LONDON (Reuters via Workldwire) - A British man who has been nudging a monkey nut along the streets of London with his nose for 11 days finally reached the seat of power on Friday.
After seven grueling miles, Mark McGowan pushed the nut up the steps to Prime Minister Tony Blairâs Downing Street residence and told waiting reporters: "Iâve got a sore nose."
Performance artist McGowan -- nose shielded by a grimy sticking plaster -- deftly flicked the nut onto Blairâs front step, and was greeted by an official who handed him a mug of tea.
The 37-year old has gone through 13 nuts during his grueling quest to highlight rising student debt.
"Iâm trying to show the Prime Minister that he needs to bring back grants to people who need them," he told Sky television.
"Iâve got 15,000 pounds worth of debts -- and now Iâve got a sore nose," he added.
McGowan, who has previously walked for 11 miles with a turkey strapped to his head to persuade fat people to eat less, was unimpressed by the tea he received from the premierâs office. "It was like a builderâs mug -- you could see the stain on the inside," he said.
But the mug was nothing to some of the trials he has to endure during his stunt.
"The streets of London are filthy," he said. "Thereâs human hair, bird poo and all sorts."
And for victory celebrations? "Iâm just going to have a bath," he said.
While the artist has not said so, I think this is an obvious statement about the futility of attepmting to work with the UN on substantive issues. The bird droppings and the need for a bath afterward gave it away.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 11:15:57 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
LMAO. I've wouldn't have made the connection, but it's quite obvious now that you've pointed it out.
Posted by: Matt ||
09/14/2003 11:44 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I just can't stop shaking my head. This guy is so stupid.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/14/2003 14:34 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Bulldog,
Isn't the guy supposed to secure the lucarative grant before he performs the "art piece?"
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 17:03 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Yep, SH, he doesn't get how the system works (i.e. you ask for the money before you do something "controversial" and "thought-provoking"); you don't do something comprehensively stupid in order to get the cash.
Did a monkey-nut-rolling nutter really expect the Queen Anne china? OK, so he left the turkey at home, but...
#6
What he did wouldn't qualify for art in the States. His work is neither scatalogical nor anti-religious. The turkey piece might have played well in West Virginia.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 21:38 Comments ||
Top||
A Yemeni court on Sunday sentenced a Muslim extremist to death for plotting the assassination of a politician and three American missionaries in December 2002. Ali al-Jarallah was found guilty of planning the assassination of Jarallah Omar, deputy secretary-general of the Yemeni Socialist Party, as well as the murder two days later of the missionaries at a Southern Baptist missionary hospital in Jibla. He was also convicted of creating a terror cell to assassinate local officials and foreigners, as well as buying weapons and explosives. Six accomplices in the Omar murder were given terms between three to 10 years. Seven other alleged militants were acquitted by the court.
Look on the bright side, Ali. When you're eight inches taller, think of how imposing you'll look.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 09:45 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
9/11? It Never Happened Across Europe, conspiracy theories are all the rage. Germany is the latest to be swept up by the craze
By Stefan Theil NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL
To get a sense of how deep mistrust of the United States runs in Germany, take a look at the bookshelves. Two years after September 11, German bookstores are flooded with such works as âThe CIA and September 11,â in which a former government minister of Research and Technology, Andreas von Bulow, insinuates that the U.S. and Israeli intelligence services blew up the World Trade Center from the inside. The two Boeings, he claims, were flown in by remote control as a cover-up. The whole thing was a cynical plot by Americaâs neoconservatives to take over the world.
With Iraq in apparent chaos, America is returning to the United Nations in search of allies. In Afghanistan, the Taliban is regrouping, just as new global conflicts may be brewing over North Korea and Iran. Before things started going to hell, it was fine (and fun) to speculate about American perfidy, especially since some of the authors didnât much care whether readers believed them or not. But now hard decisions must be made, with the prospect that Europeans will increasingly be swept up in Americaâs troubles abroad. Perhaps that explains, in Germany at least, why mainstream journalists and politicians have been quick to denounce the crackpots. Even Der Spiegel — usually good for a conspiracy theory or two — last week ran an unusually sober cover story debunking them. Now that the game has turned so serious, whimsy seems suddenly out of place.
Posted by: Big Daddy Cool ||
09/14/2003 7:48:27 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
Dear Abby,
I get so confused when the foil hat issue comes up. Now, I have to wear it shiny side out so that the mind control satellites cannot turn me into a jooooish zombie, yet I need to wear it shiny side in so their spy devices cannot read my thoughts. And if I try to use two pieces opposite back to back they cancel each other out and I am no more protected than Mr. Gumby with his kerchief hat from M. Python.
#3
It it absolutely amazing how many believe the CIA is actually competent with their track record over the past few years, yes, I know, Congress didn't help.
Very long but worth it, hit the link for the whole story.
KHOLODNY, Russia â In the dying settlement called simply by the Russian word for "Cold," there is one woman left who remembers. Nina Ivanovna Romanova is the last one here who survived Stalin-era camps where millions of slave laborers extracted the riches of the Russian Far North. She is the last one to have panned gold by hand, side by side with female political prisoners who died off in the unbearable winter frost. She is the last to have known what it is to have her father arrested, her son taken away and her own life changed irrevocably because one day in 1946 she sold a dress for food. For that, Soviet authorities branded her a "speculator" and sent her to the camps. She stayed on in the region when the camps closed in the 1950s, as many former prisoners did, and now she refuses Russian government directives to move to warmer areas to the south. "Someone must stay to remember," she said, a gentle 80-year-old with piercing blue eyes and a one-room apartment. This settlement "needs to be preserved." We in the west frequently forget how lucky we are.
What we're fighting against today isn't very different from the monster that ate up her and millions of others. The philosophy's based (loosely, in some instances) on the Koran, but the mechanics come from 20th century dictatorships.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 3:26:10 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Bless her heart. Someone should tell her we (the USA) won't let the world forget.
Stories like this need to be nailed into the heads of Stalinist apologists. That whole system was evil, almost beyond comprehension and yet we still have the 'useful idiots' around us all today.
Thing is, due to the Internet, the truth really is out there - if people care enough to look.
I was slightly left-leaning (it's almost inevitable in the UK - the culture is very different to the US). However, I certainly knew that communism was not a system I wanted to have anything to do with. Fortunately, due to the Cold War, I never had to (and I realise I do owe a debt to the US).
I'd started changing (awakening?) a long time before 9/11. It's just on that day, everything was crystalised for me and I knew that we were at war.
I've learnt so much about the current situation from the Blogosphere, particularly Rantburg, LGF, Lileks, Samizdata and the others. Talk about having the blinkers removed!
So Nina, you stay in 'Cold' - someone needs to remember, we sure do.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/14/2003 12:10 Comments ||
Top||
Two Muslim clerics from Toronto want the United States to apologize for holding them in Florida on Thursday â the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. And the Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) was so offended by the treatment of the two men that it is advising Muslims not to travel to the United States. Too bad theyâre not advising Muslims to shun their islamofascist brethren.
"You get a feeling that in the United States any Muslim is fair game," said Tarek Fatah, a founder of the MCC. Fatah? "Is this one on the list Bob?" "Yup, along with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad." "Take him aside."
Ahmad Kutty and Abdul Hamid were flying to Orlando when they were arrested during a stopover in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday. The men were interrogated for 16 hours and kept in jail until Friday, when they returned to Toronto. U.S. officials said the men were a security concern. Hamid said a FBI officer told him that his name "sounded similar to the names of some people on the list of suspects." I bet thereâs more to it then that.
The two scholars oppose Islamic extremism, and were on their way to give sermons at a Muslim meeting in Florida. And here it is. This meeting was being carefully watched, thatâs why you were detained.
Kutty "is one of the gentlest souls in the Muslim community," said Fatah. Now the two have taken the most American of actions â theyâve got a lawyer. To sue Osama Bin Laden???
"This is America, where there are laws and there are procedures. And weâre going to follow those. Weâre going to hold people accountable," said lawyer Khurrum Wahid. For the Sept. 11 attacks??? How noble.
The men want an apology and they may yet ask the Canadian government to lodge a formal complaint. Against Saudi Arabia??? Iâm moved to tears....but Iâm not holding my breath
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/14/2003 7:37:10 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"advising Muslims not to travel to the United States"
Works for me!
#2
I was up in Toronto a few weeks ago and there is an immense Muslim population there.
Most seem like pretty regular folks and I even stopped by Afghan Youth Day at Wonderland Park.
The music was grooving and the Afghans were ecstatically happy to be dancing, singing, hanging out without burqas. Many of the Afghan women and girls are very gorgeous and their brothers, very Western looking, look like they could kick your ass if you stared too long. But everything was friendly.
Meanwhile, these goofball "religious leaders" would be most content to drag them back to the 7th Century.
People called my Irish Catholic ancestors "priest ridden"? The Moslems are "imam ridden" and really have to stand up for themselves and say, "Enough!"
#3
Attention all radical anti-western U.S. Muslims: evacuate to Canada immediately. Please. Attention all peace-loving U.S. Muslims: you are fully welcome to stay. We apologize for any inconveniences to you.
Posted by: Tom ||
09/14/2003 10:10 Comments ||
Top||
#4
They flew into Orlando, but they may have taken a side trip to the southern half of Florida. You know, the home of Sami al-Arian and Abdullah al-Muhajir.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/14/2003 10:32 Comments ||
Top||
#5
. . .may yet ask the Canadian government to lodge a formal complaint.
