When an inmate is executed inside Mississippi's death chamber, those watching through observation room windows can make out their own reflections.
This was the case Wednesday at the execution of death-row inmate Dale Leo Bishop. The 34-year-old carpenter was convicted of capital murder in 2000 for his role in the 1998 beating death of Marcus Gentry near Saltillo.
Only eight years from trial to execution? Why so hasty ...
The two had been friends, and the condemned man said as much Wednesday evening just moments before receiving his punishment -- a lethal mixture of Sodium Pentothal, saline, Pavulon and potassium chloride administered into the back of his left hand.
"To Mark's family, I would like to express my sincerest apologies," Bishop said while surrounded by prison officials, a medical officer and white brick walls. "It was a senseless act. It was a needless act. The world is worse off without him."
Gentry's mother and uncle witnessed the execution. Seated in chairs, neither of them moved or uttered a sound throughout.
Bishop wore a red prison jumpsuit, flip-flops and no socks. His goatee matched the color of his brown hair, and tattoos covered his left arm, which was extended out a bit from his body. With a microphone hanging inches from his mouth and his body secured to a gurney by seven leather straps, Bishop delivered his last words in the clear voice of a calm young man. His ex-wife and nephew wept; his three teenage boys and mother were not present.
"To my family, I love you," he said. "It's going to be all good."
Bishop, who spoke for less than two minutes, then asked opponents of the death penalty to vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the upcoming presidential election. "God bless America; it's been great living here. That's all," were his last words. He closed his eyes, tilted his chin slightly to the left, sucked in a deep breath and never moved again. He was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m.
You reap what you sow...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The scene repeats itself daily on city streets: a driver gets stuck bumper to bumper, blocking an intersection and preventing another car from turning left. But authorities say that was enough to cause Edwin Ramos to unload an AK-47 assault weapon on a man and his two sons, killing them.
The deaths immediately drew public outrage, which intensified when authorities revealed that Ramos, 21, is an illegal immigrant who managed to avoid deportation despite previous brushes with the law. The case has put San Francisco's liberal politics to the test, setting off a debate over its sanctuary law that shields undocumented immigrants from deportation.
On Wednesday, Ramos pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder in the deaths of Anthony Bologna, 49, and his sons, Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. Bologna and his older son died in the intersection on June 22. His younger son succumbed to his injuries days later. Shortly after that, police arrested Ramos, a native of El Salvador and reputed member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, known as MS-13. Investigators believe he was the gunman, though two other men were seen in the car with him.
The heinousness of the deaths has put pressure on San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris to seek the death penalty against Ramos. Harris, who campaigned on an anti-death penalty platform and has never pursued capital punishment during her more than four years in office, has declined to say exactly how she intends to proceed. "This case has been charged as a special circumstance case," making it eligible for the death penalty, spokeswoman Erica Derryck said. "No additional announcement has been made about this aspect of the charging."
Ramos' attorney, Robert Amparan, said his client was not the shooter. "They have the wrong person," he said. Amparan declined to discuss details of the case, but he denied his client was involved in gang activity and said Ramos entered the country legally. Federal authorities contend Ramos is undocumented.
The victims' family learned that Ramos had been arrested at least three times before the shooting and evaded deportation, largely because of San Francisco's sanctuary status. The policy, adopted in 1989 by the city's elected Board of Supervisors, bars local officials from cooperating with federal authorities in their efforts to deport illegal immigrants.
Officials in the juvenile offenders agency interpreted the law to also shield underage felons from deportation by refusing to report undocumented ones. Mayor Gavin Newsom said he rescinded the policy regarding juvenile offenders after learning about it in May.
The Bolognas' relatives say Ramos apparently benefited from the policy when he reportedly was convicted twice of felonies in 2003 and 2004 but never was turned over for deportation. "All San Francisco's sanctuary ordinance has done is bring violence and death to this once-great city," said Frank Kennedy, who is married to Anthony Bologna's sister. Kennedy called for an investigation of the sanctuary policy and demanded "prosecutions for violating the law."
Meanwhile, local and federal authorities are pointing fingers at each other over Ramos' most recent arrest before the shooting.
Ramos was arrested in late March with another man after police discovered a gun used in a double homicide in the car Ramos was driving. The district attorney's office decided not to file charges against Ramos, and he was released April 2 even though he was in the process of being deported after his application for legal residence was denied, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
San Francisco Sheriff's Department spokesman Eileen Hirst said jail officials faxed ICE on March 30 asking if Ramos should remain jailed. Ramos was freed after Hirst said immigration officials didn't respond. ICE spokesman Timothy Counts said his agency did not receive word of Ramos' arrest in March. He said the only communication received about Ramos was an "electronic message" from the sheriff's department three hours after his release.
The case has garnered national attention, leading U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., and an anti-immigration group called Californians for Population Stabilization to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to take over, alleging San Francisco authorities have mishandled it. "Because San Francisco's political leaders have already demonstrated their willingness to act in flagrant violation of federal law, I do not believe that local judicial institutions can be trusted to fairly try the case or mete out an appropriate punishment," Tancredo said in a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said he was unaware of the case and the congressman's request. Miller said the attorney general routinely responds privately to such requests.
Diana Hull, president of Californians for Population Stabilization, called on about a dozen cities nationwide with similar sanctuary policies to end those programs. "We need to remember always that a death-dealing policy like 'sanctuary' hides behind the false mantle of compassion," Hull said.
Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for San Francisco's mayor, said city officials were wrong to shield undocumented, juvenile felons from federal immigration authorities. "The sanctuary program was never intended to shield felons," Ballard said. "The policy was inappropriate."
However, Newsom "still supports the worthwhile aims of denying the federal government" assistance in deporting otherwise law-abiding undocumented residents, he said.
#1
Newsome: Anyone who disagrees with sanctuary status is a bigot and a xenophobe.
Choke on it prettyboy. Now this ahole is gearing up for a run at governor. I plan to be out of Cali by that time. Cali has gone to the crapper for good.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/24/2008 17:39
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#2
Conspiracy and obstruction.
If this was the sixties and the city officials were protecting members of the Klan and the victims were black, we all know how this would go down.
And helpfully point him in Newsome's direction....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/24/2008 19:00
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#4
CA Penal code Sec. 187
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), every person, not the actual killer, who, with reckless indifference to human life and as a major participant, aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces, solicits, requests, or assists in the commission of a felony enumerated in paragraph (17) of subdivision (a) which results in the death of some person or persons, and who is found guilty of murder in the first degree therefor, shall be punished by death or imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole if a special circumstance enumerated in paragraph (17) of subdivision (a) has been found to be true under Section 190.4.
The penalty shall be determined as provided in this section and Sections 190.1, 190.3, 190.4, and 190.5.
The German magazine Der Spiegel is reporting on line that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. has "cancelled a planned short visit to the Rammstein and Landstuhl U.S. military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday."
"Barack Obama will not be coming to us," a spokesperson for the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl told Der Spiegel. "I don't know why."
Obama senior adviser Robert Gibbs told us in a statement, "During his trip as part of the CODEL to Afghanistan and Iraq, Senator Obama visited the combat support hospital in the Green Zone in Baghdad and had a number of other visits with the troops. For the second part of his trip, the senator wanted to visit the men and women at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice. The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign."
UPDATE: The McCain campaign issued the following comment on Obama's decision to cancel a visit to the troops at Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany today: "Barack Obama is wrong. It is never 'inappropriate' to visit our men and women in the military," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers. I read today, that from the 9000 soldiers at the Kuwait base, only 200 showed up! Wonder if that has anything to do with it?
#1
I thought the trip was NOT funded by the campaign, but was part of one of the usual Congressional junkets fact-finding tours? that's why several other senators went along, including Hagel.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/24/2008 16:47
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#2
"Barack Obama will not be coming to us," a spokesperson for the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl told Der Spiegel. "I don't know why."</I>
He didn't want to see anymore AFN FOX News? Shooting hoops at the hotel is much more rewarding, especially if you're suffering from an extreme case of the arss.
Addressing more than 200,000 elated Europeans massed in Berlin at twilight, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama promised Thursday that he would work to unite Christians, Muslims and Jews in a safer, more united world. His 27-minute speech at the gold-topped Victory Column was interrupted by applause at least 30 times, with occasional audience chants of O-ba-MA!
Billed as a speech about Transatlantic relations, it turned out to be a manifesto for the planet, with an appeal to the burdens of global citizenship.
Local authorities said the crowd was more than 200,000 triple Obama's previous record of 70,000 in Portland, Ore. Reaching out to skeptics back home, he heralded the dream of freedom and declared firmly: I love America.
People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time, he declared, offering himself not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen, a proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world.
Obamas speech, the centerpiece of his presidential-style sweep of the Middle East and Europe, set a global agenda as expansive and audacious as any contemplated by a candidate for United States president.
In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help us make it right, has become all too common, he said. Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together, Obama continued. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more, not less.
Invoking the fall of the Berlin Wall after the historic call by President Ronald Reagan at the nearby Brandenburg Gate, Obama declared that the greatest danger now is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand, he said. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.
In perhaps the most striking passage, Obama asserted: I know my country has not perfected itself. But I also know how much I love America, he said. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye towards the future, with resolve in our heart, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.
Obamas sweeping vision also includes:
"This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons."
"This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East."
"America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions.
The world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.
McCain 2008 spokesman Tucker Bounds said in response: "While Barack Obama took a premature victory lap today in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a 'citizen of the world,' John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election. Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving, improving and protecting America. Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about it."
#1
"The world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close."
What disgusting weasel words. Parsing them is like nailing jello to the wall. He can spin it to take credit without any blame, yet, if he'd had his way, Saddam would still be "the Iraqi government" and likely very close to possessing nukes.
The more I hear from and about this clown the more my reaction goes from wry bemusement to visceral disgust. God help us if we're stupid enough to elect him.
#3
Oh dear, he really is shaping up to be the latest contender for the 'AntiChrist' title. And if I slightly alter his name to Barack(6) Hussei(6) Nobama(6) it fits as well as Mahmou d Ahmad inejad. Maybe we could put them in the ring (of fire) together and get them to fight it out.
#4
I enjoyed seeing the World President grin early in his pep rally when someone began that Mooselim tongue wagging chant. I didn't see anyone in the audience over the age of 35 and I don't think the Germans were that excited about his history lesson or his constant references to Africa. With any luck, he'll schedule one of these rallys in Paris, Madrid, Moscow, and Brussels over the coming weeks.
#6
I think he realizes he peaked too early for POTUS and has decided to best Tony for EU President.
I could never understand why Nixon allowed a third rate burglary to take place (if he did) when it was clear that McGovern could never win. Now I understand.
#7
The money quote for me: "...the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving, improving and protecting America. Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about it."
#11
Never be surprised when a man's ego overtakes him and he starts to really, truly think it's his way or the highway.
Obama's ego is such that he is positioning himself as both the Second Coming of Christ and seems to actually be starting to believe he is the only chance for a new world order.
He'll start by unilaterally disarming the US. He'll continue with attempting to disarm the citizenry of the US and by establishing a corps of political commissars and devotees to police this disarming.
There will be violence during his rule for he will come to believe he rules by divine right. He already believes he deserves it.
Video at link .... I saw this this morning --
On Barack Obama's presidential trip to the Middle East and Europe, he noticed the soldiers he met in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan always had Fox News on. He wondered allowed to his media entourage, is the White House and Armed Forces Network in cahoots with Fox News?
Obama: (Fox News correspondent) Garrett's on there all the time. How is it that Fox News has such the hook-up with Armed Forces television? Is that the Commander-in-Chief's choice?
From a commenter: Oh did you hear that one of the MSN reporters asked Obama which channel he was going to pick when he became president? That made it all for me - the stupid reporters (and probably Obama) believe that GW Bush dictated the television stations watched in a war zone.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/24/2008 16:40
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#2
Oh, please. As a former AFRTS tech, I can tell you they rotate through all the news networks. Fox, CNN, Headline News, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc. If all he saw was Fox, that means he only visited with the troops for a short time window when Fox was on. Or when the other MSM newcast came on, the troops switched them off. AFRTS broadcast schedules can be found here.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/24/2008 16:41
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The parents of a Kurdish death row inmate in Iran, Farzad Kamangar, on Thursday reported to police the alleged abduction and torture of his 11-year brother Javid.
Kurdish teacher Farzad Kamangar's parents said neighbours saw Javid on Wednesday being bundled into a car with a Revolutionary Guards number plate. Javid was later released but was seriously injured in one eye during his ordeal, according to an Iranian Kurdish human rights group.
Javid's older brother Farzad was sentenced to death earlier this month for "collaborating with armed organisations" and "counter-revolutionary activities".
Iran and Saudi Arabia are two countries in Asia that have carried out the most number of executions in the world, according to a report released on Thursday by Italian rights group, Hands Off Cain.
The report also highlighted China as having the worst record in terms of the number of death penalties carried out. "But let's focus on the US death row, shall we?"
Although the number of countries that have the death penalty has been reduced, the report said that number of people executed in 2007 increased compared to the previous year. In 2007, there were 5,851 executions carried out in the world, compared to 5,635 carried out in 2006 and 5,494 in 2005.
The report says that executions in Iran have increased by one-third, from 215 in 2006 to at least 355 in 2007. Iran is also singled out in the report for having executed 21 people by hanging in one day, while in the first 10 days of 2008, 23 people were hanged.
Also in Saudi Arabia, the number of executions have increased four-fold in a year, turning it into one of the countries with the highest number of executions per capita. At least 166 people were executed in 2007, and 39 in 2006. The report says that executions in Saudi Arabia are held in public courtyards outside well-attended mosques after Friday prayers. Gee, it's almost like mosques aren't really places of worship as our own tradition of religion would figure.
Those executed are beheaded.
In 2007, 50 of the executions that were carried out in Saudi Arabia had to do with drug crimes.
In the Americas, the last remaining country practising the death penalty is the United States, where 42 people were executed in 2007, less than the previous year when 53 were executed.
In Europe, Belarus continues to be the only country in the continent where the death penalty is carried out.
The report by Hands Off Cain was presented on Thursday at a special ceremony attended by several Italian parliamentarians, including the vice-president of the Italian Senate, Emma Bonino, as well as ambassadors from several countries. The former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also received "The Abolitionist of the Year 2008" award at the ceremony. The award is given to a person who, above all others, has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment in the struggle for a moratorium on executions and the abolition of the death penalty. Can't remember what Prodi did, but it was most probably very tranzi in style.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is obstructing efforts to tackle his country's drugs problem, says a former US narcotics official. Ex-US state department expert Thomas Schweich said Mr Karzai had protected drug lords for political reasons.
In an article for the New York Times, he claimed "narco-corruption went to the top of the Afghan government".
President Karzai has denied the claims, saying his government was succeeding in the field of counter-narcotics. "Nobody has done as well as us in the last seven years of in the field of counter-narcotics," he told reporters. He said his government had eradicated or greatly reduced drug production in more than half of the country's provinces.
In his article, in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday, Mr Schweich also wrote that the Pentagon and the British military saw poppy eradication as a problem to be tackled later, once the Taleban had been defeated.
Afghanistan's lucrative poppy crop supplies more than 90% of the world's illicit opium, the main ingredient of heroin, and is a valuable source of funds for the Taleban.
Mr Schweich backed earlier claims that Nato and US military commanders had been reluctant to get involved in fighting drugs, fearing that destroying farmers' crops would alienate tribesmen and increase support for the insurgents.
That's a real concern and illustrates why this is a tough, not easily solved problem.
Mr Schweich also claimed the Afghan president was not prepared to move against drug lords in the country's south, where most opium and heroin is produced, because the area is his political powerbase. "Karzai had Taleban enemies who profited from drugs but he had even more supporters who did," wrote Mr Schweich, who until June was the state department's co-ordinator for counter-narcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan.
But Mr Karzai denied his supporters were involved in smuggling. "I don't blame Afghans for drugs smuggling. They may do it due to helplessness and there may be only a few of them," he told reporters. "The rest are all members of the international drug mafia - it's they who benefit from this business," he said.
Mr Schweich also accused the US defence department and military commanders from its Nato ally Britain of obstructing attempts to eradicate the opium crop. He wrote: "Some of our Nato allies have resisted the anti-opium offensive, as has our own Defense Department, which tends to see counter-narcotics as other people's business to be settled once the war-fighting is over."
Mr Schweich claimed Britain had urged Mr Karzai to reject a US state department plan to stamp out poppy cultivation. "Although Britain's foreign office strongly backed anti-narcotics efforts (with the exception of aerial eradication), the British military were even more hostile to the anti-drug mission than the US military," he wrote. "British forces - centered in Helmand - actually issued leaflets and bought radio advertisements telling the local criminals that the British military was not part of the anti-poppy effort."
The claims come as Mr Karzai prepares to run for another term in office in next year's Afghan presidential elections.
Mr Schweich wrote: "Karzai was playing us like a fiddle. The US would spend billions of dollars on infrastructure development; the US and its allies would fight the Taliban; Karzai's friends could get richer off the drug trade; he could blame the West for his problems; and in 2009 he would be elected to a new term."
The United Nations says that enough opium was produced last year in Afghanistan to make more than 880 tonnes of heroin with a street value of $4bn ($2bn).
A British Foreign Office spokesman said: "Drugs pose a threat to the future of Afghanistan, and the UK is one of the leaders in international efforts to combat the narcotics trade. We are committed for the long haul in this challenging endeavour, through a two-pronged approach, to tackle both supply and demand.
"Britain and the rest of the international community will continue to do everything we can to support the Afghan government fight the narcotics trade, and promote Afghan development."
No comment was forthcoming from the state department despite a request by the BBC News website.
Libya's state shipping company says it has halted oil shipments to Switzerland in protest at the brief arrest of leader Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son. It threatened further action if the Swiss did not apologise for the arrest. Because the spawns of oil-rich dictators are above the law, even in kufr lands; who do those infidels think they are anyway? Thanks allan, as kaddafy predicted in his tumbuctu speech, Europe soon is to become muslim, for its own good.
