#5
Some of the protesters probably aren't even familiar with toilets anyway. Maybe this will help.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/18/2005 15:04 Comments ||
Top||
#6
This morning over coffee it occurred to me that if someone could print the koran on genuine toilet paper there would probably be a large market to buy them and make a point of flusing them down the toilet.
I would buy them and use the paper for it's intended purpose prior to flushing.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/18/2005 15:12 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I blame the Al Gore double flusher for this fiasco.
Posted by: Michael I ||
05/18/2005 15:46 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Bog paper with a picture of George Bush would be a great seller.
#9
I don't think actually that anyone has claimed the Koran was "flushed" down a toilet, the accusation was that it was "dummped" or "thrown" into a toilet.
How will uyou live without George Bush to hate? What pathetic lives you must lead.
And don't come back with more anti Bush stuff. I expect it as much as I expect a muslim to seath over nothing. I have very low expectations.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/18/2005 18:07 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Sorry GE,
"Flushed" was the operative verb used by the MMM in early coverage of the story. Implied the US government issue Koran provided by the evil Americans swirled around like the guy in the tidy bowl commercial. It just ain't so, not that the moonbats will listen.
#12
Actually it wasn't even a threat to throw it into the toilet.... HOWEVER! The US Zionist interrogator did think to himself it would be a damn fine idea. Thought Krimes are the Worst!
#13
Unfortunatly the test results are invalid due to the counter directional swirl in toilets found south of the equator.
I am footnoting the Simpsons "go to Australia" episode as more source document... which is more of a source than NEWSWEAK had.
#14
Sorry, Cap, but Cuba is still well above the equator. The equator runs through Ecuador, the tip of Venezuela, and Brazil. Cuba's closer to the United States than it is to South America.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/18/2005 19:51 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I'm willing to bet none of the rioters has ever seen a flush toilet. Probably not even aware of their existence. Otherwise I have just confirmed the water in a toilet rotates clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
#18
What do terlits do at the equator? Flush straight? I have to confess I have conducted this experiment within 10 kilometers of the equator. Water rotates as it goes down but the direction of rotation is determined by whatever direction the water gets an initial impetus. I.e. if you push it clockwise, it goes clockwise. If you push it anticlockwise, it goes anticlockwise. Except sometimes it reverses its direction of spin for no apparent reason.
#20
Not our RB trailing wife, just a troll via the UK who thinks he's clever.
What a relief! I thought I'd inadvertently insulted someone here -- I much prefer to do such things deliberately. ;-)
As for today's little troll, he is just about as clever as his hero, Mr Galloway, thinking that clever words are an adequate substitute for substance. And that insulting his hosts demonstrates his intelligence... which of course it does do. Just not, again like Mr Galloway, in the way he intended. Perhaps he reads the Guardian?
AUSTRALIAN consular officials have been denied access to an Australian citizen believed to be facing terrorist charges in Kuwait and claiming to have been tortured in jail, the federal Government said last night. Australia had made 16 approaches to Kuwaiti authorities to gain access to the man, believed to be Tallaal Adrey, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs and trade Bruce Billson said. The Government was unaware whether the man, thought to be from the Sydney suburb of Auburn, had been charged or what sentence he may face if convicted, Mr Bilson said.
Mr Adrey's mother and brother told ABC television through an interpreter he had been charged with plotting a terrorist attack in Kuwait and had been tortured by two men, whom he had said had Australian accents. "I've heard that and we're trying to see what that might point to," Mr Billson told ABC television when asked about the torture claims possibly involving Australians. "There's been no consular people get anywhere near this gentleman, that's been the core of our concern. So at that level it seems not to be linked to any consular arrangements."
Kuwaiti had denied the allegation when the Government initially heard an Australian citizen was being detained in Kuwait, Mr Bilson said. "And in pursuing that further we were able to establish that the individual has been detained," he said. "Since then we've sought consular access to him, that's not been provided and we haven't been able to clarify what the charge is or the basis of the detention at this stage. We are aware that he's been detained. He has contacted our consular staff in Kuwait. He's made phone contact himself. Through those points of contact and discussions with his family we've been able to piece together some of the picture. But key details such as the nature of the charge, the basis of the detention, we've not been able to establish at this stage."
The Australian Government was very concerned about the torture claims, and that was one of the reasons it was so committed to providing consular assistance, Mr Billson said. "We've heard that his health may not be well," he said. "His lawyers have assured us that he is fine, but we'd like to be satisfied ourselves that that is the case. We've made 16 separate approaches to Kuwaiti authorities both in Kuwait itself and here in Australia pressing for access to see him and to see whether he is being treated in accordance with Kuwaiti law. At this stage we don't know what he's been charged (with), if he's in fact been charged at all, and therefore we're not sure what the sentence may be if he's found guilty."
#1
One of those Arab "Ozzies". Look at the picture at the link. He was picked up on his way to Jihad in Iraq perhaps? Sure is not your typical dress for Australia.
LONDON — The court of appeal in London on Monday granted lawyers acting for three men, who were tortured and detained in Saudi jails for more than two years, permission to seize the kingdom's assets in this country, including Saudi commercial airliners.
So the Brit courts have a spine. I like this.
The ruling follows a decision by the court of appeal last October giving the men the right to sue Saudi officials responsible for their torture in the British courts. In October, the Saudi government decided it would not contest an order to pay the men's costs, yet has failed to do so. It has promised to take the case to the House of Lords.
How many Lords have the Saudis bought?
Bindman and partners, lawyers for William Sampson, Sandy Mitchell and Les Walker, will now apply to the high court sheriff to seize sufficient commercial property to meet the costs, believed to be more than £100,000. Bindman and partners have made clear they will send the sheriff in to seize Saudi property as soon as possible. They are not entitled to enter the Saudi embassy, as it is covered by diplomatic immunity and regarded as foreign territory.
However, any commercial property owned by the Saudi state in Britain is regarded fair game. That includes Saudi Arabian airlines, as well as houses and cars used for commercial purposes by Saudi officials or employees.
A Saudi airlines 767 should do it.
The Saudi embassy could not be reached for comment on Monday, but lawyers for the kingdom indicated in court that they would seek to overturn the order to pay costs by asserting immunity, setting the stage for further legal arguments.
Lawyers for the three men subsequently asked the Court of Appeal to prevent Saudi representatives from relying on immunity in the costs issue, but the court on Monday rejected the application, said Tamsin Allen, one of the British men's attorneys. Hailing the court's decision, Allen said she was appalled by the Saudis' delaying tactics. "We, our clients and the public funding authorities are outraged that Saudi Arabia, one of the richest states in the world, should force the legal aid board to pay its debts and at the same time use our courts to seek immunity from torture claims." William Sampson pointed out that the Saudis had agreed not to challenge the cost order when it was granted in October and were now seeking to renege.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/18/2005 00:19 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Just give us on o' them flash Bentleys. Each."
Shepel started reading the indictment against Kulayev in the North Ossetian Supreme Court on Tuesday. "Basayev, Maskhadov, Magomed Khashiyev and a Saudi Arabian national named Taufik al-Jadani, know as Abu-Dzeib - chiefs of numerous regular militant teams, in July to August 2004 planned a large-scale act of terrorism in North Ossetia involving hostage-taking and the murder of civilians and law enforcement officers," Shepel said.
The organizers had the objective of undermining public security, intimidating the public and pressuring the authorities to withdraw federal troops from Chechnya, he said. "A group of over 30 persons from Chechnya, Ingushetia and other Russian territories and also foreign mercenaries was set up to carry out these criminal plans. Nurpasha Kulayev also joined in," Shepel said.
At the beginning of the trial, responding to questions from the prosecution, Kulayev said he is married and has two children - a two- year-old son and one-year-old daughter.
This article starring:
ABU DZEIB
Chechnya
ASLAN MASKHADOV
Chechnya
Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel
MAGOMED KHASHIYEV
Chechnya
NURPASHA KULAIEV
Chechnya
SHAMIL BASAIEV
Chechnya
TAUFIK AL JADANI
Chechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:54 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
A grenade thrown toward President George W. Bush during a visit to Georgia last week was a threat to the American leader and only failed to explode because of a malfunction, the FBI said on Wednesday.
In a statement, a Federal Bureau of Investigation official at the U.S. embassy said the grenade, thrown while Bush made a keynote speech in Tbilisi's Freedom Square on May 10, had been live and landed within 100 feet (30 metres ) of the president.
"While the president ... was making his remarks on Freedom Square, a hand grenade was tossed in the general direction of the main stage and landed within 100 feet of the podium," said C. Bryan Paarmann, the FBI's legal attache at the embassy.
"We consider this act to be a threat against the health and welfare of both the president of the United States and the president of Georgia as well as the multitude of Georgian people that had turned out at this event," he said in the statement.
Paarmann said a reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.
"This hand grenade appears to be a live device that simply failed to function due to a light strike on the blasting cap induced by a slow deployment of the spoon activation device," the FBI statement said.
It contradicted an account by Georgian police at the time who said the grenade was a dud, left at the spot to sow panic among the tens of thousands who turned out to greet Bush.
In Washington, Bush was told about the initial results of the FBI investigation on Tuesday night and was updated about it by FBI director Robert Mueller on Wednesday morning.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush had "absolutely not" lost confidence in the Secret Service charged with protecting him.
"We have full trust in the Secret Service and their ability to address these matters," he said.
The White House had said at the time that Bush, who had visited Georgia to show support for its pro-Western government, had never been in danger.
"The Secret Service didn't consider him to be (in danger) at that time. We've learned more since that time," McClellan said when asked to explain the discrepancy.
He said the investigation into the incident was continuing.
The grenade was thrown while Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, joined by their wives, were addressing the teeming crowd. Bush received a rapturous welcome as he hailed the volatile ex-Soviet country as a "beacon of liberty."
The crowd at Freedom Square was the largest since supporters of Saakashvili massed there for the 2003 "Rose Revolution" that piloted him to power.
At the time reporters noted the crowd was so large people overwhelmed metal detectors set up in the back, although officials insisted the people closest to the president would have gone through the weapons sweep.
A bullet-proof shield had been set up around part of the podium, with a large gap directly in front of the microphone.
Like the Caucasus as a whole, Georgia has been turbulent since the fall of communism. Earlier that day, Bush had told a news conference he backed Georgia's efforts to gain the return of two pro-Moscow rebel regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Georgian officials said the grenade had hit a bystander and fallen to the ground, but had no leads as to who had thrown it.
"The grenade hit a girl's head. Other details are under investigation. All we know is that the grenade was RGD-5," said Interior Ministry Spokesman Guram Donadze, referring to a type of Soviet-designed fragmentation grenade.
Paarmann said the grenade had been wrapped in a dark, coloured handkerchief and he called for witnesses to come forward.
A reward of 20,000 laris -- roughly $11,000 -- was on offer for information "leading to the arrest and conviction of this individual."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:53 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Paarmann said the grenade had been wrapped in a dark, coloured handkerchief
That could explain the "light strike on the blasting cap induced by a slow deployment of the spoon activation device", the handkerchief held the spoon down.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/18/2005 16:41 Comments ||
Top||
Russian security services killed a prominent Chechen rebel wanted for involvement in a series of planned chemical attacks, a top spokesperson for Russian forces in Chechnya said on Tuesday.
Major general Ilya Shabalkin identified the dead rebel leader as Alash Daudov, a former police official who was also accused of complicity in the seizure of hostages at a Moscow theatre in 2002 and a school in Beslan last September, as well as attacks on police in Grozny and in neighbouring Ingushetia in 2004.
