Lemme get this straight: The Arab janjaweed have been off'ing the locals (even "fellow" Muslims) for years (can you say "genocide", Mr. Ki-Moon?), and yet the UN finds that it's the water that's causing problems, not the RoP? The head rot in the UN is truly worse than I thought.
THE announcement by researchers at Boston University last week that a vast underground lake the size of Lake Erie had been discovered beneath the barren soil of northern Darfur, a blood-soaked but otherwise parched land racked by war for the past four years, was greeted by rapturous hopes. Could this, at last, bring deliverance from a cataclysmic conflict that has killed at least 200,000 people and pushed more than 2.5 million from their homes?
That hope is built upon an argument, advanced by a United Nations report released last month and an opinion article in The Washington Post by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, that environmental degradation and the symptoms of a warming planet are at the root of the Darfur crisis. What, no mention of President Bush and Kyoto? There's even more idiocy at the BBC's coverage of this "news", but just reading the NYTimes hand-wringing is enough for me. More at link.
Posted by: BA ||
07/25/2007 09:32 ||
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#1
Well, maybe not ROP as such, since both sides are Mohammadans. More likely simple racism in the grand old tradition: Arabs against blacks.
Making the land more valuable will make the Arabs less likely to want it and fight for it, right?
Posted by: James ||
07/25/2007 11:32 Comments ||
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#2
It's all about water according to the academics. The UN says global warming.
How about the Arab janjaweed as an explanation? Works for me.
#3
So basically the UN is going to drill a shitload of wells to reward the janjaweed for driving out all the tribes from the Darfur. Cause they arent going to let them back in just cause there's water.
#4
Lest we fergit, the UNO and various enviro Perts had claimed that DECLINING WATER SOURCES OF VIABLE WATER in the ME will likely induce future threats of mil conflict in the region. IOW, the ME to CHINA will evolve ino one giant trans-regional/continental dustbowl.
DOCTORS are to use skin made from SHARKS to treat the terror suspect horrifically burned in the Glasgow Airport attack. You mean, what he tried to do to other people was done to him instead? That's horrific, sure...we should have sympathy for this poor tortured soul.
Surgeons struggling to save Kafeel Ahmed, 27, have turned to a revolutionary treatment. The expensive process involves a skin substitute made from shark cartilage and cow tendons. A source said: "Ahmed is being treated with these grafts because there is nothing left on his body that can be used."
The Glasgow Royal Infirmary insider added: "He is receiving the latest technology to try to heal the skin but there is still little hope of him surviving.
"In the past, pig skin was used to treat severe burns, but the shark skin treatment is used now." Ooh, ooh, use the old system! I'd love to see protestors lined up to protest saving a life.
The process a system called Integra Dermal Regeneration Template which costs more than £20,000 involves doctors placing silicone implants with shark skin extracts on to the burns. After two weeks, the outer protective silicone layer is removed and replaced with a layer of skin thinner than a graft. A chemical in the shark skin prevents a scar from forming and allows the body to produce a skin-like tissue. Hmm...skin-like tissue. That sounds like fun! I hope he recovers.
Surgeon Steve Jeffrey, who spent nine months in Australia perfecting the treatment, explained: "It tricks the body into creating new skin cells."
Sources at the Royal Infirmary, where Ahmed is under armed guard, say he is in a coma. One said: "This person is effectively dead already." At least he can be a data point on someone's scientific paper.
It is alleged Ahmed and Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah, 27, drove the flaming Jeep Cherokee into Glasgow Airport. Alleged. Pah.
#3
Good catch SB. In order to be kosher, fish have to have fins and scales - no sharks. However, sharks apparently are halal:-( I'm sure bacon grease would he helpful to the healing process though.
#6
Yeah, I thought they used pig skin. First thing I thought of when I saw the pictures of him.
So how much is this process costing the British taxpayer, because I seriously doubt Mutual of Islam is covering it.
#16
It experimental. Very difficult to get patients to agree to this type of experiments in Scotland. The alternative is usually used. A MacGregor tartan. Low coffee level, forgive me.
Posted by: Steven ||
07/25/2007 13:31 Comments ||
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#17
My brother had a skin graft in this country, and they used a new experimental process that uses expanded (1 sq" to 1sqft) infant foreskin. They should have done that with this fool - he is certainly a dick head.
#21
why in heavens name do they waste precious resources on an attempted murderer. Are there not waitinf patients in the UK healthcare system more worthy of the doctor's attention than this POS? The mooselimb world doesnt see this as kind and noble, they see it as stupid! In that regard, for a rare occasion, I agree with them!
SPIEGEL: General Schneiderhan, once again German citizens have been kidnapped and possibly murdered in Afghanistan, and attacks on the Bundeswehr are on the rise. Is Germany moving into the crosshairs of the terrorists?
Schneiderhan: We are, of course, very concerned about these developments. But there are important distinctions to be made. Some kidnappings are probably attributable to criminal activity, rather than terrorism. In at least one recent case, the kidnappers were simply looking to extort a ransom. And as serious as the most recent attack in Kunduz was for our forces, when you look at the big picture it is still relatively quiet for the moment in the region where our troops are deployed, compared with the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan. In saying that, the emphasis is on "for the moment." However, everyone who is in Afghanistan trying to bring stability to the country has long been in the crosshairs of the Taliban.
SPIEGEL: Three German soldiers were killed in the May attack in Kunduz. The incident promptly triggered a heated debate over the extension of Germany's Afghanistan mission planned for this fall. Is this what the Taliban are trying to do? Do they plan to isolate Germany from the international community?
Schneiderhan: Naturally our enemies are familiar with the discussion in Germany. They aren't exactly living in the Stone Age. They read newspapers and they probably read SPIEGEL ONLINE more quickly than I do. If they see a chance to damage the solidarity within the international community, because the Germans immediately enter into a fundamental discussion calling the whole operation into question whenever something like the Kunduz attack happens, then they exploit that opportunity.
