Now that BushchimpHitler isn't around to scare the bad guys anymore, they are discovering the benefits of some of his ideas. Like Gitmo, for instance. And Star Wars. Maybe Obama isn't going to be able to charm the bad guys after all.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/31/2009
18:17 ||
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Sorry boys and girls. You didn't listen when the TV announcer said, "This offer expires in 15 minutes, so call now." Better luck next life.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 20:15
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as the US cools
Let's see how Teh One's and Gate's lies and pablum play after the launch. Evacuate Tokyo or Hawaii? Gamechanger
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 21:54
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LOSE Tokyo or Hawaii, WORLD changer. Obambi wouldn't last ten minutes after such a loss. Most of the Democrats and quite a few of the Republicans would be hauled off and shot. The UN would be so scared they'd dissolve into puddles of amoebas. Sadly enough, such a scenario is not only very likely, it's almost guaranteed.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 23:13
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Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a plan to tackle climate change by cutting greenhouse gases by one-fifth over the next decade, a faster clip than urged by President Barack Obama.
The proposal, seen as the first step toward Congress enacting climate legislation this year, was crafted to attract broader support among centrist Democrats. The plan includes measures to spur energy efficiency and to support technology to capture carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, from coal burning power plants.
The 600-page "discussion draft" will be the basis for climate debates in the coming weeks as the House Energy and Commerce Committee works to craft a bill by mid-May.
Not a good idea IMHO
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/31/2009
18:13 ||
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I'm all for it. Send the jobs to non Dem controlled states like mine. We may even export some electricity back your way. For $1000/MWHour.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 20:21
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This bill also allows the gov to 'tax' imports for their carbon content and allows Congress and the DOE to issue 'exemptions' to key industries.
#3
I guess Congress will be ok with 70% unemployment - one of the results of their little commerce-destroyer of a bill. What's even worse, it's all for nothing. The real cause of 'global warming' is fluctuation in solar output, magnetic field, sunspots, and the effects of those on the planets, most especially Earth.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 23:17
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ISRAELI MIL FORUM > NEW BALAD MK [Arab Member. Israeli KNESSET] PRAISES IRAN'S QUEST FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS, proclaiming that IRAN had been more useful to the PA cause than EGYPT or JORDAN, these two latter Muslim Nations-Govts fearing a free and democratic Palestinian State.
* ALso on IMF > VIDEO NEWS = USA: CHICAGO LEADER SAYS US WILL BECOME A MUSLIM COUNTRY.
People in the Iraqi city of Basra fear the US troops taking over from departing British forces, whose relatively light touch contrasts with the US military's fearsome, and sometimes trigger-happy, reputation.
Those interviewed in Iraq's second city said British forces understood Iraq better, given Britain drew up and ran modern Iraq early in the 20th century, and that British troops had treated them relatively well since they invaded in 2003.
"The British have studied Iraq and understand our culture and religion. Americans kill and do what they want. We've seen the British get attacked ... but they respect the citizen, and do not fire back randomly," said student Uday Jaffer.
Iraqi forces are responsible for security in the south, but Britain has been helping with training and other support. British soldiers are a common sight in Basra.
"We hope that the US forces are like the British. There is fear unfortunately ... We've all seen Vietnam war films. Their military operations are frightful," said Abdul Aali al-Moussawi, one of Basra's respected Shia clerics.
Some 850 US military police have been in Basra since August training Iraqi police, but they are little noticed.
So don't let facts dispel your fears, Abdul ...
US Major General Michael Oates, who from yesterday will command US and British troops in all of Iraq's nine southern provinces, said the people of Basra had nothing to fear. "We don't have a more heavy-handed approach ... There's a misperception about American forces, and when you work with us you'll see we're very kind people," he said.
NEW YORK -- The Sun-Times Media Group, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and dozens of suburban newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, making it the fifth newspaper publisher to seek protection from creditors in recent months.
The step, brought on by a precipitous decline in advertising revenue, means both of Chicago's major daily newspapers are operating under bankruptcy protection. Tribune Co., the parent company of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 in December.
The Sun-Times Media Group, which filed in a Delaware court, said it will continue to operate its print and online properties. The company listed $479 million in assets and $801 million in debt. The largest unsecured creditors are newsprint vendors. Three are owed more than $1 million each.
Both the Sun Times and the Trib are victims of rapacious financiers who bought the companies with tons of debt that they now can't repay.
"We firmly believe that filing for Chapter 11 protection and exploring the potential sale of assets or new investment in the company offers us the best opportunity to protect our respected media properties for the long-term," Jeremy Halbreich, the company's interim chief executive, said in a statement.
The Sun-Times, the company's flagship newspaper, had a paid weekday circulation of about 313,000 as of September, ranking it 17th in the U.S.
The dire financial condition of Chicago's newspapers mirrors the situation in Philadelphia, where the publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News filed for bankruptcy protection in February.
Other cities with two daily newspapers have seen the industry's crisis whittle away competition this year. The Rocky Mountain News closed, leaving The Denver Post, while the Seattle Post-Intelligencer went online only, leaving The Seattle Times without a mainstream daily print rival.
#1
Odd thing, their suburban papers are profitable because they have reporters who honestly cover stories.
The 'Flagship' the Sun-Times, as been the 'house organ' for the Daley Democrats for years and Obama recently.
Their 'columnists' are left winger nut jobs, the editorial board can never find a Democrat or 'progressive' issue they do not like,
75% of their 'news' coverage consists of AP stories and the Obits page is so small it is obvious that even the dead do not want to be involved with that paper.
Of course they are blaming Conrad Black for their tax evasion, alienating their customers, chasing away their advertisers, etc.
#2
It was an excellent newspaper, with first-class investigative reporters, until Rupert "The Alien" Murdoch bought it and gutted it. When Murdoch bought the paper, Ann Landers, Mike Royko, and almost all the other columnists jumped ship to the Tribune. The reading level of the articles in the Sun Times dropped to 5th Grade or lower.
I don't know what happened to Pam Zekman and Zay N. Smith, whose investigations included exposing sloppy patient care in abortion clinics (has anybody dared to touch that topic since 1980?) and the famous "Mirage" Bar sting operation. The Mirage was a Near-North bar opened undercover by the Sun Times. The staff photographed crooked city inspectors demanding bribes, and documented months and months of graft, protection rackets and other Machine activities.
#3
Good memories, Mom, good memories. The Mirage Bar, had almost forgotten that one. And Royko was one of the very best columnists of all time.
When newspapers report news they tend to do well. Beats me how such smart people as journalists forgot that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/31/2009 19:03
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perhaps because post-woodward/bernstein, tey started to recruit community organizers activists who wanted to "make a change"? If they'd stuck to their job, they might still have an industry. Instead, they recruited every Social Studies wanna-be that couldn't do math
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 19:16
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Fuzzily recall back to school daze. Journo majors were right up there in the smarts department with education majors, but a whole lot more obnoxious.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 19:17
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Any more different than what's in the continental US, counting reserve and NG facilities? If it's a 'nightmare' there, why isn't it just as much a nightmare here?
#2
P2k, in the US, all the troops have to deal with is the occasional protester outside the bases. And the occasional harassment from jerks in town.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/31/2009 19:05
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Yet somehow it all got in when there was shooting.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 19:18
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All of this will be delt with just as it was created. A little bit at a time. No big deal, it's not like we will disassemble each base in detail, we will pack the valuable stuff worth the effort and leave or turn over what isn't. this is over analyzed by bean counters.
A previously less visible terror group has replaced al-Qaida in spearheading attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.
Armor-piercing hand grenades have appeared in the Diyala provincial capital of Baquba, disrupting the relative calm that has held in the key Iraqi city for months.
The RKG-3 -- a Russian acronym for handheld shaped charge grenade -- weighs just a bit more than 2 pounds and looks like a World War II German "potato masher," with a stem/handle for throwing and the detonator and explosive charge attached to one end.
Nine times since the beginning of February, RKGs have been thrown at American troops by a Sunni extremist organization, and more attacks are expected. In one week, five soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, survived such an attack in Baquba while in a Stryker vehicle when the grenade was deflected before detonating.
"Everyone still had their extremities, but the guys exposed (with their upper bodies outside the vehicles in gun and observation positions) were hit with small shrapnel," 1st Sgt. Frank Desario said.
Extremists claiming to be members of a group called Hamas al-Iraq have claimed credit for the attacks. Videos like the one Desario spoke of appeared within hours on YouTube. Like the improvised explosive device attacks of earlier years, the extremists film their handiwork and post it on the Internet to boost terrorist credentials, garner funding from extremist supporters in the region and beyond and possibly recruit new members.
Hamas al-Iraq is a Sunni nationalist group once part of the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade that was formed by former officials and military officers of the Saddam Hussein regime. In what form the separation of the two has taken and to what degree there may be cooperation between them is still a matter of conjecture, U.S. sources said.
Sources said the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade, formed to combat the U.S. occupation following the toppling of Saddam's regime, was part of the 2006-2007 Sunni rebellion against al-Qaida in Iraq and that an unwritten truce developed between it and U.S. forces in Diyala in the fight against a common enemy.
Al-Qaida in Iraq, although still operating in the province, has been seriously degraded by U.S. and Iraqi Security Forces operations, and perhaps the brigade is again specifically targeting Americans, according to one theory.
"They supported the coalition forces against AQI -- an enemy-of-my-enemy scenario -- but still look at us as occupiers," a U.S. officer said.
True, American troops are leaving. U.S. President Barack Obama is pulling all but 30,000 to 50,000 troops out of Iraq by the end of August next year. Those remaining soldiers will continue to train Iraqi counterparts and aid in counter-insurgency operations until the end of 2011 -- the date specified for complete withdrawal under the Status of Forces Agreement signed last year between the governments of U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
It is also true that the 140,000-plus U.S. troops in the country now will withdraw from installations in all cities, towns and villages to large bases in less populated areas by the end of June as stipulated by the agreement.
Violence is at its lowest levels since 2005. Iraqi Security Forces are in the lead on operations and more capable of handling their security. But the war against terrorists and extremism is not over.
"Well, we're leaving," a U.S. contract police trainer in Baquba said. "Maybe they (the grenade throwers) want to give us one last kick in the ass."
In the beginning of the American post-Saddam occupation, there were the IEDs, planted beneath and alongside roads. In quick succession came the Explosively Formed Projectiles that penetrate armor -- car bombs, suicide vests, booby-trapped houses, sticky bombs attached to vehicles and even the short-lived Improvised Rocket Assisted Mortar, a sort of flying IED. Extremists supplemented them with occasional rocket and mortar attacks. Now the RKG, used in other parts of the country on a less-than-regular basis, have made their way to Diyala.
U.S. forces here in the region are confident the extremist cell responsible will be rolled up.
"They're motivated; oh, they are motivated right now," 1st Lt. Todd Kluttz said of Bravo Company soldiers. "You hurt somebody's buddy, and they become very vigilant."
#2
So it sounds like Saddam's few surviving boyz are out of RPGs and explosives and are reduced to throwing hand grenades. Somehow this makes the UPI journalism major all wet and creamy.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 20:03
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People for the American Way describes itself as "progressive". Among it's platform planks is "Darwin Not Dogma" In our schools. Now I personally have no problem with that, but I suspect this not what you were thinking it was. See http://site.pfaw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepagenew for details
The mysterious boom and flash of light seen over parts of Virginia Sunday night was not a meteor, but actually exploding space junk from the second stage of a Russian Soyuz rocket falling back to Earth, according to an official with the U.S. Naval Observatory.
"I'm pretty convinced that what these folks saw was the second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched the crew up to the space station," said Jeff Chester of the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
Residents of the areas around Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Va., began calling 911 last night with reports of hearing a loud boom and seeing a streak of light that lit up the sky, according to news reports.
Chester heard about the incident this morning; the Naval Observatory gets plenty of reports of such fireballs and Chester investigated whether it could be a meteor or whether there were "any potential decays of space junk that were coming up," he told SPACE.com. He checked the listing for debris that were expected to enter the lower atmosphere from their decaying orbits around this time period and found that second stage of the Soyuz rocket that launched last Thursday was slated to hit during a window that started at 8 p.m. last night.
The Russian-built Soyuz rocket lifted off Thursday from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to launch a new crew and American billionaire Charles Simonyi - the world's first two-time space tourist - to the International Space Station. The spaceflyers arrived at the space station on Saturday. Chester ran a satellite tracking program that showed that the rocket debris should have come down exactly in the area where the fireball was spotted. "This is just too much of a coincidence to be coincidence," he said. He said that U.S. Space Surveillance Network had not yet confirmed that this was the case, but said that he was "99 and four one-hundredths [percent] convinced that this is what it is."
The descriptions of the boom and streak of light reported by local residents were "entirely consistent with re-entering space junk, especially something this big," Chester said.
Delta airline pilot Bryce Debban reported seeing the streak of light on a flight from Boston to Raleigh-Durham when his plane was about 31,000 feet in the air. "We saw it streak across the sky and then blow up," Debban told SPACE.com. "It was brighter than the full moon. It lit up the cockpit as if it were daylight."
James Zimbelman of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's Center for Earth and Planetary Sciences said that the explosion being caused by a re-entering rocket was very plausible. It "sounds all too reasonable," he said. A rocket stage would fragment and explode "just as if it were a meteorite," he said. And the size of the rocket would explain why the explosion was seen over so wide an area.
The Soyuz rockets jettison their second stage after entering orbit in such a way that the second stage will slowly fall back to earth in a few days. But "you can control precisely where these things are going to come down," Chester said. It's possible that some fragments of the rocket made it to the Earth's surface, but they would likely have a couple of hundreds of miles east of Cape Hatteras, Chester said. "I don't think anybody will find anything on land," he said.
#1
I dunno - all of the space junk which I'd seen re-enter Earth o'er the years/decades never moved that fast, nor were that "clean" i.e. no smoking warpy trail. FURTHERMORE, IFF THIS IS THE SAME OBJECT THAT STREAKED PERPENDICULAR OVER GUAM-WESTPAC, MSM-NET NEWS > ITS FINAL TRAJECTORY = END-PATH IS ALL WRONG VEE NEWS MAPS.
With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned.
After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.
Killing an aircraft carrier. Boy howdy nobody's ever thought of that before ...
First posted on a Chinese blog viewed as credible by military analysts and then translated by the naval affairs blog Information Dissemination, a recent report provides a description of an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) that can strike carriers and other U.S. vessels at a range of 2000km.
The range of the modified Dong Feng 21 missile is significant in that it covers the areas that are likely hot zones for future confrontations between U.S. and Chinese surface forces. The size of the missile enables it to carry a warhead big enough to inflict significant damage on a large vessel, providing the Chinese the capability of destroying a U.S. supercarrier in one strike.
Because the missile employs a complex guidance system, low radar signature and a maneuverability that makes its flight path unpredictable, the odds that it can evade tracking systems to reach its target are increased. It is estimated that the missile can travel at mach 10 and reach its maximum range of 2000km in less than 12 minutes.
Supporting the missile is a network of satellites, radar and unmanned aerial vehicles that can locate U.S. ships and then guide the weapon, enabling it to hit moving targets.
While the ASBM has been a topic of discussion within national defense circles for quite some time, the fact that information is now coming from Chinese sources indicates that the weapon system is operational. The Chinese rarely mention weapons projects unless they are well beyond the test stages. If operational as is believed, the system marks the first time a ballistic missile has been successfully developed to attack vessels at sea. Ships currently have no defense against a ballistic missile attack.
Along with the Chinese naval build-up, U.S. Navy officials appear to view the development of the anti-ship ballistic missile as a tangible threat.
After spending the last decade placing an emphasis on building a fleet that could operate in shallow waters near coastlines, the U.S. Navy seems to have quickly changed its strategy over the past several months to focus on improving the capabilities of its deep sea fleet and developing anti-ballistic defenses.
As analyst Raymond Pritchett notes in a post on the U.S. Naval Institute blog: "The Navy's reaction is telling, because it essentially equals a radical change in direction based on information that has created a panic inside the bubble. For a major military service to panic due to a new weapon system, clearly a mission kill weapon system, either suggests the threat is legitimate or the leadership of the Navy is legitimately unqualified. There really aren't many gray spaces in evaluating the reaction by the Navy...the data tends to support the legitimacy of the threat."
In recent years, China has been expanding its navy to presumably better exert itself in disputed maritime regions. A recent show of strength in early March led to a confrontation with an unarmed U.S. ship in international waters.
#1
Thank you Bill Clinton. You gave China the missile technology and machining to accomplish this feat in the 90's.
Posted by: Bob Angoluse5058 ||
03/31/2009 17:24
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Little thing called math and physics makes it a difficult proposition at best and idiocy at worst. Heres why...lets say you have a battlgroup..your target is the carrier in the middle of said battlegroup. Said carrier is able to move say at least 35mph. Now lets say your missiles are 1000km away and takes at least 15-30 minutes to reach the target if it stayed still. IRBMs don't accelerate as fast as ICBMs nor have as high a velocity so we'll say 30 minutes is the upper end of that figure. In that time the carrier can potentially move somewhere around 10 miles in ANY direction...thats roughly 340 square miles of ocean the damn missile warhead has to scan with whatever radar or guidance set it has then make its course corrections all while staying within a 5-10 minute bracket in order to have enough velocity and fuel to make it to a moving target. THIS IS ROCKET SCIENCE ITS NOT EASY.
#4
Ala WORLD MILITARY FORUM > the Chinese are also interested in dev = "researching" VARIOUS HI-TECHY, REMOTE CONTROLLED, FIRE-AND-FORGET ANTI-CARRIER, etc. TORPEDO- + MISSLE PLATFORMS e.g. CONVERTED OIL PLATFORMS, DIRIGIBLES, RC ARTY BATTERIES EMPLACED ON CHINA SEA ISLETS, etc.
The PRC fears that US = US-ALLIED MARITIME AREA/SEA DENIAL as per DISPUTED CHINA SEA ISLAND GROUPS will serously hamper their desired ability to project OTH MilPol force-power e.g. TAIWAN, MALACCAS, INDIAN OCEAN. Its a major rationale beghind China's new regional rapprochement vee JAPAN.
WMF + OTHER CHIN FORUM POSTERS are mainly NOT HAPPY about POTUS BAM-MAN's recent proposition of the US + CHINA SHARING THE NEW GWADAR PORT, which Chin developed [read - PAID $$$].
#5
ION also from WMF > CHINA TO PROCEED WITH CONSTRUCTION OF THREE NEW MAJOR AIRPORTS [PLAAF AirBases] IN HIGH TIBETAN MOUNTAIN RANGES DESPITE LOCAL ENGINEERING AND OTHER NATURAL/ENVIRON DIFFICULTIES.
"INDIAN ARMY 'COLLAPSE'"... ARTICLE > Read, INDIA CAN'T = WON'T STOP CHIN AIRPORT/MILBASE CONSTRUX DESPITE RECOGNIZING THE LT STRATEGIC MIL THREAT TO INDIA + LOC.
#6
Any reentry vehicle coming in at multi-mach won't be able to maneuver well or lock sensors. But off board sensors and comms (sats, aircraft) can locate a carrier and continuously update position and heading and a missile can be designed to compensate in early reentry flight, well before onboard sensors go active. It's a worrisome problem, esp if the Chinese are will to saturate SM-3 and SM-3 defenses. Then how good is US ECM?
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 18:50
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It takes a considerable force to accelerate from standing still to "Mach 10" (doubt it flies that fast, especially at low altitude. Air resistance would melt it, even made of pure titanium). It also takes time. You also don't fly such a missile at low altitude - there's just too much air, too much turbulence, and too much of a chance of hitting something. If you hit an albatross at 2200mph, it's going to destroy both the albatross and whatever hit it (KE=MV - kinetic energy equals the mass times the velocity. A 1000kg missile travelling at ~3000km/h results in a HUGE explosion). The necessity for constant external control will result in its detection, and possibly even spoofing. There ARE anti-missile defenses available to a carrier battle group that can significantly reduce the threat. China's running another bluff that isn't going to work.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 18:58
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If we had a CiC and a Naval Command with cojones, as well as a stated defense policy, we would just say: lose a carrier and you lose 3 Gorges Dam. Of course, the Chicoms probably have nukes in containers at the ports they operate at each end of the Panama Canal.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/31/2009 19:02
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#9
Sorry Old Patriot but...I might be a chemist and not a physicist however....mass times velocity is momentum. Kinetic energy is one half mass times velocity squared.
Good analysis. Now, if said carrier task force is using software that's been outsourced to a hostile country and hardware manufactured in the same country ... But what's the chances of that?
#13
Phalanx guns are kinda-sorta being phased out by guided missiles atm, because they don't have much time to deal with supersonic missiles on final approach.
#14
Something unmentioned in the article, and probably unmentionable - what would have to happen to get to the point that the USN has to counter this?
It's either a surprise attack (probably not to wise of the PLA) or actions escalated to this point. If the latter, I suspect carriers will not be anywhere in range to be a target - that's what the unmanned navy will be used for.
Finally, this all has a whiff of being an Iranian press release, what with the super capabilities, indefensibility, and breathtaking threat!
Just when the news had all those happy stories about sales picking up last month....
Mercy James thought she had lost her rental property here to foreclosure. A date for a sheriff's sale had been set, and notices about the foreclosure process were piling up in her mailbox. Ms. James had the tenants move out, and soon her white house at the corner of Thomas and Maple Streets fell into the hands of looters and vandals, and then, into disrepair. Dejected and broke, Ms. James said she salvaged but a lesson from her loss.
