(Xinhua) -- Funds of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) defrozen from a Macao-based bank have been transferred into a Russian bank where it has accounts, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday. "The transfer of DPRK's money from Macao to a Russian commercial bank has been completed. We expect that the participants in the six-party talks can address practical steps aimed at the implementation of the Beijing agreements of Feb. 13 "Mikhail Kamynin, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
The expected 25 million U.S. dollars have been put into DPRK accounts at the Dalcombank based in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, Itar-Tass and Interfax cited sources from the Russian Finance Ministry. "The money was transferred to Russia not directly but by way ofthe Federal Reserve Bank of New York," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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The construction of one of Europe's biggest mosques near to a globally famous Christian landmark has sparked a furious row in Germany.
Immigration and integration are hugely sensitive questions in Germany, which is home to a Turkish community of several million. But almost within the shadow of Cologne Cathedral, political correctness has now been replaced by bitter confrontation as the city's Muslims begin to build a 2,000-capacity mosque with twin minarets that will reach 170ft.
"Muslims have been here for 40 years, yet people are praying in back rooms," said Seyda Can, an Islamic theologian at the Turkish Islamic Union in Cologne. "There are 120,000 Muslims in Cologne, that's 12 per cent of the population. We should not hide."
Work will begin in the autumn on the £15 million mosque, which will include huge glass and stone cupolas and two six-storey minarets.
Ms Can, who speaks fluent German, is an eloquent advocate for the mosque, arguing that when completed in 2009 it will aid the integration of a population sometimes regarded as outsiders.
"With this mosque Muslims will no longer think of their old countries as their home, but of Germany," she said. "Two hundred years ago the first Protestant church was built in Cologne. It was a long process for Protestants to be accepted but today, of course, they are. Why can't we be the same?"
However, others believe that the mosque in the city's Ehrenfeld district, just two miles from the Gothic spires of Cologne Cathedral, will foster, rather that heal, divisions.
"It's not a popular plan," said Joerg Uckermann, the district's deputy mayor. "We don't want to build a Turkish ghetto in Ehrenfeld. I know about Londonistan and I don't want that here."
Mr Uckermann is part of a curious coalition of protest that has united Jewish intellectuals and neo-Nazis. Leading the charge is Ralph Giordano, a prominent Jewish author, who wrote recently that Germany was witnessing a "clash of two completely different cultures" and questioned whether they could ever be reconciled.
Stating that he had received death threats for his opinions, he added: "What kind of a state are we in that I can face a fatwa in Germany?"
Ja, that is indeed the question, isn't it?
For Mr Uckermann, who belongs to the Right-wing CDU party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Giordano's comments smashed a long-held taboo in Germany. "Giordano broke down the wall," he said. "Before if you criticised this monstrous mosque you were a Nazi. But we have a problem with the integration of Muslims. It's a question of language and culture."
At the Islamic Union, every effort is made to address those fears. "We run German language courses," said Ikbal Kilic, a spokesman. "And the design of the mosque features a lot of glass, so people can see in. We want to be open."
But within the exquisitely carved walls of Cologne Cathedral, those promises are not enough.
"We live in a land of religious freedom," said Prelate Johannes Bastgen, the cathedral's dean. "I would be very glad if the same principle existed in Muslim countries."
Posted by: lotp ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"Muslims have been here for 40 years, yet people are praying in back rooms"
Good. Let them continue to use shithouses. Anybody got a match ?
#2
Ms Can, who speaks fluent German, is an eloquent advocate for the mosque, arguing that when completed in 2009 it will aid the integration of a population sometimes regarded as outsiders.
Integration isn't what the Muslims want - its against their religion to integrate. Sharia law is what they want. "Two hundred years ago the first Protestant church was built in Cologne. It was a long process for Protestants to be accepted but today, of course, they are. Why can't we be the same?"
The annoying religious duty you have to kill unbelievers who do not convert or pay the tax perhaps? Perhaps the inherit violent nature of the 'religion of Peace' (Islam who's very name means 'Submission')? "We live in a land of religious freedom," said Prelate Johannes Bastgen, the cathedral's dean. "I would be very glad if the same principle existed in Muslim countries."
So... hmm... wheres the Cathedral in Medina or Mecca?
#3
Muslims enforce sharia codes of conduct around mosques and Islamic centers in the West. Scantily clad women and men with liquor are verbally abused. When they have the numbers, abuse will become physical. We are subsidizing our own demise.
#4
'Leading the charge is Ralph Giordano, a prominent Jewish author, who wrote recently that Germany was witnessing a "clash of two completely different cultures" and questioned whether they could ever be reconciled.
Stating that he had received death threats for his opinions, he added: "What kind of a state are we in that I can face a fatwa in Germany?" '
Why would Jews wish to remain in Germany? Between the possibility of resurgent neo-Nazism and imported Islamo-fascism, the two words which come to mind to sum up the situation are 'oy' and 'vey'.
With the combination of low birth rates for native Europeans, high birth rates for Muslims and the high immigration rates from many Islamic countries into Europe, it is just a matter of time before another mosque will be built over whatever is left of the Cologne Cathedral.
#6
So... hmm... wheres the Cathedral in Medina or Mecca?
