The militant group behind a wave of bombings and kidnappings that spread chaos across Nigeria's oil heartland called Monday on the restive region's armed factions to unite and cripple Africa's biggest petroleum industry. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, also hailed moves by another militant faction to abandon a government peace initiative. MEND said any armed faction in the southern region hoping to force government concessions should band together. "We call on all genuine militant groups to unite and cripple the oil industry in Nigeria once and for all and stand strong to face a common enemy," the group said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. "The time has come for all breakaway factions to come together and wage war of a different kind in 2008."
Government officials weren't immediately available for comment. Bombings and attacks since early 2006 by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, have already trimmed about one quarter of Nigeria's estimated 2.5 million daily barrel crude production. The group announced a unilateral cease-fire shortly after the May 29 inauguration of new President Umaru Yar'Adua, but later called off the truce. Yar'Adua's government has made some efforts to reach out to militants, but a broad conference focused on peace and development for the Niger Delta has yet to materialize.
MEND said it wasn't part of the ongoing peace efforts, which representatives of ethnic Ijaw fighters said over the weekend they were quitting after several military operation in the Niger Delta, where the crude is pumped in Africa's biggest producer.
Violence is rising again in the region after MEND ended its truce, although nowhere near the levels seen before April elections, when gunbattles of attacks on oil-industry workers were nearly daily occurrences. MEND, which claims to be represent all the region's ethnic groups, lauded the weekend withdrawal of the ethnic Ijaw group from the peace parley.
Militancy in the Niger Delta is characterized by shifting alliances and criminal and political activity can sometimes be hard to separate. Much of the militants' activities is believed to be funded by the black-market sale of stolen crude oil, or gunrunning. A top MEND leader was arrested in Angola in recent months on illegal arms dealing charges. MEND itself isn't believed to have a fixed membership, instead incorporating various fighters according to needs and shared interests.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
See also CHIN MIL FORUM > CHINA OUTWITS THE EU IN AFRICA.
#2
ION, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC > WARMING OCEANS CONTRIBUTE TO ARCTIC MELT + SCIENTIST:GLOBAL WARMING "TIPPING POINTS" REACHED. May explain why GUAM [future] is densely foggier than London on land, sea, or air.
Also from NatGeograph > DEATH STAR BLACK HOLE SEEN BLASTING SMALLER NEIGHBOR [Galaxy]. Minor pre-example of GABRIEL'S SWORD. In related news, JULIA ROBERTS wants a redux of PRETTY WOMAN.
All together now, wid feeling, D *** YOU, JACK SPARROW + PIRATES OF INDONESIA [Caribbean][shaking fist angrily]!
Meantime, another Dhaka court will give order today on whether to approve of registering a sedition case against Mojaheed, Abdul Quader Mollah and Shah Mohammad Hannan, former chairman of Islami Bank, as a regular one.
On December 5, freedom fighter Fazlur Rahman filed the sedition case with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court for the three men's anti-liberation activities. Recording the statement of Mozaffar Ahmad Khan, Judicial Magistrate Ashiqul Khabir directed officer-in-charge at Keraniganj Police Station to register the double murder as a first information report. The court also asked the OC to take action against the accused after investigation into the matter.
Complainant Mozaffar said sixty to seventy other unknown activists of the three militias took part in killing, torching and looting valuables in Keraniganj on the day. He mentioned that the accused formed collaborating forces like Razakar, al-Badr and al-Shams during the liberation war with a view to exterminating the Bangali nation. Nizami was made al-Badr commander of Pakistan while Mojaheed acted as commander of its East Pakistan wing, said the complainant adding that Quader and Quamruzzaman and their other accomplices also formed the higher rung of al-Badr. The three militias took to indiscriminate killing of freedom fighters and intellectuals on orders from Nizami, Mojaheed, Quader and Quamruzzaman, he said. On directives from the four, the other accused killed countless people in Keraniganj and torched their houses. They also raped women in the area.
The plaintiff said on November 24 in 1971, when the nation was on the threshold of victory, his nephew Osman Gani and Golam Mostafa went to their houses to meet their parents and relatives. The next day al-Shams and al-Badr militias, dressed in grey, surrounded their houses and hacked them to death with sharp weapons at about 8:30am, Mozaffar said adding that he went to the spot with his force on information only to find that the four Jamaat leaders had sent in Pakistani force there who, along with their local collaborators, torched hundreds of houses and killed countless people in the area.
The two victims are state-acknowledged freedom fighters for which their families now get government allowances. The victims' families never got justice even though they went door to door for justice, he said adding that the accused were behind bars till 1975 but walked out of prison after the annulment of Collaborators Act in December 31, 1975. The complainant said as the subsequent governments ran their regimes with the assistance of al-Badr, al-Shams and Razakar, the families did not get justice from them.
Meantime, Fazlur Rahman's sedition case statement mentioned that Mojaheed, who was social welfare minister during the four-party coalition government of the BNP, denied his party's anti-liberation role on October 25 this year and also claimed that anti-liberation forces never existed in the country. On the next day, Hannan termed the liberation war a 'civil war' in a private satellite television talk show and made derogatory remarks about it. Quader Mollah at a discussion on October 31 said freedom fighters joined the liberation war to have beautiful Indian women and for grabbing Hindu property. Three criminal cases were filed against Quader with a Madaripur court for his derogative remarks.
