Seems $132 million in newly printed USA 100s is missing in Iraq.
Youâll be happy to know most of the money was recovered. (sarcasm off)
I didnât get the beginning,donât know if they busted in a bank or attacked a convoy. Thisâll keep those bastards going longer.
In my own little world, Iâd immediately declare 100s illegal. Anyone caught w/them would be jailed. After all are recovered, then put back in circulation.
OT - But just too fun to pass up - caught via Drudge
DECEMBER 3--A Los Angeles judge today threw out Barbra Streisandâs $10 million suit against a California environmental group that posted a photo of the singerâs cliffside Malibu estate on its web site. In a 46-page tentative decision, the summary from which youâll find below, Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman declared that the aerial photoâs publication was protected by the First Amendment and, to boot, was not "highly offensive to a reasonable person." Swatting away Streisandâs claim that her privacy was violated, Goodman stated, "As a matter of law, there is nothing private or personal" about the photo, a copy of which youâll find at right. Making matters worse for the performer, Goodman indicated that he is ready to award legal fees to the California Coastal Records Project and the groupâs founder Kenneth Adelman, who snapped the image which so offended Babs.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 7:49:54 PM ||
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Old Babs baby didn't want anyone to know she doesn't practice what she preaches, and is a first-class hyporcrite "with very little brain". Glad the judge wasn't intimidated by her "star" status.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 20:56 Comments ||
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Judge are you saying that Barbra is not a reasonal person? I guess you just did. HEE HEE
EFL. Add salt.
Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Rashid was shot and killed late last Thursday night while hunting gazelles in the Algerian desert when his convoy of four-wheel drive vehicles was ambushed in the Djelfa region.
Posted by: Brian ||
12/03/2003 4:03:47 PM ||
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Brian, Fred is not against including all details especially the funny editors note that was included:
Editors Note: It is interesting that there has been no reference whatsoever to this âterrorâ act in Western press. It is unlikely that this is an Al-Qaida operation for mainstream press misses no opportunity to attribute ever violent act to the group and it would most likely be on every major news channel as a way of peddling the false propaganda that Al-Qaida targets Muslims. This style of killing has all of the earmarks of a CIA assassination and follows recent speculation that the CIA and Mossad are active in destabilizing operations inside the Kingdom.
The editor seems to be dabbling in psychedalia.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 16:46 Comments ||
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I think this is the fourth incidence of this report we've seen, starting last Thursday. Maybe it's the fifth. I'm pretty well convinced he's dead by now, which means it's probably the body of an underling and he's actually made his getaway to his secret lair.
The killing has been attributed to GSPC from the first. There was a fairly detailed editorial on it in Arab News a day or two ago. Seems like the Soddies are buying the "false propaganda" that Qaeda kills Muslims, since they have the corpses to prove it.
I have no idea what the CIA and the Mossad dabbling in Soddy affairs would have to do with the departure from the gene pool of a Soddy prince hunting gazelles or bustards or polar bears in Algeria -- but then, I don't have a turban. I'm mildly curious as to why he picked that particular area to slaughter defenseless animals, but figure that what really happened was that he went to meet his lover, Mahmoud. They quarreled, probably over a woman, a sultry wench with fire in her eyes, perhaps a Gypsy, and Mahmoud knifed him, then killed himself in remorse. I'm thinking of writing an opera about it, if I ever learn Italian and how to write music.
The story probably didn't make the decadent Western press because nobody cared. Sad, but true. It's only the repetition that makes me remember it at all...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/03/2003 17:12 Comments ||
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Fred, I like you're version better. Was there an orange sunset at the horizon as the lovers sat nessled on the hood of their landrover? I mean before the craven Mossad sniper blew several large caliber slugs through their spinal columns?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 17:44 Comments ||
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File this under âoh-fer-cryin-out-loudâ...
Palestinians in the West Bank town revered by Christians as Jesusâ birthplace have been thronging to the adjacent Aida refugee camp for a glimpse of the 11-day-old infant many are calling a "miracle baby." The boy has gained attention for being born with a large birthmark across his cheek that roughly forms in Arabic letters the name of his uncle, Ala, a Hamas militant killed by Israeli troops after he was suspected of having planned a suicide bombing. The family, devout Muslims, called it a divine message of support for the Palestinians against Israel... Yes, of course. The Israeli army declined comment, but one security source said, laughing his ass off "It sounds very freaky." The family denied any child abuse hoax. The security source said the babyâs uncle, who was shot to death eight months ago, was suspected of masterminding a bombing that killed 12 people on a Jerusalem bus in November 2002... She [the kidâs grandmother] said the birthmark was a sign "the soldiers can kill our sons but not our spirit." She voiced hope Israelis and Palestinians would make peace and allow her grandson to grow up free from violence. And I hope I win $10 mil.
As she spoke, an Israeli army patrol fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths nearby. Despite the commotion, the imam from the campâs main mosque entered the crowded living room, traced a finger along the swirling birthmark... and pronounced it a "gift from God." Wait, thereâs more:
Adding to a tale spread mostly by word of mouth and published Monday in the Jerusalem Post, the baby -- named in honor of his dead uncle -- was born on the 27th day of the holy month of Ramadan, revered as the night the Koran was revealed to the prophet Mohammad... And there you have it...
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/03/2003 2:38:45 AM ||
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Hope the kid's as accepting of it when he grows up. Sounds like the brainwashing Paleo "street" is defining the poor kid as fodder before he leaves potty training.....such is fate
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 8:51 Comments ||
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Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely it's the second coming
And the wrath has finally taken form
For what is this rough beast
Its hour come at last
Slouching towards Bethlehem to be born
--Yeats
Posted by: David ||
12/03/2003 9:57 Comments ||
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I'm looking forward to seeing this kid's face on purple velvet.
#9
"Well? Where's the gold?!? Nobody brought any frankincense? Was the 24-hour MyrrhMart closed or something? Jeez, you people don't know how to appreciate a 'gift from God'."
Seriously, though, I feel sorry for this kid. I'm betting that at some point in his life, he will be placed in harms way in an attempt to incite a huge riot.
Now I am very happy, because my martyred son, Ala, has returned. This baby sends a message to Israel that those who kill us will be killed.
We will raise him to be good and pious like his uncle [the genocide bomber]. Just as Mary received a sign from God that Jesus would be born to her in this holy place, so we have received a sign from God. This miracle shows that the martyrs who fall fighting for God do not die.
#11
The family, devout Muslims, called it a divine message of support for the Palestinians against Israel...
Haaahahahahaha, if there ever was a case to be made that Palestinians are largely idiots, this would seal it. Who else would try to portray a birthmark on a baby as some sort of "divine message of support for the Palestinians against Israel"?
#14
This must just be a college psych project to see if an entire town can be convinced to interpret a Roschak ink blot the same way.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 16:36 Comments ||
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Could this just be Noor Tantray dressed up in baby clothes?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 16:40 Comments ||
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This is the Paleo equivalent of the cargo cult. They are just waiting for some divine someone to bail their collective ass out of the outhouse pit of ignorance that they find themselves in.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 18:31 Comments ||
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Are they sure then mark doesn't spell out 'dumb ass?"
Posted by: Ned ||
12/03/2003 19:15 Comments ||
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Progress?
GONDI VOLGA, Afghanistan -- Afghanistanâs two main northern warlords handed over dozens of tanks and heavy guns Tuesday, giving the fledgling U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai a small victory. The weaponry belonging to the militias of Abdurrashid Dostum and Attah Mohammad, whose armies have been attacking each other for two years, was surrendered to the new Afghan National Army. In October, clashes between the warlordsâ forces reportedly left dozens of civilians dead. Karzai sent Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali and enlisted the help of British peacekeepers and the United Nations to bring the warlords into line. They agreed that a battalion from the new army would guard the surrendered weapons until the Defense Ministry decides what to do with them. Eventually, the ministry and its sponsors hope to disarm and decommission 100,000 militia members as it creates the new army and national police, which so far have only 6,000 members.
#1
My understanding is that after the Northern Alliance took over, those two guys got their militias declared to be independent Corps in the Afghan Army. After suitable bribes diplomacy, they've agreed to shut down operations and allow a new Army Corps to be organized in the regions they control.
We'll have to wait and see, but if it happens, then we're talking serious progress.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
12/03/2003 12:51 Comments ||
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The crates, labeled "sporting and hunting weapons," looked innocuous in Prague. But inside, dozens of Czech-made sniper rifles were cradled in plastic foam. Their destination: Yemen, a hotbed of al-Qaida activity. An unidentified licensed Czech arms dealer sold the rifles — along with 176 Soviet-era tanks, 60 tank cannons and a dozen L-39 combat jets — to the Yemeni government in the past four years.
Uhhh... Actually, governments can buy that sort of thing...
The Czech exports, part of the country's $90 million-a-year arms trade, raise troubling questions about the ultimate buyers since Yemen has a history of reselling arms to people from volatile nations across the Mideast and Africa, human rights group say. "You can never be sure that a country won't resell the equipment as its own surplus. It's a serious problem," conceded Vratislav Vajnar, managing director of the Association of Defense Industry, a trade group representing the Czech Republic's 120-plus weapons makers and exporters.
There's where the problem lies. Of course, if governments were held responsible for the disposition of their arms, things would be different.
Al-Qaida terrorists are suspected in the USS Cole bombing. That bombing turned up traces of C-4, a plastic explosive developed for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. But Semtex, a Czech-made explosive, has been used in other terrorist bombings, and on Nov. 5 border police arrested three men as they tried to smuggle Semtex over the border into Austria. Taped to one of the suspects' bodies was 5 1/2 pounds of the powerful explosive — enough to blow up a dozen jetliners.
Bet it took some heavy duty thinking to try and explain that one away...
The recent Czech weapons trade was outlined in a report by Amnesty International, which cited customs records and other documents. Amnesty, Transparency International and other groups have expressed growing concern about legal sales of legitimate weapons and armaments to countries such as Yemen that are unstable, have ties to militant groups or are known for reselling equipment to third parties. Although there is no hard evidence that terrorists have obtained arms from the Czech Republic, human rights groups say the risk is real that deadly weaponry will fall into the wrong hands.
Ohfergawdsake. Why make charges if you don't have any hard information? There's lots of hard information to be had, and it may or may not have to do with Czechland. But "couldas" and "mightas" aren't in that category.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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Let's see. The US must be at fault for allowing the poliferation of conventional weapons - not that AI wants us to take action. They just want the US to be at fault.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 4:50 Comments ||
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No, the US is at fault for having a second amendment right to bear arms in it's constitution. The UN and their cronies are looking to limit arms to "the right hands" - governments. Apparently, they weren't paying attention last century...
#3
Let's see...GW reacts to less than immenent threat, that's bad. AI demands reaction to less than immenent threat...that's good. Hypocrites!
Posted by: john ||
12/03/2003 11:33 Comments ||
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Ohfergawdsake. Why make charges if you don't have any hard information?
Because these Whatever International organizations don't have any real responsibility. If they end up being mistaken in their assessments, what's gonna happen? Crying wolf isn't difficult to do if there's little chance of having to answer for it.
BRITAIN and France could link up to build two aircraft carriers which would be used by the armed forces of both countries to save money on defence budgets and increase the military co-operation between the two countries.
Charles Heyman, the senior defence analyst for Janeâs Consultancy Group, said yesterday: "Most analysts believe that the current carrier project is going to be difficult to fit into the MoDâs long-term costing and that something is going to give.
"Recent defence market gossip suggests some sort of deal with the French is being considered; possibly one new carrier each within a bilateral defence agreement whereby, in the event of an emergency, the carrier available for operations (if only one is at sea) is made available to the other nation."
Under this plan Britain would build only one aircraft carrier while France would build the second. Both would be compatible with the French Dassault Rafale aircraft rather than the Joint Strike Fighter, which had been earmarked for the British carriers. The carriers could be used by the air and naval air forces of both countries.
Posted by: roger dodger ||
12/03/2003 4:05:03 PM ||
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Why would Britain want to cooperate with the French on this project? Britain would eventually get burned by the French. Do we have a carrier that we can loan the Brits? Anything but getting in bed with the French on defence issues.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 16:15 Comments ||
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We actually have several, but the Brits don't have any aircraft that could use them, other than the Harriers. Since the Harriers are subsonic, and since much of what they would face in a defensive role would be supersonic aircraft, they are at a distinct disadvantage. This is what happens when you continually compromise on defense issues. The decisions made by the British government in the 1950's through 1980's are now coming home to roost.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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1)France refuses to abide by EU economic rules stemming from treaty it signed.
2)France led revolt within NATO preventing aid to go to Turkey as required by NATO treaty.
Does Britain actually believe France would let UK use French carrier if France didn't approve of British policy?Bulldog,can you tell us if #10 Downing St.has recently begun importing "Hawian Produce"?
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/03/2003 16:45 Comments ||
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This looks like an accounting game to me. The French are facing sanctions due to their deficit spending. The French want to increase governemtn spending further to stimulate their moribund economy. Tony Blair agrees to call it a joint project for budget cover for Chirac.
I would be that there is a player to be named later for the UK hidden in the deal. Two NFL teams could play a simular game with their taxi squads. For example, I'll carry an extra Offensive Lineman, if you agree to stock a Linebacker for the both of us.
I wonder what kind of acrual shell games the French plan for their next budget.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 17:11 Comments ||
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Lend them a carrier? Hell let's give them a carrier. Better yet... let's built them a new carrier and finish it just about the time the JSF comes out.
Need some escort? Got your 688 surplus right here.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/03/2003 18:01 Comments ||
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The French and the Germans were let off the hook last week. No sanctions for their over-3%-of-GDP deficit spending. New Labour wanted a 1 billion pounds sterling cut in next year's budget, but the MoD chiefs talked them down to 500 million (at least that's the latest story). If you add the news from a few days ago about the 'secret' EU defense planning arrangements between Britain, France, and Germany - plus this article's suggestion that the Brits are giving some thought to dumping the JSF for Rafale (hah!)- one might get the impression that Jack Straw's strident proclamation that he's an 100% Atlanticist (and Tony Blair was 200% so) is a lot of hot air.
Posted by: roger dodger ||
12/03/2003 18:39 Comments ||
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My next month's mortgage payment says neither carrier ever sees the light of day.
Posted by: Michael ||
12/03/2003 19:11 Comments ||
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I wonder what kind of acrual shell games the French plan for their next budget.
Seems more like the French get a working carrier to supplant the DeGaulle and, more important, a deep-draft club to hold over British foreign policy.
#10
I'm just curious as to whether even the French can get a single aircraft carrier in this way and claim that they now have a carrier battle group (or whatever the hell the carrier military unit is called, Rantsailors please correct me).
Is it even possible to pick a single carrier from over there, grab a couple of escort frigates from over here, cobble that together with some random tenders and such, and shake and bake ?
I would expect that the end result would be like a 60-year-old French whore: all the ratty pieces are there, but the whole is pretty pathetic....
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
12/03/2003 21:10 Comments ||
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Carl, right on! Carrier air operations are absolutely the most challenging naval maneuvers ever attempted. You can't do it piecemeal, and it takes practice, practice, practice. You can't do that with a rag-tag, half-baked, borrowed and blued naval force. It's apparent that the Brits learned NOTHING from the Falklands war. Too bad, they would make excellent allies, if it weren't for the fact that half their politicians have their heads up and locked, and the rest are still dreaming of the time when Britain was a world power.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 21:17 Comments ||
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EFL
Armed police are to patrol the streets of Birmingham over Christmas and New Year in an attempt to disrupt potential terrorist activity. West Midlands Police said it would be deploying armed officers on high visibility foot patrols around the city centre during the festive season. A force spokesman there was no specific threat to the region but that there was a possibility of terrorist action against the UK. Officers would be deployed at locations considered to be more at risk in Birmingham and may be deployed at other sites across the West Midlands. Other planned operations include road checks. People in the West Midlands are being called upon to help keep the region safe by reporting anything suspicious - such as a car, package, or person - to police. News of the armed patrols comes a day after three men from Dudley were arrested under the Terrorism Act during a series of raids.
Posted by: rkb ||
12/03/2003 9:24:53 AM ||
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No one has commented on this, but the story caught my eye immediately since my understanding is that regular, repeated armed police patrols is a big departure from normal British practice. I'm wondering how our British readers feel about this??
Still more housecleaning...
Police arrested 14 people on suspicion of terrorism offenses in raids around Britain Tuesday. The suspects' names and nationalities were not released.
Most of them were named "Mahmoud."
Four men were arrested in London, and four men and two women were arrested at two separate addresses in the university city of Cambridge. Four men also were arrested in Dudley and Walsall in central England. All 14 were detained "on suspicion of involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism," police said. The arrests in London came during raids on six homes and three businesses in the southwestern section of the city, police said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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They bagged a live one: Briton Sajid Badat, arrested last week in southwest England, was charged Wednesday with conspiring with Richard Reid in an explosives plot, police said. Briton Richard Reid, known as the shoe bomber, was sentenced to life in prison for a Dec. 22, 2001, bombing attempt aboard a Paris-to-Miami American Airlines flight. London's Metropolitan Police said Badat was charged with three offenses, including that between Sept. 1, 2001 and Nov. 28, 2003 he "unlawfully and maliciously conspired with Richard Reid and others unknown" to cause an explosion "likely to endanger life or cause serious injury" in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 14:06 Comments ||
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#2
Didn't all the Russian moles attend Cambridge as well?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 17:14 Comments ||
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There are "almost certainly" more Australians who have trained with al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups but are still unknown to intelligence organisations, ASIO has warned. Those are the sleepers, I would think ...
In its annual report released yesterday, ASIO also revealed that intelligence showed Australia remains an al-Qaeda target. The terrorist threat level here - medium - was unlikely to decline in the forseeable future. The report says ASIO is aware of some Australians who had received terrorist training in recent years. "The level of instruction received by these individuals ranges from basic military training to advanced terrorist tactics," it stated. "Identifying other Australians who have undertaken terrorist training remains a priority."
Especially the ones who're out of the cannon fodder category...
The report was tabled on the eve of the passage of a new law to bolster ASIOâs powers, which news organisations warned has the potential to gag the media from reporting the spy agencyâs terrorism-related activities. In a letter to political parties, the media outlets said the bill includes a five-year jail sentence for reporting details of terrorism warrants issued to ASIO, which could "potentially put a stop to any media coverage of ASIO investigations of terrorism in Australia". They donât want a repeat of what happened in Europe, where the early warning by the media let two of the perps fly the coop ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/03/2003 9:31:17 AM ||
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EFLAn Iraqi man suspected of heading a cell of the radical Muslim group Ansar al-Islam in Germany has been arrested in the southern city of Munich, a police source said.
The 29-year-old was arrested at Munich station as he was about to leave the city, according to the daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
The public prosecutorâs office in Munich said the man, identified only as Mohammed L, was under an arrest warrant for having contravened immigration laws by bringing two compatriots into Germany.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the man was suspected of having organised the travel of a dozen people to Iraq to commit suicide attacks against US forces.
The public prosecutor refused to comment on that allegation, saying that investigations were only just underway.
Sources from German internal intelligence services told the newspaper that around 100 Ansar al-Islam militants were in Germany, mainly in the south of the country.
Cells existed in Berlin, Cologne, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg and large towns in Bavaria, the paper said.
Another suspected member of the Bavarian cell, named "Doctor Omet", has been in custody since March, it added. Full report in German in SÃŒddeutsche Zeitung
Posted by: True German Ally ||
12/03/2003 8:19:48 PM ||
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Ansar definitely qualifies as a global terrorist group. It is annoying that their presence in Iraq was poo-poo'd.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 21:24 Comments ||
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Ansar's a wholely-owned franchise of al-Qaeda, so them going global is to be expected. It's like McDonalds.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/03/2003 21:25 Comments ||
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These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkeyâs press on December 3, 2003. HERE IS MADRASAH
People firstly have education in the Shariah Kulliye, (a complex of buildings adjacent to a mosque) in Damascus where 22 people who were captured in Syria and sent to Turkey received religious education, and then go to Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Hilmi Tugluoglu, who is a teacher with his wife Leyla in this madrasah bound to Al-Fatih University, told Hurriyet about this madrasah. This madrasah in Damascus is giving education in a three-storey building. Students are from every region of Turkey. Expenses of Turkish students in the madrasah where Tugluoglu couple give education are met by some foundations and persons. Follow the dinars.