So imagine her surprise when the City of South Bend contacted her recently, demanding that she resume maintenance on the property. The sheriff's sale had been canceled at the last minute, leaving the property title -- and a world of trouble -- in her name.
"I thought, 'What kind of game is this?' " Ms. James, 41, said while picking at trash at the house, now so worthless the city plans to demolish it -- another bill for which she will be liable.
City officials and housing advocates here and in cities as varied as Buffalo, Kansas City, Mo., and Jacksonville, Fla., say they are seeing an unsettling development: Banks are quietly declining to take possession of properties at the end of the foreclosure process, most often because the cost of the ordeal -- from legal fees to maintenance -- exceeds the diminishing value of the real estate.
The so-called bank walkaways rarely mean relief for the property owners, caught unaware months after the fact, and often mean additional financial burdens and bureaucratic headaches. Technically, they still owe on the mortgage, but as a practicality, rarely would a mortgage holder receive any more payments on the loan. The way mortgages are bundled and resold, it can be enormously time-consuming just trying to determine what company holds the loan on a property thought to be in foreclosure.
In Ms. James's case, the company that was most recently servicing her loan is now defunct. Its parent company filed for bankruptcy and dissolved. And the original bank that sold her the loan said it could not find a record of it.
"It is what some of us think is the next wave of the crisis," said Kermit Lind, a clinical professor at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and an expert on foreclosure law.
The problem seems most acute at the bottom of the market -- houses that were inexpensive to begin with -- and with investment properties, where investors and banks want speedy closure by writing off bad loans as losses. Banks and investors typically lose 40 percent to 50 percent of their investment on every foreclosure.
Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry newsletter, said some properties had become such liabilities for investors that it was not even worth holding on to them to strip valuable fixtures, like kitchen appliances, toilets and hardware. "The whole purpose of foreclosure is to take title of the property, sell it and recoup what money you can," Mr. Cecala said. "It's just a sign of the times that things are so bad no one wants to take possession of the property."
In Ms. James's case, it has been impossible to determine who canceled the sheriff's sale, since her last mortgage holder went out of business. Even the city clerk's records did not provide an answer.
"Nobody has any idea who owns what or who's responsible," said Judy Fox, Ms. James's lawyer at the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic. "It's a very common story."
Mayor Stephen J. Luecke of South Bend added: "It's just a crime the way it puts people in limbo. They first off have gone through the grief of losing their house, then they move out and find out that they still own it and have responsibility for it."
For those to whom this is merely a lot of mumbo-jumbo, let me explain in layman's terms:
AIG, knowing it would need to ask for much more capital from the Treasury imminently, decided to throw in the towel, and gifted major bank counter-parties with trades which were egregiously profitable to the banks, and even more egregiously money losing to the U.S. taxpayers, who had to dump more and more cash into AIG, without having the U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner disclose the real extent of this, for lack of a better word, fraudulent scam.
In simple terms think of it as an auto dealer, which knows that U.S. taxpayers will provide for an infinite amount of money to fund its ongoing sales of horrendous vehicles (think Pontiac Azteks): the company decides to sell all the cars currently in contract, to lessors at far below the amortized market value, thereby generating huge profits for these lessors, as these turn around and sell the cars at a major profit, funded exclusively by U.S. taxpayers (readers should feel free to provide more gripping allegories).
What this all means is that the statements by major banks, i.e. JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citi (C), and BofA (BAC), regarding abnormal profitability in January and February were true, however these profits were a) one-time in nature due to wholesale unwinds of AIG portfolios, b) entirely at the expense of AIG, and thus taxpayers, c) executed with Tim Geithner's (and thus the administration's) full knowledge and intent, d) were basically a transfer of money from taxpayers to banks (in yet another form) using AIG as an intermediary.
For banks to proclaim their profitability in January and February is about as close to criminal hypocrisy as is possible. And again, the taxpayers fund this "one time profit", which causes a market rally, thus allowing the banks to promptly turn around and start selling more expensive equity (soon coming to a prospectus near you), also funded by taxpayers' money flows into the market. If the administration is truly aware of all these events (and if Zero Hedge knows about it, it is safe to say Tim Geithner also got the memo), then the potential fallout would be staggering once this information makes the light of day.
And the conspiracy thickens. ... And most of the American taxpayers' money AIG already spent didn't even go to American institutions. Where AIG bailout money went.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009
12:38 ||
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#1
In financial markets for everyone who makes a loss, someone else makes a profit.
So socializing (by having the government pay for them) one party's losses means you giving the other party undeserved windfall profits.
Don't ask us how or why we came across this -- and the British home secretary's husband did not bring it to our attention -- but the latest entry on the blog of the reigning Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, has a sort of eye-catching dateline: "March 27, 2009, Guantanamo Bay."
According to the Web site of the U.S.O., which arranged the visit, the Miss Universe Organization made the decision to "deploy Crystle Stewart, Miss U.S.A. 2008, and Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to visit troops as part of a U.S.O./Armed Forces Entertainment tour."
Ms. Mendoza, who competed as Miss Venezuela, has a blog on the pageant's Web site, and this account of the visit appeared there last Friday, after her deployment:
This week, Guantanamo!!! It was an incredible experience.
We arrived in Gitmo on Friday and stared going around the town, everybody knew Crystle and I were coming so the first thing we did was attend a big lunch and then we visited one of the bars they have in the base. We talked about Gitmo and what is was like living there. The next days we had a wonderful time, this truly was a memorable trip! We hung out with the guys from the East Coast and they showed us the boat inside and out, how they work and what they do, we took a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!
We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills. All the guys from the Army were amazing with us.
We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting.
We took a ride with the Marines around the land to see the division of Gitmo and Cuba while they were informed us with a little bit of history.
The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable, we were able to enjoy it for at least an hour. We went to the glass beach, and realized the name of it comes from the little pieces of broken glass from hundred of years ago. It is pretty to see all the colors shining with the sun. That day we met a beautiful lady named Rebeca who does wonders with the glasses from the beach. She creates jewelry with it and of course I bought a necklace from her that will remind me of Guantanamo Bay :)
I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful.
That glowing account of Ms. Mendoza's visit to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay is unlikely to please Hugo Chavez, her country's president. Mr. Chavez, who reportedly called Ms. Mendoza to congratulate her when she won the Miss Universe crown last year, recently called on the United States to "return Guantanamo and Guantanamo Bay to the Cubans" after closing the detention facility there.
Mr. Chavez, who is close to the Cuban leadership, may now be rethinking the praise he heaped on Ms. Mendoza on Venezuelan television last year, when she returned to Caracas with the crown:
JUDGES should interpret the Constitution according to other nations' legal "norms." Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts. The United States constitutes an "axis of disobedience" along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq.
Those are the views of the man on track to become one of the US government's top lawyers: Harold Koh.
President Obama has nominated Koh — until last week the dean of Yale Law School — to be the State Department's legal adviser. In that job, Koh would forge a wide range of international agreements on issues from trade to arms control, and help represent our country in such places as the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.
It's a job where you want a strong defender of America's sovereignty. But that's not Koh. He's a fan of "transnational legal process," arguing that the distinctions between US and international law should vanish.
What would this look like in a practical sense? Well, California voters have overruled their courts, which had imposed same-sex marriage on the state. Koh would like to see such matters go up the chain through federal courts — which, in turn, should look to the rest of the world. If Canada, the European Human Rights Commission and the United Nations all say gay marriage should be legal — well, then, it should be legal in California too, regardless of what the state's voters and elected representatives might say.
He even believes judges should use this "logic" to strike down the death penalty, which is clearly permitted in the US Constitution.
The primacy of international legal "norms" applies even to treaties we reject. For example, Koh believes that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child — a problematic document that we haven't ratified — should dictate the age at which individual US states can execute criminals. Got that? On issues ranging from affirmative action to the interrogation of terrorists, what the rest of the world says, goes.
Including, apparently, the world of radical imams. A New York lawyer, Steven Stein, says that, in addressing the Yale Club of Greenwich in 2007, Koh claimed that "in an appropriate case, he didn't see any reason why sharia law would not be applied to govern a case in the United States." There's more frightening info on this guy at the link
via Drudge
But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the "Pay for Performance Act of 2009," would impose government controls on the pay of all employees -- not just top executives -- of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.
Israeli sources quoted Tuesday by Time magazine revealed that the January attack on a convoy of trucks carrying weapons bound for Hamas through Sudan was carried out by "dozens of aircraft."
According to the sources, the strike consisted of two runs by F-16 bombers, with F-15 fighter planes also on hand in order to provide a quick response in case Sudanese or other enemy aircraft decided to attack the squadron. After the initial bombing run, the sources said, drones flew over and filmed the burning 23-truck convoy. When the footage showed that it had not been completely destroyed, the F-16s were dispatched for a second pass. The report said that the aircraft refueled over the Red Sea.
Sources quoted by the report denied that US aircraft had been involved in the strike. "The Americans were notified that Israel was going to conduct an air operation in Sudan, but they were not involved," a source was quoted as saying. He also denied reports that the raid had been one in a series of such attacks on Iranian arms shipments.
According to the report, the strike was a "warning" to Iran and a show of intelligence capabilities and daring in carrying out such an operation far from Israel's borders.
The attack, the report said, came after the Mossad was tipped off by an informant, who said that Iran was planning a shipment of 120 tons of weapons and explosives, including Fajr 3 rockets and anti-tank missiles. "The Israelis had less than a week to pull this all together," a source was quoted as saying.
The Sudan smuggling route had been used before, the source said, but never for such a large delivery. "This was the first time that the Iranians had tried to send Hamas a shipment this big via Sudan - and it is probably the last," he said, adding that several Iranians were among those killed in the raid. "No doubt the Iranians are checking back to see who might have leaked this to the Israelis."
The report also quoted a Hamas official who confirmed that there was an arms convoy headed for Gaza through Sudan but claimed that there were only 15 trucks containing far fewer weapons than earler reports claimed. He said that Israel was "trying to overplay the quantity" in order to justify its decision to thwart the delivery.
A Hamas "security official" told Time that the destruction of the convoy was not a serious setback for his organization. "We have our own 'home delivery' set-up for weapons," he said, citing the Beduins who were still smuggling arms in large quantities through the network of tunnels linking the southern Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula.
#2
The report also quoted a Hamas official who confirmed that there was an arms convoy headed for Gaza through Sudan but claimed that there were only 15 trucks containing far fewer weapons than earler reports claimed. He said that Israel was "trying to overplay the quantity" in order to justify its decision to thwart the delivery.
And perhaps Hamas is trying to underplay its losses.
Is the financial crisis for Angela Merkel what the Iraq war was for Gerhard Schröder -- namely, a reason to seriously strain Germany's relationship with the U.S.? One need not answer with an unconditional "yes" to be very concerned.
Naturally, at the G-20 meeting in London this week, Europeans will celebrate and praise the new American president. There will be beautiful photo opportunities and demonstrative unity. But the dispute behind the scenes has gotten worse. Barack Obama is demanding a much greater financial commitment from Germany and Europe to revive the economy; Mrs. Merkel and the EU are refusing, and instead urging the Americans to regulate their financial markets more rigidly.
There's no question, Mrs. Merkel has good substantive arguments on her side. Mr. Schröder had some as well when he opposed George W. Bush before and during the Iraq war. Nevertheless, Americans and the German opposition -- namely, Mrs. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union -- accused Mr. Schröder of dishonesty. After all, his antiwar views were also motivated by electoral strategy and were not entirely free of general anti-Americanism.
But come to think of it, isn't Mrs. Merkel, too, campaigning this year? Her defiant self-assuredness in dealing with Washington may be as popular in Germany as Mr. Schröder's antiwar stance was. The difference between the two chancellors is that Mrs. Merkel's way of formulating her position is not aggressive, but subversive. When she defends her financial policies, she likes to remark with a wink that we shouldn't forget where the crisis began. Everyone knows which country she means.
Mr. Obama speaks of a global crisis that demands global responses. For the Germans, this is indeed a global crisis -- but one that must be resolved primarily by the U.S., since it originated there. Therefore, German finance companies that became entangled in dodgy speculations are seen as weak victims who were seduced, while the clever American seducers who caused the real-estate bubble must now be punished.
Now the victims are claiming the right to say "no" to new stimulus packages. And they are demanding that the U.S. never again be permitted to seduce -- that it be constrained by "more transparency on the financial markets, which Germany called for long ago," as Mrs. Merkel says.
Once, there were enormous hopes. With Barack Obama's election, the trans-Atlantic rift that grew in the Bush years would finally be bridged. Now, in the financial crisis, this hope could prove an illusion. Many Germans believe they are being taken hostage by the U.S., and they want to vent their frustrations. They ask whether Mr. Obama's gigantic stimulus programs are similar to the gigantic war programs of Mr. Bush. The new president seems to be reacting just as drastically to this "world crisis" as the Republicans did to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, demanding the same unconditional allegiance from allies that Mr. Bush did. Are the neo-Keynesians as mistaken today as the neoconservatives were then? Isn't American gigantism the biggest problem?
In explaining the Americans' motivations, Germans are reaching conclusions as unfriendly and abstruse as those in the run-up to the Iraq war (greed for oil). On March 9, the German magazine Der Spiegel published a cover story on "The Mistake of the Century -- How the Failure of a Single Bank Triggered the World Crisis." It suggested that the U.S. government purposely allowed the investment bank Lehman Brothers to fail. Why? "Germany was apparently the main goal of the speculation" of Lehman Brothers, the magazine said, "because these kinds of securities are permitted in Germany, but not in France or the United States." And, "There is a great deal of evidence that banks targeted the funds of unwitting German retirees in trading Lehman securities." This interpretation of events is widespread in Germany. Even the head of the Protestant church council, Bishop Wolfgang Huber, supports it.
More and more, the diffuse anger about the crisis and its consequences is erupting in social unrest; one need only look to Greece, France, Ireland, Iceland or Eastern Europe. The longer the crisis lasts, the more loudly people will point to its originator, the U.S. Mr. Obama is turning into a lightning rod for European thunder. When he travels to the old Continent for the first time as U.S. president, he most likely won't see cheering crowds as huge as the one that greeted him last summer in front of Berlin's Victory Column.
Before the Iraq war, George Bush succeeded in splitting Europe into the "old" and the "new." In the financial crisis, the Continent is unified in its opposition toward his successor, Barack Obama.
THE HAGUE -- Iran on Tuesday dismissed President Obama's decision to send 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan as an "ineffective" strategy to improve security, but it offered to help in efforts to combat drug-trafficking in the war-torn country.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh also said Tehran plans to play an active role in Afghanistan's reconstruction. "The presence of foreign forces has not improved things in the country, and it seems that an increase in the number of foreign forces will prove ineffective, too," he said in prepared remarks to an international conference on Afghanistan at The Hague.
More than 80 countries and organizations gathered for the hastily arranged conference, which was proposed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton three weeks ago.
"Iran is fully prepared to participate in the projects aimed at combating drug-trafficking and the plans in line with developing and reconstruction of Afghanistan," said Mr. Akhoundzadeh, who was sent to the ministerial-level meeting instead of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Mrs. Clinton said she had no plans to hold a substantive meeting with the Iranian diplomat. In her remarks, she backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's plan to reconcile with those Taliban and al Qaeda members who renounce violence.
"We must also support efforts by the government of Afghanistan to separate the extremists of al Qaeda and the Taliban from those who joined their ranks not out of conviction, but out of desperation. This is, in fact, the case for a majority of those fighting with the Taliban," the secretary said. "They should be offered an honorable form of reconciliation and reintegration into a peaceful society, if they are willing to abandon violence, break with al Qaeda, and support the constitution," she added.
#3
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTAN MEDIA [PK Spectator]: NATO, US, AND PAKISTAN SHOULD ATTACK UZBEKISTAN [B. Mehsud's MilTerr Training Ground agz AFPAK]???
TORONTO -- A court decision Monday upholding a ban on George Galloway from entering the country amid allegations he engaged in terrorist acts will see the British MP deliver speeches to Canadian audiences via a live video link from New York. We could ban him too, couldn't we?
Following the Federal Court ruling, organizers of Mr. Galloway's now aborted speaking tour said the maverick politician would not attempt to enter Canada. "We're not interested in doing anything illegal whatsoever," said James Clark, a peace activist and one of the speaking tour's organizers. "Our expectations were such that we were already implementing Plan B, which was to make sure that he can still deliver the speech from a live broadcast."
Mr. Galloway had been set to visit Toronto on Monday, the first of four scheduled speaking engagements in Canada.
The Canada Border Services Agency advised Mr. Galloway, in a letter dated March 20, that he had been deemed inadmissible to Canada on the grounds he allegedly engaged in terrorist activities. The MP has denied such links although he has openly voiced support for the Palestinian cause and was part of a group that delivered financial and other assistance to Gaza.
Mr. Galloway and supporters asked Federal Court on Sunday for an emergency injunction allowing him to come, pending the possibility of a judicial review of the government's position.
However, Justice Luc Martineau ruled Monday he was not in a position to allow Mr. Galloway into the country although he did say there were "serious issues to be tried" if the judicial review occurs. "The arguments raised by the applicants are not frivolous or vexatious," Martineau ruled. "However, a proper factual record and the benefit of full legal argument . . . are lacking at the present time."
The decision represented a "partial victory" in that the court did recognize there was a serious issue at stake, Mr. Clark said.
"We want to pursue and examine all the questions that have come up about how and why the (border agency) preemptorily issued this ruling of inadmissibility to Mr. Galloway," Mr. Clark said.
Mr. Galloway planned to deliver his speeches to Toronto, Mississauga, Ont., Montreal and Ottawa this week from a studio in New York City.
In the letter to Mr. Galloway, the government said he had given $45,000 to Hamas, which is a banned terrorist organization in Canada. His supporters say Mr. Galloway had given money to the head of the government in Gaza but not to the head of Hamas, even though they are the same person. What a buncha idiots...
#3
Yep, I agree, deny entry to the Uk if the fok tries to get back in.
For Besoeker and Glenmore, this...
email -- dawie, Fri, 27 Mar 2009, 5:35:46 just too busy here staying alive chinas. west of joberg there was a 20 strong armed robbery they working in platoon force now should get to company level soon.
#5
Send him to Gaza. Muslims do not take kindly to male kafirs who marry their own. He could be murdered for marrying a paleo woman. And the wife would get the same.
#6
Eight of the buggers are dead. Two policemen killed, possibly Scorpions. It was a Pick'n Pay (supermarket) heist in the Gauteng area gone bad. Armed with AK's Details HERE.
KABUL (AP) — Afghan and foreign troops killed 30 Taliban fighters and wounded 17 others during a series of clashes in southern Afghanistan, while a roadside bomb Tuesday killed the mayor of an eastern capital, officials said.
The joint forces continued to battle with the militants in Dehrawood district of Uruzgan province Tuesday, following overnight clashes when the militants were killed, said Uruzgan's police chief Juma Gul Himat.
Himat's account was impossible to verify independently. Afghan authorities are know to exaggerate their battlefield success.
Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency. Thousands of new U.S. forces will deploy to that region in an attempt to reverse recent Taliban gains following what appeared to be their initial defeat after the U.S. invasion in 2001.
In the eastern Khost province, meanwhile, a roadside bomb Tuesday killed the mayor of the provincial capital and seriously wounded his driver, said Tahir Khan Sabari, the deputy provincial governor.
The mayor of Khost city, Sahki Mirullah, was on his way home from his office when the explosion ripped through his vehicle, Sabari said.
Militants regularly use roadside bombs in their attacks against Afghan and foreign troops in the country. The number of such attacks rose by 30 percent last year, according to NATO figures.
The latest violence came as more than 80 of Afghanistan's neighboring states or military and financial donors attended a one-day conference in The Hague, Netherlands, to brainstorm on how to stabilize the country seven years after the expulsion of the Taliban government.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Afghanistan would welcome Taliban fighters who reject al-Qaida, embrace peace and pledge to abide by the constitution.
Clinton told the conference that most of the Taliban fighters have allied with anti-government forces "out of desperation" rather than commitment, in a country that has barely made inroads against poverty and lack of development.
PARIS (AP) -- France is ready to quadruple its civilian aid to Afghanistan to shore up schools and other nonmilitary institutions -- but is not ready to send any more troops despite U.S. pressure, an official said Thursday.
The new French pledge comes as representatives of 70 nations were meeting in the Netherlands to discuss Afghanistan's future in hopes of creating a new impetus to quash the growing Taliban insurgency.
France will boost its aid this year to Afghanistan's civilian institutions including schools and hospitals to $53 million from the current euro10 million, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said in Paris on Tuesday. France is seeking to bring its aid to the levels of its European counterparts, he said.
But he reiterated France's resistance to providing more troops. "There is no prospect of increasing our military presence," Chevallier told a news conference. He insisted however that France was not backing off its Afghanistan commitment.
"There is no set date for our withdrawal from Afghanistan," he said. "There is still work to be done."
France's opposition to bigger troops numbers puts it at odds with the United States, which is pouring thousands more troops into the Afghan theater, just as France and Germany are set to host a NATO summit on Friday and Saturday.
President Barack Obama has urged European allies to come up with more firepower for Afghanistan, while France is seeking to use its "flaccid soft power" instead, seeking to build infrastructure and train police.
France has 3,300 troops in Afghanistan. Of those 2,800 are in ISAF, the NATO-led force -- a third of the level of Britain's ISAF troops and one-tenth the size of the American force.
