(SomaliNet) The chairman of the reconciliation conference in Somalia Ali Mahdi Mohamed announced Wednesday that the meeting which was scheduled to take place on 14 June has been delayed for one month.
In a news conference held in Hotel Amana, north of Mogadishu, Mr. Mahdi said his committee put off the timing of the reconciliation meeting for 30 days and it will be held on 15 July. We did this after we received many requests from the Somali clans who are still busy in selecting the envoys that will represent them to attend the coming national reconciliation conference, said Ali Mahdi.
He also said in his statement that the committee are still preparing the scene allotted for the meeting which is the former police transportation compound in north of Mogadishu where it is under heavy security.
Mr. Mahdi said the reconciliation committee took the decision of putting off the meeting to 15 July. It is the third but not the last time the reconciliation conference which had been announced by the Somali interim president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed faced delays.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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A joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force could be in conflict-torn Darfur by October, depending on how quickly the two organizations are able to get troops and funds, a Sudanese diplomat said Wednesday.
This is possible after Sudan received assurances on Tuesday that a 'hybrid' AU-UN force of between 17,000 and 19,000 troops for Darfur will not be open-ended and Sudan will remain in control of its border, said Akuei Bona Malwal, the deputy head of mission for Sudan in Ethiopia, where the African Union is based.
Sudan has accepted the mission, "now it is up to the international community to find the troops and fund these troops," Malwal reported from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "Probably you are looking at October because it will take time for people to get together and the money put together, but there are states that are ready to move in in August and fund themselves."
Malwal declined to name the countries, only saying they are "two or three" African countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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'AU-UN force could be in Darfur by October'
useless useless useless they are useless useless useless
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 0:57 Comments ||
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North Korea has increased its public executions against cell phone users and those who circulate outside information in the communist country, a South Korean government think tank said Thursday.
The phenomenon of executions of those who "circulate South Korean leaflets and sell videos and use cell phones are on the rise," the South's government-affiliated Korea Institute for National Unification think tank said in a white paper on the North's human rights conditions. No exact figures were given.
North Koreans are officially banned from communicating with the outside world but some of them listen to foreign news and use cell phones through Chinese communication networks, according to North Korean defectors in South Korea. The use of cell phones in North Korea is banned though some are smuggled into the North by Chinese who have links with South Koreans.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 11:57 ||
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Yo, Fred. Might wanna check. Links good but ya got the wrong story. Unless they're killing Norkie cell phone users in Gaza.
Outstanding work getting this all back by the way.
At NATO talks in Brussels, defense ministers stepped up discussion on US plans to extend its missile shield into Europe. They will also discuss the Kremlin's offer to cooperate with the Americans on the program. The talks mark the first time that the military alliance has included the US shield, which has deeply angered Russia, in its own barely nascent plans to build a missile shield to cover all 26 NATO allies. My, my... nothing like the thought of nuclear-tipped Iranian missile squadrons aimed at European capitals to get the ball rolling.
"NATO's approach is based on the principle of the indivisibility of allied security and on transparency with our partners, of course including Russia," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said as he opened the meeting. Not to mention that those who don't participate lose out on construction contracts, etc.
Washington announced in January that it wants to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic linked to an early warning system, probably in the Caucasus, all to be operational by 2013. The shield is aimed at countering attacks from nations that Washington regards as "rogue states" such as Iran.
Unprotected areas
The problem for NATO is that four members -- Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey -- are only partly covered or left out of the umbrella all together, undermining this very "indivisibility of allied security." To resolve this, the alliance is likely to "Bolton" "bolt on" to the US shield a smaller missile system -- an "in-theater" type usually used to protect troops in battle -- which it is developing and hopes to have in use by 2010.
"The cost of a complementary system would be a small fraction of the cost of a full and independent missile system for NATO," said senior NATO defense planning official John Colston ahead of the talks.
Any progress in the talks is likely to inflame emotions in Russia, which has conducted a highly-public ballistic missile test in response to its former Cold War foe's plans, and raised the possibility of turning its arms towards Europe.
Possible cooperation
The meeting also takes place as NATO and Russia review a key Soviet-era arms pact -- the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty -- in Vienna, which the allies refuse to endorse, while Moscow claims that its restrictions are unfair.
Amid the heightened rhetoric, exacerbated by elections in Russia late this year, President Vladimir Putin surprised his US counterpart George W. Bush by proposing that they set up a joint US-Russian radar base in Azerbaijan. "The most interesting part of it was that it was Bush and Putin both together," Dutch Defense Minister Elmert van Middelkoop said as he arrived for the talks. "So it's interesting for NATO to consider it and I think it can be a part of the pacification of the subject."
The military alliance has not yet said whether the Azeri base could work, as it might be too close to Iran to be effective against long-range missiles. "We have an expression in Britain: 'It's not rocket science,'" Colston said. "The trouble with missile defense is that it is rocket science." That's American taxpayer-paid rocket science to you, Mr. Colston. How much is "Europe" going to pony-up for this continental defense system, eh?
The 26 defense chiefs, including US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will also seek clarification from their Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on Moscow's surprise offer.
Via Jihad watch
Hundreds of Islamic centers in the United States have become a hot-bed of extremist activity; they promote violence, terrorism and hatred against America.
Our initial investigation has concluded there are between 400 to 500 radical Islamic centers in the U.S., said David Gaubatz, the director of counterintelligence and counterterrorism for the Society of Americans for National Existence. In those places, they preach an extreme version of Islam that says America and the West is the enemy. They espouse violence, hatred and the need for terrorism.
Gaubatz is a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who now works for the Mapping Sharia in America Project (www.mappingsharia.com), which is supported by SANE, a national non-profit group devoted to investigating the 2,300 Islamic centers in the U.S. for extremist activity.
Gaubatz and his investigators are currently active and will soon form a team of about 12. They pose as people interested in converting to Islam or who are current Muslims. Their goal is to infiltrate mosques and Muslim centers. Recently, he and his team penetrated the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, located in Falls Church, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Sporting a beard and Muslim dress, Gaubatz said he went on May 18 to the center, pretending to be an American interested in becoming a convert to Islam. He discovered the center espoused terrorism and jihad against America.
They are teaching what they call Jihad Qital, which means physical jihad, Gaubatz said. Theyre teaching violence and hatred of the United States. Rest at link
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 17:29 ||
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If it takes a mercenary private effort to shame America's own government into doing something about this, then so be it. Should SANE's published findings not be acted upon, any American citizen harmed by domestic terrorism originating from within this jihad network would have strong legal cause to sue the living crap out of the government. Even more important is why these Islamic centers are even allowed to operate in the first place. Islam must be stripped of all religious protections. This shit must end.
#2
If nothing else, they've done good recon and their report should provide sufficient targetting Intel. Should the need arise.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/14/2007 19:08 Comments ||
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This team, as well as the Minuetmen are doing what our government should be doing to protect our citizens. IIRC, Judicial Watch finally got the govt off its a$$ to stop the flow of funds to terrorist organizations from this country.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/14/2007 19:30 Comments ||
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported.
Wonder why?
Reid made similar disparaging remarks about Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said several sources familiar with the interview.
I wouldn't call this 'treason', but Senator Reid is a cowardly, disloyal son of a bitch.
This is but the latest example of how Reid, under pressure from liberal activists to do more to stop the war, is going on the attack against President Bush and his military leaders in anticipation of a September showdown to end U.S. involvement in Iraq, according to Democratic senators and aides.
Reid, who was bashed by Republicans for suggesting earlier this year that the Iraq war was "lost," is lashing out at top commanders while putting the finishing touches on a plan to force a series of votes on Iraq designed exclusively to make Republicans up for reelection in 2008 go on record in favor of continuing an unpopular war.
