The defence of Arab prisoners detained by Algerian authorities and accused of belonging to terrorist groups or participating in terrorist acts is wondering about their fate. The Arabs are from Yemen, Egypt and Morocco. The defence also insists on the fact that the deadline is for all terrorists and not only Algerians as clarified by the second chapter of the Charter. So asking for their fate before moving to the post-reconciliation phase is legitimate.
Algerian authorities are detaining a certain number of foreign nationals for the period beginning from the pre-referendum on National Reconciliation Charter and the approval of laws. There are 7 Yemenis, one Egyptian and a Moroccan in all. The defence of the people in question report that they are requesting a clearer view of their files. It also excluded that behind the long period of their detention and fate may be their link with international terrorism. A foreign interference can be a reason for such behaviour.
But there is another question to be raised and which is the fate of Algerians detained during the period extending from February till now. They are accused of having the intention and preparing to fight in Iraq. Their relatives say as the deadline of reconciliation is nearly reached, accusations of almost 50 people are still unclear as well as the reason for not considering them as part of reconciliation procedures if they are found guilty of terrorism and having intentions of fighting in Iraq. The defence of such people and many others are sharing the same views and expecting judicial institutions to find a solution so that every one of them can take profit from reconciliation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune was charged in a Sudanese court Saturday with espionage and other crimes.
Paul Salopek, 44, was charged in a 40-minute hearing with espionage, passing information illegally and writing "false news," the Tribune reported on its Web site. His driver and interpreter, both Chadian nationals, faced the same charges.
The three men were arrested Aug. 6 by pro-government forces in the war-torn province of Darfur
The three men were arrested Aug. 6 by pro-government forces in the war-torn province of Darfur, the paper said. Salopek, who lives in New Mexico, was working on a freelance assignment for National Geographic magazine during his arrest.
"He is not a spy," said Ann Marie Lipinski, editor and senior vice president of the Tribune. "Our fervent hope is that the authorities in Sudan will recognize his innocence and quickly allow Paul to return home to his wife, Linda, and to his colleagues."
Salopek was in Sudan writing an article on a sub-Saharan African region known as the Sahel, said Chris Johns, National Geographic's editor in chief.
#2
I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast.
EFL
Tony Blair's lack of leadership and timid subservience to George W Bush lie behind the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the worldwide threat of terrorism, according to the former American president Jimmy Carter. "I have been surprised and extremely disappointed by Tony Blair's behaviour," he told The Sunday Telegraph. "I think that more than any other person in the world the Prime Minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington - and he has not. I really thought that Tony Blair, who I know personally to some degree, would be a constraint on President Bush's policies towards Iraq."
In an exclusive interview, President Carter made it plain that he sees Mr Blair's lack of leadership as being a key factor in the present crisis in Iraq, which followed the 2003 invasion - a pre-emptive move he said he would never have considered himself as president. Mr Carter also said that the Iraq invasion had subverted the fight against terrorism and instead strengthened al-Qaeda and the recruitment of terrorists. "In many countries where I meet with leaders and private citizens there is an equating of American policy with Great Britain - with Great Britain obviously playing the lesser role. We now have a situation where America is so unpopular overseas that even in countries like Egypt and Jordan our approval ratings are less than five per cent. It's a shameful and pitiful state of affairs and I hold your British Prime Minister to be substantially responsible for being so compliant and subservient."
The outspoken attack by the former Democratic president shows the extent of the alienation between the Labour Party and its traditional Democrat allies in America. It will embarrass the Prime Minister on his return from his summer family holiday in Barbados and comes as Mr Blair prepares to make a defiant speech warning his party that it risks losing the next election if it does not unite behind him.
As friends of the Prime Minister mounted frenzied briefings in his defence yesterday, the Downing Street spin machine appeared to run out of control. A statement first put out on Friday was reissued, in which Mr Blair made a desperate defence of his Government, insisting that "after nearly a decade in office the PM is convinced that his Government has the experience and authority to meet these challenges". Later officials at Downing Street admitted that they had simply redated the identical statement before sending it out to the press.
At 81, Mr Carter - the 39th American president, from 1977 to 1981, and the winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize - plainly has no intention of sitting on his porch and nodding quietly away as the sun goes down over his peanut farm. He has just published a book, Faith and Freedom, in which he savages the American administration for leading the country into insularity and intolerance.
Asked why he thinks Mr Blair has behaved in the way that he has with President Bush's belligerent regime, Mr Carter said he could only put it down to timidity. Yet he confessed that he remains baffled by the apparent contrast between Mr Blair's private remarks and his public utterances. "I really believe the reports of former leaders who were present in conversations between Blair and Bush that Blair has expressed private opinions contrary to some of the public policies that he has adopted in subservience."
#4
Man must crave more attention than SlimFast Diet Plan Cindy. Now there's a marriage made in some bizzaro altered universe*. Wonder if he lusts in his heart for her publicity?
*actually known to exist in the minds of many humans shown to be suffering from severe BDS syndrome.
#5
This fool was a simpleton when he was in office. I think he's heading toward total dementia with Murtha right along beside him. Meanwhile, the Orca from Cape Cod is so inebriated he has no idea what he's blabbering,like during the DC rally for illegal aliens.
#6
Jimmy Carter...the mastermind behind the Iranian shia theocracy, the takeover of US embassy and subsequent kidnapping of US citizens in Tehran, massive US inflation that crippled the economy, the downsizing and destruction of the US military, breakdown of the US intelligence community.
#9
Thank you for the Islamofascist propaganda, Imam Carter.
Putz .
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
08/27/2006 19:25 Comments ||
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#10
This nations's worst president is fighting hard to also be known as America's worst ex-president. Someone needs to stuff his pie hole with about six bushels of Georgia peaches - all at the same time.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/27/2006 22:06 Comments ||
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#11
He needs a peanut allergy so he can properly enjoy his plantation.
Convicted in Britain three years ago for inciting racial hatred through his doctrine, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal, a son of Point, St. James, now faces deportation to the land he departed 26 years ago. The Jamaican Government last week said British authorities have not contacted them about a possible deportation. However, it seems that the Jamaican expatriate will soon be forced to pack his luggage and head home.
