This evening I attended an event in Washington, DC that was sponsored by Spirit Of America.net. It was held at the Cosmos Club, an exclusive men's club that's fancy enough that we all had to dress up. Several people spoke to us, including Jim Hake from Spirit of America, and Omar and Mohammed, the bloggers of Iraq The Model. It was great to see the people behind the wonderful works of Spirit of America, and to hear first hand about how things are going in Iraq. Omar and Mohammed are dismayed at the portrayal of the situation in Iraq from the media, and want us to know that things are going good and that the Iraqi people are thankful to the US for their liberation. They are enthused at the prospect of starting an arabic-language blog which will help spread the word about democracy and the upcoming election. They explained that there are lots of internet cafes in Iraq and that they are getting a lot of use by average citizens, but they are particularly interested in getting debate and conversation going between university students. Marine LtCol David Couvillon, who governed one of the Iraq provinces during the occupation, also spoke to us. LtCol Couvillon was the one made the first request to Spirit Of America for assistance, and started the ball rolling.
Now here's the best part: today, without prior notice, Omar and Mohammed went to the Oval Office and met with President Bush! They said that the meeting lasted about a half hour, and the President was very interested in hearing the thoughts and opinions of Iraqi citizens first hand. He wasn't aware until then of the good things that Spirit Of America has been doing over there to help the Iraqi people and assist in their obtaining democracy. Omar joked that he got to meet POTUS and they didn't even search his pockets beforehand.
I met briefly with Omar and had him pose for a photo. I didn't talk to Mohammed but grabbed a quick shot of him which I know is is out of focus but I'm posting it anyway.
Omar
Mohammed
For more information on the Friends of Democracy project, go here. Please join American Faith in helping this worthy cause by contributing through The Blogger Challenge.
Update: I have blurred the photos since some have expressed concern about them. But please note: there was a professional photographer at the event, filming everything, and it sure looked like it was something that would be released to the public. In fact, Jim Hake said that the man doing the filming was the one who set up the "Iraqi Amputees Meet The President" photo op. If I see these guys on the news, the unblurred photos are going back up.
Posted by: Korora ||
12/10/2004 12:23:00 AM ||
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#1
And at least two Rantburgers also attended this function and got to meet Mohammed and Omar. That would be myself and 2b. It was a very special night and I'm writing about it now but it'll take some time. Check back here this afternoon...maybe 2b will have some thoughts too.
I was happy to be present and felt graced by the opportunity to touch such goodness and optimism.
I read blogs and thus have a far better idea of whatâs really going on in Iraq than those who read only the MSM wire feeds, which, IMHO, could be easily be condensed down to one sentence: "You've already lost the war, go home." (Or, as they say on Fox, âHas America already lost the war, and should America go home?â)
But what surprised me most, was how much it surprised me to hear their portrayal of the normalcy of life in Iraq and the overall Iraqi enthusiasm for their elections and their future. I donât know why it surprised me, because, as a voracious blog reader I do get access to the good news. But I think that the daily dose of depression dished out by âprofessionalâ reporters casts such a ghostly pall, that still shrouds my ability to see these events in their true light.
Listening last night, the real picture of Iraq suddenly came into focus; people going about their daily life, taking their kids to school, chatting in internet cafes, and displaying their art from the second story of a burned out building. They hear the bombs in the distance, but life goes on. They are eager to join the modern world, to reclaim their nation and its rich potential. They arenât cowering in fear or looking over their shoulders to the past. They are looking forward and the future looks brighter than it has in so many years.
As I listened, I felt really cheated. Here is this wonderful true-life story going on in Iraq and we are intentionally deprived by partisan hacks in the media of an opportunity to share in their hopes, dreams, joys and sorrows. Instead, all that we ever get are reports of doom, gloom and darkness, from coffee-shop-poet-wannabe-reporters, who believe that greatness is measured by one's ability to fit the most number of words referencing death and despair into one paragraph.
What an opportunity these reporters are missing! They are graced by God with the opportunity to record, first hand, a moment in history that is perhaps as pivotal to civilization as our own revolution was. Itâs as if they were actually present at Yorktown or Valley Forge!! How sad that instead of writing works of greatness to be passed down through the ages, that they write only drivel destined for the same garbage bins as out-of-focus photographs of Historyâs Great Moments.
Anyway, I can only say thank you to Mohammed, Omar, Marine LtCol David Couvillon and Jim Hake (and others). Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share in your joy and accomplishments in this great adventure to end horrific oppression and set a nation free.
#5
I'm jealous! I managed to arrage to be free on Monday to go meet the team in NYC, but the brothers were delayed in transit and I couldn't get free on Tuesday when they did arrive.
