As they swept up broken glass and boarded up windows and doors on Tuesday, Kabul residents placed blame for Monday's rioting on young hoodlums and criminal gangs who seized on a fatal accident involving an American military convoy to spark a citywide conflagration. But they also criticized the American military for its arrogance, saying military vehicles frequently crush civilian cars, and they doubted that the government or the military would conduct an honest investigation of the incident.
I've lost track of how many times I've heard the exact same thing from German farmers during REFORGER exercises. I don't recall any riots, though
While a survey of hospitals on Monday found 14 people dead from the rioting, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 12 had been killed, including one policeman, and that 138 had been wounded. Afghan troops were deployed across the capital on Tuesday, sitting atop armored personnel carriers at main intersections. Gen. Jamil Junbish, the Kabul police chief, said a curfew would be enforced for a second night.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/31/2006 00:11 ||
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"For the last four years, people were waiting to see some changes in the government. But they did not see it."
Not that the govt.'s a stellar democracy, but they can only do so much when the nation's full of backwards barbarians who riot whenever someone farts in their general direction - and those are the civilized citizens.
The guns of Mogadishu are seldom silent. Since Somalia's last functioning government fell in 1991, the sound of militiamen clearing their weapons by firing into the air has become as common as the muezzin's call to prayer.
This year, however, the bullets' trajectories have been horizontal rather than vertical. More than 300 people - mostly civilians, including women and children - have been killed during battles than have raged across the city.
More than 100 have died during the past week alone. Militiamen have taken over the hospital run by the Red Cross. The fledgling government is stuck in Baidoa, a town to the east of the capital, powerless to intervene.
It is the sort of scenario that normally acts like a magnet for foreign correspondents. Jet into the city, interview a few combatants, nip into the hospital to see a few wounded civilians, and you have a colourful piece ready to run alongside a picture of teen brandishing an AK-47. In this story, there is even the added spice of clandestine CIA involvement and ties to al-Qaida and the "war on terror".
Yet the number of western journalists that have been in Mogadishu this year could be counted on one hand - and that may be an overstatement. It is not due to a lack of interest from editors, but rather an accurate assessment of the risks for a foreigner in a city that is as unpredictable as it is inherently dangerous. (A BBC producer, Kate Peyton, was shot outside her hotel in Mogadishu in an apparently motiveless murder in early 2005). Instead, it is left to a brave few Somali journalists working for the wire services to chronicle the mayhem.
Businessman Bashir Raage Shirar who is member of Alliance for Restoration of Peace and Counter Terrorism (ARPTC) said they have indications that there are foreign fighters and other Somali tribes who were involved the recent battles in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Mr. Rage who was speaking with local media overnight said that anti terror alliance have facts that outside insurgents and other clan militias were fighting beside Islamic courts militiamen in Mogadishu. Militias from Majerten, 0gaden of Darod clans and others fighters including 0romos, Sudanese, Arab, Afghanistan and Pakistani were involved in the battles that erupted in many locations of the capital Mr. Rage urged the traditional elders of Darod clans to abstain from what he called the fighting between the brothers.
But traditional elders and intellectuals from Darod clans in the capital denied the accusations of involving the recent clashes between anti terror alliance and Islamic courts union.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Businessman Rage also said the brothers are needed to work on resolving the conflict to avoid more bloodshed, noting the dying people, the injured and the displaced are all belonging to the clans of warring parts. When asked whether he supports to the peace efforts by traditional elders of Hirab and Mudulod clans of Hawiye clans led by minister of public housing Osman Atto, Bashir Rage replied "I dont want to talk about that,"
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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The United Nation's humanitarian chief warned on Tuesday of a catastrophic situation developing in Darfur unless international donors act soon to bolster a beleaguered African peacekeeping force in the Sudanese province. We either get good news in the next few weeks, or we have catastrophic news later, Jan Egeland told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
He said a major international conference would be held in June somewhere in Europe in an effort to boost humanitarian aid and assistance for the peacekeepers. Egeland was in Brussels to meet top officials at NATO and the European Union. He said military powers should provide more resources to improve transport, communications, logistics, training and planning for the African peacekeepers. They represent hardware which is very valuable, he said.
However, he warned against deploying a Western military force, as some politicians in the United States have suggested. We have to be careful to calibrate the humanitarian and security response so it doesn't provoke a reaction, Egeland said. I'd like to see the African Union ( AU) and the UN play the lead role there, NATO and other organizations can complement and very usefully complement our efforts.
A 7,300-strong AU force in place in Darfur has been largely unable to halt violence despite a May 5 peace deal designed to end fighting that has killed nearly 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million since 2003.
Some jokes just tell themselves, y'know...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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However, he warned against deploying a Western military force, as some politicians in the United States have suggested. "We have to be careful to calibrate the humanitarian and security response so it doesn't provoke a reaction," Egeland said. "I'd like to see the African Union ( AU) and the UN play the lead role there, NATO and other organizations can complement and very usefully complement our efforts."
Must mean them 'merican Cowboys.
Oh and to translate:
We don't want the world to see what a competent professional military force can do. Just send us some targets for our Islamic friends. We can find a way to blame Bush later, when things get really bad...
But if you really want to send UN peacekeepers, let's let the situation for the refugees get worse so there'll be plenty of starving wimmin and children for our Food for Sex program, so successful elsewhere.
#3
We either get good news in the next few weeks, or we have catastrophic news later, Jan Egeland told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Please save us the drama and just go ahead fast forward to "catastrophic" thank you.
Zimbabwe is introducing a bank note worth 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to help consumers as inflation exceeds 1,000%. The note will be worth about $1 at the official exchange rate, but only $0.30 on the informal market. The 50,000 Zimbabwe dollar bill, introduced only four months ago, is not enough to buy a loaf of bread.
Sounds like Germany in the 1920's. Zimbabwe really needs a strong man to seize control and fix........oh, wait.
The government on Tuesday used its mineral exports to gain access to a $50m loan from a European bank, to pay for essential fuel and drugs.
Bob had to fly to Paris and pick up some asprin.
"It is not the first and last time to see us introducing bearer cheques and we will not hesitate to introduce higher denominations," Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono said, according to the state-run Herald newspaper. The bills are known as bearer cheques since they are promissory notes rather than official legal tender, but are used in Zimbabwe in the same way as money.
The issuing of bearer cheques began with a note worth 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to reduce the need to carry large bundles of paper money.
They were using wheelbarrows in Germany to carry enough currency to just buy bread
The government has announced a National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP) in order to deal with the economic problems. Zimbabwe is suffering from shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency. In April, inflation passed 1,000% per annum for the first time.
President Robert Mugabe blames domestic and foreign enemies for the problems, while his critics point to the collapse of agricultural exports following a controversial land reform programme. The country is struggling to pay civil servants and is thought to owe money to neighbours such as South Africa and Mozambique from whom it is been importing electricity and fuel.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/31/2006 08:39 ||
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I'd like to buy one, to add to my various collections of useless stuff... ebay, perhaps.
Venezuela and Russia are in talks to manufacture Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela, El Universal reported Wednesday.
Russia is reportedly planning to build two factories in Venezuela, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said.
Earlier this month, however, the United States called for a ban on all arms sales to Venezuela, saying the South American country was not active enough in backing counter-terror efforts globally.
Washington accuses Chavez of trying to spread his socialist ideals throughout Latin America, while the leftist Venezuelan leader claims the Bush administration has supported his opposition.
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 20:01 ||
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thanks Pooty Poot! No friend of the US - damn shame if the factories were destroyed in the "suspect explosions" also killing El Presidente ...although 20 miles apart?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2006 20:13 Comments ||
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If left unchecked, Hugo will flood Latin America and the Caribbean with AK-47s...
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 20:18 Comments ||
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#2 - as though they're not flooded now?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/31/2006 21:04 Comments ||
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With a local factory cranking them out and Chavez arming his "chavezista" civilian thugs...
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 21:12 Comments ||
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#5
He will be arming other "chaveztias" in other countries with a factory.
#6
I get the feeling the 'factories will be filled with junky old machines, and blown up by the Russians for the insurance money. They will blame Chavez who will blame us.
They call it "the Killing Compound" the area of Camp 22 in North Korea's largest concentration camp. Hidden away in the mountains in a remote northeastern corner of North Korea, close to its borders with Russia and China, Camp 22 has been purpose-built for the regime's scientists to have an unlimited number of prisoners on which to experiment.
Thousands of men, women and children are trucked to the nearby town of Haengyong. There they wait and, just as Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele did at Auschwitz, the North Korean physicians single out those who will die in gas chambers, or in biological tests, or face death in the human dissection rooms.
Those not selected to go to the Killing Compound at once will be kept in other compounds, surviving on minimum rations, to replace those who have died from inhuman experiments.
They are all branded as enemies of the state, "political victims" who have dared to speak out against President Kim Jong Il, the "Dear Leader" of North Korea. Their "offenses" may have been to allow a portrait of Kim to get dusty every home must display one. Or not having given the mandatory bow when passing his thousands of posters that line every street.
Now, as the trial of Saddam Hussein draws to its inevitable close in Baghdad, Western intelligence services are building up their files that will enable Kim and senior members of his regime to be indicted for war crimes. "Just as Saddam cannot escape his role in the war crimes of his regime, so Kim will also face justice. "North Korea is a real terror state and its leader has to face the international criminal court," said Dr Norbert Vollersten, a German doctor who treated victims in North Korea and is now a campaigner for regime change in Pyongyang. "As a German born after the war, I know too well the guilt of my grandparents' generation for remaining silent," he says. "We must do everything possible to end Kim's regime of terror."