The local Islamic community has said they may embrace Sheikh el-Faisal as a brother but that is the furthest they would go if the accusations against him are true. "If it is true, every Muslim in Jamaica condemns it. We won't associate ourselves with anyone like that," Sheikh Musa Tijani, head of education and Dawah [which means calling people to the religion] at the Islamic Council of Jamaica said. Sheikh Tijani, however, has asked for Sheikh el-Faisal's side of the story.
"I want to hear the truth - his side, the other side." Sheikh Tinaji said he has never heard any of 'the brother's terror speeches. He said that what he has to rely on media, largely biased toward Christians, to present information on the case. "If he said it is true then we are not going to accept him. In fact, we would demand a public apology because what he did was wrong."
Sheikh el-Faisal was convicted on three counts of racial incitement and three of 'soliciting murder' (under a 1861 Offences Against the Person Act) by a unanimous verdict from the jury. In his preaching, recorded on audio and video cassettes and DVDs, el-Faisal urged, not just pronounced, death and destruction on unbelievers. In one of his tapes, el-Faisal urged Muslim women to "bring up your male children in the jihad mentality."
"So when you buy your toys for your boys you buy tanks and guns and helicopter gunships and so forth. The way forward can never be the ballot. The way forward is the bullet. How wonderful it is to kill the Kuffar [unbeliever]. You crawl on his back and while you push him down into hellfire you are going into paradise." Another of his jihad tape contains the words: "So you go to India and if you see a Hindu walking down the road you are allowed to kill him and take his money, is that clear?"
One local Muslim, Abdul Basear, said he believes Sheikh el-Faisal was "a bit enthusiastic and overzealous." Basear, however, is not convinced that el-Faisal preached racial hate. "He might say some things which are not acceptable by other Muslims but he does not preach racial hatred." Basear said jihad should not be viewed as something bad. He said jihad, which may take many forms, means striving for the pleasure of Allah [God] to empower yourself. This jihad, he said, may be either physical or spiritual.
His argument is not something the British authorities would buy. el-Faisal is said to have influenced at least one terrorist attacker. Richard Reid, the shoe bomber who is of Jamaica descent, is said to have visited mosques where el-Faisal gave speeches. It is also believed that Jamaican-born bomber Germaine Lindsay, a 19-year-old Muslim convert, was influenced by el-Faisal.
Sheikh Tijani has said that the impending deportation of Sheikh el-Faisal will only help the cause of those who have turned the microscope on the religion of Islam. "This definitely make things more difficult for Muslims. The spotlight is already on us and it is going to get brighter. But we don't have anything to hide. We don't teach our followers to accept terrorist or extremist ideals," Sheikh Tijani told The Sunday Gleaner.
Sheikh el-Faisal was christened 'Trevor William Forrest' and later earned the name 'Dictionary' from his friends because of his tendency to used jaw-cracking words. His parents were Salvation Army officers who introduced him to Christianity. However, at age 16 he left for Saudi Arabia where he traded his early country-boy Christian lifestyle for a combative Islam belief.
#1
In his preaching, recorded on audio and video cassettes and DVDs, el-Faisal urged, not just pronounced, death and destruction on unbelievers. In one of his tapes, el-Faisal urged Muslim women to "bring up your male children in the jihad mentality."
Advocates jihad, chack!
"So when you buy your toys for your boys you buy tanks and guns and helicopter gunships and so forth. The way forward can never be the ballot. The way forward is the bullet.
Forcible conversion, check!
How wonderful it is to kill the Kuffar [unbeliever]. You crawl on his back and while you push him down into hellfire you are going into paradise." Another of his jihad tape contains the words: "So you go to India and if you see a Hindu walking down the road you are allowed to kill him and take his money, is that clear?"
Very clear. Cold-blooded murder, check!
One local Muslim, Abdul Basear, said he believes Sheikh el-Faisal was "a bit enthusiastic and overzealous."
"No never! Wonderful chap. Used to send his mother flowers and all that."
Basear, however, is not convinced that el-Faisal preached racial hate.
Unable to report bespittled imams, check!
"He might say some things which are not acceptable by other Muslims but he does not preach racial hatred."
Religion of Peace [spit], check!
Sheikh Tijani has said that the impending deportation of Sheikh el-Faisal will only help the cause of those who have turned the microscope on the religion of Islam.
I'd say they're the ones who haven't helped their own cause.
"This definitely make things more difficult for Muslims.
The old blame game. These yutzes have made things hard on themselves. Why wasn't el-Faisal reported for defaming Islam with his jihadist preachings?
The spotlight is already on us and it is going to get brighter. But we don't have anything to hide.
Well, maybe except for el-Faisal, who went unreported.
We don't teach our followers to accept terrorist or extremist ideals," Sheikh Tijani told The Sunday Gleaner.
They left that up to el-Faisal, until local authorities caught on and, once more, were obliged to go in and clean house for yet another bunch of unwilling Muslim ingrates.
The hurried effort to free Elina Ersenoyeva, who was abducted by masked men on the main street of Chechnyas capital on Aug. 17, began like many others. An account of her disappearance was compiled and circulated. Human rights groups and civil society organizations urged Russia to investigate and secure her release. She was a journalist and social worker, they said another victim who had been swept from her life, apparently by Chechnyas pro-Kremlin law enforcement bodies, who had been implicated in many kidnappings before. But the case has since taken a surprising turn, even by the bizarre standards of violence, organized crime and police brutality that have accompanied Chechnyas lingering war. It turns out Ms. Ersenoyeva, 26, led two lives.
In addition to her public positions, she was a secret bride of Shamil Basayev, the one-footed Chechen terrorist leader and Russias most wanted man, who died in an explosion on July 11. Ms. Ersenoyevas mother said her daughter had not voluntarily married Mr. Basayev, who remained unapologetic and defiant after sending female suicide bombers to Moscow and onto passenger jets, and who had planned the lethal hostage sieges in a Russian theater and public school. She agreed to marry him, her mother said, only because the separatists had threatened to kill her two brothers if she did not do as they said. She was a smart girl, but she was used, her mother, Rita Ersenoyava, said in an interview in the village of Stariye Atagi, south of here, from where she said her daughter was taken for conjugal visits with the terrorist leader. Now she is gone. I have lost hope. I have lost a golden child.
