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Lal Masjid Students Free Chinese Women
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Africa Horn
Chad rebel peace talks open in Libya
TRIPOLI - Talks aimed at reaching a peace deal between the Chadian government and rebel leaders hostile to President Idriss Deby began in the Libyan capital on Saturday. Libyan intelligence chief Abdallah Senussi opened the talks with an appeal to let ‘the interests of the Chadian people prevail and end hostilities,’ saying that Khartoum and Tripoli would guarantee any deal they reach.
I'm sure they will. Chad's got oil somewhere.
Infrastructure Minister Adoum Younousmi, who is leading the Chad government delegation, said on Thursday there were ‘signs that an accord could be reached.’

The heads of the main armed opposition groups were received on Tuesday by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, who reminded them ‘of the necessity to find a political resolution to the conflict.’
Translation: 'do as you're told'.
Kadhafi has previously proposed that the rebel movements transform themselves into political parties. The rebel delegation includes Mahamat Nouri, head of the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development, Timane Erdimi, head of the Movement of the Forces for Change and Hasssan Saleh Al Djinedi, leader of the Chadian National Concorde.

Chad has correctly accused neighbouring Sudan, which is co-sponsoring the peace talks along with Libya, of supporting a coalition of rebel movements.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
N Korea to close reactor in three weeks
TOKYO - North Korea hopes to close its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in three weeks, US envoy Christopher Hill said Saturday after his arrival in Tokyo for meetings with Japanese officials about Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. ‘We expect Yongbyon to be shut down after there is an agreement between the (North Korea) and the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) on how to monitor this shutdown,’ Hill told reporters after talks with Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae.

On the prospect of talk with North Korea and negotiating partners South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, Hill said: ‘There is a consensus among all the six parties that there should be a head-of-delegation meeting sometime in the early part of July,’ after the initial action.

‘I would expect it to happen soon after shutdown begins,’ he added.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This means the countdown to the next betrayal of our trust is set at 21 days.
Posted by: Clinesh Ghibelline2687 || 06/24/2007 4:02 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm certain they can be trusted. They aren't Republicans or Jooooos.
Posted by: Jimmeh Cahtah || 06/24/2007 11:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Put a satchel charge next to the water recycling pumps and you'll shut it down for good. In fact, the entire area will be quite "sanitized" for several centuries.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/24/2007 16:38 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Australian cleric supports Hezbollah
Australia’s top Shia Muslim cleric has said he supports the Hezbollah militant group and criticised the Australian government for “defending terrorism” because of its support for Israel. Kamal Mousselmani, head of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Australia, told the Weekend Australian newspaper in an interview published on Saturday that Australia was encouraging people to “kill our people daily”.

“If Australia supports Israel, they are defending terrorism. Because we believe terrorists come from Israel, not from our people. I support Hezbollah,” Mousselmani said in the interview. The comments come after a series of controversies involving Australian Muslim clerics.

Earlier this month, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly stepped down as mufti of Australia after comments seen as justifying rape and his anti-US stance were blamed for inflaming anti-Muslim sentiment. Hilaly had likened unveiled women to uncovered meat during a Ramadan sermon last November. He subsequently told Egyptian television that Muslims had a greater right to be in Australia than white Australians of convict heritage.

Mousselmani said Australia’s Shia community avidly supported Hezbollah and hated Israel, but insisted neither he nor Hezbollah condoned suicide bombings. “We are against the suicide bombings going on around the world. And Hezbollah is against it. Our opinion is that Hezbollah is not a terrorist group.”

The newspaper said the comments came, as Australian security authorities were looking into transactions between the Shia community and groups overseas. Mousselmani said the community had sent money to victims of last year’s fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, but none of the money had gone to militants. He said the Shia community would oppose any attack on Australia.
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Send him home. He won't do for a civilized society like Australia.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/24/2007 13:00 Comments || Top||

#2  #1 Send him home. He won't do for a civilized society like Australia.

Naah, don't send him home - he'll just cause more trouble. Dump him into one of Indonesia's active volcanos as a "peace offering" to Pele. That way his life won't have been ENTIRELY worthless...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/24/2007 16:40 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Protesters rally as soldiers march in Quebec City
As a parade of Canadian soldiers set to deploy to Afghanistan marched through the streets of Quebec City on Friday evening, anti-war activists rallied nearby, carrying drums, banners and even mock coffins. The protesters, led by the War on War Coalition, said they are against Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.
Because, you know, no one they knew was killed in the World Trade Center. Just a bunch of dirty 'mericans.
They chose to stage their event the same day as 2,500 soldiers from Quebec City's CFB Valcartier made a farewell march before beginning their deployment July 15 in the volatile Afghan region of Kandahar. "We're not targeting the soldiers, we respect them as people," protest organizer Joseph Bergeron said. "But we are in total opposition with the Afghanistan mission and we want to show we represent the great part of the population that is opposed."
"And we support the Taliban and what they've done over the years," he added softly.
In Quebec, opposition is especially high, with a recent poll suggesting 70 per cent of people in the province don't agree with the mission.
Even I think this is pretty disgusting:
On Wednesday, some members of the Parti Québécois refused to stand in honour of Quebec soldiers who were visiting the province's national assembly.
That should have disqualified them from serving in the parliament.
Earlier this month, protesters sent letters to Valcartier soldiers, urging them to refuse their deployment.
"We support our mutineers!"
With anti-war sentiment high, organizers of the military march worried that they might have to cancel their parade through Old Quebec. "I know many in the community were a bit worried about [a cancellation], but for the military's part, we're proud of what we're doing," Maj. Bruno Vieille told CBC News before the parade, in which soldiers marched in full uniform.

Prior to the march, the soldiers were addressed by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Quebec Premier Jean Charest. "You are the acting arm of Quebec pacifism," Charest said. "You are liberators."
Bravo Charest!
Afghan Ambassador Omar Samad also talked to the troops, stressing that the presence of the 26-nation NATO mission in his country is necessary to help it rebuild. "I ask all Canadians, including those who may have doubts about this mission, to take a look at the alternative," he said. "For millions of women and children and men, there is no alternative."

The Quebec regiment from CFB Valcartier, known as "the fighting Vandoos" and "Le troupe de Quebec," will make up the bulk of Canada's military presence in Kandahar by late summer.

The chief of the NATO alliance in Afghanistan, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, met with the troops Friday afternoon. Earlier, he met with reporters. "I believe that I can explain to Quebecers why it is important to be in Afghanistan and why it is important that Canada participates as it is doing now," he said. "It is not a combat mission; it is a reconstruction mission, but to make [reconstruction] possible, we have to fight. It is as simple as that. NATO has to fight."
This is a huge change for NATO and it is being absorbed at varying speeds throughout the organization and by different countries. Many are far from meeting even their financial commitments, much less troops and equipment. There have been a few modest steps in the slow start since the contentious Prague meeting at which it was decided that NATO's mission might indeed require operations outside of Europe. One such step is the mission in Afghanistan. Another flies under the radar, but is perhaps more important: the first real stirring of interoperability. A new Friendly Force Tracker system should be ready to deploy early in 2008 and will cut down on friendly fire incidents, at least among NATO troops in theater. The Allied Command Transformation org is involved with that. There is also some degree of joint R&D within elements of the coalition on unmanned systems and other C4 infrastructure as well. Long way to go to see if the alliance can really transform itself and rise to the current challenge, though.
De Hoop Scheffer spoke with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa on Thursday, and is appealing to the Canadian government to extend Canada's mission mandate beyond the February 2009 deadline when troops are scheduled to withdraw.
If you're gonna extend the mission, Mr. Harper, at least get those new Leopard IIs in there.
Posted by: 8872 || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  On Wednesday, some members of the Parti Québécois refused to stand in honour of Quebec soldiers who were visiting the province's national assembly.