Key man Hilmi Tugluoglu told about how he met Azad Ekinci and Gokhan Elaltuntas, who organized attacks in Istanbul. Tugluoglu said, ââI met Azad Ekinci, with code name Ebu Nidal, in a wedding ceremony in Ankara. Azad told me that he would go to Syria and then to Dubai two months ago. Then, I didnât talk to him. Azad introduced me to Gokhan Elaltuntas.ââ Lot of these meetings seem to happen at weddings. Just one big happy family, the Corleone family
AND ERDOGAN NAMES: RELIGIOUS TERRORISM
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who caused discussions after bomb attacks in Istanbul saying that ââassociation of Islam with terrorism makes him uneasyââ, named terrorism for the first time yesterday: ââReligious terrorism.ââ
Both words have been floating around all this while. It took Recep to put them together. Thank you. It's now in the Rantburg stylebook...
Erdogan said, ââany action targeting at innocent people is considered terrorism.ââ Erdogan addressed his party saying, ââboth racist terrorism and religious and regionalist terrorism will be doomed by us and humanity till eternity.ââ Erdogan added that they were obliged to prevent terrorist gangs to continue their existence in some places where they were effective. I think heâs pissed.
OZKOK: POLITICS AND RELIGION NOT COVERS EACH OTHER
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok said that when religion was made a tool for political aims, violence appeared and he added that attacks in Istanbul showed the importance of secularism one more time. Attending Romania National Day reception at Ankara Hilton Hotel, Gen. Ozkok replied to questions of reporters regarding terrorist attacks in Istanbul. He said that events in Istanbul had religious motives, adding that religion and politics were two chemical materials and when they combined, all beauties of religion went away and in return violence came. The Turkish military is real big on secularism.
PKK ALSO DISCUSSED IN VISITS TO UNITED STATES
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal started to hold meetings in Washington. Cicek, who said, ââTurkeyâs definition of terrorism complies with that of the United States, but it doesnât comply with that of European Unionââ, noted that Turkey had some demands from the United States regarding the terrorist organization PKK. The PKK is a terrorist group and we are working on those demands. It just takes time.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 10:26:34 AM ||
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I feel better after reading the Turkish and Urdu Press scans. Like in touch 'ya know? I can clean out the cafteria line in a heartbeat after dropping a few nuggets from the Urdu press.
Hat tip LGF
It looks like ex-congressional nutball Cynthia McKinney has picked up some new support for her conspiracy theory that President Bush had advance word of the 9/11 attacks â from none other than Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean. Of course. Downward Dean.
Dean said on Monday that President Bush is withholding documents related to 9/11 because they may show he knew what was coming. Dean has also reported to a local hospital to get his lips reattatched for the umpteenth time.
"The most interesting theory that Iâve heard so far â which is nothing more than a theory, it canât be proved â is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis," Dean told a caller to Washington, D.Câs "Diane Rehm Show," according to a transcript obtained by Opinion Journal.com. It walks like a duck, it has oily feathers, it has webbed feet, it goes quack, so it must be a seagull.
"Now, who knows what the real situation is?" the presidential conspiracy theorist cautioned. He then added, "But the trouble is, by suppressing that kind of information, you lead to those kinds of theories, whether they have any truth to them or not."
Dean warned that the more theories like his "get repeated," the more people tend to believe them. "So I think the president is taking a great risk by suppressing the key information that should go to the Kean commission" investigating the 9/11 attacks.
McKinney raised similarly explosive questions during a March 2002 radio interview when she demanded, "What did this administration know, and when did it know it about the events of Sept. 11? Nada.
"Who else knew," McKinney added, "and why did they not warn the innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? What do they have to hide?" No guilty secrets.
#1
Actually, the most interesting theory that I've heard so far -- which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved -- is that Howard Dean produced a series of gay porn videos in college which incorporated Nazi uniforms, Klan hoods, and livestock.
Now, if this were to get repeated, people would be more inclined to believe it. So I think Dr. Howard (Dr. Fine! Dr. Howard!) should be more open and forthcoming about just what sort of gay porn videos he was really making in college.
#4
There is growing evidence that Howard Dean doesn't have a brain. Each time something like this appears, the heavier the weight of evidence becomes. Someone should clue Dean that HATE won't get him elected. Since he has nothing else, knows nothing else, and has pushed nothing else since the earliest days of his campaign, he's a dead duck.
No need to repeat this to anyone - the evidence speaks for itself, and it's shouting.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 16:40 Comments ||
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#5
It is rumored that Howard Dean secretly visited Michael Jackson at his mansion a number of times. Just a theory, mind you. The more they get repeated, the more people believe them.
#7
Dean may have the wrong vision for America, but he is no fool. There are many unanswered questions about 911. Why no full-scale investigation by Congress? You think YOU know what happened? What makes you think so? Rantburg arose out of a basic mistrust of the institutional media and the conventional 'wisdom'. I believe that's proven to be a healthy stance.
Don't know what I believe as of yet. But here's a thought-provoking site:
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/
It'll keep you up at night.
Posted by: Scott ||
12/03/2003 16:56 Comments ||
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#8
You think YOU know what happened?
I'm fairly certain that 2 hijacked aircraft flew into the World Trade Center. I believe they were hijacked by fundi Saudi's.
I believe that 2 other aircraft were hijacked by fundi Saudi's and one attacked the Pentagon and the other was destroyed by Americans on board.
What do you think? Martians? Martian Oil Men? Martian ManHunters? Joooooooos? Masons? Martian Masons? Marvin the Martian in his Black Helicopter of Love? Haliburton? Bechtel? Lizards? Bechtel Lizard Love Slaves?
#9
I think the entire nation was gripped in a mass psychosis. AQ kept blowing up different things (including the World Trade Center once) and we kept forgetting and returning to the OJ trial. We should be renamed the United Group of Morons that Can't See Reality Until the 2x4 Smacks Us in the Forehead.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 17:38 Comments ||
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#10
This is further proof that the Democrat Party IS ruled by its kooks. The longer they ignore the substance of Zell Miller's book, the deeper they will dig.
This is one reason to root for a democrat-biased talk radio network: Get the word out just how whacked these people are. Say it Loud! Say it Proud!
#11
Scott, if you believe that President Bush would allow mass murder to happen only to gain some political points, then maybe you need to share the tinfoil hat with Dr. Dean. Prior to 9/11 and until this day DIA, CIA, NSA, EIEIO have sent personnel ALL OVER THE WORLD (Including Pakistan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and all the other cast members in this VAST CONSPIRACY theory). Guess what? Those agencies have sent people to those country for DECADES before 9/11/2001. Does that mean that the grant conspiracy was hatched during maybe the Nixon administration and had to be delayed until the Bush the younger was elected? Only people with a SERIOUS mental disorder can remotely subscribe that ANY (U.S.) elected official or the intelligence community had any prior knowledge of what happened on 9/11/01. I especially like the theory about the lack of Combat patrols over the east coast on 9/11/2001. Guess what? They didnât have combat patrols back the, because WE WERE NOT AT WAR! But they have them now. ;-)
#13
I love the fact that Dean is leading the Ninecompoops. The farther along he gets, the more he becomes unhinged. The Dems are about to do a Thelma and Louise.
Posted by: Tibor ||
12/03/2003 19:06 Comments ||
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#14
I believe there are certain discrepencies in the government's version of 9/11, however the idea that the Bush administration had specific knowledge of the exact details of the plot beforehand is not plausible. There were warnings, of course, and bits of intel that should have been put together, but were not.
The people who believe that "Bush knew" seldom have a solid grounding in history. One only needs to read At Dawn We Slept to see how such a situation can occur.
The Center for Cooperative Research website is a useful repository of information, however, the people running the site seem to puch the view that "Bush Knew", which, as Cyber Sarge points out, is not plausible.
However, I'm afraid that the government's failure to be frank with the public about the full details of 9/11 has given the tin-foil hat community some leeway here.
Posted by: Pete Stanley ||
12/03/2003 20:29 Comments ||
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#15
It's difficult for the government to be "frank" with intelligence information. There are about a thousand things that have to come into play. One of the most important aspects is that we NOT tell a potential enemy of shortfalls in our intelligence capabilities, because they will use that information to our detriment. We also cannot say anything that would disclose sources or methods, because then the enemy could develop effective counter-measures, and we'd be caught napping yet again. We also don't want to say anything that will give a potential enemy insight into how we develop finished intelligence problems, especially when that information will highlight fundamental weaknesses in our systems and organizations. So it's not just the INFORMATION that needs to be protected, but a whole string of things. Finally, we have to be very careful who we let know information, because we have some ass-hats in Congress (and elsewhere) that like to brag about what they know (or think they do), just to appear important, or to create the impression they're "in the know".
I don't know what happened prior to 9/11. I left the spook business in late 1989. I do know what assets and capabilities we had then, and I know we should have gotten at least SOME clue. I also know that the political environment for intelligence functions was extremely hostile for at least eight years, and may have contributed somewhat to the intelligence failure. There's no doubt there WAS a failure, but I don't think a witch-hunt, such as the one currently taking place in the Senate Intelligence Committee, is going to do anything that will improve the situation.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 22:01 Comments ||
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Hat tip LGF
Billed as "The Wheels of Justice Bus Tour," a brightly decorated school bus will roll into Mendocino County on Thursday, Dec. 4, bringing speakers who have recently been to war zones in the Middle East. Having seen and lived with war, terror, and occupation in Iraq and Palestine, participants in the Wheels of Justice offer first-hand witness about the actual effects of war and occupation on people abroad and Americans at home. "The Jews need to be wiped out and the Iraqis subjected to more tyranny!"
Isn't Ken Kesey dead yet? Cheeze. He must be 185 years old...
"The bus is really a mobile classroom," says Ceylon Moonbat Mooney, the tourâs national coordinator. "It comes complete with teachers and a wide range of instructional materials: faked videos, touched-up photographs, mendacious essays, pseudo-fact sheets, etc." "Guaranteed totally devoid of the other side of the story."
Several events are planned in Ukiah and Fort Bragg. The bus will spend Thursday afternoon at Ukiah High School. At lunchtime, in an event sponsored by the Ukiah High Regressive Progressive Club, bus tour speakers will talk with students and faculty. The bus will remain on campus throughout the afternoon. So it will reek of bullshit.
At 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, a presentation and discussion will be held at the Ukiah City Council Chambers, 300 Seminary Avenue. The following day, the bus will travel to Fort Bragg, for a presentation at the Town Hall, on the corner of Laurel and Main Streets. These two evening events are free and open to the public. "Come on everyone, take the blue pill!"
Commenting on the upcoming events, Gordon Miles, UUSD social studies teacher said, "From a teacherâs perspective, any time we encounter an alternate perspective based on experience, it challenges our ways of thinking. At the same time, our students will challenge their assumptions. This can only lead to greater understanding." Of course; more people will understand if the Palis get their desired Second Holocaust.
Among the speakers traveling with the bus when it arrives in Mendocino County is John Farrell, 28, an organizer with Voices in the Wilderness in Chicago.
Farrell recently spent a month in Iraq interviewing ordinary Iraqis on the street and in their homes, talking with U.S. soldiers about their experiences, and witnessing the violence and tensions in Iraqi neighborhoods. Hey Farrell? Doesnât it hurt to have your head up your ass like that?
Another speaker, Lauren Anzaldo, is a 24-year-old resident of Pensacola, Fla. She spent two months this summer living and working as an ESL teacher in Jenin, Israel Palestine. A member of the International Pro-Holocaust Solidarity Movement, her presentation will focus on the effects of the "Security Wall" under construction in Palestine, on the day-to-day life of families in Jenin, and on the possibility of peace between Israel and Palestine. "Heil Haman!"
The Bus, as an instrument in an educational campaign, actually had its beginnings here in Ukiah. Four years ago, Ukiah resident David Smith-Ferri traveled to Fresno to view decommissioned school buses being offered for sale. A month later, he returned to Fresno with money in hand and a "very capable UUSD bus driver," Smith-Ferri said, who drove the bus to Berkeley, where graphic artists at the Middle East Childrenâs Alliance decorated it. Since then, the bus has criss-crossed the country several times, logging over 60,000 miles. It was present in January, 2001 at George Bushâs inauguration. In November of 2001, it accompanied people who had lost loved ones in the September 11 terrorist acts in a peace march from the Pentagon to New York City. The current Wheels of Justice Tour began in August in Illinois. Asshats!
Posted by: Atrus ||
12/03/2003 9:43:05 AM ||
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#1
I hate it when stupid people get a voice. 'Stupid' meaning that they can't out of their own little world, ruled by "Zionist" conspirators.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/03/2003 10:12 Comments ||
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#2
I read the other day about a guy who bought the remnants of a bus that had been targetted by the Palestinians baby killers resistance. Apparently he plans to tow it around the country as an exhibit of the horrors of terrorism.
His tour should accompany this one.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/03/2003 10:20 Comments ||
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#3
Ceylon Mooney? Are you sure you didn't make this shit up??!!?!!?
Voices in the Wilderness, indeed: screeching in the moonscape of their intellectual desolation - to mask rank cowering and whimpering in the presence of their private demons; projecting fetid personal guilt and proclaiming it noble discourse; instruments of their own demise and the most perverse of the enemies of freedom.
#5
Somehow, I doubt that they're going to mention the 300,000 people that filled mass graves in Iraq, or Arafart's skimming of Palestinian funds for his own personal enrichment. Nosiree....
#9
Dammit, it's Fort Bragg, California. I was hoping for Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That would have been a fun stop.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 15:23 Comments ||
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#10
Nine Red Herrings: How the Western 'Left' has Misread Iraq
"how it is possible that Marxism has been so corrupted and distorted that âMarxistsâ prefer to see thousands more Iraqis die in the torture chambers of the Baâath, and millions more suffer under the iniquities excused (not caused) by the UN sanctions, rather than admit that socialists not only can but must support even the worst bourgeois democracy against even the least bad tyranny?"
From this site:
should be required reading by those moonbats.
Posted by: Barry ||
12/03/2003 15:40 Comments ||
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Edited For Length
NEW DELHI, OCT 4: Giving a new thrust to defence ties, India and Russia today signed four major agreements for purchase of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, 310 frontline T-90 main battle tanks and licensed production in India of 140 multi-role SU-30 MKI jet fighters, estimated at over $3 billion.
The agreements, aimed at giving India a major force multipliers, would augment the strike capabilities of the navy, air-force and the army.
The two sides also firmed up a wide-ranging protocol setting up Inter-Governmental Commission on Defence and Technical Cooperation, to be headed by Defence Minister George Fernandes and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov. It will meet annually.
The protocol and two agreements on indigenous production of SU-30 MKI and acquisition of Russian aircraft carrier were signed by Klebanov and Fernandes at South Block in the presence of top-ranking defence and military officials from both sides.
He [Klebanov] said India would also acquire complete technology-transfer of the state-of-the-art tank with missile-firing capability for its indigenous manufacture.
The first of these tanks, fitted with an active protection system against enemy missiles, would arrive in India within months, defence officials said adding that the Indian Army had completed trials of the armament system.
The acquisition of these tanks would offset Pakistanâs perceived armoured superiority by its induction of upgraded Ukrainian T-80 UD tanks and delays in indigenous production of MBT Arjun.
The spokesman said the agreement on acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov would pave the way for its re-fit and modernisation. The re-fitted heavy carrier would be equipped with MIG-29K naval fighters in addition of Sea Harriers and Sea King, KA-31 and KA-28 helicopters.
The acquisition of a carrier with over 45,000 tonnesâ displacement capacity would enable the navy to fill the void, created by the decommissioning of Indiaâs carrier INS Vikrant, three years ago. India, at present, has only one carrier, INS Viraat.
Iâm not sure how I feel about this. Sure, the Indians are a lot less agressively spooky than the Chinese, but how trustworthy are they? Will they help us with the WOT against certain very dangerous portions of the Arab world, or will they sit on the sidelines? Having two big carriers makes them a major player worldwide, right -- "Projection of power" and that sort of thing?
#1
The Indians got suckered. I think the sweet spot for them must be getting the license to build the SU-30. Perhaps they'll also get a Charlie II out of the deal.
#2
Two carriers, yes, but not with anywhere near the range or power of American carriers. I don't think the Indians were suckered -- their enemies are the Pakistanis and the Chinese, not Americans or Europeans. This is sufficient tech for them for now. And finally, India may or may not be dependable or useful in the WOT beyond Pakistan, but it will be critical in the next stage in 20-30 years, as a strategic partner against China. Right now Sino-Indian relations are warm, but when push comes to shove, India and the US are democracies and China ain't.
On the ground, there is no Let up in infiltration of militants. Security forces estimate that today more than 3,000 militants straddle Jammu and Kashmir, an overwhelming majority of them Pakistanis "foreign nationals". In September and October alone, over 300 militants were killed and from the documents and weapons found on them it has been established, about 200 of them being Pakistanis.
I'm surprised there were that many locals...
The security forcesâ success on the ground, due largely to sophisticated night-vision surveillance and better interception of wireless communication, is making terror outfits like the ISI and even the Pakistani establishment jittery. It reinforces Indiaâs claim that Pakistan is seldom able to match its promises on the ground and exposes its duplicity. These interviews bring home these points.
Mohammad Irfan, 23 He came here to break the back of the Indian Army. Instead, he saw six of his colleagues, all fidayeen, fall to army bullets in Poonch. Irfanâs own story:
I spent my time attending LeT meetings.
... instead of going to school or working...
All were well attended and addressed by speakers whose sole claim to fame was their glib anti-India rhetoric. Joining the LeT cadres wasnât a difficult task for me, even though it meant disappointing my family-my parents and my seven siblings. They told me that if I lived by the bullet I would one day die by it. I became an ardent fan of venom-spewers like Hafiz Saeed, the Lashkar chief, Makki and Hamza, all LeT leaders. I would hear tapes of Osama bin Laden.
He's an inspiration to the young...
I vividly remember the celebrations at Lahoreâs Mall Road after the Indian Parliament was attacked. In June this year, after obtaining a duly stamped letter from the Mochi Darwaza office of the LeT, I went to attend a three-month training camp at Muzaffarabad. There were about 10 cottages, each housing 15 of us, besides the trainers. Sayeed Bhai, a 35-year-old man, was in charge of the camp. The first month went in lugging wood, getting ration from the stores and even breaking stones. Then we learnt to handle Kalashnikovs and the lethal IEDs. In September, the Lashkar transported me and seven other trained fidayeen to the border, near Poonch. Here we had a very brief meeting with a man who came in a jeep and identified himself as Subedar Qasim. Each one of us was given an AK-47, two hand grenades and four magazines. The group leader got a sniper. I had heard about this, but now it was confirmed; the Lashkar was being actively supported, financed and armed by the ISI. At my training camp, I had been told that I would be given fake Indian currency that had been printed at the same press which produces Pakistani currency. I believe the notes I was shown at the border were fake. On September 20, we were ambushed by the Indian Army.
"We ran into real soldiers and it was all over but the shootin'..."
They killed six of my colleagues. I was injured, tried to escape, but was caught. Now that I am here, I see the falsehood of every thing that was uttered in the streets of Lahore. But they will keep sending more and more young men like me, and they too will chase a cause that might never be.
Khalil-ul-Rahman, 18
At 15, most boys in Pakistan concentrate on their studies. But I dropped out of my school in Bahawalpur for a cause-to free the oppressed men and women of Kashmir from the clutches of the Indian Army. To free them from the pain that is inflicted every day by the rape of young girls in Kashmir villages, free them from the humiliation of being dragged out of homes and struck by military boots, end the decade-old reign of terror during which many a new born is often sent straight from the hospital cradle not to its home but into a clay oven.
Pretty subtle propaganda, huh? And this boy, being really bright, with a keen analytical mind, picked right up on it...
That was the cause they told me about in Pakistan, drilled into my soul a hundred times over at every meeting I attended. It was in early 2000, when I was 15, that I held a gun for the first time. It had a Lashkar sticker. I fell in love with its look. It seemed to me that not just bullets, but raw power flowed from its barrels.
"This," I thought, "must be what it was like to have a doinker."
I knew I could do a lot with this weapon strapped to my shoulder, bring glory to Pakistan, be a hero some day.
"Then I got a turban, and I knew nothing could stop me! NOTHING!"
The more time I spent at the LeT office at Wani Unit Chowk, the more fanatical I became. I met others even more fanatical than me and I knew this and disco was going to be my life. I had no regrets.
"Hell, I didn't even have a thought process."