France's envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Pierre Lellouche, was quoted as saying that the French military force would be "reshuffled" after the Afghan presidential elections in August to make it "more robust and more coherent."
He gave no signal however of an increase in troop numbers, and has insisted in the past that they wouldn't been raised. Lellouche was quoted in the daily La Croix as saying Europeans "have not really taken the baton" in Afghanistan because of anger over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
And tomorrow it will be another excuse ...
Lellouche was quoted as saying the new French aid would go to fighting drugs and encouraging farmers to plant alternative crops to opium poppies.
USS BOXER, At Sea -- In a show of international sea power in the Gulf of Aden, seven nations representing three task forces coordinated efforts to pursue a skiff after the pirates on board opened fire on a German oiler, the Federal German Ship (FGS) Spessart, March 29.
At approximately 3 p.m. yesterday, FGS Spessart, reported that they were being attacked by pirates who may have mistaken the naval supply ship for a commercial merchant vessel. An embarked security team aboard the ship returned fire on the suspected pirates during the initial attack. Hey, Mahmoud! Can they do that?
Subsequently, Spessart pursued the skiff while providing additional details of the attack to a variety of international naval vessels operating in the area. A number of naval ships and aircraft joined the pursuit, including: the Dutch frigate HNLMS Zeven Provincien, an SH-60B helicopter assigned to the Spanish warship SPS Victoria, a Spanish P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, two Marine Corps helicopters from the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 flagship USS Boxer (LHD 4) and the European Union's CTF 465 flagship, the Greek frigate HS Psara.
Supported by an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter and a UH-1 Huey assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 163 (Reinforced), "Evil Eyes," embarked aboard Boxer, the international naval forces contained the armed suspects until Psara arrived with a German boarding team. That Cobra could've really ruined their day...
Upon boarding the skiff, the team found seven suspected pirates and their weapons. The suspected pirates were disarmed and transferred to the German frigate Rheinland-Pfalz where they will remain until a final determination is made regarding potential prosecution.
While this event showcased the incredible international naval capabilities operating in the Gulf of Aden, it also highlighted the complexity of counter-piracy operations. The crew of Spessart and the embarked security team provided the critical first line of defense, utilizing defensive measures that are essential for all ships operating in the region. Moreover, nearly five hours transpired between the time Spessart's armed security team thwarted the initial attack and when an armed boarding team was within range of the pirate skiff. In the interim, armed coalition aircraft kept the suspected pirates from getting away.
This incident in the Gulf of Aden happened at a time when other pirates have been operating well off the eastern Somali coast. The area off the coast of Somalia and Kenya when combined with the waters of the Gulf of Aden equals more than 1.1 million square miles, roughly four times the size of Texas or the size of the Mediterranean and Red Seas combined. In a region this large merchant mariners must often serve as the first line defenders against pirates, because naval forces will likely not be close enough to respond.
#1
From another perspective, it took 5 hours for seven of the highest-quality assets from the world's premier military powers to subdue ... a skiff with seven dirtbags aboard.
#3
That's all well and good, but thanks to the catch-and-release nature of this, these guys will get three-hots-and-a-cot before they're dumped back in Somalia, free to play high seas pirate again. All they've lost is some AK's and a boat.
Posted by: Dar ||
03/31/2009 13:02
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#6
Goddamn western nations are fucking pussies and our timidity will be the death of us.
No, its when Western nations allowed ivory tower lawyers to supersede practical human behavior known as history to write laws. An early warning of Hope and Change meeting reality.
British forces have begun their official withdrawal from Iraq after the UK's commander in the south of the country handed over to a US general. Major General Andy Salmon has transferred authority for what will become Multi-National Division South to US Major General Michael Oates. The generals' pennants were raised and lowered in a handover ceremony.
Most of Britain's 4,000 troops will leave by 31 May, the official end-of-combat date. About 400 will stay after that, either in HQ roles or to train the Iraq Navy.
A Royal Marine band from Plymouth played as the Marines' flag was lowered in the ceremony at Basra airbase and replaced with the standard of the US Army's 10th Mountain Division. Britain's Maj Gen Andy Salmon then shook hands with his American successor and embraced him.
In a speech at the handover ceremony, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of Defence Staff, paid tribute to the troops who had served in Iraq. "This occasion is about the countless numbers of young men and women from the far flung corners of the US and and the various reaches of the British Isles, who have together striven here with such dedication, with such commitment, and such courage, over so long a period," he said.
"We remember particularly at such a time those who paid the ultimate price in this endeavour, those who suffered injury and disablement, in order that we might get to this point today."
Since the 2003 invasion, 179 British personnel have lost their lives in Iraq.
The head of coalition forces in Iraq, US General Ray Odierno, expressed his gratitude to British forces and public in a speech. "I am grateful not only for the outstanding accomplishments of the brave troopers of the UK, but for the courage and selfless dedication of all the UK forces who served in Iraq, and for the unwavering commitment of the British people in the cause of liberty around the world."
Before he took formal control, Maj-Gen Oates said the US "gladly" accepted the responsibility. "The citizens, elected government and security forces of Basra can expect our full co-operation and support. We look forward to the opportunities of service to the Iraqi people, and forging our new relationships here in Basra," he said.
Maj Gen Salmon says much has been achieved over the past six years. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the work of British forces had changed the lives of ordinary Iraqis.
"For those who are old enough to realise, and compare it with the past gloom of Saddam's era, they look back to 30 years ago and say 'We're seeing stability that we haven't had before; we're seeing levels of freedom that we haven't had before'," he said. "We trust the Iraqi security forces. We can see economic investment start to take hold. We just had safe and secure free fair and an open set elections which have now been ratified and we now look to the future with considerable amounts of optimism."
The US role in southern Iraq will be slightly different, focusing more on training the Iraqi police, and keeping open the supply route between the south and Baghdad.
The BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says US soldiers are now a visible presence in Basra, with British troops handing over many of the buildings and duties at the camp as they pack up after six years in Iraq.
But Lt Colonel AJ Johnson, the American taking over the job of liaising with the Iraqi Army at Basra Operations Centre, says there will not be much difference in the US approach in Basra - which means ensuring the Iraqi Army and police remain the most visible presence on the streets. Lt Col Johnson told the BBC: "The bottom line, the aim of the transition itself is to make sure it's seamless and that there's generally no perception that the US army is here and they are going to do things different than the British did when they were here."
Maj Gen Salmon said he did not regret that the British forces were leaving Basra before a credible police force was working in the city. "I don't think I have got any regrets over that; it's just the way it is. With the forces we have had and the resources we have had, we have concentrated on training the army," he said. "We've trained the 10th division and trained the 14th division. The 10th division has performed really well further north and the 14th division has performed brilliantly over the last year in Basra, so we've got something to be very proud of."
#1
not saying anything bad adbout the UK troops but didn't seem they did too juch in Basra anyway, since their senior officers seems too make themselves at home while avoiding fighting for the kost part
#1
"I no longer control the Soros Fund Management's operations, I retired last year and now only oversee the transactions to do with my private account," he said in the statement, published by Hungarian news agency MTI.
Back during the election campaign, I was on the radio and a caller demanded to know what I made of the persistent rumor that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. "I doubt it," I said. "It's perfectly obvious he was born in Stockholm. Okay, maybe Brussels or Strasbourg."
But here we are 20 minutes in, and full-scale Europeanization is already under way: Europeanized health care, Europeanized daycare, Europeanized college education, Europeanized climate-change policy . . . Obama’s pseudo-SOTU speech was America’s first State of the European Union address, in which the president deftly yoked the language of American exceptionalism to the cause of European statism. Apparently, nothing testifies to the American virtues of self-reliance, entrepreneurial energy, and the can-do spirit like joining the vast army of robotic extras droning in unison: “The government needs to do more for me.” For the moment, Washington is offering Euro-sized government with Euro-sized economic intervention, Euro-sized social programs, and Euro-sized regulation. But apparently not Euro-sized taxation.
Hmm. Even the Europeans havenÂ’t attempted that trick. But donÂ’t worry, if that pledge not to increase taxes on families earning under $250,000 doesnÂ’t have quite the Continental sophistication youÂ’re looking for in your federal government, I doubt it will be operative very long.
Most Americans don’t yet grasp the scale of the Obama project. The naysayers complain, Oh, it’s another Jimmy Carter, or It’s the new New Deal, or It’s LBJ’s Great Society applied to health care. You should be so lucky. Forget these parochial nickel’n’dime comparisons. It’s all those multiplied a gazillionfold and nuclearized — or Europeanized, which is less dramatic but ultimately more lethal. For a distressing number of American liberals, the natural condition of an advanced, progressive Western democracy is Scandinavia, and the U.S. has just been taking a wee bit longer to get there. You’ve probably heard academics talking about “the Swedish model” and carelessly assumed they were referring to the Britt Ekland retrospective on AMC. If only. And, incidentally, fond though I am of Britt, the fact that I can think of no Swedish dolly bird of the last 30 years with which to update that gag is itself a telling part of the problem. Anyway, under the Swedish model, state spending accounts for 54 percent of GDP. In the U.S., it’s about 40 percent. Ten years ago, it was 34 percent. So we’re trending Stockholmwards.
I seriously doubt it will do much good, tranzi that he appears to be, but I fired one off anyway.
President@nd.edu
Dear Father Jenkins:
Providing a learned, revisionary interpretation of famous church writings is one thing. Providing a platform for the most radical social revisionist and abortion advocate to ever arrive at the White House is yet another. Please re-think your decision regarding the Notre Dame 2009 Commencement Speaker.
Most respectfully,
AUTO RESPONSE:
Thank you for your comments. Due to the volume of e-mails that I receive, I am not able to respond to every message individually, but please know that your e-mail will be reviewed and considered.
#1
This is causing quite a stir among Catholics, some of whom are putting their foot down.
The secularists had a major defeat last week when Gov Sibelius was directed by her bishop to stop taking communion. Importantly this was backed by two other bishops, which makes it semi-official doctrine. This matters because while there are a lot of priests who would give her communion, this will now put them in direct confrontation with their bishop.
It also is a strong signal to other American and Canadian bishops that now is the time to bar other faux-Catholic politicians from receiving communion. This could put a bunch of them on the spot, and makes a great bargaining chip against the administration trying to liberalize abortion.
There are about 150+ nominally Catholic senators and congressmen. They are the largest religious denomination in congress. They have now been put on notice.
#2
As a Roman Catholic myself and a product of a catholic school education I am appalled at Notre Dame's action here. I wonder if it would be different if the signature read "Rev. John I. Jenkins, S.J."?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 11:56
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#3
'Moose, that is very good news about Sibelius. It would be good if other bishops would step up and follow suit and refuse communion to people like Pelosi et al. (I don't know if Ted Kennedy even pretends to be Catholic any more since he is divorced and remarried.)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/31/2009 21:27
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Board, which backstops defined benefit plans (yes, Virginia, they still exist) faced a rather sizable gap between its expected returns on its $64 billion in holdings and its expected liabilities.
So in a stroke of sheer genius, it increased its allocation to risky assets considerably at precisely the time those assets started tanking. It even managed to cut its allocation to Treasuries way back, reducing its participation in the big Treasury rally of last year.
Now anyone who was finance literate would look at the PGB's new asset allocation and recognize it as conventional wisdom as dispensed by pension fund consultants. And if you had read Benoit Mandelbrot or Nassim Nicolas Taleb, you'd also know that those pension fund consultants base their prescriptions on theories that simply do not pan out empirically, and worse, greatly understate risk. Wasn't sure if it should be filed under Lurid Crime Tales or Economy. Balance at the link.
In last month's violent confrontation between the ShamWow Guy and a South Beach prostitute, there is no doubt which combatant took the worst of the battle. As seen in the below mug shot and the profile here, Sasha Harris, 26, was left with a pair of black eyes and other injuries after tangling with Vince Shlomi, 44, in a room at the swanky Setai hotel. As TSG previously reported, Shlomi told cops that he met Harris in a Miami Beach nightclub and later paid her about $1000 for "straight sex." But when the TV pitchman tried to kiss Harris, she allegedly bit his tongue and would not let go. Shlomi told cops that he punched Harris several times until she released his bleeding tongue. Shlomi and Harris were both treated at the Mount Sinai Medical Center before being booked for felony aggravated battery (hence the matching hospital smocks). Prosecutors this month declined to pursue formal charges against either brawler.
Source: Former SF soldier
I live in the Rio Grande Valley. We are just 8 to 15 miles north of Reynosa, Mexico (McAllen, TX), 58 miles west of Matamoros, Mexico (Brownsville, TX) and 152 miles east of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico (Laredo, TX). Ciudad Juarez (El Paso, TX) is 752 miles to our west. The state immediately to our south is Tamaulipas the state south of Juarez is Coahuila. Brownsville/Matamoros, Laredo/Nuevo Laredo & El Paso/Juarez are sister cities.
Violence along our part of the border is picking up. There have been shootouts between cartel members and Mexican army troops in the towns across from us. Large numbers of troops and cartel members, Cartels are using full auto weapons, RPG's and grenades, have body armor and good comms.
Poverty is rampant along the border. The cartels pay well. Their recruiting practices follow the VC in some respects - Join us or I will kill you or your's. So far we have not seen the beheadings that have taken place further to the west. The main cartel here is the Gulf cartel. Their enforcement arm is called the Zetas.
Mexico just announced a $2,000,000.00 each reward for the top leaders of the 6 main cartels and $1,000,000.00 each for their top lieutenants.
I work some of the gun shows in south Texas and believe me, many black guns and 1,000's of rounds of ammo go out of there with some rough looking fellows. Some of the dealers are very careful to check ID's. Some openly joke that they know where the guns are going but don't care. Got their money.
BATF is working the shows, hard. Quite some time back I asked about a fellow Named Cele Castillo. He worked for DEA in Central America, got a hard on for the US is now a guest of the US Government, 35 months for arms smuggling. Seventeen were recently arrested for arms smuggling in Brownsville, charged with making straw purchases, soliciting someone to make the purchase or smuggling.
One thing I have not seen in a few years is the 50 cal, rifle or rounds. There used to be several dealers at the shows. Night vision equipment abounds if your pockets are deep enough.
No doubt many of the black guns and much of the ammo come from the USA. No way do the RPGs or grenades come from us legally, Expense is of little concern to the cartels and there are enough arms suppliers worldwide ready to sell at the right price. Then there are those that might supply simply to destabilize the region.
South Texas does have the best law enforcement/legal system money can buy. Along with the Hidalgo County Sheriff Brig Marmalejo, Cameron County Sheriff Conrado Cantu and Starr County Sheriff Gene Falcon have been convicted for abetting drug trafficking.
Heard yesterday that a fugitive federal marshal was found murdered execution style in western Mexico. Wonder what that situation was.
#1
I've never seen RPG's or grenades or even .50 cal, SAWS or auto at any show I've attended. I still say they are getting the heavy stuff from Hugo and Daniel and their ilk in Nica and Vene.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 9:25
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#2
Quite right Jack. RPG's and grenade launchers are not huge sellers at gun shows. In fact, they are illegal to own or sell. I've never seen or heard of one at a show. Also begs the question... if the Feds and BATF are "working the shows" then why is it an issue? They should be hearding the bad guys off to prison in platoon size formations. This is all gummit gun snatch cover for action. I'm reasonably certain we'll see more of it in the months to come.
The whole "military arms going south" is such bullshit. The straw purchases and pickups/busts that have happened are all usually semi-auto pistols.
The cartels get their arms from down south and FROM THE MEXICAN ARMY.
Also, wtf is up with the language. "many black guns"???
The situation is shitty tho and I'd advocate more arms and defense for our fence. I'd also like there to be a policy, that if Border Patrol members are shot at, that they can shoot back. This has happened a few times locally.
#5
Plot to destroy 2nd amendment. I'm quite sure the Chinese Norinco organization can supply the banditos with all the firepower they need. No need to buy US, smuggling across the Pacific is all that is needed.
The top Taliban commander in Pakistan promised an assault on Washington "soon" - one he says will "amaze" the world. "Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world," Baitullah Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone.
Mehsud also claimed responsibility for Monday's attack on a police academy outside the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, saying it was in retaliation for U.S. missile strikes against militants along the Afghan border.
One year ago, CBS News security correspondent Bob Orr reported that U.S. intelligence officials were increasingly concerned that Mehsud could eclipse even Osama bin Laden as a threat to America. The U.S. recently announced a $5 million bounty on Mehsud's head. Asked about it, he told the AP he would be happy to "embrace martyrdom."
Mehsud has made voluminous threats against the West for years, as he rose to his current stature as the head of the Taliban in Pakistan, and he gave no apparent specifics in his threat on the U.S. capital on Tuesday, notes CBS News' Sami Yousafzai in Peshawar.
#3
I don't like this idea that Mehsud may replace Osama bin Laden. I like the fact that Osama rhymes with Obama. It keeps things in focus for me.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 9:13
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#4
Hmmmmm. I read that the Obamas are planning to pay for the White House renovations from their 'private' funds. Might want to put that project on hold for a bit.
#5
Mehsud has made voluminous threats against the West for years, as he rose to his current stature as the head of the Taliban in Pakistan, and he gave no apparent specifics in his threat on the U.S. capital on Tuesday, notes CBS News' Sami Yousafzai in Peshawar.
#8
Looks like quite a job for the Overseas Contingency Operation Against Man Caused Disasters.
Have Baitullah and the boys renamed Jihad yet? Because I find that "offensive"...
#9
If he is so happy to "embrace martyrdom" then why doesn't he take the first step. Simple, jumpf off a cliff; stand in front of a bus. Better yet, strap on a jacket with kabooms and detonate yourself prematurely.
Posted by: Art ||
03/31/2009 10:21
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#10
The way this administration is going, the American people might beat them to it..
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
03/31/2009 11:17
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#11
And you are sooooo right. It will take another big attack in the United States and then we will be all the way in Pakistan. Pakistan because that is where they all are hiding.
Posted by: Sarge Reports From The Front ||
03/31/2009 11:30
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#12
okay, but could you please wait until after the frozen four easter weekend? If you f8ck up my hockey watching there will be some serious hell to pay.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/31/2009 15:44
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#15
Asked about it, he told the AP he would be happy to "embrace martyrdom."
Whenever someone like Pie Head talks the talk it’s always great PR with all the #2’s. But his real target audience for his vision of virgins’ rhetoric is the “Big Picture” guys. Remember, President Obama has said on numerous occasions that he “Doesn’t want to make martyrs” out of these guys.
#17
#16 Hmmm. Threatening terror man-made disaster from Pakistan soil. Did you hear that Hussein O? and Janet F-ing Napolitano?
Posted by: Jereger Hapsburg2215
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 17:30
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#18
CNN BLITZER "SITUATION ROOM" > Blitzy's femme Pert discounts MEHSUD's ability to directly attack WASHINGTON DC = USA, arguing that M. is mainly a REGIONAL-ONLY PLAYER [little or no International capability at this time].
OTOH, "REGIONAL-ONLY PLAYER" > THAT ARGUMENT WAS HOW THE 1990's CLINTON ADMIN LABELED OSAMA BIN LADEN + AL QAEDA [OKC, WTC 1, Africa, pre-9-11].
A ransom offered by the Pakistan government for the release of a Canadian woman kidnapped by the Taliban more than four months ago has been rejected, sources close to the negotiations say. Failure of officials to gain the release of Beverly Giesbrecht, a West Vancouver woman who also calls herself Khadija Abdul Qahaar, has raised fears that she might not survive captivity much longer. She has said she would be decapitated if a settlement wasn't made by today. Go ahead and chop her had off. She's on their side anyway.
"Khadija's rapidly deteriorating health may render any negotiation meaningless. You can't abuse a frail, elderly woman indefinitely without consequence," Glen Cooper, a long-time friend of hers in British Columbia, said yesterday in a brief statement. Mr. Cooper said Ms. Giesbrecht, 53, has looked frail and exhausted in two videos that have been released by the Taliban since she was seized at gunpoint in the Bannu region of northern Pakistan, in November. In one of those videos she says her health is deteriorating, she has pneumonia and needs to go to hospital.
According to two sources, one a Taliban spokesman and the other a tribal elder who has been negotiating for the release of Ms. Giesbrecht, the recent ransom offer by the local Pakistan administration was rejected by the kidnappers as "too little to be considered." Although Pakistan government officials in the volatile North Waziristan tribal area where she is being held have refused to acknowledge the ransom offer, the sources confirmed "some money" has been offered.
Earlier this month the Taliban asked for $375,000 (U.S.) to secure the release of Ms. Giesbrecht and two Pakistani assistants who were kidnapped with her. In a video that was released a few weeks ago, and in a recent telephone call to The Globe and Mail, Ms. Giesbrecht said she would be killed she wasn't released by the end of this month.
Backed by the local government administration, a three-member tribal committee has been shuttling between the kidnappers and the administration to try to broker her release. The Canadian embassy in Islamabad has been working behind the scenes with Pakistani authorities. "We are in contact with all the concerned Pakistani authorities. And it is the prime responsibility of the host country to protect the lives and properties of guests," said an official of the Canadian embassy who asked not to be identified. An official with the local government administration in North Waziristan said they were "making all out efforts to get her out from their [Taliban] captivity at every cost."
Ms. Giesbrecht, publisher of a pro-Islamic website, Jihad Unspun, went to Pakistan last summer to conduct research as a freelance journalist. Her visa application in Canada was supported by two letters from Al-Jazeera television, verifying she was doing freelance work for the network. In a video message released by her captors, she said she was seized at gunpoint when she returned to the Bannu region of Pakistan to pick up some antique coins from a local man who wanted them sold in England.