SPIEGEL: The threat against Germans is described as "considerable" in situation reports coming from Afghanistan. Do you anticipate further attacks leading up to the parliamentary decisions about Germany's Afghanistan mission?
Schneiderhan: It's certainly something I cannot rule out. We are dealing with enemies who do not abide by any of our legal or even moral rules of engagement, and who have only one goal: To spread fear and terror, and thus force us to give in or withdraw.
SPIEGEL: The controversy in Germany is focused on the counterterrorism campaign Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). As part of this operation, there have repeatedly been air attacks that have often claimed civilian lives, which only help to reinforce the Taliban's propaganda.
Schneiderhan: It is, of course, regrettable when there are casualties among innocent civilians, and we must do everything in our power to prevent this from happening. But we must distinguish between cause and effect. The cause is that the terrorists are attacking us, thereby forcing our troops to defend themselves. Furthermore, our enemies are civilians who wear no uniforms or national emblems. They deliberately misuse innocent people as shields in order to bring our soldiers into disrepute. And they are pleased to see that hardly anyone mentions the victims of their vicious attacks.
SPIEGEL: Nevertheless, many in Germany are critical of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Schneiderhan: That's too simplistic. I am much more concerned that the terrorists are misusing public opinion for their purposes and are thereby gaining the upper hand.
SPIEGEL: Opinion polls show that the tactic is working. The majority of Germans want German forces to withdraw from Afghanistan. Many members of parliament plan to vote this fall for an extension of the NATO mandate for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but not for Germany's continued participation in the counterterrorism operation.
Schneiderhan: From a military point of view, OEF continues to be necessary. The terrorists are still trying to maintain strongholds in Afghanistan and in the regions along the border with Pakistan. They want to use force to prevent Afghanistan from being stabilized. The mandate for fighting terrorism is the OEF mandate. The idea behind the ISAF mission is different. However, the more successful the counterterrorism operation is, the safer and more successful is ISAF. And the more successful ISAF is, the less we'll need the counterterrorism mission.
SPIEGEL: Would our allies understand a decision to withdraw from OEF?
Schneiderhan: For Germany, Operation Enduring Freedom has a lot to do with international solidarity. In my opinion, a withdrawal would be a catastrophe in terms of our alliances.
#1
Gen. Schneiderhan: For Germany, Operation Enduring Freedom has a lot to do with international solidarity. In my opinion, a withdrawal would be a catastrophe in terms of our alliances.
Europe's been having warmer summers than 'normal', lately. Since many don't have air conditioning in homes, offices or shops, the side effects can be pretty harsh.
Wait til next month when the French docs and nurses go on vacation. Any granny left in her third-floor walk-up will be (literally) toast.
Southern Europe sizzled in record-breaking temperatures yesterday with the heatwave being blamed for deaths in Hungary and Romania, power cuts in Macedonia and forest fires from Serbia to Greece.
Up to 500 people have died in Hungary because of the heatwave
Up to 500 people have died in Hungary because of the heatwave with deaths attributed to heatstroke, cardiovascular problems and other illnesses aggravated by high temperatures which reached a record high of 41.9C (107F) in the southern city of Kiskunhalas.
Yikes. I had 43 degrees in Seville last September, and it was bloody hot. But as a comparison, 41 degrees is a cold snap in Baghdad.
Greece's weather service predicted temperatures of 45C. (113C) In Bosnia and Macedonia temperatures shot up to 45C - the highest for 120 years.
Countries across the Balkan peninsula also laboured under temperatures that hit a historic 43C in Belgrade and 44C in Bulgaria. In an urgent announcement, Greece's weather service predicted temperatures of 45C (113F) and the government urged people to restrict their movements and stay indoors. With blazes raging across much of the country for a third week, Athens' public order minister said the region was "on a war footing". In Bosnia and Macedonia, where temperatures shot up to 45C - the highest for 120 years - governments declared a state of national emergency.
Romania said at least 12 people had succumbed to the temperatures, pushing the death toll to 30 since June. Authorities said 19,000 people had been admitted to hospital, mostly with respiratory problems. In Serbia, volunteers joined firefighters and the army to help extinguish an estimated 50 blazes.
In Italy four people were burnt to death after a brush fire trapped hundreds of tourists on beaches in the Puglia region. Emergency services used patrol boats and helicopters to whisk 450 holidaymakers and residents off the beaches to which they had rushed to try to escape the flames. Two people were found dead in a car and two on a beach near the village of Peschici, where the fire swept close to houses, forcing the evacuation of a hotel and several campsites and tourist resorts.
The heatwave, which is not expected to ease until the end of the week, is the region's second this year. Record temperatures in June have already ensured this is the hottest summer in Greece for a century.
#1
perhaps they could pool their money for AlGore to fly over for a holiday?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/25/2007 7:27 Comments ||
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#2
When I was in Vegas two years ago for my brothers wedding it was 106. At three o clock in the morning. 118 during the day.
And guess what? Nobody died.
#3
Yipe! Hungary (107) is north of, say, Maine, on a par with northern Minnesota.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
07/25/2007 9:06 Comments ||
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#4
I'm guessing that wedding was in an air conditioned facility. And that guests came in air conditioned cars. And that few of them were ill and elderly, lying on the upper floor of an old stone building ....
#7
part of the problem is Vegas knows it will be hot but most of Europe pretends that each hot summer is just a passing thing and they do little to prepare for it.
#11
Humidity doesn't have as much to do with it as you think. When it's 110 (or close to it), you are miserable if you are stuck outdoors. Trust the Zonie on this one.
(Yep, was in Phoenix the day they shut the airport down....because it was too hot!!)
Oops. At least the guy was earning a living. Sounds more like an economic immigrant than a jihadi.
A 39-year-old Moroccan who worked for years as a sworn interpreter at the court in Antwerp has been taken into custody because he has been in this country illegally all that time. He has been locked up in the Centre for Illegal Immigrants in Brugge. The Aliens Department wants to send him back to Morocco, according to an artcile in the Gazet van Antwerpen.
