LAB tests in Britain have confirmed that an outbreak of bird flu in Romania is that of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, Romania's state veterinarian authority said today.
"We have received telephone confirmation from London that it is the H5N1 virus," Alina Monea, spokeswoman at Romania's veterinary and animal health authority said.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
10/15/2005 05:13 ||
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#1
Wild birds are infected and spreading it as they migrate.
Posted by: steve ||
10/15/2005 14:07 Comments ||
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#2
Wild birds are infected and spreading it as they migrate.
eastern-most corner
[more at link]
Thick black smoke billowed over a village in the eastern-most corner of Romania yesterday as authorities tried to contain a strain of bird flu detected in three domestic ducks. The villagers of Ceamurlia de Jos watched their livelihoods go up in smoke as sacks full of dead geese, ducks and chickens were hurled into 6ft trenches and burnt.
"It's so hard to see this happen," said Marin Maioru, whose 110 chickens were seized yesterday. "But we're also aware that we're on the frontier of Europe and we don't want to be held responsible for starting a bird flu pandemic."
Authorities quarantined the village after scientists detected the avian influenza virus in Paul Negoi's farmyard this week. Vets were alerted after his ducks developed swollen heads, began spinning round rapidly and died. Samples have been sent to a laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey, where scientists are trying to ascertain whether it is the H5N1 strain, which has killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003.
Ceamurlia's remoteness in the Danube delta might help to contain the virus, but if bird flu was to have struck anywhere in Europe, this was probably the most obvious place.
The delta contains Europe's largest wetlands and is a key resting area for 300 species of migratory birds flying from Russia and Europe to winter in Africa.
The policemen given the task of culling the village's entire poultry population of more than 20,000 birds looked drained as firemen hosed them down following the morning shift. Eighty men had managed to round up 6,000 birds which they placed in green wheelie-bins, into which a gas pipe was inserted.
As carbon monoxide was pumped in, the birds were heard flapping and squawking inside. After five minutes they were still. The operation was watched over by police who stood guard with assault rifles and stun grenades, lest any locals tried to sabotage the cull.
At first many villagers tried to prevent their birds from being seized. Some hid them in wardrobes or fireplaces. Others killed their stock, and, as most of Ceamurlia's 1,500 residents do not own refrigerators, placed them in buckets of salted water in the hope that they could preserve them into the winter.
KIZIKSA, Turkey - Turkish officials put nine people under medical observation after reports that 40 pigeons in their neighborhood mysteriously died, as officials confirmed that earlier bird deaths were caused by a virulent strain of bird flu, authorities said Friday.
YASIN Abu Bakr, leader of a Muslim faction responsible for the 1990 attempted coup in Trinidad and Tobago, has been arrested in connection to a bomb attack on a bar that injured 10 people, police said overnight.
The bombing at a popular night spot on the outskirts of Port of Spain late on Friday was the fourth such attack in four months, but Bakr, head of Jamaat al Muslimeen, has not been linked to the previous three bombings, according to Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul.
Bakr was one of the six people arrested and being questioned in connection to the bomb blast Friday at Smokey and Bunty's bar in the city of St James on the outskirts of Port of Spain, Paul said.
Four of the six arrested are minors under age 19 who gave their home address as the headquarters of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, also located in the city of St James, he said.
Paul said that the material used in the first three bombings appears to be similar. Evidence from the fourth bomb, an improvised low intensity explosive device, is being analyzed, he said. A statement released by the Jamaat al Muslimeen states that the organization categorically condemns the bombing.
In 1990 Bakr and members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen bombed police headquarters and stormed the Red House and national television station TTT. Then-prime minister Arthur Robinson was shot in the leg and more than 20 people died in the failed coup attempt.
Trinidad and Tobago is a two-island, gas-rich Caribbean state off the Venezuelan coast. The island is shared largely by two ethnic groups, one of African descent and the other descendants of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent.
Posted by: God Save The World AKA Oztralian ||
10/15/2005 20:20 ||
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If they serve the sentence it might help get Turkey into the EU.
