Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky has offered France help to restore order in the violence-stricken country, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday. Special units of Russian football fans and Zhirinivskyâs LDPR party activists could end the riots within 48 hours, he claimed.
I'd buy the Pay-Per-View for that.
Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, sent his offer to the Russian ambassador in France, asking the latter to pass the telegram on to the French authorities. âWe are ready to form volunteer units of football fans and LDPR activists who have served in hot spots,â the telegram read with reference to individuals with military experience in combat zones.
âI am convinced that our initiative would restore total order and calm the rioting in 48 hours,â the telegram went on to say.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/09/2005 11:06 ||
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#7
Amusing, yeah, but it *might* hide a piece of nasty truth behind it -- I've sometimes have had the feeling that soccer hooliganism in *certain* nations (including Greece) has been used as sort of recruiting and training grounds for "fascist youth" organizations. I could tell you several indications that point to that direction, though not anything which is particularly definitive by itself.
Until now. That Zhirinovsky, himself a neofascist without a question, proposes putting "special units of football fans" in the same category and use as his own "party activists" (aka fascists trained in violence) shows that this may be true in Russia as well.
Nur-Magomed Khatuyev admitted his involvement in a 1995 attack on the town of Budennovsk at a court session on Wednesday, an Interfax correspondent reported. As soon as the indictment was announced, Khatuyev said that he pleads guilty to the charges brought against him. The state prosecutor said the defendant is accused of membership of Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev's armed group, of voluntarily joining the group's unit in May 1995 and of taking part in the raid on Budennovsk on June 14-19, 1995.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/09/2005 10:07 ||
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BEIJING (AP) - South Korea urged delegates to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament to create an atmosphere of trust hours before participants began another round of negotiations in Beijing on Wednesday.
Why? If we don't trust them because they consistently act unreasonably, why would we pretend to trust them? Why isn't the onus upon them to build an atmosphere of trust for us?
Tensions between the United States and North Korea, however, were already building. The communist country criticized President Bush for calling North Korean leader Kim Jong Il a 'thug''goon''dictator''genocidal mass murderer' "tyrant," saying the remark put the prospects of the talks in doubt.
There's always something, isn't there?
South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said he met with Kim Gye Gwan, the North's envoy, Tuesday to discuss the implementation of a joint statement issued at the end of the last round of talks in September. "We compared North Korea's thoughts with ours," Song told reporters after the 80-minute meeting.
"Truly, our hearts were one..."
"There are similar points as well as different points." He said all parties must "take actions mutually that are conducive to create confidence."
No thanks, we'll stick to our principles.
Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator and assistant secretary of state for Asia affairs, said the key to the talks "is to see how we can take an agreement in principle and begin to see how an agreement in principle can be put into practice."
He means with some sort of verification...
But Pyongyang said Bush's comment cast a shadow over the talks. "If this is true, what he uttered is a blatant violation of the spirit of the joint statement of the six-party talks, which calls for 'respect for sovereignty' and 'peaceful coexistence,'" a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
How so? They remain a sovreign nation. They're just ruled by a megalomaniacal tyrant.
"These remarks ... arouse our serious concern about the prospect of implementing the joint statement and deprive us of any trust in the negotiators of the U.S. side," said the spokesman, who was not identified.
We respect your sovereignty. After all, we haven't invaded you. Yet.
Analysts cautioned against expecting a breakthrough.
Whatever would we do without analysts?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
He said all parties must "take actions mutually that are conducive to create confidence."
#2
South Korea urged delegates to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament to create an atmosphere of trust hours before participants began another round of negotiations in Beijing on Wednesday.
Trust??? After the NorKs abrogated the previous agreement???
#6
I would really enjoy seeing in my lifetime the US taking out little Kimmie and the entire freak show. One pissant country shouldn't be permitted to roar.
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/09/2005 13:47 Comments ||
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London : At least two of the 17 men arrested in raids in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday were trained at camps in Pakistan run by the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
They are also said to have been in contact with 7/7 suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer.
Two of the Australian suspects have also been linked to the LeT and al-Qaeda suspect Willy Brigitte, who was captured after French and Australian security services foiled a plot to bomb Australia two years ago.
Australian authorities said yesterday they had prevented a catastrophic terror attack, and police said more arrests were likely. Officers seized chemicals, weapons, computers and backpacks.
Police, however, declined to identify the possible targets, but there have been previous reports of suspects carrying out surveillance on stations, Sydneyâs Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and the Melbourne Stock Exchange, reports the Daily News.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, a radical Muslim cleric, was charged yesterday with masterminding the latest plot.
Benbrika, also known as Abu Bakr, is known in Australia as an enthusiastic supporter of Osama bin Laden and has said that although he is against the killing of innocent people, he could not discourage his students from travelling to Afghanistan or Pakistan to train in terrorist camps.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has already issued a warning about a possible terror attack in the country.
âThis country has never been immune from a possible terrorist attack. That remains the situation today and it will be tomorrow,â the paper quoted Howard, as saying.
Australian police and intelligence services have long suspected that LeT is operating in the country. Earlier this year, they raided four homes in Melbourne after a ten-month investigation uncovered a plot to attack major landmarks.
Mick Keelty, head of the Australian federal police, is reported to have said that some militants were known to have trained with terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/09/2005 10:01 ||
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French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen claimed Wednesday his National Front party has been "submerged" with prospective members and supportive e-mail since rioting erupted in heavily immigrant communities near Paris.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Le Pen described the recent violence as "just the start" of conflicts caused by "massive immigration from countries of the Third World that is threatening not just France but the whole continent." Le Pen said people with immigrant backgrounds who commit crimes should be stripped of their French nationality and sent "back to their country of origin."
Reminded that the vast majority of youths taking part in the arson and rioting are French, born in France to immigrant parents, he said: "What does that mean? Are they French because they have a French identity card?" French nationality should be given only to those who ask for it and "who are worthy of it," he said. "Those who got nationality automatically, who don't consider themselves French and who even say publicly that they consider France their enemy should not be treated as French."
Le Pen said he is convinced that what he described as a surge in support for his "zero immigration" platform would translate into votes at the ballot box for his National Front party. French voters "are saying to themselves 'Le Pen was right. We were told that Le Pen is an extremist because he said that immigration problems would lead to disorder. The facts have shown that he was right,'" he said. "We are receiving thousands of new members, tens of thousands of e- mails. All of our offices are submerged, we don't know how to respond because we don't have the staff to reply to the wave of people who, 95 percent of them, salute and approve our positions," he added.
Le Pen gave no specifics on the number of new members, but the party's top official for new memberships said the figure was closer to 1,000 and that they were requests to join. Le Pen stunned many in France and shocked Europe by making it through to the second round of the last presidential elections in 2002. But he was soundly defeated in a runoff against President Jacques Chirac.
Le Pen said he is "more than ever" determined to run again in 2007.
"If there were presidential elections now, my chances would be increased tenfold," he said.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/09/2005 14:20 ||
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#1
I've been wondering where this clown has been. Has the media just now gotten around to talking to him or has he just now crawled out from under his rock?
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
11/09/2005 14:34 Comments ||
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#2
There is little that I can find of objective analysis of Le Pen. His platform is anti-immigrant, but it is also anti-Euro and anti-EU. So how radical is radical?
I've suggested elsewhere that many of the non-French mob have nowhere to go. That is, they are not integrated in France, but neither belong in their parent's country of origin, either. If they are law-abiding and employed, they are not a problem.
But if they are criminal, unemployed, and have no prospect to be anything else, the French do have an alternative: "neutral" deportation.
That is, buy an island in the ocean for them, most likely off the coast of Africa. Build free housing for them there, and regularly give them food, but otherwise have it as a re-creation of Devil's Island. A non-prison prison. Put it under French military command to keep a semblance of order, but otherwise, give them the French largesse they have now, but let them be unable to repay France in violence and riot.
Such an island would be much like Haiti. In short order it would degenerate, but that is just a reflection of who was put there. I suppose it would be reassuring to the French to see chaos removed, that could have plagued them from their own backyard.
#10
Le Penism is of course another reason why elite France NEEDS to get tough with the rioters, while it is still in a position to do so. Further growth of Le Penism, bad in itself, would make the problems in the banlieus that much worse - a cycle of extremism on both sides.
#11
who exactly is France? Chirac won't do anything, he's already made that clear. He's like Mayor Nagin - his only idea of action is to blame the actions taken by others. Outside of calling for calm and promising ponies - no stiff action will be taken by Chirac or Villipin.
Jean Marie Le-Pen is not France.
The people are not armed.
So who exactly is this "France" that needs to do something?
#12
France's failure to stop the low-level terrorism against the local French and French Jews for the past 7-10 years have practically insured the rehabilitation and rise of fascism. Look at the first steps of Hitler and the Nazis : running street battles with the Commies and Anarchists; promising to end the violence and restore order; getting people elected on those promises; becoming a major political party; then take over the state.
As long as the present political structure is seen as caving into the Islamists/drug dealers, the fascists have a shot.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered the expulsion of all foreigners convicted of involvement in two weeks of urban riots. Sarkozy, who has previously thrown radical Muslim preachers out of the country for breaching French laws, told the National Assembly lower house of parliament on Wednesday that 122 foreigners had been convicted of playing a role in the unrest. "I have asked prefects that foreigners here legally or illegally, who have been convicted (over the unrest) be expelled without delay from our territory," he said of the top government officials who oversee France's 96 administrative districts.
The order would also include those who have a residency permit, Sarkozy said. "For when one has the honor of having a residency permit, the least one can say is that one shouldn't be going around getting arrested for provoking urban violence," he said. Sarkozy did not give the nationalities of any of the foreigners whose expulsion he had ordered, and did not say how many would be expelled.
#1
That's insane : Sarko has previously *terminated* a law that precisely allowed the expulsion of such criminals, something even the left hadn't dared to do.
What he ask is now harder to do, if not illegal, due to his own decisions. Is he schyzo?
#7
The problem is that the insurgents are just that, home grown and bred. They were born there and therefore are citizens as any son of Charles Martel. The government and the press keep using the word immigrant because they won't use the world Muslim.
efl
French Jews are nervously watching as violence continues to spread through the country for the eleventh consecutive night. While targetting of Jewish sites has until now been limited, members of the community fear the worst is yet to come.
Arsonists who set 1300 cars across France on fire on Saturday night, have until now targeted two synagogues.
. . .
The Jewish community has watched the riots increase in intensity, fearing new assaults against its members and synagogues. Community security services however say the number of anti-Semitic attacks in the suburbs is until now unchanged.
Arsonists threw at least two Molotov cocktails at synagogues in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine and Garges, leaving worshippers unhurt. Elsewhere, near the synagogue of Stains about 40 rioters confronted police forces who were braced for an attack.
Jacki Brami, Gargesâs rabbi, and his sons have been, "as usual", insulted, according to the anti-Semitism vigilance bureau
âItâs business as usual,â Samy Ghozlan, head of the anti-Semitism vigilance bureau told EJP. âThese communities are used to these daily assaults. Itâs worrisome, but we fear the worst is still to come.â
âNow that the media decided to reduce coverage of the riots, the thugs may intensify the violence against the Jews, to regain media attention," he added.