As I recall the canuk gov would not lift a finger against Iran or Saudi for beatings and death, why expect any action now.
#6
Perhaps Moslems from around the world should take up the call and avoid travel to the US. If you add Tom's response to that I think we have a really nice start on the healing process.
The US is just too tempting, too seductive, too concerned for the lives of her citizens, too many lapdancers and barbie dolls. The unhinged Islamic element must stay away for their own good
#7
There is far too much exposed feminine ankle tobe good for them, we must keep them out for their own good.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 11:50 Comments ||
Top||
#8
None of you guys seem to understand Canadian politics. The Government is going to seethe and whine as loud as possible in this case. Why? Because they have to pander to the Canadian Muslim population in order to secure the ethnic vote, which is a Liberal Party specialty. Secondly, this was an âoffenceâ committed by Americans, and we all know Chretienâs animosity towards them.
Youâre right in by the fact that not a single finger was listed by Canadian authorities over the deaths and torture of their citizens by Islamic countries. They wouldnât want to âoffendâ them. Itâs absolutely sickening what Canada has become now. No wonder why Sampson wonât return to Canada.
And yes, Toronto does have a very large Muslim population. My sister lives there (I grew up in Canada) and attends York University. The Muslim student groups are very active up there, especially in their protests. They beat up this Jewish girl pretty badly and all she did was complain that they were blocking her on her way to class.
I also read somewhere that about 20% of Canadaâs Muslim population adheres to Wahabisim. Thatâs pretty high. Though I am curious what those numbers are here in the US.
#9
Canada's immigration policiy, or lack of one
Things will slowly improve, with the new Citizenship Act. But aren't you forgetting that the US has an immigration policy as well? In fact it is your government that has the silly visa lottery program. You might wanna deal with that first before building a wall.
The Sampson story is getting attention. The Canadian foreign minister recently admitted that relations with Saudi Arabia have been strained over this issue, and they want an investigation, not a simple inquiry. But of course it is doubtful that anything will come of this. Chretien did his best to weaken Canada's diplomatic position in the world.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/14/2003 15:51 Comments ||
Top||
#10
To the detained pair of Muslim chaps:
We are very sorry for the treatment you received from our government.
Now, where was I? What's next.........
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/14/2003 15:57 Comments ||
Top||
#11
No connection to terrorism? According to info in my files, Ahmad Kutty (born in India, 1946) translated a book by executed Egyptian terrorist, Sayed Qutb, under the title, "Social Justice in Islam." Why would he do that, if he did not sympathise with Qutb's genocidal views? His son, Faisal, was (or is) a member of the Muslim Students Association, a wing of the terrorist' Jamaat-i-Islami organization of Pakistan.
#12
Rafael - LOL. At least you've maintained a sense of humor...
"But aren't you forgetting that the US has an immigration policy as well?"
Not at all. The problem is, with that huge open border, that whatever yours is overrides, in the practical sense, whatever changes we make to ours in the legal sense. That should be obvious to you, regardless of your sensitivity to my criticism.
"In fact it is your government that has the silly visa lottery program."
Well, I'm not sure how to put this other than we attempted to be fair regards the incredible masses of people who wish to immigrate to the US. Silly? Sounds pretty subjective - or are you going to back it up with something other than your opinion? It is our heritage to try to be open to immigration. The WoT has and will continue to put bottlenecks in the process so we can find out just who we're letting in, now.
As for Chretien, you elected him. We have to eat crow for our fools - you have the honor with yours.
I find it fascinating that you want to compare immigration policies. Nothing you responded with negates my point, however. As for what Canada does with them when it catches asshats, you have a serious problem. You don't do dick, as a matter of fact - unless you turn them over to the US, where they find out what a hard time really is - though it's not hard enough for my taste. When the US catches them, they have to be clean to get let go - and if not clean, they are fucked. What does Canada do? I'd love to hear you wax enthusiastic about the fair but serious treatment of terrorists held by Canadian authorities.
When I worked in Saudi I knew more than 10 guys with Canadian passports. Only one was a Canuck - the rest were PakIndiLaysiArabs - cuz any swinging dick that wanted one (and was not on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List) could get one.
I love Canada (particularly the Calgary Stampede!) and I respect your posts in almost every instance, but you haven't got the facts to get wiggly with me regards some imagined superiority of Canadian immigration - regards policies, laws, practices, investigation, or enforcement. Sorry, bro. 8-)
Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) ||
09/14/2003 20:09 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Dear Canuckistanis,
I deeply regret that two visiting Islamic clergymen were seized by a rioting mob of Americans, then torn to pieces as they pleaded for their lives, and that their remains were paraded triumphantly through the streets of Florida.
Oh, wait a minute....
Posted by: American conspirator ||
09/14/2003 23:00 Comments ||
Top||
#14
"your sensitivity to my criticism"
Well, for a minute there I felt like a Palestinian. Any mention of a wall has my boxers bunching up. Last time I checked I didn't vote for Yaser... though sometimes I wonder. "are you going to back it up with something other than your opinion"
Nah. Other than it seems completely arbitrary. "As for Chretien, you elected him"
Whoa! Them's fighting words. Never voted for the guy. Saw him for what he was from the very beginning. Unfortunately, for the time being, as long as Ontario keeps voting Liberal, there's no alternative. "serious treatment of terrorists held by Canadian authorities"
Terrorists?? We've still got 59 war criminals we're trying to locate. BTW, you haven't seen any of them around by any chance? Any help is greatly appreciated. "superiority of Canadian immigration"
Heh of course we're superior. It only takes an average of 12 months to get here.
On a more serious note, I wouldn't be surprised if the info about these two guys was passed on to the FBI by one of our guys.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/14/2003 23:36 Comments ||
Top||
#15
"On a more serious note, I wouldn't be surprised if the info about these two guys was passed on to the FBI by one of our guys."
Prolly was!!! Mebbe afraid Chretien would give 'em a big fat kiss instead of throwing them in the pokey! That guy gives me the creeps!
You're a good man, Rafael - keep swinging away!
Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) ||
09/15/2003 3:20 Comments ||
Top||
I think youâll want to take a look at this one Fred, this looks like the mother lode.
The Bush administration has evidence of some prewar Iraqi contacts and training with al-Qaida, based on prisoner interrogations, defector statements and documents collected in Iraq and Afghanistan, but no proof of joint terror operations, according to U.S. officials. Did anyone within the administration claim that there were?
Most of the administrationâs public assertions have focused on a supporter of Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He is believed to have run terrorist training camps in both Iraq and Afghanistan and received medical care in Baghdad. Heâs now running back and forth to Iran, if memory serves, and according to the Washington Post the clinic he stayed at was an exclusive one.
U.S. officials have accused al-Zarqawi of trying to train terrorists in the use of poison for possible attacks in Europe, running a terrorist haven in northern Iraq and organizing an attack that killed an American aid executive in Jordan last year. I think thereâs also a Chechen connection to those plots. CNN had the story a little while back. Fred labeled Zarqawi as the guy who ties all the terror networks together and that seems to be the case. Iraq, Iran, Chechnya, Algeria, Lebanon, ect. All you need to do is throw in a Pakistani and a Saudi connection ...
The Chechen connection was with an Egyptian named Abu Khabab (no relation to the Shish Khababs...) He's Zawahiri's resident Egyptian mad scientist. Zarqawi and Khabab were reputed to have trained the ricin cells who were busted in Europe early this year in the Pankisi Gorge.
But U.S. officials familiar with intelligence say the administration has evidence of other contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida. These contacts spiked in 1995-96, when bin Laden was living in Sudan, which he left for Afghanistan in early 1996; and in 1998, while his terror network was in Afghanistan, and his operatives bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa.
The officials said there was credible evidence of more than a half-dozen high-level contacts between Iraqi intelligence agencies and leaders of bin Ladenâs organization but no direct evidence of Iraqi government sponsorship of al-Qaida attacks. Somebody tell Bob Graham, Wesley Clark, and Howard Dean, they all keep on saying that thereâs no link.
There are frequent, high-level contacts among the brass hats of all businesses that are in the same line of work. Ford talks to GM regularly. Exxon talks to Shell regularly. Sammy and Binny were both in the world domination business, so it was natural their executives would get together now and then to talk shop.
Nearly a dozen current and former senior U.S. officials told the AP that the strongest account of collaboration between Iraqis and al-Qaida comes from the captured leader of one of al-Qaidaâs Afghan training camps. He claimed that bin Laden turned to Iraq for technical help on chemical weapons because bin Laden was concerned that al-Qaida lacked the expertise. The captive has told interrogators that an al-Qaida militant known as Abdallah al-Iraqi shuttled between Afghanistan and Iraq from 1997 and 2002 looking to acquire poisons.
"Abdallah al-Iraqi"? I hate to say this, but that name's in the same category of "American Joe" or "Fritz the German." I have no doubt the exchanges could have taken place, though â I took an Oracle course last year, that was attended by people from my company and from Lockheed, working on a similar project with the same software packages.
The captive also claims two al-Qaida associates were offered training by Saddamâs government in chemical and biological poisons starting in late 2000.
Which amounts to Sammy extending professional courtesy to Binny, since both of them were in the same line of work...