Exactly, Crazy Fool. There is no tolerance of other religions within islam. Islam is a dangerous cult of death. The West has to quit being PC and recognize this threat for what it is.
#7
"There are 120,000 Muslims in Cologne, that's 12 per cent of the population. We should not hide."
Oh yes you should. Anyone stupid enough to follow the teachings of a pedophile-terrorist, enough of this PC shit. Religious freedom doesn't apply to death cults of personality.
#9
Culture clash indeed. Cologne is also the San Francisco of Germany -- a huge annual gay pride parade, bondage gear figures prominently in store windows in the central Neumarkt, and it's home to Europe's largest brothel, Pascha, as well as the Council of *Ex*-Muslims. Oh yes, and Karnival (the slogan a few years ago -- "Wollt Ihr totalen Karnival?" was a tad controversial, heh heh.)
Anyway, if 12% of the city's population consists of Muslims, the rest are homos, whores, infidels -- and of course all the revelry is fueled by schnitzel and beer.
"We live in a land of religious freedom," said Prelate Johannes Bastgen, the cathedral's dean. "I would be very glad if the same principle existed in Muslim countries."
This is the bottom line. There should be a complete and total moratorium on the construction of any more mosques outside of Muslim majority countries until religious freedom is installed throughout the MME (Muslim Middle East). For every Church or temple damaged by Islamic terrorists or governments, a mosque in the West should be bulldozed. Until there is actual religious freedom there, immigration from MME countries should be halted and all vestiges of shari'a compliant law expunged from Western societies. Vigorous deportation of Muslim immigrants who commit even minor crimes probably wouldn't hurt either.
#12
If religious freedom in one-sided and only in the West, Western countries end up being taken over from within via the mosques. You will be dealing with concession after concession until you are no more.
Irshad Manji, the controversial Canadian-Asian whose book on Islam offended many Muslims, says she herself is offended by the absurd reactions of some Muslims including Pakistans religious affairs minister Ijaz-ul-Haq, to Salman Rushdies knighthood.
She writes in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto-based newspaper, that this is not the first time honours from the West have met with vitriol and violence from Muslim countries. In 1979, she recalls, Dr Abdus Salam became the first Muslim to win the Nobel Prize in science. He began his acceptance speech with a verse from the Quran. Instead of celebrations in Pakistan, rioters tried to prevent him from re-entering the country, while parliament declared him a non-Muslim because he belonged to a religious minority. His name still is invoked by state authorities in hushed tones.
Manji, a self-declared lesbian Muslim, says she is offended that every year, there are more women killed in Pakistan for allegedly violating family honour than there are detainees at Guantanamo Bay. She points out that there is no outrage over the murder of Muslims at the hands of their own. Referring to the Nilofar Bakhtiar case, she says she is offended that in April some mullahs in Pakistan issued a fatwa against hugging. They called a woman touching a man a great sin. She is also offended by their fatwa that women should stay at home and remain covered at all times, and that music store owners and video vendors be bullied into closing shop. Im offended that the government tiptoes around their craziness because these clerics threaten suicide attacks if confronted. Above all, Im offended that so many other Muslims arent offended enough to demonstrate widely against Gods self-appointed ambassadors, she adds.
She criticises Pakistan for pushing through the UN Human Rights Council, an OIC resolution against the defamation of religion, because the resolution is focused on Islam rather than faith in general. It also allows repressive regimes to squelch freedom of conscience further and to do so in the guise of international law. She writes, On occasion the people of Pakistan show that they dont have to be muzzled. Last year, civil society groups vocally challenged a set of anti-female laws, three decades old and supposedly based on the Quran. Their religiously respectful approach prompted even mullahs to hint that these laws are man-made, not God-given. This month, too, Pakistanis forced their government to lift restrictions on the press. My own book, translated into Urdu and posted on my website, is being downloaded in droves. Religious authorities wont let it be sold in the markets. But they cant stop Pakistanis or other Muslims from satiating a genuine hunger for ideas. She concludes, Its high time to ban hypocrisy under the banner of Islam. Salman Rushdie isnt the problem. Muslims are.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The world needs tens of millions of courageous and thoughtful men and women like Irshad Manji intent on reforming Islam from within.
That might be the only hope we have to avert a clash of civilizations that will make World War II seem like a pillow fight.
#4
Islam needs both Ms. Manji and Dr. Sina. Manji to speak for the voiceless within, Sina to show the pathway out. Both ways weaken the hopefully shaky edifice that is Islam today.
#6
she is offended that every year, there are more women killed in Pakistan for allegedly violating family honour than there are detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Clears that right up, now doesn't it?
She points out that there is no outrage over the murder of Muslims at the hands of their own. Referring to the Nilofar Bakhtiar case, she says she is offended that in April some mullahs in Pakistan issued a fatwa against hugging. They called a woman touching a man a great sin. She is also offended by their fatwa that women should stay at home and remain covered at all times, and that music store owners and video vendors be bullied into closing shop. Im offended that the government tiptoes around their craziness because these clerics threaten suicide attacks if confronted. Above all, Im offended that so many other Muslims arent offended enough to demonstrate widely against Gods self-appointed ambassadors, she adds.
I'm outraged that more Americans aren't outraged at how all the Muslims don't get outraged by so much Islamic crapulence. If you get my drift.
