Two foreign journalists released Sunday from captivity in Somalia recounted their ordeal on Monday, with one saying a pint of beer was his first priority upon regaining his freedom.
British reporter Colin Freeman expressed relief at being released, but in an account for The Daily Telegraph newspaper, he also told of the darkest moments of his captivity with a Spanish photographer, including when kidnappers put a gun to his head and acted out his "imminent execution."
The indication that they were finally to be released came when one of their Somali captors stuck his head into the cave where they were being held, saying there was another telephone call from London. "It was at least the 10th call from London since we were snatched and while each offered a welcome lifeline to the outside world, they were always fraught with tension," wrote Freeman, the chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph. "Occasionally, there would be news that the talks to free us were progressing well, but more often the word was of endless complications.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Police have arrested 50 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood group for organizing Gaza protests in Cairo, a security official said Monday.
He said the arrests Monday followed calls by the outlawed Brotherhood on members and other opposition groups to stage more demonstrations to protest Israel's Gaza offensive.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Protests have taken place across Egypt since the Jewish state began its Gaza offensive Dec. 27. In some cases, police clashed with protesters and made arrests.
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#1
treat em gentle - the #5 truncheon
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/06/2009 0:34 Comments ||
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#2
Surely there is some tunnel to Gaza that they can be shoved into before sealing it.
The new government should start the process of setting up a war crimes tribunal in the very first session of the national parliament and seek help from the United Nations, said War Crimes Facts Findings Committee Bangladesh.
Addressing a press conference yesterday at it office, the committee presented terms of reference for trial of the war criminals of 1971 and demanded to update laws for the tribunal.
The Committee said the tribunal should be formed under section 3 of article 47 of the Constitution and the International Crimes Tribunal Act-1973, and it should be supported by the United Nations for international acceptance. But the support is not mandatory for holding trial of war criminals, it said.
If the government does not start the process at early stage then there would not be much progress in this regard, they said.
The Facts Finding Committee said ordinance No. 63 of 1975 and Second Proclamation Order No. 3 of 1975 promulgated by late president Ziaur Rahman on December 31, 1975 would have to be repealed to make the ground for smooth holding of trial.
The committee also demanded formation of a Historical Clarification Commission comprising national and international experts. The role of the commission would be to explain the sequences of genocides and war crimes by Pakistani Army and local collaborators against the people of Bangladesh. Such a commission was formed in Guatemala in 1997.
The facts findings committee said the trial would have to be against three kinds of war criminals-- Pakistani Army, their auxiliary forces like Rajakar, Al Badar and Al Shams and also other local collaborators who were not registered as Rajakars.
"The crime was committed against the people of Bangladesh. So the terms and reference would have to be set by the people of Bangladesh not by others," said committee convenor Dr MA Hasan while reading out a written statement.
Major General (retd) Amin Ahmed Chowdhury of Sector Commanders Forum and Akku Chowdhury of Liberation War Museum were also present.
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#1
Overt use of the UN to accomplish internal political goals. Not surprising - we'll see more of this.
Turkey was holding a suspicious shipment bound for Venezuela from Iran because it contained lab equipment capable of producing explosives, a customs official said Tuesday.
Suleyman Tosun, a customs official at the Mediterranean port of Mersin, said military experts were asked to examine the material, which was seized last month, and decide whether to let the shipment to go to Venezuela.
Authorities detected the equipment during a search of 22 containers labeled "tractor parts," Tosun said. They were brought to Mersin by trucks from neighboring Iran, he said. Turkey's Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way.
"Experts from Turkey's Atomic Institute determined there were no traces of radioactive material, but said the equipment was enough to set up an explosives lab," Tosun said. "We have asked the military to send experts to determine whether to resume the shipment."
Some barrels, labeled with "danger" signs, contained chemicals. Tosun said details were still unclear.
An Iranian embassy official said the shipment contained "nothing important."
Iran and Venezuela operate various joint ventures in Venezuela, including plants to assemble tractors and cars. The two countries also have agreed to team up on petrochemical projects.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/06/2009 12:53 ||
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China arrested almost 1,300 people for terrorism, religious extremism or other state security charges in the country's Muslim-majority western Xinjiang region last year, state press said Sunday.
The vast desert area bordering Central Asia is home to more than eight million members of China's ethnic Uighur population, Muslims who have complained for decades of political and religious repression.
