A divided U.N. Security Council on Friday abruptly canceled a trip to the African Union in Ethiopia to discuss a future force in Darfur after failing to agree on what they could talk about, diplomats said. A delegation of eight envoys, led by Britain, was to have taken part in meetings on Monday with Sudanese officials and African Union officials at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
But differences emerged about whether the group had a mandate to engage in discussions, the size of the delegation and whether the visit should supersede a planned trip to Addis three days later from Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his staff, the envoys said. "We haven't been able to reach consensus on the meeting in Addis Ababa," Peru's U.N. Ambassador Jorge Voto-Bernales, the current president, told reporters after lengthy consultations among the 15 council members. He said there were disagreements over two issues. One was "the mandate the delegation would have, constraints they would have, what message they would convey."
"The other was the composition. A number of delegations had volunteered to go but we received suggestions that we appoint a smaller delegation. But this matter also didn't reach consensus," Voto-Bernales said.
At issue is an Aug. 31 Security Council resolution authorizing up to 22,500 U.N. troops, police and civilians for Darfur, providing the Sudan government agreed. The AU extended its invitation in September but since then Khartoum has been adamant about rejecting a force under United Nations command, calling it colonialism.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/11/2006 00:00 ||
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canceled a trip to the African Union in Ethiopia
#3
Can't decide what "message they should convey".
Not surprised. UNSC is an islamic tool and firmly on the side of the islamists. Trouble is the UN resolution they're supposed to be implementing is against their islamist friends. That leaves a simple trip with everybody on the council heading out for drinks and dinner.
#5
A divided U.N. Security Council on Friday abruptly canceled a trip to the African Union in Ethiopia to discuss a future force in Darfur after failing to agree on what they could talk about, diplomats said.
Unreported was the only point of unanimous agreement: Sudan doesn't have sufficient plunderable wealth or resources, rendering further unSecurity Council attempts to reach consensus as to whether or not to intervene in the slaughter, unworthy of the effort.
British al-Qaeda plotter Dhiren Barot - someone with extraordinarily detailed plans to kill - was jailed for life this week. The plots were as ambitious as they were shocking. But in the wake of that terrorism conviction, and a highly-nuanced speech from the head of MI5, it's worth noting that the feeling of shock does not just affect the majority in society. Right at the heart of this storm are fearful Muslim communities in which individuals are trying to comprehend the threat. And so while MI5, the police and others press ahead with counter-terrorism work, the real battle is how to undermine the ideology used by extremists to tempt youngsters to their cause.
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller's speech warned of the scale of this task - 30 suspected plots, 1,600 individuals. "More and more people are moving from passive sympathy towards active terrorism through being radicalised or indoctrinated by friends, families, in organised training events here and overseas, by images on television, through chat rooms and websites on the internet. My service needs to understand the motivations behind terrorism to succeed in countering it, as far as that is possible. Al-Qaeda has developed an ideology which claims that Islam is under attack, and needs to be defended."
The MI5 chief's analysis indicates the huge problems that the government, security services, Muslim communities and wider society face in getting a grip on the mechanisms of radicalisation. Crucially, there are grave concerns in some parts of government and among communities themselves that there is neither a consensus nor a clear strategy in how to de-programme those within networks or to stop others signing up. The most pessimistic analysis is that the security services don't really know what they are looking for - while the communities themselves are too divided to know how to spot it when it's happening.
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Many Muslim leaders feel under pressure to deliver - but they're not sure what government wants - or whether they themselves can deliver anything at all.
Here's a start:
Unconditionally denouce terrorism and violent jihad. Period. No exceptions. No disclaimers. No excuses.
Demand that the Muslim community report radicals to the authorities whenever they spout off about terrorism and violent jihad.
Assure the civil rights of women and demand that all abuse of women and children be reported to the authorities.
Make it clear that non-Muslims are not bound by any aspects of Sharia law. Make a pledge that Islam must be spread only through voluntary conversion.
Renounce the concept of apostasy being punishable by death. Embrace the notion that Muslims may convert to other faiths.
If any or all of the above are impossibilities, then just fuck off and die. You are extremists and not moderates.
According to Russian news sources President Vladimir Putin has begun talks with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Iran's nuclear negotiator. The Interfax news agency quoted a Kremlin source as saying that the talks, taking place at Putin's country residence, would cover Iran's nuclear programme, bilateral relations, as well as international and regional problems. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov are also taking part in the meeting.
On his way to Hanoi next week, President Bush will meet with Putin during a re-fueling stop.
The Netherlands said on Friday that it was seeking to ban the public wearing of the burqa and other Muslim face veils, possibly making it the first European country to impose such a ruling. Last December Dutch lawmakers voted in favour of outlawing face-coverings, and asked Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk to examine the feasibility of such a ban. Verdonk warned that since face veils were worn for religious reasons, a ban could directly conflict with Dutch religious freedom laws.
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Wow! WOW! WOW! I guess they want to survive after all.
Al Qaeda may be planning to attack rail and air travel in Europe -- possibly targeting the busy holiday travel season -- according to intelligence findings, the "CBS Evening News" reported on Friday. The report, citing Arab and other intelligence sources, said interrogations of al Qaeda suspects who recently left Afghanistan and Pakistan raised the concerns. "One suspect said plans for repeating the Heathrow attempt (a plot foiled in August to bomb trans-Atlantic airplanes) were all prepared," the network quoted an Arab official as saying. "It is now a matter of taking action ... Al Qaeda's strategy appears to be raising the pressure in Europe," the official, who requested anonymity, told the network.
The report came as Britain's intelligence agency, MI5, saidon Friday that Muslim extremists were plotting at least 30 major terrorist attacks in Britain, and the threats may involve chemical and nuclear devices. Britain suffered its worst peacetime attack in July 2005 when four British Islamists blew themselves up on London's transport network, killing 52 commuters and wounding hundreds.
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UN seeks end to 'very dangerous' overflights
France said Friday it hoped the US would put pressure on Israel to end military flights over Lebanon, after French peacekeepers nearly launched missiles at Israeli jets flying carrying out mock raids.
#3
May I suggest a simple way of dealing with this? Tell the muzzie splodeydopes that each time they conduct a terrorist attack ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, we will nuke one muzzie city - our choice, anywhere in the world - without warning. The nuke detonation may take place any time in the ninety-day period beginning with the terror attack. I doubt there will be three attacks.
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A leading German legislator voiced anger over baseless Israeli allegations that Lebanon's Islamic Hizbullah resistance is continuing to smuggle arms from Syria into Lebanon, the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine said yesterday. The report referred to last week's meeting between Israeli Justice Minister Meir Shitrit and the head of the German parliamentary faction of the ruling Christian Democratic Union party, Volker Kauder in which Shitrit alleged that he had proof about secret arms shipments for Hizbullah. When asked by Kauder as to why Shitrit would not showcase the proof and evidence, the minister claimed he could not do that because of "political reasons."
Kauder replied by saying, "I am not convinced." As a consequence of the latest groundless Israeli allegations, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has urged his minister during the weekly cabinet sessions, not to speak any longer of evidence or proof in the case of Hizbullah. "There are only hints about suspicious trucks and flights from Iran. We have no proof," Olmert corrected his ministers.
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A leading German legislator voiced anger over baseless Israeli allegations that Lebanon's Islamic Hizbullah resistance is continuing to smuggle arms from Syria into Lebanon
Chafee was an ally. Who'da thunk it? Wowsers. The Independent. The final word in US political analysis. If you don't count the PakiWaki Daily Slimes and the Arab News.