#6
And I got to meet Sea - who is a really nice and a great person (who BTW everyone thought made a great public comment). I've got to go now, but I look forward to hearing more!
#9
My heart is still full after a fantastic evening meeting the people who are doing the unbelievably hard work of making the world safe and free, one blog post, one soccer jersey, one battalion of US Marines at a time.
Iâm on Spirit of Americaâs mailing list, and they sent notice about an event they were hosting in several cities, with a stop at the Cosmos Club in DC on 9 December. I figgered it would basically be a fundraiser, but I wanted to say âthanksâ to Jim Hake (the man who made it all happen). Yesterday I made my way downtown to a âdiplomatic permit onlyâ parking space in front of the Indian Embassy, and with a quick dash through the pouring December rain, I was inside the Club.
First, a word about the Cosmos Club. It is magnificent â a beautiful huge mansion along Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue. Inside, all is marble and carved mahogany, with everything youâd expect. Sweeping staircases and mammoth fireplaces, grim oil portraits of past presidents, the works.
We were ushered up the stairs to a spacious parlor, with complimentary wine and the standard cheese/crackers/grapes/veggies/ranch dip display that afflicts every Washington cocktail hour. I didnât recognize anyone in the crowd of about one hundred. After a few minutes, another door opened, the crowd moved in to the conference room and we chose our seats. The panel of speakers was arrayed across the front of the room, with a video camera at the ready.
Iâm sorry that I donât remember the name of the lady who did the introductions, or of the gentleman who was the past President of the Club. After they spoke, they passed the microphone to Jim Hake, the founder and engine of Spirit of America. Heâs about 6 feet tall, with nice sandy brown hair and an Afghanistan/Iraq tan. He told us about his experiences as a businessman and then as the driving force behind SoA. Then he teased us by passing up Omar and Mohammed and handing the microphone to the man at the other end of the row, a man of military bearing and a really great smile.
USMC Lt. Col. David Couvillon was a delight. Heâs a reservist from Louisiana who was tasked to lead 935 sailors and Marines to Iraq right after Saddamâs statue fell. Upon arrival, he presented himself to his CO, and said âReporting for duty, sir. What are my orders?â The CO looked at him and said, âCongratulations, Couvillon. Youâre now the governor of the province.â
âEr, the what, sir?â
âThe governor of the province. Youâre responsible for everything that happens here.â
âSir, what are my orders? What is my mission? What are my goals?â
âYouâre responsible for everything that happens here.â
âOh. Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.â
So his job became the preservation and rebuilding of his province (and I canât for the life of me remember which one it was. Sorry). He had to lead his 935 men and women (only 60 of whom were over the age of 25) to provide security and law enforcement, restore electric and water plants, provide for waste removal and sewage treatment, and maybe another million or so details. His stories were great âlike how the Iraqi electric engineers were ecstatic to receive the ultimate manna from Heaven: duct tape. How he had to grant petitions in his role as governor; citizens would come to ask him for permission to marry, to buy a house, to start a business. One farmer came to him for permission to harvest the crops:
âAre they your crops?â
âYes, sir.â
âAre they ready to be harvested?â
âYes, sir.â
âThen please, by all means, harvest your crops.â
âThank you, sir. Another question, please?â
âYes?â
âWhere do I sell my crops?â
That was the legacy and the broken society that Saddam left behind him on his way to the spider hole. The Iraqis had to be taught how to make decisions for themselves and operate independently, while trusting each other enough to work together. The Marines took extra special care to treat the kids well; giving them candy and goodies, fixing up the schools. And here is where Jim Hake and Spirit of America stepped in. Jim contacted the colonel by email: what can we help you with? The reply: we need two thousand soccer jerseys. And they need to be red-white-and-blue. (He asked for those colors specifically because the Iraqis kept asking for US flags. And pictures of President Bush.) Jim got them eight hundred. The Iraqis got a mostly- functional province. And Lt. Col. Couvillon brought all 935 sailors and Marines safely home with him.
Professor Zhao Huji, a North Korea specialist at the Central Party School in Beijing, said Thursday that North Korean generals and high-ranking officials are deserting the crisis-plagued state as a mirror of growing instability and its leader's waning authority. "These high-ranking defectors aren't leaving because of material want, but because these feel chaos within the Kim Jong-il regime... High-ranking administrators like military officials have visited China several times and are well connected there, and because they have money, they have many chances to defect to China," said Zhao.