Shabalkin said Daudov and a Jordanian militant, Abu Mudjaid, were planning "a series of terrorist acts using strong poisons". He said Daudov was supposed to carry out attacks under orders from Abu Mudjaid, who allegedly organised a shipment of toxic substances from outside Russia to Chechnya.
Shabalkin said Daudov was among three alleged militants killed in an abandoned house on the southern outskirts of Grozny after they tried to flee and opened fire on security services raiding the building. He said investigators earlier had found an unspecified amount of toxic substances, including cyanide. He appeared to be referring to a cache containing a cyanide-based substance that the federal security service (FSB) said earlier this month had been discovered in a settlement on the Chechnya-Ingushetia border. It said the components were not produced in Russia or elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.
Shabalkin said Daudov headed the so-called Amanat jamaat, a group of adherents to the extremist Wahhabi branch of Islam. The FSB had said it had implicated the group in planning attacks using poisons and toxic substances to contaminate water supplies and crowded places in the capitals of the North Caucasus region and several large regional centres elsewhere in Russia. According to Russian news agencies, Shabalkin said Daudov had been the second-ranking rebel leader in Chechnya, after warlord Shamil Basayev.
Shabalkin said Daudov had been carrying a sketch of a makeshift radio-controlled bomb, as well as maps of Grozny and the Caucasus cities of Nazran and Nalchik, which investigators believe indicated potential targets including water supplies, grain elevators and markets. Shabalkin said an electronic device for uncovering listening devices had been found amongst Daudov's things. He said experts had concluded the device that was produced on an "extremist base" in an Arab country he did not identify.
Shabalkin said that found, was "the latest evidence of involvement by the intelligence services of certain states" that were acting against Russia, but he did not name any nations. He claimed foreign intelligence agencies helped militants in Chechnya with security and equipment and help them organise sophisticated terror attacks.
This article starring:
.
Amanat jamaat
ABU MUDJAID
Chechnya
ALASH DAUDOV
Amanat jamaat
ALASH DAUDOV
Chechnya
Major general Ilya Shabalkin
Amanat jamaat
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:46 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
As Uzbek President Islam Karimov attempts to convince the world the violence in the eastern cities of Andijan and Pakhtabad is the work of Islamic fundamentalists, a rebel leader has called for the establishment of an Uzbek Islamic republic.
Karimov, Western governments and Russia are all faced with a political outcome they dread.
Western diplomats and journalists were granted a "controlled visit" to Andijan Wednesday where more than 700 people might have been killed by government forces in violence that erupted last Friday. By all accounts, the visitors, with a heavy security escort, saw what Uzbek authorities had choreographed in advance. Contact with city residents was forbidden, with the exception of those who repeated the government's version of events.
Last Friday, thousands of protesters Andijan, some of them apparently armed, seized control of a prison and freed thousands of inmates, including 23 businessman who were being tried for links to the Islamic group Akramia, which authorities say is connected to the outlawed militant Hizb-ut-Tahrir organization. Angered by the imprisonment and believed political persecutions of 23 businessmen, protestors later took to the streets. Local reports say troops indiscriminately opened fire on civilians, a charge the government denies.
It is unclear how many of the prisoners freed were being detained on charges related to Islamic militancy.
On Wednesday, rebel leader Bakhtior Rakhimov in the eastern city of Korasuv said the town's 20,000 residents would take charge of local government, adding they were ready to fight any government troops that came to crush the uprising. Authorities have dismissed Rakhimov as a marginal figure.
Little is known of Rakhimov other than he is a farmer from a prominent local clan and a person widely respected in Korasuv, located near the border with Kyrgyzstan. He is believed to have many supporters though the exact nature of his group is uncertain other than that it supports the establishment of an Islamic administration based on the Koran.
Calls for Islamic rule have often been voiced in Uzbekistan, at times backed by violence. In March 2004, Islamic radicals were blamed for bomb attacks, including one that killed nearly 50 people. Explosions at the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Tashkent killed three people last July. The government says the outlawed Hizb-ut-Tahrir is behind the attacks, but the group, which wants to set up an Islamic republic, says it rejects violence.
Karimov, once a Soviet-era communist boss, has headed Uzbekistan as a private autocratic fiefdom since 1991. The West backs him with lavish financial support and training, but critics accuse the international community of turning a blind eye to human rights abuse in Uzbekistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Karimov is a strong U.S. ally in the war on terror.
International human rights activists have broadly condemned Karimov's rule and say he has crushed any form of dissent. Uzbek authorities only allow a state-sponsored form of Islam and have, according to most estimates, detained 6,000 political prisoners.
Experts say Karimov's style of rule has only encouraged what he dreads most -- the formation of underground Islamic extremism. These groups came into existence in the late 1990s, receiving aid and training from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the Taliban and al-Qaida.
The best-known, homegrown Islamic group is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which was almost eliminated in 2001 during the anti-terrorism offensive in Afghanistan. Those who survived are now believed to be based in Pakistan's tribal areas and have, over the past four years, re-established contact with militants in Uzbekistan. There are reports extremists in Uzbekistan, hoping to take advantage of the recent unrest, killed Uzbek soldiers last Sunday on the Kyrgyz border.
There is no evidence that those who freed the 23 Muslim businessmen Friday have links to terrorist groups. It is also unclear whether Rakhimov has links to established terrorist organizations. What is clear is that Karimov's rule -- denying even a loyal opposition and imposing state-controlled Islam -- has emboldened radical groups.
Western governments and Russia, the leaders in the war against international terrorism, must consider if Karimov and his regime are a disease worse than the cure in this struggle. In a worst-case scenario, one is left to consider if Karimov's rule will be the true inspiration to establish an Islamic Republic of Uzbekistan.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:42 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Uzbekistan's autocratic leader Islam Karimov faced increasing international pressure Tuesday as the reported toll from a military crackdown in the eastern town of Andijan rose to 745. Four days after soldiers fired into crowds protesting against Karimov's iron-fisted rule over this impoverished Central Asian nation, the Soviet-era leader found himself facing rare tough words from the United States, which considers him an ally in its war on terror. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said late on Monday that the United States was "deeply disturbed" by the reported violence.
Boy, that's tough. Karimov must be taking the gas pipe...
"We had urged and continue to urge the Uzbek government to exercise restraint, stressing that violence cannot lead to long-term stability," he told reporters. The comments came on the heels of two days of statements by Britain's Foreign Minister Jack Straw, which called the Andijan violence "a clear abuse of human rights" and "totally condemned" the alleged firing on civilians by Uzbek soldiers. The United Nations has also called for restraint following the clashes, while France encouraged dialogue. The Swiss government said it would review its development aid contributions for Tashkent, some 11.5 million Swiss francs for this year.
In one of the first public protests following the violence, 15 supporters of the Free Farmers party, a secular opposition group, gathered in front of the US embassy in Tashkent. "The United States is partly to blame for the situation in Uzbekistan because they supported, and support, the Uzbek regime," one of the organisers, Akhtam Shaimadanov told AFP.
Somehow, I just knew it was our fault. Riots, slaughter, bloodletting, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, mudslides, indigestion or incontinence, it's always our fault...
However, he added that the protestors had chosen the site of the US embassy because they had less reason to fear retribution from the Uzbek authorities, in full view of their US allies.
I think I'll go lie down...
"We would be beaten if we had this protest near a government building - we had it here because the Uzbek authorities don't want to spoil their reputation," he told AFP. Protests are rare in Uzbekistan, a poor nation of 24 million people, where Karimov had effectively stamped out all opposition during his rule.
How'd he do that? There wasn't any opposition before his rule, either. There were commies.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
North Korea has asked China to arrange a visit to Pyongyang by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Japanese newspaper said, but Japan's top government spokesman said Washington had denied the report.
"Nope. Nope. Never happened. They talked about it, sure, but then they found out that Madelaine Albright wasn't Secretary of State anymore, so they changed the subject."
Nearly a year after the last round of six-country talks on North Korea's nuclear arms programme, concerns are rising that Pyongyang may conduct an underground test of a nuclear device. The Nihon Keizai financial daily said on Tuesday that North Korea's proposal was conveyed to Rice by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing during a telephone conversation on May 13. The report, which cited unidentified diplomatic sources, did not say what response Rice had given.
"Damn, Condi! What's wrong?"
"I just blew hot coffee out my nose, dammit!"
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference that the US State Department had denied the report. "There are people who want the United States and North Korea to have direct dialogue, but we think that the right course is to discuss (it) in the six-way talks," Hosoda added. Private broadcaster TV Tokyo later reported that a "US diplomatic group" could travel to Pyongyang soon to prepare for a trip by Rice, although a US Embassy spokeswoman in Beijing said she had no information on such a plan.
"We're always the last to know..."
The United States has repeatedly rejected the idea of holding bilateral talks with Pyongyang outside the six-party framework. South Korean Foreign Ministry officials said they had no information suggesting Rice might go to Pyongyang. "It would seem a little far-fetched to say Rice would visit Pyongyang at this point," one of the officials said. But some analysts said pressure was mounting from other participants for Washington to open some form of dialogue.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Maybe we should just send a gift boxed set of the new Team America DVD.
A Moroccan man in jail for the 2003 Casablanca attacks inspired and indoctrinated militants who are prime suspects in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, a Spanish judge said on Wednesday.
Mustapha Maimouni, 33, led a cell that singled out Spain for attack because of the previous government's support for the war in Iraq, the judge said, indicating Maimouni may have been a mastermind behind the Madrid bombings, which killed 191 people. "In Madrid, Maimouni summoned and radically indoctrinated (Madrid bombing suspects) and others who are the subject of other investigations with the goal of carrying out jihad (holy war)," Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska wrote in a court order.
The court order issued on Wednesday formally charged 13 people, including Maimouni, with belonging to a terrorist organization. The suspects, most of whom are in jail, were not directly charged with the train bombings. The order also sought the extradition of Maimouni from Morocco, where he was arrested in May 2003, shortly after the coordinated attacks in Casablanca by radical Islamists that killed 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers.
The court document traced some of Spain's most wanted Islamist militants to a cell established by Maimouni in late 2002 or early 2003. "In these meetings it was agreed that as a consequence of Spain having entered the war in Iraq it became an enemy of Islam, and that's why they had to attack in this country," the judge said.
In a video claiming responsibility for the Madrid attacks, masked men said they were taking revenge on Spain for sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the others said to have come under the influence of Maimouni was Driss Chebli, one of 24 men currently on trial in Spain on charges of belonging to al Qaeda and one of three charged with mass murder for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.
Grande-Marlaska, an investigating magistrate, is following a probe begun by Baltasar Garzon, who is on leave. It is one of nine investigations into suspected Islamist militant groups in Spain and separate from the inquiry into the commuter rail attacks in Madrid.
Spanish investigators are still searching for the true mastermind or masterminds of the Madrid bombings, which struck three days before a general election. Among those the judge said were members of Maimouni's cell, though not charged, were prime train bombing suspects Serhane ben Abdelmajid Farkhet, also known as "The Tunisian," Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, alias "Mohamed the Egyptian," and Said Berraj.
Farkhet was one of 24 men currently on trial in Spain on charges of belonging to al Qaeda and one of three charged with mass murder for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities. Ahmed was arrested in Italy, and Berraj remains a fugitive. Investigators have assigned leadership roles to all of them in the Madrid attacks. Maimouni himself was recruited into jihad by Amer Azizi, one of Spain's most wanted fugitives, the judge said.
This article starring:
AMER AZIZI
al-Qaeda in Europe
Baltasar Garzon
DRIS CHEBLI
al-Qaeda in Europe
Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska
MOHAMED THE EGYPTIAN
al-Qaeda in Europe
MUSTAPHA MAIMUNI
al-Qaeda in Europe
RABEI OSMAN SAIED AHMED
al-Qaeda in Europe
SAID BERRAJ
al-Qaeda in Europe
SERHANE BEN ABDELMAJID FARKHET
al-Qaeda in Europe
THE TUNISIAN
al-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:19 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
"With which groups do you identify?" asks the controversial questionnaire circulating on the streets of Paris. Respondents are asked to choose among 11 listed ethnicities.