Chilling testimony from those he has helped to escape from North Korea has emerged as a key element in preparing future indictments against Kim and his regime. The most shocking evidence centers on Camp 22. An MI6 file describes it as "larger than Auschwitz or Dachau." "Hundreds of prisoners die there each week, the victims of biological or chemical experiments to test out [chemical and biological] weapons for North Korea's CBW arsenal," claims an MI6 report.
In one intelligence file is the allegation that newborn babies are taken from their mothers and injected with biological agents or given injections of chemicals that blister the skin, leaving huge keloids, the sores seen on the bodies of Hiroshima victims.
One woman, Lee Sun-Ko, who escaped from North Korea earlier this year, eventually ended up in America. She told her CIA debriefing officer that Camp 22's experimental laboratories are buried underground to avoid aerial reconnaissance and bombing. Lee Sun-Ko's affidavit includes: "I watched guards select 150 prisoners, mostly women. Some had just given birth. Their babies were ripped from them. Some of the babies were laid face down on the ground and a guard injected them at the top of the spine. Other guards carried the babies away. When the mothers screamed and protested, they were severely beaten."
David Hawk, a former United Nations official who was involved in monitoring Camp 22, said that while reports of baby-killing are often hard to prove, in the cases he has investigated the evidence is plausible. "I spoke to eight refugees who had first-hand evidence. Their stories tallied," said Hawk.
#2
yeah yeah we could do something about it, we could but we wont. Whats that differant here then from Saddams Iraq, the scale of it is larger yes, organised better, yes probably but im sorry this is once more more wishfull thinking that the world will have the balls to stand up to these types. As we have all seen over the last 3 years or so only a select few countries have the will and balls to actually do anything about these types of rouge states. Unfortunatly that has been destroyed by incredably bad and bias media representation of the Iraq war with the constant screams of quagmire. Yep thanks to our own medias and leftist groups countries like North Korea are now forever destined to be ruled over by nut cases with absolutly no intervention from the outside world. Yep it sucks badly but hell, we bought it all on ourselves. If back at the start of the iraq war a proper pro war/intervention campaign could have been created then yeah things wouldnt be as hopeless as they are now. For example if mobs had of been formed to storm and enter the likes of Time magazine and the BBC and rooters and shut down thier propaganda for the enemys, if AL-jizz offices in the western world had have been stormed and ransacked and burnt down. You get what im saying im sure, failure by all of us, myself and everybody else who supports intervention have failed everyone that needed our support. Fckin sucks i know and yes theres still a very faint glimmer of hope that one day the over 50% of the populations of our country that do actually want to change the world might be able to something about it one day but as this last three years have proven putting pen to paper even with the likes of VDH and people here at rantburg will not and can not change the media bias, people power and force is the only viable way left and i for one am up for well up for the force option, whos with me? I got a BBC office near me in Southampton thats ripe for a ransacking and takeover......
#4
Come the revolution the entire Beeb news dept will be put against a wall and shot ... to show them a real HR abuse instead of all the bullshit they peddle about squaddies drowning Iraqis in Basra and all the shit about Haditha.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
05/31/2006 7:39 Comments ||
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. . . and Madeline Albright dances with these people.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/31/2006 7:57 Comments ||
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Little new. This info has been out for several years, though injecting babies with chem/bio is new. Previous reports had newborns of inmates being smashed against the ground or thrown in refuse boxes to die of exposure. The Nork SS must have thought: why not get some use out of the counterrevolutionary brats before they throw them into the compost pile. Remember 3 generations on a family are taken prisoner for the thought crimes of an individual.
The work/death camps are huge. There were satellite photos circulating a few years back. The combined yearly death rate of all the camps was estimated at 20-25%.
Posted by: ed ||
05/31/2006 8:03 Comments ||
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China's neighbor, why aren't they doing something about it? They want to show that they can be a part of the "civilized" world? - bulldoze lil' Kim into oblivion.
#8
yep, this is f*cking sick, I hate even thinking about it. Torturing innocent little babies churns my chest cavity. Burn in hell Mr. Kim, you, your henchmen, and all your sympathizers.
#9
What this doesn't mention is that entire families can be imprisoned for the act of a single member. A lot of this info has been out there for years.
Another reason Shep is that the MSM is, once again, providing Kimmie-boy-the-baby-killer cover by not reporting *any* of this. When was the last time you saw a negative report of North Korea in the mainstream media? Nope the MSM is too busy covering a un-airconditioned room in GITMO or a blonde bimbo who gets herself in trouble in Aruba - no time to cover the murder and genetic / chemical / biological exprimentation on millions (including babies).
They don't care. And when this finally comes to light (and it will) they will all blame Bush (why did he waste his time in Iraq - look what was happening in North Korea).
And the so-called Human Rights agencies? Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch? Odd how they are almost silent about this. They hardly report any of this. That must be one hell of a unconditioned room in GITMO.
South Korea, with its 'Sunshine policy' is also involved. You can bet your ass they probably know about it and ignore the abuses.
I wonder... did Clinton's administration know about this when Madam halfbright visited her pal Kimmie and sign that worthless agreement? I think she and Clinton did know - but willfully ignored it.
After all North Korea is a socialist's wet dream and these are, after all, only peasants and people of no concenquence.
#10
They bitch about stuff like this, but I think we all know they won't do jack shit about it. The world body doesn't even have the belly to fight terrorism, much less an enemy that is "dug in".
#11
Shep o'boy, the Americans don't have to do anything about it any more than the English or French, etc. Actually, the South Koreans could end it if they wanted to. I suspect they could roll about as effectly up to the Chinese border as the Americans ran up to Baghdad. The problem is that the last time they in fact did that, about a half a million Chinese came heading south. So the agent responsible is Bejing. They want international standing? They want respect? Here's a golden opportunity.
#12
http://sick-of-the-bbc.blogspot.com/ my new site, yeah not alot there yet but please feel free to take a look (laugh) and comment. I'm sick of doing nothing about the BBC so this is my new cause in life! lol anyways hope some of you like. I have many more mob rule theorys too, like bank charges - you get them in the states? say you overdraw a doller and get charged 50 dollers for it like here in the UK? well things like hat need to end with and the only way is mob/people power!
#13
China's neighbor, why aren't they doing something about it? They want to show that they can be a part of the "civilized" world?
China has a "one child per family" population control regime enforced by infanticide, among other means. I seriously doubt they want to make any noise on this issue.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/31/2006 10:07 Comments ||
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This seems like a rehash of previous reports. Some of the allegations (ie.chemical testing, infantcide) were disproven as exagerated stories by defectors attempting to gain asylum for extended families. Camp 22 is a concentration camp for political prisoners and their families and no doubt filled with actual abuses. Just be aware that " babies on bayonets" and "incubator atrocities" have proven to be more embelishment then fact.
#16
The anthrax was described as "highly refined", puzzling investigators as to how common terrorists could accomplish this unless it was state-sponsored. The same term was used to describe NK's methamphetamines intercepted off Australia. NK ambassadors also acted as couriers for the Superdollar they counterfeited. I suspect Kimmie is responsible for a lot of war crimes and WMD's, maybe even sharing how to build undetectable compounds underground with Iran and other terrorists. He's been ignored too long.
The Japanese Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan for the most significant reorganisation of US troops and bases in Japan in decades. The final plan, aimed at enhancing bilateral security ties and realigning thousands of US troops, is part of Washington's strategy to reorganise its military around the world to make it a more flexible force. The realignment plan is based on the deal Tokyo and Washington signed May 1 to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station within the Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa and shift 8,000 of the 18,000 US Marines from there to Guam by 2014. Japan, which has relied on the US to defend it for almost 60 years, has the largest concentration of US military in Asia, with more than 50,000 troops at bases throughout the country. About half the US military in Japan are located in Okinawa, the nation's poorest prefecture. "This plan intends to reduce the burden on the local residents and is quite meaningful in the sense of strengthening the US-Japan alliance in the current security climate," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at a news conference.
But whether Okinawa Prefecture would agree to plans to build a new US military airfield there as an alternative to the Marines' Futenma airbase is unclear, due largely to noise, crime and environmental concerns. Opposition to the American military presence in Okinawa has remained strong since the 1995 rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three US servicemen, which sparked huge anti-base protests. The government said it will launch a joint council with local governments in Okinawa to quickly draw up construction plans, and will study the feasibility and environmental impact of the new coastal airfield. "If we continue with the negotiations with local authorities and listen to their demands, I think we can get their understanding and cooperation," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters. Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine, however, issued a statement Tuesday saying the Cabinet decision without thorough consultation with local communities was extremely deplorable. Inamine has yet to officially accept the relocation plan, which has long been a point of contention between Tokyo and local authorities.
Koizumi also said the government needs to carefully study the costs and that it will take time to come up with the accumulated cost estimate, indicating it may be unlikely the figures will be presented during the current parliament session, which is scheduled to end June 18 unless extended. Japan has agreed to pay 59 percent of the total cost of this move or roughly USD 6.09 billion, down from the 75 percent requested by the US. The realignment also includes the relocation of carrier-based fighter jets, deployment of a new US radar system for ballistic missile defense at a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base, and dispersing flight drills from heavily burdened areas.