A Turkish court on Friday sentenced two Islamic terrorists to life in prison for a failed attempt on a prominent Jewish businessman's life more than a decade ago. The court in Istanbul found Yasar Polat and Kamil Askin, who allegedly belonged to the underground organization Islamic Action, guilty of attempting to kill businessman Jak Kamhi, who escaped the 1993 attack unharmed.
Three other suspects were given life sentences almost 10 years ago. Police captured Polat in 2003 and Askin was captured late last year, reportedly after returning from Afghanistan, private NTV television said. Another suspect, Ayhan Sagin, is still fleeing on the run.
Kamhi, whose Profilo Holding conglomerate specializes in household utilities, had come under attack while he was driving to work in 1993. The attackers were planning to blow up his car with a shoulder-fired missile which did not fire. Bullets that they fired at his car missed him.
Turkey's Jewish community numbers some 25,000. In 2003, Turkish Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaida rammed truck bombs into two synagogues in Istanbul, killing dozens. In 1986, 22 people were killed when Arab gunmen attacked Istanbul's Neve Shalom synagogue.
Scotland Yard has long considered Belgium as the axis of the human smuggling network, which allegedly also had branches in the Netherlands and Germany. Brussels judicial authorities have been involved in investigations into the alleged network for two and a half years. Scotland Yard's operation 'Maxim' netted 18 suspects on Tuesday, most of whom were arrested in London. According to the British press agency Press Association, the network is suspected of smuggling 200,000 illegal immigrants â most of them Turkish Kurds â into the UK. The illegal immigrants paid sums ranging from EUR 4,500 to 7,000 for the trip. After a journey of several months, the illegals were then smuggled into the UK in trucks and cars. Some of them made the journey over the Strait of Dover on small airplanes that landed at small airports in the UK. The smugglers are alleged to have invested the money earned into bars, billiard halls and real estate.
A senior United Nations official has accused US-led coalition troops of depriving Iraqi civilians of food and water in breach of humanitarian law.
Human rights investigator Jean Ziegler said they had driven people out of insurgent strongholds that were about to be attacked by cutting supplies. Mr Ziegler, a Swiss-born sociologist, said such tactics were in breach of international law.
And who better than the Swiss to lecture us on international law? Well, okay, the Belgians, but who else?
A US military spokesman in Baghdad denied the allegations.
"A drama is taking place in total silence in Iraq, where the coalition's occupying forces are using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population," Mr Ziegler told a press conference. He said coalition forces were using "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare."
"This is a flagrant violation of international law," he added.
Mr Ziegler said he understood the "military rationale" when confronting insurgents who do not respect "any law of war". But ...
There's always a 'but' ...
... he insisted that civilians who could not leave besieged cities and towns for whatever reason should not suffer as a result of this strategy.
Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, a US military spokesman, later rejected the accusations. "Any allegations of us withholding basic needs from the Iraqi people are false," he said.
Even though some supplies had been delayed during fighting, he argued that "all precautions" were being taken to take care of civilians. "It does not do relief supplies any good if you have them going into a firefight," he said.
The Geneva Conventions forbid depriving civilians of food and water. Cutting off food supply lines and destroying food stocks is also forbidden.
Mr Ziegler, who opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq, said he would urge the UN General Assembly to condemn this practice when he presented his yearly report on 27 October.
Since he's reporting to the UN, it's not like he needs any proof or anything.
#1
So what?, this is just example number 34,567,443 of a UN functionary being stupid and anti-US.
Anyone that listens to anthing that comes out of the UN regarding the US has been fed bullshit for so long they accept crap like this as the truth.
Always amazes me how these "human rights investigators" whatever that might be, are more concerned with bashing the US than actually doing what their job title suggests in countries that are actual abusers.
I guess their just giving the crowd what they want.