The Procuratorial Daily said the arrests came as the government made "maintaining social stability" a priority last year, when Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympic Games in August. A wave of unrest, at times resulting in violence, erupted in Xinjiang ahead of the Olympics. According to state press reports, the unrest was largely fomented by Uighur Muslim separatists.
The paper said 1,295 people were arrested on suspicion of endangering state security in the first 11 months of 2008, and that 1,154 were formally charged and faced trials or administrative punishment.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
where's all the human rights advocates croaking about this travesty? Oh, that's right, only the U.S. who acts like the proverbial sorority girl that wants to be liked by everyone worries about what those crackpots think. The Chinese could give a rip & act accordingly. I grudgingly respect them for it.
#2
WORLD MIL FORUM > DESPITE INTERNAL CHANGES PROMOTING NON-VIOLENCE, THE "EAST TURKISTAN ISLAMIC MOVEMENT" [Xianjing = UIGHURS] AND "TIBET INDEPENDENCE" FACTIONS HIDE THEIR MALICIOUS INTENTIONS AGZ CHINA AND NATIONAL UNITY.
* SAME > CENTRAL MIL COMMISSION ORDERS ARMY TO PREPARE FOR STRONGER MILITANT SEPARATIST VIOLENCE, ESPEC IN URBAN AREAS.
Canada's Jew-hating professors are back at it again, wanting to boycott Israeli academics, because Israel supposedly shelled Jihad U in Gaza. It's really embarrassing as a Canadian to see this kind of thing, but I can assure you not all Canadians agree with this, especially our Prime Minister.
Ontario's largest university workers union is proposing a ban on Israeli academics teaching in the province's universities, in a move that echoes previous attempts to boycott goods and services from the Jewish state.
The resolution, proposed by CUPE's Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee, is in protest of a Dec. 29 bombing that damaged the Islamic University in Gaza.
"In response to an appeal from the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, we are ready to say Israeli academics should not be on our campuses unless they explicitly condemn the university bombing and the assault on Gaza in general," said Sid Ryan, president of CUPE Ontario.
The resolution is still being drafted but the union said it will seek to prohibit Israeli academics from speaking, teaching or researching at Ontario universities. The CUPE committee will distribute the resolution to its members at the end of the month.
It will be put to a vote at the committee's annual conference in February. Janice Folk-Dawson, chairwoman of the university workers committee, said: "Clearly international pressure on Israel must increase to stop the massacre that is going on daily. We are proud to add CUPE voices to others from around the world saying enough is enough."
Ms. Folk-Dawson said the committee felt it was crucial to do something.
"This is coming from the rank-and-file members, not just the leadership," she said.
Len Rudner, regional director of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) in Ontario, called the resolution "unbalanced, unfair and unhelpful."
"Once again Sid Ryan is jumping before thinking," Mr. Rudner said. "I think it's ironic individuals who speak about freedom of speech jump to the opportunity to take that freedom away from other individuals."
While Ms. Folk-Dawson said the resolution will protect the quality of education by preventing Israeli academics from professing biased views, an Israeli professor at the University of Toronto opposed such a disruption to academia.
"I oppose any kind of ban to academic activity, whatever its colour or matter," said Emanuel Adler, chairman of Israeli Studies at the university.
"Students should receive the message that the situation is very tragic for both Israelis and Palestinians, but the conflict and the violence should not be brought inside the university."
He added that "if there is a place that some solution should come out of other than government it should be a place where creativity can lead to a peaceful resolution of conflict."
That sentiment was echoed by Daniel Silverman, program associate of Hillel at U of T, a Jewish student organization: "The university is a place for discussing all sorts of issues but it must be productive. [This resolution] doesn't serve any purpose; it doesn't promote dialogue; it creates divisions."
However, Mr. Ryan said the resolution was a reasonable response to Israel's attack on the Islamic University, which he likened to the torching of books by Nazis during the Second World War.
Israel has said the Islamic University is a legitimate target because it is closely tied to Hamas.
Mr. Ryan described the proposed resolution as the "logical next step" of a policy adopted by CUPE Ontario at a May, 2006, conference.
Resolution 50 supports "boycotts, divestment and sanctions aimed at bringing about the Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and a just peace in the region."