Geneva police held Hannibal Gaddafi for two days after he and his pregnant wife allegedly hit two of their staff. The couple face charges of bodily harm, threatening behaviour and coercion. They have denied any wrongdoing over the alleged incident on 15 July.
The stopping of oil shipments comes a day after the Swiss foreign ministry complained of Libya taking "retaliatory measures", such as forcing Swiss firms to close Libyan offices.
Libya's General National Maritime Transport Company - which has links to Hannibal Gaddafi - said in a statement that it had halted all oil shipments to Switzerland. The firm handles most of Libya's oil exports. However, the AFP news agency reported that oil carried by commercial vessels would not be affected.
In a joint statement with the national port authority, the company also said ships sailing under the Swiss flag had been banned from entering Libyan ports.
It is a row that could prove costly to both countries, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva. Switzerland imports at least half its crude oil from Libya but Libya owns a large oil refinery in Switzerland.
Libya's influential people's committees have also called for Libya to withdraw its deposits from Swiss banks if an apology for the arrest is not forthcoming.
The Swiss foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Libya had "taken a number of worrying retaliatory measures" for Mr Gaddafi's arrest since he was released on bail on 17 July. It said Swiss companies ABB and Nestle had been ordered to close their Libya offices and that Swiss staff there had been arrested. Flights between Libya and Switzerland had been reduced, Libya had stopped issuing visas to Swiss citizens and Tripoli had recalled some of its diplomats from Bern, the Swiss foreign ministry said.
The ministry also said it had sent a delegation to Libya to explain Mr Gaddafi's arrest. What is there to explain? This arab dictator spoiled brat acted like the *rsehole he is, and the swiss followed THEIR law!
It has advised Swiss citizens not to travel to Libya until further notice.
It is not Hannibal Gaddafi's first brush with the law. In 2005 he was convicted by a court in France of assaulting his girlfriend.
#1
Wonder if Mo's got any Swiss bank accounts? Might be interesting to see what happens if they're frozen. Or, if the Swiss are really pissed off, have a look inside them.
#2
I suspect there is more going on behind the scenes. The Swiss are rarely direct in their foreign policy matters.
Typically, in such cases, they would send a message through diplomatic channels that his son was behaving in an inappropriate manner, and request corrective actions, to include discreet payments to the two servants. This makes sense both to Berbers and Arabs, and they usually comply. Everybody is happy.
So such a crude police action is being directed by the government for other reasons. In Switzerland, this would mean Khadaffi or his son playing hanky-panky with their banks, which really annoys them.
Arab nations have a huge banking presence in Switzerland, and obey the rules very carefully. For Libya to try a fast one there would be terribly rude.
#3
Hey, Switzerland: declare war against Kadaffy Duck, nationalize their holdings in Switzerland and confiscate any loot they have in Swiss banks. Close your embassies and any other offices that might be open in Libya. Switch doing business with Libya with doing business with Brazil, which will have plenty of crude to export in the very near future. Curtail all existing visas and refuse to allow any more, even for those visiting Geneva. Especially, close all Swiss hospitals to Libyans, and deport anyone already in the country. Let Libya cut off its nose to spite its face - they'll be the losers in the long run.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/24/2008 16:38
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#4
Supreme Bullshit. Libya can't "halt Swiss shipments" because there are no Swiss tankers.
All Libyan oil is transported to the Italian harbor of Genova and distributed by middle companies without Libya even involved in the matter.
It would be very complicated for Libya to deny Switzerland the oil. If Libya insists Switzerland can just buy the oil elsewhere.
Posted by: Bill Flogum8968 ||
07/24/2008 19:52
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The head of South Africa's governing African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, has said he is shocked and embarrassed about white poverty in the country. Mr Zuma was speaking after visiting the Bethlehem township near the capital, Pretoria, where white families live without running water or electricity.
He said the high level of black poverty did not mean whites did not suffer too.
South Africa's Helping Hand says the number of homeless white people has increased by 58% since 2002. A new report by the charity, which helps poor white communities, says more than 130,000 white people in South Africa are homeless.
Speaking in Bethlehem, Mr Zuma said: "I am shocked and surprised by what I have seen here. The vast number of black poverty does not mean that we must ignore white poverty, which is increasingly becoming an embarrassment to talk about."
He said he had seen the same problems facing white residents of the township as he had seen in black squatter camps. "This is not about politics, it's about people who are poor, who are in need and want to be helped by government," he said, quoted by the AFP news agency.
The trade union Solidarity, whose membership is mainly white, said it welcomed Mr Zuma's visit as an acknowledgement that poverty did not only affect the majority black population. "For a long time whites have been seen as rich and and blacks poor," Solidarity secretary general Flip Buys told the AFP. "Talking about white poverty has been seen as politically incorrect. The emergence of this scourge has left everyone looking for answers."
Analysts say Mr Zuma is keen to reach out to the white community at the same time as the main opposition party - which is predominantly white - seeks to increase its appeal to the black community, ahead of next year's election.
#2
Plus, whites have been severely affected by an all-out "affirmative action"; not only did the country go down the drain, but they were especially discriminated against in the so-called "rainbow country"... lower-middle class whites, who couldn't emigrate or held to management or professional jobs not thretened by "affirmative action" have had it VERY bad... that's why you've got a problem with white teen or pre-teen girls forced into prostitution and pimped by black transnational (notably nigerian) gangs like in that SA teevee show posted on Evil Youtube I linked to in an earlier comment, because there's a whole part of white society that had not only been left behind, but deliberately set to fall.
#3
Actually Dearth, it might have been the U.S. that broke the country with the South African Divestiture. It got the evil, nefarious, white devils out of power and the investment never came back. We were trying to be PC and we screwed everyone.
#5
PC, Political Correctness, is an abomination. When the pendulum begins its swing back to the Right, I hope the left are eviscerated (literally) because of all the evil wrought in the name of PC.
I'd even like to see the so-called Leftist Elites subjected to a few nasty pogroms. But I'm funny that way.
Posted by: Grease Dark Lord of the Algonquins9226 ||
07/24/2008 19:04
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#6
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has been a huge and resounding success in South Africa. I think it's high time for a parallel program which could obviously be dubbed.... White Economic Empowerment (WEE). WEE BEE! Make it happ'n Jacob!
Athletes from Iraq have been banned from taking part at this summer's Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee has announced.
The team was already the subject of an interim ban after the Iraqi government replaced the country's Olympic committee with its own appointees. Under the IOC charter, all committees must be free of political influence.
Iraq had been planning to planning to send a team of at least seven athletes to the Olympics. Two rowers, a weightlifter, a sprinter, a discuss thrower, a judoka and an archer were in the frame for the trip to Beijing.
"The deadline for taking up places for Beijing for all sports except athletics has now passed," said IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies. "The IOC very sadly has now to acknowledge that it is likely there will be no Iraqi presence at the Beijing Olympic Games, despite our best efforts."
She added: "Clearly, we'd very much like to have seen Iraq's athletes in Beijing. We are very disappointed that the athletes have been so ill-served by their own government's actions."
Hussein al-Amidi, the general secretary of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, said: "This morning we were informed of the final decision of the International Olympic Committee to suspend the membership of the Iraqi Olympic Committee. It's a final decision, there is no way to appeal. This means that Iraq will not take part in the coming Olympic games.
"It is a blow to Iraq and its international reputation, its athletes and its youth. I swear those athletes who have been training - they phoned me today and they were crying and were very upset."
The Iraq government dissolved the National Olympic Committee in May and the interim IOC ban was put in place on 4 June. Davies added that the Iraqi government had been asked to travel to Switzerland to meet the IOC to discuss possible remedies but failed to do so.
The committee which the government dismissed was elected in 2004, in line with the Olympic movement's regulations. The Iraqi government said it took the decision to appoint a new committee because the previous one was corrupt and had not been functioning properly.
Ahmad al-Samarra'i, chairman of the committee dismissed by the government, and several other members had previously been abducted by gunmen while attending a meeting in central Baghdad in July 2006. They have not been seen since.
#1
My guess is that if we leave Iraq, Maliki will make himself dictator-for-life. I suspect we'll need to stay there for at least several decades. However, if Obama gets elected, and we do leave, the media and assorted academics will find a way to exonerate Obama, and blame Bush for the second coming of Saddam.
Looking up in Iraq is still a dangerous proposition. Mortar blasts continue to penetratewith rare deadly forcethe Green Zone and other protected areas because militias can find them, like rockets and other indirect-fire weapons, on the cheap, and fire them from shoot-and-hide platforms.
In an attempt to shore up its safe havens in the war zone, the Pentagon asked Boeing a year ago to develop a preliminary design for a system that could control a laser beambut not just any laser beam. This one would come mounted on a truck that could defeat a persistent surprise threat from above. And this week the defense contractor delivered, bringing the Army one step closer to getting what can only be described as a laser truckone capable of disabling incoming rounds. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
07/24/2008
13:47 ||
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Posted by: Dr. Evil ||
07/24/2008 14:03
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#4
It's about time, I wonder how many rounds it can handle at once? Now all they need is a targeting system that computes the parabolic trajectory of the round and automatically dispatches return fire to within a few feet of the origin.
#5
They are probably using pulsed solid-state lasers which have a very rapid turn around. A bunch of lasers that fire in order through lenses, Gatling gun style, giving the others time to cool down.
Interestingly, this use of laser goes against the rule for lasers. That is, usually you want a narrow beam, but in this case, you want a wide beam.
If you were using a narrow beam, it could take as much as 100kW of energy to burn into a flying 60mm mortar round. However, if instead you use a wide beam to *heat* the round, you only need about 20kW to heat it up so much it bursts.
#6
bj-k, they've had counterbattery radar for decades. I suspect that the launch sites are in inhabited areas and the return fire is not so accurate you can guarantee no innocents will be killed (no eyes on the ground for smart munitions). The launch teams bail before troops or drones can get "eyes on" (they hope).
#7
Moose, since the photo shows the system fits on one truck, it sounds like a laser diode pumped Nd:YAG disk laser. The semiconductor laser diodes are all switched on at the same time to get maximum power per volume. Add a large bank of NiMH or high power Lithium batteries and the system won't even have to run it's generators most of the time.
Posted by: ed ||
07/24/2008 21:22
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Denver police officials have been extremely circumspect in answering questions about either their security plans for the convention or their equipment purchases.
But the ACLU wants to provide the whackos with all the intelligence they can get.
CHICAGO: A US company is developing a gun that can fire bullets with variable speed and can be set to kill, wound or just cause a bruise.
Lund and Company Invention, a Chicago-based toy design studio, which makes toy rockets that are powered by burning hydrogen, is receiving funding from the US army to adapt the same technology for firing bullets as the army is interested in weapons that can be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes.
The new weapon, called the Variable Velocity Weapon System, lets the soldier use the same rifle for crowd control and combat, by altering the muzzle velocity. It could be loaded with "rubber bullets" to deliver blunt impact, full-speed lethal rounds or projectiles somewhere between the two.
The gun works by mixing a liquid or gaseous fuel with air in a combustion chamber behind the bullet. This determines the explosive capability of the propellant and consequently the velocity of the bullet, as it leaves the gun.
#6
I prefer nukes. That way, you don't have witnesses. Kinda rough on the "innocents", but I'm beginning to think the term is over-used.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/24/2008 14:10
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You could carry a hell of a lot more rounds with a system like this. Might be good for urban warfare on the low setting. Different bullet weights would make it even more flexible. And I don't know, wounding the enemy seems like it just makes more problems than it prevents. They capture some of those Taliban guys several times, I don't know who keeps letting them out, but they go right back to work when they do.
#8
Years ago in Brazil, bus companies made the interesting discovery that they paid much less for wrongful death than for injury. This was soon followed with bus drivers chasing people they had bumped, to finish the job.
But seriously, folks. I figured that an easier way to get a variable bullet would be to have a casing with punch holes in it. You would have a selector switch on the gun that would determine how many holes were punched in the casing before firing; zero, one or two.
#10
Future Weapons had a variable speed beanbag shotgun. It was calibrated for fireing at a human being, you used a slider set the hight of the person and the gun calibrated how much force to use to stun it.
It worked by venting off the burning gasses from the shotgun "shell" in variable amounts.
#11
I wonder if it'll be ready for the night of November 4th.
Posted by: Bob ||
07/24/2008 15:39
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#12
Kinda defeats the purpose of handloading.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/24/2008 17:11
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#13
I can hear it now. A cop says "STOP!" The perp doesn't stop and keeps coming. "Damn, I meant to set it on bruise."
Such bullets will only be good for lawyers.
I was part of some research some years ago that evaluated a tungsten-tin bullet that was formed under pressure. it did not work as well as conventional bullets because it tended to powder on impact. The intent was to develop an "environmentally friendly" but people unfriendly bullet. It didn't work so well. I always had to kind of chuckle about these conflicting concepts. Still hard to beat lead. Shoot for the center of mass with an "adequate conventional" bullet to kill if you are going to shoot. What "adequate conventional" means is open to interpretation. I like 40 or 45 cal. Hydra-Shok or Speer Lawman. These rounds will bruise, wound, and kill all at the same time. You don't have to take the time to sort out which you want to do.
#14
Wrongful death lawsuits, in the case of a perp, are very likely to be dismissed or beaten by a decent attorney. Much more so than the ones where the jurors see some bastard sitting there in a wheelchair or using a walker. It's the same psychology at work that had all the fools concerned about OJ rather than the two people he murdered.
US presidential candidate Barack Obama tried played down the massively hyped expectations for his speech in Berlin on Thursday, saying he was not trying to make a historic address like JFK and Ronald Reagan.
"They were presidents, I am a citizen," he told reporters travelling with him. "There is no doubt that part of what I want to communicate on both sides of the Atlantic is the enormous potential of us restoring a sense of coming together , just like we did in 1945."
The presumptive Democratic nominee is expected to speak before tens of thousands of people Thursday evening at a public event in the heart of Berlin. Germany has been swept up in Obamania for days, flattered that the wildly popular US senator would pick the German capital for his most important stop in Europe.
Young Germans decked out in Obama t-shirts were walking through the centre of Berlin ahead of the speech handing out flyers promoting the event. Obama today, a blond man in his twenties wearing glasses said in German before hurrying on his way toward the Alexanderplatz train station.
Before he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama defended himself against claims he is defying convention by electioneering abroad. He told reporters he wanted to speak to the whole of Europe so he needed a big venue and it was Berlin's symbolism that drew him to make his major speech in the city. In other words: "Screw you, Paris"
"Obviously Berlin is representative of the extraordinary success of the post World War II effort to bring the continent together and to bring the West together, and later to bring the East and the West together," he said. "So I think it is a natural place to talk." When I think of postwar Berlin, I think of desperate Germans escaping Communism.
Both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan made memorable speeches in Berlin while the city was divided during the Cold War. Kennedy famously expressed his solidarity with West Berliners by proclaiming ich bin ein Berliner and Reagan demanded the communists tear down the Wall.
Merkels spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said the German leader had discussed several key foreign policy issues including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East peace process and next years NATO summit with Obama during their one-hour meeting in the Chancellery. It was very open and intensive talk in an excellent atmosphere, Wilhelm said.
Obama later met German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during the afternoon before heading to Berlins Victory Column, a monument to Prussian 19th century war victories in the citys central Tiergarten park, to hold his speech at 7 pm local time.
On a sunny day in the German capital, Berliners were lending the event an atmosphere akin to a festival by grilling sausages and selling beer near the site of the speech, which has frequently been used for large public gatherings.
Obama is wildly popular in Germany where, according to a recent opinion poll, 76 percent of the people would like to see him win the November election.
But Peter Thiele, a 44-year-old beer vendor set up Strasse des 17 Juni, wasnt buying all the hype. Calling Obama "just a candidate," he said it wasnt enough for Berliners to be enamoured with the senator.
"He's got to convince people in America, not here," he added.
To speed up its efforts to build a missile defence shield, India will next week test an interceptor with capabilities to destroy enemy missiles in and outside the atmosphere.
"This interceptor missile has the capability to intercept an in-coming enemy missile at 40-km altitude and it can carry a warhead weighing 25 kg," a top Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist said here today.
If the test is successful, India will get into an elite league of nations with indigenous capabilities to intedict enemy missiles in both endo-(less than 30-km) and exo-atmospheric (above 40-km) altitudes.
This will be the second time that Indian defence scientists will attempt to intercept an incoming target at altitudes above 40 kms.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists had first carried out such a test in 2006 and last December when they successfully intercepted a ballistic missile in endo-atmospheric altitudes.
The long range anti-missile missile would equip India with capacities that could be put to use in protecting populated areas and vital installations such as nuclear plants, oil and gas wells, airports and seaports.
Provided with a radar system to track incoming enemy missiles, the anti-missile interceptor missile would get automatically activated and could within seconds destroy the enemy missile.
The interceptor missile is an answer from India to the ballistic missile capabilities of Pakistan and China, both possessing arsenal capable of hitting Indian targets south of the Vindhyas.
The in-built guidance system would carry the interceptor missile to the enemy missile, finally destroying it in the exo-atmospheric altitudes, thereby ensuring safety and protection of the vital installations below.
Initially christened the 'Prithvi Air Defence' (PAD) system, the interceptor missile is likely to be renamed as 'Pradyumna', DRDO scientists said.
The missile defence system would be ready for operational deployment after the DRDO scientists carry out a couple of more tests that could take about six months to a year, officials said.
"The test is likely to be conducted at Chandipur-On-Sea off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Orissa. The project's Phase-I will be completed by 2009 but the system would get clearance for operational use only by 2012 or 2013," the scientists said.
Comparable to the Israeli's Arrow-I and the US' Patriot (PAC-3) missile defence systems, 'Pradyumna', if successful, is likely to steal a march over the two international players eyeing the much-awaited tenders from India for such a system.
Whether Pradyumna would be a contender for India's immediate missile defence system needs would be known much after scheduled November 2008 tests of the missile system, DRDO scientists said.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008
12:18 ||
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#1
Silly Indians.
Don't they know that missile defense is unproven technology and will take at least ten years before it can begin to work?
