So did you hear the one about Yemen? They are "reforming" the press law. The proposed law now includes the death penalty for journalists. How about this one? In a move to unify the country, the government is confiscating all Shia religious material. How about this? This ally in the War on Terror is perpetuating an al-Qaeda jihad. Recent public statements about Yemen paint a dire picture. Ayatollah al-Sistani and the religious establishment in Najaf, Iraq said there is a "brutal massacre" going on there. The defecting Yemeni Ambassador has stated that high ranking members of the Yemeni government are affiliated with al-Qaeda. Putting these statements together, (the massacre with the al-Qaeda), it's like a 9/11 unfolding slowly in the mountains and cities of Yemen.
The Yemeni Ambassador to Syria who is attempting to defect to the UK has been making statements about al-Qaeda elements within the Yemeni government. Ambassador Ahmed Abdullah al-Hasani alleges that members of Al-Qaeda are in the highest ranks of Yemen's military and security forces. He also claims they were behind the bombing of the USS Cole, in which 17 sailors died, and the 1998 kidnapping of 16 western tourists. His statements support the existing evidence of a strong link between Yemeni leadership and al-Qaeda. The fleeing al-Hasani says that it is very likely that President Ali Abdullah Saleh "knew in advance of the Cole explosion." Indeed, Freedom House in 2003 reported that Saleh refused to investigate the Cole bombing until the US threatened military action. Another thing President Saleh is refusing to do is interrupt the flow of terrorist financing. Only one bank account was frozen in response to a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee directive to the freeze 144 terrorist affiliated accounts of persons, companies, and organizations. The other 143 al-Qaeda associated bank accounts in Yemen remain fully functional.
Next is Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, President Saleh's half-brother, and a currently a prominent military commander in Yemen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar was an ally of Osama Bin Laden and helped him to recruit Yemenis to fight Soviet troops in Afghanistan reports indicate. Later these fighters set up terrorist training camps in Yemen. Ambassador al-Hasani says that Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar was complicit in the kidnapping of 16 western tourists in December 1998. "Two days before the killings, members of the terrorist group were in al-Ahmar's house in Sana'a," al-Hasani said. "They were also in telephone contact with Sana'a just before the shootings."
Continued on Page 49
Before Hadi bin Mubarak Qahtani exploded himself into a fireball, he was young and interested only in "fooling around." Like many Saudis, he was said to have experienced a religious awakening after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and dedicated himself to Allah, inspired by "the holy attack that demolished the foolish infidel Americans and caused many young men to awaken from their deep sleep," according to a posting on a jihadist website.
On April 11, he died as a suicide bomber, part of a coordinated insurgent attack on a U.S. Marine base in the western Iraqi city of Qaim. Just two days later, "the Martyrdom of Hadi bin Mubarak al-Qahtani" was announced on the Internet, the latest requiem for a young Saudi man who had clamored to follow "those 19 heroes" of Sept. 11 and had found in Iraq an accessible way to die.
Hundreds of similar accounts of suicide bombers are featured on the rapidly proliferating array of websites run by radical Islamists, online celebrations of death that offer a wealth of information about an otherwise shadowy foe at a time when U.S. military officials say that foreign fighters constitute a growing and particularly deadly percentage of the Iraqi insurgency.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/22/2005 00:14 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Flypaper, indeed. Target practice to help keep our guys sharp, and train up the Iraqi recruits.
#2
should institute a "no Saoodi prisoner" policy. Bullet to the back of the head and no raisins for Haji
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/22/2005 9:31 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Like many Saudis, he was said to have experienced a religious awakening after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and dedicated himself to Allah, inspired by "the holy attack that demolished the foolish infidel Americans and caused many young men to awaken from their deep sleep," according to a posting on a jihadist website.
#4
"Are there Saudis in Iraq? Yes, we know that. Absolutely. But are there the numbers being bandied about? We really don't believe so," said a Saudi official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Shades of post-9/11 bullshit.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/22/2005 10:30 Comments ||
Top||
Typically wordy Hitchens treatise, but he does scorch Galloway well
A taste:
Let me phrase this another way: Those who had alleged that a million civilians were dying from sanctions were willing, nay eager, to keep those same murderous sanctions if it meant preserving Saddam! This is repellent enough in itself. If the Saddam regime was cheating its terrified people of food and medicine in order to finance its own propaganda, that would perhaps be in character. But if it were to be discovered that any third parties had profited from the persistence of "sanctions plus regime," prolonging the agony and misery thanks to personal connections, then one would have to become quite judgmental.
The bad faith of a majority of the left is instanced by four things (apart, that is, from mass demonstrations in favor of prolonging the life of a fascist government). First, the antiwar forces never asked the Iraqi left what it wanted, because they would have heard very clearly that their comrades wanted the overthrow of Saddam. (President Jalal Talabani's party, for example, is a member in good standing of the Socialist International.) This is a betrayal of what used to be called internationalism. Second, the left decided to scab and blackleg on the Kurds, whose struggle is the oldest cause of the left in the Middle East. Third, many leftists and liberals stressed the cost of the Iraq intervention as against the cost of domestic expenditure, when if they had been looking for zero-sum comparisons they might have been expected to cite waste in certain military programs, or perhaps the cost of the "war on drugs." This, then, was mere cynicism. Fourth, and as mentioned, their humanitarian talk about the sanctions turned out to be the most inexpensive hypocrisy.
#1
Good post, bad! Um, didn't "they" pull Hitchens' Liberal card? I'm pretty sure he's been demoted to the B or C List, by now. I mean surely all this kick-ass fisking of the LLL icons has taken a toll on his "I'm an insane Moonbat, and damned proud of it!" credentials. He sounds like he's definitely over the hump, to me.
#2
Hitchens claims to be an honest leftist, not like the scum-sucking hypocrites he castigates in this and other articles. He isn't bothered by those who say he turned to the right post-9/11, because he denies their right to judge him.
U.S. immigration officials have barred a senior American-based representative of Sinn Fein from traveling back to the United States after a trip to Ireland because she violated her visa restrictions, the Irish Republican Army-linked party said Saturday. Rita O'Hare, who has been Sinn Fein's senior lobbyist and organizer in the United States since 1998, was denied a visa to accompany Sinn Fein deputy leader Martin McGuinness on his visit next week to New York and Washington.
Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York who is sympathetic to Sinn Fein, said U.S. officials were trying to "send a signal" to the group with the travel ban. On Saturday, McGuinness and O'Hare met U.S. Ambassador to Ireland James Kenny to seek a reversal of the ban. U.S. immigration officials say O'Hare is being punished because she violated the terms of a previous visa by traveling without authorization to Florida.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Excellent! Do the right thing: make it permanent.
Perhaps, Congressman King, you shitbrain terrorist enabling fuckwit, the message is for you, too. I hope you lose your ass in the next election. We don't need the likes of you.
Azerbaijani protesters demanding free elections were beaten back Saturday by police, who arrested dozens as they broke up a banned rally in the oil-rich former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea four days before the inauguration of a new pipeline. Tension between the government and the opposition in the tightly controlled country has increased since an October 2003 election in which Ilham Aliev replaced his late father, Geidar Aliev, as president in a vote the opposition said was marred by fraud. A parliamentary vote is scheduled for November.
Officials had forbidden the opposition to protest, citing security concerns four days ahead of the visit of foreign leaders who will attend a ceremony marking the opening of Azerbaijan's portion of the U.S.-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Norwegian Ambassador Steinar Gil criticized Aliev for the "crude violence" and said it damaged the government's reputation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
The Bush administration is weighing North Korea's needs against hunger in other countries as it decides whether to provide food assistance this year to the economically lagging communist nation, the State Department said Friday.
How about "Not only 'no,' but 'hell no!'"
The Bush administration and North Korea are at odds over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said no political considerations affect the decision on food aide. Disputing a published report that the flow of American food to the nation had been halted, Boucher said "there are other places" that need help and that the United States wanted to make sure delivery to the North Korean people can be monitored. It is not unusual to take time making a decision — last year's was made in late July — and one is likely by the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, Boucher said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
As has been said here before, "Let them eat yellowcake!"
#2
It doesn't sound like Bush is doing any considering... not if the decision might be taken by Sept 30th. As the article says, there are other hungry countries, and even America's aid is not infinite. Pushing North Korea down the queue is politer than refusing outright, but no less definitive.
#3
..and that the United States wanted to make sure delivery to the North Korean people can be monitored.
Please. Even making this demand is nonsense, as it's unlikely the NKors are going to agree, and if somehow they do, they've probably got something up their sleeve to work their way around any sort of monitoring setup.
#4
The U.S. provided North Korea 50,000 metric tons of food last year. We are fools.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/22/2005 10:33 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Let the Chicoms and the SKors enable this psychpatic regime if they want. The faster the NORK government falls, the faster the world can rescue the North Korean people from their half-century nightmare. The NORKS just divert humanitarian aid to their govt elites and the army. If we continue aid, we enable the NORKS. End of story, ugly as it is.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/22/2005 11:13 Comments ||
Top||
#6
This could be the dumbest damn thing I have read for weeks. What idiot thinks that food aid will do anything but prolong these animals in power? The most dangerous government in the world and you want to help feed them? How softheaded have we become?
Posted by: Just About Enough! ||
05/22/2005 16:34 Comments ||
Top||
#7
What idiot thinks that food aid will do anything...?
An unnamed Someone in the State Dept., according to the article. Someone is probably trying to influence policy by talking to the journalist who wrote the article. I wouldn't give high probability to Someone being effective, now that Condi Rice is in charge down there.
#1
I wish my Dutch were better, and I didn't watch to the end, but it looked like an invective (Dutch-style, so very calm and rational ;-) ) against violent Muslims violently imposing their standards on Dutch society.
