In case you haven't heard:
A severed human ear has been found in a city street, police said today. The discovery has baffled detectives after builders came across the ear on a pavement near Strangeways Prison in Manchester. Strange ways indeed.
Police have checked with hospitals but no-one has been admitted without an ear and no-one has come forward to claim it. No other body parts were found after a search of the area. A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said: "Police were informed of what is believed to be a human ear discovered on Great Ducie Street, Strangeways. "The item has been removed and initial visual identification indicates it may be a human ear. "It looks like a ear, don't it Jock?"
"Can't say, better send it for visual ID."
"It has been sent for forensic tests." "an' some forensic tests too, I wager."
Experts will now run tests to try to discover the owner of the ear. Mr. Van Gogh, is that you?
Detectives want to make sure it is human ear after a similar find a number of years ago of what was thought to be a human finger turned out to be a sausage. Then there was the Bobbitt case, so you never know.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
02/18/2005
9:57:05 AM ||
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#1
You should've linked to the relevant BBC article, AC. They've got a picture there, to help us visualise what a human ear looks like. I'll never gripe about the licence fee, ever again.
#2
Detectives want to make sure it is human ear after a similar find a number of years ago of what was thought to be a human finger turned out to be a sausage.
I remember that case and I don't think they thought it was a finger...
#3
what the hell, that's why God gave us two ears...
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 10:46
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#4
Tests? Are they sure it isn't rubber? Human?
Check the chimps at the London Zoo. Do a count of ears. If it comes up an odd number, that should raise suspicions!
#10
This is bad, but it'd be downright tragic if the guy just blew a wad on a new home-theater Surround Sound system.
Posted by: Dar ||
02/18/2005 15:40
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#11
In todays Springfield, Mass Republican (www.masslive.com) Fetuses found on SHA land
In a bizare twist in a city corruption investigation, federal agents spent 10 hours digging behind a Springfield Housing Authority project yesterday before FINDING FOUR FETUSES preserved in jars. Wearing masks, goggles and hazardous materials suits, a team of F.B.I. agents discovered jars holding fetuses in various stages of development just before dusk. It was unclear last night how the fetuses fit into the corruption investigation, which has focused on bribes, kickbacks and other types of fraud at the State's third largest housing authority.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Hear Ye Hear YE. ||
02/18/2005 19:14
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#12
In todays Springfield, Mass Republican (www.masslive.com) Fetuses found on SHA land
In a bizare twist in a city corruption investigation, federal agents spent 10 hours digging behind a Springfield Housing Authority project yesterday before FINDING FOUR FETUSES preserved in jars. Wearing masks, goggles and hazardous materials suits, a team of F.B.I. agents discovered jars holding fetuses in various stages of development just before dusk. It was unclear last night how the fetuses fit into the corruption investigation, which has focused on bribes, kickbacks and other types of fraud at the State's third largest housing authority.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Hear Ye Hear YE. ||
02/18/2005 19:16
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#13
# 9 .com I grew up in a small , rural town in Northeastern Connecticut and on Friday and Saturday night's it was a common prank to fill
and old pocketbook with cow or horse meadow muffins, leave it in the middle of the road,
wait for an unsuspecting driver to stop and
stick their hand in the pocketbook and GET THE SURPRISE OF THEIR LIFE !!!! (Trick or Treat).
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Hear Ye Hear YE. ||
02/18/2005 19:23
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#14
No Way! That's too funny
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 19:31
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#15
# 14 Frank- sometime the pocketbook thief would drive a bit down the road, then get out of the car and yell"Ah, S--T, oh F--k". Hey, when you are in Highschool it does not take much to make one laugh-he he he.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea ||
02/18/2005 19:53
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#16
Frank- a friend of ours was caught and prosecuted.
His defense attorney filed a Motion to Dismiss the case and the motion was granted*** No MOO
about it****
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: State Versus Meadow Muffin case ||
02/18/2005 20:10
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February 18, 2005: Iraqi and coalition forces are getting hit with 50-60 attacks a day. Most of these are ambush type attacks that result in no casualties. Dozens, sometimes over a hundred, of the attackers, or suspects, are arrested every day. Interrogations of these men, and examination of documents seized, indicates that there is no one anti-government organization behind the attacks. But the attackers are not broad-based either. They are almost entirely Sunni Arab, and many are not even Iraqi. The anti-government activity in Iraq is driven by several factors. First, there is the Sunni Arab resentment at losing power. That hurt, as for over half a century, the Iraqi Sunni Arabs lived large off increasing oil revenues. The money also enabled them to buy guns, build elaborate torture chambers and hire lots of thugs to keep the majority Kurds and Shia Arabs in line. Losing control of the oil wealth meant the loss of jobs, privileges, and protection from retaliation from Kurds and Shia Arabs seeking revenge for family members killed or tortured by Sunni Arab enforcers.
The "resistance" is spontaneous in the sense that many Sunni Arab Iraqis will, because they have guns and an opportunity, take a shot at Iraqi security forces or American troops. If the Iraqi cops in the neighborhood are Kurdish or Shia Arab, a bunch of local guys will agree to just up and kill one of "them." This has even happened when nearby Iraqi security forces were from a different Sunni Arab tribe, and the local fellows were unhappy that they did not get the security jobs (one of the better paying, and less taxing forms of employment available in Iraq these days.) Tribal leaders have been reluctant to confront the angry (at being unemployed and thrown off the gravy train) young men, although that is changing as it becomes clear that the new Iraqi security forces are not going away, and keep getting better at hunting down and killing the attackers.
The recent elections hit at a major source of encouragement for attacks on Iraqi government forces; the Sunni Arab media. When the elections were a big success, months of anti-democratic propaganda suddenly fell flat. News outlets like al Jazeera have basically been the propaganda service for the former Saddam (Baath Party) and al Qaeda officials organizing anti-government violence in Iraq. It's no wonder that the Iraqi government eventually threw al Jazeera staff out of Iraq. These journalists were working directly with the bomb makers and gunmen to carry out attacks.
At first, al Jazeera said it was merely coincidence that one of their camera crews was on the scene when a suicide bomb went off, or gunmen attacked Iraqi police or civilians. Police raids and interrogations soon turned up evidence that al Jazeera was part of the "attack team" whenever possible. The Baath Party organizers of many of the deadlier attacks would pay bonuses to the attackers if their was good media coverage, so there were financial incentives all around to have al Jazeera cameras rolling while you killed Iraqis. Over 80 percent of the dead have been Iraqis. Sunni Arab Iraqis are good at killing Iraqis, but usually get themselves killed when they go after Americans. While the cash bonuses are higher for killing foreigners, what's the point if you don't live to collect it?
The Baath party leadership is still out there, or at least enough of them, with cash and guns, to finance attacks on oil production facilities and senior government officials. But this war is not going well at all. Each week, another few of these organizers are killed or arrested. That doesn't usually make the news, but the message resonates in Sunni Arab neighborhoods. The new guys in charge aren't going away. The Kurds and Shia Arabs, 80 percent of the population, have the guns and control the oil now. Either do business with them nice, or continue to lose gun battles with the growing security forces. More Sunni Arabs are doing the math, and ignoring al Jazeera.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:55:33 AM ||
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#1
It has devolved into an episode of 'Cops'. Much like Washington D.C. or Watts. Some unhappy individual sees a cop walking down the street a block or two away, so he just lets fly with a round in the general direction of the cop, with no further thought than that. No deeper meaning than just general displeasure with his life, or wife, or whatever, and no thought to consequences.
#2
Not bad, for StrategyPage. Hits pretty close to the mark. When the Iraqi troop strength is sufficient, then the borders can be properly controlled - with the exception of bribery, etc. That will make the population of terrorists available finite. An that equates to an eventual "end". Q.E.D.
So keep training up Iraqis. Keep vetting them in joint operations. In other words, carry on. The rebuilding process, which can't really be undertaken in full force without better security, will cement the fact that this is the better way - even among the Sunnis, who are receiving their fair share of infrastructure help.
Ignore the ankle-biters, second-guessers, and blame-whores.
#3
If you want to meet some blame whores, go to this site: http://abbaskadhim.blogspot.com/
Whine, cry, all is doom, the US is a monster and all the administration are liars, blah, blah, blah. No matter how well things go in the future in Iraq, the US will be to blame for those that go wrong. I think some RB'ers ought to go over and teach them some a few things. Have fun!
PRESIDENT Bush just made a very promising choice for our first national intelligence director: Ambassador John Negroponte. Thinking creatively, Bush picked someone who has had to rely upon intelligence, rather than an insider who can't see beyond the system's self-satisfied, mammoth bureaucracy.
Normally, a diplomat would be a terrible choice to drive intel reform. Too many diplos just don't have the punch to make things happen. Negroponte's different. He's a hitter. With experience in Honduras during Central America's years of crisis, as well as in Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations and now Iraq, this guy knows what it means to be blindsided by bad intel.
His Baghdad sojourn will have brought him up to date both on the intel system's improving capabilities and its remaining inadequacies. Based on his track record for getting things done — blood on the floor be damned — Negroponte may be just the right man to provide top cover for Porter Goss, the Director of Central Intelligence, who's been shaking up the CIA and forcing essential changes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
02/18/2005
9:54:31 AM ||
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#1
wow..ralph peters and VDH all in the same day. A dose of Steyn and I can take in a deep breath of sanity.
#2
Peters is saying what I have been saying all along - except he is far more eloquent than I am.
The "old boys club" way of doing things has prevented the development of top-flight analysts. The system supports more of a patronage path than a meritocracy (i.e. its typical Government in terms of payscales and promotions). And patronage goes to the Ivy Leaguers from their Ivy League bosses, for the simple reason that they beleive they are better educated than anyone coming out of any "state college" type of system, which is not the case anymore, at least not for intel work.
They need to stop recruiting the Ivy League types, and get out into red-state country and pick the cream of the crop there. Because out in red-state country, you rise on your own merits far more often than on patronage and family connections.
That would be a good first step in restocking after cleaning house.
The interesting thing will be who replaces Hayden at NSA.
#3
I would disagree about priorities. Eliminating the deadwood is one thing, but the desire to do this is a longstanding one in the Intel community. In this case, Negroponte is *first* going to have to completely re-write the task organization of "the 15". To explain: take the NRO, for example. Negroponte will first ask, how *did* the NRO function, in past? Probably with a direct link to the President's National Security Council, just like the other 14. Then, if the NSC found something interesting, they might funnel just the tiniest bit of information to a different organization, say the NSA, and tell them to "check it out". This is tremendously wasteful in time, effort, energy and resources. If there is a cross-pipeline of information between agencies, then when a focus is ordered on something, it gets *intense* scrutiny and input from all 15 agencies. A good comparison would be the "Goldwater" reorganization of the Pentagon, to *make* the armed forces integrate with each other (post Granada Invasion screw-up). This would mean that, in future, let's say something interesting is discovered by someone to be happening in the country of Tinystan. All 15 agencies start compiling data, collating it, and developing a picture: the NRO says "we now have current photos of the site"; the NSA says "we have intercepted a LOT of electronic traffic and discovered these things"; and the CIA says "lots of known terrorists have suddenly decided to vacation in Tinystan", etc.
#5
Peters is saying what I have been saying all along - except he is far more eloquent than I am.
The "old boys club" way of doing things has prevented the development of top-flight analysts. The system supports more of a patronage path than a meritocracy (i.e. its typical Government in terms of payscales and promotions). And patronage goes to the Ivy Leaguers from their Ivy League bosses, for the simple reason that they beleive they are better educated than anyone coming out of any "state college" type of system, which is not the case anymore, at least not for intel work.
They need to stop recruiting the Ivy League types, and get out into red-state country and pick the cream of the crop there. Because out in red-state country, you rise on your own merits far more often than on patronage and family connections.
That would be a good first step in restocking after cleaning house.
The interesting thing will be who replaces Hayden at NSA.
#6
Peters is saying what I have been saying all along - except he is far more eloquent than I am.
The "old boys club" way of doing things has prevented the development of top-flight analysts. The system supports more of a patronage path than a meritocracy (i.e. its typical Government in terms of payscales and promotions). And patronage goes to the Ivy Leaguers from their Ivy League bosses, for the simple reason that they beleive they are better educated than anyone coming out of any "state college" type of system, which is not the case anymore, at least not for intel work.
They need to stop recruiting the Ivy League types, and get out into red-state country and pick the cream of the crop there. Because out in red-state country, you rise on your own merits far more often than on patronage and family connections.
That would be a good first step in restocking after cleaning house.
The interesting thing will be who replaces Hayden at NSA.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appointed his brother-in-law as head of military intelligence, reports quote Syrian sources as saying. Brig Gen Asef Shawkat replaced Gen Hassan Khalil, who had reportedly reached retirement age.
More likely because he was in charge of the intelligence services that boomed Hariri and they didn't expect the backlash that came from it. So, he takes the fall.
Syrian sources said the appointment could suggest Mr Assad is consolidating his hold over the security services. The move comes amid claims of Syrian involvement in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:42:43 AM ||
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IMO, it's the first of his fathers old cronies that he's replacing.
#4
Baathist tradition. A minority group (Sunni in Iraq, Alawite in Syria) naming family members to all the intelligence apparati. I think the pressure is on Syria now and its family leadership is taking a huge gamble. First by allying itself with the losers of Tehran. Both regimes are unifying to put off the inevitable since if they don't try to preserve themselves now, they will surely go down in any kind of real election process. 2nd is the naming of the brother in law. Shows desperation.
Posted by: chicago mike ||
02/18/2005 12:57
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SONGKHLA, Thailand, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Thai police Friday arrested a man suspected of involvement in a car bombing that killed six people and wounded 44 the day before. Police arrested Habeeza Jaeduloh, 30, a native of the southern border town of Sungai Kolok, where a bomb exploded Thursday after being planted in a pickup truck parked in a busy nightlife district. Habeeza had been arrested and charged with theft after stealing a car near the scene of the blast shortly after it occurred, Channel NewsAsia reported.
Needed a get-away car, did he?
Police became suspicious after noticing he carried a passport showing his departure for Malaysia on Feb. 10, but no re-entry stamp.
It's those little details that'll get you. Bet he didn't get a re-entry stamp because he was driving the car bomb back and didn't go through customs.
The suspect is being questioned by military authorities, the regional army commander said.
That sounds...painful.
Militants involved in violence in Thailand's rebellious southern provinces are suspected of frequently fleeing across the border to escape arrest. Malaysia has promised to cooperate with Thai authorities, but says it has too little information about insurgent activities to take action.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:34:44 AM ||
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Europe is emerging as one of the most fertile recruiting grounds for radical Islamists bent on terrorism, western authorities say. Intelligence officials report an increasing number of recruits from Sweden to Italy are making their way to Iraq under the auspices of Ansar al-Islam, a once-obscure Kurdish group that has evolved into a global network of jihadists, the Washington Post said Friday.
Typical Ansar recruits are young Muslim men of Middle Eastern descent living in Europe. European authorities say that recent Ansar activity includes the following:
-- One of Ansar's top commanders in Iraq, Abu Mohammed Lubnani, once operated as an armed robber in Denmark;
-- Swedish police arrested four Ansar members for allegedly helping to plan twin bombings that killed more than 100 people on Feb. 1, 2004, in the Iraqi city of Irbil; and
-- German police said they broke up a hastily arranged plot by three Ansar members to attack interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi during a visit to Berlin.
"Ansar is very good -- a leading power -- in terms of mobilizing followers to fight the Americans in Iraq," said Guenther Beckstein, interior minister for the German state of Bavaria.
This article starring:
ABU MOHAMED LUBNANI
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:25:45 AM ||
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A London newspaper says the head of the United Nations refused legal action against an aide who engaged in "unwanted physical contact" with a colleague. The Independent obtained a confidential internal report into claims by a woman that Ruud Lubbers, the United Nations' high commissioner for refugees, sexually harassed her at a meeting with other top officials, the newspaper reported Friday. The woman said Lubbers placed his hands on her waist, pulled her back towards him and pressed his groin into her at the end of a Geneva meeting in December 2003. The internal investigation concluded: "Mr. Lubbers did engage in unwanted physical contact with a subordinate female staff member. New allegations that came to (investigators') attention ... were also examined and indicate a pattern of sexual harassment by Mr. Lubbers."
No wonder Bill Clinton want's to be UN head, he certainly qualified for the "position".
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan responded with a warning to Lubbers.
"Dammit Lubbers, can't you stick to molesting underage refugee girls? They don't file charges."
Investigators also accused Lubbers of abusing "his authority as high commissioner by his intense, pervasive and intimidating attempts to influence the outcome of this investigation." The report also said there were other apparent cases of sexual misconduct by the former prime minister of the Netherlands.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:13:32 AM ||
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#1
The report also said there were other apparent cases of sexual misconduct by the former prime minister of the Netherlands.
#2
The woman said Lubbers placed his hands on her waist, pulled her back towards him and pressed his groin into her at the end of a Geneva meeting in December 2003.
Next thing you know, you're doing the French Mistake.
EFL: The United States and China agree that North Korea must end its nuclear ambitions and resolve the standoff through six-nation talks, Washington's top envoy on the issue said Friday, as efforts to restart the negotiations gained momentum. Reviving the stalled talks has taken on greater urgency since North Korea's explosive but unconfirmed declaration last week that it has become a nuclear power. The talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
North Korea "has made a big mistake in developing these nuclear programs ... and we are to help them overcome this mistake," U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said in Seoul after a visit to Beijing Thursday to meet with Chinese officials.
"But to help them, they are going to have to help themselves, and the first issue they need to do is coming to the table," said Hill, who is also U.S. ambassador to South Korea. Hill, who was appointed envoy for the nuclear talks on Monday, said he and Chinese officials were in "absolute agreement on the need for North Korea to come back to the process."
China announced Thursday that it would send a top communist party official to North Korea this week, though it did not give an exact date for the trip by Wang Jiarui, head of the party's international department.
That should be a fun meeting
Washington hopes China will use its economic influence on North Korea to persuade it to stop developing nuclear weapons. Beijing is North Korea's last key ally and an indispensable supplier of fuel and trade for its impoverished neighbor. North Korea says it is boycotting the talks until Washington abandons what it calls a hostile policy toward the North.
President Bush on Thursday said diplomacy was the right strategy. "Now is the time for us to work with friends and allies who have agreed to be part of the process to determine what we're jointly going to do about it," he said at a news conference in Washington. China has hosted three inconclusive rounds of six-nation talks since 2003. North Korea refused to attend a fourth round, scheduled for last September.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:08:52 AM ||
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#1
Kim's regime is China's dog, and the dog is rabid. Time for the chinese to put it down so everybody can get on with their lives. Maybe the deal would be that the chinese abandon the Kim regime in return for a treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of a unified korean peninsula.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
02/18/2005 12:51
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#2
More likely China would want to swap Taiwan for North Korea.
#6
Off topic: Frank, I tried to send you an email about birth rates Israel v. PA that you'd questioned, and it wouldn't go through. Please contact me. Thanks!
#9
got it - thx! I use the subterfuge for email bots, which collect and add website emails to lists. Dave D taught me that
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 22:14
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#10
Actually, the Russkies are quite threatened by a nuclear armed NK. If they can hit Japan they can hit Russian territory (admittedly, mostly empty, except for a very important port . . . )
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/18/2005 22:40
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Sen. Hillary Clinton should not count on help from Hollywood mogul David Geffen in her possible run for the White House. Geffen, who was a generous supporter and pal of Bill Clinton when he was president, trashed Hillary's prospects last night during a Q&A at the 92nd St. Y in New York City. "She can't win, and she's an incredibly polarizing figure," the billionaire Democrat told his audience. "And ambition is just not a good enough reason." Lloyd Grove reports in fresh editions of the NY DAILY NEWS the audience broke with "hearty applause" over Geffen's comments.
Developing...
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:04:43 AM ||
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#1
From his lips to God's ears.
Aside from all of the obvious things that are just plain wrong with her, imagine a president with kankles.
#4
Bastard! I will crush your skull between my massive thighs!
Posted by: Anonymous U.S. Senator from NY ||
02/18/2005 9:53
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#5
Expect Geffen to have a bizarre suicide in a park near DC
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 10:07
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#6
Ironically, the polarization that Geffen is talking about may be in the Democrat party. Rodham has been voting more to the center lately. For example she voted to confirm AG for AG. She also made a speech that Geffen may construe as being less than pure on the abortion issue.
#12
BH-Dead on. And she'll take it, just like she's taken all the others-proving she doesn't have the leadership, courage or morality it takes. She would be the poster child for self-martyring/masochistic wives. Still, I'd never underestimate how many people will let that slide. Despite all the ills that kind of behavior brings, there still seems to be a large chunk of the country who thinks infidelity is not a character flaw. With the seemingly large number that feel that way, she could overcome the "self-perpetuating-victim" label. I don't know if she could overcome the odds of being so polarizing a figure, though.
#13
mhw, that's the way I see it. Hillary watched very closely how Kerry ran his campaign and is changing her image to more of the middle. The polarization is indeed in the Democratic party. The democrats I know here in East Tennessee who voted for Bush would never vote for her as she was during Slick Willie's presidency. She has been taking caluclated steps to appear more religious, more conservative, and more supportive of the military. I just wonder how much of this his her own doing and how much is her advisors'. If she really is this politically astute she could be very formidable.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/18/2005 12:41
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#15
Jules - I don't think it's masochism, it's just that she believes (and not without reason) that she needs Bill to get what she wants, namely, power. There was no way in hell she could have gotten elected as a Senator without him & his buddies, and she's hoping to cash in on his connections if she runs for President.
It's more of a "you owe me, you bastard....for putting up with your crap!" kinda thing, all the while putting up this "I did it all myself" front that the media just eats up.
#16
BH, slight correction: Looks like she just spotted Bill in the audience... with his arm around his her date.
Posted by: Random thoughts ||
02/18/2005 14:55
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#17
That's a possibility, RT, though all that makeup, and those clothes? I don't think so. Last time that looked like a possibility was the Watergate days...
Can you imagine 4 years of that strident voice? And that woman-hating husband in the White House again? I get chills just thinking about it.
#18
.com and Nada- you are 100% correct. Hillary said "It takes a village to raise a child"
Does she have what it takes to be the first U.S. President???? In case anyone is interested,
Mr. John Kerry will be at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Mass this month for an open forum. Check the John F. Kennedy library web site for date and time! COME ONE COME ALL***
#19
JFnK at the JFK Library? Apparently Monica/Andrea, you'll swallow anything, hook line and sinker
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 19:12
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#20
# 19 Frank G.--Sorry, I DON'T SWALLOW*** I'll be on the slopes skiing (Vermont)---NOT at the John F. Kennedy library, but yes, I did receive an invite in the mail today...I am a honorary member of the John F. Kennedy library- I am fond of Caroline, as she sign's any books that I need for the various charities that I affiliate myself with.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea ||
02/18/2005 19:37
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#21
that's too bad, Andrea
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 21:23
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#22
Frank G- what is too bad? Skiing(Vermont) or the John F. Kennedy lib? SWALLOW = Gag reflex, I'll pass***
Andrea
Posted by: ANdrea ||
02/18/2005 21:26
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#23
Skiings great, as is snowboarding
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 21:32
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#24
Right on*** my motto is:
SKI AND BE FREE, BUT DON'T FREEZE**
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: ANdrea ||
02/18/2005 21:34
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#25
Frank, the lady tells you of her important connections including Caroline Kennedy, and all you can think of is if she swallows. ;o)
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 21:45
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#27
BH-Dead on. And she'll take it, just like she's taken all the others-proving she doesn't have the leadership, courage or morality it takes. She would be the poster child for self-martyring/masochistic wives. Still, I'd never underestimate how many people will let that slide. Despite all the ills that kind of behavior brings, there still seems to be a large chunk of the country who thinks infidelity is not a character flaw. With the seemingly large number that feel that way, she could overcome the "self-perpetuating-victim" label. I don't know if she could overcome the odds of being so polarizing a figure, though.
Actually, I've been thinking lately... there are things Hillary could do to improve her possibility of being elected, besides just pretending to be moderate:
Stop being an enabler for Mr. Codependent. Get her self respect back.
In short, divorce Bill.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/18/2005 23:04
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#28
All that she's-s-s-s say-ing-g-g-g, is give Radical Islam, anti-Dubya-ism/Americanism, and Nuclear Terror a chance, espec to nuke Dubya, his Admin., and the the leadership of the GOP-Right, ala Cuba-Castro vs. the Kennedys and the JFK Assassination! THE USA IS AT WAR, A WAR FOR ITS IDENTITY AND ITS VERY EXISTENCE - WE HAVE ENEMIES BOTH WITHIN AND WITHOUT WHOM INTEND TO KILL AMERICA ONCE AND FOREVER. Its the ultimate regression as the Failed/Angry Left intends to win by bringing America down to their standards. Leftism = Rightism, Communism = Fascism, Socialism = Capitalism,... Successful America = Failed and Failing Russia-China and the other remnant of the Cold War Commie world, Intellectual PC Hillary = Truth-in-Everything straight arrow Betty Crocker, or prim and proper Queen Victoria. Dubya has to watch his six between now and the day he formally leaves office - Hillary and the power-mad Failed/Angry Left have more options than her just running as VPOTUS with Al "Everything is Beautiful Again" Gore in 2008. America and the GOP-Right have to be discredited, and ideally by their own Left-verified hand - the Clintons, the DemLibs and the Commies can NOT be blsmed or linked to anything!
Two suspected militants have blown themselves up in the Pakistani city of Quetta after a gun battle with the police, officials say. The police said the militants belonged to the outlawed Sunni group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. They were planning to attack a Shia mourning procession when the police raided their hideout, officials said. Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims.
Who doesn't?
More than 4,000 people have died in Shia-Sunni clashes since 1980. A senior police official said the unidentified militants were possibly planning attacks on local Shias. "We think these two men were from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and they were planning attacks against Shiites," police official Mohammed Shahban told the Associated Press news agency.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
9:00:06 AM ||
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New allegations have surfaced about misconduct by Malaysia's religious police during a raid on a top Kuala Lumpur nightclub last month. More than 100 plainclothes officers from the Federal Territories Islamic Department (JAWI) detained young Muslims at the Zouk nightclub. Female detainees complained of sexual harassment by officers and the incident has led to a heated debate about the department's future. Eyewitnesses have now told the BBC that officers assaulted and severely beat members of the club's staff. The sources also said that non-Muslim patrons, including tourists, who were outside the officers' jurisdiction, also reported being threatened with violence. "Up to 150 of them came in," one witness said. "They didn't identify themselves, they didn't show any ID cards. They just forced their way in and started pushing people around."
"Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!"
In the days after the raid it emerged that dozens of young women were held for up to 10 hours without access to a toilet, long after male detainees had been released. A number of women said religious officers ordered them to pose in their nightclub outfits while others were asked lewd questions about their genitalia. JAWI would neither confirm nor deny the allegations. The incident prompted Malaysia's cabinet to discuss the future of the religious police.
Getting rid of them would be a big step
Cabinet minister and former law minister Rais Yatim said after the meeting that he believed crime should be a matter for the police and morality for the family.
Amen
However, his colleague Abdullah Mohamed Zin, Minister for Islamic affairs, defended the officers and maintained that the raid was carried out according to procedures. The incident has sparked a sometimes venomous debate among Malaysia's Muslims, reflected in comments posted on JAWI's website. Many correspondents, including one signing himself Abdullah were supportive. "I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the recent raids by JAWI against the cesspools of vice and debauchery in Kuala Lumpur. In this era of permissiveness and promiscuity, there is a need for stern action to roll back the decay of morality in society," he said. Others, including SI Azhar, were angered by the officers' alleged behaviour. "If the reports were true, the officers [who] committed those acts were no better than hypocrites, trying to uphold good values of Islam but themselves never follow[ing] it. You have ashamed us fellow Malays and Muslims. Just tell me, how can we encourage non-Muslims to embrace Islam with this kind of attitude?!"
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
8:50:08 AM ||
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#1
Brownshirts of all types, and indeed, these are brownshirts, cannot be reasoned with. They are, in essense, cowards and bullies. Their motivation for being bullies is that they *like* to be bullies, nothing more complex, so any excuse will do. But also being cowards means that they hate it when someone stands up to them. In this case, had even a small contigent of club bouncers, in an organized and prepared way, started to beat seven bells out of these bullies, the rest would have fleed in terror and never returned. Had the crowd as a whole set upon them, they would have quit their hobby entirely and gone into hiding.
I'm Christian, I have personal problems with bars and clubs like this, and would personally discourage anyone patronizing them, but I draw the line THERE. If the government doesn't have the guts to shut the bar down, then leave them alone and let the people who want those services to enjoy them.
Let every male who visits this and other similar establishments agree to bring a lead pipe and ski mask along with his honeybun, and promise to USE the thing on the head of any damn "religious" policeman who doesn't show a badge or a warrant to the owner/manager upon demand.
I recommend, after flattening them out on the floor, to set their feet up on a chair and having the portliest patron there jump off of another chair onto their kneecaps.
Hell, I'd actually hang out at such a place out of hope of participating. Just don't razz me about my diet sprite and sitting in a corner: I'll be the designated driver.
#3
Abdullah Mohamed Zin, Minister for Islamic affairs, defended the officers and maintained that the raid was carried out according to procedures.
Wonder what kind of "normal procedures" he's talking about. Why doesn't a western journalist's interest ever get raised about THIS kind of event?
A number of women said religious officers ordered them to pose in their nightclub outfits while others were asked lewd questions about their genitalia.
#4
Ptah: as an aside, there *is* a need for this sort of clubbing mischief in the developed world. That is, there is a dearth of places for the young to meet and, basically, get in trouble. Trouble as in reproduction. Which is causing a problem with demographics. As developed societies embrace responsibility too much, the birth rate drops like a rock. Marriage, up until the last century, was a bawdy affair, a fertility ritual rather than a solemn spiritual affair, designed to tittilate and stimulate the young couple into making babies, rather than to worry about keeping up appearances and taking responsibility for raising a proper family living at a proper level of economic prosperity and materialism. As to religion, in the developed world, it, too, has embraced responsibility too much. In past, as long as the couple and their children remained faithful, sin and reproduction within marriage had no connection. In fact, it was the duty of every couple that could to make as many children as they could. But now, most religious leaders pound the drum for couples to have fewer children, and to "raise them better." This is back-firing in a terrible way. There is no condemnation of bastardy in religion: in many times and places no woman would be married until she was pregnant--no reason to marry her otherwise. But "waiting until marriage" is a recipe for reproductive disaster. The couple become focused on getting their lives not only started, but comfortable. By the time they get around to having children, they have lost years of reproductive life. Last but not least, religion has long its willingness to support reproduction. Parents need to be encouraged at least, and even mildly coerced, to take on the additional burden. The Mormons are one of the few that still lean on couples to reproduce, and the difference can be seen in their demographics compared to Catholic and Protestant demographics. As far as mixing alcohol and sex goes, there is a saying that "Without alcohol, the human species would have died out long ago." Optimally, children should be raised by a married couple; but practically, any way you can get children is a good way. Every other thing that religion holds dear depends on it.
#5
So where does the funding come from for the Federal Territories Islamic Department? And why aren't they harrassing customers of the very large child-prostitute rings that are there? We need another tsunami.
#6
As to religion, in the developed world, it, too, has embraced responsibility too much.
I disagree vigorously: I would say that the MAIN reason that Islamist can recruit grunts is the reluctance of Arab and Mulsim Society to ACCEPT and EMBRACE responsiblity. The main problem in the inner city is single motherhood and the drone males living off of multiple welfare moms while eschewing responsiblity for their offspring.
And don't conflate what used to be Christian Europe with the post-modern, post Christian Eurabia of today. Birth rates are just fine in the United States (accused of being the second most religious nation in the world, right after Ireland), as well as south of the Equator. Birth rates are dropping like a rock in post-communist/still-atheist Russia.
The best aphrodisiac known to man that encourages great demographics is a composition of equal parts of Hope and Optimism, both of which Americans have in spades. It even afflicts illegal Latinos here in the US on the dole. Nobody will have kids if they don't believe they can make those kids better off than they are. Anything else is madness. I and my wife chose to have TWO, because we were SURE we could do that with TWO, while it was doubtful we could do it with THREE, and pretty sure we couldn't do it with FOUR. And to have only ONE would have been selfish, since we had capacity to spare to handle another. It would have been easy to throw up our hands and settle for one after we lost our daughter at 7 months pregnancy (and I wanted a girl), but we trooped on and had #2 son and don't regret it.
Oh, and to be honest: If I could have been GUARANTEED to have a girl on the fourth try, I WOULD have done it. And there always was a chance for twins on tries 2 and 3, but we had faith that if God gave us twins, then HE had faith in US that we could handle it.
Optimally, children should be raised by a married couple; but practically, any way you can get children is a good way.
Children are indeed a good in themselves (which is why I oppose abortion). However, as the child victim of a divorce in the early 60's, and raising two boys today, Married couple is the best. Nevertheless, I have unalloyed admiration for people like Sherri, who are single mothers and continue to troop on. I have LITERALLY been there and been done to.
#8
Ptah: I was careful to distinguish between the underdeveloped and developed world. In past, it has been noted that when any given people reach an economic plateau, all of a sudden, their rate of reproduction becomes "maintenance", from 1.9 to 2.5 children per family, rather than "increase" of an average of 3 or more. However, some societies, like western Europe or Japan, that should be at maintenance level are instead in "decline", sometimes radically. Economics cannot be blamed for this, instead social factors come into play. These social factors, like religion, may either inhibit or increase reproduction. In the US, it has been noted that the "anti-community", suburbia, based on the Frank Lloyd Wright ranch house, often results in families living in isolation from their neighbors. This is the low-density version of apartment dwellers who have no idea who lives on their same floor. But in either case, lack of socialization results in fewer healthy relationships over time. Japan now has several million "shut-ins", young people who never leave their family home, often living for years in their room. They have no place to go to meet, socialize, and mate. Or any place that can lead to a relationship where they will reproduce. Their society, and western Europes, and to a great extent the US, are creating more and more social inhibitions to having children. Much of the problem is based in the government asserting that it has a responsibility to micro-manage the raising of children. In this case, a religion may act as a shield to protect a family from government intrusion, or to insist that what government and the culture hold up as the model of a good family is not a good example. The bottom line to all of this, is that those factors that inhibit reproduction are only useful in places with widespread poverty, like Malaysia, whose population will stabilize once it has reached an economic threshold. But in nations with declining populations, inhibitions must be eliminated, and reproduction actively encouraged.
Japan's defence and foreign ministers are in Washington for key security talks with US counterparts. There is speculation that one topic on the agenda is the Taiwan Strait, an important flashpoint in the region. According to a draft proposal seen by US and Japanese press, Taiwan will be identified as a mutual security concern - a move set to anger its rival, China.
Just mentioning the name set's them off.
But a Japanese Foreign Ministry press spokesman refused to confirm this ahead of Saturday's talks. Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Defence Minister Yoshinori Ono will join with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in declaring security in the Taiwan Strait as a "common strategic objective", according to the Washington Post. The revision, which may be announced as part of a joint statement after the ministers' meeting, reflects growing concern in Washington and Tokyo about China's increasing military power. A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman would only confirm that Japan had long sought "a common strategic understanding of the [Asia-Pacific] region".
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
8:45:34 AM ||
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#1
"...the US has made clear that it might come to Taiwan's defence..."
That's sounds too much like Kerry's "You bet we might have." It would probably be better all around if everyone know that we definitely would intervene.
In the case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, some emergency officials in Western Washington plan to be prepared — with a large, shrink wrap machine. The Thurston County Coroner's Office recently won approval to purchase a machine able to shrink-wrap human remains. The process would make it easier to transport a large number of bodies...
At least 16 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in twin suicide attacks on Shia Muslim mosques in Baghdad, Iraqi security sources say.
In the deadliest blast, at least 15 worshippers died when a suicide bomber struck at prayer time. At the same time, suicide attackers struck another mosque, killing one person, while at least two people died in a blast at a Baghdad cafe. The attacks came on the eve of Ashura, the holiest day of the Shia calendar. It follows a period of relative calm in Iraq after regular insurgent attacks.
In the first attack, a bomber mingled with worshippers at the packed mosque in southern Doura district before triggering the blast at about 1300 local time (1000 GMT). "The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt at the Kazimain mosque in Abu Dishr near Doura," a police officer told AFP news agency. Ahmed Zaher, a doctor at Baghdad's al-Yarmuk hospital, told AP news agency casualties were being brought in in cars and pick-up trucks.
At around the same time as the attack in Doura, two suicide bombers targeted another Shia mosque in western Baghdad, police said. The bombers were accompanied by gunmen who opened fire on guards at the mosque. But according to the police, the guards fired back and the bombers detonated their explosives.
Abdul Qasim Ubid told Reuters television he saw the attackers strike. "I heard someone coming and then he exploded himself. There were legs and hands. It was terrible, terrible," he said. One person was killed and four others injured, police and hospital sources said.
Hours later, attackers targeted a cafe in Baghdad, as an Ashura procession passed by. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Baghdad says the blast, caused by a suicide attack or a mortar, killed the cafe's owner and a relative and possibly one other person.
Iraqi security forces have increased security for Ashura to try to avoid a repeat of last year's bomb attacks against Shia worshippers in Baghdad and Karbala that killed at least 181 people. Iraq's land borders have been closed until Tuesday.
Predominantly Sunni Muslim militants have vowed to continue targeting Iraq's Shia majority, which is set to take power for the first time in the country's history. Ashura marks the death 1,300 years ago of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, which widened the split between Sunni and Shia Islam and is celebrated by blowing each others mosques up.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
8:39:59 AM ||
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#1
At some point in time, the ruling authority will decide that enough is enough and people who have nothing to do with these terrorists are going to suffer mightily. All because a bunch of losers couldn't/wouldn't see the writing on the wall.
#2
"I heard someone coming and then he exploded himself. There were legs and hands. It was terrible, terrible," he said.
That's what suicide bombers do, all political finessing to the contrary. And it's also when you call Mssr. Chirac for his expertise. See, this poor fellow, who is of course traumatized by what he saw, needs a chance for education, because he is but an impoverished Muslim. Let the erudite Mssr. Chirac go over and explain, in keeping with his philosophy that political parties can have terrorist wings, how this bombing was really legitimate political expression by the Sunnis, oh, and BTW, so sorry about the mess and ruined lives.
#3
why stop at mosques? How about suicide bombers at a wedding? "Blow up now, or forever hold your peace". Maybe we could convince all the suicide bombers to blow themselves up all at once. Or maybe, you could split one side of town into half civilian, half suicide bomber.
#6
Open Google "Images" and type "Ashoura," for a slide show of the blood-letting of children of which .Com obviously approves, given his condemnation of anyone who stands up for civilized values.
Some of the photo links are restricted, re posting, but you can see smiling, knife-wielding parents holding the blades that they just used to hack open their infant's heads.
Those who would support Jaafari Hizbollization of the Iraq entity, should admit your complicity in bloody child abuse. I love the smell of napalm in the morning, and charcoal in the afternoon.
Tabari VII:97/Ishaq:368 âWe carried Kaâbâs head and brought it to Muhammad during the night. We saluted him as he stood praying and told him that we had slain Allahâs enemy. When he came out to us we cast Ashrafâs head before his feet. The Prophet praised Allah that the poet had been assassinated and complimented us on the good work we had done in Allahâs Cause. Our attack upon Allahâs enemy cast terror among the Jews, and there was no Jew in Medina who did not fear for his life.ââ SAY DOOM!
#7
Wow, we have another poster here who does the same thing: referring to other posters from other threads which have F*CKALL to do with the current thread.
THE Australian Federal Police (AFP) has cleared 10 men it was investigating as part of its inquiries into the Beirut bombing that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri this week. Lebanon's Justice Minister Adnan Addoum yesterday said authorities had contacted Interpol in Sydney over the departure from Beirut to Australia of 12 men on the day of the bombing that killed Mr Hariri and 16 others. Mr Addoum said the 12 were among 14 men with Australian citizenship who tried to leave Lebanon, but two missed the flight for unknown reasons.
AFP spokesman Kirk Cunningham said late last night the AFP had conducted the investigations on behalf of Interpol. He said 10 men had been interviewed after they arrived in Sydney on Thursday night, and that all had been cleared of any part in the bombing. He said the AFP was initially alerted that a total of 12 men - and not 14 as reported by Mr Addoum - were under suspicion. Only 10 of the men had arrived in Australia. He could not confirm reports that the men were Australian citizens, but said he believed they had been visiting Lebanon at the time of the bombing. Mr Addoum also said some of the suspects left traces of explosives on aircraft seats.
But Mr Cunningham said while sniffer dogs had at first picked up suspicious scents in the aircraft seats occupied by the men, forensic tests had proved negative. Earlier last night, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said the minister had had no contact with Lebanon over the allegations. Reports earlier this week said Australian authorities were helping Lebanon investigate the murder. No credible claims of responsibility have emerged for the bombing, but Lebanon's interior minister has said a suicide bomber backed by "international parties" may have killed Mr Hariri. Some also suggest rogue Syrian intelligence operatives or factions among Lebanon's different religious groups may be responsible. Lebanon's Syrian-backed regime is facing escalating calls to stand down over the death, and Washington has issued stark warnings to Damascus about its role in Lebanon.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
02/18/2005
7:32:11 PM ||
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"The decision to extend President Emile Lahoud's term was taken by the Asad family itself." So said a smart diplomat when we met yesterday to discuss the crisis. "We know that," he said. "Vice President Khaddam and Interior Minister Canaan — Syria's most knowledgeable Lebanon hands who long handled the Lebanon portfolio — recommended against extending Lahoud's term and manipulating the Lebanese constitution as if it were the Syrian constitution. They were over-ruled by the Asad family itself."
The decision turned out to be a fateful one, for it set Syria on its recent collision course with Lebanon. Why the young Asad brother and cousins decided they could do without the advice of "the Old Guard" is where conjecture and speculation begin. The diplomat I spoke with believes the reason the Asad family overruled the older generation of experienced Lebanon hands was that family members such as Bashar's brother Maher and his cousin Rami Makhlouf had important business dealings in Lebanon which depended on Lahoud. "They needed Lahoud to stay for their own interests," he said. "The family members were pushing for his retention. Perhaps they were trying to create their own Lebanon policy and side-line the 'old guard,'" he added. "Maybe Bashar went along because he is trying to create his own base of power?"
This is where the speculation within the diplomatic community begins to veer off into a number of directions. The diplomat, then concluded, "There doesn't seem to be anyone at the top with a real sense of long-term strategy for Syria's foreign policy. It is being patched together for reasons which are hard to figure. In the past, Hafiz al-Asad was the strategist. He had a clear vision of what Syrias ultimate goals should be. Today, it is not clear where Syria is headed or why decisions are being made."
The theory that the Asad family made the decision to extend Lahoud's presidency at the last minute jives with Hariri's own version of events. The Daily Star yesterday ran an interview with Hariri given to a Lebanese reporter the day before his death. He had spoken off the record on a number of topics, but the reporter broke with journalistic protocol because of Hariri's assassination and wrote up the entire conversation. Hariri explained that he had "gone into opposition the moment Lahoud's term was extended." He explained how he had been completely blind-sided by the decision. Bashar al-Asad himself had called Hariri to a meeting in Damascus and told him that Lahoud's term would be extended and effectively ordered him to ease the passage through parliament. Hariri said that Bashar did not consult him beforehand or ask his opinion on the matter. He was told what to do. The meeting lasted only 10 minutes. For Hariri, this was a Rubicon.
Undoubtedly, Hariri's friends in Damascus, such as Khaddam, had not prepared him for the Asad meeting. Hariri was understandably incensed to be taken so off-guard and cut out of the decision-making process. From what the diplomat explained to me, we can conclude that the reason Khaddam could not warn him or bring him into the decision-making process was because Khaddam himself did not believe that Lahoud would be kept on. Perhaps he and other "old guard" advisors had assured Hariri that Syria would do no such thing. The Syrian government had, after all, announced only weeks before the elections were to take place that it would not interfere. In all likelihood, Hariri had been assured by his "old guard" Syrian friends that the presidential election would go forward without Lahoud. Clearly, Hariri was used to knowing and being consulted about such momentous decisions before the fact. The Asad overrule and disarray within the Syrian chain of command drove Hariri into the opposition. Eventual, it led to his death. But could the Syrian President have ordered Hariri's assassination? No one here will say that, and I don't think they believe it. It is not consistent with his character or policies. The consequences of Hariri's murder are too devastating for Syria for such a decision to make sense.
#1
misconnected thoughts about conflicting orders...
I have some vague recollection of a John Brunner story in which a character destroyed an 'invincible' sim country by means not unlike Bashar's...
I wonder if Bashar has read much Brunner...
#2
Hokay, it does look like a Baby-Ass-ad job entirely, after all. I thought he wouldn't be so stupid. I retract. He's an idiot. He deserves what's coming to him. Unfortunately, it won't be cheap in other people's lives, before this is over.
...Sami Shursh, the unofficial minister of culture within the other heavyweight Kurdish party, Massud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, agrees. "What Kurds want is a republican regime founded on the principle of rotation of power, with a parliamentary system, a separation of powers and a separation of religion and the state," he said Wednesday...
"Atlanta Nights," by Travis Tea, was offered a publishing contract by PublishAmerica of Frederick, Maryland.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 28, 2005 -- Over a holiday weekend last year, some thirty-odd science fiction writers banged out a chapter or two apiece of "Atlanta Nights," a novel about hot times in Atlanta high society. Their objective: to write a deeply awful novel to submit to PublishAmerica, a self-described "traditional publisher" located in Frederick, Maryland.
The project began after PublishAmerica posted an attack on science fiction authors at one of its websites (http://www.authorsmarket.net/). PublishAmerica claimed "As a rule of thumb, the quality bar for sci-fi and fantasy is a lot lower than for all other fiction.... [Science fiction authors] have no clue about what it is to write real-life stories, and how to find them a home." It described them as "writers who erroneously believe that SciFi, because it is set in a distant future, does not require believable storylines, or that Fantasy, because it is set in conditions that have never existed, does not need believable every-day characters." "Why, Kimberley, it's all 'bout flyin' sausages and lil' green men, ain't it?"
"Ah thank so, Scott, tha's what mah high school lit teachers said t'any rate."
The writers wanted to see where PublishAmerica puts its own quality bar; if the publisher really is selective, as the company claims, or if it is a vanity press that will accept almost anything, as publishing professionals assert.
"Atlanta Nights" was completed, any sign of literary competence was blue-penciled, and the resulting manuscript was submitted. PublishAmerica accepted it.
From: PublishAmerica Aquisitions [e-mail protected from spam bots]
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Subject: Atlanta Nights
As this is an important piece of email regarding your book, please read it completely from start to finish. I am happy to inform you that PublishAmerica has decided to give "Atlanta Nights" the chance it deserves....Welcome to PublishAmerica, and congratulations on what promises to be an exciting time ahead.
Sincerely,
Meg Phillips
Acquisitions Editor
PublishAmerica
The hoax was publicly revealed on January 23, 2005. PublishAmerica withdrew their offer shortly afterward:
From: "PublishAmerica Acquisitions"
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2005
Subject: Your Submission to PublishAmerica
We must withdraw our offer to publish "Atlanta Nights". Upon further review it appears that your work is not ready to be published. There are portions of nonsensical text in the manuscript that were caught by our editing staff as they previewed the text for editing time assessment pending your acceptance of our offer.
On the positive side, maybe you want to consider contracting the book with a vanity publisher such as iUniverse or Author House. They will certainly publish your book at a fee.
Thank you.
PublishAmerica Acquisitions Department
Those who wish to see the novel, "Atlanta Nights" by Travis Tea, for themselves can find it at http://www.lulu.com/travis-teaPublication at Lulu.com is free.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
02/18/2005
7:00:19 AM ||
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#1
This is reminiscent of the famous Naked Came the Stranger hoax of the 1960s, but there are still people dumb enough to fall for it it seems. It should have been subtitled Naked Came the Jackass.
#2
I'm confused. PublishAmerica said in its rejection, "They will certainly publish your book at a fee." Which would indicate that PublishAmerica was originally willing to underwrite it. It's only a "vanity publisher" if you have to underwrite it yourself.
#4
Haha, very funny. :) Reminds me of when the physicist Alan Sokal got a hoax paper published by filling it full of nonsense.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
02/18/2005 9:05
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#5
2b SFWA describes PublishAmerica as "a print-on-demand-based vanity publisher that poses as a 'traditional' publisher in order to ensnare thousands of gullible first-time writers."
Apparently, they don't reveal their hand until later in the process.
#7
It sounds as if PublishAmerica always accepts books for publication, then later you find that it's going to cost you, rather than pay you. I don't see what the great coup is in getting an outfit like that to accept a book.
This is the article that inspired the hoax. I won't comment on its general content, but it clearly says that most SF/fantasy writers are good writers, etc, but the genres also attract really crappy writers who think that writing fantastic literature means that anything goes.
This is indistputably true, and whining about it is childish. There are literary equivalents to those filmmakers who believe that a couple of weird-looking aliens and some explosions are all that's needed to make a decent science fiction movie.
#8
"It sounds as if PublishAmerica always accepts books for publication, then later you find that it's going to cost you, rather than pay you. I don't see what the great coup is in getting an outfit like that to accept a book."
Er, Angie, PublishAmerica does not admit that it will always accept whatever is submitted. Directly and decisively exposing this deception is a worthwhile purpose. The article was complaining about allegedly low standards in the genre. The exercise demonstrated conclusively that PublishAmerica has no standards at all and is therefore in no position to judge.
Secondly, the article clearly targets the Science Fiction Writers of America, which has led the way in exposing PublishAmerica's scams.
Check out their article on the dispute.
The Authors Market article clearly conflates SFWA with these "crappy writers," which is a lie, pure and simple.
#10
Er, Angie, PublishAmerica does not admit that it will always accept whatever is submitted. Directly and decisively exposing this deception is a worthwhile purpose.
OK, I'll agree with that. But both this post and the others I've seen on the topic focus on how "dumbass lit-snobs played for fools". Ha ha! Showed them! There wasn't much (if anything) said about PA possibly being crooks.
I read the SFWA's article on the dispute, but stopped when I got to the "Waaa waaa waaa they said we suck!" part. I love science fiction, and PA is right here: many of them do suck. Even, yes, the ones that get published. Some, even, who belong to the SFWA.
The rest of the PA article sounds like self-serving claptrap, which is why I didn't want to comment further on it.
#12
PA contended specifically that standards are lower in science fiction than in general fiction. This is certainly untenable given their acceptance of Atlanta Nights, a work of general fiction produced specifically to incorporate the lowest possible standards.
#13
From the PA front's article:
"As a rule of thumb, the quality bar for sci-fi and fantasy is a lot lower than for all other fiction...."
Tell me, Angie, how crappy are SFWA's writers compared to PA's? SFWA requires paid professional sales for membership. We have seen what PA requires. You have correctly identified this article as self-serving crap, though, motivated by the desire to retaliate for exposure rather than by any genuine concern (or even knowledge of) literary standards.
I have a challenge for the "sci-fi is crap" crowd: Get together some of PA's dupes and staff members, have them write a bogus SF novelette to what they assert to be the low standards of the genre, and submit it to, say, Analog.
With Ambassador Negroponte named to the top intel spot, the question remains, who is minding the terror finance intel shop in Treasury? For more than a year, Treasury's then newly created postion of assistant secretary for Office of Intelligence and Analysis has remained vacant. While assistant secretary Juan Zarate has capably led the other half of Treasury's terror finance unit, the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, the seems to be little rush to fill the intel job.
It was a question that came up repeatedly for Zarate during Wednesday's hearing of the House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Zarate insisted that filling the post was a top administration priority, but there was no explanation of why it has taken so long, or when someone would actually be named. Maybe they were waiting for Negroponte's appointment, in hopes of letting the new director have a say? Still, the job has been vacant since its creation, before the legislation calling for the appointment of DNI, so there seems to be something else going on. Could it be a lack of focus on the terror finance issues that everyone keeps saying are so important?