She was kidnapped by gunmen who reportedly work for the Taliban commander, Gul Bahadur. A close aide of Mr. Bahadur told The Globe and Mail he would request a deadline extension in order to continue negotiations over the size of the payment. "But one thing, which I want to make clear is that they [Taliban] are serious," said Qari, who asked to be identified by one name only. "They [the Pakistani and Canadian government] demonstrate stubbornness to pay ransom and get her released," he said. "Now we will reciprocate with the same attitude."
#1
A close aide of Mr. Bahadur told The Globe and Mail he would request a deadline extension in order to continue negotiations over the size of the payment. "But one thing, which I want to make clear is that they [Taliban] are serious," said Qari, who asked to be identified by one name only. "They [the Pakistani and Canadian government] demonstrate stubbornness to pay ransom and get her released," he said. "Now we will reciprocate with the same attitude."
#2
Keep her. In one piece or two, doesn't matter. Keep her
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 10:11
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#3
"They [the Pakistani and Canadian government] demonstrate stubbornness to pay ransom and get her released," he said. "Now we will reciprocate with the same attitude."
Fine with me. Enjoy the Islamic comradeship, hon...
#6
The US should offer to pay it - in pennies, dropped by a pair of B-52s. Drop 'em from 40,000 feet over any NWFP town of the terrorists' choice. The terminal velocity of a copper penny from 40k is about the same as the velocity of an AK-47 round at 50 feet. They'll spread out over quite an area, and do some serious damage to crops, livestock, people, and structures. It's kind of difficult to drive a vehicle that's been hit with about 40¢ worth of pennies.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 16:36
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#7
See ya next week and we'll do this all over again...
Vancouver woman said she'd be beheaded today, but Taliban militants holding her give authorities until April 5 to pay ransom
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The Islamic militants holding a Canadian hostage in the Afghan-Pakistani border region have extended the deadline for their ransom demands to be met, according to an associate of the Taliban commander thought to be in control of her.
"But there will be no more extension in the deadline," said Qari, a close associate of Taliban commander Gul Bahadur, who asked to be identified by one name only. "They [the Taliban] are serious," he told The Globe and Mail today.
In a video released last month, West Vancouver resident Beverly Giesbrecht, 53, said her captors would behead her if their demands for $350,000 (U.S.) weren't met by the end of March. She was seized at gunpoint in the Bannu region of northern Pakistan in November.
The local government in the Pakistani region where we was captured offered the captors a lower amount in exchange for her release, but that was rejected as "too little to be considered," according to the Taliban source and a tribal elder negotiating her release.
When asked what her captors would do if they did not get an increased ransom offer by the new deadline, Qari said: "In this case, the old ransom offer will be considered by our shura [meeting of leaders], which will decide her fate once and for all."
#1
He's right about the fact that spending our way out of this is not the answer.
However, creating a global finance czar is exactly the wrong thing to do. Beyond the general dangers of autocracy, it was concentration of decision making in the hands of the few that made this crisis far worse than it would have been with lots of smaller entities.
And what this has to do with 'anglo-saxons' per se exists only in the minds of the French.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/31/2009 6:14
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#2
Sarkozy blames Anglo-Saxons for mud at Agincourt.
#7
Anglo-Saxons(people with blue eyes) are the new Joooos?
Posted by: Boss Clease6994 ||
03/31/2009 8:30
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#8
Maybe the menu sucks?
I blame Washington politics and meddling, sub-prime loans, derivatives and credit default swaps, no credit requirements for loans, etc. Ah hell, through ACORN in the mix too.
#10
Look, we can't even agree between the academics, business writers, congress, finance pros and others as to what really happened. I am reading Janet Tavakoli's, "Dear Mr. Buffet" and she is herself all over the map and she is one of the top experts on structured finance especially those toxic CDO's backed by Credit Default Swaps. In fact, if you believe this article then the Orientals are more at fault than Anglo's.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 10:40
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#11
Part of me wonders...
When the shit hits the fan, the economy crumbles and wars break out... are the Europeans going to go back to killing each other?
#1
Russia has become the first major country to call for a partial restoration of the Gold Standard to uphold discipline in the world financial system.
America was on the gold standard up till the 1930s but still had Panics, recessions, and The Depression. The element in most is uncontrolled speculation. That requires not only laws and regulations on the books, but the will to enforce them. Gold is no substitute for will.
Ever heard of a guy who said: OMG I bought gold and now I've lost everything?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/31/2009 11:11
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#7
Russia may have lots of gold but we don't. Therefore this is another move by an adversary (not unlike the Chinese central banks) to weaken the dollar but it will not pass. Dollar is strengthening every day even with the Obamanation of our current economic situation.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 11:52
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#9
The US has by far the largest gold reserves (remember Ft Knox) at over 8000 tonnes. More than twice the next largest, Germany's. Russia is listed #11 at 596 tonnes. In addition, the US has in possession for safe keeping a lot of other nation's gold reserves.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 13:19
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#10
"You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns! You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!"
The "Boy Orator of the Platte" William Jennings Bryan, 1896.
#11
There are an estimated 400,000 ounces of gold remaining in the mines of Cripple Creek, Idaho Springs, Empire, and Blackhawk. Unless the price stabilizes at about $1200 an ounce, it's too expensive to mine it. The same is true of silver and gold in western Colorado, and gold dust in some dozens of local rivers and streams. Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington have reserves.
Russia doesn't have any idea how much gold it has, because much of the metal exists in areas either near or above the Arctic Circle, and is virtually impossible to extract. There isn't enough gold, however, to back every single unit of every currency in the world - a necessity for the entire world to go onto a gold standard.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 19:18
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Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck has already shown he's a rating success and is leaving a mark in cable news. However, he may have pulled one of his most successful performances yet. His blurb, before his show actually started, was "Americans! We've got to trust one another!" My thought in response was: "What if the other's a crook?"
Beck interviewed Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on his March 30 broadcast. But, the radio and TV host took the opportunity to tell Blumenthal what he thought of his investigation into the bonuses received by American International Group (AIG) executives - whose company received federal bailout money. "Look, you know what you have done, know what you have done?" Beck said. "You have - you are an insult to George Washington, sir. George Washington made it very clear that we are a respecter of laws, not of men. For your own political gain, you have decided to go after these people at AIG because it is a popular thing." I saw this, and Beck did in fact nail that sucker.
Beck pressed on, demanding to know what law the AIG executives broke that warranted Blumenthal's involvement. "And while I may agree with you that it is obscene, I would like to know, is not what's right as a rule of thumb - not what makes us feel good," Beck continued. "You, sir, are to protect people and, and to stand for the law in Connecticut, so, again, I ask you, sir - what law gave you the right to go after them? What law did they break?" Blumenthal actually couldn't come up with oen.
Blumenthal claimed the AIG executives were "undeserving" of the bonuses. Blumenthal also pointed out the bonuses paid out were to increase next year. However, Beck pressed Blumenthal on the legality of that and Blumenthal came up blank in this exchange:
BECK: Is that against the law?
BLUMENTHAL: Well, it is against public policy. And it is unsanctioned by law.
BECK: Is that against the law?
BLUMENTHAL: It should be against the law.
BECK: Is it against the law?
BLUMENTHAL: It's against the public policy and against the taxpayer...In my view it is unrequired by law.
BECK: It is a yes or no question. Counselor, it is a yes or no question. Is it against the law?
BLUMENTHAL: It is not against the law and I have never said that it is against the law, and I have never said that we would bring an action.
BECK: Then you know what you should do? You should enforce the law. You shouldn't use your bully pulpit to gain popularity.
After another exchange over Blumenthal's behavior, Beck likened Blumenthal and New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to a "vampire," accusing him of capitalizes on a populist sentiment. "You are twisting it," Beck said. "It has everything to do with the excuse that AIG used to say we had to do that. And you're exactly right - it has nothing to do with that. But that has nothing to do with the little vampire fangs that you all of a sudden sprouted and tried to grab on to - to make yourself, you and Andrew Cuomo, tried to make yourselves the king of the world, and look at me - I'm the savior here. I'm going to help everybody, the little people. All you're doing is trying to make yourself look good in a populist move. I think it's wrong."
#1
Beck gets a little dramatically worked up, but his outrage yesterday hit the mark. Blumenthal and (Cuomo) are sleazy publicity seeking self-promoters, and should NOT be allowed political or prosecutorial power. This POS couldn't say what if any laws (real ones, not "policy") were broken. He looked like a stammering fool. Today Beck has on the menu the first of many terrible judicial picks, Koh, for SOS legal adviser. He's a real loser as well.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 10:44
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#2
Dang! I wish I had seen that. The point comes across in the article, but Beck delivers with a dramatic punch.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/31/2009 14:20
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#3
Blumenthal and Cuomo watched and learned from Elliott Spitzer.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/31/2009 15:44
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#4
Let's hope they end up the same way Spitzer ended up. Before they get to be governor this time.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/31/2009 19:01
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#5
Yet no one spared a vowel over freddie mac's bonanza. Whats up with that bonus money?
According to election fraud lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh, The New York Times decided suddenly to drop all efforts last October to publish stories about the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) because it came to light that ACORN was a big donor to then presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign. The Times is said to have told ACORN insider Anita Moncrief that they were dropping the story because it was a "game changer" for the election and might hurt Obama's campaign.
Heidelbaugh, who worked for the Penn. Republican State Committee in a vote fraud lawsuit against ACORN, told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 that she had found a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign through the inside information from former ACORN worker Anita Moncrief.
Moncrief told Heidelbaugh that she had been involved as an insider informant to The New York Times for several months until she informed Times reporter Stephanie Strom that the Obama campaign was closely linked to ACORN. Once that connection was made, Strom told Moncrief that no more stories would be done by the NYT about ACORN.
#1
Party organs [mouthpieces] ratting on their own? Only when they fall out of favor of the inner party. The surprise meter can't register that low. Remember, its not about truth or justice, its about power.
#3
As NYT gets weaker, I expect that more and worse examples of their abuse of the truth will come out, going back several decades. On many of those, we've had our suspicions, but the time for the tuth to come out is getting closer.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/31/2009 14:15
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Senior U.S. military commanders are now openly complaining about Pakistani intelligence officials passing on information revealing American and NATO operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban. For several years now, the United States, Afghanistan, India and many Pakistanis, have been quietly pressuring the Pakistani government to reform the ISI (Inter Service Intelligence agency). This organization has long been a power unto itself, with its own agenda and many members who support Islamic radicalism. It's ISI that is responsible for most of the leaks.
Last year, the government disbanded the political wing of the ISI. A spy agency with their own political wing, hmmm!
This section was believed be largely responsible for Pakistani support of Islamic, or simply Pakistani, terrorist operations in Afghanistan and India, as well as support for Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan itself. The political wing has also served as a domestic spying operation whenever the military was running the country (which is more than half the time.) Pakistan is currently run by a civilian government that came into power last Summer. Unfortunately, no one was fired or dismissed when the Political Wing was eliminated. The officers and staff were simply transferred to other jobs within ISI.
ISI has long supported Islamic terrorists. This time, Pakistan appears determined to root out "Taliban spies" in the ISI. No one is optimistic about how successful this attempt will be. The problem is that these Islamic radicals have been operating openly in the ISI for three decades, and were put there by the government in the late 1970s, when it was decided that Islamic conservatism was the solution for Pakistan's problems (corruption and religious/ethnic conflicts.) These guys are not just "Taliban spies," but Pakistani intelligence professionals that believe in Islamic radicalism.
The ISI itself was created in 1948 as a reaction to the inability of the IB (Intelligence Bureau, which collected intelligence on foreign countries in general) and MI (Military Intelligence, which collected intel on military matters) to work together and provide useful information. The ISI was supposed to take intel from IB and MI, analyze it and present it to senior government officials. But in the 1950s, the government began to use the ISI to collect intel on Pakistanis, especially those suspected of opposing whatever government was in power. This backfired eventually, and in the 1970s, the ISI was much reduced by a civilian government. But when another coup took place in 1977, and the new military government decided that religion was the cure for what ailed the country. This proved to be a terrible mistake, and lots of Islamic radicals holding down key ISI jobs is but one of many after effects.
#2
This could just as easily been written this way:
Senior U.S. military commanders are now openly complaining about Pakistani American CIA intelligence officials passing on information revealing American and NATO operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban to the New York Times. For several years now, the United States Senate Republicans and pro-military press have been quietly pressuring the White HousePakistanigovernment to reformremove all former Clinton appointees from the ISI (Inter Service Intelligence agency)CIA. This organization has long been a power unto itself, with its own agenda and many members who support Islamic radicalism. It's ISIthe CIA liberals/leftist/statist that are responsible for most of the leaks to the left-wing press.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 9:37
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NEW DELHI: The Army is geared up for skirmishes in the digitised battlefield as well. The force is quite confident that its information systems are quite "secure'' from hostile strikes in the backdrop of China-based hacker groups increasingly mounting attacks on computer networks across the globe.
"We have put in place a very secure network and I can confidently say that it cannot be tampered with,'' said signal officer-in-chief Lt-General P Mohapatra on Monday. He's just asking for it.
#1
Nah, it's possible to build a pretty secure network if you know what you're doing, and listen to the right people. The US unfortunately has far too much politics involved when making computer security decisions, so our networks leak like a sieve, and in the next big shooting war, our cruisers are all going to come to a stop at the same time while staring at garbage on their computer screens.
#2
Whenever I call hardware or software support for some problem I'm having--I don't get some guy or gal in the States, I get some guy or gal with an anglicized name in India.
This reports is from Serbianna, a partisan pro-Serbian site. Take with as many grains of salt as necessary.
Former al-Qaeda officer and a one time member of the Bosnian Muslim Army, Ali Hamad has been deported today to his native Bahrain. “Ali Hamad will be escorted with officers from the Service with dealings with foreigners to Bahrain,” said Dragan Mektic from that service.
Serbia was recently interested in Ali HamadÂ’s testimony in regards to the atrocities the al-Qaeda units and the Bosnian Muslim Army units committed against Serbs. Last year, Hamad was willing to trade his testimony about those atrocities for an asylum in Serbia.
In 1998 Hamad and two other Muslims planned a terror attack in Mostar for which he was convicted and jailed for 12 years. While in jail, Hamad wrote a book, In the Network of Evil, where he describes in great detail how he became the top al-Qaeda officer dispatched to Bosnia to wage Jihad on behalf of Bosnian Muslims.
Ali Hamad testified at the war crimes court against the Bosnian Muslim general Rasim Delic where he described that the al-Qaeda units were under the direct control of the Bosnian Muslim government. At that time, current Bosnian Muslim presidency member Haris Silajdzic was in government, and Serbia has recently issued a warrant for his arrest.
Meanwhile, the constitutional court in Bosnia has rejected the deportation of another Bosnian Muslim al-Qaeda officer, Imad al Hussein known as Abu Hamza. The court ruled that Abu Hamza must stay in Bosnia until a lower court rules in line with the constitutional court that declared Abu HamzaÂ’s deportation a violation of human rights. Abu Hamza is wanted in Syria for terrorism and claims that being deported there would violate his human rights because Syria will torture him.
While in Bosnia, Abu Hamza was part of the Bosnian Muslim Army and committed atrocities against Serbs and Croats. Hamza claims that US wanted him to go to Kosovo to organize the al-Qaeda among Albanians but after a brief visit he left that job to another al-Qaeda member. Abu Hamza is married to a local Bosnian Muslim woman.
"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteers be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."
Chances are you also understand it. It purports that the order of the letters inside a given word doesn't matter, as long as the first and last letters of each word are in the right place. You can read the words because the human mind reads words as a whole, and not letter-by-letter.
Continued on Page 49
#9
g(r)omgoru nailed it. This idea works as long as you are reading words that you already know. You come to a word that's new to you and you will be stumped. I remember when California tried to abandon phonics in the school system in favor of a "whole language" approach. Total disaster but nothing new for California.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/31/2009 12:47
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#10
Somewhere, a teachers union representative is writing up the lesson plan right now entitled "Spelling is Overrated, So Don't Worry About It"...
Don't you mean: "Smowhaere, a taechres uinon rpresnetatvive si rwiting up teh leson panl rghit nwo enittilded "Splling is ovreated, so dan't weorry abute it."
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/31/2009 18:20
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#12
After 40-something years of reading what my dyslexic wife writes, I don't find this surprising at all. It does kind of make it difficult to proof-read stuff if you're in a hurry, though.
RJ - I'd bet good money that more than half of all Rantburgers have an IQ of 130 or over. If they don't have it when they come here, they do after reading this site for two or three years!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 18:32
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DOHA: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi stormed out of an Arab summit on Monday after denouncing the Saudi king for his long ties to the West.
Gadhafi disrupted the opening Arab League session in Qatar by taking a microphone and criticising Saudi's King Abdullah, calling him a "British product and American ally".
Gadhafi has harboured a grudge against Abdullah since exchanging harsh words during a summit in early 2003 shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq. "Now after six years, it has proved that you were the liar," Gadhafi said, adding that he now considered their "problem" over and was ready to reconcile.
But when the emir of Qatar tried to quiet Gadhafi, the Libyan leader insisted on speaking to the summit. "I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam (leader) of Muslims and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level," Gadhafi said before getting up and walking out of the hall.
A Libyan delegate said Gadhafi went to the Islamic museum in Doha for a tour.
Michael Portillo, in Basra, says that Britain has been humiliated: by committing too few troops, by failing to support the US surge, by showing more interest in spin than reality. If Basra is relatively calm, that has little do with us
#2
It is sad because the Brits came in saying the US was doing this and that wrong and there way was awesome and the only way and in reality the one thing the US did right in the long run, the one thing we usually do right and rarely get credit for is adapt. I'm not sure the British (whose culture once was very adaptable) adapted to the situation very much.
#3
Blair's Government tried to do the job on the cheap. Some Brits mouthed off about the superiority of the softly softly approach without realising that that only works if you're carrying a Big Stick. The British Army in Basra was a small, if wily, man carrying a twig. And he wasn't even allowed to use that to best effect.
#4
The same 'Labour Government' that betrayed kith & kin and along with the help of Carter and Young, installed Mugabe. Some things, they simply cannot change.
#5
In BRITAIN'S DEFENSE, when the ISLAMIST HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI makes His Appearance, ALL THINGS EQUAL HE WILL PROB PRIORITIZE THE DEFEAT ANDOR DESTRUCTION OF US MILFORS [Eli-i-i-te Units] IN IRAQ-ME AFORE THE BRITS.
D *** NG IT, WE CAN'T HAVE A "DECISIVE/
APOCALYPTIC" BATTLE WITHOUT OUR DECISIVE/
APOCALYP PLAYERS, NOW CAN WE - YOU JUST KNOW OSAMA's FAV MTV BABE WHITNEY HUSTON WON'T STAND FOR IT!?
President Obama plans to propose spending roughly $2.8 billion in aid for the Pakistani military, as he steps up the U.S.-led campaign to battle extremists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. That money would be in addition to the civilian aid -- $1.5 billion a year for five years -- that the president called for Friday.
A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FOX News the money will be dedicated exclusively to "equipping, training, and building infrastructure directly related to counterinsurgency operations." Gen. David Petraeus told FOX News in an interview Monday the plan will be called the "Pakistani Counterinsurgency Capability Fund".
Officials were quick to point out that U.S. commanders would have control over how the money is spent, and that none of it would be spent in a way that would give Pakistan a greater capacity to attack another country, such as India.
The money would be distributed over five years, with the first $400 million of it added to the fiscal year 2009 supplemental request for war fighting. Another $700 million would be in the fiscal 2010 base budget. Then $575 million would be spent each year from fiscal 2011 through 2013.
#3
It would make a hell of a lot more sense to give it to Americans, 300 million citizens divide into 208 billion that divides out to .0093 million per citizen, or about 9 thousand each,
Order a price freezem to stave off wild inflation, award each CITIZEN 9 grand, and watch the economy surge, most will put it in banks. Instant solvency, spend some (Not all) and BOOM instant prosperity.But without a price freze, also instant inflation.
There's two in my family, so 18 grand means a new car, a shopping run on Walmart (Stock the pantry) and some in the bank to live on.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/31/2009 11:40
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#4
“Officials were quick to point out that U.S. commanders would have control over how the money is spent…”
Just no more “complete control”. Senator Kerry’s wheelin-n-dealin has already signaled that the Paks will have much greater autonomy on how the money is distributed. Which is just fine with him based on his lifelong proxy engagement philosophy. Who says bribes can’t be renegotiated?
#2
If the dateline is wrong (it should be the town of Karma not "Garma"), what else could be wrong in this article?
Anyways....Karma is full of thugs and thieves, so there is nothing new here. Route Chicago (irony?) used to run right to it. Always a pleasant Sunday afternoon drive.
#3
I read elsewhere that the Iraqis are really stepping up the pace of executions via hanging. They are now doing it in batches of 10-20 at a time, several times a week.
#5
Keep and eye out for the nice Mr. Sniper hanging out near you, Mo.
Posted by: ed ||
03/31/2009 13:34
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#6
typical McClatchy puke: "There are about 13,400 detainees in U.S.-run prisons, and on average 50 are released each day. Some are guilty of crimes, others are innocent, many have never been afforded due process and some have become radicalized by their time in prison."