They really should be looking at alternative defensive measures.
Perhaps shooting corn into the path of oncoming missiles might be helpful. Or maybe giant wind mills throw missiles off course.
Posted by: Kelly ||
07/24/2008 13:42
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Anyone know what kind of terminal homing they are using? E.g. LWIR?
A British court ruled Wednesday that a radical Muslim preacher accused of helping to set up a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon cannot appeal against extradition to the United States to face terrorism charges. Justice Igor Judge refused Abu Hamza al-Masri's application to challenge his extradition in the House of Lords, the country's highest court of appeal.
The High Court ruled last month that al-Masri should be sent to the US, where an 11-count indictment accuses him of offenses including supporting al-Qaida and the Taliban.
Al-Masri's lawyers can still appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. His attorneys have questioned US assurances that he would not be mistreated or face the death penalty if convicted.
US officials allege al-Masri, 51, conspired to establish a training camp in Bly, Oregon, where followers received combat and weapons training for violent jihad in Afghanistan. They also say he assisted extremists who kidnapped 16 foreign tourists in Yemen in 1998. Three British tourists and one Australian visitor were killed in a shootout between Yemeni security forces and the captors.
Al-Masri also is accused of facilitating terrorist training in Afghanistan.
The former imam at London's Finsbury Park Mosque, al-Masri is one of Britain's best-known Islamist radicals. The Egyptian-born preacher is blind in one eye and has hooks in place of the hands he says he lost fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Under his leadership the Finsbury Park mosque became a magnet for extremists. Its worshipers included Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.
He was arrested in London on a US extradition warrant in 2004, but the process was put on hold while he stood trial in Britain for inciting racial hatred and encouraging followers to kill non-Muslims. He was convicted in 2006 and is serving a seven-year sentence.
#1
Take him to SoHo, inject him full of drugs, and let him die from an overdose. No problem, no expense, and his last few minutes on Earth will be whatever he makes of them.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/24/2008 18:04
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Nearly three dozen insurgents were killed Thursday in southern Afghanistan after they attacked an Afghan military convoy, a police official said.
The clash occurred in the Shah Joy district of Zabul province, said deputy provincial police chief Jailani Khan. Khan said the army called for assistance from the US-led coalition and Afghan police, and that the three forces surrounded the insurgents, killing 35, at least two of whom were Arabs. Five Taliban militants were arrested. "There was no report of any casualties among the coalition and Afghan forces," Khan said.
The US-led coalition did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was just the latest violence that has gripped the country's south, the Taliban insurgency's primary stronghold.
#2
The EUnuchs can kiss my ass. Pull the diplomats and the soldiers out now and tell those pussies they're on their own. Maybe not having Uncle Sugar to fight their battles for them might, just might get them to start thinking they have to provide their own security. Most of them, though, would think that meant condoms and Vaseline.
#7
The US should set up plans to close a number of our embassy's in Europe as redundant, downgrading some to consolates and closing others outright. WE should also have plans to pull out military out entirely.
We wouldn't have to follow up on either. The EU would get pressure from member governments and would shut up quick. If we do follow up, well it's a win/win.
#8
The EU always tries to imply that the US wants to keep the eastern Europeans out, like western Europe. But it's just the opposite. The eastern Europeans are not going to be sending any potential terrorist immigrants or criminals our way, for many reasons. But the western Europeans are more than happy to send any filth in their streets to our streets.
The US would be happy to double or triple the number of visitors we get from the East.
I think there's an "idiots of the day" bit somewhere here.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--A family court judge in New Zealand has had enough with parents giving their children bizarre names here, and did something about it. Just ask Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. He had her renamed. Judge Rob Murfitt made the 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed, he said in a ruling made public Thursday. The girl was involved in a custody battle, he said.
The new name was not made public to protect the girl's privacy.
"The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name," he wrote. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily."
The girl had been so embarrassed at the name that she had never told her closest friends what it was. She told people to call her "K" instead, the girl's lawyer, Colleen MacLeod, told the court.
In his ruling, Murfitt cited a list of the unfortunate names. Registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, he said. But others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter "and tragically, Violence," he said.
New Zealand law does not allow names that would cause offense to a reasonable person, among other conditions, said Brian Clarke, the registrar general of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Clarke said officials usually talked to parents who proposed unusual names to convince them about the potential for embarrassment.
#1
I have always wondered when someone was going to do something about these names.Living in the islands in the early 70's, I remember the kids named by cigarette brands and one classmate of mine named, 3 Pounds, of course it was in our language, and then the triplets that were born w/ colors for names!! Yes, like Red, White and Blue! that was very hard for me to wonder, how this would effect these poor kids in the future when they have to get up to introduce themselves to friends or in class or anywhere! it's embarrassing of course. I felt for these kids very much. It was like the indians naming their kids odd names, but at the same time, they made sense. But to be named, " Skippy" like the dog food or the dog, or the peanut butter or to be named after a president even~ these kids have middle names after presidents. That's right they were born during the Bicentennial year, so these kids were named Red, White and Blue and their middle names were presidents names. So go figure~ where they live, and what their going thru~
(via No Quarter blog. Original Bild.de article is in German.)
It seems Barack Obama is up to his old control tricks even in countries he visits. So much for Foreign Relations and setting the example for Democracy. But the important thing is CNN and MSNBC wont have to stage their video shots when they show America how much The Plastic Jesus is totally worshipped in Europe during his Tour de Farce.
#4
What would we tell someone from germany that wanted to pull that shit here? We'd tell them to go f*ck themselves. The Germs need to straighten this guy out.
#7
Bet a beerox dinner he says something in German so that he is not embarassed.
Everything about this tour of doody in one paragraph. "All the worlds a stage, and the men and women merely backdrops." Should have just put his butt in front of a blue screen and played "The Last Unicorn" in the background.
A JAW-dropping political miracle may be on the horizon. No, I'm not talking about the second coming of the Obamessiah. I'm talking about the long-deserved comeuppance of troop-smearing, pork-feasting, scandal-tainted Democratic Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania.
The 18-term congressman's challenger, staunch conservative Republican newcomer William Russell, raised nearly $670,000 in the second quarter. Earmark king Murtha scraped together a measly $119,000.
Russell's underdog campaign bested Murtha without the perks of incumbency, national name recognition, big PAC donations or mainstream media support.
Even more amazing: The challenger, a Desert Storm veteran and Army reservist who survived the 9/11 Pentagon attack, wasn't even publicly campaigning during the quarter. Russell, 45, is on active duty with the Army until after Aug. 1 and is barred from actively campaigning until then. Rest at link.
Also consider supporting LtCol. Allen West for Congress
Posted by: ed ||
07/24/2008
09:25 ||
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#1
Murtha probably hasn't put the arm on his local pork recipients yet...
#2
The last time he ran, Murtha was so scared that he got two Democrat toadies to run in the open Republican primary, and told all his followers to vote for them. One of them won, then both dropped out of the race, leaving Murtha unopposed.
#4
Murtha is one fat, tired POS. Well past time to flush him down the shitter. How about their shiny new Sen. Casey ? What a lefty freak. Have Pennsy voters decided to try and become dumber than their Taxachusetts friends ?
#10
If there was intelligent life in his district, they'd be aware that Murtha has got to keel over soon enough of natural causes [although in the case of Senator Byrd, it appears the Donks are working hard on keeping the dead in office]. It's better to start your representative's seniority as soon as possible than be assure of the basement for a couple of decades behind other districts in America. Note well, that 'conservative' Donks have beat out 'liberal' Trunks this past year.
Srinagar, July 24 (IANS) At least five people, including four children, were killed and 22 people wounded in a grenade attack by terrorists in a busy bus yard here Thursday, police said. Most of the victims were migrant workers from other north Indian states. The police said separatist guerrillas hurled a grenade which fell near one of the ticket counters in the main bus depot at Batamaloo, barely half a kilometre from the civil secretariat in this summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
A large number of migrant workers and their family members were milling around.
Three children died on the spot, said a police officer. He said a critically injured woman and a child succumbed to their injuries in SMHS Hospital where all the injured were taken.
Two of the four children killed in the blast have been identified as 12-year-old Khusboo and nine-year-old Adil, daughter and son of Muhammad Afroze from Bihar, said the police officer.
Twenty labourers were among the 22 wounded in the explosion, he added.
Unconfirmed reports said seven of the injured were Hindu pilgrims who had returned from the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir. However, the police denied the reports.
All the injured were migrant workers and none of them was an Amarnath pilgrim, a police press statement said.
The intercity bus depot from where buses ply to various towns and villages in the Kashmir valley was thronged by hundreds of commuters when the explosion occurred.
The blast triggered panic and confusion as the police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) surrounded the depot.
The area was surrounded immediately by the police and CRPF for searches. However, no one was detained.
Ambulances with wailing sirens and police vehicles were seen ferrying the injured to hospital.
I saw the injured, including children, crying for help. There was panic all around and everyone fled for safety, said Abdul Rashid, a shopkeeper.
No group has claimed responsibility for the grenade attack which came just five days after seven soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in a massive explosion on the Srinagar-Uri highway.
Terrorist activities have picked up in Jammu and Kashmir since last week and 18 people have been killed and about 60 injured in a series of attacks.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008
08:16 ||
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Khalid Shahenshah, who was the former Pakistan prime minister's security chief at the time of her assassination, was killed in a drive-by shooting as he left his house in the southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police said.
Mr Shahenshah, 45, was riding in Mrs Bhutto's bullet-proof car when she was killed in a suicide attack in the northern city of Rawalpindi on December 27.
He was expected to be called to give evidence at a United Nations probe into her death.
"He was a key witness in the case and was also interviewed by the Scotland Yard experts who came to Pakistan to investigate her killing," said Waqar Mehdi, the junior information minister of Sindh province.
"There is a possibility that his killing could be linked to his status as a witness, although investigations are still underway."
A team of Scotland Yard detectives concluded in February that Mrs Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomb and not by gunfire, backing the previous Pakistani government's claim the attack was masterminded by Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's top Taliban commander.
But the UN earlier this month agreed to set up an independent panel to investigate her slaying, following a request by Pakistan's new government.
In elections held in February, a coalition led by Mrs Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) defeated allies of President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999.
PPP officials have accused Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence services of involvement in her killing, rejecting suggestion the Taliban were responsible.
Party officials suspect that more than one attacker was involved in the murder.
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Mr Shahenshah, a father of three, in Karachi. He was most recently employed as a security chief at the home of Mrs Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari.
Police have recovered the car which Mr Shahenshah's assailants used in his murder and were still investigating, Iqbal Mehmood, a senior Karachi police official said.
Zulfikar Mirza, the Sindh home minister, said it was "premature to say that Khalid was killed for being a witness in Benazir Bhutto's assassination case".
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008
07:58 ||
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New Delhi: In a four-page letter addressed to Board members of the IAEA, Pakistan has attacked the draft Indian safeguards agreement for envisaging termination conditions and fuel supply arrangements which could allow India to divert part of [any imported] fuel for weapons purposes.
At the same time, it said that the Indian model should not be discriminatory and should be applied to states such as itself.
Pakistan is a member of the 35-strong Board of Governors. The letter, written by its Ambassador to the IAEA, Shahbaz, was sent out on July 18, though the Indian mission in Vienna has yet to formally receive a copy. A similar letter was circulated by Pakistans Ambassador to the U.N., Munir Akram, on July 15. The BoG will meet August 1 to consider the Indian agreement.
Apart from raising procedural objections to the convening of a Board of Governors meeting at short notice, Pakistan is strongly opposing a number of specific provisions in the agreement. It says both the BoG and the Nuclear Suppliers Group should carefully weigh the consequences that may ensue from succumbing to expediency over principles if the drive to steamrollthis agreement was not resisted.
According to Indian officials, Pakistan has sounded a number of BoG members on the possibility of putting the Indian draft to a vote on August 1 rather than approving it by consensus. Though indications are that so far the Pakistani proposal does not have takers, Islamabad would be within its rights to call for a division when the Board meets.
Ambassador Shahbazs letter, a copy of which is with The Hindu, says a disturbing feature of the agreement is the reference in the Preamble to a phrase from the Indo-U.S. statement of July 2005 specifically [noting] Indias willingness to identify and separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities. Thus, the IAEA Board is being asked to recognise and accept Indias nuclear weapons status, the letter says.
The Pakistani envoys missive demands that this preambular reference be deleted because it runs counter to the purpose of IAEA safeguards and is in itself unique, as similar provisions do not exist in other such agreements.
Curiously, though the letter condemns the Indian safeguards agreement on proliferation grounds, it argues that Pakistan should be afforded the same treatment. In one place, it warns the BoG that the Indian text is likely to set a precedent for other states which are not members of the NPT and have military nuclear programmes. But elsewhere, it also demands that any safeguards agreement adopted by the BoG in respect of India should be available as a model for other non-NPT states.
Among Pakistans other objections: - Despite Indias refusal to place its Breeder Reactors and Thorium-based programme under safeguards, the draft recognises Indias three-stage nuclear programme. This is gratuitous legitimisation of potential nuclear proliferation and contrary to the IAEAs objectives.
- The draft contains ambiguous provisions regarding conditions for the termination of the Safeguards Agreement, provides India access to international fuel markets and provides for unspecified corrective measures which India would be allowed to take to ensure uninterrupted operation of its civilian reactors. This contravenes the continuation of IAEA safeguards in perpetuity.
- The agreement may indeed provide an incentive to India to conduct further nuclear weapons testing, since future termination of the Safeguards Agreement, after India has built up an adequate fuel reserve, would resolve Indias problems relating to the shortage of nuclear material for both its civilian and nuclear weapons programme.
Pakistan has also objected to the reference in the agreement to a restricted document, GOV/1621 and said the BoG cannot approve an Agreement with secret clauses. It was vital, it said, for the conditions for termination of safeguards to be expressly incorporated. [In fact, GOV/1621 is available to all IAEA member states and has also been published in a 1985 book].
Criticising the IAEA draft for not providing for termination of peaceful nuclear cooperation in the event of a nuclear test by India, Pakistan said the agreement threatens to increase the chances of a nuclear arms race in the sub-continent.
The Pakistani letter says IAEA rules prevent the Indian agreement from being considered at the earliest, 45 days later, i.e. 25 August 2008 and that the political expediencies of either India or the U.S. are not sufficient reason for the 45 day rule to be waived.
Indian and IAEA officials told The Hindu the 45 day rule was not hard and fast and that several safeguards agreements have been approved in less time. According to sources, Pakistans safeguards agreement for the Chashma reactor was itself cleared within 48 hours of the text being circulated to the Board in November 2006.
During the recent visit to Delhi by Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, the Indian side sounded Pakistan out on its objections to the safeguards agreement. Mr. Bashir said there was nothing personal in Islamabads stand and that the country was acting in its own national interest.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008
07:56 ||
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WASHINGTON The Bush administration plans to shift nearly $230 million in aid to Pakistan from counterterrorism programs to upgrading that countrys aging F-16 attack planes, which Pakistan prizes more for their contribution to its military rivalry with India than for fighting insurgents along its Afghan border.
Some members of Congress have greeted the proposal with dismay and anger, and may block the move. Lawmakers and their aides say that F-16s do not help the counterterrorism campaign and defy the administrations urgings that Pakistan increase pressure on fighters of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in its tribal areas.
The timing of the action caught lawmakers off guard, prompting some of them to suspect that the deal was meant to curry favor with the new Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, who will meet with President Bush in Washington next week, and to ease tensions over the 11 members of the Pakistani paramilitary forces killed in an American airstrike along the Afghan border last month.
The financing for the F-16s would represent more than two-thirds of the $300 million that Pakistan will receive this year in American military financing for equipment and training.
Last year, Congress specified that those funds be used for law enforcement or counterterrorism. Pakistans military has rarely used its current fleet of F-16s, which were built in the 1980s, for close-air support of counterterrorism missions, largely because the risks of civilian casualties would inflame anti-government sentiments in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
State Department officials say the upgrades would greatly enhance the F-16s ability to strike insurgents accurately, while reducing the risk to civilians. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Congress was weighing the plan, said the timing was driven by deadlines of the American contractor, Lockheed Martin.
Having the United States pay for the upgrades instead of Pakistan would also free up cash that Pakistans government could use to help offset rising fuel and food costs, which have contributed to an economic crisis there, the State Department officials said.
Under the original plan sent to Congress in April, the administration intended to use up to $226.5 million of the aid to refurbish two of Pakistans P-3 maritime patrol planes, buy it new airfield navigation aids and overhaul its troubled fleet of Cobra attack helicopters. The State Department notified Congress last week that the administration had changed its mind and would apply the funds to the F-16s.
Lawmakers immediately bridled at the shift, questioning whether the counterterrorism money could be spent more effectively. We need to know if this is the best way to help Pakistan combat Al Qaeda and the Taliban, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who heads the appropriations subcommittee on State Department and foreign operations, said in a statement.
Representative Nita M. Lowey, a New York Democrat who heads the House appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said in a statement, It is incumbent on the State Department and Pakistan to demonstrate clearly how these F-16s would be used to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban in order to get Congressional support.
In a two-page notification to Congress, the State Department said that upgrading the avionics, targeting and radar systems of Pakistans older F-16s would increase the survivability of the aircraft in a hostile environment and make the F-16s a more valuable counterterrorism asset that operates safely during day and night operations. The notification said the modernized systems would also increase the accuracy of the F-16s support of Pakistani ground troops, lessening the risks of civilian casualties.
Many Congressional officials remain unconvinced. Using F-16s this way is like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer, said one senior Senate Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the current negotiations. It remains unclear whether any lawmaker will block or postpone the financing, and risk harming relations with Pakistan any further.
Even if approved, the upgraded F-16s would not be available until 2011, said one House aide who had been briefed on the issue, and who spoke on condition of anonymity, raising the question whether the funds could be spent on counterterrorism equipment that could be employed more quickly.
Pakistan agreed to buy about 70 F-16s in the 1980s, and about 40 were delivered before Congress cut off all aid and military sales in 1990, citing Pakistans secret development of nuclear weapons.