French authorities advised Jewish security officials not to publicise their fears, as such declarations could encourage rioters to attack Jews and Jewish community buildings. so the media is not publicising religion-based attacks and concluding there aren't any.
The Jewish community has kept a low profile since the violence broke out. The only official reaction came from the chairman of the Paris consistoire, Moise Cohen, who wrote to the head of the French Muslim council Dalil Boubakeur.
Moise Cohen shared his indignation and sorrow following an incident that occurred on 30 October in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, where a tear gas grenade was thrown into a mosque.
âWe consider every prayer room is sacred,â wrote Cohen, âand it must be kept away from any conflict, whatever its nature may be.â
. . . btw....we need a new category to file these items in: Eurabia
#1
The Jews of France have been nervous, and abused, for years. And they've been slowly emigrating. They're just concerned that the situation may now suddenly get worse.
#2
Why are there even any left in France?
Are they just naturally slow on the uptake?
Self preservation should have been a big trait of those whose parents survived the German and Vichy roundups in the last century.
Time to exit stage right with all haste and notice. Not that official France has any shame.
Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The euro may weaken for a fourth day against the dollar in Asia on concern rioting that has escalated in France over the past week will spread across Europe. Social disorder may damp economic growth and deter investment in euro-denominated assets. The riots, which entered their 13th 11th night, mark the longest stretch of urban violence in Europe's second-largest economy since the student uprising in 1968.
``The riots are spreading across France and into Germany and Belgium, bringing about huge adverse effects on the euro,'' said Michiyoshi Kato, a vice president of foreign exchange sales in Tokyo at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., a unit of Japan's second-biggest lender by assets. ``Acts of violence will surely continue to weigh on the euro.''
I recall something about US Treasury bills being a pretty safe investment.
Against the dollar, the euro traded at $1.1781 at 9:46 a.m. in Tokyo, from $1.1805 late yesterday in New York, according to electronic foreign-exchange dealing system EBS. The euro was at 138.69 yen, from 138.92. The euro may fall to $1.1760 against the dollar today, Kato said.
Losses in the euro may be limited after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday said the bank is ready to raise interest rates to curb inflation across the dozen-nation region. Trichet said the bank is ready to lift rates ``at any time'' to curb inflation and pledged ``strong vigilance'' against the risk that this year's 38 percent surge in oil prices will push up broader inflation.
Raising interest rates will certainly help create the millions of jobs the French need for their citizens.
The ECB has kept its benchmark rate at 2 percent since June 2003, and Trichet Nov. 3 said that level is ``still appropriate.'' ``Trichet's comments last week disappointed the market and pushed down the euro,'' said Hideki Hayashi, a currency strategist at Shinko Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``It seems he intended to support the euro this time around by signaling higher rates, as the weaker euro could lead to inflation.''
European finance ministers at their monthly meeting in Brussels yesterday urged the ECB not to be hasty in raising rates. Comments from Finance ministers are the same as before and neutral to currency markets, Hayashi said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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#2
I posted this late on yesterday's thread but here again - YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!
And if I were a stockholder, he's playing w/my money - not his:
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reduced a bet against the US dollar after losing more than $US900 million ($1.23 billion) from foreign currency investments this year.
Mr Buffett, who has said the US trade deficit would weaken the US dollar, cut his foreign-currency forward contracts to $US16.5 billion in September from $US21.5 billion in June, Berkshire said in a statement. The US dollar in July reached a 13-month high against a basket of six major currencies.
"To his credit, he reduced his exposure before the recent run-up of the dollar cost him more," said Tom Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
#8
Ship's right - it's an interest rate play. I did a stat analysis wayyy back on the dollar / DM exchange rate; something like 60-65% of the change in that exchange rate was due to the changes in interest rates (can't remember if I used Fed / Bundesbank rates or T-notes and the German equivalent, but that's the gist of it).
#10
Whenever I hear about Warren Buffet, having heard about his odd mansion outside Omaha, NE, I picture him in a green bathrobe, wearing bunny rabbit slippers, in front of his computer, on the internet to some commodoties house, and on two cell phones at once, screaming, "SELL! SELL!"... SCARY!
The violence sweeping France's impoverished suburbs has triggered criticism from the Arab media over a failure to integrate immigrants. It has also raised fears that the riots' consequences could spread across the Arab-Muslim world. Pictures of burning cars and ransacked shops were splashed across the front pages of Arab newspapers while television networks have mobilised to cover what one daily called the "civil war" and another the "uprising".
That's "intifadeh" in Arabic...
While condemning the spread of violence by French youths - mostly among the country's immigrant Muslim and Arab communities - the Arab media has mainly blamed riots on longstanding social malaise, unemployment and alienation.
Couldn't possibly be the fault of the rioters and their culture...
Many Arab newspapers also feared that the "French fire", or the nightly rioting that began on 27 October, was threatening to "spread" across Europe, noting incidents in Belgium and Germany which also have large Arab and Muslim immigrant communities. Satellite television networks such as Aljazeera and Al-Arabiya are offering in-depth coverage of the unrest. Al-Arabiya has dispatched reinforcement crews who are carrying out, day and night, live coverage of the events, with features on the suburbs as well as interviews with residents and community leaders. "We have been giving this issue utmost importance, and it has remained the number one or number two item in the news bulletins," Al-Arabiya spokesman Jihad Ballout said. "We do not take any stand. We do not subscribe to what some people say, that violence is justified because the immigrants have problems or the contrary. We only offer the chance to all sides to voice their opinion, including the French authorities and all community leaders," he said.
In Lebanon, the An Nahar newspaper said: "What is happening in France today shows the flagrant failure of the integration of immigrants. While it may be normal to give priority to security (concerns), the remedy to this situation cannot be limited to just that... as the causes of this absence of integration should be tackled," it said.
Under the headline: "And first there was negligence," the As Safir daily in Beirut said: "The French model needs reforms... just as other European models do, from Britain to The Netherlands... at a time when immigration pressure remains high at the doors of Europe."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
The French model needs reforms... just as other European models do, from Britain to The Netherlands...
a little sharia and establishing a caliphate should do the trick.
#2
"The French model needs reforms... just as other European models do, from Britain to The Netherlands...
As does I suppose the American model. I wonder what the Mexican model looks like??? Oh, they don't really go there in large numbers. Geeze, I can't imagine why, somewhat similiar climate, the language is much easier to learn.... and oh well, I'm digressing from the obvious Eurabia solution.
#3
the As Safir daily in Beirut said: "The French model needs reforms... just as other European models do, from Britain to The Netherlands.
The "Lebanon model" recommends itself for emulation. It could work anywhere. Warring tribes; political patronage doled out by ethnicity; overbearing foreign influence; disputes resolved by assasination. What the heck, give it a whirl!
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
11/09/2005 1:03 Comments ||
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#4
The bottom-line truth is that no country really needs immigrants anymore, particularly those who are going to be a drain on the host country. Every non-oil rich government in the Arab world is probably scared to death that the Euros are finally going to show some balls and start shipping all their Muzzys back to country of origin posthaste. That's sure as hell what the Arabs would do. Anybody remember Kuwait after Gulf War I? They kicked out 250000+ Paleos without the slightest pretense at an apology. It was just "Paleo MF's--get your butts out now. Or else." The Paleos went, too, because they knew the Kuwaitis would have no problem with killing them all if they stayed.
Posted by: mac ||
11/09/2005 6:12 Comments ||
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#5
Introspection. I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Posted by: I. Montoya ||
11/09/2005 8:04 Comments ||
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#6
Start stacking up the "youths" like firewood. See how much that does for "Arab introspection".
#7
kicked out 250000+ Paleos without the slightest pretense at an apology. It was just "Paleo MF's--get your butts out now. Or else." The Paleos went, too, because they knew the Kuwaitis would have no problem with killing them all if they stayed.
The Paleo TCN's had become a huge human litter problem along the ring roads. Heavy transports were hitting them as they dashed across. The Kuwaiti emergency responders got tired of policing up the bodies.
Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia, warns of a possible repetition of the French riots in Russia if the authorities and society do not abandon the wrongly understood political correctness and do not show resolution in applying law to the rioters. âSuch developments may happen in any country including us, if, God forbid, the authority and public repeat the mistake made in France by seeking to justify the actions of those who trample upon the lawâ, the Rabbi said to Interfax on Tuesday.
He draw attention to the fact that after the Beslan tragedy the law enforcement has drawn appropriate conclusions and prevented a repetition of those terrible events in Nalchik. âThat is to say, the police and the special services have proved they can learn by their own mistakes. But they can do little without the support of the whole society. And society as a whole, unfortunately, still has not learnt by its own mistakes. There are still voices in society calling âto understandâ terrorists and raidersâ, Rabbi Lazar complained.
He expressed a flat disagreement with the humane attitude that society has often shown for criminals today. âBefore, everything was simple even in the most democratic society. There are law-enforcement bodies who have one task to ensure order and the security of honest people. There is law, and if you violate it you will get in prison. Nowadays, unfortunately, people are told over and over again, from morning till night, that they âhave the rightâ, but those who tell it forget to remind them of their obligations, first of all the obligation to respect without questioning the law of the state in which they live. As a result, some come to believe that they have the right to do whatever comes into their headsâ, the rabbi says. While regarding democracy as the best system for organizing public life, he underlined that âa weak democracy incapable of protecting the primacy of law over every citizen turns into its own antithesisâ.
ââPolitically correctâ authorities and mass media in many countries, which call to treat raiders with understanding, to enter into negotiations with them and to make concessions to them, dig a grave to democracy with their own handsâ, the rabbi said, adding that âwe ourselves are to blame, because as soon as the idea of âunderstanding the feelingsâ of bandits comes to prevail in social thinking, the whole society is doomed to lawlessness and violenceâ.
Rabbi Lazar also reminded that Jewish organizations have long warned of possible disorders in France. âA few years ago, the same greenhorn raiders began to beat Jews, to smash up Jewish cemeteries, to put their homes and property on fire. We insisted that if the authorities continued shutting their eyes to the anti-Semitic orgy, the bandits would start burning not only Jewish cars, houses and synagogues, but also Christian ones. And the âpolitically correctâ authorities and mass media told us in one voice over and over again that the raiders thus showed solidarity with the Palestinian people, and âone can understand themâ, the rabbi said.
He expressed solidarity with the French people who became victims of the pogroms and called to remember that âthere was a moment when vandalism could be nipped in the bud, but that moment, regrettably, was not used by the authoritiesâ. [emph. twobyfour]
From the Dept. of Who Do They Think They're Kidding?, because the lady at the Dept. of Cry Me a River was on break.
BOBIGNY, France - "It wasn't me!" the 22-year-old insisted at his trial, three days after he was arrested during France's wave of rioting. The magistrate has heard the story countless times. The youths being rushed through the heavily guarded courtroom in the northeastern Paris suburb of Bobigny faced charges of vandalism or carrying explosive devices â usually homemade gasoline bombs. Almost all said they were guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I was jus' standin' on the corner with my homies, lookin' for muslim chicks to harrass, and dese coppers start beatin' on us ..."
Human rights groups fear fast-track trials like the ones held in Bobigny this week could fuel a sense of injustice among the defendants, most of them French-born children of Arab and black African immigrants who already feel shunned by a country that promised them "liberty, equality, fraternity."