The poll, part of a multicultural-marketing research campaign conducted by a small firm called Sopi Communication, is nothing short of revolutionary for France, where collecting information on race, ethnicity or religion is taboo. Sopi's effort is part of a larger trend -- the slow acceptance that France has minorities and that they may have different tastes and needs. especially needs. it's not HUMANE to keep us from slitting the throats of Joos, putting our sisters into the veil and taking over Europe. we got NEEDS you know ...
France long has taken the superficial appearance of assimilation to an extreme: Officially, only French and non-French people live here. In the name of equality and integration, the government insists immigrants leave their old identities at the border to join what the French Constitution calls "the Indivisible Republic." Ethnic and religious profiling also is viewed suspiciously in other European countries, in part because the Nazis used government records containing such data to identify Jews during World War II.
And, as we discussed the other day, a fair number of French helped.
Posted by: too true ||
05/18/2005 9:07:17 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
the company has found that putting pictures of dead jews in their advertising has increased sales in certain neighborhoods.
Posted by: too rude to claim ||
05/18/2005 9:40 Comments ||
Top||
#2
More evidence that France today is eerily similar to the 1970s US. Soaring crime and unemployment, race riots, corruption, declinism, populist revolts against the conventional parties, and now identity politics. Chirac is equal parts Nixon and Jimmy Carter. All that's missing is leisure suits.
#5
Be careful what you suggest, lex. Broomstick skirts and big Jackie O. sunglasses are all the rage this season amongst the fashionistas. Leisure suits, and their Nehru Jacket predecessors could well be next. *shudder*
#6
TW:
Nooooooooooo. We lived through the 70s once. That's something anyone should have to do twice. If they bring back the Vega, so help Me, I go blow something up.
#7
I note that London's crime rate recently surpassed New York's. Can Paris be far behind?
Also, we can expect either a lot more French political and social instability, and/or a lurch to even more extreme versions of arab-pandering and US-bashing from failed pols like Jacques the Thief.
#10
Jackel, I'm sure I would be much more upset at the thought if I knew what a "Vega" is (I had a very sheltered childhood!). But please don't blow anything up... Here, have this nice cup of tea instead. ;-)
Seafarious, I don't think Hollie Hobbie will much appeal to youngsters who grew up with the Power Puff Girls and anime'. And HH has to compete with the already established Precious Moments. Let's not worry until HH has a successful Saturday morning cartoon, shall we?
lex, Paris' crime rate is no doubt already far ahead of either NYC or London. It's just that so many categories (Jews harmed, black on white, black on black, minor vandalism, less-than-major vandalism...) are not recorded by the French police/gendermerie/other authorities. Remember, the Suburbs are not patrolled at all, not even by policemen walking in pairs.
A lawyer appealed on Tuesday to the German government to speak up on behalf of an Islamist, Metin Kaplan, who is currently on trial in Istanbul for treason after he was deported from Germany. Kaplan, who claims to be the 'caliph' or spiritual ruler of the Islamic world, was extradited last 12 October. Ankara promised a fair trial. Kaplan had earlier served a prison term in Germany for incitement to murder. Ingeborg Naumann told reporters in Berlin that Kaplan was not being tried according to the rules of justice. She contended prosecutors were bringing evidence that had been obtained under duress.
The lawyer said she had written to German interior minister Otto Schily and asked him to press Turkey to observe trial rules that were appropriate to the rule of law. Schily led a lengthy government campaign to deport Kaplan, known as the 'Caliph of Cologne', who resisted step by step in the German courts. After Turkey abolished the death penalty, German judges said there was no bar to his extradition to Istanbul.
via InstaPundit
Last night watched a CBS news piece on the hearings. I can't ever recall such a one sided report. The entire video consisted of Galloway reciting preplanned denials and insults. Not one second showing any senator asking a question or Galloway answering. Without knowing any background info, I would have thought Galloway was holding a press conference. Shame on CBS. No wonder the Press is now less trusted by Americans than even the government. My only question is has trust in the press fallen below used car salemen or Michael Jackson?
Key points
⢠Galloway's testimony against accusations leaves US Senate bewildered
⢠Respect MP used meeting as platform for vocal criticism of Iraq war
⢠US Senate remains to unsure of Galloway's credibility and approach
Key quote
"I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns." - GEORGE GALLOWAY
Story in full
George Galloway yesterday failed in his attempt to convince a sceptical US Senate investigative committee that he had not profited from oil dealings with Iraq under the UN's controversial oil-for-food programme.
Despite a typically barnstorming performance full of bluster and rhetorical flourishes, the former Glasgow Kelvin MP was pinned down by persistent questioning over his business relationship with Fawaz Zureikat, the chairman of the Mariam Appeal - set up to assist a four-year-old Iraqi girl suffering from leukaemia.
And it was a Democrat senator, Carl Levin, rather than the Republican committee chairman, Norm Coleman, who gave him the hardest time as Mr Galloway sought to turn the tables on his inquisitors, leaving him no closer to clearing his name than when he took his seat in front of the sub-committee of the Senate's homeland security and government affairs committee in Washington.
Time and again, Mr Levin questioned him, requesting wearily that he deliver a straight answer to a straight question. But Mr Galloway could, or would not.
The Respect MP clearly thought he came out on top, and said so bluntly afterwards, describing the chairman as "not much of a lyncher".
But Mr Coleman, accused by the MP of being "remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice", appeared unswayed by Mr Galloway's testimony. "If in fact he lied to this committee, there will have to be consequences," he said afterwards.
Asked whether Mr Galloway violated his oath to tell the truth before the committee, Mr Coleman said: "I don't know. We'll have to look over the record. I just don't think he was a credible witness."
The committee's report on Mr Galloway's alleged involvement, published to coincide with yesterday's hearing, pulled few punches. Despite the MP's denials, it said, the evidence showed that: "Iraq granted George Galloway allocations for millions of barrels of oil under the oil-for-food programme.
"Moreover, some evidence indicates that Galloway appeared to use a charity for children's leukaemia to conceal payments associated with at least one such allocation. Lastly, according to senior Saddam officials, the oil allocations were granted by Iraq because of Galloway's support for the Saddam regime and his opposition to UN sanctions."
Mr Galloway, the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, had pledged to take the fight to the committee and did not disappoint. Sitting up straight, he stared ahead as he delivered an impassioned diatribe against the US approach to Iraq.
"I am not now, nor have I ever been an oil trader and neither has anyone on my behalf," he told the chairman. "I was an opponent of Saddam Hussein when British and American governments and businessmen were selling him guns and gas."
In a lengthy opening statement, Mr Galloway insisted the sub-committee had no evidence against him.
"You have nothing on me, Senator, except my name on lists of names from Iraq, many of which have been drawn up after the installation of your puppet government in Iraq."
And Mr Galloway rejected a claim in the sub-committee's report that he had had "many" meetings with Saddam Hussein, saying he had only met the former dictator twice.
"I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns," he said.
It was the speech of a man believing himself wronged: "I gave my heart and soul to stop you from committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq," he said. "And I told the world that the case for war was a pack of lies."
And he poured scorn on the documentation produced in evidence against him, insisting, on his oath, that he had never heard of the company which, it was suggested, acted as a conduit for oil deals on his behalf.
He accused the sub-committee of committing a "schoolboy howler" in its presentation of the evidence.
Under repeated questioning, Mr Galloway conceded that Mr Zureikat did have extensive business dealings with the Saddam regime but, challenged over whether his friend's generous contributions to the Mariam Appeal - £900,000 by his own previous assessments - could have come from the sale of oil, he stonewalled.
Urged to say if he would repay the cash if it could be proved to have come from such a source, he again ducked the question. Mr Galloway first met Mr Zureikat, a Jordanian businessman, through his now-estranged wife Amineh Abu-Zayyad, who had attended the same university in Jordan. The men became friends and set up the Mariam Appeal in 1998.
⢠BBC Scotland flew its own reporter, Bob Wylie, out to cover Mr Galloway's appearance, while the corporation is looking to make job cuts and savings.
Posted by: ed ||
05/18/2005 06:38 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Galloway came to play cricket at a rugby match. He really must develop an understanding and appreciation of cultures other than his own.
#4
Comparisons with Braveheart on the BBC evening news last night. I kid you not.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
05/18/2005 7:55 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The senate now has Galloway testifying under oath. They also have testimony from Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's VP, implicating Galloway in both the oil and charity scams. In addition, we have Iraqi ministry documents detailing amount allocated for Galloway.
1. Indite Galloway for senate perjury using the trove of Iraqi documents, testimony of ex-Iraqi officials, and any Galloway confidants who can be turned.
2. Charge and convicthis underlings that sold the oil and transferred the money to Galloway. Get them to testify againt Galloway.
3. Turn his soon to be ex-wife into testifying about the sources of money and the Miriam charity scam. Probably a tough sell, but as a cousin of Arafat, she most ikely has her own financial skeletons.
4. Trace the money spent and property owned by Galloway and show his spendthrift ways were much more than his reported income. British cooperation will be required to charge his with tax evasion.
Historically, #4 may be the easiest to prove since it does not rely on Galloway's ex-cronies. I may take a wjile, but in his case, it's worth it. The fun will begin when Britain is asked to charge or extradite Galloway.
Posted by: ed ||
05/18/2005 8:42 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Hey, we owe it to ourselves and Blair to hang this slimeball, figuratively if not literally.
Posted by: too true ||
05/18/2005 8:49 Comments ||
Top||
#7
We can't indict Galloway. He's an MP and has diplomatic immunity.
Far from indicting him, I'd keep him talking. And talking. And talking.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/18/2005 8:56 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Seeing how he had no problem throwing his buddy Mr. Zureikat under the bus, you might want to consider getting him in there to testify.
#9
I don't believe UK MPs have immunity in the UK, why should they have diplomatic immunity in the USA - Galloway is not a registered diplomat, nor does he represent the UK government, the normal criteria for diplomatic immunity.
#10
Somebody tell W.O. that his attempts to insult someone's intelligence would have a better chance of succeeding if he himself could spell and use correct grammar. How pathetic...
Posted by: Dar ||
05/18/2005 9:13 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Watched and read live-bloggings -- WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT. Here's hoping the Senate knowingly "took the fall" for making yesterday so lopsided, for tactical reasons - will there be another testimony day? - and is going to call him back at some point to confront him with new evidence, and a stronger response next time.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
05/18/2005 9:54 Comments ||
Top||
#13
ed
I agree on putting some effort into the financial investigation approach.
One thing to look into is the Mariam charity finances. My recollection of an earlier investigation into this charity was that virtually none of the funds collected by the charity went to Mariam or to Mariam's treatment. There was, at that time, some obfuscation about the indirect financing of medical services.
#16
This lost records thing is SOP for fraudsters using charities and nonprofit entities as a vehicle for concealing their cash flow and it's sources. It's a particular favorite with politicians and their operatives for collecting and disbursing bribes, "campaign contributions", kickbacks and other ill gotten gains.
#17
Have all the Maryam's Appeal records disappeared from the bank as well? What about the records at the banks to/from which monies were transferred? And the bank records of those who made donations to the cause? A good forensic accountant (and we've got plenty of those in this country!) should have the missing records reconstituted in jig time.
