A young British couple took off for their vacation in Australia and ended up in Sydney - Nova Scotia that is - because of a little glitch in their Internet ticket purchase. "I thought, 'oh my gosh, we're in Canada!'" 19-year-old Emma Nunn said Monday, standing beside Raoul Sebastian in sunny Sydney, northeast Canada, population 26,083. The problem, apparently, began in the clicking of boxes on the Internet site. I hate it when that happens to me. And I'll bet they don't even speak Canadian...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 11:02 am ||
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Sydney is a lovely town. It's quite near Halifax (where my girl-fiend comes from). I'd advise them to eat lots of lobster. The province is famous for it. Congratulations! You found my nation, all tucked away down there...(yes, that line is from "The Simpsons".)
Posted by: Jeff ||
08/08/2002 2:46 Comments ||
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They ought to thank their stars that they were trying to go to Sydney NSW in the Australian winter, and not in the Australian summer. Ending up in Sydney NS in the summer would be quite pleasant, but in the winter would be brutal with a summer wardrobe for Downunder.
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
08/08/2002 9:03 Comments ||
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Attackers struck an Afghan army base Wednesday in southern Kabul, and 15 people were killed, including 11 guerrillas. The base commander claimed the attackers were Arabs and Pakistanis. Just popped over from the NWFP to wreak a little havoc against the infidels...
The attack on the Kabul army garrison began about 7 a.m. when the guerrillas, armed with AK-47 semiautomatic rifles, rushed the post in the Bagram-i District, about six miles south of the center of the capital, said the local police commander, Col. Haji Rashid. Soldiers fought back mainly with rocket-propelled grenades. The base commander, Bismullah Khan, told The Associated Press that in a three-hour battle his men pursued the attackers as they retreated to a nearby mountain, surrounded them and killed 11. He said three of his men also were killed. A wounded civilian died en route to a hospital. One guerrilla and four soldiers were wounded. The guerrillas apparently were trapped by the soldiers and shot against a steep lower slope of the mountain, where large bloodstains could later be seen after their bodies were taken away. Dontcha hate it when that happens? It sounds like they made a mistake and attacked the trained troops, not just a pickup team of militia guys...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 10:36 am ||
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Ya know that phrase about not bringing a knife to a gunfight. I guess you should bring more than a gun if the other guys are trained and have RPGs.
On Tuesday, American troops patrolling in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province killed four men in an automobile who tried to fire on them. As the car passed the U.S. patrol, a man stood up from the car and tried to shoot an AK-47 at the Americans, but the gun misfired. The U.S. troops then opened fire. A fifth man in the car also was hit and wounded. Important safety tip here, boys and girls: if you're riding in a car passing armed U.S. forces in a combat zone, do not stand up and open fire on them. Even if your gun doesn't jam...
The men were believed to be al-Qaida members, and a large amount of cash from a country in the region - which he did not identify - was found in the car. Hmmm... There aren't that many countries in the region. There's Pakistan, and ummm... Maybe Iran, but it's over t'other way...
The provincial intelligence chief, Jan Shah, told AP that the Americans opened fire on the car when it did not stop to be searched in the Shagai area, near the provincial capital, Asadabad. He said the question of whether the men were armed was under investigation. Another important safety tip: If you're gonna open fire, make sure you're armed. (Where do they find these people?)..
Another local leader, tribal chief Haji Rooh Ullah, told the AP that the four killed were Afghans and former Taliban. He said they were all members of one family, relatives of the former Taliban provincial governor. Shah, the intelligence official, said the men had not been actively opposing the new U.S.-supported government. At least not until they started shooting at them while driving around with a carload of rupees.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 10:43 am ||
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It's oddly comforting that our enemies are this inept.