I think the French promised themselves 'liberty, equality, fraternity' during their revolution. Then they hacked each other up with gulliotines. I wouldn't go there if I were you ...
Bands of teenage boys in sweat shirts, hoods pulled low over their eyes, shuffled through metal detectors to sit in on the hearings of friends or relatives arrested in the riots that have rocked the suburbs of Paris for nearly two weeks and have spread across France. Armed policemen in bulletproof jackets, tear gas and cuffs at the ready, warily patrolled the courtrooms and waiting hall of the fortress-like red-brick building where the unusual crowds have created an atmosphere of electric tension.
Courts are supposed to be fortress-like. Conveys a certain set of expectations ...
A police report read to the court said the 22-year-old reeked of gasoline and had traces of fuel on his hands when police caught him running from a fire. He insisted that two other people set the blaze in trash cans in the suburb of Pantin. "I only came to Pantin to buy some cannabis," said the man, whose parents immigrated from the former Yugoslavia.
"I dunno how the gasoline residue got on my hands, must be some powerful weed, dude."
The man's lawyer insisted that his client only be identified by his first name, Alexandar. The magistrate was unimpressed. After examining the evidence for 15 minutes, she sentenced Alexandar to four months in prison "given the exceptional disturbances" and called the next case amid jeering and insults from the floor.
If she were really unimpressed Alexander would have gotten a year, and the jeering section would have gotten four months each ...
The court, which has called in three extra magistrates, is dealing with some 60 riot-related cases a day under France's fast-track procedure in sessions stretching late into the night. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told parliament that police have made 1,500 arrests since the riots began Oct. 27. The number of those sentenced is increasing by the day. The Justice Ministry said Tuesday that 52 adults and 23 minors have been sentenced to prison or detention centers.
Jean-Pierre Dubois, president of the League of Human Rights, expressed concern the government was much faster in dealing out sentences than it was in addressing the social problems at the root of the troubles. "I am afraid that public authorities are currently playing with fire," he said in a telephone interview. "It is a well known fact that prison is a place where you learn how to commit more serious crimes."
The alternative is to ship the non-citizens back to their country of origin. A stretch in the slammer might start looking pretty good.
Dominique Sopo, head of the anti-racism group SOS Racisme, claimed that to his knowledge, witness accounts suggested that at least three people who'd been sentenced to prison were in fact innocent. "In the heated atmosphere currently gripping France, the fast-track procedure leaves people totally at the mercy of the mood of the moment, and so there is no serenity possible," he said.
The witnesses being totally reliable, of course ...
Prosecutors denied they were making an example of rioters. "The sentences demanded match the crimes," said Veronique Jacob-Desjardin, a prosecutor at the Bobigny court. "It is necessary that people who appear before the court know that the punishment for this type of crime is extremely serious. They risk up to 10 years in prison," she said. The message did not impress the teenagers milling around the waiting hall of the court. They have little faith in the system, saying police routinely stop and search them because of their appearance and skin color. "The police are constantly provoking us," said 19-year-old Djamel Nawar from the suburb of Aubervilliers, who had come to support a friend. "The day the police treat us decently, things will improve."
In their home countries (the ones they express "solidarity" with, not Phrance), they would have been strung up or shot on the spot (unless some cop was in a torturing mood).
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/09/2005 1:19 Comments ||
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#3
About 1800 arrests, perhaps 200(?) sentenced, and only half of them to hard time; french law is especially lax when it comes to minors, meaning that all the police can do with them is "catch and release" (even the curfew is a joke, all can be done is bring them back home).
Note that arson and such carries a 10 years potential sentence : so far most of the perps were condemned to 2 months or so, the highest being 4 months IIRC.
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) took to the Senate floor Monday to dispel allegations made by Senate Democrats and film maker Michael Moore that the White House "manufactured and manipulated evidence in order to sell the war in Iraq." In the process, Cornyn exposed inconsistent and suddenly inconvenient statements by Democrats regarding the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the necessity of removing Saddam from power.
"Do the critics need to be reminded," Cornyn asked his colleagues, "that it was a few years ago when Democrats joined Republicans in a bipartisan acknowledgement that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the world?"
He cited the Web site of Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), architect of last week's political stunt to hold a closed session of the Senate to discuss alleged manipulation of intelligence. "What is my position on Iraq?" Reid asks on his own Web site. "Saddam Hussein is an evil dictator," he answers, "who presents a serious threat to international peace and security. Under Saddam's rule, Iraq has engaged in far-reaching human rights abuses, been a state sponsor of terrorism, and has long sought to obtain and develop weapons of mass destruction."
Cornyn noted the statement was still up on Reid's Web site as of Monday, November 7.
Cornyn agrees with Reid's statement, but laments that Reid has changed his tune. "Today," Cornyn pointed out, "we are told by the same Democratic leader that somehow this administration was responsible for manipulating intelligence to authorize the war in Iraq when, in fact, he took the same position at the time that force was used."
Cornyn also cited President Clinton.
"The hard fact," Clinton warned in 1998, "is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of the region, the security of the world. The best way to end that threat once and for all is with the new Iraqi government, a government ready to live at peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people." If Saddam defies the world and we fail to respond," Clinton continued, "we will face a far greater threat in the future. Saddam will strike again at his neighbors; he will make war against his own people. And mark my words, he will develop weapons of mass destruction. He will deploy them, and he will use them."
Cornyn defends those statements.
"No one," Cornyn said, "attempted to manipulate intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq â not President Clinton, not Members of the Senate, not his administration, all of whom, based upon the same intelligence, concluded that Saddam represented an imminent threat to the national security of the United States. Instead, we found that while some of our intelligence was wrong on Hussein, it was obvious, and is obvious today, that he was a threat to the civilized world." "Giving Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt would have been a crazy and irresponsible thing to do. Of course, the 78 Senators who voted for the use of force against Saddam in October 2002 weren't buying that Saddam was some harmless individual then. So why now?"
Perhaps Cornyn answered his own question earlier in his speech, when he alleged, "The latest accusation ... is nothing more than an effort to use the war in Iraq for political gain."
Sen. Reid's office has yet to respond to Newsmax inquiries regarding this article.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/09/2005 11:16 ||
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#1
No way - the DemocRATS are using bogus facts about the war for political gain? I'm shocked!!
#2
Good. If GWB isn't going to do this then somebody in Washington has to. I guess Cheney is damaged goods right now, and Rice and Rumsfeld are busy. Might as well do it in the Senate. If I were Frist (first, I'd be more competent), I'd have a different Republican offer this up every single day. I'd make sure it was on C-SPAN. I'd work to get it into the press. And I'd make sure I ratcheted up the obnoxiousness level, in calibrated steps, until I got the Dems to respond.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/09/2005 11:27 Comments ||
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#3
Gosh. The people elected the Republicans as a majority, and they are finally standing up and speaking.
#4
The Dems managed to get the red state chattering classes prattling away for months about Plamegate and we spent no time discussing local politix and this off-year election. We lost two governor's races and ALL of Arnie's referenda. A bug or a feature? You decide.
#5
The dems and their media supporters have been very successful in getting huge numbers of people to believe that the Bush admin manipulated the intel.
However, this was only possible because the intel was wrong and the Bush admin didn't anticipate the dishonesty (the latter I suppose is another form of bad intel)
As a California resident, who voted with Arnie I am sickened. The fact that through lies, duping the typical voter in California, who has the brainpower of radish or turnip, uniongoons like this Barbara Kerr, head of the Teacher's Mafia were able to protect their defacto Totalitarian hold on California. By producing big-lie ads, and snookering so-called voters on Proposition 75.
This Kerr, and evil old broad was also, guess what? When the presidential electors met she was one of the Kerry gang, and was elected as the "chairman" of the electors. For anyone out here who has to endure her sandpaper-Tony Soprano like intonations promoting her issues, we are well aware Arnie was up against a battle royal, in retrospect he couldn't win. I pity the poor 5-year-olds who have to endure this old witch in Riverside who have to listen her in her Kindergarten classroom.
Fortunately, because her gadfly galavanting around the state, they probably have the blessing of a substitute half of the time.
As to the reapportionment issue. The commercials featured Judge Wapner. Yes, I'm not a judge (anymore) but I play one on TV, so vote against Proposition 77.
We are screwed bigtime in California. It's not Arnie's fault. He put up the good fight, and I wouldn't blame him if he threw up his hands and didn't run for re-election. Suprisingly, as bad as his poll numbers are, at this point he would still probably win, because such midgets as "Moe" Angelides the treasurer, or "Curly Joe" Lockyear, the atty general, are among the leading Dems to run for Gov... (Warren Beatty isn't running).
#7
We lost two governor's races and ALL of Arnie's referenda. A bug or a feature?
Both of those governor's seats were held by Democrats. Woulda been nice to pick them up, but it's no gain for the Donks.
While Arnold's referenda lost in CA, Soros' referenda lost in OH. Had Soros won, the Donk fraud machine would have cranked into high gear, Republican House Reps would have been gerrymandered out of office, and out-of-state union cash would have flooded the state -- while other sources were limited or banned -- in '06 and '08 to ensure Donk victories.
CA went for the Donk in '00 and '04. A loss of OH would have meant a definite loss of the White House.
Yesterday wasn't great, but it wasn't the rout the left wants you to think it was.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/09/2005 11:58 Comments ||
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#8
BigEd - time to get those back on the '06 ballot. The teachers' unions and public employee's unions (which I am required to join (agency shop), but pay no political dues) are broke - they mortgaged their property and took advances on dues to kill Arnold's measures. They have no resources. Step on their necks. They also have little to donate to their Democrat slaves in races next year.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/09/2005 12:05 Comments ||
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#9
If you accept the LLL meme that BushRove and the Diebold Corporation have conspired to rig all elections, then the results yesterday must mean that BushRove wanted them to happen, for sinister reasons probably having something to do with Halliburton.
Posted by: Matt ||
11/09/2005 12:08 Comments ||
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#10
We Texans pased a amendment to our constitution spelling out that marrige is to be only between 1 man and 1 woman by a margin of 3 to 1.
Course, that's just because we're a bunch of homophobes..
Posted by: Steve ||
11/09/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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#11
Careful, I really do not want to see a graphic of donks exposed.
Won't be prudent.
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/09/2005 13:03 Comments ||
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#12
"Don't mess with Texas" -- Steve
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/09/2005 13:05 Comments ||
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#13
Who is doin' the fightin' in Eyerack?
Red states heroes that's who.
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/09/2005 13:06 Comments ||
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#14
Frank G - Yes, the uniongoons mortgaged their asses off, I'd love to see another crack at this stuff PARTICULARLY 75!
#15
Glad to be off topic here! Since San Francisco passed measure to restrict guns and military recruiters can we now just announce that the U.S. will no longer protect SF from any foreign enemies? Also include their passage of the ban on personal guns in the county/city. I wonder which country would conquer them first? France perhaps? P.S. Sen Cornyn did a good job but was ignored by the MSM.
#17
It's not Arnie's fault. He put up the good fight, and I wouldn't blame him if he threw up his hands and didn't run for re-election.
If I were Arnold I sure as hell wouldn't. If the majority in this state can't/won't make the hard choices necessary to get itself on an even footing, then they deserve whatever problems come their way. My only hope is that I'm out of here by then.
