By JOSEPH KAHN
BEIJING, Dec. 8 Chinas Communist Party has a new agenda: it is encouraging people to discuss what it means to be a major world power and has largely stopped denying that China intends to become one soon.
In the past several weeks China Central Television has broadcast a 12-part series describing the reasons nine nations rose to become great powers. The series was based on research by a team of elite Chinese historians, who also briefed the ruling Politburo about their findings.
Until recently Chinas rising power remained a delicate topic, and largely unspoken, inside China. Beijing has long followed a dictum laid down by Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader who died in 1997: tao guang yang hui, literally to hide its ambitions and disguise its claws. Lol. It's fair to say we noticed the elephant trying to hide in the doghouse.
The prescription was generally taken to mean that China needed to devote its energy to developing economically and should not seek to play a leadership role abroad.
President Hu Jintao set off an internal squabble two years ago when he began using the term peaceful rise to describe his foreign policy goals. He dropped the term in favor of the tamer-sounding peaceful development.
His use of rise risked stoking fears of a China threat, especially in Japan and the United States, people told about the high-level debate said. Rise implies that others must decline, at least in a relative sense, while development suggests that Chinas advance can bring others along.
Yet this tradition of modesty has begun to fade, replaced by a growing confidence that Chinas rise is not fleeting and that the country needs to do more to define its objectives.
With its $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, surging military spending and diplomatic initiatives in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Beijing has begun asserting its interests far beyond its borders. Chinese party leaders are acting as if they intend to start exercising more power abroad rather than just protecting their political power at home.
Like it or not, Chinas rise is becoming a reality, says Jia Qingguo, associate dean of the Beijing University School of International Studies. Wherever Chinese leaders go these days, people pay attention. And they cant just say, I dont want to get involved.
Itself a major recipient of foreign aid until recently, China this year promised to provide well over $10 billion in low-interest loans and debt relief to Asian, African and Latin American countries over the next two years. It invited 48 African countries to Beijing last month to a conference aimed at promoting closer cooperation and trade.
Beijing agreed to send 1,000 peacekeepers to Lebanon, its first such action in the Middle East. It has sought to become a more substantial player in a region where the United States traditionally holds far more sway.
At the United Nations Security Council, China cast aside its longstanding policy of opposing sanctions against other nations. It voted to impose penalties on North Korea, its neighbor and onetime ally, for testing nuclear weapons. Lol. That assertion is absurd on its face. China has triangulated for profit wherever possible. Mr Kahn is either an employee, useful tool, or the NYT has also abandoned all pretense - in a new arena.
Officials and leading scholars are becoming a bit less hesitant to discuss what this all might mean. The documentary, on Chinas main national network, uses the word rise constantly, including its title, Rise of the Great Powers. It endorses the idea that China should study the experiences of nations and empires it once condemned as aggressors bent on exploitation.
Our China, the Chinese people, the Chinese race has become revitalized and is again stepping onto the world stage, Qian Chengdan, a professor at Beijing University and the intellectual father of the television series, said in an online dialogue about the documentary on Sina.com, a leading Web site. It is extremely important for todays China to be able to draw some lessons from the experiences of others, he said.
The series, which took three years to make, emanated from a Politburo study session in 2003. It is not a jingoistic call to arms. It mentions China only in passing, and it never explicitly addresses the reality that China has already become a big power.
Yet its version of history, which partly tracks the work done by Paul Kennedy in his 1980s bestseller, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, differs markedly from that of the textbooks still in use in many schools.
Its stentorian narrator and epic soundtrack present the emergence of the nine countries, from Portugal in the 15th century to the United States in the 20th, and cites numerous achievements worthy of emulation: Spain had a risk-taking queen; Britains nimble navy secured vital commodities overseas; the United States regulated markets and fought for national unity.
The documentary also emphasizes historical themes that coincide with policies Chinese leaders promote at home. Social stability, industrial investment, peaceful foreign relations and national unity are presented as more vital than, say, military strength, political liberalization or the rule of law.
In the 90 minutes devoted to examining the rise of the United States, Lincoln is accorded a prominent part for his efforts to preserve national unity during the Civil War. China has made reunification with Taiwan a top national priority. Franklin D. Roosevelt wins praise for creating a bigger role for the government in managing the market economy but gets less attention for his wartime leadership.
Government officials minimize the importance of the series. He Yafei, an assistant foreign minister, said in an interview that he had watched only one or two episodes. He said the documentary should not signal changes in Chinas thinking about projecting power, saying that colonialism and exploitation would go nowhere in todays world.
But Mr. He also hinted at a shifting official line. He emphasized Chinas status as a developing country. But he allowed that others may see things differently. Whether a country is a regional or a world power, it is not for that country to decide alone, he said. If you say we are a big power, then we are. But we are a responsible big country. We are a maintainer and builder of the international system.
China has in fact emerged as a major power without disrupting the international order, at least so far. It has accepted an invitation by the Bush administration to discuss becoming a responsible stakeholder in the American-dominated international system.
Beijing places importance on many world institutions, especially the United Nations, where it holds a veto in the Security Council. It professes a strong commitment to enforcing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Last month Margaret Chan of Hong Kong became the first Chinese to head a major United Nations agency, the World Health Organization. She vowed to build a harmonious health world, echoing the slogan of harmony promoted by President Hu.
Yet critics say China is prepared to emerge in a less amicable fashion, if necessary. The Central Intelligence Agency says that Chinas military spending may be two or three times higher than it acknowledges and that it allocates more to its military than any other country except the United States.
Beijing has cultivated close ties to countries that provide it with commodities and raw materials, regardless of their human rights records. Sudan, Myanmar and Zimbabwe have all escaped international sanctions in large part because of Chinese protection.
Chinas increasing international engagement has also stimulated a more robust academic discussion about its global role and the potential for tensions with the United States.
Yan Xuetong, a foreign affairs specialist at Qinghua University in Beijing, argued in a scholarly journal this summer that China had already surpassed Japan, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and India in measures of its economic, military and political power. That leaves it second only to the United States, he said.
While the military gap between China and the United States may remain for some time, he argued, Chinas faster economic growth and increasing political strength may whittle down Americas overall advantage. China will enjoy the status of a semi-superpower between the United States and the other major powers, Mr. Yan predicted in the article, which appeared in the China Journal of International Politics.
He added, Chinas fast growth in political and economic power will dramatically narrow its power gap with the United States.
As I fly over this great nation in my wife's Gulfstream...
Sen. John Kerry is pulling an Al Gore. ...and view this beautiful land from the window of one of my family's SUVs..
But instead of bringing his environmental views to the big screen like his fellow losing presidential candidate, the Massachusetts Democrat is putting them on paper. ...I've often wondered, if they're going to kill tree's anyway, why shouldn't I make some money on it...
Kerry and wife Teresa Heinz Kerrys as-yet-untitled book about an environment and environmental movement under attack is scheduled for release by Public Affairs Books on March 17. ...and I thank Gaia that no ugly windmills mar the pristine splendor of Nantucket Sound as I view it from the big house on The Island or cruise it in my 42' Hinkley Yacht...
A Kerry spokeswoman described the couple as committed environmentalists who met on Earth Day. Yes. Yes we did. She taught me the white raisin in vodka thing, and I said to myself, "Drunk and rich. This is the woman for me".
(They) have been deeply involved in issues from global climate change to renewable and alternative energy for a long time, spokeswoman Brigid ORourke said. Notice she didn't say "committed". Taraaaysa gets very agitated when she hears that word.
In a flowery authors note, Kerry recounts how his early experiences set him on a lifelong path. I squirrel- and woodchuck-hunted as a kid, he wrote. I dug my toes into the mud and seaweed of Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, looking for clams and mussels - which were abundant and edible in those days." They still are, you lying dunce.
I spent time on farms, witnessing the cycle of crops, cows and sheep nurtured and marketed, he said. I was introduced to the fragility and power of oceans and mountains and given a great sense of responsibility for the stewardship of these God-given gifts. "...and I'm fascinated by rap!"
In her note, Heinz Kerry eschews defining an environmentalist.
I dont much care for labels: I was always who I was before any names or issues defined me, she said. The environment was never a campaign for me; it was personal. As a child growing up in Africa, the rhythms and the fabric of the grasslands surrounding our home were an integral part of our family life . . . If you were careless, did not boil water, then typhoid or dysentery would follow. A trip to the watering hole at dusk or dawn, when the animals gathered there, could end in a dangerous or even fatal encounter with a wild beast. ...so bring a gun, you ditzy bitch.
Neither Kerrys office, nor his publisher, would disclose the value of the book deal. Oh, boy! Just in time for Christmas!
From the LAT, no less
In pursuit of a missing soldier, U.S. and Iraqi special forces units have staged dozens of operations in Shiite Muslim neighborhoods that once were ruled off-limits by the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government. Git some, boys!
The raids into territory dominated by the Al Mahdi army, a militia loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr, risk exacerbating tensions within the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who has shown a new willingness to confront paramilitary forces believed to take part in kidnappings and death squad operations.
"We have carte blanche at this point," said one high-ranking U.S. military commander. "Whereas before we had to tippy-toe around these areas, now we can go in there as we like to search for our missing soldier." Get ready Mookians. No more tippy-toe.
U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Ahmed Qusai Taei, 41, an Iraqi American immigrant, disappeared Oct. 23 while making an unauthorized visit to relatives in Baghdad. Absolutely stoopid act on his part. But, being a soldier, rescuing him is very important for morale.
U.S. military officials believe that Taei is being held in Sadr City, an Al Mahdi stronghold in the capital, and have offered a $50,000 reward for help in finding him.
Continued on Page 49
#1
I just noticed this, but the only quoted sources are Mookians. The report covers multiple incidents too. And, a "high-ranking U.S. military commander" who apparently has no name. Wudda load of crap.
I've posted before about the abuse of alleged by the MSM as one of my pet peeves. In most cases it's CYA fear of legal repurcussions, but in this case: pure biased agenda.
... and six servicemen died of combat wounds in Al Anbar province:
So, it sounds like yesterday's high casualty count was due to some increased offensive activity on our part. That's encouraging.
Any you would never, ever it if one read and watched only the MSM. I was watching Brit Hume's roundtable when a poll of 'mericans came up where 60% want us out of Iraq in 6 months. I thought "THAT is due to the constant barrage of negativity from the MSM". They are willfully trying to have us lose this war, solely due to their BDS. No matter the cost, no matter the increase in future risk.
#5
Great. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal editorialized for playing the Shiite Card. BS: if Shiite power is destroyed, then Sunnis will turn on al-Qaeda.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2006
15:08 ||
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Victory today requires the same: smashing Iran's totalitarian regime and thus demoralizing the Islamist movement and its many supporters, so that they, too, abandon their cause as futile.
Agreed but totally insufficient. Flatten Tehran, flatten Qom, yes. But sterilize Waziristan and bomb every Egyptian newspaper that publishes an anti-semitic cartoon; taking out every television station in the middle-east which aired that Protocols mini-series would be a good start. So too the Turkish studio that produced that Valley of the Wolves movie and, while we are at it, try, convict and execute Billy Zain for his participation in the project as the traitor he is.
Yet all of this is but to begin. To eliminate the ideological underpinnings of this 7th-century barbarism it needs to pulled up at the roots and the ground salted where it stood. This means the total destruction of Mecca; preferably during the height of whatever season is most holy to the Temple of Elemental Evil. If a million hajjis are on hand then so much the better. We do not just need to defeat these bastards; we need to make an example of them.
...Although I agree there needs to be a serious, no-holds barred effort to get the attention of the Muslim world, flattening Mecca would have little effect other than to further anger what I am rapidly beginning to consider no more than a mindless cult.
Islam has no organized structure, unlike Catholicism or to a far lesser extent, the other Christian faiths or Judaism. If we were to lay one warhead down on Mecca, some mullah would declare a fatwa that as long as you were doing Jihad, you didn't have to make a pilgramage. Another would say that if you died from radiation poisoning while trying to get there, you would go directly to paradise, do not pass Medina and collect 72 virgins.
I'm not saying that wiping Mecca off the map wouldn't be useful - it might indeed convince the one third of the Earth's population that's gone renegade that perhaps it's time to back off. But there are far better targets - Qom, Riyadh, and Damascus - that would have a far more immediate and beneficial impact. And before we kill cities - which we may have to do someday whether we like it or not - there are individuals who need to die very public and very surprised deaths. The mullahs and shiekhs who incite and lead this madness from their caves or their homes or their pulpits MUST come to fear the consequences of opening their mouths. They MUST learn to live like Zarkawi, al-Zawarhiri and bin Laden - always looking over their shoulders, never knowing who they can trust. If it means sending in the Special Forces, then DO so, and to hell with the 'ramifications' - they brag about how they love death more than life, so let us reward them.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2006 15:57
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Another would say that if you died from radiation poisoning while trying to get there, you would go directly to paradise, do not pass Medina and collect 72 virgins.
To me this would not be a bug but a feature.
But there are far better targets - Qom, Riyadh, and Damascus - that would have a far more immediate and beneficial impact.
A casual glance at what I wrote would reveal Qom is already my list but by all means let's flatten Damascus and Riyadh as well. This is not one of those either/or situations. The excluded middle of your argument includes all sorts of other places I would cheerfully revert to pre-European contact technological levels; Indonesia, say.
#5
Mike, I disagree. A pilgrimage to mecca is a major requirement of the muzzie death cult. Totally destroying mecca (nuke the place with a dozen 1MT devices, fuse the entire plain around about into radioactive glass) is essential to break the bonds between islam and the middle east. At the same time, every ARAB capital in the world needs to be destroyed, and so do any peripheral gathering places of more than a few hundred muslims.
The first order of business is to break the power of this death cult over people's lives. That means destroying the source of that power - the MME, the dictatorial rulers of the halls of power, the imams and their power, the madrassahs and other religious schools, and everything else associated with islam. That means pulling out of the entire middle east and flattening everything but Israel from Morocco to Pakistan, as well as hitting Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Do not exclude any majority-muslim country, from Albania to Somalia and Chad, and all across Africa to Mauritania. Make Carthage look like a Sunday school picnic. Anything less is futile.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 17:13
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None of this will happen until a city in the US is destroyed by an islamic nuke. Also, the retaliating POTUS would have to be a Democrat.
If the retaliating POTUS is a Democrat, there won't BE any retaliation. That's the problem.
Democrats are cowards and traitors who truly hate this country. They'll stand in the ashes for a photo op asking "Why do they hate us?"
Posted by: mac ||
12/08/2006 19:04
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Unfortunately Islam is a distributed rather than centralized system, Mecca or no. Any ignorant Koran-thumper can set himself up as a pope-equivalent. All he needs is some equally ignorant adherents. Decapitation is not a viable approach - need to work with the grubbing hoe to dig out all the weeds.
#9
Destruction of Mecca will destroy Islam about the same way the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans destroyed Judaism. Didn't happen then, won't happen in the future.
#11
I am unpleasantly surprised at how quickly many of you are to abandon what is not an entirely bad situation. First of all, the Arab world has been shaken to its roots, and slowly and grudgingly, democracy is starting to grow there in all sorts of places. And once rooted, it is damnably hard to eliminate.
Three years ago we feared a war between the west and the Moslem world. Today things are not so clear, with much of the contest between Sunni and Shia. But even that is very limited to certain countries.
Iran and Syria are not new threats--they were just as obnoxious before. So why now feel despair that they scheme against us and everyone else? The same with our "allies"; they were duplicitous before, and they still are. Nothing has changed, so why be depressed?
And Iraq is not going to "fall". We have worked overtime to insure that no matter what, it would take chaotic decades to become a theocracy, no matter what tater wants. And there are still plenty of patriotic Iraqi Shiites who see Iranians as the enemy.
President Bush has two more years to bring about sweetness and light. The democrats may be annoying, but little else. And Joe Lieberman will insure that the Senate doesn't throw in the towel.
So what does Bush need to do for a win? A new election this coming January to create a permanent and stable Iraqi government, followed shortly thereafter with the hanging of Saddam. And once that government is in place, a Status of Forces agreement allows us to stay in rural Iraq, out of harm's way, and let the Iraqis settle things.
At that point, most people expect a blow-up. They are mistaken. Most likely the Iraqi Interior Ministry will round up an s-load of known perpetrators, who will then just disappear. The word will quickly get out, and much of the violence will end.
So what will be left of "the war" (the occupation), when no more US personnel are killed, and most of the violence in Iraq is over? There will still be a year and a quarter of Bush's Presidency to go.
#12
'Moose, I'd absolutely love to believe you're right. From your keyboard to God's eyes...
Posted by: mac ||
12/08/2006 21:24
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Destroying Islamic totalitarianism requires a punishing military onslaught to end its primary state representative and demoralize its supporters. We need to deploy all necessary force to destroy Iran'sISLAM'S ability to fight, while minimizing our own casualties. We need a campaign that ruthlessly inflicts the pain of war so intensely that the jihadists renounce their cause as hopeless and fear to take up arms against us.
There, fixed that.
Agreed but totally insufficient. Flatten Tehran, flatten Qom, yes. But sterilize Waziristan and bomb every Egyptian newspaper that publishes an anti-semitic cartoon; taking out every television station in the middle-east which aired that Protocols mini-series would be a good start. So too the Turkish studio that produced that Valley of the Wolves movie and, while we are at it, try, convict and execute Billy Zain for his participation in the project as the traitor he is.
Yes, and yes especially to the crushing of Islam's propaganda machine, Excalibur. The damage it does and death it promotes is beyond comprehension and yet does not even show up on our military's radar.
And before we kill cities - which we may have to do someday whether we like it or not - there are individuals who need to die very public and very surprised deaths. The mullahs and shiekhs who incite and lead this madness from their caves or their homes or their pulpits MUST come to fear the consequences of opening their mouths. They MUST learn to live like Zarkawi, al-Zawarhiri and bin Laden - always looking over their shoulders, never knowing who they can trust. If it means sending in the Special Forces, then DO so, and to hell with the 'ramifications' - they brag about how they love death more than life, so let us reward them.
Absolutely, Mike K! If we are ever to win this war against Islam, conspicuously killing its top tiers of command is a vital first step. Myself and others have been hollering to the rooftops about this for some time now. Until this clandestine program of executions begins, no progress will be made.
That means destroying the source of that power - the MME, the dictatorial rulers of the halls of power, the imams and their power, the madrassahs and other religious schools, and everything else associated with islam. That means pulling out of the entire middle east and flattening everything but Israel from Morocco to Pakistan, as well as hitting Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Do not exclude any majority-muslim country, from Albania to Somalia and Chad, and all across Africa to Mauritania.
You are describing the Muslim holocaust that I continue to predict, Old Patriot.
Some, and quite possibly all, of these measures will be required of us in the near future. I say that Mecca and Medina, possibly even Qom, should all be saved as "hostage" targets to be used specifically as demoralizing blows (like Hiroshima or Dresden), in retaliation for any large-scale terrorist atrocities.
Before then, massive disproportionate retaliation must be the rule. For every victim of a terrorist atrocity, one to ten thousand Muslims must die. Kill enough of them so that they rebel against their terrorist overlords and begin the essential change from within that we cannot impose from without. If such reformation proves impossible, let the Muslim holocaust proceed.
Posted by: ed ||
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Ouch! A lovely article tearing the AP apart for a historical pattern of defending fantasy that at one stage the writer personally experienced. Great find, ed!
#4
Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld has served his country nobly, at a time when only he saw and accomplished necessary (and hopefully irrevocable) changes in the structure and key methods of our armed forces. He took our military to war with what he had and, if not perfectly, he nevertheless did not allow the Platonic Ideal of Perfection to keep him and the Armed Forces who were his charge from doing that which was good enough for the first steps down a long road. We can only hope that his successor continues his efforts and improves on them, taking full advantage of the goodwill attached simply to being someone else to git'r done.
#5
God loves ya and Bolton, Rummy, stick around becuz I think the USA will still have need for you two. Good men stay home only after the job is 1000% done and in good hands, not partial = half-way done.
U.S.-led coalition forces killed 20 insurgents, including two women, Friday in fighting and airstrikes that targeted al-Qaida in
Iraq militants northwest of Baghdad, the military said. The mayor of the village, which was the site of a U.S. raid earlier this year, said 19 civilians were killed, including seven women and eight children.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2006
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Sounds like maybe the mayor needs to be targetted.
By MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR
Associated Press Ghost-Writer, literally.
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Fighting broke out Friday in the southern Somali town taken by the Islamic militias that control much of the country, but the government denied claims that Ethiopian troops had led an attack.
A top Islamic official said militiamen fought Ethiopian troops in the southern town of Dinsor, and he called on Somalis to defeat "the enemies who have invaded our land." "Jihad! More Jihad! That's what we need! Listen up, all, we're gonna have ourselves a Jihad!"
If confirmed, it will be first direct fighting between the militias and Ethiopian troops. But a minister of the Somali government said the clashes were between his forces and the Islamic militia challenging the government for control of Somalia. He denied Ethiopians, who back his government, were involved.
"New fighting has started in Dinsor. Our forces have been raided by Ethiopian troops, so people get up and fight against the Ethiopians," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed told a crowd of hundreds after Friday prayers. Islamic militiamen seized Dinsor on Saturday without encountering resistance or firing a shot.
"Stand up and overcome the enemies who have invaded our land," he told the crowd, which had gathered to protest a U.N. resolution allowing an African peacekeeping force into Somalia.
Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle told The Associated Press that Islamic militiamen attacked first, fighting government troops at their base in Safarnoolees, a village 20 miles north of Dinsor.
"The Islamic courts have attacked our base near Dinsor and we are defending our base," Jelle said. He said no Ethiopians were fighting with the government.
Ethiopian troops were first reported in Somalia in June, soon after the Islamic courts took the capital, Mogadishu. Ethiopia has always said it has only a few hundred military advisers in Somalia to help the transitional government form a national army, but a confidential U.N. report obtained by the AP in October said 6,000-8,000 Ethiopian troops were in Somalia or along the border.
The report also said 2,000 soldiers from Eritrea were inside Somalia. Eritrea denies having any troops in Somalia. "No, no, certainly not!"
Demonstrations were held in several towns throughout Somalia against Wednesday's U.N. resolution, which eases a 14-year arms embargo on Somalia so an African force can equip itself. The resolution stopped Somalia's neighbors _ Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya _ from contributing troops.
Earlier Friday, Sheikh Abdullahi Ali Hashi, a spokesman for the Islamic courts, claimed Ethiopian troops had shelled the central Somalia town of Bandiradley, while residents of a nearby village said Ethiopian troops and tanks had taken up positions near the town.
Witnesses in a village near Bandiradley said hundreds of Ethiopian troops and tanks had taken up positions near the town.
They said that this new movement puts these forces and their rival Islamic courts' militias just over a mile apart.
Associated Press writer Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu, Somalia contributed to this report, through automatic writing and spirits channeling.
#4
3dc: Ethiopia does a good Stalinist style army attack.
Anybody who is in there way will suffer.
To do this kind of attack properly, you need Russia's vast resources. Remember "We are the World"? That was an album cut to benefit starving Ethiopians. In 2004, the life expectancy of the average Ethiopian was 41.
I think the Ethiopian (Christian) leadership want to be really careful. Ethiopia itself is majority Muslim (from the CIA factbook). Attacks on Somalia will rile up Ethiopian Muslims. At the same time, the Islamic Courts appear bent on creating an Islamic empire in the vicinity of Somalia. I see no good choices for the Ethiopian leadership. They're in a really big pickle. Think about what the Chechens did to the Russians, who have better weapons systems and way more resources than the Ethiopians, and you'll get a good idea of what the Islamic Courts could do to Ethiopia. On the other hand, the desert environment of the region does favor the side with more firepower. The question is whether Ethiopia does have more firepower, given that the Muslim world is funding the Islamic Courts.
#5
The Islamic Courts in Somalia need some airpower pounding, just to create a little entropy. A little smacking to send a message, like setting fire to a yellowjacket nest.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/08/2006 22:55
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The jury is still out on Litvinenko's allegation that Russian security-Intel agencies attacked their own, thus justifying mil action agz Chechnya. There are still various unconfirmed reports out there that many within the Chechnyan Muslim resistance, including top leaders, are undercover double-agents + Moles for Russia.
PRISTINA, Serbia (Rooters) - The United Nations urged patience in Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province on Friday following reports of armed men patrolling the tense west. Their appearance follows a decision to delay until 2007 a decision on independence from Serbia which the 90 percent Albanian majority is demanding.
Residents of western Kosovo were quoted in newspapers on Friday as saying armed men in black uniforms and masks had been stopping cars at night and checking documents. "Who is that masked man?"
Local media reported a brief gunfight and police confirmed at least one checkpoint was set up by armed men near the town of Djakovica, 80 km (57 miles) from the capital Pristina. The men claimed to be part of the shadowy Albanian National Army (ANA), which the U.N. branded a terrorist group in 2003.
The United Nations-run province is braced for possible violence after Western powers and Russia last month agreed to put off proposals for Kosovo's "final status" until after a Serbian general election on January 21.
U.N. governor Joachim Ruecker said police were taking the incidents seriously. His deputy, American ex-general Steven Schook, urged patience. "I am confident that you will get status very quickly," he told residents of the central Kosovo town of Malisevo. "The only activity that would derail the process would be unilateral action or threats to the security of anyone right now," said Schook. "We are very close to the finish line."
Some two million Albanians form the majority of Kosovo's population. Around 100,000 Serbs remain. Western powers promised Kosovo Albanians a decision this year on the territory's fate, arguing that the status quo was unsustainable more than seven years since NATO bombed Serbia to halt a wave of ethnic cleansing.
But they delayed until spring of 2007 to avoid making the loss of Kosovo an election winner for anti-Western parties in Serbia. Diplomats say some form of independence is likely, but Russian opposition, at least publicly, is hardening.
In a report on Kosovo, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will tell the Security Council next week that "fringe groups and extremists" stand ready to exploit widespread frustration. Prime Minister Agim Ceku, a former guerrilla leader, said such groups were "damaging the image and security of Kosovo."
Dismissed by some diplomats as little more than an "internet army", the ANA has claimed responsibility for attacks in Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia's southern Presevo Valley since 1999.
The NATO Force, KFOR, said on Friday it was aware of the incidents, but they should not be "blown out of proportion". Illegal checkpoints and ominous communiques were the early hallmarks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which emerged in 1998 to launch a guerrilla war against Serb forces and at one point controlled 50 percent of the territory.
#1
Some two million Albanians form the majority of Kosovo's population. Around 100,000 Serbs remain.
Western powers promised Kosovo Albanians a decision this year on the territory's fate, arguing that the status quo was unsustainable more than seven years since NATO bombed Serbia to halt a wave of ethnic cleansing.
This Rooters writer is a jackass.
2 million to 100,000 ratio. The only ethnicity that was cleansed from Kosovo was the Serbs. We can thank the UN, Bill Clinton, Madeleine Not-too-bright and Wesley Clark for allowing the Muslim Albanians to come in and takeover Serbian territory.
By MIKE ROBINSON
Associated Press Imaginary Friend Writer
"Happy Festivus, kufrs!"
CHICAGO - A man was arrested Friday by federal agents on charges of planning to set off hand grenades in garbage cans at a shopping mall. Derrick Shareef, 22, of Rockford, was arrested when he met with an undercover agent in a parking lot to trade a set of stereo speakers for four hand grenades and a handgun. (!) Federal officials said he planned to set off four hand grenades in garbage cans at the CherryVale shopping mall in Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago. He was charged with one count of attempting to damage or destroy a building by fire or explosion and one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Federal officials said that in September, Shareef became acquainted with a witness who was cooperating with the FBI and confided to him that he wanted to commit acts of "violent jihad," as well as other crimes.
The man arrested Friday is considered a lone operator without ties to any known terrorist organization, law enforcement sources said.