Posted by: Bruce ||
08/08/2002 7:31 Comments ||
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The 8-month-old hunt for Mullah Mohammad Omar hit close to home with Tuesday's reported capture of a brother-in-law of the fugitive Taliban leader. Other men with him fled into the Afghan mountains, the local governor said, but it was not known whether Omar was believed among them. The man, named Noorullah, brother of one of Omar's three wives, was arrested on Sunday in the central province of Uruzgan, provincial Gov. Jan Mohammad Khan told The Associated Press by satellite telephone. He said Noorullah had been "trying to carry out sabotage." The governor did not elaborate. "Our people and the Americans went into the mountains to search for his friends who fled," the governor said. He refused to say where the arrest took place or where the hunt was continuing. "I don't want to talk about that because our men are up there in the mountains right now," Jan Mohammad said. Now Mullah Omar's in real trouble. He's never gonna get his lawn mower back...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 11:05 am ||
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Iraqi MPs held a special session Wednesday, August 7, to discuss anew U.S. threats to topple President Saddam Husseinâs regime, in the wake of the U.S. rejection of two new arms initiatives and Kofi Annanâs insistence that Baghdad implement Security Council resolutions on U.N. terms. The parliament convened the second such emergency meeting in a month, a day after the U.N. chief told Iraq it must confirm it will comply with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1284, approved in 1999. Kofi? Kofi said that? Careful with that feather! You almost knocked me over...
âI look forward to receiving from your government a confirmation that it accepts the sequence of steps outlined above, along with a formal invitationâ to U.N. weapons inspectors, Annan said in a letter sent to Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri with copies to all Security Council ambassadors on Tuesday, August 6. âIt is my sincere hope that a speedy resumption of inspections will help facilitate the resolution of all outstanding issues.â Annanâs letter emphasizes that Iraq must comply with every point of Resolution 1284, especially noting âthe key remaining disarmament tasks to be completed by Iraq.â "Our staff is looking forward to working with you for a speedy resolution of this issue. Otherwise you can expect to find your butt roasted, toasted, on a platter, and surrounded by festive garnishes.
Yours truly,
Kofi"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 09:54 am ||
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Army General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf, briefed President George W. Bush at the White House Monday on a new plan for a significantly slimmed down invasion force, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The plan appeared to be the latest installment in a series of military options explored by the Pentagon for ousting Saddam Hussein. The outline presented by Franks was in line with a proposal for an invasion force 50,000 to 80,000-strong backed by heavy air power that has gained support among Bush administration officials, the Journal said. Nope, nope. That's not as good a plan as the one where the Army engineers tunnel into Baghdad from Qatar and the 82nd Airborne pops out hollering "Surprise!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 09:57 am ||
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My own latest whacky suspicion is a combo of the "we're leaking!" and the "take DISinformation, pal!" theories:
One of the earlier leaks was a serious, oh crap, honest-to-god leak. Since then we've been carpet-bombed with "plans" to obfuscate the original leak.
By the way, did you hear? We've rigged up Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter and Cat Stevens (or whatever we call him, now) with cyanide gas capsules in their fillings. They will each be trying to get missions of peace, "dialogues of civilizations", or whatever, with poor, misunderstood Hussein. If any of them get close enough, they break the capsules and martyr themselves.
Senior officials speaking on background have told me that no one really expects it to topple Iraq, but it's a popular plan nontheless...
Posted by: Mac ||
08/07/2002 19:21 Comments ||
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Saudi Arabia has made clear to Washington - publicly and privately - that the U.S. military will not be allowed to use the kingdom's soil in any way for an attack on Iraq, Foreign Minister Prince Saud said Wednesday. Saud said in an interview with The Associated Press that his country opposes any U.S. operation against Iraq "because we believe it is not needed, especially now that Iraq is moving to implement United Nations resolutions." "We have told them we don't (want) them to use Saudi grounds" for any attack on Iraq, he said. Well, fine then. We'll invade from someplace else, kill all the thugs, and then use Iraq to invade Soddy Arabia. See how y'like them apples, yer highness. (Toldja they wouldn't be smart...)
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 10:46 am ||
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Iran's judiciary said it will press charges against the official news agency for publishing a statement from an outlawed reformist party, state-run radio reported Wednesday. And cautiously it was they reported it...