North Korea experts calculate that 130 North Korean generals have defected to China, some of whom may have entered the Chinese military, as reported in a recent edition of the International Herald Tribune. However opinion is divided, with other specialists arguing that the removal of Kim Jong-il's portraits from public buildings in Pyongyang and the continuing exodus of defectors does not signify a loosening grip on power by the North Korean leader. Peking University professor Cui Yingjiu, who studied with Kim Jong-il at Kim Il-sung University and had until recently kept in contact with the North Korean leader, said, "Kim Jong-il has a stronger grip on power than Mao Zedong in China during the 1960s ... In North Korea, there are no people like Liu Shaoqi or Deng Xiaoping [who challenged Mao] to compromise Kim Jong-il's authority." Cui added that China has less influence over North Korea than is widely believed.
Posted by: tipper ||
12/10/2004 12:07:11 AM ||
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The rats are bailing out. Something is up with the Great leader. He must be running low on julce and the army first policy must be failing.
#2
When was he last seen? Those rumors of his portaits disappearing made me think that mebbe he's feeding a mushroom farm in a cave, and this "chaos" are the Diadochi wannabes going at it.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/10/2004 9:28 Comments ||
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#3
I think he's prob'ly just whacked out on white slag, mourning the demise of his favorite concubine. The question is, what's gonna happen when he sobers up?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 10:27 Comments ||
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#4
I don't mind this guy dying soon...and painfully. I just hope they sneak up on him to do it, since his natural predilection will be to take as many people with him as he can!
#5
Cui seems to be well-connected ... Could this be Chinese disinformation? By claiming China has little influence over North Korea, they deflect blame for the failure of the six-nation talks. And by claiming leadership defections, they encourage U.S. inaction in the hope that North Korea may change on its own.
#6
It's the South Park creators' curse, striking again!
(Don't believe me.....watch "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut"....tell me what former dictator was one of the "stars" in that little opus.)
#7
130 generals would be a significant %. Unless the total includes retirees,I'm sceptical. Not to mention,you'd think at least 1-2 would want to talk to press.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/10/2004 17:56 Comments ||
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AMSTERDAM — Justice authorities arrested a Moroccan man last month after receiving a tip-off that Islamic extremists were allegedly planning an attack on the Red Light District in Amsterdam, it was reported on Friday. The pizza-delivery courier allegedly conducted reconnaissance of the capital's prostitution zone while riding through the area during work hours on his scooter. He was arrested on 5 November. Newspaper De Telegraaf described him as a "radical Moroccan pizza deliverer". The National Detectives Unit was alerted to the supposed attack plan by three anonymous emails, the first of which was received on 14 September. Emails dated 27 September and 11 October gave further details of the suspects and addresses. The emails warned that "terrorists in Amsterdam East" were plotting an attack on the Wallen area in Amsterdam, De Telegraaf reported. Muslim extremists, the paper said, were allegedly furious at the lack of morals in the prostitution zone...
#5
I wonder if they planned to target the "Avenue of Giant African Women", which is right next to the big church. I think one of those 6'8" tall, 500 pounders would squish him like a bug.
#6
But isn't the whore house district the same as the housing for those 72 virgins per jihadi in paradise? Perhaps the paradise whores have reset buttons so that they become virgins after doing their thing with the grunting warriors of Allah.
FRANCE is still looking for a "lost" bar of plastic explosives stashed by police inside the suitcase of an unsuspecting passenger during a bungled sniffer dog training exercise at the main Paris airport a week ago.
"Is that it over there, Jean-Pierre?"
"Nope. Sorry, Jean-Claude."
"I'll keep looking."
"We haven't found it," Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin told RMC radio today.
Have you looked under the bed?
150g of explosives were stuffed inside a case on the luggage conveyor belt at Charles de Gaulle airport. Two police dog handlers who lost sight of the suitcase have been suspended on serious professional misconduct charges.
"Vouse guys are fired!"
"What'll we do now, Jean-Pierre?"
"I guess I'll go back to apache dancing, Jean-Claude."
Police contacted around 100 airlines who had flights from the airport last Friday, but so far no passenger has come forward with the missing explosives.
"Hello? Lufthansa? This is the French police. Have you seen any explosives on one of your planes?"
The authorities say the explosives, which were not attached to a detonator, are enough to destroy a shop front or badly damage a car.
Posted by: tipper ||
12/10/2004 9:03:18 AM ||
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#1
Small change. We still have 390 tons missing, sez the LLL and MSM [/snarky comment]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/10/2004 10:17 Comments ||
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Some poor slob is going to get caught with this stuff and TSA will slap him silly.
Syrian police yesterday dispersed more than 100 activists who blocked traffic in central Damascus during a demonstration to push for further political reforms in the Arab country. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), in what is believed to be its first report on a local rights activists' function, said police made no arrests. "A number of citizens gathered today...at the center of Damascus on the occasion of the international day for human rights without obtaining a prior permission from the authorities," SANA said.