The passing of resolution 50 saw the union face significant public scrutiny and Ms. Folk-Dawson said this time they are prepared for a backlash, adding, "We believe we are doing the right thing."
Approximately 100 committee members will vote on the resolution at the conference on Feb. 19 in Windsor.
If the resolution receives majority support, it will be on the agenda at CUPE Ontario's conference in May, when more than 1,000 would be expected to vote. Should it pass that point, the union would then ask the province's schools to respect the prohibition.
The proposal comes after an international academic dispute broke out in 2007 following the British University and College Union's decision to sever professional ties with eight Israeli universities.
Sheldon Levy, president of Ryerson University in Toronto, was among administrators around the world who condemned that decision. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
#1
Nothing like racism and antisemitism to spice up the University, I guess.
I think it's ironic individuals who speak about freedom of speech jump to the opportunity to take that freedom away from other individuals.
It isn't about free speech. It is about imposing soul crushing government socialism and having a scapegoat. Welcome to modern Kristallnacht. Slow, methodical and just as deadly.
#3
Not Jew hating professors. Jew hating activists who have nothing better to do than show up at union meetings and elect their own. CUPE is evil. If there was a simple way to opt out of membership I doubt they would have 20% of their current numbers.
JetBlue Airways and two airport security screeners at Kennedy International Airport have paid $240,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by an Iraqi passenger who said he was discriminated against because the T-shirt he was wearing bore Arabic writing, according to court records.
The passenger, Raed Jarrar, 30, an activist and lobbyist who holds a U.S. green card and lives in Washington, D.C., said he was told to cover his shirt and forced to sit in the back of the plane on the Aug. 12, 2006, flight.
The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union in August 2007 filed the case in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York.
When he arrived at Kennedy for a flight to Oakland, Calif., Jarrar wore a shirt that said, in Arabic and English, "We Will Not Be Silent," a reference to a nonviolent resistance movement in Nazi Germany that has been adopted by anti-war activists in the United States.
One of the officials told Jarrar that wearing a shirt with Arabic writing was like "going to a bank while wearing a T-shirt that says, 'I am a robber,'" Jarrar said yesterday.
Reached by phone, one of the defendants, Franco Trotter, now a security screening manager at Orlando International Airport, declined to comment. The other screener, Garfield Harris, a supervisory transportation security inspector at Kennedy, could not be reached.
JetBlue said in a statement that it "continues to deny, outright, every critical aspect of Mr. Jarrar's version of events."
Jarrar, a former architect who moved from Baghdad to the United States in 2005, said he now works as a lobbyist for the Quaker organization American Friends Service Committee, trying to forge connections between Congress and the Iraqi parliament and pushing to end the occupation of Iraq.
About his experience, Jarrar said, "We are dealing with a mentality of discriminating against Arabs and Muslims and treating them as if they were criminals."
Jarrar said the settlement sends a message "that discriminating against Arabs and Muslims is wrong and is illegal."
#5
Paid for by taxpayers, no doubt. If Jet Blue paid, they'll probably be reimbursed. It's time airlines adopt formal, strict policies about behavior and appearance. We need these scumbags off our planes. Let the airlines take it to Congress to pass some indemnity to cover them. They can take alternate travel methods, including walking. We must put a lid on this rabble now while we can.
#6
You;ve got to hand it to this guy. Over a year ago he was blogging on behalf of the noble Al Qaeda led "resistance" in Iraq. When he got invited to the US and I bet he didn't have to go through this sh*t.
Next he pulls a publicity stunt and is now $240K richer. Only in America!
A group of clerics and religious scholars have issued a fatwa or edict that says jihad will be obligatory for every Pakistani citizen in the event of any attack on the country by India. The fatwa was announced at a conference organised by the Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz at Jamia Naeemia seminary in Lahore on Monday. The meeting, chaired by Federal Minister Noorul Haq Qadri, was arranged to discuss Pakistan's security concerns in the face of Indian war threats.
Besides declaring that jihad would be obligatory for all Pakistanis in case of an attack by India, a communiqué issued by the clerics said the Pakistan Government should end its support to the US war on Terror on the western border in case of hostilities with India. The conference demanded that Pakistan should "shrug off the Indian pressure and adopt a courageous and independent stance befitting a sovereign state". The clerics called on the government to "unveil the Indian conspiracies hatched against Pakistan before the world".
