Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, the general manager of Al Arabiya, a 24-hour satellite-news channel broadcasting from Dubai, has six plasma-screen TV's in his office on the floor of the channel's glowing, ultramodern newsroom set. They are always on. One is tuned to Al Arabiya itself, and depending on where the cameras are placed, Al-Rashed sometimes catches a glimpse of himself, pacing around his desk on his cellphone. Another shows Al Jazeera, the channel's main competition. A third is tuned to a new Saudi government satellite channel, and a fourth displays CNN. Al-Rashed likes to flip around on the other two -- from Al Hurra, the widely ignored news channel that the United States government started last February, to the BBC and then to Al Manar, the Hezbollah-owned station that was banned by the French and American governments last month for broadcasting anti-Semitic slanders and what a State Department spokesman called ''incitement to violence.''
Al-Rashed's job is to find a place for Al Arabiya within this array, preferably at the top of the ratings. For now, though, it is Al Jazeera, which was started in 1996 by the emir of the gulf state of Qatar, that sets the standard, and the tone, for Arab television news. According to a poll conducted last May by Zogby International and the University of Maryland, Al Jazeera is the first choice for 62 percent of satellite-news viewers in Jordan, 66 percent in Egypt and 44 percent in Saudi Arabia. In most countries in the poll, Al Arabiya came in a distant second, although the professor who designed the poll, Shibley Telhami, said it had captured a ''remarkable'' market share for a satellite channel that, at the time, had been on the air for only a year; 39 percent of satellite-news viewers said they watched Al Arabiya almost daily. And in Saudi Arabia, the biggest advertising market in the region, the ratings race is much closer.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
01/03/2005 9:53:35 AM ||
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#1
Six plasma screens, I love those screens.
Seems to me the new screening of America will come from our digital providers. Low monthly rates. But man programing is still the same.
Will our Arab consumers get fed up with their marching bands?
#1
This halfwit fails to note what Bernard lewis, who first pointed out the muslims' romanticization of Osama as valiant underdog Robin Hood, noted many years ago: the Sheriff of Nottingham role is played by the House of Saud and all the other corrupt bloodsuckers of the arab world. The fundamental quarrel here is an internal muslim one, with King John as merely a distant scapegoat that changes over time: first the Soviets, now the Americans.
#2
And Kofi Annan is like Sister Teresa. This num nuts is a mouthpiece for Bin Laden. Oh, and Jeffrey Daumer was just a misunderstood youth. How about the fact that Bin Laden is a methodical evil killer of men, women, and children with no remorse. The legal wizard should forget trying to romantize BL and find new occupations--How about as a part of a buoy-based early warning tsunami system?
The government of Mexico is raising eyebrows with a new comic book offering advice on how to cross the border into the U.S. illegally. Called "The Guide for the Mexican Migrant," the 32-page book published by Mexico's Foreign Ministry uses simple language to offer information on safety, legal rights and living unobtrusively in America. "This guide is intended to give you some practical advice that could be of use if you have made the difficult decision to seek new work opportunities outside your country," the book says, according to the Arizona Republic.
Illustrations depict illegals wading into a river, trying to evade U.S. Border Patrol and crouching near a hole in a border fence. Immigrants are also shown hiking through the desert with rock formations similar to those in Arizona and being caught by an American agent. Among the tips offered:
# "Try to walk during times when the heat is not as intense";
# "Salt water helps you retain your body's liquids. Although you'll feel thirstier, if you drink water with salt the risk of dehydration is much lower";
# "Thick clothing increases your weight when wet, and this makes it difficult to swim or float."
It also says if migrants get lost, they should follow train tracks or power lines. It warns of walking for days to reach towns or roads in the desert. If caught by Border Patrol, the book says, "Don't throw stones or objects at the officer or patrol vehicles because this is considered a provocation. Raise your hands slowly so they see you are unarmed."
It also recommends not running away from agents in pursuit. "It's better to be detained a few hours and repatriated to Mexico than to get lost in the desert," the guide states.
The book includes a disclaimer stating it doesn't promote crossing the border illegally, but it doesn't give information about legal steps to seek a U.S. visa.
Immigration-control groups are not thrilled about the guide. "This is more than just a wink and a nod," Rick Oltman, Western field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Republic. "This is so transparent, this is the Mexican government trying to protect its most valuable export, which is illegal migrants."
John Vincent, with Virginia-based Americans for Immigration Control, said, "It really looks like the Mexican government is encouraging illegal immigration. It shows the contempt that the Mexican government has for our laws."
The Mexican consul general of Phoenix, Carlos Flores Vizcarra, said the reality is many migrants will try to cross the border illegally, and the book appears to be a means of protection. "This is nothing new. It's a way to put it in very simple terms so people will understand the risks," he told the paper. "The intention is out of concern for human rights. People are doing it anyway. We cannot ignore that there is a very big migration between our two countries, and people who are coming to work need to understand the risks."
Humberto Morales, 22, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico now working as a day laborer in Phoenix, and says the guide seems to have a mixed message. "On the one hand they seem to be saying, 'Don't cross,' but on the other hand they are saying, 'Cross.'"
Posted by: tipper ||
01/03/2005 9:17:02 AM ||
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#1
Mexico also puts out a similar comic for illegals crossing over their southern border. But it doesn't include information on how to live unobtrusively when one does make it into Mexico.
#4
# "Salt water helps you retain your body’s liquids. Although you’ll feel thirstier, if you drink water with salt the risk of dehydration is much lower";
#8
Islam terrorists are most likely coming with the Mexicans. We need to tighten our southern border--it is a sieve. Letting cheap labor come into the U.S. is not a good argument for not doing something along the border. I don't know why the government is doing so little. We will have to pay the piper if we don't do anything.
Senator John Kerry, the defeated Democratic candidate, has blamed his failure to unseat President George W Bush on the traditional advantage held by a president in wartime and his own failure to "connect" with voters. "I'm not going to lick my wounds or hide under a rock or disappear. I'm going to learn," Mr Kerry told Newsweek magazine in his first interview since the Nov 2 election. "I've had disappointments and I've learned to cope. I've lost friends, a marriage: I've lost things in life." He then pointed out that no sitting president had ever been defeated during a war.
He disputed descriptions of his oratory as "soporific" but appeared close to acknowledging that he had not connected with voters. Mr Kerry was careful to avoid making any commitments about his future plans, but one former Kerry adviser told the magazine that he thinks he is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 2008. In the past month of the campaign Mr Kerry closed the gap with Mr Bush but he lost by two percentage points.
Posted by: tipper ||
01/03/2005 1:37:58 AM ||
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"...he thinks he is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 2008."
Oh, good God... yes, that's right, nominate the stupid sonofabitch AGAIN. Do it!! LOL...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/03/2005 2:06 Comments ||
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#2
Kerry in 2008 would be a lot tougher to defeat because he knows where all the landmines are.
#3
Actually, that doesn't account for the landmines he didn't find. The thing about Minesweeper is that your chance of success NEVER go above 50%, and your chance of failure NEVER goes below 50%. The reason is that at the end, you're left with two spaces. You no longer have any clues as to which it is. It is as basic as yes or no.
Watch. He'll fall by some other means. Walter Mondale (substituting for Paul Wellstone) did.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
01/03/2005 6:17 Comments ||
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#4
Momma T this time, four years older and 4 years crazier.
#5
Kerry in 2004 ran as an unknown quantity -- ignoring his antiwar history and his vacuousness as the junior Senator from Massachussetts, not to mention his non-heroic behaviour as a Viet Nam war hero. Kerry in 2008 will have all the baggage accumulated in 2004... and he will still be a wishy-washy, boring, condescending snob. A fight between him and Senator Rodham-Clinton would suffice to bring out all the dirty laundry of the Democrats, for the benefit of the Republican candidate.
#6
I'm still dismayed this knucklehead got as close to the presidency as he did. Its remains alarming that nearly 1/2 of this country just doesn't seem to get it, namely that God IS on our side, and we do have a responsibility to defeat the evil that is Islam. None of this guys dirty laundry got play in the MSM, and their slant towards a candidate will be even worse when Hildebeast runs in 2008, The NYT will be calling for a coronation instead of an inaguration if that witch wins.
Kerry lost because he demonstrated himself to be indecisive and a foreign policy pussy.
In my heart I knew that if the Euroweenies wanted Kerry, then Bush was obviously the man for the job.
#8
Update from Drudge...
"In an exclusive interview about his presidential campaign and his life now, Sen. John Kerry tells Newsweek, "I'm not going to lick my wounds or hide under a rock or disappear. I'm going to learn. I've had disappointments and I've learned to cope. I've lost friends, a marriage: I've lost things in life."