The beleaguered George Bush looks certain to lose another senior appointment - his controversial envoy to the United Nations, John Bolton.
The administration's only real hope of reconfirming Ambassador Bolton lay in securing the support of the Republican senator Lincoln Chafee, a moderate from Rhode Island who lost his seat on Tuesday and will stand down at the end of the year. But Mr Chafee has said he will not support Mr Bolton's appointment.
Mr Chafee said he believed that the American public had sent a clear message and that he was obliged to listen. "To confirm Mr Bolton to the position of UN ambassador would fly in the face of the clear consensus of the country that a new direction is called for. I have long believed that the go-it-alone philosophy that has driven this administration's approach to international relations has damaged our leadership position in the world," he said.
Mr Bolton, a former under secretary of state accused by critics of falsely making the case for war against Iraq, was appointed on a temporary basis by Mr Bush in the summer of 2005. His confirmation had been vehemently opposed by Democrats who launched a filibuster that prevented the issue coming to a vote. Mr Bolton's temporary appointment expires in 2007. It is unclear what the White House now intends to do.
On Thursday, the White House resubmitted Mr Bolton's nomination to the Senate, aware that if it was forced to find a replacement it would come as the UN is heavily involved in issues ranging from North Korea's nuclear testing to the continuing violence in Darfur.
"He has been extraordinarily effective up there at the UN and now is not the time to have a gap in your UN ambassador," said a State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack.
But Democrats indicated that should the Senate - still under Republican control until the end of the year - try to proceed with Mr Bolton's appointment when it reconvenes next week, they would again be prepared to launch a filibuster to prevent the issue coming to a vote.
As it stands, the Republicans are three votes short of the 60 they need to force a vote on the issue.
Senator Joseph Biden, the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and the man who will become its chairman next year, told the Associated Press: "I see no point in considering Mr Bolton's nomination again in the Foreign Relations Committee because regardless of what happens there, he is unlikely to be considered by the full Senate." Let the decline begin. And I can't think of a better place for it than the UN.
#2
the Reps should remove Chafee from the committee and revote on Bolton. He's toast, no need to pretend he was other than a closet-Donk giving the Reps the finger his entire short career. F*ck him, ungrateful prick
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11/11/2006 7:14 Comments ||
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I, for one, would like to see GW leave the UN post vacant for the next two years. Congress doesn't like Bolton, so let's see how they like the Invisible Man.
#4
Or have fun with the position. Nominate Rush Limbaugh. Then nominate G. Gordon Liddy. Then nominate Bolton again. Then nominate the winner of a Republican fund-raising lottery.
Hold a bake sale contest; the bake sale with the largest sales can nominate someone to the position.
Make it clear that if the Donks are going to treat the job as a joke, it'll be a joke.
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11/11/2006 9:38 Comments ||
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Since the UN is all about political theater, maybe we should look for potential appointees in an unconventional but similiar venue: Professional Wrestling. How about Jesse Ventura or Hulk Hogan as US ambassador to the United Nations?
#6
Why not simply wait until Christmas the winter holidays and reappoint him? That would be good through the end of the next Congress. I don't see anything in the Constitution which says he can't do that.
It wouldn't make the points your plans would do, but would get the man he wants in the position he wants. I'd prefer achieving something to scoring points.
#11
Actually there is a move afoot to appoint Bolton to a non-confirmed postion as an assistant Secretary of State for the paycheck. Then recess appoint him continuously to the UN with no pay.
Keith Ellison wore his religion lightly on the campaign trail, mentioning it only when asked.
But Muslims across America, and even overseas, celebrated his election Tuesday as the first Muslim in Congress, representing Minnesotas Fifth District in the House of Representatives, as a sign of acceptance and a welcome antidote to their faiths sinister image.
Its a step forward; it gives the Muslims a little bit of a sense of belonging, said Osama A. Siblani, the publisher of The Arab American News, a weekly in Dearborn, Mich., a state with one of the heaviest concentrations of Muslims. It is also a signal to the rest of the world that America has nothing against Muslims. If we did, he wouldnt have been elected.
Mr. Ellisons success was front-page news in several of the Arab worlds largest newspapers and high in the lineup on television news programs.
Few of his supporters expect Mr. Ellison, a 43-year-old criminal defense lawyer who converted to Islam as a 19-year-old college student, to effect any policy shifts in areas of concern to Muslim Americans, particularly when it comes to foreign policy and civil rights.
Mr. Siblani joked that even if all 28 new Democrats were Muslims, it is unlikely they would be able to sway the way Congress invariably votes in support of Israel. But many Muslims believe that just having a Muslim perspective around can make some difference.
Congress needs to reflect the diversity of America, and that means its vibrant religious diversity as well, said Farhana Khera, the executive director of the National Association of Muslim Lawyers and a former senior Senate staff member. Its good to have diverse voices on the House floor, in committees and caucus meetings. It is good for the country to have different views aired, especially when the primary national issues relate to Islam and affect Muslims in this country and Muslims overseas.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Ellison, who will also be the first black to represent Minnesota in the House, said his faith was particularly helpful in galvanizing the large community of Somali immigrants in his district, but the overall impact was difficult to assess. For some people, it might have been a problem and other people it was a bonus, Mr. Ellison said, noting that the campaign had received a fair amount of nasty e-mail and telephone calls denigrating Islam.
He said that his priority was to represent his district, but that he hoped to do it in a way that touched a wider swath of Americans.
I think a lot of Muslims feel highly vulnerable and feel that they are under a tremendous amount of scrutiny, he said when asked if he felt he was wearing a particular mantle, of representing Muslim interests. I am going to do it from a standpoint of improving the quality of civil and human rights for all people in America.
Many Muslim American activists hope Mr. Ellison will inspire other Muslims to run for office, some even comparing his candidacy to John F. Kennedys breaking the taboo against a Roman Catholics being president.
I think it has inspired American Muslims, said Adeeba Al-Zaman, 23, who flew from her home in Philadelphia to Minneapolis to volunteer to work in the last few days of Mr. Ellisons campaign. The fact that he won will probably motivate other Muslims that we have a shot and we matter and we are a part of the fabric of this society and we should be engaged because we have a chance.
Ms. Al-Zaman also noted that with Mr. Ellison in office, Muslims would seem more normal, and that Congress and all Americans would see that we care about things like health care and education and everything else that all Americans care about.
The sense of vindication is even stronger because Mr. Ellison was attacked on religious grounds by his Republican opponent, Alan Fine. In September, Mr. Fine said that as a Jew he was personally offended by Mr. Ellisons past support for Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the radical group Nation of Islam.
Mr. Ellison denied any link to Mr. Farrakhan and reached out to Jews, eventually gaining some endorsements from Jewish groups.
In the end, Mr. Ellison won 56 percent of the vote in his district, a Democratic stronghold that covers much of downtown Minneapolis and its immediate suburbs. Mr. Fine took 21 percent, as did Tammy Lee of the Independence Party. The incumbent, Martin Olav Sabo, is retiring
Attacks on Mr. Ellisons religion helped galvanize Muslim Americans nationally, with supporters raising money from Florida to Michigan to California. His supporters were quick to point out that they backed Mr. Ellison not simply because he was a Muslim, but also because of his progressive platform, which included calls for universal health insurance and a withdrawal of forces from Iraq, and because he was running a positive campaign.
Mr. Ellisons victory was widely noted in the larger Muslim world. The day after the election, it was the third headline mentioned on Al Jazeera, the most popular satellite news channel in the Middle East, right after a report that 18 Palestinian civilians had been killed by Israeli artillery in the Gaza Strip and a report on the overall Democratic sweep in the elections.
