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Turkish toilet bomb kills one
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Afghanistan
Authorities in Afghanistan arrest two, seize 160 bombs
JALALABAD: Afghan border guards found 160 Russian and crudely made bombs in a truck stopped for a routine check near the border with Pakistan, official sources said Tuesday. The explosive devices were hidden in the vehicle that was loaded with vegetables, military commander Gen. Khial Baz said. Two people were arrested. Baz called the seizure a ``good achievement'' saying it has prevented a terrorist attack.
Maybe 160 terrorist attacks...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 07:59 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Karzai pulls off resignation threat
Afghanistan's powerful regional governors have agreed to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to the central government in a dispute over taxation.
Let see if they follow through with the bucks.
The deal was reached at a meeting in Kabul called by President Karzai who had threatened to resign if he did not get his way.
"Go see how much good the moeny does you when all hell breaks loose"
Correspondents say the issue has been indicative of the problems the president has had in establishing his authority across the country. The BBC's Kylie Morris in Kabul says the test now is to see if the agreement works in practice. It is estimated that provincial governors have been withholding up to $500m in annual customs revenue from the central government.
They need it - kalishnikovs cost a lot, even in Peshawar.
Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told the BBC that all of the governors and ministers have now agreed that the revenues from the provinces should be sent to the central government. They also agreed that strategies to expand the authority of the central government should be implemented immediately.
"please expand the central govt over HIS province, not mine"
Mr Jalali said the taxes would have to start to flow to stabilise the government. If not, he said, other measures would be considered. Our correspondent says President Karzai's move to summon all of the main players in Afghan politics to his palace for Tuesday's meeting was a risky strategy.
Let's see, they could have shot him, they could have gotten boomed, they could have agreed to overthrow him, they could have started killing each other.
But it has, on paper at least, worked. The governors arrived in Kabul in a flurry of four-wheel drive vehicles, even as Mr Karzai was threatening to call a loya jirga (grand assembly) if the governors failed to fall into line with him.
"Oh no, not another loya jirga!!!"
In a speech broadcast on state television on Sunday night, Mr Karzai said that day by day Afghans were becoming disillusioned with the government. He accused some provinces of collecting state revenues for their own finances and armies, adding that peace could not survive under those conditions.
"if piece is gonna survive, private provincial armies are gonna have to be limited to what Dostum and Khan can earn as musical comedy stars"
The president has expressed hope that by the end of week all provincial funds will become the funds of the central government.
I wouldnt write too many checks on that though
He has also expressed dismay at continued factional fighting. In the past week 17 people have died in fighting between local groups around the northern town of Mazar-e-Sharif.
More fun with Kalishnikovs
Posted by: liberalhawk || 05/20/2003 09:01 am || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I really believe it's time Karzi(with massive U.S.support)laid the smack down on these thugs and disbanded thier private armys.
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 6:28 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Arab denies national guardsmen sold arms to Al-Qaeda
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's national guardsmen have not sold any arms to Al-Qaeda operatives in the kingdom, Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said Tuesday, denying a US newspaper report.
"Nope. Nope. Never happened. Nope."
The arms we found are not similar to those of the national guard, Prince Nayef told a Saudi daily. A Washington based US daily reported Monday that Saudi officials were investigating suspected arm sales to Saudi-based Al-Qaeda operatives by members of the guard. Weapons seized May 6 at an Al-Qaeda safe house in the Saudi capital were traced to the National Guard, the report added, citing Saudi and US officials. Prince Nayef charged that the report was part of an anti-Saudi campaign and "unfortunately such campaigns assist these terrorists." The report was also denied by the assistant deputy chairman of the National Guard, military affairs, Lieutenant General Mutaeb bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. He is the son of Crown Prince Abdullah, who heads the force.
So she should know...
The arms used by the terrorists are Russian-made, like AK-47s, which the National Guard does not have. The explosives uncovered are Czech-made. The National Guard never dealt with these countries, he told another daily.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 08:02 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Prince Nayef, again!

This guy is really starting to piss me off.
Posted by: Chuck || 05/20/2003 20:36 Comments || Top||


Al-Qaeda Men Nabbed
At least two suspected Al-Qaeda militants were arrested on Monday. However, Saudi security officials told various news agencies and satellite TV stations that it was still unclear whether the two arrested — and a possible third suspect who may have escaped, according to US Embassy officials — were connected to the May 12 bombings in Riyadh. In Riyadh, Crown Prince Abdullah said that the Kingdom had stepped up measures to strengthen its security. He also said that the criminals who carried out last week’s attacks as well as those who helped them would be severely punished. “Those who sympathize with these renegades or justify their acts will be regarded as belonging to them,” the prince warned, while receiving the families of the victims of the Riyadh bombings. “Islam does not recognize (these terrorists). It is a religion that teaches peace and love and forbids bloodshed or any act that harms human beings or even animals,” he said.
Whoa! Big load coming! Good for the crops, I guess...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 06:41 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Remember Khobar Towers
Louis Freeh has an interesting article in today's Opinion Journal on the Saudi Hezbollah, its backing by the IRGC, and the Khobar Towers bombing.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 02:55 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Threats prompt U.S. closing of embassy in Riyadh
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday announced it was closing its embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran because of threats of "imminent" terrorist strikes. "The embassy continues to receive credible information that further terrorist attacks are being planned against unspecified targets in Saudi Arabia," said a statement on the embassy's Web site. The embassy and consulates were to close on Wednesday, the statement said, and remain closed at least through the weekend.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 05/20/2003 08:13 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ha'aretz reports Germany and the UK are following suit.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 12:33 Comments || Top||


Britain
Woman told son’s plastic sword could be offensive weapon
Hat tip to Sgt Stryker.
Police officers have reprimanded a mother-of-two for allowing her seven-year-old son to leave his plastic toy sword in her car. Karen McFarlane, 38, has been told she could face charges for having an offensive weapon after two officer spotted the toy while her car was parked in Swindon. Police told her the 30-inch sword might cause panic if it was spotted by a passer-by, reports the Daily Mail. The mother said: "I can't believe they could be so daft as to think that anyone would seriously think this toy was a real sword." She initially refused a request to put the sword in the boot, but then relented when the WPC and her male colleague threatened to arrest her. A Wiltshire Police spokesman said they had no record of the incident, and admitted anything can be adapted into an offensive weapon, "even a rolled-up newspaper, depending on how you use it."
I can't come up with any witty or biting comments to add. It's so absurd that I'm too disgusted.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 03:10 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dammit--This should be under "Britain". Must have bumped the mousewheel... Sorry, Fred.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 15:12 Comments || Top||

#2  A Wiltshire Police spokesman said they had no record of the incident, and admitted anything can be adapted into an offensive weapon, "even a rolled-up newspaper, depending on how you use it."

....Which means that in the U.K., one can actually be arrested for carrying a rolled-up newspaper, depending on whoever is evaluating the situation.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 15:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Considering that an IQ of 100 is the average by definition, half the people you meet aren't even that smart. Rational thought is a major challenge for a big chunk of the general population. Pity those "special" individuals who can be trained to carry out an occupation but are incapable of independent thought or logical analysis.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/20/2003 15:42 Comments || Top||

#4  I mourn for Britain. What happened over there? Bulldog?
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 05/20/2003 15:46 Comments || Top||

#5  "There is no such thing as a dangerous weapon. There are only dangerous men. A truly dangerous man can create a lethal weapon from anything." - my unconventional warfare instructor in the Air Force.

The difference between "potential" and "actual" is one of motivation. I doubt seriously that any of the 95% of law-abiding Britons would have worried about a toy sword. The other five percent of the population are either out ripping off some vacant flat, or trying to mug people in the park. Twits and nonsense - there's no way to escape either.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 05/20/2003 15:57 Comments || Top||

#6  Exactly, OP. "Ad-Hoc Weapons and Tactics".
Careful with that spoon, Eugene...
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 16:28 Comments || Top||

#7  I caught that reference mojo - Pink Floyd!!!
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/20/2003 16:40 Comments || Top||

#8  "One of These Days I'm Going to ...spoon ...You Into Little Pieces?" Doesn't have the same ring lol
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 18:55 Comments || Top||

#9  Old Patriot:
"...A truly dangerous man can create a lethal weapon from anything." In 1965, as part of E&E training at Ft. Benning, they taught how to use then new-to-the-world plastic credit cards as "razors" - just use a nail file to sharpen one of the long edges. They don't check for that in airports, do they?

"...The other five percent of the population are either out ripping off some vacant flat,..." Judging from what I've been reading, think that's probably closer to 20% - and they're armed.
Posted by: LVK || 05/20/2003 19:40 Comments || Top||

#10  Tony,I herd about that poor guy.Now you say one of the thieves is sueing him for loss of wages,how damn ridiculos is that?
Here in Arizona,U.S. you can shoot a thief breaking into your home but,if he falls out the window/door better drag his ass inside or else it's murder.
Saw a talk show(Oprah or one of those)in wich one of the guests was a guy recently on trial for killing a burgler,An audience member ask"Do you really think your stereo is worth someones life"
the guy replied "Don't you think that thief should have ask himself that".
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 6:49 Comments || Top||


UK: Call to legalise sale of human organs
Nothing to do with AKs in Peshawar, but quite relevant, I think, to individual and privacy rights.
The sale of human organs in Britain should be legalised, a leading transplant surgeon said today. Professor Nadey Hakim, president of the Royal Society of Medicine's transplant committee, said the controversial trade in organs should be regulated. He said a legal market would avoid the need for the growing number of cases of so-called "transplant tourism", where patients travel abroad for operations which are illegal in the UK. Professor Hakim told BBC Radio 4's File On 4 programme: "As this trade is going on anyway, why not have a controlled trade where if someone wants to donate a kidney for a particular price, that would be acceptable. If it's done safely the donor will not suffer."

A serious organ shortage in Britain means more than 5,600 people are waiting for transplants. More and more people are travelling to countries such as India, where kidneys can be bought from donors. Experts fear attempts to improve the supply of transplant organs are being held back by grey areas of the law. They say the Human Tissues Act of 1961, which enshrines most of the rules on organ transplants, is hopelessly outdated. A White Paper is due following a Department of Health consultation.