"The gathering led to blocking traffic at the small square which was crowded with people and cars. That led to police intervention to disperse those gathered without any detention," the agency added. Lawyers said police held 9 activists for about one hour and then released them. The crowd, estimated by activists at between 100-500 people, dispersed peacefully on police orders to leave or face arrest. Activists said they were calling for an end to the four-decade-old emergency laws in the Arab state, the cancellation of extra-ordinary courts and their rulings and political arrests. Syria on Tuesday freed 112 political prisoners under a presidential pardon. Activists say that about 300 political prisoners remain are still being held in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 9:23:52 PM ||
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...four-decade-old emergency laws in the Arab state...
Highlights
"A counter-insurgency is 50 percent military and 50 percent law enforcement," said Lt. Col. Mark A. Smith, the commander of the battalion and an Indiana state policeman. "You have to combine the two." A law-enforcement background is so common in the battalion that even the smallest units boast a few cops. "Almost every platoon has two or three policemen," said 1st Sgt. Grif R. Lippencott, a Naperville, Ill., policeman and the company first sergeant for Fox Company. "We rely heavily on them at the headquarters level."
So far the police influence has paid off well for 2/24, as they have captured approximately 200 insurgents since their arrival here in September. While the MEU will release a detainee if there is insufficient evidence to hold him, 2/24's record is thus far perfect. Every suspect pulled in by the battalion has been sent to prison. By taking these bad guys off the streets, 2/24 is also making its area safer for local residents. "The area is getting better almost everyday because insurgents are being captured and taken into custody," said Smith. He also noted a reduction in the number of ambushes and road-side bomb attacks in recent weeks throughout 2/24's area of operation. "There are only two options for insurgents here," said Lt. Col. Brian T. Shinkle, the battalion's staff judge advocate. "We either lock them up or we kill them."
#1
This is what I have long called a major goal for the occupation of Iraq: the devolvement from a military campaign to a big episode of "Cops". At this particular point, the goal is now to achieve the "L.A. standard"; which means that, per capita, Iraq is about as violent as Los Angeles. The left, on the other hand, will continue to call Iraq a "quagmire" and "chaos" until it meets what could be called the "Canada standard", which is unrealistic.
#3
this is what makes reserivsts and national guard in this sort of role, invaluble.
Unfortunately your higher command does not have the same law-enforcement experience when administering an occupation. That is one of our fatal flaws. Putting armored and cavalry division commanders in charge of a city like Baghdad and EVERYTHING that is required for securing a place filled with non-combatants AND bad guys.
Cops are used to that, it's pretty much their entire job. Military police have never really had to deal with that kind of environment in their daily duties, their beats and the type of public (joes) they deal with are vastly different.
The active duty division and brigade commanders have done more to impede the pacification of (lets say) Baghdad than anyone else... not to say there aren't good comamnders who get it, but there are a lot mroe who cannot break out of their modes of thinking and address the situation as it is.
a counter-insurgency and peace-keeping operation.
which has never been successfully combatted with traditional mechanized tactics and procedures.
A powerful bomb exploded near an army truck in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 20, officials said. The bomb, weighing at least nine pounds, had been attached to a bicycle, officials said.
Will the Cycles Of Violence never stop?
The blast in the center of the city wrecked the army truck and at least eight other vehicles. At least 10 shops in a business district were also damaged, witnesses said. Human body parts and blood were splattered around the busy square, which was sealed off by the security forces. "It was a mighty explosion," said Abdullah, a witness who gave only one name. "I saw people screaming and running and the dead and the wounded strewn on the road." Several victims were killed on the spot, and others died in hospital, doctors said. "We have information that 10 people, including a Pakistan army soldier, have been killed in the blast," Major-General Shaukat Sultan, a military spokesman, told Reuters. Four soldiers were among the wounded, he said.
Naeemullah Khan said his father, a shopkeeper, was killed in the blast. "He was badly wounded and was covered with blood. I rushed him to hospital, but doctors couldn't save his life," he said, wailing. Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed denounced what he called "a heinous act of terrorism." He said it was too early to allot blame for the blast, but added: "The people responsible will not go unpunished.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/10/2004 9:19:46 AM ||
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#1
Was the explosive from Air France?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/10/2004 14:57 Comments ||
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A US marine who turned up in Lebanon after disappearing from Iraq has been charged with desertion. The US military spent five months investigating the case of Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, who vanished from a US military camp near Falluja in June. A military spokesman said Cpl Hassoun was charged with taking unauthorised leave, loss of government property and theft of a military pistol. Cpl Hassoun said he had been kidnapped by insurgents and held hostage. The charges will now be considered by an investigating officer to determine whether Cpl Hassoun will face a military court. The marine has not been arrested and will continue performing normal duties at the Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, spokesman Maj Matt Morgan said.