That's been Bush's problem all along. People, here and elsewhere, yell that he is not getting the message out. Unfortunately he can't really control that. The only thing that will get out is the MSM spun version, if that.
Sure Rush and Sean and Rantburg help, but, given the incessant drumbeat of negativity from the MSM only those who really look for it will find out Bush's side of any story.
#20
So, if the unions are out of money, shouldn't those damaged by them sui now ? Would that not tie up all their funds and eventually destroy them ? It worked that way on the KKK, why not unions ? You don't have to sui the union, just the leaders. They will have no funds to fall back on, and no time to fight. Pile on.
#21
I keep telling you he need to get a borderline bitch sounding female press secretary that is gentle on the eyes. She should edgy enough that the press would want to cover her comments if only for entertainment purposes. Laced in between tirades she would sow the seeds that portray the Democrats as the fools they are. Ann Coulter would be my first choice, but I am sure there are other that would do just as good a job.
#22
Actually, there's an unwritten rule that Senators more directly represent the people than the President, so everyone in the Executive branch treads carefully, including Judicial nominees. Remember the row between VP Cheny and Reid (??), in which Cheney told Reid (??) to f*ck himself when the latter gratuitously insulted him with a Halliburton conspiracy slur. Big whoop-ass screaming until someone noted that the VP is a semi-senator because he casts tie-breaker votes.
Naturally, Democraps don't play by the rules while breaking the ones that inconvenience them.
Thus, the Senator Cornyn HAS to do it, because only a Senator has the "right" to verbally bitch-slap an offending Senator. That, and the Senator's constituents.
Hell, I believe it took place before the Civil War, but a Slave State senator used his cane to beat a Free State abolitionist senator senseless, then claimed that nothing in the Senate rules FORBADE a senator beating the shit out of another senator. That loophole got patched, but that senator got off scot free.
#23
The stuff on the ballot here in California didn't have a chance in hell of passing to begin with. A look at the map shows what was up with most of them.
Red, Blue map split on the real meat shows California needs to be 2 or 3 states.
#24
Unions are bankrupt? No more political ammo? Hell, that's what dues are for, fellas.
Posted by: ArmChair in Sin ||
11/09/2005 16:14 Comments ||
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#25
Ptah,
Not to be snarky but it wasn't a senator/senator fight, it was a Representative, Preston Brooks, who came into the Senate chamber and beat the crap out of Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner. In a speech on the Senate floor Sumner had directly insulted Brooks' cousin, Sen. Andrew Butler and roundly abused the South as a whole. He would have been challenged to a duel by numerous Southerners for his remarks but Sumner, coward that he was off the Senate floor, was known to be certain to refuse such a challenge. Besides, the Southerners thought that a bitching dog like Sumner didn't deserve to be considered as the social equal that dueling would admit him to be. Brooks decided he would teach Sumner about the costs of insulting his betters. When came upon Sumner seated in the Senate chamber, he battered Sumner into insensibility, hitting him more than 30 times with a gold-headed cane. It took most of the next four years for Sumner to recover. Brooks was fined $300 and censured by the House. He resigned, went home to South Carolina, and was vindicated by being overwhelmingly reelected. He received hundreds of canes from admirers all over the South, many of them with engraved plaques attached bearing mottoes like "Hit Him Again" and "Use Knock-Down Arguments."
Two things come to mind from this: first, Massachusetts has a tradition of having loud-mouthed scumbags as Senators, and, second, seeing somebody pull a Brooks on Leahy, Jeffords, Kennedy, Kerry, Schumer or Reid wouldn't bother me in the least. They've long since had it coming. I'd probably send whoever did it a cane too.
Posted by: mac ||
11/09/2005 20:24 Comments ||
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Top White House officials say they're developing a "campaign-style" strategy in response to increasing Democratic allegations that the Bush administration twisted intelligence to make its case for war.
White House aides, who agreed to speak to CNN only on the condition of anonymity, said they hoped to increase what they called their "hit back" in coming days.
The officials say they plan to repeatedly make the point -- as they did during the 2004 campaign -- that pre-war intelligence was faulty, it was not manipulated and everyone was working off the same intelligence.
They hope to arm GOP officials with more quotes by Democrats making the same pre-war claims as Republicans did about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
Democrats have pointed at declassified information they say shows the White House was "deceptive" in pre-war statements.
Telegraphing the beginning of a communications effort is a tactic the Bush team has used in the past, especially when it comes to Iraq.
White House officials are determined to reverse President Bush's poor poll showings on the topics of Iraq and "honesty and trustworthiness."
The White House is trying to coordinate a response from administration officials to congressional Republicans.
Republicans on Capitol Hill who have criticized the White House for failing to coordinate responses to a host of issues say Bush aides are working noticeably harder to set up meetings and conference calls to arrange a widespread response.
Aside from regular White House briefings, it is unclear which administration officials will participate in this "aggressive" response, which senior officials indicate will be unveiled in interviews and other public events.
It also is uncertain how much the president will be involved in the information campaign aside from "responding appropriately when asked," a third senior official said.
One senior official said Cheney would not participate in the White House response, despite that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has accused the vice president of being a key offender in manipulating intelligence.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/09/2005 09:48 ||
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#1
"Top White House officials say they're developing a "campaign-style" strategy in response to increasing Democratic allegations that the Bush administration twisted intelligence to make its case for war."
Is it just me, or is it really dumb to explain your strategy in advance of carrying it out?
If you're gonna do it, then do it, don't yak about it.
Threatened again with lawsuit over claim of 'outing' CIA wife
Threatened with a lawsuit for "slander," retired Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely is turning the tables on Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, calling on the man at the center of the CIA leak controversy to offer a public apology for accusing him of lying.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Vallely claimed Wilson revealed wife Valerie Plame's employment with the CIA to him in a casual conversation the year before she allegedly was "outed" by columnist Robert Novak.
Vallely said he brought up Wilson's disclosure last week because he saw Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of the alleged leak as unfinished. Wilson, he said, has made so many misstatements of fact, "but nobody has taken him to task." Why Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald did not question Wilson and Plame under oath, "is a mystery to me," Vallely said.
#2
I watched an interview with Gen Vallely on this story on Fox this afternoon. He was utterly unimpressed nor was he even slightly intimidated by the lawsuit threat. He's got Wilson by the short ones and they know it. One thing was funny, however, Vallely kept calling wifey Ms Flame, instead of Plame. Freudian? Lol.
Squeal, Wilson, you seditious little asstard. Your 15 minutes of fame are over. Your 15 minutes of infamy have begun. You and wifey are Dhimmi media whores and will someday become a verb, suchs as being Borked. Yours will refer to being outted as liars, "My Gawd! Fred just Plamed him!"
#5
Please Mr. Wilson, please tell me if your wife is really a special agent woman who can kill with her bare hands, and speak French and stuff. Oh all right. all right Dennis, yes indeed, Val is a very secret special agent woman. Here Dennis, just read this 1250 page book that I just finished writing on Val. But don't tell anyone Dennis, now run along. Gee thanks for the neat book Mr. Wilson, thats SWELL !!!!!
#7
It would be interesting if it is shown that Joe Wilson's blabbermouth outed Plame. Let's see 2002-1997, carry the 2, = 5 years, possibly within the law's time limit.
Posted by: ed ||
11/09/2005 8:13 Comments ||
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#8
This is all such nonsense. Wilson the IV is nothing but a fucking liar with an ego the size of the Sears Tower.
I'll bet, with the IV's big mouth, he told plenty of people about his wife. Especially since he had such an undistinguished career.
He's a loser riding on his wife's career for his own self aggrandizement.
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/09/2005 13:31 Comments ||
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#9
Corn = cornhole = unicorn
Posted by: Captain America ||
11/09/2005 13:33 Comments ||
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By SCOTT SHANE
Published: November 8, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 - In an apparent slip, a top American intelligence officialboob has revealed at a public conference what has long been secret: the amount of money the United States spends on its spy agencies.
At an intelligence conference in San Antonio last week, Mary Margaret Graham, a 27-year brain dead veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency and now the deputy director of national intelligence for collection, said the annual intelligence budget was $00 billion. She was seen later that evening talking to ducks at the River Walk.
The number was reported Monday in U.S. News and World Report, whose national security reporter, Kevin Whitelaw, was among the hundreds of people in attendance during Ms. Graham's talk.
"I thought, 'I can't believe she was stupid enough to have said that,' " Mr. Whitelaw said on Monday. "The government has spent so much time and energy arguing that it needs to remain classified." Unfortunately this does not mean much anymore.
The figure itself comes as no great shock; most news reports in the last couple of years have estimated the budget at $00 billion. But the fact that Ms. Graham would say it in public is a an unpleasant surprise, because the government has repeatedly gone to court to keep the current intelligence budget and even past budgets as far back as the 1940's from being disclosed.
Carl Kropf, a spokesman for the office of the director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, said Ms. Graham would not comment but mumbled ICFBTS! Mr. Kropf declined to say was told by Ponte to say nothing regarding whether the figure, which Ms. Graham gave last Monday at an annual conference on intelligence gathered from satellite and other photographs, was accurate, or whether her revelation was accidental.
Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, expressed amused satisfactionglee that the budget figure had slipped out.
"It is ironic," Mr. Aftergood said. "We sued the C.I.A. four times for this kind of information and lost. You can't get it through legal channels."
Only for a few past years has the budget been disclosed. After Mr. Aftergood's group first sued for the budget figure under the Freedom of Information Act in 1997, George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, decided to make public that year's budget, $26.6 billion. The next year Mr. Tenet did the same, revealing that the 1998 fiscal year budget was $26.7 billion.
But in 1999, Mr. Tenet reversed that policy, and budgets since then have remained classified with the support of the courts. Last year, a federal judge refused to order the C.I.A. to release its budget totals for 1947 to 1970 - except for the 1963 budget, which Mr. Aftergood showed had already been revealed elsewhere.
In court and in response to inquiries, intelligence officials have argued that disclosing the total spying budget would create pressure to reveal more spending details, and that such revelations could aid the nation's adversaries.
That argument has been rejected by many members of Congress and outside experts, who note that most of the Defense Department budget is published in exhaustive detail without evident harm.
The national commission on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, recommended that both the overall intelligence budget and spending by individual agencies be made public "in order to combat the secrecy and complexity" it found was harming national security.
"The taxpayers deserve to know what they're spending for intelligence," said Lee H. Hamilton, the former congressman who was vice chairman of the commission.
Even more important, Mr. Hamilton said, public discussion of the total budgets of intelligence agencies would encourage Congress to exercise "robust oversight." reduce funding and invest in more pork barrel spending, putting a man on Mars, or midnight basketball.
The debate over whether the intelligence budget should be secret dates to at least the 1970's, said Loch K. Johnson, an intelligence historian who worked for the Church Committee investigation of the intelligence agencies by the Senate in the mid-1970's. Mr. Johnson said shaking his head, the real reason for secrecy might have less to do with protecting intelligence sources and methods than with protecting the bureaucracy.
"Maybe there's a fear that if the American people knew what was being spent on intelligence, they'd be even more upset at intelligence failures," Mr. Johnson said.
