EFL
The family of Osama bin Laden has asked the Saudi monarchy for permission to change its surname. The on-line newspaper Arabian Business reports that "the relatives of the 'sheikh of terror' no longer want to be recognised as belonging to the bin Laden family and have therefore asked to change the surname on their passports." The royal family is thought to have approved the request, according to the newspaper, which it describes it as "unprecedented".
The family itself revealed that it had made the request to journalist John Bradley, who first got to know them while he was editor of the English language Saudi newspaper Arab News and bin Laden's nephews told him how they had left the United States immediately after September 11 on a special flight which took them back to Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom yesterday renewed its condemnation of the terrorist attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh and expressed sympathy with families of the victims. The Cabinet, which met yesterday under Crown Prince Abdullah, sent condolences to the Egyptian government and people and wished a speedy recovery for the injured. Acting Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas told the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet authorized Interior Minister Prince Naif to initiate talks with Iran for the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement that would allow the extradition of suspects and convicted individuals from the two countries. Prince Naif had requested the Council of Ministers to authorize him to initiate talks with the Iranian side to prepare a draft agreement on bilateral security between Saudi Arabia and Iran and submit the final copy to the Cabinet for approval.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Acting Minister of Culture
Like beheadings and camel humpings, that kind of culture?
#2
"bilateral security between Saudi Arabia and Iran"
Oh, baby. So they're definitely paying attention in Riyadh. On the surface this appears to be a Muzzy First⢠move -- not the usual smart Saudi move given the obviously inevitable collision between the Mad Mullahs and US...
So did they just lay their bet on the US blinks square... or will they just abrogate the instant the fur starts flying. Should they be betting right, what do they gain? Should they be wrong, well now, they'll have put themselves on the wrong side of the equation regards the US - and that may make things much easier for us.
There must be some aspect of the internal succession struggle in this equation and Nayef (Saudairi) move. Any of the Magic Kingdom folks have any ideas on this aspect?
Picking this apart and inserting the relevant weighted values should keep some Pentagon and Foggy Bottom people up for a few nights...
Interesting to consider the ramifications and possibilities, no? This is truly global poker.
So what's the take here? Any notions of what the equations look like now? Lol!
Cherie Blair, barrister wife of the British prime minister, lectured on the need to respect human rights in counter-terrorism on Tuesday, four days after UK police shot dead a man mistaken for a bomber. Blair, an expert in human rights law, said in a law lecture in Malaysia that she did not want to make light of this month's horrific bomb blasts in London, and the difficult and dangerous task carried out by British police and intelligence services.
But she added: "At the same time, it is all too easy for us to respond to such terror in a way which undermines commitment to our most deeply held values and convictions and which cheapens our right to call ourselves a civilised nation. "Were it otherwise, it would not have been necessary for the Islamic Human Rights Commission to have reportedly warned London Muslims after the attack to stay at home for fear of reprisals."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 14:30 ||
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And they say John Roberts' wife's activities disqualifies him from being on the Supreme Court? Yeah. Right....
#2
I'm surprised Tony doesn't drink like Churchill, coming home to face that and listen to her harping every day
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/26/2005 15:50 Comments ||
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I think the British people should listen to her -
when they have the exact same level of protection from terrorists and other nutbags that she does.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/26/2005 16:10 Comments ||
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#4
There is a fine French tradition (even if Danielle Mitterrand and to a MUCH lesser degree Bernedette Chirac have vulnerated it) that teh British should imitate: the consort of the President, Minister or politician SHUTS UP: the person who has the right to speak is the one who has been elected by the people. Having f...d with the Chosen One doesn't give you special rights (and in the French protocol, in the absence of the official his/her consort is very low placed in matter of official honors).
BTW: After seeing the photo of Cherie Blair I am strongly impressed by Tony's courage. My blood curls just at the thought of finding myself alone in teh dark with that bansheevampiressghoulish apparition
woman.
#8
"At the same time, it is all too easy for us to respond to such terror in a way which undermines commitment to our most deeply held values and convictions and which cheapens our right to call ourselves a civilised nation."
Acting like a craven suckup in response to mass murder by Muslims will do exactly that, Cherie.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/26/2005 17:30 Comments ||
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Cherie Blair, barrister wife of the British prime minister, lectured on the need to respect human rights in counter-terrorism on Tuesday,..
I seriously doubt that terrorists are having similar thoughts....
#11
"...it is all too easy for us to respond to such terror in a way which undermines commitment to our most deeply held values..."
That much I can agree with, because if we don't start kicking some ass on the domestic front, we are going to sacrifice our values to Islam. Put Cherie in a burka for the duration.
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/26/2005 20:02 Comments ||
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Don't forget she was the solicitor who represented the young lady in her quest to wear dilbab...the young lady's brother was Hizb-ut-Tahrir and was always glowering and threatening from the sidelines...
ince at least Sept. 11, 2001, the non-Muslim world at large has been waiting for that segment of the Muslim population designated as "moderate" to resolutely denounce terrorists who, in defiling its faith-tradition, have subverted Islam into a cult of death.
The expectation there is a large, identifiable segment of "moderate" Muslims is a transposition to the Muslim world of the idea of "moderation" in politics and religion that sustains democracies.
There has been no spontaneous or organized demonstration of Muslims across the Arab-Muslim world, nor in European or North American cities where Muslims reside in increasing numbers, in support of victims of such terror and in unqualified condemnation of extremists who exploit Islam for their criminal purposes.
The truth is there does not exist an identifiable body of Muslims, substantive in number or an outright majority, who could be described as "moderate" by their repudiation of Muslim extremists.
Consequently, what might pass for "moderate" Muslims, the large number of Muslims unaccounted for as to what they think, in practical terms constitute a forest within which extremists are incubated, nurtured, given ideological and material support, and to which they return for sanctuary.
But there are Muslims who, at great risks to themselves, unapologetically condemn the culture of violence Muslims have bred for extremists among them to exploit.
They work alone, or in small groups of like-minded Muslims, despite being maligned and ostracized by fellow Muslims, to dissect and expose Muslim extremism to the world at large while striving against immense difficulties to keep faith in the ideals of Islam.
Their effort, irrespective of any effect in advancing Muslim reformation, remains real, while "moderate" Muslims being nowhere to be found confirm their existence is a myth until proven otherwise.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/26/2005 13:54 ||
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Bugger. Forgot to add back the 'S' at the beginning of the quote.
I'm sure someone will think his last comments, about the Muslims working against the violence, is contrary to my position. It's not. I've always acknowledged the existence of the few.
I just don't think they amount to enough to make a difference.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/26/2005 14:03 Comments ||
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Look, I understand the frustration at the lack of visible support for the war among Moslems living in the West. I also think it fair to ask if mainstream Islam is truly a religion of peace, or just Wahabbism with a veneer of civilization. But let us not forget that there are thousands, if not millions, of Moslem friendlies, some of whom are risking a lot more every day than most of us just to be on our side. We owe those people something a little better than to trash all Moslems categorically--often in the same way that the moonbats trash "the Jews" and "the neocons."
Posted by: Mike ||
07/26/2005 14:24 Comments ||
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#3
One key to understanding is that you can legitimately critique, even to some extent trash, Islam while praising individual moslems.
Repeat this over and over:
Most victims of Islam are moslems.
Most victims of Islam are moslems.
#4
But let us not forget that there are thousands, if not millions, of Moslem friendlies, some of whom are risking a lot more every day than most of us just to be on our side.
Certainly. They're what -- 5%?
How many people showed up for the Free Muslims Against Terror march?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/26/2005 14:40 Comments ||
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Most victims of Islam are moslems.
Most victims of Islam are moslems.
This is what makes the silence of the masses of Muslims so frustrating.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/26/2005 14:49 Comments ||
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#6
Interesting notion, here. He seems to be saying that WE have concocted the existence of a "moderate" muslim middle. And we wait, expectantly, for them to rise up and take back their religion. But they don't. Not after 9/11, 3/11, 7/7. Because there is, in fact, no such thing as the "moderate" muslim group. WE've created the myth.
Sure, there are muslim mouthpieces, who decry the violence (always with a "But you need to understand where it comes from"). ... But 1. these mouthpieces are not furious about the violence, as they should be and 2. they don't seem to speak for their coreligionists.
So I'm really not sure there is a moderate muslim wing -- at least not as we would be "moderates" in the west (think of "the silent majority" who became anything BUT silent, reacting to the status quo vocally and with passion).
There's no evidence they are appalled at all by these events. Perhaps the muslim masses are, in fact, not "moderate" but "secretly-supportive-muslims-who-do-not-blow themselves-up." The idea that they are troubled by violence in their name isn't a factor. Because they're not.
Which means that appealing to them to "take back their religion" is a pointless exercise.
#7
I'll know a "moderate" Moslem when I meet one who openly rejects taqiya, jihad, and sharia -- and who acknowledges Israel's unconditional right to existence.
Whether such a person would still be a Moslem is the question.
#8
This is where the fact that Islam *spit* is an all-encompassing ideology, a prepackaged social and political system, rather than a religious belief system, comes into stark relief and seals its eventual fate, IMHO. Oh, and did I mention it's based upon world dominion and the petty hatreds and personal ticks of a truly dysfunctional merchant from an ancient Moon God worshipping era? My bad.
But I don't have any strong opinions based on experience, of course. I believe in the MSM / Alladin / CAIR version. They're really swell. Just ask anyone who works worked in the WTC. They'll certainly buy into the nuances needed to sustain the storyline.
#9
Damn, I do hope you are wrong .com. I hope the answer to be obvious one way or the other within 10 years, I've got 1 kid that will need to be prepared, one way or the other.
A man claiming to be a friend of two of the suspects from last week's attempted bombings has told Channel 4 News they were devout Muslims who encouraged him to be a more devout Muslim and held meetings in the block of flats now being searched by police. After naming Muktar Mohammed Said and Yassin Hassan Omar, officers are today widening their search for the men and the evidence still further. Police have continued their search of the block this morning. They believe the flat occupied by the two men may have been used as a bomb factory. Five people have so far been arrested, although none of them are thought to be the bombers.
Police have now extended their forensic examination to a wider area around Curtis House in New Southgate, North London, where it's believed two of the suspects lived in a flat on the ninth floor. A fridge has been removed from the flat and a number of other buildings have been sealed off.
One resident says three weeks ago she saw would-be bus bomber Muktar Said Ibrahim, who's believed to be from Eritrea, loading around 50 cardboard boxes into a lift with the help of another man called George who has lived in the flat for some years. Ibrahim told the woman the boxes contained chemicals for stripping wallpaper. The same woman also claims to have seen a Somali or Ethiopian man who was staying at the flat sweeping up a large amount of white powder that had split in the hallway. He may have been Yasin Hassan Omar.