Chinas concern about increasing extremism in Sinkiang and the kidnapping of its nationals by a madrassa students in Islamabad will dominate the four-day Pak-Chinese talks starting today (Monday) in Beijing.
Can you say "international incident," boys and girls? I thought you could.
A delegation headed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao flew to Beijing on Sunday for the talks. The visit, which was put off when Jamia Hafsa girls and their male colleagues kidnapped six Chinese women and a man, has been approved following the release of the abductees, according to sources.
"Sooo, Kasuri! Do you bring an explanation for the kidnapping of our hookers?"
Sherpao told Daily Times on Sunday that besides bilateral agreements of security and fighting terrorism the issue of Sinkiang was expected to be discussed during a Joint Working Group meeting. He said Pakistan would strike a deal with China to buy security equipment.
"Your religious fanatics have the temerity to kidnap Chinese citizens?"
"But Sahib General Secretary, they're hookers!"
"China produces the world's best hookers! We also produce excellent fantatics. Would you like to see some?"
"I don't..."
"Comrade Big Wang! Bring in the Red Guards!"
"Yes, Comrade General Secretary! How many would you like?"
"How many are in the lobby?"
"8000, Comrade General Secretary!"
"That should do. Bring them in."
The security bosses of the two countries will also discuss a list of nine militants wanted by Beijing, the Islamic movement in Sinkiang, check posts at Sust, visa-free movement and intelligence sharing, sources said. They said China had given Pakistan a list of nine militants that might be hiding in Pakistan.
"Oh, really, Sahib General Secretary! We looked, but we couldn't find them..."
"We are not India, Kasuri. Don't mess with us."
They said Beijing had also conveyed its reservations to Islamabad over the involvement of some hidden hands in running the affairs of East Turkistan Islamic Movement. Sources said China had earlier asked Pakistan to bilaterally explore these hidden hands as the Islamic movement was a source of unrest in Sinkiang. Sinkiang is an autonomous province in northwestern China bordering Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It is homeland to Uighurs.
"You play the Great Game very well, Kasuri. But we don't play games. Get my point?"
Sources said the two countries would also discuss the preparation of fake travel documents for Chinese pilgrims as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reportedly arrested some 17 Chinese Muslims intending to perform Haj early this year. Pakistan had complained to China about the preparation of fake travel documents for its citizens and offered to facilitate Haj trips for Chinese pilgrims from its soil, sources said.
"I think you'll find our fake travel documents are very high quality, Sahib General Secretary, sir! They're a national obsession, y'know."
Sherpao and Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq will visit Saudi Arabia to make arrangements for the Chinese pilgrims if China accepted Pakistans offer, according to sources. A methodology to introduce a visa-free regime will also be discussed as China has earlier suggested the abolition of visas on a reciprocal basis to ease movement of traders between the two countries. China had also proposed that visitors should be issued passes after their first entry to each of the countries if visa-free travel was not possible at present, sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They're a national obsession, y'know
Heh heh heh.
#2
Damn.. it must suck being the Pak Interior Minister. Five whores get grabbed in Islamabad and you have to beg forgiveness in Peking....
Dressed from head to toe in an all-enveloping black burka, Umm-e-Okasha joined a pack of students from her militant Islamic school on Friday night, and at midnight they drove to a massage parlor here in the Pakistani capital and rang the bell.
There were about 25 Chinese women, dressed only in underpants and bras, recalled Ms. Okasha, 24, a muscular high-school badminton champion who had shed her black garb for soft mauves, her face uncovered, during an interview inside the women-only confines of the school. They scattered, but we managed to grab five.
The vigilantes, including students from an affiliated school for men, shoved the skimpily clad Chinese masseuses into a car, gave them shawls for modesty
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/25/2007 12:15 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Hope he didn't fly PIA....
Narrating the disregard for maintenance and related safety issues he says that before taking-off on a cross Atlantic flight a few months ago, he discovered that there was a hole in the fuel tank. When he reported this to the PIA authorities, instead of grounding the aircraft, the ground staff was told to fill the fuel tank till below the hole and the aircraft was declared fit to fly. The same aircraft did a further two cross-Atlantic journeys in the same state.
Half way during the flight, passengers sitting across the aisle from her complained of water dripping on their heads. An embarrassed but kind steward was summoned who tried to stop the water with tissue paper, but to no avail. He then got a few cloth napkins but they too were of little use and were soon drenched. With not many options left, he imaginatively put a pillow over where the water was leaking from and held it there for the rest of the flight.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/25/2007 12:21 Comments ||
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The NATO-led force in Afghanistan admitted on Sunday that civilians in Pakistan had been killed in strikes at the weekend against insurgents who had been seen near the border preparing an attack. NATOs International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Major John Thomas told AFP the strikes had been carried out in coordination with the Pakistani military. A Pakistan military official said at least nine civilians were killed in a tribal area when a rocket fired by foreign forces hit their home on Saturday.
Residents said the dead were a child, a woman and seven men from one family. We have reports that one of our weapons hit a building which may have had a number of civilians in it and that building may have been a home or way-station or some hotel facility, Thomas said. We regret the loss of innocent life and our prayers are with the families of those who died.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Civilians were killed in Ploesti, too (mostly by falling bomber pieces).
I.
Don't.