Current and former U.S. officials said whatever the intelligence ultimately concludes about the prewar contacts between Iraq and bin Laden, there is little doubt that Saddamâs fall this spring has opened the door for al-Qaida to operate more overtly inside Iraq, as evidenced by a recent wave of attacks on U.S. soldiers. "The U.S. attack on Iraq has now made a terrorist connection a self-fulfilling prophecy. We really found the one formula that maximizes al-Qaidaâs chances of increasing their operations in Iraq," said Greg Thielmann, who retired last year as the State Departmentâs top expert on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
That's because if Iraq is our strategic gain, so is it totalitarianism's strategic loss...
The Clinton administration detected the first significant contacts in 1996, when Iraqi intelligence agents went to Sudan and talked about chemical weapons with several terrorists staying in the African nation.
"The Iraqi chemical corps was sent to Sudan to maintain relationships with the terrorists and to share knowledge about poisons," one source familiar with the intelligence said. "We are confident they were in contact with al-Qaida at that time." A friendly foreign intelligence agency has told the United States that bin Laden himself met with an Iraqi agent in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1996 and subsequently met one of the heads of Iraqi intelligence. One al-Qaida captive has told U.S. interrogators that Sudanese contacts between Iraqi intelligence and al-Qaida resulted in an informal agreement between Saddam and bin Laden that there would be no attacks inside Iraq.
Extending that line of professional courtesy probably led to Sammy suggesting an al-Qaeda outpost in Kurdistan â leading to the formation of Ansar al-Islam from existing parts, under Qaeda management...
Before that time, the two U.S. enemies viewed themselves as rivals because Iraqâs secular brand of Islam conflicted with bin Ladenâs more extreme followers.
Dontcha hate it when theory and practice don't quite mesh? Like I say, they were both in the same line of business...
The FBI first received information of possible Iraqi complicity with the emerging al-Qaida network in 1995 after capturing Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, according to FBI interview documents reviewed by the AP. Yousef told his interrogators he entered the United States to organize the attack in late 1992, almost two years after the Persian Gulf War ended, using an Iraqi passport and requesting political asylum. Yousef said he bought the passport in Pakistan from people he called "Iraqi rebels," the reports state.
Rebels against what? That'd be interesting to have some detail on. Rebels against Sammy would indicate that the cooperation, if any, wasn't that deep. If they were from Kurdistan, that would indicate the predecessors to Ansar were active considerably longer than we've seen to this point...
U.S. officials said contacts between Iraqi intelligence agents and bin Laden supporters appeared to pick up in 1998.
One source said the assessment of some intelligence experts as late as 2002 was that Iraqi intelligence agents were making overtures to al-Qaida more to keep track of the group than to collaborate on attacks. But one al-Qaida detainee in U.S. custody in Cuba has told his interrogators that Saddam was more willing to help al-Qaida after the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa and again after being impressed by al-Qaidaâs 2000 attack on the USS Cole in the Yemen port of Aden.
Sammy thought he might learn something, I'd guess. His own attempts at world domination hadn't worked very well...
Another factor was the merger in 1998 between bin Laden and Egyptian terror chief Zawarhi, who combined his Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement with al-Qaida.
Documents recently found in the bombed headquarters of Iraqiâs Mukhabarat intelligence service refer to an invitation by Saddamâs government in 1998 for an al-Qaida envoy to visit Baghdad and subsequent visits by Iraqis to Afghanistan, according to a federal lawsuit against Iraq filed last month by the family of former FBI counterterrorism chief John OâNeill. He died in the Sept. 11 attacks. The OâNeill lawsuit also cites an account of al-Qaida training from a former member of the Saddam Fedayeen, a special Iraqi paramilitary unit. "A trainer at Unit 999, Abu Mohammed, who had escaped Iraq, confirmed that such training was under way on how to lay bombs and how to use chemical and biological weapons in operations in the Middle East and West. Unit 999 ran a course for a number of extremist Middle Eastern groups, including al-Qaida," the suit states.
There's the smoking gun. We know Sammy gave refuge to the MKO, to the PLF, to Abu Nidal, and to KADEK. There are cash links between Sammy and Ansar al-Islam. We know the PLF ran a terrorist training camp in the Baghdad 'burbs. PLF per se had been out of the active terrorism business for awhile â its place was filled by Tanzim and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. But it was still an active camp, with an obstacle course, all the usual bomb-making paraphernalia and such. We've never seen anything on who they were actually training, but we can guess that it wasn't only Paleostinians.
After being flushed from Afghanistan, al-Zarqawi is alleged to have set up a training camp in Ansar al-Islam in far northern Iraq, an area outside Saddamâs control to where a small number of al-Qaida operatives escaped. Other al-Zarqawi followers set up outside Baghdad around the time he sought medical attention there in 2002.
I'd guess that they "set up" in the PLF's camp. I haven't heard of another one like it...
U.S. officials learned more about the al-Qaida ties to Iraq last year when two of the organizationâs operatives were captured trying to cross from Iraq into Saudi Arabia. U.S. officials determined both were communicating with al-Zarqawiâs cell in Baghdad and that one had been trained in bin Ladenâs Afghan camps. In the past 18 months, France, Italy, Britain and Spain have captured other al-Qaida operatives in various stages of plotting chemical attacks in Western Europe, and gleaned additional information about the role al-Zarqawi played in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Probably they've got a considerable file on Zarqawi by now. He seems to be the most active Qaeda agent in the world at the moment â and if we can snag him, he'll be a more valuable catch than even Hambali, who's actually peripheral to the mainstream Qaeda. The knowledge in Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's head is stale by now, and Abu Zubaydah's is even more stale. Zarqawi is the current pivot man. I hope they're hot on his trail...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/14/2003 11:45:18 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
--I think thereâs also a Chechen connection to those plots. CNN had the story a little while back.--
So, Vlad, ready to open the spigots yet?
What interesting timing of this story since #41 is visiting Russia.
Frankly, I wouldn't mind most of this wrapped in a nice bow and presented right before/after the dem primaries, along w/the WMD info.
The hard-line leader of Malaysia's opposition Islamic party fired up his supporters Friday for looming general elections by denouncing the United States as an enemy of Islam and voicing support for Palestinian suicide bombers. Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, called the United States and its allies "imperialist powers who are finding ways to be confrontational with Islam."
By defending ourselves? How unilateralist of us!
"The United States and its allies must stand trial before the conscience of the world for unilaterally destroying other nations, all under the rubric and pretext of war against terrorism," Abdul Hadi told about 2,000 supporters at the party's annual meeting.
Sounds like the verdict's already in with Abdul...
But Abdul Hadi rejected claims by Malaysia's government that his party encourages extremism leading to terrorism, calling the claims "communist tactics" to inspire fear in voters.
"Who us? Extremists? People who oppose us are extremists!"
Known for his fiery rhetoric, Abdul Hadi will lead the Islamic party - Malaysia's largest opposition group - into general elections expected to be called early next year. The election will be the first time in 22 years that the government's campaign will not be led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is due to retire in coming weeks.
And he's a nut case himself...
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party controls two of Malaysia's 13 states and will be looking to take power in more. Success could spell an early exit for Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the deputy whom Mahathir has anointed as his successor. Clad in a turban and wearing a traditional Malay costume, Abdul Hadi claimed the United States invaded Iraq and Afghanistan because "they hate Islam and they are after the oil and to protect the Zionist Israeli state."
Nothing to do with any attacks on our soil in the latter case, nothing to do with the care and feeding of terrorism in the former...
Abdul Hadi described Israel as the "biggest terrorist and criminal" and declared his party would continue to support Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A senior Hamas official, Mahmud Siyad, was present as a dignitary. The crowd, segregated between men and women, cheered at these remarks, saying: "God is great!" They sipped on Iranian-made sodas, reflecting a boycott of Coca-Cola. Later, Abdul Hadi told a news conference: "All Israeli civilians are soldiers and all of Israeli territory is a battlefield."
Perhaps he should have a chat with King Abdullah? But then, he's not the first fellow to come up with the idea...
Abdul Hadi maintained he did not support terror attacks in Indonesia, blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, because it involved killing "innocent civilians, tourists and business people."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 16:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
FATWAH OF IMAM HOTEP OF AL-CAPONA MOSQUE, MECCA
In light of the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), I find that all Malaysian "Muslims" are actually "Kaffirs" and terrorists, who must be destroyed with WMD. ALLAH AKHBAR!
Fred Pruitt: May your hair fall out, and your wife be re-named "Ethel."
When Madeleine Albright became Secretary of State, the Czech-born exile was the first woman to serve in that post. On the eve of the publication of her memoir, Madame Secretary (Miramax; 592 pages)âwhich covers everything from discovering belatedly that her family was Jewish to her years in the Clinton Administrationâshe spoke with TIMEâs J.F.O. McAllister.
Unlike other memoirs, Madame Secretary has hardly a hint of score settling. If you didnât want to set the record straight, why did you write it?
"The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. Youâre trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that arenât very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product. Any differences we had [in the Clinton Administration] were so minimal compared to what I see in the Bush Administration, I thought: Itâs just not worth it."
("...and letâs face it, I want to be a player in the next Democratic administration - from my lips to Godâs ears - and I donât want to pi*s anybody off too badly." )
Did you neglect the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and leave it for the Bush Administration to clean up?
"President Clinton focused on terrorism from the start."