That should have disqualified them from serving in the parliament.

The PQ will not swear allegiance to the Crown. They should never be allowed to hold public office in the first place.
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Of course 70% of the province opposes the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. After all they are more French than the French
Posted by: Cheddarhead || 06/24/2007 10:05 Comments || Top||

#3  We have the perfect example of how the media drives opinion here in Canada. 70% of french speakers oppose the mission, yet 60% of Albertans (the Texas of Canada) think it's ok to slap around taliban POWs. Incidentally, of the 60 deaths in Afghanistan, only 3 of them were from Quebec.
Posted by: Canukistan || 06/24/2007 13:18 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Sherpao leaves for Beijing to discuss security of Chinese citizens
The Pak-China joint working group on terrorism will meet in Beijing on Monday (tomorrow), with the security of the Chinese citizens living in Pakistan atop the agenda, sources told Daily Times on Saturday.

A Pakistani delegation led by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao will leave for China today (Sunday). They said the abduction of Chinese nationals by Jamia Hafsa students in Islamabad would be discussed. “China may demand handing over of 20 Chinese activists of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, reportedly hiding in the tribal areas of Pakistan,” sources said adding that overall cooperation between the two countries on security and intelligence sharing would also be discussed.
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Nepal Maoists have stepped up violence, abduction
KATHMANDU - Maoist former rebels have stepped up their violent activities and abductions in recent months creating a climate of fear, the United Nations human rights office in Nepal said Saturday. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal said the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist (CPN-M) and its youth wing Young Communist League (YCL) were involved in abductions, ill-treatment in captivity, physical attacks and the violent disruption of political activities and other types of abuse.
If you're waiting for the New York Times to carry this story, keep waiting.
‘OHCHR-Nepal has noted with concern that reports of YCL and other CPN-M abuses have started to increase again particularly since mid- April this year,’ a statement said. ‘Some 24 people have been abducted since May 28 alone, interrogated, in some cases beaten and threatened before being released or handed over to police after a short period in captivity.’

The OHCHR-Nepal said the abuse violated international human rights law, the peace agreement between the government and the former rebels and domestic laws. OHCHR said: ‘The human rights abuses committed by the YCL are contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation and were restricting legitimate political, journalistic and other activities particularly related to freedom of expression and assembly.’
Well d'oh! They're communists!
The latest UN criticism of the Maoists and its youth wing came amid growing public concerns over their activities despite the party joining the government. The Maoists have defended the YCL activities by accusing its detractors of trying to undermine the Maoist party by highlighting ‘isolated incidences’ and ignoring the social work it undertakes.

Many political observers also believe that a large number of YCL members are actually hardcore guerillas who fought a decade-long insurgency against government forces.

In early May, Maoist chairman Prachanda announced that the YCL would be expanded to include half a million members despite growing criticism of its activities.
And there you go: the YCL will be the brownshirts who will bring down the earnest 'coalition' government at a time of Prachanda's choosing.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Was Carter there recently?
Posted by: newc || 06/24/2007 0:50 Comments || Top||


Rushdie honour breaks UN code, says Pakistan
Pakistan has told Britain that Salman Rushdie's knighthood breaches a United Nations resolution aimed at calming tensions between different religions, The Observer has learnt.
And damn it, given the admirable restraint that the Muslims have shown towards the calumny offered them daily by the infidels, it is certainly time that the dhimmi do their part and submit!
The highly unusual warning was made during a meeting with the British High Commissioner in Pakistan and reveals the extent to which senior Pakistani politicians fear the award will damage relations between the countries.
Does this mean you won't be sending any more extremists to the UK?
Although both nations have pledged to work together to fight al-Qaeda, the Rushdie affair has exposed a deep schism. On Friday, protests against the award broke out at mosques in Britain. Former members of the now disbanded extremist group al-Muhajiroun - which helped co-ordinate the protests over the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad - led protests outside the Regent's Park Mosque in London, prompting calls from Islamic clerics for restraint.

The level of unrest which has arisen in the Islamic world over the award was predicted by the Pakistan authorities. Last Tuesday, Tariq Osman Hyder, a senior Pakistani diplomat, told the British High Commissioner in Pakistan, Robert Brinkley, that giving a knighthood to the author of The Satanic Verses, a novel which prompted anger among some Muslims for its references to Muhammad and his wives, would inflame tensions.
What doesn't?
A well-placed source told The Observer that Brinkley was informed that Britain had acted against the spirit of UN resolution 1624. The resolution calls on all member states to 'enhance dialogue and broaden understanding' as a means to preventing 'the indiscriminate targeting of religions and cultures'.
Well, it certainly cannot be said that al Muhajiroun and their ilk are indiscriminate in their hatred for the West, so I guess they're in the clear.
Sources say that Hyder told Brinkley the award was 'not expected from Britain, a country that has a large Muslim population'. But the British government has been quick to defend the author's right to freedom of expression. Last week, the Home Secretary, John Reid, defended the award and said Britain had no intention of apologising for it.

Tensions were further inflamed after Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, was reported as saying of Rushdie that 'if someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologises and withdraws the "sir" title'.
Privately, Foreign Office officials describe the fallout from the Rushdie affair as 'regrettable'. Tensions were further inflamed after Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, was reported as saying of Rushdie that 'if someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologises and withdraws the "sir" title'.

He said later he did not mean attacks would be justified but merely that militants could use the knighthood as a justification.
We got your meaning the first time, minister.

Perv's tenuous hold on power is threatened by each opportunity the extremists can grab to stir up mindless anger.
Posted by: lotp || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Global Jihad

#1  Lotp - your green inline with the bold is a little too small font....
Also that bold and the green are really hard on the eyes.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/24/2007 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Lotp - I didn't have any trouble reading it, and I'm blind as a bat.

Back on topic - the UN has a code?

Other than supporting murderous dictators, trying to destroy America, and raping refugees.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 0:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Deport all 1.6 million back to Pakistan. They don't like us. We don't like them.
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 2:17 Comments || Top||

#4  3dc, have you tried using the screen magnifier?

I use it sometimes even with the bigger monitors to make something more eye comfortable, more readable. Lotp's color and font are ok on my lg home monitor.

here's some more..
Posted by: RD || 06/24/2007 4:04 Comments || Top||

#5  I suspect that this was done partially in an effort to clarify who in the Muslim world would agitate against it. Extremists just can't resist blowing their cover as "moderates" when an opportunity like this presents itself, and it lets the good guys know who some of the more effectively duplicitous are.

This can be very useful information.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 06/24/2007 9:41 Comments || Top||

#6  Colonizor becomes colonizee. With emphasis on "colon."
Posted by: Perfesser || 06/24/2007 14:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Tensions were further inflamed after Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs, Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, was reported as saying of Rushdie that 'if someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologises and withdraws the "sir" title'.