More than £2m seized by Irish police has been taken for forensic examination to see if it is linked to the £26m Northern Bank raid in December. Seven people were arrested in Cork and Dublin during a series of raids in which the money was seized, including £60,000 in Northern Bank notes. Seventeen bags of sterling bank notes were removed from a house near Cork under a heavy police guard. It is understood one of those held is a former Sinn Fein representative. Irish police said the raids had been targeting money laundering activities. They are expected to release more details on Friday. BINGO - can't wait to see McGuinness/Adams' faces now - sure they'll be unavailable for comment. The Irish govt seem awfully co-operative for once.. shame they can't turn over the weapons stockpiles as well.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/18/2005
6:51:37 AM ||
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All six doctors in Geraldton say they are quitting, closing the doors of the northern Ontario town's only medical clinic in May. The doctors announced their decision Wednesday in an advertisement taken out in a local newspaper. The advertisement said the doctors had stopped taking new patients and would no longer perform routine checkups. The ad also said the doctors arrived at their decision individually due to a variety of personal and professional reasons. Geraldton residents were also advised to contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons to find the nearest doctor who is taking on new patients.
Mayor Michael Powers said that advice isn't helpful. "I'm not sure that's a solution for us because - if there are no doctors in the community, where do you go? You go to Nipigon, or you go to Hearst, (or) Thunder Bay. We need to try to find some solutions." It's roughly 250 kilometres from Geraldton to either of those towns. Powers said the ad came as a surprise to him and that he has been in touch with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, hospital administrators and Michael Gravelle, the local member of the provincial legislature. Powers said plans are in the works for a meeting to discuss the situation as soon as possible. Geraldton has about 3,000 residents. The Coalition for Family Physicians in Ontario has recently claimed that as many as one million people in the province did not have a family physician.
#2
Too bad the makers couldn't have interspersed the cockpit pilot shots with third-party "observer" clips of other jets in the group maneuvering or doing their thing....would've made for a more interesting video.... :)
From FoxNews (read to the bottom):
A former FBI informant testified at the terror-funding trial for a Yemeni sheik and his assistant that the defendant had boasted of supplying arms, money and fighters to Usama bin Laden. Mohamed Alanssi, called as a hostile witness for the defense, testified Thursday that Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad told him he gave $20 million to bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks and $3.5 million to the terrorist group Hamas. [Emphasis added.]
Alanssi was to be the star prosecution witness in the trial before he set himself on fire outside the White House three months ago, claiming the FBI reneged on promises of money and U.S. citizenship. The defense then called Alanssi to the stand in an effort to portray him as unstable, greedy and untruthful. [Emphasis added.]
Defense attorney Howard Jacobs asked whether al-Moayad, who runs religious charities in Yemen, explicitly stated he funneled money to Islamist fighters. Alanssi replied that it wasn't necessary. "The charitable work of Sheik Moayad is a front, and the money he gets is for mujahedeen," a militant group whose name means holy fighters, Alanssi said. Jacobs asked to strike the response from the record. "No," Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. replied. "You asked it." [Emphasis added.] ROFLMAO! That is exactly why a lawyer is never supposed to ask a question without already knowing what the answer will be. Serves him right. The whole lot of them can rot in hell. Or Yemen.
This article starring:
SHEIK MOHAMED ALI HASAN AL MOAIAD
Learned Elders of Islam
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/18/2005
4:41:53 PM ||
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#1
Shoot him. I saw enough misery and destruction to last me 100 lifetimes because of stupid worthless garbage like this animal.
Feel free to grind him up over my tomato garden.
Excerpt of security report on Van Gogh Murder, (much more on the pro-US Dutch blog, linked above)
...Contextual analysis of the operation in Amsterdam indicates potential motivations related to multiple contexts that could be considered relevant for Muslim immigrants to Holland, such as Dutch immigration policy and counter-terrorism efforts, the "global war on terrorism" and the invasion of Iraq, as well as increased conflict-levels in areas of political grievance and symbolic value to Islamists and Muslims in general, such as in Palestine, Chechnya and Kashmir. In addition the Van Gogh case suggests that statements by high-profile persons that are exposed in the media might be interpreted as "insults against Islam", and thus serve as partial motivation for terrorism, or at least affect the target selection of the Islamist militants, who have chosen terrorism as a strategy in the battle against the US and its allies. The murder of the filmmaker also showed the effectiveness of an assassination of a public figure in spreading fear and escalating the levels of conflict between the Dutch and immigrants to Holland, adding to a growing xenophobia, which in turn might lead to increased problems of integration, and make alienated young Muslim immigrants receptive of al-Qaida's vision of global jihad. Eurabia lets Muslimutt heavy breeders immigrate by the millions, and then finds that the mutts protest any immigration limitations. Would the Multicults infest their own homes with termites?
From a counter terrorism perspective, the concept of complex motivations, or multiple social, political and religious motivations (related to different contexts), implies that the police and intelligence services working to prevent terrorist attacks should pay careful attention to political developments beyond the geographical area they police, and be aware that Islamist terrorism might occur as a response by developments in other countries, or faraway areas of the world. There is an urgent need for systematically mapping motivational factors and "triggers", as well as mapping the various types of targets that might be attacked, the timing and the operational patterns of the terrorist cells, in order to develop effective early warning systems. In this respect one has to find out more about who the terrorists are, and the social contexts that "produce" potential terrorists. In addition it seems important, in the prosecution of terrorist suspects, to strike a balance between being firm, on the one hand, and being prudent and just on the other. This in order not to stir unnecessary anger among broader segments of the Diaspora communities and create new incentives for joining militant groups. On the political level, as much as possible should be done to reduce social and political grievances locally and internationally, that might motivate Islamist terrorists, and might be interpreted in terms of al-Qaida's ideology that Islam is under a worldwide attack by the US and its allies. Yeah, "pay careful attention," and maybe the benign Shiite spin will go the way of the Carrier Pigeon. To hell with milktoast-dhimmi report like this one. I love the smell of napalm in the morning, and charcoal in the afternoon. SAY DOOM!
Posted by: IToldYouSo ||
02/18/2005
4:29:06 AM ||
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#1
Good Lord, this reads like a bad PhD dissertation!
#2
I thought it read like a bad freshman research paper...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 12:36
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#3
In addition the Van Gogh case suggests that statements by high-profile persons that are exposed in the media might be interpreted as "insults against Islam", and thus serve as partial motivation for terrorism...
Translation: Don't say anything that'll make Muslims mad. Don't analyze or critique the behavior of Muslims. We native Dutch will just have to shut up or we're asking for our Muslims to become terrorists against us.
What a plan. Have you ever seen such fawning in your life?
An American translator who admitted taking classified documents from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was sentenced Friday to 20 months in prison. With time already served, Ahmed Fathy Mehalba could be out in three weeks. Mehalba, 32, an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen and civilian Arabic translator at Guantanamo, told the judge he exercised "very poor judgment," but said he never intended to use the files for any illicit purpose. He was one of four men swept up in an espionage investigation at the Navy base. Some or all charges were dropped against the three other men - a Muslim chaplain, another interpreter and an Army Reserve colonel.
Mehalba was arrested at Boston's Logan Airport in 2003 after returning from Egypt. Customs agents found 132 compact discs in his luggage, including one that contained hundreds of documents labeled "SECRET" or "SECRET/NOFORN," meaning no foreign government was allowed to look at them. Mehalba initially told investigators that the discs contained only music and videos, and later said he had no idea how the classified documents got on the discs. His lawyers argued that he was taking materials with him to work on translating them. Last month, Mehalba pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of classified materials and lying to federal investigators.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, he would have faced around three to four years in prison. But prosecutors agreed to recommend a lower sentence because he accepted responsibility for his actions, has no criminal record and had "significantly reduced mental capacity" at the time he committed the crimes. Defense attorney Joseph Savage said Mehalba has been treated for manic depression and attention deficit disorder. Mehalba received a medical discharged from the Army in May 2001 and was later hired by San Diego-based defense contractor Titan Corp. to be a translator at Guantanamo Bay. He has been behind bars since his arrest 17 months ago. He is expected to be freed around March 10. Sigh
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
4:21:52 PM ||
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#1
...and had "significantly reduced mental capacity" at the time he committed the crimes.
The old 'I'm crazyy!!' defence still works, unfortunately.
If they're smart (which they don't seem to be), they'll put surveillance on his ass when he gets out.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/18/2005 16:34
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#3
he must have cooperated. Or maybe if he didn't, the prosecution decided to be really mean and act like he did, putting him back out on the street for a good laugh.
#4
N.B. - Egyptian born!
Ok, here's the deal, spill everything or when we hammer you, we'll strip you of your naturalization and ship your sorry ass home to Egypt where the local authorities will be waiting to entertain you, Egyptian style. They got no bleeding hearts to cry for you there. Sort of - What goes down in Cairo, stays in Cairo.
#6
Assuming he was stupid enough to bring S/NF documents with him on a disk to work, was he so stupid that he couldn't remove the markings on them? If they were .doc, like most working files are, it would have been easy to do. So why leave the markings on them?
1. He's really, really stupid.
2. He needed to have the markings on them to convince his "market" in Egypt that he was good for the stuff.
While I never underestimate the lower limits of human intelligence, option 2 makes more sense to me. Any other options?
They sever fingers with machetes in the United States and cut off heads in Honduras. U.S. officials worry they'll help al-Qaida sneak in terrorists from Mexico. Central American gangs have spread from the streets of San Salvador to the valleys of Virginia, prompting the FBI to share intelligence and resources with southern neighbors - launching an anti-gang strategy that reaches beyond U.S. borders. FBI officials in Washington are expected to announce the plan as early as next week. It would centralize investigations at FBI headquarters, beef up intelligence and establish a national task force to reduce Central American gang activity in the United States.
The new strategy will likely be a hot topic of discussion Monday, when law enforcement officials from across the United States and Central America meet in San Salvador to discuss ways to keep the gang known as the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, from extending its influence. "Right now, the gangs are communicating much better than the law enforcement officials," said Harvey Smith, a consultant who is organizing the conference. The FBI and U.S. Homeland Security officials, some of which will attend the conference, have taken a greater interest in the problem since Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez said al-Qaida might be trying to recruit Central American gang members to help terrorists infiltrate the United States. He has offered no evidence, however. Alvarez said his department began working closely with the FBI two weeks ago. Central American officials already share information regionally, including with officials in southern Mexico. "The United States is catching up," Alvarez said. "They still don't see it as the war that we do."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security James Loy told Congress on Wednesday that, in addition to al-Qaida, "we are seeing the emergence of other threatening groups and gangs like MS-13 that will also be destabilizing influences." He also said there was growing intelligence suggesting al-Qaida was considering entering the United States through the Mexican border, although he had nothing conclusive. Some U.S. officials have said they fear al-Qaida will tap into the gangs' smuggling and drug networks.
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Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
4:16:46 PM ||
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BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The multi-sectarian Lebanese opposition Friday demanded Syria end its military presence and called for dismissal of the government.
"In response to the policy of intimidation and terrorization by the Lebanese authorities and the Syrian authorities, the Lebanese opposition declares the launching of the democratic and peaceful uprising for independence," the opposition said in a statement. "We demand the dismissal of the government, which has no legitimacy, and the formation of a transitional administration to protect the Lebanese people and ensure the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon to pave the way for holding free and honest legislative elections."
The opposition also called for an international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri under the auspices of the United Nations.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
4:12:05 PM ||
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#1
Where did these people get this outlandish idea of holding free and honest elections?
#6
Right on Sobiesky. The Djinn is out of the bottle.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/18/2005 16:44
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#7
Lemme see... 3,777,218 (July 2004 est.) and there is, according to Debka, 1.4 million Syrian workers.
Does look like there would be some ketchup with that popcorn.
#10
While I sympathize with Lebanon's people in this, they are not actually as united as they ought to be.
Beside Hizbollah, which is pro Syria by virtue of their weapons supplies, there are innumerable Syrian agents who have been bought or blackmailed into helping Syria.
What will be interesting over the next few days is seeing which public figures come out with pro Syria op-eds.
#11
could be good timing, what with W meeting all those "high level" thinking folks on "their" ground. And he let's them know, "We stand with the Lebanese people."
#12
If the majority of the Lebanese really want the Syrians out, all we have to do is provide air support and a few dozen Special Forces troopers to point out the targets, as we did in Afghanistan. The question here is whether we want to control the aftermath, which will require some amount of manpower. The Lebanese militias are armed and can serve the role of the Northern Alliance during the Afghan campaign.
#14
Not just Hezb'allah, let's not forget the heavily armed Paleos sitting in Ein-el and other shitholes. You know - the ones Lebanon sorta forgot to absorb since they were so useful as permanent refugees...
President George W Bush added a new twist to the international tension over Iran's nuclear programme last night by pledging to support Israel if it tries to destroy the Islamic regime's capacity to make an atomic bomb. Asked whether he would back Israel if it raided Teheran's nuclear facilities, Mr Bush first expressed cautious solidarity with European efforts, led by Britain, France and Germany, to negotiate with Iran. But he quickly qualified himself, adding that all nations should be concerned about whether Iran could make nuclear weapons. "Clearly, if I was the leader of Israel and I'd listened to some of the statements by the Iranian ayatollahs that regarded the security of my country, I'd be concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon as well. And in that Israel is our ally, and in that we've made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if her security is threatened."
His comments appeared to be a departure from the administration's line that there are no plans to attack at present and that Washington backs European diplomatic efforts. The remarks may have reflected Mr Bush's personal thinking on an issue causing deep concern in Washington. Moments later, Mr Bush was asked another question on Iran and appeared to return to his script - this time emphasising the need for a diplomatic effort.
Speaking days before he arrives in Europe on a tour designed to mend fences with estranged allies, he underscored the differences still hobbling western policy towards the Middle East. Many figures close to the United States administration believe that the European diplomatic initiative is calculated more to dilute America's hardline approach to weapons of mass destruction than to stop Iran's mullahs building a bomb. Israel, meanwhile, has given warning about Iran's nuclear ambitions, saying that an Iranian bomb might be only six months away and that such a weapon would pose a grave risk to its security. Mr Bush repeated the reasons for America's anxiety: "Remember, this all started when we found [Iran] enriching uranium in an undeclared fashion, and it happened because somebody told on them."
Iran's long march towards becoming a nuclear power appeared to make a significant step forward yesterday with the opening of a £450 million reactor at Bushehr. A senior Russian nuclear official said he would go to Iran next week to sign a protocol agreeing the return of spent nuclear fuel, the last remaining obstacle to Bushehr's functioning. This will allow deliveries of Russian nuclear fuel. The protocol's signing has been repeatedly delayed. It aims to ease concerns that Iran could reprocess spent nuclear fuel from Bushehr to extract plutonium, which could be used in nuclear weapons.
Iran's influential former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaking yesterday after meeting the Syrian prime minister, Mohammad Naji al-Otari, said his country needed to create a powerful alliance with Syria, Iraq and other Arab countries. Mr Rafsanjani, widely expected to run in Iran's June presidential elections, said the region must "stay completely vigilant vis-a-vis the US and Israeli plots".
Posted by: Bulldog ||
02/18/2005
4:09:56 AM ||
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#1
Israelis are well aware of billionaire Rafsanjani's threats against Tel Aviv. The Mullah thief was prepping for something. Take out Qom and the nuke sites, and Teheran will become a graveyard for Islamofascists. The Persian tyrants are to decide whether or not to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, next week. If they don't: SAY DOOM!
#2
Mr Bush was asked another question on Iran and appeared to return to his script - this time emphasizing the need for a diplomatic effort.
I guess their point the Telegraph wants to make is not Bush's point, but rather - See what happens when the silly little monkey strays from his script?
His comments appeared to be a departure from the administrationâs line that there are no plans to attack at present and that Washington backs European diplomatic efforts
Here's a tip to the brain trust - the comment that our administration has "no plans to attack" and "we will support Israel if her security is threatened" are not inconsistent.
It is a pointed comment by Bush yes, but it's perfectly in line with "his administration's script", to support a country that is being threatened with annihilation by tyrants- as well as to continue diplomatic efforts.
Just a lame attempt to manipulate Bush's words to show him in a bad light, meant to poison the well before Bush's European visit.
#4
"His comments appeared to be a departure from the administrationâs line that there are no plans to attack at present and that Washington backs European diplomatic efforts."
Clearly, the treacherous cowboy is preparing to betray naive Europeans!
"Clearly, if I was the leader of Israel and Iâd listened to some of the statements by the Iranian ayatollahs that regarded the security of my country, Iâd be concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon as well. And in that Israel is our ally, and in that weâve made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if her security is threatened."
That's kind of a no-brainer, it's no change in policy. What stirs it up is people who are duped into seeing like this is some sort of outrage or big deal.
#8
Um? Whats the story here? Hasn't it be the US policy to support Isreal and to even come to her aid if it attacked? Hasn't this been like this from at least the 1960? People are shocked when a president says so?
#11
[i]More like packaging for no product at all. Wake me when the shooting starts.[/i]
The hell with that. I want to [i]be there[/i] when the shooting starts. Now if they can only hold off a fear or so . . .
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/18/2005 7:46
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#12
The point of the story is that Bush, at least personally, clearly would not object to, or try to prevent, self-defensive military action by Israel against Iran (a la Osirak) - which is a markedly different stance from Rice's recent (and unhelpful, IMO) suggestion that an attack on Iran is neither imminent nor on the US's agenda. At least from Iran's perspective, this is military action being put back on the table.
#14
Just heard on the radio that Putty is convinced that Iran harbors no weapons aspirations and Russia will continue to aid them in the pursuit of peaceful nuclear power. Sounds like the lines are being drawn...
#15
To me, the distinction is obvious: We're definitely not going to attack Iran IN THE SAME WAY that we attacked Iraq: No full scale invasion by US Troops with the intent of establishing a consenual, liberty respecting government, and being willing to wait out a long . That's what CONDI said.
What BUSH said was that he didn't object to ISRAEL performing a limited strike upon Iran with the intent of postponing the day that it will get nuclear weapons. That worked with Saddam's Iraq when Osirak was bombed, and will work here.
Two different things stupidly conflated by this particular MSM outlet.
I'm unsure of the motivation that created the conflation: Did the reporter see the difference and deliberately choose to create and propagate an illusion of Administration confusion where none exists out of hate (smart but evil), or did he just believe that the utterances of a chimp does not deserve the careful diplomatic parsing that someone of Chirac's, Schroeder's, or Clinton's background would have been knee-jerkedly accorded automatically? (dumb and confused) Either way, it's not very complimentary of the reporter or of his employer.
I use the word "he" in a generic sense: it has to be telling that the paper elected NOT to mention the reporter's name. I wonder why?
#17
So Pooty-Poot is convinced. Big deal -- Bush is also convinced that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Let's note that common belief and work from there...
This is just like the lead-up to the war with Iraq. Everybody's posturing daily. But almost everybody recognizes the obvious -- Iran is not going to have nuclear weapons. What some people are mistaking for diplomacy is nothing more than waiting to be closer to the point of no return before striking. You cannot have diplomacy with someone who constantly refers to you as "The Great Satan". So it's UFOs today and cruise missiles in the not-too-distant future.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 9:17
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#18
In order for Israel to attack Iran, they have to fly through Iraqi airspace. Which, of course, is currently the property of the United States Air Force. If we wished to oppose an Israeli attack, it would not happen.
If the Israelis do attack, it would not surprise me to find an AWACS or two, with a strong F-16 or F-18 CAP loitering along the Iraqi / Iranian border. And that we had the Israeli comm freqs and transponder codes (IFF). And that a bunch of guys in Blackhawks and a MASH were on standby for SAR.
#21
Chuck you indirectly raise the one issue that I've never quite been able to work through: what happens in Iraq if the US overtly assists Israel in a strike on Iran? Celebrations in the streets? A massive uprising against the US presence? Nothing at all?
#23
Somebody show me where Bush said, "America Would Back Israel Attack on Iran" as the title of this article claims.
What Bush said, was this: "Iâd be concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon as well. And in that Israel is our ally, and in that weâve made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if her security is threatened."
Now before commenting..go back and read it one more time! Not ONE WORD about an ATTACK by Israel or by us. That's not to say that this isn't a very pointed comment by Bush, or that any of the above interpretations are right or wrong. But the title is not supported by the article.
Wouldn't it have been wise, as a professional journalist, to check with White House sources and ask them what was meant by that before telling us what they thought it meant. Why is their interpretation any more meaningful than yours or mine?
#26
Step back and get a grip, Bulldog. Iran is perhaps just months away for getting the potential to nuke Israel. If the Telegraph wants to parse through the language of diplospeak then where are the headlines saying, "Mullahs Make Plans to Nuke Israel" ???
do I hear crickets chirping?
Bush publically affirms support for Israel's right to exist and WAHOH!!STOP THE PRESSES!!! There's a madman on the loose.
Hmmm...let me see - one country has "through the language of diplospeak" as you say, made it clear that nuking Israel is a viable option. Euro reacion: Hear that wind blow.
Bush affirms support for the right of Israel to protect itself. Reaction: The entire European Continent and our left shrieks in fear and dives for the bunkers.
#27
I find your comments very diheartening Bulldog. You're a smart guy, I respect your opinions, yet even you seem to be buying into the crazy notion of finding more to fear in Bush's comments than in the Mullahs getting a bomb. I just don't understand it.
#30
That's the difference between our media and theirs. We allow argument, they don't. Regardless, it's no secret we're going to support Israel in any thing they do. Like it's no secret there's no way in hell we'll let Iran have nuclear weapons. I think 2b's right about this being published intentionally just before the President's European trip. While he's there he might consider putting Putin on notice he could be held responsible for aiding/sponsoring terrorism.
#31
On this, like Osiraik, the Israelis do not want out help, do not need our help except diplomatically (against all the condemnations that will follow) and probably think we are a security risk for leaking info.
If/When the Israeli's have a go at Iran's nuclear program, it will be, as usual, up and over TURKISH airspace, by way of the Med.and there will likely be Israeli ships standing by for SAR support at the mouth of the Persian Gulf (probably coverts, like an Israaeli crewed merchant ship thats flagged in a 3rd world nation of convenience).
An alternative is an Entebbe style operation to set up a temporary airbase someplace in the region, at which the fighter/bombers can stage forward into the attack, with the SAR as above.
Given that their very existence is at stake, they would sacrifice men (volunteers not hard to come by for them) to get these nukes.
Bush's words simply say that if the Israelis do go after the Iranian nukes, then we understand why and will support them in the aftermath. Much as we have always done.
#32
2b - I think you're reading waaaay too much between the lines of one page 16 article in the Telegraph. The headline is simply a valid, and also eyecatching, interpretation of Bush's comments re Iran.
The Telegraph does not have an anti-Bush agenda - in fact, it gave its endorsement to George Bush last November. Its editorials are consistently pro-Bush and pro-WoT.
...you seem to be buying into the crazy notion of finding more to fear in Bush's comments than in the Mullahs getting a bomb.
Bush's language definitely suggested that he would have no problem if Israel decided to preemptively strike Iran. You're wrongly assuming that I or The Telegraph thinks there's anything wrong with that.
#33
Page 16, hmmm...maybe I am reading too much into it as being a deeply laid plot. But the whole, "departing from the script" was certainly a gratuitous swipe. A more professional headline would have reflected what Bush said, rather than, wink, wink, what we are all pretty sure that he meant.
"Israel Faces Increased Nuclear Threat, Bush Reaffirms Support" would have been far more informative.
#35
Ashoura festival perversity, with its hacking of flesh and demonstrative bleeding, is an excellent background for a big-snuff of Eastern savages.
IAmTellingYouNow: the Arab-Persian split spin is contradicted by the cultural unity that was displayed at last year's Ashoura, when up to 15,000 Persians made pilgrimage to Iraq, daily. Once indulged, Jafaari will engineer political union with Iran and Syria, and conduce a march to Jerusalem, under black flags as is prophecied in Islamic Hadith. All they need is a leader, from Khurasaan, to complete the cartoon.
So what's the knee jerk reply? We have to respect Iraqis democratic choice, blah, blah. Yeah, like we respected the German peoples' delusional support for Rafsanjani's political clone: Adolf Hitler. Give me the button.
Shias whacking themselves with chains, splitting open their scalps
Versus
Sunnis blowing into a thousand tiny pieces Iraqi women with kids in their arms, Iraqi dads braving insurgents by being in security forces, and Americans fighting for better lives for everyone.
#40
Old Spook, I usually agree with you, but this time I have a question. I've been out of the air strike business for quite awhile, but I don't think that the Israeli F15I has the legs to strike all the Iranian sites from Turkish airspace, even if they top off from the Israeli KC-707s before ingress. Bushehr and Saghand in particular seem beyond the max combat radius. Of course, recovery in Iraq and/or Afghanistan would solve that problem. What am I missing here?
#42
You are looking for round trip. Think of it one-way with an ejection over the gulf. With 2 tankings (full load of external fuel is heavy - so one tank right after takeoff, one right before feet dry - or maybe even slightly overland in Turkish airspace for the topoff), and wing mounted tanks, rest of the aircraft slick except for 2 AAM (AMRAAM?) and the bomb needed in conformal store - or rigged to be a bit more aerodynamic. Remeber the terrain favors northern approaches with the mountains and valleys for TF flight inbound, then gun it over the flats in the south at 50 feet. OR coudl even do it the navy way - rig wing refuel tanks on a 15 as a milch cow and use a chute and drogue (if you could rig the input pipe on the 15).
Yeah, they'd be dropping a lot of hardware in the drink or into a mountain, but consider the cost if they fail to eliminate nukes in the mullahs hands.
#43
Israel shouldn't be willingly ejecting its best pilots for the likes of the mullahs and their nukes. This is an exercise best left to sub-launched cruise missiles.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 17:08
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#44
Israels got IRBMs with skeery payloads as well, if they are desperate enough they could just use them...
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
02/18/2005 17:19
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#45
The Israelis are working on autonomous long range bombers. Development seems well advanced. And BTW they fly over Saudi Arabia to reach Iran.
#46
My question is if Iran does end up nuking Isreal, what will they do about Jerusalem since it's the capital? Are they really going to destroy the 3rd most sacred place in Islam and risk being impaled by their own people?