A number of ideas have been suggested for narrowing the gap between the number of available organs and patients who need them. They include "paired kidney exchanges " between one couple and another, and "non-heartbeating donation", where an irreversible lack of heart rather than brain function is taken to mean that a patient is dead. Experts believe this could increase the supply of organs by 10 to 15 per cent.
Curious what their metrics are here--are they looking at "donors" individually, or counting organs (both lungs, both kidneys, heart, etc.) from each prospective donor. And what are the chances they're killing a patient who could recover from the illness/injury so they can harvest the organs? If the patient had not consented previously to being an organ donor but otherwise fit the criteria, would he be allowed to stay on life support until there is no brain function?
A third idea is "non-directed living donation" which would allow individuals to donate a kidney, liver or lung to a transplant pool while still alive, in the same way as they might give blood. Great for winos and college students! Objectors to any legalised sale in organs fear the poor in this country could be driven to selling their body parts. One of the biggest trade in organs is in China, where clinics have long been accused of offering organs from executed prisoners for sale to wealthy overseas patients.
I'm surprised Cuba isn't doing the same thing.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 02:00 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm so terribly scared about this. I can't think of any thing that's portable and fetches a high price that is immune to theft, and whose system of controls, if any, are immune from fraud, graft, and bribery.
Posted by: Ptah || 05/20/2003 20:39 Comments || Top||

#2  The free market is needed, Ptah. Derived demand and all that. The demand is there, the market mechanism must create its own supply.
Posted by: Brian || 05/21/2003 1:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Hurrah for the enlightened British,
If this bozo gets what he wants the next step should be the death penalty for parking violations
with the executed person's body going straight to the go'mint organ banks to be transplanted into the wealthy and powerful.
This was once the topic of SF stories and may now take the first small step of becoming a reality.
watch were you park!!!!!
Posted by: The Dodo || 05/21/2003 1:13 Comments || Top||


Europe
Turkish toilet bomb kills one
A woman was killed and one other person was injured when a bomb went off in a cafe in the heart of the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday. "The victim was killed by a bomb. We are investigating," prosecutor Ahmet Mutlu said after inspecting the scene on a main thoroughfare. The device went off in the toilet of the cafe immediately after a young woman entered it, NTV television reported. Police confirmed that the dead person was a woman. NTV speculated that the woman herself may have planted the bomb. Her body, mutilated by the explosion, was found in the toilet. Underground far-left groups and separatist Kurdish rebels have carried out suicide attacks in Turkey in the past and a number of small bombs recently targeted restaurants in Istanbul without causing casualties.
"Now, what did Mehmet tell me? Is is red to black? Or is it [BOOM!]"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 01:35 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well. I remember dropping M-80's into toilet bowls when I was a teen, but this is just going a bit too far. Harumph. ;)
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 13:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Explosive diarrhea is no laughing matter.

Wellll... okay, maybe it is.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 13:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Chuck, if that was Microsoft i-loo, they still have some serious bugs in the product...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 05/20/2003 19:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, OP, that's what we call "catastrophic failure"!
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 23:10 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
NY TImes reporter booed from stage at commencement speech
via Drudge - My how times are changing!
New York Times reporter Chris Hedges was booed off the stage Saturday at Rockford College’s graduation because he gave an antiwar speech. Two days later, graduates and family members, envisioning a “go out and make your mark” send-off, are still reeling. Guests wanting to hear the author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter are equally appalled. And College President Paul Pribbenow is rethinking the wisdom of such controversial topics at future commencements. This is Pribbenow’s first graduation.

Hedges began his abbreviated 18-minute speech comparing United States’ policy in Iraq to piranhas and a tyranny over the weak. His microphone was unplugged within three minutes. Voices of protest and the sound of foghorns grew. Some graduates and audience members turned their backs to the speaker in silent protest. Others rushed up the aisle to vocally protest the remarks, and one student tossed his cap and gown to the stage before leaving. Mary O’Neill of Capron, who earned a degree in elementary education, sat in her black cap and gown listening. She was stunned. She turned to Pribbenow and asked him why he was letting the speech continue. He said it was freedom of speech. Pribbenow later said when people stop listening to ideas, even controversial ones, it is the death of institutions like 157-year-old Rockford College. In tears, O’Neill left the ceremony. Her husband, Kevin, sat in the audience with their daughter and was as indignant as his wife. “This is a ceremony. ... The day belongs to the students. It doesn’t belong to a political view,” he said. Hedges, a war correspondent, criticized military heroic ideals that grow during war. The fervor sacrifices individual thought for temporarily belonging to something larger, he said. Hedges sympathized with U.S. soldiers. He characterized them as boys from places such as Mississippi and Arkansas who joined the military because there were no job opportunities.
How about that open-minded eastern elitist attitude huh?
“War in the end is always about betrayal. Betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians and idealists by cynics,” Hedges said in lecture fashion as jeers and “God Bless Americas” could be heard in the background. After his microphone was again unplugged, Pribbenow told Hedges to wrap it up.
Get off the stage jerk
Elinor Radlund of Rockford read Hedges’ book on war and was horrified at what she said was the audience’s rude behavior. She was indignant she couldn’t hear the speaker.
Elinor, of course, can't spell her name properly, either
“They were not behaving as people in an academic setting, where you’re supposed to be open to a great many ideas,” Radlund said. Pribbenow said Rockford College takes no political stance, but the job is to challenge students. He reminded audience members of the liberal arts college’s commitment to listening to other viewpoints. Spontaneous reaction led 66-year-old Gerald Kehoe of rural Boone County down the aisle in his first time to protest anything. He was hurt to hear a verbal attack on the country. He attended Saturday’s commencement to watch his daughter graduate, the fourth from Rockford College. Rockford College political science professor Bob Evans said it’s a reminder of the “raw edges of emotion” on the issue. A student who rushed the stage could face reprimand although he still received his diploma. “It’s important to go on the record that it’s inappropriate behavior,” Pribbenow said.
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 02:28 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The masses sure did seem pretty huddled on this occasion. Hedges' views are immaterial. The audience's behavior was unacceptable .
Posted by: Douglas || 05/20/2003 14:42 Comments || Top||

#2  What is it about the ingrained arrogance of liberals that they insist on seizing upon any and all opportunities (no matter how inappropriate) to lecture enlightenment to the huddled masses?
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 14:35 Comments || Top||

#3  The masses sure did seem pretty huddled on this occasion. Hedges' views are immaterial. The audience's behavior was unacceptable .
Posted by: Douglas || 05/20/2003 14:42 Comments || Top||

#4  It's that darn rap music! I love it when our kids start thinking for themselves and REFUSE to accept this drivel as 'mainstream.' They (libs) simply fail to accept that they are wrong on the war issue and move on. This attitude is going to cost them dearly at the polls.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 05/20/2003 14:54 Comments || Top||

#5  The audience's behavior was unacceptable.

Freedom of speech doesn't include a requirement that everybody else listen if they don't wish to, and what's more, it doesn't immunize someone from suffering the consequences of pushing some viewpoint on a group that clearly doesn't agree with it.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 15:01 Comments || Top||

#6  Douglas: Can't agree. Hedges was an idiot to use such an inappropriate occasion to spout off on his political views. If I were one of those students graduating after four years of hard work and dedication, I'd want to hear some practical advice, kudos, worldly wisdom, and general optimism to commemorate the day--not a verbal attack on the President and the military or a political diatribe.

If Pribbenow knew of the content beforehand and allowed it to continue, he's an idiot, too. Hedges and Pribbenow should both know this is not the forum for such a politically charged rant--unless they were doing it for the publicity all along. That wouldn't surprise me.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 15:02 Comments || Top||

#7  "The audience's behavior was unacceptable."

Unacceptable? Since when did freedom of speech become a one way street? This audience's behavior was mild compared to some of the heated exchanges of 100 years or more ago in America. They weren't all somber affaairs ala the Gettysburg Address. Then, as now, your freedom of speech does not mean I have to stifle mine. This forum was to honor graduates, not rail against the war and the military. Our freedom of speech clause prohibits the government from taking action against someone for what they say, as long as threats are not made. It does not stop the public from calling a loon a loon.
Posted by: Esoteric || 05/20/2003 15:20 Comments || Top||

#8  No Douglas, it was the SPEAKER'S behavior that was unacceptable. It is high time that the so-called institutions of higher learning remembered that they are NOT allowed to market to the rest of us while SIMULTANEOUSLY talking down to us.
Posted by: Flaming Sword || 05/20/2003 15:23 Comments || Top||

#9  Pribbenow is an idiot of the 1st Order. He knew of the content beforehand, and defended it, while at the same time deploring the behavior of the students. The usual "Free speech for me, but not for thee" of the campus left and our fifth column press. Of course, he's regretting it now because the excrement hit the ventilation system. I say "Too late @$$h@t."
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 05/20/2003 15:32 Comments || Top||

#10  "The audience's behavior was unacceptable." No, it is unacceptable to hijack these students'commencement day for political purposes and expect them to be held hostage. Good for the audience for not sitting still. The double standard of the liberals NEVER ceases to amaze me. Although all for "free speech" and "diversity of opinion", that isn't suppose to extend to countering the spouting of liberal ideology.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 15:38 Comments || Top||

#11  This is encouraging; I think people are getting really, REALLY tired of hearing bullshit America-hating rants from leftists, and are becoming less timid about saying so. It's about time.
Posted by: Dave D. || 05/20/2003 16:07 Comments || Top||

#12  Just asked wifely person if she remembered hers. She did not except that it was long, mine also. I would bet they remember this one.

Anomalus

ps. ours was 30 + years a-go-go
Posted by: Anonymous || 05/20/2003 19:51 Comments || Top||

#13  After 4 intense years of studying, earning money for school and dodging riots and tear gas at UC Berkeley, I took my last senior final and got on a bird and out of that hell-hole. Went back once. That was enough. No commencement, no teach-in. Just my degree. They need to clean out my alma-mater with high pressure steam to get the rot out. Hmmm...sound a bit bitter.......hmmmm.......PTSD I guess.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/20/2003 20:20 Comments || Top||

#14  I agree with O.P: Congrats and best wishes to the Class of 2003, Rockford College! With BS meters that sensitive, I have no illusions about their future success.

I am totally fed up with liberals acting as if their cause, their beliefs, are so damned important that they trump all considerations. The reaction of the crowd is just payback for the 1960's, when such behavior against speakers the students found "objectionable" was held to be acceptable, proper, and even honorable. The damned hypocritical liberals praised it then, but when it's turned AGAINST THEM, they squeal like the facist pigs they are. Filthy hypocrites. HYPOCRITES, I tell you douglas, you moralizing faker.
Posted by: Ptah || 05/20/2003 20:51 Comments || Top||

#15  If we were living in a polite age, the audience's behavior would be unacceptable. But the left ruined that long ago. It is high time to give them a taste of their own medicine -- otherwise, its an utterly unfair fight. I call on conservative, moderate, and genuinely liberal students to do exactly what the lefties have been doing for a generation -- and that goes well beyond booing speakers.
Posted by: closet neo-con || 05/20/2003 23:14 Comments || Top||

#16  Just saw that guy's picture on Fox News. He kinda reminds me of James Watt; their glasses are of about equal thickness.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 23:37 Comments || Top||

#17  The audience's behavior wasn't unacceptable. Unplugging the guy's mike was though.