#1
Iff recent local medias/news articles are any measure, to include STARS AND STRIPES, many Okinawans and Govt officials want the USMC, etal. out of Futenma + Okinawa [Japan]in general. Comes down to post WW2 anti-USDOD/Bases sentiment vs. knowledge or perception by Japanese pols that Commie China wants to dominate all of East Asia including Japan. Wid China and North Korea allegedly bent on dev ICBMS that can reach CONUS, the West Coast iff not deeper, GUAM = HAWAII-WEST COAST iff nor more important due to its closer linear distance from Asia. Basing an aircraft carrier in Hawaii or West Coast may PC save stateside American lives, always a good thingy come elex times, but won't do anything to prevent enemy armies from attacking CONUS-NORAM-CANUSA iff the USA, voluntarily or forcibly, mil-pol withdraws from East Asia and PACOA/POA/Oceania. THE GWOT IS A WAR FOR CONTROL OF THE WORLD - is always better "OVER THERE" than down MAINSTREET, ANYTOWN, ANYPLACE USA, which will be once America's enemies believe or conclude America has de facto lost the GWOT and has turned/retreated geopolitically andor turned domestically isolationist. GWOT > the "STATUS QUO" regardless of merits or form is no longer acceptable/
tolerable for any of America's enemies. MOVING OR RUNNING AWAY TO TAHITI, NORTH POLE, PARAGUAY, or TIMBUKTU/SHANGRI-LA isn't gonna change the situation nor save anyone from the inevitable. Iff GLOBAL WARMING = the SUN, how are 6.0-plus Bilyuuhn people on earth gonna escape the Sun, and how does Kyoto andor Global OWG-Socialism, etal. affect the Sun and causes it to change its Fascist Male Brute Arrogant anti-Motherly Imperialist GOP-Conservative Sunly ways???
what's nice about that, it's an *anticommunist* conspiracy theory which doesn't blame the West (except for its passivity and negligence), and doesn't fall into apologism (for example, islamic terror is not an excuse for the "Zionist" cabal, it is a deniable proxy for the commies).
#5
I know this is going to sound like Marine bashing, and I sincerely don't mean it to. I was stationed at Kadena for 2 year back in the early 80's. Whenever we went to Okinawa City or Naha, we would always run into service members from all branches. For the most part, American servicemen on Okinawa respected the Okinawans, treated them courteously, and respected their culture and traditions. My buddies and I enjoyed friendships with many Okinawans.
Now for the 'Marine bashing' part. It was ROUTINE to see groups of Marines fighting with Okinawan police, raising a ruckus in the local shops, verbally abusing Okinawan women, getting so drunk they couldn't stand up, and generally behaving like assholes. One night in a bar in Okinawa City, I saw 3 Marines take on 9 Okinawan prefectural police. After the 3 Marines kicked all 9 of their asses, reinforcements were called in and they were finally subuded and arrested. During my 2 year stint on Okinawa, 2 young (under 16) Okinawan women were raped. In each case, the perpetrator was a Marine.
I had Marine frinds on Okinawa, and one is a close friend to this very day. Having said that, I believe it would go a long way toward our relations with the Japanese to get the marines off of Okinawa.
I don't know what caused them to behave the way they did, I only know what I personally witnessed. Perhaps it was that they spent months in the field being told they were killers, and then set loose on a hapless population with a was of cash and a load of testosterone.
A couple days old; HT Tim Blair.
AUSTRALIA'S 22 terror suspects and their families receive more than $1 million a year in taxpayer-funded welfare and legal aid. And simply because the men were locked up, their families received a social security pay rise of as much as $1700 a year.
One of the jailed Melbourne men, Abdul Nacer Benbrika -- leader of a radical group of Islamists -- has been in Australia for 10 years and has never had a job. Taxpayers provide his wife with almost $50,000 a year in welfare.
A Sunday Herald Sun investigation uncovered generous payments to the families of men charged with plotting terror in Australia. Adding tens of thousands of dollars in parenting payments, rent assistance and family tax benefits to the cost of legal services for the accused makes a total bill to taxpayers of more than $1 million.
Since November, 22 allegedly would-be terrorists have been arrested in Melbourne and Sydney under Operation Pendennis, a joint ASIO, AFP and state police forces operation.
Mr Benbrika was among 13 Melbourne men charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation. Of Algerian descent, he has a Lebanese-born wife and seven children. Under Centrelink rules, she is entitled to almost $50,000 a year in welfare while her husband is in prison, awaiting trial.
Ahmed Raad, another Melbourne suspect, has a child and his wife is entitled to about $21,500 a year, as are the wives of Ezzit Raad and Abdullah Merhi. The wife of another suspect, Hany Taha, who has three children, is entitled to up to $30,000 a year.
Among nine Sydney suspects charged with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist attack was engineer Mohamed Ali Elomar, 40. He has five children and his wife is entitled to about $38,000 a year in taxpayer payments. Omar Baladjam, a former actor on the ABC TV program Wildside, has two children.
A Centrelink spokeswoman said the fact someone had been jailed for terrorist offences did not stop their spouse or children receiving welfare. The maximum parenting payment increases from $377.50 a fortnight to $444.20 when a spouse is in jail, she said.
Two so-called "Anglo" terrorist suspects, Jack "Jihad" Thomas and Shane Kent, also have children and benefit from Centrelink payments. Mr Kent has two children, while Thomas, who is appealing against a conviction for receiving funds from a terrorist organisation, has three children.
Victims of crime groups expressed outrage at the payments. People Against Lenient Sentencing president Steve Medcraft said it was an insult to law-abiding battling families. "Why would you get an increased benefit when you go to jail? That's an insult to law and order," Mr Medcraft said.
"It never ceases to amaze me the way the system always favours the accused. "You go to jail, get three meals a day and free dental, medical and optical and your family gets an increased benefit."
Crime Victims Support Association spokesman Noel McNamara described the payments as disgraceful and said welfare benefits should be suspended when someone was charged with terrorism offences. "It is ludicrous that someone who is an alleged terrorist should receive benefits," he said. "It should be immediately suspended and if they are found not guilty, pay it out then."
23 ballots obtained in a country have been enough where 287 persons have voted in order to allow socialist the national Movement of the Nsab-Mlns workers (neonazista) to seat in a council of a Common one of the Italian Republic. It has happened to Belgirate, on the Greater lago in province of Verbania. The list was capeggiata from the candidate mayor Osvaldo Carmellino, ristoratore of Stresa. The winning candidate, George Pollens, outgoing mayor and scholastic leader in pension, have obtained 274 equal ballots to 92%. Beyond to Carmellino the neonazisti enter in the council Alice Siragusa, Antonio Ferdinand Palillo and Massimo Towers. The candidacy of the Nsab-Mlns list had provoked controversies and protests.
Hour, after the ballot, reassumes them Francisco Saverio Garofani, of the Daisy, that it expresses great worry. The fact that a party of nazi inspiration can have 4 communal councilmen is an absolutely not negligible data - it says -. It must reflect on the social implications that are hidden openly behind the political affirmation of a party that is recalled, and without some critical sense, to the ideology of Hitler. A formation whose leader declares nazi, asserts that `the Hebrew dead men are presumed' and that `the extermination camps are only become to you such after 1948'. Similar lists had been introduced also to Quarna Under, in province of Verbania, where it has obtained 1 ballot, in four common ones in province of Novara: Soriso (2 ballots), S.Nazzaro Sesia (2), Mezzomerico (5) and Comignago (2); a common one in province of Varese: Duno (0 ballots), where they have not obtained councilmen.
Europe getting nervous about all the Islamic people's coming in, or insanity (or both)?
Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi, said his country "will not turn its back on Iraq" after it withdraws its troops from the country. Parisi, who visited Italian troops in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya where the Italian contingent is based, said Italy's new government is committed to pulling its troops out of Iraq. He stressed in a speech carried by Italian media that his country's support of building a new democratic Iraq will continue through increased political, civil and humanitarian cooperation.
He added that the new Italian government's agenda is effective and aims to increase the international community's support to Iraq, saying Italy plans to complete the pullout of its troops by the end of next October.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Now, isn't that special
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/31/2006 3:55 Comments ||
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#2
Come on. It's not like they're French. They certainly have contributed and with the Iraqi forces standing up and starting to carry the load, it's time for some realignment of resources. It time to be thankful for those that came and stay through the establishment of first democratic government in generations.
#3
I agree with SS8394, but I think Prodi has an obligation to draw down the Italian forces in coordination with the other allies, and in a way that lets the Iraqis handle the transition properly.
Plus, Prodi has a substantial obligation to do the drawdown with honor: the Italian soldiers need to be honored for what they've done.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/31/2006 11:08 Comments ||
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Anti-war protesters gathered Wednesday at the Port of Olympia to demonstrate against a 950-foot military cargo ship bound for Iraq.
Crowds were small early in the day, but were expected to grow amid rumors that the ship was leaving Wednesday evening. Twenty-two people were arrested Tuesday and police pepper-sprayed a handful of protesters who pulled down a port fence.
Activists began protesting at the port more than a week ago after learning that Stryker vehicles and other Army gear from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, a 4,000-soldier unit stationed at Fort Lewis, were being shipped to Iraq.
The USNS Pomeroy, the largest ship ever to dock in Olympia, arrived Monday night.
Dan Kimball, Thurston County sheriff's chief criminal deputy, said no one was seriously injured in the demonstration Tuesday night. Twenty people were arrested for trespassing after they tore down a gate at the port entrance and laid down; two others were arrested for failing to disperse and grabbing officers.
Olympia City Councilman TJ Johnson said Wednesday he was shoved by state troopers trying to clear the area the night before. He said people were dispersing, but that pepper spray was shot off anyway.