Ahmed T. is not in possession of residence documents so he is here illegally. Nevertheless, he has managed to work as an Arabic interpreter for the Antwerp court since 2003. Ahmed T. arrived in 1995 as a student in Antwerp. He got to know a Belgian woman and married her. This marriage allowed him to get the necessary residence papers. In 2000 the marriage was declared null and void because it was a marriage of convenience. As a result, his residence documents were revoked. In 2001 he was ordered to leave the country. Ahmed started legal proceedings at the Council of State to allow him to stay in Belgium after all.
In 2003 he got the position of sworn interpreter for the Antwerp court. In 2005 he got married again. His wife, who had a daughter from him, later declared that it was just a marriage of convenience.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Zowie!
An Oneonta [NY] man who helped produce a 9/11 conspiracy documentary that became an Internet hit was arrested Monday for allegedly deserting the Army. Korey Rowe, 24, a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, was picked up by deputies at about 10:45 p.m. Monday, Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. said.
Rowe, along with Dylan Avery and Jason Bermas, are members of Louder Than Words, a production company that is working on a third edition of the movie "Loose Change," which contends the U.S. government was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That edition is intended to be a theatrical release. Ahem: Crushing dissent! The Man is coming down on the People! I question the timing! Zeeb bop fickle fackle bush! Bush! BUSH!
Organizers of a conservative online forum in Canada say their free-speech rights are under attack after they received a letter saying a complaint has been filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The complaint, filed by a private citizen and accepted for further investigation by the commission, protested a critical posting on the forum's Web site regarding Islam and homosexuality.
The remarks were posted on FreeDominion.ca, a sister site to the conservative U.S. forum FreeRepublic, by FreeDominion member Bill Whatcott, a former homosexual prostitute turned outspoken Christian activist. I can't figure out why the homosexuals I ran into are on the side of the Muslims, Mr. Whatcott wrote on the Web site. After all, Muslims who practice Sharia law tend to advocate beheading homosexuals. He also attributed the worldwide Muslim fury at the Danish Muhammad cartoons to violence and discrimination inherent in Islamic theology.
The complaint, which has not been made public, reportedly said the posting has a discriminatory content against Muslims, and Free Dominion contributes to disseminating hate literature by allowing it to be on its Web site.
"... whether or not any part of it or all of it is true."
A spokeswoman with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Ottawa said the commission tries to conciliate between a complainant and the accused and only if that fails is a tribunal set up to hear the case. As a matter of policy, the commission does not discuss details of individual cases before they reach the tribunal stage, which has not happened in the complaint against Free Dominion, said the spokeswoman, Carmen Gregoire.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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What Mr. Whatcott fails to understand is that bisexuality is about as common as sand in Muslim countries.
By the way this is the same Bill Whatcott the distributes activist flyers, I think in Edmond, Canada. The guy has balls especially considering that Canada does not have freedom of speech.
#4
Hold on a moment, folks. Someone has made a complaint but so far that is the end of it. Whatever you may think of free speech in Canada, the truth is still a defense.
Posted by: BA ||
07/25/2007 10:16 Comments ||
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#6
The complainant is not a Muslim. Somehow she feels she should be offended. The Canadian blog response is to encourage multiple linking to the Free Dominion post under the assumption that the Human Rights Commission cannot investigate everyone.
In the summer of 2002, less than a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 62% agreed with this statement: The best way to ensure peace is through military strength. But a year later, that number had fallen by nine points, to 53%. In the current survey, 49% say they think that maintaining military strength is the best way to ensure peace the lowest percentage in the 20- year history of Pew values surveys.
While the partisan divide in views about this principle is large, it is not much bigger than four years ago. Notably, the percentage of Republicans subscribing to this principle has fluctuated only modestly in recent years. Currently, 72% of Republicans agree that the best way to ensure peace is through military strength, which is largely unchanged from 2002 and 2003 (72% and 69%, respectively).
By contrast, just 40% of Democrats believe that military strength best ensures peace, which is down a bit from 2003 (44%). In 2002, a solid majority of Democrats (55%) said that peace is best ensured through military strength. Opinion among independents has followed a similar track as the Democrats.
Currently, 46% of independents agree that the best way to ensure peace is through military strength, compared with 51% four years ago and 62% in 2002. There also has been a substantial shift on this issue among self-described moderates regardless of party. Currently, 43% of moderates say that military strength is the best way to guarantee peace, down 12 points from 2003 (55%).
Posted by: Nimble Spemble ||
07/25/2007 14:58 ||
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#8
The '08 Dem slogan could very well be:
"Peace through Appeasement" they already have gone beyond the Maroon stage to the Moonbat level... exit stage left.
#9
RIAN > Former Reagan official PAUL CRAIG ROMERTS > Dubya's WHite House intends to stage another fake 9-11, in order for Dubya to exert nis newfound executive authority over the USA and turn the USA into a de facto Army-Police State. OTOH, RENSE > THE MILITARIZATION AND ANNEXATION OF AMERICA. Amer is being wilfully MILITARIZED, SOCIALIZED, and GOVERNMENT-IZED, etc while efforts begin to force or induce its loss of traditional sovereignty and national independence to GLOBALISM-OWG and NON-AMER STATES.* ALSO IN RIAN > Russia's expedition to the Arctic = North Pole is intent on demonstr that RUSSIA IS A GREAT POLAR POWER. Once achieved, Russia may also begin efforts to economically and MilPol dominate peripheral regions around the Arctic, including the resources of the BARENTS SEA SHELF near NORWAY, + REVISE THE BARENTS SEA AGREEMENT WID USA GIVING USA 2/3rd's CONTROL OF SAME. IOW, RUSSIA IS GEOGRAPHICALLY EXPANDING WID AN AGENDA TO ECONOMICALLY [ONLY?]DISSECT + PARTITION THE USA-NORAM!?