Despite the brutal slaying of an Amsterdam filmmaker and tension broiling between Muslims and non-Muslims, Dutch courts continue a string of acquittals in terrorism trials.
Europe, the cradle of Western Civilization, also is a hiding place for enemies plotting its ruin.
The most infamous, Mohammed Atta, e-mailed U.S. flight schools and devised the airliner hijackings that would kill nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001, while living in an apartment in Hamburg, Germany. A Spanish court is now deciding if an al-Qaida cell in Madrid helped Atta's group with money and a safe house.
To a small but growing number of angry young men in Europe, Atta was a martyr in a holy war.
Some of them hope to be next.
Across the continent, police are racing to round up networks of militant Islamic terrorists before they can strike. Italy arrested nine North African men on Wednesday who were allegedly planning attacks. Those arrests were the latest in a crackdown that has put hundreds of suspects in Europe behind bars awaiting trial. Courts with a tradition of leniency increasingly have to weigh the rights of the accused against national security.
The train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people in March 2004 showed that radical Islamic fundamentalists -- jihadists -- also consider Europe their enemy.
America remains a prime target. In the apartment of one Madrid suspect still at large, Spanish police found detailed diagrams of Grand Central Station.
Another suspect had a map of Pittsburgh in his apartment. Investigators don't know why.
Europe has an estimated 23 million Muslims -- about 10 times as many as America -- mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. Some are recent immigrants; others were invited by the host governments in the 1960s to provide cheap labor and stayed.
Most are trying to make a life there, but a few yearn for a glorious death.
Al-Qaida wants to recruit jihadists with European passports to infiltrate America, said terrorism analyst Robert Leiken of the Nixon Center in Washington, D.C.
"They're familiar with Western societies. Many speak English. So they're a much bigger danger than a Middle Easterner trying to cross the Mexican border," Leiken said.
Leiken studied 373 suspected Muslim terrorists caught in North America or Western Europe from 1993 to 2004 and found more than a quarter had European citizenship.
A European passport holder can come to the United States without first getting a visa from an American consulate, bypassing a potentially crucial screening tool, he said.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today begins his first official trip to Europe, where he will discuss sharing airline passenger data and strengthening law enforcement contacts.
Europe and the United States have to cooperate to counter the jihadist danger, said Gijs de Vries, counterterrorism coordinator for the European Union.
"We cannot fight terrorism unless we work together. That's the bottom line," de Vries said.
Once the fight reaches a courtroom, however, it is in the hands of only one nation's judges. Several high-profile terrorism trials in Europe are testing how well the justice system can handle the threat of violent conspiracies.
In the Spanish trial, which opened in April and is expected to last well into the summer, two dozen men are accused of involvement with an al-Qaida cell in Madrid. Three central figures are charged with helping the 9/11 plotters.
A British man pleaded guilty last month to planning a shoe bomb plot similar to Richard Reid's and got a 13-year sentence. More terrorism trials are under way in Italy, Germany and elsewhere.
Some cases have ended in acquittals that have embarrassed authorities and sparked public anger.
Dutch judges last month cleared Samir Azzouz of terrorism charges, even after he was found in possession of chemicals useful for making bombs, a silencer and gun cartridges, night vision goggles and a bulletproof vest, jihadist literature and videos, and maps of the Dutch parliament and other potential targets along with notes on their security.
"It's ridiculous," said Dutch railroad conductor Wytze Vos, 45, of the Azzouz trial. "He must go to prison for life. When you're planning such crimes, you don't deserve to be out on the streets. But that's Holland -- too weak."
A German court in Hamburg cleared one alleged co-conspirator in the 9/11 attacks, while another man is being retried after his conviction was overturned. Eight of nine men charged in a plot to poison Londoners with ricin were acquitted or released last month.
Earlier this year Italian government ministers reacted furiously when a judge in Milan ruled that recruiting jihadists for Iraq is not terrorism but supporting a foreign guerrilla action, which is not a crime. Italy has 3,000 troops in Iraq.
"The struggle against terrorism is not to get a lot of terrorists convicted. It's to prevent bombings," said Bart Nieuwenhuizen, the Dutch prosecutor overseeing terrorism trials in his country.
After the bombings in Madrid, the European Union began pushing for better counterterrorism cooperation among its members' intelligence agencies, police and prosecutors. One major change was a new European arrest warrant intended to speed up extraditions.
The warrant is designed to avoid long delays, such as the one that has kept a suspect in the fatal 1995 Paris metro bombings in British custody for almost a decade despite persistent French efforts to extradite him.
In one of the first uses of the new warrant, last June Spanish authorities asked Britain to hand over a Moroccan they say made cryptic phone calls about 9/11 to an accused terror planner on trial in Madrid. The man, Farid Hilali, is still in London appealing the extradition.
De Vries said alleged terrorists have a right to due process.
"It is critical that in the fight to preserve the rule of law, we continue to use the instruments that are compatible with the rule of law," he said.
"Europe and the United States have never worked more closely in law enforcement than we have since September 11, 2001," U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said during a visit to Spain in March.
But the relationship still is undercut with tension.
Jorge Bento Silva, a counterterrorism administrator in the European Council's Directorate for Justice, Freedom and Security, criticized Washington for announcing last spring -- with almost no warning -- that all European visitors must have their faces and fingerprints electronically scanned at U.S. airports. Europe has no such requirement for visiting Americans.
Now the European Parliament is trying to scuttle a deal for Europe to share airline passenger data with U.S. border security.
"There is still the notion in Washington that ... 'We are fighting terrorism and you are either with us or you are against us. And if you are a European sissy and you don't want to cooperate in the war on terror, then screw you,'" Bento Silva said.
Besides America, de Vries stressed that Europe needs the help of moderate Muslims to isolate the "small, extremist murderous fringe."
"We are not engaged in a war of civilizations between Muslims and non-Muslims. That is what bin Laden is trying to make us believe," de Vries said.
As he spoke, the amplified voice of a man chanting in Arabic rose from the streets of downtown Brussels and floated through de Vries's open window.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/22/2005 00:10 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
There are no "moderate muslims" to be a moderate muslim is to be dead. It is not tolerated by islam. Europe is weak and not realistic in approacing this problem. So Europe will fall to Islam. Anyone who wants to live free in Europe should leave now.
#2
'We are fighting terrorism and you are either with us or you are against us. And if you are a European sissy and you don't want to cooperate in the war on terror, then screw you,'" Bento Silva said
and they say Bush isn't diplomatic. That's about the most childish and undiplomatic statements ever made. Calling Bush a poo-poo face may score points among those in Europe needing to look down on Americans, but as a diplomat it's just plain unprofessional and counterproductive.
That Europe is producing and promoting to the top diplomats behaving in a manner so counterproductive to achieving meaningful results is just another sign of how rapidly europe is failing.
#4
Sounds to me like Silva's got Washington's attitude dead on. Where he's mistaken is that he thinks it the wrong attitude. What these towelhead scumbags understand is force. Europe needs to start emulating the U.S., and the U.S. needs to start massively deporting these Muzzy bastards yesterday. Both America and Europe would be better off without them because they're a hell of a lot more trouble than they're worth.
Posted by: mac ||
05/22/2005 8:09 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"There is still the notion in Washington that ... 'We are fighting terrorism and you are either with us or you are against us. And if you are a European sissy and you don't want to cooperate in the war on terror, then screw you,'" Bento Silva said.
Seems ol' Benito gets where we're coming from, now if he'd just begin to grasp the Muslims POV then he'd be able to choose sides.
Posted by: regular joe ||
05/22/2005 11:44 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Actually, Bush didn't say that. Anakin Skywalker did.
What Bush said was different: 'You're either with us, or you're with the terrorists.' It's clear which side the Eurocracy has picked.
Would that be as opposed to the 9/11 murderers being staged out of Hamburg? Or all the other terrorists over the last 30-40 years who have made Europe their home-away-from-home?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/22/2005 14:49 Comments ||
Top||
#9
"We are not engaged in a war of civilizations between Muslims and non-Muslims. That is what bin Laden is trying to make us believe," de Vries said. As he spoke, the amplified voice of a man chanting in Arabic rose from the streets of downtown Brussels and floated through de Vries's open window.
Al-Qaeda financed the bomb attacks against two synagogues and British interests in Istanbul that killed a total of 63 people in November 2003, one of the suspects told a court here Monday. Adnan Ersoz, who faces a possible term of life in prison without parole, said the money was brought to Turkey by an unidentified "Syrian militant, ... 50,000 dollars (about 41,000 euros) of it via Europe and the other 100,000 dollars via Iran."
"We cannot speak of an Al-Qaeda branch in Turkey, but there were ties of mutual assistance between the group that committed the bombings and Al-Qaeda, and the money came from Al-Qaeda," Ersoz said. Ersoz denied participating in the attacks, saying that he was in Iran at the time and the news of the bombings caught him by surprise.
In the third session of the trial that opened on May 31, Ersoz admitted to having trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan and met top Al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden in Kandahar before September 11, 2001, but denied he was a member of the terror group.
Ersoz said the presumed leader of the terror cell that planned the Istanbul attacks, Habib Akdas, had approached him several times, asking him to help bring into the country the cash to finance the attacks, but he refused. On November 15 last year, car bombs had targetted two Istanbul synagogues and, five days later, the British Consulate and a branch of the British-owned Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). In addition to the 63 dead, which included British consul-general Roger Short, the attacks wounded about 750 people and shocked a nation that had never before witnessed urban terror on such a scale.