#2
Is there a way to tell this supid Mr Ziegler, a Swiss-born sociologist to stop whining and to come up with the solutions?. I am sick and tired of these stupids who keep on complainig and offer no rational solution to the problems except siding with the terrorists. These supids have to understand a very basic fact that those who regard no human rights deserve no consideration of human rights. In the situations of the word wide islamofascism, any thing I ever here from the huuman rihgt's organisation is really stupid. They are not supposed to protect the violance. Just look at their comments, the entire thing they are doing is to protect the nationals and indivisuals involved in the genocide. The free wold is doing a damm stupidity to support these human rights organigatios of the old world.
#7
Jean Ziegler is a kind of a mixture of George Galloway and Michael Moore.
U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL DENOUNCES RIGHTS EXPERT FOR "IRRESPONSIBLE" REMARKS; GROUPS CALL FOR ZIEGLER'S RESIGNATION (07/08/05)
http://www.unwatch.org/speeches/PR080705.html
Letter from US Congres about Ziegler (08/02/05)
http://www.unwatch.org/pdf_files/Congress-Wibisono_letter.pdf
#8
Self-righteous flaming asshole for a self-aggrandizing pretentious collection of utter liars, con artists, schemers, ponces, pooftas, pricks, wankers, and snobs - the Vulture Elites of the UN. He needs a massive dose of pucker in his diet to stem such diarrheal attacks. They all do.
#9
Ziegler is a pretty well known swiss anti-globo activist/moonbat (depending on your preferences), he's been making similar charges against western capitalism in the past, always in an alarmist, strident tone.
I've several of his articles somewhere on my pc, IIRC in at least one of his books he's warning against an apocalyptical new feudalism brought by globalization (again seen as an americanization), in which the lords would be the corporations and the imperialist countries. In fact, I think he might suscribe to the Empire/Multitude theory by Toni Negri and co.
He's one of the usual suspects.
Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will likely face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances when he goes on trial next week for a 1982 massacre of Shiites, a court official said Thursday.
Saddam and seven other defendants are accused of killing 143 Shiites in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, after a failed assassination attempt against Saddam.
Prosecutors have not announced the exact charges, which are expected when the trial opens on Wednesday. Investigating judge Raid Juhi told reporters in Baghdad that the charges would focus on the areas of "crimes of premeditated murder, forced expulsion of residents, torture and forced disappearances of individuals."
Saddam could face the death penalty if convicted.
Juhi also reaffirmed that there would be no postponement of the trial's start, which Saddam's attorneys had sought to review documents they received on Sept. 25.
"The Special Tribunal has enabled the representatives of the defense through all legal means to completely review all the evidence, documents and investigation papers," he said.
The trial is expected to be the first of about a dozen involving crimes against humanity committed by Saddam and his regime's henchmen during his 23-year rule. These include the 1988 gassing of up to 5,000 Kurds in Halabja and the bloody 1991 suppression of a Shiite uprising in the south after a U.S.-led coalition drove the Iraqi army out of Kuwait.
Some of those cases "are about to be concluded in a few days" and will then be handed over to the Iraqi Special Tribunal for trial, Juhi said. He did not specify which cases or whether Saddam would be a defendant in all of them.
It is not known when the next trial would start. It has taken three months between the time the Dujail case was presented to the court and the trial's start.
Saddam, 68, has been jailed under American control at a U.S. military detention complex since his December 2003 capture near his hometown, Tikrit.
The Dujail case is being tried first because it was the easiest case to prepare, court officials have said. There will be no jury. The court's five judges will question witnesses and render the verdicts.
Due to Iraq's precarious security, the judge's identities have not been revealed and may remain concealed during the trial. Juhi will not be among them. Also, witnesses are likely to testify from behind a screen to protect their identities.
The massacres were in response to a July 8, 1982, assassination attempt staged by villagers at the height of Saddam's power, court officials said. Gunmen opened fire on Saddam's motorcade as he passed through town, but he was unhurt. In swift retaliation, Iraqi army helicopters fired on villagers, and troops rounded up and imprisoned residents. Some are still missing.