Thanks to the leadership of Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, the chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and especially that of Rep. Pete King, Sen. Collins' counterpart on the House Homeland Security Committee, legislation along the lines of that adopted by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives last May at Rep. King's initiative will shortly become law.
The language will provide protection against the sorts of harassment lawsuits filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after several unidentified individuals reported six Muslim imams engaged in suspicious and frightening behavior prior to boarding a USAir flight in November 2006. CAIR has been identified as a front organization for the Muslim Brotherhood and is an un-indicted co-conspirator in an alleged terrorism-financing plot.
Props to the CSP for helping with this. And a pox on the dhimocrat surrender monkeys that wanted to kill this. Thompson/Lieberman '08!
Posted by: DarthVader ||
07/25/2007 11:32 ||
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#1
Glad to see a few of these wonks still have their hats on straight and value American lives and protection over that of Mohammedans. Peter King is topnotch. He didn't mind opposing Bush on immigration, favoring US citizens all the way.
#2
Glad to see a few of these wonks still have their hats on straight and value American lives and protection over that of Mohammedans.
I'd wager it's more the case that they want to have a snowball's chance of getting re-elected ever again. All politicians who sought to defeat this vital amendment should be drummed out of office post haste.
The "John Doe" provision protecting passengers who report suspicious behavior is back -- or is it? Paul Green at GreensPiece reports a disturbing element of the new version:
My initial euphoria at the revivification of the "John Doe" protection provision in the Homeland Security bill is much tempered by a look at the actual language to which its opponents agreed. It has quite enough wiggle room to enable the sort of mischief at which attorneys and grievance activists have become adept.
Imam Muhammad Masood, brother of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed of Jamaatud Daawa, formerly Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, was arrested in Boston on Monday on federal immigration fraud charges, but bailed out later.
A small group of protesters, in the main representing his right-wing supporters, mounted a demonstration outside the courthouse, calling it a witch hunt and insisting that the immigration case was just turned into a criminal case but the charges are still frivolous.
What his supporters called frivolous included such charges as the fact that his car was registered in the wrong state, the information on his health insurance application was inaccurate and that he did not spend the required period of time back in Pakistan between the time he was on a student visa and his current religious worker visa. One of Hafiz Saeed and Masoods brother, also an imam has already been deported with most of his family on similar grounds.
According to a report in Boston Globe on Tuesday, Masood (49), imam of the 1,500-member Islamic Centre of New England, is accused of lying repeatedly to federal immigration officials between 2002 and 2006 in a bid to obtain a green card and ultimately become a US citizen. The criminal charges follow administrative charges brought by immigration officials last year.
A detailed affidavit filed in federal court alleges that Masood told authorities that after attending a masters degree programme in economics at Boston University in the early 1990s, he returned to Pakistan for two years, as required by law, before returning to the United States in 1993 and later applying for residency. But, the affidavit says, Masood never left Boston, and records show that he continued to live in Boston University housing with his wife and children, even though he was no longer a student. He was cited for a couple of traffic violations and was present when his fifth child was born in Boston in 1992, the affidavit indicates. Authorities also allege that Masood did not disclose that he had collected state health benefits from 1997 to 2005 and initially denied ever being charged with any crimes, although he later acknowledged that he had been arrested for shoplifting in Norwood in 2000. The charge was later dismissed.
Bilal Kaleem of the Boston chapter of the Muslim American Society told the Boston Globe correspondent that Masood had been interrogated by the US attorneys office for six hours last week and was threatened with jail and humiliation, unless he cooperated by providing incriminating information against mainstream Muslim leaders in the Boston area. Kaleem described Masood as an upstanding man of high integrity who was charged with criminal violations after he insisted he had no incriminating information to offer.
In response to the allegations, the newspaper reported, the office of US Attorney Michael J Sullivan released a statement saying, The characterisation of this as a government witch hunt is regrettable, as the detailed allegations contained in the complaint affidavit demonstrate there is a clear factual basis for the charges against Masood.
US Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander released Masood on a $10,000 unsecured bond and fixed a hearing for August 9 on the charges. Masoods lawyer Norman Zalkind said his client surrendered after learning that the criminal complaint had been issued and will plead not guilty at his arraignment.
In November, Masood and his 24-year-old son, Hassan, were arrested along with 31 others by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a nationwide crackdown on an alleged scheme to provide religious worker visas to immigrants who were supposed to be working full-time secular jobs but were not, the Boston Globe report recalled. The immigration fraud charge brought against Masood last fall was dropped, but he is facing a hearing Oct. 11 on charges that he overstayed his visa in the 1990s.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Good lord! How many brothers has Hafiz Saeed sent to the U.S.?
Bush described al-Qaida's burgeoning operation in Iraq as a direct threat to the United States. Bush accused critics in Congress of misleading the American public by suggesting otherwise.
President Bush on Tuesday lashed out at critics who say that al-Qaida's operation in Iraq is distinct from terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
"The merger between al-Qaida and its Iraqi affiliate is an alliance of killers and that is why the finest military in the world is on their trail," Bush said. Bush described al-Qaida's burgeoning operation in Iraq as a direct threat to the United States. Bush accused critics in Congress of misleading the American public by suggesting otherwise. Citing security details he declassified for his speech, Bush described al-Qaida's burgeoning operation in Iraq as a direct threat to the United States. Bush accused critics in Congress of misleading the American public by suggesting otherwise. "That's like watching a man walk into a bank with a mask and a gun and saying, 'He's probably just there to cash a check,'" Bush told troops at Charleston Air Force Base.
#1
Having read this part of Bush's speech at the Corner... I could find none, nada, none news report that quotes the second paragraph of these two... and this is what America needs to be hearing
There's a debate in Washington about Iraq, and nothing wrong with a healthy debate. There's also a debate about al Qaeda's role in Iraq. Some say that Iraq is not part of the broader war on terror. They complain when I say that the al Qaeda terrorists we face in Iraq are part of the same enemy that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001. They claim that the organization called al Qaeda in Iraq is an Iraqi phenomenon, that it's independent of Osama bin Laden and that it's not interested in attacking America.