Former director Bill Casey could not be reached for comment, but was said to be tossing and turning.
#5
What is the penalty for revealing national security secrets? Death? Drawn and Quartered? Severe letter in your permanent file? Million dollar book deal? Promotion?
NACO, Ariz. -- The "Granny Brigade," Carmen Mercer and Connie Foust, sits silently in the pitch-black desert night at their Minuteman observation post just a few yards from the dirt road and four-strand barbed-wire fence that separates the United States and Mexico.
With the temperature dropping into the low 40s and the wind whipping across the high desert, they wrap their legs in warm blankets. As sector bosses for more than two dozen Minuteman Civil Defense Corps volunteers on the night shift along what is known as the Naco line, the women, who have a combined eight grandchildren, scan the area with a night-vision scope.
Suddenly, a dozen black-clad illegal aliens, some wearing scarves over their faces, scurry out of Mexico, having crossed silently under a railroad trestle near a dirt road about a half-mile south of the border -- using the rugged terrain and the area's brushy mesquite trees as cover.
"They were on us before we knew it," said Mrs. Mercer, a petite woman with a large .38-caliber revolver strapped to her hip. "They couldn't have been more than 10 feet from us, and we were looking right at them.
"We dropped to the ground, and I don't think they saw us," she said, gesturing with her arms as she relived the moment. "We whispered into the radio to report their position, hoping someone would hear us. It was very scary, but that's what we came out here to do."
The women's call had been heard by their Minuteman colleagues and several of the illegals later were rounded up by the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded after being called by the volunteers.
Mrs. Mercer who is divorced, met and married a U.S. serviceman stationed in her native Germany in 1979, later coming with him to the United States and becoming a U.S. citizen. She said the U.S. government's inability to keep massive numbers of illegal aliens out of the country is unfair to those legal immigrants who spend years trying to become U.S. citizens.
"I love America and all that it stands for," she said. "For those of us who stood in line and waited to become a part of this great country, it is unfair that others can ignore the process and the government doesn't seem to care."
Mrs. Mercer, who owns a restaurant in Tombstone, Ariz., and Mrs. Foust, whose "retirement hideaway" with her husband, Bill, in nearby Palominas, Ariz., has been overrun by illegals, have been involved with the Minutemen effort since its inception.
The grandmothers, dubbed the "Granny Brigade" by their colleagues, led the Minuteman's October effort in southern Arizona -- targeting the more than 6,000 illegal aliens who cross into Arizona everyday through a 260-mile corridor known as the Tucson sector, only about a third of whom are caught.
"The illegal aliens eventually found out where we were stationed so they went around us," Mrs. Mercer said. "Our presence here proved that additional Border Patrol agents or National Guard troops on the border will effectively close it to illegal entry."
Somalia - NE and Eastern Coast Twenty eight incidents have been reported since March 15, 2005. Heavily armed pirates are now attacking ships further away from the coast. Ships not making scheduled calls at Somali ports are advised to keep at least 200 nm from the Somali coast.
Recently Reported Incidents
November 06, 2005 at 0648 UTC in position 02:29.3N - 048:28.2E, east coast of Somalia. Pirates armed with rocket launchers and machineguns fired upon a RORO ship underway. Master took evasive manoeuvres and increased speed to maximum. Piratesâ boats fell behind and ceased firing. Bridge windows were damaged due to gunfire.
November 05, 2005 at 1200 UTC in position 04:26.3N - 054:14.6E, off east coast Somalia. A bulk carrier underway spotted a craft drifting 16nm away. When ship came close the craft suddenly increased speed and chased the bulk carrier. Master took evasive manoeuvres, increased speed and moved away from the coast. Craft continued the chase until 1400 UTC before moving away. Craft had one derrick and master suspects this may be a mother ship to launch speedboats who attack ships.
November 05, 2005, around 0225 UTC, in position 02:59N - 048:01E, 70 nm from east coast of Somalia. Six heavily armed pirates in two boats chased cruise ship, Seabourn Spirit underway. They fired with rocket launchers and machine guns causing damage to shipâs side. Master took evasive manoeuvres and sailed away from the coast. Pirates aborted the attempt and fled. One crew sustained injuries to his hand.
October 31, 2005 at 1900 LT at Basrah oil terminal Alfa anchorage, Iraq. Three robbers armed with machine guns and knives boarded a tanker. They tied up two crewmembers at forecastle and entered accommodation. Then they took three crewmembers as hostage and went to master's cabin and fired shots at stairs. Robbers ransacked master's cabin and escaped with ship's safe.
October 30, 2005 at 0130 LT at Bahia del Sol, El Salvador. Four armed robbers boarded a yacht at anchor. They broke in to skipperâs cabin. Alarm was raised and robbers jumped into water leaving behind two machetes. An accomplice waiting in a fishing boat picked them up. Robbers then fired gun shots at the yacht before leaving the scene. No injuries to crew. Incident reported to authorities who began patrolling the anchorage during night.
EFL: But of course! Bush himself probably ordered it. By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's lawyer said Wednesday that U.S.-led "occupation forces" bear some of the responsibility for the slaying of a second colleague in the trial, and the defense team signaled it may not show up for the next session without international security guarantees. Oh, well. Guess we'll have to hang him...
Khalil al-Dulaimi, head of Saddam's legal team, spoke one day after Adel al-Zubeidi, lawyer for former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, was killed by gunmen in west Baghdad. Thamir al-Khuzaie, attorney for another co-defendant, Saddam's half brother Barazan Ibrahim, was wounded. The attack followed the slaying last month of another defense lawyer, Saadoun al-Janabi, who was found shot to death the day after the trial began Oct. 19. The killings raise doubts about Iraq's ability to hold the trial, although the Iraqi government dismissed calls to move or halt it. The second session is set for Nov. 28. Go a day, take a couple of months off. Sounds like the Massachusetts State Courts...
In a statement, the defense team said it considered that date "null and void" in the wake of the attacks because of "the very dangerous circumstances that prevent the presence" of the attorneys "unless there is a direct, neutral international intervention that guarantees" security. After the first slaying, the defense lawyers announced they had suspended further dealings with the special court trying their clients until their security was guaranteed. The latest statement appeared to harden that position in wake of the latest killing. Here's an idea. Why don't you have your clients make a few phone calls?
Abdel-Haq Alani, a key coordinator on the defense team, told The Associated Press by telephone from London that the United States was obliged to protect the lawyers as "the occupying power," a status the Americans say they do not have since sovereignty was transferred to the Iraqis on June 28, 2004.
Asked whether defense lawyers would be in court Nov. 28, Alani replied: "I believe not." Manolo! Bring the rope!
The Iraqi High Tribunal expressed regret over the dangers facing the defense lawyers and said it would "spare no effort" to "achieve justice" in the Saddam case. But first...lunchtime!
"The tribunal will take every necessary step to guarantee that all the defendants have a complete defense in the next sessions," the statement added. "This includes any necessary procedures in this regard, which the tribunal already offered to guarantee the safety of the defense council and their duties." PSA's maybe? "Please don't shoot Saddam's lawyers. Thank you very much."
Officials have said that if defense lawyers refuse to appear, the tribunal could appoint a new team. Hey! That was easy!
Al-Dulaimi, speaking in the insurgent hotspot of Ramadi, brushed aside government suggestions that pro-Saddam insurgents or religious extremists were behind the killings. No, no. Is prohibited in the Koran. Islam is peace! Don't you know that...INFIDEL!
"The occupation forces are responsible for this criminal incident, and they bear the responsibility of preserving the lives of the people regardless of their identity," he said. The "Iraqi government also has the responsibility to protect people and put an end to such actions." Evil, bad Americans! Please protect us!
He called on "all free people, the United Nations, the Arab League, Arab presidents and kings and the Arab Bar Association to shoulder the responsibility to face the tyranny of the criminal gangs that are targeting the country." If that's who you're betting on to do something, counselor, why don't you just shoot yourself in the head and get it over with?
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd and longtime Saddam opponent, also condemned the assassination and urged the rest of the defense team to accept government protection, which they had refused. Hmmmmmmmmm? Might be why they...keep getting shot?
Regardless of who was responsible, the killing of another defense lawyer reinforced grave misgivings among human rights groups and international lawyers about holding the trial in a country gripped by a brutal insurgency â much of it led by the defendants' supporters in the Sunni Arab minority. Oooooh. Grave misgivings...
"I don't understand how you can have a fair trial in this atmosphere of insecurity, with bombs going off," said Richard Goldstone, the first prosecutor at the U.N. tribunal for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and one of the world's most prominent jurists. Yeah, how's that one going...and going...and going..Dick?
He told the AP by telephone that Iraq's government should consider shifting the trial to an Arab country "where there is security." Someplace like Gaza, maybe? Associated Press correspondent Jamal Halaby contributed to this report from Amman, Jordan. Which I'm sure was read with great interest in the bar at the Palestine.
#1
Yep, and every replacement lawyer will get bumped off as well, up to the time they move the trial to the Hague and get Carla del Ponte to take over the prosecution. If that happens, Saddam's prostate will ultimately kill him; it certainly won't be a rope.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/09/2005 16:00 Comments ||
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#2
Again, just take him out and release the SOB to a mob. This smacks of the old story of killing your parents and then pleading mercy because you're now an orphan. Its the damn lawyers who are whining that the man needs to be tried. BS. Everything in life and everything in this world need not be done with lawyers [though the lawyers will disagree]. The world will be that much safer without the old cockroach.
#3
Saddam Hussein's lawyer said Wednesday that U.S.-led "occupation forces" bear some of the responsibility for the slaying of a second colleague in the trial, and the defense team signaled it may not show up for the next session without international security guarantees.
Which has no bearing whatsoever on Hussein's guilt or innocence. Stick to what you've been hired to do, Dirtbag.
#6
Bring him to Northern Virginia. He can stay at the Quantico BOQ. It will all be over in a couple of weeks. Lawyers a'plenty, prolly do it pro-bono. He'll be back home to Iraq in time for a Christmas execution. He's a dead man walking, lets get it over with and get him launched off to virgin land.
Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi deputy prime minister and leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) party, has won the conditional support of the Iranian leadership for his decision to contest the elections independently of the "Unified Iraqi Coalition." Senior officials in Tehran have also expressed their support for Chalabi as the prime minister after the Iraqi elections to be held in mid-December if he wins enough seats in parliament that qualifies him to compete with the other likely leading candidates former Prime Minister Dr. Iyad Allawi, incumbent Prime Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jafari, and Adel Abdul Mahdi, the prominent leader in the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (SCIRI) and vice president.
A high-level source in the office of Iranian Guide Ali Khomeini has disclosed to "Asharq al-Awsat" that the supreme leadership in Tehran is deeply worried these days by the rise in Dr. Allawi's political fortunes after his success in forming an expanded list that includes important parties and national figures and in the wake of signals from Shiite religious leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani indicating his dismay and frustration with the failed performance of Dr. Al-Jafari's Government on one hand and on the other the failure of the deputies from SCIRI, Al-Dawah Party, and other Shiite parties to fulfill the promises they had made and the splits in the Unified Iraqi Coalition. The source pointed out that Ayatollah Al-Sistani has not only stopped opposing Allawi's return as head of the government but there are also indications that the supreme Shiite cleric views Allawi as the only Shiite politician capable of putting an end to the interference of the Iranian intelligence services and Revolutionary Guards (IRG) in Iraq's internal affairs.