The news garnered a rich variety of comments from Arab readers on the Web site of Al Arabiya, a satellite news channel based in Dubai. God willing in the next election, half of Congress will be from the rational Muslims, wrote one reader, while another said, May God make this the beginning of victory for Muslims on the very ground of the despots.
A third wrote, We pray to God that you will be successful and will move forward in improving the image of Islam and the Muslims.
Arab news reports highlighted the fact that Mr. Ellison would probably take the oath of office on the Koran, something which also upset Muslim-bashers in the blogosphere. Some suggested it meant he would pledge allegiance to Islamic law rather than to upholding the Constitution.
#5
Note that Muslims around the world consider him a Muslim first and an American second.
And that he's in agreement with that.
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The local media (Video of his supporters) is kissing this diaper head's ass. Never a mention that he hates Jews, supports black gangland cop killers and is endorsed by the terrorist funders at CAIR.
I can hardly wait to talk to someone in Minneapolis that voted for this punk follower of the Pedophile for Profit.
The powerline article sums it up quite nicely. I think even Paul Wellstone would spit on this one.
#4
I really hope that the US can manufacture a small and effective anti-missile laser that can be mounted on smaller aircraft. Hopefully, in some great demonstration, we can convince most of the world that missiles are obsolete.
#6
MAD still works well for countries. These will not be pointed at the US, but at eachother. It's fine with me. The more of eachother they kill, the happier I will be.
#7
Nimble Spemble: Except, unfortunately, their fallout will spill over onto a lot of friendly places.
One of the reasons the US was so adamant about ending atmospheric testing is because we are particularly vulnerable to it. The jet stream has a "downdraft" right over middle America, so any radioactive particles that make it there will descend like a waterfall. This was why America was so agitated when Strontium-90 started appearing in our milk supply from Russian tests.
So nukes popped in Europe, northern Africa, the ME and most of Asia will share the wealth with us.
If you want a lot of these third and fourth world nations to be cooled, avian flu is much better to hope for. But that, too, is shall we say, indiscriminate?
Saddam Hussein might have an outside chance of escaping the hangman's noose through an appeal process in Baghdad but, for followers of Indian folk theater, the toppled Iraqi leader is already a dead man.
"Saddam at the Gallows" opens on December 2 in the eastern city of Kolkata and the first 50 shows have already sold out.
"We are expecting huge profits and have requests pouring in from many states of India to stage shows," said director Haradhan Roy.
The play opens in a high-security prison where Saddam is being held, with a debate about whether hanging him is the right thing to do. The curtain falls with Saddam being led away to the gallows.
"We are deliberating whether to enact Saddam's hanging live on stage because many people may not like it," Roy said.
A U.S.-backed Iraqi court sentenced Saddam on Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity. Legal experts and officials say the appeals process could take months.
Indian folk-theatre plays, known as "jatras", are shown on giant outdoor stages and feature loud music, plenty of songs performed with gusto but often without microphones, harsh lighting and dramatic props.
Theater troupes travel around rural towns and cities and a single show often fetches 50,000 to 70,000 rupees ($1,000-1,200).
With cable television and Bollywood films threatening the art form, troupes are tackling contemporary issues such as the 2004 Asian tsunami or the September 11 attacks on the United States to woo the crowds back.
"Saddam at the Gallows" is the sequel to "Saddam the Prisoner" which also played to packed houses in the city, formerly known as Calcutta.
"Operation Flush" is another popular drama on the U.S.-occupation of Iraq and torture at the Abu Ghraib prison.
#1
An Iraqi state hanging; is it with the black head cover, or without? I maynot be able to watch while eating my popcorn, if his eyes roll around alot or pop out!!
Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said Friday that terrorists were being trained at the Bajaur seminary that was attacked late last month and that the government had ample proof of this claim.
Supporting the military action in Bajaur, Sherpao said that those who died in the seminary during the air strike were terrorists and not innocent people. He added that the government was committed to eliminating terrorism in all its forms. He said that the writ of the state would be enforced at all costs and there would be no compromise in this regard. Sherpao further said that the government was ready to sign another peace accord with tribes in line with the previous Waziristan peace deal, adding that the government had the right to carry out military action if the deal was violated.
Sherpao said that the MMA had used the Afghan card in the previous general elections and was now trying to exploit the Bajaur incident in the next general elections. He said this would not be allowed. In reply to a question, he said the present assemblies would complete their terms and the ruling party would win in the next general elections with a majority.
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Khyber Agency councillors, elders and lawyers have criticised NWFP police and security agencies for linking a missile attack on the provincial capital to the agency, and claimed that it was a pre-planned government strategy to target the agency after the Bajuar strike in its war on terror.
Unidentified terrorists fired three Russian-made multi-barrel missiles at the Peshawar International Air Port and a madrassa on November 4 from an unknown location. We (tribesmen) are 100 percent sure that the missile attack in Peshawar was carried out by either security agencies or the missiles were fired from the Afghan border only 34 kilometres away. No tribesman from here could dare do so, said tribesmen from Khyber Agency. We are true Pakistanis. We are not against the security forces, the administration or the state. Everything that is done in tribal agencies is observed by the government. All anti-state activities are being carried out by the government, and government institutions are responsible for disturbing the peaceful environment of the tribal agencies, Taj Mahal Afridi, secretary general of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) councillors and a resident of Khyber Agency, told Daily Times.
He strongly criticised the NWFP police for blaming the Khyber Agency for the attack without evidence.
The frontier police is levelling baseless statements to hide their failure in maintaining peace in the provincial capital, while the political administration is quite calm about two Islamic organisations Lashakar-e-Islami and Ansarul Islam taking the law into their own hands. The political agent is the king of the tribal agency ... nobody can be involved in any such activity without taking him into confidence. Everything in the agency is going in the wrong direction, said Afridi. It is a clear indication that the government is making its way into the agency for its so-called war on terror.
Allah Noor Afridi, a Khyber Agency elder, said it was a pre-planned strategy of agencies and the political administration to accuse the agency of anti-state activities.
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A constitutional petition has been filed in the Supreme Court with the accusation that detained nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan is being slowly poisoned. The petition said that AQ Khan should be produced in court, and restrictions on his movement should be lifted. The petitioner, Rawalpindi Bar Association Vice President Chaudhry Masood Akhter, said that AQ Khan was suffering from prostrate cancer because of tension and a malicious government campaign against him. Akhter also had strong doubts about the medication, and expressed the fear of slow poisoning.
The federation of Pakistan, the Defence Ministry secretary and the ISI director general have been made respondents to the petition, which goes to suggest that a medial board of two doctors nominated by AQ Khan be formed for his health examination, his detention be declared unconstitutional, and his statement be recorded in court in a coercion-free environment.
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Lordy I hope it ain't some sorta heavy metal thing.
NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai has said that the suicide attack on an army training centre in Dargai was blatant terrorism, and it was too early to link the incident to the Bajaur madrassa bombing. Investigations are in progress, and unless we get a report from officials, it will be premature to link the suicide attack to the Bajaur strike, Orakzai told reporters after an Iran consulate reception on Thursday.
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Many of the groups blamed for terrorist attacks in India have origins and links in Pakistan, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said on Friday. Many of the links (of groups) that are talked about go back to their origin and ties in Pakistan. We all need to work together against terrorism through effective actions so that people in India do not suffer from these blasts, Boucher said. He however said that all the groups blamed for terrorism in India had been banned in Pakistan.
Boucher, who discussed terrorism with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, described the upcoming Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks as a very good thing. He hoped the Indo-Pak joint anti-terror mechanism would produce results. Boucher said he expected the bill on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal to go through Senate next week, as both Republicans and Democrats were very supportive of it.