The seven other defendants in the Dujail trial includes Saddam's then-intelligence chief, Barazan Ibrahim; his vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan; Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the head of the Revolutionary court; and four senior Baath Party officials in the Dujail region, Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid, Ali Dayim Ali, Mohammed Azawi Ali and Mizhar Abdullah Ruwayyid.
The Iraqi Special Tribunal was created during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, which began in April 2003 and formally ended 14 months later. Its statute, however, was endorsed by Iraq's democratically elected parliament this year.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Iraq said on Saturday that they were holding a man suspected of acting as a barber to senior al Qaeda militants and helping them change their appearance to evade capture.
The man, named as Walid Muhammad Farhan Juwar al-Zubaydi -- "aka 'The Barber,"' the U.S. military statement said -- was arrested in Baghdad on September 24, the day before U.S. troops caught up with and killed a militant they described as the most senior al Qaeda leader in the capital, Abu Azzam.
"'The Barber's' duties included altering senior al Qaeda in Iraq members' appearances by dying hair color, altering hairstyles and changing facial hair in their efforts to evade capture," the military said in the statement.
Also detained on September 24 was Ibrahim Muhammad Subhi Khayri al-Rihawi, the military said, naming him also as Abu Khalil and calling him a "close associate" of Abu Azzam.
"(He) served as an executive assistant for the terrorist emir. He also acted as a banker for Azzam and stored the terrorist organization's funds so they would not be confiscated should Abu Azzam be killed or captured," it added.
Abu Azzam was described by U.S. commanders after his death as second only to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the Islamist network's organization in Iraq.
U.S. forces are keen to show progress in tracking down insurgents in Iraq after two and a half years in which the militants have inflicted thousands of casualties on Iraqi civilians and security forces and killed hundreds of Americans.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/15/2005 08:13 ||
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#1
If we could only nail the Al Quds Shoeshine Brigade this war would be over.
#2
Also detained on September 24 was Ibrahim Muhammad Subhi Khayri al-Rihawi, the military said, naming him also as Abu Khalil and calling him a "close associate" of Abu Azzam.
"(He) served as an executive assistant for the terrorist emir. He also acted as a banker for Azzam and stored the terrorist organization's funds so they would not be confiscated should Abu Azzam be killed or captured," it added.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
10/15/2005 15:15 Comments ||
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#6
'The Barber's' duties included altering senior al Qaeda in Iraq members' appearances by dying hair color, altering hairstyles and changing facial hair in their efforts to evade capture.
Yeah, nobody would ever think those all those red-headed middle eastern guys looked suspicious.
#7
U.S. forces are keen to show progress as opposed to the media who are keen to show failure? Tell me a story not the truth.
Posted by: john ||
10/15/2005 20:17 Comments ||
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#8
Barber: H-h-how would you like it sir?
Customer: Just short back and sides.
Barber: How do you do that?
Customer: Oh, you know, just short back and sides.
Barber: It's not a... a razor cut, RAZOR CUT BLOOD ARTERY MURDER SPUrt.. arr...
Customer: No, just ordinary short back and sides, you know...
Barber: It's just s-s-s-scissors then...
Customer: Yes.
Barber: You wouldn't rather forget all about it?
Customer: What?
Barber: You wouldn't prefer to have it just combed?
Customer: Oh, no.. I want something cut off!
Barber: Cut, CUT HEART HITCHCOCK MURDER BLOOD PSYCHO HOMICIDE SPURT ARTERY
TREMOR CORTEX Arrrgg...!
(The barber fakes a few quick snips.)
Barber: There, finished.
Customer: I beg your pardon?
Barber: I've finished cutting, cutting, CUTTING, CUTTING YOUR HAIR!
Customer: Well, you haven't even done any cutting yet.
Barber: All right, I confess I didn't cut your hair. I hate hair. I-I I
can't bear cutting it. I have this uncontrolable fear whenever I see
hair. My mother said I was a fool! She said the only way to
overcome my fear would be to become a barber. I didn't want to be a
barber.
I wanted to be... A *TERRORIST*!