The communiqué said the clerics and scholars reaffirmed the "belief that the basic purpose of Pakistan's nuclear capability was to ensure the security of the country against any foreign aggression". Pakistan valued its nuclear scientists, particularly A Q Khan, the communique said. Besides the nuclear capability and defence preparations, the security of any country depended on its internal stability, it stated.
Jamia Naeemia's principal Sarfraz Naeemi said the TNRM will organise a rally in Lahore on January 14 to condemn the "anti-Muslim and aggressive policies" of Israel and India.
Besides Federal Minister Qadri, the conference was attended by leaders of political parties like the Pakistan People's Party, PML-N, PML-Q, Tehrik-e-Insaf, Sunni Tehrik, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan and Jamaat Ahle Sunnat. Meanwhile, the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami has warned the Pakistan government about "India's hegemonic designs in the region with the support of Western powers". The Jamaat also said India would "suffer dearly in case of any misadventure".
"If India committed any aggression, it will not only suffer huge losses but also be responsible for the use of lethal nuclear weapons in the region," said a resolution passed by the Jamaat-e-Islami 'shoora' or council on Monday. The resolution described the Mumbai attacks as "a 9/11-like international conspiracy through which the Indian and US rulers wanted to achieve their designs in the region". It accused India's ruling Congress party of "resorting to inhuman and undemocratic tactics by creating fanaticism in Hindu-majority areas for the sake of winning elections".
The resolution expressed concern at the Pakistan government's "apologetic attitude and foreign policy" in the face of the aggressive designs of the "enemies". The resolution added that "complete harmony" is needed between the Pakistan Army and the people for countering threats to the country. The resolution also condemned the banning of "patriotic welfare organisations" like the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, Al-Rasheed Trust, Al-Ameen Trust and Al-Akhtar Trust.
#2
Pakistan must not have heard the saying, "When you're in a hole, quit digging." Sooner or later, that hole they're digging is going to fill up with water.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2009 12:01 Comments ||
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#3
where do we start the line too piss in that hole at
Awami National Party (ANP) NWFP Secretary General Tajuddin Khan on Monday accused the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) of pocketing millions of dollars during the war against Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Khan said in a statement that the JI provided support to the United States in Afghanistan and provided volunteers for the war to "earn millions of dollars". He said the people were facing an insurgency everywhere in the NWFP due to the failed policies of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in the province. He said the JI had invited 'foreign terrorists' to settle in Pashtun lands, who were now wreaking havoc across the country. Khan said military operations in the Tribal Areas and other parts of the NWFP would continue until the 'JI-supported terrorists' are completely eliminated.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
when you ask foreign terrorist too settle the land what do you expect? but feel free too keep killing them
Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the 'youngest' chief minister of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) amid tight security on Monday. "I swear to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India," he said, wearing a long black coat and white shalwar at the swearing-in ceremony in Jammu.
Omar's National Conference, which backs greater autonomy but rejects calls for independence, emerged as the single biggest party in elections that ended in December.
"(Omar) cannot ignore the massive freedom demonstrations. If he is sincere he should help address the aspirations of Kashmiris," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul attended the ceremony in Jammu. Omar is the grandson of IHK's first political leader after 1947, Sheikh Abdullah.
The England-born Abdullah was sent to Kashmir in 2002 to revive his ailing party, which had lost popularity under his father Farooq, the outgoing chief minister at the time. The former junior federal minister showed his credentials in a speech in defence of secularism in parliament earlier this year, when a row over the government transfer of forest land to a Hindu shrine in the state sparked Muslim anger.
Omar is a more popular choice than his father, who came under fire in the past for his extravagant lifestyle and outspoken advocacy of bombing nuclear-armed Pakistan, analysts say.
The National Conference won 28 of the state assembly's 87 seats, while the Congress Party bagged 17.
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01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Monday his government remained committed to punishing Pakistani nationals accused of taking part in the Mumbai attacks if "credible" evidence is given against them. Gilani made the comments during talks with Richard Boucher, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, who arrived in Islamabad early Monday in a bid to defuse simmering tensions between Pakistan and India.
Gilani spoke of "Pakistan's persistent efforts to defuse the current tensions with India, and his government's commitment to take action against any Pakistani national in case credible evidence is provided," his office said.