The speeches of Saeed always impressed me greatly. Thousands of young men would listen to him entranced, blocking the streets lined with banners even as the military and the police looked the other way. At the end of these public meetings, these men, most below 25 years in age, would go home fired up about the cause, like me.
"Hot damn! I wanna be cannon fodder for a fat mullah! I'm gonna get me some celestial virgins, if I'm not horribly mutilated instead..."
I left my father and two siblings and ran away to the hills of PoK. My father Abdul Qadir, a labourer, didnât know why I left. I do not know whether he will ever know. I trained very hard for three months in the hills near Muzaffarabad. We were briefed extensively on the deployment and movement of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. They would regularly fill us in on the atrocities and the mayhem. That used to make our blood boil, we used to seethe with revenge.
Seething is so Islamic...
On June 22, 2002, at Noor Bagh in Baramullah, I was spotted by security men.
Uh-ooooh!
At first, I tried to run
"Feet, don't fail me now!"
and thought about lobbing a grenade, but there were no civilians close by I was too late. They caught me. My dreams were over, all the inspiration I had got at Wani Unit Chowk seemed over in a flash.
"Uhhh... Those aren't... ummm... pliers, are they?"
I must say this: all that I was taught in Pakistan and PoK, all the anti-India rhetoric is clearly out of place. The ISI feeds us a lot of lies, so that we can go there and kill. I think when you are young, you do not wish to reason.
When you're young, you're easily led. When you're older, it's easier to tax you.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
12/03/2003 2:43:13 AM ||
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#1
These gentlemen are being severely edited or have been noverbally encouraged.
#4
Frank, our current arrangement with Pakland is a partnership of convenience, to be dissolved as soon as we can get things stabilized in Afghanistan, or a significantly large buildup of US forces to engage in combat operations in Pakland. Personally, I wish we didn't have to wait, but could "encourage" India to steamroll the Pakis in a giant putsch. If I had more faith in the Indian Army, I'd even recommend that. At the moment, it wouldn't be a good idea.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 12:25 Comments ||
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#5
I cut both their confessions in half because they were too long to post here, although I am sure that were also encouraged to assert all is well in Indian Kashmir.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
12/03/2003 17:56 Comments ||
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The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday arrested the private secretary to the North West Frontier Province education secretary for allegedly accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
This sort of thing won't happen under the caliphate, of course...
NAB officials arrested Iftikhar Ahmad Bhatti in Peshawar and will produce him before the Accountability Court for remand. A NAB statement issued here said Mr Bhatti belonged to a family of Azad Kashmir who migrated to Peshawar during the 1950s and he joined government service as a steno typist in 1976 with a salary of Rs 180 per month. Later, Mr Bhatti was promoted to the private secretary for the education secretary. The statement said that during his tenure as private secretary, the accused and his spouse purchased plots and national savings certificates worth Rs 12,260,000, which were grossly disproportionate to their legal sources of income.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:12 ||
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If Iftikhar would learn to do his laundery at least once a week, this embarassment would not happen.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Nikolaevsk ||
12/03/2003 0:58 Comments ||
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#2
Geese, Batty, Get with it. Repeat after me: "Numbered Account"...
Shia leader and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Punjab Secretary Allama Jalil Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday that they had submitted the bail papers for their leader Allama Sajid Naqvi. Talking to Daily Times, he said the government was under terrorist pressure and was arresting Shia leaders in âfakeâ cases. âWe have told the government that the Tehrik-e-Islami is a peaceful political party, but the government registered cases against its leaders and workers over last two years. Government officials told us that the authorities have pressured them to do so,â he said.
"We're peaceful, dammit! We'll kill anybody that sez we ain't!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:09 ||
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Pakistan is to deport six Indonesian students who are suspected to have links to terrorism and Jakarta is considering whether to detain them on their return home, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The six include Rusman Gunawan, the brother of alleged top terrorist Hambali. âWe have been officially notified by the Pakistani government of the plan to deport the six students,â said ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa.
"Detain him? Oh, dear! We'll have to think about that one..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:06 ||
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Would you rather have an extended house arrest. If so then your a cad.
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Secretary General Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday asked the government to release the names of the âterroristsâ killed during the ongoing anti-terrorism campaign. He said President Pervez Musharraf had revealed that 600 terrorists were killed during the recent crackdown and therefore the government should identity them.
I guess Fazl's about to send his Christmas cards, huh? Might as well save the money on stamps if the recipients are dead.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:04 ||
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Actually, all his "Eid Mubarak" cards came back marked "Return to Sender. Address Unknown."
The federal government requested the Sindh High Court on Tuesday to dismiss the petition filed by Al-Akhtar Trust International against the freezing of its six bank accounts. In the comments to the petition the federal government denied that the trust was doing charity work to help people affected by natural calamities.
Unless you consider living near people with different-colored turbans or — Allah forbid! — different religions a natural calamity.
The federal government took the stand that the accounts of the trust had been frozen keeping in view national interests. The activities of the trust were linked to the former Afghan ruling group of Taliban and Al Qaeda, the federal government pleaded and claimed that the activities of Al-Akhtar Trust were linked with the Al-Rashid Trust, whose bank accounts had been frozen earlier.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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The Frontier Constabulary (FC) on Monday arrested 45 people, including some officials, on suspicion of involvement in attacks on gas transmission lines and checkpoints of law-enforcement agencies. âWe have taken some suspects into custody for interrogation on suspicion of involvement in laying landmines in the area and attacking checkpoints. The crackdown will continue until peace is restored in the area. A number of employees from the Levies, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) have also been arrested because they are believed to have been involved in subversive activities and belonged to the same Bugti tribe which has been creating trouble in the area,â according to a Frontier Constabulary acting commandant. He said FC Commandant Lt Col Moin Qadar, who was injured by a landmine blast, is fast recovering. Nawab Akbar Bugti, the former governor of Balochistan and the chief of the Bugti tribe, said the Frontier Constabulary and other law enforcement agencies had spread terror in the area and were harassing the general public by snatching their vehicles.
Oh, those poor, terrorized Bugtis...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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A man, a boy and two women were killed and many others were injured in an exchange of fire between two groups in Siddique Goth in Quaidabad on Tuesday when free government school uniforms were distributed to girl students at Government Girls Primary School of the area.
Honest to God. We don't make this stuff up...
However, the police were reluctant to give details of the incident. Relations of the dead and injured told reporters at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre that two Qabza (criminal) groups of the area were involved in the incident and the area police protected them. Residents of the area said the Qabza groups shot dead Karim Bakhsh, aged 60, Nadeem aged 12, Kareema, aged 18, and Zareena, aged 20, when a scuffle broke out during the distribution of school uniforms. Three of the injured, Ghulam Rasool, Swaleh Mohammed and Mohammed Husain, were in critical condition. There were 117 uniforms only whereas the school had more than 350 students, they added.
Well. That explains it, doesn't it?
Residents claimed the uniforms had been with the school headmaster, Mr Ladan, for the last three months for reasons best known to him. But on Tuesday when they protested against the delay in the distribution of uniforms, the Qabza groups destroyed houses of many residents, who claimed that those affected went to Sukhan police station to lodge FIRs, but the police refused to register their complaints and advised them to resolve the matter on their own.
"Gangsters? We got more important things to worry about than gangsters!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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Residents claimed the uniforms had been with the school headmaster, Mr Ladan, for the last three months for reasons best known to him.
Cross-dresser?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 0:30 Comments ||
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Very sad. As a parent we can be so easily insulted.
From Geostrategy-Direct
ABU DHABI â Saudi Arabia has failed to honor requests from its own security forces to bolster protection along the kingdomâs border with Iraq.
Saudi opposition sources said the government has ignored requests from the Saudi Border Guards to provide personnel and surveillance equipment along the Iraqi border. As a result, a stream of insurgents is flowing from Saudi Arabia to Baghdad to fight U.S. troops in Iraq, the sources said.
Despite appeals by the security agency little has changed along most of the Iraqi-Saudi border, the Washington-based Saudi Information Agency quoted Saudi border guards as saying. The guards reported a shortage of manpower and equipment along most of the Iraqi frontier.
The shortage is particularly acute in the area of Rafha. One official said the border guards requested additional manpower and security systems from the Interior Ministry. The request was ignored.
"Infrared cameras cover a limited area of the borders, which allows infiltrators easy access to Iraq," the officer was reported as saying.
Hundreds of Saudi nationals are reportedly entering Iraq on a monthly basis to fight U.S. troops. The opposition sources said Saudi insurgents are highly skilled and know where the weak spots along the border.
On Nov. 21, a Saudi national, Adel Al Nasser from Riyad, was killed in a clash with U.S. troops in Bagobah, north of Baghdad.
The sources said the number of Saudi insurgents in Iraq has been increasing steadily over the past few months. Al Qaida agents operating in mosques throughout Saudi Arabia recruited many of the insurgents.
The U.S. embassy in Riyad has again warned Americans of another Al Qaida suicide strike. The embassy said at least one American-inhabited compound in Riyad, identified as Seder, has come under surveillance by suspected insurgents. The only way we will seal off the Saudi/Iraq border is to do it ourselves. The Saudi royals are worthless, but .com has been harping on this for months!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 3:48:59 PM ||
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Time to crank up the nightly Spectre flights, and the "shoot on sight" rules of engagement along the Iraqi-Saudi border. Having a half-million copper-jacketed steel rounds "dropping from heaven" will make other things drop. It won't take more than two or three times before A-Q will have to push the cannon-fodder across at gunpoint.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 17:04 Comments ||
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#2
More walls. Hire the Jooos to build another wall.
Posted by: john ||
12/03/2003 20:07 Comments ||
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Good afternoon. Iâd like to take this opportunity to review last nightâs engagement in Samarra. On 30 November, elements of the 4th Infantry Division were assigned to provide security to the Iraqi currency exchange team as they conducted dinar exchange at two banks in Samarra. Coalition forces assigned to the mission were a tank company from 166 Armor, reinforced with two squads of military police and four squads of infantry. They employed eight tanks, four Bradley fighting vehicles and six up-armored Humvees. The total size of the coalition force was 93 soldiers.
The scheme of maneuver for the security element was to pre- position into the city of Samarra in advance of the arrival of the convoy. The plan was for the convoys to enter the city in two elements simultaneously in order to conduct currency exchange operations. The teams would then withdraw with the military police, followed by the security elements.
At 11 a.m., the initial security elements started movement into the city. Coalition forces reported contact with the enemy and the simultaneous explosion of two roadside bombs. The explosions wounded three soldiers, who were treated for shrapnel-related injuries and returned to duty.
The unit continued the mission to set up security in the vicinity of the banks. By 1245, the security elements moved into positions around both banks.
By 1325, the ICE convoy arrived at the Samarra bank. At that time, the bank came under small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire from multiple directions. The fire was determined to be coming from the windows and roofs of nearby buildings as well as from alleyways and from nearby vehicles. Coalition forces returned fire to defeat the enemy while the currency exchange was executed. Once finished, the ICE team departed back to the north, followed by the security element.
During this engagement, two coalition soldiers were injured, as well as a member of the ICE team. Twenty-four enemy were estimated to have been killed in that engagement.
As coalition forces moved north back out of the city, at about 1400 the enemy attempted to barricade -- to set up a barricade to prevent forces from leaving the area. The barricade was breached by friendly forces and our soldiers began to engage the enemy again. Five more enemy fighters were estimated killed as they attempted to launch rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
At approximately 1340, coalition forces at the Al Mulya (ph) Bank in the western part of the city were attacked by enemy small-arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Initial reports show that at least 12 attackers, all armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, were seen running out and firing at coalition forces from a nearby mosque. After engaging the initial wave of enemy from the mosque, coalition soldiers came under fire from enemy forces who were using nearby rooftops, gates and walls as cover. Coalition forces returned fire, and an estimated 22 enemy attackers were killed. After completing the dinar exchange at that bank, the convoy and security elements moved back out of the city.
During these engagements, another coalition convoy was moving through Samarra. At 1422, the unit reported that it was engaged by four men in a black BMW with small-arms fire. Coalition soldiers returned fire and wounded all four men and cpatured the vehicle. Inside the car, three AK-47s and two rocket-propelled grenade launchers were captured.
In this engagement, five coalition soldiers were injured, none with life-threatening injuries, and four of them were returned to duty. Fifty-four enemy personnel were estimated to have been killed, and an estimated 22 were wounded. One enemy is in detention at this time.Q: Itâs quite clear, from the reports from the hospital, that -- as well as the battlefield assessments of dead insurgents you give, there were a large number of innocent civilian bystanders who were caught up in the crossfire. Both -- the chief of police, the chief of the hospital, the administrative director of a nearby state-owned enterprise are all adamant that they were killed by U.S. fire, and they all concur that that fire was indiscriminate. Iâm sure you would say that it wasnât indiscriminate, but nonetheless the impression has been given in the town that there was indiscriminate fire. And both members of the tribal council and members of the municipal council have called on all U.S. troops to withdraw from the fire. Was it a successful operation in that light?
GEN. KIMMITT: Well, first of all, two points. Letâs remember that our soldiers were being fired on. Our soldiers were performing a mission, and our soldiers were attacked.
Second, we have no such reports from either the Iraqi police service nor the medical facility in Samarra that would corroborate the reports that youâre making. If we do in fact get those reports, that will be entered into the investigation as well, and theyâll be examined, and a judgment will be made. However, we have not received any reports of collateral damage nor wounding or killing of innocent civilians, as you assert.
#1
"However, we have not received any reports of collateral damage nor wounding or killing of innocent civilians, as you assert."
"And while we are waiting for such reports, I will be happy to step from behind this podium and bitch slap you for accusing my men of murder. Why don't you go talk to Sammy -- he's the expert on murdering civilians."
Posted by: Matt ||
12/03/2003 15:10 Comments ||
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#2
Al-jihad - er al-Jazeera - is spinning the counter-ambush as an attack on civilians. Lying snots!
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
12/03/2003 21:04 Comments ||
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AL FALLUJAH, IraqâParatroopers from 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, conducted a cordon and search mission early Wednesday morning to capture former regime elements in Fallujah.
Soldiers detained Brig. Gen. Daham Al Mahemdi during this operation. At his home, two AK-47s, five AK-47 magazines, a 9mm pistol, a 9mm pistol magazine, a shotgun, one 100 round drum of ammunition and assorted documents, including a photograph of Mahemdi in an Iraqi Army uniform, were found.
Mahemdi was a Republican Guard Colonel of the Habbaniyah Lakes region and promoted to general immediately before the war by Saddam Hussein. He is suspected of having indirect contact with Saddam Hussein and directing anti-coalition activities in Fallujah.
No shots were fired and no soldiers were injured during the cordon and search mission.
KIRKUK, Iraq âIn a joint operation with Iraqi security forces the 173rd Airborne Brigade, part of Task Force Ironhorse completed Operation Bayonet Lightning.
This was a cooperative brigade-wide operation, capitalizing on the successful joint patrols conducted by 173rd soldiers, Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and the Iraqi Police. All of the forces worked together and employed raids to capture targeted former regime elements that, with their attempts of destabilization, are working against the Iraqi people.
Twenty-six individuals were captured, including three targeted individuals. All of the captured are suspected of being members of Fedayeen Saddam. In addition, soldiers located and confiscated 62 AK-47 assault rifles, 200 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, one rocket propelled grenade launcher and two improvised explosive device making kits.
During the past 24 hours, the 82nd Airborne Division and subordinate units have conducted 173 patrols, including nine joint patrols with the Iraqi Border Guard and Iraqi police. During these operations, 10 enemy personnel were captured. There were no U.S. casualties.
Elementd of 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division successfully conducted three simultaneous cordon and searches in Fallujah. These operations targeted members of the Jasmin anti-Coalition cell. Forces captured five individuals and took them into custody for questioning.
Elements also conducted a cordon and search to capture Abu Bilal Al Janabi. He is suspected of financing and aiding anti-coalition activities, paying rewards for attacks against Coalition forces, and has been implicated in the participation of anti-coalition events in Fallujah. The targeted individual was captured during the mission. He was taken into custody for questioning.
In 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Divisionâs area of operations, elements discovered a large cache north of Khalidiyah. The cache contained 650 plastic Anti-Tank mines, 400 Anti-Personnel mines, and 280 Rocket Propelled Gernade (RPG) warheads, RPG fuel rods, and propellant as well as 10 Anti-Tank missiles, and various small arms and demolitions.
#1
Nice post Chuck. The past 2 weeks have been huge in terms of a real turn in momentum. It looks like the locals are getting the message and are cooperating to a far greater degree than before. The iron fist strategy is working because it's a language the population understands.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
12/03/2003 19:05 Comments ||
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A Marine captain who helped coordinate the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch in Iraq has been awarded the Bronze Star medal for heroic action. The medal was given to Capt. Thomas "Tad" A. Douglas, 27, on Tuesday while about 40 members of 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company watched at their Camp Lejeune training complex. "Those who served with him know and understand why he is deserving of this award," said Lt. Col. Jim Reilly, commander of the recon unit.
A special U.S. team rescued Lynch from an Iraqi hospital on April 1. Reilly gave Douglas orders to head north of the Kuwait-Iraqi border for three days to find the enemy and report back. At the time, Douglas was commander of the companyâs 5th Platoon, which went to Iraq from North Carolina as part of Task Force Tarawa. The Marines in Douglasâ platoon identified the hospital where Lynch was held and gathered information to assist the Special Forces raid. They also set up a landing zone for incoming helicopters and put snipers in place to protect the raid force. "We stayed in place during the day because you had to worry about compromise and the unknown," Douglas said. "We went over all our immediate action drills, identified a rally point and how to extract, but the driving force was not letting my Marines down." Reilly said the platoon stayed in place for two or three days. When it was time to return to the Task Force Tarawa command post, the unit found out that some Baath Party officials were in Nasiriyah, shooting civilians and telling them the Americans would be defeated. Douglas said the Marines entered the Baath Party building and took prisoners. "We found out later that they contributed to the injuries and movement of Jessica Lynch," Reilly said. Reilly said Douglasâ platoon completed 22 missions, including meeting with tribal elders to allow peaceful surrender of the towns of Al Kut and Al Hamza. I talked to one of the guys involved w/this a while back. The whole "Lynch Hoax" debunked by talking to any of these guys.
Posted by: Jarhead ||
12/03/2003 10:17:02 AM ||
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Deserving is right. These guys took a risk to save Lynch and should all be awarded medals.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/03/2003 10:20 Comments ||
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EFL & Honor
A Japanese diplomat slain by gunmen in Iraq last weekend wrote a poignant diary entry in which he asked his reluctant countrymen to stand firm in the fight against terror. In November, after visiting the site of a suicide bombing in Nassiriya, Katsuhiko Oku wrote: "What we should learn from this tragedy is to have stronger determination not to yield to terrorists. Terrorist attacks could happen anywhere in the world. The elimination of terrorism is therefore a goal to be sought by all of us."
Mr. Oku, who had been serving in Iraq since April, wrote how the death of a Canadian friend in the bombing of the U.N. building in Baghdad in August had spurred him to greater efforts. By chance, amid the rubble of the building, Mr. Oku found the name card of his friend, UNICEF worker Christopher Klein-Beekman. He wrote in his diary: "It was as though the card was telling me: âMy Japanese friend, go straight ahead. Donât hesitate. There are things that must be done.â " Mr. Oku, 45, was fatally shot near Tikrit along with his colleague, Masamori Inoue, 30. They were the first Japanese to be killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. God bless him.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
12/03/2003 8:36:20 AM ||
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Some details: The bodies of two Japanese diplomats killed in Iraq over the weekend left Kuwait, escorted by their families and a number of officials. The bodies of the two diplomats arrived in Kuwait on Monday aboard a military plane, while their widows and children arrived on Tuesday. A senior foreign ministry official visited Kuwait to oversee repatriation arrangements, a Japanese diplomat said Wednesday. The bodies and their escort are expected to arrive in Japan early Thursday.
EFL & Applause
When U.S. soldiers found explosives in the house of Aziz Abdel-Wahhab and his elderly wife during a raid in the Iraqi town of Hawija, they proposed swift and direct punishment — demolishing the building. Cause and effect.
"This house is the heart of terrorism and if youâre going to harbour terrorism weâre going to remove you from the community," said 1st Lieutenant Steve Brignoli, explaining the order to destroy the one-story stone house in a Hawija suburb. Plain spoken, ...effective.
Oh, cheeze. Another member of the Axis of Stevel...