A new deal was struck after the Sept. 11 attacks to allow Pakistan to buy newer models, in part to reward Pakistans cooperation in fighting terrorism. In 2006, Pakistan was a major recipient of American arms sales, including the $1.4 billion purchase of up to 36 new F-16C/D fighter aircraft and $640 million in missiles and bombs. The deal included a package for $891 million in upgrades for Pakistans older F-16s.
At that time, the United States agreed to use $108 million of its annual security aid to Pakistan to retrofit the older F-16s with equipment to make them comparable to the newer models that will be delivered in the next several years. But the administration promised Congress that the Pakistani government would pay for the rest of the upgrades with its own funds. With Pakistan now facing economic hardships, top Pakistani leaders appealed to senior State Department officials to help defray the costs of the ongoing upgrades.
The debate over the F-16 financing comes at a time when Congress has grown increasingly frustrated with the administrations Pakistan policy, arguing it has been weighted too heavily on security assistance. The United States has given more than $10 billion in military aid to Pakistan since the Sept. 11 attacks, when President Pervez Musharraf agreed to become an ally in the campaign against terrorism. Of that amount, $5.5 billion was specifically intended to reimburse the counterinsurgency efforts by the Pakistani Army, but Congressional auditors have said that Pakistan did not spend much of that money on counterinsurgency.
Senior administration officials, including top military officers, are also voicing increasing exasperation with Pakistans efforts to combat militants in the mountainous region along the border with Afghanistan. We need Pakistan to put more pressure on that border, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer on PBS on Tuesday.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008
07:54 ||
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#1
That's our George (imagine FDR giving free war planes to Fascist Italy).
#4
I wonder what the Indians say about us in private...
It isn't very complimentary.
Posted by: Grease Dark Lord of the Algonquins9226 ||
07/24/2008 9:54
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#5
Mmm. This has the stink of kabuki theatre about it. The Pakistanis get the impression that State's in their corner, they *don't* get their F-16s because of Congressional "interference", and the Pakistani Army starts getting the proper impression that maybe they'd get their aerial boomsticks if they start pretending like they actually control their own territory for a change.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/24/2008 9:58
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In a two-page notification to Congress, the State Department said that upgrading the avionics, targeting and radar systems of Pakistan's older F-16s would "increase the survivability of the aircraft in a hostile environment"
Those formidable Al-Qaeda air defenses...
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008 15:11
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#9
John--So what exactly are we trying to do? Are we trying to bribe Pakistan, or are we trying to contain India? What's the master plan?
#10
Someone at State got the bright idea that Pakistan's insecurity with respect to India hinders their commitment to the war on terror.
So their conventional capability had to be built up. Only when they felt their conventional forces could negate an Indian attack would they be free to cooperate in the WOT.
This ignores the historical fact that whenever Pakistan's conventional forces have been strong it has actually attacked India. It also ignores Pakistan's possession of nuclear weapons, which were supposedly to deter a conventional strike by India.
Pakistan's nuclear weapons in fact deter Indian raids on terror camp infrastructure. They provide the space for Pakistan to freely fund, train and arm jihadis and send them into India to kill its citizens without risk of retaliation.
Pakistan has started all the wars with India not because they thought they could win a slugfest but in the belief that war would be limited. Their strategy assumes a war of fairly short duration as the outside world attempts to restore peace by cutting off the flow of arms and possibly imposing an oil embargo. So the objectives in any Pakistan attack was to seize territory in Kashmir that they could keep after a ceasefire and to seize territory elsewhere that they could trade after a ceasefire for more territory (or even the whole of Kashmir).
I don't buy this strategy (or the whole strategic depth thing in Afghanistan) but then I'm not a Pak military genius.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008 17:49
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#11
State hasn't been on our side in this conflict since the beginning. Tell them to go pound sand. Also, tell the pakiwakis to take a hike in Wazoo-land - all of them. Pakistan is NOT our friend, just pretending so they can stay on the international dole.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/24/2008 18:46
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#12
Many foreign ministries tend to attract Arabophile and Islamophile types. Their romantic notions about the Islamic world get reinforced when they meet the elites of those cultures.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/24/2008 18:54
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#10 john: "Someone at State got the bright idea"
Stop right there - no need for further explanation of this latest abortion.
Idiots.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/24/2008 19:02
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FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist. And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades.
Dr Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview that sources at the space agency who had had contact with aliens described the beings as 'little people who look strange to us.'
He said supposedly real-life ET's were similar to the traditional image of a small frame, large eyes and head. Chillingly, he claimed our technology is "not nearly as sophisticated" as theirs and "had they been hostile", he warned "we would be been gone by now".
Dr Mitchell, along with with Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard, holds the record for the longest ever moon walk, at nine hours and 17 minutes following their 1971 mission.
"I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real," Dr Mitchell said. "It's been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it's leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it.
"I've been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes - we have been visited. Reading the papers recently, it's been happening quite a bit."
Dr Mitchell, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics claimed Roswell was real and similar alien visits continue to be investigated. He told the astonished Kerrang! radio host Nick Margerrison: "This is really starting to open up. I think we're headed for real disclosure and some serious organisations are moving in that direction."
Mr Margerrison said: "I thought I'd stumbled on some sort of astronaut humour but he was absolutely serious that aliens are definitely out there and there's no debating it."
Officials from NASA, however, were quick to play the comments down. In a statement, a spokesman said: "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe.
'Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue.' Could Nasa be covering up somthing? Gee, please, call Richard C. Hoagland!
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/24/2008 8:57
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From his Wikipedia bio:
"Mitchell's interests include consciousness and paranormal phenomena. During the Apollo 14 flight he conducted private ESP experiments with his friends on Earth. [3] In early 1973, he founded the nonprofit Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) to conduct and sponsor research into areas that mainstream science has ignored, including consciousness research and psychic events."
"Mitchell says that a teenage remote healer who lives in Vancouver and uses the pseudonym Adam Dreamhealer, helped heal him of kidney cancer at a distance. Mitchell said that while he never had a biopsy (the definitive test for cancer), "I had a sonogram and MRI that was consistent with renal carcinoma." Adam worked (distantly) on Mitchell from December of 2003 until June of 2004, when the "irregularity was gone and we haven't seen it since."[4]"
"Mitchell has publicly expressed his opinions that he is "90 per cent sure that many of the thousands of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, recorded since the 1940s, belong to visitors from other planets"[5] and that UFOs have been the "subject of disinformation in order to deflect attention and to create confusion so the truth doesn't come out."[6] In 2004 he told the St. Petersburg Times that a "cabal of insiders" inside the US Government were studying recovered alien bodies, and that this group had stopped briefing US Presidents after John F. Kennedy.[7]"
#5
Wow. I wonder if the freedom of sharing information on the Internet is going to have an impact on how we view the idea of UFO's.
In case you want to make fun of Dr. Edgar Mitchell, here's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlkV1ybBnHI on the topic as well. And I remember watching a documentary once that had some very credible people acknowledging UFO incidents.
Mitchell said, "all our governments" The NASA response is very specific: "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. OK. But I notice immediately that he in no way refuted Mitchell's claim.
#9
Um... NASA and the government can't even keep national security secret. Let alone something as mind blowing as ET. Personally I don't believe that aliens have contacted our government if they have visited Earth. Our government and other agencies are just not competent enough to keep it quiet for 60 years.
#12
"Hey mom theres something in the backroom
I hope its not the creatures from above
You used to read me stories
As if my dreams were boring
We all know conspiracies are dumb"
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
07/24/2008 11:26
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If NASA had access to UFO technology I suspect we'd be on Mars long ago.
If aliens came to Earth I really doubt the government, ours or any other filled with corruptible and often incompetent bureaucrats could keep things a secret for 60 years.
If aliens came to Earth I think they'd have better ways to examine patience using DNA or something more advanced and they'd forgo the Anal probing nonsense (wonder what Freud would say about all that?).
I have to assume someone in NASA is pulling the good doctors leg after they heard of your belief in ESP, etc.
Posted by: Kelly ||
07/24/2008 13:49
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#20
He slipped over to the BS psychic side of things in the 70's. He has all the analytical power, common sense and discernment of a Berkeley-ite tree-sitter.
From his bio:
Mitchell became engulfed by a profound sensation "a sense of universal connectedness." He intuitively sensed that his presence, that of his fellow astronauts, and that of the planet in the window were all part of a deliberate, universal process and that the glittering cosmos itself was in some way conscious. The experience was so overwhelming Mitchell knew his life would never be the same.
He slipped a major cog back then and has been wobbling ever since.
#22
I am so conflicted. In order to believe this support for one of my favorite conspiracy theories that UFO are real, I have to accept that this guy is credible. In order to accept he is credible, I have to ignore one of my other favorite conspiracy theories about the moon landing being faked.
Maybe this situation is presented to me as a test to see whether my brain is harvestable by the greys.
#23
These morons make this small planet circling a minor yellow dwarf star near the edge of the Milky Way galaxy look like the freakin' cross-roads of the universe.
Check pic at link, apparently, dwarves did it. Damn those dwarves!
A homemade bomb targeted a commuter bus in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding up to 20 others.
Regional military spokesman Maj. Armand Rico said the bomb exploded while the bus was parked at a terminal in Digos, near the regional centre Davao. At least three people died on the bus, which was heading to Davao, the largest city on the southern island of Mindanao. "It was an improvised bomb," Rico said. He said experts were investigating its composition to help determine who was responsible for the attack.
Elsewhere in Mindanao on Thursday, a firefight erupted between government forces and alleged members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato, a regional military spokesman said Thursday.
According to a report on GMA TV's website, government forces and 100 MILF rebels exchanged fire in the village of Aleosan in the province. No casualties were reported because fighting was continuing, Rico said.
On Tuesday, a 61-year-old woman was killed while another one was wounded when MILF guerrillas allegedly attacked civilians at a remote village also in Aleosan. But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the civilians were actually caught in a crossfire between government troops and MILF rebels. Kabalu said the fighting broke out when a group of government militiamen opened fire at MILF rebels.
Australian police have accused a Muslim charity of channelling aid to Palestinian militants through an Islamic organisation banned by Australia and the US for its alleged terrorist links.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald daily, officers raided the office of Muslim Aid Australia on Thursday and spent several hours there. The charity, which states its main aim is to address the "persistent and recurring problems of global poverty", was recently accused of involvement with the British-based group, Interpal, banned in Australia and a labelled terrorist organisation by the US.
Interpal is a Palestinian aid organisation that has been accused of funding the Islamist movement Hamas. It was reportedly investigated and cleared by the British Charity Commission twice in the past 11 years but has remained on a banned list in Australia.
An Australian media report published earlier this month said MAA had admitted using Interpal to help funnel charity money into Gaza during Israeli border closures earlier this year. However, MAA reportedly changed its statement when questioned by the charity watchdog, the Australian Council for International Development, stating there had been no involvement with Interpal.
Interpal is a British-based humanitarian group also known as the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund. It has been cleared of terror links by the British Charity Commission but failed three years ago to have its proscribed listing revoked in Australia.
According to its website, Muslim Aid was established in 1989 by concerned humanitarians that saw a need for professional Muslim relief organisation. It says 80 percent of the worlds' refugees, facing ongoing crises and disaster, come from Muslim backgrounds. Gee! It's like... muslim countries are dysfunctional.
For the first time in Morocco's history, 19 women have qualified as civil servants, pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports.
Previously only men could qualify as civil servants in Morocco.
According to the daily, the 19 women are among 107 new civil servants who qualified on Tuesday in the city of Quneitra, 40 kilometres north of the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
"The presence of women in the civil service reinforces our government's policies aimed at building a modern and democratic society where women and men are equal," said Morocco's Interior Minister Shakib Binumsi.
Binumsi vowed these and other women will in the future be able to reach senior positions in the country's civil service.
Fouzia Amansar in October 2006 became the first female governor of the prefecture of Ain Chock, Casablanca. She was appointed by to the post by King Mohammed VI.
Iran's Supreme Cultural Revolution Council headed by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared 5 August an annual international Islamic human rights day.
The conservative-dominated council also nominated 12 July as an annual 'National Virtue Day for the Veil'.
The Islamic dress code requires Muslim women to cover their bodies from head to toe.
Iran's hardline authorities last year launched a crackdown on young men and women deemed to be wearing 'immoral' western-style dress, such as short coats and sleeves, jeans or sporting 'western' haircuts.
The Islamic moralisation campaign has also targeted satellite dish owners and alcohol consumption,as well as boutiques selling western food, western music, and dog-walking.
Dogs are banned from public places, as Islam considers them impure.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/24/2008 10:03
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July 12, 1191 - Saladin's garrison surrenders, ending the two-year siege of Acre. Conrad of Montferrat, who has negotiated the surrender, raises the banners of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and of the Third Crusade leaders Richard I of England, Philip II of France, and Leopold V of Austria on the city's walls and towers.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is helping the countrys authorities fight forest fires that have broken out southeast of the capital this week.
UNIFIL on Wednesday dispatched a second helicopter after sending a first one late on Tuesday. The UN said its force responded immediately to a request from the Lebanese government to assist in the firefighting efforts, about 25 kilometres from Beirut.
Forest fires are a recurring problem in Lebanon, and devastated large tracts of woodland last year.
Italy is one of the largest contributors to UNIFIL, with 2,500 Italian peacekeeping troops deployed in Lebanon.
UNIFIL has been operating in Lebanon since 1978. After the July 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon, UN Security Resolution 1701 increased the force to some 12,300 troops.
Resolution 1701 forged a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. It authorised up to 15,000 peacekeepers to be stationed in Lebanon, supported by international and local civilian staff.
Afghan security forces and NATO-led forces were engaged in a joint operation on Thursday to retake a remote town southwest of Kabul, the NATO force said. Taliban militants captured the local government headquarters of the remote Ajristan district of Ghazni late on Sunday, part of a campaign of seizing remote outposts and forcing thinly spread security forces to respond in a game of cat-and-mouse.
The counter-operation began on Wednesday with an air strike on insurgents armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades inside the village of Ajristan, the NATO force said. "Several insurgents have been killed and wounded," it said in a statement.
"Afghan troops are stationed near Ajristan and are conducting surveillance operations to locate any Taliban hideouts so air strikes can be carried out," provincial Police Chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid told Rooters.
Taliban insurgents seized the remote town of Rashidan in Ghazni in May, patrolling the streets for some hours before withdrawing ahead of a government operation to retake it. Ghazni province is only a two-hour drive southwest from the capital, Kabul, and while not as unstable as southern provinces such as Kandahar or Helmand, the villages around the historic city of Ghazni have seen an upsurge of Taliban activity in the past two years.
an air strike on insurgents ... inside the village
So how's that brilliant plan working out?
Posted by: ed ||
07/24/2008 9:47
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#2
try Hmm.
an air strike on insurgents ... inside the village
So how's that brilliant plan working out?
Posted by: ed ||
07/24/2008 9:47
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#3
patrolling the streets for some hours before withdrawing
What a lovely euphemism for "swaggering about town until they scurried for the hills ahead of the authorities".
I guess I should just be happy that they haven't started mixing up this particular game with the alternative of "ambush the hell out of the relief column on the road into town". I wonder why they haven't yet? Are we just not getting those reports?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/24/2008 9:50
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I think we should have long ago issue out very simple commo devices, just a small box with a button on it. Then hand them out everywhere with instructions to hide the device, and that if the Taliban takes their town, to push the button, then hide it again.
And if NATO catches or kills any Taliban, whoever's box it was that alerted NATO discreetly gets money. No Taliban, no money.
If the Taliban want to play cat and mouse, this is the way to do it.
Let the Afghan army guys be the ones who hand out the boxes in the first place, and give them a percentage for every successful hit.
The pilot of an Indonesian passenger jet that crashed last year, killing 21 people, was charged Thursday with deliberately causing the disaster when he appeared in court.
Marwoto Komar, a former captain from flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, could face life in prison if convicted of the charge. He was named a suspect in February over the March 2007 crash of the Boeing 737 with 140 people on board in the central Java city of Yogyakarta.
Prosecutors Mudin Aresto and Jamin Susanto charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one of "deliberately" destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The hearing opened with the charges being read out and was then adjourned until August 4 when the defence will get a chance to reply.
Komar's lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said his client would fight the charges on the grounds that international civil aviation codes rule out criminal liability for pilots in crashes. "We will at the very least question why the pilot is being criminalised for an accident. This has not yet happened anywhere in Indonesia or in the world," Assegaf said.
"Punishing the pilot would give rise to fears among pilots that one day they could be treated as a criminal over an aircraft accident," he added. "It's impossible that a pilot could do this deliberately."
An official government report in November found Komar ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane in at roughly twice the safe speed, causing the jet to bounce and career off the runway and burst into flames in ricefields.
Four Australian government officials and an Australian journalist were among those killed in the crash while following a visit by then Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, who was on a seperate plane.
The Garuda pilot's arrest has angered Indonesian pilots, who have staged protests arguing only aviation experts and not the legal system have the right to determine who was at fault in an accident.
Komar was sacked by Garuda in February and has had his pilot's license suspended. Indonesia, which relies heavily on air links across the archipelago, has one of Asia's worst air safety records.
#3
I hadn't heard of this crash. Garuda is actually one of the better Indo airlines, perhaps because it has a lot of pilots qualified to international standards, since it does fly international routes. The purely domestic airlines are far more dangerous.
North Korea on Thursday inked a nonaggression treaty with its Southeast Asian neighbors, a move that is hoped will promote peace, security and cooperation in the region.
North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun signed the document formalizing North Korea's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia during the ceremony in Singapore, this year's chair of the meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Pak flew into Singapore to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's main security gathering, on Thursday.
On Wednesday, he took part in the informal round of six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs, at which Pyongyang agreed to disable its main nuclear facilities by the end of October.
ASEAN warmly welcomed North Korea's accession, saying it will "significantly contribute" to strengthening relations between ASEAN and the North, and also help ease tensions gripping the Korean Peninsula.
"It's a good move. We welcome it very much, and we certainly hope that it will lead to other positive developments in reducing the conflicts and ease tension in the region," said Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN director general.