He said county sheriff's deputies "chose to escalate the situation."
Authorities used pepper spray several times, including once when some in the crowd started hurling bottles and rocks at the approximately 70 law enforcement officers on scene, Kimball said.
"The actions that we took were very limited in force," Kimball said. "If they didn't start throwing things, we would have stood there until they went home."
Those arrested were released Tuesday night, but will have to go to court and will likely face fines, Kimball said.
In addition to the Washington State Patrol and Thurston County officers, Olympia police and Tumwater police were on hand Tuesday night. Several Olympia officers watched over the small group Wednesday afternoon, where handmade signs reading "U.S. out of Iraq," "Stop the Killing" and "No War" were stacked around a plaza just outside the port, in view of the ship.
"The majority of Americans know the war is wrong," said protester Drew Hendricks. "They're waiting for someone to act, and we're acting."
Later Wednesday, port officials cleared the signs out of the plaza and pressure-washed chalk messages that were written by the protesters, who moved outside of yellow tape that was set up outside the plaza.
No one was arrested Monday night, but police in riot gear fired pepper spray as about 150 war protesters tried to enter a port area.
Sixteen people were arrested in three days last week, mostly for pedestrian interference, during protests against convoys through the downtown area to the port from the sprawling military post between Olympia and Tacoma.
#4
Looks like the moonbats are on parade in Wash state.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/31/2006 22:04 Comments ||
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Saw the video, the cops were VERY restrained until the idiots crossed their line. I like theidea of Longshoremen getting an extra hour for lunch to "play" with the them.
#6
In Washington state they would have to cross the line to get law enforcement to react.
Stupid TRANZI wankers.
The Majority of Americans have forgot we are in a war. They are not against it. No matter how much the MSM and Democrats lie about it the peoole are still backing the WoT and Iraq.
The troopers of the 173d Airborne Brigade wear their combat badges and decorations with pride. During more than six years of continuous combat, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations. Sky Soldiers serving in Vietnam received 13 Medals of Honor, 32 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1736 Silver Stars and over 6,000 Purple Hearts. There are over 1,790 Sky Soldiers' names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.
Video at the link. You must watch it all.
I learned so much from the Sky Soldiers.
One of the most under-noticed heroic actions in the whole of the Vietnam war.
From an eyewitness account (one of the company commanders):
The adjustment the enemy made, as a result of our effective artillery, was to move closer to us in order to avoid the devastating fires. Their reaction clearly demonstrated that we were up against a highly trained and disciplined force. I reported to Colonel Tyler that I believed we were surrounded and, while we would hold the position, we were going to need help. Colonel Tyler provided encouragement and said he was working on it. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, came the sounds of three bugles. My operations sergeant, Staff Sergeant Ernest J. Sundborg, turned to me and asked if I had heard them. I said I didn't, but I had. My mind just didn't want to accept it. After what seemed a lifetime, I realized we had to move fast to overcome a major assault. I called for more artillery and again reported that we needed help if we were to hold. My platoons reacted quickly, almost without direction, repositioning machine guns and troopers to meet the blunt of the attack. Leaders seemed to appear everywhere knowing what was about to happen. I tried to be everywhere. We were ready for the worst. The enemy came at us shoulder-to-shoulder. It was unreal, like something out of films from the civil war. They made it about halfway up the hill when we finally broke them and they backed down off the hill slowly. They made a second attempt, seemingly more desperate than the first, but it met with the same fate. This time they were in retreat, but it wasn't over yet.
. . .
My eyes began to blur, we had paid a dear price. Reaching for the radio, I readied for my toughest report. When Colonel Tyler came on the net it took everything I had to report I estimated our two companies had more than forty dead, approximately seventy wounded, and were missing up to another twenty. For the second time I experienced a long pause on the radio followed by a pained "out".
. . .
(Press conference afterwards) We got a lot of questions on "being ambushed" and "fallen into a Viet Cong trap." General Williamson took those head-on as nonsense. Tucker reported, "They began charging in human waves with bugles blaring." I reported, "We killed about 90 Viet Cong as we busted through one of their encirclements. To another question I responded "When we finally fought our way to the top of the hill, we counted 111 Viet Cong bodies lying there." SSgt Wear offered,"I don't know what VC unit was there, but I know the other side knows we were there and won't want to tangle with the 173d again for a long time." The most quotable quote was offered by Sgt. Bryant, "I figure the Viet Cong would have been able to hold roll call the next morning in a telephone booth." I laughed for the first time in days.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
05/31/2006 21:22 Comments ||
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#4
I bought that CD about a month ago, Kristoferson does the intro. "the 8th of November" - It's a good song. Another good pro-mil country act is Montgomery/Gentry, I think they've done more USO concerts in the M.E. than anyone else besides Charlie Daniels.
In other news the Dixie Chicks cd supposedly debuted today at no.1 on the charts, though I don't personally know anyone who bought it or plans on buying it.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said Wednesday it was planning to let Pakistan buy advanced Boeing Co. Harpoon anti-ship missiles and related equipment valued at up to $370 million in "a significant upgrade" of the Asian nation's existing weapons systems.
Of the total "Block II" Harpoon missiles sought by Pakistan, 50 would be for launch from submarines, 50 from surface ships and 30 by air, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice to Congress required by law.
The equipment would provide "a significant upgrade to Pakistan's existing systems and allow for improved target acquisition," said the agency, which handles U.S. government-to-government weapons sales.
The notice does not mean that a sale has been concluded. In addition, Congress can interfere.
"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be a key ally in the global war on terrorism," the agency added.
Chicago-based Boeing describes the advanced Harpoon as capable of knocking out coastal defenses, surface-to-air missile sites and exposed aircraft as well as ships in port. It uses a satellite-aided inertial navigation system.
The upgraded targeting capability "significantly reduces the risk of hitting noncombatant targets, thus improving Pakistan's naval operational flexibility," the agency told Congress.
Pakistan, which has fought three wars with neighboring India since partition of British India in 1947, plans to use the Harpoon on its Lockheed Martin Corp. P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft, surface ships and submarines, the agency said.
The Bush administration last June signed a 10-year defense pact with India outlining expanded two-way defense trade, missile-defense cooperation plans and increased opportunities for technology transfers and weapons co-production.
Last year, Pentagon officials gave India a classified briefing on Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) short-range missile defense systems built by Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed and Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts.
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 18:09 ||
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#1
Sub launched Harpoon missiles? That can hit coastal regions? That is GPS guided?
In the hands of Pakistan?
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 18:28 Comments ||
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#2
WTF? With all the inaction (and outright doubledealing) Pak has provided in stopping the current Taliban incursions and we reward them? F*ck Pakistan. Sell the weapons to India
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2006 18:38 Comments ||
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#3
Harpoon has a 350 kg warhead.
Assuming China has been busy with the stolen W87 warhead design, they may be able to provide a cruise missile warhead to Pakistan.
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 18:49 Comments ||
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#4
Maybe we shoudl let me do the Delivery:
"Yes I'll deliver them - need the ISI and its ops cheifs to be on hand to make sure you're getting what you paid for. I'll give you a 10 digit grid and a time on target time of delivery - see you there!"
May 31, 2006: Pakistan is building, under license, the Chinese Qiang Wei-2 portable anti-aircraft missile. The Pakistan version, known as Anza Mark III, has some cosmetic differences. The missile is very similar in capability to the American Stinger. The Anza Mark III has a range of about five kilometers, and sensors that can defeat many anti-missile systems. China is believed to have used technology stolen from the Stinger for its Qiang Wei line of missiles.
For this reason, there is fear that the new Pakistani missile may find its way to terrorists. The new missiles could be stolen, or obtained via bribes, despite the fact that it would be easy to identify the missiles as Pakistani.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/31/2006 09:49 ||
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Pakistans Ministry of Interior has directed the administration of Islamabad to increase security for foreign diplomats, especially those from Afghanistan, as well as United Nations officials.
The ministry issued the directive in the aftermath of escalating riots in Kabul, following reports of a US army truck ramming into parked vehicles, official sources said here yesterday.
Concerned over a possible backlash from the riots as well as from a recent US bombing of Al Qaeda hideouts in Kandahar that has so far left 50 dead, the Interior Ministry ordered the district administration and police to ensure adequate security for diplomats and other foreign dignitaries residing in the federal capital.
Sources said that an emergency meeting of the relevant authorities had been convened at the Interior Ministry building to discuss security arrangements against the backdrop of violence in Afghanistan. Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah chaired the meeting.
The district administration was asked to stay alert and keep an eye on miscreants, who could take refuge in the Afghan slums present in both Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
They said that the administration was also asked to visit seminaries, particularly those in rural areas, to check whether anyone other than registered students was hiding there.
The Interior Ministry also directed the district administration to liaise with foreign diplomats and provide them with foolproof security if and when they wished to move in or outside the city, sources said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/31/2006 00:50 ||
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A court has ordered the government and Pakistan's top military-run spy network to explain why a senior nuclear scientist has been detained and what charges he faces, a lawyer said on Tuesday.
Attiqur Rahman, who worked for Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), was picked up on his wedding day from his home in the north-western city of Abbottabad about two years ago, said Mohammed Ikram Chaudhry, a lawyer for Rahman. PAEC operates several nuclear power plants and a research facility near the capital, Islamabad, but it is not known whether or how closely it is linked with Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
The nuclear programme's top scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, confessed in February 2004 that he gave sensitive technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, sparking a probe into his alleged nuclear black marketing. Earlier this month, a senior aide to Khan was released more than two years after he was detained over the nuclear scandal. The Foreign Ministry said Mohammed Farooq's release marked the end of the investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Bangladesh Buccaneers: Twenty incidents have been reported since January 28 2006.
