US President George W. Bush told rights activists here Saturday that two of the last four Kuwaitis held as terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay prison will be charged, but did not provide specifics.
The president said he would consider releasing the other two as long as they did not pose a threat to US security, according to Rola Dashti, one of 10 women activists who met with Bush on Saturday. "He (Bush) said two (Kuwaitis) will be charged and he will work toward releasing the other two if there aren't any accusations against them," Dashti told The Associated Press. The president did not specify the charges against the prisoners.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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About 100 Yemenis are being held at Guantanamo, making them the biggest group among the approximately 275 detainees there, according to Yemen's media. "I hope that the United States releases all those held at Guantanamo, based on the principles of human rights, freedom and justice upon which your country was founded," President Ali Abdullah Saleh told President George W. Bush in a letter. "I am sure that such an undertaking would draw a wide positive response from peoples and countries across the world," a senior Yemeni official quoted Saleh as saying in the letter.
Saleh said Yemen would study charges against the detainees and prosecute them under Yemeni laws. A Yemeni official told Reuters that a security team from Yemen would visit Guantanamo and meet with the detainees in early February.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
How about Yemen gives us the USS Cole bombers to show good will toward the US?
#2
How about peoples and countries across the world stop practicing racism, genocide, dictatorship, and other ills that the US has historically done more to end than anyone else, then apologize to the American people for the outrageous ingratitude they've shown in light of US efforts and sacrifices, then thank the US for expanding the reach of human rights and the rule of law, enabling and fueling global economic expansion and opportunity, providing huge economic and humanitarian assistance, favorable trade treatment, wide open immigration policies, life-saving and -improving technologies and medicines, and so much more. And they provide an extra thanks and words of praise for the astonishingly responsible, restrained, law-abiding, and well-intentioned US response to the insane criminal barbarism of global jihadists.
Now THAT would make some sense, comport with the facts, and restore a tiny bit of dignity to Yemen and other countries who should be ashamed of their role in staining the march of human history.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Friday for Europe to remove from its list of terrorist organizations two Colombian groups -- including FARC, the group that freed two hostages Thursday in a mission Chavez organized.
During his televised State of the Union speech, Chavez -- an outspoken enemy of the Bush administration -- insisted Europe includes the two groups on its terror list only because of "pressure" from the United States, which also names them on its list of foreign terrorist organizations. "I request from the governments of the continent that they will remove the FARC and the ELN," Chavez said.
FARC, the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has been blamed for numerous attacks and holds about 750 hostages, according to Colombian government estimates. ELN, the National Liberation Army, the second-largest rebel group in Colombia, also is blamed for killings, kidnappings, and other attacks. This week the Colombian government announced the capture of Carlos Marin Guarin, known by the alias "Pablito," alleged to have commanded roughly half the ELN force.
Both FARC and ELN are on the European Union's list of groups and individuals believed linked to terrorism. "I will ask Europe to remove the ELN and the FARC from the list of terrorist groups in the world, because that only has one source: the pressure of the United States," Chavez said.
He argued, "I say this even though somebody might be bothered by it: the FARC and the ELN are not terrorist groups. They are armies, real armies ... that occupy a space in Colombia."
He added that the two groups' "insurgent forces" have a goal, "a project," that is "Bolivarian" and that "we respect."
Chavez said his nation is committed to bringing about peace in Colombia, a task that means "we must continue to work at the various levels" with FARC and ELN. "No one should be bothered by it. It is absolutely essential to do so. Who can think of the possibility of a peace accord when there is no contact with the parties involved," he asked.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Hello, could anyone answer this scholarly question? Does (Catholic or non-Catholic) anyone know the FARC-EP's Stance (or Political Policy) toward the Latin Tridentine Mass...or Old Roman Rite Latin Mass? I know that some Colombian Rebel Movements (FARC, ELN, etc) in the 60s were found, funded, and organized by so-called Catholic priests who some were generals (jefes), is that really the truth? Yes you know, in the 1960s, there was only the good Old Latin Mass before those Conciliar Changes of the Vatican II Council circa 1969 took place. I read that in Communist China, the government of Communists allow a special Church called the Chinese Communist Patriotic Catholic Church to exist (in fact they use it for their political purposes), this sect rebelled from Rome, still they celebrate the Old Latin Mass Liturgy (pre-Vatican II style) with their valid succession of bishops, anyone know about this (anyone from China)? Yet, I admit that, I am not sure does Pro-Chavez Communist Army called the FARC-EP have chaplains (deacons, priests, bishops) like a regular governmental military? Do they have a Seminary? And how about the ELN too, (Padre Torres?), and the various other rebel groups- there are many of them in the montanas? Do these various schismatic groups communicate together for special feasts like Christmas(~Communcatio in Sacris)?
I was wondering if they tolerate Traditionalist Latin Mass Catholic Priests (SSPX, SSPV, CMRI, FSSP)? Also what is their official policy toward the Greek and Russian Orthodox Priests? Do they like Putin's Patriarch Alexis? Someone said they kill priests a lot (and a bishop in Cali), is that really true or a lie?