Kerry has not given any formal interviews since his defeat. But on Nov. 11, he summoned a Newsweek reporter to his house on Boston's fashionable Louisberg Square. He wanted to complain about Newsweek's election issue, which he says was unduly harsh and gossipy about him, his staff and his wife. (The 45,000-word article, the product of a yearlong reporting project, is being published next week as a book, "Election 2004," by PublicAffairs.) Details from that interview appear in the January 10 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, January 3). Kerry talks with Newsweek about the campaign, why he lost and what's ahead for him. He did not wish to be directly quoted touting himself, however; he did not wish to appear defensive or boastful.
When asked why he lost the election, Kerry points to history and, in a somewhat inferential, roundabout way, to his own failure to connect to voters-a failure that kept him from erasing the Bush campaign's portrait of him as a flip-flopper, reports Newsweek Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas. Kerry said that he was proud of his campaign, that he had nearly defeated a popular incumbent who had enjoyed a three-year head start on organizing and fund-raising. Sitting presidents are never defeated in wartime, he insisted (true, though two, LBJ and Harry Truman, chose not to run for another term during Vietnam and Korea).
While he quarreled with descriptions of his speaking style as "soporific," Kerry tacitly acknowledged that he failed to connect with enough voters on a personal level. Jose Ferreira, Kerry's nephew, told his uncle, "Some people are saying that your candidacy was driven by ABB [Anything But Bush]." Kerry replied: "Do you think so?" Ferreira said that once people got to know Kerry, they were intensely loyal. "Those are the people I let down," Kerry said, falling silent. In conversation with
Newsweek, Kerry seemed particularly interested in trying to find a way to speak to ordinary voters that didn't sound too grandiose or "political." Though Kerry did not directly criticize his friend Bob Shrum, it's clear he did not feel well served by his message makers and speechwriters.
The deeper problem may be Kerry's personality, which may be too distant or reserved to win mass affection. As Thomas left Kerry's" house in November, Kerry called out and followed him down the street. Kerry wanted to show a letter from a schoolgirl that had been left on his stoop. The letter read, in part, "John Kerry, you're the greatest!" Kerry looked into the reporter's eye. "The pundits have never liked me," he said. "Is it the way I look? The way I sound?" He seemed vulnerable for a moment, then caught himself, smiled and walked home to his empty house.
In the heady days before the election, Kerry's top aides sat around picking a cabinet. Nowadays the foreign-policy team still meets on the assumption that it could be reconstituted for '08. But the reality is, "it's mostly sitting around some lawyer's office and asking each other if we've heard about jobs," says a member of the team. As for Kerry, says this adviser, "he thinks he's the frontrunner for '08 without recognizing that he needs to do some soul-searching. If he wants to come back, he'll have to come back as a different candidate, not the stiff who plays it safe and takes four sides of every issue."
#10
Hillbilly's plan is working. Look for Billiary to run in 2008.
Mojo did Frank Zappa really say that? What song? Or was that in "200 Motels?" 60 million of the rest of us chorused that too and voted for W. We just cannot abide the liberal demi's do nothing plan regarding the islamofacists who want to rule the world and make it their Taliban heaven.
#11
I'm still dismayed this knucklehead got as close to the presidency as he did. Its remains alarming that nearly 1/2 of this country just doesn't seem to get it,
Because of changes in the distribution of information - the election of 2008 will be different than 2004. The dems have controlled the tenor of information for half a century - no longer. New sources of information will be a flood that will defy control or direction by anyone. It remains to be seen how the next four years will change the landscape and tenor of the next election. The people, not the boardrooms of the NYT or BBC, will control the discourse of the next election.
#19
Sheik Yerbouti....me, my 2 brothers and respective spouses rang in the New Year with much food, bubbly, and music. Sheik Yerbouti was among the favorites that night. Happy New Year all....oh yeah and Mssr Kerry is an A-Hole.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
01/03/2005 16:58 Comments ||
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#20
Hey Kerry, how do you say "John Kerry is a dickhead" in French?
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/03/2005 20:05 Comments ||
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During upcoming confirmation hearings for Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, senior Democrats want to screen infamous videotapes showing Iraqis being abused at Abu Ghraib prison, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.
The curtain is raised Thursday for the Senate Judiciary Committee's showdown with Gonzales. The Bush White House counsel will be grilled about his role in formulating the administration's legal policies on coercive techniques in interrogations -- techniques some Democrats believe led to outright torture! Yet it's the grainy prison videos, shot by a soldier's cellphone and never before viewed by the public, that threaten to turn the New Year ugly: A video of a handcuffed prisoner beating his head against a wall; a video of a group of hooded men shown masturbating. The Pentagon and the White House hold the videos in their possession and have not authorized any public release, including to the senate. One top Democrat senate source said over the holiday weekend: "Mr. Gonzales should explain to us, to the public if this was policy. I am demanding we move to full disclosure."
"To hell with the good of the country!" he added.
Republicans counter showing the videos during the Gonzales hearings would jeopardize evidence in trials of the soldiers involved in the abuse. Sen. John Warner (R-VA) chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has said making the videos public might endanger more men and women serving in the armed forces in Iraq. "Normally, I side with disclosure and openness, but in this case, the material is evidence," Sen. Schumer (D-NY) said last year. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the videos should be made public and that they proved to him that there was an organized policy of abusing prisoners to get information -- approved by the White House. Top Hill insiders explain Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has not ruled out exploring the abuse at Abu Ghraib with Gonzales in open session. But a well-placed Kennedy source said the Attorney General's confirmation hearings will not be turned into a showdown with the military.
They'll be too busy turning it into a circus.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2005 12:28:06 AM ||
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They must figure since it is early in the 2006 election cycle, they can make political hay out of Gonzalezs' memo.
Wrong.
I think this is an excelent opportunity to split the democratic party even further by painting the democrats as terrorist loving fifth columnists for trying to go after Gonzalez.
#2
This is indeed truth time for Dems. If you have a problem with Gonzales' memos and the admin's policy-- and I agree that they deserve close scrutiny, esp since Scalia himself spanked the admin on the torture and detainment issues-- then bring it up responsibly, quietly, behind closed doors. There's a war on, remember?
#3
Get serious. The Dems may feign "concern" about the Abu torture memos, but Gonzales' confirmation is a walk. He is the best thing that's come along for the Democrats since Bush Sr. appointed David Souter to the Supreme Court bench. Gonhzales is part of the Open Borders crowd, which is swell re: Democrat Party prospective voters. He loves affirmative action ( another biggie plus factor with the Dems)and was in a big struggle with Ted Olson over the gov't's brief with regards to the Uof Michigan case. "Gonzales was part of a majority vote in the Roe v. Wade case that was presented to the Texas Supreme Court. He case granted a 17-year-old girl a waiver to a state law that required a minor to inform her parents for seeking an abortion."
Except for Abu Grau, Gonzales is a Democrat in GOP clothes.
#4
How much worse will things have to get for Carl Levin and the other leading lights of the Democratic Party, before they realize that people are damn sick and tired of seeing them trash our military to gain cheap political points?
I was a Democrat for 31 years, but I will never vote for another one of those slimey bastards again so long as I live-- not even for Dogcatcher.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/03/2005 1:58 Comments ||
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Gonzales = A powerful Mexican that isn't a Democrat. This about a Mexican being off the N.E./West coast controled Democratic party plantation. All such people of color must be lynched. Same old racist democratic party just a different day. All Mexicans will get the message. You are only safe if you are a democrat look down when you walk past them genuflect and shuffle your feet. It has nothing to do with what is alleged to be torture. It has to do with destroying any mexican or negro that has political power outside of that bestowed by the Democratic party.
#6
I think you should read up on Gonzales' legal positions, sock, before coming automatically to his defense just because he appears, on first glance, to be an Hispanic going against the grain. This guy, in fact, is the quintessential Democrat Trojan horse. Why would the Democrats not want him as AG? He's pro-AA, pro open bordetrs, pro abortion. What's not to like if you're a leftie? Gonzales'itty bitty conservative stance on being tough on Muslim POW's- like Democrats really care about that - POWs don't vote in US elections, so big deal. The Democrats will love Gonzales but will posture "concern" for good effect. Even the ACLU hasn't taken a position on Gonzales-what does that tell you? Focus, please, on what an AG does.
#7
Please make an ass of your party, Carl, please, please, please, please, please!