The Tehran Revolutionary Court accused the Islamic Republic News Agency "of taking actions against national security and acting beyond its legal duties" by carrying a statement from the Freedom Movement of Iran. On July 27, the same court banned the group and sentenced 33 of its leaders to jail terms of up to 10 years for acting against national security and plotting to overthrow the Islamic establishment. Following the ruling, IRNA carried a statement from the party slamming the verdict as "unconstitutional." "We take it back! Our mistake! They didn't say anything..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 11:46 am ||
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Kurds living in Norway believe Iranian agents were behind the killing at the weekend of Taher Hamidi, a former Kurdish guerilla commander, Aftenposten newspaper reported on Wednesday. Have they started doing that again? Bad ayatollahs!
"This was my first thought when I heard that he had been killed," Mohammad Kharzi, a former Kurdish guerrilla who once fought with Hamidi, told Aftenposten, Norway's leading broadsheet. "The Iranians have earlier shown that they do not hesitate in killing Kurds who have been fighting for the guerilla and live in European cities." Hamidi fought for the anti-Teheran Kurdistan Worker's Party PKK during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. He was stabbed in his taxi in the western city of Stavanger, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Oslo late on Sunday. The fact that local currency worth several hundred euros (dollars) was found untouched in the taxi has strengthened the theory among Kurdish refugees in Norway that professionals were behind the killing. Norwegian police have been reluctant to comment on the murder while it is still being investigated and say they have very little evidence to work from. "Ya, sure. There's not much evidence. We have a dead body with a knife in his back, a taxi, and a trail of blood. Otherwise, not much..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 11:53 am ||
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The ultra-modern technology service was established in the DPRK. The service, situated in Sosong district, Pyongyang, provides conditions and possibility for the modernization and information of the national economy. It has opened homepage "Chomdan" in the computer network and conducted on-line business, information service and export and import agency service. Homepage "Chomdan" contains goods on order, commodity advertisement, ultra-modern lectures and questions and answers about goods. The service also gives conditioning and ordering service of ultra-modern electronic elements and goods according to the demands of customers. It makes contracts with factories and enterprises to help establish the automatic system of production processes. And it makes order and joint development of programs with different countries. It sounds so... so... ultra-modern!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 12:49 pm ||
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The link you give to "Chomdan" is actually the home page for a South Korean company of the same name.
Police arrested 19 people in a raid on a brothel in the northern city of Rasht, the conservative Afarinesh newspaper reported Tuesday. The owners, a married couple, were among those detained in the raid which followed a surveillance operation in the city, capital of the Caspian Sea province of Gilan, the paper said. Iran's mounting economic woes have led to an explosion of street prostitution in recent years, despite the use of the whip and other strict punishments by the Islamic regime over the past two decades. Hand me a tissue, please...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 01:03 pm ||
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post pics of the girls? how much they charge? discounts for Americans?
The prospects of the August 5th celebration and its deep message of "Secularity" forced the regime to limit the International Inbound-Outbound calls for several hours in order to undermine a hypothetical conspiracy of "foreign agents". Toldja they'd say that's who dunnit...
According to the latest reports, at least 3 demonstrators have been killed in Tehran alone while tens of others have been seriously injured and some of them are in critical conditions. Hundreds of others have been arrested and their families are looking for them from a detention center to another. That was the feel we got from the SMCCDI coverage...
Astonishingly, none of the foreign news agencies, present in Iran, bothered to make any kind of comment about the big scale and unprecedented event that rocked Iran. Their reporters look like to fear of getting expelled or consider their governmentsâ interests. That is significant, especially since I've still seen nothing, a couple days after the fact...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 01:15 pm ||
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There has been a small mention in the Iranian press, actually. Blogged it yesterday.