How about that, the home-made explosive "Mother of Satan" is a white powder as well.
Enfield council has confirmed that a man of that name has been a registered tenant at 58 Curtis House, a one bed flat, since February 1999 and that he received housing benefit until this May. Two of the four suspects have not yet been named. The police have released this CCTV image of one on the northern line train he tried to blow up last Thursday. But he, along with the fourth plotter and the two men named yesterday haven't been seen since fleeing the scenes of their failed missions. They're not among the five men being held by police.
The Home Office is continuing to trawl its records for any information they may have about Ibrahim and Omar. And detectives are still trying to trace plastic containers similar to those used by the bombers - only 100 shops in Britain sell the tubs, which are imported from India.
The investigation is all the more urgent because a fifth device found in bushes in West London means a fifth suicide bomber may be on the run.
That's of great concern not only to tube passengers, but also staff who fear being mistaken for a bomber. It has emerged that a tube driver who heard gunshots came out of his cab only to be chased by plain-clothes police and had a gun held to his head.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/26/2005 11:29 ||
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Are Western politicians and intellectuals paying attention? "[the failed bombers] were devout Muslims who encouraged him to be a more devout Muslim"
What are the distinguishing characteristics of a "devout Moslem"? is it related to taqiya, jihad, and sharia? desiring submission to their cult or death for non-Moslems? That's what the source of Islamic truth practiced and taught. I'm now thinking "moderate" Moslems may be ones who informally abandon their religion but would rather not be labelled apostates by "devout Moslems".
How have past death cults been eliminated? Carthage was destroyed after decades of war; one hundred years later the Roman Republic died. Nazis caused WW II and left room to the Soviet Union. Aztecs? other examples? Any good references?
#2
The Thuggees in India were hunted down and killed whenever they popped up. The Brits took no crap back then.
The Mahdi's followers in Sudan were defeated in open combat and skulked away in defeat.
The Islamic nutjobs in the Phillipines were intimidated with pig fat on their dead bodies to deny them entry into heaven.
The Japanese fanatics during WW2 were defeated by bleeding them dry, closing in on them, and then showing that we could kill them all with massive bombs before they could get close enough to kill us.
Those are the only three I can think of. The Thuggees returned in Hollywood (Gunga Din, Temple of Doom) but seem otherwise to remain broken. The Philipino nutjobs have been revived during the current problem. The Japanese became fast friends.
Al-Qaeda terrorism is not on the same par as the IRA, Prime Minister Tony Blair has suggested.
He said IRA political demands or their previous atrocities could not be directly compared to fundamentalists who carried out the 9/11 US attacks.
It was invidious to make comparisons because "terrorism is wrong", he said.
"I don't think you can compare the political demands of republicanism with the political demands of this terrorist ideology we're facing now," he said.
He was speaking at his weekly news conference on Tuesday
No serious person could ever negotiate on the demands of terrorists who have been using suicide bombers to kill people, said the prime minister.
"I don't think the IRA would ever have set about trying to kill 3,000 people," he said.
"In America, it could have been 30,000 instead of 3,000 and they would prefer that. My entire thinking changed from 11 September - the belief that you have a different form of terrorism."
Mr Blair also said he was continuing to work at ending the IRA's ongoing activity.
He vowed not to "give an inch to terrorism" and said Iraq was no excuse for the London bombings.
He acknowledged Iraq was being used to recruit terrorists, but insisted the roots of extremism were much deeper.
He said 11 September 2001 was a wake up call for the international community, but argued some people "then turned over and went back to sleep again".
The prime minister was speaking to reporters after talks about new terror laws with Tory and Lib Dem leaders.
"We are not going to deal with this problem, with the roots as deep as they are, until we confront these people at every single level," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/26/2005 10:13 ||
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Dead civilians are dead civilians, terrorism is terrorism. Popping a couple of civies cause they've seen you at a bank robbery or popping a couple cause they've seen you shove the Algerian ambassador in the back trunk of your car is all the same in my book.
IMMIGRATION officials are urgently checking the records of thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers from East Africa in their search for the bombers.
Bombing, it's not just for Pakistanis
Police believe the men have been living in Britain for some time and were not smuggled into the country just ahead of their attempted suicide attacks. They are believed to have family here as well as links with the the substantial Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian communities living around London. Appeals have been made to East African community leaders in the capital to help police in Britainâs biggest manhunt.
Until now Islamic militants from East Africa have not been heavily involved in terror cells in Western capitals.
North Africans, however...
Intelligence agencies have, however, long suspected that âsleeper cellsâ from the region could be in Britain awaiting their orders.
Scotland Yard is anxious not to antagonise the law-abiding communities but point out that the men could have taken advantage of the regular humanitarian crises and conflicts from their home countries like Somalia and Ethiopia to claim refugee status in the West. Home Office figures show that 45,815 Somalians â minus dependents â applied for asylum in Britain between 1993 and 2004. Of these, 30,875 were given asylum or allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds.
Immigration authorities say 4,635 Ethiopians applied for refugee status of whom 690 were given asylum. Failed asylum-seekers are not sent back to the two countries because of the violence and upheaval there. The Home Office says 6,010 Kenyans applied for asylum, of whom 440 were given asylum or allowed to stay. There are no figures for how many of those refused asylum have been returned home.
Western intelligence agencies have given warning of a new generation of terror camps being set up by Islamic militant groups in the region. The FBI describe the porous borders of East Africa as âthe weakest linkâ in their war on terror. US agents say they have new evidence that militant groups with links to al-Qaeda have set up bases in lawless pockets of Somalia and Ethiopia, and smuggled their trained recruits in an out of Kenya. Islamic militants have been responsible for a succession of attacks in Africa, including the bombing of tourist hotels and embassies. One group, who are still on the run, almost shot down an Israeli charter jet in a rocket attack in Mombasa in 2002.
They have been too quiet, I've been expecting a boom from them for some time.
A team of United Nations investigators, monitoring an arms embargo on Sudan in March, obtained photographic evidence of what they called 17 âmobile training centresâ found in Kenya. They were set up by two militant groups â al-Ittihad al-Islam and al-Takfir Wâal Hijra, which both have close links with some of al-Qaedaâs organisers in this region. The organisers of the new camps are said to be veterans of training camps in Afghanistan.
The UN investigators said that the groups had set up their camps along the Kenyan coastal strip and North Eastern province. Supporters of Osama bin Laden have long used the region as a sanctuary. Terror groups sponsored by al-Qaeda set up bases in 1996 in Lamu and Ras Kiamboni, along the Kenya-Somalia border. They were closed down and the groups moved on after al-Qaeda staged its first major synchronised attack in 1998 when suicide truck bombers drove into the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people. The attacks were directly sanctioned by Osama bin Laden, who allegedly ordered his emissaries in London to announce the attacks. The al-Qaeda leader established his base in Sudan in 1991 and financed terror camps in Somalia for attacks on US servicemen stationed there.
In 2002 a gang of Islamic militants attacked an Israeli hotel in Mombasa, killing 15 people. Hours later members of the same group attempted to blow up the Israeli holiday jet flying tourists home from that same hotel. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, born in the Comores off the African coast, is accused of organising both embassy attacks and the 2002 bombings, but is still a fugitive. Seven Kenyan suspects arrested after the hotel attack were acquitted last month. Airlines, including British Airways, have cancelled flights from Kenya after fears that terror groups would attempt another missile strike against a passenger jet. The US commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, a counter-terrorism force based in Djibouti, gave warning in May that Somalia was a safe haven for East African terrorist cells. The International Crisis Group echoed this is a report two weeks ago.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
It said a new cell with links to al-Qaeda had gained a foothold in the capital, Mogadishu. Intelligence officials say that terror groups also have bases in Somalia at Puntland, Kismayu and Bossassu, while in Ethiopia they operate from Ogadiena and Gedo.
GUIDE TO THE TROUBLE SPOTS
SOMALIA
The East African country, which borders Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, has been riven with violence since it was created from British and Italian colonies in 1960. The country, dominated by Sunni Muslims, is governed by two rival administrations that arm and fund warlords blamed for terrorising local people. Many Somalian asylum-seekers claim to have come from the south of the country that has been a lawless warzone for many years
KENYA
Kenya has remained remarkably stable since independence from Britain in 1963. In December 2002 Kenyans held democratic elections, judged free and fair. However, some Islamist groups have complained that Muslims, who make up 10 per cent of the population, have been unfairly treated by the Kenyan Government
ETHIOPIA
Africaâs oldest independent country, colonised by the Italian fascists between 1936 and 1941, is also one of its poorest. Opposition parties have continually complained of political oppression, widespread corruption and fixed elections since independence. In May allegations of fraud from opposition leaders caused demonstrations in the capital and at least 36 people were killed by the police. The Government continues to dispute its borders with the Eritrean Government, a dispute that sparked a war in 1998
ERITREA
After securing its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the Eritrean Government announced that it would move towards a parliamentary democracy. Instead, it has become a one-party state, according to political observers. In May 2004 Amnesty International called on the Government to stop torture and free all political prisoners and described the oppression of political opponents as âappallingâ. The Human Rights Watch World Report described the country as a âhighly repressive stateâ
Posted by: Steve ||
07/26/2005 08:53 ||
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Search for bombers centres on East Africa connection
EXCUSE ME!
Search forbombersTERRORISTS centres on East Africa connection
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have thought about leaving Britain after the London bombings, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. The figure illustrates how widespread fears are of an anti-Muslim backlash following the July 7 bombings which were carried out by British born suicide bombers. The poll also shows that tens of thousands of Muslims have suffered from increased Islamophobia, with one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks.
"Gosh! That's too bad! We're really gonna miss you! Need any help packing?"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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The UK should pay them to leave. No Muslims; no terror (almost no terror).
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
07/26/2005 1:22 Comments ||
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#2
Sucks to be Muslim in Britain, doesn't it? And I thought for sure my sensitivity training classes would make me feel sorry for your plight...
#4
I have an idea, start mixing pig fat into all the building material we use. I mean everything you can think of. Asphalt concrete, drywall, carpet, all fabrics. It will drive them batty. Perhaps that will return to the places of their origins. Sorry to our friends that need things kosher. I am not kidding either I am sure we can come up with a "pc" way to drive this enemy within away.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/26/2005 2:47 Comments ||
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#6
Praise be to Allen, all believers in infidel Britain.