This shit has got to end. The man is a Muslim with ties to a known terorist organization called ISLAM. This isn't sudden jihad syndrome, it's part of Islam's intention of killing enough kufrs whereby they capitulate to sharia law. The is Islam's sole reason for being, to install itself as supreme over all other cultures, people and faiths.
The failure of our politicians to recognize or admit this will one day be regarded as a criminal act.
#11
Need to stir up Rockford's "Arkansas" constituency-red staters living on the frozen prairie. Sure they'd like to treat him and his pals to some good ol boy dental work.
#12
Let's see how the MSM is reporting this on the 'net right now
As of 1:44pm CST...
Nothing on CNN except breaking news on "Republicans negligient in page scandal"
MSNBC, same thing, page scandal, is breaking news. One sentence link to the side saying "Alleged Ill. terror plot foiled"
ABC News, "Breaking News:HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE FINDINGS ON EX-REP. MARK FOLEY'S IMPROPER CONTACT WITH PAGES: 'WILLFULLY IGNORANT' BUT NO RULES BROKEN" Small line in the side panel below: "Feds Foil Possible Terror Plot on Chicago-Area Mall"
NPR... I'm not even going to bother and I'm not clicking on CBS and giving them the web hit.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/08/2006 14:50
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#13
Federal agents know their biz, I don't, but I hope someone has an eye on Broadway in Rockford. A Louis Farrakhan office sprang up there in the last couple of years.
#16
I grew up not far from Rockford and I know this mall well. It's fairly small and not exactly what I'd call a prime target, but then the guy is obviously an idiot - speakers for hand grenades? WTF
#18
I probably would have eventually ended up just stabbing the shit outta some Jews or something. Just stabbing them niggers with a steak knife. Dude, I aint gonna lie. Because during that war with Hezbollah, man, I had already started to look at synagogues out here and in the DeKalb area and everything. I was looking at synagogues, I was doing MapQuest.... One of them was down the block from the masjid [mosque], I knew that they do their thing on Saturdays, right.
What is this stuff about niggers? Is he just deranged or is someone at the mosque equating blacks with Jews?
#20
Whatever happened to summary execution? George Washington was ready to do it to Benedict Arnold, I think it reasonable to think in olden better days this douche bag would be swinging by now.
The unsurprising victory of Venezuelan song and dance artist Hugo Chavez in his re-election bid on Sunday was warmly welcomed around the world.
Chavez friends in Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua were pleased. Castro and Daniel Ortega must think someone flipped a switch and theyre back in the early 1980s only this time, theres no President Reagan and no Contras.
The Iranian Foreign ministry welcomed the Chavez victory, and didnt even threaten to raise oil prices to $200 per barrel. Thats for next week.
Al Jazeera knew the results even before the votes were cast, and showed Chavez with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran earlier this year, rigged out in orange hard hats, the best of buddies.
If the North American empire and its lackeys attempt another coup, or don't acknowledge the electoral outcome, we will not send them one more drop of oil," al Jazeera quoted al Jefe as saying.
Oil is mainly what distinguishes Chavez from his mentor, Fidel Castro. Venezuela is the worlds fifth-largest oil exporter, and supplies the U.S. with about 11 percent of our daily oil supplies. And Chavez controls the oil.
Instead of inviting the children to spend their summer holiday cutting sugar cane, as Fidel did in the 1960s, al Jefe is offering sugar plums to the poor via his wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CITGO, which controls 6% of all U.S. refining capacity.
In July, Chavez had CITGO break existing distribution agreements with 1,800 independently owned service stations in ten predominantly red states, because he reportedly wanted to break contracts that benefit U.S. consumers more than Venezuelans.
Now he is offering to supply discounted heating oil to the poor in several U.S. states as a public relations ploy. Even USA Today is asking if Citgo is no longer an oil company, but a political tool for Chavez.
The Citgo offer of discounted fuel has won support from unexpected circles. On Friday, the parent company of the conservative Washington Times will be hosting Venezeuan ambassador Hernando Alverez Herrera to a citizens forum, where he will expound on Chavezs kind and generous offer to supply discounted fuel to the poor.
As a daily reader of the Times (and a former senior writer for Insight Magazine, an investigative newsweekly closed by the Times last year), I was surprised to learn that Herrera would be a featured speaker at a Washington Times event.
I was even more surprised when the spokesman for the Citizens Forum, Brian Bauman, told me that he was planning to allow Herrera to speak unchallenged by any panelist who would focus on Venezuelas strategic ties to Iran, a founding member of the axis of evil .Thats not the direction of this forum, he said. Its to speak to the cost of energy in the Washington, DC area. One facet of that is the Venezuelan program.
Come hither, Little One, said the Crocodile
Venezuela under Chavez ressembles Castros Cuba in important ways. Just as Castro did after he seized power, Chavez has sought to expand his influence throughout the region through covert action. He bankrolled Ortegas return to power last month, and has helped leftist leaders win power in Bolivia and elsewhere.
Also like Castro, he has sought the protection of a powerful opponent of the United States, in this case the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Castro was powerless to prevent Nikita Krushchev from deploying nuclear-tipped missiles to Cuba, an act that nearly provoked a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. And Kruschhev was no radical Islamic fundamentalist. He was rational to the extreme, believing in the cold calculus of power politics.
Ahmadinejad has stated publicly that the goal of his government is to bring about the return of the Imam Mahdi, the 12th imam of Shiite Muslim lore who only comes out of his well after a devastating world war.
Unlike Krushchev, who understood that he and his regime were doomed if nuclear missiles actually began to fly, Ahmadinejad believes that through death, he wins.
Its hard to deter such a regime.
Iran does not currently have nuclear warheads at least, so far as the CIA professes to know. But they do have missiles which, if deployed in Venezuela, would be capable of hitting the United States.
But it goes against the pattern of Iranian regime behavior to act so overtly against the United States. Tehrans mullahs prefer acting by indirection, through proxies, just as they are murdering Americans today in Iraq through proxies.
Suppose for a moment that Iran has acquired a nuclear weapon either on the black market, as many sources believe; or through a clandestine uranium enrichment program, which the CIA discounts (because they have no spies in Iran who might detect such a program).
Iran could send a heavily-shielded nuclear warhead to Venezuela, where it would be fitted to a short-range missile and stowed on board a U.S.-bound cargo ship.
That cargo ship would not be owned by Iranians or by Venezuelans, but perhaps by some Qatari millionaire through a front company in the British Virgin Islands. The deadly ship would then depart Venezuela carrying perfectly legitimate, declared cargo for the port of Newark, New Jersey.
Perhaps the ship might not even be bound for the United States at all, but for Halifax, Nova Scotia, further up the Atlantic seaboard. Either way, the likelihood it would be inspected on the high seas are very low.
Steaming along in commercial shipping lanes one hundred miles off the coast of Washington, DC, the ships international crew brings the missile launcher up from the hold and prepares it for launch. Under the cover of darkness, they fire their weapon, then stow the launcher and continue on their way. Two minutes later, Washington, DC is hit with a fireball that obliterates the White House, the Capitol Building, and the national monuments in seconds. And no signature links this act of war back to Iran.
This, of course, is just fiction. But the technology is known and available. Iran has been testing sea-launched ballistic missiles since 1998.
Well before any kind of military strike on America, both Iran and Venezuela are working to get America to surrender, by first admitting our helplessness.
That is why Chavez is offering discounted oil through Citgo to Americans. You are poor, you are weak, and your government wont take care of you. But we will, if only you will accept our gift. Much to the delight of the Enlightened EUlites, who love to point out the poor americans, forgotten by the Man and the evil US society.
That is why Iran is trying to get the United States to accept its help in Iraq, and is working through proxies in America (since it has no legal equivalent of Citgo) to get its seductive offer across. We will stop the insurgency, Iran says, if only you will recognize the legitimacy of our regime, accept our nuclear program, and stop all efforts to support pro-democracy movements inside Iran. We can keep Americans from getting killed.
Come hither, Little One, said the Crocodile, and Ill whisper.
In Rudyard Kiplings Just So Stories, the Elephants Child is tempted by his satiable curtiosity to seek out the Crocodile, and cannot believe the beast will actually try to eat him. As the Elephants Child pulls and pulls to free his nose from the Crocodiles teeth, it grows and grows and that is How the Elephant got its Trunk.
A TREE frog has miraculously survived after being frozen rock solid. The tiny frog was found covered in a layer of ice in a walk-in freezer - set at -18C - at a Darwin cafeteria.
When put out to defrost it fully recovered and started breathing. "I couldn't believe it," Sue Hoddinott, who found the amphibian, said. "He was completely frozen rock solid.
"When I found him I thought 'Poor little thing', and I went to put it in the bin.
"But a friend said not to, as she had seen on TV that they can come back to life when defrosted.
"I told her she had been watching too many movies, but I did it anyway.
"She ran her finger over his back to wipe the ice off and he started breathing again -- it was amazing."
Ms Hoddinott, 47, of Karama, is a chef at Charles Darwin University. The frog was thawed back to life on Monday morning but its frost-bitten toes and feet are not functioning.
FrogWatch NT co-ordinator Graeme Sawyer said it was an unusual story. But he did not rule out the possibility of a frog being revived after it was frozen. "I've never heard of it happening with Australian species but there are American frogs that can be defrosted and come back to life," he said.
Mr Sawyer said the tree frog looked like the litoria rothii species. "(But) it may be an import from Queensland or somewhere," he said. "If it was in a freezer it may have come in the same way the 'banana box frogs' turn up at markets around Australia."
THE Uniting Church has again sparked outrage by refusing to fulfil a Digger's dying wish to have the Australian flag draped over his coffin. The Highfield Rd Uniting Church in Canterbury banned the flag at the funeral of long time congregation member and war veteran Geoff Bolton on November 15. It is believed the family were only told of the church's policy on the morning of the funeral and were forced to have the RSL service in the church's foyer.
Essendon Uniting Church minister Wes Campbell outraged many by refusing dead World War II veteran George "Dick'" Vipond a flag on his funeral casket in March last year, forcing the Digger's family to move the funeral to a nearby Anglican church.
State RSL president Major-General David McLachlan said he was disappointed as he thought the issue had been resolved after working with former Uniting Church moderator Sue Gorman last year.
"It is an incredible insult to the family and also to Mr Bolton himself," told 3AW. "He was a veteran, he wanted to be buried under his national flag that he'd fought under and he his family has agreed to the RSL service.
"I think it's just unacceptable. Here are people wishing to have the final ceremony conducted in the church where Mr and Mrs Bolton were married some 50 years ago.
"The churches at the moment are crying out for membership, but those that have been faithful members of the church get treated this way and I just don't think it's right."
Former Uniting church moderator Sue Gorman issued a statement in June last year stating "the Synod Standing Committee gives strong affirmation for the use of the national flag within the Christian funeral liturgy."
"The majority of Uniting Church of Australia Ministers... allow the coffin to be covered with the national flag during the funeral service (of a returned Service person) and they can continue to follow this practise," she said.
However she cautioned all parishoners consult carefully with ministers to make sure funeral wishes and arrangements were clear, "with all ministers to devise a way forward when the reasonable requests of bereaved families with respect to the flag on the coffin conflict with the understanding of the Minister."
A statement from the Uniting Church is being prepared and will be released shortly, spokesman Rev Kim Cain said.
#5
Throw a blanket party for the priest, but instead of stuffing soap in the socks, put 1 lb lead weights. If he lives, saran wrap him to the light pole in front of the church.
When the history of our times is written, this week will be remembered as the week that Washington decided to let the Islamic Republic of Iran go nuclear. I hope she's misjudging GWB.
Hopefully it will also be remembered as the moment the Jews arose and refused to allow Iran to go nuclear.
With the publication of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group chaired by former US secretary of state James Baker III and former congressman Lee Hamilton, the debate about the war in Iraq changed. From a war for victory against Islamofascism and for democracy and freedom, the war became reduced to a conflict to be managed by appeasing the US's sworn enemies in the interests of stability and at the expense of America's allies.
Baker and his associates claim that the US cannot win the war in Iraq and so the US must negotiate with its primary enemies in Iraq and throughout the world - Iran and Syria - in the hopes that they will be persuaded to hold their fire for long enough to facilitate an "honorable" American retreat from the country.
Like his unsupported assertion that the US cannot win in Iraq, Baker also asserts - in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary - that Iran and Syria share America's "interest in avoiding chaos in Iraq." Because of this supposed shared interest, Baker maintains that with the proper incentives, Iran and Syria can be persuaded to cooperate with a US withdrawal from Iraq ahead of the 2008 presidential primaries.
The main incentive Baker advocates offering is Israel.
Baker believes that Iran will agree to temporarily hold its fire in Iraq in exchange for US acceptance of Iran as a nuclear power and an American pledge not to topple the regime. Syria will assist the US in exchange for US pressure on Israel to hand over the Golan Heights to Syria and Judea and Samaria to Hamas.
Obviously, if implemented, the Baker-Hamilton group's recommendations will be disastrous for Israel. Just the fact that they now form the basis for the public debate on the war is a great blow. But it isn't only Israel that is harmed by their actions. The US too, will be imperiled if their views become administration policy.
Although Baker - and incoming Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who served on his commission until Bush announced his appointment next month - believe that there is a deal to be done that will end Iranian and Syrian aggression against the US, its vital interests and its allies, the fact of the matter is that there is no such deal. Contrary to what the Baker report argues and what Gates said in his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Iran is not analogous to the Soviet Union and the war against the global jihad is not a new cold war.
Even if the US were to somehow get them to agree to certain understandings about Iraq, there is no reason to believe that the Iranians and Syrians would keep their word. Not only would the US be approaching them as a supplicant and so emboldening them, but to date the US has never credibly threatened anything either Syria or Iran value. Indeed, through supporting negotiations between the EU and Iran, empowering the UN to deal with Iran's nuclear program and forcing Israel to accept a cease-fire with Hizbullah last summer that effectively gave victory to Syria and Iran's proxy, the US has consistently rewarded the two countries' aggression.
Worse than that, from a US perspective, although Gates admitted Tuesday that he cannot guarantee that Iran will not attack Israel with nuclear weapons, he ignored the fact that Iran - whose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad daily calls for the destruction of the US - may also attack the US with nuclear weapons.
Gates admitted in his Senate hearing that Iran is producing many bombs - not just one.
Since it is possible to destroy Israel with just one bomb, the Americans should be asking themselves what Iran needs all those other bombs for. There are senior military sources in the US who have been warning the administration to take into consideration that the day that Iran attacks Israel with a nuclear bomb, 10 cities in the US and Europe are liable to also be attacked with nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, no one is listening to these voices today.
IT IS particularly upsetting that Washington has chosen now of all times to turn its back on the war. Ahmadinejad hinted Monday that Iran has completed the nuclear fuel cycle and so has passed the point of no return on its nuclear program. He also made a veiled statement indicating that Iran will have its nuclear arsenal up and running by March - just four months away.
Serious disagreement exists in Washington over the status of the Iranian program. Some claim that Iran is four or five years away from nuclear weapons capabilities. Other maintain that Iran has recently experienced serious technical setbacks in their uranium enrichment activities and that the North Korean nuclear bomb test in October, in which Iranian officials participated, was a failure.
But there are also engaged officials who agree with Ahmadinejad's assessment of Iran's nuclear progress. Those officials maintain first that the North Korean-Iranian test in October was successful and should be taken as a sign that Iran already has a nuclear arsenal. Second, they warn that the US and Israel have six months to act against Iran's nuclear installations and to overthrow the regime or face the prospect of the annihilation of Israel and the destruction of several US cities as a result of an Iranian nuclear offensive.
Obviously, Israel cannot risk the possibility that the last group of officials is correct. And since Washington has decided to go to sleep, it is up to Israel alone to act.
WHAT MUST Israel do? First, it must plan an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities and regime command and control centers. To pave the way for such an attack, the IDF must move now to neutralize second order threats like the Palestinian rocket squads and the Syrian ballistic missile arsenals in order to limit the public's exposure to attack during the course of or in the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Iran.
Second, Israel must work to topple the Iranian regime. As the Defense Minister's advisor Uri Lubrani told Ha'aretz last week, the regime in Iran is far from stable today and ripe for overthrow.
The overwhelming majority of Iranians despise the regime. There are rebellious groups in every ethnic group and province in the country - Azeris, Kurds, Ahwazi Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmen and even Persians - that are actively working to destabilize the regime. Every day there are strikes of workers, women and students. Every few weeks there are reports of violent clashes between anti-regime groups and regime forces. Recently, oil pipelines were sabotaged in the oil-rich Khuzestan province in the south where the Ahwazi Arabs are systematically persecuted by the regime. Westerners who recently visited Iran claim that Israel operating alone could overthrow the regime by extending its assistance to these people.
Thirdly, in his testimony in the Senate on Tuesday, Gates casually mentioned that Israel has nuclear weapons. In so doing, he unceremoniously removed four decades of ambiguity over Israel's nuclear status. While his statement caused dismay in Jerusalem, perhaps Israel should see this as an opportunity.
With the threat of nuclear destruction hanging over us, it makes sense to conduct a debate about an Israeli second strike. While such a discussion will not dissuade Iran's fanatical leaders from attacking Israel with nuclear weapons, it could influence the Iranian nation to rise up against their leaders.
Moreover, such a debate could influence other regimes in the region like Saudi Arabia which today behave as if Israel's annihilation will have no adverse impact on them. Americans like Baker, Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and their European friends need to understand that as goes Israel so go the Persian Gulf's oil fields. Such an understanding may influence their willingness to enable Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Tragically, in these perilous times, we are being led by the worst, most incompetent government we have ever had.
Prime Minister Olmert's way of dealing with the Iranian threat is to pretend that it is none of his business. During his visit to the US last month, Olmert abdicated responsibility for safeguarding Israel from nuclear destruction to President Bush. It didn't bother him that Bush didn't accept the responsibility. By mindlessly adhering to non-existent cease-fires with Iranian proxies in Gaza and Lebanon and squawking about peace with them, Olmert continues to behave as if this is someone else's problem.
For her part, reacting to the possibility of national extinction, Education Minister Yuli Tamir this week cocked her pedagogical pistol and shot at her rear. By ordering the public schools to demarcate the 1949 armistice lines on the official maps and so wipe Israel off maps of Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, Tamir worked to divide the nation over second order issues at a time when unity of purpose is most essential. Olmert, who refused to overturn her scandalous decree, was doubtlessly pleased with her political stunt. For two days the media devoted itself entirely to stirring up internal divisions and so ignored the threat hanging over our heads and Olmert's refusal to deal with it.
Next Thursday, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein and former ambassador to the UN Dore Gold will hold a press conference in New York where they will call for the US to indict Ahmadinejad for his call to annihilate Israel under the International Convention Against Genocide. This is doubtlessly a welcome initiative. But it is insufficient.
In a few months, Iran may well be in possession of nuclear weapons which it will use to destroy the Jewish state. With the US withdrawing from the war and Israel in the hands of incompetents, the time has come for the Jewish people to rise up.
OUR SURVIVAL begins with each of us deciding that we are willing to fight to survive. And today the challenge facing us is clear. Either the Iranian regime is toppled and its nuclear installations will be destroyed or Israel will be annihilated. The Jews in the Diaspora must launch mass demonstrations and demand that their governments take real action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The citizens of the State of Israel must also take to the streets. The government that led us to defeat in Lebanon this summer is leading us to a disaster of another order entirely. All citizens must demand that Olmert, his ministers and the generals in the IDF General Staff make an immediate decision. They now hold the responsibility for acting against Iran. They must either act or resign and make way for others who will.
America just abdicated its responsibility to defend itself against Iran and so left Israel high and dry. Nevertheless, the Jewish people is far from powerless. And the State of Israel also is capable of defending itself. But we must act and act immediately.
I'll add this, received in email format :
From: News and Views of Israel [mailto:NEWSVIEWS@SHAMASH. ORG] On Behalf Of Chaim
Mechanic
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 09:59
To: NEWSVIEWS@SHAMASH. ORG
Subject: Please Read!!! I received the following note attached to Car. Glick's article todayfrom my son!!!
Last Thursday night, Malcolm Hoenlein and Caroline Glick spoke to 800 people at the Aish Hatotah Conference. It was the most disturbing and frightening experience I have ever had. In a nutshell, they said, with overwhelming evidence, that there is no question that Iran will nuke Israel within the next 6-24 months. At some point people started to freak out and many many people were crying, some sobbing out loud. At that point, Caroline Glick, who is not frum at all, began to also cry, said she is sorry, but this is the reality. They both said that America will not attack Iran and that Olmert doesn't have what it takes to do it either. They said that the only one who can maybe do the job is Netanyahu, but he won't be in power in time.
#2
I'm glad a few folks in Israel are conscious. Her feelings on Baker/Iran are identical to mine. She's very suspicious of the intentions of both Rice & Gates vis a vis Israel. Ditto. And, to survive, they've got to stop fools like Olmert and Peres.They are leading the country down the path to slaughter.
#3
It looks to me as though both George Bush and Tony Blair have lost their bottle at the same time. Blair had been telegraphing this engagement with Syria and Iran nonsense weeks in advance of this Chamberlain report being issued.
If Tehran nukes Israel it will only be after promising to do so for decades; after capering and dancing and mass chants for death on television for all the world to see. When I read these things I bow down my head in shame as a free man. What can we possibly say to the Jews when this evil deed is done?
And in the universities every tilted head of compassion will be for anyone but the victims of this second Holocaust. And every word in anger will be reserved for any man who proposes to finish the evil men who carried out the deed.
#4
If there's anything we should have learned from the history of the 20th Century, it's that the world is a tough place and you have to take care of yourself. The Israelis need to make it known that they are prepared to use nukes against Iran the minute it is sure that Iran will possess nuclear weapons.
Hitler said he would exterminate all the Jews and they didn't believe him. The Holocaust was the result. Ahmedinejad is saying the same thing and trying his best to get the weaponry to do so. Israel CAN stop him but only if they get there before he gets it. It will take nuclear weapons. Will they hit first or will they wait to see what happens? The second course probably means another six million dead Jews.
I sure wish a)that Bibi was PM in Israel, and that b)we would have decisively rejected the Democrats at the last election. We've both placed ourselves at serious, and unnecessary risk through impatience and cowardice. The question now is whether that risk will be fatal for Israel and Tehran.
Posted by: mac ||
12/08/2006 18:54
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#5
Actually mac, lots of Jews did believe Hitler. It's just most couldn't get far enough away to avoid Hitler's conquests. My mother's parents were put on a waiting list for a visa to the US in something like 1936, when they'd already had relatives die in the camps, but it was a ten year waiting list... for Jewish Germans, at least. So in the meantime they fled to Holland, which turned out not to be a winning strategy, but it was all they could do with a small child. The father of one of my university roommates spent the war in Shanghai, my aunt and many of the single cousins ended up on their own in the New World. My mother's first husband settled his parents in Australia, then joined the US Navy and fought all the way north to Japan. But a bunch of relatives fled to Poland, and France and Belgium, which turned out not to be effective... the safe places just didn't want Jews.
But I do absolutely agree with your concluding paragraph. Olmert and his crowd are completely contrasurvival -- they need to figure out a way to put Bibi Netanyahu in post haste, and the Generals must put Israel's survival ahead of Israel's politics.
Yesterday evening, the Dutch television program Nova caused considerable embarrassment in the Netherlands by revealing how the Turkish government influenced last months Dutch general elections. In an e-mail sent to thousands of ethnic Turks in the Netherlands the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs called on them to vote for Fatma Koser Kaya, a 38-year old woman whose family emigrated to the Netherlands when she was six years old. Koser Kaya is a member of the leftist social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) party. On 22 November, D66 lost three of its previous six seats in Parliament. Koser Kaya, however, though only sixth on the list of D66 candidates, was elected as one of the partys three parliamentarians thanks to the 34,564 individual votes she got, possibly as a result of the Turkish governments interference.
Immigrants are known to overwhelmingly vote for candidates of their own ethnic group. Since they have often not integrated in the country where they have settled their loyalties lie with their countries of origin. This has created a situation where the immigrants in Western democracies become Trojan horses of foreign nationalism and religious fanaticism. This phenomenon became apparent in this years local elections in the Netherlands and in neighbouring Belgium. It tipped the balance in favour of parties that put forward immigrant candidates. At the same time, however, it worked to the disadvantage of indigenous candidates on these parties lists, causing considerable resentment among the latter.
In an e-mail, sent from a government address in Ankara, the Turks in the Netherlands were asked to vote for Koser Kaya. The e-mail was sent by Ali Alaybeyoglu, the advisor to Mehmet Aydin, the Turkish minister of Religious Affairs. The first paragraph reads:
We all realize that no-one can represent Turks better than Turks. The Turkish community is threatened by assimilation. All is said, isn't it? Not muslim dutch, not even dutch muslims, but muslims living in Holland.
If we do not unite and vote for a common candidate our position will only worsen in future.
The e-mail lists five reasons why Turks should vote for Koser Kaya. The most important one is the fact that D66 does not recognize the Turkish genocide of the Armenians in 1915. The four other reasons have to do with D66s opposition to the policies of Rita Verdonk, the Dutch minister of Integration.
The Armenian issue became a topic in the Dutch general elections when the two leading parties in the country, the Christian-Democrats and Labour, refused to put forward candidates of Turkish origin who did not accept the party line that there was a genocide of the Armenians in 1915. As a reaction Turkish lobby groups initiated a campaign to urge Dutch voters of Turkish ancestry to boycott any party that labels the 1915 mass killing of Armenians a genocide.
The e-mail from the Turkish ministry lists the Dutch parties and points out why, apart from D66, they are not acceptable to Turks. The Christian-Democrats and Labour are excluded because of their position on the genocide, the Liberal Party VVD because it is the party of Verdonk and Hirsi Ali, the Animal Rights Party because it considers animals to be more important than Turks, and the Calvinist Party because it is preparing a new crusade.
Today, the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted Ankara about the affair. The Turkish Minister of Religious Affairs said he knows nothing about an e-mail. Minister Aydin added that if this e-mail had indeed been sent he strongly condemns it. We do not interfere in the internal politics of our friends, he said. Aydins collaborator Alaybeyoglu, the man who allegedly sent the e-mail, said that several people have access to his e-mail address. According to the Dutch ministry the matter is still under investigation.
#1
Just another indication that no muslim, from any nation, can be completely trusted. Also a good reason to keep Turkey out of the EU.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 13:22
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#2
The e-mail from the Turkish ministry lists the Dutch parties and points out why, apart from D66, they are not acceptable to Turks. The Christian-Democrats and Labour are excluded because of their position on the genocide, the Liberal Party VVD because it is the party of Verdonk and Hirsi Ali, the Animal Rights Party because it considers animals to be more important than Turks, and the Calvinist Party because it is preparing a new crusade.
Well sh*t. Something I can agree with the turkish government about.
#4
The Turks do have a point that when western Europeans even mention the Armenian genocide, they do so for no other reason than to put down the Turks.
A close parallel would be that if every time Brazil mentioned Germany, it made it a point to mention that the Germans were responsible for the Holocaust. It would obviously be done solely as an insult.
Western Europe didn't give two hoots when the Armenians were being killed, so it is rather disingenuous of them to make an issue of it now.
Personally, I think it would be a hoot if every time Brussels mentioned the Armenian genocide, the Turks brought up Belgium's "rape of the Congo".
Most popular name for newborn boys in Brussels, the capital of Europe, in 2005: Mohamed, followed by Adam, Ayoub, Rayan and Mehdi. Source. Nothing new IIRC it has been so since at least 2004. Also, check the ratio of the totals, muslim first names vs kufrs. And, by the way, "Adam" is a mostly muslim name (at least from the people I've known) here in Europe.
#1
I've almost got to hope that some day these parents end up regetting their choice when all males with the name of "Mohamed" are sent to the wall first.
#3
My mother worked, got a PhD, taught, and had four children. It isn't having an outside job that makes European women decide not to produce offspring, it's a refusal to invest in the future.