Frankly, I am a little worried to hear Chavez mentioned in Peace Talks, I read he is involved in the Sin (Betrayal) of Communicatio in Sacris with non-Catholics (like Muslims). Where is Tony Blair in this mess (I hear he likes the Old Latin Mass as he left the Anglican Communion)? I have to tell you, that I am no theologian, actually, I read these matters from a new and brave scholarly book written by a Hispanic-Latino Professor, Dr. DeTucci (I think he studied at Harvard and the Javierana in Bogota, Colombia?), you can browse the book online by going to Lulu Bookstore:
http://www.lulu.com/content/1753466
Dear Colombians (and Venezuelans), in my studies, I also read the Liberator Simon Bolivar forbade Non-Catholic Churches in Gran Colombia (and any "Communicatio in Sacris"), is that true? I read this Time Article that confirmed these Bolivarian Laws:
I guess Bolivar was very Anti-Masonic, right? Does Harvard-educated President Alvaro Uribe take a stance on this or is he Indifferent? Or is Uribe under the control of the AUC, or not? I read online that Scholar-Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos of Medellin, Colombia (Bishop Prelate and Vatican Official of the Latin Tridentine Mass Indult Commission Ecclesia Dei--which ironically is trying to heal the Latin Schismatic Rebel Groups formed by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of France which extend globally including in Europe and the Americas, now headed by Monsignor Fellay) is actually a secret-Jefe Lord of the Right-Wing AUC, is this true? Further I read he also has helped the M-19 Blocks officially pontificating as their Bishop during the Solemn High Pontifical Old Latin Masses that were held for Medellin and Cali Cartel Families, and of course he must of collected their rich donations or la comienza they call it. Does anyone reading this, or perhaps sharing this, have revealing intelligence on this grave scandal (tell me)? Honestly, I suppose and I guess that this big rumor may be leaking around also (esp. in Caracas) that Hoyos also helps certain Israel/Zionist Programs with financial laundering (washing the dinero) of funds under the guise of Vatican-Church Hierarchy (e.g., the Most Holy Family Monastery's Michael Dimond has been cited by some Bp. Michael Carter as being the Zionist Superior Jefe of this Programe). Further, I saw on television recently (Univision) that Director Oliver Stone (a Socialist) is investigating this whole Latin-Colombian Schism and claims to have the scoop of inside information on Uribe, Hoyos, and Friends to definitely expose them in a High-Budget Documentary that will be released to movie theaters around the world (in Spanish and English). May I guess there is a certain Liberal-Socialist Bishop Jason Spadafore (from Palma de Troya, Spain) involved in the fiasco? I guess so!
Please share this reading and write me if you have something to share.
Thanks,
Rosa
P.S. Frankly...I also read about Vlad Tepes, a Catholic Prince who resisted the Turkish Muslim Invasion in Romania, he is a national hero to Romania, and he actually died a Roman Catholic! Vlad certainly put fear into his enemies by his strict justice, and his enemies lied that he was a vampire to demonize him. So people can make up stories about people, and call them terrible things, like a terrorist. You can read more here:
http://www.vladcatholic.com
Posted by: Rosa ||
01/13/2008 2:36 Comments ||
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#2
Is you know my fren Joe!?
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
01/13/2008 6:11 Comments ||
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#3
the Sin (Betrayal) of Communicatio in Sacris with non-Catholics (like Muslims)
There are a great many non-Catholics at this site, Miss Rosa. Also atheists, Jews and Muslims. A great many of whom are Zionists, too. Can you be certain you communicate here without sinning? I worry for the safety of your soul -- it would be terrible if you ended up in Hell instead of only Purgatory, just because of a single post.
#8
sure is funny that Chavez knows exactly how too get in touch with them too. wouldn't that make him in cahoots witth terrorism kinda like ohh lets say Saddam, or Mullah Omar
#9
How about we take FARC off the terrorist list, and replace it with CITGO?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/13/2008 13:02 Comments ||
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#10
Why don't we just add Venezuela (especially Oogo) to the terrorist list, instead of removing ELN and FARC? They seem to have so very much in common...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/13/2008 14:17 Comments ||
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#11
He got bad feed-back for negotiating with terror groups... So he wants to change their "rating."
Yeah... That will fix it... lol.
So, give him 24-hrs...And like a U.S. Democrat; if you didn't like it, he'll flip-flop.
Austrian right-wing politician Joerg Haider called Saturday for an immediate moratorium on granting asylum to immigrants from Chechnya, blaming some already in the alpine country for violence and sex crimes. In a harshly worded statement, Haider -- the former leader of the far-right Freedom Party -- accused the Austrian government of
carelessness in approving roughly 70 percent of all applications for asylum sought by people fleeing the breakaway Russian region.
Haider accused Chechen asylum seekers of «excessive violence» in the southern province of Carinthia, where he is governor, and blamed Chechens for a rise in rapes and other sexual assaults in the province of Upper Austria. Chechens, Haider said, have «a heightened potential for violence» and should not be readily admitted into Austria.
He also took aim at Austrian authorities, citing what he contended is «the complete failure» of Austria's Interior Ministry, which is responsible for Austrians' security. Ministry officials were unavailable for comment Saturday.
Haider said it was «incomprehensible» that Austria granted asylum to more than 2,000 Chechens last year. At the same time, he said, neighboring nations such as Slovenia did not approve a single application. He said more Chechens were reaching Austria and applying for permission to stay now that European Union border controls have been dismantled along the country's borders with relative EU newcomer nations Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Haider, who founded the somewhat more moderate Alliance for the Future of Austria in 2005, is best known for mocking Jews and praising some of Hitler's policies while Haider was at the helm of the Freedom Party.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Austrian right-wing politician Joerg Haider
He may be "right-wing" (which I believe is an even greater insult in Yurp than here), but he's got good sense on this.
"Haider accused Chechen asylum seekers of «excessive violence» in the southern province of Carinthia, where he is governor, and blamed Chechens for a rise in rapes and other sexual assaults in the province of Upper Austria."