The Lebanese-born marine appeared on Arabic television blindfolded and with a sword held above his head, but in July he walked into the US embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. "I was captured and held against my will by anti-coalition forces for 19 days," Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun said. "I did not desert my post," he told reporters in July. The marine's disappearance was mired in confusion - and at one point he was reported to have been beheaded by his Islamist captors. It is unclear how he was able to get from Iraq to Lebanon. He would have had to travel 800km (500 miles), much of it across Syrian territory. Cpl Hassoun was born in Lebanon, educated at American schools there and then joined the US marines after moving to Utah four years ago. The 24-year-old is fluent in Arabic, French and English and was serving as a translator in his second stint in Iraq at the time of his disappearance.
This always did smell funny. If he had been captured, I'm sure he would have been killed. I remember something about a girl being involved, luring him off base. Guess we'll have to wait for the court martial.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/10/2004 8:56:03 AM ||
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Desertion? How about treason! I can only imagine what this muslim told his brothers while in "captivity."
When Fallujans begin trickling back to their devastated city, they will be routed through sandbagged checkpoints where U.S. and Iraqi troops will take their fingerprints, issue them ID badges and scan their irises - part of an elaborate plan to keep insurgents out of the former militant stronghold. The first residents to be allowed in - possibly by Dec. 24 - will be heads of households, according to Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, who outlined the plan Thursday. They will be permitted to survey damage to their homes during last month's battle to retake the city and to file claims for compensation.
Five checkpoints have been set up into Fallujah, with roads south of the city blocked by sand berms, said Sattler, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. All men of military age will be processed using a central database; they will be photographed, fingerprinted and have their iris scans taken before being issued ID cards. The entire process should take about 10 minutes per man, Sattler said. The system has been in use for several months in Iraq, but until now has only been used to catalog detainees. No civilian vehicles will be permitted within city limits as a precaution against car bombs, which, along with roadside bombs, are the deadliest weapons in the insurgent arsenal, Sattler said. All cars will be left on the outskirts of Fallujah and residents will be bused to their homes, district by district. The measures - though likely to be perceived as drastic - are necessary, said Maj. Francis Piccoli, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force near Fallujah. "Some may see this as a 'Big Brother is watching over you' experiment, but in reality it's a simple security measure to keep the insurgents from coming back," Piccoli said. Good. And I'd bet most Fallujans, those who did not belong to or profit by the jihadis, will agree when they realize it keeps the asshast quotient down.
Posted by: .com ||
12/10/2004 4:00:04 AM ||
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#1
Good id system. check
No automobiles. check
Work battalions. check
High and tight hair cuts. Next up.
Writing home. After the hair cut but before lights out.
#2
I suspect car bombs are becoming the preferred method of disguising IEDs because we've gotten good at spotting other methods of hiding them. Maybe the US should set up corridors for military vehicles only within all the Sunni cities.
Oh boy! Friday's Urdu McNuggets, and right on time!
I like mine with sweet'n'sour sauce and a side of dhinga-mushti.
Mufti Jameel killed by agencies?
Quoted by Nawa-e-Waqt, Jamaat Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad visited the Banuri Masjid complex in Karachi and accused the government of killing two clerical leaders of the mosque, Mufti Shamzai and Mufti Jameel. He said the government had done nothing to catch the murderers of Mufti Shamzai after it had been given information about the murderers. He said the killing was curious because when Shamzai was killed the police had disappeared from the scene to clear the way for killers. He said Mufti Jameel was killed even though he had kept his arrival in Karachi secret, arriving one day earlier than the known schedule, but even then he was killed on the basis of inside information.
What is 'etekaaf'?
According to Dr Abdul Rauf in Khabrain, etekaaf [divine trance] is a constant focus on Allah for a period of time not less than one night and one day continuously; but it could go on for days. The idiom is etekaaf par bethna. It has to be done in a mosque where collective prayer is offered. Etekaaf is not obligatory but is sunnat or practice of the Prophet PBUH. It is compulsory to fast while in etekaaf which can be done in Ramazan or in any month. During this divine trance all namaz prayers are to be offered interspersed with readings of the Quran and its exegesis. It is however very important not to be distracted. The obligation of tatti-peshab (urination and defecation) has to be gone through quickly some place near the mosque and care should be taken to get it over with in one minute. Similarly, it is forbidden to indulge in jama (fornication) during etekaaf. It is also forbidden to go to the doctor for long diagnosis because it breaks the concentration. It is better to call the doctor to the place of etekaaf. To be silent and not to read or recite anything destroys etekaaf and is a sin.