"This will be a show of force, to embolden the local authorities." Man, I am geting the warm fuzzies!
"Tell him we found enough explosives to flatten this neighborhood," a soldier ordered one of the army translators. This next sentence is precious:
The toothless old man could hardly talk, but mumbled a few words about his son Adel. Aha! The son. Hmmm. Now where did he go?
Sabah, Adelâs brother, was at his home in the town and offered to lead the American troops to his brother in the fields he ploughs nearby. "Iâm only doing this because I am scared shitless donât want them to destroy the house," he said. Cause and effect.
After a 15-minute drive through muddy fields, the troops found Adel cowering. There was no shoot-out. He raised his hands behind his head and walked over whimpering to the Humvees. You must read the entire article. Good stuff. Keep your bias goggles on!
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
12/03/2003 7:55:30 AM ||
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Another member of the Axis of Stevel...
Bwahahaha! All tremble before the Army of Steves!
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 8:57 Comments ||
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Save the fuel and transport cost for the dozer(It's expensive to move one of those bad boys)use the explosives in the house to destroy the house.
U.S. troops arrested at least 20 insurgents in the north, but failed to capture a top ally of Saddam Hussein who has a $10 million bounty on his head and was the target of the raid. Iraqi police said a senior former member of Saddamâs elite Republican Guard was among those captured Tuesday in Hawija, 155 miles north of Baghdad. But the troops failed to catch Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the Saddam ally considered a key planner of recent attacks against coalition forces. U.S. officials suspect he could also be working with the al-Qaida-linked militant group Ansar al-Islam. Police said six Iraqis were wounded in the raid, but it wasnât clear if they were all insurgents. Guerrillas kept up attacks against American forces, with a U.S. soldier killed in a roadside explosion in Samarra, the scene of deadly weekend battles between Americans and Iraqis. His death brought to 441 the number of U.S. servicemen who have died in Iraq since the start of the war in March.
Meanwhile, relatives of U.S. troops visiting Iraq sought to meet with leaders of the coalition authority, hoping to voice their opposition to the U.S.-led occupation. They will also visit hospitals, schools, and U.S. military bases as part of the trip sponsored by Global Exchange and the International Occupation Watch Center. One mother held back tears while looking at U.S. soldiers guarding the entrance of the Habbaniyah military base in Baghdad. "They are so young. This is not for them. ... They look just like my boy," said Annabelle Valencia, whose daughter, 24, and son, 22, are both based in Iraq. Get over it mom, no one twisted their arm or mine, weâre all volunteers. Now go home, quit embarrassing yourself and them. Write your kids a letter, send a holliday care package, & shut your soup cooler. Dr. Spock has left the building.
Sonny and Sissy must be doing their duties with buckets over their heads. I'm sure the military authorities thought about recruiting old farts like me, who'd love to be there. But fielding an army with arthritis somehow doesn't seem to make sense...
In the capital, workers used a construction crane to remove a 13-foot-tall head of Saddam from his former Republican Palace, now the headquarters of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority. On Wednesday, engineers said three remaining busts would come down in the next three weeks. The four self-adoring statues of Saddam, adorned with tropical helmets, featured prominently on Baghdadâs skyline. Four others remain on another downtown palace that was bombed and badly damaged during the war. There are no immediate plans to remove those, officials said.
Posted by: Jarhead ||
12/03/2003 7:36:17 AM ||
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Dr.Spock has left the building.
Yes, Jarhead, he has. But sadley I think he may be just outside.
#2
Dragon Fly, I've no doubt of it. Especially w/some of the parents I've met at boot camp graduations. Convinces me that the best thing their kid ever did was get out of their house & learn what 100% accountability & responsibility means. We must be vigilant against the "emasculation" of our culture & country by the hyper sensitive touch-feelies of the world.
#3
It takes a special kind of density to expect the US to pull out now. Named LooneyLeftium and originally thought to be a new element, it has now been correctly identified as CommieToolium - discovered in the 19th century. The confusion stems from the fact that "LooneyLeftium" is actually an isotope of CommiToolium - in lay terms it is much like being a brick or two shy of a full load...
In an effort to bolster military morale, the Pentagon soon will begin paying travel expenses for troops to get all the way home on leave from Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost of that extra leg for tens of thousands of soldiers: $55 million. Excellent!
Until now, the largest R&R program since the Vietnam War has flown soldiers only to three cities in the United States and two in Germany, leaving them to pay airfare for connecting flights if they want to go farther. Some airlines offered discount fares to help, and a congressman started a program in which Americans donated millions of their frequent flyer miles for service members to use to get home. Damn. First I heard of that, Iâve got a few ten thousand miles sitting there that Iâll never use.
But officials said Tuesday they were working up a plan for the Defense Department to begin reimbursing troops for the connecting flights with the $55 million authorized recently by Congress for the coming year. ``If it comes to pass as envisioned by members of Congress, this would be the most generous gesture on behalf of the American people,ââ said Maj. Pete Mitchell of U.S. Central Command. Such full payment of travel expenses for home leave is unprecedented. To give troops some relief, the Pentagon in late September started giving two-week leaves. So far more than 27,000 troops have taken the leaves. The Army said Tuesday it had set no firm date for the start of the reimbursement program, which requires changes in federal travel regulations. Officials were working on details such as how much would be paid to each soldier, and whether it would be retroactive to cover those who have already taken leave. ``The devil is in the details,ââ Mitchell said. But the intent is to pay the full cost of commercial airfare that troops need to get home from three drop-off points in the states - Baltimore, Dallas and Atlanta - and two in Germany. Good! Someoneâs been paying attention.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:59:14 AM ||
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Meanwhile, as details are being worked out, there are still more than 470 soldiers a day arriving in the U.S.
The global package delivery service DHL said Tuesday it had resumed flights to Baghdad, after one of its planes was hit by a missile on its approach to the airport. The missile struck a cargo plane on Nov. 23, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Baghdadâs airport with its wing aflame. All three crew members were unhurt. A U.S. military investigation indicated the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile. ``From the advice we received, it is now a safe environment to fly,ââ DHL spokeswoman Patricia Thomson told The Associated Press. She said flights to Baghdad International Airport resumed last Friday and the cargo company would ``soon try to commence with three flights per day.ââ Thomson refused for security reasons to say what added measures DHL was taking to prevent further attacks. Feel the disappointment at the Guardian!
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:40:33 AM ||
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added measures DHL was taking
Hard left, hard right, hard left again, steep climb to beyond visual range... easy.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/03/2003 2:48 Comments ||
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Perhaps we could offer DHL a new service. When we snarf up a particulary hardcase close-mouthed jihadi, he goes into a pool. Each departing aircraft gets the appropriate number of jihadis from the pool which are shackled in place, draping them over the engine exhausts, for a reduced IR signature. Win-win.
#3
.com, I was thinking more like sticking a lit flare in their ass and dispersing at random altitudes to confuse the heatseekers
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 9:32 Comments ||
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Oooh - good one. Works for me!
I'm still in favor of controlling the media, so AFP and Al Jizz and all of the other complicit asshats would be either deported or, if they failed to report for deportation, treated as jihadis. This would enhance aircraft security, too.
#5
Hmm... Just read on BuzzMachine yesterday that Jeff Jarvis sent Zeyad (Healing Iraq) a digital camera via FedEx, and that postage was almost as much as the camera, so I wonder the rates are to ship something to Baghdad that's not an APO/FPO address?
Posted by: Dar ||
12/03/2003 11:11 Comments ||
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You're a creative bunch. I was just going to hire the jihadis as missle catchers.
Put 'em on a tow rope behind the aircraft on takeoff and see how fast they can run. When the plane gets to 10,000 feet, release the towline and let them parachute down (we don't want to be cruel, now). Repeat as required...
I mentioned this yesterday...
Spain held a nationally televised funeral Tuesday for seven intelligence agents slain in Iraq amid suspicions that contacts in Iraq working with the agents tipped off their killers. In Saturday's attack, eight Spaniards were returning from Baghdad to the Spanish base in Diwaniyah when they were ambushed by gunmen on a road 18 miles south of the Iraqi capital. One agent survived. The group — four agents due to return home and four others replacing them — had gone to Baghdad apparently so the new agents could meet "information sources," the newspaper El Pais reported Tuesday, quoting sources in Spain's National Intelligence Center.
I think I'd start my investigation with a long, vigorous talk with those "sources"...
Defense Minister Federico Trillo said the attack probably was linked to the October shooting of Spanish intelligence agent Jose Antonio Bernal. In that attack, the gunnmen knew where Bernal lived in Baghdad. The assailants knocked on the front door of his house and killed him as he ran down the street trying to flee. "So there may have been a tip-off or betrayal by someone in that community, which is never entirely controllable," Trillo told Spanish National Radio on Monday, apparently referring to Iraqis who worked with or knew the Spaniards. Spain had received several threats prior to Saturday's attack and the agents knew their trip was risky. News reports said the Defense Ministry's suspicion of a betrayal was fueled by the fact that the agents made last-minute changes Saturday, beginning their journey earlier and taking a different route than planned.
But Mahmoud the Weasel was on them...
The daily El Mundo cited evidence given by the survivor of the attack, Jose Manuel Sanchez Riera, that the agents had been traveling in two vehicles and came under fire from a car behind them. During the shootout, the agents were also attacked from a nearby settlement.
I think I'd be looking for a lot of information to come out of that settlement, too. I'd go knocking on doors with Bradleys.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:02 ||
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From what I've heard, hear-say. The convoy was timed to detonate when the Spanish were on top of the bomba. There must be 5,000,000 bad guys in Iraq.
#2
An observation: if cell phones were not allowed, the timing & coordination for such operations would be almost impossible. It would certainly reduce their effectiveness.
Perhaps a temporary banning of cell phones except for authorized CPA personnel -- land-lines only for the public. Not hard to drop / refuse transmissions from phones lacking a validated ID.
Harsh, but think about the effects. You know the asshats depend upon them for almost all comms.
#4
It is not surprising that the Spanish are an especial target. The Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan al-Muslimeen) was quite powerful in Spain, and Spanish Muslims and North Africans exiled in Spain attended the various meetings held by the Popular Arab and Islamic Conference (the Terrorist International) held in Khartoum between 1991-96. The Spanish have a real problem with an Islamist Fifth Column, espeically in and around Marbella, Torremolinos and the Costa Esmeralda in Spain.
From East-Asia-Intel
China is dismantling an electronic eavesdropping post on the island of Kiribati, after the islandâs government gave diplomatic recognition to Chinese rival Taiwan.
The tracking station is believed to be engaged in electronic eavesdropping on U.S. military facilities in the region.
The tracking station was secret until 1999 when a reporter visited it with a former Kiribati cabinet minister. At the time, the satellite dishes were aligned northwards towards the U.S. Army missile testing base at the Marshall Islandsâ Kwajalein Atoll some 620 miles away. Kwajalein is a key base used for developing the U.S. missile defense system.
Chinese technicians were spotted burning files at the high security facility on Tarawa Atoll in Kiribati, according to a witness on the island.
The shutting of the facility followed the on Nov. 7 decision by recently elected President Anote Tong to recognize Taipei.
China protested the decision but did not immediately cut its diplomatic ties. On Saturday, Beijing announced it was severing diplomatic relations with Kiribati.
The official Peopleâs Daily newspaper stated that the space tracking station is "not of crucial importance" to the Chinese space program. If another station cannot be set up in the region, China would send tracking ships to serve the purpose, the newspaper stated. And we will shadow the tracking ships.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 4:04:04 PM ||
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spotted burning files at the high security facility on Tarawa Atoll
Shit, just like Iwo we should never have given this back. Should annexed it and made it a memorial.
#2
Meh, that's ok. They no doubt got some high pucker-factor working when they monitored the tests on THIS bad boy. Probably had some sleepless nights wondering what the F*CK those crazy Americans were working on now.
President Arroyo on Monday said ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would not deter government troops from pursuing terrorists reportedly being coddled by the rebel group.
That'll raise Eid Kabalu's indignancy quotient...
The President made the statement as she ordered government peace negotiators to discuss with their rebel counterparts reports that Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)) operatives have been training in alleged MILF lairs. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the accusations of Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita that the rebels were coddling JI trainees inside their camps, calling this a âdiversionary tactic to preempt the peace talks.â
"Lies! All lies!"
Eid's a broken record, isn't he?
In a phone interview, Kabalu said that Ermita is trying to âcondition the minds of the public away from the governmentâs inefficiencyâ amid the rising crime in Metro Manila. âItâs saddening, considering the steady progress in the preparations for the resumption of peace talks,â Kabalu said, as he described Ermitaâs statement as âprovocative.â
"Don't provoke us! You know what happens when you provoke us!"
Ermita said he received reports of the âallegedâ training sessions from Mindanao-based intelligence agents monitoring the remaining JI elements. âThat kind of statement will only confuse the military. Itâs not helping at all in the current efforts of both sides [to resume peace negotiations]. In fact, itâs undermining the credibility of the exploratory talks,â said Kabalu.
Assuming they had any credibility to start with. I'm wondering why the PI government is bothering...
Still, Kabalu said that the door to the formal peace talks is not yet shut, as âour lines are still openâ about the peace talks.
"We may deign to discuss accepting your surrender. Wanna touch my turban?"
Mrs. Arroyo said that while the government is bent on pursuing peace with the rebels, it would not allow peace talks to hinder counterterrorism efforts. She reminded the group of its âstanding commitmentâ to help the government apprehend terrorists. âI have directed the Government peace panel to bring this matter to the attention of the MILF in the proper forum. We have asked the MILF to purge itself of terrorists and we have a standing commitment from the MILF to do so,â she said.
That'd empty its ranks. There wouldn't be anybody left to have talks with...
She said âthe government will not allow the peace process to stand in the way of the overriding fight against terrorism.â Government forces, she said, will pursue terrorists âwherever they areâ and the MILF is bound by an agreement it had signed with the government last year, where the rebel group vowed to turn over to the government terrorists and criminals straying into its lairs.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/03/2003 12:07:28 AM ||
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Philippinesâ troops have killed at least three Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine island of Jolo. Military spokesman, Colonel Alexander Yapching, says troops stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout near the town of Maimbung on Tuesday. There was a gunbattle with about 20 rebels, he said, with at least three gunmen killed and an [un]known number of others wounded. The guerrillas were believed under the command of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, who was behind the kidnapping of group of mostly European tourists from Malaysian resorts in 2000.
We haven't heard from Commander Robot in awhile. I was wondering what he was up to. Guess he didn't turn state's evidence...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/03/2003 12:05:18 AM ||
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Is it correct that many of the MILF / Abu Sayyaf / Abu Dingleberry camps / hideouts / stomping grounds / haunts are either deserted or nearly deserted Islands? This is my impression, at least. If so, why not perform MOAB testing on them? Doing the Mother Daisy Cutter routine on anything identified with a good level of confidence sounds good to me.
A coordinated strike on several of them within a short time window (4 or 5 minutes would be nifty) might reduce the opposition significantly in one swell foop. Decent testing program of the MOAB's effects on vegetation cover at different altitudes and on differing terrain. Think of the cool 4-color graphs you could generate. Win-win, perhaps?
#2
MILF has their own little fiefdom down in Mindanao as a result of the "peace" agreements - all territory that was previously held by the guerrillas when they entered into the negotiations with the government is theirs to do as they please, that's where the JI and al-Qaeda as well as homegrown training camps are.
Abu Sayyaf, being more of a bandit gang than anything else, doesn't have any set hideout since their main base was overrun a couple of years ago and frequently engages in the island-hopping business. The problem is, the Philippines have so many uninhabited islands that as soon you find one hideout they all run like the brave jihadis/bandits that they are to somewhere else.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/03/2003 9:38 Comments ||
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I guess that MILF has never broken the "peace agreement" so whacking them in such a target-rich environment is out of the question. Heh.
As for the gun & run Abu Sayyaf guys, they were why I though a time-coordinated strike at several high-confidence spots simultaneously might be a good move. The key is being ready when enough high-confidence reports intersect in time.
The assumption that "we" (euphemistically speaking) must play by some set of codified rules, yet they don't and, in fact, it is only to be expected they won't, etc. is where I think the war on this shit breaks down. We can't trade punches if we want to prevail - we have to get down and dirty. I keep wondering how long it will take for this lesson to sink in on our side.
The universal truth is that 90% of all rebels / insurgents / jihadis / whatevers are pure mercs, so funding is a key, but killing off the cadre and leadership is a key approach, as well. Attacking both mercilessly and relentlessly is needed. Arroyo's recent self-preservation game is a major hindrance - and the need for it is disheartening - in this part of the WoT.
#4
One problem is that the Abu Sayyafs are unlikely to be on actual uninhabited islands, and it really is unknown whether a given island is uninhabited or not. Population density in the Philippines, even in the islands off Mindanao, makes it very likely that you would kill innocent people through such tactics.
Add to that the fact that the jungle cover and terrain make it next to impossible to find encampments from the air, and that poor communications (no cell phones there) and undermanned police and military make it difficult for locals to tip off the authorities.
JPost - Reg Reqâd; Stop your cynical chuckling, dammit!
Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam Fayyad has revealed that files and documents detailing revenues from oil products of the PAâs Petroleum Authority have disappeared under mysterious circumstances from his ministry. Must be the Jooooos
Fayyad was speaking at a very special session of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City on Tuesday night. It was the first meeting of its kind in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of violence three years ago. One where someone was honest?
Several legislators queried the Finance Minister about a series of corruption scandals that have hit the PA over the past few years, including the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Petroleum Authority and the pocketing of $11m from the International Bank of Palestine. Yasser who?
Earlier this year, Fayyad, in the context of his efforts to fight corruption and implement reforms in the PA, took over the Petroleum Authority, which had been managed as a private business by some of PA Chairman Yasser Arafatâs closest aides. The bank accounts of Harbi Sarsour, head of the Petroleum Authority, were frozen pending a through investigation into the scandal. But an initial investigation showed that much of the profits from the revenues of oil products had been deposited into a bank account under Arafatâs name. "Ummmmm, we can explain that....."
Fayyad admitted that there were many "irregularities" in the work of the Petroleum Authority, which has been siphoning money to secret bank accounts for years. When Nablus legislator Muâawyah al-Masri asked for details and figures about the revenues from oil products, Fayyad shocked the lawmakers by declaring: "Unfortunately, the documents related to the revenues from oil products - or how the money was used - canât be found. They have disappeared from the ministry." "Exploded in spontaneous combustion - must be a sign from God marking the birthmark boyâs coming!"
Masri said in response that the disappearance of the documents from the Finance Ministry was aimed at hiding the fact that "millions, if not billions, of dollars of the Petroleum Authority money have gone missing over the past few years." He called on Fayyad to put an end to the state of chaos in the Petroleum Authority and to bring to trial all those involved in the theft and misuse of public funds.
Since the PA took over the distribution of oil in the Palestinian areas, Palestinians have been complaining about the quality of the products. Palestinian oil experts and mechanics discovered that the Petroleum Authority was mixing water with gasoline and that a foamy eeewwwwww substance was added to kerosene and sold as diesel. Since Fayyad took control over the Petroleum Authority, Palestinians have been paying less for better oil and gasoline.
Another corruption scandal that was discussed at the PLC meeting is related to the International Bank of Palestine. The case began three years ago, when the PA accused the bankâs chairman, Issam Abu Issa, a Palestinian with Qatari citizenship, of offering loans to private companies without guarantees.
When the scandal was revealed, Abu Issa and one of his brothers fled to the Qatari embassy in Gaza City, claiming that their lives were in danger from Arafat. The crisis was settled after the PA and the Qatari government agreed to establish an international auditing company that would study all files and define responsibilities in the issue against Abu Issa. In effect, the agreement turned the PA into the de facto owner of the bank.
Tulkarem legislator Hasan Khraisheh, who prepared a special report on the case, demanded to know what measures have been taken against the bank and what were the findings of the auditing company. He said that the PA should hand the bank over to its owners and shareholders.
Minister of Economy and Trade, Maher al-Masri, told the legislators that the case was being looked into by Palestinian and Qatari courts, where Abu Issa is being asked to return about $11m which he allegedly took from the bank. "for safekeeping, dammit!, I already told you...."
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 9:54:42 PM ||
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Suha doesn't just want a few new furs for the winter, it appears she wants a new manse. Or possibly versaille.