At Monday`s session of the trial of 69 people accused of involvement in the attacks, Ersoz acknowledged that he had received training in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he met Akdas. Akdas was reported killed in Iraq last week during a US raid on Al Anbar, near Fallujah, in a video recording purporting to show his body and delivered to the Turkish news agency Ihlas. "We all learned the news of Akdas`s death from television this brother has shown us the way to martyrdom," said another chief suspect, Harun Ilhan, who admitted he was one of the bombers.
In contrast to the cool Ersoz, the bearded, volatile Ilhan who also faces life in jail flaunted his presumed Al-Qaeda membership. "I acknowledge having fought in the ranks of Al-Qaeda and I`m proud of it," he told the judge. "Al-Qaeda aims to combat American imperialism and the zionist regime in order to liberate Muslims."
Ilhan apologized to Muslim victims of the terror attacks and justified the synagogue bombings by saying : "All Jews are spies of the Zionist regime."
By attacking the synagogues, Ilhan said, his group had "sent them a message in a language they can understand." He claimed full responsibility for the attacks. The bombings "belong to Habib Akdas, Gurcan Bac (another suspect, still on the run) and me all the others are innocent," Ilhan said.
The seven other suspects present in court Monday did not contradict him. Some acknowledged having received training in Afghanistan but denied any part in the bombings, while others claimed they had simply been manipulated by the terrorists. The trial resumes Tuesday and the currrent session is expected to last until Friday.
This article starring:
ADNAN ERSOZ
al-Qaeda in Turkey
GURCAN BAC
al-Qaeda in Turkey
HABIB AKDAS
al-Qaeda in Turkey
HARUN ILHAN
al-Qaeda in Turkey
Roger Short
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/22/2005 00:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Four Canadian soldiers who died in Afghanistan after a U.S. military pilot dropped a bomb on them will be honoured Monday at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. The ceremony will mark the first time the names of non-U.S. soldiers have been added to the Fort Campbell memorial wall honouring Americans killed in combat. Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Sgt. Marc Leger, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith died from "friendly fire" when the pilot mistakenly bombed them as they conducted a military exercise in the dark hours of April 18, 2002. Eight others were injured.
The Illinois National Guard pilot who dropped the bomb was found guilty last year of dereliction of duty. Maj. Harry Schmidt was banned from flying air force jets and docked a month's pay. Schmidt said he mistook Canadian gunfire for an attack from the Taliban. He also said his superiors didn't tell him the Canadians would be conducting live-fire exercises that night. Maj. William Umbach, the flight leader, was also charged, but those charges were later dropped.
The relatives of the soldiers from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry will attend Monday's ceremony, which will also honour three U.S. soldiers. "I think it's quite an honour for the memory of our son," Nathan Smith's father, Lloyd, told the Canadian Press from Tatamagouche, N.S. "We're pleased that they invited us down." Nice gesture, I'd say.
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/22/2005 13:37 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
This excerpt flagged by the Brothers Judd; full transcript available here. Tim Russert was pressing Gov. Dean on why he was so famously willing to extend the presumption of innocence to Osama bin Laden, and not to Rep. Tom DeLay, when Dean uttered this gem of a statement:
Dr. Dean: [T]he thing that really bothered me the most, which the 9-11 Commission said also wasn't true, is the insinuation that the president continues to make to this day that Osama bin Laden had something to do with supporting terrorists that attacked the United States. That is false. The 9-11 Commission, chaired by a Republican, said it was false. Is it wrong to send people to war without telling them the truth.
To borrow a line from James Lileks: SWEET SMOKING JESUS, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THIS GUY? Does Dean really believe that Osama wasn't behind 9/11? That the 9/11 Commission report cleared him? That the airplanes were flown by remote control, and there was no Boeing at the Pentagon, and 4,00 Jews were told not to go to work that day, and so on? Is that now the official position of the DNC?
The DNC's e-mail contact form is here. If you choose to tell them what you think, remember to be civil and polite--but don't pull your punches, either.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/22/2005 14:19 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
I assume that Professor Dumschitz mispoke and meant that Sammy didn't have anything to do with 9-11. That's the usual Dummycrat line, ignoring the fact that Bush has never said he did.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 14:55 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. What a complete, utter shithead.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/22/2005 15:01 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Mike, thanks, but I want this guy to be The Spokesman for the Democratic Party. Keep talking Dean-o.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/22/2005 15:27 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Tim Russert was pressing Gov. Dean on why he was so famously willing to extend the presumption of innocence to Osama bin Laden, and not to Rep. Tom DeLay...
Ahem. No. Russert did indeed ask Dean that, and he made some reply, but the Osama remark came in the context of some Dean babbling on the subject of whether he hated Republicans. Dean says:
I hate the dishonesty, you know, the idea that you'd put a program through Congress without telling people what it costs, I think that's wrong. Some of the things that the president said on our way into Iraq, they just weren't true, and I don't think that's right.
It's clear, I think, that he did mean Saddam. But he also goes on to name Osama once more in that paragraph, and then start gibbering about mercury. Further down, we get:
MR. RUSSERT: When did the president ever suggest that Saddam Hussein was responsible for September 11?
DR. DEAN: He didn't. His nuance--his people suggested that. He suggested that in a nuanced way in many of his speeches.
Drat that Bush! Practicing nuance after we said he was incapable of it! Is there no end to the man's perfidy?
#7
Dean makes an excellent poster child for full-blown schizophrenia. He also makes the case that the Dhimmidonk party leadership, and we shouldn't exclude all of their advisers, funding sources, and various helpers - might hurt their feelings, are equally insane.
If his dementia wasn't so helpful to the anti-idiotarians, I'd suggest the Dhimmidonk crowd should be charged with serious abuse of a mentally ill person - and there can be little doubt that he is wildly unbalanced and exhibiting a remarkable range of personality disorders - and I'm deadly serious here. This man is, to put it in scientific terms, waaay fucked up.
Angie: he obviously meant Saddam, but why be fair? If Bush had made a similar error we'd hear about it for-freaking-ever.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/22/2005 15:42 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Matt, heh. I added Psychiatry to my Expert on All Things degree program when I attended the ITT Institute of Truckdriving and International Diplomacy. It was only another 3 hours of classroom time - and they gave me a package deal.
As a bonus, it was a special offer they were running, the shrink course also qualified me in Electronics (Shock Therapy) and Pharmacology (Rx Meds, focus on lithium-based treatment regimes). The whole LLL, selected-not-elected, BDS / PEST thingy was taking off and I considered opening a boutique practice - in either Florida or Fornicalia, of course.
Just trying to do my part to heal America, y'know? Dianne Sawyer taught me deep humility, anguished angst, furrowed-brow sympathy, and dripping sincerity - it shows, no? I just needed to fill in that pesky technical stuff.
#13
Matt, I trained as a psychologist and I can tell you despite the terminology and classifications they use, the average psychiatrist is no better than a similarly intelligent observer in identifying personality and socialization disorders.
#14
I always wonder: do people like Dean actually believe the bullshit they spew out? Or do they spew it out thinking their average rank-and-file Democrats are stupid enough to swallow it?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/22/2005 16:46 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Lol, phil_b. Let me quibble a bit... That's it? That's like saying "except they can write prescriptions"... Hell, I'm no fan of the shrinks, psychology seems at least as able - no make that better - in treating behavioral problems. But they are M.D's, some would say that's a fairly rigorous process to complete, and the place where they can help society is in treating those with what Kurt Vonnegut so quaintly referred to as "Bad chemicals" in Breakfast of Champions. Dr Steve should weigh in here, since he's an M.D., but I wouldn't be completely dismissive of Psychiatrists, I'd just make endless fun of them, heh. I'm thinking lifespan lithium regimes for all Moonbats would be a good thing - and the Psychologists can't help us with that. But I wouldn't pay $150 an hour to sack out on anyone's couch. ;-)
#16
Brother Dave - Lol - I think Dean's the real deal, heh. I believe the answers are Yes and Yes. I have a bunch o' rules I employ to regulate my own behavior (read: stay out of jail, lol) and #1 on the list is:
#17
schizophrenia - ".com" don't insult the schizos!
The wife's clients are nuts but I have never ever heard one of them suggest that Osama didn't do 9-11.
Did you read John D. MacDonald's books, too? Purt' near everything in life I learned that was worth learning, I learned from Travis McGee (and his sidekick Meyer, of course).**
**- Except for "if it floats, flies, or f--ks, it's usually cheaper to rent," which I learned from a friend's small-plane mechanic...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/22/2005 17:20 Comments ||
Top||
#19
ROFL, #11 .com. I think I'm in love. :-D
Ummm, Mike - about that contact form. Why exactly would I want the DhimmicRats to shut Deano up?
Au contraire.* I want him to keep talking, as often, as publicly and on the record as possible.
*No Phroggies were harmed in the writing of this comment. Sorry.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/22/2005 17:22 Comments ||
Top||
#20
ROFL!
[piggyback lameness, lol! I love swarming, heh.]
3dc - Lol! Y'know, I truly am sorry - they deserve better, lol!
Dave D. - No - now I gotta go find out more, lol!
BTW, #2 - #8 (I only have 8. 10 is for compulsives, heh) on my list are: 2) Keep your word or keep your mouth shut.
3) Be an asset - or be gone.
4) You can't savor the flavor if you swallow it hook, line, and sinker.
5) If you have more friends than fingers you've miscounted one - or the other.
6) Keep no emotional accounts. Solve conflicts on the spot.
7) Show yourself. If you take real hits from a respected source, reevaluate yourself - and the respected source thingy.
8) BBQ is good for the soul. Cull the herd for sacred cows every chance you get.
Barbara - That was bad, not me! Now I'm really jealous!
[/piggyback lameness, lol! I love swarming, heh.]
#23
I would like to respectfully disagree with Fred.