That aside, the booing, walk outs, back turns, etc. are all standard procedure at liberal colleges when a conservative speaker is on the stage...it's happened many, many times.

But there is a far bigger issue here. Hedges should simply NOT be making political speeches. He doesn't just represent himself. He also represents the Times and, as a newsman (not an OP-ED writer), it borders on unethical to be making public stands on political issues. This creates the appearance of a conflict of interest, i.e., how can you ever trust his reporting to be neutral (I didn't say unbiased) and fair?

Practically speaking, Hedges probably didn't violate any written ethics code, but there has been a very long history in journalism, an unwritten code, that stipulates that reporters are NOT to be publiclly associated with any political cause, party, or individual.

That's the rule I grew up with, but in recent years, like so much in journalism, its been eroded...and we see what that's done to mainstream media credibility.
Posted by: R. McLeod || 05/21/2003 3:12 Comments || Top||

#18  Free speech for me, but not for thee"
Well said ,Rex.Listen-up Doug(Said immedatly following a slap on the back of the head),"Freedom of Speech" cuts both ways.Hedges has a right to make an ass of hisself and the audience has a right to let him know he is an ass.
Do you work for one of those Hollywood Fools,you know who I'm talking about.The one's who are whinning and crying about free speech,but don't believe I should excersise my"Freedom of Speech".
Listen-up Liberial whinebaby,Freedom means I don't have to support assinine opinions,I don't have to listen to assinine opinions,and I damn sure don't have to buy an asshat's product.
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 7:48 Comments || Top||


The liberals are coming, the liberals are coming!
A political explosion happened this weekend in New York, and it may be the big one that gives Karl Rove nightmares.
(or make him laugh)
It could mean the end of George W. Bush's seemingly unending ability to tell overt lies
(such as?)
to the American people and not get called on them by the American media. At a Saturday talk radio industry event put on by Talkers Magazine, Gabe Hobbs, Clear Channel Radio's vice president of News/Talk/Sports, announced that in the near future this corporate owner of over 1200 radio stations is considering programming some of their talk stations "in markets where there are already one or two stations doing conservative talk" with all-day back-to-back all-liberal talk show hosts.
The rating will soar!
The handwriting is on the wall for right-wing talk radio: To build profits, programmers must reach beyond diehard Republicans to unserved listeners. This means bringing in the center and left of the political spectrum. Thus, we're today seeing the early fuse-fizzing of the Next Big Boom in talk radio, and many in the industry openly acknowledge it (including Fox, which just syndicated liberal Alan Colmes).
Make way for the unclean/unserved masses!
Many industry watchers were dumbfounded at the overt bias and political boosterism. Even BBC Director General Greg Dyke weighed in, saying, "I was shocked while in the United States by how unquestioning the broadcast news media was during this war." Across America and around the world, savvy media watchers wondered out loud why our giant networks and media companies would suddenly become so overtly partisan, loudly and unquestioningly kissing up to the Bush administration? And why did they ignore a multi-million-dollar audience of tens of millions of Democratic/liberal listeners — people with upscale demographics who advertisers would love to reach?
Why are there not more 'Hate America' radio talk show hosts?
Although the right-wingers love to claim that they simply balance NPR (the claim was raised again at the Talkers event), it's an argument that commercial programmers know is specious. NPR never has and never will run hour after hour of a single commentator ranting about the wonders of one party and the horrors of another. Centrist and left-wing talk radio is still an emerging product with a huge unserved market.
I give this 'experiment about six months before they pull the plug. Al Gore and Ralph Nader as the only audience cannot sustain programming. Ask Phil and MSNBC. Can anyone see Al Gore taking a call that is counter to his thinking? It's almost too funny
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 05/20/2003 10:25 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  For liberal radio there's Ron Kuby and .... Ron Kuby. What a formidable line-up. One of the multitude of problems with liberals is that they only react through whining and bitching and fail to offer alternatives. Who wants to turn on the radio and listen to that? I can get that at home.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 11:15 Comments || Top||

#2  CC: My car stereo is busted and only picking up FM now. For liberal talk, check out NPR, paid for with your tax dollars. There are some articles that are fairly balanced, but they're few and far between the "why does George Bush want to take milk from babies and health care from the poor just so his rich friends don't have to pay their fair share of taxes on dividends" discussions. I've gotta get the stereo fixed - it's killing me
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 11:32 Comments || Top||

#3  "Centrist and left-wing talk radio is still an emerging product with a huge unserved market."

Unserved? Rather, Jennings, Brokaw, 60 Minutes, 20/20, and the rest of 3 major networks, plus CNN, the NYT, WashPost, LA Times, and most of the rest of the media is unserved?

AM air belongs to the Peoples and if there's a market for lefties, they are welcome to their share. But they don't need to tune in the low end of the dial, just to find their views represented in public.

Lefties use radios for music. Criminey, if they listened to and thought about the issues all day, they wouldn't be leftists.
Posted by: Mark IV || 05/20/2003 12:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Bo-o-o-o-oring...

clueless, too. Yup, it's them danged liberals agin, ma!
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 12:50 Comments || Top||

#5  The dems have been contemplating how to counter the center right/right radio phenomena for some time. A decade from now they will be chattering about how to counter the center/right phenomena of the internet blogs also.

Unfortunately their shrill, irrational, emotion based philosophy which promotes class and race warfare, special rights for certain groups, big government and PC (intolerance) doesn't lend itself well to the demographics of the radio audience.
Posted by: Jonesy || 05/20/2003 17:23 Comments || Top||

#6  A majority of the folks who listen to talk radio are driving either two of from work when they tune in.... which means they have jobs they have to communte to. Which means they probably own homes. Which means they pay morgages and property tax. Which means they are probably not liberals.
Hence, there is probably no audience for liberal talk radio.
Posted by: Secret Master || 05/20/2003 17:51 Comments || Top||

#7  DING, DING, DING, DING! We have a winner! Secret Master has found the reason that Liberal radio does not and will not ever work. Because Liberals do not work. After a hard day of work who wants to listen to somebody tell them why THEY have to pay more taxes?
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 05/20/2003 18:31 Comments || Top||

#8  "I give this 'experiment about six months before they pull the plug."

Big whoop. And this makes one damned bit of difference in the long run exactly how? The moron writing the article said it himself: "mergers that will help wipe out the few remaining small, local radio/TV stations and newspapers..." The mega-corps will have control over everything everyone sees, hears, and reads, 24/7, 365.24/year. Canned music, canned opinion, canned news, unresponsive and unresponsible to local audiences, responsive and responsible only to mega-corp HQ.
The FCC is selling the public airwaves for thirty pieces of silver, and you all seem to think that's just fine and dandy because the "liberals" won't last.
All it takes is one corporate takeover to change Clear Channel from conservative to "liberal." Think about that. Think about the anti-American bias on the major broadcast networks becoming the norm for radio and newspapers, too. Big Brother Is Watching You.
Or maybe think about trying to stop the FCC from allowing more mergers, and keeping your local media responsive and responsible to *you* and *your* local concerns, and not to some mega-corp who-knows-where.
www.fcc.gov
Two commissioners are Democrats, three are Republicans. Click on their names to find their bios.
Here are their email addresses:
Chairman Michael K. Powell: mpowell@fcc.gov
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: kabernat@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: mcopps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: kjmweb@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: jadelste@fcc.gov
Posted by: Silverdrake || 05/20/2003 22:50 Comments || Top||

#9  Mark IV,

There are still smaller newspapers that don't spew the PC party line. I really don't want to see my local newspaper gulped down by some damn-yankee Eastern news conglomerate, thank-you-very-much. The battle is *not* over *or* lost, but it pretty much will just be a matter of time until it is if the FCC allows further mergers.
If all you can do is whine that it *has* been lost, then you've surrendered and might as well send in your membership donation to the leftist-totalitarian party of your choice.
And if that suggestion sticks in your craw, then maybe instead you'll fire off some "No more mergers!" emails to the addys I provided above.
Posted by: Silverdrake || 05/21/2003 1:03 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Canada Sends Shock Wave Across North American Economy with Mad Cow Case
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada reported its first case of mad cow disease in a decade on Tuesday, a potentially devastating revelation for the country's huge beef industry just weeks after its economy was damaged by the SARS threat. Personally, I think it is Chretien who brings all of this bad karma to our friends up north.

A cow in Alberta, Canada's top cattle-producing province, tested positive for brain-wasting bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in a test taken after it was slaughtered last winter, officials said. Alberta, just a hop, skip and jumpt from the Montana border.

"It was (detected) just a few days ago. The actual test was taken Jan. 31 from a cow in Fairview, Alberta," an official with the Canadian Beef Export Federation said. "It's just one isolated case of an eight-year-old cow."

The animal with the latest case "did not enter the food chain" (or at least that's the story we're being told) and its northern Alberta herd will be slaughtered, as will any other found to be affected, Canadian Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief told a nationally televised news conference in the Alberta capital of Edmonton.

Still, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman quickly slapped a temporary ban on beef imports from Canada because of the case.

Alberta, where cattle ranching is ingrained in the culture, accounts for nearly 60 percent of Canada's beef production, providing C$3.8 billion ($2.8 million) in annual farm cash receipts.

Last year, more than half a million live cattle were shipped to the United States, according to Alberta agriculture department statistics.

The mad cow news sent shock waves across the North American economy.

"It still remains to be seen how serious it is but the news is not good for Canada, without a doubt," said a currency trader at a major Canadian bank. "We're trading off the headlines."

Some experts believe mad cow disease may have been spread by cows in Britain who were fed the remains of sheep contaminated with scrapie. Other scientists say the disease arose from a mutation in a cow in the 1970s.

So far more than 80 people in Britain and Europe have died from the human variation of mad cow, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 02:29 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As long as the industry insists on grinding up animal parts and mixing the stuff in with feed instead of sticking only with plant matter, the risk of this sort of thing is always going to exist. It was just a matter of time before this practice resulted in infected cows in North America.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 14:50 Comments || Top||

#2  It was (detected) just a few days ago. The actual test was taken Jan. 31...

So it's only had nearly four months to spread. That's just great... I can see the bovine funeral pyres lighting up the night sky already.

Getting flanked by SARS in the east and Mad Cow in the west is going to make Canada the tourist Mecca of 2003, I tell ya!
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 15:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Two unrelated points.

The tests, like those for anthrax, have a high degree of inaccuracy.

There is little evidence that C-J is caused by ingestion of infected meat. There is some evidence that they are not, in fact, the same disease.