Northeast Asia is one of the last regions where vestiges of the Cold War still linger, making it one of the challenges confronting the region.
Aileen S.P. Baviera, dean of the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines, said North Korea's accession is a "positive sign," seeing it as a "commitment for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the region."
"It's good. It means that North Korea is opening up and wants to have a deeper integration with not just North Asia but also its Southeast Asian neighbors," Baviera told Kyodo News in an interview.
"It will not speed up the denuclearization process because ASEAN plays a minor role in the six-party talks but it will definitely contribute," she said.
ASEAN requested in February this year that Pyongyang accede to the treaty in a bid to engage the reclusive state.
The treaty, originally signed by ASEAN members in 1976, has since expanded to include other nations. North Korea would be the 15th signatory from outside Southeast Asia.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Chinese government on Thursday dismissed allegations in a new report that it is putting pressure on neighboring Nepal to arrest ethnic-Tibetan protestors and to limit their right to hold anti-China demonstrations.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters the accusations made in a report published Thursday by the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch were inaccurate.
"We don't accept these accusations. Nepal is our good friend and neighbor. We do not put pressure on our neighbors," he said.
But Liu added that friendly countries have given the Chinese government assurances that they will not allow their territories to be used for activities which harm China, including attacks on its consulates and embassies.
Human Rights Watch says the Nepalese authorities have made more than 8,000 arrests since March when a series of anti-Chinese protests began in Nepal in the wake of riots and antigovernment demonstrations over the border in Tibet.
Most of those detained were released soon after, the report said, often with no explanation as to why they were arrested.
"Nepal's government is turning the screws on peaceful Tibetan protesters at the behest of China," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
More than 100 protestors calling for independence for Tibet were arrested in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu last Friday, according to media reports from Nepal.
More than 20,000 Tibetans live in Nepal, some having fled their homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
I met Yakov Marks during the Second Lebanon War. Yakov is an American oleh who has been living in the northern town of Maalot since the 1970's--during the war he showed me around Maalot, which came under heavy Hizbollah fire...
Today Yakov reveals what he knows about the murderer, Samir Kuntar, released least week by Israeli authorities.
Al Qaeda allies running terror camps for tots on the Afghan-Pakistan border are using video of a boy martyred in combat to recruit jihadis. The apparently lifeless body of the child, an Uzbek boy younger than 11, is the focus of the grisly half-hour video by the Islamic Jihad Union - a radical Uzbek group practically indistinguishable from Osama Bin Ladens network, according to U.S. officials.
"In a fierce battle in Waziristan between the soldiers of Allah and the friends of Satan, Abd al-Rahim was wounded by an arrow," says an Uzbek narrator, referring to a bullet or shrapnel. "They couldn't find doctors, and under these conditions it wasn't possible to treat his wound. So, our young mujahid, Abd al-Rahim, reached martyrdom," the narrator says as the camera pans over the dead boy's face shrouded in a white cloth.
The video was obtained from the terrorism research service SITE Intelligence Group. The ghastly film follows Abd al-Rahim and a dozen young boys in camouflage shirts and black headbands reading "There is no God but Allah" as they train with rocket-propelled grenades, pistols and Kalashnikov rifles.
The dead boy was "a translator between the native fighters and the mujahideen," the video says. Al Qaeda is littered with Uzbeks who marry into local Pashtun clans for protection. Many were slaughtered last year by their Pashtun hosts for abusing women, sources have said.
NATO and U.S. military officers told the Daily News its rare to find juveniles on the battlefield. Last week, a boy in a suicide vest killed himself and two Afghan soldiers in Helmand province. In early June, NATO troops "caught two IED trigger persons who were later released due to their age, ten and under," said Army 1st Lt. Nathan Perry. In May, Pakistani troops raided a compound they claimed was used to train kids as young as nine for suicide bombings in Afghanistan. But a U.S. special operations document referred to the army raid as a "ruse."
#3
This culture is unfit to continue.
What would the moral relativistic consequences of dropping Tsar Bomba on Waziristan be? It's a wash, die their way, or die our way.
Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and an all-Republican proposal cannot pass in the Democratic-controlled House.
Analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, rejecting inflated Defense Department voting claims, estimated overseas and absentee military voting for the 2006 midterm elections at a disgracefully low 5.5 percent. The quality of voting statistics is so poor that there is no way to tell how many of the slightly over 330,000 votes actually were sent in by the absentee military voters and their dependents and how many by civilian Americans living abroad -- 6 million all total.
Nobody who has studied the question objectively sees any improvement since 2006, and that is a scandal. Retired U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Charles Henry wrote in the July issue of the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings: "While virtually everyone involved ... seems to agree that military people deserve at least equal opportunity when it comes to having their votes counted, indications are that in November 2008, many thousands of service members who try to vote will do so in vain." Henry, now an independent broadcast journalist, has personal experience with this enduring scandal. While serving as a Marine at sea off Iran, he received his 1980 presidential ballot too late to count. President Harry Truman said of troops fighting in Korea, "The least we at home can do is to make sure that they are able to enjoy the rights they are being asked to fight to preserve." But the U.S. military that has so perfected the art of war over the past half-century is at a loss to enable soldiers to vote.
A combat officer has enough to do without handling the votes of troopers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Defense Department Inspector General's report in March last year recommended "appointment of civilian personnel" as "voting assistance officers." The Pentagon brass rejected the idea. I reported four years ago that the problems of 2000 overseas military voting had not been corrected for the 2004 presidential election. At that time, Under Secretary of Defense David Chu was put in charge of the problem. During massive turnover at the Pentagon, Chu remains in place -- best known among critics of the military vote problem for his chronic failure to return telephone calls.
Congressional attention to the problem has been scattered and limited mostly to Republicans such as Sen. John Cornyn, who earlier this year decried "a lack of will" at the Pentagon to solve the voting problem. Democratic interest about tackling the problem might be tempered by apprehension that soldiers will cast too many Republican votes. Nevertheless, at least one prominent Democrat -- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer -- described himself to me as eager to deal with this problem. (Hoyer's home state of Maryland is one of the worst offenders, with ballots of only 4.1 percent of overseas voters counted in 2006.) Hoyer and Blunt, who have become friendly adversaries in a bitterly partisan Congress, conferred several weeks ago and agreed in principle on co-sponsoring a resolution aimed at getting the Defense Department moving.
Hoyer wanted the resolution to cover expatriate Americans as well as the military, and Blunt did not object. They turned the issue over to their staffers and went about the business of major legislation. Blunt had instructed his staff to seek agreement with Democrats but, if not, to introduce a resolution applying only to the military, which was the outcome. One presidential staffer who is familiar with the situation privately dismisses the Pentagon bureaucrats as "hopeless." In a lame-duck administration counting the days before a troubled eight years finally end, American fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan deprived of their right to vote constitute the least of White House worries.
#2
Except for those the MSM finds to quote in their 'news' articles, Grom.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/24/2008 6:21
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#3
And the worst thing is, they are fighting and dying so that people (here and there) can vote.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/24/2008 6:22
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#4
But the U.S. military that has so perfected the art of war over the past half-century is at a loss to enable soldiers to vote.
Bull@hit. The US military has THOUSANDS of people every election year who work their backsides off to insure the troops know when and how to vote (Believe me - it's a metric, and the Higher-ups DO keep track of this stuff.) It's the party-controlled voting agencies back home that do everything in their power to keep the people who defend freedom from enjoying it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/24/2008 6:34
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#5
That party is just plain evil. EVIL.
Democrats will do anything but the right thing.
It is a party of sell outs and liars. There is nothing more racist, sexist, arrogant, two faced, hysterical, stupid, ignorant, or empty than a democrat in this time.
I think I will drift away from the US now. None of youse are making any sense at all anymore.
That criminal media empire and their coffers are setting up the downfall.
Such a shame to lose the only sane nation on the planet. hmm, what to do?
Get the groups that send care packages to the troops to enclose absentee ballots to the units from specific states. That is what I will work on here in New York and I will press for our other state coordinators to do the same in their states. If we make up some generic stamps which can be filled in by the troops with Date, APO# and location that should bypass the postmark problem in years past. After that it is just a matter of the mail getting back to the US in time.
DanNY
NY State Coordinator
Gathering of Eagles
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/24/2008 8:07
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#7
If you think the Democrats give a bloody damn about the soldier vote, take a hard look at the length of time Obama spent on the ground and with troops in theater. And to top it off, he "Agrees to Disagree" with General Petreaus. Believe me, he knows the deal.
#8
IIRC, the Dems made a targeted effort in 2000 in Florida to challenge military adsentee ballots. The ballots were inspected for any minute blemishes or marks on the ballots and then some high priced lawyers would argue that this was a "spoiled ballot" that shouldn't be counted.
Mayor Daly of Chicago was in charge of the effort.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/24/2008 11:27
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#9
They don't give a shit about people who may vote republican. They're too busy trying to get convicted felons the right to vote from prison.
#10
Unit Voting Officer. Been there, seen it, done it. You can't make them vote, but you can certainly make sure there's nothing on the DoD side that stopping the servicemember and that he/she has all the materials and gets what they need. Ask Mr. Gore about actions at the local level to obstruct it.
#11
The dems would do well to remember that members of the military are not their personal guards or slaves.
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
TIKRIT, Iraq -- More than 1,100 former fighters have reconciled with Iraqi Security and Coalition forces in the Salah ad Din province since May.
Musalahah, meaning reconciliation in Arabic, is a combined effort between the Qadah level Government of Iraq, the leadership of the Iraqi Police, the 4th Iraqi Army Division and the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. By turning themselves into the Joint Coordination Centers across the province, Iraqis are seeking to clear their names. Men who are thought to have committed crimes are given a court date, so they can plead their cases before an Iraqi judge.
The city of Balad and its outlying areas, once wracked by violence, has seen nearly 700 men reconcile with the Iraqi government.
"Former fighters in the Balad Qadah have stepped forward to reconcile with their fellow countrymen, and 76 of them have been given court dates to appear before an Iraqi judge," said Lt. Col. Bob McCarthy, a 32nd Cavalry Regiment squadron commander. "This is a key step in reestablishing their ties to the communities, rejoining their families in their homes and becoming active participants in Iraq's future."
As a result of the mass reconciliation in the Balad area, McCarthy's Soldiers, along with Iraqi Army soldiers and Police, have been led to multiple weapons caches by those who have reconciled.
As in Balad, the provincial capital of Tikrit and the Sunni dominated enclave of ad Dwar, has had similar success with the reconciliation process. More than 400 men have reconciled in the area.
Over the last few days, the number of Iraqis wishing to reconcile has doubled in the restive city of Bayji. "The people of Salah ad Din have seen the worst that al-Qaeda has to offer and have rejected criminal wholesale," said Lt. Col. John King, 1st BCT deputy commander. "The provincial leadership is serious about rebuilding the province and the country."
BALAD, Iraq -- Since the beginning of July, three highly sought after suspected terrorists have surrendered to Iraqi Security and Coalition forces.
An emir of the Sinjar area Islamic State of Iraq, a front organization for al-Qaeda in Iraq, surrendered to the Iraqi Army for reconciliation in Kisik July 5, about 43 km west of Mosul. The suspect is reportedly involved in terrorist and foreign fighter facilitation and a leader of rocket and improvised explosive device cells.
In Rutbah, a suspected AQI emir of the Rutbah region turned himself in to Coalition forces. The suspect is known to facilitate foreign fighters, weapons and narcotics. He is said to be well-connected to AQI networks in various regions and finances criminal groups coming into Iraq. He is also associated with another AQI emir in the area reportedly responsible for executing members of the Iraqi government and Iraqi Security Forces, smuggling, hijacking, and carjacking.
A suspected terrorist cell leader surrendered to U.S. Special Forces July 19 in Sinjar, approximately 114 km west of Mosul, following an operation to detain him at his home two days prior. The suspect is reportedly an immediate subordinate to the ISI emir who turned himself in July 5 and related to a Syrian-based financier for ISI and AQI.
This article starring:
Kisik
Mosul
Rutbah
Sinjar
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC ||
07/24/2008
03:58 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#6
And if the past is a pattern to be repeated, they surrender, are released in about two years for cooperating, quietly assume another name, apply for a visa and relocate with their families, where they get housing, healthcare, and other assistance to establish a new life in the West. With 25,000 Iraqis rewarded for "assisting" the US in the next 5 years, in addition to their wives and children plus the 12,000 refugees already approved by September paid for by Uncle Sam, why would anyone have to trust traffickers or stay behind to rebuild ein-hellhole?
#7
re #6. Not a bad resolution until you get to the PC acceptance into the US. And that one is on us to resolve. Can't blame the Iraqi's for using our own system. They aren't as stupid as some of our politicians.
This is a bit like our own Civil War in that if there is no forgiveness there is no peace (easier said than done though).
BAGHDAD During a visit to the area July 19, Brig. Gen. Jeffery Buchanan, deputy commanding general for operations for Multi-National Division Center, met with Brig. Gen. Jabbar Nama, deputy commander for the 10th Iraqi Army Division, to discuss operations and the future well-being of Maysan Province.
In the four weeks since Operation First Signs of Peace began in Maysan Province, the Iraqi Security Forces are successfully maintaining just that - peace.
During their month-long presence in al-Amarah, battalions from the 10th IA Div. have not seen a single gunfight, not one improvised explosive device attack, nor received any indirect fire. They continue searching for caches and criminals in the area with support from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
The most important thing out here is to cut off or interdict the flow of munitions that flow in from Iran up to Baghdad. And for one thing, with the ISF we can do that pretty well, said Lt. Col. Edward Bohnemann, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th BCT.
Buchanan wants to help the 10th IA Div. by improving senior leadership who can mentor, teach and support their fighting forces. He also discussed bringing Military Transition Teams down to Camp Sparrowhawk to train with Jabbars men.
Operations in al-Amarah began June 19. In a matter of days, IA and Iraqi Police detained approximately 200 criminals and collected more than 220 weapon caches. ISF found the caches in homes, businesses and public areas throughout the city of Amarah, containing 2,262 mortar rounds, 1,034 mines, 971 artillery rounds, 749 rocket-propelled grenades, 598 rockets, 259 missile launchers, 176 improvised explosive devices, 259 grenades, 43 DSHKA barrels, 141 explosively formed penetrators and 22 missiles.
All of this without a single shot fired.
The Government of Iraq offered Shiite extremists and local citizens an amnesty period prior to the operation. Citizens who turned over weapon caches to ISF would not be arrested. The Iraqi Government also gave extremist forces the option to turn themselves in peacefully. Military leaders visited with Tribal Sheikhs of the area and encouraged them to enforce tribal laws that would maintain peace.
Throughout the operation, ISF took the initiative in planning and executing the mission. Now, six battalions under the 10th IA Div. maintain stability in Maysan by manning checkpoints, performing ground reconnaissance and conducting other security measures.
AMARA, Iraq -- It wasn't yet dawn, and the Iraqi army unit was already behind schedule. It was about to launch a major operation against another cluster of towns overrun by Shiite Muslim militiamen, and this time American forces would remain at the rear of the convoy, behind their Iraqi counterparts.
The troops mustered in darkness, relying for light on the headlamps of Iraqi Humvees, refurbished U.S. vehicles now crudely painted over with the red, white and black Iraqi flag. Some Iraqi soldiers weren't wearing armor. Fewer were wearing helmets. The brigade commander was riding in an unarmored pickup. His handgun was in its holster; his walking cane by his seat.
The 40-vehicle convoy was about to leave the base when the commander, Brig. Gen. Nabil Yassin Azadi, ordered everyone to stop. "Where is the map? How could you forget the map?" he screamed at his subordinates.
Continued on Page 49
#2
No worries!
McClatchy's agents are always there to spin any innocuous operation into an image of American imperialism or Iraqi incompetence.
As long as they are in-country we will have a steady diet of such negative drivel.
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/24/2008 7:46
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#3
McClatchy is as bad or worse than the AP - lying MFers on the B-team
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/24/2008 8:17
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#4
Azadi is Persian for freedom. Funny name for an Iraki Arab.
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama visited the rocket-battered southern town of Sderot on Wednesday, where he said that the entire world must act to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. "A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Obama stated.
The Illinois senator also warned that a situation in which Iran had achieved this capability would be "game-changing."
"Not just in the Middle East, but around the world," he added. "Whatever remains of our Non-Proliferation Treaty would begin to disintegrate."
Obama vowed that as president he would not force Israel into making concessions that would put the country in danger for the sake of the peace process. "I don't think that Ms. Livni or Mr. Barak or Bibi [Opposition leader Benjamin] Netanyahu or the others, President Peres, when they spoke to me today got any sense that I would be pressuring them to accept any kinds of concession that would put their security at stake," he said in answer to a question from a journalist.
Later in the day he meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for dinner, at which point he told reporters that he had found among the Palestinians "a strong sense that progress is being made and honest conversations are taking place" in the peace talks. "Indeed, that's right," answered Olmert, who has pursued several diplomatic initiatives even as a corruption probe threatens to force him from office.
At the Sderot press conference, Obama said that Israel had every right to defend itself against attacks on its civilians, referring to the Qassam rockets that plagued the southern town and neighboring communities until a recent cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers. "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything in power to stop that, and would expect Israelis to do the same thing," he said.
In Gaza, Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum called Obama's remarks part of the American policy of bias toward Israel and giving legitimacy to Israeli crimes against our people.
The presidential hopeful was accompanied on his Sderot stop by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
FREEREPUBLIC > ISRAELNN - ISRAEL AT GREATEST THREAT/RISK TO NATIONAL SURVIVAL SINCE 1948; + IRAN-DAILY > RUSSIA TO DEPLOY NUKES IN CUBA. Unclear iff LR Bombers only, versus LR Bombers + NucWeaps; + IRGC, BASILJ READY FOR ANY EVENTUALITIES.