I just looked at the transcript, and Dean was asked about Osama. Here's what Tim Russert asked:
You said in December of 2003 that we shouldn't prejudge Osama bin Laden. How can you sit here and have a different standard for Tom DeLay and prejudge him?
Dean takes off from there... and if Dean's first response when hearing about Osama bin Laden is to start thinking about Saddam, because the Democrat Holy Writ is that the Iraqi invasion was only about a personalized conflict between Bush and Saddam, it still says something rather unpleasant about Dean.
And it says something unpleasant about whatever remaining "sane" Democrats (Lieberman, the "new, improved, conservative" Betty CrockerHillary Rodham Clinton, whoever...) that they haven't gotten him fired.
And it's about time we stopped giving them the benefit of the doubt in a moral sense by saying they're either stupid or crazy.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/22/2005 19:11 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Phil, Are you implying they are politicians.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
05/22/2005 19:39 Comments ||
Top||
#25
Schizophrenia is a good example. Diagnosis rates vary widely between countries, sexes, racial groups and from year to year. Some differences are positively weird. Apparently French psychiatrists don't (or at least didnt at the time of this study) diagnose schizophrenia past the age of 45 years. So there you have it there are no crazy old French men (or women).
#26
Not in the "all politicians are the same" sense.
IMHO, that's just another way of letting Dean off the hook for being depraved.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/22/2005 19:52 Comments ||
Top||
#27
Phil_b: I was under the impression that Schizophrenia was one of the classic adolescent-onset affective disorders.
Wouldn't Dean have to have the onset of his symptoms delayed until after he completed medical school in order to have had a chance to complete medical school?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/22/2005 19:55 Comments ||
Top||
#28
Note: Number 26 was in reply to Mrs. Davis.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/22/2005 19:55 Comments ||
Top||
#29
Howard Dean denyig Bin Laden is behind Al Qaueda and 9/11? And infront of a national audience, and on tape?
Muslim protesters burned, spit and urinated on a U.S. flag Friday in eastern India, accusing Americans of desecrating Islam's holy book as anger persisted despite the retraction of a magazine report that a Quran was flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay.
That's right. Answer an alleged desecration with an actual desecration...
U.S. officials have said they found nothing to substantiate the Newsweek report that interrogators at the prison camp in Cuba flushed a copy of the Quran down the toilet to unnerve an inmate. But given frequent reports of mistreatment at the camp from released detainees, some Muslims remained convinced the desecration happened and U.S. officials pressured the magazine to deny the story.
"Of course it happened! It had to have happened! Why would they tell us it happened if it didn't? It's not like we're a bunch of ignorant rubes who'll riot over... ummm... anything. Any time. Any place.
In London, a former prisoner at Guantanamo told a demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy that guards at the camp had mistreated his Quran. "This was one of the methods they used, throwing the Quran, my Quran, on the floor in my cell. This was in the first month at Camp Delta but it is not something that stopped, rather continued and increased," said Martin Mubanga, who was released from the prison in January. "It's a shame we have had to wait for a magazine to publish and then retract a story concerning the treatment of the Quran," Mubanga said.
"Oh why, why didn't you believe me and riot six months ago?"
He spoke as about 200 protesters gathered outside the embassy, chanting "kill, kill George Bush" and other anti-American slogans. Many in the crowd bravely covered their faces with scarves. A man with a megaphone led chants including "USA watch your back, Osama is coming back" and "bomb, bomb New York."
Thank you. We'll keep that in mind. And maybe you should keep that statement in mind next time you feel like we're being too hard on the poor, defenseless Moose limbs...
Thousands also took to the streets in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu and the Palestinian territories, but the demonstrations were nothing on the scale of rioting in Afghanistan last week in which 15 people died and protesters threw rocks at police.
Seems like people in Mogadishu and Paleostine would have other things to worry about, like one state being failed and the other being stillborn, but maybe that's just me...
Riot police watched but did not stop some 500 protesters who shouted slogans against the United States and forced a traffic shutdown in the heart of the eastern Indian city of Calcutta. The protest began at a mosque after Friday afternoon prayers conducted by the "imam" or chief priest, who then led demonstrators to the road. "Death to America!" they cried as men spat on the flag. They asked a boy in the crowd to urinate on it, and hit the flag with shoes and leather slippers. The 20-minute protest ended with the burning of two American flags.
And a wonderful time was had by all.
In the West Bank city of Nablus, some 2,500 Palestinian Hamas militants streamed out of mosques Friday chanting, "Death to America, death to Israel." Muslim preacher Maher Haraz demanded that "America apologize to all Muslims worldwide, and punish those that trampled on the Quran and stuffed it in the toilet."
After you've killed the people who burnt or pissed on our flag.
"There will be a Muslim uprising in the world, an uprising of the Quran," Haraz declared.
As opposed to what we have now?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Well of course they are. It's what they do. It's all they do. Life is marching around, waving banners, chanting, and burning things. Even our most accomplished Moonbats can never hope to catch up to them. They're the best. Gotta admire real expertise.
#3
I think our military should have rules of engagement that allow firing on anyone who desecrates an American flag or representation thereof, who communicates a "Death To America" message, or who hoists a pro-OBL banner. Just on principle.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/22/2005 10:41 Comments ||
Top||
Iran's military is focusing on asymmetric warfare and nuclear weapons because its conventional armed forces are outdated, a senior Middle East expert said Friday.
"Iran's main intents lie in two efforts: one is asymmetric warfare, and the other is weapons of mass destruction," said Anthony Cordesman, strategic analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a public policy think tank in Washington.
Cordesman, author of "Iran's Developing Military Capabilities," a CSIS-sponsored report assessing Iran's armed forces, and a former high-ranking Pentagon official, also noted that in light of uncertainties about Iran's nuclear capabilities, a military strike on the Islamic republic would be "disastrous" and so a diplomatic approach is the way to go, even if that might not entirely stop Iran from pursuing a military alternative, he said.
Although the United States publicly says it prefers to deal with Iran through diplomacy for now, Vice President Dick Cheney, in a television interview earlier this year, did not rule out the possibility that Israel might hit Iran's nuclear facilities.
Cordesman's remarks come just days before foreign ministers from France, Britain and Germany -- the so-called European Union 3 -- will meet Iranian officials to negotiate a permanent halt to Iran's already-suspended uranium enrichment program. The step is a key part of both civilian and military nuclear programs.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, the United States and much of the international community believe otherwise. Cordesman agreed.
"Much of the nuclear tests and development efforts in Iran simply make no sense as peaceful research," he said. "I'm almost certain there is a nuclear weapons program now."
Iran's expensive long-range missile program wouldn't be financially feasible "unless you put a nuclear warhead on it," he said.
Speculation about Iran's nuclear capabilities often stretches far from reality, Cordesman said. When observing international intelligence, Iran still is "a significant distance from a meaningful missile and a nuclear capability," he added.
In light of a lack of a credible threat, diplomacy is probably the best way to go, he added.
"If the Europeans' negotiations do nothing more than keep Iran from being overt in deploying and testing, they have accomplished a great deal," Cordesman said.
So far, financial incentives for Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program are lacking, he said.
"Iran desperately needs industrial development, it needs job creation, and it desperately needs to improve technology for its natural gas and oil industry."
The United States supports the European efforts to negotiate with Tehran but has in the past unsuccessfully tried to get the matter referred to the U.N. Security Council. This time around, however, it has said it will block its opposition to Iran's entry into the World Trade Organization and to the sale of airline parts for the Islamic republic's ageing civilian fleet.
The question remains, however, whether Iran is ready to accept financial incentives on a political level, Cordesman said. If diplomacy fails, the U.N. Security Council has to step in and use "a very decisive political language combined with economic sanctions on things like transportation and shipping that would have significant economic pressure over time," he added.
Although China - a permanent, veto-wielding member of the Security Council -- has signaled it will veto drastic sanctions against Iran in absence of a direct threat, the situation might radically change if U.S. intelligence "would find a smoking gun," Cordesman said. So far, there is no clear evidence Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
That's why the U.S. administration should continue to push for intelligence-gathering in Iran, no matter how intrusive that might be, Cordesman said.
"If it bothers the Iranians, so be it," he said. "It's a matter of life. It's too important."
Asymmetric warfare -- featuring highly mobile guerilla troops and hit-and-run attacks -- is thought to be the most effective way to attack a superior military power such as the United States. Iran has about 120,000 people in the revolutionary guards, a force that could deploy asymmetrical warfare in the Middle East, Cordesman said.
"These are pretty capable forces," Cordesman said. "They could very quickly move large numbers of people to a country like Bahrain."
But while Iran's nuclear enrichment programs and its capabilities for asymmetric warfare pose a threat to stability in the Middle East, its conventional military systems in army, navy and air force are "obsolescent," Cordesman said.
In the light of slow modernization of planes, tanks and missile system, which are mostly from the mid-1970s, Iran's capability of a conventional military strike is severely limited, Cordesman said.
"They have a 340,000-men army, but 220,000 of them are 18-months-conscripts," Cordesman said. "Its artillery is old and worn ... and its 1,600 tanks and about 300 airplanes are outdated even by Middle Eastern standards."
Wayne White, a Middle East expert at the Middle East Institute, said Friday in a telephone interview there are incentives for Iran to pursue independent weapon systems.
"Most of Iran's conventional weapons were taken away by Iraq in the last stages of the Iran-Iraq war," he said. "Renewing basic military forces is extremely expensive -- we're talking billions of dollars."
Syrian intelligence was said to have trained numerous Sunnis in abductions, executions and car bombings against the U.S.-led coalition and the interim government in Baghdad. For the first time, Iraqi authorities have presented details of Syrian support for and sponsorship of insurgency groups as well as their attacks on the U.S. military and its Iraqi allies. Authorities have presented Syrian and Iraqi nationals who recalled their recruitment and training by Syrian intelligence for the anti-American operation in Iraq.