Care.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/25/2007 23:24 Comments ||
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MIRANSHAH: The government urged tribesmen in North Waziristan on Sunday to expel Al-Qaeda linked militants, two days after 10 Pakistani civilians in Shawak were killed during a NATO operation over the border in Afghanistan. Also, earlier this week, 33 alleged militants were killed in an apparent missile attack by a US drone on a hamlet in Datta Khel in North Waziristan. The presence of foreigners will be harmful not only for yourself, but for entire North Waziristan, Peerzada Khan, the political agent of the tribal agency, told a tribal jirga in the region as he read out a message from Governor Jan Muhammad Orakzai.
The political agent said the reason for the recent cross border attacks was because some people from the same areas had gone to Afghanistan to fight coalition forces. He said if such incidents continued, allied forces would keep attacking their areas, which would result in the killing of women, children and animals.
Khan asked the tribesmen to cooperate with the authorities for quick completion of developmental projects in the agency. He asked them to hold local jirgas at regular intervals in their areas and establish peace committees for the resolution of local disputes.
Maulana Sher Khan said the Pakistan Army was bombing their areas without proof and committing atrocities. He said Americans brought these foreigners to Pakistan and trained them. He said these foreigners were mujahideen in the past, but today they were described as miscreants. Around 280 tribal elders attended the grand jirga.
Agencies add: The jirga, which consisted of tribal elders of the Atmanzai Wazir, clerics and local government representatives, pledged to cooperated with the authorities in maintaining law and order and to stop the nefarious designs of all those elements trying to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere and developmental activities in the agency.
The jirga warned that no cross-border action would be tolerated in the tribal areas and demanded an end to interference from coalition forces in Afghanistan. It reiterated that tribal people are peace loving and will cooperate with the government in security matters and expulsion of foreigners.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Gen. Georges Sada used to be vice-marshal of Saddam Hussein's air force and a trusted adviser to the Iraqi dictator.
Eighteen times he gave the executed dictator advice Saddam didn't want to hear, such as telling him in the 1991 Gulf War the coalition forces could not be beaten, and in 2003 the U.S., Britain and allies would invade Iraq. Now, Sada, author of the bestselling book Saddam's Secrets: An Insider Exposes Plans to Destroy Israel, Hide WMDs and Control the Arab World (Integrity Books), travels the world explaining why the U.S. had to liberate Iraq and depose of Saddam, with the cost being worth it.
He also works assiduously helping to bring both humanitarian relief to Iraq and fighting for constitutional guarantees of religious freedom in his homeland.
This weekend, as a guest of Phil Nordin's Jubilee Christian Centre, Sada is in Calgary telling the spellbinding story of his military life and talking about the growing success of America's liberation and rebuilding of Iraq. It's a success, he contends, the Liberal-Left news media tries to disavow and distort. The Iraqi state of Kurdistan, for instance, has now guaranteed freedom of religion, and 1,600 Muslims have already converted to Christianity. The government of Iraq itself hasn't yet gone that far, but Sada is convinced it is moving in the right direction.
Indicatively, Sada's American host, Pastor Terry Law, of the Tulsa-based humanitarian organization World Compassion, has had 100,000 Bibles printed in Arabic and is distributing them far and wide in Iraq and Afghanistan, a situation unthinkable until the American-led liberation of the two nations.
Sada, a charming and articulate man, noted Saddam's initial attempt to get nuclear weapons was thwarted when the Israeli air force destroyed his reactor in 1981.
He contends Saddam was just one year away from being given nuclear weapons by Communist China when American forces invaded, and had huge stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction that were quickly shipped to Syria as the invasion became imminent. "A dam broke in Syria and it asked Saddam and other leaders for humanitarian assistance. Instead of getting needed clothing and food supplies, Saddam had two jumbo jets loaded with canisters of chemical and biological weapons and those aircraft made 56 flights to move the stockpiles to Syria." The military expert also tells his audiences Saddam once held up a small bottle and boasted that if the contents were unleashed on Washington -- which he intended to see they were -- 100,000 people would die.
He warns if the U.S. pulls out of Iraq now, it will leave a void that will allow nations such as Iran and Syria to sweep towards Jerusalem, and backed by terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, destroy the Jewish state. This, he contends, has been part of a grand scheme of the Arab world for several decades, and now with Iran almost at the point of acquiring nuclear weapons, the scenario becomes terrifying.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
...Saddam once held up a small bottle and boasted that if the contents were unleashed on Washington -- which he intended to see they were -- 100,000 people would die.
That should give Washington enough pause for concern to take time from campaigns and trying to ram immigration down American's throats.
He warns if the U.S. pulls out of Iraq now, it will leave a void that will allow nations such as Iran and Syria to sweep towards Jerusalem, and backed by terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, destroy the Jewish state. This, he contends, has been part of a grand scheme of the Arab world for several decades, and now with Iran almost at the point of acquiring nuclear weapons, the scenario becomes terrifying.
Hey, MSM and other misguided liberals, are you paying attention? WMDs didn't exist? They went somewhere now didn't they?
#2
The Iraqi state of Kurdistan, for instance, has now guaranteed freedom of religion, and 1,600 Muslims have already converted to Christianity.