This article starring:
ABDUL QUADER MOLLAH
Jamaat-e-Islami
Abul Kashem
Abu Mohammad Abdur Razzak
ALI AHSAN MOHAMAD MOJAHID
Jamaat-e-Islami
Ashraful Islam
Foyzur Rahman Foyaz
freedom fighter Fazlur Rahman
Golam Mostafa alias Tukub Ali
HAJI NAZIM UDIN
Jamaat-e-Islami
Judicial Magistrate Ashiqul Khabir
KG KARIM BABLA
Islami Chhatra Sangha
MATIUR RAHMAN NIZAMI
Jamaat-e-Islami
MOHAMAD ABDUL QUADER MOLLAH
Jamaat-e-Islami
MOHAMAD QUAMRUZZAMAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
Mozaffar Ahmad Khan
Osman Gani
SHAH MOHAMAD HANNAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
Islami Chhatra Sangha
Jamaat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I've got the program; still can't tell the players apart.
HONOLULU (AP) - The Japanese military became the first U.S. ally to shoot down a mid-range ballistic missile from a ship at sea in a test Monday. The U.S. military has conducted similar successful tests in the past, but this time the interceptor was fired from a Japanese ship, the JS Kongo, said the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, which carried out the test. The target warhead was knocked out about 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
Tokyo has invested heavily in missile defense since North Korea test-fired a long-range missile over northern Japan in 1998. It has installed missile tracking technology on several navy ships and has plans to equip them with interceptors.
The Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, run by the U.S. Navy, fired the target missile into the sky at 12:05 p.m. Hawaii time. The Kongo tracked the missile, then fired its interceptor three minutes later. The target was destroyed at 12:11 p.m., the Missile Defense Agency said in a news release.
Good.
The USS Lake Erie, a Pearl Harbor-based guided missile cruiser, tracked the missile target and fed information on it to a command center.
Experts say the test will likely strengthen the U.S.-Japan defense alliance. The Missile Defense Agency called the test ``a major milestone in the growing cooperation between Japan and the U.S.''
Plus-good.
But it may also deepen concerns in Beijing that Tokyo could use the technology to help the U.S. defend Taiwan if conflict erupted with China.
Double-plus-good.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
See also TOPIX > JAPAN IS FIRST US ALLY TO CONDUCT SUCCESSFUL MISSLE INTERCEPT TEST.
The IJN Kongo was commissioned in August 1913 and became one of Japans fastest battleships. Then in 1936-37, she underwent a second modernization to increase her speed to above thirty knots. Her first modernization thrust her into the battleship class. With their increased speed and armament, the Kongo became a valuable asset in World War II. She participated in the Malayan Peninsula and Java invasions and bombarded Christmas Island. She also helped out in raiding the British shipping lines in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. She was also present at the Battle of Midway. In 20 October 1944, the Kongo sailed with the rest of the Japanese Navy for a counter strike against the US navy at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She survived that battle and later attacks against her, but on the 21st of November, 1944, she was torpedoed by the US submarine Sealion and sank.
http://www.ussmissouri.com/Battleship-Japanese.htm
A picture from a console in the Indian DRDO Mission Control Centre on Wheeler Island showing the trajectories of the target and interceptor missiles, the interception point, and the tracks of the debris.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/18/2007 14:43 Comments ||
Top||
#9
No comment from the Chicoms? I'm disappointed.
Chinese proliferation of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to its client rogue states like North Korea and Pakistan (who are unable to build machine tools, automobile engines, tractors etc yet now possess nuclear missiles) in order to tie down regional rivals like Japan, South Korea and India, will result in China itself being ringed by ABM systems eventually capable of shooting down Chinese missiles and offensive systems (ICBMs) aimed at Chinese cities.
So much for Chinese strategic thought.
The desire by Mao to "teach India a lesson" for the temerity of upstaging China at the Bandung Non-Aligned conference, gave China part of Kashmir (an ice desert) but halted the steady disbanding of the Indian Army by Nehru (who disliked the military quite intensely) and resulted in permanent Indian distrust of China and the aiming of Indian nuclear weapons at Chinese cities.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/18/2007 19:07 Comments ||
Top||
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Tuesday rejected condemnation by al Qaeda of a historic meeting between Pope Benedict and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, saying the militants were afraid of inter-religious dialogue.
Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, referred to Benedict as a Pontiff who had "insulted Islam and Muslims" and criticized King Abdullah's meeting with him last month.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Zawahri's video-taped comments, posted on the Internet on Sunday, showed al Qaeda's was worried about the implications of the meeting - the first between a Pope and a Saudi monarch.
The Pope was also pursuing dialogue with a group of prominent Muslim scholars, including Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad bin Talal, Lombardi noted.
"These people want dialogue and are working toward peace," Lombardi said. "This worries those who don't want dialogue."
Zawahri has previously denounced the Pope for a speech he made last year at a university in his native Germany, when the Pontiff used a quote that associated Islam with violence.
Muslims around the world complained about the speech, but the Pope said he was misunderstood and has several times expressed his esteem for Muslims.
In the latest message, Zawahri noted that Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Al al-Sheikh was quick to condemn jihad in Iraq but not the Saudi king's visit with Benedict.
"Wouldn't have it been more appropriate for this mufti who rules according to the school of Bush to reproach his so-called guardian (King Abdullah) for his visit with the Pope," Zawahri asked, quoted by U.S. terrorism monitoring organization IntelCenter.
"Is this how the moderate creed and confrontation of polytheism is supposed to be?", he added.
Lombardi said the entire episode showed that dialogue and pursuit of peace were "gaining more weight and this is undoubtedly a positive factor".
#3
What the Vatican spokesman really said was, "Cowardy, cowardy custard!" But it was in such beautiful and literate Italian that the Reuters translators didn't feel comfortable giving out such a simple statement.
#4
LOLOL!!tw!
You Might Be a Member of the Taliban or
Al Qaeda if...