#4
They're doomed. I hope the Euro's have the sense to get rid of their nukes so the koranimals don't get a hold of them, similar to what the South Africans did with their issue. I hope, but doubt it.
BAGHDAD, Iraq Coalition Forces detained seven suspected terrorists and destroyed a building containing a weapons cache Friday morning near Fallujah.
Intelligence reports indicated terrorist activities in the targeted area. When ground forces searched the targeted building, they discovered a weapons cache consisting of multiple weapons and improvised explosive device making material.
Most of the weapons material was buried in the floor throughout the house.
Due to the amount of weapons material and the safety considerations, Coalition Forces destroyed the building containing the buried weapon cache.
The destruction of this large weapons cache and IED making material reduces the ability of al Qaida in Iraq to operate and increases the safety of all Iraqi citizens, Iraqi and Coalition Forces.
#4
Finally someone listened. All along, I have advocated blowing up munitions when and where they are found. Leaving the terrorists inside or within range is optional. Takes all the fun out of being a terrorist or aiding and abetting same.
#1
Perception most certainly is a reality which overlays physical reality, as all those involved in sales & marketing well know, and must be managed as such. Getting the facts out about real progress on the War on Terror battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, about Arab perfidy with regard to Israel -- mainly via Conservative talk radio, bloggers, and messages/blogging by the troops -- is what has kept the anti-war coalition of Progressives and traditional media from having it all their own way ... For the first time people are not arguing about what should be done about what we read in the papers/see on television, but where the professional journalists have chosen to deviate from the facts that we've learnt from other sources. For the first time the professionals are battling publically to defend themselves against substantiated charges of falsification -- and losing. I would love to know how journalism school application numbers have changed post-9/11, not just because the job market is shrinking, but because the idealists who have historically been attracted to the field don't want to be part of a profession known for outright lying.
#2
In boot camp, soldiers are taught to obey commands without regard to the situation. If each soldier had to decide whether a particular battle could be won or lost before following commands, then indeed, each battle would be lost. So, the situation, and the truth of the situation are not factors. The only important factor to the commander is that when the forces act as if they are invincible, they can overcome bad odds and win the hard ones. Because of this, the officers desire total unquestioned obedience. That's how sucessful forces win over unsucessful forces.
The media separates itself from the military in that they mislead without first preparing their forces to follow without doubting. So, the media followers begin doubting the media screed, and, low and behold, we soon find lies. For this, the media is in decline. The pen is weaker than the sword, and every day, more people are finding new sources of information.
For this reason, the military should never act upon the recommendations or results of media efforts. The military in this democracy should act on commands from their leader, the Commander in Chief. Traditionally, we the people have prayed that he have the strength to do the right thing.
If terrorists ever unleashed a biological weapon, unusual molecules normally found in the blood of llamas could quickly help warn of the attack, scientists now report.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington and their colleagues experimented with antibodies, which act as the red flags and magic bullets of the body's personal defense arsenal.
Every antibody is a complex protein tailored to clamp onto a specific target. Immune cells in the blood and lymph use antibodies either to identify enemies for attacks or to directly bind to and neutralize intruders.
Scientists now regularly develop antibodies for use in medicines against cancers and other diseases or in sensors to warn of dangerous microbes and chemicals. Unfortunately, the antibodies currently used irreversibly break down at high temperatures, often limiting extended use in the field.
Biochemist Ellen Goldman at the Naval Research Laboratory with virologist Andrew Hayhurst at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research and their colleagues investigated llama antibodies. Past studies revealed that the binding regions of these antibodies and those from camels and sharks are unusually small, just one-tenth the size of common human antibodies.
Llama, camel and shark antibodies consist just of chains of heavy proteins, missing the additional lighter protein chains that more complicated antibodies from other species use. Their relative simplicity makes them more durable, capable of withstanding temperatures of almost 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
The researchers generated more than a billion kinds of antibody binding regions in the laboratory based on genes taken from small blood samples from llamas. After testing their antibodies against various biological threats, the researchers found they could within days successfully identify antibodies targeting cholera toxin, a smallpox virus surrogate and ricin, among other known menaces.
"We're interested in the development of biosensors for biothreats in the field, and hopefully these antibodies will help lead to more rugged antibodies that have longer shelf lives and not require refrigeration," Goldman said.
The researchers noted they could advance their technology to isolate useful antibodies against emerging threats within hours. Goldman added that while the antibodies they have tested successfully bind to their targets, they hope to develop antibodies that bind more strongly.
The findings are scheduled to be detailed in the Dec. 14 issue of the journal Analytical Chemistry.
#2
Hurrah for The Adventures of Tintin! The author was Belgian -- they've a wonderful shop for his stuff in Brussels, translated into a great many languages, for those of us whose children don't read French or Flemish.
#1
We will continue to see much more of this. People brought up into chaotic lifestyles without any spiritual formation will turn to Islam. They have nothing to rely on and are taught by modern culture that Western Culture is evil and impotent, including it's religions. Even the woman described as being brought up Baptist is enchanted. She states it's hard to do bad things when you have to pray five times a day. It's an unusual Baptist that doesn't Paul's admonition to "pray without ceasing." What does Islam give her that her perception of Christianity does not?
One of Kirkpatrick's most famous speeches was when she blasted "San Francisco Democrats" at the August 20, 1984, Republican Convention. It is as true today, as it was then:
This is the first Republican Convention I have ever attended. I am grateful that you should invite me, a lifelong Democrat. On the other hand, I realize that you are inviting many lifelong Democrats to join this common cause ...
A recent article in The New York Times noted that "the foreign policy line that emerged from the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco is a distinct shift from the policies of such [Democratic] presidents as Harry S Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson." I agree ...
When the San Francisco Democrats treat foreign affairs as an afterthought, as they did, they behaved less like a dove or a hawk than like an ostrich - convinced it would shut out the world by hiding its head in the sand.
Today, foreign policy is central to the security, to the freedom, to the prosperity, even to the survival of the United States. And our strength, for which we make many sacrifices, is essential to the independence and freedom of our allies and our friends ...
The United States cannot remain an open, democratic society if we are left alone -- a garrison state in a hostile world. We need independent nations with whom to trade, to consult and cooperate. We need friends and allies with whom to share the pleasures and the protection of our civilization.
Posted by: Captain America ||
12/08/2006
11:16 ||
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#1
A Grand Lady and patriot of the first order. She prolly read the ISG Report and her heart gave out unable to stand anymore.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
12/08/2006 12:23
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#2
The day she counciled Reagan to back the Argie dictatorship against the UK in the Falklands conflict was the day I stopped respecting her.
#3
RIP JEANNE. I liked her as a personage even though I didn't know her and I didn't always agree wid her policies. WOT > is. besides many other premises/labels, about FREEDOM + INDEPENDENCE. The anti-Amer, DEFEAT = SOCIALISM-OWG, VICTORY = SOCIALISM-OWG Waffling Lefts have no qualms about America warring for empire as long as America loses in the end, by any means necessary, VOLUNTARILY = FORCIBLY. OWG/GLOBALISTS > INVADING ARMIES will be PC called PEACEKEEPERS, e.g. the UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL FORCE(S) IN US. COLD WAR USSR versus "breakaway" WARSAW PACT NATIONS = LOCAL NORTH AMER PACT COMMIE GOVTS, including WASHINGTON DC "asked/requested" Soviet = OWG military intervention = military-led humanitarian assistance, etc.
About 75 percent of China's 20,000 natural lakes are suffering algae pollution, while the nation has lost nearly 1,000 lakes in the last 50 years due to human activity, state press said Wednesday. The major causes of the losses were industrial farming, overuse of water and pollution, which destroyed ecological systems in lake and wetland areas, Xinhua news agency said, citing Zhu Guangyao, Vice Minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration.
In addition, increasing population, industrialization and urbanization have had a severe impact on the biodiversity of lakes, it said.
Algae pollution, which saps the oxygen out of water and kills fish and aquatic life, was caused by an influx of waste water containing nitrogen, phosphorus and other harmful substances, it said.
In central China's Hubei Province, known as the "paradise of lakes", 217 lakes with an area larger than one square kilometer (0.4 square miles) and 522 smaller lakes have disappeared since the 1950s, Xinhua said.
The total size of natural lakes in Hubei had shrunk to 2,438 square kilometers, 34 percent less than 50 years ago.
More than 70 percent of rivers and lakes are polluted, while underground water supplies in 90 percent of Chinese cities are contaminated, previous reports have said.
Nearly 25 years of unbridled economic growth in China have come with little regard to the environment with the nation's water resources severely depleted and air pollution covering most of the country's urban areas.
#2
China has set itself up for a "perfect storm" of catastrophic economic, societal and environmental disasters.
1.) During China's recent privatization, the vast majority of government-run big business was essentially handed over to the PLA's military elite at fire sale prices; Who promptly proceded to run them into the ground. All the while consuming massive loans from banking cronies to prop up these over-staffed and under-equipped enterprises.
END RESULT: This has left China with an estimated $500 billion to $1 trillion worth of bad debt that their own prohibitions on foreign majority bank ownership prevents any bail-out of.
There exists pandemic official corruption that is tacitly accepted by the government resulting in substandard civil engineering and a host of other dangerous or counter-productive practices.
2.) These same industries have historically operated with total disregard for environmental impact or pollution laws due to their immunity through contacts within the PLA. Examine the near-total absence of significant prosecution for the constant coal-mining fatalities and egregious lack of mine safety.
END RESULT: Massive damage to vital natural resources, air quality and some of China's most precious historical locations or archaeological sites.
3.) China's "one family - one child" policy has led to endemic gender based abortion and female infanticide. This lopsided demographic is already beginning to affect Chinese society with the "Little Emperor" syndrome of intensely spoiled male children.
END RESULT: Extreme potential for a major upswing in male homosexuality. Complicated by:
4.) China's medically caused HIV/AIDS epidemic is the largest in world history. Henan province plasma buyers re-injected aggregated red blood cells back into similar type donors, thereby spreading the virus like wildfire. Corrupt government officials more concerned about covering up their connections to these plasma buyers, did little to quarantine or contain the crisis, allowing infected individuals to migrate into large urban centers.
END RESULT: A time-bomb of gigantic proportions that may be facilitated through a host of other societal factors including heavy discrimination against HIV positive people, intense shame over homosexuality and government suppression of publishing any medical statistics regarding this as being damaging to China's image.
5.) Chinas ratio of urban versus rural earning power is incredibly lopsided. Conservative estimates place 1995 rural earnings at 40% of that paid to urban workers. The global figure for that time was 60%. Other estimates place China's earnings gap at seven to one and even an astounding ten to one ratio. This disparity encourages migration to city centers in search of higher pay. Maos promise to break all chains binding peasants to the land was a tremendous lie that found farmers imprisoned by even more intense poverty than before.
END RESULT: Breakdown in agricultural productivity and lack of regulatory oversight in the haste to avoid food shortages. This creates vast potential for tainted goods, which has already manifested in dead infants killed by being fed fake baby formula, fake rabies vaccines and eggs injected with toxic industrial dyes.
All of the above factors are converging to combine into an onslaught of destructive forces that bode exceptionally ill for Chinas future. Such internal pressures may drive China to territorial aggression in order to relieve demand for dwindling resources, marriageable women or simple living space. Taiwan, Eastern Russia and Southeast Asia all fall under the shadow of China's looming crises.
#3
Nice analysis, Zenster -- truly a value-added comment! The question then becomes: will China's self-made problems combine to take them out of the game before or after they attempt to take over the world? Because I don't see that they can succeed, with all that starting to distract their attention within the next generation.
China seems to be designing and implementing it's own catastrophies at record speed. Not sure about the upswing in homosexuality due to lack of females, but I would definitely expect an upsurge in violence and prostitution, and possibly male prostitution.
Some ramblings for all you bible thumpers out there re: Revelation--3 million soldiers from "the king of the east" eventually set out on a land march toward the Middle East. One might presume this will be China's way of balancing the population situation, and their way to wrest the oil reserves from Russia and its Middle Eastern allies. Russia and China are both working furiously behind the scenes to secure the oil they need from the Arab countries, and it's only a matter of time, IMO, before the Arabs make the play to pit the two against each other in an attempt to get themselves the better deal. Problem is, China does not forgive and restrategize when it is offended/ripped off, and will demand payment for their humiliation. The Chinese take humilation a lot more seriously than do the Arabs, which the Arabs are destined to discover the hard way at some point.
But, back to the article. It's insane how LITTLE of this kind of hideous third-world mismanagement of natural resources is ever covered in the MSM. You'd think it was only the US that ever does anything bad, environmentally speaking, when in actuality we have better laws in place and better systems for protecting the environment than does most of the world. We should improve ourselves environmentally because we all have to live here, but the full-scale rampant destruction of the world by these other countries is reprehensible and cannot be repaired. At least it should be reported on regularly.
#5
I think China will try to keep a lid on its internal problems and steer clear of too much international strife until after the Beijing Olympic games are over in late Summer 2008, and the nice ocean of foreign currency they will be swimming in will be safely tucked away, and the international media will have gone home.
I'm not sure whether they will wait for the US election season to conclude before they start whatever mischief they have planned.
#8
will China's self-made problems combine to take them out of the game before or after they attempt to take over the world?
Your's is the $64.00 question, tw. I say that the time is now to begin a trade embargo which precipitates China's collapse. Their triangulation in the Middle East must be brought to a halt. Much of the wealth Iran diverts into developing nuclear weapons comes from China. We need to do all of this before Europe finally shakes off any moral or ethical compuctions and begins selling China advanced military hardware.
China's steadfast refusal to rectify the North Korean nuclear crisis (which they could do in a New York minute), is solid evidence of their intention to destabilize the entire East Asian economic sphere. Their persistent artificial valuation of the Yuan perpetuates horrific trade imbalances that are decimating American and international manufacturing capacity.
The massive cash flow into China only fuels further environmental damage as the politburo struggles to milk every last possible military and economic advance out of their faltering resources and economic base. As ex-lib correctly points out the Chinese concept of 'tiu lien' (losing face), makes Arab humiliation look like the tantrums of a two year-old. China's is a high-context society and loss of face bears prohibitive social stigma.
a high-context negotiator's nightmare is loss of face. As listed above, there are many ways in which this might happen, and he or she will do everything in order to ensure that it will not happen. A high-context negotiator prefers to take as much uncertainty as possible out of the picture. Even failure to reach an agreement can result in loss of face, so he or she will try to foresee and plan every aspect of the ensuing negotiation in order to prevent failure. Cohen lists China and Japan as two different strategic examples for how this is done. Many Japanese negotiators engage in extensive information gathering, so that they know the positions ahead of time and can then adjust their own position to what they think will be realistic. Chinese strategy is the exact opposite. They make sure that the other party is quite aware of nonnegotiable positions ahead of time. They will only come to the table if these terms have already been implicitly accepted. Most likely, they will not come to the table if they think there is too much potential for humiliation and loss of dignity. The common denominator between these two positions, according to Cohen, is "avoiding a leap into the unknown" and diminishing the possibilities for loss of face ahead of time.
Connect these factors into the current issues confronting our relationship with China and the cost/benefit of trying to appease them diminishes dramatically. China will never respond to appeals for cooperation or fair play. Much like the Arab cultures, only undeniable economic or military force will prove to be persuasive.
If we pander to China's desire to save face, we limit all functional options in curtailing the threat that they pose. This is an almost self-fulfilling prophecy in that China presets these disadvantageous conditions specifically to guarantee itself a more favorable outcome. In this respect, their concerns over dignity are much like that of the over-sensitive Arabs. Both are exceptionally high-context cultures, after all.
The difference is that China is playing a much deeper game than the Arabs who merely seek global domination through sheer (and markedly insufficient) force of arms, whereas the Chinese are willing to wage a much more protracted economic war to achieve their ends. While China's hand may be forced by the list of cumulative effects I noted above, it is the height of foolishness for us to simply wait and see what the end result will be. Again, this is much the same as with Islam, except that militarily defeating Muslim aspirations for global supremacy will look like a walk in the park compared to taking on China in the same fashion.
#9
Zenster... there was a time when all investments, from the US, in China had to go through a partnership of Deng and one of Bush 41's brothers. (I forget which one.) Both of them got a slice of all the action. Its one of the reasons I voted for Perot in 92. (I heard all the snickers from the chinese.) Then Clinton turned around and sold China anything they wanted so I guess it is heads you loose tails he wins....
If we pander to China's desire to save face, we limit all functional options in curtailing the threat that they pose. This is an almost self-fulfilling prophecy in that China presets these disadvantageous conditions specifically to guarantee itself a more favorable outcome.
China always plays with a stacked deck. They will not participate in anything that isn't a surefire win for them. See the block quote in post # 8 about Chinese negotiation methods.
American politicians on both sides of the aisle are so busy selling this country down the Yangtze River that they could care less for the little guy. They already have their wealth (or access to it) and could give a shit if America's industrial core is left a rotting husk. None of these turds have ever had to build anything in their entire lives; Most of them know squat about running a profitable business; They don't even know how a computer operates and their sole concern is where the next campaign contribution or lobbyist's gift is coming from.
The only thing worse is that this economic betrayal is peanuts in comparison to how our national security and individual safety is being compromised by personal agendas, political correctness and outright spinelessness. America's current (and recent) crop of politicians have much to answer for when the post 9-11 era of history is entered on the books. They make our WWII leadership look nothing short of heroic beyond measure at all turns.
The incredibly wider military options presented to them by enhanced mobility and technological advances makes their inability to combat Islamic terrorism a display of moral cowardice and craven self-interest that would shame even Casper Milquetoast.
#11
Sounds like someone(s) finally saw the film footage of Chinese kiddies playing amidst massive trash/waste debris stockpiles in rivers + streams. Too bad it took decades + recent industrial/toxic chemical spills to notice.
#12
To be fair, Zenster, most people don't know how to run a profitable business -- certainly the only bit I've mastered is spend less than you take in, look for cost savings, and try to invent new products that people will buy. Oh, and treat people fairly, whether customers, suppliers or employees. And I've only the vaguest idea how my computer works -- my brother who built U of Oklahoma's supercomputers and my sister the programming PhD candidate smile gently at me when the subject comes up.
But those are just quibbles. ;-) On the other hand, China is facing increasing competition from Viet Nam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Egypt and other places, especially as the large companies that first moved their manufacturing capabilities over there have come to realize the risk of concentrating under the thumb of one not-completely-stable regime. Also, the bigger players are getting tired of seeing their products
a)falling off the back of the truck, and
b)being copied and sold as if real by local manufacturers (and sometimes even their own manufacturers!).
I think part of what we aren't seeing is the turnover as the early initiators diversify out of China and the later adopters start up in China. That turnover must be making the Chinese nervous, the wiser ones realizing that they aren't going to be able to make the same kinds of deals with the latecomers as they did with those desperate to access the relatively monied burgeoning Chinese middle class... or so it seems to me.
#13
With all due respect, trailing wife (and that is no small measure), you are not responsible for passing laws about the Internet, software copying or piracy of intellectual property. Our leaders are, yet frequently have little to no understanding of even the most rudimentary principles of operation involved.
All sausage-making analogies aside, the passing of laws should be a much more well-considered action than the mere loosing of so much methane that it too often resembles.
In October 2003, however, Motorola abandoned its MOS-17 plant, into which it had already sunk $1 billion, swapping it to SMIC for a 10% share in SMIC -- a deal that market-watchers estimated was a loss of about 90 cents on the dollar. In February 2005, Motorola sold its SMIC shares expecting to raise about $115 million.
That is essentially a ONE BILLION dollar loss by a leading American silicon foundry. This, due to frustration about equipment importation and piracy issues. Another critical item of note from the report:
Since 1986, the technology gap between U.S. and Chinese semiconductor manufacturing capacity has narrowed almost to zero. The current industry standard semiconductor fabrication dimensions are now around 0.18 and 0.13 micron line-widths, and Chinese wafer-fabs already produce DRAMS with these design rules. The current U.S. state-of-the-art is now 0.09 microns -- or 90 nanometers -- and at least one Chinese fab is said to be installing a 90 nanometer production line now. U.S. semiconductor manufacturers are now working on 65 nanometer design rules -- in concert with a French fab.
In February 2005, the Defense Science Board issued a report on "High Performance Microchip Supply" which -- to me at least -- seemed focused on the security challenge posed by the explosion in Chinese microchip design and production and th eimpact on America's strategic position. Alarmed by the leakage of U.S. technology to China, the DoD report even proposed bilateral Wassenaar-type agreements with Japan and Taiwan on SME exports to China. Incidentally, the DoD report also bemoaned the fact that Commerce Department microchip export rules are always out of date, and hence there is business pressure on the licensing offices to bend their own rules to "keep up with the times."
According to the Defense Science Board report, the strategic threat to the United States in the semiconductor sector is significant in two contexts: 1) the globalization of the microchip supply chain is draining production capacity from the United States and in a crisis it would be difficult to ramp up domestic output; 2) there is a real threat that microchip supplies from overseas -- particularly from China -- would be untrustworthy; that "opportunities for adversaries to clandestinely manipulate technology used in U.S. critical microelectronics applications are enormous and increasing."
In other words; not only is the Pentagon finding fewer and fewer sources for application specific integrated circuit microchips for highly classified defense applications (such as signals processing, encryption, guidance systems, etc.) but the US military already relies heavily on China for the unclassified laptops and PCs that are the bulk of the nervous system of our network-centric warfare doctrine. It is all well and good to say that the US simply won't buy Chinese-made computers for our military, but what happens when the global supply-chain means all laptops and PCs have some Chinese components in them?
Simply answering that 70 percent of China's advanced technology exports are made by non-Chinese companies is inadequate. As microcircuitry architecture becomes orders of magnitude denser than today, it becomes ever easier to hide lines that serve as Trojan Horse circuit designs, radio-frequency receivers and other "backdoors" to circumvent encryption, muddle signals, induce data failure and the like.
Are Chinese semiconductor firms capable of such chicanery? Chinese advanced technology companies have already proved themselves adept at down-loading and pirating tapeouts and masks that have been sent to contract fabs for mass production. And there are already several hundred semiconductor design labs in China -- sponsored and paid-for by foreign firms including America's top microchip corporations. While one American semiconductor design engineer told me this week that he did not think the Chinese designers he worked with were "smart enough" to handle the task of sabotaging circuit maps, he admitted that his Israeli colleagues were.
This is hardly reassuring. I suspect that US-sponsored semiconductor design labs in China lose engineers as they gain experience only to have them replaced by inexperienced engineers in need of new training. No doubt, experienced engineers are siphoned off by Chinese government, military and academic units to work on more advanced projects.
High speed microelectronics are the heart and soul of America's highly modernized war technology. Outsourcing the production of certain widely used and critical components like DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), ultra high speed CPUs (Central Processing Units) and hybrid mixed signal DSPs (Digital Signal Processors) represent a direct and dangerous compromise of national security.
Yet, because our politicians know no more about these vital electronic components than they do about the chemical composition of lunar soil, they feel free to permit continued erosion of America's preeminence in chip design and fabrication. This, when our government should be retaining all aspects of this critical industry on American soil.
As noted in the quote above; The more we become dependent upon foreign sourced solid state components, the more vulnerable our technology dependent military becomes. Yet, little if anything is being done about this in the face of massive direct and indirect influence peddling by China.
Please make a point of reading the six page report. It is a real eye-opener.
#2
The PRC could have avoided this if they had reined in the Norks. How long until a Japanese nuke?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
12/08/2006 12:03
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#3
How long until a Japanese nuke?
Bet they could crank one out in a hurry if they decide they need it.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/08/2006 12:06
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#4
UN: You just wiped out Pyonyang and Bejing and Shanghai.
Japan: It was merely self-defense.
UN: What happened ?
Japan: They threatened to publish their own history versions of WWII. Satisfied ?
#6
ISRAEL = JAPAN, etc. know they can't depend on overt or covert anti-Amer American, OWG Pols to protect them or their interests. And the Hegemony-centric CHICOMS, in and by themselves, has more than enough manpower reserves to suppor a multi-front regional war, let alone wid Commie Allies.
No wonder the original report was thin on the details of this alleged "insensitivity".
A Muslim woman in Dearborn, Mich., lodged a complaint Tuesday against Fitness USA for an alleged civil rights violation involving a fellow gym patron. According to Jodi Berry, executive director of Fitness USA, Wardeh Sultan was praying in front of another members locker when the member wanted access to her belongings inside the locker. The inconvenienced patron tried to interrupt Ms. Sultan, but she remained prostrate in front of the locker and an altercation ensued. A manager was called into the locker room to intervene.
Ms. Sultan later complained that the Fitness USA management was unconcerned about the humiliation she suffered when her prayers were interrupted. Probably not as much humiliation as you're gonna get once everyone finds out you pray in the general direction of stinky tube socks and spandex.
She stated that the gym personnel were insensitive, rejected her complaints and did not satisfactorily intervene on her behalf. Ms. Sultan further reported that the manager told her, You have to respect her (the other patron), but she does not have to respect your god. "Who apparently has a thing for sweaty women's underwear and wet towels."
#3
I suppose I'd be deemed insensitive if I were to go to the local mosque this evening during evening prayers to knock off a few reps of sit-ups, push-ups and jumping jacks, eh?
Posted by: Mark Z ||
12/08/2006 14:29
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Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2006 15:39
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#2
TRANSFORMERS - MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE, iff thats its pic on SPACEWAR.com. EIther that or Silicon Valley = US MIC has officially surrendered to FRANCE???
STAFF at an Irish riding school were forced to postpone festivities after Gus the camel chomped his way through 200 mince pies and guzzled several cans of Guinness intended for their Christmas party.
Gus, starring in the riding school's Santa's Magical Animal Kingdom show, helped himself to the feast while staff were getting changed for the party.
"Gus found his way out of his pen and helped himself," Robert Fagan, owner of the Mullingar Equestrian Centre in central Ireland, said.
The 11-year-old camel, originally from Morocco, cracked open six cans of Ireland's famous stout with his teeth after the door to his stall was left open.
Gus appeared well after Monday evening's feeding frenzy, Mr Fagan said, adding: "We were all looking forward to it, but
#1
The 11-year-old camel, originally from Morocco, cracked open six cans of Ireland's famous stout with his teeth after the door to his stall was left open.
Podgorica, 8 Dec. (AKI) - Montenegro's special prosecutor for organised crime, Stojanka Radovic, on Friday indicted 18 ethnic Albanians, including five United States citizens More on this below, for planning terrorist attacks in the southern Malesia region, aimed at putting it under ethnic Albanian control. The group planned to take over police stations, border crossings to Albania and all key institutions in Malesia, with the aim of expelling the non-Albanian population and creating an ethnic Albanian controlled territory.
The operation called the Flight of Eagle, which is an Albanian national symbol, was averted a day before it actually carried out its plans and maximal sentence for the crime, if convicted, would be up to 15 years in jail.
The group was arrested on September 9 on the eve of parliamentary elections in Montenegro, and planned to start terrorist activities during the election night with the help of former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK), the indictment said.
Radovic said the group was financed by ethnic Albanian immigrants in the United States, based in Detroit, and five members of the group came from that area. The US has taken an interest in the case and has sent a team of doctors and legal experts to supervise the investigation. Surf's Up!
Radovic said the police found a large quantity of weapons and explosives hidden in Malesia caves, river canyons and homes of the indictees, presumably brought by UCK members from Serbias predominantly ethnic Albanian southern Kosovo province. UCK started a rebellion against Serbian rule in 1998 and the province was subsequently put under United Nations control.
Ethnic Albanians make about five percent of the tiny Balkan country of Montenegros 620,000 population and are concentrated in the Malesia region, bordering Albania and around southern town of Ulcinj.
#2
Albanians, kosovars : drug traffiking, human smuggling, white slavery, gun running, organized begging, social systems organized fraud, organized crime clans, terror ties. The gift to Europe that keeps on giving.