He said later he did not mean attacks would be justified but merely that militants could use the knighthood as a justification.


A culture of eggshell egos vigorously antagonizing a world full of hammers.

For some strange reason I'm reminded very little of Napoleon's corps commander General Van Damme at the battle of Austerlitz when he talked about "making omelets".
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 16:31 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Verdict against ‘Chemical Ali’ due on Sunday
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi High Tribunal is set to give its verdict on Sunday on six former aides of Saddam Hussein accused of slaughtering 182,000 Kurdish villagers during a 1988 military campaign in northern Iraq.

Ahead of the judgement, the defence team appealed to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to stop the trial which it said was marred by ‘errors’.
None so large as the error made to take Chemical Ali alive.
The most prominent defendant is Ali Hassan Al Majid, a cousin of Saddam who is widely known as ‘Chemical Ali’ for allegedly ordering the killing of tens of thousands of Kurdish villagers with chemical gas strikes. He faces a charge of genocide, while the five others in the dock are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, all charges that carry the death penalty.

They include Sabir Al Duri, former director of military intelligence; Sultan Hashim Al Tai, a former defence minister; Hussein Rashid Al Tikriti, former armed forces deputy chief of operations.
This article starring:
ALI HASAN AL MAJIDIraqi Baath Party
HUSEIN RASHID AL TIKRITIIraqi Baath Party
SABIR AL DURIIraqi Baath Party
SULTAN HASHIM AL TAIIraqi Baath Party
Posted by: Steve White || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party

#1  Git a rope.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Git some piano wire.
Posted by: gorb || 06/24/2007 0:55 Comments || Top||

#3  I bow to your superior suggestion, gorb.

It's always nice when the experts take interest. Ali should be flattered. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 1:05 Comments || Top||

#4  LOL, luvs the 2 part soliloquy duoliloquy!
Posted by: RD || 06/24/2007 3:52 Comments || Top||

#5  FoxNews says Chemical Ali to hang.

Summary:
"Chemical Ali", Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, and Hussein Rashid Mohammed were sentenced to death by hanging for their roles.

Sabir al-Douri and Farhan Mutlaq Saleh, former head of military intelligence's eastern regional office, were sentenced to life in prison.

As expected, charges were dropped against Taher Tawfiq al-Ani, the former governor of Mosul and head of the Northern Affairs Committee, because of insufficient evidence.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/24/2007 7:05 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Abdullah to Abbas: Egypt summit must lead to peace talks
Jordan's king told visiting Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday that an upcoming summit in Egypt must set the stage for renewed Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

The summit must be seized as an opportunity to formulate a clear timeline for a return to negotiations
Abbas was visiting King Abdullah II ahead of Monday's meeting in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, which will be attended by both leaders, as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

"The summit must be seized as an opportunity to formulate a clear timeline for a return to negotiations," King Abdullah II told Abbas in a closed-door meeting in Jordan's capital Amman, according to a royal palace statement.
Posted by: || 06/24/2007 08:35 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Global Jihad


Hamas: We didn't plan to win Gaza
Hamas was surprised by the easy and swift defeat of Fatah in the fighting that took place in the Gaza Strip, Hamas representative Ayman Taha said over the weekend.

Taha, who is one of the Hamas officials in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, said most Fatah militiamen and security officers decided not to fight when they learned that their leaders had fled to the West Bank and Egypt. "We did not have any intention to win or lose the battle," he explained. "We were only going against a small group that was behind all the trouble and tensions in the Gaza Strip."

Hamas, he added, did not think of a military victory when it waged its campaign. "What happened came also as a surprise to Hamas," he said. "We in Hamas were surprised not only by the major victory, but by the stunning defeat of Fatah. The Palestinian Authority was also surprised and is still in a state of shock. In fact, the entire world was surprised by the collapse of Fatah."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  "Hello Boss? Uh. We won all of Gaza. Geez, what are we gonna do wit it now?"
Posted by: Anguling Turkeyneck9310 || 06/24/2007 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Hamas broke the remaining windows. Hope they enjoy rebuilding... for the next 1000 years
Posted by: 3dc || 06/24/2007 0:43 Comments || Top||

#3  Like the dog that catches the car; what to do with it?
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 2:15 Comments || Top||

#4  "We kept pulling the trigger but never expected to actually kill anyone."
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 4:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Actually this is a very revealing statement. To wit. All kinds of experts always attribute long term, complicated plans to various Jihad groups. Hello! Earth to experts: Muslims don't plan all that well---their successes are due to persistently doing "what comes natural".
Posted by: gromgoru || 06/24/2007 6:13 Comments || Top||

#6  Hamas was surprised by the easy and swift defeat of Fatah

I guess they figured a whole lot more folks were going to die - and didn't care.
Posted by: Bobby || 06/24/2007 9:00 Comments || Top||

#7  I read this a little differently. Look at what he says about Fatah

Taha said there were two reasons for Fatah's defeat. "The Fatah security forces had originally been established on shaky foundations. This is the main reason why they collapsed so quickly. Hamas had long been demanding the reconstruction of these forces on national, not factional, bases. These forces should have worked for the interests of all Palestinians, rather than the faction's alone," he explained.

He said the second reason for Fatah's downfall was because the faction's commanders and leaders had either run away or surrendered to Hamas. "


In other words, Fatah has no claim to be part of the Palestinian government.
Posted by: lotp || 06/24/2007 9:20 Comments || Top||

#8  It was allan's will. Same excuse Fatah uses.
Posted by: Phinater Thravinger || 06/24/2007 10:22 Comments || Top||

#9  Hamas: We didn't plan to win Gaza

There - fixed.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 10:29 Comments || Top||

#10  You won it. Now you can eat it.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/24/2007 14:52 Comments || Top||

#11  I guess not all cultures are familiar with the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for."
Posted by: Mike N. || 06/24/2007 16:00 Comments || Top||

#12  Fatah looked into the future and decided a token resistance was a good strategy.
Posted by: KBK || 06/24/2007 20:46 Comments || Top||


Gunmen steal PA matriculation exams
Fatah gunmen in Nablus on Saturday stole the forms of the high school matriculation finals known as Tawjihi, forcing the Palestinian Authority to suspend the exams.

Eyewitnesses said a group of masked gunmen belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, stopped a car that was transferring the exam forms to schools in Nablus and stole them after threatening to shoot the driver.
Only in Paleoland
Posted by: gromgoru || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Fatah

#1  The way these losers behave, it surprises me any of them can even read and write.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  The way these losers behave, it surprises me any of them can even read and write

They can't! That's why they stole the exams. They were going to take them to the high priest who reads and writes. And is a Fatah spy. Problem is, the high priest will probably think they are documents concerning the CIA and Mossad brainwashing Palestinian students . . . .
Posted by: gorb || 06/24/2007 0:54 Comments || Top||

#3  makes you wonder if they really were matriculation exams or something else.
Posted by: Angaiger Tojo1904 || 06/24/2007 12:54 Comments || Top||

#4  Did they look for the exams at Al-Delta House?
Posted by: Cromert || 06/24/2007 13:22 Comments || Top||

#5  Tojo1904: Exam forms would have been valuable if the exams hadn't been canceled, so this would have fit right in with the rest of their gangsterism: hijack and sell.
Posted by: James || 06/24/2007 13:54 Comments || Top||

#6  Sample question:

"If Ali shoots two Joos and Hamid explodes killing four Joos, how many ..."
Posted by: DMFD || 06/24/2007 15:14 Comments || Top||


MEMRI: Abbas on Hamas
Long, heated and quite pointed. One representative excerpt:

Hamas has Desecrated our National Symbols
"The Palestinian flag was trampled today under the feet of [those] who regard the Palestinian national project - whose banner we have been carrying generation after generation - as opposed to their [own] project of darkness. They have replaced [the Palestinian flag] with their own flag, which is a flag of division, detached from our people's history, its struggle and its sacrifice. Next, they persistently set out to desecrate each and every emblem of our national struggle, even in the home of our [late] leader, the martyr Yasser Arafat, and [in the home of Fatah founder] Abu Jihad. In central Gaza, they threw down the statue of the unknown soldier pointing towards Jerusalem - [a monument] that symbolizes the sacrifice of [our] martyrs, the legacy of the Palestinian fighters, and the unity of Palestinian, Egyptian, and Arab blood."