Oh, and Whomoting Omeaper1433: I've seen both games, and I know the difference. Your clever little British MP thinks he is still operating under the polite rules of the British Parliament. The U.S. Senate is not at all interested in his clever word games -- this is a legal trial, and your boyo is gleefully lying under oath to people who have the financial documents in front of them, and some of the best financial people in the world to advise them. Arrest for perjury is only the first of Galloway's worries, had he the brains to realize it. But don't worry, eventually it will be brought to his attention.
#18
"My only question is has trust in the press fallen below used car salemen or Michael Jackson?"
I, for one, trust the MSM less than used car salesmen and politicians - at least you know up front they're spreading manure while trying to pick your pocket. With the MSM you have to work at separating the wheat from the chaff.
As for Michael Jackson: he's in a class by himself - certifiably nuts IMO, so trust doesn't really enter into it.
#19
No surer way to turn the normally apathetic, UN-supporting American center into advocates of UN reform than to make Galloway the OFF posterboy. More, please.
#20
I'm afraid you are all living in a dream world. Coleman was blown to smithereens and was very anxious to draw the proceedings to a close. The so called "evidence" was pathetic.
I don't think Coleman would be brave enough to make these allegations outside the Senate since he would then be subject to libel action.
It's crazy to think that the USA would ask for extradition based on this contrived evidence, not that it would succeed in any case.
Any federal prosecutor, and any citizen in the land can prosecute a RICO charge against Galloway and the UN. We don't have to wait for the government to shut this enemy organization down.
Even better, the UN can be shut down along with any and every company that EVER did business with Hussein.
You f*cking lewftists want to crow about how cool Galloway is, maybe it's best you all be thankful Galloway got back home with any portion of his Islamist-ass kissing ass intact.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/18/2005 17:00 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Galloway did a very good job of executing a very stupid strategy. He could have stayed on his side of the pond, but, for the sake of showing us what a clever fellow he is, crossed to our side and arguably committed perjury on US soil. Further, instead of giving the Senators a straightforward explanation of his side of the story -- which would have been the best thing to do if he could not be dissuaded from testifying to begin with-- he went out of his way to insult (and thereby motivate) two ranking bi-partisan Senators. So be sure to collect your press clippings, GG, you may find that the extra reading material comes in handy. That little show was egotism run amok.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/18/2005 17:38 Comments ||
Top||
#30
I think it had to do with persistent use of the word "potato." The items about the inevitability of nuking the US and "carpet napalm" on the settlements might have also tipped the scales a little.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/18/2005 21:20 Comments ||
Top||
#32
He came off better than Trafficant in the short blurb I watched. Must be the lack of the pelt of a roadkill stapled to his pate. Michael Moore must have written his address.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/18/2005 21:37 Comments ||
Top||
#33
one comment
Norm ? Is he not that lump in cheers
I think Dan Dan the potaro (potato) man would have done a better job.
One thing for george, he's got more 'uptop' than that senate loser, and no, I'm not talking well groomed hair !
#35
Galloway is a pariah in UK politics. No real influence other than causing trouble for the PM. He is not representative of the UK.
He won his seat recently using very underhand tactics, such as the race card; in a district he has no knowledge of, to make a point to Tony Blair. Namely, donât mess with me. He ousted one of Tonyâs up and coming stars in the process who was a black girl in a black / Asian area. HE STILL WON.
He is a heavy-weight political professional that can rattle Tony Blair time and time again.
In the UK, unlike the US you normally need talent and intellect to make it, not just money, influence, money, connections, money, etc. Please donât argue this oneâ¦
There are decent clever Americans, the Democrat Levin seems one. But sorry, there are a lot of stupid people as well.
Galloway is not cool, no-one trusts him in the UK, used car salesman image, but he went to the senate and showed SOME politicians in the US to be MORONS, and thatâs the problem with the US. If the smart, talented people ran the US, it would be even greater than what it is today.
Also when I made fun of trailing wife, I was being a little tongue in cheek, and I got the reaction I expected.
You lock the Scottish windbag up. Keep him, as we never wanted him anyway.
#36
comment #25 included several valid statements regarding Galloway's status in the UK, and I feel these add to the debate not detract, as you know very well rkb. Freedom of speech ?
A House measure aimed at keeping women out of combat would bar female soldiers from at least 21,925 Army jobs that are now open to them, a senior Army official said yesterday.
The projection of lost jobs comes as opposition to the proposed ban spreads from the Army's senior leadership to include associations representing nearly 145,000 current and former Army and National Guard members.
Lt. Gen. James L. Campbell, director of the Army staff, provided the figure in what Army officials said was a narrow interpretation of the potential impact of the measure passed May 11 by a panel of the House Armed Services Committee, which would ban women from serving in certain support units in an effort to keep them out of "direct ground combat."
"If the amendment . . . to prohibit the assignment of female soldiers to Forward Support Companies (FSC)" applied only to such companies in heavy, infantry, and Stryker brigade combat teams, "a total of 21,925 spaces currently open for assignment to female soldiers would be closed," Campbell wrote in a letter delivered yesterday to Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.), the committee's ranking Democrat.
In contrast, Republican proponents of the measure said it would affect only a few dozen jobs.
Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) seeks to compel the Army to comply with a 1994 Pentagon regulation that bars female soldiers from direct ground combat units below brigade level, said a statement released yesterday by a spokesman for Hunter.
"Presently, the Army is unilaterally assigning servicewomen in land combat units. The committee's intent simply is to codify current Department of Defense regulations," the statement said. Lawmakers and staff indicated that the measure's wording will be different when it is presented for a full committee vote, probably today. The Army says it is complying with the policy.
In a letter yesterday, 27 Democrats on the committee called on Hunter to strike the measure, an amendment to the defense authorization bill, saying it would "tie the hands of military commanders in a time of war" and undercut recruiting and careers of women.
Leading Army groups also rallied to oppose it. Retired Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, president of the Association of the United States Army and a former Army chief of staff, wrote to the committee this week that the proposed ban would be "confusing" and "detrimental to units."
Opponents also argued that the notion of a clear front line has evaporated in today's insurgent conflicts, casting doubt on the practicality of the effort to restrict women from combat. "Today combat may occur in the desert or on Main Street," wrote retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen M. Koper, president of the National Guard Association of the United States.
I realize many RBers may be skeptical about combat roles for women. I'm not: I trust our military leaders to be realistic about what is effective in our current operational deployments. Not all women will be suited, and not all roles in combat require the same degree of physical strength.
Based on the recent article in which women Marines have acquitted themselves well in the daily grind of house-to-house searches and small-unit operations, I'd have to agree with you.
Posted by: rkb ||
05/18/2005 7:55:31 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
A Time Mag article I read awhile back said soldiers respected the Afghan veiled women and didn't search them. Since UBL, al Libbi, and others have reportedly hidden behind the burkas, I would think they would need more women to prevent inflaming their (over)"sensitivities". We should learn the lesson of Newsweak.
#2
What is what, though ... I'm studiously keeping out of the debate, except to recognize both sides. It is indeed true that "there is no front line" anymore, but I am hesitant to change the status quo; don't make the ban more restrictive, just don't make it less so either. Sorry if this seems an "insufficient" weigh-in.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
05/18/2005 9:52 Comments ||
Top||
Web sites maintained by Iraqi insurgents and their supporters contain chilling instructions that tell recruits how to become snipers and how to inflict the maximum damage, ABC News has learned. A Defense Department document is being disseminated to U.S. commanders in Iraq to inform them about the insurgency's newest tactic, ABC News has learned. The document contains information from pro-insurgency Web sites, translated by Pentagon analysts, which instructs would-be snipers to target U.S. and coalition military commanders, officers and pilots because replacing them "may take two to four years and cost more than $500,000 to put someone through the famous West Point."
Snipers are also directed to target U.S. special forces because, according to the site, "they are very stupid because they have a Rambo complex, thinking that they are the best in the world. Don't be arrogant like them."
They are among the very best in the world, guys, but don't believe us, go see for yourselves.
The Web site also features a training exercise game called "Who Would You Shoot?" It's the first time U.S. analysts say they have seen an interactive Web site aimed at Iraqi insurgents. "If you had only one shot," the site asks, "who should you kill?" Users can choose from several options, and then they are told the "correct" answer. In one scenario, which features an image of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer — the former U.S. administrator in Iraq — flanked by a security escort, the site says "If you killed this person, you would know the next day that you have killed Paul Bremer without knowing it, because they don't provide such protection for anyone else." In another scenario, which features an image of an American tank with soldiers standing in the foreground, the site says, "If you said the soldiers, you are wrong. Kill the gunner on the left [of the tank], then the driver on the right," therefore disabling the tank.
These boys will soon discover the difference between a sniper and a guy with a gun.
#1
US Specops info are very very tightly controlled - as former Army SpecWar myself I doubt the Islamists would have such info unless they got it from a foreign source(s).
I have this image main street at high noon. The man with a yellow star, hand above his gun....just waiting for the man in black hat to flinch one tiny little muscle.
#7
I doubt the "insurgents" have the skill to do real sniping. However, remember that US sniper teams can pick their asses off at nearly a mile away. The "insurgents" could most likely only do any damage at 200-300 meters.
#9
"And finally, my Jihadi brothers, do not run: you will only die tired."
Posted by: Matt ||
05/18/2005 12:35 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Only $500K for a famous West Point ejukashun? And I can get it all done in 2 years? Heck, where do I sign up? Gotta git mo of that. Can I minor in advanced holey book flushin' studies?
McLEAN, Va. - A jury acquitted two members of the MS-13 street gang on all charges Tuesday in the murder of a pregnant teenager who had become a federal informant. Two others were convicted on all charges and face a possible death penalty. One of those acquitted was Denis Rivera, 22, who prosecutors said masterminded the murder of his former girlfriend, 17-year-old Brenda Paz, from an Arlington County jail cell. Paz, a former MS-13 member, was found dead on the banks of the Shenandoah River in July 2003, just weeks after she voluntarily left the federal Witness Protection Program and returned to the gang.
Brilliant move on her part, wasn't it?
She was to have testified against Rivera at another murder trial. Despite Paz's murder, Rivera was convicted in that case and is serving life in prison. Had he been convicted of Paz's murder, he could have faced the death penalty. The verdicts came in the fifth full day of deliberations following a monthlong trial at U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Rivera's attorneys argued that numerous members of MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, wanted Paz dead for snitching, and that a gang leader in Texas gave the order to kill her. Paz had told authorities that "half of MS-13" wanted her dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Oy. The Darwin Awards are going to be highly competitive this month.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
05/18/2005 10:21 Comments ||
Top||
#2
she won't do that again.... one upside is her testimony would've been easily impeached, now they have these two by the 'nads
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/18/2005 10:34 Comments ||
Top||
[May 14 2005] at 0215 LT at Dumai Anchorage, Indonesia. Three robbers armed with knives boarded a tanker at poop deck and entered Engine Room. Duty crew raised alarm and robbers escaped with ship's stores.
[May 13 2005] at 0110 LT in position 05:13N - 098:06E, Malacca Straits. Armed persons in an unlit 7m craft approached a general cargo ship underway. D/O took evasive manoeuvres but craft came into contact at port side causing damage to ship's hull. D/O sounded whistle and called craft on VHF ch 16 but received no response. No boarding took place.
[May 10 2005] at 0430 UTC in position 13:05.7N - 080:21.0E, Chennai Anchorage, India. Five robbers boarded a RO RO ship from stern and attempted to steal ship's stores. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers escaped empty handed in their boat. Port control and police informed.
[May 10 2005] at 0850 LT at tanker anchorage, Jakarta, Indonesia. Six robbers boarded a tanker at anchor from two fishing boats. They broke open aft locker and stole ships equipment. Robbers escaped in an easterly direction. Port authorities informed.