Whatever the circumstances of Ms. Ersenoyevas marriage, whether she was Mr. Basayevs occasional hostage or willing wife, her disappearance has offered fresh glimpses into two Chechen netherworlds: the secretive life of Mr. Basayev and the murky circumstances of abductions in the Caucasus, which have persisted even as the pace of combat in Chechnya has slowed. Ms. Ersenoyevas mother said her daughter was first taken to Mr. Basayev in late November, after Kheda Saidullayeva, the wife of the president of the separatists government-in-hiding, told her that she must marry a fighter. The name given was Ali-Khan Abu Yazidov.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Germany's Muslim community on Friday condemned the failed plot to blow up passengers trains in the west of the country last month and offered to help authorities fight terrorism. Sixteen organizations, including the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, issued a joint statement saying they were "deeply shocked and horrified. Islam offers no justification for such acts," added the groups.
Islam offers no justification for such acts.
They said Muslims could have been victims in more than one sense if the plot to blow up trains outside the cities of Hamm and Koblenz on July 31 had succeeded. Homemade bombs planted on the trains in trolley suitcases failed to explode, averting an almost certain bloodbath.
"If such an attack succeeds, we are potential victims of such attacks, along with all other citizens. But we will also be branded 'co-accused'," the groups said.
Their statement follows a call by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble earlier this week on Muslims to condemn the plot, which he has described as a terrorist attempt to kill countless people.
... a common condemnation of terror is an overdue first step, but it's not enough."
But conservative politician Edmund Stoiber, head of the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union, said "a common condemnation of terror is an overdue first step, but it's not enough." He told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that Muslims in German needed to become active in trying to prevent terrorist attacks.
He called on Muslim communities to reject extremists in their ranks and alert security officials to them. He added during Friday prayers imams should not denounce western values as morally inferior, thereby radicalizing young Muslims.
#1
Wow! It's only been more than a week and suddenly the Moderate Muslims are now coming forward. I guess they really have to have something to seethe about it has to be something really dramatic before they'll show up any quicker. Something like, oh, a cartoon.
Their statement follows a call by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble earlier this week on Muslims to condemn the plot, which he has described as a terrorist attempt to kill countless people.
Oh, I get it. Someone had to prod them first. Do you think any of them understand that it is the way they constantly show this sort of slack response that leaves most of us in extreme doubt?
Sixteen organizations, including the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, issued a joint statement saying they were "deeply shocked and horrified. Islam offers no justification for such acts," added the groups.
Ooooh, "shocked and horrified" but still no spittle-spewing imams reported or jihadist attendees ejected. In other words, SSDD.
#2
I was hoping the Germans wouldn't react like the French. The Muzzies must be getting concerned for their safety. Probably lots of turmoil in the local beergartens. SS underground may have let it be known that there would be an outbreak of night time fires in the rodent dens.
#3
Its the same broken record again and again.We are against terror, but get out of Muslim countries while allowing more of us come to the Free World, and the tiny minority of extremists might put a cap on terror.
A conditional introductory payment to newly-arrived refugees is one of the election committments to be presented by the Social Democrats next week, integration minister Jens Orback has revealed. Newly-arrived refugees will have to sign a personal contract in which their rights and responsibilities are established. "I want to make clear the responsibilities for those who come here," said Jens Orback to Göteborgs-Posten.
The Left Party was quick to criticise Jens Orback's idea.
The contract will be linked to the financial support the refugee receives. "If you don't go to Swedish For Immigrants (SFI) or take a work experience place, you won't get your introductory payment," said Orback.
Another condition will be that refugees must become informed about Swedish society. The amount paid out in return for fulfilling the conditions will be "somewhat over the social benefit" level, according to Orback. It is already possible for local councils to offer introductory financial support in return for certain committments. But the integration minister's decision to link that to a contract - and to have a single nationwide system - marks a toughening in the Social Democrats' approach. The Left Party was quick to criticise Jens Orback's idea.
MoonbatSaddam-worshippingRabid fascist apologist PLAYWRIGHT Harold Pinter revealed yesterday that he has given up writing altogether. . . . and there was much rejoicing.
Pinter, whose last published play came out in 2000, said the reason he had given up writing was that he had "written himself out", adding: "I recently had a holiday in Dorset and took a couple of my usual yellow writing pads. I didn't write a damn word. Fondly, I turned them over and put them in a drawer." Thank you, Harold, thank you. Now give up public speaking.
#6
Oh this is good news. Usually when writers "give up" writing, the old head-in-the-gas-oven or shotgun to the mouth or wading into deep waters routine is just around the corner.
According to a new book, the State Department (and DOJ) has known for years that Armitage outed Plame
In the early morning of Oct. 1, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell received an urgent phone call from his No. 2 at the State Department. Richard Armitage was clearly agitated. As recounted in a new book, "Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War," Armitage had been at home reading the newspaper and had come across a column by journalist Robert Novak. Months earlier, Novak had caused a huge stir when he revealed that Valerie Plame, wife of Iraq-war critic Joseph Wilson, was a CIA officer. Ever since, Washington had been trying to find out who leaked the information to Novak. The columnist himself had kept quiet. But now, in a second column, Novak provided a tantalizing clue: his primary source, he wrote, was a "senior administration official" who was "not a partisan gunslinger." Armitage was shaken. After reading the column, he knew immediately who the leaker was. On the phone with Powell that morning, Armitage was "in deep distress," says a source directly familiar with the conversation who asked not to be identified because of legal sensitivities. "I'm sure he's talking about me."
Armitage's admission led to a flurry of anxious phone calls and meetings that day at the State Department. (Days earlier, the Justice Department had launched a criminal investigation into the Plame leak after the CIA informed officials there that she was an undercover officer.) Within hours, William Howard Taft IV, the State Department's legal adviser, notified a senior Justice official that Armitage had information relevant to the case. The next day, a team of FBI agents and Justice prosecutors investigating the leak questioned the deputy secretary. Armitage acknowledged that he had passed along to Novak information contained in a classified State Department memo: that Wilson's wife worked on weapons-of-mass-destruction issues at the CIA. (The memo made no reference to her undercover status.) Armitage had met with Novak in his State Department office on July 8, 2003just days before Novak published his first piece identifying Plame. Powell, Armitage and Taft, the only three officials at the State Department who knew the story, never breathed a word of it publicly and Armitage's role remained secret.