Hamas Plans to Establish Emirate of Religious Fanaticism

"[Hamas] formulated a plan to split Gaza from the West Bank and to establish an emirate, or a mini-state of one color controlled by a single group of extremists and religious fanatics. [In order to realize] its plan, it made military and political preparations by forming armed militias, controlled exclusively by [Hamas], which were trained to take over the PA in our beloved Gaza Strip... [Meanwhile, Hamas] continued its assassinations of the field commanders and leaders of the security apparatuses and of the Fatah movement in Gaza. We witnessed murders and executions unprecedented in our entire history, based on accusations of apostasy and treason, on the uprooting [of people], on incitement to hatred, and on agitation of raw impulses and emotions."

Crimes Perpetrated By Hamas

"The putschists attacked the headquarters of the National Security [Forces], General Intelligence, the Preventive Security [apparatus], and the Presidential Guard, and perpetrated horrors that are totally alien to our [Palestinian] heritage and tradition - murdering, executing people on the street, throwing fighters from tall buildings, and looting security headquarters, public facilities and Christian houses of worship.

Posted by: lotp || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Summary.
George, you f*cking infidel pig. Ehud, you scummy Joooo. Gimme $$$$$!
Posted by: gromgoru || 06/24/2007 6:21 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm beginning to believe the only way the rest of the world can live with muslims is as masters to servants. Islam is incapable of doing what's necessary to live in a 21st century world. The followers of islam are people who won't be happy outside the 7th century. Our best bet is to create enclaves of 7th-century society, and herd all the muzzies into it, lock the gate, and guard the walls. Let them deal with themselves, and let the rest of the world live in peace. Anyone trying to scale the walls will be instantly and painfully killed.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/24/2007 16:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Bah! Unmitigated tommyrot. Just as no one is better at killing Muslims than other Muslims, no one desecrates the Palestinian nation like the Palestinians themselves. The congregation of thug tribes under the heading of "Palestian national identity" has no more meaning than how rival gangs fall under the same category of "criminals". Hamas and Fatah are two sides of the same coin. A coin that should have been left on the railroad tracks a long time ago.
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 17:03 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm beginning to believe the only way the rest of the world can live with muslims is as masters to servants


naaaaaah. Servants work
Posted by: Frank G || 06/24/2007 17:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Our best bet is to create enclaves of 7th-century society, and herd all the muzzies into it, lock the gate, and guard the walls. Let them deal with themselves, and let the rest of the world live in peace. Anyone trying to scale the walls will be instantly and painfully killed.

Bingo, Old Patriot. Short of obliterating the entire MME (Muslim Middle East), recongregating all Muslim diaspora back in their nations of origin represents one of the only ways to deal with Islamic terrorism and its quest for global domination.

I now have ZERO hope of any lasting or viable peace with this world's Muslim population. They have absolutely no desire for peaceful coexistence and—in fact—seek the exact opposite. Those Muslims who are not actively engaged in a violent assault upon the Western world are either quietly funding it through zakat or biding their time for a better opportunity to present itself. Islamic theocracy—in the form of shari'a law—is nothing but a massive criminal enterprise whose every trace must be eradicated by any means necessary.
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 17:14 Comments || Top||


Angry Egypt says Hamas' Gaza takeover was a coup
The bloody takeover of Gaza by Hamas was a "coup against legitimacy," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday, two days before he hosts a regional summit seen as an attempt to isolate the Islamist group. Egypt, a key regional power, has already condemned Hamas for crushing the more secular Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Gaza Strip. It has urged all Palestinians to rally behind him as a leader.

In a snub to the Islamist group, Cairo decided last week to move its representative from the coastal strip to Ramallah in the West Bank, where Fatah has retained sway. "We follow closely the consequences of the coup against the Palestinian legitimacy (in Gaza) and the damages that it has caused to the Palestinian people," Mubarak told senior lawmakers from his ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). "We regret shedding Palestinian blood by Palestinian hands in clashes that crossed all the red lines," he said.

Egypt confirmed on Thursday it would host a four-way summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday, bringing together Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Jordan's King Abdullah and Mubarak.

Since Hamas seized control of Gaza last week, Western powers and Israel have scrambled to bolster Abbas, who has ruled out talks with the Islamist group, by lifting economic sanctions on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel, which withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, is letting nothing but essential humanitarian supplies through its security cordon around the coastal enclave.

Arab analysts and commentators say the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh would seek to encourage Abbas to maintain his hardline stance against Hamas in a bid to isolate the Islamist group. "They will try to support Abbas and punish Hamas," said political analyst Mohamed el-Sayyed Said. "This support could include military aid for Fatah." He said Egypt felt "deeply insulted" that the Hamas takeover came while Cairo was preparing to host talks among various Palestinian factions in June.

Egypt, which enjoys strong ties with Fatah, swiftly welcomed Abbas' decision to appoint an emergency cabinet after firing the national unity government led by Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. Haniyeh said he would go on working as prime minister.

Analysts also say Cairo cannot tolerate an "Islamist mini-state" on its eastern border at a time when the government is cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's strongest opposition group. "The Egyptian regime looks at what is happening in Gaza through local eyes," said Amr El-Choubaki, an expert on Islamist movements. "This is a mistake because there are no prospects for a Palestinian state in Gaza ... and the price that Egypt has paid was losing its position as a mediator between Hamas and Fatah."
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Well, yeah. What's their point? Afraid somebody might get ideat?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 0:50 Comments || Top||

#2  But, but, Hamas claims it was a total surprise! Well, perhaps they could give it back and apologize.

Haha! I made myself laugh with that one!
Posted by: gorb || 06/24/2007 0:57 Comments || Top||

#3  idea

It's late - whaddya ya' want?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 1:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Well, if they're angry they could show it by stopping all entry/exiting and demolishing the smuggling tunnels. That's a start
Posted by: Frank G || 06/24/2007 9:42 Comments || Top||


Palestinians Have Reached Abyss: Saud
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday called on warring Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah to stand united on the basis of the Makkah Accord to save themselves from self-destruction. "The Palestinians have reached an abyss. Either they turn back or suffer the consequences of falling into it," he said.

He also emphasized Riyadh's efforts in support of the Palestinian issue. "We are working with the Arab League on this matter," he said when asked about the Kingdom's efforts to end the latest bout of Palestinian infighting. However, he pointed out that all efforts would go in vain if the Palestinian leaders themselves refuse to reconcile to protect their national interests.