Like Dar said, January 31 and they do the test now? The folks running Public Health in Toronto must have been promoted to the Ag & Marketing Department.
Posted by: Chuck || 05/20/2003 15:29 Comments || Top||

#4  There is little evidence that C-J is caused by ingestion of infected meat.

Not CJD, but vCJD, or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which has been linked to eating meat from cattle infected with BSE. Details here.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 15:41 Comments || Top||

#5  A little research shows a lot of speculation on the incubation time for Mad Cow ranging from 2 years to several decades! Hopefully this really is a false positive from a quirky test, as Chuck has pointed out.

Fortunately, it appears that it doesn't "spread" like a cold virus, but by ingesting contaminated feed. Unfortunately, the long incubation period means many animals out there may be carrying it without showing symptoms.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 15:44 Comments || Top||

#6  There are several websites that give more technical detail on mad cow disease. Links are HERE and HERE.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/20/2003 15:47 Comments || Top||

#7  Re: the false positive comment I made-- Upon further reflection, I can't believe the Canadian authorities would let this slip out without confirming it with multiple tests. After Europe's experience, they had to know what a devastating effect the announcement would make on their agricultural sector and economy. The effect of the announcement has already hit the North American stock markets this afternoon.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 15:51 Comments || Top||

#8  It's Harris Ranch beef for me.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 05/20/2003 16:05 Comments || Top||

#9  Fortunately, it appears that it doesn't "spread" like a cold virus, but by ingesting contaminated feed.

It's not so much "contaminated" feed, but that the crap that is being mixed with the feed is stuff that cows normally don't eat, like offal. Parts like bones and other tissue from other animals are used as sources of protein, which, if I recall, is supposed to increase a cow's milk production (experts feel free to correct as necessary). Fortunately for us in the U.S. (as far as the law goes, at least), offal in cow feed is no longer permitted.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 16:53 Comments || Top||

#10  Much as I think the Canadian government were complete assholes recently, I very much hope that Canada doesn't have to go the bovine funeral pyre route.

I had to fly from London to Newcastle when the foot and mouth epidemic was full-on over here, and seeing the dozens and dozens of pyres of cows and sheep was not a happy sight.
Posted by: Tony || 05/20/2003 19:13 Comments || Top||

#11  The testing of this particular cow's brain was NOT done in Canada but in a British lab. Hence the delay in confirming it was BSE.
I for one will not be eating beef if they continue to feed that shit to the cows. Wisen-up Alberta!
Posted by: RW || 05/20/2003 20:39 Comments || Top||

#12  *shakes head* this is very bad. I've been to Edmonton, sampled the beef, and found it heavenly. Out of this world. Planning to go in a couple of weeks, and will regret that the panic may prevent me from enjoying one of the things at which Canada really excels.
Posted by: Ptah || 05/20/2003 20:59 Comments || Top||

#13  They're not even sure what causes the disease in cows, much less in humans. They talk about something called a prion, not quite a virus. And this supposedly causes a disease a decade or more in the future?

MY guess is that in ten years, this will all be considered junk science.
Posted by: Chuck || 05/20/2003 21:24 Comments || Top||

#14  Chuck said: "They're not even sure what causes the disease in cows, much less in humans. They talk about something called a prion, not quite a virus. And this supposedly causes a disease a decade or more in the future?"

From what I've heard, a prion is an undigestible bit of protein that gets pulled into the bloodstream with the usable bits and proceeds to cause malfunctions in the body. The "incubation" period depends on the concentration and the form of the prions -- how long it take for the damage they cause to start showing up.
Posted by: Silverdrake || 05/20/2003 23:56 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Karachi tense after MQM men’s murder
KARACHI: Some markets in Liaquatabad Town remained closed on Tuesday after the murder of Naushad Ansari, a member of the MQM’s top executive body in Karachi. Unknown assailants attacked the car of Ansari, 36, who was travelling with his nephew, Moeez Ansari, 16. They came under attack in the Gulberg area and died on the spot. Moeez’s father Mohammad Adil registered an FIR in the Samanabad police station on Tuesday afternoon. Ansari was a member of the organizing committee. It is the second high-profile murder in the city since the formation of the Sindh government after MQM leader Khalid Bin Waleed’s assassination on Feb. 16 in Karachi.
If you don't file a complaint when your kinfolk are murdered in Pakland, I guess the coppers just leave the corpse lying there...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 07:47 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


MMA candidate frightened of man with jihadi links
KARACHI: The candidate of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in NA-255 is under tremendous pressure due to the presence of an independent candidate affiliated with a banned outfit, which has recently reincarnated.
Not that the guy's threatened to kill him if he loses, though...
At least 11 candidates are in the field to contest in the by-election scheduled for June 22. However, the general impression is that the real contestants will be the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Dr Farooq Sattar, the MQM Haqiqi’s Sharif Khan and the MMA’s Aslam Mujahid.
Anybody named Mujahid, you know he's gotta be the voice of sweet reason...
Aslam Mujahid, Mehmood Qureshi’s close rival in the October elections, had challenged the results, asking the Election Commission to conduct re-polling because there had allegedly been rigging. On Oct. 30, a full bench of the Election Commission rejected the appeal and declared Qureshi elected from the constituency that consisted of areas that were dominated by Haqiqi until a state-sponsored operation was carried out against the group and “no-go areas.” The MQM then fielded Abrarul Haq as its candidate who was trailing the two close rivals. Previously, despite its reputation as a Haqiqi stronghold, the MQM had won from the constituency in every election.
That's the set-up, convoluted though it may be...
Sources told Daily Times that Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi, who is contesting as an independent candidate, has been an activist of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba, led by MNA Maulana Azam Tariq, which now re-emerged as Millat e-Islamia Party. The Maulana is now a local leader of the new party, which, according to its founding leaders, is no longer a jihadi party and “has no relation or link with any jihadi outfit.”
"Who, us? Jihadis? Pshaw!"
The general impression is that the Maulana was set to influence the voters dedicated to the religious parties. “He will be a spoiler and dash whatever hopes the MMA has to win this constituency,” a local political leader told Daily Times. According to political analysts, Maulana Farooqi’s candidature will largely benefit the two MQM groups and could get MMA’s Mujahid out of the contest. The MMA leadership has realised the situation and sought the PPP leadership’s support for its candidate. The PPP has awarded its ticket to Maulana Feroz Hazarvi who had received more than 10,000 votes in the previous election.
Are there any people in Pakland who aren't maulanas or mullahs or muftis or something else starting with an "M" who actually hold public office?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 07:41 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Sikandar proposes Kashmir division on religious lines
The prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir called on Tuesday for the partition of Kashmir on religious lines as a way to resolve the long-running bloody dispute with India over the territory.
"I mean, now that we've killed or chased out all the Heathen Hindoos we could find, why not?
Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan said Kashmir’s Muslim-majority areas should go to Pakistan and Hindu areas accede to India. “This solution is the closest to the 1947 partition plan under which India and Pakistan came into being,” Mr Khan told Reuters in a telephone interview. The prime minister said the division of Kashmir on religious lines would be “face saving” for both Pakistan and India. “If the Muslims of Kashmir are not prepared to live with India, how could Hindus agree to live with Pakistan,” Mr Khan said. “This solution can be face saving for India, Pakistan and Kashmiris.”
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 07:31 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It would, of course, be the begining of the end for the world's largest democracy. Now that they've gone ahead and given most of Kashmir to Pakistan, howsabout giving the Sikhs their own nation in the north? Or the christians their own state in the south east? Or....
Posted by: Secret Master || 05/20/2003 20:21 Comments || Top||

#2  The guy's named Sikandar (Alexander) AND Khan?

Not good.
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 23:45 Comments || Top||


Pakistan has no authority to ban Hizb
Pakistan on Tuesday denied having any authority to ban jihadi groups not operating within the country. “The government has not banned the Hizbul Mujahideen, as it has no presence in Pakistan,” Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said.
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it. Sorry."
He further said the Hizb was a Kashmir based organisation and the authority to ban it lay with the Azad Kashmir government.
Ummm... That's part of Pakistan, if I'm not mistaken. De facto, anyway...
“However, Pakistan’s policy is crystal clear as far as terrorism is concerned. The government will not allow any individual or a group of organisations to use its territory for launching terrorist attacks on any third country. The government will never tolerate any individual or groups trying to disrupt law and order in the country,” he told a private TV network.
"Here, you people! Stop that! There. I've done my part..."
When asked whether reports in Press Trust of India (PTI) stating that the Pakistan government had banned the militant group were true, Hizb spokesman Saleem Hashmi said, “The Hizb has not been banned and such reports are concocted and are a part of Indian propaganda.”PTI had quoted Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat and stated that the Pakistan government had banned the Hizb. But the minister denied the report and said he was misquoted. Saleem Hashmi said, “We are Kashmiris and no one can stop us from going across the Line of Control. Our struggle is genuine and will continue till we are victorious.”
"Ain't nobody can stop us from swarming the old homestead!"
Muslim Conference leader Sardar Qayyum Khan also said no ban had been imposed on the Hizb. Mr Hashmi said his leader, Syed Salahuddin, was a Kashmiri and based somewhere in Kashmir and he had not been banned to enter Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He has an air-conditioned office in Muzaffarabad, from whence he dispatches cannon fodder to get iced in Indian Kashmir...
Banned jihadi groups in Pakistan were the Lashkar e-Taiba, Jaish e-Muhammad, Harkatul Mujahideen and three other sectarian groups. A Hizbul Mujahideen spokesman said so far his group was concerned it has not received any intimation from the government here banning its leaders and activists from entering Azad Kashmir. The Hizb was formed in 1990 and Syed Salahuddin headed the United Jihad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of 14 Kashmiri jihadi groups.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 07:28 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  “However, Pakistan’s policy is crystal clear as far as terrorism is concerned. The government will not allow any individual or a group of organisations to use its territory for launching terrorist attacks on any third country."

When did the NWFP become gain independance,was I asleep or something?
"group of organisations":guess this means indivdual terrorist orginizations are ok.
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 8:25 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Saddam and Uday go to the movies
EFL
For Uday Hussein, the cutthroat son of Saddam, high culture came to Iraq when Russell Crowe entered the arena, sword in hand, ready to kill. Three days after "Gladiator" was released in the United States in 2000, Uday was "going mad" to find a bootleg copy of the sword-and-sandal epic, his chief movie translator recalled recently. Uday had followed the buzz about "Gladiator" on the Internet, which he checked weekly for U.S. box office tallies, and it sounded like his kind of picture: severed limbs, bloody revenge, and a take-no-prisoners antihero.

His translator, Saad Al-Izzi, scoured Baghdad for a tape for five days. His boss wasn't the most patient of men. (Just ask the marathon runners Uday had beaten for lagging on the track.) Uday's men finally found a copy, and Izzi's boss gave him an afternoon to translate, dub and print "Gladiator" in Arabic.

