrate in Mexico has dropped to about 2.3 children per family. This means that the huge influx of illegals *has* to go down, even if we do nothing.
Of course, if we do *anything*, we should erect a wall, because this gives us the greatest "bang for the buck", and may reduce the number of Mexicans entering the US by 80-90%; far more cost effective than any other solution.
Other solutions will be much more costly and achieve far less per capita, in reducing the remaining 10-20% of illegals getting in, so it's hard to tell what would be the best secondary plan for further reductions.
But that brings up the other problem: that it is virtually impossible to keep out a determined few non-Mexicans trying to sneak across that border. Non-Mexicans like Muslim terrorists.
Unless we have the help of Mexicans.
I propose that because it is so vital that we prevent *any* terrorists from crossing our southern border, that the most effective thing we can do is to pay a bounty to Mexicans to stop them.
No non-Mexican, and I mean zero, is going to get across that border with 300,000 hungry Mexicans watching it, hoping to get a bounty and win the lottery for calling it in to ICE.
And it would be "dirt cheap".
We pass out leaflets south of the border, advertising the deal. From $500 to $10,000 for ratting out any non-Mexican who tries to illegally cross. Just call this number, give them a description of the non-Mexican, when and where he is crossing, and you will be given a code number redeemable for cash.
South of the border, it would be "lottery fever", as even $500 cash looks like a huge fortune. Even mules paid a fortune to smuggle a non-Mexican would take their money, then rat them out for more money.
So even if 100,000 Mexicans crossed, that one non-Mexican, who just might be a terrorist bomber, couldn't make it safely into the US if he had a suitcase full of cash.
#2
News for you Moose. The ruling patron families in Mexico have no interest in the security of the US. They have no interest in millions of their own people who are unemployed. An unemployment made possible by the fundamentally corrupt political structure that is Mexico. It is in the self interest of that cabal of families to dump as many of those peons on to the US in order to avoid reform and the expected dissipation of their power and privilege. There is no motivation for one bit of change on the part of the patron hierarchy.
#4
Procopius2k: I agree with you. However, it is a purely numbers game. Once their population growth stabilized, any economic growth will have to come with higher wages. Though the wealthy families don't want to pay higher wages, it will either be that or not have enough employees.
And higher wages also acts to reduce the number of illegals to the US.
Right now, Mexico hovers around a 3-6% annual growth rate. That really puts the squeeze on labor.
Ironically, because of the pressing need for skilled and white collar labor, Mexican big business might have to start importing Americans.
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.
(RIA Novosti) - Russia is prepared to cooperate with the West in creating a European anti-missile defense system, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Sunday. Ivanov spoke at the international security conference in Munich. The Russian defense minister said Russia has no military and political enemies today. "We have no countries, the relations with which have been significantly impaired," Ivanov said. 
The US envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program said Tuesday a tentative agreement had been reached on initial steps for Pyongyang's disarmament, setting the stage for the first concrete progress after more than three years of negotiations. 
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Monday he fears an offensive by Iraqi insurgents similar to the Tet offensive by the Viet Cong that sent U.S. casualties soaring in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago. McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, said in an interview with The Associated Press that it's not the U.S. presence in Iraq that upsets voters but rather the number of casualties and the possibility those numbers could rise. The U.S. death toll is more than 3,100 in the nearly four-year-old war. 
House Democrats rolled out their resolution opposing President Bush's troop increase in Iraq on Monday, setting up a likely rebuke in a political landscape turned upside-down since Congress' overwhelming 2002 endorsement of force against Saddam Hussein. Lawmakers are expected to vote on a resolution by week's end opposing Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. The measure states simply that the House "will continue to support and protect" troops serving in Iraq but "disapproves" of the troop buildup.
The 18-year-old man who shot and killed at least five people Monday night at Trolley Square has been identified as Sulejmen Talovic, a Bosnian refugee who lived in Salt Lake City.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday urged clerics to help the government project the true image of Islam to counter confusion being spread against Muslims and their faith. 
Israel is considering suspending contacts with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if his new unity government with Hamas does not meet international demands, Israeli officials said yesterday. The unity deal and Israel's response could hamper US efforts to revive long-stalled peace talks. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans a three-way summit with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on February 19. "One option under serious discussion is severing contacts with Abu Mazen," said one of the officials involved in the deliberations, referring to Abbas by his nickname.
The European Union will resume aid to the Palestinian government when a government of national unity is in place there, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Monday. When it becomes possible to re-engage with a national unity government, and we are not there yet, we could gradually resume support to Palestinian Authority ministries and agencies, Ferrero-Waldner said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The European Commission will closely study the political agreement between the Fatah movement Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and rival Palestinian faction Hamas, which has been running the Palestinian government and which the EU has not been dealing with, she added.
The European Union foreign ministers assessed a power-sharing deal among Palestinian factions Monday but remained silent on the possibility of resuming direct aid, an issue pressed by a senior aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The aide, Nabil Amr, met with EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana, who said later he hoped a unity government of Hamas and Fatah could trigger "progress in the Middle East peace process." But officials stressed that a normalization of relations between the Palestinian government and the EU, its biggest aid donor, hinged on a coalition government's commitment to recognize Israel and its existing accords with the Palestinians and abandon violence. 
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister 
(RIA Novosti) - Iran is ready to start talks on suspending its uranium enrichment program, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. The Islamic Republic has been under international pressure since it resumed uranium enrichment in January 2006, which some Western countries suspect is part of a covert nuclear weapons program. Tehran has always denied the claims, and says it needs nuclear power for civilian purposes. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently stated its readiness to discuss various issues through negotiations, even the issue of suspending work on uranium enrichment," Foreign Ministry's spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said. 
Iran will be able to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear bomb and there is little that can be done to prevent it, an internal European Union document has concluded.
The admission is a blow to hopes that a deal with Iran can be reached and comes at a sensitive time, when tensions between the US and Tehran are rising. Its implication that sanctions will prove ineffective will also be unwelcome to EU diplomats. Only yesterday the bloc agreed on how to apply United Nations sanctions on Tehran, overcoming a dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar.