Prince Saud made this comment while talking to Saudi editors and members of the Saudi media at the residence of Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Asheikh in Paris. The foreign minister arrived at the venue promptly at the stroke of one, elegantly attired in a beige suit. He was in a relaxed mood despite a strenuous tour. Prince Saud is part of the high-level delegation that is accompanying Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in his current five-nation tour, which has already taken him to Spain and France.
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Global Jihad

#1  "a relaxed mood..."
____________________

After obviously being serviced by Lebanese hookers...
Posted by: borgboy2001 || 06/24/2007 1:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Palestinians Have Reached the Bottom of the Abyss and are Digging Vigorously.

There - fixed.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 1:08 Comments || Top||

#3  "The Palestinians have reached an abyss."

And from the Mouth of Sauron, that is saying something.
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 2:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Hey, what about calling them Abyssinians from now on?

Wait... The moniker has been already taken and it belong to more deserving critters.
Posted by: twobyfour || 06/24/2007 2:54 Comments || Top||

#5  All they need now is a little push?
Posted by: gromgoru || 06/24/2007 6:06 Comments || Top||

#6  2by4 has an interesting idea; there are a number of insulting terms in the arabic lexicon, followers of Satan is just one of them...
Posted by: mhw || 06/24/2007 7:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Paleostinians have reached the Abyss... The rest of the muzzies are right behind.
Posted by: jds || 06/24/2007 9:25 Comments || Top||

#8  Take one step further for peace.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds || 06/24/2007 11:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Here, here. Just one more step please.
Posted by: mcsegeek1 || 06/24/2007 12:59 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
The 80mph 'Mad Max' monster targeting the Taliban
It looks more like a vehicle from one of Mel Gibson's Mad Max movies.

But this four-ton monster truck is the British Army's new weapon designed to take on insurgents on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan.

British-made, the Supacat Weapons Mounted Installation Kit boasts awesome firepower which will be unleashed early next year. British and other Nato troops are being targeted by roadside bombs and daily firefights.

Awesome: The Supacat is described by one officer as 'a serious bit of kit'

Infantry soldiers have complained existing Land Rovers provide insufficient protection from the bombers.

Now, the Ministry of Defence is buying 130 of the light-armoured beasts – which can reach a maximum 80mph – and will take delivery of the first early next year.

They will use a grenade machine gun which fires at up to 340 rounds per minute, usually in bursts of three to five rounds, at targets up to a mile away.

The Supacats will also employ a 7.62mm-calibre General Purpose Machine Gun, which fires 750 rounds per minute with a range of nearly a mile.

The vehicles, made at Honiton in Devon, will also have a mounted 0.5in-calibre heavy machine gun, which fires huge rounds more than a mile at a rate of 485 to 635 a minute. They are powered by a 5.9-litre turbo-diesel engine and will carry three or four crew.

One senior Army officer described the new super-truck as a "serious bit of kit", adding it would be a "huge boost to our long-range patrolling capability".

Senior defence sources say the Supacats will particularly come into their own against the Taliban in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, which has no roads.

Defence Minister Lord Drayson said last night: "These vehicles are well armed, swift and agile and will boost our capability with some serious firepower.

"The MoD and the Treasury have worked hard to get them to our troops in quick time, and they start going out to theatre early next year."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 06/24/2007 18:13 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Meow!
Posted by: twobyfour || 06/24/2007 19:23 Comments || Top||

#2  What I found most interesting were the comments at the newspaper's site : people were complaining that this vehicle isn't heavily armored, and therefore susceptible to IEDs. But, that is the point of a vehicle like the Supacat - get there fast with a lot of firepower, carrying just enough armor in the right places to protect the crew from small arms. Too many people today are getting fixated on heavy armor - sort of like the armored knights of the Middle Ages. Problem with that approach is the loss of mobility, agility, and speed. And a lot of the time, there are not pre-placed IEDs to worry about in Afghanistan; in those conditions, speed saves lives since the Taliban have not demonstrated much in the line of marksmanship.
Posted by: Shieldwolf || 06/24/2007 20:31 Comments || Top||

#3  /Snark on
Congratulations--The MoD finaly decided to buy a gun-truck.
/snark off
Realy-- they could have asked us for a few. Saved themselves a lot of trouble, and some money. We would even throw in some convoy training free of charge.

I have nothing but respect for the british soldier. His political masters, on the other hand, well "lions led by asses asshats" comes to mind.
Posted by: N guard || 06/24/2007 22:15 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's fatwa against Rushdie 'still stands'
Iran says a fatwa issued by its revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini ordering the death of British writer Salman Rushdie still stands after the author's knighthood by the Queen.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini says the fatwa against the Indian-born author still stands. "The stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to this issue has not changed from what was put forward by the Imam Khomeini," he said. Mr Hosseini was asked by a local reporter why Iran's reaction to the knighthood for the writer has been relatively low-key in comparison to other Islamic countries such as Pakistan.

More than a week after the Queen made the author Sir Salman, there have been no officially-sanctioned protests against the knighthood in Iran, and Ayatollah Khamenei has yet to make any official comment on the issue. But Mr Hosseini has pointed out that swiftly after the awarding of the knighthood, he had accused Britain of "Islamaphobia" in knighting Sir Salman.

A leading cleric, Ahmad Khatami, had said during Friday prayers that the fatwa was still valid, but this was the first time an official has made such a confirmation since the knighthood.

In neighbouring Pakistan, Islamists have staged protests, burning effigies of Queen Elizabeth and Sir Salman, while its Parliament has called on Britain to revoke the honour. Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq also sparked controversy by saying that Sir Salman's knighthood justified suicide bombings.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/24/2007 08:14 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  And when finally and at long last it is war our traitor-left will still say we searched for a pretext. Time to take up a cutlass and join the fray.
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 9:18 Comments || Top||

#2  pakistan and iran need regime change soon.i have faith in the iranian people for democracy but am unsure re pakistan.
Posted by: Paul || 06/24/2007 10:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Regime change in Iran would improve matters because the leadership is more radical than the general population, but the opposite may hold true in Pakistan. This is why realpolitik dictates that we support a strongman like Mushharraf - because representative leadership in that nuclear armed nation might be far more dangerous.
Posted by: Grumenk Philalzabod0723 || 06/24/2007 15:04 Comments || Top||

#4  The only way to move toward "peace" in Pakistan is to get rid of it. Crush both sides, stomp their skins into the sand, and divide the nation between Afghanistan and India. Eliminate the name "pakistan" from dictionaries and diplomatic documents. It was a mistake in creation, and the only way to resolve that error is to destroy what was mistakenly created.

Iran needs a good a$$-kicking, so they know who's still number 1 in the region. Destroying their nuke installations and ports and harbors should be sufficient to get their attention. The longer we delay, the more costly the action.

Nailing the entire duplicitous, degenerate, and deadly House of Saud, and the city they live in, would help significantly, also.