I'm just shocked that AmishPresbyteriansBaptistsIslamoloonies Lutherans would act like that....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/13/2008 0:31 Comments ||
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#2
Austrians are generally Catholic, Barbara. It's half of the Germans who are Lutheran. You can still be shocked, though. ;-)
The head of the Balearic Islands government, Ramon Sothias, revealed to the central government in Madrid that the Spanish security authorities will start equipping several maritime points in the southern and south eastern beaches with spotting means and radars to prevent incursions of illegal immigrants to its soil.
« Diario De Mallorca » and « Ultima Hora » newspapers quoted yesterday the official as saying that the Spanish coast guards had to equip the checkpoints in Mallorca with three or four radars to stop boats incursions, carrying mainly Algerian illegal immigrants, lashing out at the local authorities for their failure in spotting two boats on Balearic beaches last Wednesday.
The boats were carrying 18 Algerian illegal immigrants and a Tunisian who set foot on Spanish beaches unnoticed. M. Sothias further added that if it wasnt the sense of patriotism that pushed one of the inhabitants to denounce these immigrants to the local authorities, these ones would have never noticed their presence.
The official said that the capacity of the radars used to monitor the costs have not a wide range capacity since they cover only 50 to 60 Kms out of 650 kms of beaches that constitute the Balearic Islands.
On the other hand, Spanish non governmental organizations have staunchly criticized the policy followed by the socialist government led by Zapatero dealing with this issue, and asked for a radical change that should take into account the humanitarian side.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
It is all very well knowing they are on the way but if you refuse to shoot them when they are in sight of land the rest will just keep coming.
At least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing or been charged in one in the United States after returning from combat, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The newspaper said it also logged 349 homicides involving all active-duty military personnel and new veterans in the six years since military action began in Afghanistan, and later Iraq. That represents an 89-percent increase over the previous six-year period, the newspaper said.
About three-quarters of those homicides involved Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the newspaper said. The report did not illuminate the exact relationship between those cases and the 121 killings also mentioned in the report.
The newspaper said its research involved searching local news reports, examining police, court and military records and interviewing defendants, their lawyers and families, victims' families and military and law enforcement officials.
Defense Department representatives did not immediately respond to a telephone message early Sunday. The Times said the military agency declined to comment, saying it could not reproduce the paper's research.
A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Les Melnyk, questioned the report's premise and research methods, the newspaper said. He said it aggregated crimes ranging from involuntary manslaughter to murder, and he suggested the apparent increase in homicides involving military personnel and veterans in the wartime period might reflect only "an increase in awareness of military service by reporters since 9/11."
Neither the Pentagon nor the federal Justice Department track such killings, generally prosecuted in state civilian courts, according to the Times.
The 121 killings ranged from shootings and stabbings to bathtub drownings and fatal car crashes resulting from drunken driving, the newspaper said. All but one of those implicated was male.
About a third of the victims were girlfriends or relatives, including a 2-year-old girl slain by her 20-year-old father while he was recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq.
A quarter of the victims were military personnel. One was stabbed and set afire by fellow soldiers a day after they all returned from Iraq.
But as usual, I keep asking the simple question - well, what does it mean? How do these 121 murderers compare with the base rate of murderers in the population?
#8
A long time ago I read a thread about radiation and death for astronauts that leave the protection of the Van Allen Belt. This is one of the 'we didn't walk on the moon it was all fake' kind of things. Then I learned two or four moonwalkers died of cancer, this seemed really high to me. Then it was pointed out that statistically this is exactly the same as the cancer average in the general population.
Not saying that space travel to the moon doesn't risk radiation and cancer here, I'm just saying that one set of data without comparison is useless. I think Doc is making the same point for this one. Thanks Doc.
#9
OK, NYT, now run the numbers on products of single-parent households.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/13/2008 14:24 Comments ||
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#10
COmpared to D.C.? Detroit? L.A.?
I can't believe they make this stuff up.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/13/2008 14:36 Comments ||
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#11
I can't believe they make this stuff up.
sure you can... I just can't believe they get paid to do it
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/13/2008 14:38 Comments ||
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#12
I know a female veteran of Iraq convicted of vehicular homicide while driving drunk, but she is the daughter of an alcoholic single parent and why she joined the Army! Everyone criticized her for throwing away the opportunities she was given by the military and her outstanding performance as a soldier in the Green Zone while there touted in her defense at the trial.
#15
Dennis Kucinich and Sean Penn asked for some new material. Their stats were getting stale.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2008 15:30 Comments ||
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#16
Sinse, that would lower air quality for all of us. The facility could be used to produce blank newsprint that coudl be used by moving companies and cat lovers.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2008 15:50 Comments ||
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#17
So, how much did Soros pay them for this one?
Posted by: Gromomble Oppressor of the Iowans8916 ||
01/13/2008 15:53 Comments ||
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#18
Did you know that half the people in the World have below average intelligence?
#20
I'm a lean manufacturing professional. Elimiate the ink. It represents the muda of needless processing.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2008 18:52 Comments ||
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#21
As of 2005, the homicide rate for Americans aged 18-24, the cohort into which most soldiers fall, was around 27 per 100,000. (The rate for men in that age range would be much higher, of course, since men commit around 88% of homicides. But since most soldiers are also men, I gave civilians the benefit of the doubt and considered gender a wash.)