In February, Iraqi state television broadcast the confessions of nearly a dozen people who identified Syria as their employer in the insurgency in Iraq. The men included a purported Syrian intelligence officer and his aides recruited to infiltrate Iraq in a mission that reflected Syrian fear that it was also a target of the United States. The Syrian-sponsored operatives said Syria and the Saddam Hussein regime planned the insurgency nearly two years before the war against Baghdad in March 2003. They said much of the training of the Syrian-sponsored insurgents took place in Pakistan.
Gee. I wonder where in Pakistan?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
At 35 and presiding over a multibillion dollar business empire, Saadeddine Hariri was a stranger to Lebanon's intricate and sometimes violent politics. But the massive bombing that killed his father and shook a nation to its core three months ago also thrust him to the political forefront.
For Saad, as he's better known here, it has been a crash course in politics since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — and the political novice is already on a roll, benefiting from the wide international contacts and local political and charity works of his late father as he takes a leading role ahead of parliamentary elections which begin May 29.
There is even talk about Saad becoming the next prime minister, though he has not said whether he would seek the job. Saad, who holds a Georgetown University degree in international business, stepped into his father's limelight after the assassination. "My father served Lebanon all his life, and we will keep serving Lebanon also, like him," he told reporters the day after the blast, speaking on behalf of his family as he stood near the explosion site.
"I'm ready to take over the family business. Fredo isn't up to it, since they got Pop and Sonny..."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Perfect inline there, Fred.
Heard this one for the first time on Friday on the radio (can't remember who said it):
"The next time you watch the Godfather, take notes."
This won't be in the news but I was an eye witness.
A number of middle east reformers were invited guests of a member of a Rockville, Maryland synagogue today. Among them was Natan Sharansky (former prisoner of the Soviet Union) and Farid Ghadry (head of the Syrian Reform Party) and some other Syrian reformers. Also several Saudi Arabians (they call themselves Arabians because they hate the Saudi family).
They spoke in English together and actually finished each other's sentences.
A SUSPECTED terrorist group identifying itself only as "Allah" has threatened to attack Australia's embassy in Cambodia as the first in a wave of strikes on Australian and Western missions throughout the region.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that Canberra was aware of the threat and had "responded to ensure appropriate security measures are in place".
DFAT has been frantically upgrading security at posts around the world since the suicide bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta in September, which killed 10 and injured more than 200.
The Australian understands the latest threat was received in a letter sent by the Allah group to Canadian authorities last month.
The letter threatened to attack the embassies of Australia, Canada, the US and other Western nations involved in the war on Iraq.
It said embassies in Cambodia would be the first targets.
The Canadians have responded by seeking assistance from Thai intelligence agencies to track down the little-known group. Canada has stepped up security at its embassy in Cambodia, and it is believed Australia also stepped up security.
However, a DFAT spokeswoman refused to confirm whether security at the mission in Phnom Penh had been boosted, saying only: "We keep the security of our missions overseas under review at all times."
Australia issued a warning earlier this month that it had received a terrorist bomb threat in East Timor. The warning led to a dozen Australian embassy staff and about 30 military advisers being confined to their high-security compound. The East Timorese Government responded by conducting a sweep of buildings for explosive devices, but found none.
DFAT updated its travel warnings for Indonesia last week following Indonesian police alerts about possible suicide bombings in Jakarta.
The Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polri) identified as possible targets places frequented by foreigners including embassies, international schools, office buildings and shopping malls. "No timeframe is indicated in the Polri warning but we assess that attacks could occur at any time," DFAT said.
"In addition, we continue to receive reports that terrorists in the region are planning attacks against a range of targets. The Polri warning underlines that these attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and could be directed against any locations known to be frequented by foreigners."
DFAT continues to advise Australians to defer non-essential travel to the country, including Bali. "The bomb attack outside the Australian Embassy on September 9, 2004 underscores the ongoing terrorist threat to Australians in Indonesia," DFAT said.
The Australian Government is upgrading security at its embassies and missions around the world to allow them to withstand possible suicide bomb attacks. This month's budget allocated $150 million over four years to continue the process of upgrading embassy security.
HT Captain's Quarters. From a blog, but one I'd never heard of with a great analysis. Go to the link for the pictures. Aeffingstounding
Newsweek's false, retracted story about American guards flushing the Koran down a toilet at Guantanamo doesn't necessarily mean the magazine's staff hates America or Bush, or wants us to lose in Iraq. To be charitable, let's just chalk that one up to sloppy journalism.
But I'm at a loss to explain this, from the February 2 issue of Newsweek's Japanese edition:
As you can see, the cover story shows an American flag, dirtied and tossed in a trash can, its staff snapped in two. The large white text reads, "Amerika ga shinda hi", which translates to "The day America died."
The equivalent international edition of Newsweek, the January 31 issue, featured a picture of Bush on the cover, with the caption "America Leads ...But is Anyone Following?":
Both of the above editions featured a cover-story article by Andrew Moravcsik, titled "Dream on, America". (This was translated into Japanese as "Yume no kuni Amerika ga kuchihateru toki", which is even harsher; it means, roughly, "America, the dream country, is rotting away".) According to Newsweek itself, the article described "the world's rejection of the American way of life."
Moravcsik's article did not run in the American edition of that same issue. The cover was also a bit different. It featured Hilary Swank, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx, with the title "Oscar Confidential":
If you look carefully, you'll see that one of the articles from the other two editions is mentioned in a small blurb at the top: Fareed Zakaria's "High Hopes, Hard Facts" ââ¬" here billed as "A reality check on Bush & 'Freedom'". Sure, they put scare quotes around "Freedom", but pretty tame stuff, all things considered.
It's one thing for Newsweek to actively promote the notion that America is a "dead", "rotting" country overseas. But it's quite another thing indeed to hide those efforts from its American readers. If Newsweek really thinks America is dead, and our flag belongs in the trash, why won't it tell us?
If I were to offer Newsweek a suggestion, it would be this: Any story or cover you're ashamed to run in America probably shouldn't be used in other countries, either.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
05/22/2005 18:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Thats such an easy question! Wait a minute... its a trick question right? I won't hold it against you if you have a college degree pasted to your wall. The answer mein fruend ist the colour of money! Thats what side they are on! Always has been, always will!
#2
The reality is that the primary market for global MSM brands is outside the USA and the West and they are progressively tailoring their news to fit the prejudices of those markets.
#3
Right on the money Phil_B!!! They tailor the suit to fit the customer! Thats what it is all about... the colour of money! The customer is always right... and if they are off a bit, then manipulate their taste until they bite and buy... the colour of money...
#4
Then why wouldn't they do that in the USA? Or are they tailoring to only their residential states where, presumably, their views are accepted as accurate and informed?
Newsweak, during the first Gulf War, was head and shoulders over Time and U.S. News and World Report, just as CNN had it all over the networks, even with Peter Arnett in Baghdad. Looking back at the articles, though, they were for the most part straight news from both, while the competition went with their standardized "interpretation." Newsweak's come over to the dark side in that respect, just as has CNN.
By this point, as most readers of Rantburg will notice, I don't read the weekly news mags anymore. I go to the source, which is the local papers when I can find them and they're comprehensible, and then to the wire services, which for all their faults still present a majority of articles based on fact, rather than opinion.
Japanese Newsweek is prepared by a Japanese staff, and there aren't many Americans who're fluent enough in Japanese maintain tight editorial control. The staff, I'd guess, reflects the Japanese educational system, just as American Newsweek reflects the American system. The article would seem to point up the weaknesses of both.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 18:52 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I wonder what the prospect is for government and military officials to leak false stories to gulible news reporters in order to discredit them.
#1
Subtitle: "Islam's Terrorist Dogma In Muhammad's Own Words".
Posted by: Tom ||
05/22/2005 10:14 Comments ||
Top||
#2
They confirm that he was a thief, liar, assassin, mass murderer, terrorist, warmonger, and an unrestrained sexual pervert engaged in pedophilia, incest, and rape. He authorized deception, assassinations, torture, slavery, and genocide. He was a pirate, not a prophet....... Muhammad's god condoned immoral and criminal behavior. Allah boasts about being a terrorist. He claims to have deceived men, to have stolen their property, to have enslaved women and children, to having committed acts of murder, genocide, and sadistic tortures......
#2
"Bleak" would be building a gallows and using it. We are far too soft on people who are responsible for millions of deaths (war with Iran, seizure of Kuwait, persecution of Kurds and Shiites, over 400,000 in mass graves, diverting oil-for-food funds,etc.). We need to intensify the "bleak" part.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/22/2005 10:23 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Not nearly "bleak" enough. I had a studio apartment in NYC that was less comfortable and less roomy than SadAss' prison looks.
I had to pay for it myself and I didn't get a "small garden" to tend.
If any of these clowns - or their lawyers - are looking for sympathy, I can point them in the right direction: It's in the dictionary, right between sweat and syphilis.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/22/2005 17:28 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Bleak prison conditions.....haahahahahahaa.
Too bad Dr. Barton couldn't speak to the dead. I'm sure he'd get an earful from all of Hussein's victims.
EFL As the Kerala government investigates links between local militant groups and the ISI, Anil Nair reports on a hard Islamic identity that is beginning to take root in the state. And is inspiring religious violence that spills across Kerala's borders
SIX years ago the Kerala police appears to have had hard evidence of its homegrown extemists, with links to the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence. The police, of course, failed to act on it. The matter was kept under wraps. The secret of Muslim extremism coming to light only after the violence in Marad, in the summer of 2003. Following the Kerala home department's revelations about the alleged ISI hand in the Kozhikode-based National Democratic Front (NDF), M.K. Narayanan, the national security adviser, has himself ordered a new probe. Make no mistake, Kerala is no Kashmir. The state's connection with pan-Islamic militancy is less about impressionable youth being handed the latest automatic rifles, and making a voyage from Karachi to Ponani by speedboat. It is more a combustible mix of personal resentment and perceived political traditions of faith. Understanding this is crucial if the state is to formulate a viable and longterm response to religious extremism.