10. You refine heroin for a living, but
you have a moral objection to beer..
9. You own a $300 machine gun and a
$5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.
8. You have more wives than teeth.
7. You think vests come in two styles:
bullet-proof and suicide
6.. You can't think of anyone you
HAVEN'T declared Jihad against.
5. You consider television dangerous,
but routinely carry ammunition in your robe.
4. You've never been asked, "Does this
burka make my ass look fat?"
3. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
2. You've never uttered the phrase, "I
love what you've done with your cave."
1. You wipe your butt with your bare
left hand, but consider bacon unclean.
Hunt hard, Shoot straight, Kill clean and Apologize to no one
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/18/2007 15:15 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I'm kinda hoping we can get the Constitution changed in time to elect the Pope President.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/18/2007 15:18 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Now, now, tw.
As a Christian, the Pope is called to love these people no matter what and to seek peace. But I do have to wonder if the phrase "several times expressed his esteem for Muslims" was Lombardi's or Reuters.
#7
He's still putting the onus on the Muslims to prove they are "peaceful". He's dividing the Bloodthirsty, "kill all infidels" from the more pragmatic.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/18/2007 16:02 Comments ||
Top||
#8
I suspected that the Rooters article might have slanted the subject matter a bit, and it appears that I was right. In the Catholic online news site, zenit.org, Vatican spokeman Fr. Lombardi has this to say:
These events "are a significant fact for the whole Muslim world," the Vatican spokesman said. "The fact that these voices that explicitly wish to dialogue and commit themselves to peace would have a growing importance in Islam is evidently a fact that worries those who do not want this dialogue."
The "negative reference" to the Pope, Father Lombardi added, "is not surprising, nor does it particularly worry us." In fact, the spokesman recommended that it not be given "a great importance"
#9
He's still putting the onus on the Muslims to prove they are "peaceful". He's dividing the Bloodthirsty, "kill all infidels" from the more pragmatic.
#11
IRAN-DAILY > HAJ [Mecca] EMBODIES MUSLIM [World] UNITY - FUTURE BELONGS TO MUSLIM UMMAH [Islam]. Ummah = Islam may be saved from "HUMILIATING BACKWARDNESS" as imposed on same by outsiders over the centuries via the THREE PILLARS:
(1) UNIFIED FORTIFIED FRONT agz arrogant powers
(2) Compassion and Convergence
(3) Obedience to God-Faith/islam.
SEE IRANIAN NUCPROGS FOR (1).
* See also PAYVAND > PROFESSOR MOLANA:IRAN SHOULD CREATE "SOFT POWER" TO CHANGE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
Pakistan's Election Commission has upheld an election ban on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his lawyer said on Tuesday, barring a main rival of President Pervez Musharraf from the January polls.
Sharif, who Musharraf ousted in 1999, was allowed back from seven years of exile last month and has been campaigning for the January 8 general election despite the ban, imposed this month for past criminal convictions he says were politically motivated.
Sharif had challenged the ban, but the Election Commission rejected his appeal, saying it should be filed with an election tribunal made up of judges who swore allegiance to Musharraf after he imposed emergency rule on November 3.
"We told the Election Commission these tribunals are not properly constituted because that was done in consultation with the president but they said 'no, we cannot make an exception for Nawaz Sharif'," Sharif's lawyer, Akram Sheikh, told Reuters. "Nawaz Sharif has taken a principled stand that he would not appeal before the PCO judges," Sheikh said, referring to a provisional constitutional order promulgated by Musharraf after he invoked emergency powers.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 10:56 ||
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Although the war against Islamic militancy has focused on shadowy underground organizations such as Al Qaeda, counter-terrorism officials say there is a growing worldwide threat from an extremist group operating in plain sight in Pakistan. The group, formerly known as Lashkar-e-Taiba, or Army of the Righteous, was formed in the late 1980s and, with the support of the Pakistani government, launched attacks against India in the dispute over the Kashmir region.
In recent years, the camps that Lashkar once used primarily to train Pakistanis to fight for Kashmir have increasingly become a training ground for other militant groups and extremists who come from around the world to learn guerrilla warfare, according to current and former U.S. and allied counter-terrorism officials. And as its ranks have swelled along with anti-U.S. sentiment, they say, there is evidence that the group is working more closely with Al Qaeda and other extremist groups and may be getting more directly involved in militant activities against the West. Counter-terrorism officials cite evidence in recent years of fundraising or recruiting efforts in Canada, Britain, Australia and the United States. Inquiries are ongoing in Massachusetts and Lodi, Calif.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in December 2001 and was soon outlawed by Pakistan. It disbanded, but its founders created another group named Jamaat ud-Dawa, which functions openly in Pakistan as an officially recognized humanitarian organization.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in December 2001 and was soon outlawed by Pakistan. It disbanded, but its founders created another group named Jamaat ud-Dawa, which functions openly in Pakistan as an officially recognized humanitarian organization.
U.S. authorities consider it one and the same as Lashkar-e-Taiba and say it has continued to operate camps that train militants. The Treasury Department designated Jamaat ud-Dawa as a terrorist organization in April 2006, saying, "LET renamed itself JUD in order to evade sanctions. The same leaders that form the core of LET remain in charge of JUD."
U.S. counter-terrorism officials say the group's status as a legal organization in Pakistan makes it difficult to target the group. It has thousands of loyal supporters and close ties to a government that has done little to rein it in, they say, a factor that has been a source of tension between the United States and Pakistan. "The U.S. government . . . has voiced its concerns" about Jamaat ud-Dawa to the government in Islamabad, said Daniel Markey, who oversaw South Asia policy for the State Department until February. U.S. officials have expressed the view that "the Pakistan government cannot sit by while Islamic extremists continued to win converts and press their agenda," he said.