Reid, the senators and aides said, does not expect any of the Iraq measures to pass but hopes the effort will drive a deep enough wedge between wavering Republicans and Bush that, by September, Republican senators will break with the president and help end the war. "We want them to vote and vote and vote again" on Iraq, said a senior Democratic senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss party strategy. "They are going to have to vote on Iraq until they are sick of it."
Mr. Reid doesn't understand, of course, that the world won't consider it a 'Republican loss' should we lose this war, it will be an American loss. Or perhaps he does understand and doesn't mind.
The tougher-talking Reid is taking a decidedly harder line on Iraq at a time when anti-war activists are stepping up their criticism of Democratic leaders for not forcing a quick end to the conflict in Iraq.
Besides his comments about Pace and Petraeus, the Nevada Democrat also announced that he wants to hold more votes on ending or scaling back the U.S. military presence in Iraq. He said Democrats would use an upcoming Defense authorization bill to continue the struggle with Bush over the conduct of the war, especially Bush's "surge" plan to send more U.S. forces to Baghdad and surrounding regions in order to quell growing sectarian violence.
On Wednesday, Reid went to the White House with other congressional leaders to "consult" with Bush on a range of Middle East issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear program. Reid again told Bush that it was "time to transition the mission in Iraq" in order to refocus attention on Iran and, more specifically, Afghanistan, which both Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have called the real central battlefront in the war on global terror.
Not that he'd stand tough on Iran. And he'd bail on Afghanistan if he thought he could get away with it.
"As many had foreseen, the (Iraq) escalation has failed to produce the intended results," Reid and Pelosi said in a letter sent to Bush prior to their meeting. "That is why we intend to again send you legislation that would limit the U.S. mission in Iraq, begin the phased redeployment of U.S. forces and bring the war to a responsible end.
These are goals consistent with both the national security of the United States and the will of the American people. We respectfully request that you reconsider your previous opposition to proposals that would accomplish these goals and work with us to give our troops a strategy worthy of their sacrifice."
Reid's latest efforts, according to Democratic senators and aides, are meant to lay the groundwork for an expected September showdown with Bush and GOP leaders over Iraq. September is when Petraeus is required to report back to Congress on the progress of Bush's "surge" policy, and numerous Republicans, including House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), have suggested there could be dramatic erosion in support within the GOP for the president and the war unless the political and military situation there shows dramatic improvement.
But Reid and Pelosi are also wrestling with the political fallout from their confrontation with Bush over wartime funding, which saw Democrats in the end back away from their plan to set a firm withdrawal date for pulling U.S. combat forces out of Iraq. That final result infuriated the Democratic base, which had used the sense of national unease about the war to motivate voters to support Democratic candidates and incumbents in the November midterm elections.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 09:13 ||
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Projection is a bitch.
Reid needs to be put in a very small room with several Iraqi vets for a while.
#3
My isn't Reid cranky. The senator needs a napbribe real estate deal.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 9:51 Comments ||
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One has to wonder where Reid, Pelosi, et al were schooled in the arts of military strategery? A war is not very oftern one in the first battle or even the tenth and (hold on to your hats) sometimes the good guys (us) lose one or two of those skirmishes. Was WWII lost after Battan or Wake or Sigapore or Ardenne? NO Was it won at Midway, Tarawa, D-Day, or Gudal Canal? Hardly. These yahoos have the attntion span of a five-year-old at Chucky Cheese, but the kid has a better sense of direction. Oh and FUCK Harry, Nancy, and the gang.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 10:14 Comments ||
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Every word out of Reid and Pelosi's mouths gives aid and comfort to the enemy, by encouraging them to believe America is about to do exactly what Reid and Pelosi say they want us to do: quit, give up, run away from the fight.
They are traitors. Period.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/14/2007 10:23 Comments ||
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The Harris Poll. Feb. 6-12, 2007.
"As far as people in charge of running [see below] are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them?"
.
Great Deal of Confidence
.
2/07 %
Small business 54 The military 46
Major educational institutions, such as colleges and universities 37
Medicine 37
Organized religion 27
The U.S. Supreme Court 27
Public schools 22
The White House 22
The courts and the justice system 21
Television news 20
Wall Street 17
Major companies 16
Organized labor 15
Law firms 13 The press 12
Congress 10
You know Harry, one of these days, during one of your show hearings, youre or one of your fellow blowhards are going to catch one of those generals in a very bad mood. Who knows why, but there are days like that. And hes going to stare you right in the eyes and ask right back why are we letting you sit here. Now, I expect youll get all ruffled and use all sorts of rhetoric about how the officer was out of line and even threaten him, to which I suspect hell further reply You and whos Army are going to make it happen mister? Cause at that point, youll find out that it isnt your Army anymore.
Im really not looking forward to that day. But you know what? I wont give a rats ass and Im not going to get between them and you and your brethren. Life is tough. Its a lot tougher when youre stupid. Keep sticking the boys in the back with that knife and one day, youll find it can cut the other way.
#11
As these incompetent congressmen continue to cut every kind of support that the people in uniform needs to prevent another catastrophic assualt on our nation, we simply sit back and take the buckets of crap they trow at our people.
These people are our fighters, however the small minded Dhimmicratic leaders of our Congress are smart enough to know these fighters can't come back at them like they are with the enemies or America.
It is up to us to fight the war on the home front against such loathsome imbeciles.
"In contemporary usage, "Quisling" is synonymous with "traitor", and particularly applied to politicians who appear to favour the interests of other nations or cultures over their own."
#16
The least competent soldier is likely more competent than the most competent politician; it may not be possible to be further apart on the competence scale than Pace and Reid.
#18
The problem with Reid is he has to play to the nut-roots (in order to keep the money flowing in). Many of them actually believe that the U.S. is the font of all evil and Western civilization is the most terrible civilization of all.
I believe he knows he's talking crap, but this is a naked play for more money from the poor little trust fund brats of San Francisco and Hollywood.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/14/2007 13:26 Comments ||
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Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2007 14:22 Comments ||
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Pelosi and Reid represent the party in America that loaths a "of and by the people" America. That ones that defend this nation are the sons and daughters "of the people". The loath the military that protects this nation just as much as tyrants and despots around the world.
When the Dhimmicrats get enough power, they turn our sons and daughters in uniform into "conquered" status. Purposely humiliating them by pulling them out of operations that protect our nation and putting into servant capacity. Using the military for nothing more than flying them and their families around the country, serving orderbs at White House functions (Clinton Administration).
The Dhimmicrats are the type of people our troops are trying to defeat around the globe. The Dhimmicrats are the only ones who can humiliate our military, claim our military is incompetent, and demean our troops without having to worry about the troops fighting back.
#21
Don't blame Reid or Pelosi. Blame the stupid, short-sighted, greedy, ill-informed, self-consumed, apathetic, ignorant and lazy sons of bitches who voted the Dems into power.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has rejected a press report which said its membership has declined by more than 90 percent since the 2001 attacks.
The report published by the right-wing Washington Times said, The number of reported members spiraled down from more than 29,000 in 2000 to fewer than 1,700 in 2006. As a result, the Muslim rights groups annual income from dues dropped from $732,765 in 2000, when yearly dues cost $25, to $58,750 last year, when the group charged $35. The organisation instead is relying on about two dozen donors a year to contribute the majority of the money for CAIRs budget, which reached nearly $3 million last year.
The CAIR rebuttal did not dispute the figures cited by the Washington Times, but explained, Comparing CAIRs 2000 dues figure to that of 2006 is a misleading and mischievous apples and oranges exercise because those figures were calculated based on different criteria. They do not include the thousands of people of all faiths who became CAIR members through several free or low-cost membership drives. For example, between 2002 and 2006, more than 25,000 people became active members for $10 or less during those drives. Our membership is increasing steadily, as is our donor base, annual budget, and attendance at CAIR events around the country promoting interfaith understanding and respect for civil liberties.
The newspaper, which asked Parvez Ahmed, CAIR board chairman, to comment on the falling membership, replied, We are proud that our grass-roots support in the American Muslim community has allowed CAIR to grow from having eight chapters and offices in 2001 to having 33 today.