JPost Reg Reqâd
Three days after Syrian President Bashar Assad called for renewed talks with Israel, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose offices are in Damascus, sent two suicide bombers to attack Israeli schoolchildren in Yokneâam and more Israelis in the northern city of Beit Sheâan. Assad spoke, and someone took him seriously? How naive
A senior security official told Channel 1 TV news Wednesday night that Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus issued the order to its Jenin cells to carry out the attacks. The order was given in the past few days, the source said. compromised communications, huh?
A massive security alert in the North was lifted on Wednesday afternoon after the two Palestinians allegedly planning a suicide bombing at a school in Yokneâam were captured by soldiers in the West Bank. "stick em up"
"donât kill us! we were just trying to be suicide bombers....er..."
The arrests of the two â both members of the Palestinian Authority security services and affiliated with Islamic Jihad â came after a daylong alert imposed on the Wadi Ara area.
Security sources said the two had planned an attack on a school near the commercial center of Yokneâam and another in Beit Sheâan.
They said that the attempt to attack a school was a "serious escalation." with serious consequences? If you live next to an IJ honcho in West Bank, Gaza, or Damascus - Iâd take a couple week vacation ..after getting more home insurance
One security source confirmed that Munir Rabiah, 23, of Gaza City, and Morad Zeitoun, 20, of Zbubeh, near Jenin, are both members of the PA security forces. more booming PA coppers?
They revealed to security officials the whereabouts of a 10-kg. explosives belt that Rabiah was to have worn in the attack in Yokneâam, the source said. 22 lbs? Yikes!
A Shin Bet source said the two men left Jenin Tuesday morning and set out for Bardaleh, where they planned to cross into Israel. "They told investigators that they had chosen the location as there is no security fence in the area," he said.
At about 2 p.m., acting on an intelligence tip-off, security forces arrested Rabiah after surrounding a mosque in the Israeli-controlled part of Bardaleh. Palestinians reported there were 20 worshipers inside the mosque when it was surrounded by troops, who entered the village and imposed a curfew. "come out killers!"
Zeitoun had been arrested by security forces in a sweep of the Jenin area late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. According to the source, he planned to perpetrate a suicide bombing in Beit Sheâan.
Security officials noted that there are a number of different cells affiliated with the Islamic Jihad and the Fatah Tanzim in Samaria which continue to plan attacks. On Wednesday, the security establishment registered 42 warnings of planned attacks.
During the high alert, the Wadi Ara road was closed and roadblocks were set up in the area, causing severe traffic jams.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 9:45:20 PM ||
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Russiaâs Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Monday said the U.K.âs decision granting refugee status to a Chechen leader cast on Londonâs commitment to fighting terrorism.
"The granting of asylum status to Zakayev raises doubts over the sincerity of the British leadershipâs relationship to counterterrorism," Ivanov told reporters after meetings at NATO headquarters.
Akhmed Zakayev is wanted in Russia on charges of murder and terrorism. He was granted refugee status in London on Saturday after a judge ruled he risked being tortured if extradited to Russia.
Moscow alleges that Zakayev was a senior Chechen military commander. He is wanted on 13 charges, including kidnapping and taking part in the murder of more than 300 militia officers.
Zakayev denies all the charges. Supporters say he is a peace negotiator.
The Russian government warned over the weekend the decision to grant Zakayev asylum would hurt its relations with London.
#1
This is the same issue as that of Hook Boy Hamza and Yemen. The UK govt needs to get over this. The WoT will involve lots of nasty decisions like this for us to win. A couple of Zakayevs and Hamzas goin' back home will send a very strong message to the rest of the Jihadis that the UK will not tolerate these kinds of people in the country.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 20:56 Comments ||
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a defamation lawsuit against North Carolina Rep. Cass Ballenger, who accused the group of funding terrorists and breaking up his 50-year marriage over the stress of living nearby. Ballenger said in an October interview with The Charlotte Observer that the council, located across the street from his Capitol Hill home, was a "fund-raising arm" for terrorist groups. He said he had reported the group to the CIA and FBI. The council denies any ties to Middle Eastern groups linked to terrorism. The lawsuit claims Ballengerâs statements harmed the councilâs reputation and were not protected speech because he made them in an interview rather than in his role as a member of Congress. Um, Iâm not a lawyer, but I believe that truth is the ultimate defense. CAIR will have to prove that they donât fundraise for terrorist organizations. The discovery process for this type of suit might be, well, illuminating.
#3
We are going to need some serious air time on the Discovery Channel, heh heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 18:33 Comments ||
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#4
Ballenger has recently announced that he will not run for reelection partly due to this mess. He is a highly liked congressman and would almost certainly have been reelected.
Posted by: AF Lady ||
12/03/2003 18:44 Comments ||
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#5
Just because most of the leaders of CAIR are in jail for terrorists activity doesn't make them a terrorists organization. Wait! Here comes Santa, The tooth fairy, that Easter bunny! All true, true I tell you. IT WAS THE JOOOOSSSS.
#8
This should be interesting (and I might add that Ballinger's ex-wife is a wimp).
I'm not sure he's correct that they raise money for terrorists; though. Near as I can tell, the terrorists fund (and run) CAIR.
Posted by: Kathy K ||
12/03/2003 20:51 Comments ||
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Mishandling of classified information by the legal staff at Americaâs prison for terrorism suspects undermines the militaryâs case against a Muslim chaplain charged with security breaches, his lawyer said Wednesday. Army Capt. James Yee had been scheduled to face the military version of a preliminary hearing Tuesday at Fort Benning, Ga., on charges he mishandled secret information at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But the hearing was postponed after prosecutors discovered that legal staff at Guantanamo had mistakenly included a classified document in investigation packets delivered to Yeeâs attorney and the hearing officer, Army Lt. Col. Bill Costello of the U.S. Southern Command said Wednesday. Aargh!
Two of the Iranian capitalâs western-styled fast food restaurants, popular among young people more for mixed-sex interaction than the food, have been shut down by the cityâs new conservative authorities. Canât have those young folk mixing together, why that might lead to holding hands and all that icky stuff.
According to Keyvan Aghah, who owns the Apache burger store, he was given no reason when he received an order to shut up shop.
"I donât know how to answer to more than 70 personnel I employ since they are not telling us when they are going to let us reopen," he told AFP. Tell them the truth, the mullahs ordered it shut. Iâd do it quietly, though.
A similar closure order was given to the Jaam-e Jam food court, situated in a swanky shopping mall in the wealthy and more Westernised north of the city and seen as place where flirtatious young people can pick up more than just a chicken burger. "They were sitting there, looking at members of the oposite sex eating chicken. And you know what that leads to!"
One likely reason is that the restaurantâs clientele -- mainly young people who show little respect to the Islamic regime idea of sound dress code and social conduct -- have not escaped the beady eye of local authorities. "Next thing you know, theyâll be choosing who they want to marry themselves! Thatâs un-islamic, I mean, howâs a distinguished cleric like myself gonna get a young nubile bride if she thinks she has a mind of her own?"
Under Iranian law, restaurants are required to have dedicated male and female sections -- something that many of the fast food joints here appear to have forgotten. Or they have discovered the young folk with money donât want to go to those places.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 3:14:32 PM ||
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Maybe they closed it out of regard for the Apache tribe, who almost certainly were offended by being used to sell burgers.
On the other hand... nothing says finger-lickin good like Jaam-e Jam!
#3
Come on, GWB. The religious idiots in Iran are practically delivering themselves on a silver platter. If there ever was a time to begin the process of knocking the mullahs from power in Iran, it would be now.
According to official figures one out of every five Iranians, suffers from a kind of psychological disease. That would be the 25% who are running the country.
The secretary of Iranâs Association of Psychologists, Seyed Ahmad Jalili said: âWe estimate that 21 to 25 percent of the Iranian population is affected by psychological disorders with such symptoms as insomnia, a high pulse rate, excessive anger, intense headaches and stress.â Having the U.S. Army parked on your doorstep will do that. You might try loosening those turbans, could help with the headaches.
âPhysical stress, fear of being stoned giving birth, breastfeeding, burka rash pregnancy as well as social and environmental pressures are among the factors which bring on psychological disorders for Iranian women.â
âIt is worth noting that women who are part of a society where they enjoy a good social status, and whose rights are enshrined under the law are less vulnerable to such disorders.â he concluded. "Unfortunately for them, thatâs not going to happen here."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 2:58:31 PM ||
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This is certainly good news to those of us who thought they were all a bunch of f*cking psychopaths.
#3
It would be interesting to see the Iran Association of Psychologist equivalent of the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition). It must be based upon Islamic principles, so it would be particularly entertaining enlightening to see what the Iranians consider mental disorders. Heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 15:54 Comments ||
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#4
You also have to question their knowledge of higher mathematics (anything above adding and subtracting two-digit numbers - LOW two-digit numbers). One in five is 20%. One in four is 25%. They should say "One in FOUR" Iranians is a fruitcake. The other three are trying to escape the loonie assylum known as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hell, even Afghanistan looks good from there!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 16:59 Comments ||
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#5
I thought a high pulse rate, excessive anger, intense headaches and stress were symptoms of being alive?
#7
I would question the emphasis on women's psych disorders heavily. The rationales given don't seem to faze women elsewhere in the world today. However, they are **identical** to the rationales given in Victorian society for "hysteria" and other supposed psych disorders peculiar to women -- a rationale used to suppress, among other things, women's rights.
As for high stress, insomnia, and anger, I might direct your search for causal factors towards the police state theocracy Iranians must live under...
Hat tip: Viking Pundit
You may know Micheal Crichton (CRY-ton) as the author of Jurassic Park, Congo, The Sphere, et al., and, of course, Timeline. This excerpt is from his speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francsico on Sept. 15, 2003 (EFL!):
Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists. Why do I say itâs a religion? Well, just look at the beliefs. If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.
Thereâs an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, thereâs a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.
Eden, the fall of man, the loss of grace, the coming doomsday—these are deeply held mythic structures. They are profoundly conservative beliefs. They may even be hard-wired in the brain, for all I know. I certainly donât want to talk anybody out of them, as I donât want to talk anybody out of a belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God who rose from the dead. But the reason I donât want to talk anybody out of these beliefs is that I know that I canât talk anybody out of them. These are not facts that can be argued. These are issues of faith.
And so it is, sadly, with environmentalism. Increasingly it seems facts arenât necessary, because the tenets of environmentalism are all about belief. Itâs about whether you are going to be a sinner, or saved. Whether you are going to be one of the people on the side of salvation, or on the side of doom. Whether you are going to be one of us, or one of them.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/03/2003 2:07:56 PM ||
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Yes! I've been saying for years that activists with their various causes act like the most whacked-out born-agains (you know the ones I mean - find Jesus at an AA meeting and throw the tv out because the Smurfs were satanic). I don't know which faith, if any, is right. But it seems like a lot of people need that certainty, even if they tend to scoff at established religions. I wonder if they are even aware that they fit the same profile.
#4
Whether you are going to be one of the people on the side of salvation, or on the side of doom. Whether you are going to be one of us, or one of them.
#5
Wow, I've been saying something like this for a while, too, but I never thought about the Eden analogies. That's brilliant. (Still don't care for Crichton's books, though.)
It's not just environmentalism. Pretty much anything can be used as a substitute religion, as long as it 1) requires some sort of sacrifice, and 2) allows the believer to look down on nonbelievers. If there's some sort of study of arcane knowledge involved, so much the better. At some point, the rituals and sacrifices begin to matter more than the original goals.
For example, for a while there were a lot of people who seemed to belong to the Church of Physical Fitness. That petered out after a while, though.
You don't necessarily need to be an atheist to subscribe to these ersatz religions. Some Christians (say) seem to believe that modern Christianity is not demanding enough for them.
#6
No matter how wacky people think that Creationaism is the folks that teach global warming in schools are absolute dingdongs.
For instance, I have not spent much time studying the idea of reducing carbon dioxide emmisions. Yet it strikes me that removing any gas will reduce overall pressure in the aptmospere due to the Law of Partial Pressures. Wouldn't the reduction in pressure result in the vaporization of water into vapor to compensate? Water vapor is a green house gas also. Do we intend to cover two thirds of the Earth's surface with a tarp to prevent vaporization?
Don't even bother punching holes in the ridiculous theory that I pulled out of my butt from half remembered physics lectures that are 20 years old. Look carefully at the math behind the global warming studies; it's bunk.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 18:03 Comments ||
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#7
The math is irrelevant. Remember the earth was created in seven days? Most people don't have time or ability to follow the analysis. Religious scholars used to argue about how many angels could stand on the head of a pin. Completely meaningless disussion but folks trusted the parish priest anyway. So you pick who you believe, Pope John or David Suzuki, and let the scientists argue over atmospheric loading and temperature gradients.
I think it was Pat O'Reilly on Chris Matthews show the other night who described his christian convictions with the logic that his faith was a good idea just in case it turned out there really was a righteous God and heaven and hell and the judgement day existed.
Well, almost everyone uses the same logic when it comes to Kyoto. Just in case.
Posted by: john ||
12/03/2003 21:22 Comments ||
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Continuing the Rant on HRH Hillary I and her visit to the troops:
One can only imagine how quickly Hillary departed from the presence of troops who became visibly offended by Hillaryâs insubordinate words and, thereafter, by her violation of traditional military protocol providing that officers (and public officials) eat last. You see, Hillary and her entourage decided to go to the head of the chow line and left the junior enlisted to wait, prompting troops to comment that they wished Hillary had just âstayed in Washington.â Hillaryâs champions at People Magazine, who accompanied Hillary to gobble up the troopsâ turkey dinner, will likely forget to print service peopleâs comments about Hillaryâs audacity.
Wasnât Billary traveling with an Ex-Army guy? He should have told her about he protocol. Maybe he did and she ignored him?
Along with the absolute failure of Senator Clinton to establish a connection with our service people, liberals altogether have a real disconnect with the concept of military service and, especially, the fact that uniformed men and women, Republicans and Democrats, black and white, will voluntarily give their lives for their country. Liberals simply cannot fathom anything worth giving a life.
I hate to generalize but unless you have donned a uniform and served your country, you can never truly appreciate what they go through.
However, when presented with a real opportunity for liberals to redeem themselves with our troops in Afghanistan and abroad, Senator Clinton towed the line of âHate Bushâ and then patronized service people that their accomplished mission cannot be accomplished. Having questioned the certainty of our militaryâs task, Hillary squandered another chance to show the American people that liberals can somehow be entrusted with our armed forces. To be sure, Hillaryâs performance made it more certain that no Democrat in this presidential race (whether Hillary is included or not) can be commander in chief. Next time Hillary sets foot on hallowed ground occupied by our armed forces, she ought to listen rather than talk, and she better bring a serving spoon.
Rick went on to warn he that pies might be thrown at her the next time she steps in front of a chow line. I for one canât imagine the anger these troops must have felt toward her. She could repair this by simply apologizing for the comments and breaks in protocol. Also serving up a meal at the home of the 10th Mountain Division some weekend might repair this too. But I doubt she feels the need to placate the men in uniform. Heck she will just have their votes thrown out next election!
#1
Wasnât Billary traveling with an Ex-Army guy? He should have told her about he protocol. Maybe he did and she ignored him?
Speaks loads about what she (and her husband, no doubt) thinks of our military. But if this attitude is what ends up keeping her and her ilk out of the Oval Office, great!
#2
Actually, I think she was with an ex-Marine (Jack Reed?), but he still should heve known better, and told her. If she ignored him, she should receive the wrath only the military can hold against an 'elected' official. Problem with military people is they have long memories, they share their experiences with their comerades, and they have families. Hillary probably ensured that that regular 30% of the military that actually votes will increase to 50-60%, and they WON'T vote Democratic. But Hitlery is above all that: here is another example; here's another. Just for kickers, here's the latest foot-in-mouth job from Howard Dean.
Hillary is playing queen, and the rest of the dummycheat mob can lick her boots, as far as she's concerned. She needs a good come-uppance. It would be nice if the New Yorkers decided to recall her slimy a$$self. I'm sure it would send the "appropriate" message.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 14:52 Comments ||
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#3
Interesting contrast. Bush was reported as serving the troops and it was specifically noted that he did not stop to partake of the full meal. HRH Hillary I was noted for exactly the opposite.
#6
IMHO Hillary will not run in 2004,but will continually tease her supporters in order to keep the money flowing.Don't forget,she will have an extremely expensive Senate reelection campaign in 2006,as well as building the infrastructure for her 2008 Presidential run.(She knows she in not charasmatic,so she has to buy top Democratic support.)
I believe she would be a total disaster as President,not because of her beliefs or politics,but because of her life experience.Hillary has never been the executive in charge of anything.While she has alledgedly wielded great power as a lawyer,First Lady,etc.,she has never been responsible for the consequences of her "power".And I find it interesting that none of the accounts of Bill's foreign affairs(Kosovo,Ireland Peace Accords,Mideast Peace Negotiations,Korean Crisis,Somalia,Iraq,Bombing Sudan,Nato War in Balkans)ever mentions Hillary.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/03/2003 16:32 Comments ||
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#7
Looks to me like Hills has jumped to the front of more than a few chowlines.
Did you notice on the film how she was stuffing her face like she had never eaten? Not ladylike at all!
Posted by: AF Lady ||
12/03/2003 18:59 Comments ||
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#8
Actually, I think she was with an ex-Marine (Jack Reed?), but he still should heve known better, and told her.
Reed is a West Pointer and was in the 82nd Airborne. Not sure if he was with "HRH" or if he even offered advice. Then again, he's been out of the Army for 24 years and he's a Senator now. They tend to develop delusions of grandeur.
#9
I am happy that nothing got ugly. A military unit doesn't need to shame itself by mistreating a guest however impolite that guest mught be. Units clean up for big wig visits out of personal pride more than anything else. Outsiders' opinions can affect funding but espirit de corps is the main issue.
Some big wigs will eat out of politeness and for a chance to mingle with the troops in an informal setting - photo op stuff. I have never heard of any big wig acting impolitely on a goodwill tour. I have never watched her closely; does she clomp into Japanese houses with her shoes on?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 21:41 Comments ||
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Edited for brevity.
Deadly riots still flare at times, and Nigeria is regularly rated one of the worldâs most corrupt nations. Yet residents of this West African nationâs capital hope a summit of 52 leaders, including the Queen, will cement their nationâs return to the global fold after decades as a pariah. President Olusegun Obasanjoâs government hopes the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will prove the country is making progress on the democratic and economic reforms he promised when he was first elected in 1999, ending decades of military rule.
Yet allegations of human-rights abuses â in Nigeria as well as suspended Commonwealth members Zimbabwe and Pakistan â are expected to surface during the summitâs candid behind-the-scenes discussions, in which leaders are traditionally discouraged from delivering written speeches. New York-based Human Rights Watch challenged the Commonwealth on Tuesday to use the summit to speak out about alleged rights abuses in Nigeria â including the stifling of free speech and the torture and killing of opposition activists â in the same way the global body did against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. They were suspended from the collective for thwarting democracy. Nigeria dismissed the report as âjaundiced and misconceived.â
Also under scrutiny is Zimbabweâs status in the Commonwealth, which sees its key clout as shaming members with suspensions. Britain, Australia and Canada have warned of a split in the Commonwealth if Zimbabwe is reinstated as some African nations have requested. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said he may decide to permanently withdraw from the body anyway.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/03/2003 1:34:36 PM ||
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Commonwealth, which sees its key clout as shaming members with suspensions... The Commonwealth has to have a bigger purpose than meeting every so often so the absent members can be embarrassed for not getting an invitation.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 16:59 Comments ||
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More fun in Florida, EFL:
Some anti-hate groups are outraged that a Saudi cleric who called on God to "terminate" the Jews and urged Muslims to shun peace with Israel is the invited keynote speaker at an Islamic conference scheduled this month in Osceola County. Outraged, yes. Surprised, let me check....nope.
A newly formed group, the Universal Heritage Foundation, is sponsoring the conference and an appearance by Shaikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais. Foundation leaders say the conference could bring thousands of people to 31 acres on U.S. Highway 192 near Floridaâs Turnpike, site of a former culinary school that most recently housed a homeless shelter. How fitting. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, chairman and chief executive officer of the foundation and former president of the Islamic Circle of North America, envisions a home base in Floridaâs tourist corridor that would attract Islamic scholars and promote tolerance among religious groups. Florida sure does seem to attract islamic types. Must be the weather.
Some anti-hate groups, however, fear Shah may be inviting radicals to Central Florida who will stir up prejudice and divisiveness. "It raises questions and concerns for us about what the ultimate goal and message of the Universal Heritage Foundation is," said Mark Medin, Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. "The message may not be of tolerance and respect. It may be a message of intolerance and antisemitism." Not when the cameras are running.