I'd bet you anything that these were forced muslim converts from Christian families that were simply converting back. The Kurds are going to end up with their own country me thinks.
#4
I'd bet you anything that these were forced muslim converts from Christian families that were simply converting back.
Not necessarily. And not the most important. The important is that the Kurds have datred to shelve one of the more important tenets of Islam. The hope is that they grow more and more convinced that Islam is not a religion but a tool for Arab dominsation and end rejecting it altogether and go much farther than Mustapha Kemal ever wdared to go.
Gaza - Ma'an - The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on Monday submitted the first proof that Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured a year ago, is still alive.
The armed wing, which is one of three military factions responsible for Shalit's capture, distributed an audiotaped message from the captured soldier in which he calls on the Israeli government to comply with the captors' demands.
"I am sick, I miss my family and my friends; respond to the demands of the mujahideen; dont leave me in captivity!" With these words, Shalit opened the first recording of him since his capture in Gaza a year ago. The tape was produced by the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades as evidence that he is still alive.
The Qassam Brigades electronic website broadcast the audio recording accompanied by old photos of Shalit. Shalit expressed his hope to return home, and expressed his warmth of feeling for his parents, siblings and colleagues in the army. Shalit also accused the Israeli government of failing him, saying, their duty is to respond to the demands of the mujahideen [strugglers]. He spoke these words in Arabic.
I was on a military mission, I was not a drug dealer," he said. "My great hope is that the government will take care of me and respond to the demands of the mujahideen. The captured Israeli soldier added, I need permanent medicines and treatment in hospital, my health is deteriorating. I am sorry that the government doesnt care about me, he concluded.
The formal spokesperson of the Popular Resistance Committees, Abu Mujahid, affirmed on Monday that the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is alive and well.The Israeli corporal was captured by the PRC, along with Hamas' armed wing and the Army of Islam, a year ago, on 25 June 2006.
Abu Mujahid told Ma'an in an exclusive talk marking the one year anniversary of Shalit's capture that the factions holding him are determined to stick to their humanitarian demands from Israel regarding his release: the release of female Palestinian detainees, children, sick and leaders of the Palestinian factions, in addition to long-term prisoners. They reaffirmed that the Israeli government must accept these demands for Shalit to be released.
With regards to the previous deals, the spokesman said that the Egyptians exerted great efforts to achieve a deal. He said, "We reached a common ground with the Egyptians, who were about to finalize the issue; however, the Israelis showed no seriousness and so the deal was aborted." He added: "If they think the soldier will be presented on a golden dish, they are wrong. We have proved our ability to keep the soldier for one year, and we can continue for years. They have to realize that Shalit will not be released without a glorious deal which comprises the largest number of Palestinian prisoners being released, especially the long-term prisoners."
Abu Majahid also addressed Shalit's family. "Your son is healthy," he reassured. "He has everything he needs. We treat him very well. However, your government insists on inflexibility in negotiations, [in a way] far from human values and feelings, and that abort the deal every time. They even continue to send your children to death and detention indifferently, and so, you must redouble your efforts to exert pressure on that government which abandoned your son," Abu Mujahid told them.
Abu Mujahid also addressed the Palestinian prisoners' families, reassuring them that the captors of the Israeli soldier would stick to their demands and endeavor to secure the release of their children detained in Israeli jails.
On the one year anniversary of Shalit's capture, B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, issued a press release calling for his immediate and unconditional release. The organization says that "the circumstances of his capture and the behavior of his captors clearly indicate that he is a hostage. International humanitarian law absolutely prohibits taking and holding a person by force in order to compel the enemy to meet certain demands, while threatening to harm or kill the person if the demands are not met," B'Tselem recalls.
"Hostage-taking is considered a war crime," B'Tselem continues, and "all those involved bear individual criminal liability."
B'Tselem says that Hamas, as it now controls the security apparatus in the Gaza Strip, bears the responsibility for Shalit's release. B'Tselem adds that the fact that Shalit has been denied visits by representatives of the International Committee for the Red Cross also "constitutes a blatant violation of international law."
#1
"... will not be released without a glorious deal which comprises the largest number of Palestinian prisoners being released, especially the long-term prisoners." 'Glorious deals' is an add-on with demands/dire revenge/allan's will/insulted/ offended/etc. (The audio could be a year old.)
#2
YouTube has the audio, so judge for yourselves. link
Cpl. Shalit's voice subtitled in English. There's a slight bit of background noise at the end, for those who like to analyze such things. Also lots of pictures to look at while the audio plays.
#3
Unless Shalit's voice is able to be confirmed through acoustic analysis and he makes direct reference to very recent events, this should be treated as a non-starter.
Furthermore, even though his release is a desirable objective, the Israeli government's most serious "neglect" has been in not bombing the crap out of Gaza or executing Palestinian prisoners on a daily basis pending Shalit's release. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that this guy is still alive.
#4
Hammass is in control of Gaza. Israel should demand that Shalit be released immediately, and every hour he's not released will result in damage and destruction to the infrastructure and livelihoods of all inhabitants of Gaza. Follow it up with bombings and artillery strikes. There are no innocents - the people of Gaza elected Hamass as their leaders. Now they should reap what they have sown - tons and tons of high explosives and jagged metal fragments.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/25/2007 20:27 Comments ||
Top||
When hooded Hamas terrorists cut their way through the Gaza Strip last week, executing rival Fatah gunmen and their families in the streets, shooting their way into hospitals and public buildings, they found an ally in former U.S. president Jimmy Carter.