Zuhdi Jasser, director of American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told the Washington Times that the sharp decline in membership calls into question whether the organisation speaks for American Muslims, as the group has claimed. This is the untold story in the myth that CAIR represents the American Muslim population. They only represent their membership and donors, Jasser said. Post-9/11, they have marginalised themselves by their tired exploitation of media attention for victimisation issues at the expense of representing the priorities of the American Muslim population.
In its clarification, CAIR also accused the reporter who wrote the story of having a vendetta against the group since she was barred from a recent CAIR news conference because of her history of sloppy and agenda-driven reporting.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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What do you know. It's a Keith Ellison nightmare. Maybe we can get him a cab job at the airport.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/14/2007 5:44 Comments ||
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Sure show us a membership list with 25K names. Don't have one? Probably they had a bunch of LLL moonbats sign up at rallies/marches but just could not find the $10 to send back in the pre-stamped envelope.
#6
This spring the Minnesota branch of CAIR reopened. Somehow I don't think the Somalians here are going to running back to CAIR but who knows. With heavy funding from the HQ Moon Goddess Sauds I'm guessing CAIR will stay solvent and keep spreading Islamic terrorism PR here.
What I do know is that Don Shelby over at channel 4, WCCO did a fluff piece on Ellison's Muslim ties. Even after a challenge Shelby refuses to do any more news on Ellison and CAIR.
QUETTA, Pakistan - Pakistani authorities have put off plans to shut down one of the oldest camps for Afghan refugees, saying its inhabitants have refused to go home or to be relocated, a government official said.
Pakistan had set June 15 as the deadline for the closure of Jungle Pir Alizai camp, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, set up after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. But Khalid Mahmood, commissioner for refugees in the province, said the deadline would be missed. As far as the deadline is concerned we are definitely not going to meet that, he told Reuters late on Tuesday.
Since the deadline is tomorrow.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans for more than 25 years but now wants to close camps after complaints from Western and Afghan officials that Taliban militants launch cross-border attacks from bases on Pakistani soil. Pakistani authorities say the refugee camps have turned into havens for the Taliban.
Imagine that, Talibunnies finding safe haven in amongst their cousins and kinfolk.
Nearly 3 million Afghans have gone home from Pakistan since 2002 but many remain.
Pakistan has a plan for the voluntary, gradual repatriation of about 2.5 million refugees over the next three years in line with an agreement with Afghanistan and the U.N. refugee agency. It had aimed to close four camps this year, including Jungle Pir Alizai, 60 km (40 miles) west of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.
But observers say it is an uphill task to persuade Afghans to go because of insecurity at home and also because a large number have set up small businesses in towns and cities across Pakistan.
In other words, they've settled into the Pak side of Pashtunistan and don't want to leave.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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The US should refrain from getting involved in Pakistans broader madrassa reform efforts and accept that many of the traditional madrassas serve a useful purpose in educating Islamic intellectuals and providing shelter and food for impoverished youth, according to Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation.
Testifying before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee, she said that while a few Pakistani madrassas represent an international terrorist threat and deserve American scrutiny and condemnation, most madrassas should be left alone. US efforts to encourage education reform and development in Pakistan should be consistent, sustained, and multi-pronged. Ensuring transparency and efficiency in the education bureaucracy is equally important to encouraging local community involvement and accountability in the day-to-day functioning of individual schools, especially in poor, rural areas, she said.
According to her, The development of a strong and effective education system in Pakistan is central to promoting moderation, tolerance, and economic development. Convincing the Pakistani government to take firm action against the handful of madrassas supporting violent extremism also is necessary, not only for the future stability of Pakistan, but also to prevent future international terrorism.
She told the subcommittee that a strong and effective education system in Pakistan will help to ensure that the country steers toward a path of stability, moderation, and prosperity in the years to come, and should therefore be a top priority for Washington in its relations with Islamabad. Lack of adequate education opportunities in Pakistan has contributed to the development of extremist ideologies that have fuelled terrorism and sectarian tensions as well as stifled economic growth. Fostering development and reform of the public education system will not only contribute to Pakistani economic prosperity and social tolerance, it will help improve the image of the United States by demonstrating American interest in the human development of average Pakistani citizens.
Curtis said one of the major problems with Pakistans public education sector has been the endemic corruption within the system, which has led to the phenomenon of ghost schools. The US can help by supporting teacher training programmes and encouraging greater accountability through community involvement, but the Pakistani government will have to do its part to limit corruption and inefficiency within the system. She told the legislators that many madrassas connected to violent militancy are located in Karachi as well as in Punjab. These madrassas and associated militant groups have an interdependent relationship in which the militant groups provide armed backing for the madrassas, and the madrassas in turn provide motivated recruits for the militant organisations. She noted that the Musharraf government has had little success with its attempts to assert greater government authority over the madrassas. She pointed out that the Minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq is the son of Gen Ziaul Haq whose Islamisation policies in the 1980s resulted in an expansion of the madrassa network.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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The Madrasas are not built for the purpose of integrating students into a modern society; they are built to indoctrinate operatives against modernity. The Heritage Foundation was snowed. Stalin did it with his "Potemkin Village" frauds.
#2
The useful purpose is creation of an army of pliable youth the Pakistan army can use as cannon fodder.
It is estimated that there are now around 20000 madrassas in Pakistan, compared to around 137 at the time of partition (1947).
The first wave of expansion took place after the uprisings in Balochistan. It was thought that Islam would be the glue to hold the new nation apart.
The numbers really mushroomed after each battlefield defeat by India.
The Deoband school itself was created after the 1857 Indian rebellion when the last Mughal Emperor was sent into exile by the British.
The muslims reacted to their loss of political and economic power by withdrawing into the past.
Some history behind madrassas.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a Muslim reformer, became quite concerned for the future of the Muslims in the Subcontinent. He was against traditional dogma and religious orthodoxy and knew that the reason for Muslim backwardness was the lack of a modern education. Thus he asked the Muslim community to get proper Western-style education, learn English and cooperate with the British in order to avert the Muslim communitys decline in political power. He found it extremely difficult to convince the Muslims, since the orthodox mullahs considered it a sin to get modern education and that too through the English language, which they considered to be the language of the infidels. He founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1877 that later became the famous Aligarh Muslim University. To say that Sir Syed was the pioneer of the Muslim renaissance and was responsible for the ascent of Muslim consciousness would not be wrong. There were many other famous luminaries who supported his cause such as Altaf Hussain Hali, Maulana Shibli Nomani, Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Deputy Nazeer Ahmed, Chiragh Ali, Zakaullah and others.
Sir Syed wanted the Muslims to become enlightened and moderate. He wanted them to be more politically aware and get away from a religious doctrine that was full of dogmas, rituals and superstition. He declared that orthodox Islam had become cluttered with bidat (innovation in religion), thus leading to misconceptions and misinterpretations. He asked the Muslims to go back to the fundamental sources of Islam: the Quran and the Hadith (traditions of Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]). In a speech in Lahore in 1884, he said, "We need a modern ilm al-Kalâm (way of knowledge) by which we should either refute the doctrines of the modern sciences or show that they are in conformity with the articles of the Islamic faith." The mullahs thus passed fatwas about Sir Syed and called him a Mulhid (Atheist) and Kafir. It is pertinent to note here that Sir Syeds foray into Islamic thought paved the way for a liberal reinterpretation of Islamic political philosophy by Allama Iqbal, which would be discussed later in this series.