Posted by: Mac ||
08/07/2002 19:12 Comments ||
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Georgian border guards say yet another group of Chechen fighters have crossed into Georgia from neighboring Chechnya. Officials said the Chechens — whose number was not immediately known — crossed into Georgia late yesterday and were blocked by border troops. On 3 August, Georgian border guards detained a group of seven Chechen fighters after they crossed over from Chechnya. Jihad's a little hot right now, y'say?
Yesterday, Georgian border guards said they were bombarded by Russian planes from Chechnya — allegedly for the fourth time during that past week. Russia has repeatedly denied the accusations. Unlike the Georgians, the Russers aren't screwing around with those people. Maybe the Georgians should do the same.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 08:09 am ||
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In another serious blow to the anticipated U.S. attack on Iraq, Christian pacifists, in a petition addressed Tuesday, August 6, 2002, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said such an attack is nothing less than a violation of Christian moral teaching, news agencies reported. "It is deplorable that the world's most powerful nations continue to regard war and the threat of war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy, in violation of the ethos of both the United Nations and Christian moral teaching," said the petition circulated by Pax Christi, an international Catholic peace movement, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was among the 2,500-odd signatories to the petition. Hmmm... Yassss... What'd they say when Sammy stole Kuwait? And gassed the Kurds at Halabja? Uhuh. So much for their moral standing. Maybe they should circulate some petitions in Mecca? And take Mr Archbishop with them.
That's a stunning Druid costume, by the way. Or is that what Anglicans wear these days? Mr Archbishop is the one in the center, with the beard, wringing his hands...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 12:50 pm ||
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"See, see, Imam! The Christians say it is immoral to attack Iraq."
"But, are the Christians not infidels, and enemies of the True Faith? Does the Koran not teach that we are to reject their lies?"
"By Allah, you're right! We must reject the Christians' teachings! Therefore, it is the duty of all good Moslems to immediately attack Iraq. Logic compels it. Q.E.D."
Posted by: Mike Morley ||
08/07/2002 10:18 Comments ||
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Posted by: Chris ||
08/07/2002 15:14 Comments ||
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"Look, Hazel! There goes the Archdruid of Canterbury!"
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2002 21:09 Comments ||
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My fave part of the "Pax Christi" statement:
"An attack on Iraq would be both immoral and illegal. Eradicating the dangers posed by malevolent dictators and terrorists can be achieved only by tackling the root causes of the disputes themselves."
I've got news for these folk: the root cause of malevolent dictators is that they are *malevolent dictators*! What was the root cause of Pol Pot, Stalin or Idi Amin? Meglomaniacal mass murderers don't need any cause other than the fact that they are alive and kicking (ass)!
Saudi officials and newspapers responded Wednesday to a briefing given to a Pentagon advisory board that described the kingdom as an enemy of the United States and active on all levels of terrorism. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal described the briefing as "pure fiction", stressing that relations were "excellent in all fields." "Things couldn't be better. We are fine. How are you?"
"A current has been growing recently in Washington to undermine the historical relations between the kingdom and the United States, at the instigation of certain quarters who are enemies to Saudi Arabia," Okaz daily said. "The danger of this group lies in its great penetration of the institutions that decide US foreign policy." "Cheeze! Those suckers noticed! What do we do now? I know! We'll deny everything!"
Okaz said the anti-Saudi campaign in the aftermath of September 11 had influenced decision-makers in Washington "who have opened the way for this fierce attack which makes our most friendly country the most dangerous to our interests and security." They mean that a considerable faction in the U.S. doesn't want to play games with Insidious International Criminal Masterminds⢠and is willing to beat the crap out of them...
After speaking over the phone with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Prince Saud said: "The two countries have been friends and allies for over 60 years. "It is unfortunate that there are people in some quarters who are trying to cast doubt and undermine the solid and historic ties between our two countries. I am confident that they will not succeed." The official SPA agency noted that Secretary Powell "reiterated the US governments's long-standing position regarding the close and historic ties between the two countries, and emphasized that there is no change in the strong relations between them." "Oh, of course, Princie, old pal. It's all a tempest in a teacup. But just for form's sake, maybe you want to think about toning down the preachers on Fridays and cutting the money flow to the people who want to kill us? Be a nice move to kinda defuse the tensions, y'know?"