So how many millions of dollars did Fitzgerald waste, knowing that Armitage was the leaker. How much damage done to teh administration and teh nation by all the conspiracy theories and LLL moonbats hoping for Fitzmas? How much Global Warming did Joe Wilson's gaseous emissions cause? Captain Ed rips Armitage a new one:
"Addendum: The more I think about this, the angrier I get -- and not just at Patrick Fitzgerald. Richard Armitage confessed to the DoJ in October 2003, and then sat on his ass for the next three years as the media and the Left play this into a paranoid fantasy of conspiracies and revenge. I know Armitage dislikes Rove, Libby, Cheney, and Bush, but what kind of man sits around while the world accuses people of a "crime" that he himself committed? Armitage did nothing while the nation spent years and millions of dollars chasing a series of red herrings, never speaking out to remove the mystery and end the witch hunt. Even three years later, Armitage hasn't mustered the testicular fortitude to publicly admit that he leaked Plame's identity and status; he has Isikoff and Corn do it for him.
Armitage should be through in politics, but he'll catch on with a presidential campaign this year. Watch very carefully to see which one has him as an "advisor" on foreign affairs. It'll reflect poorly on the candidate who continues an association with this bitter apparatchik"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2006 11:18 ||
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#1
The waste of all that money for nothing. Just a wild goose chase, some heads should roll.
#2
Armitage, by keeping silent, has become a "partisan gunslinger". If he were non-partisan, honest, and honorable, he'd have come clean.
He didn't.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/27/2006 12:03 Comments ||
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#3
His boss, Colin Powell, also knew and said not a word. Thus does a man throw away his honour for petty advantage, in the end discovering he'd thrown away both.
#4
Armitage has long been a skeleton-keeper in Washington. He's kept one step ahead of several indictments since the Reagan years. In essence, he is the diplomatic equivalent of James Bond.
I even saw the webpage of someone who archived how Armitage's biography changes every year.
#5
I never did think much of Armitage, but I did think highly of Colin Powell. This is just shameful.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2006 16:19 Comments ||
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#6
just remember that Armitage is an International Relations consultant to John "Straight Talk" McCain for his presidential run in 08. Figures, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2006 16:43 Comments ||
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#7
Before we blow wet kisses at Michael Isikoff for disclosing Armitage's mendacity, let's not forget that Isikoff was greatly responsible for the Newsweek "Qu'ran in a toilet at Gitmo" BS rumor that hamred the USA around the seething Muslim world.
The government on Saturday dismissed the opposition's no-trust motion against the prime minister as "political terrorism" aimed at destabilising the country. "There are religious terrorists and political terrorists. They are the political terrorists and the government must take action against them," said Sarwar Khan, minister for labour and manpower, in a joint press briefing with Muhammad Ali Durrani, minister for information, and Yar Muhammad Rind, minister for states and frontier regions.
"The move is a cheap manoeuvre just to keep themselves alive in the media. If they had any sympathy with democracy they would not have taken such a step, knowing that their defeat is certain. Democracy in this country is like a crawling baby," the ministers said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:41 ||
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PESHAWAR: Local police have initiated a data collection drive of mosques and madrassas in the provincial capital and warned prayer leaders not to advocate jihad or make anti-government statements, Daily Times learnt on Saturday. Prayer leaders said they had no objection to filling out the data collection forms, but resented the verbal message the police officials delivered.
The warning was comprehensive and straightforward: Do not make anti-government remarks and refrain from advocating jihad during sermons, said Maulana Mohammad Asad, prayer leader of Madani Masjid on Kohat Road. He said prayer leaders did receive such messages time and again, but this time the emphasis was more on not speaking against government policies or glamorising jihad. Maulvi Dad Rasool of the Badhaber Jamia Masjid said earlier messages were aimed at stopping the illegal use of loudspeakers for purposes other than Aazan, Friday sermons and announcement of the dead, and stopping the preaching of sectarian hatred.
He said jihad was a part of Islam and no power could stop them from advocating it.
He said jihad was a part of Islam and no power could stop them from advocating it. I have signed the document enlisting my name and name of the madrassa I stay in and its location, he said. I do not see myself bound to the verbal massage and will do what my Allah and the Prophet (PTUI PBUH) entrust me to do, he said, and added that criticising the policies of the government that were against the teachings of Islam was part of his duty as a prayer leader.
Maulana Mohammad Yousaf of Haji Mohammad Noor Jamia Masjid also objected to the message, saying such threats from the government provoked reactionary, juvenile-minded prayer leaders. They will speak more on government polices than before, assuming that it will hurt the government, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
He said jihad was a part of Islam and no power could stop them from advocating it
Really? I think a small bit of high speed lead could stop you every time, whether Allah wills it or not.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/27/2006 21:27 Comments ||
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#2
will they maintain a database on the price of AK47's?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2006 21:37 Comments ||
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The family of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed on Friday filed a contempt petition against the government for taking him to an undisclosed location during the period of his house arrest, the family's lawyer said. Police took away Mr. Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-daawa, to an undisclosed location. "They should have sought the permission of the court before shifting him," Nazir Ahmed Ghazi, the lawyer representing the family, told The Hindu "That is the law of this country. They have not followed it." The family had mounted a legal challenge against Mr. Saeed's house arrest, and on Friday, the High Court heard arguments on both sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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A key suspect being held in Pakistan in connection with the alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights from the UK has given interrogators "vital clues," a Pakistani government minister said today.
Rashid Rauf, a British Muslim of Pakistani origin who was caught in Pakistan on August 9, has been described as a "key person" by Pakistan's government, which says he had contacts with an Afghanistan-based al-Qaida operative. Pakistan has not named the al Qaida operative, although two Pakistani security officials claim he masterminded the plot after getting the nod from al Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al Zawahri. Today, interior minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said Rauf had "wider international links" and was in touch with an Afghanistan-based al Qaida leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"...has given interrogators "vital clues," a Pakistani government minister said today."
BAGHDAD -A powerful Iraqi politician called on Saturday for the Shia south of the country to become an autonomous region as tribal leaders vowed to work together for peace. Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki warned a gathering of tribal sheikhs from across the war-torn country that Iraq would not be free from foreign occupation until its rival sects and ethnic groups agreed to live together.