That would be news to Osama bin Laden. He's proclaimed that the "third world war is raging in Iraq." Osama bin Laden says, "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever." I say that there will be a big defeat in Iraq and it will be the defeat of al Qaeda. (Applause.)
Seems to me, for all of those that want Bush out there speaking these words.... well, he's been doing it, time after time after time. The press ignores his words! These words were NOT the sound bite, (and usually today, not even the sound bite, just some chosen words read by the reporter). You have to read his speeches to know this...... (yea, I do read lots of them)
So -- get him on YouTube, something..... cause he has been and continues to, use the right words.
Check around -- find these words anywhere else, except in his speech?
Interior ministry spokesman and chief of National Crisis Management Cell Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema said on Tuesday that the renovation of Lal Masjid had started and it would reopen by Friday, July 27.
Be the first in your hutment to attend prayers at the new Lal Masjid!
Speaking at his weekly press briefing here, he said the technical committee of Jamia Hafsa has declared the building insecure and the complex had been demolished. He said the army was not involved in its demolition and Capital Development Authority staff had carried it all out.
He said the Interior Ministry has taken serious notice of the news that copies of the Holy Quran were found from beneath the debris. A committee has been constituted to probe into the matter and stern action will be initiated against whoever is found involved, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Pro-Taliban jirga members rushed to North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday to save the 2006 peace agreement, as the government insisted that security checkposts would be removed only if tribal militants guaranteed peace in the region. The government has lost trust in the tribal militants and the checkposts can only be removed if peace is guaranteed, a jirga member quoted NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai as saying to the jirga members on the second day of negotiations.
He said that MMAs MNA Maulana Nek Zaman, Maulana Alam, Malik Nasrullah, Qadir Khan and some other jirga members had rushed to North Waziristan to seek a guarantee from the Taliban that they would keep peace in the region in return for removal of the security checkposts. The pro-Taliban members of the jirga were asked if they could offer guarantees on behalf of the militants but the members said they would talk to the Taliban leadership to secure the assurance, the member and a government official, asking not to be named, told Daily Times.
The jirga member said the governor was pressed for some concessions but he was inflexible and linked the removal of checkposts with a pledge from the Taliban that they would honour the peace deal terms in letter and spirit.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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India is developing a new medium-range, multi-platform missile, calling it Nirbhay, scheduled to be test-fired by end of 2009. The missile, with a range of 1,000 km, is being developed at the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) of the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Director of ASL Avinash Chander told news agency Indo Asian News Service Tuesday at Southern Indian city of Hyderabad.
"Every country needs multiple options. It is a question of survival," Chander stressed. "Nirbhay will be better than Babur missile," Chander told the news agency, referring to Pakistan's subsonic missile, developed originally with a 500 km range and later upgraded to 700 km.
Nirbhay is the latest addition in the series of Indian missiles -- "Agni I, II and III", "Prithvi I and II", "Brahmos", "Akash", "Trishul" and "Nag". Nirbhay weighs 1,000 kg with a 1,000 km range and a speed of 0.7 mach. Nirbhay is six metres in length with a 520 mm diameter. Nirbhay will have multiple platforms and can be launched from ground, sea and air.
"While the missile is being developed indegenously, India is looking at partnerships for the engine," said Chander.
A spate of deadly chlorine bomb attacks in Iraq is prompting the Bush administration to urge nearly 3,000 municipal water treatment plants in the United States to make sure their chlorine gas is well protected -- spotlighting what Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has singled out as a "gap in our system of regulation."
Although some plants have switched to less dangerous methods of disinfecting drinking and waste water, many still add chlorine gas to kill bacteria. The gas can also be used as a chemical weapon. In recent months, Iraqi insurgents have started attaching chlorine cylinders to car bombs and roadside explosives to burn people's lungs, eyes, and skin downwind from a blast.
With chlorine bombs becoming a high-profile weapon of choice for terrorists abroad, officials at the Department of Homeland Security fear that terrorists might try to copy the tactic, making chlorine tanks at water plants, which range from 150-pound cylinders to 90-ton rail tankers, an obvious target for sabotage or theft.
There are 1,700 drinking water facilities and 1,150 waste water plants that still use chlorine, including about 50 in New England that keep at least 2,500 pounds of the chemical on site, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency . In Massachusetts alone, 22 water plants are currently registered as chlorine users with the EPA.
In a recent speech, Chertoff urged water authorities to pay for whatever fences, cameras, and guards are necessary to "make sure that these dangerous chemicals they have on site are not stolen, because, unfortunately, if you look over to Iraq, you're going to see these kinds of chemicals wind up in improvised explosive devices."
Chertoff has no power to do anything more than urge vigilance on the part of water treatment plant operators. Although Congress passed a law in October giving his department the power to make sure that most chemical facilities have effective security, lawmakers exempted water treatment plants from the new regulations. "For those of you who are not subject to regulation, I don't want you to breathe a sigh of relief like 'We're off the hook,' " Chertoff said. "You're on the hook, because you're going to have to do this yourselves until the time comes along that regulatory authority to address these is given to us or to some other agency."
Today , the House Homeland Security Committee will hold its first oversight hearing on chemical security this year, and some watchdog groups are now calling on Congress to revisit its October 2006 chemical security legislation to make it tougher. Among the critics' chief targets is the exemption for water treatment plants. "There's 10 things wrong with the chemical security rules, and I list this one first," said Rick Hind , legislative director of the Greenpeace Toxics Campaign. "The water treatment plants exemption is easiest to understand. Three thousand facilities -- wow, that's a big omission."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
We have rail cars full of many wonderous things all over our country. The risk is small, as the tanks go careening off the rails by themselves every year without any great harm being done..