[May 09 2005] at 0445 LT at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Two robbers boarded a container ship at anchor. Duty crew raised alarm and robbers jumped overboard and escaped in their boat. Port control informed.
Piracy Prone Areas and Warnings
Bangladesh: Chittagong at berth and anchorage.
India: Chennai, Kandla
Indonesia: Anambas/Natuna Island, Balikpapan, Belawan, Dumai, Gaspar/Bar/Leplia Str, Jakarta (Tg.Priok), Pulau Laut, Vicinity of Bintan Island
Malacca Straits: avoid anchoring along the Indonesian coast of the straits. Coast near Aceh is particularly risky for hijackings.
Somalian waters: eastern and northeastern coasts have been high-risk areas for hijackings. Whilst there have been no recent incidents, ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should stay away from the coast.
West Africa: Abidjan, Conakry, Dakar, Douala, Freetown, Lagos, Tema, Warri.
"...7m craft approached a general cargo ship ... came into contact at port side causing damage to ship's hull."
Some 22-foot boat hits a cargo ship and the cargo ship is damaged? Why wasn't the boat reduced to kindling (or shredded fiberglass, or crushed like a beer can)?
In this remote corner of Syria where the Euphrates River cuts a lush strip through empty desert, fighting between U.S. Marines and Iraqi insurgents just across the border has people on edge.
Artillery shells that strayed from Iraq during last week's battles injured several Syrians, townspeople complain. And Syria's government is again on the defensive against U.S. accusations that it allows fighters to cross its territory.
On Wednesday, a top U.S. military official charged that Iraq's recent surge of bombings and other insurgent violence could be traced to a meeting in Syria about a month ago by lieutenants of extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and possibly attended by the Jordanian militant himself.
Syrian officials had no immediate comment. But earlier Wednesday, the government newspaper denied Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's accusation that Syria still lets foreign militants cross into Iraq.
The newspaper said Syria's government is pursuing "all-out efforts" to ensure Iraq's stability and has made clear it is ready to cooperate with Iraqis and Americans to ensure a secure border.
Syria won't allow journalists near the border town of Abu Kamal, 75 miles downstream from Deir Ez Zour and just across the border from the Iraqi town of Qaim, where some of the heaviest fighting raged during a weeklong Marine offensive against insurgent hideouts.
But a few of Abu Kamal's 70,000 residents — reached by telephone — spoke of watching airstrikes and battles three miles away in Qaim.
"It made us feel with our Iraqi brothers. A lot of innocent people were hurt in the offensive," said Bassem Abu Jalal, a 23-year-old businessman.
Several people in Abu Kamal were wounded by stray artillery shells, including a 10-year-old boy, townspeople said.
They also said that during fighting in Iraq a few months ago, three people were killed in Abu Kamal: two teenagers — one killed by sniper fire, the other by a stray shell — and a man in his 40s hit by a bullet while praying at a mosque.
Relatives are demanding compensation from the U.S. government, said Ali al-Mushawweh, an Abu Kamal lawyer who said he is filing lawsuits through the Syrian Foreign Ministry. He said he knew of four Syrians who were wounded by the latest combat in Qaim.
"We are paying for the U.S. actions in Iraq," al-Mushawweh said.
Like many on the Syrian side, he blames the United States for the problems and says insurgents haven't been in his town.
The United States has repeatedly asked Syria to improve controls along the mostly desert 380-mile border, saying extremists use smuggling routes to slip into Iraq and join insurgent groups.
Syria denies it allows fighters to cross over, saying it is doing all it can to stop them.
The government says it has reinforced a 12-foot-high sand barrier stretching 80 miles through the Abu Kamal region. It also says there are observation posts almost every mile and round-the-clock patrols looking for insurgents.
Western diplomats say there is no conclusive evidence linking Syria's government to insurgents in Iraq.
And despite their public bickering, there is no indication either side wants to raise tensions, said Jeremy Binnie, Middle East editor for Jane's Sentinel Security Assessments magazine in London.
"I don't think the Syrians want to draw any more attention to the fact the insurgency is coming across their border, and the Americans do not really want to have to face a more hostile Syria," he said.
But, he added, "Having the Americans right on the border fighting in Iraq, there's always going to be a possibility that that's going to spill over."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 16:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I'm sure if an American arti "strayed" over the Syrian border it was directed counter-battery fire. Any injured terrorists Syrians were I'm confident well deserving of the attention they got.
#2
Lots of worry about the Syrian miltants "Iraqi brothers" under attack by American forces, but little concern for the innocents being bombed by the terrorists in Baghdad.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/18/2005 21:14 Comments ||
Top||
#3
ask for GPS coords for the lawyer so we can send compensation
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/18/2005 21:33 Comments ||
Top||
Iran is less than a month away from its June 17 presidential election.
By the time the deadline for registration had expired Saturday, a new record of 1,010 hopefuls -- among them 89 women who are eligible to contest elections under Iranian law -- had signed up.
Like the 2001 campaign, when some 814 aspirants registered, candidates this time come from all walks of life. They include the homeless, security guards, actors, soccer players, homemakers, office workers, as well as no-hopers like a Saddam Hussein look-alike who wants to be a movie star and a man who dresses like al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Analysts, and some officials, blame the registration of so many bizarre and nonpolitical individuals on the absence of an organized and "party politics" system in Iran, as well as the country's electoral laws.
Based on Article 115 of the Iranian constitution, "The president must be elected from among religious and political dignitaries (or Rejal, meaning distinguished men in Arabic) possessing the following qualifications: Iranian origin and nationality; administrative capacity and resourcefulness; a good track-record; trustworthiness and piety; and convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic republic of Iran and the official religion of the country (Shiism)."
All candidates, however, have to be vetted by the conservative-controlled Guardian Council, a powerful clerical body that, besides vetoing legislation it deems unconstitutional or un-Islamic, has the power to screen all candidates for public office.
In the February 2004 parliament elections, the council disqualified more than 2,000 reformists and political moderates from standing, causing several weeks of political tensions.
Condemning election vetting, more than 500 intellectuals and politicians, including former members of parliament, announced recently they would boycott the upcoming presidential elections.
In a statement, they said the June 17 election cannot be free and fair because the Guardian Council was depriving people of free choice. The council has already said the 89 women candidates will be disqualified. But correspondents say the council may be more cautious this time, fearing a low turnout could damage its legitimacy.
As the campaign gets into full swing, the presidential hopefuls are fine-tuning their messages and slogans that are sometimes as varied as their personal details.
Among the frontrunners is former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who occupied the post twice from 1989 to 1997.
More socially conservative than the reformists, Rafsanjani, 70, who is head of the arbitrative State Expediency Council, is seen as a pragmatic conservative who is open to better ties with the West. He talks about "economic democracy" as one of his main slogans, describing economic growth and freedom as prerequisites for social and political democracy.
In a message faxed to the print media last week, Rafsanjani called his intention to run for president as "one of the most difficult decisions" he had to make in his entire political life. He referred to increasing political tensions and sensitive international conditions as the two main reasons behind his decision.
Elsewhere, Mostafa Moin, former minister of Higher Education and the leading reformist candidate, called the election a "new chapter in the democratic process in Iran." Former parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karroubi promised "practical steps to implement democracy."
Others have rejected this position.
Tehran Mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad, who is running from the ultra-hardline faction, says, "We did not have a revolution in order to have democracy."
Several political dissidents, among them one based in the United States, have also registered.
Other aspirants belonging to the conservative camp include former police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, former Revolutionary Guards head Mohsen Rezaei, and former TV and radio chief Ali Larijani.
On the female list, dissident Aazam Taleqani and former MP Rafat Bayat are among the known figures.
Having lost control of the parliament in 2004, reformists loyal to the incumbent President Mohammad Khatami tried for months to secure the executive power by unsuccessful trying to persuade popular former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi, who served from 1981 to 1989, to stand.
Observers believe the failure may provide hardliners and conservatives yet another chance of winning by default. Khatami is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term.
Despite opinion polls, elections in Iran have never been predictable, the observers say.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:41 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Iranian Grand Ayatollah, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, has issued an official statement calling for the international community to help the Shiite minority in Yemen. "It is not acceptable that the Shiites be persecuted for their faith in a country which defines itself Islamic, and all this in the face of a total lack of interest from the international community and worldwide public opinion," the statement reads.
The Zaidi Shiites are thought to make up around a third of Yemen's approximately 20 million population, while moderate Shafi Sunnis make up the rest.
Montazeri, one of Iran's highest ranking theologians, believes "the new wave of attacks against the Shiite minority in Yemen is a consequence of the increased presence of Wahabis in the leadership of the country."
The Grand Ayatollah - who was the heir apparent, but was put under house arrest in Qum in 1997 for questioning the rule exercised by the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic - warns the Yemeni government "and all the dictatorial regimes of the region, to bear in mind what happened to Saddam Hussein."
"Sooner or later - Montazeri warns - the dictators all meet the same fate and are expelled from power and literally kicked out by the people."
Various Shiite religious leaders are reported to have been arrested in Yemen in the last few weeks, in the interests of state security.
Yemen is trying to rid itself of its reputation as a haven for Islamic militants. Last year it closed down all unregistered religious schools, which were considered militant breeding grounds. That decision is also thought to have been connected to a three-month uprising against government forces by Shiites in the north of the country, led by radical cleric and former MP Hussein al-Houthi.
The rebellion ended in September when the government announced al-Houthi's death. Hundreds more also died in the clashes, which resumed again last month for several weeks, led by al-Houthi's father. The Shiite rebels are not linked to al-Qaeda however, as they are reported to detest al-Qaeda more than they hate the Yemeni state.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:17 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"...the dictators all meet the same fate and are expelled from power and literally kicked out by the people."
well a lot of dictators die in their sleep... Khomeini comes to mind
#3
This is so absurd. State dept. plans to complain about Iran to the UNSC without actually ever bothering to engage Iran in dialogue first. Is there no common sense left in gov't these days?
I read a NYT article today by John F. Burns that stated the Iranian Foreign Minister would be making an official visit to Iraq for 3 days to commence diplomatic relations between the 2 countries and that our Navy Seals would be in charge of his security while he was visiting the Iraqi politicians in Baghdad. So here we have our military guarding this Iranian politician's life but officially he is invisible to our gov't in DC.
Whether gov't bureaucrats like it or not, their protocol books are about to be turned upside down and inside out in the near future because of the Iraq-Iran relationship. The Iraqi officials intend to have a full fledged normalization of relations with Iran and say they don't care about the hostilities between Iran/USA. So if we plan to stay around Iraq for a while, it will be pretty hard to pretend Iran does not exist since Iranian officials will be coming back and forth on a regular basis whether state likes it or not.
#4
You might want to check but Irasn desires no diplomatic relations with us. It's not the other way around. But since you rely on the NYT for ionformation you knew that...
#5
Yes, I read the NYT -so what? It just happens to be an American icon.
As for Iran not wanting diplomatic relations with the USA, no I did not know it was Iran's choice. I assumed it was ours because of the Iranian revolution. I stand corrected. Then it will be Iran who will be forced to resume relations with the USA due to Iraq -same result- thawed relations due to Iraq. That is a more hopeful scenario than Boucher and Rice spinning wheels at the UNSC.
#6
The New York Times managed not to notice the Holocaust some years back. They don't exactly have a history of balanced or complete reportage, self-proclaimed iconic status or no.