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Also breaking, scientists now say that many meteorites originate from outer space. Who'da thought?
...Throughout Baghdad and in towns and villages within a 50-mile radius, whole populations have shifted as Shiite and Sunni flee violence from death squads and suicide bombers to the safety of places where their Islamic sect is the majority.
...
But as this physical separation between Sunni and Shiite grows, the mortars cut that gap, allowing sectarian fighters to fire into a district from a distance. Use of mortars in civilian areas has to be treated as a reckless disregard for innocent life. Civilian populations are being targeted, and not combatants. I hope this evidence of the true nature of the enemy will educate the Euros who want to put American leaders on trial for non-existent "war crimes."
Mortars can be quickly pulled from the trunk of a car and fired over several miles, causing death and destruction without the dangers of close-quarters combat or the sacrifice of a suicide bomber.
The weapon isn't limited to sectarian violence. On Saturday, the U.S. government's office in Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad, came under mortar fire, an attack that sparked a blaze in part of the complex, Iraqi police said. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.
For Arkan Maher, a 28-year-old electrician and father, it was just another workday this week when mortar rounds crashed to earth in a market in the Sunni enclave of Azamiyah. He fell wounded in both legs, an eye and one arm.
Maher was near the Abu Hanifa mosque, Sunni Islam's holiest shrine in Iraq and a regular target of Shiite mortar teams...
#1
Leftist blogger, Juan Cole, says aid to senior Ayatollah al-Sistani of Iraq blamed US for mortar attacks on both Sunnis and Shiites. Pure BS. (Cole, an Arabic speaker, is only a good source on direct translations)
Heh - "engage" in the military sense, methinks...
Democrats sought on Friday to put their new political power to use in shaping the debate over Iraq, promising stepped-up Congressional oversight of the war and a resolution demanding a schedule for reducing the number of troops there. How is the weather in Okinawa this time of year?
After two days in which both sides pledged bipartisanship in the aftermath of the Democratic victory in the midterm elections, leaders of the new Democratic majority began asserting themselves, seeking to give Congress a greater role in both foreign and domestic policy after years in which, in their view, President Bush was granted too much latitude.
After meeting with Mr. Bush at the White House, Senator Harry Reid, the incoming Senate majority leader, said the first order of business when Democrats formally take over in January will be to reinvigorate Congressional scrutiny of the executive branch, with a focus on Iraq.
Lets find out whats going on with the war in Iraq, the different large federal agencies that we have, said Mr. Reid, Democrat of Nevada. There simply has been no oversight in recent years. I can understand why Sen Reid (Dumbass / Crook, NV) would be uninformed about Iraq... the MSM, Dhimmidonk partisan spin, his problem grasping facts, etc.
The willingness of Democrats to begin confronting Mr. Bush and his party over Iraq suggested that the early promises of cooperation across the aisle would be tested quickly by deep differences over policy and political imperatives on both sides.
The post-election session of Congress that begins Monday, with Republicans still in charge, is likely to bring clashes between the two parties on a number of topics, including Mr. Bushs call for the confirmation of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations and for legislation authorizing the administrations eavesdropping program. Why, I haven't been to the circus since, well, since the last time the Dhimmidonks held power...
With the White House having expressed a readiness to consider new ideas on Iraq, Democrats also said they were drawing up plans to keep the pressure on Mr. Bush to alter his approach to the war. Sigh - a show of weakness, Dubya. Dhimmidonks are remarkably similar to Arabs and Muzzies, y'know.
In doing so, they are trying to offer new strategy initiatives in a growing debate over Iraq that already includes the Iraq Study Group, a commission that is slated to make recommendations next month. Senior military officers have also ordered a broad review of strategy in Iraq and have enlisted a team of innovative officers to conduct it. Oh baby, that's a charitable way of describing it, lol.
Though Democrats will not take power until January, the incoming chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over national security said in interviews that they hoped to persuade Republicans to respond to their losses at the polls by backing resolutions perhaps as early as the lame-duck Congressional session beginning next week that call on Mr. Bush to change course. IWWIWWIWI*.
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, who is in line to become chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Congress must be the agent to make it clear to the Iraqis that we cannot save them from themselves.
They need to make the political compromises that only they can make, Mr. Levin added. Weve got to let the Iraqis know there is no open-ended commitment.
Mr. Levin has for several months advocated linking the presence of American troops to political progress in Iraq, a stance that Pentagon officials had dismissed as reckless but that is now gaining wider, even bipartisan, support. While there is no language yet for such a resolution, he indicated that it could describe the requirements for continued American military commitment to Iraq, and some specified number of months for its duration.
At the end of this time period, we would begin the reduction of American forces, Mr. Levin said. I think such a resolution would have tremendous power on the president. It would not just represent a bipartisan majority of Congress, and its urgent recommendation. It would be a reflection of the peoples voice as expressed at the polls. Ah yessssss, the mandate demands it... I am extremely grateful Gen Levin is on top of things. Such an intellect, such a military mind, such a geopolitical strategist of the first water... and I particularly love how he wears his glasses down on his nose in that condescending, but really really cute, display of studied pretense of superiority. A body-language expert's dream, he is.
Even before Election Day, Democrats were trying to focus attention both on management of the war and potential fraud and abuse by contractors. Jim Manley, an aide to Mr. Reid, said new oversight by the Democratic majority in the Senate would most likely continue those lines of inquiry. In Los Angeles, Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is to lead the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, said in a speech that war profiteering could also be a likely subject for his committee.
Mr. Reid is also interested in completing the long-delayed second phase of an Intelligence Committee review into prewar intelligence and the administrations handling of it, Mr. Manley said. There are fish to be fried here!
In his meeting with the president, Mr. Reid said he also raised the idea of a bipartisan Congressional conference on Iraq with Mr. Bush. He didnt reject it, Mr. Reid said of the president. He said he thought it was interesting. He wanted more openness on Iraq. Will that come with hush puppies & slaw?
The White House had little comment on Mr. Reids push for more oversight.
Ill let that speak for itself, Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said. The most important priority right now is to win a war on terror and keep America safe and figure out ways that both parties can work together with the shared responsibility of having victory in Iraq and also providing the tools for law enforcement and intelligence officers to be able to detect planned attacks on the United States and prevent them from taking place. It says to me, "Lunch is served!"
Trying to tamp down concerns about a potential blizzard of subpoenas that some Republicans had warned of should Democrats control Congress, Mr. Reid dismissed that idea, and his aide said he was just trying to restore Congresss traditional role. Pshaw!
There will be times, on rare occasions, when subpoenas will have to be offered, but rarely, he said. If Congress does its job and does Congressional oversight, as has been done for more than 200 years, its good for everyone. We'll only destroy a few sacrificial goats. Promise. Haven't you ever been goatse'd? Try it, you'll never be the same...
While Democrats made criticism of the war a central element of their successful midterm election campaign, translating that into policy once they take charge on Capitol Hill is more problematic. The president, as commander in chief, directs the military and Democrats have consistently said they would not take steps like cutting off money for operations in Iraq. That translates to "No, we don't have a plan, but we wanna fire up the BBQ anyway."
But Democrats can use other tools to advance their ideas on the war, though they will also have to find some consensus among the current Democratic members of the House and Senate and those elected on Tuesday. We'll have those Chairmanships in January... can you spell "subpoena"?