I no longer have any sympathy with muzlems in general and arabs in particular. The only way to get their attention is to stomp them so hard their children to the 20th generation will be born with bootmarks on their butts. Maybe once we've got their attention, we can possibly teach them that what they're doing is intolerable, and they either stop or cease to exist. Either solution is ok with me.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/24/2007 17:07 Comments || Top||

#5  Once the mullahs get the bomb, they can threaten any country with nukes unless it executes/extradict Rushie. Don't count on them not doing that.
Posted by: Duh! || 06/24/2007 17:11 Comments || Top||

#6  The only way to get their attention is to stomp them so hard their children to the 20th generation will be born with bootmarks on their butts.

Author! Author!
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 17:24 Comments || Top||


Iran supplied missile that hit UK helicopter in 2006
h/t Lucianne
A ROYAL NAVY helicopter that crashed in flames in Basra last year, killing all five on board, was shot down by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile supplied to Iraqi militants by Iran, according to US officials.

America knew that the Mahdi Army, the radical Shi’ite militia, had obtained the shoulder-launched missile from the Iranians but failed to tell the British because of a row between the State Department and the CIA over the reliability of the source, US intelligence sources said.

The Lynx helicopter, from 847 Naval Air Squadron, based at Yeovilton, Somerset, was carrying a three-man crew plus Wing Commander John Coxen, the most senior officer to die in Iraq, and Flight Lieutenant Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, the first British servicewoman killed in action since the second world war. Witnesses told an inquest in Oxford last week that they saw a ball of yellow flame, typical of a particular type of missile, heading for the Lynx. Private Stuart Drummond said: “I thought it was a missile. The helicopter exploded. It was engulfed in flames and went down.”

The families of those killed were frequently asked to leave the inquest as secret details of the missile and the failure of the helicopter’s defensive systems were discussed. The report of a board of inquiry into the incident is heavily edited and was classified Top Secret Codeword, the highest UK classification. This was because telephone intercepts, intelligence reports and pieces of the missile recovered from the scene confirmed that it came from Iran, the American sources said.

Three days before the attack, State Department officials interviewed an Iraqi linked to the Mahdi Army who told them Iran had supplied the militia with the Russian surface-to-air missile. It was intended specifically for the Mahdi Army to shoot down a British helicopter, codenamed Operation Hawk-Taking.

The intelligence was not passed on to the British because the CIA dismissed the Iraqi detainee as “a well-known fabricator”, the sources alleged.
Unfortunate, bad call.
The allegations of Iranian involvement come amid increasing concern over Iran’s role in disrupting coalition operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Des Browne, the defence secretary, confirmed the scale of Iranian involvement in southern Iraq earlier this month. “Well over 80% of the violence is targeted against the British forces, much of it quite specifically influenced by the Iranians,” he said. “We stand between them and their ambitions to share the spoils of what is potentially one of the richest cities in the world and to show the local population that they can force us out would be quite a coup for them. It’s in their interests to have their proxies drive us out of Iraq.”

British officials, who had previously hesitated to suggest that Iran supported the Taliban, said they were seeing evidence of a shift in Tehran’s position. That appeared to be confirmed by Admiral Ali Shamkhani, principal defence adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. Shamkhani told the US journal Defense News that Iran had “blocked US moves” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by: mrp || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Mahdi Army

#1  At least we have no confirmation the Iranians are engaged in cigarette smuggling into southern Iraq. This would set a very bad example for our young people.
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 2:22 Comments || Top||

#2  "failed to tell the British because of a row between the State Department and the CIA over the reliability of the source"

After all the hindsight-based fault-finding with the pre-OIF intelligence, it should come as no surprise that current intelligence data is held close, and only passed on - anywhere - when it is certain (which is either never, or too late.)
There is risk in acting on uncertain information - but it should be remembered that there is also risk in not acting on uncertain information. Look northeast of Iraq for a major potential example.
Posted by: Glenmore || 06/24/2007 14:09 Comments || Top||

#3  doesn't this sound just like a typical Sunday agenda piece by TimesOnLine.. pfffft...

Brit media is even less trustworthy than our MSM.

America knew that the Mahdi Army, the radical Shi’ite militia, had obtained the shoulder-launched missile from the Iranians but failed to tell the British because of a row between the State Department and the CIA over the reliability of the source, US intelligence sources said.

BULL SHIT---> timesonline!,

Our Intel agencies pass on all sorts of Intel with caveats attached.
Posted by: RD || 06/24/2007 14:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Our Intel agencies pass on all sorts of Intel with caveats attached.

RD - as someone who has worked on the inside, let me tell you that there is a deep and abiding schism between CIA and State. What it boils down to is "it wasn't our call, so it's worthless" - on both sides. It's not something new, either - it's existed at LEAST since the CIA was founded (a case can be made about the Naval code-breaking prior to and during WWII). While keeping things close-hold may be part of the problem, the turf wars are real - and as seen in this case, can be deadly deadly.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/24/2007 17:13 Comments || Top||

#5  thanks OP, I appreciate the feedback.

I'm always, I repeat, always open to your ideas and suggestions. as well as Pappy, Fred, John, and most of the Rantburgers...

I am aware of the pissing contest between State and the DIA, CIA, etc... but only from reading about it, not like you a professional miner and user of Intel who has witnessed the problem up close and personal.

2 questions..

Don't you think Timesonline favors these hit pieces on anything American, American military American Intel etc?

Would it be correct to say then, that the Intel about the missiles would never be given to the Brits because of the same old 'inter agency territory dispute'?

Why wouldn't the CIA give the brits a 'Heads Up' but cover their ass by saying the source is a little flakey?
Posted by: RD || 06/24/2007 18:55 Comments || Top||

#6  So while we all argue about who said what to who, the Iranians get a pass?

Posted by: Skunky Glins5285 || 06/24/2007 19:35 Comments || Top||


IAEA and Iran agree to draw up action plan
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday he and Iran's chief negotiator had agreed to draw up a "plan of action" within two months on how to resolve questions about Iran's disputed nuclear program. International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradei described the two-hour meeting with Ali Larijani as "quite satisfying." "I hope we should be in a position in the next weeks to move forward and break the stalemate where we have been in for the last few months," ElBaradei told reporters. He said they were drawing up "a plan of action which I hope we should be able to conclude within two months" and then start implementing.

Larijani also spoke of "good progress," but they reported no breakthrough in the core dispute -- Iran's defiance of U.N. demands to stop uranium enrichment.

Diplomats say that about a year ago, Iran agreed with the IAEA to come up with a plan for resolving outstanding issues within three weeks, but never followed through. Larijani is due to meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Lisbon on Saturday, seen as the last chance to overcome a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear defiance before world powers start drafting tougher sanctions against it.

Solana has been exploring a face-saving way to allow the Islamic Republic to stop enriching uranium. "I believe our talks with Mr. ElBaradei today will be quite helpful with the process that Mr. Solana is working on to reach an understanding and a solution," Larijani said after the meeting.

The United States, Britain, Russia, France, Germany and China are discussing a third round of penalties against Iran over concerns it is secretly trying to build atomic bombs.

Ratcheting up the pressure on the Islamic state, a British draft for a new U.N. sanctions resolution proposed that Iran's airlines and ships could be denied landing and transit rights and two or more of its banks could have their assets frozen. Britain also suggested banning new arms contracts with Iran, barring senior Iranian security officials from air travel and halting work by Russia on Iran's nuclear power reactor at Bushehr, according to the draft, obtained by Reuters. "Even if the U.N. threatens Iran with more sanctions, the country will not stop its uranium enrichment activities," Larijani said, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA.