#13
I am well aware of the left wing bias of the NYT but it is still one of the best written MS newspapers in our country with decent int'l news coverage as well as business, travel, cultural, literary news. Being able to stay in business for over 100 years is nothing for any of us to sneer at. And I'm certainly not going to stop reading NYT because of its owners/reporters' bias. I wouldn't have gone to college, I wouldn't have dated people I did if I wanted to be a purist about political views. I'm interested in national/int'l politics so I read broadly to get different perspectives including journals and blogs. The point is no one news source is telling it like it is - there will always be slant, ommission or embellishment of details. As long as the I know it from the onset, what's the problem? Therefore, I read NYT, WSJ, The Economist, the London Times, The Spectator, Globe and Mail, National Post as well as political journals like National Review or journals with politics like New Yorker and of course news blogs as often as I can. Libraries and bookstores are my favorite haunts. Btw, the NYT was not the only one in the dark about the Holocaust - political leaders of nations were similarly "in the dark."
The point is not what I read or do not read, the point I was making was that State Dept. and the UN are useless at the best of times for problem solving real world political tensions and this is the case especially when 2 countries like Iran and the USA are on a collision course to war with neither country's gov't leaders speaking to one another for the past 25 years. For the first time in recent months of escalating hostilities, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, which most of you appear to not care about discussing - Iraq has established diplomatic relations with both countries and its leaders have just now announced that it plans to open its doors to both and Iraq does not care what the 2 feuding cousins have going with one another, Iraq is going to be the adult and work for a peaceful future in the region. That is fantastic! We brought democracy to Iraq, but Iraq may end up being the agent of peace for us with Iran.
#14
The NYT was not"in the dark" about the Holocaust, they just chose not to report it. Big difference.
As for Iran, we may not be at war with them (yet), but I believe they've been at war with us since 1979. Their choice, and I see no reason for us to kow tow to them now, just to make the NYT and its readers happy.
#15
And to tell the truth, so long as Iran continues to trumpet development of nuclear weapons designed to hit Israel and [in their dreams] the U.S., I see no benefit to diplomatic relations, however enjoyable the dinner parties may be (mmmm, Persian food! eaten off the former Shah's dinner service!!) for the diplomatic corps.
#17
No starvation here, Times said so. Course I'm still dead with about 10 million neighbors.
Posted by: Just Another Kulak ||
05/18/2005 16:04 Comments ||
Top||
#18
How about a twofer: refer Iran and NoKo to UNSC.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/18/2005 17:02 Comments ||
Top||
#19
Fine, have it your way, pray for war, view the the possibilties that came up in a recent article I describe as a glass half empty not half full. My point was not to get into a defense of the NYT's previous deriliction/lapses in journalistic integrity - take your complaints up with Mr. Schulzberger, Jr. and his advertisers if you feel so strongly - but rather I wanted to share some positive news from the ME region I read in a NYT article that might be of some interest to you and which relates to the posted article about state dept and the UNSC. I suspect that apart from the right wing party supporters, the majority of Israelis would be very very happy if Iraq somehow ended up attenuating the Iran/Israel-US hostilies without more war and bloodshed in the region. The same desire could be said for most Americans and Iranians I would venture. I don't see the UN being an agent of peace, but Iraq might, as a link to both Iran and the US, and for that small ray of hope, I am glad.
#20
The NYTimes' foreign coverage is occasionally excellent (John Burns in Afgh, Iraq), usually lame (see their Russia and FSU coverage), and often non-existent. As far as I can tell, they do not have correspondents in Afghanistan, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Indonesia.... In point of fact, what should be the Times' distinctive excellence is probably its weakest point.
Q: If the OpEd page and their national reporting have become a joke, and if their local coverage is surpassed by the NYC tabloids, then what's left?
A: Culture, aka coverage of the gay Manhattan arts scene. Science. So much for the Paper of Record...
#21
Hey, I thought I did a helluva job covering the Soviets back in the 30's. Won me a Pulitzer. Sometimes when me and Uncle Joe are getting roasted in Hell again, I remind him of that. He laughs like evil bastard he is...
Posted by: The Ghost of Walter Duranty ||
05/18/2005 17:50 Comments ||
Top||
#22
Sorry Lex. The Village Voice has the gay Manhattan arts scene franchise. I hear the city health inspector beat is still up for grabs.
Posted by: ed ||
05/18/2005 17:55 Comments ||
Top||
#23
The NYTimes' foreign coverage is occasionally excellent (John Burns in Afgh, Iraq)
Thank you Lex for that observation. The NYT article I have been referring to about the hopeful side effects (possibly) of Iraq and Iran re-establishing diplomatic ties was indeed written by John Burns.
#24
Thairong, you may well be right about future Iraq/Iran relations, but I come up with a very different analysis. Iraq is on its way to being the first modern state in the region (excepting a couple of Gulf statelets). Many issues exist between Iraq/Iran not least ethnic tensions. The potential for military conflict is high and its a forgone conclusion that Iraq would win. There are a lot of borders in the region that should and IMO will be redrawn.
#25
I am well aware of the left wing bias of the NYT but it is still one of the best written MS newspapers in our country...
Sorry - it's a gut reaction. It's akin to having Itzhak Perlman and Yo-yo Ma playing 'La Cucaracha' with a San Antonio mariachi group and calling it an orchestral performance(tho I'd still pay dearly to see it...)
...the point I was making was that State Dept. and the UN are useless at the best of times for problem solving real world political tensions and this is the case...
I believe it's called "following a checklist". Aircraft pilots, ship captains, and others perform it even if they know that the rudder is still attached to the craft they just brought in.
If the UNSC does nothing, well, that's one procedure checked off. No one can come back if it all falls apart and say "you didn't do this".
...especially when 2 countries like Iran and the USA are on a collision course to war with neither country's gov't leaders speaking to one another for the past 25 years.
I think the Iranian government spoke quite clearly with Khobar Towers and the Beruit Maine barracks, no?
It would be nice if tensions were abated. I trained a lot of Iranian sailors; overall they are a good people. But having done three tours in that region, I'd regretfully say my experience sort of overrides any wishes I have.
No doubt Thomas Jaichner knew his job protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq was a dangerous one. In the last year alone, 18 of his fellow employees at Blackwater USA, a North Carolina security firm, had been killed on duty there. But for most of his adulthood, protecting people was part of what Jaichner loved most, relatives said. On May 10, it cost him his own life. Jaichner, 33, a Bordentown City native, was killed by sniper fire in Ramadi while part of a team guarding a U.S. diplomat. The diplomat, whom officials would not identify, escaped unharmed, a Blackwater spokesman said.
"Tom was a great protector," said his mother, Merle Barrett of Bordentown. "He died doing just what he wanted to do." Jaichner enlisted in the Army after high school and was a Ranger stationed in Germany during the Gulf War. After the Army, he attended the University of Alabama and enlisted in the Alabama National Guard, serving with its 20th Special Forces Group in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He joined Blackwater in 2003, and was completing his third three-month tour in Iraq with the firm.
"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family of our friend and patriot, who was killed defending the life of another," Blackwater USA president Gary Jackson said in a statement. Barrett said her son "had a passion" for safeguarding others. "He was a champion," she said. "We're so proud, and so brokenhearted." Born in Trenton, Jaichner lived most of his early years in Bordentown, graduating from Northern Burlington County High School. For a short time, he operated Fatt Philly's Restaurant and Bayou La Batre Catering in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Later he moved with his wife, Blair, to Los Angeles, where he decided to go to the Middle East.
In addition to his wife and mother, Jaichner is survived by his father, William; a sister, Jennifer Lynch; a stepsister, Kimberly Barrett; and his paternal and maternal grandmothers. Friends may call from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Huber-Moore Funeral Home, 517 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 45 Crosswicks St., Bordentown. Burial with honors will follow at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bordentown Area Pop Warner Football League.
#3
Ahem. Seriously, it's always a shame for someone to be killed in the line of duty. My sympathy to the family, and respect and prayers to Mr. Jaichner. If everyone in this country were like him, no one would dare mess with us.
The announcement in Pakistan of the arrest of al-Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al-Libbi on 4 May and the subsequent arrests of some 24 other alleged Islamic militants a week later have been described by Pakistani authorities as a significant breakthrough against al-Qaeda's operations in the country. However, detailed inquiries in the Pakistani capital Islamabad by Adnkronos International (AKI), have revealed that the arrests have failed to minimise al-Qaeda led operations and only intensified the group's terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Sources in Islamabad have revealed that as soon as the news of al-Libbi's arrest reached al-Qaeda and those who sympathise with the organization, there was an immediate reaction, targeting Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf.
Mushtaq Ahmed, who escaped from jail late last year after being convicted of a key role in the 2003 attempt to assassinate Musharraf, was one of those re-arrested after al-Libbi's capture. Interrogations with Ahmed revealed that he was set to launch a third attack on Musharraf's life.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABU FARAJ AL LIBI
al-Qaeda
MUSHTAQ AHMED
al-Qaeda
MUSHTAQ AHMED
Jaish-i-Mohammed
Pakistani High Commissioner in Britain, Wajid Shamul Hasan
al-Qaeda
Jaish-i-Mohammed
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This is wishful thinking on the part of the jihadi supporters. Carter advised the Shah to leave. Bush (and Hu) will encourage Musharraf to put down the rebellion by any means necessary. With US troops in Afghanistan and Indian and Chinese troops at Pakistan's borders, I seriously doubt that al Qaeda will be allowed to establish a state of its own in Pakistan.
#2
Pakistan is a house of cards. No real changes are being made to curb the radical islamic forces in the general population. Once Musharraf is gone, a new strongman will be needed quickly. Should one appear quick enough, he may or may not be sympathetic to the US and WOT, total chaos in any event is likely to ensue. It's just jim dandy that a society that more and more idolizes the 7th century (thanks to the Saudi Wahabies) has nuclear weapons.
Posted by: DO ||
05/18/2005 16:07 Comments ||
Top||
Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq defended the killing of "innocent Muslims" in suicide bombings against U.S. forces, saying it was legitimate under Islam for the sake of jihad (holy war), according to an audio tape attributed to him on Wednesday.
"The killing of infidels by any method including martyrdom (suicide) operations has been sanctified by many scholars even if it means killing innocent Muslims. This legality has been agreed upon ... so as not to disrupt jihad," Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said on the tape posted on an Islamist Web site.
The Jordanian militant, Washington's biggest foe in Iraq, quoted Muslim scholars to justify the loss of Muslim lives in suicide attacks in Iraq. His message appeared aimed at winning Sunni Muslim support for the insurgency.
"Protecting religion is more important than protecting (Muslim) lives, honour or wealth," said the man who sounded like Zarqawi. "The shedding of Muslim blood ... is allowed in order to avoid the greater evil of disrupting jihad."
The authenticity of the tape could not be verified and it was not clear when it was recorded.
The speaker said it was crucial to step up suicide attacks to weaken his enemy's modern military might. "These operations are our lethal weapons against the enemy.
"God knows that we were careful not to kill Muslims and we have called off many operations in the past to avoid losses ... but we cannot kill infidels without killing some Muslims. It is unavoidable," he added.
"We know that some mistakes may happen and victims may fall and this causes us grief, but what can we do in the face of this reality in which the enemy has penetrated our land."
He said Muslims killed unintentionally in such attacks were "martyrs who died for Islam".
The speaker blasted the Shi'ite Muslim community, calling them "rejectionists who fought alongside the worshippers of the cross and spearheaded every war against Muslims (Sunnis)".
Addressing Iraq's Sunnis, the speaker added: "We are the spearhead of the Ummah (Sunni nation) and its first line of defence in the face of the crusaders' advance. If the jihad's power subsides then the Ummah will witness calamities and disasters."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/18/2005 15:15 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Keep it up, assholes.
Your grave's nearly deep enough.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/18/2005 15:39 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Tom Friedman makes a good point today -- Muslims are furious about what they thought happened at gitmo with one koran, and 17 of 'em died. Yet not a PEEP out of 'em when it comes to the Muslim on Muslim atrocities zark perpetrates. No condemnations, no fatwas, nuttin. Downright inexplicable, for the religion of peace, don'tcha think?