#3
TOPIX > AHMADINEJAD: IRAN HAS THE CAPABILITY TO BECOME A SUPERPOWER; + KAGAN: ONLY WAY TO STOP IRAN ENRICHMENT IS TO ATTACK; + BREZINZKI: US ATTACK ON IRAN MEANS DISASTER WITH FOUR FRONTS, TWENTY MORE YEARS OF WAR AGZ MILITANTS.
OTOH, RIAN > Pert versus Pert > Russian MilBases in Venezuela is UNLIKELY due to lack of resources by Russ to support them, versus Russ should open a "SPY FACILITY"? in Cuba to keep track of US GMD.
#9
Obama is a master of semantics. By the World, he means the UN. Half-bright is even one of his advisors. In the Bin Ladens of Kosovo article yesterday, they touted their tolerance of Muslims and Catholics as a workable model, explaining why new mosques were dotting the landscape yet western dress and smut prevailed. An excerpt: After the war many humanitarian organizations came here, in general from the Gulf Kuwait, Qatar, others. We havent had rules, we havent had a government. All things have been under the U.N., so they opened the door to these kind of organizations. They operated legally. We couldnt have control. Why? Because they have the money.
Any worldly UN solution will be the demise of the whole world.
#11
Trailing wife, the world will accomplish this by doing nothing (or selling equipment through the Iranian back door) until the US acts, and then berating us for our militarism. That is there plan, I'm curious how long it takes Obama to figure it out.
#12
I don't know how anybody can trust this guy with anything let alone Iran. I watched his interview with Charlie Gibson on ABC news last night. In fairness, it looked to me anyway like Gibson was trying to ask tough questions and had Obama tripping up a bit. The guy is nowhere near being ready for prime time. My problem is that I still don't trust McCain either. It sucks.
#13
Choose the lesser of two evils, dear Ebbang Uluque6305. That's all that our 'first past the post' political system ever results in.
Jon Stewart of the Daily Show thoroughly mocked Candidate Obama's Tour of Duty last night, and the worshipping press trailing behind, so this is not going unnoticed where it counts.
#14
...where he said that the entire world must act to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. "A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,"
Sure hope the voters come to their senses and get over the "love in" with BO. This guy is not ready for prime time (or for that matter late, late night). Obama, the world is not going to do anything about a nuclear Iran other than wring their hands. Should you, God forbid get to be President, it will be up to you to figure out something. No time for naivite, conflict resolution, community organization, and timidity. Iran says they will use a nuclear capability when they get it. You will be in the catbird seat and actually have to do something. How are you going to prevent Iran from obtaining nukes? So far Iran has lied and been duplicitous while buying for time. Sanctions against Iran are working about as well as they did against Iraq under Saddam. Negotiations are going nowhere. What makes you think you are so much smarter than everyone else? What makes you think you can bring about change? As the saying goes: "Spit in one hand and hope in the other and see which fills up more quickly."
#15
This statement now from the guy who said that Iran poses no significant threat to us and he'd sit down to talk directly with Achmedinajad...Oh right - that was during the primary!
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his legal team relayed on Wednesday that they are willing to undergo a polygraph test to prove that they did not leak material from the graft probe against the premier dubbed the "envelopes affair."
Olmert's attorney, Eli Zohar, has handed over to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz a list of 26 people who were exposed to the investigation's material, in response to a request to do so by Mazuz. The attorney general has also asked for a similar list from the attorney representing Shula Zaken, the prime minister's former bureau chief.
The probe is into suspicions that Olmert illicitly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jewish American millionaire Morris Talansky over the course of 15 years.
Mazuz's move came after Olmert lodged a complaint with him on Monday about the leaks. On the prime minister's behalf, Zohar requested Mazuz promptly launch a probe to find out who gave the media transcripts of Olmert's police questioning. "The leaks from the prime minister's investigation have crossed all boundaries," Zohar wrote.
The State Comptroller's Office on Wednesday reportedly began a comprehensive investigation into the use of wiretaps by interviewing Chief Superintendent Gadi Siso, head of the wiretapping department at national police headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
I would like to play 20 questions if he is going to be hooked up.
(Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday refused to comment on a initiative proposed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to exchange prisoners with Israel.
"There is a decision in the movement not to speak about anything related to the negotiations over the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who is held in Gaza Strip, in order to achieve the swap under the Egyptian sponsorship," said Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesman.
Radwan added that the negotiations to exchange Shalit for a number of Palestinian prisoners are halted despite the Arab and international mediation efforts.
Hamas demands Israel to free 1,000 prisoners, including 450 who serve life sentences in exchange for Shalit's return. Hamas also wants Israel to release all women, children and old detainees.
Radwan revealed that Israel has earlier accepted to free about 70 prisoners out of the 450 and latest reports said that Israel has agreed to release 300.
He also ruled out the option of holding direct talks with Israel on the swap as Carter's initiative suggested.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday refused to comment on a initiative proposed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to exchange prisoners with Israel.
Oh my aching balls. Will this senile old coot hurry up and die.
Pakistani and British security agencies are looking for a suspected female terrorist, traveling with children, who may enter the United Kingdom through Pakistan, sources told Daily Times on Wednesday.
The British authorities had declared "red alert" at Heathrow Airport on Monday and Tuesday, the sources said, adding that Pakistani security personnel checked a UK-bound flight at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport following the reports.
The security forces searched passengers on-board the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-757, the sources said. On the directions of the security agencies the plane parked away from the airport's building. The security personnel especially searched women who were traveling along with children.
A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official at the airport said the security agencies used sniffing dogs for the identification-and-search operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official at the airport said the security agencies used sniffing dogs for the identification-and-search operation.
(VOI) -- A civilian was wounded when mortar shells fell on the headquarters of the emergency police forces in Mosul city, a local police source said on Wednesday . "Four mortar rounds targeted the emergency police headquarters in al-Wahda neighborhood, southeastern Mosul," a police source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI). "The attack caused minor damage to three police vehicles, which were inside the headquarters," the source noted, adding that the wounded was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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(VOI) -- Iraqi army forces arrested nine wanted men and seized five smuggling boats and amounts of weapons and ammunitions during a wide-scale security operation on early Wednesday in Basra, the spokesman for the Iraqi army said.
"An Iraqi army force waged a security raid in Abu al-Khasieb region's villages, southern Basra, near the borders with Iran, and in al-Zubeir region in western Basra, near the borders with Kuwait," Colonel Abbas al-Tamemi told Aswat al-Iraq -- Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The operation aimed to prevent weapons and drug smuggling and to hunt down wanted men in these areas," he also said. "Nine wanted men were arrested and five smuggling boats and amounts of weapons, including 82 Kalashnikovs and three BKC guns as well as amounts of explosives were seized during the operation," he explained. "The operation still under way," he noted.
This article starring:
Abu al-Khasieb
al-Zubeir region
Basra
Colonel Abbas al-Tamemi
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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[11 views]
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#1
Wanted man in al-Kadera
Wanted man in Basra too
Wanted man in Mosul
for blowin' up a school
-- Johnny al-Kash
The Israel Defense Forces' head of Halacha (Jewish Law) has said that religious soldiers should be exempt from participating in army ceremonies that include appearances by female singers.
Rabbi Maj. Menachem Perle's stated this after a female singer from the army band sang a number of songs at a rehearsal for the final ceremony for a course of soldiers from the Kfir infantry brigade, which includes the religious Nahal Haredi battalion and a number of platoons of students from Jewish seminaries.
One of the soldiers present at the ceremony later posted a question to the military rabbi via the Web site Yeshiva, asking if it was permissible by Jewish law to remain in the audience during the appearance of the female singer.
He also pointed out that a number of religious soldiers had left the hall when the female singer came up to the stage during the ceremony.
Perle said the prohibition on listening to female singers was based on the halachic ruling that kol haisha arve (the voice of a woman is shameful, or sexual). "According to the letter of the law there is no way to permit religious soldiers to listen to a female singer, even in a military ceremony," Rabbi Maj. Perle said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
Don't a lot of these hyper-religious types also use their religion to get out of both work and fighting?
Also, stone cars of other Jews as they have some sort of problem with cars?
#2
Yes they do, 3dc. Although I believe the stoning is of those cars driving through their neighborhood on the Sabbath, but I could be wrong. They are idiots, and that Israel indulges such behaviour is idiotic as well.
#3
Wrong TW. You confuse ultra-orthodox (who are anti-Zionist: "Jews should wait for Messiah, not do things for themselves") with zionist-orthodox who are overrepresented in the combat units of the military.
#6
That's right Darth. The soldier in question didn't demand that the female singer be removed. He didn't demand that she'll be dressed "decently", just requested to be excused. Can you grasp the difference?
Can you grasp the difference between a liberal, integrated democratic society and the ridged and segregated religion?
Or are you too busy banging your head on the floor?
Western nations and democratic and free societies bring all people together. All men (see humans) are created equal. The fact that during ceremonies that celebrate this integration, people still can't get over their primitive beliefs. They want to teach that watching women sing is bad, fine. But during a celebration of a unit comprised of ALL of Israel, it is intolerable and should be scorned.
Can you grasp that difference, g(r)omgoru? Can you?
#10
The babylonia talmud contains a statement (Berakhot 24a) that a woman's voice is indecent.
The context of this remark is within a discussion about reciting the proclamation of faith (a.k.a. the Shema).
The haredi world has run with this and in some places women do not even join in the communal grace after meals out loud (but I think they do say 'amen' after the benedictions within it - because that's not singing).
The modern orthodox world generally considers the provision to be a "well in the society that prevailed in the talmudic era, it was reasonable to supress the singing of women for the pleasure of men; however, that's not so now".
#11
Fanatics, they can all go straight to hell, no matter the religion. There is a big difference between excusing yourself and trying to prevent others from doing what they want.
#14
Can you grasp the difference between a liberal, integrated democratic society and the ridged and segregated religion?
A liberal (in the old sence) society respects personal choice as long as it doesn't harm others. The soldier in question should no more be forced to listen to a female singer than I should be forced to attend Sabath prayer. Or you should be forced [fill in].
Most interpreters assume that Miriam and the women sang without men; that Miriam would sing a verse and the other women would sing a verse and that this was going on during the same time that Moses was leading the menfolk in his song.
Interestingly, because the Talmud statement is in the singular, even the Haredi are more lenient when it comes to a group of women singing (the voices of many women at once might not be indecent).
Personally, I have for many years admired Miriam for this because her version of the song is short and sweet. That's what I told visitors to our seder earlier this year when I display our "Miriam's cup" next to the Elijah's cup.
and in case you were wondering, the Song of Deborah in the b of Judges would have been heard by men and would have been the voice of a single woman
however, apparently, prophets and judges get to do things on a one-time basis that would be illegal otherwise; e.g., Elijah making offerings at Mt Tabor (when its supposed to be at the Temple), Pinhas killing Zimri extra-judicially, etc.
Three people including two women were killed and six others injured in shooting at Kabal tehsil of Swat district on Wednesday, police said. According to police officials, unidentified men opened fire on a car near Manja. Several members of the same family were killed and injured. Those killed were identified as Sardar Ali, Naseem Bahadar, and Zarwali. The injured have been shifted to Saidu Sharif Hospital for treatment, according to APP.
"So den Sonny an' da boyz pulls up to da toll boot', but den dere's dis car in front of dem, an' den dere's anudder car in back o' dem, so Sonny pulls his gat an' hollers 'It's a trap, boyz!', but it wuz too late. Sonny, Butch, Muggsy -- in da boneyard. Ratso, Spike, Greasy Joe, an' de udder button men, dey're off to da stitch factory for some intensive care."
This article starring:
Kabal tehsil
Manja
Swat district
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Mourners in Syria buried dozens of guerillas killed fighting Israel over the years after their remains were returned Wednesday as part of a deal between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel.
Relatives waiting at Syria's border with Lebanon showered the coffins with rice and rose petals. Black-clad Muslim women among the thousands of Syrians and Palestinians in the crowd uttered cries of joy as they watched the convoy snake toward the Syrian capital, Damascus, for a burial ceremony.
Israel returned the remains of nearly 200 Arab fighters to Lebanon last week in a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah. Israel also released five Lebanese prisoners. In return, Hezbollah returned the remains of two Israeli soldiers the group captured in a cross-border raid that triggered the 2006 war.
On Wednesday, 114 of the slain fighters were returned to Syria. Most of the dead were Palestinians and Syrians. There were also eight Tunisians, three Libyans, an Iraqi and a Nigerian. The were transported from Lebanon to Syria after Hezbollah identified the remains.
By also seeking the return of non-Lebanese fighters in the deal, Hezbollah sought to broaden its support among all Arabs, not just Lebanese Shiite Muslims.
A young Libyan man who came to collect the remains of his father, killed 19 years ago while carrying out an attack in Israel, said he was thankful for Hezbollah's effort in the negotiations. "I feel proud. We have waited a long time for this moment," said the 20-year-old, Ibrahim Ali Nonsah.
The coffins, covered with wreaths and Palestinian and Syrian flags, were trucked across the border to a ceremony attended by representatives of the Syrian government and radical Palestinian factions based in Damascus.
Some of the slain fighters were buried later at a cemetery in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus. Tens of thousands of mourners waved Palestinian flags and shouted for the killings to be avenged.
Others will be buried elsewhere in Syria. The remains of the other Arab fighters will be handed over to their governments.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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(VOI) -- A joint Iraqi-U.S. force on Wednesday arrested 24 al-Qaeda fighters in al-Muqdadiya suburb, northeastern Baaquba city, said a source from Diala province's police. "Iraqi-U.S. forces arrested 24 al-Qaeda fighters in a joint operation in the villages of al-Chaqchaq and Balor in al-Muqdadiya suburb," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) on condition of anonymity. The source did not mention any further details.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
this is in advance of the advertised Aug 1 major operation
(VOI) - A military spokesman on Wednesday said Security forces arrested 65 wanted men and seized quantities of weapons during a fresh offensive launched in Babel. "A force from Iraqi army 8th division conducted a large-scale operation in al-Haswa district, north Babel, capturing65 wanted individuals and 300 weapons pieces along with stockpiles of weapons and ammunitions", Brig. Gen. Mohamed al-Askari, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq(VOI).
Earlier a military source said "in coordination with the Multi-National Force (MNF), joint forces from the Iraqi army and police conducted a raid-and-search campaign in the areas of al-Haswa and al-Qarya al-Asriya, al-Iskandriya district. "Fifty wanted individuals were arrested and 300 pieces of weapons and a cache of small and medium fire arms were seized during the operation," the source noted.
Earlier today, a wide-scale security operation codenamed Knights' Leap was launched in Hilla with the aim of tracking down gunmen in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
Around 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen are poised to launch a military assault in Diyala province, a bastion of al-Qaeda fighters, from August 1, army and police officers say. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, al-Qaeda and militias who are still there," a senior Iraqi military officer told AFP.
He said around 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen from various parts of the country would take part in the crackdown in the central Iraq province starting on August 1.
Senior Iraqi police officials in Baquba, the capital of Diyala, confirmed the assault would start on August 1. "It will be an operation led by the Iraqi army. The US army will probably only watch ... If they need help, we'll help them. If not, we will not do anything," a US military officer said.
Iraq's interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf announced on July 13 that the Iraqi military would launch an assault in Diyala but did not specify the date.
He said troops expected tough fighting during the assault.
Diyala and its capital Baquba are Iraq's most dangerous regions with insurgents regularly carrying out attacks, including by female suicide bombers.
The assault in Diyala follows similar Iraqi military operations in the southern provinces of Basra and Maysan, and the northern province of Nineveh.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
The magic number of 30,000 means that this is not just a lark, it is a Corps-level operation. Nobody else in the ME, except Israel, can mount even Division-level operations. The best they can do are Brigade-level ops.
Even though other nations organize by Divisions, they are paper Divisions. Four Brigades under Divisional command can usually whip twice their number of separate Brigades. Division ops are that powerful. And organizing two Division commands under Corps operations would make them almost unbeatable against separate Brigades.
That is, the eight Brigades with Division and Corps command, could probably whip 12 or 15 equally armed separate Brigades.
Iran can muster about 12 Divisions in its army, and maybe 20 untrained IRGC infantry Divisions, that are pretty worthless except for human wave attacks.
If Iraq has its complement of 13 Divisions, of which it has three or four competent Corps commands, it will be able to kick seven bells out of the Iranian military and IRGC.
And if we have given their pilots good training in the US, as I expect we have, maybe equipped with some good fighter aircraft, no contest.
#2
Iran can muster about 12 Divisions in its army, and maybe 20 untrained IRGC infantry Divisions, that are pretty worthless except for human wave attacks.
You're referring to the Baseej* (volunteers). The IRGC at this point probably has better training, funding and equipment than the regular Iranian military. They're also a lot more corrupt than the regular forces (something to keep in mind).
* the Baseej also have at least two trained heavy-weapons units staioned in the north, reportedly battalion sized and trained for urban combat.
(VOI) -- Iraqi security forces captured four wanted persons believed to belong to al-Qaeda network in western the Iraqi capital, Baghdad's operations commander said on Wednesday. "A quick response force arrested four al-Qaeda members in al-Khadraa neighborhood during a security operation there," according to a statement released by the command and received by Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI). "The operation was carried out following intelligence reports about the activities of those arrested," the statement said, noting that the arrests were made without damage or casualties on the forces' side.
This article starring:
al-Khadraa neighborhood
Baghdad
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
The intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been put on high alert based on the news that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud has prepared a hit list of around 300 high-profile figures, including political leaders.
"Of course this type of information is received from time to time," said CID Chief DIG Saud Mirza, adding that the country was still under threat. "We are in coordination with all the intelligence agencies." Source close to an intelligence agency said that it was assumed that the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party (ANP), anti-Taliban Shia, Sunni clerics, personnel from the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, officials from the interior and provincial ministries and journalists could be targeted by the Pakistani Taliban. Their families were also believed to be at risk.
The MQM leadership was also informed by the LEAs when Jundullah members were arrested on charges of attacking the then corps commander of Karachi Lt Gen Ahsan Hayat. During interrogations, these men confessed that they targeted the party's leadership as its members were perceived as 'American agents'.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Pakistan's security forces made a rare arrest of a senior Afghan Taliban commander near Quetta on Saturday, Pakistani security officials and coalition forces in Afghanistan told Reuters.