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his part said Tuesday the July 10 briefing by Rand Corp. analyst Laurent Murawiec "did not represent the views of the government, it did not represent the views of the Defense Policy Board." "You don't want to know what the real views of the Defense Policy Board are. We don't use that kinda language in public statements."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 06:28 am ||
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I don't think the potential importance of this can be overestimated. It's clear that the issue of the heart of Islamofascist terrorism being Saudi Arabia has been put on the table.
The genie is out of the bottle, and it's not going back in.
Posted by: Joel Rosenberg ||
08/07/2002 7:49 Comments ||
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The US is about to wage war with Saddam. From a strategic standpoint we need Saudi assistance in that effort. So let's "unofficially" put them on the spot....ya with us or against us? So they can "unofficially" let the oil flow and the F16s fly over.
Posted by: John Hare ||
08/07/2002 8:09 Comments ||
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What they say isn't nearly as important as what they do. If they're really bright, they'll grumble a bit about how it's all a misunderstanding and they'll start dismantling the terror machine so we can all pretend it never really happened. I don't think they're very bright, though. I think they'll continue to deny, and they'll get increasingly arrogant, and after Iraq is roundly thumped and a regime with the approximate honesty and efficiency of, say, New Jersey's installed, we'll thump the Soddies, too.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2002 8:13 Comments ||
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The royal house of saud is in pretty deep kimchee here. They are a long way from beloved by 'their people' and we really dont need them to stage our bases to attack Iraq. Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates will suffice. As far as oil goes they need to sell it much more than we need to buy it.
Ive was thinking over the weekend that the islamofacists have turned to terrorism for the same reason that the japanese turned to kamikaze attacks. The use of kamikazes was not a strategy that would win the war, but one that would help ensure the best terms of surrender, I think that same thing applied to the islamofacists.
What Im thinking is this:
1) the idea of 'islamic pan-nationalism' is dying, they've lost, they cant compete against the west in any capacity and nothing will change that. If it wasnt for an accident in geology, they would already be as gone as the people of easter island.
2) So what do you do instead? make sure you get the best terms you can quickly before youre in no position to say anything.
3) I think the screwed up. I dont think it turned out quite like they planned. Just as the japanese failed to understand that the kamikaze attacks at okinawa lead directly to the decision to drop the bomb on hiroshima.
<>
Im happy that we arent in Saudi, and I hope our 'King Khalid Air Force Base' was built by the very best government contractors we have to offer. I also hope we managed to get GPS coordinates for everything that stands upright on the site, could come in handy later....
Posted by: frank martin ||
08/07/2002 13:18 Comments ||
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A court in northern Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Nigerian teenager to six months in jail and 240 lashes for trying to have sex with a camel. The Tabuk court found the 17-year-old boy guilty of "having tried to have sexual relations with a camel," the paper said. The camelâs owner told the paper however that the young Nigerian "got into his farm and had sex" with the dromedary. "Of course it was a female. Whaddya think I am, some kinda pervert?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 08:03 am ||
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Maybe he couldn't tell the difference between a camel and an unveiled human female, never having seen one before...
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It's tempting to make the usual jokes, but...I really think that the Saudis are RASCIST and use devices like these "crimes" to get rid of blacks.
I saw a little article in the Arab News about the people "poisoning" 'our holy city" of Mecca--and they were talking about black Muslim folks.
This is one (of many, I'm sure) of the Saudis dirty little secrets.
Source is Taliban-news.com. Fair-sized grain of salt required. But, there are those dead Soddies...