Errors of haste were unavoidable: Ten seconds of a speech by Oliver Reed's gladiator-herdsman, rallying his posse before battle, were cut incorrectly, so the character's lips moved without making a noise.

Izzi thought he'd be thanked for his quick work. Instead, two of Uday's men came to his office the next day to beat him for the error. Izzi's boss lied that he was out, promising to punish him later. "OK," one of the men said, according to Izzi. "Take off your shoes. We'll beat you just to be sure that you beat him." And they whacked the boss' feet with a sharp wooden reed until they were bloodied.

According to Izzi, Uday and Saddam were fixated on American-made movies, directing their representative at the United Nations, Tariq Aziz, to bring back dozens of videos each time he left New York: "Silence of the Lambs," "Casino" and "Rob Roy" for Saddam, and "From Dusk Till Dawn," "The Mummy" and "Bride of Chucky" for Uday.

Saddam's favorite movie was "Braveheart," the Mel Gibson Oscar winner, Izzi said. "If I had such a worthy opponent like that man," Saddam was said to have commented, "I could not bring myself to kill him."

Uday's obsession was "Gladiator," but he also screened the 2000 indie picture "Deterrence" over and over. In that film, a U.S. president confronts an Iraq apparently armed with nuclear weapons, with an Uday character running Baghdad, threatening to blow away Western capitals. "Uday loved it -- finally in charge!" said Izzi, 28, who now works as a translator for the Boston Globe in Iraq.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 05/20/2003 08:34 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Uday.....do you like movies about gladiators???
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 22:22 Comments || Top||


Saddam's singer shot dead
An Iraqi singer whose fervently pro-Saddam Hussein songs made him a well-known face on Iraqi television has been killed, his family says. Daoud al-Qaissi, a Baath party member, was shot by gunmen outside his home in central Baghdad, his brother told Reuters news agency. Videos of his songs were played constantly on Iraqi state television even as the coalition-led bombing campaign intensified over the Iraqi capital. His son told Britain's Guardian newspaper that he was certain his father had been killed because of his connections to the ousted Iraqi leader's regime.
Another dead syncophant. How sad.
"My father was one of the president's supporters. He believed in him," his son said. "This [the killing] is a natural consequence of the lack of security in Baghdad. Now all his friends are scared, some of them are too frightened even to come to the funeral."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 08:22 pm || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What they call a "tough room"...
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 23:49 Comments || Top||


Iraqis desecrate British war cemetery
Edited for brevity.
A British First World War cemetery in Iraq which was restored by United States marines as a sign of gratitude for Britain's participation in the recent conflict has been desecrated by Iraqis. The cemetery in the eastern city of Kut, site of some of the fiercest losses the British military has suffered in the region, was badly vandalised hours after a high-profile rededication ceremony attended by British generals and Anglican bishops. Some gravestones of tens of thousands of British and Indian troops who fell in Kut after being forced to retreat from Baghdad by Turkish forces in 1915 have been toppled. The siege of the city lasted until April 1916.

Local people outside a shop selling icons of Shi'ite clerics opposite the cemetery said its desecration was not surprising. "We respect the dead, whatever their religion, but the soldiers put up the British flag as if to emphasise that they are occupying us and many men put lots of effort into the restoration," said Abbas Jaber, 32, a glazier. "At the same time we are suffering from lack of food, electricity and security. If only they put as much effort into sorting these problems out."

[Spokesman] Lt Col Zangas admitted that the restoration should not have been given so much import so soon after the war. "It sent out the wrong message, renovating a Christian cemetery when you're occupying a Muslim country," he said.
I think an argument could be made that neither side handled this very intelligently.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 02:24 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "It sent out the wrong message, renovating a Christian cemetery when you're occupying a Muslim country," he said.

So what? The dead are the dead and the subject needs to be handled by ALL parties with (IMO) the appropriate respect for the dead, regardless of religious affiliation. Does anyone think that if it was a Muslim cemetery that was "desecrated" that Iraqis would shrug it off as no big deal? I sure as hell don't think so. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to shake off the suspicion that Muslims are one of the biggest crybaby groups to ever exist.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 14:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Round up the usual suspects, then shoot a few. Nip this shit in the bud, Barney!
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 14:45 Comments || Top||

#3  "Muslims are one of the biggest crybaby groups"

Maybe, but desecrating British war cemeteries is hardly a Muslim innovation... the French are quite adept at it.

And once again, we seem to overlook that the poor dead Brits were fighting the Turkish occupiers. Turks and Mongols have wasted far more Arabs than anyone else (except other Arabs).

Posted by: Mark IV || 05/20/2003 15:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Islam. The religion of peace.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 15:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Fuckers.

What a whining twat Mr Jaber is, living his whole friggin' life under Saddams' rule, he gets liberated - no way is *he* going to be able to do it - then starts complaining when those men of honour pay their respects to the fallen rather than wipe his nose.

Oh, and does anyone here care to think what might have happened if this had been a Muslim cemetery and that had been desecrated?

From the article:

"The battle of Kut, described by T E Lawrence as a "slow-drawn agony", lasted some 143 days. Only 2,000 out of 23,000 men survived."

Again, fuckers.
Posted by: Tony || 05/20/2003 19:31 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Ambassador to RP: Talk peace or risk another Aceh
The Philippine government should call a cease-fire and continue its peace talks with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front to prevent Mindanao from turning into another Aceh, Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Mohammad Taufik warned on Tuesday.
"Yeah. Don't go killin' no Muslims, now..."
“Kuala Lumpur is very concerned. Selective aerial attacks are the prerogative of the Philippine government, but we have to look at things at a very rational manner,” he said. Taufik said the selective attacks of Philippine military on Saturday on the MILF could kill the peace process, making it very difficult for neutrals to mediate the conflict.
The peace processor's been running all this while, and it hasn't worked very well, has it?
“If they want us to play a vital role, yes, we are willing to be involved. But the atmosphere is not conducive and as neighbors, we don’t want to see an unstable or volatile situation,” Taufik said.
"We prefer what's there now, which is, ummm... an unstable and volatile situation."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 08:10 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Prosecutor wants key Bali bombers to testify
JAKARTA: Prosecutors in the treason trial of alleged terror group leader Abu Bakar Bashir said today they plan to bring several key suspects in the Bali bombings to testify in his case. "For the next hearing, we are planning to present witnesses from Bali," prosecutor Hasan Madani told the court, naming Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas, Ali Imron, Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mubarok. Madani said he was "convinced" his office will be able to bring the suspects to testify in Bashir's trial. Defence lawyers said they had no objection.
All the best people. All in one place...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 08:05 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Rebels say 17 civilians killed in Aceh fighting
Separatists in the Indonesian province of Aceh claim 17 civilians have been killed during the military offensive, now in its second day. A spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement says people were shot and then burned. He says many houses have been burned as well. Indonesia's military says it has killed four rebels, while four soldiers have been wounded. The military has accused the separatists of burning down at least 20 schools and has denied any involvement in civilian deaths. Indonesia's military chief General Endriartono Sutarto has warned the rebels they will be "wiped out". Sutarto told around 400 officers in a briefing in the provincial capital to hunt down the rebels "and exterminate them."
When you're done, will you do Afghanistan? Thanks.
General Sutarto said rebels would be well treated if they give up. "But if they continue to be stubborn and raise arms, and continue to cause suffering to the people, then your sole duty is to exterminate them," he said. He ordered soldiers to avoid civilian casualties and said any excesses against civilians would bring severe punishment. "What you are doing here now is being broadcast all over the world," General Sutarto said. "If there are soldiers who do violate (the order) and cause suffering to people in the field, then just shoot them in the head," he told the officers.
It makes great international teevee. Very good for the ratings...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 01:28 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "If there are soldiers who do violate (the order) and cause suffering to people in the field, then just shoot them in the head,"

Indicative of the discipline problems in the Indonesian armed forces.
Posted by: Phil B || 05/20/2003 13:33 Comments || Top||


Middle East
MEMRI Report is Outside the Human Civilization
Somebody here said that Arab civilization is the most crybaby in the world. For those of you that don't read MEMRI regularly, MEMRI released a report on May 15th here, critical of the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up. Zayed responded with a press release chock full of insults and fabricated quotes. My schoolmates and I were at a higher intellectual level in the 5th grade, fer crissakes. Winning the WoT is imperative. When we do, we're going to be stuck with 500 million whining, carping dorks. (Like Ralph Peters, I have higher hopes for the other half a billion or so non-Arab Muslims.)
Posted by: 11A5S || 05/20/2003 06:14 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Zionist regime considering assassinating Arafat, Yassin
Having failed to crush the popular Palestinian uprising against Israel’s colonialist occupation of the Palestinian homeland, the Israeli regime is reportedly considering taking unprecedented measures against the Palestinians, including the assassination or deportation of PA chairman Yasser Arafat and Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Good idea! Best idea I've heard all week. I'd go with the booms, myself, since if you throw them out they're sure to come back...
The Israeli Hebrew daily, Ha’aretz, reported Tuesday that the Israeli government was discussing granting the Israeli occupation army “broader powers” to end the intifada, including taking “unprecedented stringent measures” against Palestinian leaders.
A little to the left with the tank rounds and you've got it, guys...
The paper said that among the measures being considered is the assassination of Arafat and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and senior Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Dr. Abul Aziz Rantissi. The paper said the suggested measures were being discussed but no decision had been taken. Earlier this week, Zionist Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz proposed that Arafat be expelled from Palestine in response to the killing of several Israeli settlers by Palestinian guerillas. However, the Zionist premier Ariel Sharon rejected the idea, calling the timing inappropriate.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 02:06 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If the Israelis were half the "opressors" Arafat and company claim them to be, Arafat and companty wouldn't be able to make that claim . . . 'cause the Israelis would've already strung them up from the nearest lamppost.
Posted by: Mike || 05/20/2003 14:39 Comments || Top||

#2  If they actually killed him, the fury and disarray would mean there'd be no hope of progress for decades... Bad idea.
Posted by: Douglas || 05/20/2003 14:58 Comments || Top||

#3  If they actually killed him, the fury and disarray would mean there'd be no hope of progress for decades...