Sections of Towns are evacuated sometimes until the clean ups take place.
cars stored on spurs around refineries have some extra swell stuff in them.
#2
Chlorine gas is easy and economical to manufacture. My grandfather nearly died of it in the Argonne forest during WWI. For his troubles and permanent pulmonary disability he was given a purple heart. Any Muslims contemplating using such a hideous compound to kill us Infidels should be put on notice that one thousand times as many of their co-religionists will have the opportunity to enjoy its withering atmosphere should they be so unwise to do so. Passports, DNA, plane tickets, hair samples ... I don't give a rip what we use to determine the home base of any terrorist attacks upon us. All I ask is that the country of origin be given a massively disproportionate dose of the same poisonous garbage every-single-damned-stinking-effing-time it happens.
#4
Thank you, again. It is probably quite obvious that the refrigerant gel packs stuffed with clay have really, really ticked me off. I appreciate the polite notice.
#5
Chlorine can easily be made with common household chemicals. I did it years ago, accidentally, when trying to clean something.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
07/25/2007 9:08 Comments ||
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#6
Chlorine is also a magnificent motivator. I got a big whiff of chlorine gas at a public pool years ago and was motivated to suck on an oxygen tank for a half an hour. Like breathing fire.
And I had a friend injured at a rock concert many years ago, when some a-hole popped a chlorine canister in the audience. He was not injured by the gas, but by a "really small girl who went through him like an NFL defensive tackle."
#7
I gotta tell ya, most water and sewer workers that I know of would spot a "terrorist" (i.e. a Muslim male in between 18 and 35 or so) a mile away, and would "take care of business" if needed before the goon could even get close to the Cl2 tanks. These guys/gals tend to be "salt of the earth" type folks who won't second guess their gut instincts.
Posted by: BA ||
07/25/2007 10:21 Comments ||
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#8
Chlorine is ubiquitous. Everyone that has a swimming pool generally uses chlorine to treat the water.
As RD said we have derailed railcars clearing out neighborhoods all the time with hazmat substances.
The warning seems like a "cry wolf" admonition. There are other readily available substances that could cause havoc.
Suddenly, I've got this rash...almost like a bunch of bites from fleas.
The American ambassador scolded his Iranian counterpart in a groundbreaking meeting Tuesday for Tehran's alleged arming and training of Shiite militias. But he agreed to set up a subcommittee with Iran and Iraq to work on stabilizing the country.
South of Baghdad, a suicide tow truck driver killed at least 24 people with a huge bomb in the Shiite city of Hillah. Police and morgue officials said a total of 58 people, including the Hillah victims, were killed or found dead nationwide.
Speaking to reporters after a second session in two months with the Iranian envoy, Ambassador Ryan Crocker called the seven-hour meeting "full and frank," diplomatic language for difficult.
The Bush administration does not appear to expect much if anything from the talks but seems willing to go forward with them because the high-powered and bipartisan Iraq Study Group, in a report late last year, recommended contacts with both Iran and Syria in a bid to end or ameliorate outside influences in Iraq as part of a plan to end the conflict.
For its part, Iran appears to be enjoying the spectacle and prestige of negotiating with world's only superpower after more than a quarter-century freeze in open diplomatic contact.
"We discussed ways forward, and one of the issues we discussed was the formation of a security subcommittee that would address at an expert or technical level some issues relating to security, be that support for violent militias, al-Qaida or border security," Crocker said.
But he warned progress was impossible until Iran matches its behavior on the ground with its declarations backing an independent and stable Iraq.
"The fact is, as we made very clear in today's talks, that over the roughly two months since our last meeting we've actually seen militia-related activity that could be attributed to Iranian support go up and not down," Crocker said, citing testimony from detainees and confiscated weapons and ammunition as evidence.
"We made it clear to the Iranians that we know what they're doing (and) it's up to them to decide what they want to do about it," he said.
In a later conference call with reporters in Washington, Crocker said portions of the long exchange were heated.
"I would not describe this as a shouting match throughout, but we were real clear on what our problems with their behavior was, and I just didn't hesitate to let them know," Crocker said.
Crocker said he expected the session to be testy, given the extensive list of U.S. complaints and the overall difficulty of the relationship.
"We've got a lot of problems with the Iranians, and face to face we're not going to pull any punches," Crocker said.
In a separate news conference after the talks, Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi countered that Tehran was helping Iraq deal with the security situation but Iraqis were "victimized by terror and the presence of foreign forces" on their territory.
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday he was willing to mediate between Hamas and Fatah to end Palestinian unrest, after his ruling Justice and Development Party finalized formation of the new cabinet.
During a telephone call with dismissed Palestinian Premier Ismail Haniya, Erdogan affirmed Turkey's overall support for Palestine's cause and establishing an independent Palestinian state as basis for justice and peace in the Middle East.
According to a press release by Haniya's office, Erdogan said inter-Palestinian conflicts would only weaken all relevant sides and affect the goal of establishing an independent state.
On his part, Haniya congratulated Erdogan over winning the recent legislative elections as a victory for democracy, lauding Turkish support for Palestine.
He termed Erdogan's victory as a gain for all Palestinians.
Egypts official religious adviser has ruled that Muslims are free to change their faith as it is a matter between an individual and God, in a move which could have far-reaching implications for the countrys Christians. The essential question before us is that can a person who is a Muslim choose a religion other than Islam? The answer is yes, they can, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum picked up by the Egyptian press on Tuesday. The act of abandoning ones religion is a sin punishable by God on the Day of Judgement. If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment, he wrote.
Gomaa warned however that if the conversions undermine the foundations of society then it must be dealt with by the judicial system, without elaborating. In September, Egypts Supreme Administrative Court is to hear the case of 12 Copts who converted to Islam and have been prevented by the state from reverting to Christianity on the grounds that it is apostasy.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sure you can change religions, you just won't live to talk about it.