#3
OTOH - sound like Montenegrin police have good penetration and intelligence operations in effect. I wonder if there were any other, say southwest asian, nationals involved in addition to the "american" nationals?
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 7 -- For years, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has been known for its [PC] liberalism and tolerance...The area just elected the nation's first Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison (D)...Police and airline officials say the imams,..., were removed after exhibiting suspicious behavior, including uttering anti-American statements, changing their seat assignments so that they would be scattered around the airplane and asking for seat-belt extenders, which could be used as weapons...But the imams say the behavior in question was merely quiet prayers before boarding the flight.
Local Muslims of various ethnicities are united in their anger ... [actually probably not true... however muslim who are not seething are afraid to speak up]
... over the imams' treatment.
#2
They should be handed over to the Inquisition, tortured into confessing their crimes beyond being pagan unbelievers and then burned at the stake. As long as we're living in the 7th century, it seems about right.
/Sarcasm...mostly. Really starting to get tired of this crap. And rather glad I ordered a case of M2 ball ammo for my Garand.
This is pretty sickening, and shows how easily deceived Americans can be. The Muzzies just love these idiots, and are no doubt amazed at their gullibility.
"But, we all have to just get along, don't we?"
Not.
I like the pig story video from Katy, Texas. at this link
Will there be tolerance from the Muzzies about the Friday night BarBQs?
My diversity of opinion is, no there will not be tolerance.
#4
This is Islamic jihad activism, and had nothing to do with prayers which were at 6:04 pm, because the plane wasn't boarded until 6:30 pm.
And did you hear that all the people in the plane CHEERED when the police took the Moslems out of the plane? Hardly a "diversity of
opinion" among the passengers.
#5
OK, next time something like this happens, we take the whole group out and shoot them. Those that seethe also get a bullet in the brain-pan. Time to get serious about the WOT, including the home front.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 13:37
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#6
Sometimes I feel as though reading the comments at Rantburg is the only time I feel sane.
#7
Excalibur, I agree, and having hung around here a long time it's nice to know that the commentors generally are far more aware of the facts/reality/history than any other site I've been.
Minnesotans were treated to a bit of pure PC bullshit today from Republican and fellow Dhimmicat Senator Nick Coleman. He is on record supporting Keith Ellison taking the oath on the Muslim terrorist rage=Quran.
The same Nick Coleman who is for open borders. To me this only proves our so called conservatives are pure Dhimmis too.
I haven't heard anything about the local Mooslums getting pissy about the Imams. Not a word. But on the other hand the local media here refuses to have their own people cover it. Instead referring to the AP.
Why you might ask? Well the short answer is that they don't want to portray the local followers of the Pedophile for Profit in a bad light.
#9
But Sumbal Mahmud, a Minneapolis lawyer and spokeswoman for the Islamic Center of Minnesota, thinks local residents still have a lot to learn about Muslims.
Really? I thought we learned all we needed to know about your sand people cult of murder on 9-11.
Omar Shahin, one of the imams removed from the plane, said they were not praying loudly. He thinks US Airways and the media have been misrepresenting the incident. "The rumor that we were chanting Allah, making anti-American comments -- this never happened," Shahin said.
Heh Omar you are a liar, which I guess makes you a good Imam. I hope you can live with yourself because we sure a hell don't want to live with your sorry ass. So us a favor and take the next plane to Mecca. After all I hear it's warmer in hell.
Your wife, who unlike you is white, and who is expecting your first child, has been receiving the oddest reactions to the news of her pregnancy. Upon finding out, friends can't resist informing her that "interracial children are beautiful." It's said in a tone that suggests deep gratitude and admiration, although the reasons are a little unclear.
The comment may be kindly meant, as a sort of reflexive compliment, but it inevitably suggests that she is being congratulated for her willingness to place the aesthetic enhancement of the populace above the imperatives of racial purity. She's heard the remark, or some variation of it, from a dozen different people if she's heard it from one. And more often than not, your wife tells you, it's the first thing they blurt out, even before asking about gender and due dates. . . .
A short time later, at a wedding reception in London, your wife finds herself chatting with a Danish woman she has just met. Back at the hotel, your wife informs you that the woman asked her, "How do you feel about having a baby who will look nothing like you? I have a lot of friends who have interracial babies, and they feel totally alienated from their children."
Wondering whether to expect more such questions and how to respond, your wife turns to you for advice. You tell her to avoid Scandinavian women for the balance of her pregnancy (and you promise to do the same).
It's no surprise that these comments all came from white people; surveys have long demonstrated that blacks are much more accommodating of interracial relationships. More noteworthy is that in all but a couple of cases, the remarks came from white people parked on the political left, the kind of superior folks who might run you down in their Prius for even suggesting that they harbor racial hang-ups. As liberals constantly tell themselves, only conservatives have race issues.
But you know the truth is closer to the opposite. It is the left's obsession with skin pigmentation--invoking it everywhere and always, regardless of its relevance--that keeps race front and center not only in our public policy debates but even in everyday life. . . .
Go read it all. It would be hilarious if it weren't so sad.
Speaking for my little dark corner of the vast right wing neocon conspiracy, at least, congratulations on the new baby, and best wishes for a healthy delivery.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/08/2006
06:52 ||
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#1
Mixed race makes for some of the prettiest darned babies I've ever seen.
I've seen plenty of negative reaction to mixed couples from the darker skinned community as well as the whites, though I can't speak to their reaction to mixed race kids.
I will say that I think mixed couples and their kids are going to face more challenges because of it, but those challenges will be less than even an all white family would have faced in life 100 years ago. And, to a significant degree, Nietzche was right - 'that which does not kill us makes us stronger', so facing a bit of challenge growing up is a good thing.
#2
"White [sic Liberal] Guilt," Shelby Steele tackles this phenomenon with his usual peerless eloquence. He describes the endless frustration of dealing with whites "who have built a large part of their moral identity and, possibly, their politics around how they respond to your color."
It's a vestigial part of their olde Burden Thingy!
#4
I am reminded of my time in hospital with a kidney stone. The pain was horrific but what really pissed me off was the long line of people telling me that at least I now had some idea of the pain of childbirth. I still want to throttle those people.
#5
Liberal race-consciousness is defined as: keeping them down so you have someone to feel superior to.
One way in which this is seen is in how liberals seek out the most stereotypical example of the "downtrodden ethnic" they can find. Then they want them to be "cleaned up", so they can put on a show for them and their 'elite' friends. (I think of "performing animals" like Tracy Chapman.)
Another version is how liberals are always at the forefront of volunteering to "lead" people they want to feel superior to. The NAACP was founded by white liberals, and the ungrateful "coloreds" then threw them out as soon as they could. As did the "Native Americans", when the liberals strongly backed the AIM, and went to the reservations to 'take charge'.
Efforts at "inclusion" and "fairness" only apply to those who are inferior. Why give racial preferences if you think that other race is equal, or can in any way, ever, compete fairly?
This goes hand-in-hand with the discomfort that liberals feel in the presence of an ethnic minority who *obviously* isn't inferior, who is, in fact, superior. People like Condoleeza Rice are damnable to liberals, who even try to deny them their race, because "her people aren't like that." She is a race traitor because she is not an ignorant, humble and groveling servant.
She has no right to be sophisticated, extraordinarily intelligent, cultured, talented and powerful. Because "her people" are like the obscene caricatures portrayed on MTV and in Hollywood gangsta movies.
All of this is one of the big reasons that liberals backed the welfare state. The design of welfare was that once on it, the rules are such that it is extremely hard to get off of it. But this transcends even race. It is intended to breed inferiors.
Because, in the final analysis, liberals feel so terribly inferior that they will do anything to feel superior to anyone. To think of themselves as intellectuals and elites, above the common herd, is a great motivating factor.
I like to recognize the book "Cannibals All!: or Slaves Without Masters", by George Fitzhugh. Truly a liberal screed of the first order written before the Civil War.
It was more than an apology for slavery, it said that slavery was such a good thing that 9 out of 10 people should be slaves. Because slaves lead such happy, carefree lives.
Of course, the reader would assume that they would be in the 1 in 10 who are masters, and that the masters, the elite, should be praised because they were doing all of the "hard work" that masters have to do to control their slaves.
This was not a unique theme to Fitzhugh. The "great" American author Ralph Waldo Emerson also wrote at length about mankind returning to an "Earth First" version of existence, again to be led by an elite few, his "Orphic poets". The State of Nature fallacy, going back to Rousseau.
From Emerson to Al Gore and John Kerry. The chain of inferiority-superiority remains unbroken. The neurosis is almost unchanged from the 19th Century.
It must be agony to look yourself in the mirror and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are an utter loser.
#6
Limousine Socialists - bigoted, small minded, segregated privileged class. And you then understand that these people don't know anyone in the American military or have been near any large American military reservation. American servicemen have married the locals and brought them home since the Greatest Generation. The joke is that any major military installation is far closer to the liberal ideals that the effete snobs articulate but in practice abhor in anything other than quaint self moralizing moments.
#9
" I am reminded of my time in hospital with a kidney stone." That never happened to me, I only got sympathetic responses, even from a woman who had had children and kidney stones (not at the same time, I don't think any human could endure that.)
Just drawing attention to "interracial children" tends to be a hostile remark, whether or not the speaker is aware of it, almost as bad as coming right out and saying "How do you feel, being so stupid as to conceive a baby who won't resemble your superficial appearances." Very much like saying "I don't have anything against Jews" or "some of my best friends are Jewish." On the other hand, many years ago a young, beautiful, intelligent and accomplished Jewish woman once asked me if I were Jewish (AFAIK, I'm not) and I felt good & took it as some kind of compliment. I mentioned this later to some of my (male) Jewish colleagues who knew both of us and their response was, "Why didn't you say you were, you fool?"
Not everything that makes the listener feel good or bad is meant that way, but some of these unsolicited "compliments" are spoken with hostility. And that's just the way people are. If anyone expects they can get through their lives without receiving some kind of vituperation from others, they are really insane.
#10
surveys have long demonstrated that blacks are much more accommodating of interracial relationships
May be true, but several of my friends are not accepted by the black side of the family and most say that there are mixed reactions on both sides.
Mr. Reilly's problem seems to be not that these are ill intentioned people, but that he and his family can't just fit in and live a "normal" life. I do feel sorry for him and his family in this respect.
#11
As did the "Native Americans", when the liberals strongly backed the AIM, and went to the reservations to 'take charge'.
Hey, man, don't let 'em bring you down, now. There's a lot of young people in this country just like myself who really know where the Indian's at, and don't worry, pretty soon we're all gonna be out here on the reservation living like Indians, dressing like Indians and doing all the simple, beautiful things that you Indians do... Got any peyote?
#14
Been in the States - never heard such a thing from anyone, of any race. This article has more to do about INTER-PARENT DECEPTION, NOT RACE PREGNANCY OR PARENTING. People will tend to ask questionnez iff, as example, the HUSBAND = GROOM is one race/ethnicity and nine months later the WIFE = BRIDE gives birth to an infant of another, absolutely different color than the alleged Father, or even Mother, including their known backgrounds.
Highlights. I guess the ISG never read this unclassified report.
Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition operations against al-Qaida in Iraq in November resulted in 522 suspected terrorists detained and 126 terrorists killed. This is about 28% of the anti-Iraqi forces that were killed during the month of November.
CF uncovered a weapons cache in a neighborhood of southern Baghdad just south of Rusafa December 2. Among the munitions discovered were three complete car bombs, 700 pounds of explosives, RPGs, mines, grenades and small arms. Additionally, CF located two SA-14 surface-to-air-missiles behind a false wall in a nearby house.
The Iraqi Ground Forces Command assumed operational control of the 3rd Iraqi Army (IA) Division December 5, making it the third of ten Iraqi Divisions to be completely under Iraqi control. This transfer occurred as the 3rd IA Division also officially took over security duties in western Ninewa province, bringing the level of Iraqi divisions independently in the security lead to 70%.
Iraqi Army Graduates First Sniper Class:
After seven weeks of training, nine Iraqi soldiers graduated from the advanced marksmanship and sniper train-the-trainer course in a ceremony at Besmaya range 30 kilometers east of Baghdad December 1. The recent graduates are now qualified to return to their units and train other prospective snipers in the techniques of urban sniper operations. Another case of the ISG recommending something already underway.
IA Continues to Increase Capability to Mass Brigade-Size Elements, Control Battle Space:
Six companies from the 9th IA Division and one Coalition company conducted an operation to the west of Iskandariyah to disrupt insurgent activity November 29, detaining 83 anti-Iraqi forces.
Two days later, the 9th IA Division launched a series of targeted raids in Yusifiyah, focused on capturing terrorist forces responsible for executing Iraqi civilians. They encountered heavy resistance in a complex urban environment, requesting air support through their embedded Coalition trainers. The six hour operation resulted in 43 anti-Iraqi force suspected members detained and another 20 killed during the firefight.
The 2nd Brigade of the 5th IA Division conducted point raids and a cordon and search within Khatoon south of Baquba December 2, targeting 14 individuals. Of the 14, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) located and detained ten. Additionally, they found a weapons cache in a local mosque and located and freed a kidnapped teenager.
During the week of November 29-December 5, electricity availability averaged 7.3 hours per day in Baghdad and 10.1 hours nationwide. Electricity output for the week was 9% above the same period in 2005. The last thing I read in the Washington Post, before the elction, said 2.3 hours per day in Baghdad. On the front page.
Crude oil production is 87% of target last week, exporting 1.7 million barrels per day. Some nifty graphics at link, showing aerial view of some of the operations discussed (pages 11-13), also a graphic showing the areas under Iraqi Army control (page 14). Several reconstruction projects highlighted, too, for those not bored by such mundane details. Too bad the MSM can't find this, either.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/08/2006
06:25 ||
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#1
The kill ratio - terrorists to US troops - is barely over 1 to 1. That is not good at all.
I long have advocated use of investigative detention of random civilians, to gather intelligence. Few would talk, but enough would produce hard-target data.
MORE than 1000 British and Danish troops stormed a suburb of the Iraq city of Basra today and arrested five militia leaders accused of carrying out attacks on the forces.
"This is the biggest operation of this nature we've done out here since 2003," said Major Charlie Burbridge.
"There were no casualties or fatalities on our side and no evidence whether or not we killed anyone in the process."
Coalition infantry struck into the Al-Hartha district of northern Basra at 3am (1200 AEDT) while tanks rolled into the area from the south over a bridge and an amphibious assault team crossed the Shatt al-Arab waterway on boats.
The force came under fire from assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades and responded while still raiding five targeted addresses, and arrested "five leaders of rogue elements of militias operating in Basra," Maj Burbridge said.
British forces in the southern city, a centre of Iraq's oil industry, often clash with Shi'ite militias such as factions of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, the largest unofficial armed group in Iraq.
"The five were wanted in connection with various criminal activities; kidnapping, murder and attacks on multinational forces," Maj Burbridge said. Glad to see the Danes were involved. Of all the Euros, they seem to realize how much their culture is under threat.
#1
Cool - BZ lads. Now, time to put pressure on the tribes that these five *ssholes belong to. If any of them happened to be a sheik then you might as well prepare to waste a whole tribe. Then the Brits & Danes can quickly start mopping up the rest of the idgits. Next, make liaison w/any other local yet opposing tribes and work the wickets. Give prestige and honors to those that play ball, destroy those who don't. It's their culture. Yes, some westerners will say it's not the "right thing" to do, but we're talking real life that will save western troops in the long run, not some idealism crap. The Arab will come along incrementally, we have to stay patient and play some of their games. They'll bitch, but they'll bitch anyway.
LONDON (AP) - Preliminary hearings in the coroner's inquest into the 1997 death of Princess Diana and her friend Dodi Fayed will be open to the public, officials said Thursday.
The hearings were initially to be held in private, but Mohammed Al Fayed - the owner of Harrods department store and father of Dodi - protested and had asked for a judicial review of the decision by Lady Butler-Sloss, a former judge who is overseeing the inquest. Weren't uniformed troops denied entry to Harrods?
On Thursday, Butler-Sloss "decided to reconsider," a spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office said. "She has discretion in the matter and was persuaded that the strong public interest in the cases justified the meeting being held in open court," he said on condition of anonymity, in line with government policy. "The reasons she had in mind that led her to conclude initially that the meeting should be held in private were entirely pragmatic, such as the size of the courtroom."
In a statement, Al Fayed declared victory, saying that his threatened challenge - which was to go to court Friday - was the reason Butler-Sloss changed her mind. "I am encouraged by this decision, although regret it only came about as a result of threatened legal proceedings," he said. "The public and I have a right to know how my son and Diana, Princess of Wales were really killed on that awful night."
The inquest, which was initially convened and then swiftly adjourned in 2004, is due to formally resume next year. The hearings on Jan. 8-9 at the Royal Courts of Justice will decide issues such as whether the inquest should be joint and if it should have a jury.
Diana, 36, and Dodi Fayed, 42, were killed along with chauffeur Henry Paul when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, while being chased by media photographers.
Rumors and conspiracy theories continue to swirl around Diana's death, despite a French judge's 1999 ruling that the crash was an accident. An investigation later concluded that Paul had been drinking and was driving at high speed.
It is believed the official report into Diana's death will be published next week, although British police have refused to confirm that. The British inquiry, which is estimated to have cost as much as $7.2 million, employed cutting-edge computer technology to reconstruct the crash scene, and examined the Mercedes in painstaking detail.
#2
All this money spent to take on yet another convergence of desert moonbats and moonbats of the domestic variety. This sort of farce only serves to confirm the idiots in their suspicions and to dignify the lies with attention that should have been sneered at. This scum should have been dragged off in irons for employing the drunk who was driving Diana. The men chasing her should have been lined up in that underpass and shot.
#5
However, the paparazzi sure make good scapegoats if the intriguing conspiracy theory that Dodi Fayed was the real target is seriously entertained, as he was supposedly enroute to meet arms dealer Khashnoggi that fateful night.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - A panel has advised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to leave the militant Hamas group in power for now, but call new elections after the economic crisis in the Palestinian territories worsens further, a member of the group said Thursday.
In Gaza, meanwhile, some 2,000 supporters of Abbas' Fatah movement marched against the Hamas government Thursday, demanding it move to end the economic boycott imposed by the West for the Islamic group's refusal to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept existing peace deals.
A leader of the march, identified only as Abu Moussa, said there would be a "revolution of the hungry against this government" if Hamas failed to act.
Abbas had sought to end the economic boycott by pushing Hamas to join Fatah in a coalition government. But talks broke down last week and Abbas has since been weighing three options: leave Hamas in power, dismiss the government or call a referendum on holding new elections.
Abbas declined to discuss the options when speaking to reporters Thursday in Ramallah. Although talks with Hamas have hit an impasse, he said new negotiations were still possible. "Unfortunately, our dialogue hit a dead end, although we should keep up hope to have a national unity government," he said.
Abbas, who discussed the three options late Wednesday with a panel of PLO members, is expected to announce a decision on how to move forward next week. All three choices have serious drawbacks.
Leaving Hamas in power would mean the international aid boycott would remain in place. If Abbas dismissed the government, the Hamas-dominated parliament could block any attempt to install a new Cabinet. And Fatah would not be guaranteed to win new elections should they be held.
Saleh Raafat, a member of the panel that met with Abbas, said a combination of two options is being considered. "We have two recommendations," said Raafat, who represents the PLO's small FIDA Party. "The first is leaving Hamas in power while Fatah constitutes the opposition and gives Hamas a chance to solve the crisis. If it can't do so, then we have to resort to the second choice, a referendum on early elections. We are going to give Hamas a chance to solve the crisis, but I am sure it will not pass the test. It will not succeed unless it changes (its positions)," he said.
Hamas, however, appears increasingly confident it can keep its government afloat without Western aid, mainly with financial help from the Arab world. Hamas has denounced the idea of early elections and said it would not relinquish power. "If we won't have a national unity government, we will not abandon our duty," said Deputy Finance Minister Samir Abu Aisha. "We will keep running the government, even with minimal aid."
Labor Minister Mohammed Barghouti of Hamas said donations from Arab countries could keep the government afloat, citing a pledge by Qatar for $40 million a month to cover the salaries of teachers and some health workers. "Adding to that the local revenues and the decrease in running costs, I think we can manage to keep running the Palestinian Authority," Barghouti said.
Independent economists say the government remains in deep trouble. U.N. groups are asking for a record $450 million in aid to prevent a further economic deterioration in the territories.
According to the U.N., 65 percent of Palestinians are living in poverty and 29 percent are unemployed. The Palestinian health care system is running out of medicine and on the verge of collapse, and nearly half of all Palestinians don't have reliable access to food.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday endorsed the idea of talks with Iran and Syria to help ease the bloodletting in Iraq, saying it would also be in Tehran's interests. I am the Master of Jaw Jaw.
Clinton spoke in the Netherlands the day after the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel that included senior officials from his administration, proposed engaging the two Middle Eastern countries - and U.S. foes - in the search for peace in Iraq. "I agree that we should reach out to the Iranians and the Syrians and try to get a regional solution. Right now the Iranians don't want to do anything, probably because their policy seems to be, whatever causes America heartburn is good for us," Clinton told the Dutch TV program Nova. Brilliant. Just bloody brillaint. How have we lasted 6 yrs without him?
"But the truth is there are 1.6 million Iraqi refugees already," he explained, adding that there could be as many as 10 million if the situation deteriorated to a point similar to the worst days of the Bosnian conflict. Just a wild-assed guess, there Bubba? You've been hanging with the UN fools, lately... Boned the Staff up on their ditzy stats, didja?
"Most of them would be in Iran. I don't really think Iran wants that, so I think there may be an opportunity for us all to work together." Heh. The world's so simple to a simpleton. Yep, they're just like us, Bill, 'cept they wear funny hats.
President Bush, however, has objected to that recommendation. He said Iran and Syria "shouldn't bother to show up" to an international conference on Iraq unless they stop financing terror. Repeating a long-standing demand, Bush said his administration would not enter direct talks with Iran unless it suspends uranium enrichment, which the U.S. believes is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful. Talking "peace" with people while they work to make nukes to wipe out Israel does have a certain logic to it. Bill? Can you follow that?
Clinton, who was visiting the Netherlands to discuss global warming with business and political leaders, said he also supports the withdrawal of some American troops from Iraq. "I think if we were to leave as soon as we could physically get out of there, there would be more chaos and more death in the country .... so I don't favor that," he said. I like to split the peach difference.
But he said pulling out some troops "would send a signal that we're changing policy, and it, I think, would free up some troops to try to be strong in Afghanistan." Thank you, General Clinton.
#2
If "leaving as soon as we could would cause more chaos and death", then what does leaving more slowly or in spurts mean? Chaos and death slowly, in spurts?
"But he said pulling out some troops "would send a signal that we're changing policy, and it, I think, would free up some troops to try to be strong in Afghanistan."
What if changing policy a la ISG INCREASES the chaos and death in Iraq? What if it INCREASES the attacks on coalition soldiers and civilians? Still gonna plan on freeing up some troops to TRY to be strong in Afghanistan? And you do imagine that shift in policy will have no repercussions on America's reputation, how other regional powers view our strength and resolve?
The potential for disaster in following the recommendations of the report is truly frightening. There is a complete disconnect in the Iran portion of the argument. Mr. Baker & Hamilton, et al, are recommending a strategy dependent on Iran's good will. Why should we believe in such a thing, when a good regional ally has been repeatedly threatened with annihilation, and when Iran regularly and publicly talks about their desire to see America go down? Do those positions indicate good will?
This panel is so desperate that they are willing to risk the stakes of the region-Israel, Lebanon, Iraq-on Iran's good intentions?
"Right now the Iranians don't want to do anything, probably because their policy seems to be, whatever causes America heartburn is good for us." Check.
""But the truth is there are 1.6 million Iraqi refugees already," he explained..."Most of them would be in Iran. I don't really think Iran wants that, so I think there may be an opportunity for us all to work together." SAY WHAT? Your primary rational for why Iran will help us, despite all signs to the contrary, is that they'll have refugees? Do you understand that millions of refugees mean nothing to the Iranian regime-that they will dispose of them as they like, because no one can or cares to do anything about it?
The desperation and cognitive dissonance from the great intellectuals in this report and in the public arena of politics is startling. I suppose it shouldn't be, but it is. I look at his picture as I read his words and get dry heaves.
#3
But he said pulling out some troops "would send a signal that we're changing policy, and it, I think, would free up some troops to try to be strong in Afghanistan."
Yeah, right, Bill. At least until we get that Afghan Study Group up and running under President Rodham so we can grease the skids outta there too?
Does that sound about right?
"Mr. Baker said he saw a value in inviting Iran to regional talks, even if Tehran refused the invitation, an outcome he saw as likely.
"What do we lose by saying, 'we're getting all of Iraq's neighbours together, we want you to come, and if they say no, we show the world what they're all about?'"
Is that our goal, showing the world what they're all about? Is this all a media-lit, popularity-restoring strategy? Is the target of the ISG restoring the good opinion of the "world community"? Is the worst possible consequence in today's world to be seen as not embracing Iran? The WORST?
There is more than one outcome to his supposition:
We invite Iran, they refuse.
We invite Iran, they agree to come, and want to negotiate Israel-whether it should be in Europe or the Middle East or at all.
We invite Iran, they come, and demand recognition of the Hamas government of Palestine.
We invite Iran, and they demand resumption of aid to Palestine and a fat purse to Iran, to boot.
We invite Iran, they come, and want to negotiate their right to nuclear "energy".
We invite Iran, and lose time--losing the opportunity to stop their realization of nuclear weapons.
And 1000 other scenarios.
I'm getting an education on Mr. Baker and Mr. Hamilton.
#5
Well, let's look at President Clinton's military track record. Granted, hindsight is 20/20, but we also live in a "post 9/11 world" too.
* 1993 WTC bombing: a law enforcement issue.
* Gays in the military? Sure, damn the effects on morale!
* Mogadishu: Let's cut and run, even if it is a UN "Peacekeeping" issue.
* 2 African embassies: Whoops, did I just bomb an aspirin factory?
* USS Cole: Let's just lob one of 'dem dare $2 million JDAMs into a $10 tent and hope we get binny!
* Iraq: Sure, Saddam can kick out the weapons inspectors, and break upwards of 17 UN resolutions. Let's just keep flyin' them "No fly zones" (at the cost of billions) and keep Saddam "boxed in."
* N. Korea: Oh sure, I trust that Hennessey drinking playboy. Why, he's a lot like me! Could you get Jimmuh Carter over there to "strike a deal," and include Maddy Halfbright too. I'm too busy with Monica to be bothered by issues like global nuclear proliferation to two-bit maniacal dictators and reclusive regimes.
One final note. Our OFFICIAL U.S. Gov't policy on Iraq became "regime change" under Clinton. He signed it and made it policy. Bush only implemented that policy, the cowboy!
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 10:12
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#6
This man would support dialogue with a rattlesnake if he thought there was a way it would keep his name in the news.
Clinton is jus following the other clintonoids (Half Bright, etc.) in reminding everyone what was so screwed up about the 90s.
Posted by: Captain America ||
12/08/2006 11:06
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#9
Maybe I haven't been following this guy too closely. But up until now I was willing to at least credit him with not blabbering as much nonsense in his post White House years as his fellow Dhimmi, our beloved Jimmuh Carter. No more, Bill. You're just another dumbass Dhimmi except that you still have that zipper problem and a wife who's willing to accept it because of her own aspirations. Let's just hope that Rodham is not as dumb and not as preoccupied with her dong as Bill.
BTW, Jules, you forgot one more thing Iranians will demand if we talk to them: recognition of the Hizbollah government in Lebanon.
#11
The desperation and cognitive dissonance from the great intellectuals in this report and in the public arena of politics is startling.