The Iranian source added that Chalabi succeeded in persuading Iranian President Ahmadinezhad and Hashemi Shamrah, his highly influential adviser, that he is the only one capable of scheduling the US and British withdrawal from Iraq, that Washington and London trust and respect him, and that his presence as the head of the Iraqi government will reduce in a noticeable way Washington's fears from Iran's growing influence. At the same time, Tehran knows very well that Chalabi will not turn into an enemy because the ties that link him to the ruling regime in Iran are solid and old and will not be affected by any political storms or sudden turns in the present alliances in Iraq.
"Asharq al-Awsat" learned that a former adviser to Chalabi who had fled to Iran after US military intelligence in Iraq accused him of providing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards with secret information about the US military and security presence in Iraq and Iraqi officials' relations with former US Governor Paul Bremer played an important role in arranging Chalabi's visit to Tehran and his meeting with the officials there, foremost of them the Iranian president, the foreign minister, and senior officials in Khomeini's office, Iranian intelligence, and the IRG.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
And, in parallel with a previous comment thanking the Black Hats for identifying those on their enemies list, I thank them for telling us who they favor. I love transparency in foreign relations, lol. Hell, in all aspects of government. The UN should give it a try, lol.
So, Chalabi, I hope we work like hell to bring you down, ya prick.
#2
.com, beware of preplanned disinformation campaigns...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
11/09/2005 3:08 Comments ||
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#3
I'd say you have a point, a very good point indeed, Mr Yee, if we weren't talking about the Mad & Crazy Mullahs. If you think about it, they have been as clear as glass for years - the only surprise being that they had been smart to keep their nuclear program under wraps for so long. When it came out they seemed to lose it entirely. I doubt they've suddenly become clever. Besides, I don't like this prick either, LOL.
#4
Interesting, but take with a grain of salt. Its an arab paper, quoting unnamed sources in Iran. It suggest what to me strains credulity - that hard line elements in Iran have given up on SCIRI and Muqty. And the takeaway from this is so overwhelming - Allawi, hes really the only hope, hes going from strength to strength, hes the one the US can trust, hes the one Sistani wants - well it gets a big hit on my planted story meter - the Allawi people, or some of Allawis many friends could be behind this story.
I mean if you like unsourced stories, that give you the inside scoop, but have suspiciously slanted agendas, you can pick up the Washington Post. :)
1) Asharq al-Awsat is a [Sunni] Arabic paper published out of Britain, and thus not exactly in the Shia mainstream
2) The Shia political alliance which Chalabi just left was otherwise composed of the Sadrists (the forthright velayat-e-faqih party, backed by a radical faction out of Qom) SCIRI (the once-upon-a-time-but-not-now-really religious-rule people, directly backed by the more mainstream government elements in Teheran) and al-Dawa, (milquetoast sort-of-supported-by-Iran Islamic party with delusions of Walter Mittyism). Chalabi just *left* the Iranian-backed coalition.
3) The Iranians have made a practice of leaking all sorts of embarrassing bullshit about their dealings with Chalabi at inopportune times. If heâs a member of the Iranian family, itâs as the red-headed stepchild, because they certainly beat him often enough.
Anyways, if Chalabi & the Iranians were trying to set up an Iranian-dominated Iraqi government, they're going about it in a damned peculiar fashion by splitting their ticket just before the elections, with both fractions making faces at each other in the local media.
Almost certainly, this is Allawi's people trying to take the wind out of the sails of a prospective secularist rival. After all, Allawi's Iraqi National Accord was based in London before the war - what's the chances that your average writer with the foremost Arabic paper in England would have INA contacts?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/09/2005 10:17 Comments ||
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#6
Interesting, but just for the hellofit, since neither of you actually said it, who would you want to win the next election?
Doesn't Allawi represent the guy with the fewest strings attached and the biggest stones for follow-thru?
#7
If I wuz an Iraqi voter, I suppose Id lean to Allawi (there are some smaller coalition parties that are much better according to some Iraqi bloggers i like, but theyre not likely to win nationwide) But I dont know id rule out Chalabi, and I certainly wouldnt expect that a Chalabi win means Iranian rule.
#8
To be honest? I'd probably vote for the Kurd slate, but then I'm a conservative who re-registered as a Democrat because there's too damned many Republicans in my part of the state.
Allawi is probably the better of the two secular Shia, if only because Chalabi is such a archery butt that I can't make heads or tails of who he actually is, as opposed to who the Jordanians, the CIA, the State Department, and the Iranians say he is.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/09/2005 12:06 Comments ||
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#9
but then I'm a conservative who re-registered as a Democrat because there's too damned many Republicans in my part of the state.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's rescue service on Tuesday welcomed a proposal by the international Red Thingy Cross to introduce a new emblem that will pave the way for Israel's inclusion into the lifesaving organization. Switzerland will host a diplomatic conference in early December to approve the proposed new emblem, to be called the red diamond-shaped thingy crystal. The conference is expected to resolve a long-running dispute between Israel and the international Red Thingy Cross.
Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service currently uses a red Star of David to identify its ambulances and medical workers, rejecting the red thingy cross used by most countries and the red moon-shaped thingy crescent preferred by Muslim nations.
But Israel has not been permitted to use its symbol on international humanitarian missions, and has been denied full membership in the international Red Thingy Cross for 57 years because of the issue. The Red Thingy Cross has said Israel was excluded because it did not use an accepted symbol, but Israeli officials have suggested correctly the policy reflected international hostility toward the Jewish state. The last major attempt to include Israel was five years ago and failed because of increased Arab-Israeli tensions.
The red diamond-shaped thingy crystal depicts a square standing on one corner, with a blank white interior and a thick red border. Dr. Noam Yifrach, chairman of Magen David Adom, said Israeli aid workers would be able to insert a Star of David symbol into the crystal when working overseas. "It is an important thing for us, to be part of lifesaving organizations that operate in the world," he said.
The 192 countries that have signed the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare are being invited to the Dec. 5-6 meeting in Geneva to debate the proposed emblem, the international Red Thingy Cross said.
Yifrach said support for Israel within the international Red Thingy Cross has grown dramatically in recent years, and he expected almost all of the Red Thingy Cross organizations to approve the new symbol. He said this was mostly due to American backing, singling out Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for their support. The American Red Thingy Cross has also been campaigning for full Israeli membership for years. It has withheld six years' of payment owed to the International Federation of Red Thingy Cross and Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent Societies - totaling approximately $34 million - since May 2000 in protest.
The American Red Thingy Cross itself faces the prospect of being excluded for not paying its dues, a gesture not lost on its Israeli colleagues. "We are a small organization, and if they did not help us, we simply would not be part of the Red Thingy Cross," Yifrach said. "We are happy to go to sleep at night, knowing that overseas somebody is thinking about us."
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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I wonder how maby out there know that the "cross" in the Red Cross represents crossed bandages, not the Christian symbol.
#4
Nope, the Red Cross emblem is the Swiss flag inverted.
It originated when a Swiss citizen was horrified by the poor care received by the wounded during Italy's liberation war (French-Italians against Austrians) so he formledan organization and tried to get to the battlefields wearing the Swiss flgs but the warring countries and possibly the Swiss government, objected about hgaving people carrying a national emblem in a warring zone. Thus the organization inverted the colors and changed name.
#5
Wrong: the Red cross on the white field is the "negative" of the swiss flag. Typical attempt to leech moral authority and an un-earned reputation for neutrality that the International red thingy showed they never had.
#8
He said this was mostly due to American backing, singling out Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for their support
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said here on Tuesday that the European Union should appreciate Iranâs approach to resuming nuclear negotiations.
Larijani wrote a letter to the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, and France on Sunday calling for fresh talks with the EU trio.
âIn our letter, we told Europe that we want to secure the Iranian nationâs right to the peaceful application of nuclear technology through resuming nuclear talks,â he said in a question and answer session at the closing ceremony of the 13th International Conference on Central Asia and the Caucasus.
In an interview with the BBC also on Tuesday, Larijani stated that the offer to resume stalled nuclear talks with Europe was his final attempt to salvage negotiations, insisting Tehran would never renounce its right to enrich uranium.
European foreign ministers have said they are studying the proposal but have yet to indicate if they will accept the offer.
The letter says Iran has a "certain and indisputable right to have access to the complete nuclear fuel cycle and enrichment capability for peaceful purposes such as research, medical, genetics, agricultural and similar applications."
It says that this right is "explicit and unambiguous" under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Speaking at the Tehran conference, Larijani said, âWe believe accessing nuclear technology is a strategic decision and therefore pursue the process of talks with Russia, China, and member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement in this respect.â
On the recent harsh remarks made by British officials about Iranâs nuclear program, he noted that such remarks should not be taken seriously since they are generally meant for media use. âI believe they have to realize Iranian diplomats are intelligent enough not to take such remarks seriously.â
The threat of referral to the UN Security Council is not an issue that can make Iran forgo the nationâs rights, the top nuclear negotiator said. Larijani stated that the resumption of talks can serve as a wise and logical way to handle the dispute over Iranâs nuclear program.
âHowever, negotiations should be based upon a certain framework and schedule and, as I have said before, dialogue is not the only way to resolve the current dispute.â
He went on to say that Iran firmly insists that its nuclear activities are for completely peaceful purposes, a claim which can also be confirmed through the International Atomic Energy Agency.
âThus, the propaganda disseminated by some countries against Iranâs nuclear activities is groundless.
âI believe the IAEA has turned into a tool for major powers, through which they pursue their unilateral policies, and today unilateralism has cast a shadow over the nuclear sphere,â Larijani opined.
The European Union has attempted to persuade Iran to permanently suspend uranium enrichment as a watertight guarantee that its nuclear program is peaceful and sees it as a condition to reopen the stalled talks.
"Our strategy is that we have to achieve nuclear technology and the resumption of⊠conversion is a sign that Iran is determined to master nuclear technology," Larijani told the BBC.
On enrichment, he said, "Absolutely it is part of our program. We are not stopping short of enrichment.
"Through the language of force and threats you cannot persuade Iran to give up this right."
But he also said the offer made to the Europeans "shows Iran's serious willingness to resume negotiations".
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi also rebuffed the European demands for Iran to give up enrichment.
"Iran will never renounce its right. The Europeans must respect the agreements from the past and, instead of making excessive demands, recognize Iran's right so the conditions of an understanding are satisfied.
"The EU's statement was surprising. We suggest the Europeans change their behavior toward Iran," Asefi told state television.
The European Union urged Iran on Monday to comply with the IAEAâs September resolution calling on Tehran to halt uranium conversion at its Isfahan plant. ROFL. Ya gotta love their chutzpah, lol. Anyone taking bets on whether France and Germany will "re-engage"?
#2
Arent these the guys who said they were going to obliterate Israel just a few days ago? Now we are supposed to believe they are level headed, like a week later?
#3
âIn our letter, we told Europe that we want to secure the Iranian nationâs right to the peaceful application of nuclear technology through resuming nuclear talks,â
How do I appease thee? Let me count the ways.