I blame Bush
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 13:45
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#7
Be glads they don't plan to join Bambi's Treasury or car advisory board.
As the only Muslim member of NATO and a candidate to join the EU, Turkey has come to be seen as a bridge between East and West — held up by Washington as a shining example of how Islam is compatible with modern democracy. But as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to come here next week in a trip some herald as a milestone in ties, Turkish leaders are grappling with a formidable challenge: radical Islamic groups preaching jihad and vowing to unravel Turkey's democratic achievements.
The conundrum is twofold: A real threat from Muslim radicals intent on destabilizing the government, and the perception by many that by cracking down, Turkey is betraying the very democratic principles that have helped win it much trust and acceptance in the West. Listening to the radicals, it's easy to fathom Turkey's difficulties.
Yilmaz Celik, a spokesman for the shadowy radical Islamist group Hizb-ut Tahrir, was released from prison last month after serving a five-month sentence on terrorism charges. He says he despises the U.S., finds the "Alliance of Civilizations" conference Obama is attending a joke, and believes Turkey's moderate, Islamist-leaning leadership is a stooge of the West.
But while Celik explicitly urges Islamic nations to wage jihad to "liberate" Muslims and laces his rhetoric with venom, he insists his group does not itself support or carry out terror attacks. "We're full of grudges and hatred against the United States and Britain for exporting their ideology and giving 'soft messages' to deceive the Islamic world, for example in the shape of an olive branch to Iran," said Celik, whose group has attracted a following in dozens of countries.
Celik accuses the United States of waging what he said a "fourth crusade" against the Muslims. "For us, neither (former U.S. president George W.) Bush nor Obama is any different. They are given the same mission. When you look from the outside, Obama might be using a softer language," Celik said. "But Obama is certainly not sincere." Celik said Obama's arrival in Turkey is aimed at "strengthening the United States' influence in Muslim lands through soft messages."
Turkey and Germany are among countries that ban Hizb-ut Tahrir, but others such as Britain, Australia and the United States see no hard evidence of terrorist activity and just monitor it closely. Washington sees Turkey as a key player in its fight against terrorism. As such, it appears inclined to give implicit backing to the Turkish government's anti-terror strategy — even though it doesn't itself ban groups like Hizb-ut Tahrir.
Some activists say the government has gone too far in its crackdown on radical Muslim groups. "The state has no right to ban any group which is not involved in violence, whether it is an Islamic or Marxist one," said Ayhan Kucuk of the Mazlum-Der, an Islamic-oriented human rights organization in Turkey. "Otherwise, it must prove that they pose a security threat."
Celik, the official spokesman of the Turkey branch of Hizb-ut Tahrir, or Liberation Party, said the only way to liberate Muslims from the thoughts, systems and laws of nonbelievers is to create a global Islamic state and resurrect the Caliphate to govern with strict Islamic rule, or Shariah. "We're calling on armies and leaders of Islamic countries to wage jihad against forces that have seized the lands of Islam in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya," said Celik, released from prison on Feb. 20 after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the secular republic and replace it with an Islamic state.
Celik, 40, still faces trial on terror-related charges in five separate cases and could be imprisoned again. He has served a total of 2 1/2 years in prison on different occasions since 2003. He insists his group does not advocate terrorism.
"Hizb-ut Tahrir does not believe that the group itself, as an organization, should commit violence or terrorism," James Brandon of the Quilliam Foundation, a research center in London, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "However, it believes that if individual Muslims want to carry out attacks of defensive jihad, for instance in Iraq or Afghanistan, then they should be allowed to do so."
Some experts say the group has tens of thousands of supporters around the world. Turkish police accelerated a crackdown on the group after it held a demonstration in 2005. Celik says he does not post a sign outside his office because he knows the police will tear it down.
The group's Turkish members were not swayed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's scolding of Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland over the killings of civilians in Gaza. Celik's deputy, Haluk Ozdogan, described the incident as "a mere tactic to raise the profile of moderate Islamists at the cost of deviating from the purity of Islam."
A woman who wrote a leaflet encouraging people to carry out jihad, or holy war, has been sentenced to a community order at Manchester Crown Court.
Shella Roma, 29, of Oldham, had pleaded guilty to dissemination of a terrorist publication, and received a three-year order, with supervision for two years. Roma was arrested after a photocopy shop employee was alarmed by a document she had produced, and alerted police.
The pamphlet contained an essay, "The Call", encouraging jihad. The eight-page essay mentioned the 9/11 attacks and the war on terror, and repeatedly asked: "Will you go to Jihad (holy war)?" It ended: "Jihad: the choice is yours."
The staff member at the business in Ashton-under-Lyne contacted police, who arrested Roma - a mother-of-one - on 31 January, 2008. Officers searching Roma's home found 137 of the 200 documents that were copied, but the remaining 63 have never been recovered.
Judge Clement Goldstone QC said Roma had "sought to distribute them in two ways, by leaving them in your home for anyone who wanted to help themselves too, and, more significantly, by giving them to your husband to distribute outside the mosque to which normal, practising Muslims had gone to pray".
Det Ch Supt Tony Porter, of the Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "Roma was an isolated, self-motivated person, and not a professional propagandist, but in the hands of vulnerable people, this document could have inspired them to cause harm. This case shows how important it is for people to come forward and report any concerns about suspicious activity."
Hard to tell whether she is a gangsters moll or a bailed out banker.
The ill-gotten gains
— Among the items found at the Sheas' home was a collection of designer handbags worth £12,000
— The couple once took a chauffeur-driven Mercedes from their home to Claridge's in London where they spent £6,000 on a weekend stay and a meal in Gordon Ramsay's in-house restaurant
— They ran up a £1,095 bill at the Oxo Tower restaurant in Central London, including £850 on a bottle of Cristal champagne
— On their driveway stood a £110,000 Aston Martin, a £46,500 4x4 BMW X5 and a Range Rover
— They took guests to £5,000 hospitality packages at the Open golf at Hoylake, rock concerts at the MEN Arena and other events
— Shea was arrested before they took a £33,000 cruise to the World Cup cricket in Barbados and a grand prix trip to Monaco for which a £6,000 cash deposit was paid
— They spent £100,000 on his and hers watches that were encrusted with diamonds. Police officers also found boxes packed full of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Chopard watches
#1
"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." - Timothy 6:10
#2
Which begs the question; will high profile illegal drug barons (e.g. CEO's of gangs) be subject to the executive compensation limitations that get legislated by the Obama/Pelosi/Reid cabal?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 10:08
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#3
Only if they take the bailout money, Jack.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/31/2009 12:52
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There's a big difference between what we say and what they want to hear.
1. "The Clash of Civilizations." Invariably, this kind of discussion ends up with us as the good guy and them as the bad guy. There is no clash of civilizations, only a clash between those who are for civilization, and those who are against it. Civilization has many characteristics but two are foundational: 1) It has no place for those who encourage, invite, and/or commit the murder of innocent civilians; and 2) It is defined by institutions that protect and promote both the minority and the transparent rule of law.
2. "Secular." The Muslim ear tends to hear "godless" with the pronunciation of this word. And a godless society is simply inconceivable to the vast majority of Muslims worldwide. Pluralism – which encourages those with (and those without) a God-based worldview to have a welcomed and equal place in the public square – is a much better word.
3. "Assimilation." This word suggests that the minority Muslim groups in North America and Europe need to look like the majority, Christian culture. Integration, on the other hand, suggests that all views, majority and minority, deserve equal respect as long as each is willing to be civil with one another amid the public square of a shared society.
4. "Reformation." Muslims know quite well, and have an opinion about, the battle taking place within Islam and what it means to be an orthodox and devout Muslim. They don't need to be insulted by suggesting they follow the Christian example of Martin Luther. Instead, ask how Muslims understand ijtihad, or reinterpretation, within their faith traditions and cultural communities.
5. "Jihadi." The jihad is an internal struggle first, a process of improving one's spiritual self-discipline and getting closer to God. The lesser jihad is external, validating "just war" when necessary. By calling the groups we are fighting "jihadis," we confirm their own – and the worldwide Muslim public's – perception that they are religious. They are not. They are terrorists, hirabists, who consistently violate the most fundamental teachings of the Holy Koran and mainstream Islamic scholars and imams.
6. "Moderate." This ubiquitous term is meant politically but can be received theologically. If someone called me a "moderate Christian," I would be deeply offended. I believe in an Absolute who also commands me to love my neighbor. Similarly, it is not an oxymoron to be a mainstream Muslim who believes in an Absolute. A robust and civil pluralism must make room for the devout of all faiths, and none.
7. "Interfaith." This term conjures up images of watered-down, lowest common denominator statements that avoid the tough issues and are consequently irrelevant. "Multifaith" suggests that we name our deep and irreconcilable theological differences in order to work across them for practical effect – according to the very best of our faith traditions, much of which are values we share.
8. "Freedom." Unfortunately, "freedom," as expressed in American foreign policy, does not always seek to engage how the local community and culture understands it. Absent such an understanding, freedom can imply an unbound licentiousness. The balance between the freedom to something (liberty) and the freedom from something (security) is best understood in a conversation with the local context and, in particular, with the Muslims who live there. "Freedom" is best framed in the context of how they understand such things as peace, justice, honor, mercy, and compassion.
9. "Religious Freedom." Sadly, this term too often conveys the perception that American foreign policy is only worried about the freedom of Protestant evangelicals to proselytize and convert, disrupting the local culture and indigenous Christians. Although not true, I have found it better to define religious freedom as the promotion of respect and reconciliation with the other at the intersection of culture and the rule of law – sensitive to the former and consistent with the latter.
10. "Tolerance." Tolerance is not enough. Allowing for someone's existence, or behavior, doesn't build the necessary relationships of trust – across faiths and cultures – needed to tackle the complex and global challenges that our civilization faces. We need to be honest with and respect one another enough to name our differences and commonalities, according to the inherent dignity we each have as fellow creations of God called to walk together in peace and justice, mercy and compassion.
#1
Mr Seipole sounds like someone who'd bring the rope for his own hanging, so as not to offend or inconvenience anyone, or to give them the impression he somehow objected to being hung..
#2
By calling the groups we are fighting "jihadis," we confirm their own – and the worldwide Muslim public's – perception that they are religious. They are not. They are terrorists, hirabists, who consistently violate the most fundamental teachings of the Holy Koran and mainstream Islamic scholars and imams.
#8
I can think of quite a few more than 10 right off the top of my head. Tried to post them last night (and again this morning) but must be in the sink trap?
#9
How to Properly insult a Muslim with their own terrorist history from the Koran and Hadiths.
No other religion calls for a conversion or death. Nor was any other religion founded by a murderer, terrorist and pedophile.(Mohammed the pedophile for profit married a 6 year old girl when he was 54 years old and raped her when she was 9.
Islamic myth and truths.
They won't admit that allah was really the pagan title of idol in Muhammad's "piece of pork upon him" parents village. This idol was supposed to be the "moon god" hence the crescent moon found on top of every mosque in the world today.
Call allah a pagan
The demonic part is self apparent. Muhammad was fooled by Satan, see the Satanic verses. Muslims know that this marks the "prophet" as the fraud he is. They even took those verses out of the Koran. The koran of today is rather different from the koran of mohammed`s day because the towelheads kept altering it`s texts and passages.
Call allah demonic
Muhammad was trying to put himself in charge of a Moon-worship cult that the local Jews would respect so while in Mecca he took up the tradition of calling pigs "unclean".
Call allah a pig or swine.
Muhammad, well who knows why he hated women so much. To this day bisexuality is so common in Saudi and it's puppet muslim states that Muhammad never really did anything firm about punishing pedophiles. What he did say is that "the majority of people in Hell are women".
Call allah a goddess
The Koran promised homosexual pedophilia to any Muslim that dies killing us. "Rivers of wine and young boys fine as pearls."
Call allah a pimp to pedophiles
Turn the truth back at the Muslims and let them cook in their own juices.
Hence: "demonic pagan swine goddess allah"
Call muhammad a common thief and murderer.
Rather than work Muhammad had his followers steal from caravans while in Medina. The fact is he was a common thief. muhammad (piece of ham be upon him) encouraged his handful of followers to attack the caravans, kill the men, rape the women and bring the booty (20% for himself) to please Allah, while assuring them that if they are killed their rewards will be rivers of wine, and many hurries in the other world. All these sickening deeds are backed by koran and hadith.. [The Koran 55:56; 55:58; 78:33; 56:12; 52:16-17, 24; 56:35-38; 52:20]
#10
This whole list seems to take the tack that the Muslims are not looking to be offended and if not these ten words there will be ten others. They are the most easily offended group the world has ever seen.
#12
Sure, I'll back off on these words if they stop calling me an "infidel", or equate me to "meat that attracts street cats" for daring to walk around with my head uncovered and/or unescorted by a male relative.
Never call a muslim who wants to convert you to his ideology by the tip of the sword, or forces you to be a third class citizen under his boot heel, or wants to kill you if you resist...never call that person a "raghead" on THIS board.
Why? Because insulting the enemy is pissing on the floor of someone else's house. So I am told.
Mauritanian junta leader Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz confirmed his candidature in the June 6th presidential election, Journal Tahalil reported on Sunday (March 29th). In an interview with satellite TV channel Al Arabiya on Saturday, Abdelaziz said he would resign from the military in mid-April. The Mauritanian constitution bars active-duty military personnel from seeking elected office. The president of the Senate will be responsible for assuring that the government functions smoothly during the transition, Mauritanian daily L'Authentique reported.
In related news, Mauritania's anti-coup National Frond for the Defence of Democracy (FNDD) said Sunday it would accept efforts by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade to mediate the political crisis only if the junta were to ease travel restrictions on deposed president Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, free former Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghef and abandon its proposed election calendar.
Libyan leader and African Union chairman Moamer Kadhafi, whose recent mediation attempt was unsuccessful, said Sunday in Addis Ababa that military rule in Mauritania is a "reality we have to accept". He also questioned the decision last week by the AU Peace and Security Council to maintain sanctions on Mauritania, saying that the Council does not have independent authority to impose such measures.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The Lebanese Army said in a statement on Monday that that some citizens were still violating a hunting ban in the south Litani River zone. It reiterated that the Litani zone is an area of operation for both the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon under UN Resolution 1701.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
"We've cancelled all your elk and duck stamps. So don't even try!"
ISLAMIC militants holding three Red Cross workers say they will behead one hostage on Tuesday afternoon if the Philippine military does not cede control of an entire island, a government official said. "And it'll all be your fault!"
Abu Sayyaf rebels told negotiators a tactical retreat from parts of Jolo island in the south would not be enough to save the lives of the three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) captives. The militants seized ICRC staff Mary Jean Lacaba of the Philippines, Andreas Notter of Switzerland and Eugenio Vagni of Italy in mid-January while they were on a humanitarian mission. Pope Benedict XVI later on Monday urged the militants to free the workers, the Vatican said in a communique. And we know how well that always works.
The pontiff 'wants to raise his voice and urge that humanitarian sensibility and reason prevail over violence and intimidation,' the statement said. 'The Holy Father... asks for their release and calls on the authorities to favour a peaceful outcome to the tragic situation,' the communique said. Violence and intimidation are kinda the essence of Abu Sayyaf...
The rebels' new demand was relayed late on Sunday, just hours after the military and police pulled back from a jungle area where they had cornered some 120 militants and their three hostages, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said. The pull-back left the rebels in control of five towns and 140 sq km of the island, the government said. If they're gonna chop the hostages' heads off then a military operation against them isn't gonna make things worse, is it? So they might as well move in with sufficient force to either wipe out the whole 120 bad boyz or at least make them wish they'd gone into another line of work.
But, said Mr Puno, Abu Sayyaf's council of leaders now wants all security forces to abandon existing bases, leaving the province's half a million residents 'completely unprotected' from the rebels. 'They demanded new repositionings,' Mr Puno said, adding that the military camps have been in Jolo for decades. That's what you call an unreasonable demand, so go ahead and kill them all...
He said the rebels had set a 2.00pm (0600 GMT, 2pm Singapore time) deadline on Tuesday for the government to comply, or they would behead one hostage. Mr Puno said the Abu Sayyaf wants troops restricted in 'one small corner' of the island, where they will be highly vulnerable and unable to protect civilians. 'Frankly, we are very disheartened by these new demands that clearly are impossible to meet,' Mr Puno told reporters. 'We would like to appeal to the (gunmen) to be reasonable.' Mr Puno conceded that it appeared that Abu Sayyaf was in control of the situation by toying with their fears. Only if you let them. And if the hostages are toast there's no reason to let them.
While the government was prepared to be 'humiliated' to keep the hostages safe, Mr Puno said if the Abu Sayyaf harms hostages that would trigger heavy reprisals. 'We just happen to believe that they're serious and we don't want the hostages to be harmed, but if they harm one hostage, then the situation will obviously change,' he said. That's what I just said but it doesn't sound like he intends to wipe them out.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Jeebus. Will the wimpiness ever end? The appropriate response is:
"release them or we'll bring in 5000 troops and we'll burn you down and kill every last M-Fing one of youse. Then we'll pull your comrades outta jail and kill them, *bang*, right in their pinheads. No prisoners will be taken or held. All dead. Capiche?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 10:06
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#2
Frank G, you get it. You cannot fight savages with 'civilized' tactics. You can and should offer the savages civilized alternatives, but if they insist on behaving savagely, you have to crush them, savagely. Many naively believe the contrary, to their eventual dismay (see, e.g. Neville Chamberlain.)
Kenyan officials have deported hundreds of thousands of Somalis fleeing violence, demanding bribes and inflicting sexual abuse on them, Human Rights Watch said Monday. The refugees'' plight has been aggravated by the 2007 closure of the Kenya-Somalia border and authorities are turning a blind eye to police corruption and abuses.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The Khmer Rouge regime''s prison chief Monday finally stood trial for Cambodia''s "Killing Fields" atrocities, accused of overseeing the torture and execution of 15,000 people three decades ago. Former teacher Kaing Guek Eav - better known as Duch - appeared before a UN-backed war crimes court set up to deal with senior members of the 1975-1979.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Surprised the usual suspects who support radical redistribution and the 'return to nature' aren't filing briefs on behalf of the accused, because the program of the Khmer Rouge is where their philosophy ultimately leads to.
#2
The freaking media back in the sixties so glamorized the Viet Cong and the Khmer Rouge that they could not report on what was happening in Cambodia.
It was no secret what Pol Pot and his cronies were doing. The freaking NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC had an article in 1973-1974 about the preservation of Ankar Wat that included pictures of an abandoned Phenom Phen with captions about how Pol Pot had run everyone out of town and there were 'rumors' of mass graves.
Once the cat was out of the bag, the usual suspects tried to blame the killing fields on American foreign policy in SE Asia. As I remember it, our State Department predicted the killing fields would occur if we left the region, which was ridiculed (the much maligned domino theory)by the media and all of the darlings of the press in the anti war movement.
If you do your research on the region, it was not too long after the flight from Saigon that Pol Pot started his crazy policies.
If the media had done their job,instead of sitting on the story for fear it would make our foreign policy look good, I personally don't think the Killing Fields would have occurred.
Posted by: James Carville ||
03/31/2009 10:29
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Former Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze joined opposition calls on Monday for President Mikheil Saakashvili, who ousted Shevardnadze in the country''s 2003 Rose Revolution, to resign.
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The Lahore High Court Bar Association has condemned the terrorist attack at the Manawan Police Training Centre, saying some foreign powers do not want Pakistan getting political and economic stability.
In a statement, LHCBA Secretary Muqtadir Akhter Shabbir called for holding an All Parties Conference to reframe counter terror strategy and press on the US to immediately stop drone attacks.
He said foreign elements behind the Manawan attack to push Pakistan into chaos and destruction. He stressed the need for forging unity to defeat the conspiracies. He said lawyers wanted the authorities to find out causes behind the terror attacks.
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik has said an Afghan involved in attack on the police training centre at Manawan has been arrested, and involvement of foreign hand in the incident cannot be ruled out.
The adviser disclosed this while addressing a press conference at the headquarters of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) on Monday. Director-General, Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Maj-Gen Yaqub Khan, Punjab IG Khwaja Khalid Farooq and Lahore CCPO Habibur Rehman were also present on the occasion.
Rehman said six policemen lost their lives in the attack whereas two more bodies have been recovered, one of which has yet to be identified.
He said it has been revealed during preliminary investigation that the terrorist, a Pashto speaking Afghan national who couldn't speak Urdu, arrested by the forces, belongs to Paktika province of Afghanistan and was living in a rented house in Lahore.
He said the terrorists involved in Monday's incident have links to the tribal areas, particularly South Waziristan where the entire planning of the incident had been done.
"Foreign hand may be behind the attack," said Rehman Malik while answering a question about the involvement of foreign hand in the Manawan incident. However, detailed results would come during next three days.
Earlier, during his visit to Manawan, Rehman Malik, while talking to the media, said having failed in their activities in Fata, the terrorists have turned to other cities of Pakistan. He said the operation against the terrorists was successful due to the assistance of security forces and the soldiers deserved all praise. To a query about the attack on the Sri Lankan team, Rehman Malik said the investigation into the matter has been completed and the report would come to surface soon.
Agencies add: Meanwhile, Malik told a private TV channel that the terror strike in Lahore was similar to the Nov 26 carnage in Mumbai. He said Pakistan has been hit by a "wave of terrorism", adding the terrorists were trained and "used terror as a weapon". Malik admitted the police training centre was not secure and was not designed to prevent terror strikes. "New buildings will have enhanced security."