Earlier Monday, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that New Delhi had handed over to Islamabad what it said was evidence linking the Islamic militants who carried out the late November attacks to "elements in Pakistan."
Pakistan said it had received the dossier and was reviewing it. New Delhi has blamed the attacks - which left 172 people dead, including nine of the gunmen - on the banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir.
Islamabad had repeatedly said that India had not provided any evidence linking the Mumbai attackers with Pakistan.
Mukherjee said the Indian dossier included details of the interrogation of Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman - also known as Mohammad Ajmal Kasab - who is the lone surviving gunman and whom India says is a Pakistani national.
It also details the militants' communications with "elements" in Pakistan during the attack, recovered weapons and other equipment, retrieved global positioning system data and satellite phones.
A number of US officials have visited both Pakistan and India, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her deputy John Negroponte, following the attacks in a bid to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Boucher, who arrived in Pakistan early Monday, also met with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and President Asif Ali Zardari, who gave him an award for his "service to Pakistan." Zardari said Boucher had been "instrumental in promoting a stable, broad-based and long-term Pakistan-US relationship," the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported.
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01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Wow. A fluffy bunny actually killed...
In last Friday episode of Pioneers of Tomorrow, the bunny Assoud was seen dying in a Gaza hospital after being injured in an Israeli attack. They killed Assoud! Those bastards!!
#4
A bbq/rosemary braise baked in woodfire brick oven...yummm. Course it all depends on what the rabbit ate during its life as to adjust the marinade. Assud would taste like sh*t.
Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Az-Zahar claimed victory for Hamas on Monday, saying Hamas had succeeded in "destroying Israel's sense of security" with its rocket attacks. Zahar made his proclamation in video footage sent from a secret hideout, where he is taking shelter in order to avoid being targeted in an IAF strike. Other Hamas leaders have gone into hiding as well. ...except for the ones who have gone into pieces courtesy of the IDF.
This is a bit like Hitler in the bunker, except that not even Hitler was delusional enough to actually declare victory while the Red Army swarmed over Berlin.
Zahar directed his message to Hamas' troops, and promised them victory over the IDF. "We must be patient until we are victorious, Allah will help us," he said. Hundreds of Hamas terrorists have been killed since the "Cast Lead" operation began last week, including 100 since the start of Israel's ground operation, and several of the group's senior leaders have been assassinated. Dozens have been taken prisoner as well. If He exists at all, Allah is helping them to well-deserved extinction but they still aren't getting the message.
The Hamas leader called to murder Israelis and Jews worldwide, including children. "The Israelis have sentenced their children to death... They have legitimized the killing of their people all over the world," he said. Hamas' platform calls for all Jews to convert to Islam or be killed, based on an Islamic saying (Hadith), and the group has not refrained from targeting children in the past. Since these baboons are happy to murder their own children by using them as boomers, they could scarcely be expected to spare anyone else's
Hamas will destroy synagogues and Jewish schools as well, Zahar said, just as Israel destroyed mosques in Gaza. Israel bombed several mosques used to store rockets and ammunition. It makes sense that an arsenal would be sacred to a demonic death cult, but one wonders why the world media go along with it.
Zahar suggested Hamas was prepared to seek a ceasefire, saying Hamas would discuss "whatever is good for our people." He issued a list of demands, saying any ceasefire must include a complete end to IDF counterterrorism activities, Hamas control of the Gaza coast and the opening of Israeli crossings. The best thing for his people would be for him and his cronies to catch a serious dose of Hellfire, followed by a much worse helping of its namesake.
Israel has not offered Hamas a ceasefire, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently said operations in Gaza would continue "until we achieve our goals." "Die, monster, die" and take your evil media shills with you.
#3
The Palestinian territories are already cantonized by the nature of their inhabitants. The clans/tribes/whatever in the West Bank are closely related by blood, with all that entails, and unrelated to the closely related clans/tribes/whatever in Gaza. The cultures are different as well. West Bankers are business go-getters, interested in achieving the profits of corruption, which requires a peaceful atmosphere; Gazans prefer UN welfare and the pleasures and loot of jihad, and will support whichever group promises them the most of it. I recall the Bethlehem church hostage-takers, after being exiled to Gaza, complaining that they were completely shunned there, not because of what they'd done but because they weren't related to the locals.