Recently reported incidents
May 28 2006 at 2215 LT at Chittagong anchorage B, Bangladesh. Ten robbers armed with long knives in an unlit boat approached a container ship from stern. Deck Officer raised alarm and crew mustered and fired a rocket flare. Boarding was averted.
May 24 2006 at 2100 LT in posn: 03:10.2S - 106:20.2E, south of Bangka island, Indonesia. Ten pirates armed with guns and long knives boarded a product tanker underway. They stole master's and crew cash and escaped in their boat.
May 24 2006 at 0350 LT at Lagos outer anchorage, Nigeria. Two robbers boarded a tanker at stern using a rope. They assaulted duty A/B and tied his hands. They stole ship's stores, property and A/B's personal belongings.
May 23 2006 at 0100 LT in the vicinity of Sacramento rock, Visayan sea, Iloilo province, Philippines. Twelve pirates armed with rifles and pistols attacked a fishing vessel underway. Five pirates boarded and hijacked the vessel and demanded payment. Crew managed to overpower the pirates and handed them over to Philippine national police.
May 22 2006 at 1815 LT in position: 01:57N-045:31E, 10.5nm SE of Mogadishu, Somalia. Deck Officer on a general cargo ship underway noticed a target at range of 1.5nm on radar. He alerted two armed security guards on board. At 1910 LT duty A/B spotted a speedboat approaching from stern. Pirates in the boat opened fire at the ship and security guards fired back. Boat stopped and moved away.
May 28 2006 at 2215 LT at Chittagong anchorage B, Bangladesh. Ten robbers armed with long knives in an unlit boat approached a container ship and boarded astern, discovered that the ship was acyua;y a decpy manned by the Royal Marnes, all ten were captures, their boat alongside was trapped by an amphibious boat launched from the faux tcontainer ships other side.
After severe questioning, the survivors led the Royal Marines to their home base where an assault took place resulting in the deaths of 154 pirates and the capture of all loot taken.
No Marines were injured
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/31/2006 8:31 Comments ||
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At 1910 LT duty A/B spotted a speedboat approaching from stern. Pirates in the boat opened fire at the ship and security guards fired back.
Now that's more like it!
Posted by: Mike ||
05/31/2006 10:14 Comments ||
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#3
Deck Officer on a general cargo ship underway noticed a target at range of 1.5nm on radar. He alerted two armed security guards on board. At 1910 LT duty A/B spotted a speedboat approaching from stern. Pirates in the boat opened fire at the ship and security guards fired back. Boat stopped and moved away.
"Arrr, pull away! Pull AWAY! They be shootin' BACK!"
Defence witnesses in Saddam Hussein's trial over the killings of Iraqi Shiite villagers claimed many of those allegedly executed were still alive and said the prosecution case was built on bribes. One witness said he was a teenager in Dujail in 1982 when an attempt on Saddam's life led to what the prosecution has termed a massive crackdown on the village, hundreds of arrests and the execution of 148 men. "The prosecutor said they were executed but I am telling you I ate with them some time ago" and that 23 of them were alive, said the witness, who had worked at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison in the mid-1980s. "Many of them have gotten rich and occupy powerful positions," he said, as he testified from behind a curtain, going on to write down names for the judge.
"If it is true and these people are still alive, this whole case should be reconsidered from the beginning," said the lawyer for Awed Bandar, whose revolutionary court under Saddam sentenced the men to death in 1984.
A second witness, a shepherd from Dujail, also said many of the people that had supposedly been killed were still living. "This name is supposed to have been executed, but he is now having a son and he has married twice. I was invited to his wedding in May," said the witness, who also testified anonymously.
Saddam and seven associates are on trial for crimes against humanity stemming from the arrests, torture and execution of Dujail villagers as well as the destruction of their property. The witnesses charged that the whole case was fabricated. At a July 2004 gathering in Dujail, "someone came and asked for witnesses, saying the Iranians will thank them and if they don't have the necessary documents he could forge them," he said. "And this man was [chief] prosecutor [Jaafar] Mussawi," said the witness, who added that many Dujail villagers who went on to testify against Saddam were at that meeting.
The prosecutor promptly rebutted the allegations. "I just want to clarify this for the records. I was born in Baghdad and I never went to Dujail. On July 8, 2004, I wasn't a prosecutor, I had nothing to do with the court," said Mussawi.
The Dubai-based news channel Arabiya, however, broadcast Tuesday a video showing Mussawi in Dujail together with one of the prosecution witnesses at an event to commemorate the killings. It did not give a date for the video.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Neat move getting rid of Saddam. Now we have two Irans for the price of one.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/31/2006 7:12 Comments ||
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#3
Well, considering the contribution of Jimmah Carter and his buddies in facilitating the repression of the Iranian mullahs, our troll is half-right. By condoning the overthrow of a secularizing Shah, Jimmah and the dems did indeed buy us the current Iran and all the Shiite terror they've been paying for in the region.
Avert?
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Finance Minister Omar Abdel-Razeq proposed on Wednesday cutting thousands of government workers and selling off government investment assets in a bid to avert financial collapse. Oh, boy! The world's biggest gun sale!
Abdel-Razeq told the Palestinian parliament that Western aid cuts, Israel's refusal to release tax revenues, and U.S. pressure on banks to hold up the government's funds made it impossible for him to even submit a budget for next year.
He said it was unclear what the government's revenues would be and warned of an "economic disaster" if the financial pressure persisted. Economic disaster in Palestine. Can ya beat that?
Washington and other Western powers have cut aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian government over Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals. Hamas, sworn to destroy Israel, has shown no signs of softening its position.
Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian Authority in March, has been unable to secure the funds to pay salaries to 165,000 government workers.
Work at many ministries has come to a halt because of a lack of funds for routine services and because many employees can no longer afford the cost of transport to work. Abdel-Razeq proposed firing around 11,500 employees who do not regularly show up for work, and retiring another 5,000, moves that could increase tensions because most of those affected are members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. Well that should throw some gas on the fire...
According to Palestinian law, workers over the age of 60 must retire.
Abdel-Razeq proposed encouraging the early retirement of 500 workers and cutting government fuel subsidies. Hamas wants to import fuel and gas into Gaza from Egypt instead of Israel.
He also asked the Palestinian Legislative Council for approval to sell off the remaining government assets from the Palestine Investment Fund, which Abbas controls.
Investment fund officials said Abbas was unlikely to agree to selling off the assets to pay salaries because doing so could result in the imposition of U.S. sanctions.
The officials said Abbas has used assets in the fund to pay the Palestinian Authority's water, electricity and fuel bills.
"It is not possible to present the 2006 budget," Razeq said. "The current siege requires reconsidering the projections we had issued earlier."
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh pledged on Tuesday to pay a full month's wages in a few days to 40,000 workers whose salaries were less than 1,500 shekels ($332). He also promised to pay each of the other 125,000 government workers, who earn higher salaries, an advance of 1,500 shekels. But Abdel-Razeq said it was unclear when the 125,000 workers who earn more would get their money.
A Western diplomat said the Hamas-led Finance Ministry, in a bid to avert U.S.-led banking restrictions, planned to issue individual cheques to the 40,000 workers rather than transfer the money directly into their bank accounts. Workers could then take the cheques to a local bank or money changer and seek cash. "The issue is whether the banks will honor them (the cheques)," the diplomat said. I would suggest they do...or else.
#1
Palestinian Finance Minister Omar Abdel-Razeq proposed on Wednesday cutting thousands of government workers and selling off government investment assets in a bid to avert financial collapse.
As far as I can tell, appears they're well on the road to recovery.
"Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."
Ronald Reagan.
#2
when your income derives from aid, perhaps you should avoid the Paleo example and STFU
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2006 17:45 Comments ||
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#3
Start by firing the airport guys - there's 30 or so. The airport's been closed for years and they don't have any work. Just a place to drink coffee and claim a salary for it.
#4
I bet they could fire the entire staff at Yassar Arafish Airplop. Maybe the Jews could buy it and make it a new Military Air Base? OTOH who would buy anything in the Gaza/West Bank? "here we have a lovely split-level with motar pits and katusa launchers [KABOOM] err here we have some recently cleared land ready for building.
#5
"Errrrr....don't bother putting in a greenhouse"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2006 19:36 Comments ||
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#6
Waydaminute - didn't they just announce they've got money from an unnamed source?
Mebbe the source was not only unnamed, but non-existent? :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/31/2006 20:33 Comments ||
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Abdel-Razeq proposed firing around 11,500 employees who do not regularly show up for work, and retiring another 5,000, moves that could increase tensions because most of those affected are members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.
Woah, take it easy there, folks. Let's not all push and shove. Don't want anybody getting hurt in the stampede to get this done...
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United Nations called for an 80 percent increase in emergency humanitarian aid to Palestinians on Wednesday, citing a deepening crisis that follows a freeze in Western assistance to the government.
The United Nations and aid groups said in a statement they had revised an emergency aid appeal for 2006 to $385 million from an original estimate of $215 million. The money would help pay for employment programs, food aid and health care. Yes, yes. None of that nasty guns and ammo stuff. And corruption? Certainly not?
Western countries cut off direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after the militant Islamist group Hamas, which is sworn to destroy Israel but has largely abided by a truce for over a year, took over the government following elections in January. They're really good guys. Really...