Judges in 'divine trance'
According to Jang, two judges of the Lahore High court had sat in divine trance (etekaaf par baith gayay) which meant they would not be available for work for a number of days. The paper also reported that a cleric doing the trance in Shuja Abad was savagely clubbed in the head by someone. A large number of people had requested the government for giving them permission (on payment) to do the trance in Faisal Mosque in Islamabad but the government was scared that they could be attacked by terrorists. According to daily Pakistan 3,000 people had sat on etekaaf in Lahore's Data Darbar mosque.
Killed for refusing 'jama-talashi'
According to Jang, one man was killed and another injured after quarrelling with a committee asking people to allow body search before entering a mosque in Rawalpindi. The two young men became angry that they were being asked to submit to body search (jama-talashi) because they were fasting and were in sacred rage. After the quarrel a fight ensued in which one man was killed.
America will be destroyed!
Sarerahe quoted ex-ISI chief General Hameed Gul in Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that the victory of George Bush would destroy the United States because Bush had divided the nation. He said the American nation was now fragmented and had lost its ability to make important decisions.
Quran insulted, hospital burned
According to Jang people of Dalbandin found that pages of the Quran were scattered in a jungle. They became greatly incensed and came to the conclusion that a local NGO must have done the evil deed on orders from America. Three thousand citizens gathered and went to the nearest hospital run by the said NGO. They burned the hospital down, destroyed all the machinery and as their last sacred act stole the surgical instruments. The levees were called in but the incensed crowd threw stones at them too. According to daily Pakistan the incident took place near Chaghai where Pakistan tested its nuclear device in 1998. The ulema in divine rage said that the Quran was insulted as a result of a conspiracy of the Jews who were running the NGOs. They said that if any representative of the UN came to the area they would shoot him full of bullets. Dalbandin is where the Arab princes shoot bustard.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
12/10/2004 12:08:45 AM ||
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Divine rage. You gotta love the nuggets.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/10/2004 0:19 Comments ||
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yes-yes-they don't need surgical instruments as they do genital mutalation with jagged pieces of dirty glass--works fo them
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
12/10/2004 2:30 Comments ||
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#3
That etekaaf thingy is pretty weird. The shit in a minute rule has to be the toughest. They don't say if someone whips out a stopwatch or anything, but still...
#7
According to Jang, two judges of the Lahore High court had sat in divine trance (etekaaf par baith gayay) which meant they would not be available for work for a number of days. The paper also reported that a cleric doing the trance in Shuja Abad was savagely clubbed in the head by someone.
Some good news, finally.
According to Jang people of Dalbandin found that pages of the Quran were scattered in a jungle. They became greatly incensed and came to the conclusion that a local NGO must have done the evil deed on orders from America. Three thousand citizens gathered and went to the nearest hospital run by the said NGO. They burned the hospital down, destroyed all the machinery and as their last sacred act stole the surgical instruments. The levees were called in but the incensed crowd threw stones at them too. According to daily Pakistan the incident took place near Chaghai where Pakistan tested its nuclear device in 1998. The ulema in divine rage said that the Quran was insulted as a result of a conspiracy of the Jews who were running the NGOs. They said that if any representative of the UN came to the area they would shoot him full of bullets. Dalbandin is where the Arab princes shoot bustard.
In which case, they'd be shooting a b*st*rd.
According to Jang, one man was killed and another injured after quarrelling with a committee asking people to allow body search before entering a mosque in Rawalpindi. The two young men became angry that they were being asked to submit to body search (jama-talashi) because they were fasting and were in sacred rage. After the quarrel a fight ensued in which one man was killed.
#8
It's nuggets like these that make me want to nuke the whole lot.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/10/2004 9:22 Comments ||
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Sacred Rage
That one is a keeper! ROTFLMAO! And at 6AM local time.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/10/2004 10:04 Comments ||
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#10
I'm somewhat ashamed of thinking that a Paki nuclear exchange with India might be an evolutionary plus. Whatta bunch of ignorant assholes. Burned down the hospital over finding some trash in the jungle? F*&k em
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/10/2004 10:21 Comments ||
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#11
because they were fasting and were in sacred rage. After the quarrel a fight ensued in which one man was killed.
"Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. "
#14
...etekaaf [divine trance] is a constant focus on Allah for a period of time not less than one night and one day continuously; but it could go on for days.
Etekaaf, huh? Gee, kinda sounds like stupor to me.