As a wise man once said (Orwell, I believe): "[fill-in-the-blank] is so stupid only an intellectual would believe it." These "great intellectuals" certainly bolster that idea.
But up until now I was willing to at least credit him with not blabbering as much nonsense in his post White House years as his fellow Dhimmi, our beloved Jimmuh Carter.
Is that even possible to blabber as much nonsense as Jimmuh? Even taking Chomskys [Chomskies?] and Ward Churchills into account* I'm not sure.
* - excluding IQ-challenged celebs and the obviously insane.
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.
Saudi government officials deny that any money from their country is being sent to Iraqis fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition.
But the U.S. Iraq Study Group report said Saudis are a source of funding for Sunni Arab insurgents. Several truck drivers interviewed by The Associated Press described carrying boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, money they said was headed for insurgents.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Terrorism is a business and needs revenue streams to survive. Donations have long been one source of revenue, at least as far back as the donation boxes in Boston and NY bars for the 'boys'.
#3
Ther donation boxes were everywhere in Saudi when I was there - I left in 2003. In every store, at the checkout stand, in the lobby of the Tower Bldg at Aramco... employees could even donate through payroll deductions. And we got emails from Aramco Mgmt "requesting" employees donate, too. There was one hell of a serious money-flow.
Phil, heck, I'm from Detroit and the several Irish bars we had there (I'm of mick heritage and worked at one during my teenage years) would 'pass the hat for the cause.'
#7
Sorry if this offends anyone, but a good first use of new US options is for US ground troops to withdraw temporarily to bases in Baghdad, while the USAF heavy-bombs Shiite sectors, if not their masters in Iran. The effect of same would be: Baghdad would come under Sunni control. Of course, that would leave al-Qaeda in Iraq in partial control. Solution: heavy bomb their areas until Sunni realists took control. Pacification of Baghdad would have a ripple effect accross the country.
Why is Baghdad in perpetual war? Sunni and Shiite terror centers are directing cadres against the other side, and US support forces. Unfortunately, 70% of Baghdad is mixed Sunni-Shiite. As a forthright US Sergeant in the Iraq theater was widely quoted yesterday, "One sectarian group has to control the other."
Can al-Sadr's "Mahdi Army" be annihilated? Most of his support is in North Baghdad ("Sadr City") and in a strip north of US controlled Baghdad Airport. Unfortunately, Sunni concentrations are between the 2 Shiite strips, and north of Baghdad University. Carpet bombing Shiite positions would result in negation of Shiite power. Shiite pockets elsewhere would have to accept Sunni pacification.
Democratic initiatives didn't work in Iraq; Diplomatic efforts will fare even worse. Only a Military solution, backed by permanent US bases in Iraq, will work.
The only thing that ever works against aggressors is: disproportionate retaliation. And that is what we have to do, while blaming collateral casualties on the terrorists. Before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the fire bombing of Tokyo by US forces caused 200,000 painful civilian deaths in 1 night. Historical revisionism and suicidal multi-culturalism have deadened our will to slaugther; we have to re-invigorate our resolve to kill the enemy by any means necessary. America's enemy #1 is: the Ayatollahs of Iran, Iraq (al-Sistani was born in Iran), Syria and lebanon. As the President said, "The Iraq operation is not going well." It is broke. Let's fix it in memory of the 3000 innocents murdered by Islamofascists on 9-11. The time for talking and nation building is over; it is time to kill.
#8
Phil, heck, I'm from Detroit and the several Irish bars we had there (I'm of mick heritage and worked at one during my teenage years) would 'pass the hat for the cause.'
What the Americans never realised was alot of their money was used for drug deals etc as The IRA were gangsters more than freedom fighters!!!
#10
I can't disagree w/you EG. Especially from the early-70s on when drugs became prevalent. Hitting purely military sites is one thing, leaving a bomb that kills any innocent bystander walking by of any denomination or background is where they lost any sympathy I ever harbored. (Not to mention them getting into bed w/various marxist and arabic organizations.)
#11
These officials say zakat donations are now channeled through supervised bank accounts. Cash donation boxes, once prevalent in supermarkets and shopping malls, have been eliminated.
So, if I'm readin' this right, the group of 1,000 Princes is snuffing out "giving" competition. I assume they accept PayPal or something now?
On Nov. 27, a U.S. Air Force F-16 jet crashed while flying in support of American soldiers fighting Anbar province, a the Sunni insurgent hotbed.
There, fixed that for ya, AP!
But last week, a spokesman for Saddam's ousted Baath party claimed that fighters armed with a Strela missile had shot down the jet. "We have stockpiles of Strelas and we are going to surprise them (the Americans)," Khudair al-Murshidi, the spokesman told the AP in Damascus, Syria.
Ah, yes, quoting a guy who's not in the fight, much less in-country. Way to go, AP! I'm surprised they didn't just make him an "anonymous source, for fear of his life".
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 10:37
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#12
"The missiles were purchased from someone in Romania, apparently through the black market, he said."
Hmmm Strelas from Romania? Sounds like Bout might be playing both sides of the fence again.
#13
The only thing that ever works against aggressors is: disproportionate retaliation. And that is what we have to do, while blaming collateral casualties on the terrorists.
Too right, SS3550. So long as Islam is still referred to as "The Religion of Peace" [spit], nothing of the sort will happen. Politicians and generals must begin militating public opinion over to understanding that Islam, not terrorism, is the real threat, Until then, we are in a bloody and expensive holding pattern that will only get us even worse repeats of 9-11.
Each person killed by a terrorist atrocity needs to result in the death of a thousand or ten thousand Muslims. Only that sort of drastic toll will cause any uprising by the ummah against their terrorist masters. One need merely examine the Palestinians to see that they are unfazed by kill ratios of hundreds to one.
We must steadily increase the consequences of terrorism until the Muslim world begins to rebel against their leadership. There can be no hope of altering Islam's course until its own believers demand change from within. Should they be so foolish as not to, then they can all die in their refusal to reform.
The Kurds don't much like the ISG report either. Some very good points here.The report lacks the fundamental understanding of the Iraqi and Middle Eastern issues; hence it is the total distortion of facts. It does not approach the Iraqi or the Middle Eastern issue from the contemporary human and ethnic rights issues; rather it would build Iraq and the Middle East upon fear of the strongest, killers and abusers, and those who have no respect for human rights. It satisfies the greed of the killers by giving them more catches; it feeds more blood to the Dracula by providing them more lives; it keeps the oppressor happy by persecution of the defenceless.
If the recommendations were ever acted upon, it would be a recipe for further disasters in Iraq and in the Middle East, and most likely it may spill the Iraqi problems to the region and the West, including the USA.
It is pro-Turks and pro-Arabs, totally undermine Kurds and their achievements. If they were alive today, Michelle Aflaq and Ataturk would have eulogized the 'Iraq Study Group' for their achievement. Kurds and all other democratic forces must fight it; undermine it and bring it down to bury it in the mud where it belongs.
This piece of writing has just escaped the frozen mentality of the cold war period. If these people are the leading thinkers of America, then I fully understand why over 2,800 US soldiers have been killed and over 2,100 injured in Iraq so far. Such ignorant people may think that they play political games, but they should take full responsibly for the bloodied situation in Iraq and the Middle East and the disastrous consequences of theirreal politicks.
It is an irony that the most powerful nation on earth produces this piece of recipe for further disaster. It shows how commercial interests blind policy makers.
The report is based on undermining the very little progress that Kurds and Iraqis have achieved. These appear in a number of recommendations to make Arab states, Iran and Turkey happy on the account of Kurds. The report recommends:
- Abolishing federal Iraq, i.e. abolishing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
- Taking oil out of the control of the KRG
- Abolishing Article 140 of the current Iraqi Constitution and confining KRG in its current boundaries, which is about 50 percent of southern or Iraqi Kurdistan.
- Demolish the Peshmerga forces and leave the Iraqi central government to control all armed and security forces
The buzz words in the report are the ones tickling the sentiments of Arab, Turkish and Iranian nationalists, such as "national reconciliation" and "Iraqis", concepts that have no existence on the bloodied ground of Iraq. It does not acknowledge any Kurdish achievements.
Throughout its 84 pages, the report does not mention "Kurdistan Regional Government" even once. The report failed to recognise any Kurdish political entity, effectively dismisses Kurdistan as a federal region of Iraq. It does mention "Kurdish administrated region", depraving homeland from Kurds, implying that Kurdistan is a part of Iraq but currently administrated by Kurds. Later, the report proposes to demolish this "Kurdish administrated region", but in a clever way, taking its financial and political control, to reduce it down to a manageable entity so that it can be abolished.
The report can be regarded as a declaration of American defeat in Iraq.
Here are some paragraphs to stipulate these concepts:
RECOMMENDATION 26: Constitution review. Review of the constitution is essential to national reconciliation and should be pursued on an urgent basis. The United Nations has expertise in this field, and should play a role in this process.
RECOMMENDATION 28: Oil revenue sharing. Oil revenues should accrue to the central government and be shared on the basis of population. No formula that gives control over revenues from future fields to the regions or gives control of oil fields to the regions is compatible with national reconciliation.
RECOMMENDATION 30: Kirkuk. Given the very dangerous situation in Kirkuk, international arbitration is necessary to avert communal violence. Kirkuks mix of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen populations could make it a powder keg. A referendum on the future of Kirkuk (as required by the Iraqi Constitution before the end of 2007) would be explosive and should be delayed. This issue should be placed on the agenda of the International Iraq Support Group as part of the New Diplomatic Offensive.
RECOMMENDATION 50: The entire Iraqi National Police should be transferred to the Ministry of Defense, where the police commando units will become part of the new Iraqi Army.
Similarly, the Iraqi Border Police are charged with a role that bears little resemblance to ordinary policing, especially in light of the current flow of foreign fighters, insurgents, and weaponry across Iraqs borders and the need for joint patrols of the border with foreign militaries. Thus the natural home for the Border Police is within the Ministry of Defense, which should be the authority for controlling Iraqs borders.
RECOMMENDATION 51: The entire Iraqi Border Police should be transferred to the Ministry of Defense, which would have total responsibility for border control and external security.
The Iraqi Police Service, which operates in the provinces and provides local policing, needs to become a true police force. It needs legal authority, training, and equipment to control crime and protect Iraqi citizens. Accomplishing those goals will not be easy, and the presence of American advisors will be required to help the Iraqis determine a new role for the police.
RECOMMENDATION 52: The Iraqi Police Service should be given greater responsibility to conduct criminal investigations and should expand its cooperation with other elements in the Iraqi judicial system in order to better control crime and protect Iraqi civilians.
In order to more effectively administer the Iraqi Police Service, the Ministry of the Interior needs to undertake substantial reforms to purge bad elements and highlight best practices. Once the ministry begins to function effectively, it can exert a positive influence over the provinces and take back some of the authority that was lost to local governments through decentralization. To reduce corruption and militia infiltration, the Ministry of the Interior should take authority from the local governments for the handling of policing funds. Doing so will improve accountability and organizational discipline, limit the authority of provincial police officials, and identify police officers with the central government.
RECOMMENDATION 53: The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior should undergo a process of organizational transformation, including efforts to expand the capability and reach of the current major crime unit (or Criminal Investigation Division) and to exert more authority over local police forces. The sole authority to pay police salaries and disburse financial support to local police should be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior.
#1
More and more I am suspecting that this B-H report is an effort to severely undermine the occupation critics.
1) It takes away ambiguity. There is strength in saying that "something must be done"; but when concrete proposals are made, they can be criticized.
2) Some of the proposals are already being done, some were already planned, and some are outrageous and obviously flawed. People love obvious choices.
3) The administration can cherry pick just those things already being done and planned anyway; this is a "have cake and eat it, too" situation.
4) The occupation has accomplished all of its major milestones, so how do you judge success or need-for-improvement (not! "failure"), at this point?
5) It does give cover to the US turning over control to Iraqi forces complete, leaving just cadres attached to their major units. The US can now just retire to its bases and let the Iraqis solve their own internal disputes the Iraqi way.
6) Even if a civil war is inevitable, the Sunnis will lose and be severely punished. While many will flee the country, the rest will just be humbled. The US can do nothing and deplore "Iraqi on Iraqi violence".
#2
Agreed. Yesterday I was struck by how pretty much everybody has something bad to say about the Dhimmi Recommendations.
If you put Baker in charge, you know what to expect. If you want to put your enemies, critics, and fair-weather friends in a weak position, what else would you do?
Still, the standard by which to judge progress in WW IV is when and how we crush Syria's and Iran's ambitions -- if not crushing the countries themselves. Aligning even Democrats against Baker is a necessary but not sufficient condition for victory.
#3
James Baker is in the same category as Jimmah Kahtah, and has about as much credibility. The rest of the group was there for window dressing. Their entire effort was a waste of time, and should be flushed, along with that "koran" from Gitmo.
It's becoming pretty plain that unless the military asserts itself in Turkey, that nation is no longer our "friend" or "ally". It's time to rethink the composition of NATO. The French should be completely excluded. We should think very hard about allowing the Belgians to continue to participate. The newly-independent regions of Eastern Europe "get it", and are welcome. I'm not so sure about Turkey, Greece, Albania, or any of the former Yugoslavian territories. Maybe we need to change the name, change the mission, and include states such as Japan, Australia, and India. If we succeed in Iraq, we may have another friend there. Regardless of what happens, the United States needs to rethink who its friends are, and whom they should have what kinds of relations with. The Cold War status-quo no longer works, and Baker's bullsh$$ proves that far too many people still think along those lines.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 14:57
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#4
If we're going to drastically alter the meaning & makeup of NATO, might as well trash the whole thing and start a new arrangement. With the collapse of the USSR, NATO largely lost its reason for being.
RIYADH, 8 December 2006 The US-based Human Rights Watch reported yesterday that it was still waiting for a response from the Saudi authorities to a request to visit prisons in the Kingdom for a first-hand study of the situation.
The request was made over two months ago, said Christoph Wilcke, Human Rights Watch researcher for the Middle East and North Africa. Wilcke, who speaks fluent Arabic, arrived in the Kingdom as part of his mission to observe the criminal justice system, the rights of women and children, and the treatment of domestic servants. During my stay in Riyadh I received hundreds of calls from everywhere about peoples grievances, he said. A majority of them related to maids.
The news of the organizations presence in the capital spread quickly. Many, including the relatives of detainees, rang up Arab News from abroad to get their own message out through the media. Others said they were unable to contact Wilcke as he had closed the line due to the flood of phone calls.
Continued on Page 49
RIYADH, 8 December 2006 Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday said that the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states will express their concern to Iran about the prospect of nuclear power plants being developed on its side of the Arabian Gulf coast.
We hope that Iran would take this into account and cooperate with GCC countries in order to take necessary measures against any calamity, which is likely even in the best of circumstances, said the minister at a press conference after a closed-door session in preparation for tomorrows summit of the GCC heads of state. Cooperation between all parties is required as the region is sensitive and linked with various interests.
GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Attiya also attended the press conference. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.
Continued on Page 49
Hardline Islamists ruling much of Somalia reacted with fury yesterday when the United Nations approved a call for foreign peace-keepers to prop up the weak, Western-backed transitional government. The 15 members of the UN Security Council voted unanimously late on Wednesday for a force of African-only troops to be sent to Somalia, where radical Islamists have seized control of much of the country in recent months. Elements in Mogadishu's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) said such troops would be an "enemy invasion".
"The decision to bring foreign troops will spark a new crisis in Somalia," Sheikh Abdurahim Muddey, an Islamist movement spokesman, told AFP. "I tell you that this UN endorsement will massively increase casualty figures and the number of graves in this country." The resolution calls for a contingent drawn from African countries to deploy to the seat of the transitional federal government (TFG) in Baidoa with the aim of supporting peace and stability "through an inclusive political process". It encourages further dialogue between the government and the Islamists, saying the charter that established the TFG constitutes "the only route to achieving peace and stability in Somalia".
It presses the ICU to halt its territorial expansion which has seen them take control of huge swathes of the country since wresting Mogadishu from US-backed warlords in June. Somalia's neighbours will not be contributing to the planned force. The Islamists would under no circumstances accept Ethiopians. Addis Ababa has already sent thousands of soldiers and large amounts of military hardware to Somalia in an effort to stop the radicals reaching out to Ethiopia's own disaffected Muslim minority. There are no details of the size of the deployment, and it is not clear who will pay for it. The European Union ruled out giving any money. This means that any actual deployment is unlikely for several months, at best.
#3
"The decision to bring foreign troops will spark a new crisis in Somalia," Sheikh Abdurahim Muddey, an Islamist movement spokesman, told AFP. "I tell you that this UN endorsement will massively increase casualty figures and the number of graves in this country."
In which Smithsonian Magazine finds rainbows and lollipops on Jolo Island. And a few camps full of simple if heavily armed villagers, led by Saudi-trained 'rebel leaders', waiting for the call.
#1
I dumped my Smithsonian subscription last year after having it for almost 30 years. The final straws for me were a) an article listing acts of terrorism which equated the Boston Tea Party and the 1976 olympic massacre in Munich and b) another of the seemingly bi-monthly articles about the wonderful, glorious, fully bunnies and ducks Mayas' 'civilization' where they cut out the hearts of their prisoners for sport.
Granted, they built great monuments and had running water, but so did the Nazis.
#4
this Strategy actually has proven results and has been working now for awhile, It is an excellent example of innovating in a tough situation.
Posted by: bk ||
12/08/2006 11:50
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#5
The Munich massacre was in 1972, not 1976. I was in Germany at the time. Some friends of mine were supposed to go to Munich the day of the massacre. Needless to say, they cancelled their plans. Even this was not the first incident in the Islamofascist war against the West.
Most of the Meso-American Indians had blood sacrifices, but the Aztecs took it to new heights. There have been a couple of National Geographic reports of hundreds of bodies being found in sacred caves in Central America.
The Filipinos are getting pretty tired of the muzzies, and you may see a total pogrom against them in another couple of years. There have been some un-reported (at least in the US) intercepts of "volunteers" from Indonesia flooding some of the southern islands with "settlers". Expect a blowback.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 15:13
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#6
Gorg, Mayas or Aztecs? I know the latter were deep into human sacrifice, hadn't heard the same about the former.
The Aztecs were the pinnacle and culmination of the cutting-hearts-out sacrificial cult, but it was a long-standing tradition of the various Mexican cultures.
The Maya reveled in human sacrifice too, but not so much of the ripping hearts variety, though the post-classic Chichen-Itza culture of the Maya practiced it. The kinder, gentler Classic Maya preferred decapitation after much torture and public humiliation. And, yes, we have the pictures to prove it.
#2
Andrew Cranswick, 44, ACR's chief executive, said: "I don't believe Zimbabwe would allow illegal seizure of claims without due process."
Guess Andy should spend a little less time playing golf and a little more time reading Rantburg. Farmin B. Hard could have set him straight on this matter of illegal seizures.
#9
Andrew Cranswick should catch a "wake up call" - that is the joke of the century that statement! Hello! wakey, wakey your coffee is cold!
Zen, as for a slug in Mugabe's skull, rather throw the b*****d down a shaft - where he can die a slow painful death - even that is too good for him as far as I am concerned!
Rhodesiafever - sick is too a milder term, to use in regards to this topic - makes my blood boil to see how one man can desecrate our once beautiful Country - that we used to call home!
#10
he can die a slow painful death - even that is too good for him as far as I am concerned!
Works for me, rpg7. It is impossible for Mugabe to die slowly or painfully enough. Please accept my personal condolonces upon the butchering of your beloved country.
More importantly, can Europe afford Airbus?
They've showed us the plane. Now, where's the money? At a Paris press conference on Dec. 4, Airbus unveiled plans for the long-awaited A350 XWB, a wide-body jet that will be its answer to Boeing's (BA) 787 Dreamliner.
The Airbus plane, repeatedly delayed by design uncertainties and the turmoil surrounding the A380 megaplane, finally got the green light on Dec. 1 from Airbus's parent, European Aeronautics Defence & Space Co. It's expected to enter commercial service in 2013, five years after the 787. "There has been some bad weather getting here," Airbus Chief Executive Louis Gallois admitted at the press conference. But, he said, "the A350 XWB is just the airplane the market needs."
With Airbus and Boeing in agreement that airlines will order some 5,700 midsized wide-body planes over the next 20 years, the new plane could help Airbus rebound from a deep plunge in orders. During the first three quarters of 2006, Airbus logged only 226 orders, versus 736 for Boeing. They might fall to #3 behind the U.S. and Brazil as commercial airplane makers.
But the Airbus plane is going to cost a bundle to develop$13.5 billion in R&D, plus $2 billion in capital expenditure, Gallois said. Where will Airbus get that kind of money? After all, the company is bracing for a $6 billion hit to earnings over the next few years because of production snafus on the A380. Pah. It's going to be double that as the A380 continues to face delays.
At the same time, the strength of the euro and the British pound against the dollar has weakened the competitiveness of Airbus' mainly European manufacturing base.
Gallois said financing for the A350 XWB would come principally from cash flow and from major suppliers who would take a "risk-sharing" stake in the project. EADS also might raise money on capital markets, he said. And, the CEO said Airbus had not ruled out obtaining low-interest "development" loans from European governments, as it did for the A380 and other recent planes.
What about financing from other companies? Airbus has promised to outsource some 50% of the basic structural work on the A350, up from about 30% on the A380. It is especially keen to find suckers suppliers outside Europe to escape the ill effects of the strong euro and take advantage of the weak dollar. It's likely that about 5% of the plane's final value will be produced in China, another 5% in Korea, and another 3% in Russia, company officials said on Dec. 4.
That leaves two other possible sources of financing: capital markets and European governments. Here, the picture gets even murkier. Gallois said on Dec. 4 that Airbus would "study all possible instruments" of financing, including a capital increase and loans from European governments. "I will not exclude anything, and will not be more specific at this point," he said.
Airbus clearly hopes to avoid taking out government loans, which could inflame an already-heated dispute before the World Trade Organization. Gallois said on Dec. 4 that he hopes the U.S. and European Union will negotiate a new agreement on aircraft subsidies, putting an end to what Airbus contends are equally unfair forms of aid that Boeing receives from the U.S. and foreign governments.
However, in an interview published Dec. 4, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton made clear that the Europeans are still willing to subsidize the new plane. "The four governments concerned [France, Germany, Britain, and Spain] have declared that they will provide guarantees," he told the French business daily La Tribune. "But for the moment, they are not locked into doing it." Depends how many jobs they want to save.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2006
00:09 ||
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#1
XWB stands for cross wired b*tch. heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/08/2006 1:47
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#2
I'm going to rename it the XLT -- extra large turkey.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2006 10:19
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#3
Just speculation here, but a lot of this A350 XWB seems more to do with preservation of supply base than beating Boeing, let alone just competing with Boeing. ALong with having the tick-box for a similar bird.
A lot, and I mean a lot, of AirBus suppliers have slowed up due to A380. If there is nothing next/after A380, many of them will flee to other OEMs. Note, they all work with the other OEMs already, but recently it has been a balance between Boeing and Airbus ... if there is no next thing, they'll shift to other smaller OEMs and more Boeing.
Both are having supply chain problems these days, so any loss of a critical supplier - or I should say any focus loss or urgency loss from a critical supplier would really hurt things.
Again, speculation, but I think it is more about 'yeah, yeah, A380 delayed and has problems, but hang with us, will give you better positions on A350'
First, Boeing has outsourced much of its parts manufacturing to suppliers around the globe. That has reduced costs to the company, including initial launch costs, and has reduced it's exposure to any one currency. Airbus has kept manufacturing in-house, which means it must shoulder all of the launch costs, does not shop for lower priced supply and is exposed to fluctuations in the Euro. (The only exception is a new deal to produce the A320 for the Chinese market). Boeing will have huge cost and flexibility advantages over Airbus as the two companies move forward.
Second, keep in mind that the 787 is still in development and, like the A380, is incorporating a lot of new technology. There is still a lot of risk to the 787 program; Boeing will undoubtedly suffer if it stumbles.
#5
I can say, without doubt, that AirBus does shop for better supply options, does outsource, etc - often with a very heavy hand. Can we say Route '06?
Note, also outsourcing is risky, and the airframers feel it ... not fun having Boeing or AirBus living at your site after you've stopped a line roll. So you have to balance both sides of the coin.
In many cases, AirBus is in a better position on launch costs due to euro subsidies, and obviously on design funding as well.
Ture, 787 is in development, but it is progressing through design risk and into mfg risk.
Anybody in Aerospace will suffer if they stumble these days. That's a given now, be it AirBus, Boeing, LM, Gulf, Embraer, etc. There's no room for anybody to mess up - esp. with the outsourcing and deep integration of JIT / Lean / etc that they are working towards with suppliers.
I agree, that on a go forward basis, Boeing appears in much better position.
#6
Couple updates: Lst week, Airbus told prospective A350 suppliers that they would be expected to 'contribute' as much as 15% to the development cost of this aircraft.
They also are planning to build the A350 very similiar to an aluminum-skinned aircraft. they are planning on using carbon panels fastened to aluminum ribs. stringers. bulkheads. There will not be a lot of weight saved, and more costs due to required use of exotic metals for fasteners or risk severe corrosion due to galvanic action between the carbon and convnetional aluminum / steel fasteners.
Boeing's plan to bring completed and fully plumbed / outfitted sections of the 787 to Everett and then snap them together like legos looks to be running into some initial difficulty as they have publicly admitted to having to have some 'travel work' done in Everett.
#7
Hard to believe Airbus is going to use riveted CF panels. Not only will it be overweight but labor intensive to build compared to 787 fuselages laid down by automated CF tape machinery. To further add to Airbus problems, the next gen 777 should be available a little after the A350, bracketing it from the top and bottom. Airbus should take the time and effort to correctly design the A350.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2006 15:54
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#8
USN,
That's the heavy handed supply side, but along with that 15% are some serious gains ... in the form of exclusive supply.
To be honest, the galvanic concern is kind of moot, as modern coating methodologies are there. It seems more of an adhesive issue and/or vibration isolation issue - as the mating surfaces are far different.
(KUNA) -- The Sri Lankan government will introduce tough anti-terror laws amid increasing violence and fresh security threats from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Sri Lanka's Minister for Health Nimal Siripala de Silva, told reporters in the capital Colombo Wednesday that laws were being introduced to crack down on terrorist activities. He said it would not hamper the Norwegian-backed peace process aimed at resolving the country's ethnic conflict, the news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.
"The new measures are mainly to counter terrorist activities," de Silva said adding that the Sri Lankan government has also decided to enforce the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the news agency said.
The Prevention of Terrorism Act was suspended following a ceasefire agreement between Sri Lankan government and LTTE in February 2002.
Since December 2004, more than 3,200 civilians, security personnel and rebels have been killed in Sri Lanka.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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(SomaliNet) Nigeria's oil saga is continuing. This time, Agip oil flow station in Nigeria's Bayelsa state has been attacked and at least two foreign oil workers have been kidnapped. "There was an attack on an Agip flow station at Brass about 5am. They came in about seven boats. Two or three expatriates were kidnapped," Hafiz Ringim, Bayelsea state police commissioner, told Reuters. However, Agip's spokesman in Nigeria's city of Lagos denied having any information on this attack by press time.
Kidnapping of foreign oil workers is common among Nigerians. However, in most cases, they are released unharmed after payment of a ransom to the kidnappers. Nigeria is the world's eighth biggest oil producer, though its natives remain very poor. This has been cited as one of the causes of the frequent kidnappings.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Now he tells us.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused the Sudanese government on Thursday of failing to protect citizens in Darfur from killings, rape and other violence, warning it may be held accountable for those acts in the future. He said the international community has offered to help.
``But the government has refused to accept that help,'' he said. Now ask yourself, "Kofi, why would they do that?"