The aid freeze has left the Palestinian Authority unable to pay salaries of 165,000 government workers, and has resulted in shortages of basic necessities including medical supplies. So don't get sick...
"We have been compelled to revise our original appeal in the face of desperate need. It is particularly aimed at assisting the most vulnerable Palestinians, including children who make up half the population," said David Shearer, head of the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Ah, yes! Everybody! Say it with me! It's for...
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cited a 600 percent increase in applications for short-term, U.N.-sponsored jobs in the West Bank. The program's Gaza waiting-list now tops 100,000 people. UNRWA: Serving your refugee needs for almost sixty years.
Shearer said the World Food Program had also warned the international community that more Palestinians were unable to meet their daily food needs.
Western powers have called on Hamas to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing peace agreements if it wants contacts or aid to resume. Hamas has so far refused. Bon appetit!
#4
Palestinians have a higher standard of living, funded by western aid, than most of the people living on this planet.
The typical African, Indian or Chinese villager has lower consuption of calories, eats far less protein, has a lower life expectancy, has far lower access to education, or to health care than the average Palestinian. They probbaly don't have access to running water or electricity and job prospects are bleaker.
Somebody tell me again why the Palestinians deserve to live off foreign aid...
Posted by: john ||
05/31/2006 17:44 Comments ||
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#5
Another reason to move the UN to the Sahara Desert.
#8
I suggest a 80% cut in water and power going into "Palistine" until they renounce violence, colect all the weapons and toss them in the ocean and disarm all 'Palistinian" factions in Lebanon and Syria.
#9
Too bad the UN doesn't have enough brains to tie an 80% Palestinian aid increase to an 80% decrease in agression against Israel. Of course, that would require the UN to actually show some backbone when it comes to anti-Semitism and we all know that ain't gonna happen anytime soon.
Sometimes it's difficult to tell who, exactly, are the bigger @ssholes. The UN, with all its pretensions of ability, education and diplomacy being directed towards such blatant eliteism, or the Palestinians whose intractably sideways attitude towards peaceful coexistence really needs to be rewarded in a like manner for once and all.
That's good for the USA, I'd say.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called the US an "enemy of Islam," an Iranian news agency reported on Wednesday.
"Washington is doing its utmost to ensure the failure of the Hamas-led Palestinian government," claimed Haniyeh.
The PA prime minister added that the US's decision to attack Muslims was "influenced by the Zionist lobby."
#3
Washington is doing its utmost to ensure the failure of the Hamas-led Palestinian government
I sure hope so. But then, of course, he blames it on the jooooos.
A 13:10 minute video featuring a sermon delivered by Sheikh Abu Noor al-Maqdasi, a Palestinian imam, at Ibn Taymiyah Mosque in Palestine on Friday, May 19, 2006, and titled: The Cutting Sword in Defense of the Leaders of Jihad, was recently distributed to several jihadist forums. Sheikh Abu Noor speaks passionately and loud, his voice often cracking, as he speaks in praise and defense of mujahideen commanders and leaders, Usama bin Laden in particular, and chastises those who criticize the Emir of al-Qaeda. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Mullah Omar and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri are also amongst those the sheikh defends, calling them and their mujahideen a new, devout pulse, standing against the criminal country of America. He states: We have America, with its armies, ships, airplanes, tanks, and with its riffraff and rabble, using force and casting terror This believing group, this steadfast Mujahid group will teach them that the believing group will rather receive a strike of a sword with glory, than a strike of a whip - with humiliation
The sheikh notes in his sermon that there are three people who act and speak against the mujahideen, describing each and their common factor in criticizing Usama bin Laden. Some call bin Laden a dissenter, others say he has no affiliation with the Palestinian cause (to which Sheikh Abu Noor calls them drunks), and another group questions how the Arab and Islamic Nation is to be ruled by a person who lives only in caves and caverns in Afghanistan. Sheikh Abu Noor states: The echo of a true word is heard by everyone whose hearts contains a speckle of belief, and he believes that those of the devout, believing group loathe the hypocrites, infidels, cowards and traitors, and love those who have faith and religion. On this latter, the sheikh speaks of his love for bin Laden and the mujahideen, and speaks with them as a collective: We will not deviate from Islam and we will not accept any compromise. We still hate compromising until eternity.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/31/2006 00:53 ||
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We still hate compromising until eternity
Hey, I have a swell idea : let's negociate with theses guys! I'm sure it will work just fine, espcially if we cave to their demands, so they will be appeased of their righteous anger and will start loving us.
China on Tuesday called on the Hamas-led Palestinian government to recognise Israel's right to exist on the eve of a visit to Beijing by the Palestinian foreign minister. "We urge Hamas to earnestly abandon violence, recognise Israel and accept the agreements already reached," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, naming the three conditions that Israel and the West have imposed for negotiating with Hamas.
"China does not favour political isolation and economic blockade. But at the same time we urge Hamas to renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept agreements already reached," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Hint: the Paleos have no oil for the ChiComs
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/31/2006 3:58 Comments ||
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The Conciliation Court on Tuesday sentenced two journalists to two months in prison each for republishing controversial cartoons vilifying the Prophet Mohammad. Jihad Momani, former chief editor of Shihan weekly, and Hashem Khalidi, the editor of Al Mihwar weekly, were released on bail pending their appeal.
Their lawyer Mohammad Qteishat pledged to launch an appeal within the coming few days. If the sentences are upheld on appeal, both editors will be given the option of paying a fine to avoid imprisonment. Under the Penal Code, sentences of up to three months can be replaced with a fine.
Momani said he was shocked by the guilty verdict. I am in a state of disbelief. We had a strong case. Lets wait and see what happens in the appeal, Momani told The Jordan Times.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Nice irony. Road to Jordanian prison is paved with "good" intentions.
THEIR aim was to wreak havoc in several neighbouring countries of Malaysia. But with the arrest of 12 men, Malaysian police believe it has blunted the efforts of a new terror group. However, it is not known what the group's targets were or when it planned to strike.
The Star reported today that the capture of this 'dirty dozen' was the Malaysian police's biggest success against terrorism since the crackdown on Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), which had links with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network.
The 12 men were arrested off the coasts of Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah following months of surveillance. The men are believed to be members of Darul Islam. Though most of its members are Indonesians, two of those arrested were Malaysians.
Malaysian police had learnt that some members of the group would be in 'transit' in Malaysia while on their way to neighbouring countries and so kept a watch. Their work paid off. 'It was hard work. The Malaysian police had been tracking their movements over the last six months. Then they moved in to smash the militant group before it could carry out its plans. It is certainly one of the biggest anti-terrorist successes,' a source told The Star.
The source said the police seized several firearms and documents, including bomb-making instructions downloaded from the Internet.
Of the Malaysians arrested, one is a religious teacher with a degree in Arabic literature from a university in Syria, while the other is a graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. Their job was to organise lodging, transport and other logistical requirements for the group.
Even though the Darul Islam was described by the newspaper as a new terror outfit, the group has been around for more than 50 years, and its aim is to establish an Indonesian Islamic state. At least 11 members of the group are already in detention in Malaysia. They are being held at the Kamunting detention centre in Perak.
Malaysian police are investigating if Darul Islam has links with the Abu Sayyaf terror group based in the Philippines and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda.
Regional analysts said that it was no surprise that police were keeping a close watch on Sabah. One risk analyst in Singapore, who was not named, told The Star: 'It is close to the southern Philippines, where terror camps have been set up, and Indonesia. Sabah is also important economically. It is a popular international destination.'
According to The Straits Times, Darul Islam was founded in 1948.
The only Malaysian mujahideen group known so far is the KMM, established in mid-1990. Its objective is to create a pan-South-east Asian Islamic caliphate.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/31/2006 01:23 ||
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Beirut, 31 May (AKI) - Lebanon will soon ask Arab states to assist it with a process to disarm Palestinian militants groups operating outside refugee camps situated in the country, a top government official was quoted as saying in the London-based newspaper, al-Sharq al-Awsat on Wednesday. "[Lebanese] premier Fuad Siniora will soon send out some requests for help to various Arab leaders," Khalili Makkawi, the official responsible for the Palestinian issue in Lebanon told the newspaper.
"We don't expect any, but we had to ask to be polite"
The request comes amid the realisation by the Lebanese authorities that they will not be able to carry out the disarmament of the militants alone, Makkawi said.
Two weeks ago a Lebanese soldier was killed during a gunfight between Lebanese troops and Palestinian militants from the Fatah-Intifada group. The incident took place near Lebanon's border with Syria. Last Sunday, another Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for firing seven missiles at Israeli targets across Lebanon's southern border with Israel. Also on Sunday, Israel, in an apparent retaliation for the Islamic Jihad attack, struck at a southern Lebanon base of another Palestinian militant group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command.
All the recent clashes have hardened the Lebanese government's resolve to deprive the Palestinian militants of their weapons, al-Sharq al-Awsat said.
Makkawi welcomed a recent decision by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to re-open its offices in Lebanon saying that the move would "consitute an added factor to ease dialogue" between the militants and the Lebanese government. He also said, he was "bewildered" by the decision of certain Palestinian factions to boycott talks aimed at setting a time-table - an apparent reference to representatives of Islamic Jihad, Fatah-Intifada and Hamas who have to date refused to participate in the negotiations.
"For us the PLO remains the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in Lebanon. I hope that the factions will resolve their differences and that the Palestinians have learnt from past experiences," he added.