("...whenever the body count was too high to ignore..." )
"The CIA set up a special bin Laden division, and the President authorized the use of lethal force against him."
("...of course, we never did actually authorize anybody to FIND him..." )
"We struck his camp in 1998 after the embassy bombings, and we came close."
("...which, of course, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades..." )
"President Bush has been in Afghanistan with 8,000 troops, and they still havenât found him."
("...the fact that he probably wasnât IN Afghanistan within about 30 seconds of the towers going down is Bushâs fault, too." )
Should the U.S. have invaded Iraq?
"I always believed Saddam has the kind of record that justifies taking action."
("...and if thereâd been a Gore Administration, weâd have had another eight years to diddle about deciding what kind of action." )
"I didnât see Saddam as an imminent threat,"
("...which is why we whacked his backside only when it would take the heat off Bubba..." )
"which is where I parted company with them ..."
(I mean, if heâd have done it to distract the people from a scandal, okay, but geeze..." )
"I think the whole thing has been mishandled."
("...after all, whatâs the point of having an Army if you wonât use it...um..whoops...didnât say that...that was about bosnia, and that was good, got it?" )
Has the war made the problem of terrorism better or worse?
"The Administration immediately tied Sept. 11 to Saddam. They said, basically, that Saddam and Iraq were a hotbed of terrorism."
("...at the absolute worst, they were ony a medium warm bed of terrorism. Nowhere near as bad as those obnoxious Israelis." )
"While I had many criticisms of Saddam, thatâs not the way I saw it. But now Iraq is in fact a breeding ground for terrorists."
("...which makes them an endangered species, and therefore you canât touch âem" )
What should the U.S. do next?
"Frankly, if there was a President Gore, we wouldnât be in this particular mess."
("...actually weâd be in a worse one, because President Gore would have been under incredible pressure to either glass the place or let âem go - but it wouldnât have been a mess where weâre actually making some kind of headway against these guys." )
"But we are, and we cannot fail."
("...holy crap, did I say something reasonable? Strike that." )
"I very much hope there will be a U.N. resolution that makes clear the U.S. has military command but that would set up a U.N. high representative to coordinate the political and humanitarian things the U.N. does very well."
("...and as long as Iâm dreaming, Iâd like a pony." )
Bushâs foreign policy started as "Anything But Clinton" in almost every areaâthe Middle East, North Korea, China. Now events have pushed it back much closer to your approach. Do you ever succumb to schadenfreude?
"No, Iâm much too kind and generous a person."
("...BWHAHAHAHA....no, seriously though, Iâd rather be doing the tarantella on Colinâs desk right and screaming, âNANNY NANNY BOO BOO, YOU SCREWED UP!!!â " )
Has Bush been right to sideline Yasser Arafat in the Middle East peace process?
"I think thatâs been a mistake."
("...shoulda shot that baby-wipe lovinâ olâ perv from the word go." )
"Now, that doesnât mean itâs much fun to talk to him. I donât think heâs a force for good, but heâs part of the story."
("...and thank God the Israelis havenât written him out yet, because otherwise thereâd be a whole lot of terrorist-sympathising idiots out of a job." )
Is Sharon as big an obstacle to making peace?
"I am willing to believe that he can do a Nixon in China. The U.S. has to play the role of making sure that both sides really do what theyâre supposed to do on the road map. But it requires the constant attention of the Administration at a very high level. I may be wrong, but I donât see that happening."
("...I mean for cryinâ out loud, whatâs more important - a couple of thousand dead Americans or Yasser living long enough to hand power over to the next despot? Con-tin-ouity is the IMPORTANT thing here." )
What did being a woman mean to your term as secretary of state?
"I think the personal relationships I established mattered in terms of what I was able to get done. And I did bring womenâs issues to the center of our foreign policy."
("...and donât you say anything about women in Afghanistan, they were perfectly happy." )
Youâre known for wearing pins that make political statements. How many do you own?
"I honestly donât knowâprobably about a hundred. I think Iâve revived the costume-jewelry industry."
("...this nice âBush Su*sâ one is my favorite..." )
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/14/2003 8:03:49 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Debka Alert - Salt licks available at the refreshment stand Yasser Arafat has been basking in the attention showered on him from far and wide following the Israeli cabinetâs declaration Thursday, September 11, that he should be removed. Since then, he stands at the window of his battered Ramallah office, beaming and waving the victory sign. Saturday, September 13, he summoned foreign consuls and Israeli peace activists to pay their respects on the 10th anniversary of the failed Oslo Peace Accords (for which he won a Nobel Peace Prizethanks for rubbing that in). He told them that the UN Security Council membersâ warning to Israel not to expel him was an international guarantee for his safety. This has encouraged him to go for a starring solo role on the Palestinian stage and go for a mega-strike that beats everything the Palestinians have thus far inflicted on Israel.
Sounds like he might have signed his death warrant. Told you he was senile...
Saturday, September 1[3], Israel switched to peak alert in readiness for the worst terrorist outrage yet. Reporting this, DEBKAfileâs military and counter-terror sources stress that the state of readiness went well beyond the run-of-the mill alerts which Israel endures almost daily. All the national resources â the special operations units from all branches of the Israeli army, police and border guards â were recruited to repel suicide terrorists said to be heading into Israel for multi-casualty strikes on an unprecedented scale. wonder if this had anything to do with those 3 belts they found?
This time the source of the violence is not Hamas. The latest intelligence reaching Israel quotes Arafat, who sits with his circle at a table in his Ramallah headquarters around the clock, as saying: âThe struggle against the Israeli aggressors must not be influenced by what happens to me. Carry on with your sacred mission.â
Which could indicate he knows he's signed his death warrant, and he's determined to go out in a blaze of Paleoglory...
These words were interpreted by his henchmen as an order to go all the way and carry out an attack so disastrous that it will force international intervention in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and show the world that he, Yasser Arafat, is the sole Palestinian interlocutor.
If it doesn't cause the Israelis to simply destroy him. Perhaps he thinks they don't have the nerve, with the "international community" wailing and caterwauling to protect him...
Ahmed Qureia, his candidate for Palestinian prime minister, will not be allowed to get in the way of Arafatâs domination of any dialogue with the five big powers of the UN Security Council. He has therefore been thrust into the wings. Arafat calculates that a truly horrific terrorist outrage will bring home to the worldâs leaders that Yasser Arafat, and he alone, holds the key to Middle East stability. His removal would also remove the Palestinians as a party to any diplomatic process. It is him or no one. If he pulled this off, the Israelis would kill him, regardless of the wailing and gnashing of EU/Arab teeth
Agreed. Either his mind's gone, or he's horrifically miscalculating â miscalculating on a Saddam Hussein level...
If he succeeds in this maneuver, Arafat will have undone the Bush-Sharon peace strategy and brought his confrontation with Israel to a successful conclusion, while also achieving his longstanding ambition to internationalize the dispute, downgrade Washingtonâs role and tip the international scales in the Palestiniansâ favor.
This is the "bring in peacekeepers" gambit. Gives the Paleos more targets and guarantees the killing grinds on for at least another generation...
The notable feature of his grandstand performance before the TV cameras on Saturday was the absence of the familiar âclose aidesâ at his side.
My guess would be that they're in hiding, if the preceding is true. Yasser's irrationality must be obvious even to them...
DEBKAfile presents here the first exclusive disclosure by inside Palestinian sources of the real state of mind among Arafatâs inner circle of advisers. They are portrayed as sunk in despair, especially Arafatâs own nominee as prime minister, his former right hand, Ahmed Qureia aka Abu Ala. He is in the deepest gloom after finding himself tossed back and forth by his sponsor less than a week after his appointment. "sponsored by Arafat" just doesnât have that catchy sound, does it?
Wednesday, September 10, Arafat appointed Qureia to take over from Abu Mazen, who had resigned four days earlier, and form a broad-based national emergency cabinet. Arafat also proposed setting up a narrow-based National Security Council of no more than five-six members â himself, the prime minister-designate, the Washington-backed finance minister Salim Fayyad, Gen. Nasser Yousef and the latest Arafat favorite Jibril Rajoub.
Jibril's probably more confused than anyone else at the moment...
The next day, Thursday, September 11, Arafat called together the top level of the Palestinian leadership and their advisers, excepting the just-purged Mahmoud Abbas and Mohamed Dahlan, to announce the creation of a National Security Council. When he read out the first name, some of his longest-serving loyalists, Hanni al Hassan, Fatah ideologue Sahar Habas, General Nasser Yousef and Jibril Rajoub, walked out in a rage.
That'd be the incident where Yasset spat on Nasser and called him bad names...
The first appointee was former Gaza police commander Razi Jabali, who was sacked for shady financial dealings.
Same old gang, same old stand, same old tactics...
Arafat then struck the remaining members of the group dumb with his plan for the Abu Ala government. He revealed that he had invited the most radical terrorist groups, all blacklisted in Washington, to send delegates for ministerial posts: Hamas-Gaza, the Democratic Front for Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, whose leader Ahmed Sadat is imprisoned in Jericho under US-British custodianship (for ordering the assassination of an Israeli minister). Hearing for the first time who his ministers were to be, Abu Ala turned pale. Donât kill me!
More like "Lord Jesus! Help me, Lord!" And he's a Muslim...