Medin said several of the more than two dozen announced speakers have links to groups that have preached hatred. The list of speakers also raised eyebrows with some terrorism experts. "All those targets in one place. Sigh...."
Shah said his motives are pure. He also said he wasnât aware that the man invited to be the keynote speaker, Al-Sudais, was quoted in various newspapers in April 2002 as calling Jews "the scum of humanity, the rats of the world, the killers of prophets and the grandsons of monkeys and pigs." Sure you werenât.
Al-Sudais is senior imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. In contrast with his previous incendiary comments, Al-Sudais spoke in Lancashire, England, in October where he preached peaceful coexistence with neighbors and respect for the law before 8,000 people at one mosque and 4,000 at another, according to published reports. One speech when youâre in front of the infidel TV cameras, another for the faithful back home. Guess which one is real.
A promotional flier says Al-Sudais was invited to the Osceola conference along with consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who ran for president in 2000 under the Green Party banner. Just need to add some arabic script to that green banner.
Nader representatives said he does not plan to attend. Wonder if Dean or Clark are available?
Shah said Tuesday he isnât sure whether Al-Sudais would attend, either. If he does, Shah said Al-Sudais would be required to conform to the theme of the conference, "Islam for Humanity." Is that like that Twilight Zone cookbook "How To Serve Mankind"? Rita Katz, who heads a nonprofit anti-terrorism research center in Washington, D.C., said American Muslim leaders should not invite individuals like Al-Sudais, who are "virulently intolerant of the West and other religions." "Heâs incredibly antisemitic, and widely publicized as so," said Katz, who heads the SITE Institute. "Post 9-11, why are they seeking someone so radical?" she asked, noting that Al-Sudais represents the conservative Saudi Wahhabi sect of Islam. Humm, because the Wahabis are funding the show? Altaf Ali, Florida director of the council, said Al-Sudais and the other speakers are highly respected and that it has been "open season" on Muslims since the 9-11 attacks. When ever I hear the phrase "Open Season", somehow I always want to add "No Bag Limit".
"I personally have never heard any of these individuals say anything hateful," Ali said. "Anybody associated with a mosque is immediately [considered] a terrorist suspect. We are being found guilty by association." Must be the company you keep.
And depends on your definition of "hateful."
In addition to Al-Sudais, the announced speakers include: Drumroll, please:
Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an "unindicted person who may be alleged as (a) conspirator" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, according to former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White. His Masjid al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., hosted the blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who was convicted in a conspiracy to bomb the Holland and Lincoln tunnels in New York. Wahhaj testified as a character witness for Rahman. Wahhaj, whom his supporters say is "mainstream," has made numerous anti-American statements.
Muzzamal Siddiqui, who has spoken at pro-Hezbollah rallies, supported the creation of an Islamic state in the United States and praised martyrdom for the Islamic cause, according to the SITE Institute. In spite of his statements, Siddiqui has been a guest at the White House, and he spoke at Washington National Cathedral post 9-11.
#2
Floridans: please advise your local FBI office, to blitz the conference grounds with camera and audiotape bearing agents.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
12/03/2003 21:09 Comments ||
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#3
I pastor a church and am director of our Christian school that is ON the 31 acre campus of this conference. We joke that we have the only church and Christian school on the campus of an Islamic College.
Yes, we have already been interviewed by newspaper and TV.
There goes the neighborhood.
Posted by: Pastor Lee Wasson ||
12/09/2003 19:31 Comments ||
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Extra EFL
The Bush administration on Tuesday defended its strategy of pre-emptive action against Iraq - even while admitting that US intelligence had been imperfect - and warned that the US was ready to use all options against five other "rogue states". Where do I get such Hallmark cards?
"If rogue states are not willing to follow the logic of non-proliferation norms, they must be prepared to face the logic of adverse consequences," Mr Bolton said. "It is why we repeatedly caution that no option is off the table." I love Christmas. Gifts, seasons greeting...
#4
Sgt. Claus and ten divisions of elves, each armed with the latest in Ronnie Raygun technology. Laugh now, but when the "zapper" strikes, remember these words!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 14:57 Comments ||
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#5
I love it when Bolton speaks.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 21:43 Comments ||
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Really, really EFL
To prove that Middle East peacemaking is possible, self-appointed Israeli and Palestinian negotiators came together here today to sign a sweeping shadow agreement that calls for creation of a Palestinian state and provides a mechanism for resolving the status of Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugees and the city of Jerusalem. The unreality of the event was overshadowed by the painful pleas from the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to their leaders not to kill them when they returned home to talk to each other once again about a permanent solution. The United States, whose involvement is crucial for any meaningful peace agreement in the Middle East, was represented by an unidentified junior coffee-boy member of the political section of the United States mission in Geneva. Secretary Powell had been invited but had to wash his hair that day declined. Negotiators said that they wished forlornly hoped to meet Mr. Powell on Friday in Washington.
Among those bearing witness to the unofficial process here today were three recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, including former President Jimmy Carter; three United States dummycrats congressmen; and several former French cabinet ministers, including Simone Veil, who survived a Nazi death camp. "It is unlikely we will ever see a more promising foundation for peace," Mr. Carter said in a speech, adding that while there would be inevitable changes, should the official peace process begin anew, "the basic premises must remain intact." "The only way to peace is through appeasement, yâall."
Mr. Carter, when asked in an interview whether the absence of progress so many years after Camp David was bittersweet for him, replied, "Itâs not bittersweet, just sweet." But then his frustration over losing to a California actor twists in history and missed opportunities spilled out. "The bitterness comes from the fact that the top leaders have not been willing to witness the destruction of Israel move with this degree of effort," he said. Mr. Carter, defeated in his quest for re-election by Ronald Reagan in 1980, speculated that "had I been elected to a second term, with the prestige and authority and influence and reputation I had in the region, we could have moved to a final solution." Final solution, eh Jimmy?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 10:49:54 AM ||
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#1
a realllly unfortunate freudian slip there, Dhimmi
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 10:53 Comments ||
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Mr. Carter, defeated in his quest for re-election by Ronald Reagan in 1980, speculated that "had I been elected to a second term, with the prestige and authority and influence and reputation I had in the region, we could have moved to a final solution."
This is "speculation" of the kind that comes straight out of the ass of a male cow.
#3
Jimmy: Given the benefit of 24 years to think about it, tell us how you woulda coulda shoulda gotten the hostages out of Tehran.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/03/2003 11:39 Comments ||
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#4
I'm glad to see that Jimmy's ego is doing so well. However, whatever "prestige and authority and influence and reputation" he may have thought he had didn't survive his presidency and his handling of the Embassy hostages...
#7
I didn't think there was any Democratic
president I detested more than Clinton,
but maybe I was being a bit too hasty.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/03/2003 14:52 Comments ||
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#8
Freudien slip, my ass. Wotta maroon.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/03/2003 17:24 Comments ||
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#9
I'm sure ya'll will despise any agreement made by Jimmy Carter, but your hatred should not blind you to the useful purposes this document is good for. By hinting support, the US can use it to browbeat both Sharon and Arafat -- since both are deadly afraid of it and the compromises it entails.
The Aeguk Multiple Microbiological Institute in the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of Korea has made a medicinal stone. The activated stone is good for refining all kinds of drink including alcohol. If the stone is put into drinking water, it removes 76.5 percent of various kinds of bacteria including 57 percent of colitis germ and betters the taste of the water by decreasing the content of calcium and magnesium in the water by 17 percent. The stone protects oil from acidification and makes it possible to keep it unspoiled for a long time. It also has good effects on health of the people. It prevents the aging of the human body by checking cell extinction. So it enjoys popularity among the people. Itâs official, Korea has entered the Stone Age. Next, Bronze!
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 9:58:23 AM ||
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#1
Why don't you put this in the Classics? And why isn't the Zionist Death Ray article there?
MEMRI. Hat tip LGF âThe Protocols of Zion Are More Important Than the Torahâ That right there should tell you something.
"When my eyes fell upon the rare copy of this dangerous book, I decided immediately to place it next to the Torah. Although it is not a monotheistic holy book, it has become one of the sacred [tenets] of the Jews, next to their first constitution, their religious law, [and] their way of life. In other words, it is not merely an ideological or theoretical book. "YEEAAAGGH! FY LIFS"
"Perhaps this book of the âProtocols of the Elders of Zionâ is more important to the Zionist Jews of the world than the Torah, because they conduct Zionist life according to it⊠It is only natural to place the book in the framework of an exhibit of Torah [scrolls]." Ziedan was distracted when his harp bent like an overdrawn bow and a string gave.
Dr. Ziedan maintains a website "for heritage and manuscripts" where he posts, among other things, articles that he writes. In his article "WWW and the Informatics Plexus [sic]," Dr. Ziedan writes of the difference between reality and reporting on reality:
"âŠThere is no doubt that every ânews itemâ originates in a [particular] event, but the distance between the event and the news item is great⊠I will give an example: When Hitlerâs atrocities are mentioned, [people] immediately point out the cremation of the Jews in the gas chambers. This happens because of the knowledge that is passed on regarding the Holocaust.
"This is knowledge that has reached the world via a diverse stream of information from journalistsâ reports, historical research, compensation, [the] unceasing buzz in the media, and films such as Schindlerâs List which made the entire world cry and which was banned in our country [Egypt] so that we wonât cry too over the fate of the poor Jews!"
Great wahrks! Egypt did that!? âOnly 1 Million Jews Were Killed by the Nazis... There Wasnât Enough Cyanideâ This guyâs dumber than a keanulint or even a flea!
"What is important is that the information arrived, but what about reality? In reality, 50,000,000 fell victim to the Nazis, among them 1,000,000 Jews and the rest Gypsies, Poles, and other nations. In reality, an analysis of samples from the purported gas chambers has proven that these were sterilization chambers, without a sufficient quantity of cyanide to kill. Then his legs shrank.
"In reality, had Hitler wanted to annihilate the Jews of Europe, he would have. He had an opportunity. The distance between events and widespread knowledge about them is great." Then he turned into a pillar of salt and could say no moreâŠ
Posted by: Atrus ||
12/03/2003 9:52:12 AM ||
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Vowing to reverse President Bushâs foreign policies, Democrat John Kerry is outlining new plans to stem "a widespread and widening network of terrorists," such as targeting Saudi Arabia for sanctions and naming a special ambassador to the Mideast â perhaps Bill Clinton. ?What the fuck
The presidential candidate from Massachusetts, in a speech Wednesday to the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, said there are a handful of people he would consider naming to the post, including former Democratic Presidents Clinton and Carter as well as James Baker, secretary of state in the first Bush White House. And Edith Keelerâs ghost for Secretary of Defense.
"Those of us who seek the Democratic presidential nomination owe the American people more than just criticism of the Bush foreign policy or anger or piecemeal solutions," Kerry said in excerpts of his address released by the campaign. "We need to convince them that Democrats are responsible stewards of our national security and Americaâs role in the world." Then there was a discordant twang as a harp string broke.
Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts, hopes to tap resentment felt by many Democratic primary voters toward Bushâs policies on the Mideast, terrorism and Iraq. His campaign has stalled amid the rise of anti-war candidate Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who Kerry claims offers anger, not solutions. HEY! DEAN TOLD IT LIKE IT WAS!
Kerry has argued that his medal-winning service in the Vietnam War and 18 years of experience in the Senate makes him the partyâs best shot at unseating a wartime president. Which is still not much chance.
His latest address, billed by aides as a comprehensive response to Bushâs foreign policy lapses, accuses the president of undermining U.S. security by alienating allies who are needed in the war on terrorism. He promised to visit the United Nations and travel to foreign capitals during his first 100 days as president, affirming Americaâs role in the world community. "If the UN says appease, the funeral homes will do well."
"The war on terrorism is not just an American cause; it is a global conflict against a hidden and deadly enemy with many faces in many places," Kerry said. "No matter how much power we have, we cannot prevail single-handedly." But what if the other nations are recalcitrant?
Posted by: Atrus ||
12/03/2003 9:32:37 AM ||
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#1
Before you sell the skin,Kerry,you must first catch the bear. Naming envoys and cabinet is a bit premature.
From the liberal lexicon: Kerry lacks Gravitas.
#2
I just want to point out here that John Kerry served in Vietnam. The article only mentioned it once, so you might have missed it. Served in Vietnam, folks.
#4
Kerry has once more proven beyond doubt he has no clue about the current struggle against Terrorism, or about the duties of the President of the United States. This man is a loose cannon even in the Senate: granting him any additional powers would be a disaster for the United States and the rights and privileges of its citizens.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 10:52 Comments ||
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#5
James Baker, prolly the best poker player ever, would laugh in Kerry's face. Geez, what a lump of twit-twaddle is this Kerry Klown. Name-dropping to generate "excitement" won't save his dumb ass.
#9
Hard to say if Baker would do it or not. You'd think he would have done so for Bush if it was of interest. Don't know if Kerry would like or follow the advice Baker would give him. Dean appears to egomaniacal to even consider Baker. He'd be more likely to appoint Tim Robbins, or Joan Baez.
#10
Brainiac,
Don't forget Dean has promised us a Department of Peace.To which Dean would appoint Robert Strange McNamara,who has proven he knows nothing about war.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/03/2003 15:54 Comments ||
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#11
I think it Dennis (Alcoa Cap) Kucinich that's promising the Dept. of Peace.
This isnât getting any press outside of Texas. And everyone is avoiding the "T" word. EFL:
Almost a dozen fires have destroyed homes of Hindus and others, with a two-county task force investigating the suspected arson spree and members of the religious community nervous about future attacks. Federal, county and city investigators are reviewing evidence in the blazes that have occurred over the past six months. The fact that victims have included Hindus suggests that the community is being targeted, said Natubhai Patel, a leading member of a Hindu temple. "We donât know really who would be behind it," he told the Houston Chronicle in Mondayâs editions. "Itâs anybodyâs guess." Oh, I think we all know. You just donât want to say it.
Patel and other members of the Hindu community believe the victims of all 11 fires under investigation by the task force were Hindus. Now who do we know that has a beef with Hindus?
"People are concerned and we would like to have the responsible leaders look into this," Patel, a member of the Shree Swaminarayan Temple, said on Sunday. Sudhan Patel, no relation to Natubhai, was the latest victim. His house burned to the ground Friday. One of Patelâs neighbors, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared retaliation by the arsonist, said her back yard was doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze about two months ago. The woman, who is acquainted with six other Hindu victims, said there is deep concern among members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Temple, which she attends.
Investigators from the Houston Fire Department, Fort Bend County, Harris County and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have released a composite drawing of a man seen near several of the fires who is sought for questioning. Description of the suspect from another story: Robert Baker, a chief investigator with the Fort Bend County Fire Marshalâs Office, said the man, who is 30 to 40 years of age and of Middle Eastern descent, is being sought in connection with fires in Houston, Harris and Fort Bend counties. The man is described as being about 5-feet, 3 inches to 5-feet, 5 inches tall with an average build. He was seen driving a burgundy van. A man of Middle Eastern descent burning Hindus, what a surprise!
"I know we have had a series of 11 fires and that we feel they are related," said Fort Bend County Fire Marshal Vance Cooper. "What we need is help from the local community." But Cooper said he wasnât sure if all the victims were Hindu.
"Yep. Some of 'em mighta been Buddhists."
"I donât have enough information to say, yes, they are being targeted, and not enough to say, no, they are not," he said. All the victims say they are Hindu, what more do you need? Guess they are using the FBI "Is this a Terrorist Attack" checklist.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 9:25:11 AM ||
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#1
Must be Nepalese Maoists
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 9:38 Comments ||
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#2
Doesn't al-Fuqra have a history of targeting Hindu temples and the like with arson fire?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/03/2003 9:39 Comments ||
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#3
Now who do we know that has a beef with Hindus?
What? No rimshot on this one?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/03/2003 9:51 Comments ||
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#4
Cheez, Robert, don't have a cow over it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 10:24 Comments ||
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#5
The man is described as being about 5-feet, 3 inches to 5-feet, 5 inches tall with an average build.
What's the average height of an Esquimeaux?
He was seen driving a burgundy van.
Must be a soccer mom.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 10:26 Comments ||
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#6
To the afore-mentioned Hindus:
Welcome to the United States! In addition to the First Amendment, which allows you to practice your religion free of government interference, I'd like to introduce you to the Second Amendment...
Posted by: Dar ||
12/03/2003 10:59 Comments ||
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#7
Why don't we all sit down over a rare 2" thick Prime Porterhouse and flagon of your favorite Aussie rose and work this out?
#8
I'd like to introduce you to the Second Amendment...
Dar - I just wrote a letter to President Bush about the Second Amendment that underscores what you're talking about here. I've posted it to my website at http://users.codenet.net/mweather/mysideguns.htm
Check it out. What we see happening here is one of the things I wrote about.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 11:24 Comments ||
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#9
OP -- Damn fine letter! It's such well-written and respectful letters that are worth their weight in gold and get attention, too. Way to go!
Posted by: Dar ||
12/03/2003 13:24 Comments ||
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#10
. com in two generations you'll see steak Vishnu in Houston.
#11
What gets me is the lack of press coverage. THis is the ONLY place I have seen this info. I lived in Mississippi in the 60's and everytime an African-American's house burned (arson or not), it was front-page news in NYT and WP.
I am so glad the liberals are all for freedom of religion. /sarcasm
#12
This probably doesn't file under "terrorism" but under "hate crime" -- i.e. crimes with racism / intolerance of religion as a motive. Unless I'm mistaken, "terrorism" requires a conspiracy and a political motive, don't it? (Note: "terrorism" and "hate crimes" are not mutually exclusive.) There could be just some random moron doing this.
That doesn't mean this shouldn't be getting more press coverage, though. It's an outrage.
Senior Chinese military officers warned Taiwan it was staring into the abyss of war and the mainland was ready for "necessary" casualties if the island pursued its independence drive. The comments in the state-run Outlook Weekly magazine, carried by the Xinhua news agency and major websites, followed Taiwan President Chen Shui-bianâs plan to hold a referendum on the islandâs future. Two Peopleâs Liberation Army (PLA) officers quoted by the magazine said Chen would be held responsible if war breaks out and said separatists "will be treated the same way war criminals are dealt with elsewhere in the world". "Chen has touched on the mainlandâs bottomline on the Taiwan question," said Luo Yuan, a senior colonel with the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences. Always amusing to hear a communist talk about the "bottomline."
"He is actually playing with fire. It is very dangerous — and immoral as well — for Chen and his predecessor Lee Teng-hui to take the restraints and tolerance of the mainland as signs of weakness. "Just âcause we canât git ya now donât mean we canât ever git yas!"
"If they refuse to come to their senses and continue to use referenda as an excuse to seek Taiwan independence, they will push Taiwan compatriots into the abyss of war," he said. Premier Wen Jiabao has indicated China was willing to "pay any price" to deter Taiwan independence, and these prices were outlined by Major General Peng Guangqian, also with the Academy. They include boycotts of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, decreasing foreign investment, worsening foreign relations, economic recession, and "necessary" casualties of the PLA, he said in the magazine. Okay, now I think heâs serious, heâs talking about taking casualties.
"All these prices are bearable when compared with the Taiwan issue, which is of the highest interest for the Chinese nation," he said. "If Taiwan separatists want to gamble on it (by pushing for independence), they will pay a heavy price and be defeated with shame. We will definitely intervene." Heâs encroaching on Kimmieâs "sea of fire" trademark.
Chen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, said at the weekend that Chinaâs deployment of 496 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan had prompted him to push for a vote to safeguard the countryâs sovereignty. Attaboy, Chen, poke that caged tiger with that stick.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 9:01:47 AM ||
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Getting all frothy at the mouth before the Olympics might make Beijing's Peking's Games look like the Moscow Joke Games. Tough shit, Wang Chung DimBulb. You people only want Taiwan because it's another glittering jewel compared to the fucking lump of coal Mainland. Hands off and Fuck off.
#5
The only way the PRC could totally "take" Taiwan would also result in the total destruction of the Taiwanese economy. At the same time, Taiwan has the capability to inflict considerable, lasting damage to the economy of the PRC. Since the PRC is teetering on the brink of disaster at the moment, any move toward Taiwan would be suicide for both nations. Suicide is not a valid means to maintain a government.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 11:03 Comments ||
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#7
China is not going to try a classic seaborne invasion of Taiwan -- they're not stupid.