[cue music]
I'm a terrorist and I'm okay
I sleep all night and I bomb all day
[chorus]
Heâs a terrorist and heâs okay
He sleeps all night and he bombs all day
[terrorist]
I cut down crowds, I make bomb vests
I go to the lavatory
On Ramadan I go shopping
For lots more IEDs
[chorus]
He cuts down crowds, he makes bomb vests
He goes to the lavatory
On Ramadan he goes shopping
For lots more IEDs
Heâs a terrorist and heâs okay
He sleeps all night and he bombs all day
[terrorist]
I mow down Shiites, I hoist my rump
And daily say five prayers
Iâll put on womenâs clothing and hang around in mosques
[chorus]
He mows down Shiites and hoists his rump
And daily says five prayers
Heâll put on womenâs clothing and hang around in mosques
Heâs a terrorist and heâs okay
He sleeps all night and he bombs all day
[terrorist]
I hijack planes, I wear silk hose
A burkha and a bra
I like goats instead of girlies, just like my dear pappa
[chorus]
He hijacks planes and wears silk hose
A burkha and a bra
He likes goats instead of girlies, just like his dear pappa
Heâs a terrorist and heâs okay
He sleeps all night and he bombs all day!
11:01
Okay, weâre about to go to cast our votes now and then weâll hopefully be posting updates but for now, the spokesman of the Iraqi electoral independent commission said in a press conference a few minutes ago that no sizable attacks were reported so far except for some gunfire in Al-Dora district near one voting office.
Actually, Baghdad sounds so quiet so far.
Updates (2:45 pm local time):
-An official of the electoral commission announced that voters in any given province can cast their votes at any station within the borders of that province; this can make reaching the stations easier for some people who live far from their originally designated stations.
-Another electoral commissionâs official in Erbil said that turnout in Erbil is light so far and he attributed that to the âconcessions made by the Kurdish parties which Kurdish voters did not see appropriateâ.
-170,000 votes were cast in the first 3 hours in Kirkuk, thatâs around one quarter of the registered voters in the city.
-One attack was reported in Hilla; three armed men attacked a voting office but Iraqi security men were able to arrest the attackers. Nothing reported damaged in the office, one attacker was shot in the foot!
-Voting stations in Tal Afar are open but no reports on the turnout in the town, however the local officials of the electoral commission in Mosul said that the number of voters who turned out in the city is a âsurpriseâ.
Just said my YES...(updated)
Probably the worst thing today is the intense heat which was a little over 100f but that didnât stop the crowds from walking in the sun to the voting stations, I personally had to walk nearly 4 miles in total but itâs definitely worth the effort.
The presence of Iraqi army and police units is heavier than it was in January elections and I also noticed that no multinational forces were on the streets and the only sign for their presence was the helicopters that patrolled the skies.
The turnout in our district looks quiet good and actually going to the voting office was a good opportunity to meet some friends I havenât seen in months.
I met one friend on the way and when I asked him what would his vote be he said that he hasnât decided yet âif I voted yes I would be approving some articles that I donât agree with and if I voted no we would go back to where we started fromâŠâ he said and that was really refreshing because this guy who used to believe in conspiracy theories and stuff like âwhat America wants is whatâs going to happenâ now feels that his vote can make a difference.
Generally speaking, the process is going smoothly so far and this is encouraging because terrorists usually concentrate their attacks before noon so hopefully it will continue like this for the rest of the day.
Hammorabi
Historic Day in Iraq
Voting by Yes or No for the constitution is in progress now in all parts of Iraq. The number of voters exceeded the expected limits especially in areas like Mosel which had low turn out in the last election. Voting stations received large numbers in the Sunni areas including Ramadi, Falluja and Diyala.
No major problems until now and the voters are free to cast their votes.
This is the first time for the Iraqis to vote for their own constitution. It is indeed the first time in the Middle East especially the Arab countries.
We expect a big YES for the constitution possibly around 80%. This YES is a big bullet in the head of the terrorism.