Some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, mostly in overpopulated camps situated near Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon and Tyre. Many Lebanese regard the presence of the Palestinians in the country as a destabilising factor which also drags Lebanon into the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/31/2006 16:18 ||
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#1
"...I hope that the factions will resolve their differences and that the Palestinians have learnt from past experiences,"
Not to sound mean or anything, but how did he say this without laughing his head off? Have the Palestinians ever learned from past experiences?
#3
Many Lebanese regard the presence of the Palestinians in the country as a destabilising factor which also drags Lebanon into the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.
They never were dumb. Paris of the Middle East and all that.
May 31, 2006: A Turkish government investigation uncovered Iranian firms, located in Turkey, that imported components needed for Iran's nuclear program, and then illegally shipped them on to Iran. The equipment was imported into Turkey under the pretense that it was to be used in Turkey. The Iranian companies also imported guided missile components, and smuggled them across the border to Iran as well.
This sort of thing has been common in Europe for decades, and has been earlier used by Iraq, and other countries barred from importing certain military and industrial equipment from European nations. The fake companies use forged documents, and sometimes professional smugglers, to get the illegal items out of Europe and on to their real destination. A lot of this equipment, and incriminating documents, was found in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. This led to a number of investigations in Europe, and prosecutions for illegal exporting.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/31/2006 09:59 ||
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The Non-Aligned Movement emphatically backed Iran on Tuesday in its nuclear standoff with the United States, and condemned Israel for occupying Palestinian lands.
Merely defining which side they're on. "Non-aligned" doesn't mean the same thing in their languages, I guess.
Meeting in Malaysia's administrative capital, the foreign ministers of NAM member nations also demanded that Israel accede to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty without delay, and open its nuclear facilities to international inspection.
On Iran, the ministers "reaffirmed the basic and inalienable right" of all countries to develop, produce and use atomic energy "for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations," said a NAM declaration at the end of the two-day meeting. The declaration shies away from any criticism of Iran, saying its nuclear programme was merely to generate electricity. The NAM declaration said the ministers "reaffirmed the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear facilities - operational or under construction - poses a great danger to human beings and the environment."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
Is there some sort of rule in play that left wing organizations must have names that mean the opposite of what they stand for? Non-Aligned Movement. Reality-based Community. People's Democratic Republic. I blame Bushitler, whose evil policies have liberated ~50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yeah, him and Noam Chomsky.
The Head of the UNIFIL forces stations in South Lebanon, Alan Pellegrini, on Tuesday conferred with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Sanyoura after contacts with other personalities in a bid to ease border tension with Israel. Speaking to reporters later, Pellegrini said his talks with the Prime Minister focused on "coordination efforts with Lebanese authorities over the situation in the south following Sunday's armed clashes" between Israel and Hezbollah as well as Palestinian militias.
Meanwhile, a military source told KUNA that the situation in the south has returned to normal and that the Lebanese army patrols and those of the UNIFIl were again in action along the UN-drawn Blue Line separating Lebanon from the Jewish state.
UN Secretary-Genral Kofi Annan had sent a letter to Siniora, through Annan's personal representative Geir Pederson calling on the Lebanese government to "assume its responsibility in maintaining peace in the south. According to the UNIFIL, the clashes last Sunday were the "fiercest since the 2000 ones, which resulted in an Israeli withdrawal from the south."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday condemned Syrian judicial moves against two of its members, saying that the summonses against Walid Jumblatt and a Cabinet minister violated the Lebanese constitution.
In a highly unusual step, a Syrian military court issued an arrest warrant for Jumblatt last week and summoned for questioning Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh for making statements hostile to Syria. The two legislators have played a leading role in the campaign to eliminate Syrian influence in Lebanon. In an equally rare move, the 128-member Lebanese legislature rebuked Syria on Tuesday, saying that its summonses "violated the Lebanese constitution and offended the dignity of parliament and the Lebanese people."
The parliamentary motion, read out by speaker Nabih Berri, said the military court's actions against Jumblatt and Hamadeh were "rejected both in form and content." Legislators voted in favour by a show of hands. The parliament has an anti-Syrian majority, but the 'yes' vote was strengthened by the faction of Gen. Michel Aoun, a Christian leader who has left the anti-Syrian alliance. Lawmakers from two pro-Syrian, Shiite Muslim parties, Hizbollah and Amal, abstained.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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Iran said on Tuesday it wanted to resume nuclear negotiations with the EU and could even talk to Washington if its archfoe "changed behaviour." Tehran also said it was willing to negotiate on the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges it uses for research, but stressed it would not stop running the devices entirely as the UN Security Council has called for.
Washington dismissed the overture. The five Security Council permanent powers and Germany will meet in Vienna on Thursday in hopes of finalising a package of incentives for Iran to halt enrichment along with penalties if it keeps defying international pressure, officials said. Iran has vowed that nothing will dissuade it from having full-fledged nuclear technology on its soil, spurring one senior EU diplomat to say on Tuesday that the painstakingly crafted incentives could end up an "academic and theoretical exercise." "Europeans should consider irreversible realities in any proposal they plan to offer Iran," Iranian deputy atomic energy chief Mohammad Saeedi said, alluding to Iran's first successful production of fuel for atomic power plants, announced in April. "If they ignore these realities, any proposal will surely face difficulties," he told a Tehran University gathering.
Speaking in Malaysia, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran could resume dialogue with the United States, after a 26-year official freeze, if Washington changed its behaviour. He did not say what behaviour. Iran has said previously Washington must stop seeking to topple its Islamic government. US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington: "We've heard that from them before. Nothing new there."
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the European Union would welcome direct talks between the United States and Iran, but it was for Washington and Tehran to decide. "As far as direct contacts between the US and Iran, as you know they've spent 20 years not talking to each other," he said. "A logical analysis would say that that should come to an end because Iran is going to be a very important player in the world. But this is a decision that... they have to take."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
It's ok. Gives us times to get all our ducks in line.
#2
The "package of incentives" bullshit is amazing. As it stands, it's an appeasement offer. If it was being demanded, it would be blackmail. Either is absurd.
If the Mullahs were to accept this bribe they could continue the under the table game and eventually get their nukes - and we'd be screwed.
I believe luck is on our side, however. They're not that smart. The March to Doom continues.
Funny thing about Mexican President Vicente Fox's visit to the American West last week: It didn't turn out as one would have expected.
Fox was greeted by some of the best in the American intellectual community with an honesty about his abundant failures that has not been seen before. A brilliant paper by professor George W. Grayson of the College of William & Mary, widely circulated before the visit, laid out Mexico's shame:
President Fox makes $236,693 a year, more than the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada; Mexican congressional deputies, who serve only a few months a year, take home at least $148,000 a year, plus a $28,000 leaving-office bonus at the end of the term. Meanwhile, Mexico collects taxes equivalent to 9.7 percent of GDP, a figure on a par with Haiti; there is painfully little to spend on education and health care, which means there is no social mobility and little job opportunity.
Professor Grayson ends his paper with: U.S. leaders and the American public have every right to insist that Mexican officials act responsibly, rather than expecting that their neighbor to the north will shoulder burdens that they themselves should assume.
In short, Mexico is so corrupt, so oligopolistic, so rotting inside with the privilege of the rich that it has to send its poor and its potential political activists to another country. And on top of that, it tries to blame the United States for its own failures. Preach it, brother! If it hurts their widdle feewings - GOOD.
When I [Geyer, the author] was in Mexico last fall, after dozens of visits over the years, people on every political and social level confirmed these accusations, complaining to me of Fox's failures. Forty families still own 60 percent of Mexico. There are no voluntary organizations, no civic involvement, no family foundations and thus, no accountability, allowing corruption to flourish. Mexico gains $28 billion from oil revenue and $20 billion from immigrant remittances. There is virtually no industrialization, no small business, no real chance at individual entrepreneurship. Under Fox, it has created only one-tenth of the 1 million jobs needed. Looks like the Arabs aren't the only ones who have a culture to be ashamed of.
Ah, but there are new voices of change, of reason, of self-awareness in Mexico, in place of the hoary anti-gringo rants: the beginnings of a transformation of the debate.
God, I hope so....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/31/2006 14:14 ||
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"There are no voluntary organizations, no civic involvement, no family foundations and thus, no accountability, allowing corruption to flourish."
Bulldinky! If this guy couldn't find the Rotary Society or the Knights of Columbus down there he is blind. Not saying the rest of his stuff is wrong but this particular statement is! I am sure members of other national organizations might be able to verify whether they have chapters in Mexico.
Posted by: DanNY ||
05/31/2006 16:34 Comments ||
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#2
Mexico = Commies = Radical Muslims, etal > Want what America and the West has but are locally unwilling or unable to make the requiste reforms or changes needed to improve their lot. In LT, the only choices comes down to imploding on one's own, escape = migrate, or wage external War(s) for new resources - read, survival. War, however, is only a temporary solution or alleviation to the natural dynamics-forces induced by internal problems.
double-amputee Iraq-war vet is suing Michael Moore for $85 million, claiming the portly peacenik recycled an old interview and used it out of context to make him appear anti-war in "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, who strongly supports America's invasion of Iraq, said he never agreed to be in the 2004 movie, which trashes President Bush.
In the 2003 interview, which he did at Walter Reed Army Hospital for NBC News, he discussed only a new painkiller the military was using on wounded vets.
"They took the clip because it was a gut-wrenching scene," Damon said yesterday. "They sandwiched it in. [Moore] was using me as ammunition."
Damon seems to "voice complaint about the war effort" in the movie, according to the lawsuit.