Talking to Geo News channel, he said security has been put on high alert across the country and more contingents of Rangers have been sent to Manawan. The incident is part of the terror wave which has begun from the NWFP.
In a telephonic interview to another television channel after successful completion of operation at the police training centre, he said a number of terrorists have been arrested in the operation. He said four of the terrorists were killed during the operation while the rest have been nabbed by the law enforcement agencies.
He said some terrorists were dressed in police uniform and the investigation is going on to know exact number of the gang. Their number would become public very soon, he added.
He said a high-level investigation team has already been formed. As a number of terrorists have been arrested, their interrogation would help reach the masterminds, he said.
To a question, the adviser said the investigators of the Sri Lankan team attack incident have gathered valuable information about terrorists but at the time details cannot be made public. He said the method of Monday's attack was different from that on the Sri Lankan team, but facts would come on surface after the investigation.
Meanwhile, the interior advisor visited the Services hospital to inquire after the injured. Talking to newsmen on the occasion, Rehman said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would soon announce a compensation package for the martyrs and injured. "The media should not guess about the incident of Manawan terrorist attack and we will present preliminary report about the incident in three days," he said.
"We had information that the terrorist could attack police installations and information was passed to the quarters concerned," he said, adding law enforcement agencies were alert and had reached the spot within no time after they were called to counter the terror incident.
The adviser said 95 policemen and two passers-by were injured while a suicide jacket was also recovered. He said three terrorists blew themselves. He said the president and the prime minister have approved sanctioning of 25,000 officials with best possible training to face acts of terrorism in every province. He said the injured will not be discharged from hospitals before their complete identification, so as to arrest the terrorists, if any, among them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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On this day in history: March 31st
1492 - Queen Isabella of Castille issues the Alhambra decree , ordering her 150,000 Jewish subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.
1854 - Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
1889 - The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated.
1917 - The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.
1930 - The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next thirty eight years.
1968 - President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not run for re-election.
1992 - The USS Missouri (BB-63), the last active United States Navy Battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.
1998 - Netscape releases the code base of its browser under an open-source license agreement; the project is given the code name Mozilla and would eventually be spun off into the non-profit Mozilla Foundation.
#6
got the day off as well. Thought it was for Julio Cesar Chavez, who was a helluva boxer. Now I find that drinking California wine and eating table grapes might be a faux pas? Oh well.
Nom nom nom.
*sip*
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 13:47
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The U.S. and South Korean intelligence organizations have obtained information North Korea has two nuclear warheads that could be mounted on mid-range Rodong missiles, a senior analyst at an international nongovernmental group said Tuesday. Daniel Pinkston, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Kyodo News he got the information from a government official whose country he declined to specify.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
combines with the news that the missles could reach Hawai'i and the fact that the US doesn't plan to do anything about the launch, all I can say is "aloha oi"
#2
Related PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM Artic claims NOKOR has "SEVERAL" WARHEADS FOR ITS RODONGS CAPABLE OF HITTING JAPAN, + that NOKOR doesn't need too many to fundamentally alter the regional equation = balance of power, espec as per psychological deterrance.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir won strong support against his international arrest warrant over Darfur from an Arab summit on Monday that also warned Israel that an Arab peace offer was not open-ended. While Sudan emerged with the most gains, a surprise tirade by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi against Saudi King Abdullah.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Yep, that was a real surprise.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/31/2009 10:40
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Qadafi sort of apologized today.
Also, Mubarak didn't show up at all as he is angry with the Qutaris for being too pro-Hamas.
The home ministry probe committee investigating last month''s BDR carnage got 30 more working days to submit its report. This is the fourth time the ministry extended time for the probe body.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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The Syrian president said Monday that he is still interested in pursuing peace with Israel but insisted that 'resistance' by militants must continue to force the incoming Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate.
Bashar Assad has repeatedly expressed his readiness to reach a peace deal with Israel over the past year. His speech Monday to a summit of Arab leaders suggested Assad still hopes for talks but was taking a tougher tone to confront what he expects to be a hard-line stance from Netanyahu's government coalition, dominated by right-wing parties.
The 'real aim of Israel's recently elected government is against peace' and that the composition of the incoming Cabinet is a 'clear, unsurprising message to us,' Assad said.
'This doesn't demand we change our strategic option regarding peace,' Assad said. 'But (our) tactics and mechanisms must change, not with the changing the governments of Israel but with ... the aggressiveness Israel shows toward us.'
Assad underlined the need for continued 'resistance,' a reference to anti-Israeli militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas, which Damascus supports.
Resistance is a 'national and patriotic and moral duty and it is the only option,' he said. 'Peace cannot be achieved with an enemy who does not believe in peace without it being imposed on him by resistance.'
Israel and Syria held four rounds of indirect talks mediated by Turkey last year, but Syria cut off the negotiations in protest over Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza in December and January.
In any peace deal, Syria demands the return of the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel in turn demands Damascus ends its alliance with Iran and its support for the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Assad has said in interviews since that the Turkey-mediated talks had stalled because Israel wouldn't make an unambiguous commitment to return all the territory captured in 1967. The outgoing Israeli government of Ehud Olmert has not commented on details of the talks.
Direct talks between the countries broke down in 2000 over a similar issue of the extent of an Israeli withdrawal.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Assad's speech Monday showed that Damascus' intentions on peace remain unclear.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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One would be hard-pressed not to express astonishment at the speed and efficiency demonstrated by the Military Advocate General, Brigadier-General Avichai Mendelblit, and the Military Police investigation unit in probing the "combat soldiers'' testimonials affair" that took place at the Rabin pre-military training academy. The investigation into Moshe (Chico) Tamir''s all-terrain vehicle accident made its way from desk-drawer to desk-drawer over the course of almost 18 months, yet the military advocate general needed just 11 days (including two Saturdays) to probe the accounts of combat soldiers in order to completely dispel the allegations.
...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
I'm surprised it took 11 days to investigate hearsay allegations.
Pakistan security forces claimed victory Monday over gunmen who stormed a police academy and unleashed a fierce firefight in which eight police recruits and four attackers died. Television footage showed troops on a rooftop of the main building at the camp near the eastern city of Lahore cheering and firing into the air in joy after a gun battle that lasted half a day.
At least three bearded men put up their hands and surrendered to the small group of security forces and commandos on the rooftop.
Interior ministry chief Rehman Malik said four "terrorists" had been killed and others arrested following the nearly eight-hour siege. "It [was] a planned, organized, terrorist attack. This shows the extent to which the enemies of our country can go," Malik said.
The attack echoed a brazen March 3 assault in the same area on Sri Lanka's cricket team, underscoring the scale of the militant unrest that US President Barack Obama has called a "cancer" that risks killing Pakistan.
Armed with grenades and assault weapons, the attackers shot their way into the camp in what one wounded survivor said was an attempt to kill as many people as possible. Television showed bodies of policemen lying face down on the parade ground, rescuers hurrying casualties away on stretchers, as gunfire and blasts rattled round the compound at Manawan. Officials said the assailants were masked and some were in police uniform, with others in civilian clothes and carrying sports bags.
"They directly targeted us. Suddenly there were bodies all around me," one wounded policeman said on Geo television from his hospital bed.
As the day wore on, security forces took up position on nearby rooftops and fired on the police compound. Helicopters dropped Special Forces members and hovered above the training facility. One chopper was fired upon, without apparent damage. At one stage at least three loud explosions were heard from inside followed by a flash of light and intense gunfire.
Initial estimates on the death toll varied. Security officials told AFP under condition of anonymity that 25 people were dead, while a police officer at the scene put the figure at a minimum of 20.
Health ministry official Mohammad Tariq would confirm only six fatalities, but said more than 100 were injured. "This is not the final figure and we don't know if there are bodies inside the training school," he told AFP.
Police said they arrested a suspect who was found with a hand grenade at a cemetery close to a nearby helipad.
Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province which includes Lahore, said there were eight to 10 attackers, although other officials cited up to 12 and witness accounts said five or six initially blew their way inside. "Four people started firing, and others went into the building," he said. "They were wearing masks. They changed and refilled their magazines." Malik suggested home-grown terror movements were to blame.
"The question is - from where they are getting grenades, guns and rocket launchers in such a large number?" he told Geo.
The latest attack follows the coordinated assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team, which also involved multiple gunmen with grenades and assault rifles. Eight Pakistanis were killed and seven Sri Lankan squad members injured - but their assailants walked away.
Officials said it bore the hallmarks of the November 2008 siege in India's financial capital of Mumbai, blamed on Pakistani militants, which killed 165 people.
Indian officials condemned the latest attack, saying it threatened security across the region and its military was on alert for any "spillover." "We are deeply concerned. We condemn these terror attacks, we condemn all terror attacks and we offer our sympathies to the government and the people of Pakistan," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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The Obama administration has agreed to release another Guantanamo detainee, but officials are not saying yet where he will go.
Bayonne?
The Justice Department and lawyers for 38-year-old Aymen Saeed Batarfi have agreed to put his court case on hold while the government looks for a country to take him, according to papers filed in federal court in Washington. Batarfi can restart his lawsuit if he is not delivered to a country acceptable to him within 30 days, according to the terms of the deal that still must be reviewed by a judge.
The U.S. will now work to transfer Batarfi "to an appropriate destination country in a manner that is consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice," said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd.
Batarfi's lawyer William J. Murphy said he was "very pleased" with the decision. "It's been our position throughout that medical doctors are not to be detained as combatants," said Murphy, who declined to say to which countries Batarfi would like to be sent.
Unless the doc is a jihadi ...
Batarfi's lawyers say the Yemeni doctor was first held by U.S. forces at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in late 2001 and transferred to the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in April 2002.
U.S. officials have worried about sending detainees back to Yemen because of instability there.
What, he's going to make things more unstable in Yemen?
His lawyers say when Batarfi was captured he was on a humanitarian aid mission and not assisting al-Qaida.
Just helping the Widows Ammunition Fund ...
Batarfi's case led a federal judge earlier this year to accuse the Bush administration of hiding evidence. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said in January that he was forced to delay ruling on whether to free Batarfi because as many as 10 documents of classified information were withheld from the court until recently.
At the time, the judge called the government's conduct unfair and disingenuous.
In past hearings, lawyers had sparred over exactly what Batarfi was doing in Afghanistan when he was caught. His lawyers say he was doing humanitarian work along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border when he was injured and swept up by Northern Alliance forces, which turned him over to the U.S.
However, Justice Department lawyers contend he was at one of al-Qaida's major battles, and not just as a charity worker.
Was he wearing a stethoscope or carrying an AK?
Papers filed last year in the case charge Batarfi twice met bin Laden, the second time at the fierce battle at Tora Bora between U.S. forces and al-Qaida. Bin Laden allegedly asked the doctor to provide medical treatment to wounded fighters, and he agreed.
This article starring:
Aymen Saeed Batarfi
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
His lawyers say when Batarfi was captured he was on a humanitarian aid mission and not assisting al-Qaida
Jihadis Sans Frontieres?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 9:11
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#2
Probably fit right in in Chicago.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/31/2009 15:24
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#3
Medical doctors are untouchables? How about Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Incoming Premier Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to make every effort to achieve peace with Israel''s neighbors and the Arab world, but again made no mention of Palestinian aspirations to statehood. "The government I am forming will do its utmost to achieve a just and lasting peace with all our neighbors and the Arab world in general," Netanyahu said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
to make every effort to achieve peace with Israel''s neighbors and the Arab world
Ending a four-month suspense over legal representation to the lone surviving Mumbai attacker, Mohammad Ajmal Amir, the special sessions court on Monday appointed Anjali Waghmare his lawyer.
Judge M.L. Tahaliyani announced her name, from the legal aid panel list, to Ajmal via videoconferencing. The accused will get to meet his lawyer on April 6 during the next hearing in the Arthur Road jail here.
Introducing her to Ajmal, Mr. Tahaliyani said: "She is your lawyer, Mrs. Anjali Waghmare." To this, Ajmal gave an acknowledging smile. The judge told the terrorist that the defence lawyer was well versed in English and Marathi and would explain the charge sheet to him. Therefore, there was no need for Urdu translation, which Ajmal demanded earlier. "You can brief her when you are produced in court."
An overwhelmed Ms. Waghmare told journalists that she expected the court's decision. "I am confident. I am an Indian. I know what I am doing for the people."
Ms. Waghmare said appointing a lawyer for Ajmal was a legal requirement for the case to proceed. It was also the government's decision. "So, my role is as good as representing the government."
Despite past attacks on lawyers who expressed a willingness to take up Ajmal's case, Ms. Waghmare denied that she had any concerns over her safety. "The citizens, my Mumbaikars and Maharashtrians understand the situation. I am also among them. I want them to support me. I am sure people will extend their cooperation and allow the trial to run smoothly."
According to Ms. Waghmare, there were seven lawyers on the legal aid panel. None else turned up in court on time. Ms. Waghmare has been practising in Mumbai since 1996 and has appeared briefly for a 1993 Mumbai blast accused Karimulla. In the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attack case, she will be assisted by a junior lawyer as the charge sheet runs into 11, 280 pages. While no order on the junior lawyer has come so far, she has named K.P. Pawar.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his government isn't considering restoring diplomatic ties with Israel. Chavez told the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera that he would only reconsider the matter if Israel's leaders stop being a "Genocidal elite subordinated to the United States."
Venezuela broke off relations with Israel in January to protest its offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Venezuelan state news agency reported that Al-Jazeera asked Chavez about restoring ties and that Chavez replied: "We haven't thought about that, and nothing is seen on the horizon to re-establish relations."
Clips from the interview were shown Sunday on Venezuelan state TV as Chavez prepared to attend a summit of South American and Arab leaders in Qatar.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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An international conference on Afghanistan to be held this week is a sign the world is still interested in the country, Richard Holbrooke, special US envoy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said on Monday.
Talking to reporters here, he said the men who planned 9/11, who attacked London or Madrid, who killed Benazir Bhutto and attacked the hotels in Mumbai were still in western Pakistan planning further attacks. "The Taliban are their protective cordon."
The meeting in The Hague on Tuesday (today) is a "signal that the world hasn't forgotten Afghanistan and now acknowledges that Pakistan is part of the issue," Holbrooke said.
He was speaking at a joint press conference with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxine Verhagen after the two had met for talks.
"It is also a message to the extremists... that they can give up," Verhagen added.
About 90 states and international organisations involved in Afghanistan will be present at the conference, being held under the auspices of the United Nations.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in the Netherlands on Monday, the Dutch foreign ministry reported. Among those also attending will be US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Muhammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh.
"The presence of Iran here is obvious," said Holbrooke. "How can we talk about Afghanistan and exclude a boundary neighbouring state? This is absolutely clear, the most logical thing in the world."
But he would not say whether there would be contacts between the US and Iran. "We will see, I can't predict... this is a work in progress."
Holbrooke said the conference marked the transition from the policy formulation phase to the policy implementation phase, following US President Barack Obama's announcement of his new strategy for Afghanistan on Friday. The conference "is already a success," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Iran may be the next on the hit list for a terror plot? I thought surely they would be safe from these killers... G*D willing - innocents everywhere will be spared from the wickedness of International Terror ®
#3
ION WORLD MILITARY FORUM > IIUC THE DAY THE WAR AGZ ISLAMIST MILITANCY ENDS IN AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN, WILL BE THE DAY ISLAMIST MILITANCY BEGINS IN CHINA AND XINJIANG PROVINCE [China destabilization-breakup]???
China denies claims of involvement in an internet hacker network that infiltrated government computers worldwide, calling it western propaganda.
China Daily on Monday quoted a Beijing strategic analyst, Song Xiaojun, as saying that "some in the West are trying every opportunity to manufacture fears over China's threat."
Chinese officials say a report by Canadian researchers at the Information Warfare Monitor accusing China of involvement in the cyber-attacks is "just some video footage pieced together from different sources to tarnish China's image."
Based on the report, the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile and government-related computer systems based in Asia especially in Taiwan, Vietnam and India, were particular targets of the espionage.
However, authorities in Beijing have rejected the report, adding that a 'global problem' requires a 'global cooperation'. Hmmm... That's what the Paks keep saying about terrorism...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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The Western Range police have claimed to have foiled a "major plot" to kidnap and assassinate prominent political leaders in the region with the nabbing of alleged gangster Rasheed Malbari (38) from the neighbouring Kasaragod district of Kerala along with four of his associates.
Others arrested were: Sayaf T.A. (25) and Mohammed Hasim (28) of Kasaragod, Sahib Ibrahim (27) from Kaup in Udupi district of Karnataka and Sahil Ismail Sheik (23) of Thane district in Maharashtra.
Director-General of Police Ajai Kumar Singh said Rasheed was a member of the Dawood gang who took orders from gangster Chota Shakeel. Rasheed was coordinating attempts to disrupt the general elections by kidnapping and perhaps even assassinating prominent political leaders in the fray.
"They were plotting to attack politicians taking advantage of the confusion that generally prevails on the campaign trail," Mr. Singh said. The police suspect that the gang might also have had links with terrorist outfits.
On a tip-off from the State and Central intelligence agencies, a special squad of the Western Range police, intercepted a vehicle coming from Kasaragod at the Talapady check-post on the outskirts of Dakshina Kannada district early on Sunday. The occupants of the vehicle, Sayaf T.A., Mohammed Hasim and Sahib Ibrahim, were nabbed. A pistol and some lethal weapons were recovered from the vehicle.
Their interrogation revealed they were on their way to conduct a reconnaissance trip. The information led to the arrest of Rasheed and Sahil Ismail Sheik from a hideout in Kasaragod.
Rasheed was wanted by the police of several States and Interpol in connection with a string of assassinations and murders allegedly committed by him since 1996. He was suspected of having been involved in the 1998 shootout in Bangalore's K.G. Halli, which led to communal riots. He was also believed to have carried out the 2000 shootout in Bangkok, where rival Chota Rajan was targeted. In 2005, he allegedly killed Chota Rajan's aide Balu Dokre in Kuala Lumpur.
Mr. Singh said Rasheed entered India about nine months ago via Nepal and had been evading the police dragnet. "He recently contacted his handlers abroad who assigned him the task of kidnap for ransom and assassination of prominent political leaders, by raising a local team."
All the arrested were produced before the court and they were now in police custody.
Mr. Singh announced a cash reward of Rs. 2 lakh for the police officers involved in the raid.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
"Western Range Police".
Is that like the Hindi version of Sgt. Preston of the Yukon?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 9:15
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Israel's prime minister-designate has named his 30-member cabinet, appointing Likud parliamentarians as minister, some without portfolios.
Benjamin Netanyahu began informing his Likud party's Knesset (Parliament) members of their designated positions in Israel's 32nd government on Monday afternoon.
Likud MKs Michael Eitan, Yossi Peled and Moshe Kahlon were the first to receive their ministerial posts. Eitan and Peled were both told they would be ministers without portfolios, while Kahlon received the entire Communications Ministry, and not just part of it as was initially speculated.
Instead, Peled, who formerly served as OC Northern Command, was told that he would be among the few ministers to earn a seat on the security cabinet. Eitan was tasked with improving services for citizens, computerization and Internet.
MK Yuli Edelstein, who had been expected to share the Communications Ministry with Kahlon, denied that he had been promised the post. He told reporters that he would instead be given a "practical" position which is yet to be determined.
Netanyahu has created new positions which previously did not exist, accordingly Israel's parliament has requested a larger table for cabinet meetings. One of such positions was offered to MK Gila Gamliel, who was appointed as deputy minister for women and youth affairs.
The Premier-designate is expected to take the finance portfolio for himself and to appoint Yuval Steinitz as his deputy. Sources close to Netanyahu said he would not appoint an acting prime minister in case of emergency.
The two position filled by Netanyahu, were precisely those sought by Silvan Shalom, but it is believed that he would be appointed as vice premier and minister for regional development, or minister for economic peace and deputy prime minister.
Other Likud officials to join the coalition include Ya'akov Ne'eman (Justice Ministry) Gideon Sa'ar (Education), Yisrael Katz (Transportation), Moshe Ya'alon (Strategic Affairs), Gilad Erdan (Sports and Culture) and Yuli Edelstien (likely to take Media and Telecommunications).
Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigador Lieberman is named as foreign minister, while four other party members will fill positions, including the Public Security Ministry (Yitzhak Aharonovitch), the Infrastructure Ministry (Uzi Landau), Tourism (Stav Miznikov) and Absorption and Immigration (Sofa Landover).
Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak, who will retain his position as defense minister gave Avishay Braverman Labor's fifth ministerial post -- minister without portfolio with responsibility for minorities. Labor minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer will take on the Trade, Labor and Industry portfolio, Shalom Simhon will serve as Agriculture Minister, and Labor No. 2 Isaac Herzog will head the Welfare Ministry.
Netanyahu officially informed acting-Knesset Speaker Michael Eitan on Monday that he has succeeded in assembling the cabinet and would be prepared to swear in the new ministers on Tuesday afternoon.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Bibi names cabinet; ready to swear in.
There, fixed it for you. The comment as it reads above is much more in tune with trying to build a "concensus" in the Israeli parliament.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 23:08
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The Iraqi Army began pulling back troops from central Baghdad after deadly weekend violence triggered by the arrest of an anti-Al-Qaeda militia leader on suspicion of murder and extortion. "The situation is stable and we have begun to withdraw our troops from the neighborhood" of Fadhil, said Baghdad military command spokesman Major General Qasim Atta.