Last month, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir agreed in principle to allow a ``hybrid'' AU-U.N. operation, though he later reiterated his opposition to U.N. troops in Darfur. He has hinted he is trying to find a middle ground with the U.N. on how the peacekeepers could support the 7,000-strong AU force.
Asked Thursday whether he was worried about the image of the U.N. failing to protect civilians in Darfur, Annan replied, ``I think the question here is, 'Who has failed?''' Other than America and George Bush you mean.
``I think the responsibility to protect the citizens is the responsibility of the government in Khartoum,'' he said. ``The government patently has not been able to do that, given all the difficulties we see in Darfur - the killings, the rape, the destruction - and the international community has offered to go in to help them, but the government has refused to accept that help.'' His head will explode when we tell him Khartoum is behind it all ...
``The failure of the government to accept that help is ... placing the government in a very difficult situation. In time they may have to answer collectively and individually for what is happening in Darfur,'' Annan warned.
Annan said a U.N. team was in Ethiopia looking at ways to beef up the AU force. But he said the Security Council will only pick up the cost if it believes the U.N. can provide ``a workable, effective force that will bring some measure of security'' to Darfur and revive the peace process.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2006
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#1
Let's get those Nigerian and Malian troops in there pronto!
#3
Good gawd, the mind boggles. He now believes the Sudanese gov't is guilty of inaction? They are active, just on the wrong side of the coin. When even TV-evangelists/Mega-Church preachers have picked up on Darfur and what's REALLY going on there, you gotta wonder where/how is Kofi or his son tied in there?
I thought the saying was "Never again" after Rwanda. It now appears to be "Never again, unless I can make some $ off the deal."
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 10:00
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#4
Picking up Kofi's comment the other day about things being better for Iraqis under Saddam, may we not point out that under European colonialism Africa didn't suffer the horror of coups, civil wars, genocide, famine, human rights abuses and mass refugee migrations that it now experiences from both the locals and the UN.
OMAHA, Neb. -- A gun in a high school student's pocket accidentally discharged during class Thursday, injuring the teen, police said. The 10th-grader at Northwest High School was not threatening anyone with the gun when it fired, police said. The 17-year-old's injuries, which were not life threatening, were in the thigh and finger. That's really too bad.
The boy went to a hospital, hiding the gun somewhere between the school and the hospital, officials said. Police found the weapon Thursday afternoon. Police didn't know whether the student drove himself to the hospital or got a ride, Officer Chuck Casey said. "Where y'headed, kid?"
"To the hospital."
"Oh. Shot yerself, huh?"
"Yeah. I hate it when I do that."
"Ummm... Yer gettin' blood on the naugahyde."
The teen has not been arrested but may face weapons charges, police said. The school was locked down after the morning shooting, and students were allowed to leave after police found the gun. Investigators were trying to determine whether the boy is connected to gangs. "You in a gang, kid?"
"No. I'm just really stoopid."
"There's gang issues all across the city," said Omaha Public School District spokeswoman Luanne Nelson said. "This is a question about guns in the community, not guns in the schools."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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#1
Playing pocket pool with a loaded gun in his pocket... Probably not on the Honor Roll... Ms Nelson, of course, wants to shift the focus to the community - and is prolly a gun-grabbing Liberal NEA shitwit. Win-win from her pointy-headed perspective.
#6
Jeebus, Gorb. Methinks that guy wouldn't last too long in Nebraska, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:17
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#7
If the purpose of sex education was to reduce the then explosion of teenage pregnancies and drivers education was to reduce adolescent vehicular accidents and deaths, then might not the same logic be put forward that Arms [as in right to bear] education is needed in our public school systems. Wont cost the local district anything if you let the local JROTC do it. Gun control is keeping a weapon up and down range at all times, squeezing the trigger, not pulling, and getting a good sight picture.
The nanny staters and lefties often use rare instances to justify implementing involuntary 'education' programs upon our youths. Why not use their methods here?
Fifty donors pledged nearly US$350 million (263 million) to a fund that is helping the United Nations respond quickly to emergencies from the war in Lebanon to drought in Afghanistan and the recent typhoon in the Philippines.
The UN General Assembly upgraded the fund last December after world leaders decided to make up to US$500 million (376 million) available so the world body could respond quickly to conflicts and disasters anywhere in the world instead of waiting for donors to respond to appeals for help. "We've gone from having a total lottery of whether there would be money or not for life-saving activity to a well-funded vehicle that can provide immediate funding to operations," UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said at a news conference Thursday following a high-level meeting with potential donors. "I think this is an example that the United Nations can reform, is willing to reform, but also has to reform," he said.
I think this is a perfect example of why the US should not give one cent more than .52% of the UN "Budget", using the term very loosely - that's 1/191th. I'd say "Shine my knob, Egeland." but he'd prolly like that.
Posted by: Fred ||
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And of course the 50 mysterious philanthropists don't expect anything from the UN in return...
Two imams recently arrested for visa violations and released on bail in Boston are related to Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, now operating as Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The 33 arrests made last month were part of a wide swoop carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in eight states and the district of Columbia in connection with an ongoing investigation into a specific visa fraud scheme that was designed to help large numbers of illegal aliens, primarily from Pakistan, fraudulently obtain religious worker visas to enter or remain in the United States.
The two imams, Hafiz Muhammad Hannan and Hafiz Muhammad Masood are relations of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Masood being his brother and Hannan being his brother in law. Masood is an imam at the Islamic Centre of New England, Sharon, Massachusetts, while Hannan is an imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell, Massachusetts. Hamid is an imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester, Massachusetts. Masoods son, Hassan was also arrested. Another member of the family, Imam Hafiz Mahmood Hamid is the brother of both Hafiz Saeed and Hafiz Masood.
Hafiz Masood came on a student exchange visa to Boston University in 1988 and studied there till 1990, but stayed on, violating his visa status. Hafiz Hannan came to the US and applied for a religious worker visa which was granted. He made his application through one Muhammad Khalil of Brooklyn, New York. In 2994, Khalil was convicted of visa fraud and is currently in prison.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Released on bail ? Release them at 30,000 feet over Islamabad. This is the very type scum which is persona non grata. Get them out of the US.
#3
Sharon, Mass. 2 towns over from me. Large Jewish population. We always wondered if that's why our Muzzie friends built there, just to rub it in their face.
#4
One of those one-way thingies, then, tu3031. American Jews don't have an institutional memory of dhimmitude in the Ummah, so only the Muslims would even notice that rubbing.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has decided to serve show cause notice on Hafiz Hussain Ahmed for deciding to resign from the National Assembly without consulting the party leadership. A decision in this regard was taken at the JUI-Fs executive committee meeting here on Thursday, sources said. Hussain, an MNA from Balochistan and also deputy secretary general of the party, had handed his resignation to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal leadership and had vowed that he would not reverse his decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Authorities expelled two Belgians and eight French terror suspects on Thursday, but an American and another French citizen remained in Egyptian custody, officials said. The 12, along with an unknown number of Egyptians and Arabs from other countries, were arrested late last month for allegedly belonging to an Islamist terror cell that was plotting attacks in the region including Iraq.
The Interior Minister said the terror suspects were allegedly living in Egypt under the guise of studying Arabic and Islamic studies and had formed a militant cell that was plotting attacks. Security officials said the suspects had a relationship with Omar Abdullah Hamra, the leader of the Islamic militant group "Tawhid and Jihad" who killed himself by detonating an explosives belt while trying to cross into Lebanon from Syria. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Another reason why Egypt should tighten border security with Europe.
Saudi security forces clashed with "terrorists" who shot and killed two guards Thursday outside a prison in the western city of Jiddah where al-Qaida suspects are being held, state-run media reported. Al-Jazeera television reported late Thursday that two combatants were arrested, but this was not immediately confirmed. The Qatari-based channel did not say whether the arrests had ended the standoff.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
How many terrorists were freed from the jail during this episode?
Mebbe yes, mebbe no. I think we've heard this before... Y'know, I don't recall a single Global Climate Thingy asshole apologizing for getting it so fucking wrong this year. Anyone? Any dick can predict shit. What matters is toting up their results. Asstards.
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States, which has emerged from this year's hurricane season largely unscathed, should brace itself for a potentially devastating hurricane season in 2007, a leading windstorm forecaster warned.
A long-range forecast for next year issued by Tropical Storm Risk, a London-based forecaster, on Thursday predicted an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season with a strong probability that more hurricanes will slam into the United States than usual, based on average figures for the period 1950 to 2006.
It said that 16 tropical storms were likely to occur in the Atlantic basin, nine of which would be hurricanes and four likely to be so-called intense hurricanes.
Five tropical storms are likely to hit America, of which two will be hurricanes, TSR said.
It anticipated a combination of conditions that would indicate a higher-than-average hurricane season.
In 2007 the trade winds, which blow westwards from the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, will be weaker than normal, while the sea temperatures between west Africa and the Caribbean, where many hurricanes form, will be warmer than normal, TSR said.
For those who may be inclined to disregard such ominous warnings following this year's widely [That should be wildly - ed.] inaccurate predictions of another string of major storms similar to those that ravaged the U.S. coast in 2004 and 2005, TSR said an unusual mix of conditions led to fewer windstorms than were predicted.
"The below-average 2006 hurricane season was due to the presence of considerable African dry air and Saharan dust during August and September, which inhibited thunderstorm occurrence and therefore tropical storm development, and to the unexpected onset of El Nino conditions from mid-September," TSR said. "There is no precedent for these factors together having been so influential before," it added.
If you predict it enough times, eventually you'll get lucky. I got lucky once or twice.
#2
"The below-average 2006 hurricane season was due to the presence of considerable African dry air and Saharan dust during August and September, which inhibited thunderstorm occurrence and therefore tropical storm development
Maybe the answer to the hurricane problem is to kick up a lot of dust in the Sahara. Got to be cheaper than rebuilding New Orleans.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
12/08/2006 0:32
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Also, 2006 was the first year since the 1920s that no hurricanes struck the US mainland. In a rational world that would be big news. I haven't seen a single mention of that fact in the MSM. I know because I checked the records.
#5
Being a bunch of agenda-driven assholes means never ever EVER admitting a mistake having to say you're sorry, lol. Besides, they're the MSM - who's gonna tell on 'em? Blogs? Don't make me lol.
/Dan Rather
#8
Geez, the mind boggles. I definitely can not remember a season where we didn't even get hit once, and yet, we came out "largely unscathed?" And, they didn't expect the el Nino effect this year, but they expect us to believe they can predict temps to the 3rd decimal place in the year 2110? Give me a flyin' break!
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:35
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#9
Yes, they do.
Posted by: kelly ||
12/08/2006 10:08
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#10
for what its worth, Dr. Grey, who is the long time primo hurricane forecaster, is a Global Warming Sceptic.
#15
I predict a constant stream of bullshit from the macaca with difficult to pass chunks at 7 and 11 PM daily. The bullshit will flow over several macaca outlets without regard for accuracy, or effects of the uninterrupted flow and stench. Nawlins may sink beneath it, again.
#16
Further on #10 - Dr. William M. Gray was the first (I think) to do annual forecasts, starting maybe 20 years ago, for which he was scorned. After a number of years of being successful, people began to pay attention.
When he became publically skeptical of global warming, during the Clinton Administration, his Federal funds suddenly evaporated. He retired from Colorado State University shortly thereafter, but continues to forecast.
#19
I look at it this way though. Our saviors Democrats have only been elected, not in office, YET, and they've already stopped global warming. I mean, we hit record lows here in Atlanta overnight in the teens. Who else but the Donks could stop global warming with only being elected, not in power yet! /sarcasm
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 14:39
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#20
I definitely can not remember a season where we didn't even get hit once, and yet, we came out "largely unscathed?"
Well, we did get peed on by Alberto and Ernesto....I guess that counts. ;)
#22
Hope its more accurate/reliable than for 2006, andor the new SOLAR FLARE!? Considering the fuzzy-wuzziness on TV-Raaadios + Residential power blackouts + stronger daylight luminations here on Guam last month, no surprise for me iff the Solar Flare news is behind. DARTH VADER [breathing] > THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE.
SPACEWAR.com > US BMD TEST ABORTS. HEY MADONNA, THE FIREBALL(S) WENT THE WRONG WAY - HOW CAN WE WIN THE WAR [Guam saying]???
NWFP Education Minister Maulana Fazl-e-Ali on Thursday protested in the NWFP Assembly against the remarks made by President Pervez Musharraf during his interview with an Indian TV channel, saying,
Religious illiterates are ruling one of the provinces.
Religious illiterates are ruling one of the provinces. So what's yer bitch, Reverend Fazl?
The education minister told the house that a World Bank (WB) report had appreciated the NWFP governments performance in health and education sectors. Ali said the religious alliance would return to the assemblies with a greater majority in the next elections. That will no doubt cause the very polite World Bank to appreciate it even more.
Our success in the next elections will be 100 percent, he said. I guess that means the NWFP will get the kind of government it deserves.
Opposition Leader in the assembly Shahzada Gustasap said that the house had unanimously passed resolutions on earthquake survivors, demanding that the government exempt them from various taxes and utility bills until they stood on their own feet. He asked the provincial government, What has become of those resolutions, as the ministers never mentioned whether or not these resolutions have been implemented.
The opposition leader said there had been no development in the quake-hit areas. Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai said that the provincial government would soon launch various road projects, and only those roads would be selected for construction or repair, which came under the criteria set by donors in meetings held between the provincial government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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Its about time Perv recognises the enemy within ie The Taliban/Al Qaeda supporters of the MMA!!!
The election is over, and the victory of the Democrats is having precisely the consequences in Iraq that anyone paying attention should have predicted.
The people of Iraq interpreted the election results the way the extreme Left wanted them to: As a repudiation, by the American people, of President Bush's war policy.
In fact that is not really what the election "meant," if a national election spread out over hundreds of candidates can be said to "mean" any specific thing.
For instance, in Connecticut, the voters rejected the extremist wing of the Democratic Party (otherwise known as "The Democratic Party") by reelecting Joseph Lieberman, the most notable (but not the only) Democrat who has the brains to understand that the War on Terror is vital to our national security.
And many of the new Democrats in Congress were elected because they ran to the right -- they coopted many of the stances that are usually identified as Republican.
So what, exactly, is our new Congress composed of? Certainly it will be the Democratic Party that organizes both houses this winter, and makes committee assignments, and sets out to harass the White House as much as possible, to punish George W. Bush for being a better President than America had any right to have at this crucial time in our history.
What the new Congress most definitely does not have is a majority to enact the Democratic agenda on any point.
That is, unless the new crop of quasi-Republican Democrats were pulling a Bill Clinton and lying about their principles in order to get elected. We'll find that out soon enough -- if they vote just like other Democrats, then we'll know they were liars, because they promised not to.
And the new Congress does not have a majority to force a withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.
This is obviously true, because Joseph Lieberman is the crucial vote, and he knows we cannot afford to do anything so stupid, so contrary to our interests and inimical to our allies in the Middle East (of which we have many, despite the claims of opponents of the war).
There are also too many Democrats in the House who come from districts where a vote for forcing a troop withdrawal on a timetable (i.e., "surrender") would be the end of that Congressman's career.
The trouble is that the people of Iraq don't know that. They only know what our anti-Bush media tell them, which is that our election was an enormous defeat for Bush's war policy, and what their anti-American media tell them, which is that our election was an enormous victory for Al-Qaeda and the Sunni insurgents (a.k.a. murderers and terrorists) in Iraq.
The Sunni insurgents celebrated their victory by slaughtering Shiites.
Previously, the Shiites have shown astonishing self-restraint (for Arab countries) when provoked, because their leaders were able to persuade them that the Americans would deal with the Sunnis until the Iraqi defense forces were able to take over the job.
But now, because of the way our election has been portrayed, the Shiites no longer have any trust that America will remain. They think -- wrongly -- that the American people favor a cowardly, selfish retreat from a policy on which the Iraqi Shiites and Kurds have staked their lives. Rest at link
#1
"that the American people favor a cowardly, selfish retreat from a policy on which the Iraqi Shiites and Kurds have staked their lives."
-some of them do, as they are ignorant and the only info they digest is from the msm - what other conclusion could they reach? Especially if they are not fact checking the msm by using blogs or radio.
#2
This is truly one of those watershed moments were reality is not what the LLL/MSM want it to be. I've gotta believe that we've learned from not only Vietnam (pullout = wholesale slaughter of the Cambodians), but also our early pullout of Iraq under Bush I (the Shi'a uprising that was squashed quickly by Saddam, of which he's gonna be on trial for).
If not, we are in for a LOT worse before it gets better. Call me an optimist, but I truly believe it will get better. I hold out hope that Bush/Cheney will kill the report from the ISG, that the Congress will NOT be able to force a early pullout, and when our own Civil War again happens, we'll win cause we got all the guns.
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:23
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JOM BOHANNON SHOW vs DOUG STEPHEN SHOW few days ago? Methinks t'was BOHANNON'S? > GIST = Amer Pols can secure Iraq in a day iff they wanted to. Prob is Pols are so manic or obsessed wid PC = Political Power, espec agz DUBYA-GOP, THAT ARE WILLING TO ALLOW 000'S OF AMER SOLDIERS TO BE PUT AT RISK OF DEATH, AND TO WILFULLY ENDANGER THE WHOLE OF AMERICA + FREE WORLD. 000's MORE OF US SOLDIERS WILL LIKELY HAVE TO GET KILLED FIRST, OR US CITIES-TOWNS BE DESTROYED BY TERROR WMDS, BEFORE AMER POLS REALIZE THE USA IS IN A WAR AND START PUTTING THE NATIONAL INTEREST ABOVE THEIR OWN.
* As said before, USA > CHAMBERLAIN vs CHURCHILL. "I have in my hand a paper signed by Mr. Hitler... ... PEACE IN OUR TIME"; versus "No matter the cost to us in ships and planes, no matter the costs in human lives, ... ... YOU MUST SINK THE BISMARCK" [movie].
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) parliamentary party on Thursday decided that it would delay its decision of resigning from the National Assembly and a final decision on the issue would be taken in the partys supreme council meeting to be held after Eidul Azha.
The MMA parliamentary party also decided that the religious alliance would start a protest campaign against the government and formed two committees for the purpose. The first committee was tasked to formulate strategy for the protest movement and the other committee was directed to start negotiations with other opposition parties for a joint strategy on submitting en bloc resignations.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and secretary general of the MMA, told reporters after the meeting that the religious alliances decision to resign from the National Assembly would not affect the anti-government protest campaign. The MMA parliamentary party has decided to start a protest movement against the Musharraf government because of the regimes failed policies, said Fazl, adding that the MMA parliamentary party had also condemned President Musharraf for calling his political opponents hypocrites. Gen Musharraf accuses religious parties of extremism, but he himself is an extremist, he said. Maulana Fazl said that the MMA was not against womens rights, but it would not allow the government to make legislation contrary to the Quran and Sunnah.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel will "continue to show restraint" in Gaza, despite continuing rocket fire. Olmert also rejected suggestions that Israel's recent cease-fire with the Palestinians in Gaza would simply allow the armed groups to rearm and regroup for another round of fighting, saying that Israel would not allow that to happen.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
In other late breaking news, Olmert disclosed he's started banging his head upside a brick wall five times each day in preparation for dhimmitude acclimation.
#2
What is the cause of the current lunacy prevalent in the world today ?
Is it planetary alignment ?
Is it sun spots ?
Is it global warming ?
Swamp gas ?
Sociopathic gambling ?
Boredom ?
Global acute self loathing ?
Behavior control micro waves ?
Crop circles ?
Skim milk ?
El nino ?
Whatever it is, logic has gone out the window.
If an enemy makes war on you, and you can fight back, you fight back, killing the enemy until the enemy stops making war on you, or until the enemy surrenders. There is no magic number of enemy killed or bullets fired, just keep up the fighting until you win. There is no restrictions on what ground you fight on, you may attack, or you may hunker down and fight a defensive war. In either case, you must kill them in order to win a lasting peaceful future. The other option is surrender, Mr. Olmert.
#3
wXJames: What is the cause of the current lunacy prevalent in the world today ?
Demons.
No really. According to the New Testament, Demons never really began to cause insanity until Jesus' day. No record of them before then: Saul's problems were caused by a spirit sent from the Lord. The bad demons probably learned how to do it by watching that one do his thing.
Anyway, the demons in Jesus' day were really new at it and very incompetent, so what looks today like cases of mental illness was REALLY demon possession, so casting them out really worked.
Fast forward 1900+ years. They've had a lot of time to practice, so they're more subtle and experienced: I'd say the least experienced demon who's effective, but still a bit wobbly in delivery, is the one plaguing Al Gore.
While I have no doubt that some forms of mental illness have a chemical basis, some seem not to, and those could be due to "damage" caused by a demon who's either still in residence, or who vacated the premises. I believe the current ROE requires that no evidence be given of spiritual entities that would contradict the current belief in Materialism. There is, for sure, the occasional slip-up that reveals that reality is deeper than appearances indicate, but the insistence that Demons be proven by Scientific means that such slip-ups can be managed out of existence. They will always be anecdotal, never sustainable, because a Demon has no reason to let itself be stuck in a test-tube or confined in a Laboratory to be poked and prodded by a hairless ape in a lab-coat with delusions of being in control, only to have some OTHER hairless ape in a lab-coat demand the same for purposes of "reproducing the experiment".
#4
show restraint
Will anyone in the diplosphere show Israel some love now? I mean: Olmert is doing the thing they've always demanded in the face of aggression.
The resignations issue dividing the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal has also created a rift within the JUI-S after its chief Pir Abdur Rahim Naqshbandi on Thursday disagreed with his party MNA Qari Gul Rehman and demanded the MMA resign from the National Assembly immediately.
The MMA should immediately resign from parliament now that the ulema have unanimously declared the Womens Protection Bill repugnant to Quran and Sunnah, he said, adding that Qari Gul Rehman had violated the partys policy by opposing the resignations during the MMA parliamentary party meeting.
Naqshbandi said that the MMA Supreme Council had decided to quit the National Assembly therefore Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, must follow the decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Recently, Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al Seyassah quoted European intelligence sources as saying that "Syria has an advanced nuclear program" in a secret site located in the province of Al Hassaka, close to the Turkish and Iraqi borders.
British sources quoted by "Al Seyassah" believe that "it is President Assad's brother, colonel Maher Assad, and his cousin Rami Makhlouf, who supervise the program".
This program is based on the Iraqi material that Saddam Hussein's two sons shipped to Syria before and during the war against Iraq. This explains, according to the daily newspaper, why international investigative teams found no proof of the program.
Furthermore, the British sources in Brussels affirm that "Iranian nuclear experts contribute to the Syrian program along with sixty Iraqi experts who had taken refuge in Syria since 2003 and experts from the ex-Soviet republics".
British intelligence also confirm that this information is validated by their German counterparts, who was well established historically in the countries close to the ex- communist block, including Syria.
Europeans fear that by focusing solely on the Iranian nuclear program, one might facilitate a much more quieter joint Iranian-Syrian program of uranium enrichment in Hassaka.
Also, the geographical choice of the nuclear site is very meaningful. Indeed, because it is located in an area with a Kurdish majority, the program evades suspicions, and also striking against these installations will initially touch the Kurdish community who has historically sided with the West against the Baathists regime of Bagdad and Damascus.
#1
This is a very advanced programme. They have enriched several kilos of uranium and have been passing it around the room in the dark to see if it glows.
#5
"All Moslem dictatorships have nukes" - THEY [INEVITABLY] WON'T, BECUZ RADICAL IRAN WON'T ALLOW IT, BECUZ RADIC IRAN > wants be the ONE + ONLY CENTRE/SOURCE OF WORLD ISLAMIC POWER, INFLUENCE, + THOUGHTS. THe Iranians = ancient Persians have been warring and struggling for "great nation/power" status for millenias, AND IS DOUBTFUL THEY WILL ALLOW SOMETHING SUCH AS ISLAM = RELIGION TO GET IN THE WAY. ANTI-ISRAEL = ANTI-WESTERN INFLUENCE > IMO hidden diversion for EVENTUAL WAR AGZ ANY AND ALL TRADITIONAL-HISTORICAL CENTRES OF ISLAMIC POWER.
A military judge Wednesday sentenced Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann to 12 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for desertion and turning over classified information to a foreign agent, The Virginian-Pilot is reporting this morning.
Capt. Daniel O'Toole handed down a 25-year term, but was forced by a plea agreement to suspend 13 years. With time already served, Weinmann will be eligible for parole in less than four years. Beats hanging, which would have been my first choice for him.
"This is a very patriotic kid and a very patriotic family," Weinmann's civilian attorney, Phillip Stackhouse, told O'Toole. "You have to ask yourself, 'How did this happen?' "
During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, said his fiancee had left him and he had grown disillusioned with the Navy after two years of service, he said. "I just would like to apologize to everyone involved in this, especially my parents and my sister," he said. "I apologize to everybody."
#2
"You have to ask yourself, 'How did this happen?' "
I'm gathering the mouthpiece is trying to parcel out blame to 'us' or 'society'. The only reason I would ask that question is to determine how we missed identifying him as a security risk.
Oh yeah, and if you haven't had a girlfriend or fiancee leave you, you just ain't trying hard enough.
#3
This guy should've been shot, & if that classified info leads to the deaths of any U.S. servicemen he'll have some more apologizing to do. F*cking *sshole...."my fiance left me" *he prolly said that with the quivering lip and whiny voice* - boo fricken' hoo sparky, what's that have to do with getting paid for selling out your country? The answer is nothing. Weinmann, you are truly one pathetic bag of shite, I hope you run out of soap on a rope while your in the clink.
This is one of those stories I'll make a mental note of, so if I get an incurable disease in my middle age years I'll remember this loser and track him down because at that point I'll have nothing to lose.
#4
They never did say what country got the info. Anybody know?
Also, if he's so patriotic, I'm sure there's a way we could fashion a flag into a noose and hang him with that.
#5
"This is a very patriotic kid and a very patriotic family," Weinmann's civilian attorney, Phillip Stackhouse, told O'Toole. "You have to ask yourself, 'How did this happen?' "
How? No I don't have to ask. Who cares. No more than Benedict Arnold or Jefferson Davis, both of whom served with great valor and distinction. Then one day, they made, as history adjudges, a bad choice. They lived with it. Ariel will too.
#6
"They never did say what country got the info. Anybody know?"
The embassy was identified in court only as belonging to Country X. A Pentagon source who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the country was Russia.
#7
I googled the young man, and found a fascinating site. Some intriguing bits:
Spying For: Allegedly for Russia
Spying Activities: Tried to pass secrets to foreign officials while in Bahrain (during sub's port visit) in March 2005; in Vienna on 19 October 2005; and in Mexico City on 19 March 2006. Lived for months in Vienna after deserting in July 2005.
Weinmann put electronic copies of the classified information classified confidential and secret onto a government laptop between May and July 2005, knowing that the information "was to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation."
Then allegedly stole the laptop, three CD-ROMs, an external computer storage device and memory cards for storing digital images when he deserted the submarine in Connecticut on July 3, 2005.
Military officials believe he destroyed the hard drive "by smashing it with a mallet" in Vienna in March 2006.
Home: Salem, Oregon
Possible Motivations/ Problems: Became disillusioned about life in the Navy after a six month tour on the Albuquerque in waters off Europe and the Middle East and the submarine's intelligence gathering and surveillance missions (also complained the technology was old). After just one deployment he went AWOL. Weinmann told his father this about his mission on the USS Albuquerque that he "protected George Bush's oil." Distraught after his girlfriend broke up with him. Startled family when he told them he was going to join the Navy as he was idealistic and interested in art, classical music and history. Salem 2003 newspaper article quoted him as having interest in foreign languages and that he planned to study Russian and become a translator.
He sounds like a Kos Kiddie waiting for the chance to cause trouble. I mean, Russia? Who gives secrets to Russia anymore? Your serious spies either go for China or one of the Al Qaeda clones.