Sir Syed is also famous for presenting his Two Nation Theory, which to some paved the way for a Hindu-Muslim divide and was the basis of Pakistan. But in the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sir Syed was an ardent reformer and he wanted to reconcile modern scientific thought with religion by rationalistic interpretations and not by attacking basic belief. He was anxious to push new education. He was in no way communally separatist. Repeatedly he emphasised that religious differences should have no political and national significance. Many historians endorse Nehrus view and say that Sir Syed had no intention of a communal divide and that he only wanted to assert that since the Hindus and the Muslims were two different nations, therefore Muslims should have an autonomous homeland in the Muslim majority areas of British India to safeguard their political, cultural and social rights, within a united India. Yet it cannot be denied that it was the Two-Nation Theory as believed to be contained in Sir Syeds reformation philosophy that later laid the political basis for a separate homeland for the Muslims.
Though Sir Syeds effort was directed at making the Muslims empowered and outward looking as well as closing ranks between the Muslims and the British, his emphasis on Muslim resurgence triggered the Hindu fear that it could lead to a Muslim renaissance. So it can be said that Sir Syeds reformation by default became a cause of the accelerated Hindu effort to keep the Muslims at bay at all costs, and subsequently resulted in multiplying Hindu revivalism and speeding up their endeavour to occupy the political space afforded by the British as part of their policy of political openness, which culminated in the formation of the Indian National Congress. The other aspect of these simmering divisive currents with respect to the Muslims and the Hindus was the solidification of the school of thought of Muslim extremists, who found no logic in becoming modern and resultantly succumbing to the nexus of the British and the Hindus.
Therefore, on the one hand, there was the Sir Syedian school of thought, while on the other there was the extremist school of thought. This comprised orthodox clerics and those with a jihadi mindset. "...The waqf, being fearful of the decline of Muslim prestige, power and civilisation, led the counter Madrassa Movement which sought to establish Islamic schools where the Arabic-Persian legacy as well as Islamic sciences, faith and the way of life could be safeguarded. This was seen as the way by which Muslims in India could be revitalised...Today, there is an explosion of Madrassas inspired by the Deobandi model throughout Asia" (The Independent Madrassas of India: Dar al-Ulum, Deoband and Nadvat al-Ulama, Lucknow, David Emmanuel Singh). The madrassas clung to Muslim orthodoxy and reminisced about Muslim glory, often creating the cult of Muslim conquerors who were deemed by the Hindus as invaders and ravagers of their culture and civilisation.
The formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 permitted the Hindus and the Muslims to bring their issues within the ambit of politics. To forge a strong Muslim political identity and to seek protection of their rights as a minority, the Muslims formed their own party, the Muslim League, in 1906. Under the leadership of Sir Aga Khan, the Simla delegation put forward the demand for separate electorates, which given the Muslim-Hindu acrimony fomented in no less measure by the extremists from both the sides, was a political demand for the legal right of the Muslims to have adequate representation in the councils. The political course to seek the Muslims emancipation and their rights as a minority within the Indian Union however, were affected among others, by the annulment of the Bengal partition, the Khilafat Movement, which led to the strengthening of fiery Muslim orators and the press inclined to adopt Muslim jingoistic discourse and subsequently feeding into the currents of communalism, and the anti-Muslim rule by the Congress ministries in the 1930s.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/14/2007 6:54 Comments ||
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Note that even a "reformer" like Sir Syed was unable to accept an India where Muslim and Hindu were equal. Special treatment for Muslims was required. Reversion to "true" 7th century Islam was required.
What prompted this fear? Some say that it was guilt. The Muslims knew what their ancestors had done to the Hindus and feared retribution.
Some could simply not accept their loss of superior status.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/14/2007 7:10 Comments ||
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#4
I would suggest that Muslims are not superior in any way, and inferior in quite a few. Their actions show that they know this deep down. They can't compete in any manner in ideas, culture, knowledge, societal norms, so they try to stamp out that which shows them their inferiority
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 9:32 Comments ||
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TANK: Pro-Taliban militants have transformed the once-bustling community here into a city under siege. Following militant raids on government offices, business and a school, Tanks streets and bazaars are largely empty. An opposition politician and tribal elder believes that one-third of the residents have fled the city. The government has lost its writ in Tank, said Sardar Ahmed Gul. Every evening there is shooting and people cannot go out.
The governments crumbling authority over towns like Tank in the NWFP suggest that President General Pervez Musharraf is failing to rein in extremism as Islamic militants broaden their influence beyond the lawless regions that border Afghanistan. It also raises questions about the prospects of success for Washingtons anti-terrorism efforts in the region.
Observers blame the surge in violence in Tank on fighters filtering in from South Waziristan. On March 28, scores of militants attacked government buildings and businesses for several hours, killing one soldier and kidnapping a high school principal who tried to prevent them from recruiting students. He was freed, but the violence persisted and militants killed around 13 people last month.The army has also come under attack, with six soldiers being killed by three bombings this year.
Now, Tank is off-limits, even for its 150,000 residents and the fear is that it and other nearby districts are slipping into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. At a meeting of his National Security Council last week, Musharraf told authorities that the militants must be taken head on, security of vital places be beefed up and activities of suspected elements be strictly monitored. He pledged to provide the provincial government with more police, vehicles and equipment. But doubts exist about both his willingness and ability to control the militants, because he relies heavily on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), a religious party, to mediate with militant groups in the region.
Samina Ahmed, a South Asia expert at the International Crisis Group think tank, views the JUI as a political front for militants. She said the party never criticises militant activities in Tank, instead blaming the government for stirring up a hornets nest by launching counter-terrorist operations in the area. There is a serious rift between these militants and the JUI, said Rahimullah Yusufzai, an expert on tribal affairs. Some of them had links with the JUI in the past, then they were radicalised and they want the JUI to be more radical, too.
Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali has accused Musharraf of deliberately allowing the violence to convince his foreign backers that he is needed to control Pakistan. Shopkeepers in Tank are merely worried about their safety. No one wants put his life at risk in such an uncertain situation, said Qibla Khan, who supports a family of 10 by selling fruit and vegetables. We all are worried about our and our kids future. We cannot live in such a constant state of fear and worry.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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GHALANAI: A powerful blast at the site of their scheduled jirga in the early hours of Wednesday morning and an explicitly threatening letter failed to intimidate tribal elders who met later on Wednesday to discuss threats to peace in Mohmand Agency, administration officials and elders said. We condemn the bomb blast and cannot allow individuals to disturb peace in our region, tribal elder Muhammad Ali Haleemzai told reporters after the jirga in the Mian Mandi area near Ghalanai. A bomb was detonated at 2:40am where the jirga was scheduled to meet later that day, and a letter in Pushto left at the site warned participants not to convene the jirga.
No loss of life or damage to property was reported, and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast. However, Assistant Political Agent Islam Zeb said it the was work of miscreants, a term used to describe pro-Taliban tribal militants. Some anti-Taliban elements and hypocrites will gather at this place. If these elders are sincere to people, they should move against drugs and other dens, CD shops and liquor sellers. Todays explosion is just a warning and if anyone attends such anti-Taliban jirgas, their heads will be chopped off before they reach the meeting place, the letter left at the site of the explosion read. Tribal elders ignored the threat and convened the jirga to discuss the situation in Mohmand Agency, bordering Bajaur and overlooking Afghanistans Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, where Taliban-linked activities have been reported. We have traditions and all issues must be resolved under tribal traditions, Haleemzai said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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TUNIS: Terrorism experts from 16 Arab states met here on Wednesday to discuss methods through which people involved in terrorist acts can be rehabilitated and helped back into mainstream society. The two-day gathering is the idea of the council of Arab interior ministers, which is based in the Tunisian capital, and will focus on ways and possibilities of reintegrating and rehabilitating those involved in terrorism.
The experts will also review the threat posed by Osama Bin Ladens Al Qaeda network in the Arab world and the role of false fatwas in shaping terrorist thinking, a spokesman for the council said. Morocco, Iraq, Oman, Djibouti, Somalia and Comoros were not represented at the beginning of the conference, where Mohammed Ali Kuman, the councils secretary general, denounced the persistence of terrorism in the Arab world.