Pakistani officials said that Jamaat ud-Dawa is "under watch," but that the group is legal and separate from Lashkar-e-Taiba, which they insist has been shut down.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 10:03 ||
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#1
Yikes!
Johnson! Stop the presses!!
Posted by: The LA Times ||
12/18/2007 10:46 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Extremism/terrorism is a tool of Mushys government!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
12/18/2007 12:15 Comments ||
Top||
I am not optimistic that this will actually work, but I guess it is worth a try.
BUCCA, Iraq Approximately 60 detainees graduated during an afternoon ceremony Dec. 12 at Camp Buccas Hasty School Complex.
The detainee students spent seven weeks studying Arabic, English, math, science, geography and civics at a first to third-grade level. I sense a pattern here - first we hear Mookie is going back to school and now this.
Lt. Col. Andrew Wichers, 391st Military Police Battalion commander, Col. Jim Brown, Task Force Bucca commander; and Sheik Abdul Sattar, Bucca cleric and program designer, were keynote speakers. This is a great day for Iraq, Brown said. You will be able to leave here with a graduation certificate and you will know that your time here at Bucca was productive for your future and the future of Iraq.
The Hasty School Complex is part of a Task Force 134 program designed to educate detainees in order to help them obtain the tools necessary to continue their education upon reconciliation and to better themselves through learning.
Many of those we hold in the detention facilities are illiterate, disillusioned and angry, and some have become security threats to Iraq because they felt they had no other way to make a living or were influenced by radicals, said Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone, the Commanding General of Task Force 134. The educational programs can provide detainees with a basic education and an opportunity to succeed when they are released. We are helping them learn to read, write and be productive in a non-aggressive environment.
The ceremony marked the first graduation from the complex, where the detainees attended classes in the facility they helped build. Construction began Oct. 7, when classes were held in tents with desks and stools made by the detainees. The school then moved into a building made from a combined effort of Coalition forces and detainees.
For the U.S. Soldiers, this experience has been very rewarding, said Cpl. Chris Cowgill, 181st Field Artillery Battalion. The detainees have expressed how appreciative they are of the opportunity they have and the amount of effort they put in to get the school up and running.
Other educational initiatives include the Inner-Compound School which is taught by both hired and detainee teachers in 17 compounds to more than 3,000 detainees at Camp Bucca, and a work and vocational training program that enables detainees to send money home to support their families.
#1
With a third grade education these people will not become senior bomb makers any time soon. But just being able to read, and having a belief in the science, geography and civics they worked so hard to acquire, will make less succeptible to every passing mullah -- a very good thing.
Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer who had a hand in The Associated Presss 2005 Pulitzer Prize for photography before being jailed without charges by the United States military, finally had a day in court last week. But his story, which highlights the unprecedented role that Iraqis are playing in news coverage of the war, is really just beginning.
He was held for around 20 months by the military in Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere, with no right to contest his detention before being turned over to an Iraqi magistrate, who will act as a one-man grand jury and decide if there is enough evidence to link him to the insurgency. He has not been formally charged with a crime.
The Associated Press has staunchly defended Mr. Hussein, pointing out that his role as a journalist involved getting close to the insurgency. Over the last three years, the American military has held at least eight other Iraqi journalists for periods of weeks or month without charges and released them all, apparently unable to find ties to the insurgency, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent nonprofit organization.
As for Mr. Hussein and his lawyers, they were not given a copy of the materials that were presented and which they need to prepare a defense, The Associated Press said in a statement last week, noting that Mr. Hussein was still being detained without formal charges. The Associated Press continues to believe that claims Bilal is involved with insurgent activities are false.
A spokesman for the military said that Mr. Hussein had been detained as an imperative security threat and that he has persistently been treated fairly, humanely and in accordance with all applicable law.
In a lengthy e-mail message, the spokesman said that Mr. Hussein had been named by sources as having possessed foreknowledge of an improvised explosive device (I.E.D.) attack on American and Iraqi forces, that he was standing next to the I.E.D. triggerman at the time of the attempted attack, and that he conspired with the I.E.D. triggerman to synchronize his photograph with the explosion.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the military would press on with its operations against Kurdish guerrillas after a series of cross-border actions into Iraq in recent days. "Our army is doing whatever is necessary. Our security forces will continue to do whatever is necessary," Erdogan told a news conference when asked about reports of a limited land offensive against the PKK in northern Iraq on Tuesday.
A senior Turkish military official, who declined to be named, told Reuters earlier Turkish troops engaged in a limited clash with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) across the border.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 10:24 ||
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The Iraqi Oil Tanker Co. launched its first new ship in 27 years Monday, and delivery of two more tankers is expected within three months. The Dijlah the name for the Tigris River in Arabic was inaugurated in the southern port city of Basra, officials said. The 14,000-ton capacity, Chinese-built ship will help ease export problems Iraq has encountered as its beleaguered but vital oil industry begins to recover from years of war and neglect, officials said.
BAGHDAD - The leader of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia movement has quietly resumed seminary studies toward attaining the title of ayatollah a goal that could make firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army an even more formidable power broker in Iraq.
Al-Sadr's objectives described to The Associated Press by close aides are part of increasingly bitter Shiite-on-Shiite battles for control of Iraq's southern oil fields, the lucrative pilgrim trade to Shiite holy cities and the nation's strategic Persian Gulf outlet. The endgame among Iraq's majority Shiites also means long-term influence over Iraqi political and financial affairs as the Pentagon and its allies look to scale down their military presence in the coming year.