Iran has a "certain and indisputable right to have access to the complete nuclear fuel cycle and enrichment capability for peaceful purposes such as research, medical, genetics, agricultural and similar applications."
Ummmm, no. As a hostile and terrorist sponsoring nation, Iran has no right to anything except immediate regime change. They've already made it quite clear how the NPT is nothing more than toilet paper to them.
#4
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said here on Tuesday that the European Union should appreciate Iranâs approach to resuming nuclear negotiations.
And like obedient little pets, the EU does, even though they won't admit to it.
In the "huh?" department. Weird.
Islamabad - Pakistan protested to India on Wednesday after the son of a Pakistani embassy worker in India was said to have been kidnapped and bizarrely photographed with three corpses before being released.
Roshan Ali, 19, was abducted and harassed by unidentified attackers in the Indian capital New Delhi on Tuesday, said Pakistan's foreign ministry.
Pakistan summoned India's acting high commissioner in Islamabad to the foreign office and a "strong protest was lodged with him condemning the premeditated and cowardly act", the ministry added.
While he was detained at an unknown location, the teenager's hands were "smeared with the fresh blood of three dead bodies lying in the room," said the ministry.
"He was forced to hold a large bloodstained knife in his hands and to stand next to the dead bodies. He was then photographed in various poses with the dead bodies," it added.
Investigation launched
Ali's attackers stuffed a threatening hand-written note addressed to his father into his pocket and then took all his belongings before throwing him out of a vehicle after midnight, the ministry said.
The note was addressed to his father and said the teenager "should be taken out of Delhi within five days because the abductors had photographs that could send him to the gallows", the ministry added.
The Pakistani foreign ministry had asked India to carry out an investigation and to ensure that "deplorable" incidents of its kind did not happen again.
It said the Indian diplomat had "expressed regrets over the unfortunate incident and assured that an investigation would be undertaken and the results shared with Pakistan".
Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan launched a peace process in January 2004 - restoring diplomatic ties which were cut after the two countries came to the brink of war over the divided region of Kashmir in 2002.
But the rapprochement remains fragile despite recent peace moves including the opening of crossing points for earthquake relief on the military frontier in Kashmir.
Dismissing as fabricated, the story of a Pakistan High Commission official's son being abducted and forced to pose for photographs near dead bodies, India on Wednesday termed as unfortunate the attempt by Islamabad to sensationalise the issue without proper investigation.
An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said there was no corroborative report on the alleged abduction of Roshan Ali and the matter was being further investigated by the police, which sought clearance from the Pakistan High Commission for interrogating him.
Pak diplomat's son makes bizarre abduction claim
The spokesman's reaction came hours after the Pakistan High Commission lodged a protest with the Ministry alleging the abduction of Ali.
The spokesman said police investigated the matter and discovered that the threatening note, which Ali claimed had been stuffed in his hands by his abductors when they released him on Tuesday night, was actually written the same day by his Indian colleague Rahul Sharma at the computer institute NIIT.
"Rahul Sharma has acknowledged that he wrote the note at Roshan Ali's request and as dictated by him (Ali)," the spokesman said.
According to Sharma, Ali said he would use the note to scare some of his Pakistani friends, the spokesman said.
"Rahul Sharma's statement and the absence of any corroborative report on the alleged abduction clearly establishes that Roshan Ali's story is fabricated," the spokesman said.
"The rush to publicise the allegation in the media in Pakistan is an unfortunate attempt to sensationalise it without proper investigation," he said.
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 15:12 Comments ||
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Al-Qaeda has defied a global crackdown since September 11, 2001 and is now assured long-term survival even after the death or possible capture of its leader, analysts say.
Arresting or capturing Osama bin Laden would change nothing in Al-Qaeda, said Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit.
"Al-Qaeda is now a well-established, 17-year-old firm; indeed, the parts of it that developed from mechanisms that supported the Afghans against the Soviets have been operating for 25 years," Scheuer said.
"In short, Al-Qaeda is now what its founders intended: a reliable, professional organization that has demonstrated long-term durability."
Al-Qaeda's propaganda success was underscored, analysts said, by the fact that young people integrated into British society and with no apparent link to classic terrorist structures were believed to be behind the July 7 bombings on the London transport network and an attempted copycat attack two weeks later.
"From Al-Qaeda's first day to the present, Bin Laden's priority has been to incite and instigate Muslims to support and participate in a defensive jihad against the United States and its allies," said Scheuer.
"He and his lieutenants have spent large amounts of money, time and imagination to build a world-class media and propaganda apparatus," he said.
"Today, that apparatus is in full operation."
Hunted by the world's law enforcers, Al-Qaeda's ability to transform itself into a source of inspiration has ensured it will remain a threat for years to come, agreed Bruce Hoffman, chair of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency at US risk analysis group RAND.
"The phenomenon that we have seen in London and Spain, the diasporas becoming more involved in terrorism, represents a strategic choice made by Al-Qaeda several years ago when they began to actively cultivate diaspora communities for membership in the movement," Hoffman said.
"It is part of Al Qaeda's long term strategic vision that reaches far into the future," he said.
Al-Qaeda had become more of a source of inspiration to its followers than an operational force, Hoffman said.
"It mattered more to capture Bin Laden four years ago than now, because he is now more a figurehead than anything else," he said. "The movement he created will live on, I think he desired it that way from the start."
French criminologist Xavier Raufer, author of recent work "The Enigma of Al-Qaeda", said it was no longer possible to be a clandestine terrorist and at the same time run an organizational network.
"So you withdraw from the world, like Bin Laden, into the mountains and without any electronic contact. And to continue to exist on the international level you have to be scattered, with the least amount of organization possible," Raufer said.
"Of course, it would be important if someone like Bin Laden was arrested and brought to justice. But that would not mean any fewer attacks at the end of the year. Something has been unleashed and whether it is stopped or not does not depend on the life of a single man."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/09/2005 09:53 ||
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hmmm...mouth piece Scheuer spouting off again? Could it be that we are going to hear that binny boy is dead or captured soon? Usually these "it doesn't matter anyway" pieces come right before or after the announcement of a big success.
Somalia's U.N. ambassador on Tuesday criticized the U.N. arms embargo on his country and accused the international community of neglecting 15 years of suffering and near anarchy in the Horn of Africa nation. Ambassador Elmi Ahmed Duale said Somalia was not getting the support it needs to re-establish a functioning government and oust the rival warlords who have ruled battling fiefdoms in the country since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. "My government is seeking not only dialogue and reconciliation, but a real governance," he said. "We feel that our country has been neglected."
"We really need somebody to govern us. Can the Italians come back?"
Duale said the year-old transitional government cannot move forward while the 1992 U.N. arms embargo restricts its ability to form even the "basic nucleus of a police force to maintain law and order." He said he does not want the embargo removed immediately, but he hopes the African Union will present the Security Council with a plan for exempting the transitional government from the restrictions soon.
"I mean, everybody's got guns but us!"
Both Duale and deputy ambassador Idd Beddel Mohamed said the embargo also prevents the government from protecting its borders and waters. "The Somali problem is no longer a Somali problem," Mohamed said, pointing to the pirate attack Saturday against a cruise ship carrying Western tourists off Somalia's coast.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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Lol, so he's saying the pirate attacks on shipping are actually a cry for help?
and Gurkhas guarding the base perimeter will keep even the most rabid commies away F-16 Falcons take fight out of Left
KALAIKUNDA, Nov. 7. â As the Indo-US joint air exercises got underway at Kalaikunda air base from 8 a.m. today, the CPI-M leadership, which had summoned its party faithful to surround the air base, stood dismayed to find their âdisciplinedâ cadre more keen on gazing at the US F-16s and the Indian MiGs soaring skyward than shouting slogans in protest.
Amid the deafening roar of warplanes taking off and landing, the CPI-Mâs state committee member, Mr Dipak Sarkar, was heard repeatedly appealing to party loyalists to come to the rally site, a short distance away from the air station. But they clamoured around the fence to mark the boundary of the air base for vantage positions to view the flying fighter planes.
Mr Sarkarâs repeated exhortations to stop gawking at the âUS warplanes and instead spit hatred against them for killing millions of innocent Iraqisâ went largely unheeded. The protest rally turned out to be a flop show as only 30,000 Left supporters assembled against the 150,000 that the Left had promised to vaunt.
The joint air exercises continued till the evening. A senior IAF officer said that for the first time, a squadron of F-16 aircraft flew from Indian soil.
To prevent any untoward incident, a massive security arrangement was made outside the base. The Air-Forceâs Garud Force, the Armyâs Gorkha regiment and CISF men were posted along the fence inside the air station while 800 personnel from the state police force stood guard outside.
An IAF officer said: âThe objective of the exercises is to familiarise the personnel of the two air forces of the two countries with each otherâs operational procedure, technical practices and administrative methods.ââ
He said 25 fighters, including an entire US Air Force squadron of F-16s, took part in the exercises. The IAFâs Sukhoi-30, Mirage-2000, MiG-27 and Bisons, a niftier version of MiG-21s, participated.
The USAF contingent was led by Colonel Cobat Nelson while Air Commodore Atul Saikia led the IAF contingent.
The officer said the exercise passed off without any problems and to the satisfaction of the authorities. The fighters were flying in formation and during the joint air exercise, large formation tactics were adopted for an aerial target. While defence forces tried to hit the target by employing different manoeuvres, opposite forces tried to destroy with simulators.
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 00:00 ||
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Leader: "Okay , we're gonna start the chant now! - Down with the Imperialists!"
Crowd of faithful commies: "Ooooooh! Aaaaaaah! Look at that sucker GO!"
#4
Many think of Indians as sophisticated, etc, but I'll wager that's not the case for the majority - and I partically base this on my experiences in Goa and Bombay as well as knowing many of them in Saudi. Anyway, reading this and the reaction of the people made me remember Arthur C Clarke's Rule #3:
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Of course it might be that communists and socialists are, hands down, the most boring and clueless mindfucks on the planet, lol.
3rd Wing explains what happened when U.S. pilots faced innovative Indian Air Force tactics
The losing performance of F-15Cs in simulated air-to-air combat against the Indian air force this year is being perceived by some, both in the U.S. and overseas, as a weakening of American capabilities, and it is generating taunts from within the competitive U.S. fighter community.
The Cope India exercise also seemingly shocked some in Congress and the Pentagon who used the event to renew the call for modernizing the U.S. fighter force with stealthy F/A-22s and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
The reasons for the drubbing have gone largely unexplained and been misunderstood, according to those based here with the 3rd Wing who participated. Two major factors stand out: None of the six 3rd Wing F-15Cs was equipped with the newest long-range, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars. These Raytheon APG-63(V)2 radars were designed to find small and stealthy targets. At India's request, the U.S. agreed to mock combat at 3-to-1 odds and without the use of simulated long-range, radar-guided AIM-120 Amraams that even the odds with beyond-visual-range kills.
These same U.S. participants say the Indian pilots showed innovation and flexibility in their tactics. They also admit that they came into the exercise underrating the training and tactics of the pilots they faced. Instead of typical Cold War-style, ground-controlled interceptions, the Indians varied aircraft mixes, altitudes and formations. Indian air force planners never reinforced failure or repeated tactics that the U.S. easily repelled. Moreover, the IAF's airborne commanders changed tactics as opportunities arose. Nor did U.S. pilots believe they faced only India's top guns. Instead, they said that at least in some units they faced a mix of experienced and relatively new Indian fighter and strike pilots.