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/03/2005 7:51 Comments ||
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#8
Amen Mrs D! Bring it on assholes. I really hope they spend an hour-long special on CBS trying to 'connect the dots' from Gonzales to Abu Grabass. No sane individual will watch nor understand the reasoning. Too bad we can't run a list of intelligence victories that started with some loud AC/DC and bright lights. Kind of makes you wonder what side the dhimis are on.
#10
And yet we still sit on how many photos of torture of Iraqis (hell, add in non-Iraqis, while we're at it) because our sensibilities are too touchy about exposing such pictures to the public? Well, the public better wake up and grow up.
If this proceeds as described and no contrast is made between a prisoner beating his head against the wall and Saddam chopping off people's hands, between humiliation via masturbation and shredding people live, then we are contributors to our own demise.
#12
Jules, I agree, and think the Republicans should go tit for tat on this one.
So every time the Dems show a photo from Abu Ghraib of one of the terrorists with panties on his head, the Republicans should counter with a photo of any one of dozens of beheadings these same guys are guilty of. And so on.
And every time we do counter with such a display the Dems will scream: "What does THAT have to with these hearings?" To which we can reply: "CONTEXT, you fucking morons" (OK, I we may have to drop the "fucking" part) :)
#13
Can't say "moron" openly, either, but there are plenty of tactful ways to get that message across...mostly by showing the pictures of beheadings with the do-ers names written underneath, or by playing the cute little action videos they're so fond of making.
WRT Gonzalez, AG has in the past been a stepping stone to a seat on the USSC. Final line on the resume', especially if he argues a few cases before the SC, demonstrating his ability at that level.
A class action lawsuit in the name of John P. O'Neill, Sr., stemming from the 9/11 atrocity, has named the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a defendant. (For those confused about the multiple 9/11 court cases, there is help on the way at http://www.september11terrorlitigation.com/.) Here are the paragraphs dealing with CAIR's role in the events of September 11, 2001, from the second amended class action complaint, filed today:
86. Council on American Islamic Relations and CAIR Canada (collectively, CAIR), have aided, abetted, and materially sponsored and al Qaeda and international terrorism. CAIR is an outgrowth of the Hamas front group the Islamic Association of Palestine. The FBI's former associate director in charge of Investigative and Counter-Intelligence Operations described the Islamic Association of Palestine as an organization that has directly supported Hamas military goals and is a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants. It has produced videotapes that are very hate-filled, full of vehement propaganda. It is an organization that has supported direct confrontation.
87. CAIR and CAIR-Canada have, since their inception, been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism. These organizations play a unique role in the terrorist network. They emanate from the notorious HAMAS terrorist organization and like so many of the terrorism facilitating charities named and indicted by the United States government they are engaged in fund raising under the guise of assisting humanitarian causes they are, in reality, a key player in international terrorism. The unique role played by CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to manipulate the legal systems of the United States and Canada in a manner that allows them to silence critics, analysts, commentators, media organizations, and government officials by leveling false charges of discrimination, libel, slander and defamation. In addition, both organizations have actively sought to hamper governmental anti-terrorism efforts by direct propaganda activities aimed at police, first-responders, and intelligence agencies through so-called sensitivity training. Their goal is to create as much self-doubt, hesitation, fear of name-calling, and litigation within police departments and intelligence agencies as possible so as to render such authorities ineffective in pursuing international and domestic terrorist entities.
88. The role of CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to wage PSYOPS (psychological warfare) and disinformation activities on behalf of Whabbi-based [Wahhabi-based, DP] Islamic terrorists throughout North America. They are the intellectual "shock troops" of Islamic terrorism. In the years and months leading up to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 these organizations were very effective in helping to ensure that North American law enforcement and intelligence officials were sufficiently deaf, dumb, and blind to help pave the way for the attacks on the United States. The role played by these entities is an absolutely essential part of the mix of forces arrayed against the United States as they help soften-up targeted countries so as to facilitate and enhance the likelihood for a successful attack.
Posted by: tipper ||
01/03/2005 9:25:58 AM ||
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#4
Hopefully those birds are vultures and ravens coming to feast on CAIR's corpse.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
01/03/2005 11:13 Comments ||
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#5
Well, start off with the bluebirds - then finish off with raptors!
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/03/2005 11:16 Comments ||
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#6
These are reckless accusations. If CAIR sues for counter-damages for slander, it probably will win.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/03/2005 11:19 Comments ||
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#7
Mike Syl
The Plaintiffs can obviously show that a number of former members of CAIR had ties to Hamas, etc.
The Plaintiffs can obviously also show that a number of former members of CAIR are AlQ sympathizers and have made pro AlQ statements.
If they can also show some non trivial ties between HAMAS and Al Q or can show some non trivial ties between statements that are pro AlQ and AlQ's fundraising in the US, then they are bullet proof against a slander claim.
If this went to trial, the issue in determining guilt and damages would be how substantive, how direct, how effective was the nexus.
However, I'm not sure if this is a case where the plaintiff will settle for cash or whether the plaintiff wants to go to court for the publicity.
#8
Unlike Britain, Mike, in the US, the truth is an absolute defense against charges of slander. Plus, in defense against a slander/libel charge, you can produce a lot of evidence that isn't acceptable in a criminal charge. Ask Alger Hiss.
#9
mhw, what you listed is about all they can show. Here's part of their accusation:
The role of CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to wage PSYOPS (psychological warfare) and disinformation activities on behalf of Whabbi-based [Wahhabi-based, DP] Islamic terrorists throughout North America.
If CAIR sues for slander for that, then how are they going to prove it?
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/03/2005 11:38 Comments ||
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#11
how about internal documents, Mike? Oh yeah, you're used to them being shredded at your beloved UN.
I'd bet they have internal communications. If they only succeed at spotlighting and bankrupting CAIR and making them a pariah, the efforts are worthwhile
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2005 12:14 Comments ||
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Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/03/2005 12:19 Comments ||
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#14
Mike
I doubt very much that the plaintiffs can prove the PSYOPS charge. However, they don't have to prove it. They have only to show preponderance of evidence. They can surely show that CAIR did agitate for less scrutiny of Arabs, they can also show that CAIR was aware that AlQ had operatives in the US (the 1993 WTC bombing for example), they can show CAIR officials coordinating with ALQ fundraisers. If I was on a jury, I'm not sure that would be enough for preponderance but for some people it would be.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/03/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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#16
Re #14 (mhw): I doubt very much that the plaintiffs can prove the PSYOPS charge.
That was just one example. Here's some more:
CAIR and CAIR-Canada have, since their inception, been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism.
The unique role played by CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to manipulate the legal systems of the United States and Canada in a manner that allows them to silence critics .... by leveling false charges of discrimination, libel, slander and defamation. ... to hamper governmental anti-terrorism efforts by direct propaganda activities aimed at police ... Their goal is to ... render such authorities ineffective in pursuing international and domestic terrorist entities.
In the years and months leading up to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 these organizations were very effective in helping to ensure that North American law enforcement and intelligence officials were sufficiently deaf, dumb, and blind to help pave the way for the attacks on the United States. The role played by these entities is an absolutely essential part of the mix of forces arrayed against the United States as they help soften-up targeted countries so as to facilitate and enhance the likelihood for a successful attack.
I expect that a judge or jury will find these accusations to be slander.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/03/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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#17
Mike, I'm no legal eagle but I do participate in the legal system as a medical expert. I don't know the legal issue involved, but my readings suggest that the legal standard for proving libel/slander is a high one.
The point made by Frank and mojo is a good one: discovery is a bitch, and all sorts of stuff can come out. The very good trial lawyers are masters of discovery -- not just depositions (though imporant), but the interrogatory process (production of documents and following the paper trail).
While CAIR might sue for libel/slander, and could conceivably make a case, I just imagine there are all sorts of tidbits about them, their contacts, members and benefactors that they don't want made public. If they're smart, they'll try to keep this under the public radar.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2005 13:08 Comments ||
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#18
Mike
Reply to #16
The charge that CAIR has been since its inception part of a criminal conspiracy also seems impossible to prove. The plaintiffs can cite the existence of former CAIR personnel who were fundraising for HAMAS, they can cite HAMAS's all jihad policy (on the HAMAS website), they can cite a few other things but they will have an extremely tough time selling the 'since its inception' charge and I'm not sure what they intend to define as the 'criminal conspiracy'.
The charge of 'render authorities ineffective' is probably a bit stronger.
I will also agree with Steve that CAIR would not want to go through the discovery process -- especially because it will involve looking at CAIR's financial records. Thinking ahead here, however, I imagine CAIR is already shredding lots of these records. If so, it will make it harder to embarrass CAIR during discovery but also make it harder for CAIR to successfully countersue.