Posted by: Charles ||
02/18/2005 17:57
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#47
risk being impaled by their own people?
they already are looking warily at lamp posts...this would be a "hope they're distracted" moment
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 18:10
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#48
They'd go for Tel Aviv instead.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/18/2005 18:13
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#49
I think the mullahs realize they'd have to kill the entire country and arsenal of Israel, or Qom, Tehran, Mecca, Jiddah, et al would be another "never again" reminder. The Jooooos would have nothing to lose.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 18:20
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#50
Sec Defense said something a bit troubling in the hearings today. When asked (was it by Levin - anyway) why they needed the special bunker busters he said something like this: Well ya know, its like this... lots of stuff in this world today is dual use. One of the more common dual use items is cheap and efficent good tunneling equipment. Stuff that can go down deep like the chunnel. And its good equipment. And there is lots of it. A typical one can dig you a tunnel the height of 2 basketball hoops and three or four lanes wide. And everybody is buying it. Now some of these countries ... even some of them in the axis of evil , well, have been buying a lot of these machines... They like to do stuff down deep where we can't see it. The entrances might be nowhere near where the interesting work is... That makes a problem for us ...... because the conventional weaponry can't accurately get down deep where they are and the bigger stuff, why it makes a mess of everything and might not even take out what's down there. Of course one could use enough to make sure but that's really really sloppy. ... so we need some .. some.. way to get down there and take it out in a way thats not quite so messy. So that's what we are really up to here and on top of it this is only a study. We are not in anyway ready to add such a device in large numbers to our inventory. If you have more questions I would be more than happy to discuss it with you in a more restricted or secure session.
Again its my memory without notes at the time so I am sure I colored it a bit.... The sentiment is still pretty correct.
#51
On this, like Osiraik, the Israelis do not want out help, do not need our help except diplomatically (against all the condemnations that will follow) and probably think we are a security risk for leaking info.
If/When the Israeli's have a go at Iran's nuclear program, it will be, as usual, up and over TURKISH airspace, by way of the Med.and there will likely be Israeli ships standing by for SAR support at the mouth of the Persian Gulf (probably coverts, like an Israaeli crewed merchant ship thats flagged in a 3rd world nation of convenience).
An alternative is an Entebbe style operation to set up a temporary airbase someplace in the region, at which the fighter/bombers can stage forward into the attack, with the SAR as above.
Given that their very existence is at stake, they would sacrifice men (volunteers not hard to come by for them) to get these nukes.
Bush's words simply say that if the Israelis do go after the Iranian nukes, then we understand why and will support them in the aftermath. Much as we have always done.
#52
You are looking for round trip. Think of it one-way with an ejection over the gulf. With 2 tankings (full load of external fuel is heavy - so one tank right after takeoff, one right before feet dry - or maybe even slightly overland in Turkish airspace for the topoff), and wing mounted tanks, rest of the aircraft slick except for 2 AAM (AMRAAM?) and the bomb needed in conformal store - or rigged to be a bit more aerodynamic. Remeber the terrain favors northern approaches with the mountains and valleys for TF flight inbound, then gun it over the flats in the south at 50 feet. OR coudl even do it the navy way - rig wing refuel tanks on a 15 as a milch cow and use a chute and drogue (if you could rig the input pipe on the 15).
Yeah, they'd be dropping a lot of hardware in the drink or into a mountain, but consider the cost if they fail to eliminate nukes in the mullahs hands.
#53
On this, like Osiraik, the Israelis do not want out help, do not need our help except diplomatically (against all the condemnations that will follow) and probably think we are a security risk for leaking info.
If/When the Israeli's have a go at Iran's nuclear program, it will be, as usual, up and over TURKISH airspace, by way of the Med.and there will likely be Israeli ships standing by for SAR support at the mouth of the Persian Gulf (probably coverts, like an Israaeli crewed merchant ship thats flagged in a 3rd world nation of convenience).
An alternative is an Entebbe style operation to set up a temporary airbase someplace in the region, at which the fighter/bombers can stage forward into the attack, with the SAR as above.
Given that their very existence is at stake, they would sacrifice men (volunteers not hard to come by for them) to get these nukes.
Bush's words simply say that if the Israelis do go after the Iranian nukes, then we understand why and will support them in the aftermath. Much as we have always done.
#54
You are looking for round trip. Think of it one-way with an ejection over the gulf. With 2 tankings (full load of external fuel is heavy - so one tank right after takeoff, one right before feet dry - or maybe even slightly overland in Turkish airspace for the topoff), and wing mounted tanks, rest of the aircraft slick except for 2 AAM (AMRAAM?) and the bomb needed in conformal store - or rigged to be a bit more aerodynamic. Remeber the terrain favors northern approaches with the mountains and valleys for TF flight inbound, then gun it over the flats in the south at 50 feet. OR coudl even do it the navy way - rig wing refuel tanks on a 15 as a milch cow and use a chute and drogue (if you could rig the input pipe on the 15).
Yeah, they'd be dropping a lot of hardware in the drink or into a mountain, but consider the cost if they fail to eliminate nukes in the mullahs hands.
KINSHASA, Congo -- A rare form of plague has killed at least 61 people at a diamond mine in the remote wilds of northeast Congo, and authorities fear hundreds more who fled into the forests to escape the contagion are infected and dying, the World Health Organization said Friday. Eric Bertherat, a doctor for the U.N. health agency, said the outbreak has been building since December around a mine near Zobia, 170 miles north of Kisangani, the capital of the vast Oriental province. Nearly all the 7,000 miners have abandoned the infected area and sought refuge in the world's second-largest tropical rain forest, all but cut off from the outside world. Security fears -- mainly from bandits and militia left over from Congo's five-year war -- also have slowed international response, Bertherat said.
Plague is spread mainly by fleas and causes an infection in the lungs that slowly suffocates its victims. If caught in time, it can be treated with antibiotics. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague and is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected flea. It usually is spread by rodents. It does not spread person to person. Pneumonic plague -- the kind in the current outbreak -- is rarer but also more easily transmitted from person to person through coughing or close contact.
Bertherat, speaking to reporters by telephone from Geneva, said plague commonly is found in this region of northern Congo, but an outbreak this large was unusual. Unlike the deadly Ebola virus, which also is found in the dark forests of Congo, Bertherat said this outbreak of plague was unlikely to spread too quickly, given the remote and isolated terrain. "It's still a large concern," Bertherat said, "because these are cases moving elsewhere."
If it get's into a crowded city, look out..
Bertherat and a 10-member team of WHO doctors will arrive in Kisangani on Monday to prepare for a journey into the forests. He said doctors from the aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, already were there, treating miners they could locate. The forests have long been both a refuge and a death trap for Congolese running from war, disaster and disease. More than 1 million people still live rough in the forests after fleeing Congo's devastating 1998-2002 war. Aid groups say nearly 1,000 people still die every day from war-induced starvation and disease. According to the WHO, the incubation time for plague is two to six days. Victims develop a fever and cough. Breathing becomes difficult as lungs fill with fluid. Unless antibiotics are given within the first 24 hours, death can come as quickly as within 48 hours.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
4:08:09 PM ||
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While Pneumonic plague is 90% fatal if untreated. With antibiotics fatality rate is zero. I.e its no risk to the developed world. Africa is a different matter.
#2
You have 1 day to figure out how sick you are and get an appointment. with your doc. Sounds like a risk to me . . . Once the big public health emergency machine got cranked up there'd be antibiotics enough, but that takes time, and we'd lose people in the interim.
Posted by: James ||
02/18/2005 18:28
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You have 1 day to figure out how sick you are and get an appointment. with your doc
god forbid it hits Canada with their super healthcare system. Wonder what the Mullahs in Nigeria will say? "Nahhhh it's just like Polio. Only infidels get it"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 18:40
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Prophylactic antibiotics would stop an outbreak dead. Worst case is a bunch of people on a plane get infected. Index case dies, can't find some contacts and they spread. Some might die, but it would be stopped within days. This is not like SARS or bird flu where the disease is untreatable.
EFL
Blogging might not sound an appropriate hobby for a senior Iranian government official, particularly one who is a Muslim cleric. But presidential adviser Mohammad Ali Abthai has turned the practice of writing Internet journals, or blogging, into a powerful tool against the reformist government's hardline foes and a means to reach out to the country's disenchanted youth.
Abtahi, 45, a mid-ranking cleric who last year quit his post as vice-president, says he learns more chatting with young people on the Internet than he does in any government report.
"A lot of them criticize the (political) system and sometimes I tell them they are right. I talk to them very freely," he said in an interview at his spartan office in affluent north Tehran.
"What do you think about moving to a secular political system? Yes or No???" asked one visitor, who called himself Gomnam.
"Naturally the system of any country should be chosen by the majority of the people," was Abtahi's subtle reply.
Internet use has proliferated in Iran in recent years. Official figures suggest there are more than 4 million users in the country of 68 million and the country ranks fourth in the world in terms of active Web logs.
But Internet use, like other forms of entertainment and expression in Iran, is under threat.
Late last year more than 20 young Internet journalists, web technicians and bloggers were arrested and held for several weeks on charges ranging from endangering national security to insulting senior officials of the clerical establishment.
Soon after their release Abtahi revealed details of their treatment in prison where they were kept in solitary confinement, subjected to physical and psychological torture and forced to write confessions admitting to their crimes.
It was a daring move but it worked. Abtahi's writings brought international attention to the case. Human rights groups and foreign governments called for an immediate inquiry.
Local newspapers, normally too scared of closure to publish anything critical of the judiciary, began writing their own accounts of the bloggers' ordeals.
Finally, judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi met the bloggers and after hearing their claims promised to bring those responsible to justice.
"There's been a change in the atmosphere," Abtahi said. "Now instead of the webloggers being under pressure it's the judiciary which is feeling the heat.
Fereshteh Ghazi, whose nose was reportedly broken during one interrogation session in jail, agreed.
"Abtahi actually pressured high-ranking officials to follow-up our case. Because of our situation, we were scared to talk, but Abtahi had no such fear."
The battle against censorship, however, is far from over.
The judiciary recently ordered local Internet Service Providers to block access to several popular web sites including Orkut (www.orkut.com) a global online friendship portal where Iran contributes the third-most members.
Abtahi recently had to move his own Web site to a server in the United States after a series of problems he believes were related to his writings about the bloggers case.
Iran is fascintating. It is on the edge of obtaining nuclear weapons in pursuit of its old-style attempt at intimidation, and simultaneously on the edge of a political reformation that would reject its repressive, theocratic government. Which will happen first? Popcorn, please.
This is not a situation where we can simply lean back and wait and watch what happens. If the arrival of this political reformation can be made to happen earlier via external support/pressure, then the current administration should be doing everything it can behind the scenes to get that train rolling faster.
#2
Bomb-a-rama. Yeah, you are right, I regretted that phrase after I posted it. My point was just that there are two opposite forces at work in Iran and I am watching events play out with fascination. The situation seems so delicate. If the Iranians view the US as the driving force, pushing the political reformation, reformist forces will lose a lot of their power to persuade their countrymen. On the other hand, we need to do what we can.
In his leftist blog, Juan Cole - a US scholar who lived in the Middle East for 6 years - profiles some of the elected leaders of Iraq. He also translates an article in which the likely President of Iraq- Jaafari - is shown to have clear Islamofascist connections. According to the writer, al-Jaafari wants al-Sadr' terrorists to participate in both the government, and in the new army. What if he is creating Basiji' storm troopers, as operated by the tyrants who misrule his former place of exile: Iran?
Al-Hayat 17 Feb 2005 Al-Sadr Supports Al-Jaafari
Amer al-Husseini, a leader of al-Sadr's Current in Baghdad, told Al-Hayat that the Current "supports the designation of Ibrahim al-Jaafari to the post of Prime minister of the Iraqi government resulting from the elected National Assembly." He added that al-Jaafari's presence at the head of the new cabinet would be "a positive beginning for a better stage in Iraq." Al-Husseini revealed that contacts were being held between the Coalition [the Unified Iraqi Coalition, backed by al-Sistani and the winner of the majority of seats in the Assembly] and the leadership of al-Sadr's Current in al-Najaf. He did not exclude the participation of the Current in the new government.
Al-Hayat has also learned that the Bureau of the Highest Shia Authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the leader of the Iraqi National Council Ahmad al-Chalabi try to normalize relations between "Al-Badr Organization" which is lead by the "Supreme Council" [of Islamic revolution in Iraq, al-Hakim's movement] and the leadership of "Al-Mahdi Army," the military wing of al-Sadr's Current, in light of the tensions that dominated the relation between the two groups during the bloody events at al-Najaf some months ago.
The New Army
Al-Hayat has also learned that a security plan, which was mentioned earlier for the case where the Coalition would lead the new government, foresees the integration of large numbers of "Al-Badr" and "Al-Mahdi Army," as well as the militias of Hizbullah and Al-Dawa, in the ranks of the new Iraqi army. Houston: we have a problem. Or maybe an opportunity to think of one-button solutions. Oops! Knee-jerk Watch!
Posted by: IToldYouSo ||
02/18/2005
2:39:12 AM ||
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#1
Likely? I have my doubts - #1, Ahmed Chalabi's survived so much political upheaval, who's to say he won't pull through? And just because this figure says that al-Sadr supports Jafaari means nothing; I'd be far more concerned if al-Sistani started making noises to that effect.
P.S. Someone else unload on IToldYouSo for trolling, impersonating a conservative/Jacksonian/neocon and using Juan Cole as a source on anything. :-P
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
02/18/2005 8:48
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#2
Odds are that anyone Juan Cole dislikes is going to cooperate with Uncle Sam. Note that Cole, like his leftist brethren, has never met an anti-American foreigner he doesn't like (except for maybe bin Laden and Mullah Omar).
#3
Note that Cole, like his leftist brethren, has never met an anti-American foreigner he doesn't like (except for maybe bin Laden and Mullah Omar).
When pressed, I am sure they could enlarge their circle of love to even embrace those two. Enlarging it to include us and Bush is definitely NOT on their agenda.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 11:58
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#7
This is excellent news! Juan Cole's track record has been so abysmal on Iraq that I'm willing to bet AGAINST ANY PREDICTION HE MAKES.
The only reason he gets any press is because his postmodern, anti-American cant is letter-perfect. If he had to compete on accuracy, he'd be living out of dumpsters in Detroit.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/18/2005 12:02
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#8
Grumpy old men at work: finger pointing, jumping into conclusion quagmires, and impersonating Dr Phil' tunnel moralism. I order you to cease and desist. Check out the profile of Peoples-Choice-Jaafari, on the Iraq entity's website,
http://www.iraqigovernment.org/preoffice.htm
I order you to check out leftist, Angry Arab's (AKA: PBS creep, As'ad abu-Khalil) pro-Hizbollah gas-baggery on the Hariri assassination.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
Remember to prevent appeasement Vice and to promote one-button Virtue. SAY DOOM!
Edward Yee: according to sources, you are a Kos infiltrator at Rantburg, and here with the purpose of promoting appeasement spin-consumption.
#11
hey, if I announce that I support Jafari will Juan "I speak Arabic" Cole explain that Jafari is supported by Zionists?
Interesting article in todays WaPo, by Robert Kagan.
Back during the cold war we were CONSTANTLY told by the left that NOT every communist was pro-Moscow or pro-Cuba, that nationalism trumped communist fellow feeling, and detailed analysis was made of subtle ideological distinctions - knee jerk assumption that any commie, or anyone who had received support from USSR or Cuba was ergo a stooge of them, was the property of the right. Sometimes this subtelty was correct - sometimes it wasnt. Whats interesting is that NOW the left seems insistent on a Shia is a Shia is a Shia. Sistani is probably further ideologically from Khomeinism than Mao was from Soviet Communism. and yes Dawa and SCIRI received support from Iran - Mao received support from the USSR, and North Viet Nam received support from China. Didnt stop VN and China from having a little war, now did it.
#16
My read is that Cole's rationale is to wrap anti-Israel/America rhetoric in academic garb. That kind of "scholarship" is learned ignorance, at best.
I see a lot of personal attacks here. Aren't there rules against that?
Well, anti-moby, generally personal attacks are allowed if someone prove himself to be a troll. ITYS seems to be baiting people simply to get a reaction or even worse misrepresenting himself as an ultra-hawk in order to push a dovish agenda or discredit the site, either of which make him a troll in the eyes of about 90% of the regulars.
Otherwise, people do get in fights here and generally apologize afterward. Not just a problem here but everywhere on the Internet. If Fred banned everyone who had a tiff, there'd probably be about six regulars still posting.
#21
Personal attacks are a waste of time, because probably 99% of people who come to Rantburg pay no attention to them. However, .com is 100% responsible for the decline of civility here. That Bill O'Reilly worshipper doesn't even read internet news sources, so he never posts anything here. Rating his contribution, on a ten-point either-way scale, with zero being absolutely worthless, I would give his spew as -9. As for my own contribution: +10.
#25
.com posts comments based on his vast life experience in a certain sandy, oil-soaked part of the world that ITSY refers to as the Jazeera, for some reason. He's been doing this at Rantburg for some years now, and has earnt his seniority.
The government is prepared to alienate Jewish voters in order to win Muslim support
There is no 'Jewish' vote in Great Britain any more. There used to be, back in the time of Cable Street and Mosley and even up to 20 or so years ago. Jews used to vote, en masse, for Labour. But not now. At the last general election, the Jewish vote was split exactly 50—50 between Labour and Conservative.
Further, there aren't that many of them left, the Jews. Their number has shrunk by one third since 1945, largely as a result of their propensity to integrate and their readiness to become assimilated: they marry outside of their communities, much to the consternation of the Chief Rabbi. They have always been happy to identify with British values.
And finally, the 300,000 Jewish people who remain are widely dispersed. There are still some famous Jewish enclaves, of course — Stamford Hill and Golders Green in London, parts of Manchester, Leeds and Bradford and so on. But a large proportion of that 300,000 are scattered to the wind, apparently happily so, from Truro to Thurso.
All of which means that, electorally, there is no point in courting the Jewish vote, because there isn't one as such. The Jews have become an electoral insignificance and so will not be an issue in the forthcoming general election. Except, however, indirectly. Because it follows that if there's no point in courting the Jewish vote, then equally there is no harm in offending Jewish people if electoral advantage can be gained among another section of the population by so doing.
Certainly, right now, Labour seems to be going out of its way to antagonise the Jews. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, recently told a Jewish reporter that, in doing the bidding of the Daily Mail group of newspapers, he was behaving in a manner similar to that of those Jews who acted as guards in the Nazi concentration camps. This may simply have been another example of Ken's ad hoc arrogance and offensiveness, with which we are all by now familiar. There may, too, have been some of that unconscious anti-Semitism which has historically infested the far Left; many psychoanalysts believe that the Left's aversion to capitalism is simply a displaced loathing of Jews. But what struck me was not so much Ken's original comment, nor his laughable attempts to justify the fact that he, too, had worked for Northcliffe House as a restaurant reviewer despite '20 years of harassment' from that institution. What really struck me was his refusal to say sorry to the reporter and, more importantly, his readiness to hold press conferences and issue statements where he cheerfully restated his comment and in the process just happened to take a couple of swipes at the Board of Deputies of British Jews and, in passing, attack Israel. What on earth was he up to, the Mayor? Clearly his every utterance made matters worse. What was he hoping to gain?
*snip
The Continent is much worse than the UK in this respect, and this article pinpoints the reason. Depraved Euro-elite politicians will do anything for Muslim votes and the cowed masses of PC-indoctrinated non-Muslims will not resist until it is too late.
The only question now is whether America will step forth once again to save Europe from itself.
Why should we? The Europeans who are really worth saving would be welcome to come here. The rest are finished, doomed to the barbarian domination they have done so much to bring on themselves.
I have brought out my plutonium-powered crystal ball and tuned it to the future White House communications net:
President Rice to the emergency speaker of the French Assembly, June 2010:
"What, Monsieur LeFrog? Muslims in your pipsqueak air force have mutinied and you want US to bomb the Islamo mobs to keep them from massacring another 100,000 Frenchmen? Non! Have you not heard about the evil effects of American bombing? We have heard nothing else from you for the past 50 years and we are finally listening! Look, our Marines have seized Dunkirk and Bordeaux, as well as Hamburg and Portsmouth. They will hold their perimeters for three days. Evacuation fleets are waiting offshore. Get aboard in that time, if you like, and leave the leftists, the Islamos, and the attitude behind. We are not coming back."
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
02/18/2005
2:27:12 AM ||
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The French nuclear deterrent could be a real problem as events play out in the next decade and the Caliphate rises to dominance. I think we should act now to eliminate this danger, and we can do it by turning the enemy against themselves. The CIA or, failing that, wealthy private citizens, should start financing French Greens and eco-wackies on the condition that they use the funds to campaign for unilateral nuclear disarmament.
This kind of scheme has actually worked before. Citizen Hughes, based on papers stolen from Howard Hughes' private warehouse, details how Hughes paid eco-wacky Barry Commoner $100,000 to stir up anti-nuclear demonstrations in Las Vegas in the late 60s. Hughes wanted leverage in a dispute with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and it worked perfectly. Commoner gave the word and thousands of naive hippies descended on Vegas and the nearby Nevada Test Site.
#2
The Europeans who are really worth saving would be welcome to come here.
True but there are probably some Europeans in the stretch running generally north and east from the Czech Republic that are still worth saving. And though there's no real evidence to support the assertion at all I have a strange feeling the even Russia might be worth saving this time around.
#3
I often wonder if the British are as Euorweenie as their press likes to present. Imagine if Ohio had gone the other way. There would be little difference between our policy and the Euroweenie policy - but it would in no way be reflective of our public at large. The BBC is relentless and I think many people, (just like here in the US) don't really pay much attention to world's events and so they just accept, without thinking, whatever the telly tells them to.
#4
The Spectator goes on to suggest that Labour knows it's losing the Muslim vote (70% of whom, it claims, opposed the Iraq war - I thought it was more) and that its recent and execrable hints at anti-Semitism are efforts to get them back on board. Apparently Labour don't think that anti-Semitism and personalised attacks on the Tory leadership will cost them anything among voters. I hope they're very, very wrong...
#5
President Rice to the emergency speaker of the French Assembly, June 2010:
"What, Monsieur LeFrog? Muslims in your pipsqueak air force have mutinied and you want US to bomb the Islamo mobs to keep them from massacring another 100,000 Frenchmen? Non! Have you not heard about the evil effects of American bombing? We have heard nothing else from you for the past 50 years and we are finally listening! Look, our Marines have seized Dunkirk and Bordeaux, as well as Hamburg and Portsmouth. They will hold their perimeters for three days. Evacuation fleets are waiting offshore. Get aboard in that time, if you like, and leave the leftists, the Islamos, and the attitude behind. We are not coming back."
She hung up the phone and sighed. Grinning, she looked at her chief of staff, George P. Bush (former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush's son), and said, "Don't let them bother me again. The 49ers are playing the Raiders in a few minutes. Only interrupt me if there is someone really important..."
He replied, "Yes, Madame President." He chuckled, and left..."
#6
Seems like the US has already spent political and human capital on saving Europe from itself. The War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq is about transforming the cesspool called the Middle East. Democracy in the muslim world will ultimately reduce the immigration pressure now being exerted on Europe and change the mindset of those in the Islamic enclaves in Europe. I suspect most European politicians already understand this but their anti-american PC thinking prevents them from admitting same.
Posted by: john ||
02/18/2005 13:36
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#7
"red" ken is a longtime of enemy of Tony Blair, it seems rather unfair to blame New Labour for Red Kens antics. That leaves the flying pigs thingie, which really could have been an oversight. There certainly seems to be antisemitism in the UK left, but I dont see that left is being particularly close to the current leadership of the Labour Party.
Of course its not surprising the Spectator would want to tie Tony to the antics of UKs loony left.
#9
There are also predictions that the turnout will be the lowest since the war. Blair got less votes than Major did, in the previous election. Things could be very interesting in a low turnout situation.
Lh - Red Ken is just one of many Labour politicos who are Leftoid lunatics. It's fairer to say that you shouldn't blame Labour for Blair's antics...
Venezuela is shopping around Citgo, its Houston-based refining arm. And there has been some interest."We have various interested parties in the issue of Citgo," Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said at a Caracas news conference. "We are in conversations with several companies." Ramirez wouldn't divulge names, but Saudi Aramco is in the market to build and buy refineries that can convert crude to valuable products like gasoline and diesel.
In an interview on Wednesday, Saudi Aramco chief Abdallah Jum'ah would not say whether his company is bidding on Citgo assets along the Gulf Coast, but he confirmed he wants to increase refining capacity in the United States. "I'm not going to comment on who we are talking to, but we are talking to many people in many countries," he said. "We want to be here. The U.S. is a big lifter of our crude, and it's a market we do want to be in forever." Ramirez said at this point that Petróleos de Venezuela, otherwise known as PDVSA, is not negotiating a sale to Saudi Aramco. Russia's Lukoil has also expressed an interest in Citgo's refineries. Citgo is owned by PDVSA, but only half the crude processed in six U.S. refineries comes from Venezuela. Another $18 billion in outside oil was purchased last year.
Continued on Page 49
EFL
A man accused of killing 11 people by parking his truck in a train's path intended to get his estranged wife's attention by causing "a horrific tragedy," not to kill himself as originally thought, police said. Authorities also said Juan Manuel Alvarez told them he had poured gasoline on the SUV before the Metrolink struck it Jan. 26 as it carried commuters to downtown Los Angeles. Police initially believed Alvarez had meant to remain in the truck but then lost his nerve and fled. He and his wife, Carmelita Alvarez, had separated, and she had obtained a restraining order against him, police said.
Alvarez, 25, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 11 counts of murder and an arson charge. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty. Authorities, who had previously released few details about the arson charge, said Thursday that witnesses reported seeing a man park next to the tracks and douse a vehicle with liquid. Sgt. Tom Lorenz, a police spokesman, said Alvarez described pouring gasoline on and inside the vehicle. Police said they asked Alvarez what he thought would happen if a vehicle were left in the path of an oncoming train. "He basically stated that he thought there would be an explosion," said Lt. Jon Perkins, the case's lead detective. Alvarez was ordered jailed without bail pending a March 16 hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to try him.
#1
For the ex-wife? Hell, I figured he did it to impress Jodie Foster.
Posted by: Dar ||
02/18/2005 15:37
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Defense attorney Eric Chase said the police statements were "not only vicious and callous but are a reckless distortion of the facts. If they want to make this case about, as they say, Juan Alvarez's intent to cause a horrific tragedy, I hope they can back it up. Apparently the Glendale police have not seen enough blood and are hungry for more," Chase said in a statement.