#8
"Weinmann testified Monday morning that he hoped to trade secret documents for entrance into an unnamed third country. The only way I could get into the country would be to use these documents as leverage, he told OToole.Weinmann did not name the country, but said that while relations between the U.S. and that country were cordial, there was a historical degree of competition between the countries that he hoped to exploit."
#10
Just as I predicted, this guy got off with a slap on the wrists instead of having them slashed. It's fine to get disillusioned about your service but guess what I bet the navy would have let you go if you didn't feel you couldn't serve anymore. He committed TREASON in a time of war and those should have been the charges. But since we have such candy-assed civilian/military leaders they let this TRAITOR off easy. I wonder what someone would have to do to be charged with treason today. I am just a simple-minded retarded military type and I don't know where that line is anymore.
#11
What a whiney little piece of sh$$! I hope he "finds himself" in prison. Most of the guys there doing time don't really hate the US like whiney-boy does. TWO YEARS in the Navy and it's too much? I hope the Navy reviews their recruiting practices to keep crap like this from happening again.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 12:24
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#12
Also, if he's so patriotic, I'm sure there's a way we could fashion a flag into a noose and hang him with that.
If you're going to abuse Old Glory, that's the best way to do it. Isn't it time for traitors to be disallowed jury trials so that they cannot threaten to divulge national secrets when their case is tried? This would eliminate many of the opportunities to obtain plea bargains. Cooperation should obtain ZERO reduction of sentence, only a change in which prison population the convict is placed with.
#13
I can only hope that his time in prison ends when he has to bend over for the soap. p'haps he will slip and hit his head on the floor. repeatedly.
i hope his parents are so proud.
This POS was courtmartialed. He did not receive a civilian jury trial. If he had a jury, the jury was composed of military types - officer and enlisted. If he wanted to blab classified info in court, you can bet all attendees were appropriately cleared. That is one major advantage of military trials over civilian.
#15
"Startled family when he told them he was going to join the Navy as he was idealistic and interested in art, classical music and history. Just my opinion, but does NOT sound like military material to me. I think he made a mistake enlisting. " Salem 2003 newspaper article quoted him as having interest in foreign languages and that he planned to study Russian and become a translator. And it looks like others found him to be a nice little sitting duck too. He was probably taken in by the ads for the Navy, which are very effective and would appeal to art/music/history types with self-image issues. Just a guess . . . He should have realized his mistake, put in his time and gotten OUT, instead of trying to escape his bad decision. The military isn't for everyone. Too bad, too, because he could have made a good living as a translator.
#16
I had heard the expression "tarred and feathered" but never gave it much thought, let alone conjured a visual, until I watched season 2 of Carnivale. It strikes me as a fine Colonial tradition in need of resurrecting for these troubled times.
#17
This POS was courtmartialed. He did not receive a civilian jury trial. If he had a jury, the jury was composed of military types - officer and enlisted. If he wanted to blab classified info in court, you can bet all attendees were appropriately cleared. That is one major advantage of military trials over civilian.
Thank you, Rambler. This is why I made mention of how we need to limit exposure of vital information when trying traitors. That a military court handed down such a light sentence is simply stunning.
#18
Punishment Court? lol. Nothing like being politically cracked with warm fuzzy intentions and jeopardising your nation - that poo bah liberal mind set is pervasive and dangerous in a world of crazies ...and unfortunately personifies the wacky west.
retch..
Posted by: Jim ||
12/08/2006 20:07
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#19
"Stackhouse said that Weinmann was "upset, not mad," at the sentence, which also included demotion to the lowest enlisted rank and forfeiture of all pay."
US lawmakers on Thursday settled differences on landmark legislation to allow shipments of civilian nuclear fuel to India, clearing the way for passage of a measure that will overturn three decades of American anti-proliferation policy.
The bill is likely to be approved in a final vote Friday before it is sent to President George W. Bush to sign into law.
The bill is likely to be approved in a final vote Friday before it is sent to President George W. Bush to sign into law. Senior lawmakers from both political parties championed the proposal as a major shift in US policy toward a strategically important Asian power that has long maintained what the Bush administration considers a responsible nuclear program.
Critics countered that the plan could spark an Asian nuclear arms race and ruin global efforts to curb the spread of weapons technology.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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President George W Bush, standing alongside chief Iraq war ally Tony Blair of Britain, asserted Thursday that success in Iraq depends on victory over extremists across the broader Middle East.
Its a tough time and its a difficult moment for America and Great Britain and the task before us is daunting, Bush said a day after a bipartisan commission said his war policies have failed and called for a change in strategy. The British prime minister, who has stood shoulder to shoulder with Bush since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, said he welcomed the conclusions of the Iraq Study Group despite its criticism of past policies. It offers a strong way forward, Blair said.
I think it is important now we concentrate on the elements that are necessary to make sure that we succeed because the consequences of failure are severe. Bush appeared to endorse the panels conclusion that any resolution of the Iraq conflict is tied to reducing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians and across the broader Middle East - a position Blair has long held. Bush said that he would only welcome Iran and Syria to group talks on Iraq if they agree to end support for extremists and to help Baghdads fledgling government. And if people are not committed, if Syria and Iran (are) not committed to that concept, then they shouldnt bother to show up, Bush said.
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#1
Bush appeared to endorse the panels conclusion that any resolution of the Iraq conflict is tied to reducing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians
I'm not worried because I've complete confidence in our US friends.
#3
"Bush said that he would only welcome Iran and Syria to group talks on Iraq if they agree to end support for extremists and to help Baghdads fledgling government."
-Political speak for "people in hell should have ice water to."
#5
I'm taking the word "appeared" literally there, grom. Watch what the hand does, not what the mouth says.
For example, notice the kinder language the media uses on the Iran/Syria situation (he would only welcome....), but read Bush's quote, "...then they shouldn't bother to show up." Good quote from Bush being shaded by the kindler/gentler colored glasses of the MSM.
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:51
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#6
The point I'm trying to make is this...Bush has been COMPLETELY open and honest with ALL of his plans for the WoT thusfar, and the MSM has tried to kill him with death by a thousand cuts.
Maybe, just maybe, Bush is now switching gears. "Bluffing" if you will. NOT outlining his plans in plain English like he has before, but keeping his cards closer to his chest (and yet, actually IMPLEMENTING those plans all the same). He knows the LLL and the MSM are stacked against him, so why not start talking more "diplo-speak", but continue on in the same course we've been taking behind the scenes?
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:54
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Senators sharply questioned an Iraq commission's call for a new U.S. war strategy Thursday, saying the Bush administration and Congress must work urgently together to find a more effective approach.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a 2008 presidential hopeful, took strong issue with the commission's call for phasing out the U.S. combat role in Iraq by 2008 and focusing instead more on training and advising the Iraqi army. He rejected the idea that the Army and Marines cannot spare more combat forces for Iraq duty.
"There's only one thing worse than an over-stressed Army and Marine Corps, and that's a defeated Army and Marine Corps," said McCain, a Vietnam veteran who will become the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee when the Democrats take control of both houses of Congress in January. "I believe this is a recipe that will lead to our defeat sooner or later in Iraq," McCain added.
One of the commission's co-chairmen, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., underscored the urgency of changing course in Iraq, where conditions were described as grave and deteriorating. He was asked at what point the situation there, if not corrected, would be hopeless.
"Well, there certainly is that point, and we're perilously close to that point," he replied.
Hamilton and his co-chairman, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, testified before the Senate committee one day after delivering their report. Hamilton said that a new, more realistic and practical approach is needed.
"That's a very tough policy problem, and in order for this to happen, it can't be pie in the sky, it can't be idealistic, it has to be pragmatic," he said. Later, he added, "We reject the idea that the situation is hopeless."
Most senators broadly endorsed the commission's report, which made 79 recommendations for policy changes. Their skepticism focused mainly on two of the recommendations: a diplomatic approach to Iran and Syria, and an acceleration of the U.S. military's work to train and advise Iraqi forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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#2
"There's only one thing worse than an over-stressed Army and Marine Corps, and that's a defeated Army and Marine Corps,"
Yep, there's a long historical record what happens to nations who keep sticking their military in the back for petty political gains back home. How many times before something breaks, like self restraint? And usually not a good move when most of the population thinks all the politicians regardless of affiliation are a bunch of crooks.
(SomaliNet) A rocked fired from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) exploded in a Ugandan district of Kisoro killing seven people and injuring half a dozen more.
A source revealed that the injured are being treated in Mutolere Hospital. A rocket-propelled weapon fired from inside the Congo caused the blast.
Meanwhile, Congolese government forces have been fighting with forces loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda in the past two days and sources say this has caused thousands of refugees to flee into Uganda via Bunaganaborder in Kisoro.
The District Security officer David Masereka said yesterday that the fighting had subsided but the Ugandan army warned that the security situation in the area remains volatile.
"The Congolese army retook the areas of Bunagana and Bunyonyi yesterday but since control of the area has been exchanging hands between Gen. Nkunda and the National army- the situation will remain fragile," Ugandan army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said yesterday.
The army spokesperson said Congolese Brigade Commander Col. Kahenga Smith together with Brig. Hudson Mukasa of the UPDF yesterday assured refugees that it was safe to return home.
"We expect regular consultation between cross border commanders as agreed upon between the Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Aronda Nyakairima and his counterpart in Kinshasa in October," Kulayigye said. Daily Monitor.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Yah, well, it's not entirely up to her hugeness...
NEW YORK - She's only been on "The View" for three months and already there are published rumors that Rosie O'Donnell wants out. She tried to shoot them down on Thursday.
No mention of the millions who would enjoy seeing her canned - and caned? Lol.
O'Donnell, during Thursday's show, said she had answered an audience member's question during a commercial break the day before and mentioned how she would like to work on FX's "Nip/Tuck." She noted that it filmed during the summer, during "The View" vacation break. "Don't anybody worry where Rosie's going," she said. "She's right here."
Oh, it might not be that anyone's worried, per se, lol.
O'Donnell has already had a colorful tenure on the daytime chatfest, with fur flying occasionally during talks with her more conservative co-star, Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But viewers have responded: the show had its highest November audience in its history, up 15 percent over last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Hoping to see some blood...
"The View" creator Barbara Walters said Thursday that she had gotten a phone call from actor Danny DeVito, who appeared drunk during a colorful appearance on the show last week after a night out with pal George Clooney.
DeVito told Walters that he wasn't drunk. Just groggy.
Yah shure, squirt.
The audience roared.
Heh, they know a drunk self-absorbed doofus when they see one.
"Danny, I love ya," O'Donnell said. "It's all right that you were drunk."
Gee - it's Baba's show - WTF asked you? Lol.
Walters said DeVito invited her out the next time he goes drinking with Clooney.
Wow, Star Banter. I feel so privileged - and faint.
They won't even have to buy booze. Makers of the liquor Limoncello, DeVito's drink of choice that fateful night, were so happy with all the publicity they sent a case over to "The View" in appreciation, Walters said.
Who really gives a shit? Posted for the 3 or 4 who might. The target was just sooo big, lol.
#3
I reject the commission's finding on that fact as well. The Israel/Palestineo conflict is the uber-strawman arab leaders throw out to mask their own impotence and corruption.
(Somalinet) The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a regional force to protect the interim Somali government, which is under increasing pressure from the Union of Islamic Courts, and also lifted an arms embargo to allow the force to be equipped.
Security Council's move is aimed at stepping up pressure on the powerful Islamic Courts.
The Islamic Courts who control much of southern and central Somalia described the UN approval to the US draft resolution of easing the arms embargo and deploying troops in Somalia on Thursday as partial and damaging.
Top Islamist officials who had an urgent and close doors meeting in the capital to give response hours after the United Nations Security Council adopted the long awaited US proposal that authorizes deployment of regional peace keepers to prop up the shaky interim government in Baidoa city 240km southwest of the capital, condemned the US government for supporting one side in Somalia conflict.
After the meeting, Sheik Abdirahman Janaqow, the deputy leader of ICU briefed reporters in the capital about their meeting, saying that they have issued a statement against the UN resolution on Somalia.
He accused Washington of siding with one of the rival sides in Somalia, the interim government. The UN resolution on Somalia was aimed to destroy the Islamic movement in the country which stood for rescuing Somalis from the long running civil strife, said in the statement.
The statement also said that the US proposed resolution enables the Ethiopian government to capture and rule Somalia.
The resolution which is giving support to one side is clearly undermining the ongoing negotiation between the Islamic Courts Union and Transitional Federal Government and paves the way of major conflict in the region, Sheik Janaqow said.
The ICU called the UN decision an Ethiopian agenda, worked out by Ethiopian government who wants to occupy Somalia and prevent the Islamic way of life in the country.
Sheik Janaqow vowed that Somali society would defend against any outside intervention and has the right to do that.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
This could make things very interesting over there, if it's not too late.
Looks like the Islamic Court Jesters think so.
#2
I'd love the US to deliver weapons to the ICU - from 40,000 feet.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 12:16
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#3
He accused Washington of siding with one of the rival sides in Somalia, the interim government. The UN resolution on Somalia was aimed to destroy the Islamic movement
Law enforcement agencies found a missile in Sector F-11/1 on Thursday. District administration officials and law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area after a shepherd spotted the missile and informed the area police. The Bomb Disposal Squad was also summoned and they shifted the missile to Rawalpindi after taking necessary protective measures. This is the third time in the last two months that missiles have been found in the capital. Security agencies found missiles outside the National Assembly building on October 6 and located more missiles outside the headquarters of an intelligence agency a day later. Shalimar Police SHO Mohammad Hussain Lasi said the missile found on Thursday was dormant and could have been set off in the 1988 Ojri Camp explosions.
Posted by: Fred ||
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India said on Thursday that the death toll from 17 years of separatist fighting in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) stands at just over 41,000, while separatists and human rights groups claimed the figure was far higher.
According to police records: 16,231 civilians; 4,984 members of Indian security forces; and 19,966 militants have died since the insurgency began in the disputed territory in 1989. One senior Indian police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said that the death toll of 41,181 had been tallied up to Oct 31 of this year. The figure does not include those who died on inaccessible snow-clad mountains while crossing over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or while returning after receiving arms training, he told Reuters. The figure also does not include missing people. In 2004, then chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Syed, had put the number of people missing as a direct result of the conflict at 3,700. Local human rights group, the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), put the death toll much higher, estimating that more than 50,000 people had died and more than 10,000 had disappeared since the armed insurgency against Indian rule.
These figures are based on daily newspaper reports we completely disagree with the government figures, said JKCCS coordinator, Khuram Parvez. We have already started a door-to-door survey in (Indian-held) Kashmir to compile the list of total deaths. Thousands of Kashmiris remain unaccounted for, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
India should stop the killing by withdrawing all forces from Kashmir.
#2
How many of these deaths were caused by Hindus, other than the Indian armed forces? I'd bet the total is in low double-digits. Can't say the same about Islam, now can we?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 13:52
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(SomaliNet) A fighting has renewed in central Somalia on Thursday between fighters belonging to Islamic Courts Union and the Ethiopian backed militia loyal to warlord Colonel Abdi Qeybdid. The battle has taken place in an area between Bandiredley village and Galkaayo city, the capital of Mudug province where the rival sides have exchanged mortar and artillery shells as well as machinegun fires.
Mr. Qeybdid is one of defeated former Mogadishu warlords. Bandiredley, which is stationed by fighters of Islamic Courts, is 60km south of Galkaayo city.
The battle took place between Bandiredley village and Galkaayo city, the capital of Mudug province, where the rival sides exchanged mortar, artillery and machinegun fires.
An Islamist army officer named Shabaan Abdi Anshur confirmed the confrontation and told the local media that the war lasted for several hours using all sprts of weapons.
He claimed that his fighters killed one militia member from the other side but there is no independent sources confirming the death. The latest confrontation came as the Islamic Courts troops in Hiran region, central of Somalia were put on high alert after receiving information that Ethiopian troops are conducting large military movements alongside the border between Somalia and Ethiopia.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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#1
Mr. Qeybdid is one of defeated former Mogadishu warlords.
#5
Can't we send a B-2 with daisy cutters to wish our good friends the Islamists a speedy trip to Allan's Snackbar?
Won't do any good. The ICU will just "recruit" more fighters. The only way to put a stop to this nonsense is to take out the "leadership" - the "holy men" that are running most of Somalia. To do that, you need to take out the government buildings and mosques in Mogadischu. The best way to do that is with a flight of a dozen or so Buffs with big iron bombs, or one B-1 with a nuke. Since everybody gets mad about using nukes, the Buffs have it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 12:15
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#6
But, OP, I want the ICU to recruit more fighters, then we burn another daisy field, then they recruit more, we burn, they recruit, wash, rinse, repeat. 1.2 billion to go, gotta start somewhere.
#7
The Somali warlords and their troops are normally not much, but everyone is forgetting the "advisors" that the Ethiopians have blended with the locals. The Ethiopians have a very large Somali population in the Ogaden Province and have been moving troops from there into Somalia. The last major war between Ethiopian and Somalia was over control of the Ogaden, and the Ethiopian Army has made sure to have loyal Ogaden Somalis in the Army for crossborder raids for the past decade or so.
With Ethiopian Army Somalis acting as combat leaders and with the supply train coming out of Ethiopia, the anti-Islamist warlords can prove to be much better troops. This would be especially true if we could get Washington {specifically the Dems} to get onboard with an emergency military aid supplement to Ethiopia.
STRATFORD, N.J. -- In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq.
American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq.
Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.
Now, 1,000 cans of the neon-colored plastic goop are packed into Shriver's one-car garage in this town outside Philadelphia, ready to be shipped to the Middle East thanks to two churches and a pilot who heard about the drive.
US forces blasted buildings in the restive Iraqi city of Ramadi with tank fire, killing 14 insurgents, said the US military on Thursday, while at least seven Iraqis were killed in attacks. A US soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the clashes that erupted on Wednesday after American and Iraqi troops were attacked with machinegun fire from numerous insurgent positions, including a mosque.
Coalition Forces used tank main gun rounds and precision-guided ordnance to destroy buildings from which insurgents were attacking in Ramadi, said a statement. It said the buildings were destroyed but the mosque was not hit. No civilian casualties were reported, it added.
In the restive western city of Fallujah, a car bomb explosion targeted a police patrol and killed three officers, said a police source. In Baghdad, gunmen assassinated Lieutenant Colonel Basim Luaibi, the assistant director of Sadun police station, and two of his bodyguards in an ambush at the Al-Shaab intersection, said a security official.
In Diwaniyah, gunmen murdered Alwan Qasim, a former member of ousted dictator Saddam Husseins defunct Baath Party, said police. In Iskandriyah, police found bodies of two unidentifed civilians who had been shot in the head and chest.
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(KUNA) -- As many as 10 students were injured when artillery fire by Tamil rebels hit a school in Northeast Sri Lanka Thursday. The attack in Sri Lanka's Trincomalee district, comes a day after President Mahinda Rajapakse announced tougher anti-terror measures against Tamil rebels, news agencies reported from the capital Colombo. The age-group of the injured students is not yet known. Nearly 3,000 civilians, government troops and Tamil rebels have been killed so far this year as the peace process has hit a roadblock.
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*sniffski*
Moscow - Exactly 15 years ago, the leaders of three of the Soviet Union's biggest republics gathered in a village near Brest, Belarus, and just so happened to end the superstate's 75-year existence.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Ukraine's Leonid Kravchuk and Belarussian Supreme Soviet chairman Stanislav Shushkevich met 'to discuss questions of gas and oil deliveries into Ukraine and Belarus,' Shushkevich said in remarks carried Thursday by the Vremya Novostei newspaper. 'We spoke literally a half-hour when the question arose of whether we could agree to sign our names under the phrase: 'The USSR has ceased to exist as a geopolitical reality and a subject of international law,'' he said. On December 8, 1991, the document was signed.
Today, with Russians marking a decade and a half of capitalism and democracy, the country's relationship with its former, communist self remains paradoxical and nostalgic, even as a generation that never wore the uniform of the Pioneer youth group comes of age.
Nearly 70 per cent of Russians say they're wistful for the Red Army, planned economy and powerhouse Olympic teams that symbolized the USSR, a survey conducted by the VTsIOM polling centre ahead of the anniversary showed.
Russia's 68 per cent compares with 59 per cent of Ukrainians and 52 per cent of respondents in Belarus.
As Russia and other former republics continue to search for a post-Soviet identity, roughly half of Russians and Ukrainians would vote in favour of a new union, VTsIOM's poll showed - compared to the one-quarter of the population in each state opposed to unification. With racial tensions higher than ever in Russia and political problems abounding with the former republic of Georgia, many in today's Russia nostalgically speak of the harmony they say prevailed among the brother republics.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last year called the Soviet collapse 'the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. Whoever doesn't regret the fall of the Soviet Union has no heart,' Putin said at the time. 'But whoever regrets it has no head.' Lol. Wotta 'tardski.
But with gross domestic product growth averaging 6.7 per cent over the last seven years in Russia, some of the sting of the Soviet collapse seems to be leaving.
While a majority of Russians - 56 per cent - regret the collapse of the 15-republic state, that number has shrunk from 84 per cent in 1997, according to the Bashkirova and Partners polling group. Young people especially find the idea of a communist Russia to be increasingly alien. The Soviet Union was 'something old and ancient, with which nothing good is associated,' Anton Yevseyev, 15, told the magazine Ogonyok.
Few of the 15-year-olds interviewed by the publication knew what the letters USSR - or, as the Cyrillic abbreviation looks, CCCP - stood for. (Answer: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.)
Yeltsin, also, said he saw no room for regret: The Soviet Union's end, he told state-owned Rossisskaya Gazeta Thursday, could have been softened only by the creation of the looser Commonwealth of Independent States. 'It was the only alternative to the inevitable and unmanageable catastrophic failure of the former Soviet Union,' he said. Ah well, throw 'em a boneski: Yah, shure, we miss the gold old days too - when our sworn enemies were only half-crazy.
#3
--- All these nostalgics are 15 years older than they were when the USSR collapsed, the passing of time tends to make memories rosier for some.
--- Not everybody dislikes servitude and oppression if they somehow benefit from it.
--- Leftists in the West definitely regret the shrinkage of communism and think any criticism of it undermines their own life history.
#6
Perhaps the Russians should look over at the Latvians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and study how they've managed their own economies.
Perhaps the Russians should tackle the Russian mob and create a Free City in Vladivstock along the lines of Hong Kong and open up real trade in the Pacific.
Perhaps the Russians should sell the Japanese the islands they've held since WW2.
Perhaps the Russians should reevaluate their alliances with thugs and act like a global power. Adding Russian troops to peacekeeping missions.
Perhaps the Russians should find a way to build a new transsiberian railroad-bullet train to connect the Far East with the European section of Russia.
Perhaps Russia should write off the Commonwealth of Indepedent states and promote ethnic Russians to move back to the motherland and promote non-Russians to move back to their own areas.
Perhaps Russia should stop whining about everythign Europe does and become the spine Europe needs in exchange for the technology and investment Russia needs.
Perhaps Russia should promote emigration into Siberia from non-ethnic Chinese before they lose the whole Eastern section of their nation.
Just a few ideas that won't happen but that could go a long way towards returning Russia to becoming a Great Power again.
#8
..I always said there'd come a day when we would miss having the Soviets around.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2006 14:03
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#9
The Russians have the resources to be a superpower. They just don't have the will or the freedom. If the Russians had a US-style constitution, political and cultural guarantees of freedom and private property, and an incentive to work, save, invest, and profit, there would be a huge boom in Russia. First, though, they'd have to be willing to kill off every former member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, every former member of the KGB, and most of the GRU. Unless that happens, Russia will continue to falter. Any attempt to re-form the Soviet Union will fail, possibly bloodily. Putin doesn't have the intelligence to govern, much less rule, and he's eliminated anyone who does.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 15:49
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#10
Demographic trends (especially in comparison with Muslim and Chinese ethnicities nearby) indicate the Russians will be a small minority in what used to be their country within 75 years or so. They are dying off in droves.
My great grandfather Mark came from a poor Jewish family that lived in a Jewish mestechko near Kiev. In February 1917 a capitalist democratic revolution in Russia seemed to have opened the future for him. Up until that point Jews couldn't serve as officers in the Russian army, which was but one of thousand ways to discriminate against Jews under the Tsar. Mark joined Cadets. In October 1917 he was among a regiment of young trainee officers and a female batalion that guarded the Winter Palace (the seat of the democratically elected government in St Petersburg) when it was attacked by the Bolshevik mob comprising sailors, soldiers and lumpen proletariat.
Following the success of the Bolshevik attack, Mark and the other guards were taken for interrogation. While he was waiting, he was allowed to go to the washroom. He escaped through the window prior to giving his details. I understand that nobody else among his comrades has survived "the interrogation" as it was conducted by applying a gunshot to the temple.
In 1921 he married Bina. They survived the civil war, the terror of the proletariat, relaxation which was called "new economic policy" and seemed to be doing O'K.
In 1928 Mark was arrested along with thousands of other engineers. Apparently, he was planning to dig a tunnel to London. Others were persecuted under similarly ridiculous charges for "intentionally causing starvation in the USSR". As Mark was to find out, the 1928 purge was exceptionally mild by Soviet standards. He was let out within a few months of arrest without a courtcase and wasn't even beaten or tortured in prison.
By 1937 Mark was doing quite well. He managed a plant in Nizhni Novgorod. He even had a car with a personal driver. His children were well educated and looked after. A special Jewish doctor would prescribe his kids a special Jewish diet every week so that the kids would grow fat faster.
His plant was doing quite well, but it was the wrong thing to do at the wrong time. Someone got envious and the whole management of the plant was arrested. Cause given was that one of the workshops was built of wood and that was considered "an act of the enemies of the people". Ten years ago that wooden workshop was still in place in Nizhny Novgorod. Mark knew exactly who snitched on him and his colleagues. That man lived happily to an old age.
This time Mark was tortured and spent 2 years in prison. He did say that not all NKVD investigators were equally cruel. One of them would ask Mark to scream during questioning and pretended that he was beating him.
Mark survived, but he has never been the same again. One thing that he was happy about was his companions in prison. The best Soviet scientists, engineers, doctors were there with him. There were several boys, who apparently received exceptionally good education which was provided by other convicts.
A bunch of convicts were released in 1939 when Stalin decided to slow down the repressions and change the head of NKVD. Mark was one of these lucky people. For the rest of his life he had a "prison" suitcase prepared. Every time he heard steps on the staircase, he would jump up and grab that suitcase.
Mark died just before I was born [1970]. He died relatively old, considering when and where he lived, very much loved and valued by his family.
Stacie Paxton, Press Secretary for the US Democratic National Committee, denied reports on Thursday that Hamas leaders had met secretly with US Democratic Party officials. "Nope. Nope. Never happened." "Who're you going to believe, us Democrats or Hamas?"
The Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency, quoting sources close to the Hamas-led government, claimed Wednesday that such meetings did take place. However, the agency did not give additional details. In response to the reports, which were also published in The Jerusalem Post, Paxton said: "No such meeting took place."
Posted by: Fred ||
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And if you did meet with Hamas, what would you tell us then?
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/08/2006 6:20
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Hard call, but I think it at least marginally more likely that Hamas is lying.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/08/2006 6:50
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What possible reason could Hamas have to make such a bizarre claim? No, methinks it do have some truth to it. Maybe not an "official" meeting, but a meeting none the less.
#4
Unless you got a tape, *credible* eyewitness, or a video to prove a meetiing took place this is a hard sell. I'd love to see hard evidence. It would damn the dems.
#8
...Does anybody remember former House Speaker Tom Foley's comments about Bush 41 about his role in the Iran-Contra scandal?
Let me refresh everyone's memory. The Iran-Contra special prosecutor actually suggested that VP Bush got in an SR-71 and flew to Paris to meet with the MMMs and then come back in less than a day. When the USAF turned over the flight logs and let these idiots interview the flight and ground crews, the SPs office stated that there was no evidence that any such flight had ever taken place. Foley's response:
"Despite the fact there is no evidence, the seriousness of charge demands that we investigate."