#20
What a bunch of scumbags. I would not have known what these folks are about without Rantburg. Great link, .com. Thanks-I will be bookmarking that one.
#22
Thanks for your offer to bet, Shipman, but no thanks. I've been wrong and poor too often in my life. I'll hope for a moral victory.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/03/2005 15:07 Comments ||
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#23
I can settle your bet right quick, here. Statements in legal pleadings enjoy "absolute privilege" -- you can't sue anyone for defamation based on them, period.
(See, 3 years of law school was good for something!)
Posted by: Mike ||
01/03/2005 15:46 Comments ||
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#24
Well, then, it's a good thing I didn't bet Shipman.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/03/2005 15:59 Comments ||
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#26
Bingo Mike. Wait till you get sued Mike S; you won't believe what you read. There is no lie a lawyer won't tell in the cause of his clent's case.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/03/2005 17:21 Comments ||
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#27
I don't know. Does anyone think turning the legal pit bulls loose does any good in such a case. Will any of the victims get anything? If suing does any good, I'm all for it but I am doubtful it will result in much.
#28
JQ. I think there is immense PR value in putting CAIR on the defensive. There is also the benefit to discovery alluded to above, and the even greater benefit to Obstruction of Justice charges when CAIR is found to have destroyed documents under discovery even if it can't be proven they contained anything incriminating.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/03/2005 19:35 Comments ||
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#29
This is the third suit for facilitating/participating in 9/11 that has been reported here in the past few days, not to mention othersfiled in the past. As the first two are being handled by the same lawyer,
#30
JQ - it's how they destroyed the organization of the KKK. They always get mobsters on tax evasion, so I don't see any reason why they can't consistently bankrupt hate organizations through lawsuits which make them liable for the death and destruction that they promote.
I'd give 3-1 if a first-year law student were handling the case for the plaintiffs. A good trial lawyer should be able to nail CAIR 9 times out of 10 based on public perception & publicly available information alone. And should anything even remotely interesting turn up during discovery ... watch out.
Mike what you're forgetting / ignoring is the dynamic of jury trials in the US: all things being equal sympathetic plaintiffs routinely defeat unsympathetic defendants in civil cases. Doubly true where the defendant is a deep pocket (e.g., a PR arm of the Saudi Oil ticks). I'll suggest here that there are no plaintiffs in the US with whom juries will be more sympathetic than 9/11 victims' families and precious few defendants less sympathetic than defenders of radical Islamic sects.
CAIR needs to begin writing very large checks right now or this one will get ugly in a big hurry.
As the first two are being handled by the same lawyer, I strongly suspect there will be a good deal of sharing of the evidence by the various plaintiffs' legal teams. Not to mention all the evidence coming out of the Oil For Food investigations, translations of documents found after Baghdad was taken, and the results of discovery for each of these lawsuits.
Popcorn, anyone? I'm thinking that just butter & salt might not suffice... we may well need caramel! Maybe even homemade fudge (I just got a new recipe I'm dying to try :-D )
#33
John Q - almost no one in this country outside of Daniel Pipes and other jihad watchers is paying attention to the CAIR-Hamas network. This trial is worthwhile if it gets broad public attention and deprives the terror-apologists in the universities of whatever public sympathy they may be able to drum up.
The meeting of veteran foreign policy experts in a Manhattan apartment one recent Sunday was held in strict secrecy. The guest of honor arrived without his usual retinue of aides. The mission, in the words of one participant, was clear: "to save Kofi and rescue the U.N." At the gathering, Secretary General Kofi Annan listened quietly to three and a half hours of bluntly worded counsel from a group united in its personal regard for him and support for the United Nations. The group's concern was that lapses in his leadership during the past two years had eclipsed the accomplishments of his first four-year term in office and were threatening to undermine the two years remaining in his final term. They began by arguing that Mr. Annan had to refresh his top management team, and on Monday he will announce that Mark Malloch Brown, 51, the widely respected administrator of the United Nations Development Program, will become Mr. Annan's chief of staff, replacing Iqbal Riza, who announced his retirement on Dec. 22.
Their larger argument, according to participants, addressed two broad needs. First, they said, Mr. Annan had to repair relations with Washington, where the Bush administration and many in Congress thought he and the United Nations had worked against President Bush's re-election. Second, he had to restore his relationship with his own bureaucracy, where many workers said privately that his office protected high-level officials accused of misconduct. In the week after the session, Mr. Annan sought and obtained a meeting with Condoleezza Rice, the nominee for secretary of state. United Nations officials said afterward that it was an encouraging meeting.
The apartment gathering on Dec. 5 came at the end of a year that Mr. Annan has described as the organization's "annus horribilis." The United Nations faced charges of corruption in the oil-for-food program in Iraq, evidence that blue-helmeted peacekeepers in Congo had run prostitution rings and raped women and teenage girls, and formal motions of no confidence in the organization's senior management from staff unions. Just days before the gathering, Senator Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican who is chairman of a subcommittee investigating the oil-for-food program, had brought criticism of the United Nations to a boil by calling for Mr. Annan's resignation. The meeting also occurred at a moment when the United Nations faces major institutional challenges: the Jan. 30 balloting in Iraq that United Nations electoral experts helped set up; the preliminary report late this month of the oil-for-food inquiry led by Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman. Now, the Asian tsunami is testing the organization's capacity for coordinating aid on a global scale.
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Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 2:27:56 PM ||
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#1
That Holbrooke hosted this little syndicate powwow is not a surprise... nor is the fact that they finally "get it" regarding being in trouble - from many sources...
But they seem to think it's about Kofi. And that's only partially correct.
The surprise for me is that the NYT ran the story. This has "spike" written all over it from their sycophantic POV... so I must conclude that others would've reported it - sans the spin we know is in there, had they failed to run with it... so it's damage control.
#2
Agreed about Holbrooke .com, but I disagree about the NYT spiking the story... This was done perfectly.
1st- you've got the "UN under attack!" angle, which will bring out the weepy-crying left
2nd- you've got the "Well, he'll fix what's wrong!" angle, which will appeal to the more moderate left.
3rd- now the Bush admin has to bend over backwards not to be seen as 'drawing the sword.'
Finally, did you catch these quotes at the end?:
"Throughout the building there is fairly low morale, which stems from the lackluster way in which the institution and the secretary general's office have responded to the oil-for-food charges," Mr. Ruggie said.
Nothing about how maybe they have low morale because they were idealistic people who went to work for an idealistic organization and found it mired in corruption...
..."The attackers of the U.N. for too long have had a free ride in exaggerating the magnitude of the problem, sometimes deliberately distorting the facts, escalating their accusations and demands for his resignation, and frankly the response on the part of the U.N. has been inept."
This is a masterwork. Every base is covered. Someone figure out how much oil-for-food money went to 43rd street for this.
Me thinks it be one Ricky Holbrooke trying to salvage a dying political career.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/03/2005 20:17 Comments ||
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#4
Holbrooke's little errand was almost certainly sanctioned and cleared with the Bush admin. Sounds more like yet another attempt at good cop/bad cop in the tradition of Rummy/Powell (re "allies" and Iraq war), Bush/Blair (re Iran, Paleos), and now Coleman/Holbrooke.
Fact remains that Kofi's a useful tool for Bush and us during the Iraq election phase. Once the constituent assembly gets on its feet, then Kofi can be ditched.
North Korea sold more than 10,000 automatic rifles and other arms to the Philippines' largest Muslim guerrilla group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 1999 and 2000, a leading Japanese daily reported Monday. In addition, investigations by Southeast Asian nations' security authorities show that the MILF told North Korea in June 1999 that it wanted to buy a North Korean mini-submarine, the Yomiuri Shimbun said in a dispatch from Jakarta. Quoting sources among the security authorities of unidentified Southeastern Asian nations, the daily said the arms deals -- mostly taking place in Malaysia -- came to light as a result of documents the authorities confiscated from the MILF in November 2004.