Speaking at a human rights conference in Ireland, Carter said the West should be more supportive of Hamas, and the refusal by the U.S. to acknowledge their legitimacy was "criminal" -- considering the fact Hamas had won the last Palestinian "election."
But Carter didn't call Hamas criminal, though they are in fact a criminal organization in the U.S., Canada and most other democracies, and anyone with a TV set could clearly see that last week.
But in Hamas --which is the Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement -- Carter saw what he called "superior skills and discipline" to the Fatah gunmen it killed.
It is hard to argue with Carter's observation Hamas has superior skills, a result of Iranian weapons and training.
But Carter isn't terrified or repulsed by the violence; he's in awe of it and thinks the West should support it.
It's hard to imagine such a man ever led the free world.
It becomes easier to understand when one learns his Carter Center receives tens of millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia.
The Gaza Strip is now what Afghanistan was like under the Taliban.
Non-Muslims beware -- the tiny minority of Christian Arabs in Gaza has already been brutalized, and their church desecrated.
And any moderate or liberal Muslims -- especially any women who don't want to retreat to medieval submission -- had better leave or hide.
The city is now a terrorist base camp, like Afghanistan was until 2001.
But instead of being a thousand miles away from its targets, it's on the other side of a 30-foot fence from Israel.
Watching Hamas butcher its fellow Palestinians, one can only imagine what they would do to Israelis if they had the chance.
Hamas' victory over Fatah means the terrorist threat against Israel and the West is more urgent, and under the direction of Syria and Iran.
But it is only worse than Fatah's rule by a degree of intensity.
Fatah -- also known as the PLO -- is no liberal force.
The name Fatah is an Arabic acronym, too, that means "conquest."
It is, to paraphrase Carter, simply less well-disciplined -- its officers spend as much time embezzling foreign aid as they do plotting attacks.
The West's response to Hamas' takeover of Gaza has been to prop up Fatah, and to open the spigots of aid to it again.
Perhaps they ought to read Fatah's constitution, conveniently available in Arabic and English on its website.
Article 12 calls for the "eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence."
In case that's not clear enough, Article 17 explains that "Armed public revolution is the inevitable method to liberating Palestine."
There's not much difference between Fatah and Hamas, except Fatah enjoys the perks of diplomacy and foreign aid as it conducts a terrorist war.
For nearly 20 years, Fatah has had a strategy of a phased attack on Israel -- getting what it could by negotiation, and using suicide bombers for the rest.
Hamas is Fatah in a hurry -- forget the phases.
Life in Gaza is far worse under Palestinian rule than it was under Israeli rule.
That won't stop the Carters of the world from praising Hamas and blaming Israel.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/25/2007 7:54 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Irony here is that since the Saudis have turned against Hamas and the Saudis are a big contributor to the Carter Center, Jimmy may be getting a call from the Sheiks telling him 'ixna on the praise of amasai'
#7
But Carter didn't call Hamas criminal, though they are in fact a criminal organization in the U.S., Canada and most other democracies, and anyone with a TV set could clearly see that last week.
When questioned about this at length, Carter replied:
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
But in Hamas --which is the Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement -- Carter saw what he called "superior skills and discipline" to the Fatah gunmen it killed.
Why do I have this revolting conviction that Carter would keep on praising Hama gunmen this way even if their "superior skills and discipline" were used to kill American citizens?
#10
I don't know how old my fellow Rantburgers are, but I'm old enough to remember yellow ribbons and dirty iranian jokes. Carter has always been kind of anti-American, subtle in the old days, now going for broke. He's an appeaser, he'll suck ass to save his own kind. It wasn't always this obvious, I used to admire the man for his humanitarian work. Now I despise him and wish he would die of hemorrhagic fever brought on as a complication of AIDS.
(Xinhua) -- Sacked Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh Sunday slammed an upcoming four-way summit to beheld in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, saying it will bring nothing to the Palestinians. Speaking at a conference gathering tens of pro-Hamas clerics in Gaza City, Haneya warned that "the Israelis and the Americans will not give us any thing and our country will return by resistance and endurance."
Haniyeh said that "the essence of the Palestinian problem is the (Israeli) occupation and the main controversy is with the occupation." He also accused Israel of boosting the difference among the Palestinians by supporting an emergency government sworn in by President Mahmoud Abbas in the wake of Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip on June 14. "The occupation tightened the siege on Gaza, showered Ramallah with money, released tax revenues and tries to make political maneuver by holding summit conferences these days," the ousted prime minister said.
Egypt confirmed on Thursday it would host a four-way summit on Monday, bringing together Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The summit comes amid chaos in the Palestinian territories where Hamas seized control of Gaza by violence and Abbas, in response, decreed to sack Haneya and the Hamas-led unity government and swore in an emergency government led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit earlier said that the summit aims to boost Palestinian-Israeli relations and ease the constraints on the Palestinian people and create an appropriate climate for a resumption of the peace process. Analysts say the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh aims to bolster Abbas and encourage him to maintain the hardline stance towards Hamas.