It was, he said, a wound that bleeds daily a reference to deadly attacks in Iraq, Morocco, Algeria and Lebanon. Kuman also deplored the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories, which he blamed on Israeli state terrorism, and criticised unnamed media outlets for providing a soapbox to extremist Islamist factions. The meeting decided that the experts would submit recommendations on the issue at the annual conference of the council of Arab interior ministers in January 2008 in Tunis.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Arab nations planning terrorist rehabilitation
LOL yea! appoint them into A-rab Gubmint!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 1:00 Comments ||
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TUNIS: Terrorism experts from 16 Arab states met here on Wednesday to discuss methods through which people involved in terrorist acts can be rehabilitated and helped back into mainstream society. The two-day gathering is the idea of the council of Arab interior ministers, which is based in the Tunisian capital, and will focus on ways and possibilities of reintegrating and rehabilitating those involved in terrorism.
A two-day gathering to understand that reintegrating and rehabilitating terrorists involves nothing more than a .45 caliber bullet per each, go figure. Catch and Release debates notwithstanding.
A secret aircraft that debuted in Vietnam and usually protects U.S. fighter jets has taken on a different and crucial task over Iraq trying to stop the scourge of roadside bombs by jamming ground signals from mobile phones and garage door openers.
The EA-6B Prowler is thought to be one of the most effective U.S. weapons against the bombs, the biggest killer of American service members in Iraq. But no one can be sure: Even supporters say its effectiveness is hard to measure. The ummah thanks you for exposing another successful infidel weapon.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Need to cut the supply from Iran is more of a priority!
Posted by: Paul ||
06/14/2007 5:57 Comments ||
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I don't want to JAM the IED trigger signals, I want to generate my OWN trigger signal! I envision just flying over town sending out rays of love and watching mosque basements where the bombs are being assembled blow up all over Baghdad. I think it is technically possible too, at least for electrically-detonated bombs (as opposed to percussion caps); I just don't know how controllable or at what range.
#3
More detailed reports had the A-6s doing just that. Spontaneous explosions of IED crews. Banging Trons in the Open Later, in Iraq, it was known as banging trons. Prowlers would orbit during night patrols, using their powerful electronic jamming gear to run through the spectrum in hopes of detonating IEDs while bomb layers were planting them. This was known to happen on more than a few occasions.
One thing I wondered about when the IED threat first surfaced was the military using aerostats to continuously transmit trigger signals for the various types of radio controlled detonators.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 8:26 Comments ||
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We've got *lots* of old garage door openers in America. If anyone had told me, I'd have saved mine when we put in that new overhead motor thingy. ;-)
#5
Don't have the link for this, but Glenmore is onto the right idea: apparently, while bomb ingredients are plentiful, skilled designers and assembly technologists are few amongst the unmah. The CIA did some calculating and decided that there were about a dozen or so in Iraq who were making most of the IEDs. So they wanted to push into the supply chain defective parts that would cause some premature explodulations. Whack the assemblers and you fix the problem, right?
Apparently the legal beagles said we couldn't do it. Wouldn't be right.
Idiots.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 10:48 Comments ||
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The lawyers just moved up on my list into a 3 way tie first place with the MSM and Donks.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/14/2007 11:15 Comments ||
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Couldn't lead ground vehicles jam trigger signals?
Most are planted by Sunnis, on the payroll of rogue elements of the Saud royal family.
#9
A B-52 can put out a jamming signal that will burn out half the electronics in a 200-mile circle, but it's kind of broad-band (everything gets fried). Still, it might turn out to be quite useful. From what I understand, there ARE vehicle-mounted jammers, but they're not as powerful as those of airborne ones, and lack the versatility and re-visit capabilities. Anything that works is fine by me, including EMP detonations.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/14/2007 19:16 Comments ||
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The destruction Wednesday in Iraq of the Askariya shrine's two minarets drew angry condemnation from Iran, where officials accused US troops of failing to provide enough security at the famous Shi'ite dome, already bombed in 2006.
Last year's attack unleashed a wave of retaliatory sectarian violence that has convulsed Iraq since and claimed thousands of lives. No casualties were reported in Wednesday's 9 a.m. blast, which authorities blamed on suspected al-Qaida insurgents, but fears rose of new Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed.
Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was angry at the US-led forces in Iraq over the explosion. Typically, Iranian leaders blame the United States for any shortcomings in Iraq as they believe the "occupiers" - Iranian shorthand for Americans in Iraq - should solve any and all problems there. "We were informed that they have attacked our holy shrines in Samarra," Ahmadinejad told a crowd of supporters in the town of Shahroud, some 500 kilometers east of Tehran.
Ahmadinejad referred to the Samarra shrine as "ours" because of its Shi'ite denomination. Iran is a predominantly Shi'ite nation and more than 2,000 Iranian pilgrims visit Shi'ite holy shrines in Iraq every day. "You, by enabling these activities, will be cornered," Ahmadinejad said, referring to US troops in Iraq. Although he did not clarify how US could enable attacks such as Wednesday's, he likely mean the shrine was inadequately guarded.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, also condemned the blast and said the "occupier forces" were responsible "for arranging better security measures" after last year's Samarra attack. "This is being done by those who are real enemies of the Iraqi nation and government. We do condemn this hostile act," Hosseini told the state television over the phone. "They are trying to undermine unity and integrity in Iraq and extend ethnical differences."
After last year's bombing, the Samarra mosque was guarded by about 60 Federal Protection Service forces and 25 local Iraqi police who kept watch on the perimeter, according to Samarra city officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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newc, they just are trying to see whether anyone believes them. So far, they had some success. How do you say in farsi: "there is a sucker born every minute"?
Title says it allPresident Mahmoud Abbas will dissolve the Palestinian Authority's government Thursday after fighting between rival parties Hamas and Fatah consumed the Gaza Strip and was expected to call for a state of emergency, sources close to Abbas confirmed to FOX News.
Abbas also intends to call for the deployment of a multinational force in Gaza and plans to appoint an independent politician to replace Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as prime minister, the aides said. Ok, good luck with that. Idiot.
Hamas fighters took control from three of the rival Fatah movement's most important security command centers in the Gaza Strip, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen into the street and shot them to death execution-style.
Hamas has taken control of the Fatah-run National Security headquarters in Gaza City, the Islamic group claimed Thursday evening.
Earlier, Hamas forces took over the other main Fatah-linked security headquarters, in its steady takeover of important installations in the seaside territory.
Hamas also seized control of Rafah in the south, Gaza's third-largest city, according to witnesses and security officials. It was the second main Gaza city to fall to the militants, who captured nearby Khan Younis on Wednesday.
Posted by: NYT Reporter ||
06/14/2007 14:09 ||
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Abbas dissolves govt???????! It is dissolving itself. And thanks for the popcorn...don't mind if I do....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/14/2007 19:26 Comments ||
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Alvaro de Soto, the just-retired UN coordinator for the Middle East, has warned that international hostility to the Palestinian Hamas movement, now fighting in the bitterly escalating civil conflict in Gaza, could have grave consequences by persuading millions of Muslims that democratic methods do not work.
To borrow from Orwell, you have to be an intellectual elite -- a well fed and pampered one at that -- to believe stuff like this. No ordinary person would be so stupid.
The Peruvian diplomat's sensational valedictory dispatch, written last month and published exclusively in the Guardian today, traced increasingly violent responses to the victory of the Islamist group in the Palestinian elections in January 2006.
That's true, but not in the way he means it.
These included a continuing boycott of the freely-elected government - which he admits has had "devastating" consequences, which have contributed to the current violence between Hamas and Fatah.
The Paleos were free to choose who they wanted to represent them. They freely (more or less) chose a terrorist organization. We in the rest of the world have an equal right to decide that we won't deal with a terrorist government. That latter fact seems to have escaped Mr. de Soto.