In mid-1999, a North Korean businessman named Rim Kyu Do (phonetic) reportedly signed a contract with the MILF's vice chairman for political affairs, Ghazali Jaafar, to sell 10,000 U.S. military M-16 rifles, grenades as well as other types of arms and arms components for a total of $2.2 million. On Sept. 25, 1999, the MILF, which reportedly has close ties with the terrorist group al-Qaida, paid a total of $1 million to North Korea in the form of two checks through a Malaysian middleman as the initial payment for the weapons, the daily said. The weapons were shipped to MILF-controlled areas in the southern Philippine Mindanao Island by the end of December 2000 through a third country that appears to be Malaysia, it said.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/03/2005 12:19:54 PM ||
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A senior Indonesian politician says the activities of foreign troops assisting the relief operation in Aceh should be monitored. The deputy chairman of Indonesia's parliamentary foreign relations committee, Effendy Choirie, says Indonesia must be alert that troops from nations including Australia do not interfere in military operations against the separatist Free Aceh Movement. Mr Effendy has told Radio Australia the committee will hold talks with the Government to discuss the situation. Military commanders in Aceh have confirmed that the security operation against separatist rebels is continuing, despite the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunamis.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
01/03/2005 5:05:30 AM ||
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Tensions continue to rise between Iran and U.S. forces based in Iraq. According to the Iranian media, a U.S. fighter violated Iranian air space on Dec. 30, along the country's border near Afghanistan in Razavi Khorassan eastern province. The intrusion is the latest in a series of U.S. overflights reported by the press. The U.S. fighter entered Iranian air space over Iran's Mousa-Abad region for several minutes before returning to Afghanistan. Earlier U.S. overflights occurred over the southwestern cities of Khorramshahr and Abadan near the Iraqi border. An Iranian military source who was not identified said, "The three warplanes, of F-18 Hornets and F-16 Tomcat types held overflights at high altitudes near the Khorramshahr and Abadan air borders.
Memo to Iranian military, F-16 is a Fighting Falcon, the F-14 is the Tomcat.
The circular maneuvering of the two American fighters indicated them as carrying out spying sorties and controlling the borders." Less than a week earlier, Iranian Air Force chief Brigadier Karim Qavami was quoted as having ordered his forces to open fire and shoot down any unidentified aircraft violating the country's airspace, commenting: "Given that the intrusion of enemy aircraft over Iran's airspace is possible, all fighter jets of the country have been ordered by the Army chief to shoot them down in the event of sighting them."
Memo from Iranian Air Force to Army Chief: "Are you nuts?"
He could just tell the Chief that none of the Iranian F-14's can fly for want of spare parts, which has the virtue of also being true.
In August five U.S. warplanes entered Iranian airspace from the southwestern Shalamcheh border and overflew Khorramshahr. Iranian military specialists believe the intrusions are designed to assess the capabilities of Iran's anti-aircraft defenses.
Tick....tick...tick...
Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 12:49:15 PM ||
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two American fighters indicated them as carrying out spying sorties
Really doubtful there, general (it's air force, right? I didn't know i-ran had an air force?) I think they were testing your ability to respond, and to light up the air search radars for the electric C-130's.
all fighter jets of the country have been ordered by the Army chief to shoot them down in the event of sighting them
Can I watch? It's pretty early in the year for the Darwin Award.
#2
Iranians definately have an air force. DUring the Iraqi-Iranian war Tomcats were used as Airborne Early Warning systems. If any are flying now, that's another question.
Iranian's working inventory most likely include the SHen Yang (MiG-21 Copy) and most likley Chinese copies of other MiG products.
As for doctrine: similar to Iraqi doctrine. Pray to Allah against the other Air Forces coz you ain't coming back alive.
#3
GlobalSecurity.org has a complete breakdown on the Iranian Air Force:
As of 2000 it was estimated that only 40 of the 132 F-4Ds, 177 F-4Es and 16 RF-4E. Phantoms delivered before 1979 remained in service. At that time, approximately 45 of the 169 F-5E/Fs delivered are still flying, while perhaps 20 F-14A Tomcats of the 79 initially delivered were airworthy. Another 30 F-4s, 30 F-5s and 35 F-14s have been cannibalized for spare parts. One report suggested that the IRIAF can get no more than seven F-14s airborne at any one time.
An unknown number of "new" Su-25s were delivered to the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps Air Force (IRGCAF) in 2003. Where these Frogfoots originate from is unclear.
In July 2003 Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Corporation (CAIC) unveiled the new ‘Super-7’ or Chao Qi fighter plane to the public. The new Super-7 is “an all-purpose light fighter, required to have all-weather operation capabilities, be capable of performing the dual tasks of dogfight and air-to-ground attack, and have the ability to launch medium-range missiles. Mass production of the fighter will not begin until two and a half years of research are completed. The plane is being produced to be sold abroad to developing nations. China already has received orders from Iran and some African countries.
There have been reports of some 10 F-8Ms, 7 Tu-22Ms, 19 MIG-27s, and several MIG-31s being present in Iran, but these are not confirmed.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 14:59 Comments ||
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#4
Steve, I like the thought: "...a complete breakdown on the Iranian Air Force Can I dwell on that just a little longer?
#5
badanov...I know that the irainians got their Tomcat parts pipeline cut after the hostage crisis. I was just making a joke about the (lack of a viable) air force. A pair of F15C/Ds, F/A-18Bs, or F-16C/Ds against any 1/2 dozen of irainian fighters would not be a even close.
You are correct that they have some pirated early gen MiGs from the chicoms. They also have an unknown number of later gen MiGs that were flown to Iran from Iraq pre Desert Storm I and II, that were never returned.
Is it acceptable to give one's zakat to a non-Islamic organization that has outlets in Islamic countries and spends it on Muslims who are poor or sick? For example, Leprosy Mission Canada collects money from donors and spends it on orphans or needy people suffering from leprosy in third world countries including Bangladesh, which is a Muslim country.
Getting a non-Muslim organisation, of the type you described, to distribute your Zakaat would not be advisable for a number of reasons: .... While they might give it to lepers, every leper is not necessarily deserving of zakaat. They are non-Muslims as well in Bangladesh, thus it is very likely that this will be spent on them as well .... Thus we would advise you to give the money personally to a deserving Muslim or have it distributed by a reliable Islamic organisation.
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I know its wrong to take photos and that's why I have stopped taking them although I still have my previous photos on the computer. Is it wrong for me to keep them on my computer and look at them? Is it a sin?
Delete them from your computer.
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Im a man who desires to be beaten up during sex (BDSM) is it Islamically correct to do it??
Every form of permissible intimacy between the husband and wife is a mutual one with mutual understanding and agreement. If the husband and wife mutually agree on "BDSM", that is their choice, for which there is no prohibition in Shariah.
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Some people from my colleg launched an attack on me, they floowed me out to Las Vegas and almost had some one kill me twice. Should i launch Jihad?
No, it is not permissible for you to do Jihaad. Make use of the local legal system to protect yourself.
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I am required to read Julius Caesar which has a lot of kuffr phrases and a book called Greek and Mythology, which is fully a kaffir book. Is it allowed under this circumstance for me to read this book for school work?
One may study such material, providing that one has no intention of concurring with the content in any way. However, one should not do so if there is a fear of detriment to one's Imaan. If there is a fear of Kufr, to study such material is not permissible.
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Can you tell me something about jinns. When I work midnight shift, I hear noises and whistles. Do they harm you in anyway?
Jinns are also like human beings, obedient and disobedient. It is possible that the disobedient Jinns cause harm to human beings. In order to protect oneself from the mischief and harms of Jinns one should stay in the state of Wudhu, perform all the Salaat, recite Aayaatul Kursi after every Salaat and the four Quls before sleeping.
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I have read that it is forbidden to take photographs. So my question is: Is it also then forbidden to have a mirror at home as both the camera and mirror capture images? By photographs I mean of family and friends with or without hijab. Kept in albums or displayed in a living room.
Picture frames and photographs of animate objects are not permissible to display. Frames having pictures of inanimate objects e.g. trees, mountains, etc. are permissible. The difference between a camera and mirror is clear. A camera retains the captured image. That is not so in the case of a mirror. The image remains only until the item is in front of it.
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What is the procedure for dealing with a person who has left Islam?
A person who has turned renegade in an Islamic state should be imprisoned for 3 days by the state. The state will be responsible to dispel all his doubts. If he repents, then he will be released from prison. If he still rejects Islam, then he will be beheaded. However, in a non-Islamic state no legal action can be meted out to him, appropriate measures should be taken to dispel his doubts and convincing him to revert to Islam.
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I want to ask that the use of Emotions i.e. smiles in chat or email comes under drawing pictures? .... for example " :) , ;-) "etc.
The use of emotional signs, for example, smile, sad, etc. in a cellphone falls in the category of animate pictures. It is prohibited to make use of such emotional signs in a cellphone.
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Is there any special method of handling and disposal of papers containing Muslim names Mohammed, Abdullah, Ali etc.