His initiative led to a pact of honour between the traditional leaders to work together to halt Iraqs slide towards all-out sectarian war.
But at the same time, one of Iraqs most influential politicians called for the vast, oil-rich Shia region south of Baghdad to become a self-governing area stretching from the holy city of Najaf to the port of Basra. Abdel Aziz Al Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), said a referendum should be called in the region to endorse a breakaway, an idea which is fiercely opposed by Sunni leaders.
Our biggest assurance to our people is that federalism be implemented in the centre and south of Iraq, said Hakim, according to a statement issued by his movements office in Najaf on Saturday. This is a guarantee to our sons and grandsons that injustice will not be revived, Hakim was quoted as saying, referring to the period under Iraqs former Sunni ruler Saddam Hussein, during which Shias were persecuted.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
Hakim is tied to Tehran. No breakaway, unless you want further escalation of violence.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/27/2006 2:02 Comments ||
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#3
And partition begins - the only "surprise" being that it begins at the behest of the Shia.
This was rather hysterical:
Our biggest assurance to our people is that federalism be implemented in the centre and south of Iraq, said Hakim...
And what about the North, Hakim? Y'know, those guys who are actually ready for democracy and peace and progress - those Kurd guys?
SCIRI, DAWA, Dippity DooDah, The Maddest Qom Moolah
Southern Shia, Shitstani, None Madder than the Mahdi
12th Imamis, Mad Hatters, Tater Sadrs, all come to tea.
SCIRI, DAWA, Dippity DooDah, The Maddest Qom Moolah
Southern Shia, Shitstani, None Madder than the Mahdi
12th Imamis, Mad Hatters, Tater Sadrs, all come to tea.
whoomp there it is Threatch!
~~~~
Very recent ROP werk.
IOW a fine example of Islam's lust for murder.
Iraq, Sunni-->Splodydope-->Shi'ite
"Revenge on those who ridiculed the Prophet /owner of status"
Mujahideen Shura Council Suicide Carbombing against Shi'ite Targets.
The Mujahideen Shura Council released a video along with a statement on an Islamic militant forum frequented by terrorists. The video depicts a member of the Mujahideen Shura Council, who goes by the name of Abu Umar an Najdi, driving his car rigged with explosives on a highway in a Shi'ite controlled area and detonating his car bomb against unspecified targets. The statement that was posted said that this is a revenge operation "on those who blasphemed against the Prophet".
#5
The interesting thing is the Shia are accepting a rich small chunk of Iraq rather than the whole thing (with slight compromise). If they really want independence I say we let them, or push towards a loose federal system the way the Germans have it with rich states paying a bit of a tax to help out the poorer states.
Might also work to irk the Iranians if the constitution was written to allow for additional areas to join (Shia Arabs in current Iran for example) as the Federal Republic of Germany's constitution was written to allow for East German entry.
#1
" . . . we teach them about making sacrifices on behalf of the Palestinian people and tell them the truth about Islam"
Uh-huh. And what exactly is that truth?
"We teach the children the truth. How the Jews persecuted the prophets and tortured them. We stress that the Jews killed and slaughtered Arabs and Palestinians every chance they got. Most important, the children understand that the conflict with the Jews is not over land, but rather over religion. As long as Jews remain here, between the [Jordan] river and the sea, they will be our enemy and we will continue to pursue and kill them. When they leave we won't hurt them."
Yeah, right.
The indoctrination of children is a very serious endeavor and does not bode well for peaceful solutions in the future.
GAZA (Reuters) - Two kidnapped Fox journalists appeared on a new videotape released by their captors on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, in which the reporters said they had converted to Islam, the Fox News Channel said.
Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Seyam said efforts were under way to secure within hours the release of Fox correspondent Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American, and New Zealand-born cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36.
Both journalists appeared to be in good health in the new video. They were seized on August 14. They were shown separately sitting cross-legged, reading a statement which Fox said was an announcement that they had converted to Islam. At times in the video they were wearing long Muslim robes.
Wiig called on leaders of the West to stop "hiding behind the 'I don't negotiate with terrorists' myth". He then read some words in Arabic.
"The issue of the two kidnapped journalists is on the way to being resolved," Seyam told Reuters. "Efforts are under way with several parties to secure their release within the coming hours."
The previously unknown Holy Jihad Brigades claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the kidnapping and had warned the United States to free Muslim prisoners or the captives would face unspecified consequences. The deadline expired on Saturday. The United States has said it would not make "concessions to terrorists".
A videotape released on Wednesday showed the two men, dressed in tracksuits, sitting on a blanket in front of a black background. They appeared fairly relaxed and in good health. Both said that they were fine and being treated well.
The kidnapping is the longest-lasting abduction of foreigners in the Palestinian coastal strip in more than a year.
Posted by: Destro in Panama ||
08/27/2006 05:03 ||
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#1
Kidnapped Fox journalists convert to Islam on video
yep de heat will do it everytime.
Posted by: Uncle Ben ||
08/27/2006 9:19 Comments ||
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#2
Unconvert at anytime is a death sentence by any muzzie in any place cause that's Allan's rule.
#3
Bet he had his finger crossed. Glad to hear they are free.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/27/2006 15:09 Comments ||
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#4
Check out Belmont Club's take on these conversions - it's worth it (scroll down to the photos): http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/08/august-shorts.html
Posted by: Patrick ||
08/27/2006 22:36 Comments ||
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Israel said on Saturday that it has been in touch with some Muslim countries to encourage them to participate in the expanded UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in Lebanon. Mark Regev, the Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, said the issue of participation in the force was primarily raised with Turkey. "If Turkey decides to send a contingent, we would welcome that."
Good move, politically. Hezbollah bumping off a few infidels is no big thing, but killing members of the Master Religion is a different story.
Regev said that other countries had also been contacted. Israel has said only countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel should participate in the force, arguing that it would otherwise be hard to share intelligence with the UN force. Jordan and Egypt are among the Muslim countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
NATO is doing okay in Afghanistan. The kill ratio is huge. Given that - unlike the Taliban - Hizbollah is an effective party to the Lebanon ceasefire, it would appear that Lebanon would be relatively safe for NATO observation. As for NATO's Turkish sick man: Turkey joined with Iran in shelling a Kurdistan town last week. And Turkish merchants have been refusing service to Israeli tourists. They can't be trusted.