The real turning point where Kerala's Muslim militancy is concerned was 2003. On May 3 that year, the state witnessed one of its worst incidents of communal violence at Marad. The toll, nine killed, was low. But what made the attack on Hindu fishermen in Kozhikode significant was its absolute onesidedness and meticulous planning. Later that month, then Mumbai police commissioner R.S. Sharma, following the busting of a Lashkar-e-Toiba module in Thane, revealed details of a terrorist plan for a series of bomb blasts in Kerala. Around the same time, Indian Army troops mopping up militant bunkers in Kashmir's Pir Panjal ranges during Operation Sarp Vinash stumbled on an abandoned satellite phone. Calls had been made from it just hours earlier, to Islamabad, Dubai and, of all places, Malappuram. Cumulatively, these incidents seemed to be alarming. But RAW chief P.K. Hormis Tharakan, till very recently Kerala's director-general of police, still doesn't want to rush to conclusions. ''From a security aspect, nothing, of course, can be ruled out,'' he says, ''but Kerala doesn't have a terrorist problem per se. There have been serious communal confrontations in the past and we are keeping our eyes peeled for that kind of trouble. The only arms caches that have been found are pipe bombs and swordsticks. Communal harmony even in that — the Hindus make the swordsticks and the Muslims use it!''
MALAPPURAM'S peculiar demography provides perfect cover for groups that seek it. It is one of only two Muslim-majority districts in India, outside Jammu and Kashmir (the other being Murshidabad in West Bengal). Since the early 1990s, fundamentalists appear to have had a concerted plan to win over the community. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahedeen's leader Ahmed Kutty paints a grim picture: ''The method of the extremists to take control of a mosque is always the same. It begins with a small cell of adepts praying with the others and trying to rally them. If there is not much headway, relentless arguing and verbal abuse follow. The majority then either falls silent or goes to another place.'' Where cajoling fails, there's direct action. The murder of Chekannur Maulvi, a reformist Islamic scholar, a decade ago still evokes memories in Malappuram. The frequent acts of cultural policing — like the burning of cinemas and attacks on Muslim women trying to marry outside their religion —are only some instances of fundamentalist violence at fellow Muslims. There have been reports of such incidents as recently as earlier this year. Slowly the process of indoctrination acquires momentum. To some Muslims, alienated by the moral vertigo of contemporary society, an austere interpretation of Islam has an appeal.
One of them even justifies the drug trade in these terms. ''Let me be clear, I personally don't support such activities,'' says advocate Abdul Gafoor, an active supporter of the Indian Union Muslim League, ''but in theory and from a historical perspective, it is a kind of colonial revenge. Heroin, for example, is produced in the third world and consumed in the West. Call it reverse imperialism.'' It is a wierd logic. To Ahmed Kutty, another resident of Malappuram, ''Such logic stems from defensiveness, from the belief that we reside in the Dar-ul-Harb or House of War. The Koran demands that we live in Dar ash-Shahada or House of Witness, in which believers and unbelievers compete in doing good works to prove the truth.''
Naushad is one Malayali who is in the vanguard of such an Islam. He is an ansar of SIMI (Students' Islamic Movement of India), whose proclaimed aim is ''the liberation of India through Islamic inquilab''. As a full-time underground worker, he says he models himself on the small but elite cadre of believers who helped the Prophet recapture Mecca. He holds a mildewed Koran, its spine cracked with age. Multicoloured ribbons allow him to turn chunks of pages at one go and jump from one favorite verse to the other: a green ribbon opens to Sura 3:28 ''Let not the Believers take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather than believers; if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah''; a yellow one is on Sura 30: 1-4: ''In a land close by; but they (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious.''
Naushad has been unusually candid throughout, displaying warmth and humour. Yet once in a while, he catches himself and draws back. His lips purse, sentences become monosyllables and you lose him. Like now, when he replies: ''I have developed an inability to mourn ... Faith means forgoing everything for the future.'' Somehow in that disturbing future, Kerala is losing the certitudes of its past.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/22/2005 02:38 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Radical? Pfeh. Wotta crock to add that word. Grrrr...
[mini rant] There's No Other Kind Of Islam. They don't refer to the point of intersection between Islamic-controlled regions and non-Islamic-controlled regions as the bloody edge for nothing. Rubbing up against Islam is guaranteed to generate violence - from the Islamic side. It's all they do and it's all they know. No fine points required - the evidence is blindingly obvious. I'm not pretending to be prescient or anything, but I have been fortunate enough to have the blinders removed - a jolting experience, I assure you. Moderate Islam. Uh huh. Right. The physical proximity of your precious ass and Islam in practice determines whether you still buy the "moderate" Islam myth. Wherever it is not being practiced one might say it is "moderate"... but that's only until the jihadis arrive, cow the "moderates", and take over the indoctrination process. Islam is an ideology of hate and domination. Period. Fuck Islam. All of 'em. It operates much like planetary volcanism. Quiescent today, erupting tomorrow. Explode the myth, once and for all. Sheesh. Can I add Q.E.D. here without causing a ruckus? ;-)
[mini rant]
AL-QAEDA has established a foothold in Palestine with a new militant group based in Gaza formed by extremists who have become disillusioned with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Amid the biggest flare-up of violence in Gaza since a ceasefire was declared three months ago by Palestinians and Israelis, the Jerusalem Post has quoted unnamed Palestinian Authority security officials as saying that a new group called Jundallah or 'Allah's Brigade' had links to the terrorist organisation headed by Osama bin Laden.
The new terror group consists mainly of former Hamas and Islamic Jihad members who believe these two militant groups have become too moderate. It has close ties to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Khaled Abu Toameh, a journalist for the Jerusalem Post, Israel's oldest and most respected English-language daily, has interviewed PA officials who said the establishment of Jundallah confirmed suspicions that al-Qaeda was attempting to gain a foothold in Gaza ahead of the planned Israeli withdrawal beginning on August 15.
Israel is to evacuate all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four of 120 in the West Bank under prime minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan.
The PA officials were quoted as saying that Jundallah gunmen launched their first attack on Israeli soldiers near Rafah in Gaza last week. Four soldiers were wounded in the incident. Abu Abdullah al-Khattab, who identified himself as the spokesman for Jundallah in Gaza, denied his group was linked to al-Qaeda but hinted that as well as Israeli targets, the group was planning to target US interests in the region.
"Our people will not remain idle in the face of American crimes in Muslim countries," he said. "Soon everyone will see operations [against the US] that will make all the Muslims delighted." He also said Jundallah would not honour any unofficial truce with Israel.
But on the record, PA officials were yesterday reluctant to confirm links between Jundallah and al-Qaeda, with senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, casting doubt on ties. "It is very unlikely that al-Qaeda would be operating in Gaza," he told the Scotland on Sunday.
A spokesman for the Palestinian interior minister, Nasser Youssef, said he could not comment on the report.
But analysts say public confirmation of al-Qaeda links would place the PA in a difficult position since it would mean they would face even greater international pressure to take action against militants who are also closely tied to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
As well as confronting the possibility of violent protests from Jewish settlers who refuse to leave, Israeli officials fear Palestinian militants will step up violence in the lead-up and during the pullout.
The emergence of a new militant group in Gaza, especially one with reported links to al-Qaeda, was not surprising, said Ra'anan Gissin, an aide to prime minister Sharon.
"There is some evidence of links between militants in Gaza and al-Qaeda," he told the Scotland on Sunday. "We are watching and following such developments very closely but for us, local terrorist groups are just as dangerous."
It is not the first time al-Qaeda's name has been connected with Palestinian militants. In February 2003, an Israeli military court sentenced a Palestinian man to 27 years in prison for training in Afghanistan with bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
A member of Hamas, Nabil Oukal was arrested in 2000 and allegedly told Israeli interrogators he was recruited by al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan to form a network in the Palestinian territories.
"While this information about Jundallah has yet to be confirmed, there's no doubt that al-Qaeda has tried and continues to try and recruit members of other organisations such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad," said Dr Ely Karmon, a senior researcher in international terrorism at Israel's International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
"It is a great concern for Israel if al-Qaeda does get a foothold in the Palestinian territories since with al-Qaeda, all bets are off. Unlike Hamas and other local groups who face direct consequences once they carry out a terrorist operation, al-Qaeda are ready to sacrifice many Muslims to further their cause."
In the meantime, both Palestinian and Israeli officials yesterday stressed they would do what they could to maintain the fragile ceasefire after Israeli forces killed a Palestinian gunman during an assault on the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom in Gaza on Friday.
The violence occurred within hours of Israel's defence chief ordering the army to use "all necessary means" to stop militants firing a barrage of mortars and rockets at Israeli targets.
Following the clash, Israeli soldiers prevented dozens of Jewish settlers marching into the neighbouring village of Dir al-Balah where the attack had originated, to protest the shelling.
Hamas claimed joint responsibility along with the Fatah-linked al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Popular Resistance Committees for Friday's attack.
Hamas said it remained committed to the ceasefire but was avenging the deaths of two of its fighters in the Gaza Strip last week. "We are doing whatever we can do to sustain the ceasefire," Erekat said.
Israeli officials believe the surge in violence is part of Hamas's strategy directly to challenge the moderate president Abbas in the run-up to his meeting on Thursday with President George Bush in Washington.