According to the Hanafi Madhab, the best way to discard it is to bury it.
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One brother ask to interpret his dream : He was lying down after Fajr next to his wife, finishing his tasbihat, and he was fallen asleep and saw in a dream a very big snake. Does it has any significant?
May Allah Ta'ala protect you from your enemies, Aameen.
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Please explain the difference between pictures on a TV and on a computer. Can I also use physical training videos to do fitness training and martial arts as I do not have the time to go to clubs? .... Please explain the difference between images on a TV and on a computer.
We reiterate that the images that appear in tvs and videos and computers are not Tasweer (pictures) which is prohibited in Shari'ah. It is permissible to follow educational instructions from computers and videos on condition there is nothing un-Islamic in it.
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I have a sister who goes to high school and her teacher has asked her to draw some animations which include living beings, as birds or even humans. my question is that if her teacher doesnt allow any other option in this matter so what should she do???. she has to pass that class too.
We suggest that a written request be sent to the principal of the school requesting an exemption based on one's religious convictions. If that is unsuccessful, then your sister will be excused.
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Is it permissible to attend and watch magic shows like that of David Copperfield?
To perform a strange or peculiar incident without any apparent cause is called magic. .... It is not permissible to attend or view any magical show. ....
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Is ALL music haraam?
Music is expressly prohibited in many Ahaadith. Among the dominant purposes of our beloved Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was to destroy musical instruments.
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What does Islam say about keeping concubines (which your right hand possesses)? Is it permissible still?
In Islam, Christianity and Judaism according to their original scriptures, captives of war may be enslaved. Besides, this, no other person can be taken as a slave. .....Since the human being did not willingly submit to the ultimate Master, Allah, He condemns them to the unwilling slavery of his sincere slaves. And by understanding the powers of a man master, they may understand the Powers of the True Master, Allah. ....
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Sometimes, when I sleep, I open my eyes and cannot move. It seems as if my body is paralysed. Could this be the work of the satan or the jinn.
It is possible that it is the evil of the Shaytaan. Before sleeping, you should recite the last four Quls of the Qur'aan, blow it on your hands and pass them over the entire body.
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Is it permissible to shave one's pubic hair into a pube-hawk? (Like a mohawk).
No, it is not permissible. One should remove all the pubic hair.
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Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/03/2005 3:55:32 PM ||
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#1
That is not so in the case of a mirror. The image remains only until the item is in front of it.
#2
Interesting that they would not give any charity (zakaat) to non-Muslims. I doubt Muslim disaster-victims in Indonesia are refusing charity from non-Muslims.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/03/2005 16:22 Comments ||
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#5
I'd suggest lighter fluid and a zippo for pubic defoliation - Imam's go first
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2005 17:21 Comments ||
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#6
Every time I read one of these "Ask the Imam" things, I get the overwhelming impression that Islam must leave its followers bereft of any innate ability to tell right from wrong-- as if there are no overarching moral principles involved, just an endless litany of picayune dos and don'ts; as if no question, no matter how trivial, can possibly be answered except by an imam.
Personally, I find it profoundly creepy.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/03/2005 17:37 Comments ||
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#7
Thinking for one's self is not exactly, er...encouraged.
#8
> In order to protect oneself from the mischief and harms of Jinns one should stay in the state of Wudhu, perform all the Salaat, recite Aayaatul Kursi after every Salaat and the four Quls before sleeping.<
The Islamic Hokey-pokey?
>It is possible that it is the evil of the Shaytaan. Before sleeping, you should recite the last four Quls of the Qur’aan, blow it on your hands and pass them over the entire body.<
Blow what on your hands? Iman Abby sure does have some strange advice.
#9
When I work midnight shift, I hear noises and whistles.
Yeah I have the same problem. I only hope and pray that this does not cause any harm to the body. The imam's answer was not reassuring. I don't do Wudhu.
Posted by: Rafael ||
01/03/2005 18:39 Comments ||
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"Sometimes, when I sleep, I open my eyes and cannot move. It seems as if my body is paralysed. Could this be the work of the satan or the jinn."
It's called "Sleep Paralysis". In Western cultures, it's often associated with "The Hag" or "The Dark Man". Middle-Eastern cultures often refer to "Djinn" to describe it. Some sufferers report they actually see apparitions (above) when it happens.
Essentially, what happens is that the brain wakes from REM before the associated paralysis ends. You may have seen videos of a cat that was brain-damaged for the opposite effect.
My understanding is that it's not terribly serious in and of itself. I have encountered anecdotes of people hurting themselves because they feared it, though. The Imam's advice could actually be dangerous.
#11
Imam, This morning I went to take a dump and found a foot-long log floating in the toilet. Is it safe to flush the toilet?
-- No, it is not permissible to flush the toilet without the evil of the Shaytann being flushed down with it. Be careful.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/03/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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#12
a "pube-hawk" how original, must be i8n the UK.
"One brother ask to interpret his dream : He was lying down after Fajr next to his wife, finishing his tasbihat, and he was fallen asleep and saw in a dream a very big snake. Does it has any significant?
May Allah Ta’ala protect you from your enemies, Aameen. "
OK.
I am LMAO and do everytime I see this 7th century crap.
#13
although this is stricter than ANY Jewish halachic discussion (even the Szatmar allow pictures) the spirit of questions and responses, etc is not unfamiliar. Even some subject matter, like burying documents, etc.
Big difference - giving to a charity that benefits non-Jews is a GOOD thing, esp. IF you make sure its known that Jews did it. This is "kiddush hashem" sanctification of G-ds name - IE when Jews do good things in front of gentiles, that makes Judaism (and G-d) look good, while to do bad in front of gentiles (think Ivan Boesky) is a chillul hashem, a profanation of G-ds name, it makes Judaism and G-d look bad. AFAIK Islam has no such concept - weve gained from our experience as an exiled minority.
#14
although this is stricter than ANY Jewish halachic discussion (even the Szatmar allow pictures) the spirit of questions and responses, etc is not unfamiliar. Even some subject matter, like burying documents, etc.
Big difference - giving to a charity that benefits non-Jews is a GOOD thing, esp. IF you make sure its known that Jews did it. This is "kiddush hashem" sanctification of G-ds name - IE when Jews do good things in front of gentiles, that makes Judaism (and G-d) look good, while to do bad in front of gentiles (think Ivan Boesky) is a chillul hashem, a profanation of G-ds name, it makes Judaism and G-d look bad. AFAIK Islam has no such concept - weve gained from our experience as an exiled minority.
January 3, 2005: For over a decade, the U.S. Army has been trying to develop a revolutionary new combat uniform for the infantry. The program, called Land Warrior, sought to give the troops better protection, communications and lethality, while at the same time reducing the load (often over a hundred pounds) the infantry have to carry. Initially, the Land Warrior equipment focused on technologies that were not available yet. The early prototypes of the land warrior gear looked like something out of science fiction. Sort of Star Wars Stormtroopers in camouflage colors.
Two things happened to change this program into something quite different First, new technologies began to appear, without waiting for an army research contract, and the troops wanted this new gear. Personal radios, hydration systems, better flak jackets and better camouflage patterns, were among the items that soldiers were suddenly talking about in chat rooms, newsgroups and email lists. The Internet, as it became a major form of communications in the 1990s, brought together all this new gear, and the troops that needed it, in ways the army brass had not anticipated. Unit commanders picked up on this, often by lurking, or participating, in the online discussions (usually without revealing they were an officer.)
This movement merged with another one, the desire for regular infantry troops to get the same access to "whatever they needed" that Special Forces units had long had. The regular infantry units, in light of their exceptional effectiveness in the 1991 Gulf War, felt that they were well trained enough to justify the special equipment budgets, and purchasing authority, that the Special Forces had long had, and used to good effect. When the war on terror came along, senior commanders let the regular combat units have the extra money, and authority, to get whatever new gear was out there, and the troops thought they could use. A particularly compelling reason for this collective decision (by many generals) was the realization that the troops were connected via the Internet, and often buying this new stuff with their own money. Army generals have many skills, and one of them is the ability to see a public relations disaster headed for them. By providing the new money and buying authority, they avoided ugly "Troops Buy Equipment the Army Won't" type headlines.
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Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 9:34:36 AM ||
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Very, very kewl. Carry on, boys and girls: ever safer, deadlier, happier!