"The steps taken by the international community with the presumed purpose of bringing about a Palestinian entity that will live in peace with its neighbour, Israel, have had precisely the opposite effect," he wrote in his confidential internal memo.
For which he blames us, not the terrorists. It's neater that way, it fits the meme he and his fellow-travelers have been promulgating.
The US and Israel had both erred in seeing Hamas as a passing phenomenon, the envoy argued. "Hamas is deep-rooted, has struck many chords, including its contempt for the Oslo process, and is not likely to disappear," he wrote.
Not unless it's forced to, and that's the point of our current foreign policy. Hamas will either have to reform itself sufficiently so that it's no longer Hamas (good luck with that) or it will be put to an end, either by the Israelis or by the Paleos themselves. Some of the latter have been trying that, not because Hamas is evil but for their own purposes, and have failed.
"Erroneous treatment of Hamas could have repercussions far beyond the Palestinian territories because of its links to the Muslim Brotherhood, whose millions of supporters might conclude that peaceful and democratic means are not the way to go."
They were never keen on the 'peaceful and democratic means' idea in the first place; they saw democracy more as a 'one male believer, one vote, one time' phenomenon, after which the righteous would submit to a caliphate.
In a key passage that may already have been overtaken by the rapidly deteriorating situation, Mr De Soto wrote: "Hamas is in effervescence and can potentially evolve in a pragmatic direction that would allow for a two-state solution - but only if handled right.
And they have a two-state solution today: Hamas rules Gaza and Fatah rules the West Bank. At least until Hamas boots them from there, too.
"If the Palestinian Authority passes into irrelevance or collapses (as now seems likely) calls for a one-state solution to the conflict "will come out of the shadows and enter the mainstream."
Mr. De Soto hasn't been paying attention: Hamas has always advocated a one-state solution in which the Joooz are dead or deported from Palestine. It was never in the shadows, it's in the founding charter. And those of us who have been paying attention have always known that.
Mr De Soto is critical of the UN as well as of the US and Israel.
But not so much, he has a rank-order list.
He also attacked the Palestinians' record on violence directed at Israeli civilians as "patchy at best, reprehensible at worst" ...
There's a best when it comes to violence aimed at wimmins and kidlings?
... and described the Hamas charter as "abominable" while highlighting the movement's "alleged links to an Iranian regime which makes bloodcurdling statements about Israel."
Now that you've noticed that, you should draw the proper conclusion: that Hamas is a terrorist organization sponsored by (and for its own purposes) a theocratic, terrorist state. That ordinarily would sharpen the eyesight, stiffen the spine and steady the hands.
"Palestinian terror strengthens the hardliners and weakens the peace camp in Israel," he wrote, but added: "If Israel was less heavy-handed about the way it conducts its military business, and... was seen to be moving earnestly to end the occupation, it would aid rather than handicap its legitimate fight against terrorism."
And so it's the fault of the heavy-handed Joooz, forgetting that even when the doves have been in power in Israel Hamas had advocated and committed murder all the same.
The effect of the quartet's intense focus on Hamas, (which still refuses to formally recognise Israel or renounce violence), was to take all pressure off Israel, Mr de Soto argued. That allowed the construction of yet more Israeli settlements and the separation barrier, which have in turn damaged the slim hopes that a viable Palestinian state can ever be created.
A viable Paleo state can't be created no matter what the Israelis do, unless they cease to exist -- even than a Paleo state, while it might exist, wouldn't be anything you'd want to live in. It would just be another despotic Arab state, no different from Egypt and Syria. Better to have Israel as a candle in the darkeness.
It would need a "Sherlockian magnifying glass," to find allusions to Israel's failure to comply with its "road map" obligations. "No amount of magnification" would find references to its responsibilities as an occupier to ensure the welfare of Palestinian civilians."
The Paleos can't have it both ways: they can't demand that the Joooz leave and then complain that they aren't meeting their responsibilities as an 'occupier'. Frankly, one of the first things the 'occupier' would do to ensure peace would be to round up and shoot all the Hamas hard boys. I don't think Mr. de Soto means quite that.
And further, Hamas was given a golden opportunity by that devious Ariel Sharon to prove themselves. That got Gaza. They got the whole thing, put into some sort of repair by the Israelis as they pulled out. Remember what happened? The greenhouses were destroyed, the infrastructure broken up, and the population put under seige by the criminals and tough-boys. About the only thing Hamas has managed to do is find launch sites for the Qassam rockets. Anyone think that if the Israelis withdrew from the West Bank that it would be any different? In a year's time we'd see Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad tough-bunnies slugging it out house by house, mosque by mosque for control. It wouldn't be pretty, and of course the world would (once again) blame Israel.
On the UN and Israel he wrote: "We are not a friend of Israel if we allow it to fall into the self delusion that the Palestinians are the only ones to blame, or that it can continue blithely to ignore its obligations under existing agreements without paying an international diplomatic price in the short-term and a bitter price regarding its security and identity in the long-term."
What obligations are those -- stop the Paleos from killing each other? Good luck with that. What's happening now in Gaza is part of the tragic play that must run to its end. The Paleos have to hit rock-bottom before they will, as Golda Meir once pleaded, love their children more than they hate the Israelis. They aren't there yet and so they'll continue to send their young men out to kill, their young women out as splodydopes, and their young children to be educated as the next generation of martyrs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Alvaro de Soto, the just-retired UN coordinator for the Middle East, has warned that international hostility to the Palestinian Hamas movement..could have grave consequences by persuading millions of Muslims that democratic methods do not work.
I have thisn uncontrollable URGE to beat this POS too.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 0:55 Comments ||
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Soto could have been a rising star, if it was the 1930s.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 0:57 Comments ||
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YOU cannot be a state as you did not vote in your rulers to make you a state but rather to try to destroy another state. At least thats what they did. Good night, and good luck!
#5
Sickening but not surprising. So long as we all understand that no matter the situation and no matter who pulls the trigger that it is always the Jews, the Americans and the British who are to blame.
There will come a point when good men will no longer stand for it. We need to become as violent in defense of our honor as they are in defense of their Orc god. We are all Jacksonians now.
#8
There will come a point when good men will no longer stand for it. We need to become as violent in defense of our honor as they are in defense of their Orc god.
This is the repayment in kind that will prove so crucial in fighting Islam. Violence is the Muslim's only legal tender and they must be paid in their own coin. One of the first scruples we must put to the stake is any resistance to using collective punishment. Dhimmitude is the plu perfect example of collective punishment and the Koran abounds with other examples.
Even relatively benign Muslims, like the Kurds, still subscribe to the Koran and thereby become our enemy. There is no way to "sanitize" Islam. It adamantly refuses to reform itself and equally resists all external compulsion towards the same end. The Koran's dictates make it utterly inimical to Western culture. Containment is a marginal solution at best. The crushing of Islam is our duty to the remaining free world.
As to the author's particular brand of psychobabble. Steve noted early and often just how disconnected from reality this lunatic is.
Alvaro de Soto, the just-retired UN coordinator for the Middle East, has warned that international hostility to the Palestinian Hamas movement, now fighting in the bitterly escalating civil conflict in Gaza, could have grave consequences by persuading millions of Muslims that democratic methods do not work.
First off, who gives a fucking damn with respect to persuading Muslims about the joys of democracy? ALL of them, not just a few, but ALL of them subscribe to the notion that their gods word supercedes that of even the wisest humans. For civilization to progress, it is of the utmost importance that those who promote theocratic rule find out just how futile and fatal their quest is.
The US and Israel had both erred in seeing Hamas as a passing phenomenon, the envoy argued. "Hamas is deep-rooted, has struck many chords, including its contempt for the Oslo process, and is not likely to disappear," he wrote.
Those who view Hamas as anything but a passing phenomenon are the most erroneous of all. Terrorism will and must die. It is toxic to all life and deserves nothing more that the back of civilizations collective hand. The deep-rooted societal chords which Hamas has struck with respect to the Oslo process and all else that has to do with peace of any sort is as dissonant as their intellectual cognition. They are more than likely to disappear, be it in a hail of bullets or nuclear plasma.