In calling for a timeline for American troop reductions, some Democrats have advocated a parallel increase in the number of American military trainers to improve the quality of Iraqi security forces. Some have called for maintaining substantial numbers of American ground forces in nearby Kuwait or perhaps at major bases in parts of Iraq, such as northern Kurdistan, with lower levels of violence. Under this plan, the American troops would generally be pulled out of harms way in Iraq, but could act as a quick-reaction force to reinforce Iraqi security personnel if overwhelmed by insurgent attacks. From, um, where? Okinawa? Saturn?
Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the Democrat who is to be chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said he would press for an international conference on Iraq, inspired by the Dayton sessions that brokered an end to the bloodshed in Bosnia by summoning Serbs, Croats and Bosnians to an American military base in Ohio for talks. Okay, I'm done. Biden is self-parodying.
Mr. Biden also called on Mr. Bush to sit down with members of Congress to find a consensus on how to proceed.
I hope there is enough Republican as well as Democratic support, he said, for a bipartisan effort to press the president very hard to sit with us, anywhere from the White House to Camp David without our staffs and cellphones to actually hammer out what I think a number of us on both sides of the aisle believe are necessary elements of an Iraq policy.
After that, Mr. Biden said, the president should convene a Dayton-type conference of Iraq and its neighbors to create the political process of keeping the neighbors out of Iraq and contain Iraq to keep it from becoming a full-blown civil war. And a fun time will be had by all. Try the cotton candy. It's more substantial than the diet about to be served up.
*IWWIWWIWI: I Want What I Want When I Want It
#1
I listened to the right wing radio alarms about Iran getting a bye on ICBM proliferation. Can't happen. Americans will not accept a ICBM threat to the US Homeland, from a terror state whose leader thinks he is followed by angels, and who issues genocide threats. The Dems are afraid to walk away from this.
#4
Glad to be here, welcome to our committe room. I know what you're thinking, Letterman and Leno are probably financing me, for the good material that I will produce. Well, all I can say to that is I start bombing in 12 minutes.
#5
I listened to the right wing radio alarms about Iran getting a bye on ICBM proliferation. Can't happen. Americans will not accept a ICBM threat to the US Homeland, from a terror state whose leader thinks he is followed by angels, and who issues genocide threats. The Dems are afraid to walk away from this.
No, they're not. They don't fear Iran, and don't care what the US people think.
To give an idea of how delusional they are, this morning I heard one of them arguing that we have to increase taxes because revenues are too low. Now, I know the press hasn't been reporting it, but haven't we seen record tax revenues much of this year?
The "reality-based" party is living in a fantasy world where their dreams are more important than any facts. They'll ignore Iran, because their theories say the IAEA and Europe will deal with it.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/11/2006 9:04 Comments ||
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#6
They don't fear Iran, and don't care what the US people think.
They don't fear Iran, because they plan on serving us up on a silver platter. And they're too stupid to fear us. Tick-tock, tick-tock, CW-II is racing towards us. I suspect it will be a short engagement.
Elli Shalhoub, head of the Arabic and international news division at the Lebanese daily Al Akhbar. "Most of the action will be domestic because the Democrats will deal with their victory in a vindictive spirit and lots of internal issues will be tabled just to take revenge on Bush and his party," he said.
#9
Stopped by the gun store yesterday to buy some ammo; the prices are skyrocketing. Wonder what it means...
Deer season?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/11/2006 13:16 Comments ||
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#10
Now, I know the press hasn't been reporting it, but haven't we seen record tax revenues much of this year?
Yep. Big single-day totals on all of the Estimated Tax filing dates.
These jamokes don't get the whole "more money in people's pocket leads to more money to the treasury eventually." Or maybe they do, but like the late Fritz Hollings put it "Dere's too much consumin' goin' on out dere."
A group of gay Palestinian Americans canceled a planned pride march in East Jerusalem on Friday after one of them was beaten unconscious by a local man who said he was from the Waqf Muslim religious authority.
The beating incident occurred on the same day an Israeli gay pride rally went ahead as scheduled, though without a planned march through city streets. The march had been called off after threats by religious and right-wing opponents to mount huge counterdemonstrations. Only minor violence marred the event.
East Jerusalem was close to total lockdown Friday -- a combination of a three-day general strike called in mourning for the deaths in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun on Wednesday, and the resulting Israeli security alert to prevent retaliatory suicide attacks.
Israeli security officials said they had more than 80 specific intelligence warnings of planned terror attacks against Israeli targets and raised the alert level to Daled or "D," the highest. Israeli police clamped a total closure on the West Bank, preventing all Palestinians from entering Israel except those living in East Jerusalem.
In the East Jerusalem beating, two men -- one wielding a knife -- came looking for the group of gay Palestinian Americans who were staying at the Faisal Hostel near the Damascus Gate of the Old City. One of the assailants identified himself as being from the Waqf, the clerical trust that administers Muslim religious sites in the city.
"I'm pretty terrified right now," said Daoud, an MBA student from Detroit who declined to give his full name. "We left the hostel immediately, but when my friend went back to collect some things, they were waiting for him. They asked if he was with 'the homos' and then started beating him."
He said the victim, from Chicago, was badly beaten, knocked down a flight of stairs and left unconscious. The man, whose name was withheld for his safety, was taken to the El-Mokassed Hospital in East Jerusalem for treatment.
"It was very scary. These two guys came in and said they had heard we were planning to march. They drew a knife and said if we marched they would cut our heads off. They sounded like they meant it," he said.
Daoud said nine gay Palestinian Americans had come to Jerusalem to join the pride march. "Maybe I was just being naive. I heard about the pride rally, and I thought it would be nice for us to do something together as a gay community," he said. "We got a different kind of reception instead." once again, a westerner viewing the paleos through western lenses.
In America, he said, "you have some tolerance and appreciation and understanding of what it means to be gay and to be a Palestinian. We're discovering the hard way it's not so acceptable here."
Rotem Biran, 25, a hotel sales executive from Tel Aviv, said she was disappointed not to be able to march with the Palestinians from East Jerusalem. But by the time she arrived at the Faisal Hostel, Daoud and his friends had disappeared.
"Gay Palestinians are really afraid," she said."It's not the same as being Jewish and gay. For them, it's dangerous. They can't really do anything openly in their own community because it's so strict, so they come all the way to Tel Aviv to be with other gay people."
in contrast, here's an account of the Israeli event Friday's rally, held at the Hebrew University sports stadium, was a low-key affair that passed off largely peacefully. More than 2,000 participants were protected by about 3,000 police officers. One ultra-Orthodox protester who managed to sneak into the event was arrested after he jumped onstage and began screaming anti-gay slogans.
Across town, California-born David Sheen, a founder of the East Bay City Repair project in Oakland, was one of 30 gay activists who were arrested after trying to march to the stadium where the rally was being held. Sheen, 32, wore a pink shirt bearing the words "My God is a lesbian," in Hebrew.
Sheen, who describes himself as an "eco-freako," now lives in southern Israel and builds houses from earth. He said it was important for gay people in Israel to rally and speak out "because we're beautiful. And because we live here, and these are our streets."
Noam Federman, an anti-gay religious activist, warned people not to touch the marchers for fear of catching AIDS and held a banner denouncing their "abomination." Five people with him were arrested after they were found carrying brass knuckles, knives and sticks.
"We want to prevent the gays from marching inside Jerusalem," said Federman. "Jerusalem is a holy city to the Jewish people. We waited 2,000 years to get the privilege of having Jerusalem in our hands -- not to desecrate the city."
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis, the Vatican and Muslim officials had all spoken out this week against the gay march through the streets of Jerusalem, a city holy to all three religions. Ultra-Orthodox Jews had staged rowdy protests all week and threatened violence if the march went ahead.