The report of an attempt to murder King Fahd is the talk of the moment in the Gulf. It is claimed that on July 14, the monarchâs bodyguard fought off a band of 5 to 7 intruders, who gained entry to the palace courtyard in Jeddah through one of the main gates after setting off a large explosive charge. Three of the would be assassins were killed; the rest fled when armed reinforcements poured in from neighboring princely palaces, together with a contingent of the special Saudi counter-"terror" force. The bodies were identified as Saudi members of al Qaeda who fought in Afghanistan, escaped through Iran and arrived home last January. The identity of one of the dead assailants seriously heated factional tempers in the royal family; he is said to have been a member of the Uteiba tribe, loyal adherents of crown prince Abdullah. Well, ain't that loyal of him? Y'mean Crown Prince Abdullah, the "pro-American" guy? So, we get a hit attempt on the old man, then a week later one prince dead of natural causes and the next day another of unnatural causes. A week after that another one. And yesterday the head of the World Association of Muslim Youth. Doing a quick scan of Rantburg back to September 11th of last year, I come up with no — that's zero — dead Soddy princes...
For some months, the Sudeiri princes have warned Abdullah that his permissive policy toward returning al Qaeda fighters â and the lavish living allowances awarded them from religious institutions and charities â would lead to trouble in the kingdom. Some have hired out as bodyguards protecting the princes of Abdullahâs faction, religious leaders and tribal chiefs in the Jeddah district. Sudeiri prince Salman, governor of the Riyadh region, was fiercest in his criticism. He warned Abdullah that by making Saudi intelligence and security services grant the returning Mujahideen clearances as bodyguards for official personalities, he was effectively opening the door to al Qaedaâs penetration of the national security agencies. Ummm... Surely that's not what he intended to do?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 04:30 pm ||
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Maybe you saw it at Taliban-News, but it's a direct quote from Debka.co.
Palestinians said Wednesday noon that a senior Hamas member wanted by Israel was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. According to the report, Hussam Ahmed Nimer Hamdan was hit by the sharpshooter as he went up to the roof of his house. Went up for a breath of fresh air and came down dead.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 06:28 am ||
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Israeli troops demolished a one-story home rented by Yehiyeh Daamseh, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Bethlehem, accused of having sent several Palestinian suicide bombers to Israel. Armored bulldozers moved at daybreak to destroy the house where Daamseh had been living with his son. Daamseh and his son were in the house and were arrested by soldiers. That's the important part. The real estate is just an irritation...
Daamseh, an explosives expert, is accused by Israel of having dispatched several suicide bombers to Israel, including one who blew himself up in a Jerusalem neighborhood in March, killing 11 Israelis. The owner of the house, Omar Farhat, was not in the area, AP reported.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 11:13 am ||
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Israeli troops killed Wednesday Ziad Daas, a local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Daas had been wanted by Israel for alleged involvement in the killing of two Israeli restaurant owners in Tulkarem in December 2000. Witnesses said Israeli commandos, backed by jeeps, armored vehicles and helicopters, surrounded Daas' hideout Wednesday morning. Gunmen opened fire from inside the building, and witnesses said Daas was on the roof when he was killed by an Israeli sniper. Three other Palestinians were kiiled in this raid, Palestinian security officials said. Another Palestinian was seriously wounded, and taken by the soldiers to an Israeli hospital. Like I say, they have to make mere membership in the terror organizations a killing offense...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 06:28 am ||
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A Palestinian firing squad on Wednesday executed a convicted killer and rapist in the courtyard of Yasser Arafat's compound. The execution took place as Palestinian Cabinet ministers were arriving for a meeting. Reporters covering the Cabinet session heard the burst of gunshots. Kinda the background noise you expect at a Paleostinian cabinet meeting, huh?
Bashir Atari, 26, was sentenced to death in a one-day trial Sunday for raping his grandmother and killing two elderly women. Ramallah Police Chief Mohammed Salah said Atari was mentally ill. Yes, but what set him apart from other Paleos? I mean, other than raping grandma...