#4
This is a bit like Hitler in the bunker, except that not even Hitler was delusional enough to actually declare victory while the Red Army swarmed over Berlin.
Hitler didn't have unquestioning support of every degenerate, who considers him/herself intellectual by virtue on not having to work with their hands, in the World.
Uh...is that what you call it?
The IDF is rolling through Gaza like the roman legions and you are declaring victory?
I swear, I'll never understand the arab mind.
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday any ceasefire to end the Gaza crisis must include provisions that prevent Hamas from using the coastal strip to fire rockets into Israel.
" I know people are saying: let's have a ceasefire. (Those have) noble ambitions. But any ceasefire must have the conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets, "
U.S. President George W. Bush
"Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided to use Gaza to use rockets to kill innocent Israelis," Bush told reporters after a White House meeting with a Sudanese official. "Israel's obviously decided to protect itself."
He said that the United States was concerned about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip on the 10th day of a relentless Israeli air and land assault against Hamas gunmen. "All of us of course would like to see, you know, violence stop, but not at the expense of an agreement that does not prevent the crisis from happening again," the U.S. President said.
"I know people are saying: let's have a ceasefire. (Those have) noble ambitions. But any ceasefire must have the conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets."
More than 555 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's Operation Cast Lead was launched on Dec. 27 to end Hamas rocket attacks across the border into southern Israel.
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US troops are helping Egypt prevent "arms smuggling" from tunnels in the Rafah border-crossing, as Israel continues its attacks on Gaza.
NBC anchorwoman and chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell said Sunday that US military officers from the Corps of Engineers had been stationed on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing in order to prevent "arms smuggling from illegal tunnels" by Palestinian fighters.
" And there are US Army Corps of Engineer personnel on the ground right now on the Egypt side looking at the tunnels to see how Egypt could be reassured that there won't be continued smuggling through on that," she said on Meet the Press.
The US and Israel say the tunnels are used for smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes have bombing the Rafah border to destroy the tunnels.
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#1
Exactly what do they've to monitor---since IDF is blowing it all up?
#2
They monitor the Egyptians, g(r)omporu, to keep them honest... and our Army engineers probably pinpointed the location of many of the tunnels the IAF destroyed.
Regional leaders have stepped up their criticism of Israel's blistering assault on the Gaza Strip, as Mauritania withdrew its ambassador to the Zionist state in protest and Turkey's premier accused Israel of provoking the outbreak of fighting. For its part, Qatar continued to push for an emergency Arab summit over the Gaza attacks, which the nation's emir described as a "war crime."
"The Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip is a war crime," Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said late Sunday in a televised address. He also renewed an earlier call on fellow Arab leaders to hold an extraordinary summit in support of Gaza. "The mobilization on the Arab street and several peace movements in the world have proven that this is the least the people expect from us. I believed and still do that we can do something," the emir said.
Sheikh Hamad said that "calls for a mutual cease-fire treat the culprit and the victim as equal and justify the aggression."
Mauritania, one of only three Arab League countries that has full diplomatic ties with Israel, has withdrawn its ambassador in protest over the Gaza offensive, a Foreign Ministry source said on Monday. Since Israel's offensive in Gaza started 10 days ago, Mauritania has seen daily protests, mostly from students who demanded that Nouakchott break all ties with the country.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday blamed Israel for the ongoing conflict in the battered Gaza Strip, saying it "provoked" the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the enclave. The premier noted that Israel had continued a stifling blockade on Gaza despite pledging to lift it under the terms of an Egyptian-mediated truce, which Hamas had complied with by reining in fighters launching rockets into Israel.
Erdogan told Al-Jazeera: "A return to the situation before the truce happened because Israel continued the blockade, so I consider Israel the one which provoked and incited, not Hamas."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Israel should just tell the Arabs that the first Arab state that tries to "help" palestine will receive a nuclear package on their doorstep. Just the THREAT would curb a lot of this BS.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/06/2009 12:32 Comments ||
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#2
The usual Muslim/Arab script. Pali's do the dying, everybody else makes lots of noise...
Heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters broke out in a densely populated area of Gaza City on Monday evening, as at least 12 children became some of the latest victims of the Israeli onslaught. Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters in Gaza's main city for the first time Monday - after dozens died in a day of clashes - while the government fended off worldwide calls for a cease-fire.