Next we need to know how many servicemen have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. A definitive number is no doubt available, but the only hard figure I've seen is that as of last October, moe than 500,000 U.S. Army personnel had served in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Other sources peg the total number of personnel from all branches of the military who have served in the two theaters much higher, e.g. 750,000, 650,000 as of February 2007, or 1,280,000. For the sake of argument, let's say that 700,000 soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors have returned to the U.S. from service in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Do the math: the 121 alleged instances of homicide identified by the Times, out of a population of 700,000, works out to a rate of 17 per 100,000--quite a bit lower than the overall national rate of around 27.
But wait! The national rate of 27 homicides per 100,000 is an annual rate, whereas the Times' 121 alleged crimes were committed over a period of six years. Which means that, as far as the Times' research shows, the rate of homicides committed by military personnel who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan is only a fraction of the homicide rate for other Americans aged 18 to 24. Somehow, the Times managed to publish nine pages of anecdotes about the violence wreaked by returning servicemen without ever mentioning this salient fact.
So, to summarise recent newspaper themes, we have a military population of homicidal maniacs who commit murders at less than the rate of their civilian cohort; who are suicidal, but at less than the rate of their civilian cohort; and are stupid but have high school graduation rates and higher ed degrees at a greater rate than you know who. Damn the numbers! It's all about The Narrative.
I wonder what the average SAT math score of journalism majors is.
#24
#16: Sinse, that would lower air quality for all of us. The facility could be used to produce blank newsprint that could be used by moving companies and cat lovers.
Let them print Zimbob "Dollars", worth about the same page for page. Both worthless.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/13/2008 21:14 Comments ||
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#25
Super Hose and Old Spook both win, with doc coming in close behind. :-)
A controversial conservative commentator was unrepentent going into a Human Rights and Citizenship Commission hearing Friday, using his Web site to republish the same cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that got him into trouble in the first place.
"Contriteness implies that you've done something wrong for which you need to apologize or atone," Ezra Levant said moments before his 90-minute meeting with the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission in Calgary.
"I have not done anything wrong."
Mr. Levant's dispute with some members of Alberta's Muslim community became even more personal, as the head of a Calgary Muslim group said he now fears for the safety of his family due to "lies" Mr. Levant has been spreading about him.
The commission is investigating Mr. Levant's decision two years ago, as publisher of the Western Standard, to print a series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The same cartoons had already ignited violent protests and death threats from Muslims around the world after the images appeared in a Danish newspaper.
Syed Soharwardy, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, filed a complaint after the Western Standard published the cartoons, which included a Muslim man with a bomb-shaped turban, and the commission is now investigating.
This is an important lawfare case. Videos of the interrogation can be found at Levant's website in the recent entries. No waterboarding occurred.
#4
I hope he does an Oliver North on them, turning what they thought would be a slam dunk lynching into a public debate for abolishing this commission, or at least giving it a severe attitude adjustment.
I ran from Eastern Yurop in 1984... but how many times one can do that? If it ever comes to things getting real bad, I'll bury my heels and lock and load.
#8
Ezra Levant will go down as a giant in the history of free speech. Or a footnote in the history of sharia law conquering the Western Civ. I guess it depends on who wins and, therefore, who gets to write the history. Sadly, that is an open issue.
I encourage everyone to go to Mark Steyn's website for his (almost) daily commentary on the unfolding story of the status of free speech in Canada. Steyn is in rare form today. By Styen's own admission, the brilliant verbal/oral onslaught unleashed by Ezra Levant has raised the bar in his own case.
Cracks in the walls of Mecca? The punk muzzie law students of Osgoode Hall Law School who called for Steyn's severed head on a silver platter robust debate while denying him the right of free speech ARE BACKING off and away from the debate. Gettin' hot in the kitchen for the muzzie fundis. Read it all...
Michael Savage has taken on CAIR. I'm thinking lots of people here think Savage is suspect at best. Zenster with a radio show, right? You're wrong. Savage has taken on CAIR (et al) to expose the muzzie threat to us all. God bless Savage. He deserves our support.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
01/13/2008 17:51 Comments ||
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#9
I wouldn't want to put my minimal reputation on the line for Savage. He has a lot of good points, but others I cringe at.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/13/2008 19:32 Comments ||
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#10
Frank G,
In a fight against CAIR I'd not only risk my reputation, I'd double down with no regret.
#11
I support his lawsuit against CAIR, but I find his show to be unlistenable. He's like a semi-conservative, self-important political science teacher who has had one too many and won't stop blathering.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2008 20:16 Comments ||
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#12
God Bless our Home Front Freedom Fighters. Levant is true warrior.
The nation's intelligence chief says waterboarding "would be torture" if used against him or if someone under interrogation actually was taking water into his lungs. But Mike McConnell, in a magazine interview, declined for legal reasons to say whether the technique categorically should be considered torture.
"If it ever is determined to be torture, there will be a huge penalty to be paid for anyone engaging in it," McConnell told The New Yorker, which published a 16,000-word article Sunday on the director of national intelligence.
The comments come as the House Intelligence Committee investigates the CIA's destruction of videotaped interrogations of two al-Qaida suspects. The tapes were made in 2002 and destroyed three years later, over fears they would leak. They depicted the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques against two of the three men known to have been waterboarded by the CIA.
As McConnell describes it, a prisoner is strapped down with a wash cloth over his face and water is dripped into his nose. "If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can't imagine how painful! Whether it's torture by anybody else's definition, for me it would be torture," McConnell told the magazine.
A spokesman for McConnell said he does not dispute the quotes attributed to him in the story by Lawrence Wright, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for "The Looming Towers", a book on al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 attacks.