A statement issued by British forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday said Mullah Rahim, operational commander of Taliban forces in Helmand, had surrendered to "authorities in Pakistan".
Western officials in the past have suspected the Pakistani security services of turning a blind eye to the presence of Taliban leaders in Quetta. "We've seen signs of change, yes, and arrests," said an official in Islamabad earlier this week.
Pakistan had still to confirm Rahim's capture, but Pakistani security officials, who had requested anonymity, had told Reuters on Monday that a suspect believed to have been the Taliban commander in Helmand had been caught over the weekend.
Raid: They said the man had been caught during a raid on a house in Kharotabad, Quetta. "We conducted a raid three days ago based on very credible information that some important Taliban figures were hiding with an Afghan family there," a senior intelligence official said.
Western allies suffering mounting casualties among troops in Afghanistan have put Pakistan under pressure to act against Taliban taking sanctuary on its territory.
The intensity of the pressure and more frequent US drone aircraft missile attacks on militant targets in Pakistani Tribal Areas have led to frenzied speculation in the Pakistani media that Western forces in Afghanistan could soon take unilateral action.
Deployment of more NATO troops near the Pakistan border has prompted fears they could be ordered across on "hot pursuit" or covert missions to eliminate "high value targets".
Pakistan opposes any such action that would violate its sovereignty and risk escalating the conflict in ethnic Pashtun lands straddling the frontier.
Taliban leader killed: The British statement said that hours after Rahim's arrest in Pakistan British forces killed another senior Taliban leader, the third in as many weeks. Abdul Razaq, alias Mullah Sheikh, was killed along with three fighters in a missile strike after midnight on Sunday at Musa Qala, a town in Helmand that has changed hands several times.
Similar successes have been trumpeted in the past, and Taliban sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Rahim had already been replaced by Mullah Nayeem as commander in Helmand.
Last December, the Afghan Defence Ministry said Mullah Rahim Akhond, the Taliban's governor for Helmand, and Mullah Mateen Akhond, district governor in Musa Qala, had been caught.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
So are they gonna give him up? Or did he come in for a little R&R?
#2
Meh. While I don't think Obama's actually visiting Pakistan, ISI producing another live body to make State turn sweet whenever there's an American VIP in the region is a trick which is getting pretty damned cliche.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/24/2008 10:06
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Miliksultanpur (Malda), July 23: A BSF jawan about to go on leave was shot dead by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in this border village at dawn today, sparking off a fierce exchange of fire throughout the day. BDR bullets also hit a villager in the leg. Miliksultanpur is located on the border in Kaliachak, around 45km from Malda town. The BDR firing is being interpreted by the BSF as retaliation to an incident near the border at Nimtita in the adjacent Murshidabad district last Thursday in which an injured Indian jawan shot and killed two Bangladesh border guards.
Sitaram Rawat, the company commandant of the BSFs 123 Battalion posted in Maldas Mahadipur, said the BDR suddenly opened fire about 5.30am today, killing K.G. Sudershan, 40, a jawan with the Indian border guards. The jawan was hit by several bullets on his chest and back and he died while being taken to the Malda district hospital, said Rawat. The injured villager, Sunil Mondol, has been admitted to the same hospital with a wound on his left leg.
Malda district magistrate Chittaranjan Das said Sudershan was supposed to go back to his home in Kerala today. He had served the paramilitary force for nearly two decades, said Das.
Rawat claimed that there was a connection between the incidents in Nimtita and Miliksultanpur. In Nimtita, the BDR had first shot and injured our jawan, who was challenging cattle smugglers. He retaliated and killed two of them. Todays incident is an instance of revenge killing. The commandant added that the firing was planned. The BDR men were hiding in a field of corn in plainclothes and suddenly started firing at our jawans, he said.
Additional BSF personnel armed with mortars, machine guns and grenades were sent to Miliksultanpur after todays incident. The entire border has been sealed and traffic along the road to the trade post of Mahadipur on the Bangladesh border has been stopped.
Local MLA Biswanath Ghosh said he had a narrow escape when he visited the spot later in the day. I was greeted by a hail of bullets and had to return quickly, Ghosh said. The commandant of the BSF camp at Kahnchantar, D. Khare, said his car was also caught in gunfire from the Bangladesh side when he arrived at Miliksultanpur. We had to drive off the road to avoid getting hit, Khare said.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/24/2008
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#1
Jawans.... aren't they the little dudes in the robes that sell droids?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
07/24/2008 21:52
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President al-Bashir of Sudan, who was charged last week with masterminding a campaign of rape and genocide in Darfur, flew into the war-ravaged region yesterday, claiming the role of peacemaker and revelling in a hero's welcome from his supporters.
Waving his cane in the air, Mr al-Bashir climbed on to a rickety desk before thousands of cheering men and wailing women who had gathered in the town of El Fasher, North Darfur, to hear him speak.
First they had to watch him dance. The President's face broke into a wide smile and he jiggled from side to side as a pop song praising his virtues boomed from speakers all around the dusty bowl. "We are for peace and the President/ Bashir is our leader," the jangling chorus went. Around him Zaghawa tribesmen on camels raised their whips in approval.
Mr al-Bashir faces ten charges brought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) relating to an alleged campaign of extermination against three Darfur tribes. His two-day tour of the region was being promoted as a peace mission, however, and he told his audience that the ICC had no right to investigate him.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
(Xinhua) -- Osama bin Laden's former driver has heard the al-Qaida leader express satisfaction with the death toll of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the U.S. which was more than his expectation, according to a news report on Wednesday.
Citing a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, the Washington Post report said that the arrested driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, told U.S. interrogators at the Guantanamo detention center bin Laden was "happy about the results" of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000, while his expectation on the death toll was "only" 1,000 to 1,500.
The agent, Ali Soufan, also told Hamdan's military trial that during an interrogation in 2002, the driver said he had directly witnessed a meeting on Sept. 11, 2001, in Kabul, Afghanistan, between bin Laden and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, self-claimed mastermind of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when the al-Qaida leader praised the 19 suicide hijackers-to-be for "their courage."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG > GORDON BROWN:UK TO BEGIN WITHDRAWING TROOPS FROM IRAQ IN EARLY 2009; + SEVEN YEARS LATER AND STILL NOT PROTECTED? USA vv DHS still NOT safe from yet from any MAJOR NUCLEAR-WMD ACT9S) OF TERRORISM. US national borders are so porous, open andor unprotected that its "impossible"? for the US TO PREVENT ANY COVERT SMUGGLING OF NUCLEAR DEVICES OR WMDS FROM ENTERING INTO THE COUNTRY AND BEING USED FOR CATASTROPHIC = DESTRUCTIVE TERROR PURPOSES???
U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama carried out a whirlwind tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visiting a rocket-battered town in southern Israel. VOA's Jim Teeple has the details from our Jerusalem bureau.
Barack Obama's visit attracted intense scrutiny and interest from both Israelis and Palestinians. The Illinois senator began his day meeting with senior Israeli cabinet members, and then met with Israel's ceremonial head of state President Shimon Peres.
The two men spoke to reporters and Obama, the presumptive nominee of the U.S. Democratic Party, pledged strong support for Israel. "I am here on this trip to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States and my abiding commitment to Israel's security and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a U.S. senator or as president in bringing about a more lasting peace in the region," Obama said.
Obama took that message of commitment to the Middle East peace process to the West Bank city of Ramallah where he met with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. "Whoever wins the election in the United States we hope they will stay the course - the course of the two-state solution - the course of ending the Israeli occupation - the course of standing shoulder to shoulder with Palestinians and Israelis in order to reach the objective specified in the 'road map' peace plan to create a two-state solution of Palestine and Israel living side-by-side in peace and security," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
Since he is such a polyglot, he probably was able to say one thing in Arabic, another in Hebrew, and a third in English, and a fourth in Farsi.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
07/24/2008 0:58
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#5
Both ways Obama. I haven't decided if he is a mindless puppet of his advisors or a diabolically brilliant master of semantics. He also says no to healthcare for illegal immigrants yet spouts the number of 47 million uninsured to be covered, which includes about 10 million illegals!
If Israel is a true friend of Israel, they'd quit doing to stupid sh*t they're doing. Of course if the 57 variety states elect this bumbler then well..
Posted by: bruce ||
07/24/2008 11:51
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#8
He also said that this fall he pledges support to both Michigan and Ohio State, the Yankees and Red Sox, Georgia and Florida, the Patriots and Colts...
A bit long, butI think a worthwhile read.
WASHINGTON -- A Democratic senator on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee inadvertently ("OOPSIE! Can I get a do-over?")
explained why her colleagues have no intention of ending the moratorium on offshore oil drilling or increasing the areas open for exploration and production -- no matter how popular the idea might be with gas prices soaring.
#1
I can't comment on this now. I just took my blood pressure medicine and the doctor wouldn't approve.... Here's hoping Hell is warm enough for the Donks someday.
#2
Blocking drilling for Natural gas and Oil offshore to help wean us of the tit of foreign oil is treason as is having no firm long term energy plan for this nation.
#3
Every drop of oil we don't burn is a drop for China to burn. It seems to me like the main interest of the Democrats is the Chinese Economic Support Plan. We sacrifice so the Chinese don't have to.
#4
Time to heat the tar and bag the feathers. Now, where did I put that pitchfork...
Posted by: Grease Dark Lord of the Algonquins9226 ||
07/24/2008 2:01
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#5
Okay you guys, tell the truth and answer one simple question:
Are there any surprises here?
To me there is, The dems are normally pretty astute political animals but they have sold themselves down the river on the oil issue.
I am amazed that this poll driven bunch of loons don't realize how far gone they are on this issue.
Posted by: James Carville ||
07/24/2008 2:21
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#6
TOPIX/REDDIT > US PLANS TO BUILD LUNAR BASE FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION.
HMMMM, as per above, and in the DEMS + NASA'S DEFENSE, I DON'T THINK FUEL STRAINERS WHICH CAN PUT OUT 100-PLUS MILES/GALLON WILL SUFFICE FOR DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION. NICE, BUT NOT ENUFF, NOT FOR MAIN POWER-PROPULSION SPACESHIP SYSTEMS ANYWAY.
#7
Meanwhile we keep shipping $700 billion per year to the Soddies, et al. How does not drilling ensure a "good home domestic supply"? Stupid b*tch. If the GOP doesn't make this a successful campaign issue, then to hell with the lot of 'em. Do they have any fight left?
#9
I think this is going to have the same effect on the Democratic party that the Iraq war had on the national media. It will expose that they despise the American people and feel themselves so superior that they really just expect them to do their bidding without question. They are royalty. "The People" are the unwashed masses who need to clean their bedpans and then vanish from their presence.
That's why they favor providing services to illegal aliens at the expense of citizens. As far as they are concerned, it is all one massive work force - and the aliens aren't as uppity as the serfs.
#10
Ken Salazar ran on a platform of being a centrist and not holding to liberal ideas to win a senate seat for Colorado. Guess who is being the major obstructionist for the sale of leases for oil shale in Colorado?
#11
The Dems also are proposing a HIKE in gas taxes to pay for their earmarks!!!!!Since people can't afford to drive, demand has been cut along with the revenue used to pay for many of their pet projects. Only good thing to come of all this the people are rallying and wanting to toss them all out on their ear, or worse. :)
#12
This is Pelosi leadership. She's not going to even allow discussion or a floor vote on this. Where's McPain ? He ought to be stomping on this with both feet. This is a winning vote getter. Common working folk who commute get it. Elites like Gore and Pelosi who burn 1000 time their share don't because we taxpayers are footing their bills. Get on it John Boy. Get the commercials out. Blanket radio and TV now. People are hot as hell about gas/diesel prices. Use it. It's a Dummocrat gift. Just like the forked tongue Messiah.
#13
The Republican leaders came out with an "All of the above" option yesterday that I agree with. Develop every aspect of energy production, wind, nuclear, clean coal, solar, and yes, the dreaded oil fields. Combine that with hydrogen cars, natural gas and electric cars, and a full spectrum effort to conserve all of our resources rather than waste them. That makes a good deal of sense to me. It could spur a great deal of energy security as well as a ton of jobs and investment.
#15
If anything causes Obama to lose it's gonna be this nonsense. McCain should really hammer the drilling short-term nukes (and everything else that works) long-term plan of energy independence and let Obama counter with high hopes and promises of higher gas prices.
#16
tipover - you think the union *membership* have any say in which party the union supports? More often then not the union bosses are the ones calling the shots.
Here in Washington State, pubic school teachers are *required* to contribute to the Democratic Party (via the Union) - regardless of their own political beliefs. They are required to join the union (or pay into the union) which then 'contribues' their does to the Democratic Party.
The vast majority of Afghan insurgents are not necessarily the Taliban, but those who feel spurred to fighting by broken promises, lack of a stable government, blood feuds and economic considerations, according to a new book 'Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare', released here by the Centre for Naval Analysis (CAN), a local defence-related research establishment.
According to Daniel Marston, who contributed the book's chapter on Afghanistan, the Pashtun insurgents have been members of a group recently displaced from a position of political power and dominance within its own society.
The main focus of the Taliban is more political and economic than ideological, Marston writes, adding all three insurgent groups in the period from 2001 to 2007 relied upon the vast Pashtun belt of the Pakistani FATA for troops, supplies and support. Pakistan played an important role in the insurgency campaign, despite its governmental stance of support for US and coalition forces, he argues and says the reality of the Pashtun belt is its long history of resistance to government control and its close relationships with Pashtun tribes on the Afghan side of the border.
The Pashtun areas of Pakistan provided safe havens for insurgent troops, and considerable scope for cross-border traffic and smuggling activities, he continues Pakistan sent thousands of troops into the region to wage a campaign against "Taliban" forces and heavy but inconclusive fighting ensued, he says, adding the campaign was a drain on the Pakistan Army's resources and was highly unpopular with the Pakistani public.
The 2006 peace deal reached by Pakistan with tribal leaders eased the political situation within Pakistan but greatly disappointed Pakistan's coalition allies as it allowed the Taliban to retain considerable advantage, with sanctuaries over the border, providing volunteers, money and intelligence, he writes.
Marston concludes that carrying out a successful counterinsurgency campaign takes a substantial amount of money, and even more importantly, a substantial amount of political will, which may include the undertaking that such a campaign could last for decades, and that casualties are inevitable in providing security and holding cleared areas.
"For all -- military participants on the ground and civilians following through news reports -- this means looking at the situation from the perspective of the local community, and remembering that a Western upbringing and perspective is not a great help, and is frequently an active detriment, to understanding the world in which the average Afghan lives.
Greater comprehension paves the way for the implementation of a true counterinsurgency strategy, one that links up all the disparate groups from within the coalition, and includes not only the Afghan government but also the community, including the community fuelling the insurgency.
It is critical to remember that today's so-called enemy is likely to be part of tomorrow's solution. This has always been true, throughout the history of counterinsurgency," Marston writes.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
As per WAFF.com > MI5 > seems many of the Talibs are RADICALIZED YOUNG GERMAN TURKS whom traveled from Germany thru TURKEY to PAKLAND??? ARTICLE - GERMANY HAS TO RETHINK ITS NATIONAL SENSE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY FROM ISLAMIST THREAT.
*TOPIX > US: IRAN MISSLE CAN HIT BRITAIN, MOST OF EUROPE.
#2
Again, the media ignores the fact that Taliban gets at least $150,000,000 per year from the Heroin industry alone. And that is in addition to millions donated from Saudis and Pakistanis. Last I heard, Taleban pays $300 per month for terrorists. No drug money = no Taleban
#3
Labelling all opposition to the current Afghan government as Taliban is counter productive to say the least. The winning strategy in Iraq was turning the tribals against AQ. It's the only one I can see working in Afghanistan. Which is not to say I think it will work. But it has a better chance than any other strategy I've heard.
#9
Treasonous toad. Notice how his book gets its exposure with a Washington date-line in a Pakistani news outfit.
I suppose it's good news in a economic fashion - if we're outsourcing our phone support to India, al-Queda can outsource its propaganda production to the District of Columbia.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/24/2008 10:02
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#10
The war on Drugs (War on personal choice) -> High prices for drugs -> High profits for criminals.
Treat high drug users like the mentally ill, safely separate them from society for both parties benefit until they share the same reality.
#12
The other, typically unspoken, issue is that more than 25% of the Pak army is Pashtun, particularly NCO's in the combat arms. If the Pak army really tried to control the Pashtun belt in FATA and NWFP it would face a revolt from thier relatives in uniform.
*snicker* JFM, you forgot your /sarcasm thingy. Perhaps we could use those legendary suitcase nukes on them? That way we wouldn't have to let those bloody journalists natter on about their godhead Obama, whose inevitable parade to the White House would clearly ave been... interrupted.
#14
I think the drug problem needs to be divided into hardcore and softcore drugs. Softcore like Pot should be legalized. That would take a lot of the drug users out of the pool and make it easier to concentrate on the harder more addictive drugs. Even then we should have a three-strikes type rule for users. First two strikes and you get probation and/or counseling, mandatory detox and other annoyances rather than prison.
The Mohmand Agency has come under the "complete control" of Umar Khalid after he eliminated another jihadi organisation operating in the area, local residents told Daily Times.
Khalid, a Safi tribesman who is commanding the Taliban in a very strategic tribal district, took "greater control" of Mohmand following a bloody campaign against the Shah Sahib militant group, whose chief and deputy chief were among eight killed on Friday. "He (Umar Khalid) is the strongest and most influential Taliban leader after Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Faqir," residents told Daily Times by phone from Ghalanai.
A member of the militant group, following a meeting with Umar Khalid, said that there was now less likelihood that a fact-finding team sent from Baitullah Mehsud would penalise Khalid for his July 18 actions against the Shah Sahib group.
People from the banned militant organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyaba had originally led the group. "Any group not showing allegiance to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan will not be tolerated in the Mohmand Agency," Khalid had told reporters in his first press conference after taking over the headquarters of the rival jihadi outfit.