#15
Lh - Sheesh. No shit? Great - I got it on the first go, whaddya know. Thanks for your contribution, though it's not your thread and your point is not original. Call me after you get the rash / panties in fucking bunch PEST thingy cleared up and the sense of humor transplant. I'll help you test it out. But yeah, thanks. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's humbling to be acknowledged. Thanks. Again. Thank you.
#16
which point is not original? that fasting should be done in a spirit that makes us better, but can lead to contention and violence? No, its not original, it was made 2500 years ago by this dude named Yashayah (what Isaiahs name really was) and so it seemed natural to post it about these Pakis with "issues". Sorry if i said something wrong. And sorry if my lack of appreciation for biblical bathroom jokes shows my lack of a sense of humor. I must be a good 'red stater' after all. (no move to Canada for me :) )
Maoists rebels set off a powerful bomb in the Nepali capital on Thursday, causing no casualties but leaving a large part of a government building in ruins, police said. The explosion came a week after two blasts in Kathmandu blamed on Maoist rebels fighting to topple the impoverished kingdom's constitutional monarchy. No one was hurt in those blasts either. At Thursday's bomb site, damaged computer monitors, broken chairs and cupboards were visible amid the rubble, after the central portions of the first and second storeys of the building collapsed. The building houses the offices of the state-run Agricultural Inputs Company.
Police said two young men entered the building compound before office hours, pretended to overpower overpowered their inside man posing as the guard using a pistol and planted the bomb. The men told the guard they were Maoists before ordering him to flee. "After the blast, the ground trembled like an earthquake. I was stunned and was shivering. I couldn't think any more," Ram Raja Khatri, the accomplice guard who had been overpowered, told Reuters. Broken bricks, steel rods and papers were strewn around the building compound. Dozens of window panes in nearby houses and buildings had shattered. "I feel like crying seeing the damage to the building," said 40-year-old Ram Hari Subedi, a computer operator who has worked for the company for 20 years.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2004 12:04:09 AM ||
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The brother of an Australian terrorist suspect detained in Lebanon has been arrested in Iraq by a Kurdish political organisation. Ahmad Jamal, 22, from Sydney, has been detained by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in northern Iraq, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said today. It was not known when the man was detained, the spokesman said. The Daily Telegraph reports his father has said Ahmad was arrested over confusion with his identification.
"He thought he was supposed to hand over the Syrian papers, but got out his Yemeni library card instead. It's a simple mistake...could happen to anyone, y'know?"
Ahmad Jamal is the brother of Saleh Jamal who was arrested six months ago in Lebanon after skipping bail in Sydney on charges of shooting up the Lakemba police station in 1998.
His business card reads: Have AK, Will Travel."
Lebanese officials claim Saleh Jamal has links to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq, Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
12/10/2004 10:26:39 PM ||
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#1
The Kurds seem to be working on cleaning up their neck of the woods. Reports like this occur on a regular basis.
An Israeli aircraft has fired a missile near the home of a Palestinian militant leader in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. An Israeli Army spokeswoman confirmed an air strike in the town of Beit Lahiya. She said the target was used to make and store munitions. Local residents said the missile struck a trailer outside the home of Mahmoud Al Madhoun, a senior commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Several people were lightly hurt from smoke inhalation and flying debris, the witnesses said. The leader of another militant group escaped an air strike in southern Gaza earlier on Thursday.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
12/10/2004 10:35:33 PM ||
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The police head of Samarra, Maj. Gen. Talib Shamel al-Samarrai, announced his resignation on Thursday, saying that he can not do his job properly due to the unrest in the northern Iraqi city. Violence continued for the second day in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, leaving five Iraqis dead and several others injured including one U.S. soldier. On Wednesday, a U.S. army spokesman Capt. Bill Coppernoll said that eight rebels in two cars raided the home of Maj. Gen. al-Samarrai.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 9:06:48 PM ||
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Uh, did this guy even read the job description? Reword his statement to "He announced his resignation because he did not do his job properly." and I'm there. The Arab view, when you get it unvarnished like this, is always an instructive eye-opener.