January 3, 2005: There are at least ten wars going on right now that merit attention, plus several dozen smaller insurgencies. The top ten wars are;
1-Iraq. Although Saddam's army was destroyed, and his government overthrown in 2003, his secret police and Baath Party organization remained, and continue to fight. In early 2004, Baath made a deal with al Qaeda members, who had been hiding out in Iraq, to join forces. Baath provided money and access to the support network of Iraqi secret police and party members. The Baath had good reason to fight. During three decades of Saddam's rule, his enforcers did not bother to hide their identities as they terrorized the population. Thousands of Kurd and Shia Arab families know the identity of Baath Party thugs who killed, tortured or mutilated their friends and family. Already, many of these survivors have come looking for revenge. Because of this, many of Saddam's thugs, and much of Saddam's money, has fled the country, but most remain. Baath also made a deal with the Baath Party in Syria, acknowledging the Syrian branch as the senior one. For decades, the dispute over which branch of Baath was top dog kept Syria and Iraq at each others throats. No longer, and Syrian and Iraqi Baath Party members believe that, with al Qaedas help, they can regain control of Iraq. They don't have much choice, for as long as Baath is out of power in Iraq, Baath victims are going to seek payback. If that succeeds, Baath Party rule in Syria will be threatened as well. Perhaps as many as 20,000 Iraqis have died fighting the American and Iraqi troops in 2004. While the intensity of the fighting has increased, the area that Baath Party has some control over has steadily shrunk. This will continue as the Iraqi army and police force grow larger and more experienced.
2 - Sudan. The government made peace in the south, and that is holding. But now revolution has broken out in the eastern Darfur region. Government sponsored militias drover over a million tribal people, who supplied and support the rebels, out of their villages. Over 100,000 people have died from the fighting, or starvation and disease, so far.
3 - Congo Wars (Zaire's wars of devolution). While this war is technically over, not all the participants have stopped fighting. One of the major causes of the war, the Hutu militias from Rwanda, are still operating along the border. It's tribal warfare. The Hutu, and other Bantu tribes, are the majority in the region (eastern Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.) But the minority Tutsi are more on the ball and better fighters. Despite the slaughter of over half a million Rwandan Tutsi by the Hutu ten years ago, the surviving Tutsi made a quick recovery and drove the Hutu killers into Congo, at least the ones they couldn't catch and kill. The Tutsi then crossed the border and triggered a (long overdue) revolution in Congo. The revolution is over, but the new government is as corrupt and inept as the old one. Unable to deal with the thousands of the Rwandan Hutu gunmen still camped out along the border, the tensions with Tutsi inside Congo, and across the border in Rwanda, remain. The Tutsi continue to fight back. UN peacekeepers don't have the authority to clear out the Hutu gangs, and the Congolese government has so far failed in several attempts. So the war, now undeclared, continues. Thousands die each year.
4-Colombia. The war has actually been going on for over half a century. It got a new lease on life when leftist rebel groups found out how to get rich through kidnapping and providing security for drug gangs. This made the leftist rebels less popular with many Colombians who supported their original reform goals. A new government seized on that and has been hammering the rebels. Kidnappings were down a third last year, and territory controlled by the rebels continues to shrink. But several thousand people a year are still getting killed in all the violence.
5 - India and Pakistan conflict (Kashmir). The two countries are talking peace over Kashmir, but the fighting continues there. The rebels are Islamic radicals, and they have made themselves unpopular with many of the Kashmiris they are, in theory, fighting for. Pakistan cannot completely crack down on the Islamic radicals, and their training camps in Pakistani Kashmir. Most Pakistanis are convinced that all of Kashmir should belong to Pakistan, and consider the Islamic radicals to be heroes. The peace talks are an attempt to work out a compromise, and avoid a nuclear war between the two countries. Meanwhile, several thousand people a year are still dying as the Islamic radicals attack Indian soldiers, non-Moslems and Moslems who do not support the Islamic radicals.
6 - Chechnya. The fighting continues, but it's increasingly (pro-Russian) Chechen versus (anti-Russian) Chechen. Terrorist attacks inside Russia, have simply made the Russians more determined to crush the Chechen groups that support al Qaeda. Most Chechens are willing to accept a deal with the Russians. Actually, the deal has already been made. Chechnya will have autonomy, as soon as Chechen and Russian police are able to wipe out the hard core Chechens. This is nothing new. It's been done in Chechnya before. The only new wrinkle is the al Qaeda connection, which brings in outside money, and volunteers. But most of the killing is being done by Chechens.
7 - Philippines. The rebels are still losing, and the violence is still declining. But many of the "defeated" rebels have turned to banditry and al Qaeda type terrorism. There are actually two different groups of rebels. The largest is the Moslem MILF, which is trying to make peace. But part of that deal is the suppression of al Qaeda backed terrorism. The Moslems of the southern Philippines have been fighting the non-Moslem northerners for centuries, and this enmity is not likely to disappear any time soon. The other rebel group, the Communist NPA, are increasingly turning to banditry just to keep going. This bunch won't go away either, since there is plenty of government corruption and economic inequity to rebel against.
8 - Afghanistan. Small groups of Taliban still raid from bases in Pakistan, while al Qaeda terrorists still try and stage attacks in Afghanistan (with less and less success.) The local Taliban are making peace with the government, after they failed miserably in their attempt to disrupt the presidential elections. Warlords and drug lords are still skirmishing with each other. The army and national police keep growing stronger, but law and order is difficult to create, and rather alien to Afghanistan in the first place. The violence killed about a thousand people in 2004, one of the lowest death rates in many a year.
9 - Israel. The Palestinians admit that their "intifada" of terrorist attacks has failed, with Palestinians being the big losers. But all the Palestinian terrorists are willing to accept is a cease fire. Long term, the Palestinians want Israel destroyed. The Israelis want an end to the violence, but are not going to disappear as part of a peace deal acceptable to all Palestinians.
10 — War on Terror. This is less a war than it is a battle of ideas, between Islamic radicals who want to return to the 7th century, and Moslems who just want clean government. Al Qaeda is mainly at war with existing governments in Moslem countries, but goes after infidels (non-Moslems) because they are considered the cause of it all. Al Qaeda still exists, sort of. The Baath Party of Iraq is now the major source of money for al Qaeda in Iraq, and that's where most of the al Qaeda volunteers are going. The countries these guys are coming from are glad to be rid of them, and apparently most of the volunteers get killed quickly, or come back disillusioned. Al Qaeda supporters in Saudi Arabia have tried to take on the government there, and are getting hammered. Osama bin Laden and his key aides are still hiding out somewhere (apparently along the Afghan/Pakistan border) and have been reduced to the status of cheer leaders. Al Qaeda is losing popular support among Moslems because of the large number of Moslems they are killing. This has resulted in Moslem, especially Arab, journalists publicly denouncing al Qaeda, and Islamic terrorism in general. Al Qaeda is much hated inside Iraq, again because most of al Qaedas victims are Iraqis. There are still millions of Moslems who support al Qaeda's vision of world wide Islamic conquest. But nearly all these supporters are unable, or unwilling, to do anything substantial to support the cause. Non-Moslem countries with Moslem minorities are increasing their efforts to find, and jail, any active al Qaeda members. Al Qaeda remains a threat. But if you go buy what they have actually been able to accomplish, they are more potential, than actual, terrorist activity. When al Qaeda does finally fade completely away, the only ones to miss them will be the media. Islamic terrorists make for some great headlines and scarier stories.
Meanwhile, there are a few areas where the "war" has diminished to what can best be described of as "civil disorder." This includes Somalia (where tribal and gang violence continue to kill hundreds each year), Indonesia (where separatist rebels in Aceh and Papua fight on, but religious warfare between Christians and Moslems has largely been put down), Burundi (where die hard Hutus still hope to kill all the local Tutsis) and Sri Lanka (where there is a truce with separatist Tamil rebels, but peace still a distant goal, and the war may resume.)
Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 9:29:14 AM ||
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great read.
Just as a personal aside thought: It got a new lease on life when leftist rebel groups found out how to get rich through kidnapping and providing security for drug gangs.
Publishing, Hollywood, (two great sources of drug money laundering and illegal sex money laundering - are all mob activity. I find this interesting because it gives pause to the link between Hollywood, Publishing (inclues papers and TV news), Unions (mob) and other typically "leftist" supporters.
It is becoming increasing more clear that the Democratic party is little more the political arm of the mob. The left always seems to be on the side of supporting the thugs and dictators who are willing to provide illegal deals for drugs, oil, or to steal for large pots of humanitarian funds. It explains much when you view their alliances in that light.
#4
You are right, it is too strong of a statement. But think of it in a way similar that you think of the Christian right. Everyone in the Republican party is not a member of the Christian right, but the Christian right (used to) have enormous influence over the platform, the flow of the money and who qualified as acceptable candidates in many elections.