US-backed Iraqi forces clashed with anti-Al-Qaeda militants in Fadhil on Saturday and Sunday and ordered militiamen to hand over weapons after fighting erupted following the arrest of Adel Mashhadani.
A local chief of the Sahwa or Awakening Councils of mostly Sunni former insurgents trained and financed by US and Iraqi forces to battle Al-Qaeda, Mashhadani had turned Fadhil into his bastion after clearing it of rebels.
"The area is now under the control of the army," Atta said. "We will no longer give the Sahwa any powers in Fadhil. The army will assume control and the Sahwa will be part of the security services," he said.
Lieutenant Mohammad Jassem told AFP the militiamen will "no longer be able to carry weapons." Mashhadani was arrested on Saturday by Iraqi Special Forces, triggering clashes with his supporters in the impoverished neighborhood in the historic heartland of Baghdad.
Two civilians were killed and 15 other people were wounded in the violence.
Iraqi Army reinforcements, backed by US troops, moved Sunday into Fadhil where fighters were ordered to surrender their weapons or face reprisals.
US helicopters carried out reconnaissance flights overhead while Iraqi soldiers sealed off the district and carried out identity checks, arresting militiamen who refused to hand in weapons.
Residents contacted by telephone on Monday said the army was still blocking access to Fadhil and shops were still closed but calm had returned to the neighborhood.
Mashhadani was arrested along with his aide Salman Kadduri over allegations of murder and extortion and for what Atta described as "violating the Constitution." "There are 80 civil suits against him for murder and extortion," Atta said on Sunday. "We also have information that Mashhadani heads the military branch in Fadhil of the [banned] Baath party" of Saddam Hussein, he added.
The Sahwa, known as Sons of Iraq by the US military, played a crucial role in driving Al-Qaeda fighters from Baghdad and other areas of Iraq, dramatically reducing levels of violence across the country. The Shiite-led government has said 20 percent of the estimated 100,000 Sahwa would be integrated into the security forces and pledged to provide the others with state jobs or vocational training.
But the weekend violence - the worst in Baghdad in nearly a year - has triggered fears of new confrontations between the government and the militia as Sahwa leaders slammed the arrest of Mashhadani.
"We are leaders, not normal citizens," said Abu Takwa al-Nedawi, who heads the local Sahwa branch in Baquba, the capital of the restive Diyala Province. He insisted that security forces should have reached an agreement to go and arrest Mashhadani, rather than "attack his home the way they did."
"The government must remember that without the Sahwa there would not have been any security in Iraq and that the government would have been unable to eradicate Al-Qaeda."
Sheikh Ali Hatam Suleiman, a militia leader from the Anbar Province west of Baghdad, echoed Nedawi. "Why did the government have ties with Mashhadani and why did they make a Sahwa leader out of him if they had something against him?" asked Suleiman. "Arresting him will trigger a climate of mistrust between the government and the Sahwa," he warned.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Sounds like he had set himself up as a crime boss.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who has submitted his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas, will stay on until a new government is formed, Palestinian officials said on Monday.
The former World Bank economist tendered his resignation on March 7, effective March 31, in order to help rival Palestinian factions to reach a deal on an interim government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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The U.S. military will reserve the "right of last resort" to take out threats inside Pakistan, but it would prefer to enable the Pakistani military to do the job itself, Gen. David Petraeus said Monday in an exclusive interview with a US television channel.
The commander of U.S. Central Command was interviewed as the Obama administration prepares to step up the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Asked about lingering concerns that Pakistan is not fully on board, Petraeus told media that the U.S. military is putting "additional focus" on rooting out ties between Pakistan''''s intelligence service and the Taliban.
One incident of obvious cooperation between the Pakistani intelligence community and extremists has already been uncovered, he said. "There is a case in the past year or so that we think was unambiguous. There appears to have been a warning prior to a Pakistani operation," Petraeus said.
But he said trust between the two countries will be key as President Obama seeks more Pakistani cooperation and calls for billions in aid to the country.
"I think we are building that kind of trust. And that''''s the way I think is the best description for that. And it''''s hugely important that that trust be built," Petraeus said, pointing to "gradually increasing intelligence sharing" among Afghan, Pakistani and U.S. forces along the border.
Obama, in unveiling his regional plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday, said the U.S. will "insist that action be taken, one way or another, when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets."
He added on Sunday that "we''''re going after" such targets, though the U.S. will need to work with Pakistan''''s government to do so. He did not specifically say U.S. troops could be sent into the country.
Asked about the president''''s comments, Petraeus signaled that all options would be on the table.
"I think we would never give up, if you will, the right of last resort if we assess something as a threat to us, noting that what we want to do is enable the Pakistanis, help them, assist them to deal with the problem that we now think, and their leaders certainly now think, represents the most important existential threat to their country, not just to the rest of the world," he said.
The Pakistanis have expressed frustration over unmanned U.S. drone strikes to take out terrorist targets inside their border.
But Petraeus said the U.S. is mindful of perceptions in the region.
"It''''s hugely important that we be seen as good neighbors, as friends, certainly fierce warriors who will go after the enemy and stay after them -- but also as individuals who try to avoid civilian casualties whenever possible and are seen again as supporting the people and trying to help them achieve a better life," Petraeus said, specifically referring to the fight on the Afghan side of the border.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Reading between the lines. This is cover for a reduction or elimination of drone strikes in Pakland.
All credit to the Bush administrations arm twisting that allowed them to continue as long as they did. They were deeply unpopular in Pakland and not to mention an act of war on a sovereign state.
#2
They were deeply unpopular in Pakland and not to mention an act of war on a sovereign state.
Hague Convention of 1907 - "a neutral country has the obligation not to allow its territory to be used by a belligerent. If the neutral country is unwilling or unable to prevent this, the other belligerent has the right to take appropriate counteraction."
Pakistan is allowing its territory to be used for belligerent actions in Afghanistan, a sovereign state, and could be indeed construed as an act of war.
#5
Sovereignty is not invocable where a state is harboring belligerents that act against another country. I believe that a majority of Punjabis would support US operations against Pak based Pashtuns. And the rest of the ethnics do not matter.
#6
Nothing will be resolved as long as there is still a "Pakistan". The United States and India need to form a joint strike command, and take out the Pakistani nukes and military. It would all be over in about two weeks, with the Pak army shredded, the US in Rawalpindi and India in Lahore. China may bitch and scream, but they're not going to go to war over Pakistan (neither will anyone else, except maybe Bangladesh, and that would be suicide). With Afghanistan (US proxy) on the west bank of the Indus and India on the right bank, a lot of long-term problems would be eliminated, including 400,000+ fake passports.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/31/2009 16:44
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#7
Good plan OP. Only problem would be the outrage over putting the entire Pak population to the sword, which exactly what would be required.
(Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) lashed out at a UN human rights resolution condemning its human rights abuses, the official KCNA said on Monday.
The DPRK "resolutely and categorically rejects such 'resolution' cooked up by the charlatans keen to selectively pull up those countries antagonized by their master, while keeping mum about his human rights abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan," a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said.
The resolution adopted at the 10th meeting of the UN Human Rights Council was aimed at achieving a sinister political aim, he said, adding that the DPRK opposed the attempt to breach its sovereignty under the name of human rights.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
Too bad Kimmie. Guess you'll have to covert to Islam to get off the hook.
The Sri Lankan military on Monday claimed that at least 45 cadre of the LTTE, including a "senior Sea Tiger leader", were killed and several others injured in fierce battles on the last stretches of land and sea under control of the Tigers.
The Defence Ministry said troops operating north of Palamathalan to rescue Tamil civilians held in the "No-Fire Zone" breached an LTTE-built earth bund and inflicted heavy damage on the enemy.
Quoting intercepted LTTE communication channels, the Ministry claimed a senior Sea Tiger leader known as Uththaman who commanded the ground battle was also killed.
In subsequent search operations troops found 13 bodies of LTTE cadre along with military items left behind by the fleeing Tigers.
Separately, the Sri Lanka Navy said that during two fierce gun battles that erupted in the seas off Chalai and Mullathivu, it destroyed four Sea Tiger boats, killing 26 Sea Tigers.
The Navy said units of its elite Boat Squadrons intercepted and engaged two clusters of Sea Tiger boats on two separate occasions.
"Three Sea Tiger boats were destroyed in the seas off Chalai around [March] 29th midnight and the other Sea Tiger boat was destroyed in the seas off Mullathivu during the wee hours," it said.
It said enemy transmissions revealed that several LTTE leaders including Maran have been killed. One sailor died and three Navy personnel, including one officer, were injured in the incident.
"Sri Lanka Navy exercises maximum precautions when confronting LTTE Sea Tiger movements in order to maintain zero casualties to Tamil civilians who also use the seas to flee into cleared areas. A well-fortified naval blockade has been put in place to cut off all sea tiger movements in the seas off Nayaru, Mullaithivu, Chalai and Chundikulum. This has forced LTTE Sea Tigers to make desperate attempts at breaking through the naval defences even at the expense of heavy cadre and vessel losses," the Navy said.
Separately, the military said 332 civilians managed reach security forces in Iranamadu.
Meanwhile, pro-LTTE TamilNet charged that the Sri Lanka Army artillery, mortar and long-distance gunfire throughout Sunday killing at least 53 civilians and causing injuries to around 119. Sri Lanka military in the past has denied charges of targeting civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
"wee hours"?
A military spokesman said "wee hours"?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2009 10:08
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#2
The Wee Hours refers ti the Smallness of the numbers One, Two, and three, those are therefore Small, hence "Wee"Hours
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/31/2009 11:13
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#3
Two clusters of boats...one boat destroyed in the second group...what happened to the rest? They run the blockade?
(Xinhua) -- A suspect arrested in the police school attack in Pakistan's Lahore city is a Afghan national, said Advisor on Prime Minister's Interior Rehman Malik on Monday evening. Looked more like a Chechen to me, but who am I to tell?
After interrogations, one arrested man belongs to the eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan and three other suspects have been taken into custody for questioning, Malik told a press conference in Lahore. If he's a Pashtun where's his turban?
A bearded man was arrested when he was seen heading to military helicopters outside the police training school, on which unidentified gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenades made a violent attack. The police recovered two hand grenades from the suspect. The while waving their guns around like extras in an Ed Wood movie and then kicking the crap out of him on BBC...
Malik confirmed that four terrorists have been killed and the others have been arrested, but he did not give exact figure of the gunmen as well as the figure of casualties in the attack. My guess is that they're not certain of either. For that matter, they're probably not sure how many of themselves there are.
There is still conflicting reports on the casualties. Earlier reports said at least 25 people were killed and 90 others injured when the masked gunmen attacked the police. "Here, Mahmoud! Put these here perps in a cell!"
"Should I take their masks off, chief?"
"The commissioner said to leave them on until he gets here!"
Malik said that the attack was planned in northwestern Pakistan' s South Waziristan tribal region, adding that militants in tribal areas receive training from across the border. "Certainly not on our side of the border!"
A high-level committee has been formed to probe the terror attack in Lahore, which will present its reports within three days.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
I'm reading in WAPO that the witnesses said the guys spoke in Punjabi. (see link)
Witnesses to the siege, including police trainees who managed to escape the compound as the fighting continued, said they heard the attackers speaking in Punjabi and in a southeast Pakistani dialect.
The escapees described seeing 15 to 20 armed men in their 20s, many of whom had beards and some of whom wore suicide vests. They said some of the attackers were dressed in police uniforms, while others were wearing masks
The immediate totally unprofessional treatment meted to the lone captured alleged terrorist outside the Manawan Police Centre on Monday was very unnerving.
Even the BBC TV newscaster could not believe his eyes and muttered: "Yes, we are seeing the image of this gentleman who is being manhandled by the police."
It was the Punjab police in action -- doing what comes to them naturally. Obviously, they cannot differentiate between a rare live person who could give them tons of information and an ordinary criminal.
Nothing amazing or new except that this was a rare chance to see it live on our screen. Worse and unmentionable things happen when the suspect is in the safe custody of the police station and extreme measures are taken to make him Ă«singĂ.
Unwittingly, television channels had created sympathy for an alleged terrorist who was getting ready to bring down a helicopter and in the process kill those inside it. He was found in possession of hand grenades besides other stuff.
We saw this bearded youth surrounded by the police and suddenly there was 'action'. The Punjab police kicked him once, kicked him twice and in the process decided that they would keep kicking him with their boots till he was no more.
But each time their boots hit out at the different body parts of the suspect I winced in pain, almost feeling the force of those boots.
It took an Army guy or that what was what he looked like to stop the angry and out of control police from this brutal kicking. At least someone realised that it was essential to get this suspect alive as the others had blown themselves up.
Then suddenly the 'gentleman' Shalwar was pulled off, as thousands watched around the globe. Understandably, it was done to look for any more concealed weapons. But visions of what lay in store for him without his Shalwar once he reached inside the police station sickened me. We have heard more than one gory tale of how the police operate to obtain information.
It is not that I am new to police attitude or their mannerism. I still bear scars on my arms, courtesy the Punjab police, when they stole newsprint from the Jang building and many colleagues went to retrieve it.
What was new, but otherwise very normal while nabbing a suspect and dealing with him, was that it was happening before your eyes, and you were not reading about it in a news report.
This feeling about an alleged terrorist whose colleagues had killed and maimed innocent policemen inside the building should not have been there. If he had been caught in action while trying to bring down the helicopter he would have looked like a modern day 'Rambo', and the camera lenses would have 'glorified' this murder.
After he was beaten black and blue and shed off his clothes he presented such a pitiful sight that even his own mother would not have recognised him.
What was also rather uncomforting was the non-Pakhtun anchors of TV channels, repeating, repeating and repeating ad nauseum that he spoke Pashto.
An alleged terrorist is a terrorist, no matter what language he speaks and there is a limit to which one can push the point about his mother tongue.
If found guilty and hung with a noose around his neck, there will be no tears shed for him. But if that hanging is done live on camera, this young misguided youth will create a sympathy wave for himself. Such is life, there are certainly no easy answers when it comes to feelings.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
I would prefer we train them more in "handling" a dead terrorist regardless of the G2 we could garner.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/31/2009 9:41
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Following a military investigation, Israel rejects the allegations that its soldiers committed war crimes in Gaza during the 22-day war.
A military police investigation had been launched to address the claims that the army had intentionally killed civilians and damaged property after Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza told a symposium of lax rules of engagement that often denied logic, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
Military advocate general Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit on Monday ordered the unit to close the investigation.
In the wake of the speedy probe, the military said the soldiers' accounts were false and "based on hearsay."
"The military police investigation found that the crucial components of their descriptions were based on hearsay and not supported by specific personal knowledge," the military said in a statement released on Monday.
Gen. Mendelblit said the soldiers at the conference had "purposely exaggerated" to make a point.
One squad leader had recounted an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman, who was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered, be shot and killed.
The military, however, said "the soldier witnessed no such thing, and was only repeating a rumor he had heard."
Another soldier at the conference had described how a sniper shot dead a mother and her two children from the roof of a house, after soldiers on the ground floor had failed to inform him he should hold his fire because they were ordering the families living in the building to leave.
According to the military statement, the soldier had not witnessed such incident. "After checking the claim, it was found that during this incident a force had opened fire in a different direction, towards two suspicious men who were unrelated to the civilians in question," read the statement.
At least 1,300 Palestinians were killed during the all-out offensive.
Israeli human rights groups condemned the speed the military had concluded the probe. "The speedy closing of the investigation immediately raises suspicions that the very opening of this investigation was merely the army's attempt to wipe its hands of all blame for illegal activity during Operation Cast Lead," as the Gaza operation was called, nine human rights groups said in a joint statement, CNN reported.
In accounts published by Haaretz, Israeli soldiers said the rules of engagement in Gaza had left the impression that "inside Gaza you are allowed to do anything you want."
Military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, however, has denied such charges, saying Israel has "one of the world's most moral armies."
Meanwhile, international authorities have yet to address issues surrounding the Gaza war, such as the alleged use of controversial white phosphorous shells in the populated territory and the alleged use of human shields.
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03/31/2009
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A new report from a New York-based think tank and delivered to US President Barack Obama by a signatory who is also an adviser recommends that Washington forcefully reinsert itself into the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, calling for "a more pragmatic approach to Hamas." Even by its title, the report from the US/Middle East Project (USMEP) alludes to the urgency of US involvement: "A Last Chance for a Two-State Israel-Palestine Agreement."
"[T]he next six to 12 months may well represent the last chance for a fair, viable and lasting solution," said the paper. "[I]t is essential that the incoming administration make Arab-Israeli peace a high national-security priority from the beginning." Taking on the frank realism of several of the group's signatories, the statement lays out specific policy recommendations, debunks arguments against robust engagement, and offers calculations of the benefits of action - including allowing for the engagement of Hamas by international actors in the peace process.
Hamas currently rules the Gaza Strip despite the beating the group took during a three-week war launched by Israel during the winter.
In his March 26 Op-Ed for the website of the New York Times, columnist Roger Cohen calls the report's signatories a group of "former senior officials whose counsel [Obama] respects," and says he believes their views to be largely in line with the thinking of National Security Adviser General Jim Jones and the administration's Middle East envoy, former Senator George Mitchell.
Former Council on Foreign Relations fellow, former longtime president of the American Jewish Congress, and University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies professor Henry Siegman convened the group under the auspices of USMEP, where he is president.
Other signatories, experts and statespersons of US foreign policy include USMEP chairman General Brent Scowcroft; former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski; former members of Congress Chuck Hagel, Lee Hamilton, and Nancy Kassebaum-Baker; Ambassador Thomas Pickering; and, notably, former Federal Reserve chairman and current Obama administration Economic Advisory Group chair Paul Volcker.
The authors acknowledge what has become obvious to many in the US, Israeli, and Palestinian pro-peace crowd: that Hamas may be the last, best hope for saving the two-state solution.
The paper, while not calling for direct US engagement with Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the State Department, says that "Hamas is simply too powerful and too important to be ignored."
"A legitimate, unified and empowered Palestinian side to negotiate with Israel is of importance if any agreement is to be reached and implemented," says the report. "Direct US engagement with Hamas may not now be practical, but shutting out the movement and isolating Gaza has only made it stronger and Fatah weaker." Fatah rules the West Bank and has control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Many international actors consider PA President Mahmoud Abbas to be a palatable negotiator for Palestinians, but his Fatah faction is widely considered corrupt and ineffectual by Palestinians. After winning elections in 2006, Hamas was briefly in a national unity government with Fatah, which much of the international community opposed with vigor - especially the US, which boycotted the government, withdrew aid, and reportedly aided Fatah in preparations for a coup d'etat.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Monday's terrorist attack on the Manawa Police Training School in Lahore was part of the pressure tactics used by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by Baitullah Mehsud, to secure release of eight of its militants arrested after the assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team earlier this month.
"It was the third attack as part of the TTP campaign to press the government for the release of eight of its members who were arrested in connection with the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 3," a Peshawar-based security official told this correspondent over the telephone.
"Earlier, two attacks were launched by the TTP - one on a mosque in Khyber Agency and the other on a police office in Sitara Market of Islamabad - as part of the same campaign," said the official who wished not to be named.
The source disclosed that 20 attackers, aged between 18 and 20 years, were sent to Islamabad and Lahore by the TTP following the arrest of its members. Apparently, he said, the suicide bombers had been tasked with targeting the Punjab police.
The assault on the Police Training School on the outskirts of Lahore led to an eight-hour joint operation by police, Rangers and army, which ended in the arrest of four terrorists and killing of another four.
"Intelligence outfits have also received a report about the possibility of an attack on the Police Training College in Hangu district of the NWFP.
The college high-ups were informed by various intelligence agencies during the past two weeks of a possible terrorist strike," the official revealed. "The terrorist have so far failed to attack the Hangu Police College but they did it in Lahore," he remarked.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Why does South and Noth Waristan not get bombed by the Pakis/Nato and teach these feckers a lesson not to mess with Nato/Pak Army!!!!
#2
Because we can't risk killing any baby harp seals that might be there.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009 9:54
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#3
My comment on the dastardly attack on the police training school is that the taliban is all set to attack the Urban areas in the pakistan.. which is of great concern as to take control of the pakistan they have to dismantle the civic fabric and the institutions of lahore, Islamabad and karachi. The NWFP is almost in their kitty and sindh is too poor in resources and as well as intellectually to resist.Once the elitist areas are hit and the chaos is spread the task would be easy.As a neighbour i am concerned and pity the pakistan as it the same frankenstein which they resurrected against india which now has turned on them.
Hamas's takeover of the Palestinian Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip last week may lead to the deaths of Palestinians who require immediate medical care in Israel and Egypt, the United Nations warned on Monday.
On March 22, Hamas took control of the PA Health Ministry's Referral Abroad Department, which oversees the process by which Palestinians in Gaza receive approval from the PA to travel to Israel and Egypt for medical treatment.
The World Health Organization and the UN humanitarian coordinator said Monday that the PA Health Ministry in Ramallah was refusing to approve and fund applications. As a result, the patients are not allowed to travel to Israeli or Egyptian hospitals.
Defense officials said they were aware of the situation and that it was not surprising.
"This is another example of the effect Hamas's takeover has on the Palestinian people without any connection to Israel," one official said. "This is a political dispute between the PA in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza, and unfortunately the Palestinian people in Gaza are caught in the middle."
Tony Laurance, acting head of WHO in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, warned that patients would die if not allowed out of Gaza.