Don't let a door hit you in the April in Paris. It's way haraam.
/and keep yer mitts off the steak and kidney
Posted by: Sir Arfalot ||
07/26/2005 3:54 Comments ||
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#7
2/3rds is a start. I'm all for people wanting to come to a western country to build a better life for themselves and to intergrate into society. But the problem is a lot of the muslims haven't integrated and continue their sick death cult worship and mentality and hostility to "infadels".
#13
The poll also shows that tens of thousands of Muslims have suffered from increased Islamophobia, with one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks.
al-G at it again, eh? And this soon after the attacks. They somehow apply a 1-in-5 answering to the poll to the entire population to get THOUSANDS being abused or facing hostility? Give me a freakin' break...I can't imagine that many cases of "islamophobia" NOT being reported in al-G itself. And, BTW, "islamophobia" means "the fear of islam"...you think people who are truly fearful of islam are going to go out and abuse or be hostile to mooselimbs? Come on.
Posted by: BA ||
07/26/2005 8:48 Comments ||
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#14
So go, already. It's easy to cross the Channel and join your brethern in Phrance.
Just don't come to the States - we've got too many whiners already.
Assimilate or die. Your choice.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/26/2005 9:00 Comments ||
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#15
Methinks the urge to consider leaving is their own recognition, not publically acknowledged, that they are a problem as well as the fact that the citizens of the UK know them to be a problem.
#19
Don't mock or encourage this, you short-sighted clowns!
Guess where these Moooooslims will end up?
Here's a number of clues: The place is north of us; it's often cold; it has no military though at one time it had a great army that distinguished itself at places like the Somme and Normandy; and it recently legalized marriage between those of the Adonis persuasion.
#21
I the 2/3rds number is accurate we may have found the dividing line between those that wish to assimilate (1/3) and those that wish to wait and see who wins (2/3).
My fear is that the 1/3 is actually the active enemy but that seems overly pessimistic, right?
#23
Mmmm, Uganda sounds good, whence a whole bunch came. Maybe Idi did know something! They can have a good dialogue with the Lord's Resistance Army, if it's still going.
All those empty houses and no housing benefit to pay, aw shame, my tax buck is gonna hurt here uk-side, next thing, there'll be a recession, it'll be worth it.
Ship, how do you type like that? LOL! I keep trting to...
#24
Well RS I was a trained touch typer since 7th grade. Now if you're talking about my comments, well, frankly it's mushrooms or an inspirational talk from my oldest goldie. Hope this helps.
#26
Well, if the 2/3 who are uncomfortable with the situation go, that leaves 1/3, who, when the next boom goes, will have to answer for it. Mmmm, Mo, best pack that suit-case, 'cos I'm not relying on any Moskke-Mullah to tell you different, shoot-to-kill, get it?
Ship, the posts are fine. Be that submariner's talk after the mushrooms? :)
#27
Re #19: "Guess where these Moooooslims will end up?
Here's a number of clues: The place is north of us..."
Could never happen -- the place was filled up with sKerry supporters eight months ago.
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/26/2005 20:21 Comments ||
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#28
"How can I miss you when you won't go away?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/26/2005 20:39 Comments ||
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#29
re SPoD's comments..
Make citizenship, welfare, visas and passports be printed on pig-skin.
Make all state forms on pigskin.
Make stamp glue out of pig's feet.
Sort of like dousing a house in holy water to ward off vampires.
#30
Too bad that we did not keep the LST fleet. Load 'em up and run 'em up to the beach. Open the bow doors, drop the ramp, and unload. Lather, rinse, and repeat. If they want to leave Britain, better stick to surface transportation. Airplanes are out.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/26/2005 21:45 Comments ||
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#31
And one more thing. If the UK can cut off the welfare, then your 2/3 1/3 ratio of leaving will be right on the mark.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/26/2005 21:46 Comments ||
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The US has been told it can keep its airbase in Kyrgyzstan as long as it is needed for operations in Afghanistan. But the Kyrgyz defence minister said that once the situation improved, US forces would no longer need to stay on. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is on a tour of Central Asia - a trip said to be in response to pressure on the US to withdraw from bases in the region.
I guess the Donald used his famed mind control technique.
About 1,000 US soldiers are stationed in Kyrgyzstan, and the US also has an airbase in neighbouring Uzbekistan. These bases are a vital hub for ferrying supplies to US forces in Afghanistan, and providing refuelling services for US aircraft.
The Pentagon negotiated the use of airfields in Central Asia four years ago, to support the war in Afghanistan. The move extended American influence deep into the territory of the former Soviet Union. But the Pentagon was caught off guard when earlier this month four Central Asian states, backed by Russia and China, issued a joint call for the US to clarify its intentions. They said the situation in Afghanistan was now stabilising and the US should give a timetable for its withdrawal. These calls are thought to have prompted Mr Rumsfeld to make his short-notice trip to the region - and his visit appears to have secured the US presence in the region, at least for the time being.
"The [US] base at Manas will stay as long as the situation in Afghanistan requires," said Kyrgyz Defence Minister Ismail Isakov, during a news conference on Tuesday. Crucially for Washington, he said he agreed with the US view that the situation at present was quite far from being stable. Donald Rumsfeld appeared to view his visit as a success. "I wouldn't pack your bags," he told US forces at the Manas base. But, whether America manages to maintain a longer-term military presence in Central Asia is still not certain, according to BBC correspondent Damian Grammaticas.
The recent pressure on the US to withdraw is said to have been prompted by recent instability in Central Asia. In the past few months, protests swept Kyrgyzstan's president from power and Uzbekistan's authorities put down an uprising in the city of Andijan, killing - it is claimed - hundreds of civilians. Washington's rivals for regional dominance, Russia and China, have made clear they do not want to see US forces in the region on a permanent basis. They will welcome Kyrgyzstan's statement that the US stay on its territory is only a temporary one, our correspondent says.
After his meetings in Bishkek, Mr Rumsfeld flew to Tajikistan for talks with senior officials in the capital Dushanbe. While the US has no troops based in Tajikistan, it has negotiated an arrangement allowing US military aircraft to refuel and fly over Tajik territory on missions relating to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/26/2005 08:25 ||
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#2
The Manas airbase contributes 5% of Kyrgyzstan's GDP. It's about the only source of high paying, non-graft jobs in the country. Who wants to bet that that it's payroll is filled with the sons and daughters of Kyrgyz officials, and PhDs are happy to work as electricians and cooks on the base.
Posted by: ed ||
07/26/2005 9:51 Comments ||
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#3
After my chastisement of yestesday Ima forced to rethink things. We could build thousands of Hindenburg or larger size zepplins, but use extralite-helium instead of hydrogen for lift. Power them with thousands of solar cells and fly them above SAM altitude or use prescribed skylanes prescribed by treaty. Once over the area of interest they could land and safely unload thousands of tons of supplies, if the landing area was not safe they could drop thousand of tiny...
Suddenly Hatifield the Talking Dawg walked up to his colleague: "You were gonna type drop thousands of tiny robots with chainsaws weren't ya? That's not nice."
So our story ends inconclusively with thousands of Zepplins circling a hostile LZ.
#4
All right, someone help Me out here. Are there not enough air bases in Afghanistan? Why would we need staging bases in the other countries over there?
I can understand keeping ground detachments in places where the locals want help. But why air bases?
#8
Way cool Ed! Only thing missing from those craft is a 75 foot carbo/alumino/fullerino Needle for Zep-to-Zep combat. No AI will work for these big babdx, you need a pilot and an angry fighting crew, grapling and boarding/repelling tactics will be to be rediscovered. I have an idea that will make use of thousands of inexpensive....
Suddenly Hatfield the talking goldie sez: "Were you going to type "thousands of inexpensive robots armed with single edged razors?" That would be mean.
And the age of the Fighter Zep ends before it can begin.
From Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
... Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili accused a Russian intelligence army officer of organizing a group of saboteurs allegedly responsible for a car-bombing attack that left three Georgian police officers dead. ... Merabishvili identified the man as being Anatolii Zaitsev of the Russian Army's Main Intelligence Directorate. Merabishvili said three suspects arrested in the past few days had admitted to being part of the group, which allegedly operates from Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia. He also said another six suspects are being looked for.
Also addressing reporters in Gori, the head of the Georgian parliament's defense and security committee, Givi Targamadze, accused Russia of carrying out sabotage operations in Georgia. "It is very unfortunate that our suspicions that Russia could be directly involved in our internal conflict [with South Ossetia] have proved founded," Targamadze said. "[The Russians] are directly training groups of saboteurs. We'd said in the past that we had information. These groups are quite large, numbering -- according to our information -- about 120 people. In addition, there are quite a lot of [Russian] agents on Georgian territory."
In Tbilisi today, Russian Embassy spokesman Yevgenii Ivanov denied any Russian involvement in the Gori bombing and other attacks. South Ossetia's authorities issued a similar denial, describing the Georgian charges as a "provocation."
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Melbourne-based Muslim cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran says Prime Minister John Howard has taken his comments out of context. Mr Howard has repeatedly condemned the cleric for saying that Osama bin Laden is a good man. But Sheikh Omran has told the ABC's Lateline he only praised bin Laden because, he says, the Al Qaeda leader used his wealth to help the poor in Afghanistan.
Help them do what?
The imam says that if bin Laden has accepted responsibility for terrorist attacks, he must be condemned. "Doesn't matter who did it, we don't accept it," Sheikh Omran said.
"Can we drop the subject now?"
"If Osama bin Laden did it, we are the first ones to condemn the action, the person or the persons behind that action, and this is where the misunderstanding [is] here." He says Mr Howard has taken his comments out of context. "The Prime Minister, in particular, take it as I am talking of Osama bin Laden, the man who did September 11, the man behind so many atrocities or bad actions," he said.
"I'm talking about... ummm... somebody else."
"Of course I won't accept, or I won't support 1 per cent a man who did something like that." The Prime Minister says he agrees with the Sheikh Omran that only God does not make mistakes. Mr Howard has repeatedly condemned the Sheikh for his previous remarks and says it is important that everyone with an Islamic background or belief fight extremism. "You are part of the community like everybody else," Mr Howard said.
"You're the part that spews spittle and rolls your eyes. The rest of us drink beer and go to the beach."
"We all together have a responsibility to argue against and reject extremism and there is a particular responsibility on the part of people of influence within individual communities."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
His remarks were taken out of context. They were not meant for infidel ears, they were meant for a Muslim audience - none of your business, kuffar.