#3
Translation of Mr. Regev's remarks: "We haven't buggered this war up badly enough yet. Our poor preparation, lousy strategy and absent senior-level leadership was only the beginning".
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
08/27/2006 19:15 Comments ||
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HT to LGF!
A key U.S. legislator said in Israel on Sunday he would block aid President George W. Bush promised Lebanon and free the funds only when Beirut agreed to the deployment of international troops on the border with Syria. Calling the pencilneck's bluff, good job! A donk, even!
"The international community must use all our available means to stiffen Lebanon's spine and to convince the government of Lebanon to have the new UNIFIL troops on the Syrian border in adequate numbers," said Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives' International Relations Committee. "and they need to actually stop weapons and fighters!"
Lantos said he was putting a legislative hold on Bush's proposal to provide $230 million in aid for Lebanon in the aftermath of the 34-day war between Israel and Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas. As the top Democrat on the International Relations Committee, Lantos has the power to hold up legislation. For once, their obstructionist tactics are used for the US's interests
"It is very much my hope that I will be able to lift the hold when the reasons will no longer be present," he said at Israel's Foreign Ministry, where he met Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni after talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"My purpose is not to withhold aid from Lebanon, my purpose ... is to persuade the government of Lebanon that the closing of the Lebanon-Syria border to arms smuggling from Iran and Syria is in the prime national interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese people." "Wake the f&ck up, Lebanon! There's strings on the aid"
Syria has threatened to shut its border with Lebanon if U.N. troops deploy there. Israel says it will not lift a sea and air blockade of Lebanon unless a U.N. force helps ensure that no new weapons reach Hizbollah in the south. go right ahead
In response to the dispute between Israel and Syria over the deployment, Lebanon undertook on Thursday to prevent smuggling.
The United Nations has approved an expanded force of up to 15,000 troops to beef up the 2,000-strong UNIFIL contingent that has been in south Lebanon since 1978.
The Lebanese government has estimated that the damage from the war will cost $3.6 billion to repair and Bush administration officials have expressed concern that Hizbollah was gaining an early advantage in rebuilding shattered south Lebanon.
Lantos, from California, said he would introduce bipartisan legislation to provide more aid to Israel, which already receives more than $2 billion annually in assistance from the United States.
"Lebanon will get help from both Europe, the Arab world and the United States. Unless the United States provides some aid to Israel, Israel receives no aid," Lantos said.
He did not provide any estimate of how much money he would seek for Israel. how about weapons?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2006 13:09 ||
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#1
Much of that aid is in the form of loans, which Israel is very prompt in paying back.
#2
Lantos is Greece's representative to the US. As such, the Greeks see Lebanon as their turf, and know their ways & means. He's also aware that it will change the complexion of all of this if the Lebanese know that a Greek is behind it.
#6
As a Holocaust survivor, Tom Lantos has the moral authority to deny aid for terrorist societies. How nice to see the usual pipeline of unrestricted millions in cash earmarked for these terrorist covens finally get tied to substantive change.
#7
Moose.... How do you figure that Lantos is "The representative of Greece" ?
An American by choice, Tom Lantos was born in Budapest, Hungary, on February 1, 1928. He was 16 years of age when Nazi Germany occupied his native country. As a teenager, he was placed in a Hungarian fascist forced labor camp. He succeeded in escaping and was able to survive in a safe house in Budapest set up by Swedish humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. His story is one of the individual accounts which forms the basis of Steven Spielberg's Academy Award winning documentary about the Holocaust in Hungary, The Last Days. An article about Tom's background in World War II and the Spielberg film was published in the University of Washington alumni magazine. The San Francisco Examiner also published an article focusing on Tom's background.
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
08/27/2006 16:51 Comments ||
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Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
08/27/2006 20:18 Comments ||
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#10
No aid to:
1) Countries with "militant wings" separate from the state army
2) Countries with laws allowing execution for apostasy
3) Countries that do not prosecute those who commit "honor" killings.
I hope every one of us can agree on these basic principles and make sure our reps understand we will hold them to this-whether they are up for re-election this year or not.
Posted by: Jules in the Hinterlands ||
08/27/2006 20:32 Comments ||
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#11
Jules, I would also add "Freedom of Religion" to that (otherwise great) list. Theocratic monocultures are 99% of the problem.
Only an outfit like Time Could Make This Shit Up. How to Make Tehran Blink The best way to prevent a nuclear Iran is for America to offer the kind of security assurances that might reduce support for a nuclear arsenal.
By Scott D. Sagan - Newsweek International
Sept. 4, 2006 issue - Given Tehran's defiant response to the European and American effort to constrain its nuclear program, it is time for bolder diplomacy out of Washington. U.S. President George W. Bush should take a page from the playbook of Ronald Reagan, who negotiated with an evil Soviet regimecompeting in the war of ideas, but addressing the enemy's security concerns through arms-control agreements. Yes, let's be bold. the Mad Mullahs are just like the Old Soviet Union. Sheesh, Bush is soooo stupid.
Iran's intransigence is both deeply unfortunate and perfectly predictable. It is unfortunate because Tehran's refusal to suspend its uranium-enrichment operations immediatelyas demanded in July by the U.N. Security Council in a legally binding resolutionsuggests that Iran is moving more quickly than expected toward a nuclear-weapons capability. Tehran has now turned the nuclear crisis into a test of the whole U.N. Security Council system. And Russia and China's current position, threatening to veto any biting sanctions against Iran, suggests that the Security Council may well fail this crucial test. Yes. It's a crucial test of the UNSC. It's sad and unfortunate and stuff. They couldn't help reacting this way for the last 3 years. I'm tearing up, here. *sniff*.
Tehran's response is predictable, however, because the offer on the table contains both inadequate economic carrots and barely credible threats of sanctions and military force. The carrots appeared impressive at first glancein return for a suspension of enrichment we reportedly promised to provide light-water nuclear reactors and to help Iran with civil aviation and telecommunications technology. But we did not offer the one incentive that might possibly work, security guarantees that could reduce Iran's desire for nuclear weapons. They say they want nukular power, but they really just want Big Hugs from Bubba Bush.