Nearly every single sentance of this writer's spewing could generate a paragraph of rebuttal, so I'm going to quit here.
In Washington, US officials condemned the fighting. "Violence certainly does not serve the interest of the Palestinian people, and it's not going to bring the peace and prosperity that they deserve," White House spokesman.
Tony's politely making the assumption they deserve peace and prosperity when they're actively working against the one and destroying the other.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Ah, bullshit, Tony, they're getting exactly what they deserve...
Lebanon has informed the United Nations that pro-Damascus Palestinian militants are massing fighters near the border with Syria, an official said Tuesday, as the U.N. voiced fears of rising strife in the divided country. "The government sent reports to the United Nations noting the observation last week of concentrations (of armed men) from Fatah-Intifada and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command," the source said. The fighters were seen in two areas, Qussaya and Halwa, in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley close to the Syrian border, the source said.
The parliament -backed government says Syria is seeking to destabilize its smaller neighbor, from which it was forced to withdraw troops in 2005, by allowing arms and militants to cross its border. The warning about the two Damascus-based militant factions came as the Lebanese army besieged terrorists of Fatah al-Islam at a northern refugee camp for a fourth week.
The U.N. Security Council on Monday voiced deep concern at reports of arms smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border, amid fears of escalating strife in a country battling deep sectarian and political divisions. U.N. Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said that PFLP-GC and Fatah-Intifada appeared to be growing stronger with higher quality arms thanks to "a steady flow of weapons and armed elements across the border from Syria."
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon recently sent an independent mission to fully assess monitoring of the Syria-Lebanon border and a report is expected at the end of the month.
The U.N. Security Council resolution that brought an end to last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah called on the government to secure its borders to prevent the entry of illegal weapons. It also called on the 12,700-strong U.N. peacekeeping force patrolling the Israeli border in the south to assist the government in achieving that objective, if requested.
The Beirut government has requested technical assistance to control its borders with Syria. Syria has objected strongly to any suggestion that foreign troops be deployed along the Lebanese side of its borders and threatened to shut the crossings. Syrian President Bashar Assad has said such a deployment would be considered a hostile act and could result in closure of border crossings.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Line forms to the left, Lebanon, hope you brought a good book.
Lebanon's Parliament majority leader Saad Hariri blamed Wednesday Syria for the murder of a member of his bloc Walid Eido and called for the Arab League to "boycott the terrorist regime" targeting Lebanon. "It is the same fingers which killed Rafik Hariri," said MP Saad Hariri. "Either the Arab League takes up its responsibility ... and protects Lebanon, or they have to boycott the terrorist regime which attacks Lebanon in front of the eyes of the Arab world," he said.
"It is a terrorist regime which violates Lebanon's sovereignty, destabilizes its security and kills its politicians," Hariri said, without actually naming Syria.
Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said Eido's assassination is part of a "physical liquidation" by Syria of the anti-Damascus parliamentary majority. "It is the same serial killer who wants to liquidate the parliamentary majority; it is a physical liquidation by the Syrian regime," Hamadeh told reporters. "They want to reverse the political situation, put an end to the Cedar Revolution and block the election of a new president" in September, he said.
The ruling coalition has accused Syria of seeking to eliminate members of the majority, which has now been left with a total of 70 MPs out of the parliament's 128 members. It also accused Damascus of trying to block the creation of an international court to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Damascus has denied any link with the killing of Hariri or other subsequent assassinations and attempts against anti-Syrian figures in Lebanon in the past two years.
"It is the same killer which went wild before the tribunal (came into force on Sunday) and now after the tribunal," said Hamadeh. Hamadeh survived Oct. 2004 an assassination attempt with major wounds.
Another member of the anti-Syrian camp, former President Amin Gemayel, called Eido's murder "part of the criminal attacks that have targeted leaders and personalities of the Cedar Revolution. "This crime will not deter us... and what happens today highlights the importance of the international tribunal," said Gemayel whose own son, MP and Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, was killed in an attack last November 21.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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A party to mark the Queen's birthday by the British embassy in Iran is "psychological war" planned with the United States against the Islamic Republic, a hardline Iranian newspaper has said.
It takes a clever, devious mind to think up a plot as twisted and evil as that. Fred, you magnificent beast.
Kayhan, accusing the embassy of expanding its list of Iranian invitees, wrote: "The British embassy acts as America's psychological war wing. It seems the different kind of programming for the Queen's party is a joint American-British project." The embassy's birthday party for the Queen is an annual event, but this year it will be held against the backdrop of tension with the West over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The gathering takes place today in the embassy's leafy Tehran compound - renovated a few years ago during a period of warming ties.
A British diplomat in Iran dismissed the charges. "We are just doing what we normally do in embassies all over the world, inviting people from all sorts of walks of life," the diplomat said, adding those invited included officials, members of civil society and others.
"I had the houseboy starch my stripéd trousers just so for the occasion."
Hardline student groups said they would hold a news conference outside the embassy to note the "betrayals and the historically cunning behaviour of the British government in Iran".
Kayhan put the party in context of the arrest of three American-Iranians, including academic Haleh Esfandiari, on security-related charges. It quoted one Iranian invitee as saying: "Especially after the recent arrests of Iranians with American passports for espionage, the British embassy is trying to show there is nothing bad about having relations with foreigners."
This man's family must live abroad for him to speak so freely.
Iran has linked the arrests to a so-called "soft revolution", a perceived plot by the US to undermine the government using intellectuals and others inside Iran.
Plots everywhere you look. Everywhere you don't look too, Mahmoud.
#1
Red, white and blue bunting and lots of it. A hog roast, band playing Elgar - bit of a kick-about with the Embassy football before it's Pimms o'clock and debagging all round. The Beastie Boys fought and quite probably died for your right... so do it. Hurrah.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/14/2007 7:06 Comments ||
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Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous stated Tuesday that Damascus was willing to join Israel at the negotiating table. His statement comes only a few days after sources around Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed the existence of a secret track between Israel and Syria. "Syria is prepared to renew talks based upon the land for peace principle, without preconditions, to bring about stability and security in the region," Arnous said.
The Syrian diplomat, who made the statement following a Damascus meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni, also said that Syria was determined to regain the Golan. "President Assad is perfectly straightforward regarding Syria's aspirations to renew negotiations based on the rubrics of the Madrid Conference," he said.
Transportation Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz confirmed on June 9 that the government had sent messages to Syria over the possibility of renewing peace talks, but did not reveal any details of the communications.
Mofaz told Israel Radio that in light of current tensions between Israel and Syria, and considering that Damascus had made overtures toward peace, he deemed it appropriate that there should be a "secret channel" for talks. Therefore, Mofaz said, Israel had approached Syria. Officials at the Prime Minister's Office had no comment; they would neither confirm nor deny that messages had been relayed to Damascus.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Land for Peace.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 1:05 Comments ||
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Only GOD can give you peace. But this land belongs to Israel.
#3
If you go back to history, you'll find the same crap, repeating itself. This is nothing new. During the ancient Israel, Damascus pulled the same kind of crap with the help of the Israel's king. The peace treaty was torn to shreds by Damascus as soon as it was convenient and when Israel was soundly asleep. Same ol', same ol'.
The United States has alerted American women to be on guard against sexual offenses in Syria. The U.S. embassy in Damascus has reported a spate of sexual attacks on uncovered cat-meat foreigners in Damascus. In a June 6 warden message, the embassy said the attacks targeted foreign women.
"Two incidents in the past week involved women walking alone, either in the early morning or early evening," the embassy said. "Another incident occurred several months ago when two women were walking together in one of the tunnels crossing underneath the Autostrad near Damascus University."