#3
There are too many contradictions with this story and it's fishy. First, we were told Alvarez was suicidal and slashed his wrists and neck. However, as noted today...no visible marks.
Now, we are told he wanted his ex=wife's attention. But if this was a supposedly attention grabbing suicide bid, why the gasoline doused truck left on the tracks absent Alvarez? He admitted he wanted to cause an explosion...this would indicate terrorism.
Posted by: jawa ||
02/18/2005 17:42
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According to the article, jawa, it was not a suicide attempt. The ass wanted a dramatic incident, with his car exploding on the tracks, but he wanted to be around to reconcile with his wife afterward.
#1
Okay, now watch how swiftly or vehemently worldwide condemnation of this act turns out to be, and compare it to criticism of U.S. actions in Iraq. If I were to venture a guess, it won't come close.
#3
Does anyone have a copy of this video? We need to broadcast this far and wide (since you know the MSM won't do anything to defame their friends the terrorists).
The U.S. arm of a large Saudi charity suspected by the government of supporting terrorism was indicted on fraud and tax charges, federal prosecutors said yesterday. The three-count indictment charges Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation and its two officers, Pirouz Sedaghaty -- also known as Pete Seda -- and Soliman Al-Buthe with illegally sending $150,000 to Muslim fighters in Chechnya.
The Bush administration last September designated the charity as a group suspected of supporting terrorism through its main location in Ashland, Ore., and a prayer house in Springfield, Mo. Sedaghaty had been living in Dubai; the whereabouts of Al-Buthe were unknown. Wednesday's grand jury indictment alleges that an Egyptian citizen contacted the foundation in Saudi Arabia seeking to donate to Muslims in Chechnya. The indictment said that $150,000 was transferred by wire to a foundation bank account in Ashland. Al-Buthe flew from Saudi Arabia to Oregon, then went to an Ashland bank with Sedaghaty, where the pair took out 130 $1,000 traveler's checks, and a $21,000 cashier's check before Al-Buthe headed back overseas, according to the indictment. snip. Obligatory, "My client is innocent," statement from lawyer.
The makers of RU-21, the "miracle" hangover cure reputedly developed for Soviet spies, have developed a product to keep you drunk.
Thash a welcome develomp... devellerp... thing!
Spirit Sciences, which is based in California but has research facilities in Russia employing scientists who once worked on secret programmes for the Kremlin, have christened the new product RU-21 Red. If you take a tablet you need less alcohol to stay drunk, they claim.
"More taste! Less filling! Drunker'n a lord!"
Emil Chiabery, a co-founder of the company, told The Telegraph from his offices in Los Angeles: "I never drink and there's no personal story. But RU-21 Red prolongs drunkenness and enhances intoxication." snip. Details of the chemical make-up of the two compounds, of interest only to biochemists and their ilk
Scientists in London have created a coating for glass, which reflects or absorbs heat, depending on the temperature outside.
Professor of inorganic and materials chemistry, Ivan Parkin, and Troy Manning, both of the chemistry department at University College London, developed the intelligent window coating as part of Mr Manning's PhD studies.
The thin film is made out of a material called vanadium dioxide, and it undergoes a change depending on the weather outside. On cold days the "thermochromic coating" allows all sunlight in, while on hot days, once the outside temperature reaches a certain level, the film begins acting as a filter, blocking infrared rays, which are responsible for generating heat. Parkin told CNN the film could be manufactured to have a predetermined heat threshold of between zero and 70C, although it would be most useful if it were set to work at 25C.
Its altering properties meant it could act as a replacement or partial replacement for air-conditioning systems, reducing electricity costs. "It acts as a semi-conductor when the temperature is below a certain level, and is transparent. When the temperature rises, it turns into a metal, and becomes reflective," Parkin said.
He has had a huge amount of interest about turning the idea into a commercial reality, particularly from architects, but also from space agency NASA and greenhouse manufacturers. "The current trend towards using glass extensively in building, poses a dilemma for architects. Do they tint the glass, which reduces the benefit of natural light or face hefty air conditioning bills?" he said. "It's the architectural holy grail of coating on a building. An intelligent facade like this would allow architects to use more glass in their designs."
Parkin said the idea had been around for a while but most efforts had not been durable enough to make them commercially viable. "While the heat reflective properties of vanadium dioxide are well recognized, the stumbling block has been the switching temperature," he said. "We've shown it's possible to reduce the switching temperature to just above room temperature and manufacture it in a commercially viable way."
Parkin said there was still a lot of development needed to turn it into a commercial reality, including altering the color of the film, which is currently yellow. He is currently in negotiations with a manufacturer.
The Canadian Navy and Air Force will join forces with other Canadian government departments and the US Coast Guard in a bi-national domestic exercise designed to further develop coastal surveillance and security of Canada's Pacific maritime approaches. Exercise Sea Barrier will take place Feb 22 to 25 in and around the approaches to Esquimalt Harbour and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
A primary goal of the Sea Barrier exercise is to foster cooperation and coordination between the Navy and its partners including Transport Canada, the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Coast Guard, and the US Coast Guard to generate a unified and comprehensive recognized maritime picture. By sharing and comparing information, the Navy and its partners can develop an increased understanding of the marine domain and refine procedures to effectively respond to potential threats to the security of our maritime approaches.
"The Strait of Juan de Fuca is one of our busiest bits of ocean," reiterates Rear Admiral Forcier. "Vancouver moves 66 million tonnes of cargo a year including over 1.5 million containers. Exercise Sea Barrier will enhance our ability to defend and protect our trade, and ultimately our way of life", concludes Forcier.
HMC ships Protecteur, Algonquin, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Whitehorse, supported by CH-124 Sea King helicopters from 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, CP-140 Aurora Aircraft from 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron at Comox and a team of clearance divers from Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) will participate in the exercise with U.S. Coast Guard ships Cuttyhunk and Henry Blake, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfred Laurier, and RCMP and CBSA teams. Training activities will include briefings, surveillance patrols, simulated explosives disposal, maritime interdiction and boardings at sea.
#4
Canada is reportedly eliminating between 1/3 to 1/2 of their relatively new F-18 aircraft fleet - doing their Canuck all to make NORAM safer for the Commie Airborne. * "ATTACK/INVADE ME NOW, D*** YOU, aka Savin' Hillary, and Hillary and Boxer-Pelosi-Dean for POTUS!?
Good bye papa please pray for me
My helicopter's crashing in the sea.
I honestly don't mean to poke
But my future is in doubt
My co-pilot just fell out
Good bye papa it's hard to fly
When my air frame's cracking in the sky
For every hour in the air
It takes some thirty to repair
We fly these things on a dare
We had joy we had fun
We had sea kings in the sun
But the engines are on fire
And the sea kings must retire
Good bye good chair my stingy one
You could have bought the E-age warner ones
Instead you blew five hundred mil
Just to cancel out the bill
Now I need an airsick pill.
We had joy we had fun
We had sea kings in the sun
We'll be lucky if we reach
A crash landing on the beach.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/18/2005 23:06
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Afghanistan has disarmed 80 percent of its estimated 50,000 militiamen under a joint program with the United Nations, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said.
``This is another milestone in the disarmament process,'' Ariane Quentier, senior public information officer for the Mission, said at a briefing yesterday in the capital, Kabul, according to the UN Web site. The program ``has kept gaining momentum since it was initiated last year.''
A total of 40,104 militiamen have handed in their weapons under the program that provides training to help find jobs in civil society, the UN said. The northern region of Mazar-e-Sharif was declared disarmed in December and Jalalabad in the east earlier this week, according to the UN.
Afghanistan has created a national army of more than 21,000 soldiers since the Taliban regime was ousted in December 2001. The country is preparing to hold parliamentary and local elections this year, the second stage of its move toward democracy that began with last October's first direct presidential election won by Hamid Karzai.
The U.S. has 18,000 soldiers in Afghanistan hunting fugitives from the Taliban and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has 8,500 soldiers in the UN-authorized International Security Assistance Force responsible for security in Kabul.
NATO said last week it will expand its peacekeeping force in Afghanistan by about 900 soldiers to boost security for the parliamentary and local elections by allowing the force to extend control beyond the area surrounding Kabul.
Election Date
The polls were scheduled to take place between April 21 and May 21, the UN said last month. The date will be 120 days after Karzai issues a decree establishing the boundaries of electoral districts, Quentier said last week.
Karzai, 46, has made security and the fight against drug traffickers the priorities of his government. Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium producer. Poppy cultivation increased 64 percent in 2004, the UN said in November. The opium poppy is the raw ingredient in producing heroin.
The UN is helping Afghanistan cope with winter storms that have hit the country in the past three weeks, Quentier said at yesterday's briefing. More than 260 people have died, many of them children, as result of the cold weather, Agence France- Presse reported.
The World Food Program airlifted food and medical supplies for more than 28,000 people in the southern province of Zabul to cover their needs for the next two months, Quentier said.
``The WFP has faced major difficulties in reaching Saghar and Tulak districts in Ghor province to provide assistance to some 15,000 people,'' she said. Two convoys carrying food were unable to reach the areas because of snowfalls, she added.
Many of the deaths are among children under the age of five who suffered respiratory infections, pneumonia and whooping cough, AFP cited Afghanistan's Public Health Minister Mohammad Amid Fatimie as saying yesterday in Kabul.
EFL. Follow up on a previous report. You may want to request a copy of your credit report to see if you've been hit. The Credit Bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
The number of people being notified that they may have been caught in a massive identity-theft scam quadrupled Wednesday — to 145,000. ChoicePoint Inc., one of the nation's largest collectors of consumer data, said it would warn 110,000 people outside California that con artists posing as merchants had looked at information including addresses, phone listings, Social Security numbers and credit reports. The company took the step after criticism that it was sending warning letters only to 35,000 possible victims in California, where state law requires such disclosure.
Although breaches of credit bureaus and other such collectors occur from time to time, the scale of the yearlong ChoicePoint operation was among the largest ever uncovered. ChoicePoint is used mostly by landlords and merchants for background on potential tenants and customers, but it counts law enforcement and other government agencies among its clients. Its databases contain a host of information, including links to the three credit bureaus.
The scammers used 50 fake ChoicePoint merchant accounts to look at the personal information of thousands of people nationwide. That information can be used to open credit card accounts or buy goods under assumed names. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Duane Decker said he had identified 750 people who had been defrauded by the ring, which operated for more than a year before it was detected in October. One person was arrested, and investigators are searching for other suspects.
Continued on Page 49
Most Americans, regardless of their position on the war in Iraq, don't object to the expression "Support Our Troops," but earlier this week one National Public Radio commentator asserted that in at least one context, that phrase is "glib," "self-righteous," "partisan," and "vaguely...Ann Coulterish." He also declared darkly that "analyzing its rhetoric" may constitute "treason."
[Tom Johnson, who monitors NPR for the MRC, filed this item for CyberAlert.]
This past Monday on All Things Considered, Bob Sommer, whose son recently completed a year's service in Iraq, began his segment: "You would think that the sight of a yellow-ribbon magnet on the back of a car, proclaiming 'Support Our Troops,' would give me a lift, but it doesn't. It just seems so easy to express patriotism by slapping a magnet with a slogan on your car, so glib, so...self-righteous.
Now that I think about it, it is much easier to express patriotism by slapping a magnet with a slogan on my car than it is by being a commentator on NPR. That's also kinda glib and self-righteous, if I remember correctly. It's been much longer since I've listened to NPR than it has been since I slapped a magnetized slogan on my car.
'Support Our Troops.' That sentence is neither a request nor a statement; it's a command.
Take it as a suggestion. If you don't want to support our troops, you don't have to. Neither do we have to admire you for it.
There's a hint of a dare in it that reminds me of a similar sentence: 'Bring it on.' It's vaguely...Ann Coulterish.
It's long-legged, blonde, with acid wit? But only vaguely so?
Analyzing its rhetoric may be treason."
Yep. We've got 'em lined up six deep, putting them on trial for treason and chopping their heads off. You just don't hear about it in the papers...
Sommer further complained: "I've noticed that these magnets often appear on vehicles that display still-lingering Bush-Cheney stickers. It isn't a big leap to conclude that there's something partisan about them, and the sight of all these yellow magnets is starting to bring out the worst in me.
The very same people who support our troops are the ones who also support President Bush. The very same people who didn't support President Bush tend not to have "Support Our Troops" stickers on their cars. It could be that the majority, that supports our troops, voted Bush, and the minority, that doesn't support our troops, voted for the other guy, the one who described them as being similar to Genghis Khan...
Sometimes, I want to roll down my windows and confront the drivers. I want to exclaim, 'Who doesn't support the troops? What have you done to support the troops?'
To which I'd answer "People who voted for Kerry don't seem to support our troops. You never see magnetic stickers on their cars, do you?"
They may be well-meaning and sincere people, but I'm convinced that they're just driving along, thinking support-our-troops thoughts like 'Thank God I live in a red state,' or 'Maybe it's time to price a Hummer.' That's what I assume they're thinking, anyway."
He assumes that as he's driving down the avenue, thinking ignore-our-troops thoughts like, "Thank God I live in a blue state," or "Maybe it's time to price a Volvo."
After Sommer detailed how he and his wife "expended a lot of emotional energy, as well as some financial resources, supporting our son and his buddies," including "sen[ding] Christmas gifts to the whole squad," he resumed his exegesis: "Still, that curious phrase, 'Support Our Troops,' on those yellow-ribbon magnets, seems to accuse me of not doing my part. Then I realized that 'Support Our Troops' is a code...
Ahah! "I do not think that phrase means what you think it means!"... But... But... Who's competent to crack the code? It must be pretty subtle, packing an entire different message into three little words on a piece of magnetized plastic...
Here's what I think it means: Those who presumably need to be admonished to support the troops are those who oppose the decisions of the [Bush] administration.
Like the guys who don't bother putting such stickers on their cars?
'Support Our Troops' means, then, that we should be supporting the war.
Couldn't have a war without troops, could we?
I believe that most yellow-magnet-bearers want support not just for the troops, but for the mission, the presence, the President. Maybe the magnets should say, 'Shut Up and Support Our Troops.'"
Maybe they should say "Support the mission, the presence, the President."
It's hard to say whether "Support Our Troops" would bother Sommer much less if he saw it on, say, a red-white-and-blue lapel pin...
Last month, All Things Considered aired another exotic commentary on military matters, in which regular ATC contributor Andrei Codrescu suggested that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld staged a military exercise in New Orleans because many "foreign artists" and anti-Bush "Hollywood actors" were in town. ..
"Yes, Karl. We must threaten them! I shall stage a military exercise in New Orleans! That will intimidate them! Louisianna shall be ours!"
#3
Bob Sommer needs to stop drinking seven Starbucks Frapachinos before lunch, vibrate down off his high hoarse, and go do something productive with his time (his writing doesn't count).
#6
I am really dull, and very stupid. So the doctor told my mom after they examined my head.
Posted by: john ||
02/18/2005 13:44
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#7
meh. I heard him on the way home the other day. Thought he was a twit, but it didn't bother me. Once you hear the voice, you know the type. He made so many assumptions and relied on so many stereotypes that all you can do is roll your eyes and tune out. The only part I would respond to is this:
It just seems so easy to express patriotism by slapping a magnet with a slogan on your car, so glib, so...self-righteous.
Not as easy as it is not to slap a magnet on your car, John. Surely you understand the power of the symbolic gesture, John. Your side is all about the symbolism.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 14:59
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#14
âShut Up and Support Our Troops.â
-Now, that would be a great bumber sticker.
âWho doesnât support the troops? What have you done to support the troops?â
-um, let's see, first voted for Bush, second stayed in the Corps, third contributed to the training of over 2,000 Marines at Parris Island, fourth never made stupid remarks on NPR about fellow patriotic Americans..........
#15
This is the crowd that lives by and for its slogans: save the whales, visualize whirled peas, no blood for oil. They take their stickers seriously. So when they see a sticker that doesn't jibe with the worldview, they freek. The synapses just go haywire...
#16
What he means is he does not support our troops. Hell, he does not even support his own son I bet. A son who is more of a man that his father is and knows it. This guy only knows the US is always wrong.
Guys like this ass need to wake up and discover they don't matter. They don't count. He couldn't get a job in real Broadcasting. NPR is as good as it's going to get for him. Loser.
#19
Actually, I really hated that 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon ('Round the Old Oak Tree)' song. For that reason I'd prefer another form factor for my public support of the President, the troops and the war.
#23
What a poor pitiful excuse for a man. His son has shamed him and he blames Bush and his minions for the angst that he feels. The self righteous superiority that he feels is threatened when he sees a simple reminder of the sacrifices that our troops are making. He lacks the moral and physical courage of his own son and bristles at any reminder.
#27
Liberal Hawk- I was in Manhattan this week
to see many VOTE FOR KERRY/EDWARDS banner's and signs in apartment windows as I walked along 5th Ave over to York Avenue. They were all over the city!! Mr. John Kerry will be at the John F. Kennedy library in Boston this month for an open forum- free to the public*** Check out the library web site for date and time.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea ||
02/18/2005 19:47
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#28
#10:
Where can I get a "Support the War" sticker?
Never mind that, BAR. Where can I get a "Fuck NPR" bumper sticker? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/18/2005 21:05
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#29
uh huh - that's "hate speech" Barbara
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 21:24
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#30
;-p Why not make your own "Fuck NPR" bumper sticker? Patent it and who knows what else!
BE CREATIVE***
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: ANdrea ||
02/18/2005 21:30
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#31
;-p Why not make your own "Fuck NPR" bumper sticker? Patent it and who knows what else!
BE CREATIVE***
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: ANdrea ||
02/18/2005 21:32
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#32
;-p Why not make your own "Fuck NPR" bumper sticker? Patent it and who knows what else!
BE CREATIVE***
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: ANdrea ||
02/18/2005 21:35
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#33
I have 2 stickers on the back of may car given to me by my 2 grand children. A yellow one from my grand daughter (5) and a rbw from my grand son (7). How should I explain "fuck NPR" to them?
#37
Well, Badanov, Rantburg is the first blog I've ever read (mentioned by Tony Snow in November) and it's still the first I read early morning every day. I must admit I usualy wait for the posting of .com who has a fantastic sens of humor.
Rather quiet this week: 11.02.2005 at 0400 LT in position 10:16N - 064:35W, cement terminal, Pertigalete port, Venezuela. Two unlit boats approached a bulk carrier within 100m. Security guards fired warning shots and boats moved away.
10.02.2005 at 0900 LT at Banjarmasin Roads, Indonesia. Twelve robbers armed with knives attempted to board a general cargo ship along with stevedores. C/O and bosun spotted them and stopped them boarding. Robbers threatened them with knives. Master raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers aborted boarding and escaped in their speedboats.
Posted by: Pappy ||
02/18/2005
12:44:36 AM ||
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#1
11.02.2005 at 0400 LT in position 10:16N - 064:35W, cement terminal, Pertigalete port, Venezuela. Two unlit boats approached a bulk carrier within 100m. Security guards fired warning shots and boats moved away.
#4
Itn been a quiet week in port woebegon, when suddenly from the horizon a speedy boat appeared. Shots were fired, words exchanged curses mounted. Then peace.
One of the best ways to understand the political dynamics at play in Northern Iraq is to hop into a taxi and travel north towards the Turkish border. Once you reach the multi-ethnic oil-rich city Kirkuk, every checkpoint is manned by peshmerga guerilla fighters loyal to one of the two Kurdish political parties. And they are on the lookout for one thing: Arabs.
I knew this, of course, even before departing Iraq Tuesday. Traveling from Ranya near the Iranian border towards the provincial capital Arbil a few days earlier I had been forced to disembark my bus a half dozen times for grilling by local peshmerga. They were concerned my American travel documents were false -- because I have vaguely Semitic features, speak some Arabic and do not speak Kurdish. But this was nothing compared to the grilling that a middle-aged businessman from Baghdad was given. As we approached each checkpoint in our communal taxi, the peshmerga would politely ask if there were any Arabs in the car.
"No we're all Kurds," the driver would answer to quicken our trip. But the more persistent among the peshmerga were never satisfied. They would stick their head inside the driver's side window and peer around the car. When they saw the man from Baghdad in the back -- with a full beard and skin slightly darker than that of his neighbours in the north -- they would ask the driver to pull over to a side, and demand that everyone get out. At that point, a full search of the man's bags and a long grilling were in order.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: phil_b ||
02/18/2005
12:38:53 AM ||
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I find nothing to fault the Kurds, here. First of all, they did nothing more than very carefully scrutinize for a people known to cause trouble--how would a Moscow policeman greet a Chechen in Moscow? But unlike the Russian, they did not abuse anyone over suspicions of being Arab, they just wanted to make very, very sure that they were not heading north to make trouble. Why *should* an Arab who does not live there, or have family there, travel to Kurdistan? I also suspect that the Kurds are equally cautious about non-Kurd Turks, Iranians, and Syrians who just want to visit Kurdistan. It isn't easy to fault someone for being a little paranoid when they *are* surrounded by their enemies.
#2
It isn't easy to fault someone for being a little paranoid when they *are* surrounded by their enemies.
I think moonbats, trolls, and liberals would find it very easy to fault anyone for defending themselves. I heard of a recent French Proverb that, roughly translated, says what these people believe: "This animal is rabid and must be put down: it bites you when you attack it."
Two days ago BigEd put up a post about evidence of life on Mars. That post pointed to this article, which was based on information given to the author by people who'd attended a scientific meeting. It didn't come from the scientists themselves. Well, today NASA issued a press release putting the brakes on the whole thing: News reports on February 16, 2005, that NASA scientists from Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., have found strong evidence that life may exist on Mars are incorrect.
NASA does not have any observational data from any current Mars missions that supports this claim. The work by the scientists mentioned in the reports cannot be used to directly infer anything about life on Mars, but may help formulate the strategy for how to search for martian life. Their research concerns extreme environments on Earth as analogs of possible environments on Mars. No research paper has been submitted by them to any scientific journal asserting martian life.
EFL. My, my how... untree hugger. Former employees say they were told to expose chests Two former employees of the Gorilla Foundation, home to Koko the "talking" ape, have filed a lawsuit contending that they were ordered to bond with the 33-year-old female simian by displaying their breasts. Well at least now we know what he was probably talking about.
Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, both of San Francisco, are taking on the Woodside nonprofit and its president, Francine "Penny" Patterson. Their lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Mateo County Superior Court, alleges sexual discrimination, wrongful termination in retaliation for reporting health and safety violations, and failure to pay overtime or provide rest breaks. It seeks more than $1 million total in damages for the two women. The suit follows complaints filed by Alperin and Keller in January with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, in which they gave identical reasons for why they were fired: "I refused to expose my breast to perform acts of bestiality with one of the gorillas." Well, now. DO TELL...
The lawsuit goes into more detail. All right!
One example: "On at least two incidents in mid-to-late June 2004, Patterson intensely pressured Keller to expose herself to Koko while they were working outside where other employees could potentially view Keller's naked body. ... On one such occasion, Patterson said, 'Koko, you see my nipples all the time. You are probably bored with my nipples. You need to see new nipples. I will turn my back so Kendra can show you her nipples.' " EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!
Todd Roberts, a partner in the Redwood City office of Ropers Majeski Kohn Bentley, which is representing the Gorilla Foundation, said the law firm was still reviewing the suit. "But I can tell you that based on our review of the factual allegations and characterizations in the complaint, we deny those allegations," Roberts said. ...as opposed to taking credit for them.
A call to Patterson and the Gorilla Foundation was not returned. Probably too busy flashing the gorillas.
The foundation, which has existed since 1976 to promote the preservation and protection of gorillas, is best known for Koko, who was born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4, 1971, and began working with Patterson the following year. Koko -- older sister of Kubi, who presided over the zoo's Gorilla World exhibit until he died last year -- now has a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words in American Sign Language, according to foundation claims that are much debated among scientists. What's American Sign for "big tatas"? I'll bet Koko knew.
The subject of books, videos and documentary films, the hairy linguist participated in what was called the first interspecies chat on the Internet in 1998, attracting more than 8,000 AOL users. AOL users? Probably thought they were talking to their tech support.
San Francisco attorney Stephen Sommers, who is representing Alperin and Keller, has a transcript of that chat. "There's a history with this nipple thing," he said, leafing through the transcript and pointing out the word "nipple" -- which he'd highlighted in pink -- each time it appeared. The history, as such, might date back to Koko's mother, who reportedly did not have enough breast milk to feed her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Always blame the mother...
The suit, in any case, says that Patterson would interpret hand movements by Koko as a demand to see exposed human nipples. She warned Alperin and Keller that their employment with the foundation would suffer, the suit says, if they "did not indulge Koko's nipple fetish." Koko a perv. Didn't see that on those National Geographic specials.
During at least three visits, the suit says, "Patterson communicated to Alperin that exposing one's breasts to Koko is a normal component to developing a personal bond with the gorilla." Hmmmm. San Francisco? Your female boss wants a peek at your boobs? Wonder what...ummmmmmm...persuasion, Ms. Patterson is?
The two women were fired Aug. 6. Three-month employee Alperin, 47, has returned to social work and is seeking $719,830 in damages. Four-month employee Keller, 48, a longtime sign language interpreter, is asking for $366,192. Gorilla expert Kristen Lukas, curator of conservation and science at the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo, said she'd never encountered a gorilla with a nipple fixation. "This is absolutely a first," she said. "I've never heard of anything like it." Please refer to my previous question.
When robbers stole more than $300,000 from an armored car here in 1997, investigators were taken aback by the size and brazenness of the heist. But they really became alarmed when they discovered that one of the culprits had been under surveillance as a suspected Islamic extremist. That man, Mustapha Darwich Ramadan, was arrested shortly before he planned to flee Copenhagen on a flight to Amman, Jordan, police said. He was convicted of robbery and served 3 1/2 years in prison. After his release in June 2001, Copenhagen police said, he struck again, robbing a money-transfer store of about $15,000. This time, he escaped to either Jordan or Lebanon, police said.
Since then, according to European intelligence officials, Ramadan has surfaced in Iraq as a leader of Ansar al-Islam, a radical group that U.S. officials say has carried out at least 40 suicide bombings and other attacks resulting in more than 1,000 deaths in the war-ravaged country.