Posted by: John in Tokyo ||
07/26/2005 0:36 Comments ||
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#4
So al-Qaeda/Taliban helped people? By banning popular entertainment, they left thousands of workers without employment. Also, women were forbidden to work, beg and prostitute. Many forced starving single women were summarily executed by al-Qaeda/Taliban. Nice guys.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
07/26/2005 1:40 Comments ||
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#5
Sure Bin-Laden helps the poor in Afghanistan -- just ask the Senator from Washington state Comrade Murray. He builds schools and firehouses and roads and free lunches and all that....
#6
Melbourne-based Muslim cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran says Prime Minister John Howard has taken his comments out of context.
The second most common excuse given by Muslims caught saying things they dont want us to hear.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/26/2005 6:23 Comments ||
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#7
Loose slipspeak retracted in a thoughtful manner at the appropriate time? Sorry, wrong audience. You know, he loves the good in everyone and all that. Kafir don't count though. Well within the traditional islamic "five-second Rule" for idiotic utterances.
#8
Al Qaeda leader used his wealth to help the poor in Afghanistan. Help them do what?
Well some Congressman in Washington state says he was building Child Care facilities. Perhaps Cleric Omran is the one guy in the world dumb enough to believe that crap.
#9
Any Moslem leader who praises Bin Laden should be shot. On the spot. There shouldn't even be arguments or interviews or reports beyond "Moslem cleric Omran was found guilty of supporting our enemy, bin Laden. He was shot for treason and incitement to mass-murder. The mosques where he used to preach have been razed to the ground. Lots are for sale. His widow and children have been deported."
#11
The mosques where he used to preach have been razed to the ground. Lots are for sale. His widow and children have been deported."
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever)
I don't entirely disagree with you but I'd be opposed to selling the lots for anything other than (a) a pig farm, or (b) a junkyard. Primarily because Muslims will come around in a hundred years and proclaim this a Holy Spot otherwise, especially if a temple or church was built on the location. For long term peace I think a pig farm is best.
#13
Putting booze there has a real nice Aussie ring to it. A vinyard is a nice touch but it doesn't defile the land the way I'm thinking the land should be defiled. I would imagine Muslims wouldn't be oppossed to rebuilding ontop of a vineyard.
It would work nicely as a temporary measure though, to not overtly inflame the Islamic sensibilities (they are very sensitive you know) before the eventual pig farm is built.
#14
The Sheikh is a dangerous liar and John Howard should quote him extensively giving sources to make that patently clear.
The Sheikh: "I dispute any evil action linked to bin Laden. Again, I don't believe that even September 11 - from the beginning, I don't believe that it was done by any Muslim at all, or any other activities. London, as I said just a few seconds ago, never done yet - no one proven that any Muslim has a hand in it."
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2005/07/007132print.html
Posted by: Neutron Tom ||
07/26/2005 19:53 Comments ||
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ON SATURDAY, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson gave the Democratic party's weekly radio address and excoriated President Bush for not having fired Karl Rove and others in connection with the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name to the press. This followed Johnson's appearance before a panel of House and Senate Democrats on Friday, where he made similar criticisms of the president.
On July 10, 2001--two months before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon--Johnson wrote an op-ed for the New York Times ("The Declining Terrorist Threat") in which he argued that Americans were "bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism" and, in truth, had "little to fear" from terrorism. And, in turn, he rebuked his former colleagues in the national security bureaucracy for using the "fiction" of the terrorist threat to pump up their budgets.
According to Johnson, Americans had "tended to make Osama bin Laden sort of a superman in Muslim garb," when in reality he is "more of a symptom of a problem" than a looming threat. And while bin Laden "would like to kill Americans . . . wanting to is different from being able to, having the full capabilities in place." By Johnson's lights, "Osama bin Laden . . . has not been a very effective organizer or leader. He talks a great game."
The Democratic party wants to use Larry Johnson as a seemingly safe mouthpiece to attack to the president. But, in doing so, they have adopted someone who fits perfectly the profile of the pre-9/11 CIA: see no evil, hear no evil. As documented in report after report, the CIA's directorate of operations had no assets in al Qaeda and CIA's analysts were asleep at the switch when it came to analyzing the scale of the threat posed by bin Laden.
Its guys like this that came to the forefront during the Bush-I administration to s minor extend, and really came into ownership during Clinton's time in office. Triangulators, Empire builders. Political inspired, who bend the truth to their Ivy-league 0ld-boy liberal preconcetptions. Morons like the one shown here were the ones who effectively held the voice of the CIA and all intel during that timespan.
#1
And now you know why the CIA failed in the late 90's and early part of the 21st century: Idiots like Scheuer and Johnson were listned to, and those with contradictory positions were ignored, especially if they were talking about ramping up spending to improve surveillance capacity on terrorists. Especially if they were talking operations, not just desk-bound analysist or lobbing cruise missles. Especially if they were not being "all cultures are relative" Politically Correct - and instead seeing and saying the truth, revealing the SW-Asia/ME Islamist culture for what it is: crude, violent and disfunctional, filled with virulent hate of the west and the US.
You want "Speaking the truth to power"? Look no furhter than the analysts whose opinions were discarded as not politically correct by people like Johnson.
And the Dems run to these morons - and worse- the MSDM gives them an uncritical standing as "legit", when their own public words shows them to be incompetent boobs!
When will the MSM uphold objective, fair, public reporting and editing standards on ALL sides, and become truly reporters of ALL the facts, instead of a mouthpiece for the left in the nation? Until they do, the Republic is in great danger - because the MSM is NOT doing its job: being an fair and impartial reporter of truth, not purveor of opinion and slanted news they are now.
#2
I feel the same way spook. The lack of on the ground intelligance assests in the 90s really hurt us. All the kewl orbital pictures in the world don't give us the info on two terrorists in a bazaar talking about blowing something up. The tea seller, who is a paid CIA informat can. But, the CIA cut the budget for the informant, since they are expensive, both in dollars and political cost if the tea seller is a slave dealer too and it gets put in front of a congressional jury.
#3
This attitude started during the Carter Administration and here is the fruition of those efforts. I worked in the community during the Reagan years and there I feared what would happen after a couple of decades when the people I worked with became the managers. Itâs telling that all of the yappy counter-administration people are all retired. No criticism while in the employ of the government and no acceptance of culpability during their service. Johnson is a prime example of everything that went wrong in the intelligence community. These people relied EXCLUSIVELY on pictures taken from space to make critical policy/tactical decisions, such as where Iraq would store itâs WMDs and when they transported them. Where terrorists were and how many are in each camp. Their template was the Soviet Union and how they stored and moved equipment and personnel. Nobody ever told Mr. Johnson and rest of the idiots that game had changed and so had the rules. That is why (and how) terrorists were allowed to attack us on several different occasions with no warning or prevention. We are just damn lucky they didnât hit us with a WMD or even a Nuke because Mr. Johnson and his ilk NEVER would have predicted, much less be able to stop the attack. But they sure as hell would be around to point the blame at someone else. Bush would do well to hand out a lot of pink slips and start over at the CIA.
Mid 80s I was a Grad student in Public Management (never completed)at an Ivy league school. Very left of center bunch.
A few were going the NGO route (though it wasn't called that back then). Most were going into federal service of one form or another. Some (law degree)were going to Justice.
A percentage were going to CIA. That didn't raise any eyebrows with the students or faculty. As somebody put it: if you want to change something, you do it from within.
#6
The thing about intelligence capability, infrastructure, policy, personnel, is that it takes years to get into the hole that we find ourselves in. And it will take years to get us out of the hole that we dug ourselves into. But it has to start somewhere. OldSpook and CyberSarge: has it started yet? I have not seen major butt kicking so far. It is the same thing with cleaning up the Dept. of State. Has Condi made any progress. Bureaucratic inertia is a tough one to solve, with civil service types experts at outlasting administrations. Hey, I wanna know.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/26/2005 19:43 Comments ||
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#7
I still remember that interview in the early 80s at a ASM convention in St Louis...
The job did not seem kosher. Too much money. Too thin a job story. Sounded like a patsy honeypot.
At the cocktail interview room the lady kept going on about the benefits of working for the company.
Red flags were flying in front of the mixed drinks...
Me: "You keep refering to THE COMPANY. Are you, perhaps, refering to your firm in the same way that Philip Agee did in his book INSIDE THE COMPANY?"
She: "Let's go in the other room and talk."
She talks I ask questions but think...
"damn their cover is thin and this woman has a BIG MOUTH and is STUPID. I wouldn't trust my life to her having any say in it! No damn way."
Me: I am sorry MZ. I am just not ready to go in that career direction. Thanks for your time.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll apologized Monday to the family of a Marine killed in Iraq for showing up uninvited for his funeral last week and giving out a business card. Knoll went to the funeral of Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich and family members said she told his aunt that ``our government'' was opposed to the war.
In a letter to Goodrich's widow, Amy, Knoll said she left a card in case the family wanted to contact her ``and as a sign of my willingness to help the family through this difficult time in any way I can. To do anything that was deemed insensitive was completely counter to my intent.''
What a weasel. Molly Ivins understands what is required in a proper apology.
Goodrich, 32, of Westwood, died July 10 in Iraq. His family said that they felt they were owed an apology by Knoll and didn't understand why she attended the funeral in Carnegie.
``Sergeant Goodrich's service was beyond the call of duty,'' Knoll's letter said. ``If my regard for his family's grief was seen another way, it is thoroughly regrettable. The fact that you have been offended deserves and receives my most profound apology.''
How about something along the lines of, "I am so very sorry I offended you. Please accept my most humble, contrite apology."
Rhonda Goodrich, Joseph Goodrich's sister-in-law, said the apology was accepted although the family had also wanted Knoll to apologize to the Marine Corps.
Knoll said in her letter that she arrived too late to offer her personal condolences. That rankled Rhonda Goodrich, who said she believed Knoll came to get publicity. ``She didn't have time to be with Amy or Joe's parents, but she made time for the TV cameras,'' she said. ``That's where I'm still a little bitter.''
Knoll said she has attended ``dozens of funerals to offer my sympathy and condolences to the families of soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.''
And putting the state government on record as being against the war?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
``She didn't have time to be with Amy or Joe's parents, but she made time for the TV cameras,''
#2
I've been thinking about this quite a bit - and didn't expect her to pull a stupid Turban Durban. Idiot. Good.
Her transparently narcissistic self-promotion and insincerity will probably screw her Moonbat political career into the ground. Good. I am sorry it came at the expense of the Goodrich family. They should, and you know they'll be interviewed by everyone who can shove a mike in their faces, skewer this publicity whore mercilessly.