McConnell said the legal test for torture should be "pretty simple." "Is it excruciatingly painful to the point of forcing someone to say something because of the pain?" he said.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto refused comment Saturday on waterboarding. "We don't talk about interrogation techniques. And we are not going to respond to every little thing that shows up in the press," he told The Associated Press. "We think McConnell is doing an incredible job heading up the intelligence community, reforming it and making it incredibly effective in being able to provide the president the best intelligence on threats to the nation. We think it's vitally important he and the intelligence community have all the tools they need."
Attorney General Michael Mukasey has declined to rule on whether waterboarding is torture. An affirmative finding by Muksasey could put at risk the CIA interrogators who were given permission by the White House in 2002 to waterboard three prisoners deemed resistant to conventional techniques. The CIA has not used the technique since 2003; CIA Director Michael Hayden prohibited in 2006.
The House and Senate intelligence committees want to prohibit the CIA from using any interrogation techniques not allowed by the military. That list includes waterboarding. If their bill authorizing intelligence activities for 2008 is approved by Congress, it almost certainly will face a veto from President Bush. Last summer he issued an executive order allowing the CIA to use "enhanced interrogation techniques" that go beyond what is allowed in the 2006 Army Field Manual.
The House has approved the bill. The Senate has not yet voted on it because of objections to that restriction.
Wright disclosed in his article that the government has eavesdropped on his own telephone conversations with sources at least twice. One was with a relative of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, who wanted to know if all of Zawahiri's children were dead. Wright was told by an intelligence source that a summary of that phone call was contained in an intelligence database. Under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act, if the government did not have a court order to monitor Wright, his name should have been concealed in the database.
Wright also was approached by FBI officials about calls he made to the lawyer of several men he had interviewed for his book on al-Qaida. Wright says the FBI erroneously believed his daughter, who had just graduated from college and was in Paris, had placed the calls. That landed her in FBI files as an al-Qaida connection.
McConnell told Wright he did not know how his daughter's name would have become known to the agency. It is unclear under what authorities those intercepts were conducted.
"It may be troublesome, it may not be," McConnell said. "You don't know."
Wright told the AP the conversation with McConnell disturbed him because he realized his calls and therefore his sources could be exposed to government eavesdropping.
The Senate returns to work this month on a domestic surveillance law to replace the one Congress prudently hastily passed in August. That law, which expanded the government's authority to listen in on American communications without court permission, expires Feb. 1. There are deep political divisions over whether telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on U.S. citizens' calls should be protected from lawsuits.
In discussing Osama bin Laden, McConnell said if the U.S. got a read on the al-Qaida's leader's precise location, it would not hesitate to cross the Pakistan border to capture or kill him. "You cannot indiscriminately attack a sovereign nation," McConnell said, but said "we'll bring it to closure." He says bin Laden is in the lawless region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Reality check #1: Put the following list in order from the thing you would consider the most indesirable to happen to you to the least:
1) Barbequed alive
2) Drilled and arms broken
3) Set on fire and your survival left to chance
4) Waterboarded under medical supervision and put back in your private comfy cell for dinner after answering a few questions whose answers will be used to make the world a better place
5) Executed by firing squad
6) Executed by injection
7) Beheaded
8) Disembowled
9) Your kid die mercifully because it was illegal to waterboard some terrorist scum
10) Your kid die at AlQ's hands because it was illegal to waterboard some terrorist scum
11) Given the acid facial treatment
12) Left to the tender mercies of AlQ
13) Killed mercifully, leaving your spouse and kids to fend for themselves
14) Forced to jump off 95th floor of burning building
I'm not sure what order the first 13 items on the list would be in, but I know what #14 would be.
#1
Missed the 'feed alive into a huge shredding machine for the entertainment of the former sons of a former ruler of a undisclosed Middle East country'.
As McConnell describes it, a prisoner is strapped down with a wash cloth over his face and water is dripped into his nose.
"If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can't imagine how painful! Whether it's torture by anybody else's definition, for me it would be torture," McConnell told the magazine.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm given to understand that saran wrap is used precisely to prevent any water from getting into the nose.
The libs had a demo at the Capitol where they were in fact pouring water on a washcloth. I remarked at the time, "They're going to kill that guy." Any water in the lungs can lead to pneumonia and death.
Maybe McConnell watched that on TV? Rather like the CIA watched 9/11?
A Canadian newspaper report claims that Ishtiaq Hussain Shah, the deputy superintendent of police who was alongside former prime minister Benazir Bhuttos vehicle when she died, has been gagged with no one allowed to visit him in the Rawalpindi hospitial where he is recovering from the injuries he suffered in the December 27 blast.
According to the Globe and Mail, there was no security cordon around Benazir as she left Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi where she was killed. The doctors at the hospital, who on the night of her death said she died of bullet wounds to the head and neck, mysteriously changed their story the next day.
The report states, To many in Pakistan, it all smacks of state complicity in the assassination. To others, it points, at the very least, to a concerted attempt to hide the extent of the security failure. The PPP leaders own private security arrangements seemed poor and chaotic. Armoured cars are not typically fitted with sunroofs Ms Bhuttos vehicle was reportedly modified against all safety advice. After her death, her husband made the startling revelation that she was guarded by men he had met in prison. Both the state and the internal security of the Pakistan Peoples Party failed miserably, according to Masood Sharif Khattak, a retired former head of the Intelligence Bureau, Pakistans top civilian intelligence agency. But state responsibility (for security) stands first and foremost. According to that suppressed report on the assassination, the authenticity of which could not be verified, a pistol made by the Chinese company Norinco was recovered from the scene, with lot No 311-90. An MUV-2 triggering mechanism for the bomb was also found, similar to the ones used in 15 previous suicide bombings, and with the same lot number and factory code.