Officials say Ansar also operates an extensive underground network that recruits young Muslims across Europe to join the insurgency in Iraq. Intelligence estimates of the numbers sent from Europe by Ansar and other groups vary from 100 to more than 3,000, but there is general agreement that the flow is increasing. U.S. intelligence officials say that most insurgents are Iraqis but that foreign fighters pose a major threat. Testifying before Congress on Wednesday, CIA Director Porter J. Goss said Islamic extremists were "exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. jihadists." He expressed concern that fighters who survive the insurgency will establish cells in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
MUSTAPHA DARWICH RAMADAN
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:37:19 AM ||
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#1
Darwin wins, always. And the idiots flowing into Iraq lose. I've no complaints.
IRAQI security forces had captured two suspected members of a militant group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, the Iraqi Government said today. Brothers Hutheyfa and Mohammed Abdul-Jabbar were picked up on February 12 in Baghdad, based on intelligence extracted from other suspected insurgents under interrogation. "It's clear from information and evidence gathered from the raid that Hutheyfa is a member of al-Qaeda," the Government said. Iraqi security forces have rounded up scores of suspected guerrillas in recent weeks.
This article starring:
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
HUTHEYFA ABDUL JABAR
al-Qaeda in Iraq
MOHAMED ABDUL JABAR
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:33:44 AM ||
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"based on intelligence extracted"
IRAQI security forces>>Iraqi dentists who use truth serum !
Posted by: No novocaine ||
02/18/2005 15:39
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Pro-Russian Chechen forces on Friday killed a top commander of rebels battling Moscow's rule in Chechnya, an army spokesman said. Yunadi Turchayev, who led rebels in central Chechnya and in the capital Grozny for at least a year, was a top commander in rebel forces controlled by Aslan Maskhadov and warlord Shamil Basayev. "A Chechen interior ministry patrol discovered the hiding place of Yunadi Turchayev and his companions," said the army. "In the course of the capture operation the bandits tried to mount armed resistance, and were destroyed by return fire."
Rebel news sources did not confirm or deny the report. Turchayev, 32, was part of a younger generation of Chechen fighters who have moved up to fill positions vacated by commanders who have either been killed or fled abroad. He was also charged with recruiting young men into the rebel forces, the army said. The army trumpeted the operation as revealing the level of cooperation between federal forces and local pro-Moscow police. But the operation by the local police may highlight the army's failure to kill or capture the top two leaders.
This article starring:
ASLAN MASKHADOV
Chechnya
SHAMIL BASAIEV
Chechnya
YUNADI TURCHAIEV
Chechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:23:10 AM ||
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Suicide bombers killed at least 17 people in attacks on two Shi'ite mosques in Baghdad Friday as thousands of Shi'ites — Iraq's majority Muslim sect — commemorated Ashura, the main event in their religious calendar.
Separately, a rocket landed near a police station and close to a mosque in a Shi'ite district of northwestern Baghdad killing three people and wounding five in a shop, police said.
In the first suicide attack, a man wearing an explosives- packed vest merged into a crowd near a mosque in the Doura area of southwestern Baghdad and blew himself up, survivors said. The blast killed 15 people and wounded 33, Yarmouk hospital said.
Soon afterwards, an explosion shook a second Shi'ite mosque in western Baghdad, the U.S. military and police sources said.
Police initially blamed that blast on a mortar strike but later said two suicide bombers had approached a crowd outside the mosque. They were spotted by police, who shot them, but one still blew himself up, killing at least two people, police said.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, told CNN he believed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant who is al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, was behind the attacks. Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for many of Iraq's worst strikes.
The attacks came as thousands of Shi'ites marched through the city for Ashura in a show of strength a day after a Shi'ite alliance was confirmed as the winner of last month's historic election, handing the community power for the first time.
Dressed in black for mourning and holding aloft green banners bearing the name Hussein, the martyred grandson of the prophet Mohammad, thousands filled central Baghdad for the Ashura march, some of them flailing themselves with chains.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the main party in the Shi'ite alliance that won the Jan. 30 election, addressed the crowd with a message of political conciliation.
"I call on all Iraqis to unite and I assure everyone the Iraq we want is a unified and secure Iraq where every citizen, without exception, enjoys justice and equality," Hakim told the crowd, which chanted "Hussein, Hussein" and "God is Greatest."
"We say it now and we will always say it, that we are open to all Iraqis, because they are partners in this nation," he said, in one of the strongest declarations yet of Shi'ite intentions to include Sunnis in the political process.
Iraq's Electoral Commission announced Thursday that the main Shi'ite coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, had secured 140 seats in the assembly, just enough for a slim majority.
A Kurdish alliance came second and will have 75 seats, while a list headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, will have 40. Sunni Arabs have fewer than 10 seats.
A two-thirds majority is needed in the assembly to decide the top government posts, a margin the Shi'ite alliance could secure if it allies with the Kurdish coalition.
Intense talks have been going on for two weeks to determine who will take the top positions, with the Kurds expected to get the presidency and the Shi'ite bloc the prime minister's post.
But it is not clear who from the United Iraqi Alliance will be the preferred choice. The front runner is physician Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a religious Shi'ite and leader of the Dawa Party.
Ahmad Chalabi, another former exile and former Pentagon favorite, is also pushing to have his candidacy considered.
Jaafari has said he expects a decision in a couple of days. Many officials expect the announcement of the president, two vice-presidents and prime minister to be made together.
Whoever ends up as prime minister faces the daunting task of improving security in a country plagued by suicide bombings and abductions — two Indonesian journalists were reported missing in western Iraq Friday and were believed kidnapped.
At Friday's Baghdad march, there was a small presence of Iraqi police near the main procession, as well as many members of the Badr Organization, a Shi'ite militia loyal to SCIRI.
The march also included a funeral procession for three members of the Badr Organization who SCIRI says were killed in Iraqi police custody in Baghdad earlier this month. Iraq's interior ministry said it was investigating their deaths.
In northern Iraq, three U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks in and near the city of Mosul Thursday, raising to 1,117 the number killed in action since March 2003.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:18:13 AM ||
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#1
I am telling you now: Ashoura blood-letting will be brutal this year. Spin-consumers will finally admit that the 20,000 Persian Shiites who will travel from the Persian terrorist entity, daily, manifest cultural unity between the terror state and Iraq Shia-pets. I will post links to pictures of the Muslimutt blood feast, in exact measure to the suppression of coverage of the social idiocy of that demographic enemy of Western Civilization.
Affirmation - in substitution of Denial - will be the first phase of your de-programing. We will clear your captive minds of all appeasement cobwebs, and put you on the straight path to one-button dreams and schemes. SAY DOOM!
#3
Actually, Liberalhawk, I have seen pictures of Ashura martyr venerations, and I am not happy with sharing the planet with these people. Check out Yahoo news pic posts during Ashura. It is need to know material. Regards.
#4
Isn't it in the Philippines that there are pre-Easter parades where people whip themselves until their backs are bloody... except for the ones who have themselves nailed to wooden crosses (the local substitute for papier mache puppets)?
Since 11 September 2001, at least 15 major terrorist attacks have been prevented in Europe, according to a Norwegian research institute. In an interview with Radio Netherlands, a spokesman for the institute claims that all these attacks would have caused many casualties had they not been foiled. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) is the chief adviser on defence-related science and technology to the Ministry of Defence and the Norwegian Armed Forces' military organisation. Its key tasks include mapping out terrorist activity by radical Muslims in Europe. This resulted this week in a report on last November's murder of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh. A typical al-Qaeda-inspired assassination chiefly carried out for political reasons such as the presence of Dutch troops in Iraq, concludes the FFI.
The institute also looked at the organisation of the so-called Hofstad-network, the group of mostly young radical Muslims of Moroccan extraction to which the murder suspect, Mohammed B, allegedly belonged. There are striking similarities in structure between this particular network and other Islamic cells based elsewhere in Europe, according to the FFI. The 15 thwarted attacks were so-called 'mass casualty attacks' designed to take a great number of lives for maximum impact, according to an FFI spokesman, who refused to give further details to Radio Netherlands. In response, the Dutch intelligence and security service AIVD divulged that at least three major attacks had been foiled in the Netherlands since 2000. In addition, several arrests had been made in an alleged plot to blow up the US embassy in Paris.
In another reaction to the Norwegian estimate, terrorism expert Glenn Schoen, of the US security firm 'Transecur', pointed out that the number of foiled terrorist attacks could be elevated to 20 or even 30 depending on the definition of "major attack". More specifically, he listed five thwarted attacks in France and an equal number in Spain, three each in Germany and Britain, and one in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. Added up, the total would be 19, four more than estimated by the Norwegian research body. And those 19 are only cases about which the authorities has chosen to release details. The real number must therefore be higher, somewhere between 20 and 30, according to Mr Schoen. One also has to bear in mind that the figure of 19 only refers to cases in which hard evidence supporting allegations that a high-profile attack was in the making. If less clear-cut cases are included, the number is set to be much higher.
Take the Netherlands, for example. The AIVD secret service told Radio Netherlands about four thwarted major attacks, but says only one of those meets the strict legal criteria for such a qualification, the other three are therefore not included in the total of 19. That single case involves the October 2003 arrests of four suspects who were found to possess basic bomb-making equipment. Among them was Samir A, a notorious member of the Hofstad network. All four suspects were later released for lack of legally sound evidence, which shows how difficult it is to thwart terrorist plots in the courtroom.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:15:21 AM ||
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Two Sunni Muslim militants who were planning an attack on rival Shiites blew themselves to bits with a hand grenade after a gunbattle with Pakistani police on Friday, officials said. Police said the men, who were members of the banned Al-Qaeda-linked group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, killed themselves during a raid on their hideout near a Shiite mosque in the turbulent southwestern city Quetta. "When police knocked at their door, they resorted to firing and when besieged they blew themselves up with hand grenades," Quetta police chief Pervez Rafi Bhatti told AFP. "Their bodies were blown into pieces." Five hand grenades, two Kalashnikov rifles and hundreds of bullets were recovered from the house, the walls of which had been daubed with anti-Shiite slogans, police said. "The militants could have attacked Shiite processions in the city today and there is also a possibility they were planning to attack the main Ashura procession" on Sunday, provincial police chief Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqub told a press conference.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi later said in a statement faxed to newspapers that the militants were its members and that it was proud of their acts. The group vowed it would carry on attacks against Shiites and warned the government not to be happy about killing two of its men. "Our members were ready to launch suicide attacks and by dying they have provided inspiration to other Lashkar-e-Jhangvi mujahideen and Sunni youth to follow their footsteps," spokesman Commander Zarar said in the message. Police said they raided the house in Quetta after neighbours became suspicious about the activities of the men, who rented the house two weeks ago. One of the dead was identified as Niaz Muhammad, a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activist.
The other guy was just a corpse...
Meanwhile police in the southern city of Karachi on Friday arrested around 50 suspected members of outlawed Sunni extremist groups, city police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP. Most were members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The organisation has mounted numerous attacks on Shiites, who make up 20 percent of Pakistan's population, and is also blamed for the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Police in Karachi last week said they had arrested four militants including a suspected suicide bomber. "Those arrested overnight were being interrogated to find out their links with the four suspects and also about any conspiracy to disrupt peace in the city," Jamil said.
This article starring:
Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqub
COMANDER ZARAR
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Daniel Pearl
NIAZ MUHAMAD
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Tariq Jamil
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:13:33 AM ||
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The Australian Federal Police have confirmed findings by local forensic experts that the explosives used in the Valentine's Day bombings in three major cities across the country were triggered by cellular phones, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Edgar Aglipay announced yesterday.
Aglipay said the Australian forensic experts "are confirming the report of our (PNP) Crime Laboratory" that all explosives used in the bombings in General Santos, Davao City and Makati City were activated by cell phones.
Aglipay said there were indications the bombers used TNT explosives.
"As of now, we can say that cellular phones were used in the bombings," he said.
Police said a 27-year-old engineer who was among the critically wounded in the Makati blast succumbed yesterday at the intensive care unit of the Ospital ng Makati.
Ronnie Soriano, a resident of Cabasaan street, Zone III, Signal Village, Taguig City, became the fourth casualty of the Makati bombing.
Chief Inspector Alfredo de la Cruz of the Makati police said they were not able to take any statements from Soriano after he was placed in intensive care shortly after the blast.
Aglipay said the PNP will coordinate further with the Australian police to determine if the Feb. 14 bombings were carried out in the same manner as the deadly nightclub bombing in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002 that left over 200 people dead and the Marriott Hotel bombing, also in Indonesia, in 2004. Both attacks have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group.
"They are still in the process of gathering evidence in General Santos and we will again discuss this over the weekend," Aglipay said.
He said PNP investigators are collating all documentary and physical evidence, along with the testimonies of witnesses to ensure an airtight case is built up against the suspects.
"As I have said, the investigation is continuing at a very good pace and we will try to solve the bombings at the soonest possible time," Aglipay said. "We are continuously gathering evidence."
He said he is personally handling the investigation and bringing experts for his visit to the bombing sites in General Santos and Davao City.
When asked if the JI might have carried out the bombings, Aglipay refused to confirm this, pointing out their investigation has yet to be completed.
On the other hand, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Avelino Razon said they have identified three suspects in the bombing.
Razon declared they would arrest the bombing suspects "in due time," adding that Aglipay has been satisfied with investigations on their end focusing on the bus bombing in Makati.
"The chief PNP wants us to make sure that after their arrest, the suspects would rot in jail," he said.
At least 13 people were killed in the Valentine's Day bombings, with over 140 others wounded.
Superintendent Napoleon Taas, NCRPO intelligence chief, said the witnesses are now guiding police agents on a stakeout for the three still unnamed suspects somewhere in Metro Manila.
A witness has reportedly surfaced at the Makati police and agreed to help authorities identify the suspects behind the blasts.
Razon said the witness, known as "Francisco," has intimate knowledge of how the bomb was manufactured.
Aside from Francisco, Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia said they have three witnesses helping the police identify the suspects.
Francisco, reportedly a resident of Culiat, Quezon City, is a walk-in witness. He earlier called "Patrol 117" and was instructed to show up at the Makati police station.
"We are still verifying all the information he has given us, but so far nothing has turned out to be positive, except his description of the suspects did corroborate the statement given by the bus driver and conductor (of the ill-fated bus)," Garcia said.
Last Monday's bomb attacks have forced Aglipay to shelve plans of attending the Interpol conference in France on Feb. 25 so that he could personally supervise the ongoing investigation.
He designated Director Rolando Garcia of the PNP Philippine Center for Transnational Crime as his representative at the Interpol conference.
Aglipay urged the public to remain vigilant and report all suspicious-looking characters and packages to discourage another terror attack.
Aglipay said the PNP remains on high alert in receiving "continuous threats" to the country's peace and order situation.
"We have a continuing threat, and we urge the people to be security conscious and inform the PNP if there are suspicious-looking persons in their barangays," Aglipay said.
For his part, Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes explained authorities are always working "on the assumption there is a threat."
"We work on the basis that there is a threat, there is a need for general vigilance not just on the part of the police but on the part of the entire community," he said.
Reyes, however, admitted that the government cannot guarantee that the public is 100 percent safe against terror attacks.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:11:53 AM ||
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#1
Superintendent Napoleon Taas, NCRPO intelligence chief
Sounds like a potential series, The Man From NCRPO
#2
Its so easy to solve that cellphone problem... Unfortunately, nobody would listen to me.... But the cheap and simple way is give all new cellphone numbers to a fake telemarketing computer for the first month of use.... A few premature bangs????
Police have arrested two Abu Sayyaf members, one of them tagged as a bomb-making expert, authorities said. Police, acting on a tip-off, raided a house in Barangay Baliwasan in the city's outskirts and arrested Abu Sayyaf member Nassid Tajid, who put up no resistance, said Western Area Police Command director Vidal Querol. He said Tajid is a suspect in the 1999 abductions of Fr. Roel Gallardo and several students from a Catholic school in Basilan. The priest and several other students and teachers were later killed when the military staged a rescue attempt.
Querol said Tajid, 26, alias Rudimar Taji, is a bomb-making expert who worked under Jainal Antel Sali alias Abu Solaiman, who heads the Abu Sayyaf's Urban Terrorist Group. With Tajid's arrest, Querol said they could have foiled bombing plots by the Abu Sayyaf in this port city.
A second Abu Sayyaf member, Jubail Sahibul, was arrested in a Zamboanga suburb last week, military spokesman Col. Domingo Tutaan said. Sahibul took part in the kidnapping of 21 Western tourists and Asian staffers on the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan in April 2000, Tutaan said. The hostages were taken by boat across the sea border to Sulu and ransomed off for millions of dollars.
This article starring:
ABU SOLAIMAN
Abu Sayyaf
JAINAL ANTEL SALI
Abu Sayyaf
JUBAIL SAHIBUL
Abu Sayyaf
NASID TAJID
Abu Sayyaf
RUDIMAR TAJI
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:10:08 AM ||
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Pakistan deployed specially trained anti-Al-Qaeda commandos to guard against sectarian violence Friday as two Sunni militants planning to attack parades by rival Shiites blew themselves up. The so-called Quick Reaction Force -- which formerly battled militants linked to Osama bin Laden's terror network in tribal areas near Afghanistan -- was to patrol in sensitive central and northwestern regions. The deployment comes ahead of Ashura, the ceremony marking the death over 1,300 years ago of the prophet Mohammed's grandson, when minority Shiites traditionally stage processions featuring graphic displays of self-harm.
The ceremony, which starts late Saturday, is often marked by clashes with Sunnis. Last year's festival was one of the most violent, with 48 people dying in a bloody attack in the southwestern city of Quetta.
Police in Quetta said two members of a banned Al-Qaeda-linked Sunni extremist group had killed themselves with a grenade early Friday after a raid on their hideout.
"The militants could have attacked Shiite processions in the city today and there is also a possibility they were planning to attack the main Ashura procession" on Sunday, said provincial police chief Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqub.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi later said in a statement faxed to newspapers that the militants were its members and that it was proud of their acts.
The group vowed it would carry on attacks against Shiites and warned the government not to be happy about killing two of its men.
"Our members were ready to launch suicide attacks and by dying they have provided inspiration to other Lashkar-e-Jhangvi mujahideen and Sunni youth to follow their footsteps," spokesman Commander Zarar said in the message.
With tensions remaining high, the commandos were biding their time but would be sent out "on an urgent basis to deal with any situation," said Lieutenant General Safdar Hussain, army commander in North West Frontier Province.
The commando force demonstrated its skills at a dress rehearsal in the central city of Multan Thursday, in which pretend militants attacked a mock Shiite procession and staged a chase with military helicopters and ground forces.
"We wanted to assess the ability of the force and test the security arrangements," the force's commander Brigadier Mohammad Ibrahim told reporters.
The situation in Pakistan was already tense following deadly riots in the Himalayan gateway town of Gilgit last month.
The commandos were being deployed in parts of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, and in North West Frontier Province on the Afghan border, which have been hit by unrest in previous years.
Tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces were covering the rest of the country, officials said, including 4,000 in Islamabad and 15,000 in Karachi.
Authorities in Punjab have declared about a dozen places including Jhang, Multan, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur as sensitive areas.
"Miscreants trying to disturb peace will be crushed with an iron hand," said the military commander of Faisalabad, Lieutenant General Javed Alam Khan.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:08:59 AM ||
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Yet another family affair ...
The first car bomb to explode in a year-long separatist uprising in Thailand's Muslim south was planted by relatives of hunted militant leaders, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday.
``We know it was done by children of people subject to our arrest warrants who are pressing the government to stop hunting them, not foreigners or any people linked to foreign groups,'' Thaksin said in Bangkok.
The Thursday night blast killed six people and wounded 14 in Sungai Kolok near the Malaysian border.
General Sonthi Boonyakarin, a top army commander in the region, said the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolution Front, a group fighting the government, was responsible.
But the governor of Narathiwat province, scene of one of the deadliest attacks since the uprising began in January 2004, said he was not so sure there was no foreign involvement.
The attack on Sungai Kolok, a border town that draws tourists with its bars and brothels, was too wicked for Thais to have carried out, Governor Pracha Taerat said. ``If they were Thai, they would not have planted such a powerful bomb as this, which is similar to those in Iraq,'' he said.
A noodle shop bore the brunt of the blast, with four diners killed instantly and two dying later in hospital.
There has been considerable speculation that Jemaah Islamiah, the Southeast Asian branch of al-Qaeda, may be involved in the violence.
Militants have set off several motorcycle bombs by mobile telephone, but security officials said a car bomb was a step up in sophistication.
The car, stolen from an army camp two years ago, was parked near a busy hotel hosting a wedding party. The bomb, which was made of fertilizer, weighed at least 50 kilograms.
``They aimed for a wider scale of victims,'' Pracha said.
``It is an act of terrorism.''
Thaksin, who spent two days in the region this week proclaiming his determination to end the insurgency with harsh measures and ordering security forces to be more proactive, said he expected more bombs.
``Our intelligence reports suggest that there will be more explosions, but they won't be as powerful as this,'' he said.
``So we have to pay closer attention in municipal areas. It will take a month before our proactive approach will take effect''.
The impact on Thailand's image as a safe destination for tourists and investors will depend on whether the violence spreads outside the region, analysts say.
``It still looks like local unrest,'' said Bob Broadfoot, managing director of Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in Hong Hong.
``What we are afraid of is the violence might move to Bangkok. That's what they did in Indonesia and the Philippines.''
Sungai Kolok was hit by four bombs last year after the separatist violence erupted with a raid on an army camp in the south, from where 400 assault rifles were stolen.
Pracha said military intelligence reports suggested last week that Sungai Kolok was one of three towns targeted for bombs, but security had concentrated on motorcycles.
Thaksin has sent thousands of soldiers to deal with a revival of the unrest he blames on radical Islamist teachers, but there have been few signs that he is succeeding.
His latest ideas, announced during his visit to the region Wednesday and Thursday, include denying entire Muslim villages development aid if they are adjudged to have helped separatists.
And if that fails,, he said, troops will ``lay siege'' to villages.
His scheme has drawn fierce criticism.
Muslim leaders, academics and politicians said it will only encourage support for the insurgency, but Thaksin is unmoved.
``I won't listen because I have a thorough understanding of what the problem is,'' he said. ``Those who want everything to stop, come and help us. Don't just sit idly by and criticizing.''
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:07:01 AM ||
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A Canadian court Thursday ordered the government to release on bail a Moroccan whom Ottawa suspects of belonging to Al Qaeda, federal officials and CBC television said. The reports said a judge in Montreal had ruled that Adil Charkaoui be freed on $40,500 bail after spending 20 months in detention. He will also have to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and stay with his family. Charkaoui has been held since May 2003 under a "security certificate," which allows detention without trial under limited circumstances. The government alleges that he had been seen with Al Qaeda officials and received terrorism training in Afghanistan.
Charkaoui, 31, denies the charges. Government officials said they did not know whether they would appeal. Friends and relatives had pushed for Charkaoui's release, arguing that the security certificates were unconstitutional. Oscar-winning filmmaker Denys Arcand was one of those who helped raise the bail money.
This article starring:
ADIL CHARKAUI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:05:26 AM ||
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#1
Denys Arcand ought to have an electronic monitoring bracelet put on him, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/18/2005 12:01
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#2
Bracelets are too nice. Imbed GPS and RFID in their brains. Somewhere where it is too hard to remove. Do it before letting them out on bail. Same for releasing the Gitmo pond scum. At the very least say you did this....
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 13:02
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#4
Bracelets are too nice. Imbed GPS and RFID in their brains. Somewhere where it is too hard to remove. Do it before letting them out on bail. Same for releasing the Gitmo pond scum. At the very least say you did this....
3dc - I have the same concern as you do. I think the "bracelet" may be found in place of a flea collar on the family cat, and Adil Charkaoui long gone.
#5
How about underneath the right shoulder blade? Not many would be willing to go digging around there with a knife, if they even realized there was something there.
Rep. Solomon Ortiz has been sounding an alarm since last summer that al-Qaeda might exploit the porousness of the nation's southern border and now the Department of Homeland Security agrees with him. Admiral James Loy, deputy Homeland Security secretary, said in written testimony he gave the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday that "recent information from ongoing investigations, detentions and emerging threat streams strongly suggests that al-Qaeda has considered using the southwestern border to infiltrate the United States."
Loy said that al-Qaeda operatives believe they can pay to get into the country through Mexico and that entering illegally is "more advantageous than legal entry." But Loy also said there's no conclusive evidence that al-Qaeda operatives have entered the country illegally through those methods.
If I was in the homeland security business, a hint would be enough to set me investigating. Conclusive evidence is for courtrooms. Indications and probabilities are for intelligence analysis.
Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, has been urging the federal government to end its practice of releasing non-Mexican immigrants awaiting deportation hearings after they've been arrested for illegally entering the country. The majority of the non-Mexican immigrants released are from Latin American countries. Officials have said that detaining the immigrants would be costly. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement keeps in custody those that have committed crimes or are considered a public threat and on average have about 21,000 people in custody daily nationwide. Cathy Travis, a spokeswoman for Ortiz, said some who are arrested and released are from "countries of interest."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005
11:03:52 AM ||
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Loy also said that the United States is a "harder target" for terrorists and illegal immigrants than in the past because of improvements in security since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
A problem still exists: once past the border by ten miles or so, a border-jumper is home free. Once the government starts sweeping for illegal immigrants in places far away from the border, then we can all start feeling a lot better.
#2
To a certain extent, they do, BaR. Tucson is 60 miles from the border and I see Border Patrol SUVs stopped alongside washes and such all the time up here. Now, if you revised that to 100 miles, I'd go along. I don't see very many in Phoenix.
Authorities said a Texas man told agents at Detroit Metropolitan Airport that he was headed to Syria to try to claim the $25-million bounty on Osama bin Laden.
Syria? Boy, I never would have thought of looking there!
He was arrested on charges of making false statements to federal investigators.
They can't take a joke, but they can arrest the joker
Matt Mihsen, of Sansom Park, boarded a Northwest Airlines flight in Dallas on Tuesday en route to Detroit, the Netherlands and Syria, according to a federal criminal complaint. Customs and Border Protection officers questioned him at the Detroit airport. Mihsen, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Syria, told agents he was on his way to the Middle East to investigate the illegal sale of uranium by extremists.