Sometimes large trends hinge upon rather small moments. Perhaps this is one for Pennsylvania.
#4
"Her transparently narcissistic self-promotion and insincerity will probably screw her Moonbat political career into the ground."
Not so fast, PD: we're talkin' Pennsylvania, here; the media will cover her sorry ass because she's a Democrat.
Our local news radio channel had an item on this a few minutes ago, but all they said is that she'd showed up uninvited at a Marine's funeral. Nothing about her handing out business cards, or her antiwar remarks, or her weasely "apology."
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/26/2005 6:48 Comments ||
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#5
Ferchrissakes, Sea - I'm not even Christian and I know better than that.
Wotta f**kin' LOSER.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/26/2005 8:56 Comments ||
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#6
Dave-- Only the more urban areas of PA are Democrat. The rest of the commonwealth is solidly conservative, and there is solid support for the troops in those areas. Not to mention there are HUGE numbers of vets from PA who will be insulted by this act regardless of their politics.
Lynn Swann, the former Steelers wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer, is planning to run on the Republican ticket in '06. I'm sincerely hoping his name recognition and incidents like this help him crush Rendell. I've even volunteered my computer skills to help his campaign.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/26/2005 9:43 Comments ||
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#7
"Dave-- Only the more urban areas of PA are Democrat"
True, but it's an awful big "only"-- big enough to constitute a majority in many statewide elections. Which is how we keep ending up with dingalings in State office.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/26/2005 9:53 Comments ||
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#8
Granted, Dar, but the votes in the "T" are swamped by all the dead and made-up people in Philly, or all the people who show up at the last minute and sign in identical handwriting, giving the precinct a 100.0% turnout, and a 97% Dem margin.
Are there many TV stations outside of Philly or Pittsburgh?
#12
Dave--I'm not sure of the history of the legislature's balance, but the Dems have not had a lock on the governor's office. That office has been flipping back and forth since '55, with neither party having a firm lock on it.
It's unfortunate that Gov. Schweiker (Tom Ridge's lieutenant who took over when Ridge became Director of Homeland Security) chose not to run in '02. He was riding a good wave of name recognition and support from his presenece during the Quecreek mine collapse, in which 9 trapped coal miners were rescued after 3 days underground.
However, this current flap of Knoll's own doing and the recent outrageous vote by the legislature to give themselves a pay raise that is plainly obscene (base salaries increased 16 percent, from $69,647 to $81,050, with many receiving even higher raises) will--hopefully--lead to some major upheaval in the legislature and governor's office in subsequent elections. A website called "Clean Sweep" has been established to get the legislators who voted for those pay raises out of office in '06 and '08, regardless of party affiliation, which would include taking Rendell and Knoll out of office as well.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/26/2005 11:00 Comments ||
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#13
Yeah, Dar, we can always hope.
Maybe someone ought to look back through old 17th-century land grants and see if there isn't some obscure clause somewhere in our founding documents than can be used to force New Jersey to take Philadelphia from us...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/26/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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#14
PA has someting of a history of going from Corrupt to Good Government on something of a cycle. My Dad in law was elected a (Rep.) Judge in Reading during a spasmodic throw the bums out election. The office was later made lifetime to his good luck.
#16
Seafarious pointed out: Midwest Conservative Journal pointed out that she started gladhanding and passing out her card during communion...
Clearly she believed the distribution of red wine and bread to be nothing more than hors d'oeuvres. As a result she slipped into cocktail party mode immediately. A regrettable faux pas.
What I want to know is: did Fast Eddie Rendell send her, or did she go on her own?
#17
Clearly she believed the distribution of red wine and bread to be nothing more than hors d'oeuvres. As a result she slipped into cocktail party mode immediately. A regrettable faux pas.
Opps, sorry. Didn'r realize it wasn't Episcopalian.
The man convicted of plotting to blow up the Los Angeles airport on the eve of the millennium has refused to resume cooperating with the government, his lawyers acknowledged in a court filing Monday. That means Ahmed Ressam's sentencing will proceed as scheduled Wednesday and he likely will receive a longer sentence than he would were to continue cooperating.
Throw away the keys
The U.S. Attorney's office said that without Ressam's continued cooperation, the prosecution of two co-conspirators will be jeopardized. "He is now at a point where he feels he can do no more," Ressam's lawyers wrote in a supplemental sentencing memorandum. "Mr. Ressam knows what he did was wrong and hopes the court accepts his statement that he is truly sorry."
Sorry he got caught
Ressam, 38, was arrested in December 1999 at Port Angeles, about 65 miles northwest of Seattle, as he drove off a ferry from British Columbia with a trunk full of bomb-making materials. The Algerian had attended terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and was intent on bombing Los Angeles International Airport, prosecutors said. After he was convicted of terrorist conspiracy and explosives charges at trial in 2001, Ressam began cooperating in hopes of winning a reduced sentence.
Ressam told terrorism investigators from several countries about the operation of terrorist camps, but he quit cooperating by early 2003. His lawyers said years of solitary confinement took their toll on his mental state, but prosecutors insisted he simply didn't feel like cooperating any more. Prosecutors have recommended a 35-year sentence; Ressam's lawyers have asked for 12 1/2 years. Federal prosecutors want Ressam to testify against his co-conspirators, Samir Ait Mohamed and Abu Doha, who are awaiting extradition from Canada and Britain, respectively.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bartlett said the government planned to file its own supplemental sentencing memo. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour had delayed Ressam's sentencing by three more months to give Ressam time to resume cooperation. "He's not cooperating," Bartlett said Monday. "That's the big news that everybody was waiting for."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/26/2005 10:12 ||
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#1
"Millennium Plotter" subjected to two hours of blow-torch sessions.
After his nads were reduced to burnt offerings to the god Testices, he began talking again, although in a Mike Tyson-like voice.
#3
Don't you know? The Dimz say we have secret floating prisons.... We could just "misplace" paperwork. Then "misplace" Ressam. He could end up on one of those "mystery naval vessels" and the "serious" questioning could begin...
Yo! Who has the Victoria Secret Catalog?... Time to place an order!...
Also, make sure the toilets are wide enough to prevent getting plugged up!
#4
nah, he's given up quite a bit of info - jail him with his comrades - let the Lord of the Flies reign -they'll be happy to thank him for their incarceration, I'm sure
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/26/2005 14:50 Comments ||
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#5
I am sure he is real cute and will make a handsome addition to any prisoners harem.
EFL
Usama bin Laden tried to buy a massive amount of cocaine, spike it with poison and sell it in the United States, hoping to kill thousands of Americans one year after the Sept. 11 attacks. The evil plot failed when the Colombian drug lords bin Laden approached decided it would be bad for their business â and, possibly, for their own health, according to law-enforcement sources familiar with the Drug Enforcement Administration's probe of the aborted transaction.
Killing off your customers would be a really stupid idea
The feds were told of the scheme earlier this year, but its existence had never been made public. The New York Post has reviewed a document detailing the DEA's findings in the matter, in addition to interviewing sources familiar with the case.
Sources said the feds were told that bin Laden personally met with leaders of a Colombian drug cartel to in 2002 to negotiate the purchase of tons of cocaine, saying that he was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars to finance the deal. Bin Laden hoped that large numbers of Americans dying from poisoned coke would lead to widespread terror. Although the drug lords would have reaped millions of dollars in profits by selling the cocaine to bin Laden, they knew that if his plan succeeded it might effectively destroy the market for their coke in America for years, sources said. But that was only one reason they declined bin Laden's offer. The other was their fear of retaliation from the U.S. government once its citizens started to die from the drugs, according to sources.
Despite bin Laden's plan being thwarted, the DEA believes that al Qaeda continues to this day to traffic in drugs to fund a variety of its operations â including training, traveling and terror attacks.
#3
And to prove it, I have bin Laden's passport with a Columbian entry stamp.
Posted by: ed ||
07/26/2005 10:13 Comments ||
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#4
Damn! If the Colombian "drug lords" had accepted at least a portion of Binny's proposed spiked coke deal, we would have by now witnessed the demise of 90% of Hollywood stars. The Dems would be outta money and we would have been spared the Left Coast nitwits' ramblings.
#5
I don't believe this story because I don't think Bin Laden would bring the Columbians into the real plans at all. He'd buy a ton of blow with the intent to make money off it to buy weapons, then spike the blow and have his own folks distribute it to the streets.
The problems with the plan are numerous. First it's self inflicted, folks could just shift to X or some other drug. The administration might not care when they see who is dropping off and it might cost Binnie some of his tacit support from the left. Not much of a plan.
#6
The plan was defective because it wouldn't hurt the West. On the contrary we'd be much better off if self-destructive parasites were allowed to take their actions to the logical conclusion, whether cocaine addicts or leftist moonbats.
#10
"Sources said the feds were told that bin Laden personally met with leaders of a Colombian drug cartel to in 2002 to negotiate the purchase of tons of cocaine, saying that he was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars to finance the deal."
UBL met with Colombian drug lords personally in 2002? Where??? On the Caribbean beach with a beer, watching the WoT on TV?
It's been on line at all eight Tucson Sector US Border Patrol stations for nearly one year. Agents say it's not just a success; it's a godsend.
The IAFIS, or Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, takes all ten prints from illegal entrants and matches them with the FBI Criminal Database. If a 'hit' comes up, agents detain their suspect. In many cases, the 'hits' turn out to be convicts under court order never to return to the U.S. ...
"Because the Tucson Sector is the busiest sector and has the most apprehensions for any sectors wtih the border patrol, now that we're using IAFIS system, we are identifying more of the individuals that we catch as having criminal records," explains Andrea Zortman, a spokes person for the US Customs and Border Protection.
To date, 28,324 criminals have been caught trying to get into the U.S. illegally, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection... That figure represents a 70% jump over all of 2004, but IAFIS wasn't put on line at all eight stations in the Tucson Sector until the end of the summer.
#1
In many cases, the 'hits' turn out to be convicts under court order never to return to the U.S.
I'd sure love to know why such people aren't summarily executed. Seems to me that'd solve the majority of problems associated with illegal immigration.
#3
The IAFIS, or Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, takes all ten prints from illegal entrants and matches them with the FBI Criminal Database. If a 'hit' comes up, agents detain their suspect.
A little voice is telling me something still isn't fixed here. What if there's no "hit"? Do they immediately deport the individual in question or is a hearing date still issued and the person in question allowed to simply walk out the door?