Iran has refused U.N. demands to halt enrichment, which yields fuel for power plants but can also be used for weapons if the uranium is refined to a much higher degree. Tehran says its goal is the peaceful electricity generation.

The latest meetings come amid IAEA concern about increasing Iranian restrictions on access for agency inspectors, imposed in retaliation for existing sanctions. Since February, Iran has rapidly expanded a centrifuge operation at its Natanz enrichment complex in a bid for "industrial-scale" fuel production.

ElBaradei has urged Iran to answer IAEA questions about its program, including suspected military links, and to reconsider a decision to stop providing advance design information about planned nuclear installations to the agency.

Tehran has insisted the U.N. Security Council must first return authority over its file to the Vienna-based IAEA, which would end sanctions pressure -- a nonstarter for Western powers. Instead of freezing all enrichment-related activity, as the Security Council has demanded, Iran has accelerated the program and says it has passed the point of no return. "When the world saw that the (Iranian) nation is pursuing this goal with unity, the world surrendered," Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying. "We have passed the dangerous moment."

The Security Council has already imposed two rounds of limited sanctions on Iran over its refusal to stop enrichment. Iran has about 2,000 centrifuges installed as of early June, most of them enriching uranium, and is likely to reach the 3,000 threshold by the end of July, diplomats have said. Three thousand could produce material for one bomb within a year if run nonstop at supersonic speed. Iran has yet to demonstrate such capability and probably remains a few years away from being able to build a bomb, analysts say.
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1 
Joint IAEA and Iranian Negotiation Action Plan
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
10th July 2007 (Tentative)

Esteghlal Hotel
Grand Suite — East Tower
Valiasr Intersection, Chamran Highway
Metropolitan Tehran

Isha
4:49AM – 5:30AM – Imam in Attendance
Location: Prayer Room — Esteghlal Hotel — East Tower
Sunrise Prayer Session
Mandatory attendance for all junior staff

Breakfast
7:00AM – 9:30AM
Location: Esteghlal Hotel — Grand Suite — East Tower
MENU
Choice of Freshly Brewed Tea or Cardamom Scented Coffee
(Served with Halva Shekari)
Fresh Fruit Array with Rosewater Scented Asal Honey & Orange Blossoms
Hand Made Brine Soaked Tabrizi Cheese
(Served with Artisan Baked Sangak Bread)
Heavy Cream Mast Yogurt & Kameh Soft Cream Spreads
Cold Cooked Basmati Rice Laced with Pomegranate Seeds
Chilled Filet of Hand Caught Cold Smoked Caspian Sturgeon en Gelée
Wet Khorma Mazafati Dates in a Syrup of Lemon Zest & Kitul Palm Sugar


Discussion Panel
9:30AM – 10:00AM
Location: Executive Conference Room — Esteghlal Hotel
TOPIC
Determine shape of table for afternoon negotiations

Break
10:00AM – 11:15AM
Cultural Tour — Chauffeured Limousines Provided
Location: Mellat National Museum — White Palace of Tehran
Private viewing of International Holocaust Cartoon Contest submissions
— Optional lashing of political criminals to be held afterwards —

Expert Presentation
11:30AM – 12:00PM
Location: Executive Conference Room — Esteghlal Hotel
TOPIC
How Nuclear Electricity Generation Will Wipe Israel Off the Map

Zuhr
12:09PM – 1:15PM – Imam in Attendance
Location: Prayer Room — Esteghlal Hotel — East Tower
Noontime Prayer Session
Mandatory attendance

Lunch
1:15PM – 3:15PM
Location: Esteghlal Hotel — Grand Suite — East Tower
MENU
APPETIZERS
Panir Sabzi
Baktiari Khiki Cheese Plate Scattered with Walnuts, Radishes and Fresh Herbs
Borani
Medley of Roasted Eggplant, Yogurt, Onions, Garlic and Spices
(Served with Artisan Baked Barbari Bread)
FIRST COURSE
Bagali Shevid Polo
Dill Scented Rice Studded with Fresh Cooked Lima Beans
SOUP
Ash Reshteh
Fresh Vegetable Noodle Soup with Sautéed Garlic and Kashk Broth
ENTRÉE
Khoresht-e Qaarch
Saffron Tinted Breast of Cornish Hens with Wild Mushrooms & Kafir Lime Sauce
Meigo Polow
Tomato Scented Shrimps in Curried Basmati Rice with Quartered Pheasant Eggs
DESSERT
Sholeh Zard
Cinnamon Perfumed Porridge of Rice with Pistachio Nuts

Focus Group
3:15PM – 3:45PM
Location: Executive Conference Room — Esteghlal Hotel
TOPIC
Seating Arrangement for Executive Committee Session

Asa
3:55PM – 4:30PM – Imam in Attendance
Location: Prayer Room — Esteghlal Hotel — East Tower
Afternoon Prayer Session
Mandatory attendance

Executive Committee Session
4:30PM – 4:45PM
Location: Executive Conference Room — Esteghlal Hotel
Joint IAEA and Iranian Negotiations
Location: Executive Conference Room — Esteghlal Hotel

Dinner
5:00PM – 8:45PM
Location: Esteghlal Hotel — Grand Suite — East Tower
MENU
APPETIZERS
Torshi-e Gol-e Kalam
Pickled Baby Cauliflower Florets with Garlic and Mint
Royal Beluga 000 Caspian Caviar Malossol
Accompanied by Chopped Egg Yolk, Minced Shallots and Sour Cream
(Served with Toast Points)
FIRST COURSE
Maahi Gazaay-e Daryaei
Fire Roasted Fresh Water Baby Salmon in a Chiffonade of Coriander, Parsley & Mint
SOUP
Aash-e Anaar
Minced Veal in a Pomegranate Broth with Spring Onions and Marjoram
ENTRÉES
Crown Roasted Rack of Baby Lamb a la Arusi
Crushed Pistachio and Garlic Crusted Rack of Brined Spring Lamb
Javahar Polow in Palm Leaf Packets
Jeweled Basmati Rice with Barberries, Almonds, Rosebuds and Cardamom Pods
DESSERT
Baag-lava a la Sultan
Honeyed Filo and Ground Pistachio Pastry Dressed in Gold Leaf

Maghrib
9:08PM – 10:00PM – Ayatollah in Attendance
Location: Prayer Room — Esteghlal Hotel — East Tower
Evening Prayer Session
Mandatory attendance — Nargile salon afterwards
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 8:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Zen,

I don't know where you dug this up, but it certainly shows what a complete farce this sham operation is. This jackoff El Baredei must be getting handsome contributions to a secret account from the mullahs. He has been an excellent coordinator for their nuclear program. Just like the frog in the pan...heat the water very slowly so the frogs(not just the Frenchies but all the Western fools)don't jump out and run away. These nitwits will come up with some sort of weapon undoubtedly. Whether it works efficiently doesn't matter. The fact that they will not hesitate in using it against Israel and Europe is what actually matters. All that remains is determining how much of Iran must be wiped out to put these jerks back into place where they can never again threaten the world. Some part of Muzzlem world must be used as an example. If Iran wants to be first, fine.
Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 || 06/24/2007 11:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Zen: A masterpiece.
Posted by: Excalibur || 06/24/2007 12:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Zen, Excellent,

Need to add:

Sponsored by the filthy infidel taxpayers of the Great Satan of America
Posted by: CrazyFool || 06/24/2007 14:08 Comments || Top||

#5  I don't know where you dug this up

Out of some extremely depraved depths. Namely, my own.
Posted by: Zenster || 06/24/2007 14:36 Comments || Top||

#6  Out of some extremely depraved depths. Namely, my own.