I predict high levels of harassment of businesses and Taiwanese nationals in the mainland (and whatever else you can think of that comes under "Economic Blackmail"), long range missiles thrown near or even at Taiwan, and perhaps domestic sabotage/assassinations by Chinese agents in Taiwan.
Sooner or later world pressure will force Taiwan to back down.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
12/03/2003 11:33 Comments ||
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#8
"world pressure"
You actually mean collusion of the greedy tards who think, hope, pray that the mass markets of China will someday be able to afford their products - per yesterday's post and commentary - will lead to Taiwan doing... What, exactly?
Back down from their declaration of independence?
I can, indeed, picture the low-burn destabilization efforts. Is that all it will take? Subvert them and they eventually just cave in and rejoin the communists?
Is it pointless to defend Taiwan because, sooner or later, the ever-lasting Politburo of Commie Mainland will prevail?
#9
You I wouldnât discount the rhetoric coming out of the P.R.C. They are falling by the wayside on the world scene and to have Taiwan declare independence might be the final straw. During the Korean war and the border disputes with Russia/Vietnam the PLA was more that willing to take heavy casualties. These would be casualty rates greater that 50%. They could take Taiwan by force of arms but they would pay a VERY heavy price. While the Chicoms have mass, Taiwan has technology. Even with the Clinton upgrades the mainland could never maintain air or sea superiority (loss of both would doom any invasion). They ONLY hope for the Chicoms is to take the island quickly and hope the U.N. would intervene before George sends in the troops. Make no mistake about that, he WILL send in the troops. The Chicoms do not want to face our Air Force and Navy not even on their best day. So when Bush is re-elected next year Taiwan will hold itâs referendum and that will be that.
#11
This is the same rhetoric China has been spewing for the last 50 years. Move along people, nothing new to see here.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
12/03/2003 12:15 Comments ||
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#12
Sure, they have millions of troops they are willing to sacrifice in the name of 'International World Peace through Socialism'. But how do they plan to get those troops to Taiwan? Do they have enough heavy lift capacity cargo planes? More than Taiwan (not to mention the USNavy) can shoot down? Do they have more cargo ships than Taiwan (not to mention the USNavy) can sink in the straits?
The only thing the chicoms can do is nuke them. And then they'd get nuked right back. So what are they really doing? Trying to pile on while we're thinking about terrorists, to make us back down. This is just like Little Kimmie in NK, just without the hype. They try to bully and bluff, but they don't have the logistics to pull it off without sacrificing themselves, and don't think peking wouldn't be ground zero if they went nuclear on Taiwan.
#13
What I'd like to know is precisely what number is it that they consider "necessary"? How many of their countrymen are they willing to sacrifice? Thousands? Millions?
#14
When was the last time China won a major war? Or any war? When was the last time China successfully invaded another country? When did China ever attempt a sea born invasion? Has China's navy ever engaged in any kind on combat? Has the air force? Has even the army? (And running around like stooges in the late 1930's against the Japanese doesn't count.)
The fact is that they haven't. Aside from the Boxer Rebellion and loosing to a dozen Japanese army divisions, China has never fought a modern-day war (and by modern I mean a conflict using guns and not swords). Like Egypt, China is an international looser when it comes to armed conlict. Oh sure, it can pound its chest and make threats, but there is NO Chinese soldier who knows how to fight a war because no one there has never been IN a war. At least not one that they won on their own.
Perhaps they should keep this stellar history in mind when they go up against a determined Taiwan that is backed up by the greatest military force in history. Kind of puts that whole 4000 year old civilization thing into perspective, huh?
Posted by: Matt D ||
12/03/2003 12:48 Comments ||
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#15
.com, since it wasn't clear in my comment #7, I totally agree with your frustrated cynicism.
And we (America and like-minded nations) should stand by Taiwan for all the right reasons.
That said, I do not expect to see any classic invasion response (actually, I would prefer that since it would militarily be the easiest to confront and defeat).
I get more worried about the various hellacious things they could do to Taiwan short of an all-out invasion, knowing that there is little spine left in the rest of the world to condemn China for doing those very things -- the ROW will rather pressure Taiwan to stop rocking the boat.
Sad.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
12/03/2003 13:17 Comments ||
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#16
The ChiComs can absorb Taiwan by close economic ties and sucking them in. It will take years, but they can do it. If they get too capitalistic, they may change radically too, but I would not count on it. It seems to me that the Taiwan issue is something they are beating a drum about to create an issue that could unite the country. The ChiComs are doing a long range plan with weapons modernization, providing front companies with stevedoring services at each end of the panama canal, cozying up to Castro and Chavez, as well as playing games with Kimmie and the NORKS.
I would not underestimate them and their capabilities to modernize, and I would not underestimate their capabilities to do something really stupid. They see us as preoccupied with the ME, and see this as a time of weakness for the US to be exploited. We must be vigilant!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/03/2003 14:42 Comments ||
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#17
Matt, the PLA did fairly well against the Nationalist forces and not so badly against a badly positioned US force in Korea. In Korea they displayed a willingness to exchange infantry for firepower and pushed the 8th Army back to the 38th parallel. But without a land border the willingness to exchange at 15-1 counts for nothing.
#18
Carl - Sorry, your point is well taken regards their subversion, bro - I didn't mean to leave myself unclear, either. You read me right too - I am just incredibly frustrated with how everybody seems to naturally kowtow to these cretins. Grrrrr.
What I hope for, of course, is that they change their spots before the morons go after Taiwan - that the whole mantle of communism is finally thrown off and, I hope, bloodily ground under the heels of the normal Chinese citizen.
The leadership seems to me both as ruthless and as naive as the Black Hats. Remarkable how isolation from the average citizen can lead to this bizarre condition, no? As long as we make our intentions crystal clear, and don't do the alligator crawl, we should be able to hold them at bay. That means electing leaders with gumption, of course.
#19
.com and Carl, I think that the real question is whether the Taiwanese want to be free of the mainland. If they actually want to be free and are not just posturing for better terms, then how much are they willing to sacrifice for freedom.
Every country pays a blood price for freedom. The US paid a price for ours but some countries pays a higher price. The price that Cambodia paid is chilling to me. I admire the price that freedom seekering Czechs paid even in defeat. The Chinese people paid a terrible price in Tienimen Square, as well.
George Bush has committed the US to support the Taiwanese if they choose to be free from the Mainland. That is different from a commitment to defend Taiwan from the PRC. I think that is as nuanced as GW gets.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 17:32 Comments ||
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#20
"Unleash Chiang Kai-shek!"
__________________________oh for the good 'ol days of the 1950's sez borgboy...
#21
I tend to agree with Yosemite Sam:
"This is the same rhetoric China has been spewing for the last 50 years. Move along people, nothing new to see here."
They're practicing psyops here. Trying to make Taiwan back down without them firing a shot. Sun Tzu was Chinese, after all, and it's not only us US 'warmongers' who study his wisdom.
Posted by: Kathy K ||
12/03/2003 19:56 Comments ||
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#22
Steven Den Beste just posted an interesting analysis of the China / Taiwan situation here.
Posted by: A Jackson ||
12/03/2003 20:26 Comments ||
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#23
AJ, I find nothing in Mr. Den Beste's analysis that is wanting. Taiwan would certainly be attacked with missiles, which would kill a bunch of civilians. The PRC has no ability to invade the island. Taiwan can certainly remain free for as long as it's people are willing to make sacrifices to reamin so. We would probably have to suply them and buy everything they produce.
Eventually, Taiwan will have to have some type of relationship with the big land mass across the straits. With US support, Taiwan can pick the time and terms.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 21:21 Comments ||
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EFL Jewish Holy Books On Display at the Alexandria Library: The Torah & the âProtocols of the Elders of Zionâ
Recently, a manuscript museum opened at the new Alexandria Library, which was renovated by the Egyptian and Italian governments via UNESCO...correspondent Jihan Hussein reported [1] that the museum had added "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" to the display case of the holy books of the monotheistic religions, next to a Torah. The book on display is the first translation of the "Protocols" into Arabic, by Muhammad Khalifa Al-Tunisi,
(only a pittance of western literature has been translated into arabic but Hitler speeches and the Protocols are always on the bestseller list at the local âarab streetâ)
and its binding, according to the report, features "a Star of David, the Bolshevik Jewish symbol, surrounded by symbolic snakes." The following is an interview with the museumâs director, Dr. Yousef Ziedan, in which he explains why he decided to add the "Protocols" to the exhibit:
âThe Protocols of Zion Are More Important Than the Torahâ
"When my eyes fell upon the rare copy of this dangerous book, I decided immediately to place it next to the Torah. Although it is not a monotheistic holy book, it has become one of the sacred [tenets] of the Jews.... UNESCOâs dollars at work - would somebody please ask the Demâs about this next debate
More in the next post...
Posted by: mhw ||
12/03/2003 8:35:34 AM ||
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Redactado para la Longitud & La diversión Anti-Capitalists Environmentalists in California are trying to block a federal plan to build a new security fence to prevent terrorists illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States from Mexico. âOle!â
The 14-mile fence would accompany an existing 40-mile fence that has been credited with causing a massive drop in illegal border crossings since its construction in 1993. Didnât the first 40-mile fence bother them? Reasonable people Supporters of the fence say that the increasing number of terrorists who are at large means the United States must be even more vigilant at its borders. But environmentalists argue free movement of coyotes is more important that the construction of a fence would disrupt the local ecosystem, cause erosion problems and damage the area where the Pacific Ocean meets the scenic Tijuana River, now inhabited by buzzards rare birds and crickets insects.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
12/03/2003 7:34:53 AM ||
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Hands up anyone who has ever seen a bird or an insect blocked by a fence...
And ostriches don't count, BTW.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/03/2003 8:20 Comments ||
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Hey,environmentalists.Do the words"Bite me"hold any meaning for you?
Birds,insects will fly/crawl/tunnel over/threw/under a fence. Of course being a city boy NMM wouldn't know that.Remember folks NMM is one of those people that wants us to give-up our 4x4's.
#4
The area along the border where the fence exists has a border patrol road on the US side and a no-man's land where the illegals gather on the south side. Neither is a habitat. The issue is immigration, and the lefties are, as usual, trying to use environmental concerns to stop a project they just don't want. Nothing about a second fence would be damaging to teh environment, any more than trash (empty water jugs, dirty diapers, food wrappers, foil, etc.) that the illegals ditch in the brush is....
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 9:14 Comments ||
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Frank G:
So, now we have two reasons to put a fence up. To keep the garbage out, and the illegals too.
#6
Now all we need is to put a several thousand mile fence alond the Canadian border. Nothing against Canadian's, but they're government is a bunch of Pro-asshats.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/03/2003 10:15 Comments ||
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I'd sure like to know how this frickin' delicate ecosystem managed to survive millenia of natural disasters. Seems like the whole thing should have just swooned, keeled over, and died on the spot.
#9
"Scenic" Tijuana River... Snicker...
Mojo - that means it hasn't caught fire... yet!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 11:27 Comments ||
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So exactly what is the difference between a Mexican fence and an Israeli fence? Please discuss.
George: If you're going to build a Canadian fence, 54'40 would be a good start(keep the Esquimeaux out). Also Rove thinks Vermont should be on the 'other' side of the fence, hehe!
Posted by: john ||
12/03/2003 13:07 Comments ||
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#11
I do the environmental thing to the best of my ability - ducks unlimited, clean water groups, arbor foundation, plant trees, kill deer, all that good stuff. Still having a hard time analyzing how adding more fence hurts that paticular ecosystem. The erosion factor can be countered w/other measures. Don't see building more fence as the cancer to the ecosystem there.
#12
George: If you're going to build a Canadian fence, 54'40 would be a good start
Naaaah, build from Massena, NY, to Ottawa, follow the Ottawa river to New Liskeard, then straight north, along the Ontario/Quebec border. Offer the Maritime Provinces the option of joining, if they so choose. Let the Quebecoise rot in hell, if they so choose, or even worse, join with France as IT slips into hell. I just hope that my Canadian friends that actually live in Quebec manage to find those new jobs they're looking for elsewhere, first.
As for Vermont, having Dean as a legal resident should constitute sufficient punishment for any manner of sins.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 15:04 Comments ||
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Well, I guess my plan to put in bouncing bettys every 10 yards is right out, then...
#14
Where I grew up, fenses were very rare between houses. So it wasn't until I moved away from the Northeast (US) that I heard the phrase "good fenses make good neighbors". This statement hasn't ever sat quite right for me, but these days border fences sound about right, and about time.
Same goes for Israel, times about a million.
Just like back home, you don't need to build a fence if your neighbors conduct themselves like actual human beings GOOD neighbors.
Undersecretary of State John Bolton warned on Tuesday that the United States will act decisively to impede transfers of nuclear and missile technology to Iran and any further violations of Tehranâs nuclear obligations will go before the U.N. Security Council. "For our part, the United States will continue its efforts to prevent the transfer of sensitive nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Iran, from whatever source, and will monitor the situation there with great care," said Bolton, the top administration official for nonproliferation issues. Officials told Reuters later that Boltonâs use of the phrase "from whatever source" was meant to send a message to Pakistan, Russia and China, all of whom have been accused of aiding Iranâs nuclear ambitions.
The United Nations Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week condemned Iran for hiding sensitive nuclear research for as long as 18 years, and said any further serious breaches of nonproliferation obligations would not be tolerated. Faced with concerted international pressure, Iran agreed to allow snap inspections of its nuclear sites and suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used to make fuel for bombs. But Hassan Rohani, secretary-general of Iranâs Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday Iran has no intention of scrapping its uranium-enrichment program. Bolton said Rohaniâs comments made clear Iran has "mixed feelings" about its IAEA obligations and privately, U.S. officials called Rohaniâs comments "stunning."
"Marvin, is that boy just plain stoopid?"
"I believe so, sir."
They said they raised doubts about an agreement between Iran and three European powers — France, Britain and Germany — that kept the IAEA from declaring Iran in noncompliance of its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and sending the issue to the Security Council. Russia is helping Iran build a nuclear reactor at the Bushehr power complex, but said it would drop those plans if the IAEA presented evidence that Iran was seeking to build nuclear weapons. He [Bolton, not Russia] reaffirmed the U.S. view that Iranâs activities, including enriching uranium with centrifuges and lasers and reprocessing plutonium, can only be an attempt to develop nuclear weapons, something Tehran denies. They will have that bomb, who cares?
The IAEAâs Nov. 26 condemnation of Iran "should leave no doubt that one more transgression by Iran will mean that the IAEA is obligated to report Iranâs noncompliance to the (U.N.) Security Council and General Assembly," he said. "The real issue now is whether the (IAEA) board of governors will remain together in its insistence that Iranâs pursuit of nuclear weapons is illegitimate or whether Iranian efforts to split the board through economic incentives and aggressive propaganda will succeed," he said. It will succeed if the money is right
Posted by: Lucky ||
12/03/2003 2:06:07 AM ||
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Lucky, don't worry about Iran, It's the taliban that we need to worry about. And also Iraqi resistance fighters. The more boots on the ground there will surely make the WoT a done deal by Jan 1. It will be a killer Rose Bowl heh. BTW the mullahs only want to help you!
From Middle East Newsline
Israelâs military was said to have halted Palestinian smuggling of weapons through tunnels that connect to Egypt.
Now they'll have to dig some longer ones, to Jordan. Or maybe to Cyprus.
Israeli military sources said the cessation of smuggling was taken in cooperation with Egypt, which controls the neighboring Sinai Peninsula. The tunnels had connected the Gaza Strip to the Egyptian side of the divided city of Rafah. In October, Israelâs military launched a sustained operation to destroy the tunnels. Three of an estimated 11 tunnels were found and destroyed. But military sources from Israelâs Southern Command said the capture of several Palestinian insurgents led to information on how the Palestinian Authority and insurgency groups used the tunnels for the smuggling of weapons, insurgents and illegal drugs. The sources said this led to the halt in the use of the tunnels. "Frank conversations between IDF interrogators and Paleos who got their asses caught in a sling were successful in bringing out the best of both sides."
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Nikolaevsk ||
12/03/2003 1:20:08 AM ||
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I would have had the tunnels secretly booby-trapped to collapse when smuggling was resumed. Saves having to arrest and incarcerate more terrorists.
The number of applicants to the Air Force Academy has grown sharply from last fall, despite the schoolâs sexual assault scan. As of Nov. 12, the number of applicants was 10,555 - 1,616 more than the 8,939 from a year ago at the same time, the academy said Tuesday. Wonder why? Couldnât possibly be patriotism, could it?
``People look at this school and see we have challenges, but they have a lot of faith that we will take on those challenges and correct them,ââ said Col. William Carpenter, admissions director. The number of female applicants has also risen from a year ago: 2,704 have applied as of Nov. 12, well ahead of last yearâs 1,883. Academy officials said prospective students donât seem familiar with details of the scandal. Leftie spin: women wouldnât be patriots if they knew.
``From the comments we hear from visiting students, they feel strongly about what the academy stands for,ââ said Rollie Stoneman, admissions associate director. ``They want to be part of the solution.ââ But these women are.
A tuition-free education and a guaranteed job after graduation may also be helping the numbers. The cost of an academy education is currently estimated at $33,468 a year. [sound of Guardian writer drowning in bile]
Yep, has to be about the benefits, couldnât be about defending the country one loves.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:54:14 AM ||
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I went to an academy for the free room and board. You also get excellent deals on cruise packages throughout the world. I even got to see the the Omani coast from an anchorage while taking on fuel and water,
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 4:54 Comments ||
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Enrollment at West Point will be up this coming Fall too - a much higher percentage than normal of those offered admission accepted this year.
Probably they all want to enjoy those warm, cozy winters we're known for here in NY ....
#3
I don't understand the numbers. Each Congress critter gets to nominate 2 to each Academy, that's still less than 3,000 over the 4 years. Some legacies, but still, over 8,000?
#4
They must have read all those stories about the Air Force Acadmeny and thought, "Wow, Hot Sex! Who knew?"
Posted by: Steve ||
12/03/2003 8:45 Comments ||
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Chuck, don't know if it answers your question, but here's some raw data (from the Academy website):
Each member of Congress and the Vice President may have five nominated cadets at the Air Force Academy at any one time. They may nominate up to ten candidates for each vacancy. Vacancies occur when cadets graduate or leave prior to graduation. The Academy also reserves a select number of spots for international applicants and applicants from U.S. territories and military-affiliated categories.
#6
When I started at the Air Force Academy in 1964, we had a class roster of 1004 cadets. That number has grown, I believe, to 1441. In addition to those nominated to the Academy by congressmen and senators, there are a number who are accepted from the ranks, additional numbers allowed as surviving children of medal of honor winners (still competetive, but only among applicants), and several other categories. Most classes don't graduate anywhere near the number nominated: our class was down to just below 800 by the end of Cadet Basic, and graduated just under 600. I was one of those that attritted - left after the first academic semester due to a closed-head injury.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 11:35 Comments ||
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Chuck, my class at USNA started out with 1500 and finished with 1000.
There are no legacy cases. For example, my Da'd roomate from High School went to Navy. He kind of inspired my older brother and I to apply. His own son had trouble getting into Navy because he was teaching at Navy when his son was applying. Maryland nominations to the academy are hard to come by. I was living in Ohio and had no trouble getting a nomination to Navy. Not many folks in Ohio want to join the Navy.
Many people that can't get in immediately will attend a the Naval Acedemy Prep School (NAPS) in Rhode Island for a year. If they complete NAPS, I beleive they automatically are nominated by the Vice President. I may be wrong. There are also programs like BOOST that are geared towards helping enlisted (particularly minorities) get in to Navy and graduate.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 21:57 Comments ||
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A jury decided Tuesday that a convicted killer deserves to be executed for the murders of five people in a small-town bank last year. The same jury that found Jose Sandoval guilty last week of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of four bank employees and a customer said aggravating circumstances merited Sandovalâs death by electrocution. A jury also found the death penalty was warranted for one of the three other defendants in the case. Judicial panels still must sentence the men, and could choose life imprisonment instead. Two other men await trial, also on five counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutor Joe Smith argued that Sandoval enjoyed the killings at the U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk so much that he smiled as they were happening and again for a police photographer hours later. His enjoyment contributed to the killings being especially cruel and heinous - a requirement that makes Sandoval eligible for death. Sandovalâs attorney, Madison County Public Defender Harry Moore, said all the photo showed was insensitivity. ``Itâs just evidence of being a little bit uncaring,ââ he said. And Uday was a little insensitive towards women.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:48:46 AM ||
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Buckle-up Sandoval, it's the law.......bwhahahaha
Ralph Nader has not yet decided whether to make another run for the White House, but heâs authorized a new exploratory committee to raise money for a potential bid. The Nader 2004 Presidential Exploratory Committee was formed in late October as part of the consumer activistâs effort to gauge support for a run, said Theresa Amato, a committee director. The guy never learns. Heâs the William Jennings Bryan of the 21st century.