May 18, 2005: President Hamid Karzai seems to have defused a lot of the brouhaha by clever manipulation of public opinion. After pointing out that the news article indicated a report of an alleged incident, he then noted that the protestors had destroyed hundreds of Korans in the process of burning several buildings. What he did was to break the "code of silence" that affects this type of incident when Moslems are fighting Moslems. How often have the insurgents, in the process of killing people, also damaged or destroyed Korans, mosques, etc? Curiously, this is an angle American information war people should be working, but are not.
Posted by: ed ||
05/18/2005 13:34 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I like this guy.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/18/2005 14:18 Comments ||
Top||
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Former President Clinton said Wednesday the political changes in Iraq, including parliamentary elections in January, will help bring stability to the region. Clinton met with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and a number of Danish lawmakers during his visit. The former president spoke with reporters before flying to Jordan for a poverty conference. "The Sunnis and the Shiites, the Kurds and all the various tribes can work out accommodations that will allow them to build a stable society, I think that will be good for Iraq and good for the Middle East," Clinton said at the end of a two-day visit to Denmark. "There is no point living in the past," Clinton said. "Look at where we are now. Everyone, all freedom-loving people would be better off with a genuinely representative, effective, free government in Iraq whatever your feelings are about what went on before."
"I'm Hillary Rodham Clinton's husband, and we approve this message."
Posted by: Steve ||
05/18/2005 12:23:45 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
The real laugh will come years from now, when due to Paul Bremer's brilliant management, Iraq will transcend Japan's rise under the MacArthur constitution to become one of the most powerful and important economies in the world. It's mostly invisible right now, but their (boring) banking, financial services, insurance, brokerage, and other institutions have been set up to be idealized versions of the best operating systems in the world, with none of the learning curve baggage. Economics textbooks will use Iraq as the standard on which to evaluate other economic systems performance. When a permanent government is elected and foreign investment is allowed, that economy is going to explode.
#4
Hilary has been pro-Iraq invasion from the start, when she not only voted for it, but sat next to Lieberman at the state of the Union speech. The Clintons soft-peddaled their support in public in 2004 out of deference to Kerry, whom they had supported as an alternative to Dean. Now that Hilary will probably run on her own, they are simply reasserting the centrist views theyve always held. (and if you say shes a socialist cause of national health care, fine, that kind of socialism she has in common with Harry Truman, whom conservatives seem to admire these days)
#5
Hilary was "pro"-invasion because she knew that was what the voters of NYstate wanted.
She's no centrist and never will be.
She and her HINO (husband in name only) both loathe the military and have very little concept of its proper use.
Clintoon knows his legacy was 9/11 and part of that legacy was his failure to deal with Saddam's regime and his flagrant violation of 16 UN resolutions.
Slick Willy's idea of "military intervention" was a few cruise missiles, only fired after the military waited for hours to get the "Launch" command from Clintoon because he was on the golf course.
If you call Hitlery nationalizing 1/7th of the US economy for her womb-to-the-tomb health care "Truman-like," is it any wonder you Democrats are so lost???
Truman was the last good Democrat; please don't ruin it by lumping in Her Heinous with him!
#7
Harry Truman also wanted national health insurance. While I dont know the details of his proposal, or even whether he got to the point of a detailed proposal, I doubt it was any less radical than Hilarycare.
#8
Yup, the Clintons didnt effectively attack Afghanistan or Iraq. Neither did Bush, pre 9/11. There simply wasnt political support for that, from either party.
#9
'A 1969 "Oral History Interview" with Oscar R. Ewing, formerly President Truman's administrator of the Federal Security Agency (predecessor of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) reveals that, in Ewing's words, "national health insurance had been proposed by President Roosevelt in the very first social security bill introduced in Congress back in 1934." But, as Ewing explained, the American Medical Association "didn't want the Government to have a thing to do with medicine. They opposed every bill that was introduced in Congress that even remotely would involve Government in medicine." (Their opposition extended to government support of any medical research, and they proposed that doctors "raise ten million dollars a year for research" - a sum Ewing thought the AMA intended to solicit largely from the pharmaceutical industry. "the pharmaceutical manufacturers.") President Roosevelt, whose wife, Eleanor, had been persuaded by her own doctor of the rashness of pushing for national health insurance, decided to withdraw that provision from the social security bill. His strategy now, said Ewing, was to "get what he could" right away, and try later for national health insurance.
The Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill, introduced in Congress in 1943, did include a national health insurance provision, but it was rebuffed even though a Gallup (American Institute of Public Opinion) poll had reported 59% of respondents favoring the inclusion in the Social Security program of payments for sickness, disability, doctor and hospital bills.[4]
Roosevelt's successor, Harry Truman, proposed in 1945 a national health insurance plan to a recalcitrant Congress; and Oscar Ewing, undeterred by defeat and with Truman's support, began to advocate such a plan publicly early in 1948. At this point, the tag "socialized medicine," earlier used effectively to defeat a proposed California health insurance program, was applied to the legislation urged by Ewing. He said in the 1969 interview that he thought the reason for the pharmaceutical industry's intense opposition to the administration's bill was a provision in the original draft that provided for price controls if drug prices became excessive. '
#11
Strawman LH.
1993 Somalia: Withdrawal and be shown to be a paper tiger, instead of attacking into the city as requested by the Rangers.
1993 World Trade center bombing: No response, even though at least one of the bombers escaped to Iraq.
1998 Khobar Towers bombing: No response.
1998 Kenyan and Tanzanian embassy bombings: Cruise missile strike at Afghan AQ camps and Sudanese pharmaceutical plant.
2000 Yemen Cole destroyer bombing: No response.
Not a stellar record. I'm sure other readers can find more examples.
Posted by: ed ||
05/18/2005 17:13 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Was he showing off for the chick in the picture at the link? She looks doable. But with this guy, what isn't?
#14
Clintoon appears to be, um, weighing things, heh, in that pic. I've done that, too. "Guess My Tits Weight. A fine tradition. Thanx, into the image collection it goes.
The Dalai Lama and a host of Nobel prize winners have joined actor Richard Gere for a conference aimed at righting the wrongs of modern humanity.
Yeah, when I think about saving the world, Richard Gere is the first person who comes to mind.
King Abdullah of Jordan is hosting the two-day meeting at the ancient desert city of Petra. Authors Elie Wiesel and VS Naipaul are among the artists and scientists in Petra to discuss the way things are - and the way they should be. Former US President Bill Clinton is also due to join the conference.
Psssst, Abdullah, I'd keep a close eye on the wife
In his opening address to the conference, entitled A World in Danger and held ahead of a World Economic Forum meeting on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea, King Abdullah said the modern world was at a "critical crossroads". He called for renewed efforts for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a fresh emphasis on Islam as a religion of peace.
Keep trotting that old ROP meme out there, maybe somebody will believe it
"A process begins here - a process that all of you will shape, and by your effort, help shape our world," the king told delegates.
We're doomed!
Mr Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1986, wondered whether the 21st century could escape the legacy of its violent predecessor. "At the dawn of the 21st century, the planet is already in peril. The world is thirsty for stability," he said.
Why do they keep thinking stability is a good thing? Stabilty means a lack of change, and change is what we need in this region
"Will wars persist, will disarmament remain utopia? Terrorism, particularly suicide attacks, are preaching a culture of death. What can we do to stop that?"
Kill the bad guys
Delegates will discuss four key themes: terror and peace, economic development and poverty, health and environment, and education and media. Recommendations will then be presented to political and business leaders gathering for a three-day meeting of the World Economic Forum, beginning on Friday. Israeli Vice-Prime Minister Shimon Peres, former Northern Irish political leader David Trimble and Nigerian author Wole Soyinka are among a total of 44 delegates, 25 of them Nobel laureates. In his address, King Abdullah said the growth of extremism demonstrated that more effort was needed "to reinforce the basic values of humanity". Young people in the Middle East have known no existence without conflict and see a world wracked by division, he added. "They see diseases that wealthy nations have wiped out, that are still crippling people in the developing world.
SEE: Islamic clerics against vacinations
"They see gender inequality, holding back talents of half the world.
SEE: Islamic clerics against womens rights
They see the harm as well as the hope brought by globalisation."
SEE: Moonbats against free trade, development, democracy, etc....
Posted by: Steve ||
05/18/2005 8:48:15 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
How about saving us, Richard? What about us? Aren't we worth saving, or do you see us as useless playthings only good for your own gratification!
Asshole!
#3
Y'know what? We should just hand the whole world over to the poor. They're doing such a bang-up job with their own lives, let them manage everything.
#4
aimed at righting the wrongs of modern humanity. Again the implied premise that the modern world is making things worse. By any objective standard this is false. I could summarize this conference and a hundred others as 'Explaining how, when things get better it really means they are getting worse.'
#5
Recommendations will then be presented to political and business leaders gathering for a three-day meeting of the World Economic Forum, beginning on Friday.
#6
Why do I have the feeling that if Tibet was ruled by priests again that it would be much like life under the Taliban? That's the trouble with laws "written in heaven", they keep changing unpredictably based on what the current priest beating you with a club thinks.
#8
Why is it that when the Arab leadership talks about how Islam is really a religion of peace it is always in english to Western diplomats? The people he should be telling that to is the Cleric's Mufti's and Madrassa's that teach this kind of crap
http://www.memritv.org/
There is a segment of Islam that is a peacfull religion the problem is the islamic version of the Aryian Church is in control and ulike the regular MAJORITY of christian churchs in the west condem or speak out against when faced, the cough "majority" of islam churches cant wont or dont have the sack to do anything exept tell the western diplomats in english that the majority is good and islam is peacefull but they do nothing to spread that idea at home.
GO, if you had explained, y'know - made your comment worthy of the bandwidth, you might have become a valued member of the RB University Faculty. But, alas, you didn't and, thus, you're not. Sigh. Goldem opportunities lost, episode googleplex.
#11
Yeah, Richard Gere is a wanker for the most part, and so are a lot fo the people on the bandwagon because its trendy & "counter cultural".
One thing they did get right:
"Terrorism, particularly suicide attacks, are preaching a culture of death."
Aad that is the bottom line: the culture of death, be it in Islam (screaming suicide bombers), or in secular humanism's destruction of the elderly and disabled (euthanasia laws in the Netherlands), is what is at the root of a lot of this. A lack of respect for life, and the subsequent lack of valuing life.
Seriously, Anonymoose - your anti-religious bias/bigotry is showing through again. You're as rigid as a Marxist when it comes to religion.
Do you know anything at all about Tibetan Buddhism?
If you did, you would not have made such an ignorant, lowminded comment.
Elie Wiesel and VS Naipaul have been known to depart from the usual PC blather. Weisel refused to join the peace at any price campaign during the 80s and Naipaul has written some withering stuff (mostly descriptive) about islamic culture.
#13
. . . that is the bottom line: the culture of death, be it in Islam (screaming suicide bombers), or in secular humanism's destruction of the elderly and disabled (euthanasia laws in the Netherlands), is what is at the root of a lot of this. A lack of respect for life, and the subsequent lack of valuing life . . .
Well said, Spook. Well said.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/18/2005 12:32 Comments ||
Top||
#14
I guess I have a lack of respect for life. I want to see the terrorists dead, the people threatening my countrymen dead....
#16
mmurray: The use of deadly force in defense of innocent life does not demonstrate a lack of respect for life. Coming to the defense of innocent life is not only permissible, it is often required. See, e.g., St. Augustine.