In the ensuing furor, Arafat informed his âinner circleâ that it was too late for protests. Hamas had delegated Mussa Zoabut and the Democratic Front, Taysa Khaled, as candidates for ministers. The Popular Front promised to forward its candidate by the weekend. Arafat then turned to the speechless prime minister-designate, cursed him and told him to come back in three months. Abu Ala, seeing the formation of a Palestinian government receding to early 2004 â if then â turned away in confusion. He realized his premiership had been given even shorter shrift than that of his predecessor Abu Mazen, which had lasted 100 days.
If this is what happened, the way it happened, Yasser's grabbed the reins himself and he's acting as if April, 2002, never occurred. He's betting the world's attention span is short enough to let him get away with it, which'll return Paleostine to a war of attrition...
Later, according to DEBKAfileâs Palestinian sources, Arafat said Qureia could set up his government as long as all the negotiations took place in the room next to his own at government headquarters. Every move must be referred to him from approval. However, at the last minute, Arafat cancelled the Palestinian Legislative Council session called for Sunday, September 14, to confirm the Qureia premiership.
That humiliation wasn't enough...
But Arafat was not yet done. Twenty-four hours after describing the National Security Council to Abu Ala as a small body, he announced with a broad smile: âAmerica wants all our security and intelligence bodies placed under one roof, our interior ministry. Fine. I have just appointed a 21-member National Security Council that meets this demand.â (The Palestinian Authority commands 13 separate security bodies of which eight are under the direct control of Yasser Arafat) According to the list read out by Arafat, thirteen members turn out to be the heads of terrorist groups under his orders, including the al Aqsa Martyrs (Suicides) Brigades commander Col. Tawfiq Tirawi, Razi Jebali, and Mussa Arafat his kinsman, whose official title is military intelligence chief. All three are engaged in orchestrating terror attacks on a daily basis. Arafat padded the council with four more trusties for a strong majority of 17 on the 21-member council.
That must be too much even for the State Department...
He then suddenly telephoned to Dahlan and offered to keep him on in the job he had just lost as internal security minister. Dahlan promised to think about it. Rajoub who had meanwhile returned to the meeting grumbled that if Dahlan was back in favor, he had better come to terms with him. âAround here thereâs no knowing what will happen in an hourâs time.â
You said it, Jibril. Toldja he was confused...
At that point, news of the Israeli cabinet decision on Arafatâs removal was announced.
Jibril's head spun around six time and he projectile vomited as far as Turkey... Or was that Yasser?
Abu Ala picked up on the opportunity and told his advisers to issue a release explaining that the Israeli decision had made it impossible for him to form a government⊠sounds plausible, especially for Debka
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/14/2003 1:09:13 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Arafart is a fool. IF he does something truly horrible like he's supposedly planning, it will not end up before the United Nations. Israel will totally obliterate the "Palestinian State" and any that play any even minor role in its operation. Chances are, the United States, after investing more than 12 years into trying to create a peaceful solution to the "Palestinian problem", will turn a blind eye, and do some heavy lifting in seeing the REST of the world turns a blind eye, including the remainder of the Arab world. If mush-for-brains doesn't understand that, he's got a severe death wish - which will probably be granted, in spades.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/14/2003 14:30 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Patriot, I agree with you on all those points. However, I personally feel that if Arafish does do it, then Delta Force will be deployed. Well, maybe not Delta, but Special Ops will be I'm sure.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/14/2003 14:49 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Oh but wait? Don't you know, Dean has announced he has been asking W to send Bill Clinton to solve the Middle East situation! Yep -- says he has been discussing with Clinton, fixin' up this Middle East mess.... (those lasts were my mine words)
Seems Dean thinks all he has do, to fix these "soldiers" of Palestine, is get Bush impeached, take over the government in a military coup with Wesley Clark, and send Clinton to the ME.. and all of the world likes us again!
#5
He revealed that he had invited the most radical terrorist groups, all blacklisted in Washington, to send delegates for ministerial posts: Hamas-Gaza, the Democratic Front for Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
By King Abdullah II
This year, Jordanians, like Americans, have been killed and injured in devastating terror bombings in Saudi Arabia and Baghdad. The dead include a 5-year-old boy, Yazan Abassi, and his 10-year-old sister, Zeina. The faces of these victims and their grieving families are in my mind whenever I read terrorists' claims to speak for the Arab and Muslim people. In fact, my people have been among the first to suffer from those who preach the culture of terror and seek power through violence. And their claim that Islam justifies their actions is, pure and simple, a lie.
On the other hand, terrorism has worked its way inextricably into the culture of the Middle East, to include Jordan. It stems from the intellectual compromise that killing the innocent and the defenseless is okay when the killers are "freedom fighters." Terrorism's not something where you should choose up sides, which is why I cringe every time there's an act of violence against someone we don't approve of â Cuba, for instance, or Iran â and we don't condemn it whole-heartedly...
The evil that occurred Sept. 11 two years ago left scars on the whole world, but none as great as the false idea that Islam encourages violence. Yet according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, this is what a growing number of Americans think. That's a misunderstanding that threatens to divide the friends of peace, Arab and American, just when we most need to stand together.
The truth is that from its very earliest days, Islam has called on its believers to lead lives of peace and tolerance. The very name of Islam is rooted in the word for peace, al salaam. Far from sanctioning the killing of innocents, our faith prohibits it.
Which is why there have been so many fatwahs lately redefining "innocents"...
Jihad, so often translated as "holy war," actually means struggle. And the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, taught that the greater holy war is the war inside ourselves, against our own weaknesses and failings.
Once the rest of the world had been conquered, of course. Jihad as implemented by Islamists involves unrelenting attacks on infidels, with the ultimate objective the destruction of the West and the imposition of a particular brand of Islam â to whit, the Wahhabi brand, as refined and whittled to a point by the Ikhwanis and the Qutbists.
When extremists commit atrocities, they are also doing violence to Islamic teachings. Long before the 20th century's Geneva Conventions on war, Muslim soldiers were given strict rules of conduct to protect civilians. Even today, schoolchildren learn a famous speech by the Prophet's first successor, Abu Bakr. He commands integrity, forbids the killing of innocents of any faith and bans wanton destruction: "Do not betray, do not deceive, do not bludgeon and maim, do not kill a child, nor a woman, nor an old man," he instructed. "Do not burn; do not cut down a fruit tree If you come across communities who have consecrated themselves to the [Christian church], leave them."
They also learn other passages that aren't so friendly to the rest of the world. And they hear sermons regularly, which is why rioting after leaving the mosque is a cultural trait...
It is also untrue that Islam forbids its believers from engaging constructively in the modern world. The Koran and Hadith â the sayings and deeds of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him â support a dynamic faith of discourse and interpretation. From the earliest times, believers were called on to discuss, reason and apply the principles of their faith to the real world around them.
Also enjoined never to change them. Wahhabism's beef with he world is the extent to which it's against change...
The resulting golden age of Islam, beginning in the 9th century, was driven by the work of enlightened Muslim thinkers. They pioneered a rationalist, liberal tradition and a thriving, multiethnic civilization. Islamic scholars set milestones in medicine, astronomy, science and social justice, ideas that paved the way for the European Renaissance. Great Arab cities provided refuge and new ideas to travelers from around the world. Muslim, Christian and Jewish scholars, like the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides, worked together in the royal courts.
This was when the Arab yokels, exposed to civilization after centuries â yea, millenia â of resistance, brought dynamism and drive to cultures which had become old and ossified...
In the 14th century, a new kind of orthodoxy came to power, which closed the door on debate and discovery.
Whereupon the Arab culture began to prematurely age and ossify...
Yet the age-old, positive traditions of Islam provide another path, a path that respects diversity, pioneers new ideas and empowers people throughout society. As an Islamic nation for the 21st century, Jordan is inspired by these values as we shape an open, democratic and free civil society.
Jordan is also fighting a continuous internal battle â usually of ideas, occasionally with guns â to control the rubes who're abhor the thought of diversity, new ideas, or the dignity of the common man...
In 2003 there are more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide, and the vast majority are people of peace. Since September 2001, this moderate, silent majority of Muslims has begun to speak up about the true Islam. Jordan is leading the way. For us, this is a historic responsibility. Our soil, the Levant, is after all the ancient home of all three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Here at the home of faith, we are determined to spread Islam's promise of tolerance, justice and progress â both within our own country and as a model for peacemaking and democratic reform in our region.
Just putting your own house in order is a task of considerable magnitude. Those who spread the message tend to have their houses shot up...
It is also important for the true Islam to be understood in the West.
We're starting to get the various threads sorted out, I think. We've got the Shias split out from the Sunnis, though most of us don't have any idea about the differing schools of thought within Shiism. We've got the Sufis somewhat sorted out, except where Sufi cultures are being reabsorbed into Sunni cultures. We've got the Wahhabi string identified in the Sunni school, as we watch it impose itself, using a combination of money, guns, and Islamic lawyers. We're kind of hazy on whether the Deobandis are actually Wahhabis or if they're Sufis on their way to being absorbed into resurgent Wahhabism, or even evolving into another divergent thread with their own independent ideas on how best to impose a world-wide caliphate. Ismailis appear harmless. Brelvis, where they're not being absorbed into Wahhabism appear to be either harmless or oppressed. Qadianis and similar break-away sects are definitely among the oppressed. But frankly, trying to follow the ins and outs of Islamic theological argument when we're not that interested in theology to start with, is a difficult task even for the best of us, akin to what trying to keep up with the ins and outs of the homoöusian controversy. One man's rousing religious debate, y'might say, is another man's abject boredom.