Maj. Mark A. Snowden, the 3rd Wing's chief of air-to-air tactics and a participant in Cope India, spoke for the 13 U.S. pilots who attended the exercise. They flew six F-15Cs, each equipped with a fighter data link for rapid exchange of target information, AIM-9Xs and a Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, he says. The aircraft had been to Singapore for another exercise and for the long, six-week jaunt it was decided not to bring along the additional maintenance package needed to support AESA-equipped F-15Cs.
Cope India was held Feb. 15-28 at Gwalior, about 150 mi. south of Delhi, where the Indian air force has its Tactics Air Combat Development Establishment, which operates late-model MiG-21 Fishbeds as fighter escorts and MiG-27 Floggers as strike aircraft. Aerospace officials who have heard the classified brief on the exercise say the MiG-21s were equipped with a "gray-market" Bison radar and avionics upgrade.
Mica-armed Dassault Mirages 2000s are also stationed there. Brought in for the exercise were Sukhoi Su-30s (but not the newest Su-30 MKIs) carrying simulated AA-11s and AA-12 Adders. There also were five MiG-29 Flankers involved in a peripheral role and an Antonov An-32 Cline as a simulated AWACS.
"The outcome of the exercise boils down to [the fact that] they ran tactics that were more advanced than we expected," Snowden says. "India had developed its own air tactics somewhat in a vacuum. They had done some training with the French that we knew about, but we did not expect them to be a very well-trained air force. That was silly.
"They could come up with a game plan, but if it wasn't working they would call an audible and change [tactics in flight]," he says. "They made good decisions about when to bring their strikers in. The MiG-21s would be embedded with a Flogger for integral protection. There was a data link between the Flankers that was used to pass information. [Using all their assets,] they built a very good [radar] picture of what we were doing and were able to make good decisions about when to roll [their aircraft] in and out."
Aerospace industry officials say there's some indication that the MiG-21s also may have been getting a data feed from other airborne radars that gave them improved situational awareness of the airborne picture.
Generally the combat scenario was to have four F-15s flying at any time against about 12 Indian aircraft. While the U.S. pilots normally train to four versus 12, that takes into account at least two of the U.S. aircraft having AESA radar and being able to make the first, beyond-visual-range shots. For the exercise, both sides restricted long-range shots.
"That's what the Indians wanted to do," Snowden says. "That [handicap] really benefits a numerically superior force because you can't whittle away some of their force at long range. They were simulating active missiles [including] AA-12s." This means the missile has its own radar transmitter and doesn't depend on the launch aircraft's radar after launch. With the older AA-10 Alamo, the launching fighter has to keep its target illuminated with radar so the U.S. pilots would know when they were being targeted. But with the AA-12, they didn't know if they had been targeted. The Mirage 2000s carried the active Mica missile. Aerospace industry officials said that some of the radars the U.S. pilots encountered, including that of the Mirage 2000s, exhibited different characteristics than those on standard versions of the aircraft.
The U.S. pilots used no active missiles, and the AIM-120 Amraam capability was limited to a 20-naut.-mi. range while keeping the target illuminated when attacking and 18 naut. mi. when defending, as were all the missiles in the exercise.
"When we saw that they were a more professional air force, we realized that within the constraints of the exercise we were going to have a very difficult time," Snowden says. "In general, it looked like they ran a broad spectrum of tactics and they were adaptive. They would analyze what we were doing and then try something else. They weren't afraid to bring the strikers in high or low. They would move them around so that we could never anticipate from day to day what we were going to see."
By comparison, the U.S. pilots don't think they offered the Indians any surprises. The initial tactic is to run a wall with all four F-15s up front. That plays well when the long-range missiles and AESA radar are in play.
"You know we're there and we're not hiding," Snowden says. "But we didn't have the beyond-visual-range shot or the numerical advantage. Eventually we were just worn down by the numbers. They were very smart about it. Their goal was to get to a target area, engage the target and then withdraw without prolonging the fight. If there were a couple of Eagles still alive away from the target area, they would keep them pinned in, get done with the target and then egress with all their forces.
"All their aircraft seemed to be capable of breaking out [targets] and shooting at the ranges the exercise allowed," he says. "We generally don't train to an active missile threat [like the Mirage's Mica or the AA-12 for the Russian-built aircraft], and that was one of the things that caused us some problems."
USAF planners here see Cope India as the first step in an annual series of exchange exercises.
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 5:49 Comments ||
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#10
Reports say 15000 people came from surrounding villages to see the show. This is wonderful family entertainment for them. Many came early so as to get a good "seat".
BTW, that airbase (Kalaikunda) was built by the United States during WWII.
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 5:59 Comments ||
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#11
Um 1) .com is right about a good chunk of indians, not many are sophisticated, but thats not to say some aren't arrogant either, and there is always something to be said about airshows in any kind of form (hell I'm indian and I agree with him for the most part).
2) John you do know cope india was for the most part a staged demo right? Look at the limitations involved. No AESA, limiting AMRAAM to 20 nm and what isn't mentioned also putting a significant % chance of missing as a factor, AA-12s given 100% kill ratio after lock on (no chance to miss assumed and at max range engagements possible), Indian forces given superior numbers PLUS AWACS and ground directed radar as well. You get stuck in a situation like that and you're basically just setting yourself up for a turkey shoot.
#12
Ah, yes, now I remember, named for TSgt Ralph Kalaikunda Jr, of the San Antonio Kalaikundas. As a service brat I grew up going to air shows all over - incredible sunburns, warm sticky orange soda, and deaf for hours afterwards. Absolutely GREAT stuff! The best of times. :)
#13
link to photo
KALAIKUNDA AIR STATION, India (AFPN)
Capt. Benjamin Freeborn and Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Tahir Shaikh discuss the order in which aircraft return to base following sorties during the Cope India exercise here. Captain Freeborn works in the air traffic control tower as the supervisor of flying for American Airmen. Squadron Leader Shaikh is the senior launch coordinator for Indian Airmen. Both deployed here for Cope India 06, which began Nov. 7. The exercise will enhance interoperability between the two air forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. John Redfield)
link to photo
F-16 Fighting Falcons, from the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa Air Base, Japan, and an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft from the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, fill the flightline here. Both squadrons and Airmen from throughout Pacific Air Forces are here participating in the Cope India 06 exercise, which began Nov. 7. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. John Redfield)
link to photo
Capt. James Munroe explains E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft capabilities to Indian Air Force radar officers during exercise Cope India '06 here. Captain Munroe is from the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan. The exercise began Nov. 7. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Martin Jackson)
A 13th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon taxis past Indian Air Force MiG-27 fighters on the flightline here. American and Indian Airmen are participating in exercise Cope India 06, which began Nov. 7. The exercise will help enhance interoperability between the two air forces. The squadron deployed from Misawa Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. John Redfield)
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 6:28 Comments ||
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#14
Ckeck out this photo. The commie drones are watching the SU-30 MK as it lands not the comrade leader...
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 6:32 Comments ||
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#15
Link
An Indian fighter aircraft Mig-29 flies, background, as Communist party leaders speak during a protest against the joint India-US exercise at Kalaikunda, about 150 kilometers (94 miles) west of Calcutta, India, Monday, Nov
#17
In the late 1980s, when Mr. Wife was doing factory start-ups in that part of the world, 70% of Indians were "economically uninvolved." While I understand that number has dropped somewhat as India has liberalized her economy, out in the traditional villages where the people continue to eke out survival as did their ancestors, how can they learn of the excitements even of the towns, not even to think of the bright lights of the cities? Once, when Mr. Wife was on his way somewhere, their car broke down, and they went to the nearby village to await a replacement. Mr. Wife was the first white man they had apparently ever seen and, just like in the tales, everyone had to touch his hair and skin to see that it was real. They were very kind, though, and kept the group fed and entertained until a bus came along to take them to their destination.
India is holding Foreign Minister level consultation with China and Russia to oppose refering Iran to security council. According to media reports, India's External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh on Monday [7 November] discussed with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing the forthcoming IAEA meeting on the Iran nuclear issue and agreed to remain in touch and work for a consensus on the matter. The telephonic conversation comes a day after Singh said he would favour revision of India's vote on Iran nuclear programme at the 24 November meeting of IAEA Board of Governors in Geneva if a resolution stronger than the one placed last time was put forward.
#1
The Foreign Minister lost his job yesterday over the Oil for Food Scandal so this "joint stand" looks quite dead.
The Indian PM is now in charge of the Foreign Ministry and this probably means it will vote against Iran again.
The FM Natwar Singh (educated at Peking University btw) was rabid on his last day, trying to sabotage the PM's deal with the US and insulting the visiting Czech President by saying that the fall of the Soviet Union was the worst thing to happen in the 20th century.
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 6:14 Comments ||
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#2
Just curious, john, but how did he get the FM post, given his views? Was it a political accommodation of some sort? Or was his derangement well hidden until he was ousted?
I'm older than dirt and I'm still amazed by the inefficiency of the Parliamentary form of government - and I presume in India it's based on the proportional (slate) voting system, to boot, as Mother England's. Designed to fail, it seems. Certainly designed to stalemate on polarizing issues.
#4
Natwar has the main qualification for the job - he is loyal to "the family" (the Nehru-Gandhi family).
He is tight with Sonia Gandhi and like several other retainers made minister, doesn't even consult with the PM. They report direct to the real power - Sonia.
He now appears to be the Congress bag man. The party itself recieved money in the Oil For Food scam, quite apart from the amount his family recieved.
The Indo-US deal was possible only because he was sent to Africa, leaving the PM free to act.
Posted by: john ||
11/09/2005 10:52 Comments ||
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#5
India is one of the countries most up to grabs in the global geopolitical game of chess -- the one in which Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Belarus Venezuela are on one side, and the United States, Japan, and most of Europe is on the other... India is one of the few countries in this position, and certainly the most important one...
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.
Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky has offered France help to restore order in the violence-stricken country, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday. Special units of Russian football fans and Zhirinivskyâs LDPR party activists could end the riots within 48 hours, he claimed. 
French Interior Minister 
Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi deputy prime minister and leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) party, has won the conditional support of the Iranian leadership for his decision to contest the elections independently of the "Unified Iraqi Coalition." Senior officials in Tehran have also expressed their support for Chalabi as the prime minister after the Iraqi elections to be held in mid-December if he wins enough seats in parliament that qualifies him to compete with the other likely leading candidates former Prime Minister Dr. Iyad Allawi, incumbent Prime Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jafari, and Adel Abdul Mahdi, the prominent leader in the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (SCIRI) and vice president. 
India is holding Foreign Minister level consultation with China and Russia to oppose refering Iran to security council. According to media reports, India's External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh on Monday [7 November] discussed with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing the forthcoming IAEA meeting on the Iran nuclear issue and agreed to remain in touch and work for a consensus on the matter. The telephonic conversation comes a day after Singh said he would favour revision of India's vote on Iran nuclear programme at the 24 November meeting of IAEA Board of Governors in Geneva if a resolution stronger than the one placed last time was put forward.