Al-Sadr's backers remain main players in the showdowns across the region, where fears of even more bloodshed are rising following Wednesday's triple car bombing in one of the area's main urban hubs. At least 25 people were killed and scores wounded. But al-Sadr who was last seen publicly in May is also confronting the most serious challenges to his influence, which includes sway over a bloc in parliament and a militia force that numbers as many as 60,000 by some estimates.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ayatollah U
Big finals coming up in "Smiting the Infidel" and "Creative Moustache Curses", I hear.
ARBIL, Iraq - The Kurdish regional government in north Iraq has agreed to delay by six months the referendum on the future of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, easing immediate tensions among the mixed population.
Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the autonomous Kurdish government, told AFP that his government favoured postponing the vote. The regional government is in favour of this extension, said Barzani after meeting in the central city of Najaf with the Shias most influential cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani.
According to article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, the referendum had been due to be held by the end of 2007 to decide whether the region with its oil wealth should go under the control of the autonomous Kurdish government.
Barzani said the vote had been delayed for technical reasons. He added that the six-month extension should be used for a UN-supervised mechanism to sort out the issue of Kirkuk, which sits on the second-largest oil and gas reserves in Iraq.
The Kurdish parliament, which heard UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura support a six-month postponement, should soon ratify such a delay, MPs said. Your reaction should be dictated by reason and not by passion, de Mistura told parliament. If not, everyone will suffer the consequences of it.
Adnan Al Mufti, spokesman for the Kurdish parliament, described the idea of an extension as positive. But he told fellow MPs: You have the last word.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Iraqis seem to be getting the democracy thing.
Led by Europe, international donors on Monday pledged $7.4 billion over three years to help Palestinians as new peace talks begin with Israel, yet old Mideast fights over disputed land and freedom of movement shadowed the largest show of support for the Palestinians in more than a decade. I planned to post more of this article, but found the going too difficult. This staggering amount of money is instantly dismissed in favor of whining, seething and hyperventilating about Hamastan. The goalposts move visibly as you read down the page. This is absolutely shameful.
#3
OTOH, IRIN/TOPIX > RISING SEA LEVELS MAY LEAD TO NEW ME TENSIONS. Global Warming = rising regional-world seas = freshwater aquifer in Gaza [coastal Israel]threatened = Paleos in Gaza threatened. LUCIANNE > NO MORE WORLD RECORDS AFTER 2060. Humans already using 99% of present body capacity.
ION, MORE NEW "LANDS" SEEN IN THE SKIES OVER GUAM, AWAY FROM GUAM. Hmmmm, Future Northern Guam + future massive tsunamis [Apophis? 2030?].
WILL PAULA ABDUL = ANN COULTER = PARIS/LINDSAY REMEMBERETH???
#4
LION IN WINTER > Katherine Hepburn as QUEEN ELEANOR OF AQUITANE - And now, my children, you know the importance of sex = MTV Headbangers Ball upon history.
#6
mhw - the money is all in gift cards redeemable at establishments owned by various 'friends' of leading politicians, or something like that (hey, it's how the Katrina relief worked.)
Posted by: ed ||
12/18/2007 7:56 Comments ||
Top||
#8
I believe the reason they need this money is because so many of the last round of promises were never fulfilled. So we must wait patiently to find out what $7.4 billion means in the real world.
#12
"The United States would give $555 million of that. The U.S. money includes about $400 million that the White House announced but has not been approved by Congress."
Hopefully Rice is using the Gore Kyoto approach and this will die on Capitol Hill too.
The zebibah, Arabic for raisin, is a dark circle of callused skin, or in some cases a protruding bump, between the hairline and the eyebrows. It emerges on the spot where worshipers press their foreheads into the ground during their daily prayers.
The zebibah is a way to show how important religion is for us, said Muhammad al-Bikali, a hairstylist in Cairo, in an interview last month. Mr. Bikali had a well-trimmed mustache and an ever-so-subtle brown spot just beneath his hairline. It shows how religious we are. It is a mark from God.
But the zebibah is primarily a phenomenon of Egypt. Muslim men pray throughout the Arab world. Indeed, Egyptian women pray, but few of them end up with a prayer bump. So why do so many Egyptian men press so hard when they pray?
If we just take it for what it is, then it means that people are praying a lot, said Gamal al-Ghitani, editor in chief of the newspaper Akhbar El Yom. But there is a kind of statement in it. Sometimes as a personal statement to announce that he is a conservative Muslim and sometimes as a way of outbidding others by showing them that he is more religious or to say that they should be like him.
Hanaa el-Guindy, 21, an art student in Cairo, covers her head and wears a long loose-fitting dress to hide her figure. The outward appearance is important, Ms. Guindy said. It says, I am a good person. This is a good thing. On Judgment Day, this sign, the zebibah on their forehead, will shine. It will say, God is great.
Those symbols have seeped their way into Egypt, and are growing in popularity. More and more women, for example, are covering their faces with a niqab, a black mask of cloth that has come to Egypt from the Persian Gulf. The zebibah, however, is 100 percent Egyptian, and does not carry the negative connotation of imported symbols.
Men with long beards can still find it hard to get a job. The zebibah, on the other hand, can open doors. The zebibah can help, said Ahmed Mohsen, 35, a messenger for a law firm whose own mark was pinkish, bumpy and peeling. It can lead to a kind of initial acceptance between people.
There are no statistics on the zebibahs prevalence. But today, perhaps more than any other time in recent history, Egyptians are eager to demonstrate to one another just how religious they are.