But what the father of two from Middleborough, Mass., was really talking about was the "excruciating" pain he felt after he lost his arms when a Black Hawk helicopter exploded in front of him.
Damon wasn't expressing any opinion about the war, the suit charges, but rather extolling the drug.
"I just want everybody to know what kind of a guy Michael Moore is, and what kind of film this is," said Damon. He has appeared in two films attacking "Fahrenheit" -"Michael Moore Hates America" and "Fahrenhype 9/11."
In "Fahrenheit 9/11," the bandaged National Guardsman is shown laying on a gurney complaining that he feels like he's "being crushed in a vise. But they [the drugs] do a lot to help it and they take a lot of the edge off it."
His image appears seconds after Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) says, "You know, they say they're not leaving any veterans behind, but they're leaving all kinds of veterans behind."
Damon - the dad of a 8-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy - doesn't come close to feeling that way.
"He couldn't have picked the worst guy to say that about," he told The Post.
"I'm the most fortunate disabled guy. I've even had a house built for me [by a nonprofit group, Home for Our Troops]."
Particularly outrageous to Damon is the fact that Moore never interviewed him or asked his permission to use the old clip.
"I was complaining about the pain I would've been having [if it weren't for the painkiller]," he said.
NBC is named in the suit - which was filed in Suffolk County, Mass., on Friday - along with Harvey and Robert Weinstein, Miramax Corp., Lions Gate Films and other production companies involved with the picture.
Newsman Brian Williams ends the NBC clip by adding, "These men, with catastrophic wounds are . . . completely behind the war effort," according to the lawsuit.
That part, which wasn't shown in the Moore movie, is a far more accurate depiction of Damon's feelings, he said.
Lawyer Dennis Lynch said he took the case last year and they held off filing the lawsuit in a bid to settle the matter.
"We attempted to resolve the situation amicably with Mr. Moore [for a year] but he refused," he said.
Damon is asking for up to $75 million because of "loss of reputation, emotional distress, embarrassment, and personal humiliation."
In addition, his wife is suing for another $10 million because of the "mental distress and anguish suffered by her spouse."
Spokeswomen for NBC and Harvey and Robert Weinstein would not comment because they haven't seen the suit. Lions Gate doesn't comment on pending litigation, a rep said.
Michael Moore and Miramax reps didn't return calls for comment.
#2
Not the first time beached-whaleman has been sued... note also he had been sued too by a woman, last year I think, again for editing her interview, presenting her like a bigot, but I can't find the article here, though I believe I might have posted it.
As you extol this positive aspect of suing a scumbag (and I can think of few others more worthy of being sued than Moore), remember the profession that makes it all possible: LAWYERS, and in particular: TRIAL LAWYERS
I know, I know, the word "lawyer" is a virtual four letter word around here, but even we trial lawyers have our uses. We even get honorable mention in the VI Amendment of the Bill of Rights, in the context of legal representation for persons accused of committing crimes (NOTE: criminal defense attorneys often go on to represent Plaintiffs, prosecutors often go on to represent civil Defendants, IDKY). And the backbone of the legal system, the jury (who we lawyers ever attempt to manipulate and sway), gets mentioned in the Constitution (art. III, sec. 2), and in the V, VI, and VII Amendments of the Bill of Rights.
I guess all Im really trying to say <*wipes emotional tear from eye*> is the next time some scumbag lawyer screws up the reputation of the rest of us attorneys, try to think back to this tender moment when some lawyer went after a piece of Mr. Moore.
#11
But Lardo will have more numerous and higly paid lawyers than Sgt. Damon. So lawyers on balance are still the servants of Beelzebub. Pistols at 10 paces and our interest is piqued. Another possibility:
Moore held under boiling water for 10 minutes. If still with us, then judgement for the defendant.
Posted by: ed ||
05/31/2006 18:17 Comments ||
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#12
I hope this guy is successful and he is a true hero.
I still think lawyers and the politicians they fund (also mostly lawyers) are the problem not the solution.
#13
One of my most favorite lawyer jokes goes something like this:
One lawyer was overheard outside the courthouse remarking to another lawyer. "Don't you just hate," he said, "the 90% of all lawyers that give the other 10% of us a bad name?"
#14
BTW, I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I was looking for ex-lib; my updated email address is on the website; could you have her drop me a note?
Posted by: Phil ||
05/31/2006 19:03 Comments ||
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#15
Phil,
the link for your email appears broken on that site. It just bounces back to the main web page. Why'd Cox make you change it?
#16
I don't know why, but one day they decided all customers of residential service couldn't use cox-internet.com any more and had to use cox.net.
The link isn't meant to go anywhere, that's why it's spelled out. I wish I had a good solution to that.
Posted by: Phil ||
05/31/2006 20:03 Comments ||
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#17
cingold - Here's my favorite lawyer joke - and I read it here on Rantburg a long long time ago, though I can't recall who posted it... apologies if you've already seen it.
Did you hear that they're using lawyers instead of little white mice in lab experiments these days?
There are 3 reasons:
1) There are more of them
2) You don't become emotionally attached to them
3) There are some things little white mice just won't do
:) I used to work with lots of lawyers from both sides. We knew who the good guys were - and who the scumballs were. The good ones would even hang at the cop bars now and then, whether they were prosecutors or defence types. The PD's were usually goofballs.
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.
Businessman Bashir Raage Shirar who is member of 
The United Nation's humanitarian chief warned on Tuesday of a catastrophic situation developing in Darfur unless international donors act soon to bolster a beleaguered African peacekeeping force in the Sudanese province. We either get good news in the next few weeks, or we have catastrophic news later, 
Zimbabwe is introducing a bank note worth 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to help consumers as inflation exceeds 1,000%. The note will be worth about $1 at the official exchange rate, but only $0.30 on the informal market. The 50,000 Zimbabwe dollar bill, introduced only four months ago, is not enough to buy a loaf of bread. 
The Japanese Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan for the most significant reorganisation of US troops and bases in Japan in decades. The final plan, aimed at enhancing bilateral security ties and realigning thousands of US troops, is part of Washington's strategy to reorganise its military around the world to make it a more flexible force. The realignment plan is based on the deal Tokyo and Washington signed May 1 to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station within the Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa and shift 8,000 of the 18,000 US Marines from there to Guam by 2014. Japan, which has relied on the US to defend it for almost 60 years, has the largest concentration of US military in Asia, with more than 50,000 troops at bases throughout the country. About half the US military in Japan are located in Okinawa, the nation's poorest prefecture. "This plan intends to reduce the burden on the local residents and is quite meaningful in the sense of strengthening the US-Japan alliance in the current security climate," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at a news conference.
Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi, said his country "will not turn its back on Iraq" after it withdraws its troops from the country. Parisi, who visited Italian troops in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya where the Italian contingent is based, said Italy's new government is committed to pulling its troops out of Iraq. He stressed in a speech carried by Italian media that his country's support of building a new democratic Iraq will continue through increased political, civil and humanitarian cooperation.
A court has ordered the government and Pakistan's top military-run spy network to explain why a senior nuclear scientist has been detained and what charges he faces, a lawyer said on Tuesday. 
Bangladesh Buccaneers: Twenty incidents have been reported since January 28 2006. 
Defence witnesses in Saddam Hussein's trial over the killings of Iraqi Shiite villagers claimed many of those allegedly executed were still alive and said the prosecution case was built on bribes. One witness said he was a teenager in Dujail in 1982 when an attempt on Saddam's life led to what the prosecution has termed a massive crackdown on the village, hundreds of arrests and the execution of 148 men. "The prosecutor said they were executed but I am telling you I ate with them some time ago" and that 23 of them were alive, said the witness, who had worked at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison in the mid-1980s. "Many of them have gotten rich and occupy powerful positions," he said, as he testified from behind a curtain, going on to write down names for the judge.
China on Tuesday called on the Hamas-led Palestinian government to recognise Israel's right to exist on the eve of a visit to Beijing by the Palestinian foreign minister. "We urge Hamas to earnestly abandon violence, recognise Israel and accept the agreements already reached," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, naming the three conditions that Israel and the West have imposed for negotiating with Hamas. 
The Conciliation Court on Tuesday sentenced two journalists to two months in prison each for republishing controversial cartoons vilifying the Prophet Mohammad. Jihad Momani, former chief editor of Shihan weekly, and Hashem Khalidi, the editor of Al Mihwar weekly, were released on bail pending their appeal.
The Non-Aligned Movement emphatically backed Iran on Tuesday in its nuclear standoff with the United States, and condemned Israel for occupying Palestinian lands. 
The Head of the UNIFIL forces stations in South Lebanon, Alan Pellegrini, on Tuesday conferred with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Sanyoura after contacts with other personalities in a bid to ease border tension with Israel. Speaking to reporters later, Pellegrini said his talks with the Prime Minister focused on "coordination efforts with Lebanese authorities over the situation in the south following Sunday's armed clashes" between Israel and Hezbollah as well as Palestinian militias.
Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday condemned Syrian judicial moves against two of its members, saying that the summonses against 
Iran said on Tuesday it wanted to resume nuclear negotiations with the EU and could even talk to Washington if its archfoe "changed behaviour." Tehran also said it was willing to negotiate on the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges it uses for research, but stressed it would not stop running the devices entirely as the UN Security Council has called for.
double-amputee Iraq-war vet is suing Michael Moore for $85 million, claiming the portly peacenik recycled an old interview and used it out of context to make him appear anti-war in "Fahrenheit 9/11."