Ours is a critical moment in history, a time of genuine possibilities for progress â in the war on terror, in the peace process in the Middle East, in the reconstruction of Iraq. The enemies of peace would like nothing better than to discourage and divide us. We must not let it happen.
"Though nothing must happen to Yasser, of course..."
This week I will be in Washington, D.C., to talk with President Bush and Congress about our shared goals for peace, and how to achieve them. Jordan and the United States have a significant strategic alliance that is contributing to the success of the global war on terror. In the Middle East, we have worked closely together to bring peace to the homeland of faith â to end the conflict and occupation that have caused so much suffering to Palestinians and Israelis alike. The "road map" to peace has been sanctioned by the international community. It offers Israelis collective security guaranteed by all Arabs; a peace treaty and normal relations with Arab states; and an end to the conflict. It offers Palestinians an end to the occupation; a viable, independent state by 2005; and the promise to live as a free and prospering people.
And there is little or no way in Hell that Hamas is going to let any of that happen, and if they were willing, Yasser wouldn't...
The road map can take us to a lasting peace, peace that is an essential requirement for development and reform throughout the Middle East, peace that will end the festering despair that terrorism and hatred have fed on. But success will require our full commitment, our resources and, most important, our unity. The only people who win when Americans feel divided from their Arab and Muslim friends are the extremists and haters. Let's not allow these enemies of peace to do any more violence than they already have. Now, more than ever, we need to stand together, as allies, partners and friends.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 12:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The truth is that from its very earliest days, Islam has called on its believers to lead lives of peace and tolerance.
Well, except for that conquest thing. And the forced conversions. And massacres.
And that's all before Mohammed's death!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/14/2003 12:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
More blah blah blah doublespeak from the Arabs. The only thing I agree with is his statement that the radicals are damaging the mainstream. And even that he is stating too mildly, the Islamists have the mainstream cowered, they have claim to the "holy" high-ground and are unapproachable.
#3
Saladin was a reportedly a good Muslim. He didn't kill women, children, or old men. And he even made a peace accord with Richard the Lion-heart to let Europeans have safe passage to Jerusalem.
He was about the only good commander among the Muslims in all their Jihads. A pity Abdullah didn't mention him, since he played a pivotal role for Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/14/2003 14:23 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Classic apologist stance and insistence on an Islam not in evidence. Excellent inline commentary, Fred!
What's always missing is numbers and stature. For this sort of statement to have any significance, it needs to be echoed by ALL of those who wish or believe it to be true - in a loud chorus on every Arabic "news" channel by every Islamic "leader" ALL AT THE SAME TIME. It needs to be the STANDARD Friday Prayer fare for months or years, if necessary, on end. If slammed home often enough, loudly enough, and by those whom the avg Muslim respects, then it just MIGHT make a difference and CREATE the imagined silent majority of peaceful Muslims who are against the Wahabbists and mercs and jihadis - and they won't demonstrate in the streets or donate cash or collaborate with them. It could be done, for Islam has taught them from birth to blindly follow those who are "empowered" to interpret and instruct them in Islam.
So far, these statements are isolated, infrequent, and ignored by the avg Muslim. They serve only as Muslim bargaining chips and appeasement fodder for TV talk shows and lame interviews. Enlist the other Arab "leaders" big boy. Convince them to join you in a MUSLIM Crusade for Peace. Don't tell US, Abdullah, tell THEM - your own people. Tell your Imams. Tell your "scholars" and "clerics." Tell the avg Jordanian. Do it loudly and authoritatively everyday and start now... repeat until you are wiped out or Hell freezes over. WE don't need to hear it, though I'm sure this piddling piece will guarantee your annual US boatload of aid.
Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) ||
09/14/2003 14:56 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"Of course, the vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, but it is also true that the vast majority of terrorists are Muslims" - Dinesh D'Souza, in his wonderful new book, "What's so Great About America"
#6
The vast majority of Vikings were not mauraders, but I'ld still want the whole longboat of peaceful Noprsemen frisked thoroughly before they began shore leave in my town.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 17:01 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Yeah, I know, King Abdullah II, Blah, blah, blah...and yet, Isn't this what needs to be said, to be taught...to become The Living Reality in the Muslim world?
In other forums I have been called "Genocidal," in my suggestions on handling the current Civilizational Crisis...my anti-Muslim credentials are good and solid...but, but...
Like reading the civil debate with Murat the other day on Village Tribalism, I must also note that I am pleased for even these small favors.
Rational discourse is to be encouraged and applauded, and me thinks that the Jordanian citizenry are not pleased with their King's position on all of this.
I think we've gotta give the guy a pass and a pat on the back for speaking out at all.
A coalition of Arab loyalists and leftist Israeli Jews vowed yesterday to serve as "human shields" and protect Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from any Israeli government attack. The activists were among thousands of Arafat supporters who crowded the leader's Ramallah headquarters to express their solidarity with the 74-year-old Palestinian head after Israel announced its intention to remove him from power in the wake of bombings last week that left 15 Israelis dead.
Anybody mention Hamas lately? Didn't think so...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 10:41 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Fred, HAMAS has gone underground, deeply and quietly. I don't think the Israelis can hit them directly. I think what they're doing with Arafart is provoking HAMAS to respond. In order to respond, they have to come out of their holes. I'm sure we'll hear of some more Hamas nutz being whacked in a few days.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/14/2003 12:31 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"Quick,you human shields, stand around me so the Zionist death rays can't get to me."
Posted by: Mike ||
09/14/2003 14:48 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I have to agree and I'm wondering why no one mentioned something like this sooner. Hamas has been in the spotlight quite a bit recently, and Israel succeeded in getting the 'international community' to finally label Hamas the terrorists they are.
There are several possible outcomes to the current attention on Arafat:
1. Hamas comes to his aid, or he asks for Hamas' help. The world's oldest terrorist is then working with known terrorists (again). Of course that won't sway anyone...
2. Arafat is expelled, Hamas assumes control of the Palestinians. The Pali power struggle then comes out in the open and a potential civil war finally breaks out. It's long overdue and was postponed by Arafat when he launched the current 'intifada'.
3. Arafat dies. Finally. Heart attack or some other natural cause. They'll blame it on the Zionist Death Rays or something.
Posted by: joe ||
09/14/2003 19:25 Comments ||
Top||
Two men wanted in connection with a FBIâs terrorism investigation may have been seen in Naples, Maine â about 30 miles from Conway, N.H. The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an alert Thursday that said a witness saw two men Sunday who fit the description of Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, 27, and Abderraouf Jdey, 38, two men they are seeking for questioning. The men were reportedly headed south on Route 302 at around 4 p.m. in a newer model, slate gray BMW sedan with Massachusetts license plates. The men should be considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said. According to a Sept. 6 story by the Associated Press, El Shukrijumah is a Saudi native who lived for a number of years in South Florida. The FBI has been searching for months, and officials say he could be a terror cell leader or organizer similar to Mohamed Atta. The FBI says he is of particular interest because of his familiarity with the United States, ability to use fake documents and fluency in English. Jdey was born in Tunisia and became a Canadian citizen in 1995. Jdey was among five men who left suicide messages on videotapes recovered at the Afghanistan residence of Mohammed Atef. Also recovered was a suicide letter in which Jdey promised to die fighting non-Muslim infidels.
Y'know, that's the sort of thing that makes defense attorneys weep real tears...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 10:39 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
When Islamic terrorists are on the run, they are very cagey and always hide in a place where you blend in... like Maine.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 11:21 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Notice we are still after guys with turbans not irish catholics, Jeez, when are we going to learn to profile!!!!
Posted by: Jim ||
09/14/2003 19:47 Comments ||
Top||
#3
South Florida?
More connections to South Florida?!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/14/2003 20:41 Comments ||
Top||
Surprise! It's another coup in Africa!
Guinea-Bissau's army chief of staff Sunday declared himself interim president of the tiny West African nation following a dawn putsch to depose the leader of the former Portuguese colony. "I am going to assume the presidency of the republic until there is no money left are elections," General Verissimo Correia Seabra told Portuguese state television (RTP) in an interview. General Correia said in a statement earlier that the army had dissolved all state institutions and set up a military committee to restore democracy.
And what better way is there to restore democracy?
The army accused ousted President Kumba Yalla of violating the constitution and other electoral laws. The army has not yet set a date for elections but is due to meet the government later Sunday. "As a person, I have nothing against Kumba Yalla," General Correia told RTP, according to Lusa news agency. "He can stay in Guinea-Bissau as well as leave the country. That's up to him."
"If he steps out of line, we'll run a tank over him, if we can get one started..."
Guinea-Bissau, about the size of Taiwan, is one of the world's poorest nations with a population of some 1.3 million, scraping by on an average $170 a year each. It has been gripped by an economic crisis since a 1998-1999 army revolt.
... which was intended to restore democracy...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 09:38 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Is this the same country that the US was swapping spit with over a Security Council Vote on Iraq? If so, couldn't Kumba Yalla's mystic have predicted the coup? Sounds like Kumba Yalla needs to dump the mystic and purchase a lucky eight ball.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 10:02 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I think that was Guinea (no Bissau)...