As for Israeli decision to transfer the withheld tax revenues, Haniyeh underlined that the money should reach all the Palestinian people without distinctions. Israeli cabinet on Sunday decided to officially recognize the newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and his emergency government, and approved the transfer of the withheld tax revenues to it. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the cabinet meeting that the transfer of funds to the Palestinian government is inevitable, adding that Israel would ensure that the money would not be utilized to fund terrorist activities.
Meanwhile, Haneya said Hamas was very flexible because "it accepted statehood inside the 1967 border and authorized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to negotiate with (Israel)." But he underlined that his movement barely accepts statehood on the territories that were occupied in the 1967 war. He also denied accusations by Abbas that Hamas was digging a tunnel to assassinate him in Gaza, saying the tunnel was being dug in winter for operations against the Israeli army.
Turning to Alan Johnston, the BBC reporters kidnapped in Gaza on March 12, Haneya reiterated that Hamas and "the government" will not accept the continuation of holding Alan. "He is held by a group of youths who exceeded the ideology of moderate Islam," Haneya criticized.
The his lips fell off.
This article starring:
Alan Johnston, the BBC reporters kidnapped in Gaza
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
ISMAIL HANIYEH
Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
King Abdullah II
President Mahmoud Abbas
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Several Jewish organizations expressed outrage following the publication of opinion pieces authored by a Hamas figure in two of the US's most prestigious newspapers on Wednesday. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post ran op ed pieces by Ahmed Yousef, a senior political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, one of two competing Palestinian Authority prime ministers.
The columns, which didn't note that Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, sparked anger from many groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which wrote to the Times the following day. "Ahmed Yousef's preposterous picture of Hamas as a moderate, peace loving organization committed to a cease-fire with Israel has no basis in reality," wrote Glen S. Lewy, ADL national chairman. "The chaos, violence and destruction in Gaza and the looting and dismantling of the security infrastructure and border control facilities that followed shows the real face of Hamas," he wrote.
Morton A. Klein, the Zionist Organization of America's national president, called the newspapers' decision to publish the pieces "appalling," adding that it was akin to printing an article by Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann in 1942. Klein went on to say that publishing columns by representatives of terrorist organizations only served to legitimize their views.
Both op eds sought to justify Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip and called on the United States to "engage with Hamas," urging the Bush administration "not to repeat the mistakes that have become the hallmarks of its actions in the Middle East."
This article starring:
AHMED YUSEF
Hamas
Anti-Defamation League
Glen S. Lewy, ADL national chairman
ISMAIL HANIYEH
Hamas
Morton A. Klein, the Zionist Organization of America's national president
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
One can only imagine Goering being given a column in the NYT. Or perhaps Rudolf Hess, a "moderate".
Former Gaza strongman Muhammad Dahlan said Sunday he won't quit politics or accept personal blame for the fall of the territory to Hamas, even though he wasn't there during the decisive battle to rally disorganized Fatah forces.
In an interview at his closely guarded West Bank office, Dahlan suggested he did better than other Fatah leaders, by warning early and loudly about Hamas's takeover plot, but said he was largely ignored. Now, he said, he's at best ready to accept collective responsibility for the debacle in Gaza, which he called a major setback to Palestinian statehood aspirations.
Asked about his future in politics, Dahlan said he'll wait for the findings of the commission before deciding. He was appointed as Abbas's national security adviser three months ago and also serves as a Fatah lawmaker.
This article starring:
Muhammad Dahlan
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Fatah
#1
this guy'll be gone before Gonzales is.
Too bad, Id had a lot of hope in him. You cant fail like that in war, though.
#3
I smell a rat whose name is: "let's turn over Gaza to Hamas aka Muslim Brotherhood and let Egypt figure that one"...........Dahlan was conveniently in Egypt......mmmmmmm......sounds lovely
EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner on Monday condemned the "heinous attack" which killed six U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
"The European Commission condemns in the strongest terms the heinous attack perpetrated against Spanish peacekeeping troops in Lebanon," Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of this attack, and with the Spanish people. Those responsible should be swiftly brought to justice," she added. Zappy announces Spain's withdrawal from the UNIFIL mission in 5..4..3..
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, "calls on all Lebanon's politicians to unite in order to face the serious security challenges that Lebanon is currently facing." (crickets)
Ferrero-Waldner also urged Lebanese authorities "to take urgent measures to identify and counter those who would undermine efforts to ... bring stability and security to Lebanon's long-suffering population."
Israel expressed "deep sorrow" at the deaths and offered assistance "in any way required," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.
Syria denounced the bombing, the country's official news agency reported. Between bursts of nervous laughter, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told his Spanish counterpart in a telephone call that the attack was "a criminal act that aims at shaking security and stability in southern Lebanon."
At a news conference in Paris, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also condemned the attack.
#3
I don't think Zapatero pulls out. There is a big difference between having your military actively engaged in killing terrorists and having your military get whacked without the ability to respond with anything other than rhetoric. I doubt that the murder embarrassment and debasement of the Spanish military truly bothers Zapatero much more than the Clintons were bothered by the bombing of the USS Cole.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/25/2007 22:17 Comments ||
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Al-Qaeda's second in command, Egyptian born medic Ayman al-Zawahiri, has announced the terror network's support for the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas over the more moderate Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Dang. My surprise meter seems to be busted. Again.