Posted by: Ol Dirty American ||
07/25/2007 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
The Mufti speaks out of both sides of his mouth with a forked tongue. Either that or he's an apostate himself.
#4
Not true. See the denial noted on LittleGreenFootbals.
Cairo: Egypts top cleric yesterday denied in a statement that he had said a Muslim can give up his faith without punishment.
Ali Gomaa, the mufti of Egypt, was quoted as saying in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum that Muslims are free to change their faith and this is a matter between an individual and God.
What I actually said is that Islam prohibits a Muslim from changing his religion and that apostasy is a crime, which must be punished, Gomaa said.
Hundreds of yellow-robed Buddhist monks arrived in Muslim-dominated southern Thailand on Wednesday at the start of Buddhist Lent in the hope their presence will promote peace in the insurgency-wracked region.
Buddhist Lent a three-month period marks the beginning of the rainy season in Thailand, a time when villagers present offerings of food and flowers to monks who must remain on temple grounds. The age-old practice is traditionally to prevent them from trampling new plants and insects.
"The 346 monks will spend this time in various temples in the area to boost morale among the Buddhist population there and to bring a message of peace to a place torn apart by terrorists the insurgency," said Air Force Commander Chalit Pukbhasuk who saw the monks off from Bangkok. The monks traveled by air force plane to the south and will be spending their time at temples in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, Thailand's three southernmost provinces where 2,300 have been killed since an Islamic jihad insurgency flared in January 2004. Authorities will provide security for the monks with 24-hour patrolling of temple grounds and surrounding areas, said army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote.
Last year, Buddhist monks in Narathiwat halted their alms-seeking rituals after coming under fire, and some Buddhist temples became military barracks and heavily guarded fortresses. However, military authorities said Buddhist monks have become less of a target in recent months. "The assailants seem to have been targeting more strategically, attacking security authorities more ... there are fewer attacks on symbolic targets like Buddhist monks and public school teachers," said Akara.
He also said that recent arrests of suspected terrorists insurgents have limited the area of attacks and restored confidence among minority Buddhists in the area.
A nuclear plant Russia is building for Iran will not be completed before autumn 2008 at the earliest, Russian news agencies quoted one of the companies building the plant as saying Wednesday. "The real date for the physical launch of the power plant is being delayed until autumn 2008," RIA Novosti quoted Ivan Istomin, director of nuclear builder Energoprogress as saying.
And we should believe him, of course ...
Istomin rejected Iranian claims that the plant, the Islamic republic's first, could be operational this year. "It can be said quite precisely that putting the Bushehr plant into operation this autumn is unrealistic," he said. "Even if Russia delivered the first shipment of nuclear fuel to Bushehr tomorrow, it would be impossible to launch the station within six months."
The much-delayed project is at the center of Iran's plans for a cover civilian nuclear energy program, which Washington fears could cover the development of nuclear weapons.
The comments from Energoprogress, one of the subcontractors working on the plant, are the latest indication that Moscow may be slowing work on the project.
Construction stalled earlier this year over charges that Iran had fallen behind on payments and over delays in shipping parts for the plant from third countries. A pair of Iranian nuclear negotiators flew to Moscow on Tuesday to attempt to persuade Russia to complete the plant, Viennese diplomats earlier told AFP.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/25/2007 13:03 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Itchy Trigger Finger Syndrome strikes again! That was supposed to be WOT Politix/Iran. My apologies.
#2
The Bushehr plant (how come the leftists don't make fun of its name) has been in construction for 40 years. I doubt the Russians think its going to work very well and they are already planning all kinds of service contracts to sell Iran for 2009, 2010, etc.
#5
this sounds like misdirection so that the 'let diplomacy have time' crowd can dither longer. and to push any 'need' for action out past where bush needs to worry about it so he can be painted as a warmonger if he call for any action.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
07/25/2007 17:31 Comments ||
Top||
#6
It's somehow biblical that Aquavelvajad is hell-bent on building a nuclear facility in an active earthquake zone. Paging Mr. DeMille ...
#9
Iran's nucprog has North Korea's and vice versa. In addition, amongst others Taiwan seems hell-bent on proceeding wid its moves towards de facto independence and sovereignty from the PRC. IOW, MULTI-FRONT WAR/CONFRONTATION. The history of the Israeli Govt. + IDF is that they will act unilateraly iff need be vv the mid-2009 maxima timeline agz Iran's nukies.
Lebanese army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman warned that he would resign if two competing governments emerged as a result of a presidential vacancy. Suleiman said he would submit his resignation on Nov. 24, the day the term of President Emile Lahoud expires, if rival legislators failed to elect a new head of state.
The army commander said he would not tolerate a political divide that would threaten Lebanon's unity and the military institution. "If they create two governments, I will personally hand in my resignation to each of the two governments and I will go home," Suleiman was quoted as telling ambassadors as well as political and spiritual leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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French envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran said Monday that his recent visit to Syria was not to negotiate with President Bashar Assad's regime, but to inform Damascus of the result of inter-Lebanese dialogue in Paris. Cousseran, talking to reporters after a meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Beirut, said "I visited Syria to inform the authorities there of the talks and discussions held in France" nearly two weeks ago. "I did not undergo any negotiations in Syria. I did not go there to negotiate," he added.
"It's like this, see..."
Cousseran, a former French Ambassador to Damascus, also held a "round of lengthy and important dialogue" with parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri. The French Envoy quoted Hariri as saying the inter-Lebanese talks held in Paris earlier this month produced "positive results, although all the problems were not settled."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that his group is capable of hitting every part of Israel, and had the same capability during the Second Lebanon War last summer. Hezbollah's missiles can reach any spot in Israel, the Lebanese group's chief said in remarks aired on Sunday, months after the United Nations beefed up its peacekeeping force in south Lebanon.