Another report in the Seattle Times notes, The first report is from Ishtiaq Hussain Shah of the Rawalpindi police, who witnessed the assassination and said that as Benazirs car headed onto Rawalpindis Liaquat Road after an election rally on December 27, a crowd appeared from nowhere and stopped the motorcade, shouting slogans of her Pakistan Peoples Party and waving party banners. Benazir, apparently thinking she was greeting her supporters, emerged through the sunroof of the bullet-proof car to wave. I dont know who they were or from where they came They just appeared on the road. But 10 feet from where he was standing, a man in the crowd wearing a jacket and sunglasses raised his arm and shot at the former prime minister. I jumped to overpower him, Shah said later. A mighty explosion took place soon afterwards. Shah, recuperating from injuries suffered in the attack, is in a Rawalpindi military hospital, guarded by agents of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that the party would form a national consensus government if it won the February general elections.
Oboy. Another Government of National Unity™.
The formation of a national government through free, fair and transparent elections is the need of the hour, he said in an interview with the Persian service of a US radio broadcasting service, according to a Geo TV report. The recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, he said, could be a conspiracy to postpone elections or manipulate their results.
He said his party was in contact with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif but it was premature to say if the two parties can form an alliance. In a meeting with citizens and party members of Naudero at Benazir Bhutto house, Zardari said he did not want to be the prime minister or hold any other key position. He said he would he would treat the people of Naudero the same way as Benazir Bhutto did. We will carry on with Benazir Bhuttos mission, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Sunday expressed the desire of the Kurdistan Alliance in establishing a relationship of understanding with the Islamic Virtue Party, such as those established by the (coalition) with the Iraqi Islamic Party in the tripartite alliance,
Oy.
which was announced in Dokan at the end of 2007, affirming the need for entry of Virtue Party into the government headed by Nouri al-Maliki.
A statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic said that Talabani met, at his residence in Baghdad, members of the House representing the Iraqi Virtue Party, Hassan al-Shammari and Karim Al Yacoubi, explaining that he reviewed with them the tripartite agreement between the coalition of Kurdistan and the Iraqi Islamic Party.
The statement said that the MPs commended this agreement, pointing out that Talabani expressed to them the desire of coalition of Kurdistan to establish the same relationship with the Virtue Party.
The statement said that Talabani stressed the "necessity of presence of (Virtue Party) in the sought Government of National Unity." The Virtue Party was supposed to sign today a document of principles that had been agreed upon by 12 political figures and blocs aimed at reducing demands of the Kurds in Kirkuk and the disputed areas and oil, in addition to Peshmarga's allocations be from the federal budget, however, the document was announced this afternoon without the presence of the representative of the Virtue Party's signatories.
surprise, surprise! Or not? Every one of the useful idiots on his payroll should be noted and blacklisted
A study that claimed 650,000 people were killed as a result of the invasion of Iraq was partly funded by the antiwar billionaire George Soros. who?
Soros, 77, provided almost half the £50,000 cost of the research, which appeared in The Lancet, the medical journal. Its claim was 10 times higher than consensus estimates of the number of war dead. whores in academia? Who'da thunk it?
The study, published in 2006, was hailed by antiwar campaigners as evidence of the scale of the disaster caused by the invasion, but Downing Street and President George Bush challenged its methodology. New research published by The New England Journal of Medicine estimates that 151,000 people - less than a quarter of The Lancet estimate - have died since the invasion in 2003.
The authors should have disclosed the [Soros] donation and for many people that would have been a disqualifying factor in terms of publishing the research, said Michael Spagat, economics professor at Royal Holloway, University of London. and who was responsible? Name names, dammit
The Lancet study was commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and led by Les Roberts, an associate professor and epidemiologist at Columbia University. He reportedly opposed the war from the outset. His team surveyed 1,849 homes at 47 sites across Iraq, asking people about births, deaths and migration in their households.
Professor John Tirman of MIT said this weekend that $46,000 (£23,000) of the approximate £50,000 cost of the study had come from Soross Open Society Institute.
Roberts said this weekend: In retrospect, it was probably unwise to have taken money that could have looked like it would result in a political slant. I am adamant this could not have affected the outcome of the research.
The Lancet did not break any rules by failing to disclose Soross sponsorship.
Nonsense. All funding sources are supposed to be revealed in each and every article in a medical journal. I routinely list every source, and no paper I submit to a reputable journal could be published without such a listing.
Further, many journals maintain 'blacklists' of certain funding sources. As one example, many medical journals (including a couple that I routinely submit to) will refuse to review/publish any manuscript that has been funded in whole or in part by the tobacco industry. I have to certify that I've not received any tobacco money, and lying about this would cause the journal to retract my work (however valid it might appear to be) and then contact my Dean. I can promise you I wouldn't do well in any such review.
So this statement that the Lancet "didn't break any rules" is utter nonsense.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"I am adamant this could not have affected the outcome of the research." -- meaning, "I would have made up the same figures even without Soros money."
#3
Soros is one of the few individuals, about whom I can say, with a clear Christian conscience, should just hurry up and die.
That would be very nice indeed. But he has a whole brood of little Soros's that will carry on his evil works.