If the sudden rash of murder bombings is what is defined as "progress", then they may as well deep-six the little terrorist bastard.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 15:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Buildings explode over there all the time. Lots and lots of "work accidents".
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 15:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Gee, do they need any bullets.I could find a few.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono || 05/20/2003 16:16 Comments || Top||

#6  If they actually killed him, the fury and disarray would mean there'd be no hope of progress for decades... Bad idea. Yeah sure Douglas - and they've had such good progress with Arafat around for decades too. So your "Good Idea" is to continue as-is then? Tell the relatives of the innocent civilians killed at mall or riding on the bus what a "Bad Idea" it is to go after Arafat.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam || 05/20/2003 17:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Sorry Douglas, but there will NEVER be a lasting peace in that region as long as that asshole Arafat is part of the so-called "Process". If he'll leave willing, let him walk out. If not, carry him out in a box, but one way or the other, the hell with him.
Posted by: Flaming Sword || 05/20/2003 17:55 Comments || Top||

#8  America set the trend by going after Saddam directly in Iraq. So Sharon follows the example?
The US will never openly say yea. And the EU, who cares. Arafat doesn't have 30 palaces to hide in, so this is just a firing squad. Not even a sporting chance. I would give him a couple of days head start. (make a great Survivor series!)

Unfortunately, this approach works best as a threat, because ultimately this type of direct action would make every western leader an open target.
Posted by: john || 05/20/2003 19:32 Comments || Top||

#9  Yes, it would be a bad idea.


As far as I can figure things out, the only near-term hope for peace
in this conflict is for the Palestinians to devote themselves to a
debilitating and bloody civil war; until the average Abdul decides
that he's had enough of the hatemongers. Given the depth of the
indoctrinated hatred for Jews/Crusaders, it will require a pretty
grim reality check to change people's minds and make peace look
like a good idea. A war of succession fills the bill nicely.


If Arafat is killed by Israel, whoever gets there first has a great
rallying cry; and will be able to inherit his mantle for a little
while. (If another Palestinian kills Arafat, it'll be
blamed on Mossad anyway.) I don't know if things will get worse for
Israel, but it postpones the necessary civil war.


But if Arafat keels over on his own, he has no clear successor and
nobody has a clear rallying point. You get a power struggle, and
some of the suicide bomb tactics will start to be used against other
factions.


It won't be pleasant for Israel: all sides will try to be more
anti-Semitic-than-thou.

Posted by: james || 05/20/2003 19:38 Comments || Top||

#10  Anybody else think this report is the cover story for some future hit. Knock 'em off and blame Israel... very clever!
Posted by: Old Grouch || 05/20/2003 22:11 Comments || Top||

#11  It won't be pleasant for Israel: all sides will try to be more anti-Semitic-than-thou.

All that needs to be done is for Israel to hurry up and finish that wall before the infighting breaks out. Then seal off the West Bank and Gaza and let the Paleos kill each other off.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 23:31 Comments || Top||

#12  Until Hezb,Al-Aqsa,etc are wiped out there will never be peace.
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 8:48 Comments || Top||


Home Front
U.S. Raises Terror Alert Level to Orange
Must've been those Turkish Toilet Bombs. Is nothing sacred?
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration raised the national terror alert level to orange Tuesday amid fears a wave of terrorist attacks overseas will spread to the United States. Department of Homeland Security officials initially provided few specific reasons for the alert, which will set in motion a series of security measures around the federal government. It also advises cities, states and businesses to take extra security measures. The alert was raised after top administration and counterterrorism officials reviewed intelligence reports suggesting domestic terrorist attacks were possible. The decision to raise the terror alert warning came after President Bush's homeland security council met at the White House and presented the president with the recommendation for an increase, a senior administration official said on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 01:53 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I no sooner heard the threat level was being raised,immediately after the same Liberials who were whinning that GWB was not doing enough on the WOT,started hollering the GWB was useing "Scare tactics".
Can't win for loseing.
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 7:56 Comments || Top||


East/Subsaharan Africa
Liberian soldiers hijack ship to take on refugees
Liberian soldiers have hijacked a cargo ship off the coast of the war-wracked west African country and forced its Croatian crew to take on about 1,000 refugees, Croatian officials and reports said. The soldiers seized the "Benty" on Sunday, forced the captain to sail into the port of Harper on Liberia's southernmost tip where it took on the refugees and then headed north for the capital Monrovia, the reports said. The Croatian foreign ministry confirmed the hijacking and said it would do "everything possible to peacefully end" the drama but did not elaborate on who had seized the ship. Rebels from a group known as the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) seized Harper and a large chunk of territory in the south-east of the country on Monday, triggering fierce clashes with government troops. The ship's captain Josip Alborghetti was quoted by the Jutarnji List newspaper in Croatia as saying the soldiers had pledged to free the crew once the boat lands in Monrovia where the refugees will be safe.
The UN, for what their estimate is worth, say that MODEL and LURD control 40-60% of Liberia now. Could we be seeing Mr Taylor going back to working in a gas station in Massachussetts soon? Or will he end up doing a Mussolini?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 01:24 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Egyptian "Baywatch"?
According to the BBC, Egyptian Karate player and actor, Yousef Mansour, is producing an Egyptian version of the U.S. Baywatch series — based on hot girls wearing swimsuits and posing as lifeguards.
Y'mean, like, with boobs and everything? This I gotta see...
While Mansour told the BBC he intended to change the commonly held vision of the Middle East, his idea infuriated Egyptian intellectuals and artists alike. "The foreign view is that there is nothing but war and killing in the Middle East. In the West, our image is of people driving camels," Mansour claimed.
Maybe not quite that extreme, but I don't go to sleep dreaming of Egyptian beach bunnies...
Dr Sahar El-Mougy, an Egyptian feminist writer and activist told IOL: “This can’t be the right way. The West has its own rules and traditions that are definitely different from ours. Changing the Middle East vision does never mean to be a copy of the West. You have always to preserve your national identity. Baywatch, even in the West, is looked down upon as a mere commercialization of the body of women. The series has no artistic or cultural value, that’s why feminist groups and intellectuals slam such products. So, carrying out such an idea is merely reproducing the worst in the West.” El-Mougy is also an English Literature teacher in Cairo University and a Radio-Cairo announcer.
Gawd help us all if innocent Egyptians are subjected to fluff and nonsense, instead of a daily dose of Koran...
According to the BBC report published Monday, May 19, auditions (for the infamous series) are under way to find 10 actresses and five actors to play lifeguards in the show, Action in Hurghada. Mansour is searching for a cast to act in swimsuits.
But they gotta have boobies...
“I believe the idea and its owner do not even deserve comment. I mean the so-called producer (Mansour), who is he on the artistic level? How many people will be keen to watch and be affected by anything he performs or presents,” one of Egypt’s promising directors told IOL, preferring not to be named... To me, the whole idea is too ridiculous even to write about. Let him try to change the image — what image is he talking about?"
The one with the turbans and automatic weapons...
"Anyway, had such a stupid idea come from some valuable actor, we’d have fought it accordingly, for fear of affecting the people,” the young director added.
Yeah. Couldn't have that, could we?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/20/2003 12:57 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Check out that hot, little sphinx--I mean, minx!"
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 13:23 Comments || Top||

#2  I think Yousef just moved himself up on the fundo Hit Parade? It would be funnny to see them trying to swim in burquas.
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 14:02 Comments || Top||

#3  I read the BBC version of this story yesterday. It was a bit tongue-in-cheek and made me chuckle thinking about how the fundo/traditional quarters in Egypt would react. Come on, Islam on Line, can't you take it a little easy? Lighten up. Also, all those "artists and intellectuals" in Egypt who are against this project because it wouldn't respect their "traditions" and "national identity" Jeez, didn't they forget the term "moral values"?

Hey assholes, we've had enough bombing and killing in the last 8 days to last a lifetime, and you're bitching about a TV show where a little fun and double entendres will reign.

Also the BBC article said Mansour will be looking for Syrian and Lebanese women for the roles. I'm sure they'll be heathen Christians who won't mind wearing a swimsuit. Mansour won't ruin the honor of Egyptian women. Say, in fact "artists and intellectuals", why don't you get off your asses and prevent female genital mutilation in your country, something that is done to 90% of Egyptian women, rather than babble about a film project because your womens' virginity is more important than life itself. (See honor killings, Jordan/Paleostine)

Sorry about the length, fellow readers, but I lived in Egypt from '92-96 and worked at a public university. "Intellecutals" and Egyptian can go together, but there are plenty of phony Ph.D.'s who owe their doctorates to friends, it's unbelievable. These dudes are just so touchy about any perceived insults that really aren't insults, but they'd rather spend their time blowing hot air on subjects like Baywatch Egypt just to "protect" their "dignity" and "honor".
Posted by: Michael || 05/20/2003 15:46 Comments || Top||

#4  Ah, but everyone forgets.
Those "...hot, little sphinx" all need a shave - under arms, legs and top lip.

You ain't lived 'til you've seen a woman in nylons who needed a shave, or when she raises her arm. Shades of post-war Europe. Wonder how that will play on the tube.
Posted by: LVK || 05/20/2003 19:54 Comments || Top||

#5  What was the name of this "protocol"-based serial already, "Riders without horses", or something like that? And now "Baywatch"? I'm so confused, now.
Posted by: Anonymous || 05/21/2003 7:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Big,busty,Burqa babes
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 10:05 Comments || Top||


Body in Pipe an Unsavory Addition to Water
Millions of people in Manila have been drinking super-chlorinated water this week as the body of a teenager remained stubbornly stuck in a major supply pipe. Manila Water Co dumped large doses of the disinfectant into a reservoir serving the eastern part of the Philippine capital after the young man fell into an aqueduct on Saturday while picking fruit.
Yes, large amounts of chlorine will have no effect.
The company has insisted the water supply is safe as it tries to dislodge the body. Health officials agreed that the chances of contamination were slight but urged Manila Water to work faster.
What would be the EPA parts/million standard on this?
"We will have to fish out the body first," Dr Concepcion Quizon, chief executive assistant to Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit, told reporters on Tuesday. "The public will not feel good or right using the water."
How perceptive of the good Doctor.
"Damn, Margaret! This water tastes like corpse soup!"
"Here, dear. Add some more chlorine..."
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 12:42 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  mmmmmmmmmm...corpse flavored water. Now with chlorine!
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 14:03 Comments || Top||

#2  I've been stocking up on powdered water for just such an emergency.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 13:27 Comments || Top||

#3  I have but one comment: "Gross!"
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/20/2003 13:28 Comments || Top||

#4  mmmmmmmmmm...corpse flavored water. Now with chlorine!
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 14:03 Comments || Top||

#5  I hope they do some sampling downstream of the deceased. That way they can see if the combination of his products of decay and the chlorine solution are producing and exceeding the EPA's limits for disinfection byproducts (total trihalomethanes (THM) and 5 haloacetic acids (HAA5), which could contribute to cancer in the long run. It would be easier for all concerned if the teenager was removed expeditiously. However, EPA standards do not apply in Manila any more.. ahem...Ahem...
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/20/2003 16:48 Comments || Top||