MANILA (AFP) - Embattled Philippine President Gloria Arroyo proposed overhauling her country's political system as she tried to face down a new impeachment motion and a mass protest calling for her to resign. Fighting for survival over allegations she rigged last year's election, Arroyo used her State of the Nation address to outline sweeping changes that close allies have suggested could allow her to leave office with dignity.
As around 40,000 protesters took to the streets to demand her ouster, Arroyo was greeted with applause from her supporters in Congress as she suggested a plan to scrap the presidency, draft a new constitution and create a parliament...
Only indirectly referring to the crisis that has led a dozen cabinet members and top officials to quit, Arroyo appealed for national unity and said she wanted to press ahead with the economic reforms she began last year...
As expected, the opposition filed a motion to impeach Arroyo before Monday's speech, charging her with what Congressman Ronaldo Zamora said was a battery of allegations including "betrayal of public trust.". He said the measure had the backing of 39 lawmakers and would reach the needed target of 79, one-third of the House of Representatives, within the two-week window that would automatically send it up to the Senate...
According to a poll released on Sunday, 52 percent of Filipinos said Arroyo should resign -- but that call has not been joined by either the overwhelmingly Catholic country's influential bishops or the military.
But former president and ex-military man Fidel Ramos, who helped topple dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, on Friday said changing the constitution could give Arroyo and the nation a dignified way out of the political morass. He said he would be "very, very unhappy" if she did not heed the proposal to make way for a prime minister next year, rather then trying to stick out a six-year term that expires in 2010.
In another address to the nation last week, Arroyo said she would appoint a "truth commission" to look into the vote-rigging allegations but said she had taken the correct decision by refusing to resign.
#1
Really bad policy. She should resign, all this uncertainty is causing economic disruption. Making a big change in government structure will just prolong the uncertainty.
An event which goes to show that the Death to Everyone crowd is non-exclusive .....
Far-right activists instigated a pulsa denura - Aramaic for 'lashes of fire' - death curse against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last Thursday night in an effort to thwart the upcoming disengagement plan.
The ceremony was held late Thursday night at the gravesite of Shlomo Ben-Yosef, a Betar member who was hanged by the British in 1938 for firing on an Arab bus in protest of numerous attacks by Arabs on Jewish targets.
Twenty married men, including rabbis and kabalists, participated in the ceremony. All 20, including Yosef Dayan - who instigated the same curse several months prior to the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin - assembled at the gravesite, which is located near Safed.
Each man immersed himself in the mikve (ritual bath) before donning black garb and beginning to chant.
They had received permission to invoke the pulsa denura from a host of rabbis and kabalists, who said it was the appropriate time to resort to using the curse.
Far-right activist Michael Ben-Horin explained that the point of the curse was to exempt a human from having to kill Ariel Sharon, allowing "the angels of destructions" to do it instead.
Baruch Ben Yosef, a far-right activist who participated in the ceremony, told The Jerusalem Post that "The ten men prayed to god for him to rid us of the evil murderous dictator [Sharon].
Ben Yosef said that the gravesite was chosen because, "Shlomo was the antithesis of a Sharon."
"Ben Yosef gave his life for the Jewish people and refused to recognize the British government, while Sharon does everything for himself," Ben Yosef declared.
Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz has decided in the past not to launch criminal investigations into rabbis who have instigated the death curse.
Mazuz's decision was based on a previous court ruling in the matter of Avigdor Askin, in which it was decided that the pulsa denura curse ceremony does not constitute a criminal offense
Posted by: too true ||
07/26/2005 12:06 ||
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#1
Pulse Denura? Is that anything like an Avada Kedavra?
#5
Some ultra-orthodox Jews are so devolved from Judaism that they are almost funny if you know something about Judaism. Some incorporate traditions that are inherently anti-Jewish, and slavishly abide by them. Some I'vd been told about includes practices such as "mortification of the flesh" (self-flaggelation), living among their own feces, rejection of all knowledge not found in the Pentatuch and Talmud (sound familiar?), prohibition against all music and decoration, and the rejection of all Jews not belonging to their sect. Several are apocalyptic and messianic cults, and are far more cultish than the Branch Davidians. Most other Jews are properly appalled by their behavior, but surprisingly, the various groups band together to form effective, if annoying political parties in Israel.
Sounds very Talibani... I have heard amongst ultra-orthodox Jews some women do shave their heads, and quit wearing make-up once they are married. Poor husband... Unless he's into bald women...
#7
I feel better now, but the ultra orthos up the street drive me wild with their weekly deliveries of kosher, and then they throw the best stuff out! Then it's stolen, people are crazy.
#8
The shaved heads bit is a weirdy. After marriage, they are not supposed to display their hair in public, for erotic reasons, hair being erotic. So they shave their hair and wear wigs. Not too long ago, there was a panic because most of the wigs are natural human hair from India, and a rumor started that they were contaminated with a pagan ritual. Women *there* were shaving their heads to raise money for their Hindu temple, and some ceremony was involved. So orthodox Jewish women suddenly all appeared in public bald, until a Rabbinical court could determine if the wigs were okay or not. Ironically, this sort of thing happens in Israel with all to great a frequency.
#10
Next a "rabbi" from this sect (it ain't a very Jewish one) will be caught conjuring up a Golem.
In other news the ISS (top sectret Israeli Secret Spacestation) was getting ready to take delivery of the new and improved Zionist Death Ray™ from the Space Shuttle launched from the Zionists supporter and lackey the USA Tuesday.
EFL: Harare - Zimbabwe has resumed destroying homes and has flattened the country's biggest slum, witnesses said on Tuesday, a day after United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said he plans to visit the country to discuss the controversial demolition campaign. Zimbabwean anti-riot police beat up people and torched property as they razed the Porta Farm slum housing some 20 000 residents, witnesses said. "Police started chasing away and beating up people on (Monday) night, saying we were refusing to leave," said a former squatter at the Porta Farm slum, requesting anonymity.
The destruction of Porta Farm marks a resumption of the government's controversial demolition campaign, which authorities said last week they had halted to give people time to obtain necessary permits for their homes and other buildings. The demolitions came hours after Annan said on Monday that he had accepted an invitation to visit Zimbabwe to discuss a damning UN report on Harare's demolition of urban slums that has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/26/2005 11:34 ||
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#4
OK, guys, I've had it with this Southern Africa shite.
Bob did not think of this on his own. See reports on 5th Brigade massacres, early '80's, Korean-trained. Combined with Chi-com thinking; aquiesence (sp)?, from Mbeki, (ANC); + a war debt Bob has to pay for still;
Us, the west, lost some valuable assets in the short term for early "pc" crap. What do you think Rhodesians were fighting for? Very close analogy to Viet-nam and selling-out by everyone.
The thing is, when we get it back, itsa gonna be severely fokked over, and worse than useless for a long time. Oh well, the war will come back to them, I think. Such a shame.
Iraq's most feared terrorist group on Tuesday warned Sunni Arabs against taking part in the October referendum on the constitution, saying their participation would make them infidels - and therefore subject to the same treatment as occupation forces.
In a statement posted on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq slammed recent calls by some Sunni leaders encouraging the religious minority, who form the core of the current insurgency, to get involved in the political process.
The statement's authenticity could not be verified but its comments reflect al-Qaida's position on developments in Iraq.
"The saying that elections are the best way to save the Sunnis from the current crisis is wrong and baseless," the group said.
"Some people who wear Islamic dresses and falsely ride the wave of resistance have ruled that Sunnis can enter the elections under the pretext of political work and to avoid bloodshed and that the U.S. withdrawal will not be achieved unless Sunnis are involved in the elections."
Members of a constitutional drafting committee have been rushing to finish up a draft of the new Iraqi constitution, which has an Aug. 15 deadline for approval by the Iraqi National Assembly. After that, a public referendum on the charter is scheduled to be held two months afterward. General elections could come as soon as the end of the year.
U.S. officials have been pushing Iraqis to finish the charter, hoping that the establishment of a broad-based government will ease growing tensions and curb a restive insurgency.
In January, many Sunnis stayed away from nationwide elections to install a National Assembly and local government bodies, heeding boycott calls by Sunni leaders. However, their failure to participate left them only a handful of seats in parliament - a political disaster since Sunnis make up 20-30 percent of the estimated 25 million population in Iraq.
The group's statement condemns democracy, saying that it goes against Islamic law, and states that "anyone who participates in it is infidel and apostate even if he claims to be a Muslim."
The statement ends with an indirect threat against the National Assembly as well as polling stations, and calls on Sunnis to take up arms against coalition forces to force them out of Iraq.
"We will have no option to uproot this sedition, but to fight for the sake of God....We swear to God that elections and political games will not frighten them, will not get them out of your land," it said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/26/2005 10:43 ||
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If the Sunnis obey, it is a sure sign they support Zark. That's when the B-52s and B-1s should unleash all manner of hell on earth on the Sunni triangle.
#2
I believe this is the same thing Zarqawi tried before the last elections vote exept all Iraqis were threatened. Didn't work to well then lets hope and pray it dont work this time either.
Ohh yeah and even though I would love to see our B-52's and others do the dirty work I dont think any of our politicians out of power or in currently have the stomack to do it so my guess after the constitutin vote we will begin major withdrawls leaving a rapid reaction force of sorts to back up any units in trouble or any neighbors thinking of jumping in. And yes I am 100% confident that if the Sunnis sit out the elections and dont gain a strong rep in the gov the Kurds and the Shia who do have the stomack will use thier dominance in the gov to do what will have to be done. At that point the Sunni will be irrelevant and sidelined for many many years to come just as the Shia were after they sat out and bucked the British many many moon ago. "what goes around comes around"
#3
Sounds like Zman is getting a little desperate with the tone of the latest pronouncements. Don't know that many would consider him authorized to throw around the potential "infidel" label so recklessly with regard to the Sunni who might choose to vote. Setting himself up for grand failure it seems. More faster better Zman. Godspeed to your end and the 72 mules!
#4
I look forward to many ink-stained fingers among Sunnis too. They too can give the finger to Al-Qaida. And I hope it is a decent constitution the Iraqi people adopt. One that protects individual rights.
The Egyptian government on Tuesday dismissed speculation that a group of missing Pakistanis helped in bombings which killed at least 64 people in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Investigators continued to look at possible links between the Sharm el-Sheikh bombings and similar attacks on Sinai peninsula resorts last October, security sources said.
The Egyptian state newspaper al-Ahram quoted Assistant Interior Minister Mohamed Shaarawi as denying media reports that six Pakistanis were implicated in the bombings on hotel and shopping areas on Saturday -- the worst in Egypt since 1981.