Gissin also said Israel had no intention of "escalating the current situation but the Palestinian Authority must understand it is up to them to end the violence".
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/22/2005 00:04 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
well if Al Q declared itself it would be an interesting thing
in contradistinction to Hamas and IJ, Al Q opposes elections, opposes rule by secular moslems (I think most of the Palestinian Parliment is secular - you can tell because they wear western style suits or a mix of suits and arab clothes).
#5
Finish the security fence, declare the P.A. and independent nation, and the next time one of the terror groups does something (doesn't really matter which one, they are just different flavours of ice cream), announce that as an act of war and wipe them out.
(Sorry, I pulled something in my back while working in the garden, and now I'm cranky. .com, will you please make me a cup of tea, and say there, there to me?)
Meanwhile, while the aspirin is kicking in with the tea's assistance, I'll second that wipe them out sentiment...
I firmly believe that it is intuitively obvious to the casual observer that the point of contact between the civilized world and Islam that will never ever have peace - until there is only one left alive, is Israel - PaleoLand. The Hate Machine was perfected, if not invented, there. It has reached such levels of barbarity and insanity as to boggle the modern mind. There will be no peace until there is no more Islam in contact with Israel.
And the remote versions of the Paleo Hate Machine, such as the MM's, must be dealt with in the same no quarter manner - or else Israel will cease to exist. Just one nuke of sufficient size and placed right to take advantage of prevailing winds, etc, could do it. There is no second chance in this "game", so I say pre-empt the bitch and take care of business now, while there is still a civilization in Israel to save.
And, when the smoke clears and the other Hate Machines see that Israel has been spared again, and blame the US for it, they'll go into overdrive to commit suicide, too. Will they learn from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran? Lol - are you kidding me? 1400 yrs says no, don't waste your time.
So taking the showdown of the Hate Machine in Paleoland, now joined by the Professional Wahhabi Hate Machine: AlQ, and the growing remote-kill capability of the MM Hate Machine, all converging upon a nexus in time, is it really difficult to see the moment of truth come, the correct actions taken, and the cascade begin? I have little difficulty seeing Saudi and the rest of the GCC falling into the mess - and losing forever. How did I get to "fry 'em up"? F**kin Duh. They'll make the choice for us.
Afterwards, we'll prolly (they may not want to miss out on the fun) still have PakiWakiLand to deal with. They'll be apoplectic, no? They can nuke their neighbors, no? How far beyond that? Not far enough, methinks. So they'll be spittin and screaming and trying to figure out how to shoehorn a nuke the size of a VW into a tanker or something. But we'll know that, and we've heard that there are US personnel in a position to, um, prevent a PakiWaki spasm of nuko-o-mania. But should they gear up and start flinging feces, well, if you were India would you take the chance none were coming your way? Nah, me neither. So PakiWakiLand, unless sanity suddenly breaks out, will likely solve itself by being defanged or turned into smokin' holes. I favor the latter - another reservoir of insanity wiped out sounds good to me.
Indo/Malay/African Islam? Small potatoes who blow up hotels and bars and each other - but they'll need to go, too. They're only murderers and thugs and we need no vectors for this pathogen left alive - anywhere.
No, to safeguard against the day when they start exporting, and exploding, again, it would be better to finish the goddamned job and get it over with. No point in handing it off to our grandchildren to do over again.
But that's just me. No strong feelings about it. ;-)
#7
You're a dear, .com. In your own warped and twisted way.
I am honestly terrified that Israel will spend too much time looking for those 100 good men, and not go to full out war until it is too late. I am furious that these selfish, vicious romantics (in love with the romance of rebellion and violence), drunk on the words of their religion, drugged on a twisted vision of Paradise, are going to force us to fry 'em up. I think that if it comes to that point, I will feel no more guilt than about the firebombing of Dresden, et al or the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Because if we do so, it will be because it was the most efficient option to end this unwanted war.
I guess I'm a Jacksonian after all. And a furious one. Which doesn't go with the ladylike calm I strive for. Oh, dear, I think I broke the cup. Next time it might be wiser to give me a sturdy titanium mug rather than the pretty porcelain when I'm in a mood.
I do apologize. You all are so nice to me, and I'm dumping like this. *wipes eyes* But at least my back feels a bit better, and the garden is less obviously full of weeds, at least for the moment. ;-)
I'd send you a nice titanium mug for your tea, but doesn't it have a problem with leeching? I think one of the inert plastics or a porcelin-lined steel is your best bet, though far less elegant and befitting of a lady, sorry. ;-)
BTW, you may enjoy this... it salves my wounded pride, heh:
"Truth is good manners; manners are a fiction."
-Twain
I've had a feeling lately, growing steadily in the past several weeks: a stomach-gnawing, sick-making premonition that Islam will prove to be incorrigible.
I suppose we'll continue this "Middle East Democracy" thing of Bush's until his term is over; but after that, I think the idea will die.
And if Islam then manages to pull off another mass-casualty terrorist attack on U.S. soil... [SHUDDER]
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/22/2005 22:06 Comments ||
Top||
#10
I haven't any idea about titanium leeching -- my last au pair had a titanium plate bolted to her arm bone after she broke it so decisively while skiing. But, it being Germany, it was only on loan, and she had to go back a year later to return it. ;-) They also offered her a nursing job.
But if you say the other would be better, I certainly don't have the knowledge to argue.
As for Twain and manners, he lived at a time when manners were used as a tool of class warfare. In such a context his statement is perfectly true. But where manners are used to make life go more smoothly and comfortably, and as a tool for self discipline, much like your own Eight Rules, .com, I see no harm in them, and much that is good. And I would contend that using manners as an excuse for the outright lie is rarely good manners.
But it's clear that you are perfectly capable of good manners when you choose. And if that ex-wife of yours taught you otherwise, just because yours differ on the details from hers, she should be ashamed.
Dave, that is the difference between -- in my opinion -- civilized and uncivilized. Except that I hope your back doesn't hyrt. ;-)
Iraq's military has urged the United States to supply heavy weapons and combat aircraft to ensure the replacement of the U.S.-led coalition. A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies asserted that Iraqi military commanders and officials believe the U.S. plan to develop their capabilities has been effective. But the Iraqis have proposed that the United States focus on several aspects that could facilitate the transfer of security responsibility for the coalition to the Baghdad government. "Iraqi officials feel that most U.S. and MNC [multi-national force coalition] teams they work with do have Iraqi interests at heart and they feel the training effort is getting steadily better," the report, entitled "Iraqi Force Development: An Iraqi View," said. "Every element of the military, security and police forces can perform some function in terms of improving security and that the situation is improving steadily as new and better trained/equipped forces come on line."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Hmmm...haven't we been down this road before?
Why do countries around the world expect the US taxpayer to foot the bill for their defense?
Once the Iraqis protect their oilfields properly from their fellow Sunni-deadbeat-terrorist countrymen, and have some collateral, then America can talk about SELLING them "heavy weapons."What do they think we are - Santa Claus?
#2
Good point, ES, heh. But what else could we expect - they are Arabs, after all, lol! If there's any chance they can weasel freebies out of us, they'll certainly try.
On the other hand I wouldn't mind arming up the Wolf Brigade - they seem to know exactly what to do with the gear, and have the stones to use it.
#3
I suspect this is an indication that the Iraqis no longer consider in the slightest the US to be a threat and are refocusing on their neighbors. Why, yes the Saudis and Iranians are more of a threat, along with their junior partner Syria.
BTW the Truman Administration withheld heavy weapons from the South Koreans. When the North invaded, the South had neither armor nor adequate anti-tank equipment to stop the North's T-34s.
Let's not repeat history. Let's not assume that the Republicans will retain control and then have the Dems cut off military aid as they did to the South Vietnamese in the 70s.
#4
Iraq may become a very reliable ally in the region. Maybe not,but their military definitely will be partial towards us.
Therefore,it is a good investment for the more reliable groups like the Wolf Brigade to arm them with first class equipment. Whether it is Russki in origin or our stuff,I would let them decide that,but I would be glad to give them stuff on the freebie myself for starters.
Upgraded M-60 ATT3 tanks for example. We stopped using them,but they are superior to the T-72,why not give them to Iraq's Army?
Algeria's military campaign against Islamic insurgents has been bolstered by the delivery of advanced systems from Western contractors. Algerian sources said the military and security forces have been enhanced by deliveries of advanced non-lethal equipment from Western suppliers. The sources said the equipment has come from such countries as Britain, France, Spain and the United States. "The equipment has enabled us to track terrorists at all times and weather," an Algerian source said. "This has helped the military and security forces in searches in wooded and mountainous areas."
The sources said the equipment included mobile reconnaissance systems, night-vision goggles, laser designator sights for a range of weapons and signal intelligence gathering systems. They said Western countries have trained Algerian soldiers to operate these systems in 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Um, a bit earlier than that. But I ain't going into details... :)
The United States has approved a plan to establish military relations with Libya.
Oboy! Wheelus, here we come!
Officials said the Bush administration has agreed to a road map that would restore military relations and cooperation with Libya. They said this would include U.S. training of Libya's military and security forces as well as weapons exports. "The key would be the removal of Libya as a terrorist state," an official said. "Until that point, everything would remain on paper." Officials said U.S. European Command has been discussing the issue with Libyan military chiefs. They said European Command envisions a presence in Libya as well as a training program.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Hmmm. Methinks CP Abdullah will go ballistic - and never forgive this. Heh.
Iraq's marginalized Sunnis yesterday formed a nationwide alliance of tribal, political and religious groups and demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr. The group's demand threatened to further fuel sectarian tensions following the recent killing of several Sunni clerics that they have blamed on Shiite-dominated security forces.
That's what it's supposed to do, isn't it?