Atari had been held in a jail in Arafat's compound, but escaped in June when Israeli forces entered the Palestinian leader's headquarters. He was captured two weeks ago near his home village of Atara. On Wednesday, Atari was brought into the compound in a car, his hands tied behind his back. He was allowed to speak with a Muslim cleric before being led to the courtyard and blindfolded, a security guard said. The execution was carried out by three security officials in civilian clothing. A security official said the execution was coordinated with Israeli forces now controlling Ramallah. Israeli tanks surrounded the compound at the time. "Hey, y'all! Can we borrow a coupla those tanks for a few minutes? We're having a firing squad and we want to... Oh. Okay. Sorry I asked."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 10:52 am ||
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You mean the Palestinians practice CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!?!? Horrors! That changes my entire opinion of them! Now I will denounce them just as I denounce the United States!
Wonder how long it will be before we hear this?
Posted by: Michael Tinkler ||
08/08/2002 5:10 Comments ||
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A 16-year-old Palestinian girl was brought before an Israeli magistrate Tuesday on suspicion she planned to carry out a suicide bombing. The girl, whose named could not be published because of her age, shuffled into the courthouse, handcuffed and shackled. Wearing a bright pink shirt over a black T-shirt, she stumbled several times. She was picked up by police Tuesday in an Arab area in northern Jerusalem based on information received by Israeli intelligence that she was planning a suicide bombing, police spokesman Kobi Zrihen said. "She wasn't wearing any explosives when we found her," Zrihen said. Zrihen said she confessed to planning an attack after her arrest. Couldn't publish her name because of her age, but they did publish her picture, just in case people don't want to get too close to her in the future...
Lawyer Leah Tzemel denied her client made any such admission, saying: "There was nothing for her to confess. They did not find a thing, half of a thing, on her. "There were no explosives, and that detonator could have been for anything..."
"She told me that once, a while ago, someone offered her the chance to participate in an attack, at the time she was tempted, but did not accept," Tzemel said. She had a date that night...
The court extended the teenager's detention until Friday. I don't think they believed Madam Lawyer...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 10:58 am ||
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Police Chief Shlomo Aharonishki said it could have been an attempt to perpetrate the long-feared mega-terrorist attack. He was referring to a bomb placed this morning or last night on the underside of a truck containing 15,000 liters of fuel. The truck loaded up this morning in Pi Gelilot, near Tel Aviv, where a similar bomb eleven weeks ago damaged a truck but injured no one. Today's bomb went off after the trucker pulled into a Rishon LeTzion garage, and caused minor damage; the driver was lightly wounded. Police are investigating the exact route the truck took since yesterday afternoon. Those bastards are getting really vicious. One of these days they're going to be successful and then we can listen to them squalling about the Israeli retaliation. The only way to stop this is to go after the guys at the top, and that means the politicals...
It was reported this morning that Prime Minister Sharon met this morning with top-level security officials to discuss mounting intelligence warnings of an Arab âmega attackâ on an Israeli target. The first attempt of this nature was thwarted in April when troops in Kalkilye intercepted a car packed with explosives bound for a Tel Aviv skyscraper's underground parking lot.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 05:54 pm ||
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A source close to the Algerian Islamic front for Salvation said that the third conference for the front, which was held secretly last week in Belgium, had removed from its leadership the chairman of the executive committee abroad, Rabeh Kabeer, because of his stances in which he called for giving up "armed struggle" against the Algerian authorities. "He's not bloodthirsty enough for us, by Allah!"
The Qatari al-Jazeera TV station announced that the Islamic front for salvation rejects violence taking place currently in Algeria "but it supports the principle of Jihad in situations of legitimate self defense." Ummm... That means?
This is the first time in which the front announces condemnation of the acts of violence. A new executive commission will be elected "within 48 days" before the end of September and will chose a president for itself. Rabeh Kabeer was alienated from the Shoura council together with other officials, like the third man in the front Ahmad Zawi. Yeah. They get all squeamish when there's a few hundred slaughtered. Who needs them?