Amid raging combat in Gaza City, and as the Palestinian death toll rose to at least 555, French and Russian presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitry Medvedev both demanded a halt to the conflict. But Israeli ministers said the offensive would go on.
Large explosions and heavy gunfire rocked the Shejaiya neighborhood of eastern Gaza City as night fell. Israeli military sources confirmed there were heavy clashes. Flares lit up the skies over the blacked-out neighborhood as attack helicopters could be seen hovering above.
Hamas said its fighters had shot missiles against seven tanks in the district. Its Islamic Jihad allies said several of its members were killed in the fighting.
Israeli fighter-bombers carried out more than 30 air strikes during the day. The military said they hit a mosque where it claimed "arms were being stored, as well as houses containing arms caches and vehicles that were transporting rocket launchers and armed men."
Warships off the coast also bombarded targets to help the ground offensive launched on Saturday night.
The Israeli strikes killed at least 50 Palestinians on Monday, including 12 children, medics said. A couple and their five children were killed by one naval shell, medics said. Three children were killed by a tank shell in Zeitun in the Gaza City suburbs, and two were killed in Shati by a naval strike, they said.
The UN estimates that civilians make up one quarter of the dead - including almost 100 children - that have been killed since Israel launched "Operation Cast Lead" on December 27. More than 2,700 have been wounded.
Three Israeli civilians and one soldier have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza since Israel's operation started. More than 30 rocket and missile attacks were reported on Monday. One hit a kindergarten which was closed because of the crisis.
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01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The Gaza denizens should really read Psalm 18 that the IDF radio broadcast to the troops.
Psalm 18
1I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
19He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
28For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
32It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
35Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
37I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
39For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
42Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
#2
French and Russian presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitry Medvedev both demanded a halt to the conflict.
Demanded? In the face of open American support? Why do they work to make themselves look unimportant?
Separately, verses 37-42 are, I think, Israel's key statement. The Gazans are right to panic; perhaps they should flee altogether in the face of Israel's clear intentions.
#3
strikes killed at least 50 Palestinians on Monday, including 12 children
Just for perspective, the median age in Gaza is 17.2 years and males can carry weapons long before that age.
#5
if hamas was winning i wonder how many ppl would be calling for the cease fire. And wtf is a russian pres calling for the end of any war for. they helped start most of them for the last 60 years
#8
WAFF.com > IN GAZA FIGHT, IRAN LURKS IN THE BACKGROUND; + ISRAEL PRANKING [daring]HIZBOLLAH BY FLYING OVER LEBANON [Israeli AF demands to be shot at]?
STAR TREK'S CHEKOV > VILD VEEESIL ["Wild Weasel" AirOps]
Former acting US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said Monday that settling the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of a two-state solution was no longer workable and suggested splitting Palestine between Egypt and Jordan. "Let's start by recognizing that trying to create a Palestinian Authority from the old PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] has failed and that any two-state solution based on the PA is stillborn," Bolton wrote in The Washington Post. "Hamas has killed the idea, and even the Holy Land is good for only one resurrection."
Hamas won parliamentary elections deemed fair by international observers in 2006 but was boycotted by the West for refusing to give up armed resistance against Israeli occupation.
A two-state solution has been officially adopted as the basis for solving the Middle East conflict by all interested parties, including Israel and the administration of US President George W. Bush, in which Bolton has served. But he now argues that the peace process is "obviously not progressing ... probably going backward."
"Instead, we should look to a 'three-state' approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty," says the former ambassador, who now works for the American Enterprise Institute, a hard-line pro-Israeli think-tank in Washington. "Having the two Arab states re-extend their prior political authority is an authentic way to extend the zone of peace and, more important, build on governments that are providing peace and stability in their own countries," he wrote.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Interesting, but I don't see ISRAEL accepting this schema unless EGYPT agrees to share and give up at least 1/2 of the Sinai desert with Israel.
#4
His plan is horrible .... until it is compared with all the other plans.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/06/2009 2:16 Comments ||
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#5
I say we give Lander County, Nevada to them. Just move them all to Lander County, we can call it Palestine, they can have a country bigger than their current country and everyone can be happy.
Or maybe the Israelis would take Lander County. God, I wish someone would.