#1
Remember the Lavender Panthers? Those were CA gays who took martial arts, with the idea of thumping those who wanted to thump them.
While it is hard to find individuals with a talent for martial arts, if you go looking, you can easily find talented individuals who are martial artists you can rent.
This is what they should have done. I'm sure they could find any number of martial artists to accompany them, given the opportunity to give some violent individual a royal thumping.
They could even go out trolling for homosexual haters, who would attack them on the street, thinking they were easy prey, when all of a sudden some Sonny Chiba appears and just beats seven bells out of them.
You have to admit it would be funny as hell to hear in the same sentence:
"Die, you filthy homosexual swine...Hey! Quit hitting me! Ow! I'm being oppressed!"
#2
Not surprising, gay activists are involved in the whole "pro-paleostinian" scam, yet homosexuals are persecuted in "paleostine" and often become refugees in Israel.
As a sidenote, it must be noted this gay pride was an "activist" one, IE it was held in Jerusalem in order to provoke the religious jews, purely and simply; gay prides in Tel Aviv do not cause any controversy.
Anyway, while I certainly favor individual freedom including sexual orientations, I'm really uneasy about the "gay rights" thing; IMHO, yet an another tool used by leftist a assorted subversives, a fact clearly visible in France with the totally anti-catholic stance of the act up crowd, and the communautarism and differentialism agenda it promotes.
I have no problem with homosexuals, but am really fed up with gays.
#3
The march had been called off after threats by religious and right-wing opponents to mount huge counterdemonstrations
Apparently the SF crowd decided to drop the "disenfranchised youth" label and switch to "right wing opponents" instead. What exactly does that mean, "right wing opponents"? I've noticed this ridiculous description in more than one paper.
But of course! We all know how those "right-wing" Jews and "right-wing" Christians all go around beating up homosexuals on Friday night.
Not excusing anything, but sometimes you just set yourself up for trouble that you won't be able to handle on down the road.
#4
I will say in behalf of homosexuals that they are one of the most obvious groups actively challenging Sharia Law and religious persecution from both Orthodox Jews and even Hindu nationalists.
By doing this they indirectly challenge all sorts of oppression, especially of women. Beliefs that are both so brutal and backwards that dare I say, even socialism looks like an improvement. Liberal democracy looks like paradise compared to that.
Most Islamic countries have a delicate balancing act between their civil law, and the whim of Sharia, that inserts itself to oppress whenever it feels like it. This comfy hypocricy needs to be shaken until it is broken.
And since it is homosexuals doing most of the shaking, then they are the ones who deserve at least tacit support, at least until somebody else challenges "the system".
#5
I agree about homosexuals living in muslim or even hindu societies, or to a point, to those in Russia. But I still think those living in the West and reaping the benefits of western liberal democracies tend to gravitate toward Ye Olde subversion of the White Male Order, even if it means allying themselves with people who actually oprress homos at home.
There can be some exception, I recall a small demonstration by the french act up in front of the iranian embassy to protest hangings of homosexuals, but most of the time, it is the usual stuff, barge into the Nôtre-Dame cathedral to celebrate a mock same sex marriage (with of course tv invited), disturb the mass, punch a priest,...
IE silence on the fact the bulk of the violent hate-crimes against "gays" are comitted by... Youths, but full assault on the horrible straight "square" who must be culpabilized for his "bigoted opinions".
Did you know that in 2006 France a Mp was heavily fined for a speech at the pulpit of the parliament (MP are supposedly immune, but he repeated the incriminated sentence in a press conference, at the request of a "fellow traveller" journalist)?
Yet, he just said heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality in that sense that homosexuality cannot perpetuate a Nation, as it is unable to give life (this was more circonvulated, the guy is a catholic philosophy teacher)...
But there's a recent anti-homophobia law (based on an hoax, an attempted suicide by self-immolation who was turned into an exemplary hate crime which demanded an immediate response by the law), so "gay rights" NGOs sued him for "hate speech" and won.
#8
IE silence on the fact the bulk of the violent hate-crimes against "gays" are comitted by... Youths, but full assault on the horrible straight "square" who must be culpabilized for his "bigoted opinions".
Liberties for homosexuals are based on the ideals of tolerance that came from 2,000 years of those who were willing to learn to love their neighbor - not those who attempt to shove their own lifestyle on others. Values of tolerance that seem in short supply to many in the homosexual activist community. Notice I said activist, please. The vile spewed towards conservative "fundies" on Kos and other sites far exceeds anything you will find on Christian or other religious websites (excepting Islam) about homosexuals.
And yes - they do attempt to shove their lifestyle on us when they demand we pay for their marriage benefits and accept that a family is just who happens to be currently living under one roof.
I don't care if people are homosexual. I really don't care what anyone else does as long as it doesn't affect me. Homosexuals took it past the point of saying, don't discriminate against me to demanding we change the rules of society for them. In the process, they are breaking down the idea that a family is a biological unit. I don't really have a problem with homosexual families to be sure. But I do have a problem with supporting anyone and everyone - homosexual or not - who wants to form an arrangement, temporary or permanent, and slap the label of family on it.
We as a society accept the concept that children want to be with their genetic parents. Every adopted child seeks to find who their genetic parents are. Thus - there is something deeper to the concept of family than just a document in a courthouse.
#9
and anyone who wants to come back and talk about the rights of divorced couples - I would like to remind you that my point still remains valid. While it is not true in every case, our courts, liberal and conservative, uphold the ideal that the biological parent has rights to be a part of their childs future, unless they are negligent to the point of having that privlidge revoked. My point is not to get into bickering over what makes the ideal family - but to point out that many of us don't want to conduct a social experiment undoing what has been, until about 1960, a fact of human nature.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Friday he would step down as Palestinian prime minister if that would persuade the West to lift debilitating economic sanctions. "When the issue of the siege is on one side, and my being prime minister is on the other, let the siege be lifted to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," he said, referring to the international aid boycott that has devastated the Palestinian economy.
His offer appeared to be another indication that the Islamic militant group and the rival Fatah Party of President Mahmoud Abbas were inching closer to a national unity government made up of independent experts - a coalition that presumably would present a more moderate face to the world.
Haniyeh, a longtime Hamas leader, told worshippers at a Gaza mosque that Western countries wanted him out of government. The West and Israel have withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and tax revenues since Hamas took power in March in an effort to pressure the ruling group to moderate its violently anti-Israel ideology. The sanctions have prevented Hamas from paying a large portion of the salaries owed to 165,000 government employees, causing widespread hardship in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The international community, including the United States, has said it will not lift sanctions unless Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces violence and accepts past peace deals, something Hamas has so far refused to do.
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Posted by: Fred ||
11/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
were his lips moving? What a martyr for the cause!
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/11/2006 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
Haniyeh's presence or absence means exactly squat. It is Hamas and their refusal to recognize Israel that remains as a central bone of contention. Until they recognize Israel, it doesn't matter if Allah himself runs Hamas, not one effing thin dime.
#7
Elect a donkey for all we care. Unless that donkey brays it will renounce violence, recognize israel and keep it's damn agreements, no soup for you.
Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Eklemeddin Ihsanoglu called the Executive Committee at the foreign minister level for an emergency meeting over Israels massacres in Palestine. According to the written declaration by the OIC, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter to Ihsanoglu calling OIC foreign ministers for an emergency meeting in order to stop the violence in the country.