A total of 10 clerics, both Sunni and Shiite, have been killed by gunmen in the past two weeks and Sunni mosques have been observing a lockout in protest since Friday.
Oh! They can't do that! The crops won't grow! The rain won't come! The sun won't shine!
"No one has the right to call for the resignation of a minister, only Parliament can do that. Those who didn't get one vote have no right to ask," Interior Minister Jabr said, referring to the fact that many Sunnis stayed away from Jan. 30 elections either in protest or fear of attacks. A Shiite, Jabr added that "we did not practice killing against anyone."
That's the way you say "piss off" in Iraqi Arabic...
The newly created Sunni alliance, which has not adopted a name, will open its first office in Baghdad with branches later in other cities. "The decisions taken by this body will be shared by all Sunni parties and movements, Islamists, independents, merchants, military officers, heads of tribes and workers," said Adnan Al-Duleimi, the head of the Sunni Endowment. The charitable organization was one of three main Sunni groups to back the formation of the new organization. The others were the influential Association of Muslim Scholars and the Iraqi Islamic Party.
So that'd be the Iraqi Islamic Party, their war council, and their money men. Gotcha.
"We decided to establish this Sunni political and religious organization to speak on behalf the Arab Sunnis. We all have to work for the sake of Iraq to get this country out of this hard situation," said Sheikh Lawrence Abid Ibrahim Al-Hardan, 47, who is from restive Anbar province west of Baghdad. Sunnis said they hope the organization will give them more of a say in Shiite-dominated Iraq and help bring the minority together ahead of new elections in December. "We made a big mistake when we didn't take part in the elections and that was because we didn't have a unified and clear religious and political organization," said Sheikh Salim Assad Abdullah Al-Dhahir, 55.
No. It was because you thought you could derail them.
"The loss of the elections was the main motive behind this project, which will bring the Sunnis together and enable them to take part in the political process and the next election."
Yeah. Maybe you'll have better luck next time.
"We condemn raids and detention done under the cover of the law against imams and mosques. We demand an independent committee be formed to verify if detainees were killed or tortured and demand the resignation of the interior minister," the Sunnis said in a statement announcing the formation of their organization. The unprecedented gathering took place as thousands of Sunni Muslims across Baghdad were observing a three-day prayer strike which kicked off on Friday evening. Muezzins called for prayer as usual yesterday but urged the faithful to stay at home, in a movement of protest against the recent murder of Sunnis. The assassinations were part of a cycle of tit-for-tat sectarian killings, which culminated on May 15 with the discovery of at least 46 mutilated bodies in and around Baghdad.
They were okay while it was only tats, but now that there's tits in the equation they don't like it. Hitting a little too close to home, are they?
Eight members of an elite Interior Ministry force known as the Wolf Brigade, which at least one Sunni leader has implicated in sectarian killings, died in a pre-dawn ambush on their 20-vehicle convoy in downtown Beiji, 250 km north of Baghdad, police 1st Lt. Nadar Adil said. Another four police officers were killed by a roadside bomb in the predominantly Sunni city of Samarra, 95 km north of Baghdad, police Lt. Qassim Mohammed said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Sunnis. Let's see how long it takes before they're not just marginalized, but completely cut out in order to save the future for the Shi'a and Kurds. I can easily picture them being thrown out on their asses to scratch out a living in the western desert. Too bad they can't. But history is full of group idiocy. And tragedy.
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so."
- Bertrand Russell
Afghanistan's president yesterday demanded "very, very strong" action by the United States against any military personnel found to be abusing prisoners, after a newspaper report alleged maltreatment of detainees at the main US base here. President Hamid Karzai said he will bring up the issue when he meets American leaders during a four-day visit to the US starting yesterday. He also demanded greater control over US military operations here, including a stop to raids by American troops on Afghans' homes without the knowledge of his administration. "No operations inside Afghanistan should take place without the consultation of the Afghan government," the president said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
A second senior former member of the ousted Taleban regime said yesterday he had enrolled as a candidate in Afghan legislative elections, while the country's president urged more women to take part in the elections. Mulla Mohammed Khaksar, the former Taleban deputy interior minister, said he would run as an independent candidate in the September elections. Khaksar secretly contacted the United States in 1999 to seek American help in stopping the Taleban, and renounced the religious movement after its collapse in 2001. "I want to again serve my people," he told reporters in the southern city of Kandahar. "I want to support the government and have good relations with the international community," he said. "I want there to be no more violence in our country." When asked what he now thinks of the Taleban, he said the former regime had "positive and negative points." He did not elaborate.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Oh yeah - he's dead. âI want to again serve my peopleâ - I'd wager that holding down a real job isn't very appealing. And WHAT positive points, you fucking mook. How, exactly, did you "served your people" before, Mullah? Soccer Ref, perhaps? You may have "secretly contacted the US" - but I'd really like to see some credible confirmation of that tidbit before I swallow it, K? That's not too much to ask.
#2
Khaksar was the first of the mullahs to come over to the Northern Alliance when Kabul fell.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 9:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
great pic - a classic
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/22/2005 9:28 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Fred - So when the writing on the wall was so blindingly obvious that every but a Taleban True Believer could see it, he switched sides. Pretty impressive, lol! How very, um, Afghan of him.
What's my bid for the "loyalty" of the [mumble mumble] tribe? Do I hear 500 AK's? Who will give me 500 AK's? Going once, going twice...
Police swung into action in Dhaka yesterday as hundreds of opposition activists took to the streets to enforce a general strike to protest the killing of an Awami League leader. The opposition Awami League called a daylong nationwide strike to protest the killing of its leader Khorshed Alam, a lawyer, who was gunned down by unidentified assailants here Tuesday.
The strike shut down schools, colleges, shops and disrupted business and public transportation in more than 60 cities and towns. In Dhaka, shops, businesses and schools were closed yesterday and private vehicles were off the roads. There were similar scenes in the southeastern port city of Chittagong and in Sylhet in the northeast, police said. Saturday is a normal working day in Bangladesh. Dhaka police chief Mizanur Rahman said 9,000 police and paramilitary personnel had been deployed in the city to prevent any violence. "Thirty opposition protesters, 24 of them women, were arrested after they pushed their way through a police barricade during a demonstration," said Sub-Inspector Aslan Hossen. A Dhaka-wide strike was also held Wednesday to protest the killing.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Sudan says it will announce the make-up of a tribunal to hear war crimes committed in Darfur soon, according to a senior official. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told a news conference during a trip to China on Saturday: "We are working closely with the African Union. I would expect soon the name of the court is going to be announced, the judge and also the prosecutor-general."
A committee led by the minister for justice is expected to finalise and make public the details soon. "I wouldn't think it would take that long, I wouldn't think it would take two or three months," he said. The UN Security Council in March referred Darfur war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. But it also left the door open for Sudan to hold its own trials provided these were credible, saying the ICC should encourage such domestic efforts. Sudanese officials have rejected the possibility of the country's citizens being tried in a foreign court, and the Rome Statute that created the ICC says that suspects tried in credible and just proceedings in their own country cannot be tried again at The Hague-based tribunal. Ismail said the tribunal would be open to scrutiny. "The place is going to be open for the media, it is going to be supervised by Africans," he said.
That's such a comforting statement...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Wait, lemme get this straight... They're going to investigate and prosecute themselves? Genocidal Islamists? And this is, like, okay with the UNSC? WTF?
Here's the US statement regarding our abstaining from the vote to send this to the ICC, but where the hell did this "left the door open for Sudan to hold its own trials provided these were credible" stupidity come from? France - the sponsor of the idiot resolution to go to the ICC in the first place?
#2
goddam im pissed. fuken callin cops on korran desecrashens. is itn jus me or does anyone else wanna slap the munky cum out of em imam or sumthin over this.
#4
sory ptah. didnt meen in offend. jus gettin sick of allem korran desecrashen storys. this cuntrys made em goldern calf outta teh korran and im cant stand it any more. now peples callin cops if em korran is dissed?
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.
U.S. immigration officials have barred a senior American-based representative of 
Azerbaijani protesters demanding free elections were beaten back Saturday by police, who arrested dozens as they broke up a banned rally in the oil-rich former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea four days before the inauguration of a new pipeline. Tension between the government and the opposition in the tightly controlled country has increased since an October 2003 election in which 
The Bush administration is weighing North Korea's needs against hunger in other countries as it decides whether to provide food assistance this year to the economically lagging communist nation, the State Department said Friday.
Muslim protesters burned, spit and urinated on a U.S. flag Friday in eastern India, accusing Americans of desecrating Islam's holy book as anger persisted despite the retraction of a magazine report that a Quran was flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay.
Syrian intelligence was said to have trained numerous Sunnis in abductions, executions and car bombings against the U.S.-led coalition and the interim government in Baghdad. For the first time, Iraqi authorities have presented details of Syrian support for and sponsorship of insurgency groups as well as their attacks on the U.S. military and its Iraqi allies. Authorities have presented Syrian and Iraqi nationals who recalled their recruitment and training by Syrian intelligence for the anti-American operation in Iraq. 
At 35 and presiding over a multibillion dollar business empire, 
The United States has approved a plan to establish military relations with Libya.
Iraq's marginalized Sunnis yesterday formed a nationwide alliance of tribal, political and religious groups and demanded the resignation of Interior Minister 
Afghanistan's president yesterday demanded "very, very strong" action by the United States against any military personnel found to be abusing prisoners, after a newspaper report alleged maltreatment of detainees at the main US base here. President 
A second senior former member of the ousted 
Police swung into action in Dhaka yesterday as hundreds of opposition activists took to the streets to enforce a general strike to protest the killing of an 
Sudan says it will announce the make-up of a tribunal to hear war crimes committed in Darfur soon, according to a senior official. Foreign Minister 