This omission is striking. The Iranian government can't talk openly about their security concerns because that would blow their cover story that the nuclear program is only for energy production. And Washington does not want to discuss such worries because it wants to keep open the possibility of removing the regime by force. "Security assurances are not on the table," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice too cleverly argued this spring: "It is a little strange to talk about security guarantees ... I thought the Iranian position was that they weren't developing a nuclear bomb." They lied because, well because they had to. They're just scared and stuff. They lied for 3 years cuz we're so scary. It's our fault for being so scary. Condi's black boots were just too much.
This is partly a crisis of our own making, as the Bush administration has practiced the reverse of Teddy Roosevelt's maximspeaking loudly and carrying a small stick. Think about how Tehran reacted when Bush stated (in his second Inaugural Address), "The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: 'Those who deny freedoms to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it." Or when Bush dramatically told reporters last April that "all options are on the table," in direct response to a question about whether he was considering a nuclear attack against Iran. Such statements only encourage Iran to develop a nuclear deterrent quickly, before the United States can carry out its perceived aggressive intent. Last month, Iran's National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani pointedly complained about such rhetoric. "How can a side that wants to topple the regime also attempt to negotiate?" I blame Bush. Not at all like TDR. Bad Bush, bad. They're scared - and confused, now, too. Bad Bush, bad. If only you could've been like TDR and stuff, none of this would've happened.
Given the current vulnerability of U.S. forces in Iraq, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and the lack of Israeli success against Hizbullah, Iranian officials seem confident that they face no immediate threat of a U.S. military assault. But they are clearly worried that Bush just might attack Iran right before he leaves office in January 2009, or that his successor might do so once U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq. Okay, meme time. Though we're so toothless and all, they're still scared and worried and stuff. Bush might still hurt them. He's purdy evil. And sneaky, too. Lookout Mullahs!
The best way to prevent a nuclear Iran is for Washington to offer the kind of security assurances that might reduce support in Tehran for building a nuclear arsenal. It will be hard to make such assurances credible, but a public U.S. promise to take forcible regime change off the table, and a U.N. Security Council commitment to protect the "political sovereignty" of Iran could help. Involving the Security Council could also pull China and Russia back into the nonproliferation coalition and enhance the U.N.'s legitimacy. Yep. More carrots, less scary stuff, and Big Hugs. It's our job to convince them, cuz they're all scared and stuff. And as for the Ruskies and ChiComs, well, they're really just trying to be good UN members. If we stop being so, uh, bad and stuff they'll be good. We're preventing the UN from being all legitimate and stuff. It's our fault. Bad America, bad.
There, all done. Nothing to be alarmed about, it was only a brain enema.
#3
What a void of common sense. Although Sunnis and Shiites do unify at times, currently the House of Saud views Iran as its mortal enemy. There is a Shiite majority among all the Persian Gulf oilfields. And the Kurdistan fields are subject to Shiite encirclement. Yesterday, Iran launched a long range missile from a submarine. With US forces out of Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf effectively an Iranian sea, the only thing stopping a total takeover is Iran's lack of technology to hold - versus take - these strategic oil fields.
I would hope that President Bush would not indulge circumstances conducive to a future ICBM threat to the American Homeland. In any case, if Ahmadinejad is still in power by the end of September, he will force Shiite-Sunni unification against Israel. Thousands of accurate missiles will surround Israel, and monopoly oil levers will be applied.
Adding insult to injury, on September 8, Iranian Ayatollah Khatami - permanent puppet to the Guardian Council and temporary mouthpiece of sham Parliamentary reformers - will speak in the National Cathedral of Washington. That is debasing, given the President's speech of Sept. 14, 2001:
"Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history. But our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.
War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing..."
Hopefully, that "hour" will be before the end of September.
#6
Would someone please explain to me the sorts of security concerns that a secular Iran would have --
a) if it gave up sponsoring terrorism?
b) if it gave up persecuting its own people?
c) with Saddam in jug?
There's no other regional power that's going to tangle with them. A democratic, secular Iran would zoom forward economically and wouldn't be challenged by any other military power in the Gulf.
So why do they need a security assurance? Oh right, they're NOT democratic, they DO persecute their own people, and they DO sponsor terrorism around the world.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2006 16:24 Comments ||
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#7
Iran's intransigence is both deeply unfortunate and perfectly predictable.
If "Iran's intransigence" is so "perfectly predictable" why waste time speculating on how to appease this rogue regime?
... inadequate economic carrots ...
No amount of carrots will work with a regime that abuses the negotiating process to merely buy more time in circumventing possible military intervention against their illicit pursuits.
They pushed, shoved, shouted and cursed one another. In the end, posters of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah would not be plastered around this tiny Sunni Muslim village in southern Lebanon mourning the loss of 23 of its own, slain in an Israeli air attack during the month-long war with Hezbollah. "Why do you want to put up an image of someone who is killing us?" one man screamed as a mob of dozens waved their fists and thrust open palms toward Nasrallah supporters clutching posters of the bearded and bespectacled Hezbollah chief. "We don't want to see it!"
Though everyone here blames Israel for the 23 deaths, many place equal blame on Hezbollah for bringing their fighters into the region and drawing Israeli fire. Such displays of anger illustrate the complexities of a nation where Shiite, Sunni, Christian and Druse beliefs exist in a tumultuous mix that boiled over during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
Open criticism of Hezbollah is rare in predominantly Shiite Muslim south Lebanon, where yellow Hezbollah flags fly over demolished houses and posters of Nasrallah adorn almost every utility pole and shop. Anger is more common in a handful of Christian villages where residents blame Hezbollah - and its capture of two Israeli soldiers July 12 - for Israeli reprisals that destroyed large swaths of this country. The region's Sunni minority is split into pro- and anti-Hezbollah pockets, but here in Marwaheen, anger has welled up since the July 15 killings of 23 civilians fleeing artillery and rocket duels between the Israeli army and Hezbollah guerrillas, who had taken up positions in their midst.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"How could they keep weapons in the middle of all these civilian houses?"
Because islam allows and promotes it. Cause and effect learn it, profit from it.