"Around 900 patients a month were being referred outside of Gaza for treatment at hospitals in Israel, east Jerusalem, Egypt and Jordan in the first half of 2008," he said. "Some of the cases are urgent and require immediate treatment. We have already seen referrals affected, and patients will die if they do not receive the treatment they require."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
The inhabitants of Gaza voted for a Hamas takeover. Now, they should live with the consequences. As Egypt and Israel have cut off their relation, perhaps the Gaza Arabs can find a friendly Arab nation to come to their aid. Oh, I forgot, most Arab nations hate the Palestinians and want nothing to do with them.
During a recent commercial flight from Jacksonville, FL to Baltimore, MD, a flight attendant offered free drink coupons to any of the 150 passengers who could name just one of the five Medal of Honor recipients from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Awkward moments of silence followed until one man, Navy veteran Dale Shelton of Annapolis, MD spoke up and named Army Sergeant 1st Class Paul R. Smith. Shelton was correct. Sergeant Smith received the award posthumously in 2005 for his actions during the April 2003 battle for Baghdad airport. No other passenger was able to name a recipient.
Then, the flight attendant asked the passengers to name an American Idol winner. "The cabin lit up like a pinball machine as 43 passengers scrambled to push their attendant call button," according to an article by the American Forces Press Service. "Passengers named various Idol winners."
The flight attendant then announced there would not be any free drink coupons for that answer, adding that naming an American Idol winner was not worth a drink.
Good for the flight attendant. Shame on the passengers and what their ignorance says about our greater society
For the record, the other four Medal of Honor recipients, all of whom like Smith, received the award posthumously for post-9/11 actions -- are Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham (for actions in April 2004), Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy (June 2005), Navy SEAL Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor (Sept. 2006) and Army Spc. Ross McGinnis (Dec. 2006).
Which brings us to our recognition this week of National Medal of Honor Day, the significance of the award, and the necessity of honoring the heroes who wear it. In 2007, Congress designated March 25 (of each year) as National Medal of Honor Day. The date coinciding with the same date in 1863 when Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton presented six Union Army soldiers with the first ever Medals of Honor.
More than 3,400 Medals of Honor have since been awarded since March 25, 1863 up through the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Standards for receiving the award have stiffened to the point that most nominees today are killed in the action for which they are deemed worthy of the Medal. Every recipient of the Medal since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 has earned the decoration posthumously.
The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest military award for battlefield heroism. To receive it (no one wins it) the recipient's gallantry in combat must be such that it is deemed well beyond an esteemed decoration for valor like the Army's Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, or the Air Force Cross.
Today there are only 98 living recipients of the Medal of Honor out of a nation of 306 million people. The oldest living recipient is nearly 100 (John Fin) Ed. The youngest is 58. Since Mar. 25, 2007, the first designated "National Medal of Honor Day," 13 recipients have died.
Each year, the Medal of Honor Society holds a national convention for its living recipients and supporters. It will be held in Charleston, S.C., my home state and the Society's hometown in 2010.). But according to Society by-laws, when the number of living recipients drops to 25, the Society will disband.
So we're losing these great men, and rapidly. We will soon lose the Society. The American Idol fans on the aforementioned commercial flight might think, "So what?"
My response would be, and as I've often said, far too many of us assume America wins all of its wars because we have resources and technological superiority.
Those things count to be sure. But it is our military prowess that wins battles. Military tradition is the lifeblood of that prowess and our living recipients of the Medal of Honor are the greatest living pillars of that tradition which in turn fuels the prowess.
We need our recipients. We need to recognize them and expand our national awareness of who they are and what the Medal itself represents.
President Abraham Lincoln said thoughtfully, "Any nation that does not honor its heroes, will not long endure."
W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and counter terrorism instructor. He is the author of six books, and he has covered war and conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq, and Lebanon. Visit him online at http://www.uswriter.com.
The political administration of the Khyber Agency, while holding neighbouring country responsible for the Jamrud suicide blast and other terrorist activities, has said foreign countries were providing financial and logistic support to the local militants.
Addressing a press conference at the Frontier Corps Forte in Jamrud on Monday, Political Agent Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat Khan and Brigadier Frontier Corps Fayaz Qamar briefed media persons about the Jamrud operation and the current situation in the area.
The heavy and small arms recovered from the militants, light artillery, mortar guns, huge cache of hashish and explosive material with an Indian insignia was put on display. Apart from displaying Indian origin explosive material and 30 tonnes of hashish, the authorities also exhibited light machine guns, light artillery, Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers, mortar guns, cartridges and shells.
According to the officials, the operation would continue till the last militant and anti-state element was flushed out of the area, adding that the security personnel were equipped with all types of weapons.
During the operation 39 saboteurs were apprehended and many houses were razed to ground.
Tariq Hayat said the operation was launched for the stability and protection of the country and vowed that it would continue till the objective was achieved. He asked the militants to lay down arms or fight openly adding that the militants were supported by neighbouring country and they were being used for their vested interest and were taking the country towards destruction.
"The weapons taken from their custody was clear evidence of the fact that these militants were working for foreign elements," he added.
Tariq Hayat said some important militants were arrested by security forces and investigation was underway. However, he added that nothing could be said about these suspected elements at this stage as this was premature and could affect the operation.
He said according to the report of the laboratory experts and other investigation agencies it was a suicide attack in which 56 people were killed. Moreover, he vowed to bring perpetrators to justice saying that it was the worst example of barbarism and cruelty wherein innocent people were targeted.
According to the investigation of our technical experts, the incident was planned by Taliban and the neighbouring country was its perpetrator, he said. Tariq Hayat said the administration has evidence about the perpetrators of Jamrud suicide blast, adding that unfortunately they were made puppets in foreign hands.
Brigadier Fayaz Qamar said the calls of Taliban commander Nazeer were tapped during which he inquired about the number of dead in the incident. He said the house of commander Nazeer has been demolished and efforts were underway to arrest him. Brig Fayaz said the Pak-Afghan road was completely safe for travel, adding that the lives of innocent people were made safe due to this operation purging the area of suspected militants.
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03/31/2009
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(APP): Interior Advisor Rehman Malik Monday said that perpetrators of Manawan Police Training Center terrorist attack wanted to destabilize the country to portray its negative image abroad. In a telephonic interview to a private television channel after the successful completion of operation at the Police Training Center the Adviser said that a number of terrorists have been arrested in the operation. He said that 4 of the terrorists were killed during the operation while the rest have been nabbed by the law enforcing agencies.
The first terrorist arrested was a 19‑20 year old pushto speaking youth who is being interrogated now, he said.
He said that some of the terrorists were dressed in police uniform and the investigation is going on to know the exact number of the gang who have been arrested.
There number would become public very soon, he added.
He said a high level investigation team has already been formed which has been given three days' time to probe the incident.
As a number of terrorists have been arrested , their investigation would help reach the masterminds whosoever they are, he said.
To a question the Adviser said the investigators of the Sri Lankan Team attack incident have gathered valuable information about the terrorists but at the time details cannot be made public.
He said apparently the method of Monday's attack was different than that on the Sri Lankan Team but real facts would come on surface after the investigation.
Rehman Malik said that whosoever the terrorist are, one thing is clear that they are playing in the hands of Pakistan's enemy who want to create instability in the country.
To another question the Advisor said that earlier the Police force in the country was not trained to deal with the terrorist attacks' phenomena adding but the President and the Prime Minister have taken the initiative under which 100,000 trained personnel would be given to each province to deal in this menace.
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03/31/2009
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Two US journalists detained in North Korea are to face trial on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts, a state-run news agency has reported.
Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were seized along the Chinese border on March 17. The two journalists were working for Current TV, an online media company run by Al Gore, the former US vice-president, when they were detained.
"The illegal entry of US reporters into the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Tuesday.
So the 'smart diplomacy' that Bambi brought to Washington hasn't unclenched the Nork fists ...
The KCNA report did not specify what was meant by "hostile acts" and did not say when they might appear in court. "The organ is carrying on its investigation and, at the same time, making a preparation for indicting them at a trial on the basis of the already confirmed suspicions," it said.
The US said on Monday that a Swedish envoy acting on behalf of Washington had visited the two journalists, but gave no details of their condition.
Were the two reporters just being stoopid when they were captured, or were they lured over to the Nork side of the border? It's an awfully convenient time for the Norks to pinch two Americans.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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#1
I'd put it on reporters being stupid. They were liberals, and undoubtedly thought they were surrounded by a golden halo of "I'm an American". They're probably cursing the US government now for doing nothing to help, ha ha.
#5
Some reports I've read are that they were on Chinese territory when the NorKs grabbed them.
At any rate, Kimmie's got his human shields to ensure America won't do jack shit when he fires his whatever next week.
A person more cynical than myself might entertain the possibility that these two journos were dispatched specifically to get caught and for that precise purpose, but I am probably not quite that cynical.
A person that would be about as skeptical as myself, however, would certainly question the timing.
#7
Send in an extraction team- model it after the Unit episode where Jonas and the boyz swoop in by submarine to extract...drumroll, this time.......the ladeez.
That could make for some really journalishy journalism.
Bottom line though, is that Norks shouldnt be phunking with Americans, no matter what their politics. God, I hate North Korea.
#8
Whoa I just hada crazy idea! Create an A-Team: Commander: JF Kerry
XO: John Murtha
Weapons: Al (1k yard stare) Gore
Intel: Valerie Plame
Driver: Teddy (waterboard) Kennedy
Add more if you can think of them.....
They should be able to rescue those poor women.
Security forces are strictly monitoring all the entrances and exits leading to and out of Mohmand Agency while political administration's manhunt operation against militants is underway in lower Mohmand since late Monday.
According to sources, security forces have setup several check posts in tehsils Penediali, Safi, Muhammad Gut and others located in lower Mohmand agency.
Keeping in view the fragile law and order situation in agency, political administration imposed curfew in the evening on Monday, sources said.
Tribal leaders have voiced cancers over placement of check posts in lower Mohmand agency saying, "This act aims at bothering tribal people so it should be reversed straightaway."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Hizbullah vowed on Monday that it would deter any possible Israeli aggression but would not carry out any military operation outside the country. "We will not carry out any operation outside our Lebanese territories, but we will not accept after today that the Israeli enemy stages any assault against our land," head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad said at a funeral in the southern town Sujod.
Hizbullah abducted two Israeli troops in July 2006 from the Israeli side of the border, prompting Israel to launch a devastating 34-day war on Lebanon.
But Raad stressed that "Israel will pay the price for any possible attack on Lebanon, and will receive the proper response."
As for the Western attempts to open dialogue with Hizbullah, Raad said "Hizbullah welcomes this gesture," but "it is a mistake if we assume the United States will abandon Israel for the sake of the Arabs."
"The United States' interest is with Israel, and the US foreign policy will not change," he said.
Britain announced earlier in March that it is willing to open dialogue with the political wing of Hizbullah, while the United States reaffirmed that it still considers the Lebanese party a terrorist organization.
Raad also commented on the parliamentary elections in June, criticizing the attempts of the March 14 Forces to marginalize a large segment of the Lebanese society.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
KARACHI: Inspector General Sindh police (IGP) Sallahuddin Babar Khatak has ordered to put security on high alert across Sindh province late on Monday after the terrorist attack on Police Training Center in Manawan.
The orders were passed during a high level meeting chaired by IGP himself here at Central Police Office.
According to the security measures, police colleges, police lines, headquarters and police training centers have been equipped with heavy troops for security.
He ordered of stringent search of people coming and exiting from police training centers and headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Seeking to head off an explosion of ethnic violence, the United Nations will call for a power-sharing system of government for Iraq's deeply divided region of Kirkuk in the oil-rich north.
A draft UN plan, outlined to The Associated Press by two Western officials, aims to defuse dangerous tensions. Kurds, a majority in the region, have been trying to wrest control from Arabs, Turkomen and other rival ethnic groups. If open warfare breaks out, it could jeopardise the US goal of stability across Iraq before elections at year's end.
The UN has played only a minor role in Iraq since 2003, when its Baghdad headquarters was destroyed by a truck bomb. Now, officials in Kirkuk say the UN efforts may be the last chance for a peaceful outcome.
Without a resolution, "I think Kirkuk will be like a TNT barrel and explode and burn everybody," Iraqi parliament lawmaker Mohammad Mahdi Ameen Al Bayati, a Turkoman, said in an interview.
Deputy Governor Rakan Saeed Al Jubouri, a Sunni Arab, agreed. "Violence is very easy to start in Iraq," he said in a separate interview.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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At least 22 people, including militants, policemen and civilians, have been killed in separate bomb explosions across Afghanistan.
A suicide bomber attacked a citizen registration office in the government headquarters of Dand district, in southern province of Kandahar, killing nine and wounding eight others, provincial spokesman Zelmai Ayoubi said on Monday.
"In this incident, five policemen and four civilians were martyred," the interior ministry said in a statement. "Two policemen and six civilians were wounded."
The interior ministry blamed the attacks on the 'enemies of Afghanistan', a term used by Afghan officials to refer to Taliban and other insurgents.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Yousuf Ahmadi, called journalists to say his group was behind the attack which he claimed had killed Canadian troops and 30 Afghans.
However, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, under which Canadian soldiers serve, said none of its troops were harmed and it was not even certain if any of them were there.
Also on Monday, three policemen and five militants were killed in a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Paktia, which borders Pakistan, the interior ministry said.
The ministry also said that five insurgents were killed on Monday when bombs they were planting into roads in Khost province, also on the Pakistan border, blew up prematurely.
The US, under former President George W. Bush, invaded Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power in 2001 as it sought to eliminate the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks, including al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
More than seven years later, Bin Laden is still at large and the insurgents are stronger than ever in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan where they have established control by providing crude government services and basic security.
About 2,200 civilians were killed in attacks and military actions in Afghanistan last year.
US President Barack Obama plans to send another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan in addition to 17,000 extra troops already deployed in a bid to combat Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists.
However, critics are skeptical that his new strategy would curb violence in the war-torn country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
In this incident, five policemen and four civilians were martyred," the interior ministry said in a statement. "Two policemen and six civilians were wounded."
A spokesman for the Taliban, Yousuf Ahmadi, called journalists to say his group was behind the attack which he claimed had killed Canadian troops and 30 Afghans.
I just love HAJJI math. Hajji always claim that they have 300 fighters ready to attack but it is only 10 or so. Maybe they should go back to school rather then blow them up! These bastards, you just cant get enough of the stupid insurgent storys.
Posted by: Sarge Reports From The Front ||
03/31/2009 11:23
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Seven people, including five Army soldiers, were killed and nine others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a military convoy near a filling station on the Bannu-Miramshah Road on Monday. However, military spokesman and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in a roadside car.
The dead also included an Assistant Engineer of Radio Pakistan Razmak station, Basharat Afridi, and a lady travelling in a passenger coach.
The military convoy was on its way to Miramshah, the headquarters of the militancy-hit North Waziristan Agency, from Bannu when it came under attack near an abandoned security check-post known as Mirzael post, located near a filling station.
Officials told The News that the suicide bomber had parked the explosive-laden car right in the middle of the road and rammed it into the military convoy when it arrived at the scene.
According to sources, the soldiers first asked the driver of the white-colour car to remove it from the road for the convoy to pass. They said the driver sat in the car, switched it on and rammed it into the military convoy, causing a huge blast.
A double-cabin pick-up truck of the convoy was completely destroyed in the blast, while another vehicle was slightly damaged.
According to the sources, four soldiers travelling in the pick-up truck died on the spot, whereas another succumbed to his injuries at the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu. The dead soldiers were identified as Hazrat Shah, Altaf Hussain, Akhtar Jamshed and Gulzar.
Nine other people, including five soldiers, sustained injuries. The injured soldiers included Sajid, Abdul Khaliq, Mukhtiar, Rahmat and Imran were taken to the military hospital.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers, after the attack on the convoy, opened indiscriminate fire that caused bullet injuries to five people, including a woman, travelling in a passenger coach from Peshawar to Miramshah.
Basharat Afridi of Radio Pakistan Razmak station and the woman later succumbed to their injuries.
Some of the injured, identified as Azeemuddin, Iftikhar, Imran and Anwar Khan, were admitted to the Bannu district headquarters hospital.
The road was closed for traffic after the incident but was re-opened when the dead and injured were shifted to hospital.
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but there were rumours that it could be a reaction to the recent drone attack on Janikhel village of FR Bannu, where two persons -- a local militant commander and his Arab 'guest' -- were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2009
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Top|| File under: TTP
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.
NEW YORK -- The Sun-Times Media Group, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and dozens of suburban newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, making it the fifth newspaper publisher to seek protection from creditors in recent months.
Don't ask us how or why we came across this -- and the British home secretary's husband did not bring it to our attention -- but the latest entry on the blog of the reigning Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, has a sort of eye-catching dateline: "March 27, 2009, Guantanamo Bay."
Israeli sources quoted Tuesday by Time magazine revealed that the January attack on a convoy of trucks carrying weapons bound for Hamas through Sudan was carried out by "dozens of aircraft." 
THE HAGUE -- Iran on Tuesday dismissed President Obama's decision to send 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan as an "ineffective" strategy to improve security, but it offered to help in efforts to combat drug-trafficking in the war-torn country. 
TORONTO -- A court decision Monday upholding a ban on George Galloway from entering the country amid allegations he engaged in terrorist acts will see the British MP deliver speeches to Canadian audiences via a live video link from New York.
The top Taliban commander in Pakistan promised an assault on Washington "soon" - one he says will "amaze" the world. "Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world," Baitullah Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone. 
A ransom offered by the Pakistan government for the release of a Canadian woman kidnapped by the Taliban more than four months ago has been rejected, sources close to the negotiations say. Failure of officials to gain the release of Beverly Giesbrecht, a West Vancouver woman who also calls herself Khadija Abdul Qahaar, has raised fears that she might not survive captivity much longer. She has said she would be decapitated if a settlement wasn't made by today. 
President Obama plans to propose spending roughly $2.8 billion in aid for the Pakistani military, as he steps up the U.S.-led campaign to battle extremists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. That money would be in addition to the civilian aid -- $1.5 billion a year for five years -- that the president called for Friday. 
As the only Muslim member of NATO and a candidate to join the EU, Turkey has come to be seen as a bridge between East and West — held up by Washington as a shining example of how Islam is compatible with modern democracy. But as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to come here next week in a trip some herald as a milestone in ties, Turkish leaders are grappling with a formidable challenge: radical Islamic groups preaching jihad and vowing to unravel Turkey's democratic achievements.
A woman who wrote a leaflet encouraging people to carry out jihad, or holy war, has been sentenced to a community order at Manchester Crown Court. 
There's a big difference between what we say and what they 
Mauritanian junta leader Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz confirmed his candidature in the June 6th presidential election, Journal Tahalil reported on Sunday (March 29th). In an interview with satellite TV channel Al Arabiya on Saturday, Abdelaziz said he would resign from the military in mid-April. The Mauritanian constitution bars active-duty military personnel from seeking elected office. The president of the Senate will be responsible for assuring that the government functions smoothly during the transition, Mauritanian daily L'Authentique reported. 
ISLAMIC militants holding three Red Cross workers say they will behead one hostage on Tuesday afternoon if the Philippine military does not cede control of an entire island, a government official said.
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik has said an Afghan involved in attack on the police training centre at Manawan has been arrested, and involvement of foreign hand in the incident cannot be ruled out. 
The U.S. and South Korean intelligence organizations have obtained information North Korea has two nuclear warheads that could be mounted on mid-range Rodong missiles, a senior analyst at an international nongovernmental group said Tuesday. Daniel Pinkston, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Kyodo News he got the information from a government official whose country he declined to specify.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir won strong support against his international arrest warrant over Darfur from an Arab summit on Monday that also warned Israel that an Arab peace offer was not open-ended. While Sudan emerged with the most gains, a surprise tirade by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi against Saudi King Abdullah.
The Syrian president said Monday that he is still interested in pursuing peace with Israel but insisted that 'resistance' by militants must continue to force the incoming Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his government isn't considering restoring diplomatic ties with Israel. Chavez told the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera that he would only reconsider the matter if Israel's leaders stop being a "Genocidal elite subordinated to the United States."
An international conference on Afghanistan to be held this week is a sign the world is still interested in the country, Richard Holbrooke, special US envoy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said on Monday.
The Western Range police have claimed to have foiled a "major plot" to kidnap and assassinate prominent political leaders in the region with the nabbing of alleged gangster Rasheed Malbari (38) from the neighbouring Kasaragod district of Kerala along with four of his associates. 
The Sri Lankan military on Monday claimed that at least 45 cadre of the LTTE, including a "senior Sea Tiger leader", were killed and several others injured in fierce battles on the last stretches of land and sea under control of the Tigers.
(Xinhua) -- A suspect arrested in the police school attack in Pakistan's Lahore city is a Afghan national, said Advisor on Prime Minister's Interior Rehman Malik on Monday evening.
Monday's terrorist attack on the Manawa Police Training School in Lahore was part of the pressure tactics used by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by Baitullah Mehsud, to secure release of eight of its militants arrested after the assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team earlier this month.
Security forces are strictly monitoring all the entrances and exits leading to and out of Mohmand Agency while political administration's manhunt operation against militants is underway in lower Mohmand since late Monday.
At least 22 people, including militants, policemen and civilians, have been killed in separate bomb explosions across Afghanistan. 
Seven people, including five Army soldiers, were killed and nine others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a military convoy near a filling station on the Bannu-Miramshah Road on Monday. However, military spokesman and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in a roadside car.