So, he's Syrian living in Texas, not a native Texan.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
1:08:54 PM ||
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#1
OK, this guy was funding his own anti-Jihad expedition and on his way to Syria. From the details we have been given, I fail to see the big issue. At worst he gets his neck cut in Bekaa, and at best he collects the bounty or locates some of Sadam's lost WMD. =)
Posted by: Mac Suirtain ||
02/18/2005 14:33
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#2
My take is either he's a nut or perhaps a not-to-bright syrian want-a-be jihadi. Better he's off the street either way. If he made it to Syria, he could have been kidnapped and made out to be a CIA agent.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 15:59
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#3
Yeah, those stun guns don't work too good without the ammunition...
This is the greatest thing EVER. Edited for violence
WHEN 35 Greenpeace protesters stormed the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) yesterday they had planned the operation in great detail.
#1
I wish I would have been there to see this. They got more than that coming. I am surprised one of these morons hasn't been shot yet trying to board a vessel coming into port.
#3
Minute by minute, these traders have tens of thousands of dollars on the line - in terms of potential gains or losses. I'm surprised some of the protestors weren't lynched.
Edited for UNHCR spin Shiites and Kurds, already poised to dominate Iraq's parliament after the January 30 election, also notched up crucial wins in the provincial polls held the same day.
Lists presented by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq triumphed in eight out of 18 provinces, mainly in the Shiite-dominated southern and central regions, according to official results released Thursday,
"We obtained a majority in five provinces, including Baghdad, in the Council's name alone and in three other provinces where we had alliances," said SCIRI official Reda Jawad Takki.
"Two-and-a-half million Iraqis voted for the Council," he said, out of just over eight million voters.
The two main Kurdish parties, who took second place in parliament with 75 seats, claimed victory in the three Kurdish provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah. But they also won in the provinces of Tamim and Nineveh, upsetting the balance and possibly leading to further tensions in the ethnic tinderbox of northern Iraq. UN doesn't like uppity Kurds voting. Sets a bad example.
The alliance of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Democratic Party obtained 58 percent of votes in Tamim, home to the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk. Kurds claim Kirkuk as the capital of their region after it was heavily Arabised under Saddam Hussein.
With their absolute majority, the Kurds will be able to take decisions at the provincial level without needing to consult fellow Arab and Turkmen council members, raising fears of possible armed confrontation. "The situation has reached boiling point for Arabs, because they've been patient for a long time," said the leader of the Arab Gathering, Ghassan Mezher al-Assi, apparently referring to Kurdish moves to retake power in the area since the US-led invasion almost two years ago.
Nineveh has traditionally been controlled by Sunni Arabs, although it is also home to several Kurdish areas. It also contains Mosul, which means the Kurds now control the city politically. They already control half of it militarily. This is one of the big ignored stories in Iraq. See previous story. Kurdish parties do not hide the fact that they would like those areas to be part of their autonomous region. But I am sure they would settle for the whole province.
Sunnis, who largely boycotted the vote, won only two provinces: the rebel heartland of Al-Anbar west of Baghdad and Salaheddin, where Saddam's hometown of Tikrit is found, north of the capital.
Posted by: phil_b ||
02/18/2005
1:02:44 AM ||
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With their absolute majority, the Kurds will be able to take decisions at the provincial level without needing to consult fellow Arab and Turkmen council members, raising fears of possible armed confrontation. "The situation has reached boiling point for Arabs, because theyâve been patient for a long time," said the leader of the Arab Gathering, Ghassan Mezher al-Assi, apparently referring to Kurdish moves to retake power in the area since the US-led invasion almost two years ago.
It's easy for the Arabs to be patient while they're top dog, with everyone else a Dhimmini. The whole world is peachy keen, then. But let the NATURAL MAJORITY arise, exercise their rights, and put the Arabs into a position to have to EARN, rather than TAKE, what they want, and "arab patience" suddenly gets thin.
The apostle Paul said that it is not a virtue or a credit to be patient while suffering the punishment one deserves for ones crimes. If there has been anyone who's been patient, it has been the Shias and, to a lesser extent, the Kurds. The existance of Kurdish terrorist groups who attacked Turkish civilians instead of battling Saddam directly is a taint on their history. I know of no Iraqui Shia insurgency groups (plenty of Iranian shia terrorist groups).
Condi or her male assistant should visit Sistani and tell him we're going to stop Iranian nuke aspirations, but not invade the country. Tell him we'll back up any domestic revolution in Iran that he endorses, up to and including air and logistical support, if the Iranian people and the regular army provide the boots to fight the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (AKA neo-brownshirts/neo-Nazi SS). This may be tough, since the Shiites believe that the son follows the father, and so are convinced that Dubya will let the Iranians hang out to dry like his dad did to them when THEY revolted against Saddam.
He outranks every Iranian Mullah by Shiite religious standards, and EVERYONE knows it. one word from him, and the balloon goes up.
I am aware of rantburgers who are very skeptical of religious leaders with political influence. Sistani's behavior has been, up until now, exemplary and supportive. Sure, sure, occasionally he'll say something that sets y'all a-howling, but ignore what he SAYS and watch what he DOES ("Deeds, not words"-Ronald Reagan). Leave the belief in "well laid, well hidden, secret, and nefarious agendas, plans, and conspiracies" held by those you disagree with to the moonbats and the tin-foil-hat crowd.
#2
Ptah, I agree with you're assesment of Sistani so far. He left Fallujah thereby giving tacit approval to the U.S. to eliminate Al Sadr. He didn't say much at all but his actions spoke volumnes.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/18/2005 12:46
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American Ingenuity at it's finest...
BOISE, Idaho (Reuters) - A strip club in Boise, Idaho has found an artful way to prance past a city law that prohibits full nudity. On what it calls Art Club Nights, the Erotic City strip club charges customers $15 for a sketch pad, pencil, and a chance to see completely naked women dancers. In 2001 the Boise City Council passed an ordinance banning total nudity in public unless it had "serious artistic merit" -- an exemption meant to apply to plays, dance performances and art classes. Warning! Loophole! Warning! Loophole!
"We have a lot of people drawing some very good pictures," said Erotic City owner Chris Teague, who has posted many of the drawings around the club. Oh, I'll bet...
Teague said he got the idea when a customer asked if he could get in for free to sketch the dancers. Realizing that "art classes" were exempt from the law, Teague decided to bill Mondays and Tuesdays as art nights, and let the dancers go without their G-strings and pasties. You can almost see the lightbulb go off above his head.
In the two months since they began, Art Club Nights have drawn full crowds of 60 people but no police citations, he said. Step right up! Step right up and see the Amazing Artistic Strippers! 15 Bucks for the best show in Boise! Step right up!
Posted by: tu3031 ||
02/18/2005
10:21:12 AM ||
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"Is that a pencil in your hand, or are you happy to see me?"
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/18/2005 15:01
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#6
I have to admit, that is pretty artful.
It makes me think back on a sculpting class in college. With each reference glance up at the nude model, I noticed the legs were looking more and more mottled. Suddenly, the girl fell off the platform and hit the concrete floor like a piece of timber. She apparently had a hypoglycemic moment and passed out. I'll never forget that sound...
In this case, who needs hypoglycemia? The strippers could always just pass out from liquor...
#8
what is TOTAL NUDITY? What is a public area?
What is the age requirement? Highschool freshman
have art classes. Seems a bit unconstitutional??
Are the "art classes" direct at men......are there any male models/nudity?
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Monet ||
02/18/2005 18:46
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#9
So, did the customer who came up with the bright idea of sketching the nude dancers get a free life time pass?
A Greek church charity has sent boxes of "inappropriate" aid to tsunami victims in Sri Lanka, including fur coats, thongs and carnival wigs, an aid organisation said. The aid, more than 600 tonnes, was collected in Greece by the Orthodox Church's charity organisation Solidarity and shipped to Sri Lanka using a cruise ship. The operation was coordinated by the Greek Foreign Ministry. "We had a staff of eight on the ship travelling to Sri Lanka. When they arrived and started opening boxes containing the aid they were shocked and angered," said Elli Xenou, Doctors of the World director of foreign missions.
"There were boxes containing fur coats, carnival wigs and underwear thongs which were completely inappropriate," she said. Dimitris Fourlemadis, solidarity director, said there could have been some boxes containing suspect clothing but said the figure was very small. "We sent 26,919 packages. Even if there were two, 10 or 100 boxes with some other stuff inside, it is a very small number and not worth mentioning," he said. The Foreign Ministry said it was investigating the issue, which has caused outrage in Greek media.
Posted by: tipper ||
02/18/2005
10:06:56 AM ||
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#1
I would expect this from Belgians. Greeks? Aris, any explanation?
#4
Sobiesky> *shrug* What explanation can there exist for stupidity? I assume some people gave things not pausing to think if they'd actually be useful to the victims. Or perhaps they gave things thinking they'd be sold and the proceeds go to the tsunami victims. Or whatever. Not particularly interesting. At some point someone in the whole process acted stupidly and wasn't checked by anyone else.
#6
I think they should ship the wigs off to the American Cancer Society, where cancer victim's
wait patiently for a wig, as they tend to be costly and those on financial disability income cannot afford a wig. Or send to the organization in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida that takes hair clippin's and makes wigs for the needy. I think the charity is called LOCKS FOR LOVE in LOS OLAS.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea ||
02/18/2005 19:33
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#7
I think they should ship the wigs off to the American Cancer Society, where cancer victim's
wait patiently for a wig, as they tend to be costly and those on financial disability income cannot afford a wig. Or send to the organization in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida that takes hair clippin's and makes wigs for the needy. I think the charity is called LOCKS FOR LOVE in LOS OLAS.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea ||
02/18/2005 19:39
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#8
Located right next door to the Elbow Room I believe.
The topic of countless bad science fiction movies, rogue nations getting and using nuclear weapons, moves from an ongoing nightmare of US and allied national security advisers, and closer to reality. Two nations are now under increased scrutiny for their alleged attempts to get atomic bombs. Recently, in Paris, an Iranian exile group -- the National Council of Resistance of Iran -- accused Tehran of using smuggled materials to conduct a secret program to develop a neutron initiator "nuclear trigger" using smuggled materials. Such a trigger would be used to detonate a fission bomb.
Most modern nuclear weapons use a neutron pulse tube, which accelerates tiny amounts of Tritium or Deuterium into each other, producing a reaction which then yields neutrons. The electronic pulse can be exactly controlled to nansecond or smaller accuracy to initiate the chain reaction. Polonium-Beryllium initiators were used in early weapons, and a third world bomb built from scratch is likely to use the same technology if such a country can manufacture it. In such a bomb, the limiting factor is the half-life of Polonium-210, which is about 140 days, meaning that the shelf life of such a bomb is about two years. A fission bomb can be detonated without such a trigger if enough of the nuclear material is quickly put close enough together. However, for such a bomb to work without a nuclear trigger, extremely precise manufacturing and precise control of the high explosive used to compress the radioactive material together is required. Such manufacturing finesse is said to be beyond the capability of most third world countries. Thus, countries with less sophisticated capabilities who want nuclear weapons must obtain suitable triggers.
The Iranian allegations made by the National Council of Resistance of Iran were met with some doubt since the group has a checkered record of reporting accurately some of the goings-on within Iran. However, Iran's repeated refusal to seriously negotiate with the West regarding abandoning a nuclear weapons program gives added credence to the group's claims and the International Atomic Energy Agency responded cautiously, noting that the Tehran Research Reactor may be in use through a dummy company to combine polonium-210 and beryllium to create a nuclear trigger.
This news comes upon the heels of word that North Korea has announced that it is again cutting food rations, refused to deny that it has purchased at least one nuclear weapon from abroad, and said it is rejoining multilateral talks aimed at preventing itself from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005
10:01:36 AM ||
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I have no doubt that North Korea and Iran are capable of doing the same precise machining that the U.S. did 60 years ago in 1945.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 20:06
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#2
China is more than happy to provide the machine tools needed to to the work.
#3
I can assure you that the Iranian students in my graduate mechanical engineering class 25 years ago are quite capable of building the machine tools from scratch if necessary.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 21:11
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The Left > "NO WMDS IN IRAN/SYRIA/NORTH KOREA.............@", ergo Iran doesn't have nuclear triggers, as honest injun as the Geneva Convention regarding to uniformed POWS formally applies to a Left-alleged, Civilian-only anti-US Iraqi insurgency and "freedom fighters", where American milfors must appease the insurgents but the insurgents can kill and behead all they want -you know, AMERICA-SPECIFIC OR PRO-AMERICA
"PATRIOTISM" BY THE US LEFT!? And just because Iran and Syria and NK and ... are planning and want their army units to disguise themselves and engage in nation-wide "people's/guerilla war" ags any US invasion doesn't mean they are mil servicemembers whom are also civilians - GOTTA BE NICE FOR ENEMY MILFORS TO BE PROTECTED BY GENEVA, LEFT-DEMANDED INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS OF US LAWS FOR CIVILIAN INSURGENTS, AND THE UNO! Radical Islam attacks the USA and US interests in the overt name of God and covert name of Global Socialism and Communism, while Russia-China work to contain the US mil counter-response via massive global weapons and miltech proliferation -are Communist Fascists = Fascist Communists, espec iff one wears a turban/burqua!? The Clintons and the Commies are as trustworthy and innocent as Mom, Grandma, and Betty Crocker, and Der StalinMarxReich Hillary "I'm just a Girl like Martha" Clinton!?
"Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol to, or other agreement regarding, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, at negotiations in Kyoto in December 1997, or thereafter, which would--
(A) mandate new commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Annex I Parties, unless the protocol or other agreement also mandates new specific scheduled commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for Developing Country Parties within the same compliance period, or
(B) would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States; and
(2) any such protocol or other agreement which would require the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification should be accompanied by a detailed explanation of any legislation or regulatory actions that may be required to implement the protocol or other agreement and should also be accompanied by an analysis of the detailed financial costs and other impacts on the economy of the United States which would be incurred by the implementation of the protocol or other agreement."
#2
Pure hogwash! By definition, capitalism, a human artefact, isn't natural, it's artificial. As far as evolutionary psychology goes, the marxists invented it with Vygotsky.
#1
Kudos to VDH for using equating the enemy with Fascism. I wish the term "Islamofascism" had more currency.
Disengage from the Saud terrorist entity? I support re-patriation of the Anglo-American oil fields, and occupation until Islamofascism is deprogramed from captive minds. And I would make Mecca and Medina about as inhabitable as the Moon. And any Muslimutt who protested would be deemed as a target. SAY DOOM!
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 18:06
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#8
LOON!
jeez...I can't even enjoy myself playing with the chew toy....pathetic is right
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 18:11
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#9
Fred:
Who posted the substance, and who posted the noise here? This is a news blog. Please put a one posted-article a day quota. That would lead the sk8r boys to brain-food.
#2
Methinks the Korean troop withdrawal concentrated Japanese minds. They're finally starting to figure out that if they don't step up to the plate, Uncle Sam might just walk away from it all. I, for one, am tired of these East Asian dirtbags trying to portray this as a dispute between Uncle Sam and China. If they don't start showing that they're on our side (in terms of trying to contain China's territorial acquisitiveness), maybe Uncle Sam should stand aside when China starts making its land grabs at their expense. Until the East Asian countries show us that they're going to help us out in a conflict with China over Taiwan - as far as I'm concerned, they can go f*** themselves.
#3
well theres Japan sharing our commitment to Taiwan. Taiwan is presumably commited to Taiwan. South Korea doesnt have much force to spare - in the event of a straights war theyd keep their military at home, in case the Nkors took advantage. That doesnt leave any other east asians, unless youre talking about the Southeast Asians, somewhat farther away and with different political and strategic issues.
#4
LH: That doesnt leave any other east asians, unless youre talking about the Southeast Asians, somewhat farther away and with different political and strategic issues.
Correctomundo. Southeast Asia is actually the weak link in the equation. Ex-China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan are the strongest (and the wealthiest) powers in East Asia. Southeast Asia is a totally different story.
Going back to Northeast Asia, Japan just said something. We need to hear much more specific language about assistance to the US. As to Korea, it's not a question of them being tied up - it's a question of allowing US forces based in Korea to be redeployed for the defense of Taiwan - something that they've indicated they're not inclined to do. As to Taiwan being committed to Taiwan, it's not exactly clear that this is the case, Taiwan's tardiness in buying the latest weapons seems to indicate that they are counting on Uncle Sam to do all the fighting in any Chinese invasion. Thanks, but no thanks.
#5
SE asians - I dont think the Indons,Malaysians or Singaporeans feel directly threatened by the PRC, and the latter two have been on their asian model kick for a while, while the former is wrestling with Salafists and seperatists at home. PI, they are the closest, have their own war with linked Salafists-seperatists, and are too weak to matter to Taiwan, and have for historical reasons a huge allergy to US bases. VN has no love for PRC, but I dont see what help they could be. I have no idea Thailands view on this.
#6
Taiwan's tardiness in buying the latest weapons seems to indicate that they are counting on Uncle Sam to do all the fighting in any Chinese invasion
ZF, Taiwan would love to buy the latest weapons from the US. The problem has always been State and the US Congress not permitting the sale of the best equipment. If the US were to offer Taiwan an Aegis destroyer or two, the response would be "Is cash OK or do you want gold?" The restrictions on weapons and weapons technology sales to Taiwan date back to the 60s.
Pakistan and Malaysia on Thursday denounced those who committed terrorism in the name of Islam with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Badawi, saying that Islam was a religion of peace and tolerance. The two leaders were speaking at a ceremony to confer an honorary Doctorate of Law degree to the visiting Malaysian prime minister by the Islamic International University. "Misconceptions about Islam and its values are gaining ground. A handful of people are propagating the idea of a clash of civilisations to widen the gap between Islam and the West," Mr Aziz in his speech.
Mr Badawi told the participants, "Terrorists should be singled out by their terrorist acts because those who commit crimes in the name of Islam are violating the tenets of Islam." He said Islam and Muslim countries should not be held accountable for those terrorists. "Muslims have to clear the confusion created by people who carry out heinous acts and call them a religious obligation," Mr Badawi added. He said ending the false association of Islam and Muslims with terrorism was not enough. "We should do our utmost to eliminate terrorism itself," Mr Badawi added.
He said Muslims should resolve their own problems and "a good starting point will to eradicate extremism, radicalism and sectarian violence." Mr Badawi said the other side should also remove Islamophobia from their minds and the world should also take a stand to stop actions which directly or indirectly promoted injustice, oppression or aggression against Muslims. He called for defining jihad in its true application. "Islamic scholars define jihad in terms of sustained efforts to discipline one's 'self' in obedience to Allah," the Malaysian leader said. Mr Aziz said Muslim leaders should remove fallacies about Islam and enlighten the world about its true values.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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such taquiyya for the kufr--if it wasn't for the sword of islam and jihad these guys would be worshipping buhdda and kali
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
02/18/2005 0:34
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#2
"The first time,"
Sorry, used my quota for the day...
Posted by: Roberta Flack ||
02/18/2005 14:03
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...Children's dance displays, synchronised swimming, fireworks and Kim's personal touch - flower shows featuring the Kimjongilia, a form of magnolia specially bred to bloom early in his honour - marked the 63 years of North Korea's "Dear Leader".
An army dance ensemble performed a concert featuring numbers such as General on a Galloping White Horse and a female solo, I Do Not Know a Warmer Bosom.
Pyongyang's central square "turned into rising waves of dances when the participants presented more enthusiastic dances, waving the flags of the supreme commander", said the official Korean Central News Agency.
"The Korean people unanimously revere leader Kim Jong-il as a brilliant commander," it added. The KCNA's clear assertion that Kim's personality cult is alive and well will come as a blow to those opponents who had hoped from recent leaks from inside the reclusive country that his power was heading for collapse...
Since losing its main backer, the Soviet Union, at the beginning of the 1990s, North Korea has suffered a famine in which at least a million people are thought to have died, industrial collapse, power shortages and now rampant inflation as tentative economic reforms are tried out...
"The day is an auspicious holiday for progressive people all over the world," said the KCNA.
Posted by: Pappy ||
02/18/2005
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"...An army dance ensemble performed a concert featuring numbers such as General on a Galloping White Horse and a female solo, I Do Not Know a Warmer Bosom."
...Ya know, I was going to call this 'creepy' - but 'creepy' would have been an improvement.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/18/2005 7:47
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#3
Everybody loves a parade -- especially if they'll be sent to a gulag for not participating.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 9:29
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#4
...Childrenâs dance displays, synchronised swimming, fireworks and Kimâs personal touch - flower shows
Presumably the flowers double as half-time snacks.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/18/2005 9:29
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#5
Couldn't find those exact songs, but, there is this site with MIDIs:
North Korean MIDIs including ones close to the "spirit", however Cognac induced to the birthday offerings, one dealing with "The (Little) General" and the other dealing with horses...:
#9
Fiber, yes, but the other parts are wheat flour and salt -- both key components in a starvation diet. And, NorK just announced another ration reduction.
#10
"Hello, Mr. Kim, this is George W. Bush. I hear it's your birthday, and I know how much you like nuclear weapons, so I got one for you. . . . Yeah, it's one of them new bunker-busters. . . . I'm having it delivered right to your front door. . . ."
Posted by: Mike ||
02/18/2005 19:56
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#11
Serve any "long pigs/cows" ala SOLYENT GREEN, or is the good stuff reserved, as usual, for the Norkies fav national predator!? Socialist and Commie Utopia > happiness is a PC well-regulated slave who doesn't know or believe he's a slave - his wine, wealth, lands, identity, women and pet dog, each any and all, jointly andor severally, belongs to the State, and second to the Red Army, even his kimchee!
#12
The Korean peoples fought hard to protect themselves from the Ming, Mongols, Manchus, and invading Japanese samurai armies under Hideoyoshi-Ieyasu, ...etc only to end up in the Cold War with Commies who proclaim Korean unity and sovereignty but covertly take orders from Moscow and Beijing, AND STILL DO EVEN AS THEY AND THEIR CHILDREN STARVE UNTO SELF-OBLIVION.
#13
The North Korean common people have been digging up the recently dead, and killing the recently born, because there is nothing else for them to eat. The new announcement that the food ration will be cut again will just aggravate that particular behaviour. One way or another, the situation there needs to be fixed very soon.
At least four people were killed and 40 injured when a bomb exploded in the Thai tourist town of Sungai Kolok, bordering Malaysia, police said. The bomb exploded in Sungai Kolok shortly after Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra left the restive region after a visit to discuss security with Muslim leaders. "There are more than 40 people injured, three of them in operation rooms now. There are four people killed," a medical official in the town said. Police said the bomb exploded behind a hotel on a street boasting a strip of bars and nightclubs.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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A new Palestinian cabinet led by current prime minister Ahmed Qorei will be presented to parliament for approval on Monday, the deputy speaker of legislative council said on Thursday. "A session of the legislative council will be convened on Monday at 11:00 am (0900 GMT)," Hassan Khreisheh said. A statement from Qorei's office also said the prime minister had sent a letter on Thursday to parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh asking him to convene a special session next week to present the composition of a new government and obtain the approval of MPs.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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I love watching cargo cult democracy in action, don't you?
President Mohammad Khatami, whose country is in the US firing line over its nuclear activities, voiced Iran's support yesterday for Syria and anti-Israeli groups. "We respect the Syrians who are in the front-line in the fight against the Zionist regime and we salute their legitimate struggle to recover their occupied lands," he said after talks with visiting Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Al-Otari. "We support the resistance in Lebanon and all those fighting the (Israeli) occupation," he was quoted as saying.
Otari on Wednesday said Iran and Syria should form a "united front" against threats from abroad, in an apparent reference to the intense US pressure against both regimes. Earlier meeting the Syrian prime minister Khatami said Iran doesn't want tensions in the Middle East. "Iran supports peace and wants no tension in the Middle East as creating another crisis in this region would just waste energy which could be better used for working toward a just peace," Khatami was quoted by the students' news agency ISNA as saying. Khatami was referring to the harsh rhetoric of the United
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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âWe support the resistance in Lebanon and all those fighting the occupation,â
#3
Well, anything that might threaten M.E. stability is bad. It's the #1 concern of Persian and Arab regimes alike. They call for it, fuss over it, virtually swoon in favor of it. Except for the "legitimate armed struggle" stuff, of course. That's okay. So are missiles that can reach Europe and nuke warheads, though they're not developing any. It's all part of, um, preparing for the day in 2297 when the oil runs low and they'll need nuke-powered electricity and the ability to swat really big flies. In Berlin.
#6
I am so sick of this "legitimate struggle to recover their occupied lands" crap. Syria was an aggressor in a war. Syria lost those lands. Syria lost the war. Case closed. Want to talk about "occupied lands"? Then talk about Syrian troops in Lebanon.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 9:24
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#7
Everything outside of Arabia is occupied lands by Arabs. The invaded and occupied Egypt with its Coptic Christian people, Syria with its Monophysite Christian people, Persia with its Zoroastrian people...
A bomb blast killed one person and wounded six in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday in what appeared to be a failed attack on an African Union (AU) peacekeeping delegation, witnesses and officials said. The explosion went off outside the former ministry of foreign affairs minutes after a visiting AU fact-finding team passed by on its way to a nearby airstrip, witnesses said. "This was a clear attempted attack on the AU delegation," a senior Somali official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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Washington is using satellites to spy on Iran's nuclear sites, Iran's Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "We believe the United States has been spying against Iran for some time using satellites and other tools," he was quoted as saying on the official IRNA news agency, when asked about U.S. denials that it was using drones over Iran.
Yunesi denied allegations by Washington that Tehran was secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear activities are for generating electricity. "Our nuclear and military activities are transparent. We have nothing to hide," he said. The Washington Post, citing information from unnamed U.S. officials, reported this week that the United States had been flying drones into Iran for the past year looking for evidence of nuclear weapons programmes. The pilotless planes flew into Iran from U.S. military bases in Iraq and used radar, photography and air filters to detect signs of nuclear activity, the newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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#2
We better damn well be doing it, or we would be negligent in our duty.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/18/2005 0:06
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#3
Well if Iran would prefer the spying to be more overt, there's still a couple of operational SR-71s around. And there's not a hell of a lot they can do about either method.
#4
Actually we are and have been for 20 years. Just recently we have started using the Jooo mind probe and top secret Zionist thought traps on all the Iranian "Holy men."