#6
This could only work if the Jordanian and Egyptian governments guarantee they will enforce peaceful behaviour on their respective Palestinians. Which I am quite certain the governments won't want to do in the face of popular rebellion against the very idea of reigning in the Palestinians, whom they've been taught for generations are the front line and key issue against that horrid Zionist entity. Israel has tried this before, I believe, with no interest from the governments in question.
#7
I like John Bolton. He is brilliant and courageous but I think his plan is pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking.
King Abdullah, though married to a Paleo beauty, would probably decline the "honor" of making west bank Paleos his subjects. Also, Mubarak would have to be crazy to want to incorporate the Gazan cesspool into Egybt. Gaza makes the qatb oriented moslem brotherhood look moderate by comparison.
No, I don't think either state would want to injest that noxious poison....now the good King may want a piece of Jerusalem, but the rest of the west bank......thanks, but no thanks.
#8
There is a reason both countries passed up the opportunity to absorb the Paleos into their countries in the 50s. They know the Paleos are just fucking nuts.
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday called for a global boycott of the U.S. dollar and U.S.-made products, including Coca-Cola, in protest over Washington's backing of Israel. The former premier said while governments might not be able to support the move as many were "scared stiff" of the superpower, the people could play their part to "save Palestine."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Scrap the proposed free trade agreement w/ Malaysia, tariff and boycott Malaysian imports. Help eliminate the $20 billion annual trade deficit and put Americans to work instead of islamic supremacists.
Posted by: ed ||
01/06/2009 2:08 Comments ||
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#2
Malaysia, where pork is unclean and monkeys are dinner.
As with the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, we can chalk Malaysian Islamism up to the errors of British imperialism. They should have let the Reds have the place.
#8
"by claiming the a Jewish cabal 'ruled the world'"
This always fascinates me. The same clowns that say Jooooooos are bad and unclean and Allan wants all of them killed ALSO think that this teeny tiny minority of people somehow manage to rule the entire world.
If you really believe that, Mo, you should be scared sh*tless of them and what they can do to you anytime they decide to.
Loser.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/06/2009 13:59 Comments ||
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#9
I can never remember if the Jews are the "apes" or the "pigs". Either way, it fascinates me that they can be so lowly and yet rule the world. That's the nice thing about Islam -- no logic is allowed.
#11
"In June this year Dr Mahathir described Westerners - or more particularly "Anglo-Saxon Europeans" -- as proponents of "war, sodomy and genocide"."
More than 70,000 Iranian student volunteers have registered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel because of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip. According to the official IRNA news agency, hardline student leader Esmaeil Ahmadi says the students want to fight Israel in support of Hamas - Gaza's Islamic militant rulers. Five hard-line student groups and a conservative clerical group launched a registration drive last week to ask the government to allow them to stage the suicide attacks. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has not responded to the call yet. The government never responded to similar requests in the past. This raises the likelihood that the calls are mainly for propaganda purposes
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2009 00:00 ||
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[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
70,000.... do I Hear 80,000.
70,000 going once...
twice...
SOLD! To the idiots that believe anything from Iran.
If they had them, why advertise it?
Plus, by the time they get them there, there isn't going to be Hamas left in Gaza.
Pragmatically, IRAN knows Israel will attack it iff it goes NUKULAR - however, THE ISLAMIST JIHAD NEEDS NUCLEARIZATION AND FOR IRAN TO GO DE FACTO NUKULAR. As R. LEE would say, IRAN has itself a DEEEEEEEELLLLEEEEEEMMMMMMAA [dilemma].
#5
Signing up on the list is one thing.
Getting inside israel with a bomb and having the stones to set it off is quite another.
Big talk that amounts to squat.
#6
Let's hope the Iranian's suicide training program is extremely realistic.
Posted by: ed ||
01/06/2009 8:07 Comments ||
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#7
The way I see it, once Gaza is pretty well scrubbed of Hamas and its rocketry, Israel has little reason to not go ahead and denuclearize Iran. Preferably while Bush is still POTUS.
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.
Two foreign journalists released Sunday from captivity in Somalia recounted their ordeal on Monday, with one saying a pint of beer was his first priority upon regaining his freedom.
Police have arrested 50 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood group for organizing Gaza protests in Cairo, a security official said Monday.