The official, who is in charge of the investigation team, also denied reports that the authorities were looking for the six Pakistanis, who the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera said disappeared and left their passports at a hotel reception desk.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed security source as saying there were indications the Pakistanis were illegal workers and had probably fled to Israel along desert tracks.
The Egyptian ambassador to Pakistan, Hussein Haridy, also denied reports that Pakistanis were involved in the attacks.
"We deny categorically any links between Pakistani nationals and Sharm el-Sheikh blasts," he told Reuters in Islamabad. "As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is categorically denied, and about other foreign nationals the investigations are going on."
Police in Sharm el-Sheikh did distribute the photographs and passport numbers of five missing Pakistani men, aged between 36 and 18, to checkpoints in the South Sinai area, but some security sources said it was a precautionary step and the men were never the prime suspects in the investigations.
One security source, who asked not to be named, said police circulated the photos in early July as part of a separate investigation into incidents of fraud.
Egyptian police have detained 175 people, mainly Sinai Bedouin who might have information about the bombers.
At least five groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks, which bore a strong resemblance to last year's bombings at Taba and at two beach camps frequented by Israelis.
They range from professed affiliates of the al Qaeda organisation to a previously unknown Sinai-based group protesting against the Egyptian government's treatment of local people after the Taba bombings.
Human rights groups say police detained some 2,500 people after the attack on the Hilton hotel in Taba and mistreated many of them. The government says that number is exaggerated and it investigates all allegations of torture.
The latest claim, from the Tawhid and Jihad Group in Egypt, could be more credible as it was posted on an Islamist Web site often used by the al Qaeda Organisation in Iraq, but it was not possible to verify the authenticity of the undated statement.
It said it carried out both the Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh attacks "in obedience to the leaders of jihad (holy war) in al Qaeda, Sheikh Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahri" and to avenge the "oppressed brothers in Iraq and Afghanistan".
Egyptian police are investigating the possibility that Mohamed Fulayfel, the brother of one of the Taba bombers, drove a suicide car bomb into the Ghazala Gardens Hotel on Saturday.
On Monday, Egyptian police fought gunbattles in desert mountains near Sharm el-Sheikh in a hunt for Sinai Bedouin who may have links with the bombings.
At least seven non-Egyptians were among the dead and at least 14 others are missing, possibly dead.
A British Foreign Office spokesman said on Tuesday the families of some of 10 missing Britons were on their way to Sharm el-Sheikh to follow the search.
One family said in a statement that two of their children -- Jez Lakin, 28, and Annalie Vickers, 31 -- were in the resort at the time and were probably killed in one of the explosions.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/26/2005 10:20 ||
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Monday, July 25, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and most of his government including prime minister Ahmed Qureia transferred the Palestinian government from its seat in the West Bank town of Ramallah to Gaza City. The move, according to DEBKAfileâs Palestinian sources, was not of Abbasâ choosing. It was forced on him by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice during her Ramallah visit Saturday, July 23.
After the fact, Abbasâ spokesmen presented the move as a strategic decision to be on the spot and ascertain that Palestinian terrorists do not accompany Israelâs withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in mid-August with gunfire. But that had not been his intention. Asked where he would be during the sensitive period, Abbas told Rice he would be in Ramallah. She replied: âNo way are you going to run things by remote control!â Faced with this unyielding demand, he promised to make the move although he knew it was pointless.
Put her lovely booted foot down, did she?
Abu Mazen and two Egyptian generals spent all of last week trying to hammer home to the Palestinian terrorist chiefs the need to hold their fire. They did not budge them one inch. In fact, Saturday night, July 22, three Palestinian organizations launched a murderous shooting attack on an Israeli civilian car on the Kissifim road to Gush Katif, killing Dov and Rachel Kol. Abu Mazen declined to condemn the attack when confronted with a microphone. He has not raised a finger to catch the murderers, again betraying his complete lack of authority over the men of violence.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/26/2005 08:49 ||
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From South Asia Analysis Group, an article by B.Raman, Director of the Institute For Topical Studies
Tantalising tit-bits of information relating to the links between jihadi terrorists in Pakistan and Egypt and in Egypt and the UK have been given in an editorial on the Sharm el-Sheikh blasts carried by the Daily Times, the prestigious daily of Lahore, on July 25, 2005. The editorial titled "Terrorist Link Between Egypt and Pakistan " makes the following salient points:
In many ways Egypt and Pakistan form the two poles of the same movement. The former produces the guides, the latter provides the training grounds and shelter. The blind orator Omar Abdul Rehman of Gamaâa Islamiyya caused the greatest stir when he planned the 1993 attack on the World Trade Centre through Ramzi Yusuf who was of Pakistani origin. ....
Money worked almost equal wonders, when Khalid Sheikh Muhammad sat in Karachi and guided all sorts of killer operations in Pakistan through Pakistani operatives â while Omar Abdur Rehmanâs son was ensconced comfortably in Quetta organising the murder of Hazara Shias there on behalf of Osama Bin Laden, who in turn was supporting his sonâs father-in-law, Mullah Umar.
In this connection, please refer to my past articles in which I had repeatedly mentioned that the frequent massacres of the Hazara Shias in Balochistan since July,2003, were due to the Al Qaeda's suspicion that the Hazara Shias were co-operating with the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its hunt for Osama bin Laden and that they had betrayed Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM) leading to his arrest in Rawalpindi in March,2003, and his being handed over to the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation.)
In all, over 500 Egyptians died fighting in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the highest tally among the Arabs. ...
Egypt âs salafist Islam of the Ikhwan has mixed well with Saudi Wahhabism to create the explosive chemistry unleashed by Al Qaeda on the world. Many scholars now think that the poison of violence is not sown in the Muslim mind by the madrassa but by the mosque. Not only the Finsbury mosque in the UK and the Al Quds mosque of Hamburg in Germany, but mosques all over the United States too are using hate literature penned by the late blind chief mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Bin Baz, and have attracted all sorts of middle class Muslims to suicide bombing.
For the last one year, many analysts are coming round to the view that it is not just the madrasas, but the mosques which are fanning jihadi terrorism. There has been a mushrooming of mosques in West Europe and the US to cater to the requirements of the Muslim migrants from different countries. ....
After 9/11, they have tightened up the issue of visas to Arab clerics and started preferring Pakistani clerics. Many of the Pakistani clerics now working in the mosques of West Europe and the USA are of Wahabi-Deobandi thinking and preach that it is the religious duty and obligation of Muslims to wage a jihad against the US and those co-operating with it and to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) material, if necessary)
Ayman Al Zawahiri had not only attacked Gamaâa for going quiescent after the 1997 massacre at Luxor; earlier in his book, The Bitter Harvest, he had also attacked the Ikhwan for giving up violence. He held the view that Egypt had to be attacked because that was where the West had to be fought first.
Sitting in Peshawar he repeatedly tried to assassinate Egyptian ministers and civil servants suspected of persecuting the Islamists. His recruits narrowly missed two government figures in Cairo but killed one informer. He tried to destroy the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad in 1995, succeeding only partially. He was however more successful in fulfilling Osama Bin Ladenâs agenda against the Americans after the setting up of Al Qaeda in 1998. ....
The editorial also makes an insinuation that it was Hosni Mubarak, who after coming to power, released the jihadi extremists from jail and persuaded them to go to Afghanistan and fight against the Soviet troops. A large number did and many of them got killed by the Soviet troops. Those who survived and their followers are now haunting the world, including Egypt.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/26/2005 07:32 ||
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#1
Sorry Mike.
Wrong Page.
BTW. The Grassy Knoll is up again for National Landmark.
From Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski announced on 25 July that the United States has accepted Polish plans to withdraw most of its 1,700 troops from Iraq at the beginning of 2006 .... "The current [six-month troop] rotation in Iraq will be the last one. By the end of January, we would like to pull [out] the troops and replace them with smaller groups, which could for example help train the Iraqi Army," .... Kwasniewski said that the plan was accepted during a 19 July meeting between Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The exact withdrawal date will be left to the next Polish government, due to be elected this fall.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/26/2005 00:02 ||
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#1
They've done their fair share, and quite a bit more, in the face of heavy opposition from France-led Europe, and now Iraq is starting to take care of its own problems in some 14 out of the 18(?) provinces. Their greatest need in the sector Poland has administered has now become getting proper training for the new police and army troops, which is what Poland is offering as a next step. Thanks for the good news, Mike.
Interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the government has registered 400 cases against clerics in Punjab for misuse of loudspeakers after monitoring last Friday. Talking to reporters, the minister said that the government will enact a new law making seminary registration compulsory. He said that 200 people had been charged with misuse of loud speakers in Punjab, adding that 280 people had been arrested in the crackdown on banned extremist groups across the country. Sherpao said that the government would not allow any banned groups to operate under new names and vowed that the government would deal strictly with such elements. He added that the government had also charged 46 people with spreading hatred.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Now, go to Roxbury and Dorchester and get all the 200 watt car stereos pumping out neanderthal gruntings that you can feel from the bass kickers four blocks away, then I'll be impressed.
#2
There's nothing quite like being in a place where you can hear 3 or 4 "calls to prayer" simultaneously - they're all on the same schedule, y'know - but since their watches are out of synch, so is the wailing.
Fucking surreal.
Absolutely hysterically funny when one drops his microphone in mid-wail, too. You get relief from the insanity where you can, heh.
#3
At least in Germany, in our little village, all the various churchbells went off at precisely the same time. Of course, until the last one was done, there was no point trying to make oneself heard when we were sitting out in our little garden (my lawn was precisely 1 meter square -- I used to "mow" it with my kitchen scissors). And of course, the bells were all perfectly in tune. ;-)
PESHAWAR: The Taliban are being supported by Pakistani religious parties and are regrouping to disrupt the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, a top Pakistani military commander said on Monday. The Taliban are regrouping to emerge as a strong force in Afghanistan.
Seems like the Taliban are always regrouping, doesn't it?
Some Pakistan-based religious parties are supporting them, Lt Gen Safdar Hussain told a private TV channel in an interview in Peshawar on Monday.
Gee. Golly. I'd never have guessed that.
âThe Taliban are reorganising themselves,â he said, but did not say on what ground he was making the assessment. âThey are getting public support in Pakistan, especially from some Pakistani religious parties,â he added. He declined to name the Pakistani groups and did not tell what type of support they were lending to the Taliban.
JI, JUI-S, JUI-F, and Ahle Hadith, probably in that order. Muscle comes from Harkat ul-Mujhaheddin, Lashkar e-Jhangvi, al-Badr, and one or two others. What else would you like to know?