The source said that the conference which was called upon for at the request of the front's chairman Abbasi Madani, who is in home arrest in Algeria, was held in Herstal, Liaj quarters and the conference included representatives for the front "from inside" and the outside also from Europe, America and Asia with the absence of Kabeer, his partisans and Ahmad Zawi and with the aims of enabling activists inside and outside Algeria from following up the events of the conference and voting, the participants used the Internet web. It's easier to dump them when they're not there. That way you stand less chance of getting shot.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 12:05 pm ||
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Morocco has arrested 30 radical Islamists for the alleged killing of more than half a dozen Moroccans. The 30 men, arrested mainly in Casablanca, Fez and Tangiers, were all members of the hardline radical Salafiya Jihadia and Takfir Wal Hidjra groups. These are new ones to me. "Salafist Jihad" sounds pretty ominous...
The accused, who include the Salafiya's spiritual leader known only by his alias Damir (Conscience) and its operations chief Youssef Fikri, were charged with killings, theft and grievous bodily harm. Some of the accused had been in Afghanistan and were linked to al Qaeda. The statement gave no details on the date of the arrests and the exact number of people killed by the two groups but said a detailed official statement would be issued later on Wednesday. That should be pretty interesting, though it sounds like they're just in the process of getting together a minor league team in Morocco.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 12:12 pm ||
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The Takfir Wal Hijara is one of the most fanatical Islamist groups on the planet, based on the teachings of an Egyptian mullah who broke away from Qutb of the muslim brotherhood. Their main activities are killing other muslims who are 'heretics'
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08/07/2002 18:51 Comments ||
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"Islamic sources told The Observer that even bin Laden once thought the group 'beyond the pale'.
One Algerian living in London who knew Beghal said: 'Believe me, you do not want these people in your country... they will kill anybody, including their own family, if they are caught smoking or drinking."
Posted by: Paul ||
08/07/2002 18:54 Comments ||
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Some 700 protesters from a militant group which demands the introduction of Islamic law rallied Monday outside the building where Indonesia's top constitutional body is meeting. The protesters, from the Front for the Defenders of Islam, waved banners reading "Uphold Islamic sharia (law) in Indonesia" and "The country is sick and Islamic sharia is the cure". Talk about the cure being worse than the disease...
"Islamic law must be imposed in Indonesia to eradicate vices," said one demonstrator, who refused to give his name. "And we'll define what vices are, starting with singing, dancing, and pretty girls..."
Many of the protestors carried bamboo poles. Dozens of police, many of them women, stood guard to prevent them from entering the building. Why the poles? To whack people?
The People's Consultative Assembly is holding a 10-day annual session to discuss constitutional amendments including a proposal to oblige Muslims to follow sharia. On Saturday about 5,000 members of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia marched to demand legislators incorporate Islamic law into the constitution. Hizbut Tahrir, or the Party of Liberation, is a terrorist front an Islamic movement based in the Middle East and has branches in many countries. They're pretending not to be wahhabis, because so many people have caught on. They claim not to be associated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan...
Some Muslim parties have called for the inclusion in the amended constitution of a clause obliging Muslims to adhere to Islamic law. But the proposal seems certain to be rejected at the current assembly meeting. That's a relief to many, I'm sure...
At its congress last month Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, opposed efforts to make Islamic law compulsory for Muslims. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-populated nation with more than 80 percent of its 215 million people following Islam. But it is not the state religion and other faiths are widely accepted. The Islamists are working on that, though...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
08/07/2002 08:30 am ||
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We said a 10-day Parliament was good...until we saw the laws that they passed! lol
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.
In another serious blow to the anticipated U.S. attack on Iraq, Christian pacifists, in a petition addressed Tuesday, August 6, 2002, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said such an attack is nothing less than a violation of Christian moral teaching, news agencies reported. "It is deplorable that the world's most powerful nations continue to regard war and the threat of war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy, in violation of the ethos of both the United Nations and Christian moral teaching," said the petition circulated by Pax Christi, an international Catholic peace movement, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was among the 2,500-odd signatories to the petition.