Posted by: Titus Crineting6410 ||
01/13/2008 5:15 Comments ||
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#4
The Lancet did not break any rules by failing to disclose Soross sponsorship.
No, but like TRN, they have permanently damaged their reputation. It is amazing how many of these "professional" magazines are just whore sheets for political causes.
#5
Roberts said this weekend: In retrospect, it was probably unwise to have taken money that could have looked like it would result in a political slant."
Yeah, that and rushing to publish it right before the US presidential election.
#6
The Lancet study was commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and led by Les Roberts, an associate professor and epidemiologist at Columbia University. He reportedly opposed the war from the outset.
#7
Damage is already done. Compare the number of original lancet stories and regurgitation of the 650,000 killed number versus mentions of the Lancet study getting debunked.
Remember, we're just as bad as Saddam.
Saddam's torture chambers open under new management.
#10
How old is Soros anyway?
Any chance of "Natural Death" fairly soon?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/13/2008 13:08 Comments ||
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#11
Another fact worth noting in regard to political motivation - and ignored by the MSM is that the Iraqi lead investigator on the Lancet study - the one overseeing the surveys and supervising data collection was none other than a high official in Sadam's health ministry. This is the same guy who published the claim of a million Iraqi children being the victim of the pre-war sanctions regime.
#12
At one point MIT and Columbia were respected institutions. Now I question whether they have any faculty that are not hacks? In what way does this study apply to epidemiology? In what way was this even a study? How would this garbage ever pass peer review? That's obvious. I can't imagine that the content of Robert's courses would be superior to the type of indoctrination taught at USF for much cheaper.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2008 15:13 Comments ||
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#13
Hokay, hokay, enough about Soros and death. Comes dangerously close to redacting.
I left comments in-line about Lancet's rules about disclosing funding sources.
AoS
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/13/2008 15:21 Comments ||
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The Iraqi Parliament passed a bill on Saturday to allow some former officials from Saddam Husseins party to apply for government positions, in the first of the so-called political benchmark measures to pass after months of American pressure for progress.
The measure, which is expected to be approved to become law by the presidential council, was described by its backers as opening the door for the reinstatement of thousands of low-level Baath Party members barred from office after the 2003 American invasion. The Bush administration had urged the Iraqi government to pass such a measure to help mend the deep rifts between Sunni Arabs who used to control the government under Mr. Hussein and the Shiites who now dominate politics here.
It was unclear on Saturday how far the legislation would go toward soothing Sunni Arabs, Many Sunni Arabs have strongly denounced the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for shutting them out. In the hours after the vote, serious disagreements emerged about how much the law would do, and some political leaders said it would actually force many former Baathists out of current government jobs and into retirement.
President Bush, traveling in Kuwait and Bahrain on Saturday, praised the vote, calling it an important step toward reconciliation. And he said that to consolidate progress in the country in the past year, he was prepared to slow or even halt further American troop reductions in Iraq beyond those planned through the summer, setting the stage for renewed political debate over the war.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The New York Times Summary: A bit of good news, but it probably won't amount to much, and Bush will use it to further interfere in the Iraaqi civil war.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/13/2008 7:41 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD, Jan. 12 -- The Iraqi parliament passed a bill Saturday intended to make it easier for former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to return to government jobs and collect their pensions, a significant achievement for the divided legislature on an issue still regarded with raw emotion by many Iraqis.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/13/2008 7:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I understand Bush was advised "Find a nice sunny general, one smart enough to remember what happened to Saddam, and make him new Rais (headman)---these People are uncapable of self-rule." by both Sharon and the Soody king.
Saddam Husseins handwritten praise to God will be dropped from the Iraqi flag and the symbolism behind its three green stars will be changed, according to a bill presented to parliament on Saturday. The Iraqi flag still bears the ousted dictators handwritten Allahu Akbar (God is Great) while the three stars officially symbolise unity, freedom and socialism the slogan of Saddamms Baath party. Under the new flag law, given its first reading by parliament on Saturday, the praise to God will be printed in yellow in the Kufi form of Arabic script while the stars will now represent peace, tolerance and justice.e. The Iraqi parliament read the Iraqi flag law for the first time in its session on Saturday, said Naseer Al-Isawi, a Sadrist lawmaker. The law will be applied following the second reading in four days time, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Rats I wuz hoping they'd stand for Whiskey, Sexy, Money - but I guess this is still an improvement.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
01/13/2008 6:15 Comments ||
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Fire fighters extinguished a blaze that erupted in a tent attended by partisans of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun in downtown Beirut's makeshift Tent city on Saturday.
A Source at the Beirut fire brigade told Naharnet tent teams managed to prevent the spread of fire from Tent number three to the estimated 100 other tents that have been erected by the Hezbollah-led opposition in downtown Beirut since Dec. 1, 2006 with the declared objective of toppling the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora , which was democratically elected by the parliament majority
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a fire engine, was parked outside Tent City ( pictured) , which is guarded by Hezbollah members, and fire fighters had to draw "hoses for over 100 meters to combat the blaze." Hezbollah guards also prevented news photographers and cameramen from entering the Tent City to cover the development.
A police source told Naharnet the department could not carry out an investigation into the incident because Tent City is "off limits" to the Lebanese state authority. He told Naharnet that tenants of the makeshift city had introduced electric heaters to face the chilly weather of near zero ( C) temperature. "Bad and illegal installation of the heaters led to short circuits and the outbreak of fire," the source said.