When asked if he was referring to the religious parties ruling the province, he said, âI leave it to you to judge which group is supporting the Taliban.â
Then he made some smartass comment about the guy's nose and his face...
The general, who is leading the military operations against Al Qaeda-linked militants in Waziristan, said Osama Bin Laden had âbecome an ideologyâ and people were âfollowing himâ.
Not much gets by the general, does it?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Columnist Saleem Safi in a Pakistan daily listed the retired and in-service army personnel holding key administrative and political posts in Pakistan.
Truly a praetorian state, not surprising when one considers that the army predates the state itself, was an agent of colonial oppression and was never brought to heel.
Posted by: john ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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STOCKHOLM - Deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who faces trial on charges of crimes against humanity, will not be permitted to stand trial or serve his sentence in Sweden, a Swedish official said on Monday. âWe have said ânoâ,â justice ministry director Ann Marie Bolin Pennegaard told AFP, referring to a request from one of Husseinâs lawyers for him to either await trial, stand trial or serve his sentence in Sweden.
I don't know who's more out of touch with reality, Saddam or his lawyer ...
No death penalty in Sweden, is there?
Pennegaard on Friday sent the Swedish governmentâs answer to Husseinâs attorney Giovanni di Stefano.
"In å wÞrd, nÞ..."
âSweden has no intention of filing a request to the competent authorities in Iraq for a transfer of Saddam Hussein to Sweden before his trial,â Pennegaard wrote in the fax. âNor has Sweden considered the issue of establishing a seat of the Iraqi Special Tribunal in Sweden. It is also to be noted that there is no possibility under present Swedish legislation ... to let Saddam Hussein serve any possible sentence in a Swedish prison after his trial,â she added.
"à re yÞu gÌys nÌts?" he added.
According to a report in Swedish daily Aftonbladet on Monday, Di Stefano is now planning to ask Iraq and the United Nations to file an official request for Sweden to accept Hussein before, during or after the trial. âIf Iraq or the UN sends a request to Sweden this could still happen,â he told the paper, insisting that holding a trial in Baghdad would be too dangerous for Hussein.
"He could end up with a three-foot neck! Nobody wants that... Ummm... Well, he doesn't want it, anyway."
âOne couldnât stop an Egyptian ambassador from recently being kidnapped and murdered in Baghdad. And there is a war going on there, and how can one hold a trial when bombs are exploding outside the door?â he asked.
Perhaps Sammy could issue an appeal for his safety ...
âIt is no longer just about Saddam Hussein getting a fair trial but also about him getting a safe trial,â Di Stefano insisted. Pennegaard said that for the time being Swedish authorities were unlikely to change their minds. âIf completely new information comes to light we will of course have to evaluate this again,â she told AFP.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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"a trial in Baghdad would be too dangerous for Hussein"
Lol. Sweden. This is an astonishing glimpse of the inner mind of Tranzi-think - wacka-wacka bizarro. Fuckin' Duh, Giovanni, the murderous asshole is going to die. Get it? Die, as in stone cold fucking dead, like his victims, you brainless reality refugee twinkie twit. Sheesh, the baseline presumptions of the touchy-feely folks are simply amazing examples of cognitive dissonance -- sufficient to give a rational person both physical and intellectual whiplash.
#2
Tough one to sort for the Swedes. Probably employed an army of attorneys and judges to figure it out. The right to a trial is just that, a right and not the entitlement to an obsessive masturbatory fetish of "justice" in a nation far removed from the scene of the crimes costing millions of euros like the Hague is fond of these days. I like his promise to reconsider it if new information arises. Yes Giovanni, you are still important and pure. Do they provide every sick puppy in this world the same consideration. Why reserve special consideration for a dictator and, for instance, not the average Ahkmed who doesn't have an army of idiotic arab or french attorneys to cry foul to Sweden? Evil fuckwit hypocrit Giovanni wasting taxpayers' earnings on playing international arbitrator of justice. I'm waiting for the king of Lichtenstein to open up his own special royal court of inflated international importance with unlimited jurisdiction over everything and anybody outside the kingdom's 75 or so square miles.
#3
Nice to know they care more about tyrants than they do about people from Cuba asking for asylum. The Swedish people may be OK, but the government is evil.
Nepalâs main political parties rejected on Monday an appeal by the countryâs Maoist rebels for talks to plan joint opposition to King Gyanendraâs seizure of power, saying the guerrillas should stop killing civilians first. Their rejection of dialogue with Maoist guerrillas opposed to the monarchy came as political unrest continued in the country and pro-democracy activists clashed with police. âWe urge the Maoists to stop attacking unarmed civilians, including political activists, and stop extortion,â the top leaders of seven parties said in a statement. âWe appeal to the rebels to create an atmosphere of confidence and demonstrate that they are sincere about talks with the political parties.â
Yup, sincerity is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Maoists ...
Earlier this month, the elusive Maoist guerrilla chief Prachanda proposed talks with political parties to discuss the possibilities of common protests against the king to press him to roll back his seizure of power. The rebels -- since launching their violent campaign to set up a single-party communist republic by toppling the monarchy -- have killed hundreds of civilians, including political workers, straining their ties with mainstream political groups.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Denounce and be damned. Don't let any nukes into our country without being willing to receive some in return.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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No kidding.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
07/26/2005 0:30 Comments ||
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Judging by the repeated 'denouncements' of terrorism by various muslim leaders and the big fat trailing 'but...' that always accompanies the word, I believe 'denouncement' actually means "we would prefer people not do that, but sympathise when they do". Seems quite appropriate in this particular case, doesn't it?
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said yesterday that "intense efforts" were under way to convene an "urgent" summit to discuss Israel's planned pullout from Gaza Strip, due to start on Aug. 17. Moussa said he expected the summit to be hosted by Egypt, still reeling from the heavy blow dealt to its vital tourism industry by deadly triple bombings in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
"So I guess we can't hold it there. How about Cairo? They got good restaurants in Cairo, right? And belly dancers? And those waiters with the fez's, right? All in favor say 'aye'!"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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ArabNews. Sheesh.
Urgent? Lol, this baby's been on the drawing board for-evar phools. The Arab world is just phatally phull of it.
President Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that it was a misconception that Pakistan was the Al Qaeda headquarters.
Specifically Karachi. More specifically, Binori Town. But that's just a misconception...
He said Osama Bin Ladenâs network did not exist in the country anymore.
"Nope. Nope. We asked and everything..."
Talking to a large number of editors, columnists and senior journalists, the president said that terrorism in the US and its allied countries was linked to Al Qaeda and people for some reason started looking at Pakistan. âI say this with clarity that Al Qaeda has no command structure in Pakistan,â he added.
Then his lips fell off...
Pakistan had arrested about 700 Al Qaeda activists from the country, had occupied their sanctuaries in Waziristan, had eliminated their command and control system, had broken their vertical and horizontal links and had devastated their communications system, he said, adding that Al Qaeda operatives could not communicate with each other through electronic devices. He said Al Qaedaâs communications system depended on couriers, which took weeks to convey a single message.
Still works, when the message is "bomb London."
âIs it possible for Al Qaeda to carry out terrorist activities in London, Egypt and other areas of the world with such a poor communications system,â he asked.
Apparently so. It's called empirical evidence, Perv...
Al Qaeda had become a global phenomenon and individuals carrying out terrorist activists identified themselves with Al Qaeda, he said, adding that now the world would have to deal with the phenomena and would have to change the peoples state of mind for which military action was not enough. He said measures such as resolving international political disputes, alleviating poverty and up-grading education systems were necessary to deal with terrorism. He said Pakistan would lead the war on terrorism and the world should also be involved in the process. âI usually wear a suit during my civilian activities, but today I am in my uniform so that the extremists should know that I will continue fighting against them,â the president added.
"Mahmoud! Perv's wearing his uniform!"
"Oh, hold me, Ahmed! I'm so frightened!"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey, Perv, what's that thing around your neck? Is that a clip-on?
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.
The Kingdom yesterday renewed its condemnation of the terrorist attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh and expressed sympathy with families of the victims. The Cabinet, which met yesterday under Crown Prince Abdullah, sent condolences to the Egyptian government and people and wished a speedy recovery for the injured. Acting Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas told the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet authorized Interior Minister Prince Naif to initiate talks with Iran for the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement that would allow the extradition of suspects and convicted individuals from the two countries. Prince Naif had requested the Council of Ministers to authorize him to initiate talks with the Iranian side to prepare a draft agreement on bilateral security between Saudi Arabia and Iran and submit the final copy to the Cabinet for approval.
Cherie Blair, barrister wife of the British prime minister, lectured on the need to respect human rights in counter-terrorism on Tuesday, four days after UK police shot dead a man mistaken for a bomber. Blair, an expert in human rights law, said in a law lecture in Malaysia that she did not want to make light of this month's horrific bomb blasts in London, and the difficult and dangerous task carried out by British police and intelligence services.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have thought about leaving Britain after the London bombings, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. The figure illustrates how widespread fears are of an anti-Muslim backlash following the July 7 bombings which were carried out by British born suicide bombers. The poll also shows that tens of thousands of Muslims have suffered from increased Islamophobia, with one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks.
Melbourne-based Muslim cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran says Prime Minister John Howard has taken his comments out of context. Mr Howard has repeatedly condemned the cleric for saying that Osama bin Laden is a good man. But Sheikh Omran has told the ABC's Lateline he only praised bin Laden because, he says, the Al Qaeda leader used his wealth to help the poor in Afghanistan.
PESHAWAR: The Taliban are being supported by Pakistani religious parties and are regrouping to disrupt the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, a top Pakistani military commander said on Monday. The Taliban are regrouping to emerge as a strong force in Afghanistan. 
Nepalâs main political parties rejected on Monday an appeal by the countryâs Maoist rebels for talks to plan joint opposition to King Gyanendraâs seizure of power, saying the guerrillas should stop killing civilians first. Their rejection of dialogue with Maoist guerrillas opposed to the monarchy came as political unrest continued in the country and pro-democracy activists clashed with police. âWe urge the Maoists to stop attacking unarmed civilians, including political activists, and stop extortion,â the top leaders of seven parties said in a statement. âWe appeal to the rebels to create an atmosphere of confidence and demonstrate that they are sincere about talks with the political parties.â
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said yesterday that "intense efforts" were under way to convene an "urgent" summit to discuss Israel's planned pullout from Gaza Strip, due to start on Aug. 17. Moussa said he expected the summit to be hosted by Egypt, still reeling from the heavy blow dealt to its vital tourism industry by deadly triple bombings in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
President Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that it was a misconception that Pakistan was the Al Qaeda headquarters. 