This is a historic day and the political process moving forward in spite of the efforts of all of the evils to disable or delay it.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/15/2005 07:59 ||
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#1
The MSM have already been saying for days that no matter how well it goes, this is not the important vote, the one that matters is the vote for Parliament in December.
#3
The one that's really important is the one some guy on a white horse tries to stop. If he succeeds, it's down the tubes. Otherwise, any mistakes can be fixed at the next election.
#4
My friends nephew just got back from Iraq and Afghanistan and i'm setting up a website with all the pictures he took while he was over there. If anyone is interested in taking a look, feel free. Just note that i am still working on the website so some images may be a little slow loading.
#11
CNN had some ME woman on as their "expert" this morning and the meme was that the people didn't know what they were voting on. Yep, they found two who didn't know. See, the average Iraqi is just too dumb to have freedom. We don't know this because we are just "average Americans". But, fortunately, the elite at CNN will help educate us.
Did I say they were idjits? Yes, yes I believe I did.
#12
Oztralian, thanks much for sharing your website. Why not put the link as your website, then we can keep track as you update it? And hearty thanks to your friend's nephew and his fellows for their service -- today we see the result.
Yes, eventually the family pics will be sorted from the military ones. I know it is a little annoying browsing through the pics with them all mixed up, but it will change. And to Military Wife: Thanks for your suggestion, i'll take your advice.
Posted by: God Save The World AKA Oztralian ||
10/15/2005 20:11 Comments ||
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#14
Just trailing wife, Oztralian. I'm not brave enough to be a soldier's bride.
Posted by: God Save The World AKA Oztralian ||
10/15/2005 21:57 Comments ||
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#16
Awesome. LTC Kurilla's Deuce-Four certainly helped turn Mosul around. Too bad those people will probably never even know his name. Certainly not if they depend upon the MSM, which will likely underplay and spin today however they think they can to meet the agenda.
Thank You (shukran) and You're Welcome (afwan), Iraqis and coalition forces. This is, indeed, another great milestone.
#17
TE - It's not about the MSM - it's about the trolls. It's called the Good News Law. RC called it long ago - and it pans out to be true with such regularity that it's now an acknowledged law of Moonbat behavior. RC can state it better, I'm sure, but essentially it goes:
When there's too much good news or an especially important Good News event, some unknown threshold of Moonbat hysteria is breached, the Moonbats come out of the woodwork to troll.
The MSM always ignores or tries to trash Good News - that's a given. It's the resulting troll behavior that's of interest and what RC noted.
Smart, clever, well-planned, and a real downer for the terrs.
BAQOUBA, Iraq -- Joint Iraqi and U.S. security forces foiled an attempt by terrorists to ambush a truck delivering ballots to the nearby city of Muqtadiya yesterday, one in a series of attacks ahead of tomorrow's vote on a permanent constitution.
A decoy convoy -- disguised to look like it was carrying ballots from the Iraqi Electoral Commission and heavily armed with Iraqi forces -- drew fire from terrorists hiding in a palm grove outside of Baqouba at midday. Unknown to the enemy, three ordinary pickup trucks carrying the real ballots already were delivering the precious cargo to the city of Muqtadiya, an hour's drive away.
Thirty Iraqi soldiers, accompanied by a reporter-photographer for The Washington Times, were assigned to the dummy convoy. It was an all-Iraqi operation. No U.S. soldiers were present.
The Iraqis were ready for a fight. "By the name of Allah, the most merciful," said Iraqi army Lt. Hayder, who, like other Iraqi soldiers, goes only by one name to protect his family from being targeted by terrorists. "This mission is dangerous. Any civilian car moving between our cars should be seen as a threat," Lt. Hayder said before the mission got under way.
The attack began with the bone-jarring explosion of a roadside bomb followed by a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades and rifle fire. Within seconds, Iraqi soldiers responded with a wall of automatic-weapons fire. The terrorists fled ran. Later, U.S. Kiowa helicopters arrived to escort the convoy to Muqtadiya.