In other words, go kill all the terrorists you like, it's cool.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/18/2005 13:36 Comments ||
Top||
#17
Anonymoose: I suggest you travel over to amazon and type in the dalai lama's name under the book section. Pick any of his works at random and order it. Any one. Once you have read it, pick several others. Then the Buddhist bible(a collection of works, there is no actual "bible"). Then go where you will. Then come back and explain how the buddhists beat people over the head with sticks. Or tell us about a particular war or conflict they have started. Or participated in. At all.
Posted by: Weird Al ||
05/18/2005 13:41 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Why do they keep thinking stability is a good thing? Stabilty means a lack of change, and change is what we need in this region
Change threatens their status.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/18/2005 13:44 Comments ||
Top||
#21
I don't have documentation for this but I have a quote on a mousepad supposedly by the dali Lama. "If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." I'll research and see if it's legitimate.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/18/2005 16:19 Comments ||
Top||
#22
You can tell by the way that the Dalai Lama dresses that he's a serious 'nole fan.
TOKYO - Japan will extend a law allowing its troops to provide rearguard military support for US-led operations in Afghanistan by two years, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The counter-terrorism law, first passed in November 2001 over widespread opposition, allowed Japan to deploy its navy to the Indian Ocean in the first post-World War Two dispatch to a war situation and set the stage for a separate law allowing it to send troops to Iraq on a reconstruction mission.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is likely to convey Tokyo's intention to extend the law when he meets Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah later on Wednesday, according to the report in financial daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The extended mission could include the dispatch of P3C patrol planes in addition to the refuelling and other support services Japan currently supplies, it said.
The present two-year extension to the law is due to expire in November. The government is currently planning to submit legislation extending support to the autumn session of parliament. But if the current parliament session, set to end on June 19, is extended it could submit the legislation in this session.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/18/2005 00:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will stand for election after his current term expires in 2007, a government minister said on Tuesday. "There is no doubt that he will remain a candidate for the post of president after 2007 and inshallah (God willing), he will win," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Reuters.
Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and adopted the title of chief executive, secured a five-year term as president through a controversial referendum in 2002. This was endorsed by a parliamentary vote of confidence in January 2004 after his government struck a deal with a hardline opposition alliance.
Political rivals and other critics of Musharraf say the referendum in 2002 was massively rigged in his favour through widespread stuffing of ballot boxes.
The pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League enjoys a majority in parliament and three of the four provincial legislatures, which will constitute the electoral college that will elect the president in 2007.
A new parliament is due to be elected in a general election 2007. Under the electoral college system, the new president will be chosen by a majority vote of all members of the national and four provincial assemblies and the Senate, or upper house of parliament.
In recent months, Musharraf has been trying to improve his relations with mainstream opposition parties to boost his position ahead of the presidential polls. The mainstream opposition, including former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party, have been angered by his curbs on democracy and his refusal to allow the return of their leaders from exile without the threat of arrest.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
ISLAMABAD - An Afghan who spent three years at Guantanamo Bay prison said on Tuesday that interrogators at the center frequently desecrated the Quran, which prompted a hunger strike and a US apology.
And no doubt the liberal left, Newsweek and Andy Sullivan will believe this guy. Yeppers.
Abdul Rahim, 40, said during an interview on AVT Khyber television, a Pashtu-language private channel, that abuse of the holy book was routine. "Abuse of the Quran was done routinely particularly in the early days of detention," Rahim said. His claims could not be independently verified.
Of course not.
"They would throw the holy book on the ground, trample upon it and tell the prisoner under interrogation no one could stop them from doing that. "The news of sacrilege sent shockwaves among the prisoners and all of us went on a hunger strike. We declined to participate in the interrogation and also did not eat anything for many many days," he said.
How exactly does one 'decline to participate in an interrogation'?
Rahim, according to the interviewer, said that the hunger strike ended only after top American officials apologised for the desecration. "All of us ended the hunger strike except for a Palestinian. It was due to our efforts and sacrifices that we restored the honour of the Quran," he said.
"Which top American officials?"
"Top American officials, you infidel!"
Rahim said he had arrived back in Pakistan after he was freed from Camp X-Ray last month. He was captured in Peshawar by Pakistani intelligence in 2001 and handed over to US custody.
Got wrung dry twice, did he?
Rahim also said prisoners were kept in harsh conditions and in cages. "The cages were made of steel and also the beds on which we used to sleep. At times we created lots of noise by thumping the steel cages that would disturb the Americans."
"And then they would turn a fire hose on us, the infidel dogs!"
Rahim said often when Americans walked though the passage between the cages prisoners would spit on them. One prisoner threw a glass of urine on them also, he said.
But that was okay.
This article starring:
ABDUL RAHIM
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
blah,blah,blah. Its testament to restraint that those animals aren't lined up and shot. That a lying scumbag piece of shit like this clown is taken at his word is disgusting.
From what I hear, the guards count it as a good day when it's just spit and piss being thrown at them.
#4
Since the islamists have found a way to get publicity and sympathy, baseless accusations will come out of the woodwork. A few days ago an Iraqi woman claimed she was raped 6 times a day for months on end at Abu Graib (What would Freud have to say about this?). Did she attend an AQ training camp or did she just read their interrogation training manual on the internet?
Posted by: ed ||
05/18/2005 8:22 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Nothing wrong at Gitmo that a good Saudi prison fire wouldn't fix...
At a time of new U.S.-Egyptian tensions over democracy in the Middle East, the United States is unsettling many in Egypt with a new approach to aid: Giving money to private groups that oppose the government. The $2 billion in civil and military aid the United States sends Egypt each year has long been controversial: Some Egyptians fear it makes their government too beholden to the United States, while on the U.S. side, some worry the aid has gone to prop up corrupt Egyptian officials. But now, the United States has decided to give a small slice of aid to some groups that oppose Egypt's current government. In Egypt, where anti-American sentiment tends to blacken any program financed by Washington, that has caused the recipients to be vilified by government-influenced clerics and the nationalistic local press as "infidels" or "new Marines."
"America is beginning to play politics. ...This is unacceptable. The (Egyptian) government must interfere," said ruling party lawmaker Ahmed Abou Zeid, accusing Washington of trying to influence the country's first multi-candidate presidential election scheduled later this year. Washington has said it seeks broad change in Egypt and is not trying to help individuals. Negad al-Borai, a longtime human rights activist and lawyer, said the $139,000 he received will go to train lawyers to manage election campaigns and to teach midlevel party members how to campaign. He said he understands his government may fear the growing pro-democracy opposition, but criticized it for trying to smear recipients' reputations. "When the government is scared, it does silly things," said al-Borai, who packs a gun in a shoulder holster these days, saying he isn't taking any chances after government-leaning clerics called him an infidel, or nonbeliever, during a two-week slur campaign.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
PESHAWR: The Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan was closed on Tuesday for an indefinite period and students were evicted from hostels.
"Beat it, y'little brats! Get the hell out! And take your goats with you!"
The decision came as NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman ordered an inquiry into the violence at the university on Monday. Khalil, who is the chancellor of Gomal University, ordered a detailed investigation into the killing of a Wensam College student and directed law-enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend the vandals "as soon as possible." Police arrested more than 250 students, including students from Jamaat-e-Islami and other parties' student wings, for violence, and registered cases against 16 of them under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Riots broke out after a student of class nine at Wensam College was found dead late Sunday night and a varsity guard was blamed for the killing. Students torched the varsity guesthouse and several vehicles, and attacked the administration block.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/18/2005 12:35 Comments ||
Top||
#3
and yet, as much as they hate what Sharon is doing, they will fight not by killing, most likely. once again, Israel is an island of civilization in the region.
JERUSALEM: Israel and the Palestinians are headed towards a new cycle of violence if they do not resume dialogue, the visiting head of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly warned Tuesday. "We will leave here deeply concerned with what we have found," the assembly president, Pierre Lellouche, told reporters after a three day visit to Israel and the Palestinian areas. "All the elements of the next cycle of violence are in place," he said.
Precisely at which point weren't they? I must have missed it...
There has been a sharp drop in violence since a Feb. 8 truce declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. However, after initial moves both sides have failed to implement all their obligations. As part of the truce, Israel promised to turn over five West Bank towns to Palestinian security control. But after withdrawing from two towns, Israel has frozen further handovers, saying the Palestinians haven't been tough enough on armed militants. Abbas has preferred to negotiate with militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad to end attacks, but has refused to move against them as Israel and the US demand. "Both sides are talking past each other," Lellouche said, noting that in his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials he discovered a "lack of trust" between the two sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
So, let's see. Israel will have completely cut off the Palestinians from Israel. It will have erected a wall around itself, and will no longer have Palestinians coming into Israel to work. Israel will be minding its own business. So, when violence happens, who will be solely to blame for starting it? And continuing it?
A Palestinian court ordered a partial revote in local elections in a southern Gaza town early Wednesday, accepting a charge by the ruling Fatah Party of irregularities at the hands of its militant rival Hamas. The court ruled that another vote will be taken in three of the 14 polling stations in Rafah within two weeks, said the presiding judge, Ali al-Fara.
It was the first court ruling on claims of irregularities in the election, which saw the militant Islamic group win control of several major cities and towns, including Rafah. A Fatah official, Abdullah Franji, called Wednesday's decision "a victory for Palestinian democracy." Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, also welcomed the decision, saying it "confirmed the Hamas victory" in Rafah. He said only 20 percent of Rafah's 74,000 voters were affected.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/18/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yes, indeed, it must look like democracy in action.
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.
AUSTRALIAN consular officials have been denied access to an Australian citizen believed to be facing terrorist charges in Kuwait and claiming to have been tortured in jail, the federal Government said last night. Australia had made 16 approaches to Kuwaiti authorities to gain access to the man, believed to be 
Uzbekistan's autocratic leader 
North Korea has asked China to arrange a visit to Pyongyang by US Secretary of State 
A lawyer appealed on Tuesday to the German government to speak up on behalf of an Islamist, 
McLEAN, Va. - A jury acquitted two members of the 
[May 14 2005] at 0215 LT at Dumai Anchorage, Indonesia. Three robbers armed with knives boarded a tanker at poop deck and entered Engine Room. Duty crew raised alarm and robbers escaped with ship's stores.
May 18, 2005: President Hamid Karzai seems to have defused a lot of the brouhaha by clever manipulation of public opinion. After pointing out that the news article indicated a report of an alleged incident, he then noted that the protestors had destroyed hundreds of Korans in the process of burning several buildings. What he did was to break the "code of silence" that affects this type of incident when Moslems are fighting Moslems. How often have the insurgents, in the process of killing people, also damaged or destroyed Korans, mosques, etc? Curiously, this is an angle American information war people should be working, but are not.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Former President 
The Dalai Lama and a host of Nobel prize winners have joined actor Richard Gere for a conference aimed at righting the wrongs of modern humanity. 
At a time of new U.S.-Egyptian tensions over democracy in the Middle East, the United States is unsettling many in Egypt with a new approach to aid: Giving money to private groups that oppose the government. The $2 billion in civil and military aid the United States sends Egypt each year has long been controversial: Some Egyptians fear it makes their government too beholden to the United States, while on the U.S. side, some worry the aid has gone to prop up corrupt Egyptian officials. But now, the United States has decided to give a small slice of aid to some groups that oppose Egypt's current government. In Egypt, where anti-American sentiment tends to blacken any program financed by Washington, that has caused the recipients to be vilified by government-influenced clerics and the nationalistic local press as "infidels" or "new Marines."
JERUSALEM: Israel and the Palestinians are headed towards a new cycle of violence if they do not resume dialogue, the visiting head of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly warned Tuesday. "We will leave here deeply concerned with what we have found," the assembly president, 