About 1,200 Lebanese and 157 Israelis were killed in a 34-day war between group and Israel which began after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, 2006. "In July and August (2006), there was no place in occupied Palestine which was out of the reach of the resistance missiles," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told Al Jazeera television. "I stress that we can do this today as well. Tel Aviv or elsewhere, we were certain that we could reach any corner or spot in occupied Palestine and now we are certain that we can reach them."
Jazeera said Nasrallah was speaking in an interview which it will air on Monday. The context of his remarks was not clear from the excerpts it broadcast.
Nasrallah also said that Syria had been willing to engage in last year's war. However, he said: "Hezbollah did not see the interest in that, and that the Israelis took into account the Syrian preparation but did not act militarily on the front which may require Syrian advancement."
The U.N. peacekeeper force in south Lebanon, UNIFIL, was expanded as part of an August 14 truce between Israel and Hezbollah and says its mandate is to ensure the group does not have a military presence south of the Litani River. Lebanese security and political sources said in May that Hezbollah had replenished its rocket arsenal and received improved anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles since a U.N.-backed truce halted hostilities in August. Israel and the United States accuse Syria and Iran of arming, training and funding Hezbollah. Syria and Iran say their support to the anti-Israel faction is purely political. The Beirut government says it has no proof of arms transfers from Syria since August.
Israel has complained about Hezbollah's re-supply effort but analysts have said the group has rearmed since last year's war but had little interest in provoking a new one. Lebanon deployed regular forces along the frontier as part of the U.N.-brokered ceasefire that ended the war. The border has been largely quiet since then.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/25/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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#1
And Israel can strike in any spot in Lebanon. And the sooner Israel demonstrates the willingness to do so, the more human lives will be saved.
#2
One spot Hezbollah could hit would be the Al Asqe Mosque. One strain of Shia doctrine holds that this mosque should never have been built and that its existance shows the Sunni subservience to Judaism.
When Dr. Rajaa Al-Khuzai travels in Iraq, shes protected by 30 bodyguards and lives in constant fear that shell be killed because of her rebel role as a womens rights crusader, physician and former elected Iraqi official.
Today, on her first visit to Boston, shell tell a group of Iraqi and international scholars why she takes those risks. Al-Khuzai hopes to spread the message that there are 2 million Iraqi war widows, some as young as 12, who are suffering economically and emotionally and getting little help. I want international organizations to know. I want American women to know that there are women just like them that need support, said Al-Khuzai, who will speak at the University of Massachusetts-Boston conference, Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Iraq, this morning.
Al-Khuzai, a mother of six and grandmother of seven, founded the Iraqi Widows Organization in 2004 with a World Bank donation of $24,000. So far, the group has helped 1,400 widows get loans for small businesses, job training and other support, but thats only a fraction of the population. The number of widows is increasing every day because the violence is increasing, she told the Herald in an interview yesterday.
Al-Khuzai, who graduated from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London, said physicians, professors and educated Iraqis have been killed or have fled the warring country, but she has stayed in the hope that she can make a difference.
She said the U.S.-led invasion has left the country in dire straits. We greeted the allied troops with flowers. We were so glad to get rid of a dictator. We could never, ever believe this man would go, she said. But post-war strategy was not planned well.
Got any suggestions? I appreciate that you're speaking out and that your life is in danger, but you might consider not biting the only hand in Iraq that's trying to help.
But her work on the American-backed government councils, her activism and education have made her and her family targets. She requires bodyguards when she goes to her job as a university professor. Her son, a doctor, fled to Jordan this summer because his life was in danger. Her husband, a surgeon, was forced to quit practicing because it was too dangerous. (Militias) consider it black spots in my life because I always speak for womens rights, she said.
Adenrele Awotona, dean of the UMass-Boston College of Public and Community Service, said Al-Khuzai was a natural choice to speak at the conference, which was two years in the making. Al-Khuzai was elected to the Iraqi National Assembly and before that served as an appointed member of the governing council. She has a very clear understanding of where Iraq wants to go, he said. Shes also been a very active community and political agent.
#1
I can see why she has to triangulate. Many of the widows she advocates for lost their husbands, fathers and sons because they fought the US, so they are probably still bitter as hell about it.
However, her approach to helping them, with micro loans and such, is not only proven to really help women in the third and fourth world, but all those small businesses are a big stimulus to both employment and the local economy. Even in the US, small businesses employ the majority of workers.
Finally, women with money are a nightmare to extremists. The women no longer have to put up with a lot of their guff and abuse.
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.
Organizers of a conservative online forum in Canada say their free-speech rights are under attack after they received a letter saying a complaint has been filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The complaint, filed by a private citizen and accepted for further investigation by the commission, protested a critical posting on the forum's Web site regarding Islam and homosexuality.
Interior ministry spokesman and chief of National Crisis Management Cell Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema said on Tuesday that the renovation of Lal Masjid had started and it would reopen by Friday, July 27.
Pro-Taliban jirga members rushed to North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday to save the 2006 peace agreement, as the government insisted that security checkposts would be removed only if tribal militants guaranteed peace in the region. The government has lost trust in the tribal militants and the checkposts can only be removed if peace is guaranteed, a jirga member quoted NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai as saying to the jirga members on the second day of negotiations. 
A spate of deadly chlorine bomb attacks in Iraq is prompting the Bush administration to urge nearly 3,000 municipal water treatment plants in the United States to make sure their chlorine gas is well protected -- spotlighting what Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has singled out as a "gap in our system of regulation."
A nuclear plant Russia is building for Iran will not be completed before autumn 2008 at the earliest, Russian news agencies quoted one of the companies building the plant as saying Wednesday. "The real date for the physical launch of the power plant is being delayed until autumn 2008," RIA Novosti quoted Ivan Istomin, director of nuclear builder Energoprogress as saying.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that his group is capable of hitting every part of Israel, and had the same capability during the Second Lebanon War last summer. Hezbollah's missiles can reach any spot in Israel, the Lebanese group's chief said in remarks aired on Sunday, months after the United Nations beefed up its peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. 