Back at Forward Operating Base Normandy in Muqtadiya, which U.S. Army Task Force 1-30 shares with an Iraqi unit nicknamed "Tiger Battalion." Lt. Col. Roger Cloutier reflected on the day's events. "These [Iraqi soldiers] are ordinary guys that rose to the occasion. In their lifetime, they have never experienced freedom, and now they're defending it with their lives," said Col. Cloutier, commander of the task force. "At the end of the day, everyone was alive, and the ballots are under Iraqi control."
One Iraqi soldier and two Iraqi election workers were wounded in the attack. All are expected to recover. With the operation's success, about 166,000 ballots await voters in Muqtadiya, a city about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD: Iraqis dug in for a referendum today on their draft constitution amid a security lockdown. Shi'ite imams transmitted the word of the majority community's most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani: Go to the polls and vote "yes". The message among the Sunnis was more muddled after the Islamic Party threw its support to the constitution after last minute amendments were made to the draft.
The US said the referendum was an historic milestone and evidence of steady political progress.
Like Emily said yesterday, best wishes and a big hurrah to the Iraqi people.
Democracy is a process, as we've said many times. This vote is a big step, but not the only step, for the Iraqis to take. They'll have to clean up a few items in their new constitution. They'll have to elect a parliament that will implement the laws, and they'll have to be wise enough to rein in blabbermouths like Sadr. They need to sniff out the Iranians and Syrians and kill remove them from their country.
And they have to build their lives. Democracy is a means to an end: a decent life for yourself and a better life for your family. That is what is at stake in this vote, and I'm praying that the Iraqis have the courage and intelligence to make it happen.
Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness: a universal code.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
But, but, Bush is a chimp, a terrorist, too stupid to be President, a neonut, a Fascist! Those are not compatible with such an achievement! This can't be real - it's just not possible! It all was for the OIL! He's a FAILED President!
Posted by: .Cassini - Moonbats in Space ||
10/15/2005 1:44 Comments ||
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#2
Good luck and best wishes to the Iraqui people. I'll be saying a prayer for them, their armed forces, and the Coalition forces.
#3
QUAGMIRE! I was watching CNN coverage last night, Christine was practically crying about the Iraqis actually going to the polls and voting. Everyone she talked started out with a negative question such as: "Are you happy with everything in the new Constituion?" or "Are you worried about the increase in violence leading up to the elections?" Can't wait for teh sin over the next week or so: "No plan", "Suicide bombers", and "No un sign off." I hope they like crow.
#4
The insurgent militants may have held off violence during the election to shepherd their resources to attack occupying ofrces once their let down their vigil as part of the long feared Ramadan offensive. Yeah, that's tongiht's lead.
The Bush administration is reportedly considering incursions into Syria as it tries to stem the flow of arms and fighters for the Iraqi insurgency. The New York Times says ... Oh, darn. I thought it was a trustworthy source. Never mind.
... U.S. and Syrian forces have already been involved in skirmishes on the border, including one this summer that left several Syrians dead.
Oh. Darn. Shoot. Drat. Fudge.
One official told the Times the United States has taken the struggle right up to the border but not beyond. Other officials said U.S. forces have entered Syria both by accident and design. Let's see if I can muster indignation at this alleged act. Nope.
Another faulty GPS locator?
Sources said the administration held a high-level discussion Oct. 1 on Syria and on putting pressure on President Bashar Assad. They told the Times President Bush has not selected a specific strategy yet. The administration has reportedly offered Syria a deal similar to that with Libya -- with friendship and foreign aid exchanged for a number of concessions.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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#2
Another faulty GPS locator?
Nope, it's just that these here new pluggers (GPS locaters) are just so difficult to read correctly. Honestly, they just keep adding more bells and wistles to confuse us poor dumb soldiers...
Posted by: N guard ||
10/15/2005 13:22 Comments ||
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#3
Didn't we announce something like this over six months ago? At the time, the thought crossed my mind that if we were discreet about it, and didn't light up any Syrians, they would be just as willing to ignore us as the terrorists.