According to his close associates, Umar Khalid is a "born jihadi" who has glorified the fight against 'infidels' through his poetry. "His poetry is all about jihad," they added. Formerly a journalist, Khalid worked for pro-jihad publications Zarb-e-Momin and the daily Islam in the 1990s before he joined the "freedom struggle" of the Kashmiri people against Indian rule of occupied Kashmir. His affiliation with the two publications also earned him membership of the Ghalanai Press Club, local journalists said, adding that this membership was revoked after he became involved in militant activities.
Umar Khalid, who is currently in his early 40s, was the Harkatul Mujahideen chief in the Mohmand Agency before becoming a Taliban commander. According to his associates, his journey towards extremism began with a journey to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. "He was in Muzaffarabad on personal business when Azad Jammu and Kashmir jihadis contacted him. Since then Khalid's sole concern has been jihad," they told Daily Times by phone.
Against the US: According to Ghalanai administration officials, the Khalid-led group usually engages American forces in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar. They said that he closely co-ordinates with Maulvi Faqir, the Taliban chief of the neighbouring Bajaur tribal region. However, they added, Khalid "does not host foreign militants" in Mohmand like Faqir. Khalid claims that some 26,000 trained militants operate under his command. However, the figures are difficult to verify and people say they might be 'exaggerated'. Sources say that local elders believe that Khalid is getting too strong and someone has to keep him "under control".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Top|| File under: Taliban
Although Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has agreed to talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change on a possible power sharing arrangement, the country's political violence and intimidation continue. ZANU-PF militia are still patrolling vast parts of the country.
Several legislators, who have returned to Harare from hiding places in Zimbabwe and in neighboring countries, say the mood in the country is tense. They say they dare not go to their homes for fear of being arrested. About 20 winning MDC legislators have been arrested since the elections in March.
One legislator from the eastern Manicaland Province, who spent three weeks in detention recently and asked not to be identified, said members of the ZANU-PF militia are asking for money from people who fled during post-election violence and now want to return home. He said those who have returned have found their assets, such as food and livestock, were taken after the elections.
A parliament member from the Mashonaland East Province, a ZANU-PF stronghold where many voted for the first time for the MDC - said militias still control people's movements in and out of villages.
An MDC legislator in Mutare, Pishai Muchauraya, said his officials are searching for many people listed as missing.
MDC branch chairman Reuben Mutewe, 38, from Manicaland Province, who was abducted from his home June 30, was found in the mortuary at the Mutare General Hospital last Friday.
Muchauraya says they have still not found the body of activist Emmanuel Nyapfungwe, who he says was allegedly murdered June 20 in Manicaland Province.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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NATO and Afghan forces have launched an offensive against militants to regain control of a remote district in southern Afghanistan.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says troops began an operation Wednesday in Ghazni province, after militants took over the Ajiristan district on Monday. ISAF says some militants in the area were killed during a coordinated airstrike.
A damaged police vehicle after it was hit by a roadside bomb in Chaparhar district of Nangarhar province east of Kabul, 23 Jul 2008 Meanwhile, a district police chief was killed when a roadside bomb struck his convoy in Nangarhar province.
In Wardak province, the U.S.-led coalition says troops killed militants during a search in the Saydabad district Tuesday.
In Washington, a Defense Department spokesman said the decision to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan will be left to the next presidential administration.
U.S. commanders have been asking for three more combat brigades, or about 10,000 troops, to help confront rising violence in Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the U.S. does not have the man-power to send urgently needed military reinforcements to Afghanistan. He said U.S. troops are all heavily committed in Iraq.
In other news, the U.S.-led coalition said U.S. and Afghan forces killed militants Monday during clashes in the Maruf and Shah Wali Kot districts of southern Kandahar province.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
On Tuesday, the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the U.S. does not have the man-power to send urgently needed military reinforcements to Afghanistan. He said U.S. troops are all heavily committed in Iraq.
This is one of the worst blunders GWB has made in his presidency - not restoring the military to what it was before Bill Clinton took an axe to it, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. We currently need a military 25%-45% larger than it currently is, yet we've only just begun to expand. We've been involved in this conflict for how many years - 30? 40? It took a major strike on our territory before we acknowledged we were at war, and we're only beginning to expand the military. We've lost almost seven years of recruiting, training, equipping, and using a larger military to ensure our success. I think GWB will be recognized as a good president by posterity, but this is one area where he and his administration has failed miserably.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/24/2008 14:20
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#2
Old Patriot, the president can only work within the restrictions and funding voted by Congress. Look how hard President Bush has had to fight just to get both Houses of Congress to stop posturing long enough to pass the increased military and manpower budgets he did request each of the past seven years. Sadly, he cannot waive the magic wand of our desires and instantly get what's needed long term instead of enough money to continue supplying bullets the troops need instead of the over-armoured HMMVs they don't nearly as urgently.
#3
TW, I've got to agree with OP on this one. On 9/12/2001, the president essentially told us all to go shopping instead of boldly saying we need to immediately increase the size of our military while simultaneously cutting non-essential government spending (non-defense). The numbers of volunteers would have been very high at that point. The ability to chop frivolous spending would have been there too. He wasted the opportunity and we are all worse of because of it.
The Awami National Party (ANP) believes that there is no possibility of peace in NWFP as long as militant sanctuaries remain in the Tribal Areas, ANP NWFP President Afrasiab Khattak said on Wednesday. "For us, the serious issue is peace. For us, the serious issue is militants' sanctuaries in tribal areas. As long as they (sanctuaries) remain peace will be difficult to return," Khattak told Daily Times. ANP has pleaded for the old system where law and order in the Tribal Areas was co-ordinated by the home secretary.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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(Xinhua) -- Seven Taliban rebels were killed by Afghan police in two separate battles in the unrest southern provinces, officials said here on Wednesday.
Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the police chief of Helmand province, told Xinhua that police on Tuesday evening killed the Taliban militants' ambush on several checkpoints in Lashkar Gha district, the provincial capital, killing five militants. "The fighting last for two hours," Andiwal said, adding "one Afghan soldier and the other police were injured in the clash."
Meanwhile, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, the purported Taliban spokesman told Xinhua via phone from an unknown hideout that the outfit took responsibility for the attack but he denied any casualties on Taliban side.
In the other incident, police on Tuesday night engaged and eliminated three Taliban insurgents while on patrol in Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province, the provincial police chief Juma Gul Humat said. "No police were killed or injured," he added.
Afghanistan has witnessed a surge of violence and riot throughout its territory over the past months while militancy and conflict left more than 2,300 people including over 700 civilians dead so far this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari refused to reinstate sacked chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, during a meeting of leaders of the ruling coalition, a private television channel reported on Wednesday.
According to Waqt TV, Zardari, during the meeting, kept on insisting that the sacked CJP should not be reinstated. Zardari fears that the sacked CJ could pose a threat to the current government if the latter -- upon restoration to the Supreme Court (SC) -- decided to reopen for adjudication cases on the National Reconciliation Order and President Pervez Musharraf's eligibility to contest for office, the channel said.
It said that Zardari wanted a guarantee for Chaudhry not reviving either issue upon restoration. The channel said that close aides of the PPP co-chairman have assured him that SC Bar Association President Aitzaz Ahsan could make such a guarantee, adding that Zardari however was not ready to trust him.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan released 30 hostages belonging to rival militant outfit the Shah group following talks with a 10-member tribal jirga in Mohmand Agency, a private television channel reported on Wednesday. According to Aaj TV, the Taliban had abducted 80 militants on July 18, killing Shah group chief Shah Khalid and his deputy in a bloody clash in the Khunazai area of the agency.
This was political discourse, Pakistain tribal style. Both sides were nominally a part of the same Tehreek.
This article starring:
Khunazai
Mohmand Agency
SHAH KHALID
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring at least 91 people, trapping hundreds in halted trains and temporarily cutting off electric power to thousands of homes. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which struck at 00:26 (4:26 p.m. British time Wednesday) and had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and could be felt as far away as Tokyo.
A National Police Agency official said that 91 people were confirmed injured, 15 of whom were seriously hurt. Many were injured in falls or suffered cuts from broken glass.
The focus of the quake was 108 km (67 miles) below the surface of the earth in Iwate prefecture, a mountainous, sparsely populated region. The JMA initially put the focus at a depth of 120 km.
"I woke up immediately. It felt like it was shaking for a long time. Books and other things that were piled up fell on the floor. All the doors were open and things were shattered," Sho Koseki, a city official in Hachinohe, about 550 km northeast of Tokyo, told Reuters by telephone. Koseki said that troops had arrived in the area to assist, and the Defence Agency said that military planes were flying over the area to assess the extent of the damage.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/24/2008
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Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Pakistan denied an Al Qaeda claim that a suicide attacker who bombed the Danish embassy in Islamabad last month was a Saudi, in comments published on Wednesday. "No Saudi was involved in the terrorist attack against the Danish embassy in Pakistan," Ali Awadh Assiri said, quoted by the Saudi-owned pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat. "The attacker was not even Arab. According to documented official information, the features of the attacker were not close to Arab features," he said. A senior Al Qaeda leader, Mustafa Abu Al Yazid, said in a television interview aired on Monday that the suicide attacker came from Saudi Arabia. The June 2 embassy bombing killed six Pakistanis, one of them with dual Danish nationality.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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"I used to like them a lot, but now I've gone back to Boy George."
Five British citizens, who had been imprisoned for life for plotting Al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain, lost appeals against their convictions on Wednesday. Omar Khyam, Anthony Garcia, Jawad Akbar, Waheed Mahmood and Salahuddin Amin had been given life sentences in April 2007 after being found guilty of plotting attacks on targets ranging from nightclubs to trains, and a shopping centre. Prosecutors said the convicts had planned to use 600 kg (1300 lb) of ammonium nitrate fertiliser to make bombs in revenge for Britain's support for the United States after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. Three judges at London's Court of Appeal ruled that their convictions should stand.
This article starring:
ANTHONY GARCIA
al_Qaeda in Britain
JAWAD AKBAR
al_Qaeda in Britain
OMAR KHYAM
al_Qaeda in Britain
SALAHUDIN AMIN
al_Qaeda in Britain
WAHID MAHMUD
al_Qaeda in Britain
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
Al-Q has already sent them their new assignments - the TDY at Belmarsh has been reclassified as a PCS, and their MOS has changed from Ops to Da'wa.
More of a lateral move than a promotion, but then they *did* fail at their primary mission.
#3
I think they should be sentenced to ride on the front of subway cars in the London Underground. Just build a little platform, weld a metal chair to it, and secure them in place. They can be the first to detect any bombs placed on the tracks. Why support these a$$clowns for life, and not get something back?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/24/2008 14:25
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The first major poll since Barack Obama started his high-profile foreign tour does not show a huge benefit in the presidential race.
The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey released this evening gives Obama a 47 percent to 41 percent national lead over Republican John McCain, an edge unchanged from last month. The poll was conducted last Friday through Monday, encompassing three days when Obama was in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama's lead grows to 13 points when independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr are added, with Obama at 48 percent, McCain at 35 percent, Nader at 5 percent, and Barr at 2 percent
While fewer registered voters are excited about McCain, 55 percent said they believe Obama would be the riskier choice for president, compared to 35 percent for the more experienced McCain.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
everytime a pollster calls me - I hang up. None of their damned biz.
#2
The more Obama opens his mouth and gets out in public, the more he will show he is not even close to ready for the Presidency and how liberal his ideas are and the less the MSM will be able to cover for him.
#3
Obama's lead grows to 13 points when independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr are added, with Obama at 48 percent, McCain at 35 percent, Nader at 5 percent, and Barr at 2 percent
So let me get this straight...with the ultra-liberal Nader entering the race, Obama gains 1 point and the center-right McCain watches his base flee and loses 5 points.
#5
in any poll, look at when the questions were asked (figure who's available at home during the weekday) and what partisan %'s were polled. They typically over-represent Donks
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/24/2008 9:18
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#6
Polls don't matter much yet.
McCain is possibly being helped by blaming gas prices on Democrats.
Of course he he voted against opening ANWR when he had the chance and also reacted in his usual self righteous angry-man way when challenged on this (much to the praise of the NYTimes).
#8
"with the ultra-liberal Nader entering the race, Obama gains 1 point and the center-right McCain watches his base flee and loses 5 points."
After 2000, Nader won't be getting the ultraliberal vote -- he would be getting the PUMA vote, those Clinton supporters that hate Obama's guts and would be voting for McCain out of spite if he was the only other choice. That's why it makes sense that McCain loses more to Nader than Obama does.
Posted by: A ris ||
07/24/2008 10:11
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#9
crawl back under yer rock A ris.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
07/24/2008 11:02
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#10
I almost put a McCain sticker on my car yesterday. The politics of fear? you bet, I fear we won't be able to survive an Obama rule.
Has Bobby Jindal removed himself from vice presidential speculation? That's how Fox News interpreted a comment from the Louisiana governor today. During an interview on "Fox & Friends," the 37-year-old Republican said, "I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president."
That's not quite as sweeping and uncategorical as the "don't ask me, I won't take the job" statements that Democrats Ted Strickland, the governor of Ohio, and Jim Webb, the senator from Virginia, have issued.
Still, Jindal's comment is pretty blunt for someone who has been viewed as right at the top of John McCain's list of potential running mates.
McCain was scheduled to travel to New Orleans today for a sit-down with Jindal but, intriguingly, the meeting was canceled this afternoon. However, that may have had more to do with matters outside either man's control.
As The Ticket noted earlier, Hurricane Dolly already accomplished what no amount of carping from McCain could -- cut into the intensive coverage of Barack Obama's overseas sojourn. But storms play no favorites, and McCain has been directly affected by it.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2008
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#1
That's probably for the best--Louisiana needs him.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/24/2008 6:33
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#2
And he's smart enough to get the seasoning, full credit for the success he's creating, and not be used by McCain as a toke or cuspidor.
#6
He seems to have some potential, but based on his first few months as governor, he is not yet ready for prime time (readier than Obamessiah, but .....)
Posted by: Menhaden S ||
07/24/2008 12:24
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#8
I'd like to see him turn Louisiana around first. If he does that, by bringing Louisiana to the middle of the pack, statistics-wise, he won't have to run - the GOP will draft him.
#9
Bobby is probably very good. However, the only thing that would get Louisiana out of last place in the next eight years in the national rankings is for Puerto Rico or DC to become the next state. And that still makes New Mexico's hold on 48th that much more secure. :)
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.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are two countries in Asia that have carried out the most number of executions in the world, according to a report released on Thursday by Italian rights group, Hands Off Cain. 
Libya's state shipping company says it has halted oil shipments to Switzerland in protest at the brief arrest of leader Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son. It threatened further action if the Swiss did not apologise for the arrest. 
A British court ruled Wednesday that a radical Muslim preacher accused of helping to set up a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon cannot appeal against extradition to the United States to face terrorism charges. Justice Igor Judge refused Abu Hamza al-Masri's application to challenge his extradition in the House of Lords, the country's highest court of appeal. 
Nearly three dozen insurgents were killed Thursday in southern Afghanistan after they attacked an Afghan military convoy, a police official said. 
FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist. And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades. 
Australian police have accused a Muslim charity of channelling aid to Palestinian militants through an Islamic organisation banned by Australia and the US for its alleged terrorist links.
For the first time in Morocco's history, 19 women have qualified as civil servants, pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports. 
Iran's Supreme Cultural Revolution Council headed by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared 5 August an annual international Islamic human rights day.
The pilot of an Indonesian passenger jet that crashed last year, killing 21 people, was charged Thursday with deliberately causing the disaster when he appeared in court. 
North Korea on Thursday inked a nonaggression treaty with its Southeast Asian neighbors, a move that is hoped will promote peace, security and cooperation in the region. 
The Chinese government on Thursday dismissed allegations in a new report that it is putting pressure on neighboring Nepal to arrest ethnic-Tibetan protestors and to limit their right to hold anti-China demonstrations. 
I met Yakov Marks during the Second Lebanon War. Yakov is an American oleh who has been living in the northern town of Maalot since the 1970's--during the war he showed me around Maalot, which came under heavy Hizbollah fire...
TIKRIT, Iraq -- More than 1,100 former fighters have reconciled with Iraqi Security and Coalition forces in the Salah ad Din province since May. 
BALAD, Iraq -- Since the beginning of July, three highly sought after suspected terrorists have surrendered to Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. 
BAGHDAD During a visit to the area July 19, Brig. Gen. Jeffery Buchanan, deputy commanding general for operations for Multi-National Division Center, met with Brig. Gen. Jabbar Nama, deputy commander for the 10th Iraqi Army Division, to discuss operations and the future well-being of Maysan Province.
AMARA, Iraq -- It wasn't yet dawn, and the Iraqi army unit was already behind schedule. It was about to launch a major operation against another cluster of towns overrun by Shiite Muslim militiamen, and this time American forces would remain at the rear of the convoy, behind their Iraqi counterparts. 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his legal team relayed on Wednesday that they are willing to undergo a polygraph test to prove that they did not leak material from the graft probe against the premier dubbed the "envelopes affair." 
Three people including two women were killed and six others injured in shooting at Kabal tehsil of Swat district on Wednesday, police said. According to police officials, unidentified men opened fire on a car near Manja. Several members of the same family were killed and injured. Those killed were identified as Sardar Ali, Naseem Bahadar, and Zarwali. The injured have been shifted to Saidu Sharif Hospital for treatment, according to APP. 
U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama carried out a whirlwind tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visiting a rocket-battered town in southern Israel. VOA's Jim Teeple has the details from our Jerusalem bureau. 
NATO and Afghan forces have launched an offensive against militants to regain control of a remote district in southern Afghanistan.
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari refused to reinstate sacked chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, during a meeting of leaders of the ruling coalition, a private television channel reported on Wednesday.
TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring at least 91 people, trapping hundreds in halted trains and temporarily cutting off electric power to thousands of homes. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, which struck at 00:26 (4:26 p.m. British time Wednesday) and had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and could be felt as far away as Tokyo.