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2003 10:32 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I think even the mighty eight-ball will be powerless to save this nation.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/14/2003 14:59 Comments ||
Top||
Iran will continue to cooperate with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, a senior official was quoted as saying Sunday, despite hard-liners' calls for Iran to reject a U.N. deadline to prove it has no atomic arms program. Using softer language than in recent days, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Salehi said Tehran would not make "nervous and tough reactions" to a tough IAEA resolution last week on Iran's nuclear program. "We will continue our cooperation with the IAEA as before and our clear criticism does not mean we will sever our cooperation with the agency," the state-run Iran newspaper quoted him as saying. But he added that Iran should not show total "obedience to the West's demands" since that "could pave the way for unlimited demands."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/14/2003 09:32 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
How does their previous cooperation differ from obstruction?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 10:30 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Diplomatic schizophrenia. For their sheer inanity, I love the Black Hats. I hope they are all dead within the next 12 months, ending the pretense and lie of the Khomeini line back to Little Mo. Rafsanjani's death would be a welcome bonus. I hope the US has some hand in it, assisting the Iranians in whatever way we can - and they desire. It should be their show, as it is their destiny, but it would be nice to know that we helped them do it. Like Afghanistan and Iraq, it would make me feel better about a few of my tax dollars...
Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) ||
09/14/2003 15:47 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Sounds like the same tehran two-step we've been hearing about for years.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
09/14/2003 17:24 Comments ||
Top||
Yes, yes - it's true! They even have a webpage about it. What's more, they have a policy working group to discuss it. Here's a sampling of what the policy working group's deliberations revealed:
It is important to state what the Policy Working Group did not attempt to do. Rather than taking a comprehensive approach, the Group focused specifically on areas in which the United Nations would have a comparative advantage and could make a fresh and tangible contribution to the international anti-terrorism effort. The Group has not attempted to devise a definition of terrorism, identify its diverse roots or address specific instances of terrorist activity. The Group does not believe that the United Nations is well placed to play an active operational role in efforts to suppress terrorist groups, to pre-empt specific terrorist strikes, or to develop dedicated intelligence-gathering capacities. Rather, the Group has focused on practical steps that the United Nations might take in the following areas of activity:
(a) dissuading disaffected groups from embracing terrorism;
(b) denying groups or individuals the means to carry out such acts; and
(c) sustaining broad-based international cooperation in the struggle against terrorism on the basis of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Gee - if that didn't scare the crap out of them terrorists, I can't see what else will.
Posted by: Vivek ||
09/14/2003 7:02:55 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Another UN debating society,great that'll fix everything.
#3
Somehow, after 50 years of continuous yakking, there is no UN-recognized definition of terrorism. I think when they eventually come up with something, it'll be along the lines of what's arrived at in The Wahhabi Myth:
Concluding that the word "terrorism" is "fundamentally an epithet and a term of abuse, with no intrinsic meaning," Whitbeck adds, "Perhaps the only honest and globally workable definition of "terrorism" is an explicitly subjective one - "violence which I don't support."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2003 9:26 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Sounds like an excellent department to start a "pre-emptive" budget cut/layoff strike on.
Posted by: Paul ||
09/14/2003 17:12 Comments ||
Top||
The parliament of the Chechen republic has impeached Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and dismissed him from the position. This was announced by a group of Chechen deputies on Friday in Interfax central office in Moscow. No fortune cookie for you, Maskhadov!
"The decree of the Chechen parliament was passed on September 5th, it was based on the Constitution of Chechnya," acting speaker of the parliament Isa Temirov said. The speaker added, before initiating the question about Aslan Maskhadovâs impeachment, "parliamentarians talked to Chechen diasporas and the people of the republicâs regions... We came to conclusion that there was only solution to stabilize the situation in Chechnya is to dismiss Maskhadov from his position." Glimmer of common sense in Chechnya?
Elections coming up. Inconvenient to have two presidents...
Sergey Yastrzhembsky, official presidential spokesman, said that the decision of the Chechen parliament to impeach Maskhadov was a political sensation. "First of all, it was a very courageous step to make for the people who made it, taking into consideration the consequences that may follow and the present uneasy situation in Chechnya. "Please donât kill us!"
Second of all, it is obvious that the people, who made such a difficult decision, were Maskhadovâs fellow terrorists companions and associates for a long time. They were the center of the movement that was struggling for separatism to separate Chechnya from Russia. Because of the parliamentâs decision, Maskhadov stopped being the virtual president of Chechnya and became simply a field terrorist commander. The decision has turned over another page in the history of separatism," Sergey Yastrzhembsky said in a statement. Iâll bet this doesnât change a thing.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 3:34:42 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I'm confused ...
So are these Kadyrov's boys or the "rebels?"
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/14/2003 10:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It's the Kadyrov parliament, formally tossing Maskhadov. Things are all legal now...
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2003 12:13 Comments ||
Top||
WEST COVINA, Calif. - Federal agents arrested a 25-year-old member of a co-op dedicated to peace and environmentalism in connection with arson fires and vandalism that did $1 million in damage to a Hummer dealership. Joshua Thomas Connole, of Pomona, was arrested at home Friday, said Cpl. Rudy Lopez, a West Covina police spokesman. He was booked for investigation of felony arson and vandalism and jailed $825,000 bail. The fires Aug. 22 gutted a parts warehouse and destroyed 20 Hummer H2 sport utility vehicles at a West Covina dealership. Another 20 Hummers and several Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs were badly damaged by fire and spray paint. Three other dealerships and at least four privately owned vehicles in the area also were damaged during the vandalism spree. Words such as "ELF,""Fat, Lazy Americans" and "I (heart) pollution" were painted on the SUVs. In a phone interview from jail with the Los Angeles Times, Connole denied involvement in the vandalism. "I didnât have anything to do with that," Connole said. "Nope, nope, wudnât me, it was, um, somebody else."
"I didnât know what Earth Liberation Front was about." "I was just moking meed."
After the arson and vandalism spree, the FBI released surveillance video from a Ford dealership in Duarte that showed two young men spray-painting SUVS. The Times, citing sources it did not identify, said Connole could be seen on one surveillance tape just before dozens of vehicles were torched. Connole insisted in the interview that the person on the tape doesnât look anything like him. "Lies! All lies!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 3:17:04 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
Hey bunny-lover, try going after some real Hummers sometime. Fort Irwin isn't too far away, and they'll even give you the videotape as a souvenir memento, entitled "Why Josh Always Has Headaches Now"
Posted by: (lowercase) matt ||
09/14/2003 10:08 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Wonder what they'll find on his PC.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 10:17 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Bah, even I can do 1 mill damage at a hummer dealership, just slash a tire...
Yep.. beef, pork and chicken in the mess hall, tube steak in his cell. He'll be eating PLENTY of meat by the time he's out of jail.
Mwhehehehehe...
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
09/14/2003 18:49 Comments ||
Top||
#12
They got a surveilance tape? Hey, they can't do that! I'm dedicated to peace and the environment!
Can't wait til he's got "I (heart) sodomy" tattooed on his ass.
Posted by: American conspirator ||
09/14/2003 23:02 Comments ||
Top||
#14
This will fall on deaf ears, but... In my opinion, anyone who would purchase a Hummer, Expedition, or similar oversize vehicle in the wake of 9-11 is either: (a) a complete buffoon, (b) a traitor, or (c) someone gripped by fears that he/she feels can be solved by driving a vehicle that uses more energy in a year than your average Third World village. Don't you care that 25% of your gas comes from the Middle East? Have you forgotten that most of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudis. Wake up and smell the fumes, for Chrissake! Connole is a true patriot. And whatever fate awaits him, at least he isn't being sodomized by a Saudi gas nozzle...
#15
u are morons havn't u ever heard of the concept of innocent untill proven guilty!!!! if ur so sure i did it how come they relesed me after finding that they had no evidence!!! get a life and something to belive in while your at it!!!
Japanese coast guardsmen slid down ropes from a helicopter to a cargo ship Saturday, during a high seas exercise showing rogue nations that the world is serious about preventing the transport of weapons of mass destruction. The maneuvers on the Coral Sea allowed the United States, Japan and Australia to fine tune moves to intercept ships suspected of carrying the deadly armaments. The exercises served as a special warning to North Korea and Iran because of the relatively advanced stages of their nuclear weapons programs, a senior U.S. official said. Code-named "Exercise Pacific Protector," the maneuvers were the first by members of the 11-nation Proliferation Security Initiative, PSI, developed earlier this year by President Bush. "It sends a message to all those who may for one reason or another contemplate the transfer of weapons of mass destruction," Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill said after watching the operation off his countryâs east coast. "There is a committed global effort across the world that is going to make every effort to stop them."
An Associated Press reporter aboard the Success watched as the armed boarding party secured the shipâs bridge, arrested its crew and minutes later told navy and customs ships surrounding the freighter and three helicopters buzzing overhead they had control of the entire ship and its cargo. The exercise involved two Australian navy ships, the supply ship HMAS Success and the frigate HMAS Melbourne, along with Japanese-based U.S. destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and the Japanese Coast Guard ship Shikishima. A French marine patrol aircraft also took part in the initial aerial hunt for the suspect ship. On Saturday, South Koreaâs national Yonhap news agency cited a report in North Koreaâs official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, criticizing the initiative. "This joint military exercise is a military operation that comes before the U.S. military attack against us," Rodong said. "This is a military provocation." Hey, we rattled them! Sweet.