In Egypt, its the way we pray; we probably hit our heads harder than most in order to get one, said Ahmed Fathallah, 19, as he played dominoes one evening in a Cairo coffee shop. You also have to understand that people here like to show off their piety, maybe almost more than in the rest of the Middle East.
There are many rumors about men who use irritants, like sandpaper, to darken the callus. There may be no truth to the rumors, but the rumors themselves indicate how fashionable the mark has become.
"Why are you banging your head on the wall?"
"Because it feels so good when I stop."
#2
I'd say the correlation between the zebibah and traumatic brain damage is 1.0
Posted by: ed ||
12/18/2007 14:43 Comments ||
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#3
Worf: "nice forehead"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/18/2007 15:02 Comments ||
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#4
Codex Vaticanus, the original Geek version: "and its mark is Chi Xi Sigma."
That equals 666, later presumed that 666 was what John was talking about.
But was he?
This image contains "Swords of Islam" and "Bismillah"--a sign that is translated as "In the Name of Allah".
#9
The similarities between a Muslim worshiping so hard that he gets a mark on his forehead and a frustrated person banging their head against a solid object are eye opening.
"The number 666 is highly publicized all over the world and it is associated with evil and danger.
However, it is not what it seems. It was a Satanic trick. The trick was to prevent the people approaching the 666. Satan knew that the 666 is the book of GOD and the people should be kept away from it. According to his plan, he placed a bad image to the number 666."
They aren't even trying to hide it--they claim it and say it is "Holy". Not only that, funy thing is that the whole Islamic "End Times" eschatology is the mirror, reverse image of the Christian eschatology.
I am not partiularly enamored in any religion, but find it rather odd.
#15
The fact that these phuchs bang their noggins on pavement 5 times daily may well explain the brain damage and resulting idiot behavior. As to what this prized callous is best used for... aim point for 30 cal round.
This mostly flat carbuncle on the forehead is symptomatic of a horrific virulent disease that primilary infects Muslimes. Any person bearing such a mark on his/her forehead should be refused entry into these United States and deported forthwith. [/wishful thinking]
twobyfour, is this the source of the signs your are referencing?
#19
RD, were looking for that, thx! There are other sources that mention it. Also, one of them is Walid Shoebat that, I think, was the first one to point out the remarkable correspondnce between the Chi Xi Sigma in Codex Vaticanus and Bismillah. It may have been a factor in his conversion, but that is only my speculation.
Speaking as an atheist, I still think Islam is evil and needs to be fought. Christianity, no. Eastern thought, no. Any religion that teaches to rape little girls, mutilate them and kill any who are not like you... oh yes.
(KUNA) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday asserted that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will be banned if it launches terror attacks in future. "If one or two more incidents like the one that took place on November 28 happen in future, the government will have no option. We will have to ban the LTTE," Rajapaksa told foreign journalists at a Christmas party at his Colombo residence today, news agency Indo Asian News Service reported. The bomb attack on November 28 near Colombo killed at least 20 people. "There is a limit to government's patience and tolerance," Rajapaksa said. "There can be no peace in Sri Lanka until the LTTE is defeated militarily," the President stressed.
The Tigers have been trying to steal a part of Sri Lanka for years, killing bystanders innocent and otherwise with merry abandon. I think I'd be looking for a new president, myself -- one that would have banned them years ago, one that will ban them as his first official act. As his second official act he should hunt them down and kill them all.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Promises... written guarantees... Where's the "Smells like bullshit" graphic?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/18/2007 10:14 Comments ||
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#2
Aside from the strategic point the President is making, does this shipment change the time-table for production of weapons grade uranium in any way?
#4
I'd like to believe that Bush knows something we don't. I'd like to believe he's not as stupid as this makes him look. I really would.
For instance, maybe the Iranians secretly allowed the Ruskies to conduct inspections and that's how the CIA can claim their weapons program ended in 2003. Letting the Ruskies to do it in secret would be a way to resolve the conflict but would also allow Achmadinutjob to save face. Of course, it would mean we'd have to trust the Ruskies which seems like quite a stretch.
That's just a wild guess, wishful thinking if you will, because there really isn't any reason to believe it. I still think we should bomb the bastards.
#5
May we not live in interesting times.... but I'm pessimistic.
Believe what you will, Ebbang Uluque6305, but I think that Bush is more tired than stupid. He is still trying avoid the inevitable... Question is whether he'll have a choice before his presidency ends.
#7
I'm just trying to understand is all. Because I think it's important. But as I said before, I feel like a mushroom because they keep me in the dark and feed me cow manure.
#8
Methinks you've missed the point. Russia shipping fuel to Iran further hallows Irans claim of needing to enrich it for themselves for civilian power, becuase now they don't. They've gotten it from Russia.
Youse guys is about ready to throw in the towel right as Bush is making his best move. You're missing mate in two.
Never give up on the turn when your hole cards are the USAF and USN.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/18/2007 15:01 Comments ||
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#9
Key Bush quotes from the article:
US President George W. Bush said on Monday he supported Russian shipments of nuclear fuel to Iran for civilian power, saying they proved that Teheran has no need to enrich uranium.
"If the Russians are willing to do that, which I support, then the Iranians do not need to learn how to enrich. If the Iranians accept that uranium for a civilian nuclear power plant, then there's no need for them to learn how to enrich," Bush said.
Bush reiterated his belief that Iran was a danger as long as it continued to enrich uranium, and pointed to the recent US National Intelligence Estimate which determined that Iran had been running a covert nuclear weapons program until 2003.
"If somebody had a weapons program, what's to say they couldn't start it up tomorrow? Since they tried to hide their program before, how would we know?" he said.