A car bomb blast in a crowded market in the Iraqi city of Mosul and mortar attacks near the Italian embassy in Baghdad killed three Iraqis and injured at least seven others on Thursday. U.S. military spokesperson Lt. Col. Paul Hastings said that a car bomb exploded in a fruit and vegetable market in eastern Mosul, injuring two Iraqi civilians. Thursday's explosion came one day after fighting in the troubled city between Iraqi policemen and fighters killed at least four rebels. Earlier, mortar rounds were fired at an Iraqi National Guard base near the Italian Embassy in the Waziriyah district in Baghdad. Police Lt. Hussein Ali reported that three Iraqi civilians were killed and five injured. One witnesses, Bassem Mal-Allah, who was also wounded in the attack, said; "I heard an explosion and went to see what caused it and then another mortar came in and hit me." Meanwhile, Japan decided to extend the deployment of its 550 troops in southern Iraq for another year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 9:05:50 PM ||
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Intelligence agents raided an Afghan refugee camp on the outskirts of Peshawar and arrested two alleged Islamic militants, a security official said on Thursday. It wasn't clear what prompted the authorities to raid the Jalozai camp, the official said, adding that they had been picked up late on Tuesday and were being questioned. Another government official confirmed the arrests but could offer no further details. On Wednesday, provincial Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah visited Wana to thank tribal elders for supporting the military in its operations against militants. Security officials believe that scores of Arabs and Central Asians are hiding in South Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 8:50:03 PM ||
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Railway police officials and armed private guards arrested a militant of banned organisation Sipah-e-Muhammad after a shootout near Sheikhupura railway station on Wednesday that claimed a constable's life, sources told Daily Times. Sources said that Muhammad Tariq, a railway police constable, intercepted a man draped with a shawl at the station entrance and tried to check him with a metal detector. The man refused to comply and fled. Constable Tariq called for backup and started chasing the suspect. He was followed by head constable Liaqat Ali, and constables Abdur Rasheed and Muhammad Rafi. The suspect ducked into a graveyard and began firing at the police. Tariq was hit in the torso and died instantly.
Locals rushed to the spot to aid the policemen, who were unarmed. After a call for help, some armed private security guards took up positions around the graveyard and called for surrender. Five minutes later, the trapped militant surrendered and was handed over to the B-Division police station. Sources said that during the initial interrogation, the detainee stated that his name was Ali Imran and worked for Sipah-e-Muhammad. He also revealed the locations of other militants, said sources, adding that Sheikhupura police teams had begun operations to round them up.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 8:32:49 PM ||
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An anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced four people to death for firing at a mosque in Rawalpindi, killing 11 worshippers and injuring 14. Fazle Hamid, Habibullah Mujahid, Tahir Mahmood alias Commando and Hafiz Nasir Ahmed were sentenced to death for firing at Shah Najaf mosque near Khyban-e-Sir Syed in Pirwadhai in 2002. The court also fined them Rs 500,000 each. Another suspect Qari Ashraf was sentenced to seven years in rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000. Four suspects, Mujibur Rehman, Muhammad Sohail, Muhammad Abdullah and Mubarik Hussain were acquitted by the court.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 8:53:33 PM ||
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#1
Another suspect Qari Ashraf was sentenced to seven years in rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000.
Gas supply was suspended to the Guddu Thermal Power Plant after a gas pipeline burst and caught fire near the border with Punjab. Kashmore town was also deprived of gas. Staff of Sui Northern Gas Company extinguished the fire, but gas supply had not been restored until the filing of this report.
Just the Bugtis, letting off a little steam...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2004 8:51:00 PM ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Professor Zhao Huji, a North Korea specialist at the Central Party School in Beijing, said Thursday that North Korean generals and high-ranking officials are deserting the crisis-plagued state as a mirror of growing instability and its leader's waning authority. "These high-ranking defectors aren't leaving because of material want, but because these feel chaos within the Kim Jong-il regime... High-ranking administrators like military officials have visited China several times and are well connected there, and because they have money, they have many chances to defect to China," said Zhao.
Syrian police yesterday dispersed more than 100 activists who blocked traffic in central Damascus during a demonstration to push for further political reforms in the Arab country. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), in what is believed to be its first report on a local rights activists' function, said police made no arrests. "A number of citizens gathered today...at the center of Damascus on the occasion of the international day for human rights without obtaining a prior permission from the authorities," SANA said.
An Israeli aircraft has fired a missile near the home of a Palestinian militant leader in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. An Israeli Army spokeswoman confirmed an air strike in the town of Beit Lahiya. She said the target was used to make and store munitions. Local residents said the missile struck a trailer outside the home of 
Intelligence agents raided an Afghan refugee camp on the outskirts of Peshawar and arrested two alleged Islamic militants, a security official said on Thursday. It wasn't clear what prompted the authorities to raid the Jalozai camp, the official said, adding that they had been picked up late on Tuesday and were being questioned. Another government official confirmed the arrests but could offer no further details. On Wednesday, provincial Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah visited Wana to thank tribal elders for supporting the military in its operations against militants. Security officials believe that scores of Arabs and Central Asians are hiding in South Waziristan.
An anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced four people to death for firing at a mosque in Rawalpindi, killing 11 worshippers and injuring 14. 