"The United States administration incited certain Fatah linked groups to assassinate the head of Hamas [Ismail Haniyeh], because the Americans have sided with their friends in Fatah," al-Zawahiri said in an audio message posted early on Monday to Islamist websites.
"Everyone should know that the Egyptian regime supplied arms to Abu Mazen [Abbas's battle name] and wanted to send in 5,000 men trained in Cairo into the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas," al-Zawahiri stated. "In this way, the world's most important popular movement would have come under US control," he continued.
"For this reason, we must help the Palestinian mujahadeen of Hamas - despite all the errors committed by their leadership", al-Zawahiri added. Al-Zawahiri had previously issued strong criticism of Hamas for its decision to enter democratic politics, and had warned its leaders that no good would come of the move. Now, he appears keen to mend the rift.
"All the mujahadeen of the world must stand beside them [Hamas] in the face of the new challenges that will come from the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They must understand that abandoning the will to impose Islamic (Sharia) law was a mistake - look at what happened Algerian and in Egypt," he said.
His Internet message comes as Palestinian politics is in turmoil after Abbas last week sacked the cabinet and appointed an emergency government based in the West Bank after Hamas militants seized control of the Gaza strip amid bloody factional fighting that claimed over 100 lives.
"This is nothing other than a phase of the Crusaders' Holy War against Islam," al-Zawahiri stressed. "Hamas previously claimed that it did not have relations with [al-Qaeda's leader] Osama bin Laden, but wanted to establish these with the West. But the European Union today backs Abu Mazen, who has betrayed your leaders, his nation and your religion."
"Has Bin Laden abandoned his religion?" al-Zawahiri asked.
Al-Zawahiri called on neighbouring countries to send money and weapons to the Gaza Strip, claiming that Israel wants to deploy 20,000 soldiers there. "Given the situation, we can only held the mujahadeen of Hamas. Their victory is the victory of Jihad in Palestine," he said.
"Giving them money and arms, thus breaking the emargo imposed by traitor Arab states is a religious duty incumbent on all those who live in states surrounding Palestine," al-Zawahiri concluded.
#1
I think the Muzzies must have a new secret electonic weapon - none of us seem to be able to keep either our surprise or our sympathy meters working for more than a day at a time.
#2
note, hes calling for them to immediately impose Sharia.
Now if theres anyone with a long view in Hamas (IE one who wants Sharia, but is pragmatic about the steps to get there) thats something they DONT want to do. It will make it that much more difficult for Hamas to reach out on the West Bank, and will solidify Fatah control there, as well as perhaps stirring things up on the Strip, and maybe alienating world opinion further.
OTOH alot of rank and file Hamas have got to be itching for Sharia NOW. So this adds pressure for that - if they DONT impose Sharia, AQ will present itself as an alternative for unhappy Hamas gunnies.
Given who Zawahiri is and where he comes from, and given what he and all those bozos think of Mubarak et. al., and given that there's no oil or much of anything else in Egypt, why can't we re-target the whole muji whack job group at taking over Egypt?
We could probably get a Gaza to the 10th power and let the rats eat each other while we look on with large stocks of pop-corn.
#5
What is funny about all of this chest-beating by Al-Q is that they may finally push Egypt into stomping HARD on the gun tunnels and assorted Paleo smugglers operating from Egyptian soil. Mubarak and the Egyptian elite cannot permit Al-Q and its ilk in Egypt to get going strong because they will be the first to die. And traditionally that has meant really TOUGH counter-insurgency responses against those seen as threatening the Egyptian state : just ask the 3 Bedu tribes suspected of involvement in the tourist hotel bombings, if you can find any of them living and still able to speak.
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.
(Xinhua) -- Funds of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) defrozen from a Macao-based bank have been transferred into a Russian bank where it has accounts, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday. "The transfer of DPRK's money from Macao to a Russian commercial bank has been completed. We expect that the participants in the six-party talks can address practical steps aimed at the implementation of the Beijing agreements of Feb. 13 "Mikhail Kamynin, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. 
Chinas concern about increasing extremism in Sinkiang and the kidnapping of its nationals by a madrassa students in Islamabad will dominate the four-day Pak-Chinese talks starting today (Monday) in Beijing.
The NATO-led force in Afghanistan admitted on Sunday that civilians in Pakistan had been killed in strikes at the weekend against insurgents who had been seen near the border preparing an attack. NATOs International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Major John Thomas told AFP the strikes had been carried out in coordination with the Pakistani military. A Pakistan military official said at least nine civilians were killed in a tribal area when a rocket fired by foreign forces hit their home on Saturday.
Also, earlier this week, 33 alleged militants were killed in an apparent missile attack by a US drone on a hamlet in Datta Khel in North Waziristan. The presence of foreigners will be harmful not only for yourself, but for entire North Waziristan, Peerzada Khan, the political agent of the tribal agency, told a tribal jirga in the region as he read out a message from Governor Jan Muhammad Orakzai. 
(Xinhua) -- Sacked Palestinian Prime Minister 
Several Jewish organizations expressed outrage following the publication of opinion pieces authored by a Hamas figure in two of the US's most prestigious newspapers on Wednesday. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post ran op ed pieces by 
Former Gaza strongman 