Bush said that Iran was heading down a path of isolation, adding that a new round of UN resolutions was approaching. "If they [suspend their enrichment programs], there is a way forward for them that is different from the path they're headed down now," he stated.
That doesn't sound like naivete' or exhausted uncaring to me. Mike N. nailed it.
#10
Excalibur: does this shipment change the time-table for production of weapons grade uranium in any way?
My thinking is that they've got a bunch of commercial grade Uranium fuel sitting around waiting to be processed, so what's another kilo or thousand? It just has to get in line and wait. It would certainly be telling if we found a bunch of Russian fuel that was reprocessed though, wouldn't it? In any case, they'd have to be stoopid beyond belief to reprocess it. And if they didn't, then what are they doing with all those centrifuges besides either creating way more commercial fuel than they need, or (way more likely) reprocessing what they have in order to make a bomb? So logically they should shut down their line since they already have all they need. Right? Nah!!!
Iran is one step closer to being burnt toast. Even in the eyes of Europe. Will Iran figure it out?
#11
Had they truly wanted to bomb Iran they would of done so after they kidnapped our diplomats in the 70's, bombed the marine baraks in Beirut 80's, started the last Israel/Lebanon war and also their contined support of the Iraqi insurgency in killing our troops.
We have many reasons to attack them but why do we not is simply answered by that they have teeth and can bite back. They are not the Iraq that was declawed through the Iraq/Iran war, the first gulf war and finally 13 years of sanctions. They can retaliate by blocking the Hormuz, lets just say temporarily causing a world economic crisis, they can start another Lebanon/Israel war through Hizbollah which would probably draw/drag Syria into a war directly with Israel. Hamas could possibly attack in the south in coordination with Hizbolla in the north. Iraq is currently somewhat stable but that could easily change with the heavily armed Shia militias turing on American troops. Attacking Iran would result in to quote Jack Straw, "the lid coming off the pressure cooker".
Those doomsday predictions never come. That lid was suposed to come off when we invaded Iraq. Syria has already proven that it will do nothing even when attacked on its own soil. The Hezzies won't amount to much more than a massive headache for Israel unless they drop the ball again. The Shia militias, despite all of the money and influence from Iran, have already proven themselves more interested in Iraq and their own power within it than being an Iranian pawn. You should remember that just because they're Shia doesn't mean they're not proud Iraqis.
Blocking the straits is the only remaining possibility that I can see and I wouldn't count on the U.S. military not having a plan. Everytime they get into a fight in the ME, people make all kinds of predictions of dire results and so far, not a single one has come true.
And Jack Straw doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. This is the wrong site to be quoting him. Unless you intend it as sarcasm, of course.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/18/2007 18:42 Comments ||
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#13
TOPIX/NEWSDAILY > BUSH: RUSSIAN DELIVERY MEANS IRAN NO LONGER NEEDS ENRICHMENT. SSSSSHHHHHH, unless Radical Iran has a covert/hidden agenda other than peacefiiil domestic energy.
#14
JPOST > FARKASH - NIE HAS OPENED THE WAY/DOOR FOR IRAN TO GET NUKES [bombs/weapons]. Article - Iran pointed SHIHAB-3 at both Tel Aviv and Riyadh [Saudis] during test of same, + Farkash believes Iran is dev the LR missle ability to hit the US EAST COAST AS EARLY AS YEAR 2010.
Also from JPOST > INTERESTING TIMES - ISRAEL IS NOT ALONE. Israel is actually more IRAN-PROOF than Europe is.
#15
Leah, our British Columbia troll philosopher, has been wrong on everything so far that she's posted, so I'd give her points for consistency, which is nice
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/18/2007 19:44 Comments ||
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#16
Consistent, indeed. The last time Ms. Ashley commented, she quoted General Ramsey Clark, ret. when he was running for president in 2004... as if it were news today.
Just for Ms. Asley' edification, the last time Iran tried to close the Straits of Hormuz, didn't we sink their entire navy or something?
#17
Consistent, indeed. The last time Ms. Ashley commented, she quoted General Ramsey Clark, ret. when he was running for president in 2004... as if it were news today.
Just for Ms. Asley's edification, the last time Iran tried to close the Straits of Hormuz, didn't we sink their entire navy or something?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/18/2007 20:17 Comments ||
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#20
TW, Mike N, yes, it would've been a slick move if the president's name was Niccolo Machiavelli. But I am afraid Dubya is not Machiavelli. Color me skeptical. Quite a few times I saw what may have been a brilliant move if properly followed up, and turned out to be attributable to incompetence.
Saudi newspapers launched a vehement attack against Syrian Vice president Farouk al-Sharaa over remarks he made on the Lebanese presidential elections issue and assurances he gave that Syria and its Lebanese allies are better off now than they were when the Syrian forces were in Lebanon. The London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat said Sharaa "deserves to be called Farouq al sharakh," Arabic for "split," citing that "each time he speaks about politics he causes a split among Arabs."
It said Sharaa's political language "is in no way comparable to politicians," adding that his remarks on Lebanon "show the difference between Sharaa's thoughts and those of the Saudis in terms of Lebanon's stability." Al Okaz newspaper described Sharaa's comments on Lebanon as "instigative speeches." Sharaa "did not conceal his desire for the continuity of the Lebanese crisis and the constitutional vacuum Beirut is facing."
The daily AL Watan, in turn, said Sharaa "exposed his role as well as that of his colleagues in Lebanon when he stressed that he and his allies are stronger than any time before, revealing the (party) that is sabotaging the election process in Lebanon."