We expect no less from you! ;-)
Posted by: twobyfour || 06/24/2007 14:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Zen, based on your observations hows about describing the Olmert-strategy visa vi Iran's Nuclear reactors and the Iranian Nuclear program.

Zen, based on your analysis hows about foretelling the eventual OUTCOME of Olmert's-strategy visa vi Iran's Nuclear reactors and their Nuclear program.
Posted by: RD || 06/24/2007 15:02 Comments || Top||


Saudis Fighting with Fatah al-Islam to be Tried Before Extradition
Informed Lebanese sources have ruled out extraditing Saudi individuals affiliated with Fatah al-Islam before trying them locally and carrying out the sentence against them. The sources also highlighted that the Criminal Procedure Law in Lebanon stipulates trying any person who commits a crime in the Lebanese territory or against any of those who are living in it before the Lebanese courts and carrying out the sentence in its prisons. The law adds that extraditing the Saudi elements to the local authorities according to the Lebanese law will not happen unless the punishment is fully carried out.

The sources added that the joint security agreement between Riyadh and Beirut does not stipulate extraditing people wanted for security purposes to their country, unless they flee from the Saudi territories after violating the system and the law there. In this case only the Lebanese judiciary will be obliged to extradite those wanted people to the Saudi authorities.

The Saudi elements in Fatah al-Islam movement--whose accurate number has yet to be declared by official authorities, despite confirmations by officials in Naher al Bared refugee camp that they are in dozens--will face serious accusations according to the criminal law, the least of which is three-year imprisonment. If they are proven to have fought the Lebanese Army, killing its people, and booby-trapping cars, then those who are involved in these acts will be sentenced to death--which the Public Prosecutor will insist on, according to these sources.

According to Lebanese judicial sources, no Saudi attorney has come forward to defend the individuals who are involved in the latest incidents, as Saudi attorneys can be appointed, according to Lebanese law, to plead before the Lebanese court, but this should be after submitting a request to the Bar Association.

As for the three Saudis arrested inside the camp, the sources confirmed that one of them was detained earlier in the Al-Biqa for affiliation with one of the Al-Qaeda cells, has advanced combat capabilities, and is an expert in manufacturing explosives. He helped the Lebanese Army to defuse digital explosives installed in three cars in the camp, while the Lebanese Army failed to deal with them. On the other hand, another Saudi individual is a religious mentor for the elements of Fatah al-Islam. He was tasked with religious mobilization and enhancing the jihadist ideology, as he has a direct link with Al-Qaeda.

The same sources confirmed that although there is a group of Saudi fighters in Ayn al-Hilwah refugee camp, the most wanted Saudi for the Lebanese authorities is Abu-Talhah who is in his fifties, and is the leader of the Saudis in the Lebanese territories. He used to move between Iraq and Lebanon through Syria.

Concerning the way the Saudi elements joined Fatah al-Islam, the sources said that some of the Saudi fighters regularly entered Lebanon under the pretext of tourism. Another group came from Iraq, and crossed Syria through illegal channels. Concerning the return of the dead bodies of the four Saudis who were killed at the beginning of confrontations between Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese Army in a building in Tripoli city, the sources said the bodies of the Saudis will be given to the Saudi embassy after conducting DNA testing to identify them, as their bodies were burnt as a result of the confrontations and the burning of the building.
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under: Fatah al-Islam

#1  saudi is the spiritual home of jihadi ideology.once we stop depending on saudi oil the quicker we can treat them what they truly are the enemy of the west along with pakistan iran and syria
Posted by: Paul || 06/24/2007 9:45 Comments || Top||

#2  We won't stop depending on Saudi oil anytime soon though, Paul. While new production is being discovered and brought on line as quickly as possibly (the Canadian oil sands, f'r instance), Saudi Arabia's 35 mile wide strip of coastline is still producing about a quarter of the world's consumption. And the new production may only offset lost production in Venezuela and Nigeria for a while.

So if we're to do anything, we'd better not wait until we don't any more need what the Saudis have.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/24/2007 13:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Blow Riyada into radioactive atoms and take over the rest of the country. Kill anybody that that gets in our way, including ALL of Iran. Tell the rest of the Arabian "leaders" their continued livelihood depends upon their good behavior, and follow through once the first steps out of line. I'm tired of the US trying to be a "nice guy". The arabs don't respect that. Let's get mean, evil wicked, bad, nasty, cruel and heartless toward our enemies. The rest of the world may not like us, but they'll damned well RESPECT us - or else. Being "nice" is overrated.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/24/2007 17:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Blow Riyada into radioactive atoms and take over the rest of the country.

Mustn't forget Jeddha! (sp?)
Posted by: Natural Law || 06/24/2007 22:18 Comments || Top||


Arab League failure in Lebanon blamed on outside interference
The failure of the latest Arab League mission to get Lebanon's parliament backed government and the Iran- and Syria-supported opposition to talk together shows that outsiders control the country's destiny, analysts said on Saturday. "Last-minute hardening of their positions, especially by the opposition, ensured that the Arab League mission would fail," an Arab diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The solution is no longer in the hands of the Lebanese themselves, but with foreign powers that support one or other camp."

The league delegation headed by Secretary General Amr Moussa left Beirut empty-handed on Friday after four days of trying to persuade the feuding camps to talk and end seven months of political paralysis. While Moussa 's proposal for new dialogue "made some headway, the opposition demanded the unconditional formation of a national unity government," the Arab source said. "It refused to give guarantees demanded by those in power on the continuity of this government and the holding of presidential elections" scheduled in September to elect a successor to pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud.
Posted by: Fred || 06/24/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Be honest for once, dork-face - blame it on IRAN.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/24/2007 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  outsiders control the country's destiny

The only destiny Lebanon, and every other Arab country, has is to reach the trash heap of History.
Posted by: gromgoru || 06/24/2007 6:18 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2007-06-24
  Lal Masjid Students Free Chinese Women
Sat 2007-06-23
  Larijani admits Iran financing Hamas
Fri 2007-06-22
  Paks post reward for murdering Rushdie
Thu 2007-06-21
  Leb Army takes over Nahr al-Bared
Wed 2007-06-20
  Boom kills 78 in Baghdad
Tue 2007-06-19
  Pakistan: U.S. Missile Kills 32 Hard Boyz
Mon 2007-06-18
  Abbas' new PM outlaws Hamas
Sun 2007-06-17
  Looters raid Arafat's house, steal his Nobel Peace Prize
Sat 2007-06-16
  US launches new offensive around Baghdad
Fri 2007-06-15
  Abbas dissolves unity govt
Thu 2007-06-14
  Beirut boom kills another anti-Syrian lawmaker
Wed 2007-06-13
  Qaeda emir in Mosul banged
Tue 2007-06-12
  Hamas Captures Fatah Security HQ in Gaza
Mon 2007-06-11
  Gunmen fire on Haniyeh's house in Gaza; no one hurt
Sun 2007-06-10
  Hamas-Fatah festivities renew in S Gaza, only 2 killed


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