Korea
All Koreans called upon to vent their bitter grudge against GIs
Looks like Rodung got into the White Slag again...
The truth about GIs' massacre of prisoners in Jonju prison in South Korea in the past was recently clarified by documents and photos of the U.S. government, remains of slain civilians were unearthed from different parts of South Korea and witnesses testified to GIs' shuddering massacre of civilians before and after the last Korean war.
Guess I missed this. Was it in all the papers?
In this regard Rodong Sinmun today says in a signed commentary:
All this proves that it was none other than the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces present in South Korea who killed a million civilians and the probe into the fact has been strongly demanded in South Korea. The history of their occupation of South Korea that has lasted for over half a century was a bloody one of terrorism, assassination and massacre.
Rodung plays pick a number. 100,000? Too low. A billion? too high. A million? We'll go with that.
GIs killed 25,000 civilians in cold blood when South Koreans rose up against the U.S. forces' occupation and the harsh fascist rule in October 1946. In April 1948 when Jeju islanders waged a popular uprising against the U.S. imperialists' moves for separate election and separate government in South Korea, GIs killed over 35,000 or over a quarter of the population of the island. They killed more than 38,800 people in Seoul in just three days from September 28, 1950.
Anybody? They're not big on documentation to back it up. Which, of course, shocked me. I think the last one was retaking Seoul the first time during the war. I think our NK friends might've had just a little teeny bit to do with that situation.
The United States is a ferocious strangler of the Korean nation and an empire of evil as it has kept South Korea under its military occupation for more than half a century and killed so many innocent people. The U.S., the sworn enemy of the Koreans, is rendering the situation on the Korean Peninsula extremely tense under the pretext of "nuclear issue", bringing dark clouds of a nuclear war to hang over the Korean nation, as if it were not enough with the mass killings of Koreans it has perpetrated so far. The Korean nation with high national dignity and self-respect will no longer allow itself to suffer from GIs. The departed souls of innocent Koreans killed by GIs in cold blood are calling for taking revenge upon them.
Yeah, call up the dead ancestors...
All Koreans are called upon to give vent to their pent-up grudge against the U.S. imperialist aggressors.
Vent, South Korean people! Vent!
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 11:00 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jeju Island is a volcanic island located at the south sea of the Korean Peninsula. It lies south of Mokpo city by 141.6 km, southwest of Busan by 286.5 km, and south of Seoul by 286.5 km. The South Sea and the East China Sea surround the island, encompassing the Jeju Sea Area at the north and south respectively. Should you look at the map on Jeju Island upside down, you can see that it serves as an important advanced base for Korea. In other words, since Jeju Island is located at the heart of Korea, Japan, China, it has, from the past, played a quintessential role in geopolitics around these regions.

Jeju Island lies in 126° 08' 43" ~ 126° 58' 20" of east longitude, 33° 11' 27" ~ 33° 33' 50" (excluding islets) north latitude. Located at the south of the island is Marado, the southern-most area of the Korean Peninsula, with Chagui Island at the west, Biyang Light at the east, and Siruyeo of Chuja Island at the north. According to statistics for the year 2000, the area of the Jeju Islands totals 1,845.92㎢, taking up a mere 1.85% of Korea, and also includes a 253 km-long coastal line, 8 inhabited islands, and 55 uninhabited ones.

They apparently have female pearl divers.
Posted by: Chuck || 05/20/2003 13:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Ah the sweet sounds of leftist journalism. Any doubt on how messed up these people are? Ever wonder why this stuff goes over big in Arab countries but is ignored in Asia? Here is a clue: LITERACY.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 05/20/2003 13:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Found it:

1948 Cheju-do Civil War

But the main object of the conference was to bring world attention to one of the darkest yet least- known chapters of postwar Asian history--the horrific genocide of 30,000 innocent civilians on Cheju-do between 1948 and 1949. In the space of one year, fully ten percent of the island's total population of 300,000 was massacred -- literal Roman decimation. Privately the governor of Cheju told American intelligence at the time that 60,000 were killed.

This mass murder, in the guise of an anti-Communist civil war, was undertaken by the South Korean army, the Cheju-do police, and the U.S. military, which directed the counterinsurgency operation, providing military advisers, naval and air support, and U.S. ground troops.


Communist uprising at about the time of the first elections in South Korea.
Posted by: Chuck || 05/20/2003 13:58 Comments || Top||

#4  4.5 - clearly slipping here. No 'sea of fire', no 'madcap adventure'. Tut tut, we expect more in the peanut gallery...
Posted by: Tony || 05/20/2003 19:37 Comments || Top||


North Korea Warns of ’Unspeakable Disaster’ if Seoul Becomes Confrontational
EFL and for new spittle only
Economic talks between North and South Korea opened with a harsh warning from the North, and produced no progress on the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs. North Korean delegates at the Pyongyang talks warned of "an unspeakable disaster" if Seoul turns to confrontation. The comment in North Korean state media was Pyongyang's sharpest direct warning to the South in weeks, and its first public reaction to last week's meeting of the U.S. and South Korean presidents. During that summit, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said inter-Korean exchanges would be linked to Pyongyang's moves to resolve the crisis over its nuclear weapons program. He agreed that "further steps" may be needed if the dispute worsens. North Korean delegates call South Korea's cooperation with the United States "perfidious." But during the talks, they appealed to the South for 500,000 tons of food aid.
"Please send us 500 Kilotons (Food) so we don't send you Megatons (Sea of Fire), or else"
South Korea is ready to send grain to its impoverished neighbor, but wants monitors to verify that it goes to hungry civilians, not the military. South Korean news reports say Seoul's delegates also warned Pyongyang that public opinion in the South would not support continued aid unless the nuclear issue is resolved. The economic talks end Thursday. Delegates are expected to discuss transportation links, constructing a North Korean industrial complex, and establishing a joint tourism project. But they may not make progress on those topics if the North continues to refuse to discuss the nuclear issue. North Korea insists the matter is strictly between it and the United States. Pyongyang said it will end its nuclear program in exchange for a non-aggression pact and substantial economic aid from the United States.
I think the "Unspeakable Disaster" might be the economic collapse of NK ;-)
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 11:10 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why are those SK idiots even bothering with this crap? There's nothing but constant warnings from paranoid NK rulers of dire consequences for this little thing and that little thing. Until Jong and his cronies learn to STFU, the south would do well to simply ignore them. As it is, all of the south's conciliatory actions look like nothing more than frightened coddling.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 12:52 Comments || Top||

#2  I remember reading somewhere, quite awhile ago, about plans to dig a sea-level canal in Panama, using nukes. We need to dig that plan out, revise it to fit, and use it to dig a 10-mile wide ditch from east to west through the Korean Peninsula. As soon as that's done, we'll just institute a little mining operation in the ports of North Korea and see what happens. Sooner or later, China's going to get tired of this dead whale, and pull out.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 05/20/2003 16:42 Comments || Top||

#3  North Korea already IS an unspeakable disaster.
Posted by: Tom || 05/20/2003 16:45 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Conyers Blasts Illinois Democrats as a National Embarrassment
Edited for Brevity
In a stinging rebuke, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House committee that oversees telecommunications issues has condemned as "a national embarrassment to Democrats" a new Illinois law pushed by party members that gives a competitive edge to SBC in the local phone market.
For context, the president of SBC is Bill Daley. Yes, THAT Bill Daley who tried to steal the Florida election. Looks like he's working that ole' magic up in his homestate now with the assistance, no doubt, of his brother, Mayor Daley.
"The Democratic Party is supposed to stand for consumers, for small businesses and for a level playing field," said U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
No, Conyers, you ought to know better. It stands for shakedowns and reparations and other such nonsense.
"But in smoke-filled backrooms, with waft of lobby dollars thick in the air, key Democrats seemed to throw these traditional principles overboard, and with them millions of consumers who are now going to be paying higher telephone bills."
Also known in Democratic circles as "the good old days". Boss Tweed would be proud.
Conyers, who warned that the new law could haunt the party in future Illinois elections, has long complained about what he contends are efforts by SBC and other so-called Baby Bell phone providers [BellSouth, Qwest and Verizon] to hamper competition in local markets.
This is definitely an issue that a Republican can run on in the open Senate seat. This was strong-armed political lobbying at its worst.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 10:09 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  whats this have to with the price of kalishnikovs in Peshawar?
Posted by: liberalhawk || 05/20/2003 10:20 Comments || Top||

#2  I read in the Tribune where the Teamsters are already pushing for the current Comptroller as the Democratic candidate and trying to discourage any other contenders. It looks like Daley's machine is alive and well in the Second City.
Posted by: MusicMan || 05/20/2003 10:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Conyers, who warned that the new law could haunt the party in future

A curious phrase, almost sounds as if there were ghostly votes sometime in the past.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono || 05/20/2003 10:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Give Conyers some credit here. He is an expert on "national embarrassments". He sees one in the mirror every morning.
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 11:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Conyers is basically a wannabee.

He is ticked that he isn't getting the campaign contributions from the regional bells. I think he is also ticked that he is to old to commit adultry with the really good looking babes.
Posted by: mhw || 05/20/2003 12:46 Comments || Top||

#6  "...the price of kalishnikovs in Peshawar?"

$37.50 per for the standard model. You want the nifty Speznatz S-model, it's a bit steeper...
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 12:52 Comments || Top||

#7  whats this have to with the price of kalishnikovs in Peshawar?