Following his meetings with the relative parties, Ihsanoglu announced Abbass call to all member countries yesterday. On Thursday, Abbas received a phone call from Ihsanoglu, who asked Abbas to encourage Palestine to remain in integrity and union toward the outer world. Meanwhile, Palestinians crowded a funeral ceremony for the 18 civilians, mostly women and children, killed in an Israeli artillery attack on Beit Hanoun.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/11/2006 00:00 ||
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On October 30 Nigerian born Fr. Columba Nnorom, PhD. delivered an address to students at Christendom College entitled "The Popes and Muslims: How the Catholic Church Countered Islamic Imperialism."
"I come from a part of the world where Christians are massacred and they don't know what to do they have no one defending them," he said. "Islam emerged from the harsh, brutal and cruel desert lands and they are returning to their roots." a big NO SHIT!
Speaking of the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Nnorom said that he saw many parallels to today. The Byzantine Empire was a superpower like America and when the Muslims attacked they were surprised. "They did not take the Muslim threat seriously." Dhimmicrats of today
He stated that the raids of Muslim bands from the desert were much like the terrorist attacks of today. "People have been lobbying for action against these terrorists for over 20 years, but nothing happened until 9-11," he said.
Nnorom declared that if present trends continue, by the end of this century Europe would be gone. There will be "Eurabia" instead.
Drawing further parallels to the past, he said that the Spanish Inquisition was simply another word for Homeland Security. Muslims pretended to be Catholic, just like they are pretending to be U.S. citizens. "If America ever abandons Iraq," he said, "it will be the beginning of the end of the West."
Concluding his talk Nnorom said that the solution to the problem is reciprocity. "If you want to build mosques in our countries, let us build churches in yours."
In a final plea to students, he said, "This is a unique institution, you have a duty. You don't need millions. Get conscious. Get active. Catholics are fighters for the good. We are always counter-cultural America mobilized for good can change the world."
Nnorom is a priest of the Diocese of Richmond. He received his doctorate in Political Sciences at Loyola University. He is pastor at St. Peter the Apostle in Lake Gaston, VA and also is co-host of the African Inspiration Hour on WNTR 1050 AM in Washington, D.C.
#5
The Inquisition was established to fill the empty coffers of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who'd spent it all on the Reconquista. The Inquisitors spent more time going after the Jews who'd chosen conversion over expulsion (Spain became Judenfrei by royal decree in 1492) than they did on the Muslims who'd chosen conversion, because the Jews had more money. No doubt some, perhaps many, of the Inquisitors truly believed they were protecting Mother Church and saving the souls of those who were not true in their conversions, but those who'd set it up knew where the property of those put to the question went.
HIP-HOP and rap artists are teaching young Muslims the ideology of radical Islamism through songs about the war in Iraq, the oppression of Muslims and the creation of an Islamic state governed by Sharia, or religious law.
Intelligence agencies have identified music as a tool for indoctrination. The phenomenon began with an American group called Soldiers of Allah. The group has since disbanded but its music and lyrics remain popular on the internet. Other groups in Britain, France and the US have been identified as giving cause for concern. Many use the derogatory term kufur to describe non-Muslims.
Madeleine Gruen, an American intelligence analyst, highlighted the lyrics of a British group called Blakstone as a possible gateway to extremist politics. Ms Gruen has studied how music, internet forums, boardgames and fashion have been used to radicalise youths. She said: The music is very persuasive because it is giving young people ideas, and those ideas are what might motivate someone to become a jihadi. The material is all in English. Its spreading a radical message to domestic populations that dont speak Arabic or Urdu.
...From Close 2 Me, by Blakstone
No Khalifah [Islamic state] Where are we heading?
Without Islam were stressing, implement Allahs blessing, thats what I am addressing.
Apart from this kufur scheme. Bring Islam back to the scene. Lets unite the Ummah [Muslim nation], following only the Koran and the Sunnah.
Even if all the kufirs got together, they still couldnt stop this Ummah.
We love Islam More than we love life
#3
I guess I'm in a mean mood. But the mythical moderate muslims, and their clerics have as much to fear from the negative impact of the hip-hop culture as we do. I guess it is just our little parting cultural present to those wish to replace their culture with our own. Too bad, suckers - you sow it, you will reap it.
Arabic language television station broadcast footage it claimed showed a US aircraft carrier cruising in Gulf waters it said was taken by an unmanned Iranian drone. The brief minute-long film, which was shown on Al-Alam television's evening news bulletin, showed wobbly aerial footage of an aircraft carrier stacked with war planes as it sailed.
The television's anchor said the film, the property of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, showed a vessel from "the US fleet in the Persian Gulf". "A source in the Revolutionary Guard said the drone carried out its mission without US fighter pilots reaching it," the television said.
I was wondering where all the stock footage of our carriers went ...
It said there were 10 such films taken by the drone which showed "more precise information and details about military equipment, foreign forces, and their activities in the Persian Gulf." The station did not name the vessel nor did it say when the footage was shot.
The broadcast comes near the end of Iran's latest 10-day war games, "Great Prophet II", which military chiefs have said were aimed at showing off Iran's defensive prowess and testing new military hardware. The war games coincided with US-led naval manoeuvres in the Gulf off Iran aimed at halting arms-trafficking, the first time such an exercise has been held in the area.
#1
uh huh... just like their sub photos (actually Chinese) . Lying MFers with a second (or third) rate military and first rate ambitions.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/11/2006 19:29 Comments ||
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#2
...showed wobbly aerial footage of an aircraft carrier... Must be one of those Chinese R/C models like Taliban was using. they're really budget busters @ $100 or less each plus camera.
#3
If the film was any good, it is a fairly certian bet the hull numbers would be visible, either on the island or the bow. Since there are only 12 to choose from, the search would be quick. regarding the comment"...drone carried out its mission without US fighter pilots reaching it," whenever the USSR would appraoch a carrie, the fighter CAP (Carier Air Patrol) would get between it and the ship; how do these clowns know there werent't aircraft in position? Serious note: depending on the size of this drone, if it weren't spotted (due to small size, none radar reflective materials or both), and it carried any sort of ordnance that could be problematic. Even a small explosion on the roof with a deck full of jets could spell trouble. While the emergency was being dealt with, the Iranians could launch their real stuff and with nothing in the air or availalbe to shoot, that wouldn't be pretty. If they dropped that drone between cats 1 and 2 that would get maximum effect, i think.
#4
Is there a way to shoot those things down even? If they got sucked into a jet engine they would wreak havoc. I don't know that something with the radar cross section of a bird would even be something a very expensive missile would be even interested in.
And did anyone see what kind of "wobbly"? The twisting kind, which I would expect from an up-close encounter where wind would twist the drone away from level, or the up-and-down/side-to-side kind that indicates it was taken from far away?
And the RC controls would be quite detectable, I would think. And quite jam-able, too! To have any hope of guiding that drone, they would have to transmit back in real time, which would also be detectable unless they have some kind of directional antenna.
#6
Is there a way to shoot those things down even?
I bet the Phalanx system could take care of it, assuming they could detect it.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/11/2006 21:16 Comments ||
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#7
It may be possible to snatch the contraption out of the air with a helicopter, which can approach unseen from behind. A sailor who knows how to make a rabbit snare could probably rig this. This presents some hilarious possibilities once the trophy is landed on the carrier deck.
Envoy holds talks with Berri ahead of report on implementation of 1701
A senior United Nations envoy said Friday that Israel's continued violations of Lebanese airspace "are very dangerous," stressing the world body's keenness to "halt or at least reduce" Israeli overflights in the coming weeks. This came as France said Friday it hoped the US would put pressure on Israel to end military flights over Lebanon, after French peacekeepers nearly launched missiles at Israeli jets flying carrying out mock raids.