I second Speaker Foley.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2006 13:51
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#6 Shucks, Pappy.
The IRA married into the Democratic Party (Paul Hill/Mary Courtney Kennedy). The Reception must've been a hell of a piss up!
#10
D *** ng it, what kind of VIETNAM QUAGMIRE is this WOT - at least the Dems should do is have the common decency to secretly meet wid NVA-VC = HAMAS, etc officials in Paris or Vienna, to make sure Amer loses Vietnam while spending a lot of $$$ in the process. IFF THE DEMS ARE GONNA BE CALLIN' VIETNAM + QUAGMIRE, AT LEAST FOLLOW THE HISTORICAL SCRIPT.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwafaq Al-Rubaie announced Wednesday that the assistant of Abu Ayyub Al-Masri, Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, was killed in an extensive military operation by the Iraqi security forces. At a press conference here, Al-Rubaie revealed the Iraqi and Multi-National Force's (MNF) efforts in combating terrorism resulted in the death of Omar Al-Farouq, second right-hand man for Al-Masri.
The Iraqi official unveiled information about the chief of "Ansar Al-Sunna" terrorist group and stated that he was eliminated and his group would be hunt down. "Evidence proved that Ansar Al-Sunna's chief in Iraq was directly linked to the main leader of the group in Syria," pointed out Al-Rubaie who said that the Syrian government would surely lend a hand to take-down the group.
At the judicial level, Al-Rubaie said that sentences were issued against terrorist from neighboring countries. A meeting for Iraqi security leaders was held today under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, stated the Iraqi official who added that the Premier was initiating a new security plan for Baghdad which was agreed upon during his meeting with US President George W. Bush in Amman.
The new plan would be handled by the Iraqi forces and it would consist of several offensive measures to eradicate terrorists rather than taking a defensive position, indicated the Iraqi adviser. He noted that an upcoming regional conference to reveal information about the new plan would take place soon but did not specify an exact date for such an event.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Quick! Promote the semi-trained assistant aide!!
The US Congress passed a bill making any relations with Hamas and American government officials illegal on Thursday. According to the bill, no aid will be given to the Palestinian Authority until Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Hookay, now, where are those democrat assholes who were supposed to be prinking about with these bastards?
I don't care what previous pattern of deceit has happened in Africa or Iraq. Hamas epitomizes all that will perpetuate the Middle East crisis, for-fucking-eveh. Anyone who gives them the least iota of credibility undermines all efforts to achieve any sort of lasting peace.
If anyone has the least doubts as to just how repugnant Hamas actually is, consider the huge influx of weapons from both Israel and America into the PA's rabidly anti-Jewish Fatah wing solely to counterbalance Hamas popularity.
"Peas. I love peas. Green peas, black-eyed peas, peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold. Whirled peas especially. The Syrians make a whirled peas reduction that's absolutely divine. Mmmm...peas."
Good Gawd. Where do they get these people?
Defense Minister Amir Peretz pushed for talks with Syria, on condition that the country stop its support for terrorism, sources said Thursday morning. Yeah, sure. Go ahead and talk to them as soon as they stop doing what they've been doing for fifty or sixty years. They're gonna stop any time now. Really.
The defense minister said his comments during a Labor meeting which followed the submittal of the Baker-Hamilton report regarding US stance on Iraq. "In order to weaken the radical axis, we must be open to the [words] of peace voiced by the president of Syria, however, first Syria must stop the terror and cease giving Hamas 'an umbrella,'" said Peretz.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Someone call Al Gore....
The internet is broken [slams side of monitor]
It keeps showing the same damn rerun over and over again.
A Jordanian military court on Thursday convicted three Syrians and one Iraqi to death for firing rockets at two US warships in Aqaba Bay in August 2005. The rockets missed, but the attempt was the most serious attack on the US Navy since the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.
Fired from a warehouse on the outskirts of Aqaba, one rocket landed outside a Jordanian military hospital on the far side of the bay and killed a Jordanian soldier. Another fell across the border in Israel. It did not explode but slightly wounded an Israeli taxi driver. One of the Syrians, Mohammed Hassan Abdullah al-Sihly, is in police custody, but the other two Syrians, Abdul-Rahman al-Sihly and Abdullah al-Sihly, and the Iraqi, Amar al-Samerai, remain at large and were tried in absentia.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Are we hanging or beheading ? Let us know, maybe we'd like to observe just to make sure there's no screw ups.
(SomaliNet) Liberia's ex president, Charles Taylor, has a son by the name of Charles McArthur Emmanuel. 29 year old Emmanuel has been sent to jail to answer charges pertaining to wrong identification.
Emmanuel, commonly known as Charles "Chuckie" Taylor is accused of using a passport carrying a wrong name in order to facilitate his entry to USA. He says that he gave the wrong name because he was scared of using his father's name as he would not have easily entered USA. Emmanuel has spent the past eight months in jail after his arrest on March 30 at Miami International Airport.
However, his lawyer, Miguel Caridad, said that the passport issue was a set up to keep him in jail as preparations to make him answerable for torture cases against him are being completed. Emmanuel also appeared in court for having carried out war crimes in Liberia. He is a US citizen and was charged under a law forbidding a US citizen from involvement in war crimes abroad (outside USA).
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A suicide car bomb targeting a NATO convoy in Afghanistan killed two civilians Thursday, while elsewhere a district chief and a senior policemen were killed by Taliban gunmen. The bomber struck as NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) military vehicles drove through the southern city of Kandahar, the scene of a rash of recent suicide attacks.
ISAF headquarters in Kabul confirmed there had been an attack against its troops, but said there had been no military casualties.
ISAF headquarters in Kabul confirmed there had been an attack against its troops, but said there had been no military casualties. The innocent bystanders don't have the advantage of armored vehicles.
Two dead bodies and seven injured men were taken to the Mirwais hospital in restive Kandahar after the blast, Doctor Najibullah told AFP. The interior ministry in Kabul confirmed there had been a suicide bombing but said only one civilian had been killed, while putting the number of injured people at 11.
Pieces of the bombers body were scattered around the blast site in the Chawk Madat area of the city, which was sealed off by Afghan security forces, an AFP correspondent at the scene said. "Careful there, Mahmoud! Don't step on that nose! It could be evidence!"
Police were also trying to dismantle an unexploded hand grenade, which they said was left over from the car bomb, the reporter said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. The bombing was the third suicide attack in Kandahar in as many days and the 10th since November 25 across Afghanistan.
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The Treasury Department took action Thursday against five people it accused of providing financial support to terror groups as well as facilitating acts of terror in Iraq, Kuwait and elsewhere. The department's action means that any financial assets belonging to these people that are found in the United States are frozen, and Americans are barred from doing business with them.
"These individuals support every stage of the terrorist life cycle, from financing terrorist groups and activity, to facilitating deadly attacks and inciting others to join campaigns of violence and hate," said Stuart Levey, the department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Those added to the department's list of terrorist financiers are: Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, better known as Mullah Krekar, a Kurdish citizen of Iraq; Hamid Al-Ali, Jaber Al-Jalamah and Mubarak Mushakhas Sanad Al-Bathali, all citizens of Kuwait; and Mohamed Moumou, listed as a citizen of both Sweden and Morocco.
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Note: They may correct it - but the title is exactly as it was posted on the Grauniad site, lol.
Boeing today stole a further march on European plane-maker Airbus by saying it was in serious talks with three or four more airlines about the new stretched version of its venerable jumbo, the 747.
Lufthansa this week became the first airline to buy the passenger version of the 747-800, ordering 20 and taking options on a further 20.
Airbus had dismissed the potential market for the plane which can seat 450 compared with its own 555-seater A380 superjumbo.
Randy Baseler, head of marketing at Boeing Commercial Aircraft, said the airlines in talks could decide to replace their 747 fleet with the new version over the next 12 months. British Airways, which has eschewed the A380, is a traditional jumbo customer. "We would expect that, now that Lufthansa has signed up, others will feel more urgency to get into the front line of production," Mr Baseler said. He sees a market for 325 stretched 747s over the next 20 years. It has won 68 firm orders so far, including 48 freight versions.
Boeing has won more than 850 orders this year compared with 635 for Airbus which has been hit by two-year delays to its A380 and has only just decided to go ahead with a new A350 mid-sized, long-haul jet to rival Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The A350 will enter service in 2013 or five years behind the 787.
Airbus took some comfort from Lufthansa's decision to order seven more A340 jets. The plane has been widely written off because of high fuel consumption.
The new 747s will use leaner engines developed by Rolls-Royce and GE.
#1
the new 747 is actually the -8, not -800.
what is significant to this order is that Lufthansa is the launch customer for the pax version of the -8. several others were interested in it, and Boeing has sold a bunch of the -8 freighters. this will open up an entire new segment of aircraft for freighter conversions ( the -400s) and can only take potential A380 customers away.
Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday said that his organization's weapons would be used against Israel, and Israel only. In a speech made to thousands of supporters in central Beirut - his strongest-ever attack on the government - Nasrallah vowed to bring down the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
"We will not lift our weapons in the face of anyone. We don't need weapons to defeat you," Nasrallah said, adding that Hizbullah would use its arms only against Israelis. "We will defeat you with our voices," he said.
He accused Saniora of conniving with Israel during the recent war, alleging he ordered Lebanese soldiers to seize weapons being delivered to Hizbullah guerrillas. "Didn't the prime minister of Lebanon work to cut off the supply lines?" Nasrallah said.
He said members of the government, whom he would not name, had asked American envoys to get Israel to destroy Hizbullah. "Those are the ones responsible for the war, not the resistance," Nasrallah said.
The man who was Lebanon's acting interior minister during the war, Ahmed Fatfat, dismissed Nasrallah's accusations as "false stories about the war." Speaking to Associated Press Television News, Fatfat said the charges would strengthen the Lebanese government's resolve. Fatfat, who is now minister of youth and sports, told Al-Arabiya television that the Nasrallah's accusation was also "very dangerous because it means bloodshed for Saniora and me."
In his speech, delivered on huge screens in two central Beirut squares, Nasrallah said the opposition's daily protests would continue until it achieved a bigger share of the Cabinet, but he also said he was prepared to negotiate and violence was not an option.
The Western-backed Saniora, who is supported by the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, has repeatedly refused to resign and has rejected the demand by Hizbullah and its pro-Syrian allies for a veto-wielding share of the Cabinet. "Negotiate with us and we will talk to you," Nasrallah said, addressing what he called the "illegitimate government."
"But in the name of all those gathered here, we will not leave the streets before achieving the goal that saves Lebanon," he said, to roars of approval from the crowd.
It was only the second time since the August cease-fire that Nasrallah had spoken live to a mass rally. The first time - in September - he appeared at the rally in southern Beirut. On Thursday night, he did not appear for security reasons, but spoke via video link to huge screens set up in Riad Solh Square and Martyrs' Square, pausing occasionally for the crowds to stop cheering.
Hizbullah and its opposition allies have staged daily protests for the past week in a bid to force the government's resignation. Saniora has been holed up in the main government office complex, which is ringed by troops, riot police and barbed wire.
Nasrallah referred to warnings from politicians from all sides, as well as the commander of the national army, that the mass protests could turn increasingly violent and drag the country back to the sectarian civil war of 1975-90. One young Shiite Muslim was shot dead in a riot in a predominantly Sunni Muslim area on Sunday night.
The speech seemed to be an attempt to prime the opposition for the massive demonstration that it plans to convene in central Beirut on Sunday. In a statement published in a Lebanese newspaper, the opposition called on its supporters to take part in "a historic and decisive" demonstration that aimed to replace "one-color government with a national unity government" - Hizbullah parlance for a Cabinet in which it and its allies have a third of the seats. Earlier Thursday, Saniora said he would stand firm and the Cabinet was "constitutional and legitimate."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2006
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#1
Who else would you aim at Mr. Shit-for-brains ? Jordan ?
#4
That means the program of assassinating less than perfect Shiites and anyone else Hizb'allah doesn't like is continuing, but Sheik Nasrallah will not countenance shooting missiles at them.
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - The U.S. military transferred the first group of detainees on Thursday to a new maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay designed to restrict contact among the prisoners and prevent attacks on guards. This complements our facility at Ice Station Zebra, the other place we're not supposed to talk about.
More than 40 detainees were brought to the $37 million prison perched on a plateau overlooking the Caribbean Sea from another maximum-security facility at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand. The 178-cell prison, constructed beside another maximum-security prison built in 2004, will allow the base to phase out an older facility, Durand said.
The new prison was originally designed as a medium-security facility. But the military made several modifications, citing concerns raised by three suicides in June and a clash in May between guards and detainees armed with makeshift weapons.
It is now one of two facilities reserved for prisoners who are least compliant - an assessment the military says it bases on detainees' adherence to base rules rather than their cooperation with interrogators. Detainees will be confined in individual cells with long, narrow windows overlooking areas with metal tables and stools that were meant to be shared spaces but will now be off-limits.
An open-air recreation area has been divided into smaller spaces, which will hold only one detainee at a time. Shower doors were redesigned to allow guards to shackle prisoners' hands and feet before they leave the stalls, and fencing was installed on second-tier catwalks to prevent detainees from jumping over the sides.
The new prison also has air conditioning, an onsite medical center and two rooms that will allow detainees to meet privately with their lawyers, Durand said. Air conditioning has not been available at all the camps despite sweltering tropical heat. But the military is now installing it some prisons after detainees used broken fan blades as weapons in the melee in May.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kris Winter said the modifications will help make guards safer. In the last year and a half, the military has recorded more than 430 incidents in which detainees have thrown ``cocktails'' of bodily excretions at guards, as well as 225 physical assaults. ``As a commander, I don't like my folks being in danger every day,'' Winter said this week while leading journalists on a tour of the prison.
Guantanamo officials said the inability of the detainees to communicate with one another will also improve safety. Officials have said the May 18 ambush inside another facility on the base resulted from a plot hatched by detainees as word spread that guards were searching cells for contraband medication following two suicide attempts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2006
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Ya' know...an Ice Station Zebra-like camp in the Antarctic wouldn't be that bad an idea. McMurdo could certainly use the labor force I'm told.
Hard labor in sub-zero temperatures would probably have a few of these ole' boys thinkin' maybe Allan had abandoned them.
BTW, good movie - and I know ISZ was in the arctic not the Antarctic and that we couldn;t really do that becuase the whole friggin' iced-over continent is a demilitarized zone (tell that to the Russians, the Chinese, and about everyone else but the US).
The Hizbullah-led opposition has vowed to step up its campaign, setting Sunday as a new ultimatum to bring down Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government through a mass street protest.
The new zero hour set for 3 p.m. Sunday by the predominantly Shiite opposition came after the influential Maronite Church called for early presidential elections to help settle the serious crisis which is threatening to split Lebanon. The church, the biggest in Lebanon, also called on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene the house to break the critical political deadlock.
In an apparent response to the church's call, President Emile Lahoud Wednesday rejected early presidential elections, and reiterated that the formation of a national unity government was the only solution to the political crisis, according to a statement issued by his office. Lahoud has rejected repeated demands by Saniora and the parliamentary majority to step down. He has vowed to stay in office until his term expires in November next year.
However, Christian opposition leader General Michel Aoun adopted the church statement. "I have no objections to holding early presidential elections," Aoun told As Safir in remarks published Thursday.
But there was no comment from Berri on the church's statement, which avoided the term "national unity government," the opposition's primary demand, and proposed the formation of a "reconciliation government that ensures wide participation at the national level."
The Organization of the Islamic Conference also urged Lebanese leaders to act with "the highest degree of self-restraint, wisdom and responsibility in order to save the country from slipping on the inevitable slope of confrontation".
The opposition call also followed an appeal by Saniora to those who are trying to topple him through mass protests to stop "digging bunkers," return to the negotiating table, and help rebuild Lebanon.
Meanwhile, thousands of protestors camped in a tent city outside the Grand Serail for a seventh straight day Thursday as the opposition asked the Lebanese people to prepare for other forms of peaceful protest to force the formation of a new unity government. Nasarallah had his hand-picked replacement cabinet all set to go, thinking that last week's rally was going to do the trick. When that event went bust, Hez installed a couple of searchlights to play on the gov't offices in the Grand Serail. Now it's time for another mass rally on Sunday, with Hez knowing that they're looking weaker and weaker as this spectacle unfolds. So, sooner or later, ...
#2
Hezbollah has Iran and Syria as allies. Cedar Revolutionaries have absolutely no allies whatsoever. Against Western Civilization blunders into disaster.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday warned Islamabad that attacks perpetrated by terrorists infiltrating his country from Pakistan was severely undermining relations between the two countries. Following talks in Kabul with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Karzias office released a statement saying: The president emphasised that the Afghan people desired to have strong and friendly relations with Pakistan. However, the continuation of violence perpetrated by terrorists from across the border was a major obstacle.
Karzai went on to issue a veiled warning that escalating violence in Afghanistan would also harm Pakistans interests. In the same way that Afghans cannot imagine a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan without a peaceful and stable Pakistan, it is also impossible for Pakistan to have peace and stability without a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. Kasuri stressed that Pakistan supported a stable Afghanistan, the statement said.
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Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Teheran on Thursday and is expected to meet with Iranian government officials including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. Haniyeh is expected to stay in Iran for four days.
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A failed asylum seeker jailed for child rape is to receive around £50,000 in damages after a judge ruled he had been unlawfully kept behind bars while the Home Office tried to deport him to Somalia.
He won the payout despite being offered the opportunity to go voluntarily - but he preferred to stay in a British prison with free bed and board. The pay-out is all the more astonishing because the authorities effectively have little choice but to keep him in prison. He cannot be let out on to the streets in Britain because he is considered a danger to the public - especially women. But equally, it is very difficult to deported him back to Somalia, despite failing in his asylum application.
Until July no airline was willing to fly compulsory deportees there, and only one will do so now - but it is dealing with a backlog. The man himself, meanwhile, refuses to go voluntarily because he says it is too dangerous for him back home.
He has, in effect, elected to stay in Britain - yet is claiming compensation for doing so. All the while, on top of his £50,000 damages and £100,000 legal fees paid by the taxpayer, he is costing more than £37,000 a year to keep in prison. His stay in prison beyond his sentence has already cost well over £100,000 to the taxpayer. And he is also entitled to remain anonymous in the media.
This is because the Court of Appeal follows the convention in other European courts that publicly naming asylum seekers may put them at danger from those they may be fleeing from.
The 30-year-old entered Britain illegally on a false Kenyan passport in 1995, and within three years had raped a 13-year old girl at knifepoint. Probation officers warned that if freed he might stalk his victim and attack her again, and that he poses a risk to all women, and the public in general. He has been held in prison since his sentence ended in 2003, while officials bid to deport him to Somalia. He used Legal Aid, pushing his law fees for the taxpayer of up to £100,000, to launch a High Court appeal to be freed, along with a claim for compensation for being unlawfully imprisoned - in spite of the fact that he has been free to return to his homeland for more than three years.
Yesterday, astonishingly, his claim was partially accepted by High Court judge Mr Justice CalvertSmith who ruled that although the failed asylum seeker had sought to remain in Britain 'by hook or by crook', he had been unlawfully detained for 20 months.
The rapist - who has been granted the cloak of anyonymity, and can be known only as 'A' - will accordingly be paid compensation likely to run to £50,000, enough to buy many houses in his homeland.
The failed asylum seeker plans to appeal any imminent bid to forcibly deport him, but if he is successfully sent back his legal winnings will be sent to him there.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Yes, well, it's this sort of blinked Philistine pig-ignorace we've come to expect from such politically correct garbage. They sit all day on their loathsome spotty behinds squeezing blackheads not giving a tinkers cuss for the struggling citizen. [/architect sketch]
#4
'Peb, in the States all it would take is one guard giving a lifer a pack of cigarettes and some prison store credits and that "short-eyes" (pen slang for a kiddie f*cker) would be shanked in the shower the next day - problemo solved. I'm sure you have some fine lads in your correctional facilities who would do the same.
#5
Or you could just tag him and release him to the public here in the States. Let him run up against NYPD or the Atlanta PD and 50 rounds may not be enough.
Posted by: BA ||
12/08/2006 9:30
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#6
Great post. My dad used to say: you can either fish, or cut bait all day...
#7
The Brits have C-130s. It's not terribly difficult or dangerous to fly one of those at 300 feet over the shallow waters just off the coast, and toss the garbagedetainees out the back with fast-opening chutes. They should have plenty of time to wade to dry land, if the sharks don't get them.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/08/2006 15:43
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#8
A .22 costs 2¢ retail.
Posted by: ed ||
12/08/2006 16:10
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Dmitry Kovtun, a contact of dead Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, is in critical condition in hospital from radiation poisoning, Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying on Thursday. "Doctors have classified Kovtun's condition as critical," Interfax quoted its source as saying. Kovtun met Litvinenko in London on November 1, the day the former spy fell ill.
Interfax also reported that Kovtun fell into a coma after British and Russian investigators working on the Litvinenko case had finished questioning him in a Moscow hospital. However, it gave no source for the information on a coma. A spokesman for Russia's Prosecutor-General's office said he had no information about Kovtun's health. Russian prosecutors earlier opened a criminal investigation for the attempted murder of Kovtun, a businessman. They said Kovtun was displaying symptoms of radiation poisoning.
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#1
And restaurant workers and patrons and airline passengers were also infected. And we are talking less than 1 gram of radio-active material.
When will we admit to our extreme vulnerability, and take the gloves off in face of our enemy?
#2
By the time this completes the circulation, we will have conclusive proof about the 'Six Degrees of Separation' theory; we will all be dead. Or sick.
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.
By JOSEPH KAHN
Yet this tradition of modesty has begun to fade, replaced by a growing confidence that Chinas rise is not fleeting and that the country needs to do more to define its objectives.
Our China, the Chinese people, the Chinese race has become revitalized and is again stepping onto the world stage, Qian Chengdan, a professor at Beijing University and the intellectual father of the television series, said in an online dialogue about the documentary on Sina.com, a leading Web site. It is extremely important for todays China to be able to draw some lessons from the experiences of others, he said.
While the military gap between China and the United States may remain for some time, he argued, Chinas faster economic growth and increasing political strength may whittle down Americas overall advantage. China will enjoy the status of a semi-superpower between the United States and the other major powers, Mr. Yan predicted in the article, which appeared in the China Journal of International Politics.
By MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR
By Kenneth R. Timmerman
A TREE frog has miraculously survived after being frozen rock solid. The tiny frog was found covered in a layer of ice in a walk-in freezer - set at -18C - at a Darwin cafeteria. 
THE Uniting Church has again sparked outrage by refusing to fulfil a Digger's dying wish to have the Australian flag draped over his coffin. The Highfield Rd Uniting Church in Canterbury banned the flag at the funeral of long time congregation member and war veteran Geoff Bolton on November 15. It is believed the family were only told of the church's policy on the morning of the funeral and were forced to have the RSL service in the church's foyer. 
If terrorists ever unleashed a biological weapon, unusual molecules normally found in the blood of llamas could quickly help warn of the attack, scientists now report. 
LONDON (AP) - Preliminary hearings in the coroner's inquest into the 1997 death of Princess Diana and her friend Dodi Fayed will be open to the public, officials said Thursday.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton on Thursday endorsed the idea of talks with Iran and Syria to help ease the bloodletting in Iraq, saying it would also be in Tehran's interests.
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.
RIYADH, 8 December 2006 The US-based Human Rights Watch reported yesterday that it was still waiting for a response from the Saudi authorities to a request to visit prisons in the Kingdom for a first-hand study of the situation.
RIYADH, 8 December 2006 Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal yesterday said that the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states will express their concern to Iran about the prospect of nuclear power plants being developed on its side of the Arabian Gulf coast.
(SomaliNet) Nigeria's oil saga is continuing. This time, Agip oil flow station in Nigeria's Bayelsa state has been attacked and at least two foreign oil workers have been kidnapped. "There was an attack on an Agip flow station at Brass about 5am. They came in about seven boats. Two or three expatriates were kidnapped," Hafiz Ringim, Bayelsea state police commissioner, told Reuters. However, Agip's spokesman in Nigeria's city of Lagos denied having any information on this attack by press time. 
OMAHA, Neb. -- A gun in a high school student's pocket accidentally discharged during class Thursday, injuring the teen, police said. The 10th-grader at Northwest High School was not threatening anyone with the gun when it fired, police said. The 17-year-old's injuries, which were not life threatening, were in the thigh and finger.
Authorities expelled two Belgians and eight French terror suspects on Thursday, but an American and another French citizen remained in Egyptian custody, officials said. The 12, along with an unknown number of Egyptians and Arabs from other countries, were arrested late last month for allegedly belonging to an Islamist terror cell that was plotting attacks in the region including Iraq. 
Saudi security forces clashed with "terrorists" who shot and killed two guards Thursday outside a prison in the western city of Jiddah where al-Qaida suspects are being held, state-run media reported. Al-Jazeera television reported late Thursday that two combatants were arrested, but this was not immediately confirmed. The Qatari-based channel did not say whether the arrests had ended the standoff.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel will "continue to show restraint" in Gaza, despite continuing rocket fire. Olmert also rejected suggestions that Israel's recent cease-fire with the Palestinians in Gaza would simply allow the armed groups to rearm and regroup for another round of fighting, saying that Israel would not allow that to happen.
A military judge Wednesday sentenced Petty Officer 3rd Class 
US lawmakers on Thursday settled differences on landmark legislation to allow shipments of civilian nuclear fuel to India, clearing the way for passage of a measure that will overturn three decades of American anti-proliferation policy. 
India said on Thursday that the death toll from 17 years of separatist fighting in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) stands at just over 41,000, while separatists and human rights groups claimed the figure was far higher. 
(SomaliNet) A fighting has renewed in central Somalia on Thursday between fighters belonging to Islamic Courts Union and the Ethiopian backed militia loyal to warlord Colonel Abdi Qeybdid. The battle has taken place in an area between Bandiredley village and Galkaayo city, the capital of Mudug province where the rival sides have exchanged mortar and artillery shells as well as machinegun fires. 
(SomaliNet) Liberia's ex president, Charles Taylor, has a son by the name of Charles McArthur Emmanuel. 29 year old Emmanuel has been sent to jail to answer charges pertaining to wrong identification. 
The Treasury Department took action Thursday against five people it accused of providing financial support to terror groups as well as facilitating acts of terror in Iraq, Kuwait and elsewhere. The department's action means that any financial assets belonging to these people that are found in the United States are frozen, and Americans are barred from doing business with them. 
Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday said that his organization's weapons would be used against Israel, and Israel only. In a speech made to thousands of supporters in central Beirut - his strongest-ever attack on the government - Nasrallah vowed to bring down the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. 
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - The U.S. military transferred the first group of detainees on Thursday to a new maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay designed to restrict contact among the prisoners and prevent attacks on guards.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday warned Islamabad that attacks perpetrated by terrorists infiltrating his country from Pakistan was severely undermining relations between the two countries. Following talks in Kabul with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Karzias office released a statement saying: The president emphasised that the Afghan people desired to have strong and friendly relations with Pakistan. However, the continuation of violence perpetrated by terrorists from across the border was a major obstacle. 
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Teheran on Thursday and is expected to meet with Iranian government officials including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. Haniyeh is expected to stay in Iran for four days.
A failed asylum seeker jailed for child rape is to receive around £50,000 in damages after a judge ruled he had been unlawfully kept behind bars while the Home Office tried to deport him to Somalia.
Dmitry Kovtun, a contact of dead Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, is in critical condition in hospital from radiation poisoning, Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying on Thursday. "Doctors have classified Kovtun's condition as critical," Interfax quoted its source as saying. Kovtun met Litvinenko in London on November 1, the day the former spy fell ill.