Who says that the WOT, WMDs, and the Middle East is the sole focus of this blog?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 05/20/2003 13:56 Comments || Top||

#8  I think mhw is correct. The Baby Bells certainly have spread their wealth to Congressman Dingell but evidently stopped short of a Conyers shakedown. Maybe his stridency on reparations have made him a pariah.
Posted by: ColoradoConservative || 05/20/2003 14:37 Comments || Top||

#9  All the break-up of MaBell did was create a bunch of mini-monopolies.In Rural America(where I live)I have a Grand Total choice of one(count them),one phone company and ISP.The service sucks and there is not a damn thing I can due about it.
Fredom of Speech/Free market,LH.
Posted by: Raptor || 05/21/2003 8:03 Comments || Top||


Middle East
Hundreds of Palestinians protest against Paleo Qassam rocket attacks
Jpost- reg req'dBy THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF
In a rare demonstration Tuesday, about 600 residents of northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun blocked a main road with trash cans, rocks and burning tires in a burst of anger at gunmen who have prompted Israeli incursions by firing rockets at Israeli targets.
Civilians getting tired of being human shields the "effect in cause and effect?
The protest erupted some hours after the IDF pulled forces out of Beit Hanoun after a five-day incursion aimed at disrupting the Kassam rocket attacks. "They claim they are heroes," said Mohammed Zaaneen, 30, a farmer, of the Palestinian gunmen, as he carried rocks into the street. "They brought us only destruction and made us homeless. They used our farms, our houses and our children ... to hide." During the IDF presence in Beit Hanoun, eight Palestinians were killed in clashes, four gunmen and four teens, ages 13, 15 and 17. Three of the teens had been throwing stones at Israeli tanks when they were shot by troops. Sixty-five residents were wounded, including 20 under the age of 15, doctors said.
The kids are going to learn it's not nice to throw rocks and molotov cocktails at armed and angry troops, tanks
The IDF troop pullback came despite a rash of suicide bomb attacks in Israel that have killed 12 people and wounded dozens in the past few days. The pullback suggested Israel is holding off on large-scale retaliation for now
I'd expect any time now though,
amid international concern that new strikes would further weaken the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas is seen as instrumental in implementing the "road map" to peace plan, a three-stage prescription for ending violence and setting up a Palestinian state by 2005. However, Abbas has said he will not launch a crackdown on militias, a crucial step in the first phase, until Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accepts the plan.
Sharon will never accept a plan that allows right of return, and doesn't require Paleo actions rather than lies promises
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 09:08 am || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wow, Paleos upset about being used as unwilling human sheilds? Maybe at some point they'll get the guts to turn on their real tormentors (the gunnies) instead of just setting up a roadblock. Together with the Ein El-Hellhole gunbattles, we've got a couple of encouraging developments today.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/20/2003 11:33 Comments || Top||

#2  "we will have peace when the arabs love their children more than they hate us" - Golda Meier (more or less)
Posted by: liberalhawk || 05/20/2003 13:33 Comments || Top||

#3  > "Maybe at some point they'll get the guts to turn on their real tormentors (the gunnies)"

you try bossing around men with machine guns...
Posted by: Douglas || 05/20/2003 14:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Douglas, find a pistol and shoot 'em in the back. It ain't that hard.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/20/2003 17:40 Comments || Top||

#5  OP: You must be fun at parties.
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 22:33 Comments || Top||

#6  Just don't let him tend bar...
Posted by: mojo || 05/20/2003 23:52 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon
7 killed as fighting rocks Ain al-Hilweh
Followup to the recent exchanges of dirt naps in the Hellhole
An uneasy cease-fire was reached between various factions in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp Monday after vicious fighting left seven people dead and some 55 wounded. The fighting broke out shortly after noon between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah Movement and factions loyal to it, and the Usbat al-Nur faction, a splinter of the larger Usbat al-Ansar that is suspected of links with Al-Qaeda.
Paleo civil war? get your popcorn, pull up a chair, and cheer for both sides to lose
Weapons of various caliber were used in the fighting that caused hundreds of families in the country’s largest refugee camp and some from neighboring areas to flee to the safety of farther areas.
Run away!
The clashes forced the army and the Red Cross to evacuate patients and staff from the Sidon Public Hospital at the main entrance of the camp, which houses some 70,000 thugs crazies, gun-sex maniacs refugees. Rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns were heard in Sidon, scaring the residents of the port city. The leader of Usbat al-Nur, Abdullah Shreidi, was gravely wounded
Damn I was hoping he'd be dead still
in a shootout with Fatah on Saturday and his uncle, Yehia Shreidi, and a follower, Fouad Farhoud, were killed.
Ah, yes. They will be missed. Mainly 'cuz somebody else didn't miss...
The round of fighting on Monday allegedly erupted when Yehia’s relatives insisted on burying him and Farhoud at one of the camp’s graveyards, where his brother Hisham Shreidi, a founder of Usbat al-Ansar, was buried. But the Fatah gunmen prevented them from doing so and ordered them to bury the bodies elsewhere.
like Syria
"We don't want them here. They'll bother Grandmaw!"
The burial did not take place and the dispute continued until Monday morning, when armed men from both sides were seen patrolling in large numbers throughout the camp’s streets, especially near both the groups’ headquarters. Around midday, the two sides started trading heavy gunfire, which continued for two hours non-stop before spreading to the Taytaba neighborhood. The Shreidi group then advanced in the direction of the Fatah gunmen, until they reached the outskirts of their headquarters. the Sharks and the Jets
Meanwhile, the fire exchanged between the two sides hit some civilian and non-civilian locations outside the camp,
Expect UN/EU/Sarandon outcry any day soon tick.... tick...
especially in the Al-Villat, Al-Taamir and Madrasat al-Amircan neighborhoods. One rocket exploded near an army position located at the camp’s main entrance, while two others hit an outside wall of the city’s main government hospital.
Meanwhile, the army and the Internal Security Forces stopped traffic on all roads surrounding the camp and set up both fixed and moving checkpoints in the immediate area. Moreover, dozens of families lay on the ground in public gardens and footpaths around the camp, waiting for the fighting to stop.
What a way to live...
At around 4 pm, some Palestinian leaders attempted to contact the factions for the purpose of achieving a cease-fire. The cease-fire talks were led on the Islamist side by Sheikh Jamal Khattab, along with leaders from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups. The Fatah negotiators were led by the head of Fatah’s militia in Ein el-Hilweh, Colonel Mounir Maqdah, and the Fatah official in the Bekaa, Colonel Khaled Shayeb, together with the secretary of the Palestinian committees in Sidon, Abed Maqdah. Fatah broadcast a statement on its loudspeakers expressing willingness to stop the fighting if the other side did the same. Loudspeakers on several mosques started urging fighters to stop the bloodshed. Following that, a meeting was held at Al-Nour Mosque, which is controlled by Usbat al-Ansar. Delegates for the various groups took part in the meeting and a cease-fire was announced, with Usbat claiming to observe it. A statement was broadcast by Sheikh Khattab at the Safsaf Mosque calling for dialogue to begin. As evening descended, the fighting died down and a tense calm prevailed. However, a number of Shreidi’s fighters did not respect the cease-fire
Comes as a surprise, huh?
and tried to advance in the direction of the Fatah positions, but the Usbat al-Ansar group prevented the fighting from resuming.
damn
The cease-fire paved the way for first aid to be provided to the wounded and for more talks to get under way in a bid to reach a permanent truce. One of the people killed was a Syrian national, two were from the Shreidi group and the Usbat al-Ansar group, and one was a civilian. The wounded were taken to Sidon hospitals, and heavy damage to private properties was reported. Muslim radicals attacked Fatah’s camp headquarters in August 2002, killing a Fatah member and an Islamist fighter. Since then, dozens of bomb and grenade attacks have targeted offices of both mainstream and pro-Syrian Palestinian factions in Ein el-Hilweh and the nearby Mieh Mieh camp. Between five and seven Lebanese Sunni fundamentalists, accused of links with Al-Qaeda have been hiding in Ein el-Hilweh ever since the Lebanese Army put down an Islamist insurrection in Dinnieh in January 2000. Fatah’s commander in Lebanon, Brigadier Sultan Abul-Ainayn, said on Sunday that his group was responsible for shooting the Usbat al-Nour chief, Abdullah Shreidi, whom he accused of having terrorized the camp. “Orders to kill him have been taken and it is a matter of time before he is actually liquidated,” he told reporters.
Sounds serious — take a life insurance policy out on him — now
Abul-Ainayn had blamed Shreidi for the murder of seven Fatah members and four civilians in the past few years. Shreidi’s supporters had pledged to throw the body of the “traitor” Mounir Maqdah to the dogs.
the dogs don't deserve that
Mahmoud Zayyat, a photojournalist who works with Agence France Presse and the daily Ad-Diyar, was also shot in the foot at the northern entrance of the camp before he was carried to safety by Ahmad a fellow photojournalist.
shot in the foot? wasn't he near death in yesterday's post? pussies!
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 08:46 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is sort of like a cricket match to Americans. Don't understand the rules, lots of scoring that doesn't seem to mean anything, and it lasts forever.
Posted by: Chuck || 05/20/2003 9:06 Comments || Top||

#2  actually this is quite mysterious - all evidence from the territories seems to indicate that Yasser still controls the fatah hard boys, and that he's in alliance with Hamas and IJ. Either trying to undermine Abu Mazen, or secretly in cahoots with Abu Mazen, if you believe Charles Johnson. In either case no reason for Yasser to take on islamists.

So whats happening in Lebanon - is fatah/hamas/IJ alliance united against AQ faction? Is Hamas/IJ staying neutral (despite larger strategic cooperation with Yasser- and as appears from their role as 'mediators") in Fatah vs AQ fight? Are Fatah hard boys in ein al hilweh not under Yassers control? Or is it purely local turf battles in ein al hilweh, no connection to larger Pal civil war?
Posted by: Anonymous || 05/20/2003 9:19 Comments || Top||

#3  All good questions, anonymous, that's why I posted it - the Ein is such a shithole of intrigue, clans and snuffies, squalor, heavy weapons - it's hard to remember it's essentially a UN-run "refugee" city - oh wait, maybe it's not.
Posted by: Frank G || 05/20/2003 9:26 Comments || Top||

#4  "The Fighting Rocks"--That would make a good name for a sports team or a band. Of course, then the Anti Rock Defamation League would get their panties in a twist.
Posted by: Dar || 05/20/2003 10:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Ein Hellhole is one exit ramp I wouldn't take on the roadmap to peace.
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/20/2003 12:13 Comments || Top||

#6  Weapons of various caliber were used in the fighting that caused hundreds of families in the country’s largest refugee camp and some from neighboring areas to flee to the safety of farther areas.
When you think about it, it's funny in a sick sort of way that refugees would have to seek refuge from a refugee camp. Also, isn't Islamic law pretty big on burying the dead within 24 hours? Preventing that would be a major provocation, no?
Posted by: 11A5S || 05/20/2003 12:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Cricket and the similes to the events at Ein el-Hilweh (ie not Lords):
"Maiden" - no score in an "over" (that'll be Abdullah Shreidi getting away with it)
"Wicket Maiden" - no score in an "over" and you get someone "out" (that'll be when Yehia Shreidi and Fouad Farhoud were "out", actually that's a double wicket maiden and is quite good)

Mr Zayyat, not being "out", but being injured, is allowed a "runner" who can bat for him.

Brigadier Sultan Abul-Ainayn, in stating that he will get Mr Abdullah Shreidi "out" is merely engaging in idle banter designed to "rattle" Mr Shreidi, no doubt the Brigadier has a "Yorker" in the form of an RPG ready for Mr Shreidi.

Also note that the "tea interval" (yes, they sit down to cups of tea, cucumber sandwiches and small bits of cake) is about 4pm in cricket, ie when they had their cease-fire, hmm...

Now all I have to do is rid my mind of these nutters in cricket whites hurling large calibre ordinance at each other...
Posted by: Tony || 05/20/2003 20:14 Comments || Top||



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