Sharaa had rejected "pressure" on Lebanese friends of Syria, saying "everyone now wants us to step in and pressure Aoun, Hezbollah, Berri, Wiam Wahhab, Osama Saad, Karami and Franjieh. They are all friends of Syria and they are better off now than they were when the Syrian forces were in Lebanon." Sharaa adding that postponing the elections "is not the end of the world."
Farouk al-Sharaa 69, is one of the most prominent officials in the Assad regime and served as foreign minister of Syria from 1984 until 2006 when he became vice-president of Syria. Prior to joining the government he worked for Syrian Air Lines for over a decade as an airline attendant . During the 1970s he became an active member of the Ba'ath Party. His role in the Baath party helped Sharaa in joining the Syrian regime as a diplomat without ever having any training or education in this field .This is why he acquired the the title of Undiplomatic diplomat.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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A senior Iranian intelligence officer arrived in Lebanon the week of Dec. 9, and Imad Mughniyah , Hezbollah official in charge of foreign operations accompanied the officer to his meetings there, Stratfor sources said Dec. 16.
The two have held continuous talks with Hezbollah foreign operations officers in meetings attended by Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa. They later traveled to the town of Nabi Sheit in the northern Biqaa, then met with Syrian intelligence officers led by Brig. Gen. Ali Diab in Hezbollah training grounds in Shara near the border village of Janta.
Imad Mugniyah, a senior member of the Hezbollah militant organization has been living in Tehran . Sometimes described as a "master terrorist", Mugniyah has been implicated in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut , and U.S. Marine and French peacekeeping barracks, which killed over 350, as well as the 1992 bombings of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires . He was also linked to numerous kidnappings of Westerners in Beirut through the 1980s, most notably that of Terry Anderson. Some of these individuals were later killed such as U.S. Army Col William Francis Buckley.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Any comments from our intelligence experts and authors of the recent NIE, the National Intelligence Board (NIB).
Lebanons Communications Minister MP Marwan Hamadeh responded to Aouns statement that his negotiating terms are in a document which is inside his pocket , by saying : "These terms already exist in the pocket of Syrian President Basher al Assad and it is regrettable that Aoun found them ( the terms ) there ."
Hamadeh ridiculed todays parliament session which was intended to be the ninth planned session for electing a president . Hemadeh told Qatari satellite Channel the parliament session today turned into a math test and accused the opposition of fostering and relaying the Syrian conditions , insisting that the formation of a new government is the primary responsibility of the new president and the new prime minister.
In an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation ( LBC) , Hamadeh said that "the sole reason for the presence of the March 14 MPs at the parliament today was only the election of the President of the Republic", and pointed out that "there were positive signals, but as usual once we evaluate these signals carefully we find them to be negative. Hamadeh stressed that the " March 14 majority alliance will assume its responsibility if this situation continues and will not sit and wait for Bashar Assad to make up its mind on his next move ". Hemadeh added the majority is committed to getting Lebanon out of this presidential void at any price
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Lebanons Speaker Nabih Berri has once again postponed the election session . The new date is set for Saturday December 22 at noon time according to Mohamed Ballout, spokesman for the speaker .
Today is the day that the Lebanese parliament was supposed to meet to elect General Michel Suleiman as the compromise candidate , but signs of hope for such a meeting faded by the minute as the clock approached noon time when few MPs showed up from the opposition
The March 14 ruling majority said it planned to attend the session following an overnight deal struck with parliament speaker Nabih Berri. The deal calls for electing Suleiman as president without amending the constitution.
This was the ninth attempt since September 25 , but the parliament failed each time to meet and exercise its constitutional duty .
According to parliament sources Speaker Nabih Berri , one of the leaders of the Hezbollah led opposition met at 11:45 am with MP Walid Jumblatt, head of the Democratic Gathering Parliament bloc and at 12: 20 PM met with MP Saad Hariri , leader of the parliament majority . No details were available on the results of their talks , but judging from the postponement , the talks once again failed.
As in all previously planned sessions , the majority was hopeful of a deal but not the opposition . The opposition is trying to extract as much gain as possible from the majority before committing to the election of Suleiman .
In principle all rival parties have agreed to elect Sleiman, but they have been bickering on the procedure to amend article 49 of the constitution to allow a public servant to become president. The majority is insisting that the amendment should be done by the government in accordance with the constitution , but the opposition wants to bypass the government altogether because they consider it illegal , since all the Shiite ministers have resigned
The rival parties also disagree on the make-up of the new government and on who would be appointed to the key positions after the president is elected . The opposition calls all these basket of understanding , but the majority calls it blackmail. The Christians ( with the exception of Hezbollah ally General Michel Aoun ) are furious about the demands of the opposition. They claim that these demands will undermine the role of the president who should be a Christian Maronite , since the most important function of the new president is to form a new government .
According to parliament majority sources, Syria is opposed to the election of a new president and are pressuring their allies to refrain from accepting any deal that will end the current impasse. Syria wants to prove to the world that Lebanon cannot govern itself and therefore ( Syria) should return to Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/18/2007 00:00 ||
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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.
The militant group behind a wave of bombings and kidnappings that spread chaos across Nigeria's oil heartland called Monday on the restive region's armed factions to unite and cripple Africa's biggest petroleum industry. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, also hailed moves by another militant faction to abandon a government peace initiative. MEND said any armed faction in the southern region hoping to force government concessions should band together. "We call on all genuine militant groups to unite and cripple the oil industry in Nigeria once and for all and stand strong to face a common enemy," the group said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. "The time has come for all breakaway factions to come together and wage war of a different kind in 2008." 
The zebibah, Arabic for raisin, is a dark circle of callused skin, or in some cases a protruding bump, between the hairline and the eyebrows. It emerges on the spot where worshipers press their foreheads into the ground during their daily prayers.