The warden message cited other reports of female U.S. embassy employees being sexually harassed by Syrian taxi drivers. The embassy reported two cases of female staffers being fondled during taxi rides. "Though none of these cases went beyond the stage of grabbing or groping, they were understandably upsetting for the victims," the embassy said.
The embassy stressed that Damascus, with a population of seven million, maintains a low crime rate. The warden message urged Americans not to walk alone and avoid deserted areas. "Don't assume because you are close to home that this type of incident cannot happen," the message said. "In both recent cases, the victims were close to home, although alone at the time."
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Damn, we'll have to cancel the trip to Syria again this year..
Nancy and I are just not culturally accepting enough to embrace 'Islamic sexual attacks' yet..
/dhimmi
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 1:11 Comments ||
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#2
Two incidents in the past week...Another incident occurred several months ago
The timing sounds like a response to Madam Speaker Pelosi's head-scarved visit.
Opening up to meet our essential needs
Ayatollah Fadlullah, Hizbollah, Lebanon
How shall we face our scientific, cultural and economic needs on which our growth and our intellectual, scientific and domestic advancement depend, if they are not available in the Muslim countries but available only in non-Muslim countries such as Western or non-Islamic Eastern countries, as is actually the case in this period of our life? The scientific and economic level attained by infidel countries has obliged the whole of the Islamic world to travel to them, and reside in them even if only temporarily. How do we contend with the economic and security pressures under the influence of which may people fall due to disturbances, destructive wars and oppressive rule in Muslim countries, all of which may lead to difficulty in continuing to live there in an acceptable way with regard to livelihood and security?...
We notice that the Holy Qur'an differentiated between those capable of freeing themselves from the arrogant pressure, by emigration to the 'spacious' land of Allah, to gain the strength that enables them to hold on the their religion and to take it back to their land from the newly-acquired position of strength with which they can expel the newly-acquired position of strength with which they can expel the arrogant, and those who are incapable of doing, and so he does not accept an excuse from the former, but accepts if from the latter. Muslims must grab Western technology, and use it to overthrow corrupt homelands: land of Muslims. Fadlullah calls non-Muslim regions: "land of Allah."
We continue with these verses to read the verse which emphasizes emigration as a general line, giving reward to the emigrant who dies during his journey: 'And whosoever emigrates in the way of Allah, shall find numerous places of refuge in the land and great abundance; and he that leaves his dwelling and emigrated in the way of Allah and His Messenger and is then overtaken by death, shall (certainly) be rewarded by Allah; and Allah is forgiving and Merciful.' 4:100. Muslim infiltrators will get Heaven as a reward for subversion.
Emigration to acquire scientific, economic, political and security positions of strength is emigration in the way of Allah and emigration to Allah and His Messenger. However, this legislation categorizes the matter as a principle, but its application may differ according to the details. The Khan group based in Pakistan, spied on Dutch nuclear programs, and used the technology to build the Islamic-bomb. A quick survey of teachers of Physics programs at US universities - including MIT - reveals a large number of Muslim names. We are exporting a "position of strength" to the Islamofascists, who will target our next generation with nuclear tipped ICBMs.
#3
I've finally come to the undeniable conclusion that there are no muslims worth saving. Nuke all the Arab lands, some of the Turkic lands, Iran and Pakistan, and most of the rest of the nations that have a significant muslim population. They have no redeeming value.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/14/2007 22:27 Comments ||
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#4
That's all I needed to read. My next house is going to be a compound.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/14/2007 22:37 Comments ||
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A federal judge ruled that the city's police department did not violate the civil rights of a Muslim officer when it forbade her from wearing a head scarf on the job.
Kimberlie Webb, 44, who has been on the force more than 10 years, filed a discrimination lawsuit in October 2005 after the department said she could not wear a khimar at work because the religious symbol violated uniform regulations. US District Judge Harvey Bartle III on Tuesday sided with the city and dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the police department did not discriminate or retaliate against Webb. "Prohibiting religious symbols and attire helps to prevent any divisiveness on the basis of religion both within the force itself and when it encounters the diverse population of Philadelphia," Bartle wrote. "Under the circumstances, it would clearly cause the city an undue hardship if it had to allow (Webb) to wear a khimar."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
screw you kimmy, do something positive for your country bitch!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 0:49 Comments ||
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#2
I am with the French in banning the wearing of religious vestments and symbols, in public buildings. Integration of cult and state is central to Islam. By indulging them, we enforce sharia for them.
#4
So by my math Kimberley has been a cop for more than 8 years before she filed the suit; did she just wake up and decide ( after all those years) that 'today would be a good day to press my religious freedom,' or was she looking for an easy buck? 10 dollars says she shuold wear the scarf backwards cuz' she's as ugly as a mismatched set of snow tires.
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.
(SomaliNet) The chairman of the reconciliation conference in Somalia Ali Mahdi Mohamed announced Wednesday that the meeting which was scheduled to take place on 14 June has been delayed for one month. 
North Korea has increased its public executions against cell phone users and those who circulate outside information in the communist country, a South Korean government think tank said Thursday. 
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has rejected a press report which said its membership has declined by more than 90 percent since the 2001 attacks.
QUETTA, Pakistan - Pakistani authorities have put off plans to shut down one of the oldest camps for Afghan refugees, saying its inhabitants have refused to go home or to be relocated, a government official said.
TANK: Pro-Taliban militants have transformed the once-bustling community here into a city under siege. Following militant raids on government offices, business and a school, Tanks streets and bazaars are largely empty. An opposition politician and tribal elder believes that one-third of the residents have fled the city. The government has lost its writ in Tank, said Sardar Ahmed Gul. Every evening there is shooting and people cannot go out.
GHALANAI: A powerful blast at the site of their scheduled jirga in the early hours of Wednesday morning and an explicitly threatening letter failed to intimidate tribal elders who met later on Wednesday to discuss threats to peace in Mohmand Agency, administration officials and elders said. We condemn the bomb blast and cannot allow individuals to disturb peace in our region, tribal elder Muhammad Ali Haleemzai told reporters after the jirga in the Mian Mandi area near Ghalanai. A bomb was detonated at 2:40am where the jirga was scheduled to meet later that day, and a letter in Pushto left at the site warned participants not to convene the jirga. 
Alvaro de Soto, the just-retired UN coordinator for the Middle East, has warned that international hostility to the Palestinian Hamas movement, now fighting in the bitterly escalating civil conflict in Gaza, could have grave consequences by persuading millions of Muslims that democratic methods do not work.
In Washington, US officials condemned the fighting. "Violence certainly does not serve the interest of the Palestinian people, and it's not going to bring the peace and prosperity that they deserve," White House spokesman.
Lebanon has informed the United Nations that pro-Damascus Palestinian militants are massing fighters near the border with Syria, an official said Tuesday, as the U.N. voiced fears of rising strife in the divided country. "The government sent reports to the United Nations noting the observation last week of concentrations (of armed men) from Fatah-Intifada and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command," the source said. The fighters were seen in two areas, Qussaya and Halwa, in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley close to the Syrian border, the source said.
Lebanon's Parliament majority leader Saad Hariri blamed Wednesday Syria for the murder of a member of his bloc Walid Eido and called for the Arab League to "boycott the terrorist regime" targeting Lebanon. "It is the same fingers which killed Rafik Hariri," said MP Saad Hariri. "Either the Arab League takes up its responsibility ... and protects Lebanon, or they have to boycott the terrorist regime which attacks Lebanon in front of the eyes of the Arab world," he said.
A party to mark the Queen's birthday by the British embassy in Iran is "psychological war" planned with the United States against the Islamic Republic, a hardline Iranian newspaper has said. 
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous stated Tuesday that Damascus was willing to join Israel at the negotiating table. His statement comes only a few days after sources around Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed the existence of a secret track between Israel and Syria. "Syria is prepared to renew talks based upon the land for peace principle, without preconditions, to bring about stability and security in the region," Arnous said. 