Once the armed and masked Japanese had conducted an initial search, U.S. Coast Guard troops boarded the freighter from a small boat to check for chemical weapons. The American ship USNS Private Franklin J. Phillips was used to pose as a fictional Japanese-flagged freighter transporting illicit chemicals. Besides the participants in the weekendâs exercises, the PSI members include Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Britain. "Because of the fact that North Korea has been a very ready marketer of its missile technologies and because it is talking about moving further down the nuclear weapons path we do have a fear that one day North Korea might get into the business of selling weapons of mass destruction or their precursors," Hill said. "We would not want to see North Korea do that." Lawyers from the 11 nation group are investigating what legal powers they have to carry out interceptions like Saturdayâs exercise, Hill said. "The operation has got to be within the law and reaching a consensus between the 11 countries about the principles of law is not easy," Hill said. So next time thereâs a NKor ship transporting missiles to some hellhole, letâs not let the lawyers get in the way.
Either that, or have it intercepted by lawyers... (Shudder!)
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 3:12:19 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"This is a military provocation."
Got that right. Now, the question is: do those guys get the message?
Severely EFL.
Researchers are testing ideas aimed at avoiding communications problems that have plagued emergency workers for years and became especially apparent on Sept. 11, 2001. Perched on a hilltop campus across the Hudson River from Manhattan, researcher Paul Kolodzy sees more than New Yorkâs hulking grandeur and the gap where the World Trade Center once towered. He sees innumerable places where wireless technologies ought to be making everyone safer. Those ferries on the river? Letâs give them satellite transponders that could get important data if radio systems become swamped in a crisis. That Port Authority building? Letâs send it information with a laser. And, says Kolodzy, why not give authorities in different agencies a way to share encrypted information instantly through whatever kinds of networks - like radio, cell phone, Wi-Fi - are available to them at any given moment. Kolodzy and other researchers are testing these ideas at the Stevens Institute of Technologyâs Wireless Network Security Center with one main goal: avoiding the communications knots that glared on Sept. 11. Clever, smart guys doing an important job. Read the rest at the link.
I hope somebody's working on the simple stuff, like getting adjacent jurisdictions access to each other's systems. In most cases it's simple stuff, but the time to make sure it's done is before something terrible happens.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 3:06:04 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Zimbabweâs only independent daily newspaper failed to publish Saturday after armed police raided its offices and the Supreme Court declared the publication in violation of a new media law. "See how legal that was?"
The closure of the Daily News comes amid a government crackdown on dissent as Zimbabwe struggles with an economic collapse and international isolation. President Robert Mugabe pushed through a passage of severe new security laws last year allowing the government to ban public gatherings, and his opponents have been attacked and arrested. But they did manage to get the inflation rate to 425 percent, so itâs not all bad. Iden Wetherell, editor of the weekly Zimbabwe Independent, called the crackdown on the paper part of a ``program of repression... The whole country is threatened by Mugabe and his minions as they attempt to cover the trail of their misrule.ââ SOP.
The government acted late Friday within hours of winning a case against the Daily Newsâ owner, Associated Newspapers Zimbabwe, in the recently reconstituted Supreme Court, which is now dominated by pro-government judges. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, a former minister, ruled that the publication had not registered under a 2002 media law, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Act stipulates that a government license is required to publish. "License? Yeah, sure, come back in 2007."
Editor in chief Francis Mdlongwa said the group applied for accreditation immediately on hearing Chidyausikuâs ruling. Tafataona Mahoso, chairman of the governmentâs Media and Information Commission, was quoted as saying in the state-controlled Herald: ``What they should have done is stop publishing until they are registered. As far as I am concerned the Daily News does not exist in terms of the laws of this country.ââ "See how legal that was?"
Police posted guards at the groupâs offices Saturday and only allowed staff inside to collect personal effects. Wonder how long it will take for one of Bobâs buddies to take the place for himself.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change Saturday said The Daily News played a crucial role keeping the flickering flame of democracy alive in Zimbabwe and called for a retaliatory boycott of state-owned newspapers by readers and advertisers. Since its launch in 1999, the Daily News has given a voice to critics of Mugabeâs 23-year rule as inflation tops 400 percent and shortages of all basic commodities increase. In January 2001, the Daily Newsâ printing presses were blown up hours after Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said the newspaper was ``a threat to national security which had to be silenced.ââ However, the newspaper continued to publish by contracting other presses. Sounds like a brave bunch of newspaper people.
Under protest in January, the Zimbabwe Independent registered under the 2002 law. It is still awaiting a court hearing to challenge the media law. Since the Act was passed in January 2002, 14 independent journalists have been arrested for alleged breaches and four foreign correspondents expelled. Anybody make it to the Seattle democratic gala with Michael Moore, etc? Iâm sure they were all over this.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 3:02:36 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Does this mean that Zimbabwe will be given chairmenship of the UN Council on Journalistic Freedom?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 9:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I wish we could do this to a newspaper that deserves it. Namely the NYT.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/14/2003 14:54 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Charles, if you shut down the Times, you'll only see an increase in public defecation/urination, bag ladies in their own filth, and raving lunatics arguing with metal pillars in the subway.
Best to keep MoDo and company slamming away at their PC keyboards, out of sight and out of mind.
EFL
Ten years after the signing of historic peace accords whose goals were never achieved, Yasser Arafat said Saturday the Mideast conflict is facing its most difficult point since, and he urged Israel to return to negotiations following its threat to exile him. "Watch the pea here, there it goes, is it in this shell or the one in my right hand?" A rent-a-mobLemmingsDeluded Supporters filled Arafatâs compound Saturday to rally around their leader. They included a government-organized demonstration of more than 2,000 junior splodydopes school children, followed by thousands of mature splodydopes adults. Some pledged to act as human shields to defend Arafat from Israeli troops. Okay, be a shield, that plays into the plan nicely.
``Why do they interfere in our affairs and want to expel our leader? It will only happen over our dead bodies,ââ said Adnan Awad, one of two dozen Palestinians camping outside Arafatâs office. Sure Adnan, by the way, see that red dot creeping up your chest?
The Palestinian leader emerged repeatedly from the office of his partially destroyed compound to greet the crowd — beaming, blowing kisses and flashing ``Vââ for victory signs. It was a stark contrast to the signing of the Oslo Accords on Sept. 13, 1993, when Arafat shook hands with then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn in the presence of President Clinton. All part of the same strategy to wear the Israelis down.
Israel blames Arafat for the collapse of peace efforts and says he has failed to stop terror attacks on Israelis. After two suicide bombings that killed 15 people this week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharonâs security Cabinet decided in principle to ``removeââ him. The vaguely worded decision seems to leave open the options of exiling, killing or arresting Arafat — or further isolating him in the office where he has been confined for 18 months, with his phone lines cut and visitors barred. Tossing Arafat into the Med with cement shoes is an appealing option.
``At this moment we are really facing the most difficult moment that we have faced since the signing of Oslo in 1993,ââ Arafat told foreign diplomats at his headquarters. ``The problem is not just my problem and the threats that Israel has made to eliminate or to remove me. "Nope, nope, I ainât afraid, watch me bare my chest."
``The problem, the real danger is the intent of the Israeli government to cancel the Palestinian partner and to eliminate the presence of the Palestinian Authority.ââ The problem is you, bubbles.
"And that Paleostinian Authority is — me!"
Turning his comments to Israel, he said, ``Come to peace, come to make peace together.ââ "Now look, is the pea in the shell on the left or the shell on the right?"
Thousands of Palestinians have rallied in recent days to support Arafat, and Palestinian officials have warned that a move against their leader would carry disastrous consequences. For about a week or so, then itâs all up-side.
But Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, said Arafat has not delivered on years of pledges and called him an ``arch-terrorist.ââ
Pretty good description, since he's demonstrated he doesn't know how to do anything else...
``We want to remove this obstacle to peace ... to renew the process of reconciliation between the two peoples,ââ Gissin said. ``As long as Arafat is around, that process is dead.ââ What he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2003 2:56:39 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Turning his comments to Israel, he said, ``Come to peace, come to make peace together.ââ
Wow, that reminds me of the final scene of the first Conan movie, where James Earle Jones thinks he's got Arnold fooled. After a moment of dramatic indecision, Arnold beheads him in a wonderfully gratuitous display, for all his followers to see.
#2
Isreal, ignore the Arafatty show. Get back on Hammas.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/14/2003 10:33 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Ten years after the signing of historic peace accords whose goals were never achieved...
Arafat never intended for them to be achieved. It was just another tactic to obtain concessions on his true roadmap which leads to the destruction of Israel and the extermination of the Jews. He is engaged in undeclared war; he deserves a missile no less than any Hamas leader.
Posted by: Tom ||
09/14/2003 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Uh...
Fool me once... shame on you
Fool me twice... shame on me
I wonder how many will be fooled again. The UN and France for sure... Germany maybe...
The Democrats in the USA can't be fooled again (since they are *still* fooled from the first time).
#5
Ho ho Dripping Sarcasm - one of my favourite films.
And then he holds up Thulsa Dooms (JEJ) head, shows it to the followers and hurls it down the steps. They all then realise the game is up, chuck their torches into a pond and wander off. He then chucks a massive brazier (Olympic hammer style) into the complex which burns very nicely.
Did I mention there's a heap of bad guy slicing and dicing before the finale?
Now, about life imitating art...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/14/2003 12:32 Comments ||
Top||
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.