#5
Zionist mind rays--very powerful weapon. One Paleo explains his turning against all things Paleostinian just by that--Zionist mind rays. Upon further prying about details, he responded: "I saw the light--so it works, doesn't it?"
#7
Of course we are actually spying on them from tunnels we have dug deep in the bedrock under all their nuclear installations. If they dig just under the foundations of the reactors they should find our tunnels....
#11
yeah strange we all know US gov bought rec sats to spy hot babes in pools...
Posted by: z man ||
02/18/2005 1:48
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#12
One day soon, the Zionist Death Ray will be put into action again. Unfortunately, technicians are still trying to get rid of the stench of rotten fish.
#15
In other news, Iranian intelligence has learned that infidel American scientists called "Rite Brothers" have invented a flying machine of some sort and are alleged to be using it for military purposes.
#22
Now you're in deep trouble Sobiesky - you told them about the highly classified orbital mind control lasers! Hey, it's just a joke, nothing to see here, move on, there's no such thing as highly classified orbital mind control lasers. (You're still in trouble Sobiesky)
The Hizbul Mujahideen, a militant outfit fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, is set to reunite with a splinter group that broke away in 2002. "Reconciliation is underway and is expected to end on a positive note," sources told Daily Times. According to the sources, the reconciliation is the product of the efforts of the Azad Kashmir chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami.
On the instructions of Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Sardar Ejaz Afzal, head of the JI in Azad Kashmir, initiated efforts to resolve differences within the ranks of Hizbul Mujahideen, which is headed by Syed Salahuddin. Sources said Afzal's efforts over the last two to three months would likely succeed at the end of this month. Afzal confirmed the report and said JI wanted the "mujahideen" to remain united for the sake of the Kashmiri freedom struggle. "Unity is very important for the Kashmiri movement," he said.
Sources said the Hizbul Mujahideen split in July 2002 when renowned commander Abdul Majid Dar announced a unilateral ceasefire. After Dar was killed in March 2003, the top commanders of his group and the majority of its fighters joined Hizb-e-Islami under Masood Sarfaraz, though some returned to their parent organisation.
This article starring:
ABDUL MAJID DAR
Hizbul Mujahideen
MASUD SARFARAZ
Hizb-e-Islami
QAZI HUSEIN AHMED
Jamaat-e-Islami
SARDAR EJAZ AFZAL
Jamaat-e-Islami
SYED SALAHUDIN
Hizbul Mujahideen
Hizb-e-Islami
Hizbul Mujahideen
Jamaat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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A civilian nuclear fuels reprocessing plant in northwest England cannot account for some 30 kilograms of plutonium, enough for seven or eight nuclear bombs, a newspaper said yesterday. The annual audit of nuclear material at all of Britain's civil nuclear plants is expected to reveal that the quantity of plutonium at Sellafield was classified as "material unaccounted for" last year, The Times said. Figures published by the British Nuclear Group (BNG) each year reveal an audit of nuclear material which is admitted and processed by the various plants around Britain. A spokeswoman at Sellafield said: "This is material that is unaccounted for, and there is always a discrepancy between the physical inventory and the book inventory. There is no suggestion that any material has left the site."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
and there is always a discrepancy between the physical inventory and the book inventory
30 kilos? That's a mighty discrepancy. Some may due to rounding up while measuring--that I would understand. But that should be probably within range of +/- few hundred grams.
#5
SPoD, with this being in Europe, they don't need to be Muslim. "Anti-Zionists" of any stripe will do. Israel's existence is an outrage, afterall.
30 kg... this is a big deal. Somebody can't add, or somebody's been taking home leftovers.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
02/18/2005 9:00
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#6
The plant in South Carolina has lost hundreds of pounds. Rocky Flats in Colorado had about 350 kg MUF. In 1996, the Department of Energy reported 2.8 metric tonnes of plutonium as "inventory differences" or MUF.
Remember, plutonium is dense, so 30 kilos isn't a large pile. Record keeping is the first point of failure. Math can often be the second. The plutonium is not in pure form, it's in with other radioactives. I'd carry pure plutonium in my pocket all day long. It's not that radioactive. The stuff you normally find it with, is. Stealing it would require the ability to handle deadly, highly radioactive substances. It's most likely an inventory error.
The Israelis, it is generally accepted, got much of the material for their nuke program by "acquiring" it from the Savannah River plant.
#13
it's that damn metric system conversion confusion...
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 10:06
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#14
So it would measure no bigger than your hand-or your pocket. Maybe it was stuffed down someone's pants or into their socks-that seems to be happening nowadays with FYEO documents...
Thanks, AzCat. So, seriously, how is plutonium contained when it is handled?
3 sq. in. = 3" x 1" x 1"
so
30 x 3 sq in ~ 4.5" x 4.5" x 4.5"
Pu has a density of like 20,000 kg/m^3, unless it really is early if 30 kg were a 1.75" cube the density would be like 300,000 kg/m^3 but if 30 kg is more like a 4.5" cube it remains closer to 20,000 kg/m^3. :)
But Jules is ahead of both of us: it's pretty small.
#17
The specific gravity of Pu is 19.84, so a cube 10 cm on a side would have a mass of 19.84 kg. A 30 kg cube would be about 11.45 cm on a side, or about 4.5 inches. AzCat is correct.
#24
30 kg is still 66 lbs. Would take more than a few pocket loads to carry.
Posted by: john ||
02/18/2005 11:51
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#25
SPoD, only if the material is all in one place, you are allowed private access, you can get your lead-lined lunchbox into and out of the glovebox without being noticed, and then you can carry out a 30 kg (66 lbs) load plus lead lunchbox (150+ lbs total?) without being noticed by either guards or instruments. Better reinforce that lunchbox handle. Why not just go break into an underground ICBM silo -- you'd have about the same chance!
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 11:54
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#26
I don't care how much is missing, so long as it's not enough to make a critical mass.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/18/2005 11:59
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#29
So, Chuck, what percentage of other radioactives do you usually find the Pu mised with? I'm trying to get a feel for what kind of typos you'd need. (If you've got a ton of some alloy that's 2.3% Pu and you wrote down 3.2% . . .)
Posted by: James ||
02/18/2005 12:14
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#30
Checked the Manhattan Project Heratige site. Fat Man had 13.6 pounds of plutonium, with a yield of 21 kilotons. 13.6/2.2 = 6.2 kilos. so about enough for 5 good sized bombs, give or take a little
Posted by: Weird Al ||
02/18/2005 12:35
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Plutonium is created by neutron irradiation of uranium-238. It would be found in association with uranium and uranium decay products.
This plutonium began as part of nuclear fuel rods. The near aproximate amount of plutonium in each rod can be calculated, since the radiation exposure is known. As the rods are processed, the plutonium would be separated out [I believe]. The article doesn't spell out where the difference was found, but the math efforts above [much applause!] demonstrates that errors are quite possible in the calcs.
#32
I googled for info, found this, which suggests that for best Pu-239 purity you want rods irradidated for a short time. "Very short" they quote as giving 0.9%, so my random numbers weren't that far off. A little stoichiometric error could look pretty dramatic when you try to compare the Pu-239 you actually wound up with to what you thought you'd get.
Beautiful little understatement in the article: "Higher concentrations of Pu-240 can result in pre-detonation of the weapon, significantly reducing yield and reliability."
Posted by: James ||
02/18/2005 14:23
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#33
Metric system is very simple. You take a cube of 10 cm side (around 1/9th of a yard) and you fill it with pure water at 4 degrees Celsius (that is the temperature where water at its heaviest point). That cube will weigh exactly one kg. Plutonium has a densite of 19.8 so a cube of plutonium that size (10 cm) will weigh 19.8 kg and 30 kg of plutonium is a cube of 11.6 cm (1/8 th of a yard). It would fit into the hand of most men and a few women.
Fill with water a cube of, say glass, measuring 10 cm side. The difference in weight between the empty cube and the full one (ie nthe weight of the water) will be one kg.
In fact all the metric system is intertwined: scientists measured the perimeter of the earth divided it 40 million and defined the meter (they were slightly off target since the earth measures around 40,100 km instead of 40,000). A liter (volume unit) is the volume of cube of 1/10th of meter side. A kilogram is the weight of the water who would fit in that cube.
The police has rounded up one of the prime suspects behind the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during his election campaign in Fateh Jang (Attock) in August 2004. A special police team that was investigating the assassination attempt arrested proclaimed offender Mohammad Salman alias Zaheer, son of Mohammad Banaras, from Pindi Saral, a suburb of Fateh Jang. Police also obtained 14 days judicial remand of the accused from the special anti-terrorism court of Judge Safdar Hussain Malik on Thursday.
Strict security measures were adopted when Mohammad Salman was presented before the court. Ch Riaz, the station house officer of Fateh Jang, maintained in his petition that Mohammad Salman was arrested on February 16 and the police wanted his remand. The court allowed 14 days judicial remand of the accused.
This article starring:
MOHAMAD SALMAN
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
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Why have bus service, if not for Jaish to threaten it?
The banned militant organisation Jaish e-Muhammad on Thursday threatened to disrupt a historic new bus service across the military line that divides Kashmir if it led to more "atrocities" by Indian forces in the disputed Himalayan region.
"Them Heathen Hindoos is prone to committing atrocities with buses, y'know!"
"This will weaken the idea of Kashmir uniting with Pakistan. This is a conspiracy by India to weaken jihad," Mufti Abdur Rauf, a spokesman for the outlawed militant group said. "We will see what benefits India wants to get. If it infiltrates spies into Azad Kashmir and there is an increase in atrocities by Indian security forces in the held Kashmir, we will certainly try to stop it," he said. "It is tantamount to betraying the blood of the mujahideen of Kashmir." The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced the start of the service from April 7 the most concrete outcome yet from a year of peace talks, raising hopes for a permanent rapprochement between the two countries.
This article starring:
MUFTI ABDUR RAUF
Jaish e-Muhammad
Jaish e-Muhammad
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005
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#1
Buses. Jehadis everywhere hate 'em. Paging Dr Freud, Dr Jung, Dr Spock.
#4
If I was the Indians I would be worried about exctly the same thing. Any time you allow traffic with the jihadi's then you are inviting suicide bombers.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/18/2005 7:48
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#5
To the MOON, Jaish!
Posted by: Ralph Al-Kramden ||
02/18/2005 9:57
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#6
I'm feeling less guilty every day wishing Pakland would just CEASE EXISTING
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 10:09
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Warring parties in Sudan's Darfur agreed yesterday to revive stalled peace talks, after the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged firm action to end a conflict he described as near hell on earth. A mediator at talks between rebels and Sudanese government officials in Chad's capital N'Djamena said the two sides had agreed to respect an oft-violated cease-fire and restart full peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
The declaration came after Annan urged the UN Security Council to take immediate steps to stop the Darfur war, which has killed at least 70,000 people and displaced 2 million. "The Abuja process is thus relaunched as both sides have made firm commitments," the Chadian mediator, who declined to be named, said at the talks. The agreement was reached between Sudanese government officials and Darfur's two main rebel groups - the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, current chair of the 53-member African Union, said on Wednesday he hoped peace talks would start again in Abuja at the end of February. "Darfur's people are living in hell," Chad's President Idriss Deby told the talks, also attended by international mediators and AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has claimed that it had foiled a "possible terrorist plot" to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York by arresting a suspected Al Qaeda activist and busting a terrorist network in America. Robert S Mueller, director of the FBI, told the Senate Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday that Yassin Muhiddin Aref, connected to the Pakistani diplomats' assassination plot, was arrested in New York on money laundering charges.
In 2004, the FBI learned that Al Qaeda and related terrorist groups had conducted detailed surveillance of financial targets in New York, Washington DC and New Jersey. In response to this threat, with the coordination of the Department of Homeland Security, the threat level was raised for the referenced cities and "we mobilised a large contingent of analysts and agents to review the massive amount of information connected with the attack planning, and to uncover any additional information that would give the FBI insight into the plot," Mueller added. Previously, in the spring of 2004, Britain had arrested a group of terrorists who were plotting an imminent attack inside the UK. In response, the FBI immediately formed a task force to determine if there was a US nexus to the plot or if any of the British subjects had links to individuals in the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
I think we forget how much the lack of terracts in the US and UK in the last 3 years is due to preemptive LE action.
The family of Rafiq al-Hariri has called on the Arab and international community to back a UN Security Council demand for an investigation into the slaying of the former prime minister. "We pledge that the blood of Rafiq Hariri and his comrades will not have been shed in vain and we will not spare any effort to unmask those who ordered this crime, no matter their position," a family statement said on Thursday. Al-Hariri and 17 others were killed in a massive explosion on Monday that officials said could have been caused by a car bomb. "We call on the Arab and the international communities to implement the declaration of the president of the Security Council ... to identify and punish the culprits within a short and reasonable time," the family said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The Lebanese judiciary announced Wednesday it was requesting the assistance of Swiss experts to probe the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, judicial sources said. Military Tribunal chief investigating magistrate Rashid Mezher is seeking the help of experts specialized in explosives and DNA, upon the request of Lebanon's military prosecutor Jean Fahd. Mezher said the expenses of the foreign team would be carried by the Lebanese government, adding that the experts would start their mission only after being sworn in by the Military Tribunal. The announcement came after repeated calls from the French government, subsequently backed by the United States, for an international investigation into Hariri's murder. The calls were rebuffed by Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh Tuesday, although the minister had not ruled out seeking assistance from experts from a neutral country. But speaking earlier, president Lahoud conceded he was considering allowing international help "if Lebanon needed it".
Posted by: Fred ||
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Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi yesterday said his country was not going to hand over an alleged deputy of Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to anyone as investigations were still in progress. "No, there is no move to hand him over to anybody and he is still detained by us," Badawi told a press conference in Islamabad when asked if Buhary Syed Abu Tahir was being handed over to the United States. Tahir has been named by US President George W. Bush as "deputy" to Khan in an international nuclear trafficking ring.
"Our... intelligence people like to speak and continue to talk to him. Obviously, there are lot of things we would like to know from him," Badawi said. Tahir told Malaysian police last year that Khan sold nuclear centrifuge parts to Iran in the mid-1990s and sent enriched uranium to Libya in 2001. Khan, a disgraced one-time national hero credited with making Pakistan a nuclear power, confessed in February 2004 to leaking nuclear secrets. He was later pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Fred:
Jeff Ooi is reporting religious cop shenanigans in Malaysia. When the Chinese and Hindus formed the majority, the backward Malays didn't dare make a move against the Chinese. China didn't intervene when Indonesian Islamonazis butchered 500,000 ethnic Chinese (starting with those who held debts over Indos). They might make a move if the Malays get uppity. And nobody would give a damn.
http://www.jeffooi.com/
#2
IToldYouSo: China didn't intervene when Indonesian Islamonazis butchered 500,000 ethnic Chinese (starting with those who held debts over Indos). They might make a move if the Malays get uppity.
Same kind of thing happened in China after the "Liberation" - only the victims in China had surrendered. China does not have the military power to do anything in Malaysia. More to the point, the Pacific Command will prevent China from trying to realize its ancient goal of "recovering" Nanyang (i.e. Southeast Asia) for the Chinese empire. The Chinese will not get a pass on trying to re-enact a version the German seizure of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland - in Malaysia. Their efforts to do so by backing ethnic Chinese-led Communist guerrillas in the region failed - their second try will have no more success.
#5
I agree with Zhang Fei, China is unlikely to make any move.
Jeff Ooi may be doing some good in exposing the Malaysia local going-ons and often makes entertaining reading but Rantburger should know that he is very anti-Bush like any raving US LLL. Way overdone.
#6
Jeff Ooi, referring to the Secret Service's investigation of a blogger for suggesting that someone should kill GWB: It makes (Nazi's) Gestapo and the (Communist China's) People's Red Army pale by comparison.
I guess Jeff Ooi doesn't know that under Moose Dung and Hitler, entire families were put to death for lesser crimes than that of trying to assassinate leadership figures. (Peng Dehuai, one of Mao's closest buddies, and supreme commander of Chinese forces during the Korean War, was beaten to death in a jail cell on Mao's orders - low-ranking nobodies had much worse happen to them). Jeff Ooi is OK for straight news, but his opinions and analyses are way out in cuckooland.
#7
Liberalhawk:
The massacre of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia between 1965-1967, began after local authorities announced alleged activity by a fictitious terror group (Kap Gestapu). Although the central government sent troops into the killing fields, in what one commander said was a "cleansing operation," most of the killings were carried out by means of machete strikes, inflicted by para-militaries. The killers were mostly Islamic militia members, backed by local fatwah authority. The Indonesian government was more interested in killing reformers.
#9
IToldYouSo: The massacre of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia between 1965-1967, began after local authorities announced alleged activity by a fictitious terror group (Kap Gestapu). Although the central government sent troops into the killing fields, in what one commander said was a "cleansing operation," most of the killings were carried out by means of machete strikes, inflicted by para-militaries. The killers were mostly Islamic militia members, backed by local fatwah authority. The Indonesian government was more interested in killing reformers.
Every mention I've read of Kap Gestapu comes from a left-wing website that alleges the complicity of American paymasters. Frankly, this is of a piece with the guys who allege that the recent tsunami was the product of underwater nuclear tests. IToldYouSo needs to stop relying on tainted sources like this.
#4
But speaking for the government, Minister of State Albert Mansour said: "Any political slogan raised in the presence of a dead body has no meaning."
Hey, Mansour, ignore the presence of 10,000 spontaneous voices and the dead body it won't have meaning to will soon be your own.
#5
Sobiesky - If a Project Orion ship flew within a thousand miles of you .. you would know it. It wouldn't be any mamby pamby UFO sighting....
None of that nice touchy feely UFO pablum.
With great minds like Freeman Dyson leading the effort it would have worked.
Little tiny countries like IRAN should look at real projects like this one from the 50's and think twice about their puny little dreams. A flyover by an Orion craft would really really ruin your day... maybe for several hundred thousand years.
If Kennedy had not signed the test ban treaty we could have colonized the solar system with this ship.
#7
Badawi spews platitudes while his predecessor bad mouths. Badawi is actually more pro-islamist than the later. These are the main differences between the two.
The offices of two leading non-governmental organisations in northwest Bangladesh have been attacked with firebombs, injuring six people, police said Thursday, blaming Islamic militants. The assaults on the offices of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Grameen Bank occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, police said. Three grenades were recovered from another BRAC office on Wednesday before they could explode, police said. "We suspect that a group with an Islamic ideological bent hurled the petrol bombs at the two offices," a senior police official in northwestern Rajshahi told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
BRAC, the country's largest NGO, has been at the forefront of the country's fight against poverty. Grameen Bank is known worldwide for its pioneering work giving small loans to the poor to help them set up businesses. The incidents, in three separate districts of Rajshahi, follow a series of unexplained explosions and attacks over the past year on targets including religious shrines, cinemas, academics and opposition rallies. The opposition has accused the government - a four-party Islamist-allied coalition led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party - of supporting fundamentalist groups they claim are involved in the attacks. The government has dismissed the accusation saying it is working hard to track down the culprits.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Grameen Bank is famous for giving loans to women to start their own businesses. Never heard anything bad about them, but then again, allowing a female to be even partially independent of male control is apparently quite un-Islamic.
Two men have been killed and one wounded after foreign fighters battled each other in Pakistan's remote North Waziristan tribal area, security forces say. One of the dead men was of Arab origin and the other was an Uzbek speaker, security officials said of Thursday's incident.
"Your mother sleeps with camels!"
"A curse upon your mustache!"
Paramilitary troops were hunting for the fourth man, who had escaped the fighting and fled to a nearby village, sources said. Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between fighters allegedly linked to al-Qaida and security forces over the past year in neighbouring South Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
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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.
Habeeza had been arrested and charged with theft after stealing a car near the scene of the blast shortly after it occurred, Channel NewsAsia reported.
A London newspaper says the head of the United Nations refused legal action against an aide who engaged in "unwanted physical contact" with a colleague. The Independent obtained a confidential internal report into claims by a woman that 
Geffen, who was a generous supporter and pal of Bill Clinton when he was president, trashed Hillary's prospects last night during a Q&A at the 92nd St. Y in New York City. "She can't win, and she's an incredibly polarizing figure," the billionaire Democrat told his audience. "And ambition is just not a good enough reason." Lloyd Grove reports in fresh editions of the NY DAILY NEWS the audience broke with "hearty applause" over Geffen's comments. 
Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims. 
New allegations have surfaced about misconduct by Malaysia's religious police during a raid on a top Kuala Lumpur nightclub last month. More than 100 plainclothes officers from the 
"The decision to extend President Emile Lahoud's term was taken by the Asad family itself." So said a smart diplomat when we met yesterday to discuss the crisis. "We know that," he said. "Vice President Khaddam and Interior Minister Canaan — Syria's most knowledgeable Lebanon hands who long handled the Lebanon portfolio — recommended against extending Lahoud's term and manipulating the Lebanese constitution as if it were the Syrian constitution. They were over-ruled by the Asad family itself." 
Science Fiction Authors Hoax Vanity Publisher 
More than £2m seized by Irish police has been taken for forensic examination to see if it is linked to the £26m Northern Bank raid in December. Seven people were arrested in Cork and Dublin during a series of raids in which the money was seized, including £60,000 in Northern Bank notes. Seventeen bags of sterling bank notes were removed from a house near Cork under a heavy police guard. It is understood one of those held is a former Sinn Fein representative. Irish police said the raids had been targeting money laundering activities. They are expected to release more details on Friday.
They sever fingers with machetes in the United States and cut off heads in Honduras. U.S. officials worry they'll help al-Qaida sneak in terrorists from Mexico. Central American gangs have spread from the streets of San Salvador to the valleys of Virginia, prompting the FBI to share intelligence and resources with southern neighbors - launching an anti-gang strategy that reaches beyond U.S. borders. FBI officials in Washington are expected to announce the plan as early as next week. It would centralize investigations at FBI headquarters, beef up intelligence and establish a national task force to reduce Central American gang activity in the United States. 
Venezuela is shopping around Citgo, its Houston-based refining arm. And there has been some interest."We have various interested parties in the issue of Citgo," Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said at a Caracas news conference. "We are in conversations with several companies." Ramirez wouldn't divulge names, but Saudi Aramco is in the market to build and buy refineries that can convert crude to valuable products like gasoline and diesel. 
The U.S. arm of a large Saudi charity suspected by the government of supporting terrorism was indicted on fraud and tax charges, federal prosecutors said yesterday. The three-count indictment charges 
This past Monday on All Things Considered, Bob Sommer, whose son recently completed a year's service in Iraq, began his segment: "You would think that the sight of a yellow-ribbon magnet on the back of a car, proclaiming 'Support Our Troops,' would give me a lift, but it doesn't. It just seems so easy to express patriotism by slapping a magnet with a slogan on your car, so glib, so...self-righteous. 
11.02.2005 at 0400 LT in position 10:16N - 064:35W, cement terminal, Pertigalete port, Venezuela. Two unlit boats approached a bulk carrier within 100m. Security guards fired warning shots and boats moved away.
News reports on February 16, 2005, that NASA scientists from Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., have found strong evidence that life may exist on Mars are incorrect.
Two former employees of the Gorilla Foundation, home to Koko the "talking" ape, have filed a lawsuit contending that they were ordered to bond with the 33-year-old female simian by displaying their breasts. 
IRAQI security forces had captured two suspected members of a militant group headed by 
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi later said in a statement faxed to newspapers that the militants were its members and that it was proud of their acts. The group vowed it would carry on attacks against Shiites and warned the government not to be happy about killing two of its men. "Our members were ready to launch suicide attacks and by dying they have provided inspiration to other Lashkar-e-Jhangvi mujahideen and Sunni youth to follow their footsteps," spokesman 
Canadian court Thursday ordered the government to release on bail a Moroccan whom Ottawa suspects of belonging to Al Qaeda, federal officials and CBC television said. The reports said a judge in Montreal had ruled that 
At least four people were killed and 40 injured when a bomb exploded in the Thai tourist town of Sungai Kolok, bordering Malaysia, police said. The bomb exploded in Sungai Kolok shortly after Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra left the restive region after a visit to discuss security with Muslim leaders. "There are more than 40 people injured, three of them in operation rooms now. There are four people killed," a medical official in the town said. Police said the bomb exploded behind a hotel on a street boasting a strip of bars and nightclubs.
A new Palestinian cabinet led by current prime minister Ahmed Qorei will be presented to parliament for approval on Monday, the deputy speaker of legislative council said on Thursday. "A session of the legislative council will be convened on Monday at 11:00 am (0900 GMT)," Hassan Khreisheh said. A statement from Qorei's office also said the prime minister had sent a letter on Thursday to parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh asking him to convene a special session next week to present the composition of a new government and obtain the approval of MPs.
President 
Washington is using satellites to spy on Iran's nuclear sites, Iran's Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "We believe the United States has been spying against Iran for some time using satellites and other tools," he was quoted as saying on the official IRNA news agency, when asked about U.S. denials that it was using drones over Iran. 
The 
Warring parties in Sudan's Darfur agreed yesterday to revive stalled peace talks, after the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged firm action to end a conflict he described as near hell on earth. A mediator at talks between rebels and Sudanese government officials in Chad's capital N'Djamena said the two sides had agreed to respect an oft-violated cease-fire and restart full peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has claimed that it had foiled a "possible terrorist plot" to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York by arresting a suspected Al Qaeda activist and busting a terrorist network in America. Robert S Mueller, director of the FBI, told the Senate Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday that Yassin Muhiddin Aref, connected to the Pakistani diplomats' assassination plot, was arrested in New York on money laundering charges. 
The family of 
The Lebanese judiciary announced Wednesday it was requesting the assistance of Swiss experts to probe the murder of former Prime Minister 
Malaysian Prime Minister 
The offices of two leading non-governmental organisations in northwest Bangladesh have been attacked with firebombs, injuring six people, police said Thursday, blaming Islamic militants. The assaults on the offices of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Grameen Bank occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, police said. Three grenades were recovered from another BRAC office on Wednesday before they could explode, police said. "We suspect that a group with an Islamic ideological bent hurled the petrol bombs at the two offices," a senior police official in northwestern Rajshahi told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two men have been killed and one wounded after foreign fighters battled each other in Pakistan's remote North Waziristan tribal area, security forces say. One of the dead men was of Arab origin and the other was an Uzbek speaker, security officials said of Thursday's incident. 