I could go on, but when you look at the connections between Unions, Publishing, Hollywood, and the apologists of tyrants like Castro, it becomes an almost inescapable conclusion.
January 3, 2005: The Iraqi National Guard, a temporary organization meant to quickly provide security guards, is being merged into the Iraqi army. The National Guard troops received little, if any, training, before being put to work. Veterans of Saddams army were recruited, along with NCOs and officers from the old army. This worked pretty well in Shia and Kurdish areas, but in Sunni Arab towns, not all of the recruits were loyal, and the guardsmen did a poor job defending themselves against determined attacks by al Qaeda or Baath Party gunmen. These failures made the news, but the many successes generally did not. Some National Guard units, because of a good crew of officers and NCOs (the key factor in any effective military unit), got their act together. American units began to "adopt" National Guard battalions and provide additional training and new equipment.
Showing the Iraqi troops the battle drills the Americans used, did wonders for morale. Many Iraqis admire the military skill of the American troops. Most Iraqis had only seen this sort of thing in the movies. Action movies are very popular in the Middle East, and the American troops were like a movie come to life. Something of a guilty pleasure, So when Iraqi troops began taking part in raids and other operations, running through the same moves as the U.S. troops, Iraqi civilian morale got a bump upward. The civilians needed it, because not only were they getting attacked by al Qaeda and Sunni gunmen, but newly aggressive Iraqi National Guardsmen often come across as brutal and violent as well. But mainly these guys are scared. The al Qaeda and Baath terror campaign is mainly directed at the National Guard, because it represents the largest (over 40,000 troops) armed force available to the government.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 9:08:47 AM ||
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Loyal Americans want this to be True and to continue. However, Success for the people of Irag is the major nightmare of the Howard Dean, Michal Moron and al-Gore and al-Sharpton monsters in the U.S.
#2
I suspect that there is more to this than meets the eye. The Iraqi NG was modeled on the USNG. In peacetime, the USNG performs the same tasks, but when activated, they are supposed to stand as soldiers. So, is the Iraqi NG being integrated into the Iraqi army for the same purpose? I would suggest that the Iraqi army needs to be boosted if there is a threat of attack from Syria or more likely Iran.
Somali leaders say they are not ready to end their exile in Kenya because it is not safe to return home. Kenya has hosted a two-year peace process that led to the forming of a Somali cabinet last year. In a New Year message, Kenya's leader said Somali politicians should stop worrying about wrangles and instability and return to rebuild their country. But Somali Deputy Speaker Prof Dalha Omar said they were still struggling to win over some warlords in the country. "The difficult thing that we are afraid in to face is the security issue," he told Kenyan television.
"We could get hurt, those guys have guns!"
He said they needed help from the international community to disarm the militias and to rebuild a country, which has seen its infrastructure destroyed.
No thanks, we did that once. Have you tried calling the French?
Somali MPs in Nairobi have still to approve a new cabinet, after rejecting a previously appointed government.
In an address, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki signalled his growing frustration with delays in securing a date for the cabinet to return to the capital, Mogadishu. "They must return because we were making a government, not to stay in Nairobi, but to return home and reconstruct that country," he said.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/03/2005 9:02:11 AM ||
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Leaders of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy have reiterated their commitment to end the role of armed forces in politics which, they said, had been harming the country since its inception. Speaking at a public meeting here on Sunday, they said three rivers of the country was handed over to India occurred during the army rule in 1958, the 1969 martial law resulted in dismemberment of the country and the heroin and Kalashnikov culture was introduced by Gen Zia-ul-Haq's regime. They said that history would reveal the losses the country had been suffering, and would suffer, during the rule of President Gen Pervez Musharraf. ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim said army's role was clearly defined in the Constitution, which was to protect the country's borders.
Which hasn't been a problem lately, so the army has had lots of time to do ... other stuff.
He said that genuine national leadership of the country namely them should be allowed to return to the country. The ARD movement, he added, would continue till the restoration of true democracy. Mr Fahim further said the ARD would not accept Gen Musharraf as president even if he left the army. He termed the 17th Amendment unconstitutional. The ARD chief said despite the government's claim of about $12 billion foreign exchange reserves, people were facing starvation due to price-hike. Opposing the construction of Kalabagh dam, he said it would mainly irrigate the lands of army generals. Only those dams should be built where there was a consensus among the four provinces.
Cheez, these guys sound like a bunch of whiny Dems.
Technically, I wouldn't be surprized if the new dams irrigated Pak Army generals' fields. Retiring in one piece from the Pak officer corps is rumored to be highly profitable.
ARD Secretary General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said the struggle was aimed at revival of the 1973 Constitution. Welcoming the participation of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leaders, Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, MNA Asadullah Bhutto and Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, in the ARD public meeting, he said the MMA supported the ARD stand on the 17th Amendment. He said the combined opposition's struggle would continue till the end of Gen Musharraf's rule. The National Security Council, he said, was a contravention of the constitution and undermined the supremacy of parliament. He regretted that the state institutions had been made subservient to Gen Musharraf. Mr Jhagra said that after coming into power the ARD would do away with the supra-constitutional NSC. MNA Tehmina Daultana said that Gen Musharraf's wrong policies had brought disrepute for the armed forces. The top brass of the army, she alleged, was engaged in minting money and acquiring plots, instead of performing its duty.
Which is so different from all the other Muslim and third-world countries.
She said the president was afraid of the genuine leadership because after their return he would find no place for himself. MMA leader Asadullah Bhutto alleged the president was using state resources for strengthening his rule. He said the MMA and the ARD would jointly struggle for the repeal of the 17th Amendment and to bring an end to army's role in politics.
This sounds like the airhead division of Pakiwaki politics.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2005 12:56:08 AM ||
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The Pakistan army should take on the role Turkeys army has. The garantor of democratic rule. These MMA clowns need a colective dirt nap.
Videotape found in a pile of documents in Baghdad following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime shows a former manager of the Al Jazeera satellite channel thanking one of Saddam's sons for his support and telling him that "Al Jazeera is your channel," the Asharq Al Awsat newspaper reported yesterday. According to the report, the tape of the March 13, 2000, meeting shows former Al Jazeera manager Mohammed Jassem Al Ali telling Odai Saddam Hussein, "Al Jazeera is your channel," and Odai recalls that he proposed "some ideas" in previous meetings that led to "some changes" in political coverage. Al Jazeera dismissed Al Ali from his post shortly after the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. No reason was given for the dismissal, but many in the Arab Press speculated that Al Ali was receiving support from Saddam's government.
Did anyone doubt this?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2005 12:26:23 AM ||
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So how is this different from CNN's creatively changing the story so they could stay in Iraq and "cover" it? There might be difference in magnatude, but no difference in philosophy (or lack thereof).
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.
Senator John Kerry, the defeated Democratic candidate, has blamed his failure to unseat President George W Bush on the traditional advantage held by a president in wartime and his own failure to "connect" with voters. "I'm not going to lick my wounds or hide under a rock or disappear. I'm going to learn," Mr Kerry told Newsweek magazine in his first interview since the Nov 2 election. "I've had disappointments and I've learned to cope. I've lost friends, a marriage: I've lost things in life." He then pointed out that no sitting president had ever been defeated during a war.
A class action lawsuit in the name of John P. O'Neill, Sr., stemming from the 9/11 atrocity, has named the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a defendant. (For those confused about the multiple 9/11 court cases, there is help on the way at http://www.september11terrorlitigation.com/.) Here are the paragraphs dealing with CAIR's role in the events of September 11, 2001, from the second amended class action complaint, filed today:
The meeting of veteran foreign policy experts in a Manhattan apartment one recent Sunday was held in strict secrecy. The guest of honor arrived without his usual retinue of aides. The mission, in the words of one participant, was clear: "to save Kofi and rescue the U.N." At the gathering, 
Tensions continue to rise between Iran and U.S. forces based in Iraq. According to the Iranian media, a U.S. fighter violated Iranian air space on Dec. 30, along the country's border near Afghanistan in Razavi Khorassan eastern province. The intrusion is the latest in a series of U.S. overflights reported by the press. The U.S. fighter entered Iranian air space over Iran's Mousa-Abad region for several minutes before returning to Afghanistan. Earlier U.S. overflights occurred over the southwestern cities of Khorramshahr and Abadan near the Iraqi border. An Iranian military source who was not identified said, "The three warplanes, of F-18 Hornets and F-16 Tomcat types held overflights at high altitudes near the Khorramshahr and Abadan air borders. 