"This message must be sent by France and other countries, and also the UN ... We hope the Americans can send the same type of message to the Israelis," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei. "The ambassador took note yesterday of what the minister said, and I think he has made a commitment to provide us with a certain number of clarifications," he added.
On Wednesday Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said French troops participating in the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in the South almost launched missiles at Israeli warplanes which had flown over their position in a threatening manner on October 31.
In Beirut, the visiting UN political affairs officer, Michael Williams said: "The Israelis promised the UN they would look into the issue ... We hope to achieve progress in this regard."
Williams, assigned by UN chief Kofi Annan to monitor the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, spoke to reporters after a meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri.
Israel's occupation of a Lebanese village along the Southern border was also nearing an end, he predicted. "I am sure that the Israelis will fully withdraw from Ghajar," he said, without providing any timeframe. "We had a very good meeting," Williams added.
Resolution 1701, which secured a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah in this past summer's month-long war, took effect on August 14.
Williams also expressed support for ongoing national talks in Lebanon sponsored by Berri, saying: "The Lebanese will reach a successful result."
The UN envoy arrived in Beirut Thursday night after meeting earlier in the week with Israeli officials concerning the Jewish state's repeated violations of Lebanon's airspace. He is charged with gathering information from Lebanon and Israel before submitting a report to Annan, who, in turn, will submit his own report on 1701 to the Security Council at the end of the month.
Earlier in the day, Williams met with Defense Minister Elias Murr for further discussion on the Israeli violations. "The orders made by the Lebanese Army Command are clear in terms of defying the Israeli overflights," Murr said.
Accompanied by Geir Pedersen, Annan's personal representative in Lebanon, Williams later met with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, who underscored Beirut's commitment to implementing 1701. "Weapons are not being smuggled from Syria," Salloukh said in reference to a report by another UN envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, on October 19 which said weapons were being smuggled from Syria to Hizbullah.
Meanwhile, the National News Agency (NNA) said Friday that two Israeli bulldozers and an excavator were seen near Roueisset al-Alam, in the Shebaa Farms. The NNA also reported the entry of an Israeli infantry unit into the Shebaa Farms Thursday night, moving toward the Seddanah base from which the Israelis withdrew last May.
And in the latest violations, a statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command said four Israeli jets violated Lebanese airspace on Friday. The fighter-bombers flew over several parts of the country, including Rmeish, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Nabatiyeh, Tyre, Beirut, Zahle, Baalbek, and Tripoli.
#8
These overflights are "dangerous" only if you attempt to fire at them. UNFIL is doing fuckall to halt the rearming and has the damned nerve to demand that Israel does not intervene. When the new festivities start, and they will start, I hope Israel blows these ineffectual wankers straight to hell for their tiresome and unhelpful meddling. Germany should be completely embarassed by this entire shameful episode. They have done nothing but help the proponents of genocide get their way. How disgraceful.
#9
So what is the blue helmeted Hezbollah protection force going to do when the missiles start flying the other way? Not one thing. I hope they understand that when the rubber hits the road, you can't see a blue helmet from the F-16 and they will die just like the Hezbollah troops they are protecting.
#10
Germany's contribution to UNIFIL is strictly naval. There are no German ground troops deployed on the ground inside Lebanon.
As ineffective as the UNIFIL ground force is for Hez arms interdiction, their mere presence is causing a great deal of consternation for the political parties/militias in Lebanon. There is a crisis brewing between the Lebanese factions, with the Sinoria administration refusing to accept the resignations of at least four Shiite cabinet members. The "summit" called to create a "national unity" government has collapsed, at least for the moment. It should be noted that part of the UN mission statement for the UNIFIL mission includes support for the legitimate government of Lebanon.
Lebanon received from the United Nations on Friday a draft document outlining the framework of a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, Lebanese officials said. The move indicated that major powers on the Security Council had bridged differences that had delayed an agreement on the workings and structure of the court, the officials said. They did not reveal details of the draft but said some Russian objections to an earlier draft had been taken on board. One official source said the tribunal, to be made up of Lebanese and foreign judges, would have no power to try or question heads of states as the killing would not be defined as a crime against humanity or a terrorist attack.
Hariri was assassinated on Feb. 14, 2005, in a suicide truck bombing that killed 22 other people. The killing, which sparked large anti-Syrian protests that forced Syria to end three decades of military presence in Lebanon, is under investigation by a UN commission led by Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz. The UN probe has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials. Syria has denied any role. The personal representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Geir Pederson, handed copies of the draft to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and other officials in Beirut. He also gave a copy to Hariris son Saad, parliamentary majority leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
They might just as well come out and say. "As it appears that neither the US nor Israel can be held responsible for this reprehensible act, the UN is powerless to respond. Should any evidence implicating these regimes come to light we will certainly follow up."
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
11/11/2006 18:05 Comments ||
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#3
In other news from Lebanon:
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora has refused to accept the resignations of five pro-Syrian ministers after a week of meetings aimed at giving them more of a say in the government collapsed. The ministers who tendered their resignations are members of the allied Shi'ite movements, Amal and Hezbollah. The talks broke down over Hezbollah's demand that the pro-Syrian parties be given enough cabinet posts to allow them to block legislation. This was rejected by the anti-Syrian majority in the Lebanese parliament. The talks broke down just two days before the cabinet was scheduled to discuss a draft UN document on setting up a tribunal to deal with last year's assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Deutsche-Welle 11/11/2006 23:00
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A divided U.N. Security Council on Friday abruptly canceled a trip to the African Union in Ethiopia to discuss a future force in Darfur after failing to agree on what they could talk about, diplomats said. A delegation of eight envoys, led by Britain, was to have taken part in meetings on Monday with Sudanese officials and African Union officials at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
Khyber Agency councillors, elders and lawyers have criticised NWFP police and security agencies for linking a missile attack on the provincial capital to the agency, and claimed that it was a pre-planned government strategy to target the agency after the Bajuar strike in its war on terror. 
A constitutional petition has been filed in the Supreme Court with the accusation that detained nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan is being slowly poisoned. The petition said that AQ Khan should be produced in court, and restrictions on his movement should be lifted. The petitioner, Rawalpindi Bar Association Vice President Chaudhry Masood Akhter, said that AQ Khan was suffering from prostrate cancer because of tension and a malicious government campaign against him. Akhter also had strong doubts about the medication, and expressed the fear of slow poisoning. 
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Friday he would step down as Palestinian prime minister if that would persuade the West to lift debilitating economic sanctions. "When the issue of the siege is on one side, and my being prime minister is on the other, let the siege be lifted to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," he said, referring to the international aid boycott that has devastated the Palestinian economy.
Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Eklemeddin Ihsanoglu called the Executive Committee at the foreign minister level for an emergency meeting over Israels massacres in Palestine. According to the written declaration by the OIC, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter to Ihsanoglu calling OIC foreign ministers for an emergency meeting in order to stop the violence in the country. 
On October 30 Nigerian born Fr. Columba Nnorom, PhD. delivered an address to students at Christendom College entitled "The Popes and Muslims: How the Catholic Church Countered Islamic Imperialism."
Lebanon received from the United Nations on Friday a draft document outlining the framework of a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, Lebanese officials said. The move indicated that major powers on the Security Council had bridged differences that had delayed an agreement on the workings and structure of the court, the officials said. They did not reveal details of the draft but said some Russian objections to an earlier draft had been taken on board. One official source said the tribunal, to be made up of Lebanese and foreign judges, would have no power to try or question heads of states as the killing would not be defined as a crime against humanity or a terrorist attack. 