#4
MSM News is probably catching up after a six month phase lag. I would imagine that we have been touristing around the Syrian border region for quite some time.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/15/2005 13:58 Comments ||
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#5
Hope they took tents and supplies and lots of gas in case they get lost .... probly need a gun or something to keep themselves safe against bandits and desert cats.
JERUSALEM - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Friday it was in the worldâs interest to have a regime change in Syria, which he accused of being âup to its neckâ in terror. âOur interest is to tell the world that Syria is implicated up to its earlobes neck in terrorism, a terrorism that is directed not just against Israel but against coalition forces in Iraq,â he told public radio.
âAnd this is why it is in the interest of the entire world that there is another state in Syria, one that is freer and more democratic,â said Shalom.
Asked whether he believed that the end was nigh for Assadâs regime, Shalom said that only time would tell. âThe future will tell us if this regime is close to the end or not. But there is no doubt that Assad has achieved something amazing: uniting the whole world against Syria,â said Israelâs top diplomat.
Shalom stressed that Israel would avoid becoming embroiled in the political turmoil of its northern neighbour. âIsrael has no intention of getting involved in what is happening over there as the entire international community is already on the case.â
"We'll just start the snowball rolling down the hill and see what happens."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Question:
Lebanon is going democratic
If Syria falls ...
Aren't the mad mullahs a bit isolated with only Bosnia and Kosovo with Iranian Revolutionary Guards?
Or is this a totally different thing and the IRG keep functioning in Leb, and Syria?
#2
The big question will be what will replace the Ass-hat regime? Syria gets its allowance from Iran and who else? Unless there is a big public people's revolution, the financers will drop Assad like maggoty bread and find another group. Also the Syrian army and other thugs will have something to say about it. Things will get worse before they get better. My 2 cents.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/15/2005 14:05 Comments ||
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#3
I'm with AP- easier to rid the head than the entrenched Syrian Baathists in the Gov't and the military. It can be done, but prolly not without invasion and killin'
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2005 14:30 Comments ||
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#4
Syria regime change in worldâs interest
You call this news?!? Since when has this not been the case for the last umpteen years? Yes, the power vacuum is a serious issue. More important is the consistent, demonstrable, rapid and irreversible dismantling of all players in the terrorism line-up.
Those who doubt this should go back to yesterday's articles and read, "When Devils Walked the Earth."
Kill all apocalyptic terrorists and their supporters immediately.
#6
For the official Foreign Minister of a government to say this is news. How often did the US Secretary of State openly say that changing the communist regime in Moscow would be in the world's interest? I'll bet "zero" is a good approximation.
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YASIN Abu Bakr, leader of a Muslim faction responsible for the 1990 attempted coup in Trinidad and Tobago, has been arrested in connection to a bomb attack on a bar that injured 10 people, police said overnight.
Police arrested in Liége on Thursday morning a man suspected of being the leader of large-scale human smuggling gang that was busted in London on Tuesday. Belgian police had previously grown suspicious of the Turkish man, but could not arrest him on Tuesday when Scotland swooped on the network because he was in Germany at the time. Police arrested him on Thursday morning after he returned to his home city of Liége, newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' reported.A spokeswoman for the federal public prosecution office said six other suspects â two Iranians, two Belgians of Turkish origin and two Turkish nationals â were also arrested during raids in Liége and in the region around Antwerp. Spokeswoman Lieve Pellens also said the chief suspect and six accomplices will be placed at the disposal of an investigating judge, who is expected to place hold them on remand.
BAGHDAD: Iraqis dug in for a referendum today on their draft constitution amid a security lockdown. Shi'ite imams transmitted the word of the majority community's most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani: Go to the polls and vote "yes". The message among the Sunnis was more muddled after the Islamic Party threw its support to the constitution after last minute amendments were made to the draft.
JERUSALEM - Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Friday it was in the worldâs interest to have a regime change in Syria, which he accused of being âup to its neckâ in terror. âOur interest is to tell the world that Syria is implicated up to its 