``He is using it to test the waters,ââ said Amato, who served as Naderâs national campaign manager when he ran for president on the LunarGreen Party ticket in 2000. She said the organization is part of Naderâs overall strategy of ``talking to people, calling people, seeing what level of support there is.ââ Karl Rove is "for".
The new committee also has a Web site under construction, www.naderexplore04.org, which Amato said would debut ``very soonââ and play a key role in raising money. Nader has said he would decide by the end of the year, but Amato said Tuesday an announcement is more likely to occur early next year. Nader did not return phone calls seeking comment. "Iâm thinking, Iâm thinking!"
Part of his consideration is whether the major political parties decide to take his progressive agenda seriously. Nader has sent letters to Republican and Democratic party leaders urging more of a focus on issues such as universal health insurance and corporate fraud. Amato said Nader is still waiting to hear back from party officials. "Mr. Nader, I have Mr. Dean on line two!"
But she cautioned against reading too much into the committeeâs formation. ``Some other candidates have used it as the launching pad, but heâs using it to test the waters,ââ Amato said. ``He is not a candidate now.ââ At least he wonât be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel like Rev. Al.
Nader won about 3 percent of the vote as the Green Partyâs candidate in 2000, but many angry Democrats voters blamed him correctly for taking votes from Democrat Al Gore, paving the way for President Bushâs narrow victory. Funny how they never blamed Pat Buchanan for Florida.
Funny how they never blamed Ross Perot for Clinto...
This year, Nader has been an active supporter of Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio congressman considered Naderâs political shag sister soul mate on loonie social and economic issues.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:45:22 AM ||
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But that's what this guy does. If your a presidential canidate, then you must run.
#2
The only candidate who can take Howard Dean by the left flank.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/03/2003 4:57 Comments ||
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A most excellent development. For Bush, that is. If I were Karl Rove I'd fund this guy's campaign.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/03/2003 10:51 Comments ||
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The Presidential Season this year is going to be crowded: Two Libertarians and a couple of other loose cannons are planning on running. With Nader, possibly a couple of other left-wing loonies in the race, the entire ballot may be ten pages long. Most of these "candidates" are nothing but a waste of newsprint and ink (ole Al, anyone?). At least we'll be reminded of just how 'looney' the looney left is, and it's possible it may be entertaining from time to time.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 11:43 Comments ||
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A team of military lawyers recruited to defend alleged terrorists held by the US at Guantanamo Bay was dismissed by the Pentagon after some of its members rebelled against the low per diems unfair way the trials have been designed, the Guardian has learned. And some members of the new legal defence team remain deeply unhappy with the trials - known as "military commissions" - believing them to be slanted towards the prosecution and an affront to modern US military justice. Of the more than 600 detainees at the US prison camp at Guantanamo, none has been charged with any crime, and none has had access to a lawyer, although some have been in captivity of one kind or another for two years. Thatâs generally the case with illegal combatants.
But the US has repeatedly promised that at least some of the prisoners will be charged and tried by military commissions, an arcane form of tribunal based on long-disused models from the 1940s. Blew the dust off the books and viola!
When charged, a prisoner will be assigned a uniformed military defence lawyer. The prisoners have a theoretical right to a civilian lawyer, but the US has placed financial and bureaucratic obstacles in the way of this. "Wudja mean, I gotta PAY for a mouthpiece?"
A former military lawyer with good contacts in the US military legal establishment said that the first group of defence lawyers the Pentagon recruited for Guantanamo balked at the commission rules, which insist, among other restrictions, that the government be allowed to listen in to any conversations between attorney and client. "There was a circular that went out to military lawyers in the early spring of 2003 which said âwe are looking for volunteersâ for defence counsel," said the ex-military lawyer. "There was a selection process, and the people they selected were the right people, they had the right credentials, they were good lawyers. As opposed to good human beings. But pray, continue.
"The first day, when they were being briefed on the dos and donâts, at least a couple said: âYou canât impose these restrictions on us because we canât properly represent our clients.â When the group decided they werenât going to go along, they were relieved. They reported in the morning and got fired that afternoon." "Plane boards at 5 pm sharp. Git."
The Pentagonâs recently set up Office of Military Commissions denied the claim. "That is not true, never happened," said its spokesman, Major John Smith. "Nope, nope, never happened that way, nope.
That's an alias, isn't it? If it isn't, I'll bet he get snickers every time he takes his wife to a motel. Prob'ly does it on purpose, in fact...
Yet the Guardian understands from a uniformed source with intimate knowledge of the mood among the current military defence team, six lawyers strong, that there is deep unhappiness about the commission set-up.
"Damn, Skip. I'm deeply unhappy. Defending these beauzeaux isn't going to help my won-lost record one little bit..."
"Itâs like you took military justice, gave it to a prosecutor and said, âmodify it any way you wantâ," the source said. "The government would like to say we have done these commissions before. But what happened after [the Nazi cases] was the military justice system changed. What we have done is stupid. It is, I would say, an insult to the military, to the evolution of the military justice system. They want to take us back to 1942." The Gitmo âdetaineesâ want to take us back to 710.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:37:09 AM ||
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Anyone know if these are the same rules and procedures used at Nuremberg? It would be interesting to see the Guardian argue itself into proclaiming the Nazi war crimes trials were invalid.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/03/2003 8:25 Comments ||
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These are not "disenfranchised" punks who knocked over a 7-11. The lawyers need to get a grip or fugg off. The fact that they were not shot where they stood over there in Wackiland is because we wanted to drain every phreakin' last drop of intel from them, first. What happens to the worthless leftover husk of these failed killer jihadis should not be confused with what should happen to honorable men.
#3
"Archaic rules dating from the 1940's"
Seems to me, that's the last time we had a major war that we actually captured "illegal combattants" and held them prisoner. If that's the last time the rules NEEDED to be used, what's 'archaic' about that? The Guardian is brown and smelly.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 11:47 Comments ||
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, fresh from her own trip to Iraq, accused President Bush yesterday of conducting the war by a "political calendar," saying he had dispatched the wrong "mix of troops" to secure the country and that victory "is not certain."Â In an interview on NBCâs "Today" show early yesterday, the New York Democrat said her war-zone visit last weekend "with not only the military, but the civilian American representatives" revealed that "clearly what weâre doing now is not an effective strategy." Ah declare, I am so suh-prised, ah feel faint!
Success in rebuilding Iraq, she said, can only come with the involvement of the United Nations, which has hosed most everything it's ever done but might not hose this been reluctant to aid U.S. efforts in the country and has reduced personnel in response to a string of terrorist attacks. Hillaryâs plan depends upon the cowardly lion finding his courage. Brilliant.
"We need to get the U.N. back in as quickly as possible to internationalize this," Mrs. Clinton told "Today." "We need the legitimacy of the United Nations in order to get Dubya out of office in 2008 but not before move forward." Mrs. Clinton also told the Associated Press while touring Iraq on Friday that the United States could not be certain of victory in Iraq. "We have to exert all of our efforts militarily, but the outcome is not assured," Mrs. Clinton said. And remember, death is not an option: who is more defeatist, Hillary or Hans Blix? Discuss.
The senatorâs message was a striking contrast to that of Mr. Bush, who told cheering troops during a surprise trip to Baghdad a day before Mrs. Clinton arrived that there is no doubt that "we will prevail."Â
For one thing, we don't have a choice. It won't be easy because the enemy doesn't have a choice, either.
"We will win because our cause is just," Mr. Bush said on Thanksgiving Day. "We will win because we will stay on the offensive. We will win because youâre part of the finest military ever assembled. And we will prevail because the Iraqis want their freedom." Iâm feeling good again. Must be the pretzels.
Speaking with the handful of reporters who accompanied him to Iraq on Thursday on the secret Air Force One flight, Mr. Bush said walking into the mess hall to greet members of the 82nd Airborne Division was "an emotional moment." "The energy level was beyond belief," he said en route home. "I mean, Iâve been in front of some excited crowds before, but this was â the place truly erupted and I could see the look of amazement and then look of appreciation on the kidsâ faces. Working the crowd, a soldier said to me: âIâm so glad you came. Thanks for coming. Itâs important for us to know that the people of America support us.â The fact that the president would come confirms that in this soldierâs mind. And I think it confirmed it in a lot of soldiersâ minds."
Asked on "Today" whether the presidentâs Thanksgiving Day trip to Baghdad was a morale booster or merely a politically staged photo op, Mrs. Clinton said, "I think it was both." And no one knows staged photos ops better than Bill Hillary!
"I applaud the president. It sends a message of support," she said. "But on the other hand it isnât a substitute for a plan to increase security or to eventually create more independence for Iraqis."
"And everybody knows you can't possibly have both."
Mrs. Clinton also accused the Bush administration of putting politics over sound policy in Iraq. "I think an exit strategy, unfortunately, is being driven by our political calendar, not necessarily whatâs in the best interest of a long-term, stable Iraq," she said. Ibid.
Mrs. Clinton also told AP that military personnel with whom she had spoken wanted to know "how the people at home feel about what we are doing." Mrs. Clinton said she told the troops, "Youâre DOOOOOMED!" "Americans are wholeheartedly proud of what you are doing, but there are many questions at home about the administrationâs policies."
"Us Dems are the ones who're asking them."
Republican consultant Scott Reed called the comments "un-American."Â
French, to be specific...
"Any member of the U.S. Senate should be supporting our troops 100 percent," Mr. Reed said. "It sounds like Senator Clinton has been stung by the fact that President Bush overshadowed her trip to Iraq and left her as an after-story. So to break into the debate, sheâs had to take the low road." Leon Panetta, former Clinton administration chief of staff, said he wouldnât "second-guess" Mrs. Clintonâs trip to Iraq, and was glad that she had prefaced criticism of Mr. Bushâs conduct of the war with pro-forma support for the troops. "Obviously, policy differences will be presented, but I think those battles need to be fought here in this country," Mr. Panetta said. "I think when it comes to visiting our troops, itâs important to let them know that the country is supporting their mission. The Democrats Both parties need to be clearer about that message." Gee, I thought Dubya was pretty clear.
As to whether troops would get the wrong message by hearing criticism of their commander in chief from a sitting senator, Mr. Panetta said that "our troops are pretty smart, smart enough to know that Sen. Clinton is a two-faced witch."
"Really. They're smarter'n whips. You can say anything to them, tell them they're dirtbags, and they'll know what's really true. In Gulf War I, Sammy told 'em that while they were getting ready to fight in Kuwait, Tom Selleck and Bart Simpson were back home, doinking their wives. They knew it was a lie. Picked right up on it, in fact."
Despite Mrs. Clintonâs criticism of the presidentâs Iraq policy, Mr. Panetta said she and Mr. Bush are pursuing the same goal. "Both the president as well as Mrs. Clinton are pretty much saying the same thing right now," Mr. Panetta said. "Weâve got to provide a transition of authority to the Iraqis as quickly as possible." Other than Bush saying weâll stay as long as it takes, and honoring our people, and Hillary saying we need the UN and to turn tail and run, yep, messageâs the same. Leon, Leon, how did you ever get so desparate?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 12:26:50 AM ||
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HILLARY, in a new gray green pants suit from De Spiel, said I'm very concerned! She was also quoted as saying "whats the problem?"
#2
Over the Clinton years, 8 regular Army divisions, 2 reserve divisions, 20 Air Force and Navy air wings (about 2,000 planes), 13 SSBN, 4 aircraft carriers, and 121 other ships and submarines were cut. Now complains we don't have enough troops and tools to do the job.
Which is why her reception in Iraq and Afghanistan was "polite". Our troops are pretty smart.
Posted by: Ben ||
12/03/2003 4:17 Comments ||
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Good point Ben, but remember back in May that pig in a pantsuit was bellowing that our quick victory in Iraq was made possible by the "Clinton" military. Its a testament to our guys that their able to do more with less.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/03/2003 7:44 Comments ||
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#4
"We need the legitimacy of the United Nations...
That's pretty funny Hillary. Changing your plans from president to standup comic?
saying he had dispatched the wrong "mix of troops" to secure the country and that victory "is not certain."
Well put, Hillary, except you are your hubby did everything they could to punish the military for being the military. The resulting 'force mix', for all of your efforts to deprecate our defense capability was way more than needed.
As for the 'victory is not certain' remark: You are a defeatist socialist traitor. You can start removing this tag by:
1) Apologizing to the troops in Iraq, beginning with the commander in chief for your defeatist comments.
2) State without equivocation that you and your husband will stand by Bush as he prosecutes the war as silent and willing participants.
3) You renounce your socialist tendencies and admit to the world your goal has been destruction of the United States.
Signal your willingness to comply by writing an $8 million check to military.com... Maybe shoot some money over to my website too.
#5
Usually a fact finding mission entails keeping one's mouth shut and one's ears open. It figures Billary couldn't even accomplish that simple task right.
#7
I'm suprised she took so long to bash Bush. I thought she would have started as soon as she left Iraqi air space.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/03/2003 10:36 Comments ||
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#8
Has anyone noticed how many times Hillary's name appears on an equivalent level w. that of the President in that article? We all know her motives, and it seems that the media is being utterly complicit (Ethel, Get My Pills!=EGMP) in her desire to present HERSELF as an equal but alternative choice to Bush...I'm not entirely convinced she won't run in '04...
#9
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, fresh from her own trip to Iraq, accused President Bush yesterday of conducting the war by a "political calendar," saying he had dispatched the wrong "mix of troops" to secure the country and that victory "is not certain."
The operative words here are "fresh from her own trip to Iraq", meaning, this criticism came after she left there. Way to go, Senator! No use peddling a worthless little "message" to an unreceptive and possibly hostile crowd. :)
#10
I am just saddened that the Jr. Shrew from NY doesn't jump into the Presidential race. How great would it be for Bush to beat the chief poster gal for the Demoncrats? The day after the election, the DNC Chairman would say something like: "Apparently there has been wide-spread voter fraud because we cannot understand why Senator Clinton failed to secure a single delegate." Yup 2004 is going to be a bumpy ride folks, strap in and get ready.
#11
I wonder who Hillary hired as her military "expert". She should immediately fire him/her - she learned NOTHING from her experience, and still knows squat about the US military and the people that fill it. To have someone who is a Senator on the Armed Services Committee who is so lacking in knowledge is a grave concern for this nation. The people of New York, who elected this walking ego, should be ashamed of themselves.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/03/2003 15:12 Comments ||
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#12
Good news:Hillary will NOT run in 2004 because she did learn one thing from Bill,"its the economy stupid!".With evidence the economy is improving no way Bush can be defeated.
Really,really bad news:Hillary will run in 2008,so we are going to be constantly hearing from her for next 5 years.Especially since liberal-left holdouts in the press will be looking at Hillary as their saviour.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/03/2003 15:44 Comments ||
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Palestinian factions began talks Tuesday with Egyptian officials aimed at achieving a cease-fire that could reopen peace talks with Israel.
Yeah, yeah. Yadda yadda. Bill Murray, call your agent...
But militant groups had a broader goal â getting a say in negotiations to end the decades-long conflict with Israel. Factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which do not officially recognize Israel's existence, are laying the groundwork to be shadow negotiators, along with official delegates from the Palestinian Authority. Representatives of Fatah and several radical PLO factions met Tuesday with Egyptian intelligence officials trying to mediate a cease-fire in attacks on Israeli civilians, in exchange for a halt by Israel to targeted killings of militants and incursions into Palestinian territory.
Uhuh. Sure. "We'll hold the football, Moshe Braun, and you kick it!"
"Oh. Yeah. Sure. We think it's gonna work. It always works, dunnit?"
The main discussions will not begin until Thursday, with the arrival of delegates from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Egypt's intelligence chief, Gen. Omar Suleiman, met with both Palestinian and Israeli officials to set up the Cairo talks. He played a role in arranging the last cease-fire by the militants in June, which fell apart after about seven weeks when Israel kept up attacks on militant leaders.
AP means "when Hamas blew up a bus full of people".
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:02 ||
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which fell apart after about seven weeks when Israel kept up attacks on militant leaders.
AP means "when Hamas blew up a bus full of people".
It was a metaphor
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/03/2003 9:35 Comments ||
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#2
"It was a metaphor.
"
Oops, now you've lost 'em. You can't go over their heads, Frank. When they don't get it, they've been trained at J-school to assume it wasn't important. You'll have to figure out how to explain cause-effect to these guys on the same level as that damned dog that you wore out 6 or 7 newspapers on (one of the better uses of newspapers) whacking him on the nose when he peed on your Lazyboy. Same IQ, so same approach.
#3
Another show of 'good fortune' by terrorists in a attempt to buy time.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/03/2003 10:17 Comments ||
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#4
The meetings are secret, but Khaled Atta, a senior official of the Syrian-based Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said the groups presented their views to the Egyptians, "who are optimistic."
It's a certainty that this is all nothing but the typical bullshit dispensed by a typical terrorist organization. They can't even talk face to face with Israelis.
We've been ignoring this, even while the John Mohammad/Lee Malvo trial's been going on. Is there a turban involved? Or a goof? Shooting up the school makes me think it's a kid...
Authorities have linked 12 shootings along a five-mile stretch of interstate around Columbus, including one that killed a woman and another that broke a window at an elementary school. Four of the shootings â three at vehicles and one at the school last month â were from the same gun, Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin said Tuesday.
Another member of the Axis of Stevel? There's no getting away from them!
Although ballistics tests could not link the rest of the shootings along Interstate 270, investigators said they "are comfortable" saying all 12 are connected, he said. Authorities have received more than 500 tips, but would not speculate about who the shooter might be and would not release the type of weapon.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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Bwwaaahahahaha!
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 0:29 Comments ||
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There has been a certain restraint on the reporting about this crime. Jocko maybe, not sure! Lets hope the good guys can put this idiot out.
#6
I was wondering about this myself, this morning.
Found this on the web: Join IVC at this third and final neighborhood dialogue as we explore âDiverse Traditions-Common Idealsâ. Columbus has recently experienced a large influx of new immigrants of Muslim faith, but also has a fairly large population of established immigrants and American-born Muslims. This evening will feature a panel of new and established leaders of the Islamic community to share their perceptions and challenges of assimilating into the greater Central Ohio community.
Also, LGF reported on a trucker from Columbus, Ohio, who pled guilty to a terrorism charge.
I'm not saying whoever is doing this shooting is a Muslim. But I wonder...
#7
Growler - no evidence yet as to ethnicity so we best hold off but, us folks within range of this butthead are hopping the law is looking into EVEYTHING. After one of the intial shootings a few weeks back the cops returned the slug dug out of a wounded vehicle to the owner stating they had no interest in keeping it. After the woman was killed last week they went back and asked for the slug back. Damn sloppy police work in my book! The Muslim community here doesn't normally seeth and is largely well respected but. . . you just never know do you. If it's any comfort us Buckeyes have no problem making use of "Old Sparky".
#8
Nonsense. Anyone with eyes can see it's the work of a lone white male. /sarcasm
Doc8404...We caught our snipers after 3 weeks of hell last year. I wish you and the Buckeye residents all luck and haste in finding yours. But if Chief Moose shows up, give him a cup of coffee and ask him to go sit in the other room.
#9
Doc, I wouldn't be so sure about the local Muslims not seething. AFAICR there was a recent case of child abuse being covered up "for the honor of the family", and I remember a ROPer torching a liquor store up there for having the temerity to sell booze on Friday.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/03/2003 12:27 Comments ||
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RC - I've rethought my comments. You're right. In addition to your (correct) examples, CPD officers recently had to attend a training seminar on working with the local Somalies. Some of the training topics; Don't directly look at them in the eye when asking questions (that's confrontational) and NEVER question a woman without her man's permission. I wish I was kidding. . . .
Articles are getting pretty long. Please remember to grab just the news part and cut the reiteration. Short and snappy is easier to read than long and involved — and we have lots of posts every day.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/03/2003 00:01 ||
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Wonder who he means by that?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/03/2003 0:27 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
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