Lebanons parliament majority has accused Hezbollah which is backed by Iran and Syria of acting like a state within a state.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt dealt a blow to demands by the Hezbollah-led opposition for veto powers in any cabinet to be formed after the election of a new president. Jumblatt told the pro-Syrian as-Safir newspaper that such a veto power would "strip Lebanons future president of his powers and escalate Sunni-Shiite sensitivities. It has been rejected and it is rejected" by the March 14 majority alliance.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had said the presidential election would not be held if the opposition does not get veto powers in the forthcoming cabinet.
Jumblatt knocked down an interpretation by the opposition of a clause included in the Arab initiative that calls for the formation of a government representing the various political factions on the base of three equal quarters, often referred to as 10+10+10. ( 10 ministers each for the majority , minority an the president ) "The majority would not accept this (concept)," Jumblatt said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the United States would not be able to bring Iran to its knees in a row over sensitive nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.
Khamenei also told the visiting head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog that Iran's nuclear file should be handled by the International Atomic Energy Agency not the U.N. Security Council, which has imposed two rounds of sanctions on Tehran. "There is no justification for Iran's case to remain at the U.N. Security Council," official media quoted Iran's most powerful figure as telling IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei.
ElBaradei met Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a two-day visit to Tehran to push for more cooperation in resolving questions about Iran's atomic activity, which the United States fears will be used to make warheads. His visit coincides with fresh Iranian-U.S. tension over a naval incident in Gulf on Sunday. Washington says its ships were threatened by Iranian craft, Tehran calls it a routine contact.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, concrete results were achieved during ElBaradei's first trip to Iran since 2006. The IAEA chief told reporters on Friday he was looking forward to "accelerated cooperation" from Iran. The official IRNA news agency quoted him as telling Khamenei on Saturday: "In recent months there has been good cooperation between Iran and the agency to clarify Iran's activities."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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[11 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Bring Iran to its knees? We just want to help Iran glow in the dark since Iran likes radiation so much.
#2
Kinda hard to be brought to your knees when you don't HAVE any knees. Think about that, and the figure "6000", which symbolizes the number of nucler weapons the United States could assemble in less than 72 hours of declaring a nuclear emergency.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/13/2008 18:04 Comments ||
Top||
#5
WAFF.com POster(s) > THE CAPABILITIES OF IRAN thread > US Prob is notsomuch attacking and destroying Iran but SUCCESSFULLY OCCUPYING + ADMIN THE COUNTRY. Collectively, Posters > one argues/claim the USA will need roughly 500,000 + troops + 10,000 pieces of armor, and will likely suffer up to 10,000 KIA casualties; while another believes the USA will need 700,000 troops to subjugate only 1/2 of the country + FOUR TIMES MORE to fully occupy, secure and administer. NUTSHELL - POSTERS GENER BELIEVE THE USA CANNOT SUCCESSFULLY FIGHT A GWOT + ALSO ATTACK AND ADMIN A LARGE MUSLIM COUNTRY LIKE IRAN AS PER CURR LEVELS OF MIL FORCES, TO INCLUDE ANY AND ALL MIL RESERVES.
IOW, NO DRAFT OR "BUST-A BUDGET" GOVT-MIL SPENDING BY THE USA = NO TEHRAN HONEY FOR THE USA AS PER ANY ATTACK OR GENERAL WAR ON IRAN BY SAME. CURR US FORCE LEVELS > DOES NOT MATTER HOW MANY INCIDENTS OCCUR TO "JUSTIFY" US ATTACK ANDOR ANY US-IRAN CONFLICT. POSTERS > US CAN'T DO IT, IRAN NOT DUBYA HOLDS THE BALL/ADVANTAGE???
The head of the Arab League said Saturday that he was leaving Lebanon after failing to get the country's feuding politicians to agree on a plan to elect a new president and end the deepening political crisis.
After four days of talks, Amr Moussa said the situation in Lebanon was still "serious" and promised to return to Beirut in the next few days to continue his discussions with members of the Western-backed government and pro-Syrian opposition. "I don't want to give a dose of optimism, nor to describe the situation as pessimistic," said Moussa. "There is still hope as long as we are working."
The Arab League secretary general arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to discuss ways of implementing a plan unanimously endorsed by Arab foreign ministers last week calling for the election of army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government and the adoption of a new election law.
Many hoped Syria's willingness to back the statement would soften demands by the opposition led by the Syrian-backed militant group Hezbollah that it receive Cabinet veto power before allowing Suleiman to be elected. However, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is aligned with the opposition, postponed the presidential vote for a 12th time on Friday as the election deadlock entered its second month.
Saad Hariri, the leader of the parliamentary majority, said Saturday that Lebanon was going through "a very difficult and dangerous stage" and urged the opposition to help facilitate the presidential vote. "The Arab initiative is very clear. What is important is to begin implementing it by electing a president because this election is the basis of the entire initiative," legislator Saad Hariri said in an interview with Kuwait Television.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that the party would form a national consensus government if it won the February general elections. 
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt dealt a blow to demands by the Hezbollah-led opposition for veto powers in any cabinet to be formed after the election of a new president. Jumblatt told the pro-Syrian as-Safir newspaper that such a veto power would "strip Lebanons future president of his powers and escalate Sunni-Shiite sensitivities. It has been rejected and it is rejected" by the March 14 majority alliance.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the United States would not be able to bring Iran to its knees in a row over sensitive nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.
The head of the Arab League said Saturday that he was leaving Lebanon after failing to get the country's feuding politicians to agree on a plan to elect a new president and end the deepening political crisis.