#3
Whenever I get too worried about any impending Caliphate, I try to remind myself that the Ummah has approximately the internal cohesion of the Progressive and Anklebiter wing of the Party Formerly Known As The Democrats.
#5
next step is cutting the Hezb throats while they sleep or shooting them in the back while they operate. Reality sux, huh? Armed killers in your midst draw return fire and get your family killed. Whatrya gonna do about it next time?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2006 11:43 Comments ||
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#6
I have no time to post this account of an IDF discovery of a Hizbollah tunnel system. In any case, I am using AOL because Dell gave it to me for a while, and it doesn't recognize html tags. Remember the cut and paste days?
Iranian TV has been showing long columns of army jeeps and other vehicles moving out of several cities across Iran, heading for the country's biggest military manoeuvres to date.
These military manoeuvres are designed to show off our military strength to the enemies...
Bystanders are seen watching and occasionally waving, as the commentary speaks of the armed forces' preparedness to face the enemies. ''These military manoeuvres are designed to show off our military strength to the enemies," said a top general.
The images, which give the impression the country is going to war, are part of the government's efforts to prepare the national psyche for the sacrifices the government may expect from its citizens as Iran marches toward obtaining a nuclear capability despite serious international concern.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"Plays for Time"? This is news? In Ireland, maybe.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/27/2006 17:51 Comments ||
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#2
Good, line up all those vehicles. Don't remember the "highway of death"? All that posturing is just that - posturing. Your army wouldn't last three weeks against a truly professional army. It's time to lay waste to your cities, destroy your infrastructure, and kill your military and religious leaders, then walk off and leave you to bleed to death. You are lower than pond scum, and deserve even less respect.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/27/2006 22:48 Comments ||
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German sailors must be empowered to board ships against the will of their crew in order to stop arms smuggling to Lebanon, a senior leader said in remarks released Saturday. Germany is offering to patrol Lebanon's coast rather than send ground troops as part of a UN peacekeeping force after the conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based Hizbullah. "To prevent arms smuggling from the sea, we need a robust mandate that allows the navy to stop and check suspicious ships against their will," vice-chancellor Franz Muentefering was quoted as saying in the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
We cannot expect that arms suppliers will see it as a friendly act if German ... troops guard the coast and prevent their weapons deliveries...
Muentefering said German forces faced a "serious" role in the UN mission, which including an arms embargo against Hizbullah and other militias. "We cannot expect that arms suppliers will see it as a friendly act if German and other troops guard the coast and prevent their weapons deliveries," he said in an interview released before its publication Sunday. However, he said he was confident that parliament as well as the Cabinet would approve the mission - a requirement under German law.
#4
There's a little more to it than that, Pappy. The law of the sea says, ironically perhaps, that a naval blockade is legal if the blockading navy is strong enough to enforce it. Don't know whether the German navy is in this case, but with NATO help...
Posted by: Patrick ||
08/27/2006 22:40 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The defence of Arab prisoners detained by Algerian authorities and accused of belonging to terrorist groups or participating in terrorist acts is wondering about their fate. The Arabs are from Yemen, Egypt and Morocco. The defence also insists on the fact that the deadline is for all terrorists and not only Algerians as clarified by the second chapter of the Charter. So asking for their fate before moving to the post-reconciliation phase is legitimate.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune was charged in a Sudanese court Saturday with espionage and other crimes.
The hurried effort to free Elina Ersenoyeva, who was abducted by masked men on the main street of Chechnyas capital on Aug. 17, began like many others. An account of her disappearance was compiled and circulated. Human rights groups and civil society organizations urged Russia to investigate and secure her release. She was a journalist and social worker, they said another victim who had been swept from her life, apparently by Chechnyas pro-Kremlin law enforcement bodies, who had been implicated in many kidnappings before. But the case has since taken a surprising turn, even by the bizarre standards of violence, organized crime and police brutality that have accompanied Chechnyas lingering war. It turns out Ms. Ersenoyeva, 26, led two lives.
The government on Saturday dismissed the opposition's no-trust motion against the prime minister as "political terrorism" aimed at destabilising the country. "There are religious terrorists and political terrorists. They are the political terrorists and the government must take action against them," said Sarwar Khan, minister for labour and manpower, in a joint press briefing with Muhammad Ali Durrani, minister for information, and Yar Muhammad Rind, minister for states and frontier regions. 
The family of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed on Friday filed a contempt petition against the government for taking him to an undisclosed location during the period of his house arrest, the family's lawyer said. Police took away Mr. Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-daawa, to an undisclosed location. "They should have sought the permission of the court before shifting him," Nazir Ahmed Ghazi, the lawyer representing the family, told The Hindu "That is the law of this country. They have not followed it." The family had mounted a legal challenge against Mr. Saeed's house arrest, and on Friday, the High Court heard arguments on both sides.
BAGHDAD -A powerful Iraqi politician called on Saturday for the Shia south of the country to become an autonomous region as tribal leaders vowed to work together for peace. Prime Minister 
GAZA (Reuters) - Two kidnapped Fox journalists appeared on a new videotape released by their captors on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, in which the reporters said they had converted to Islam, the Fox News Channel said.
Israel said on Saturday that it has been in touch with some Muslim countries to encourage them to participate in the expanded UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in Lebanon. Mark Regev, the Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, said the issue of participation in the force was primarily raised with Turkey. "If Turkey decides to send a contingent, we would welcome that."
They pushed, shoved, shouted and cursed one another. In the end, posters of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah would not be plastered around this tiny Sunni Muslim village in southern Lebanon mourning the loss of 23 of its own, slain in an Israeli air attack during the month-long war with Hezbollah. "Why do you want to put up an image of someone who is killing us?" one man screamed as a mob of dozens waved their fists and thrust open palms toward Nasrallah supporters clutching posters of the bearded and bespectacled Hezbollah chief. "We don't want to see it!"
German sailors must be empowered to board ships against the will of their crew in order to stop arms smuggling to Lebanon, a senior leader said in remarks released Saturday. Germany is offering to patrol Lebanon's coast rather than send ground troops as part of a UN peacekeeping force after the conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based Hizbullah. "To prevent arms smuggling from the sea, we need a robust mandate that allows the navy to stop and check suspicious ships against their will," vice-chancellor Franz Muentefering was quoted as saying in the Tagesspiegel newspaper. 
