Parliament voted to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun on illegal electioneering and incompetence charges Friday following hours of scuffles and dramatic protests.
I dunno about the illegal electioneering charges, but the incompetence charges sound pretty solid...
Rohâs presidential powers will be suspended while the matter is referred to the Constitutional Court for final approval to unseat the leader. The court has 180 days to rule. Prime Minister Goh Kun was to take over Rohâs presidential duties. If Roh is forced to step down, a special election would be held to replace him. The impeachment passed by a vote of 193 to 2, well above the 181 votes needed for the measure. Many pro-Roh lawmakers had been forcibly removed from the chamber by Assembly security and were unable to vote. A shoving match was sparked earlier when pro-Roh Uri Party members tried to stop Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong from taking the podium, the only place he can call a vote.
Fisticuffs? Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all...
Assembly security officers then moved in to begin removing lawmakers trying to block his progress. Park had warned Thursday that he might exercise his right to have security officials clear the lawmakers. Live television footage showed security officers dragging out screaming Uri members one by one. As the voting proceeded by secret ballot, opposition members applauded and screaming Roh backers chanted that it was a "coup." Other Uri Party members broke into tears and sang the national anthem. Speaker Park admonished them, saying "You asked for it."
"But we wudn't done yet!"
Lawmakers loyal to Roh had planned to stall for time in the hope that the ouster motion would automatically expire on Friday evening. As the clock ticked for opposition members to call a vote, rival factions cursed and shoved as they fought for the parliamentary speakerâs podium. Dozens of pro-Roh Uri Party members had camped out around the podium overnight after South Koreaâs two main opposition parties first tried to call a vote on Thursday but were blocked. A 20-minute scuffle erupted earlier Friday when about 20 opposition legislators stormed the National Assembly hall to try to remove their rivals, who were sleeping around the dais, according to Assembly officials and footage broadcast on local television stations. Later about 200 Roh supporters briefly exchanged punches with riot police who blocked them from marching on the National Assembly building. They chanted, "Letâs block impeachment!"
Democracy in action, by golly!
President Roh later apologized for the chaos and urged calm. "Regardless of which side is wrong, I offer my sincere apology for the situation in which the political confrontation has lead to an impeachment move against me," Roh said in a statement read by his senior public relations secretary, Lee Byong-wan. "I strongly urge all sides to regain self-control." The Grand National Party rejected Rohâs overture, saying in a statement that it was "not a true apology and he didnât admit his wrongdoing." The Millennium Democratic Party concurred: "The arrow has already left the bow."
"Too little, too late," to coin a cliche...
Earlier Friday, a man attempted to drive his car up the steep steps into the Assembly hall in protest. When the car stalled, the man got out and set the car on fire, said police Sgt. Lee Sun-kyun. "I will kill them all!" the man shouted as Assembly guards overpowered him.
"My car! Look what I did to my car! What's that tell ya?"
"You're a loon?"
On Thursday, a Roh supporter set himself on fire outside parliament, shouting "Letâs block impeachment!"
"I don't have a car, but here goes!"
The embattled leader has yet to apologize for the flash point of the impeachment attempt: accusations that he broke election laws by stumping for the Uri Party in the upcoming April 15 parliamentary campaign. Roh does not belong to a party, but has said he wants to join Uri. The National Elections Commission ruled last week that Roh had engaged in illegal electioneering, but that the infraction was minor, not warranting criminal charges.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/12/2004 12:08:49 AM ||
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#1
I wish this had happened in '98. Seeing Teddy and Daschle being dragged out of the Senate Chambers would have been priceless!
On subject, Park is right. Roh called for people to impeach him and said he would abide be it. Now that it's happening, he's bitching about it. If NK were to pick a time to attack SK, now would be it.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/12/2004 2:25 Comments ||
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#2
I agree, Charles, and it has me very worried.
(The Koreans, both North and South, are really different and frankly, more than a little crazy. Why do this now, when the bobble-headed maniac next door would love to start something the minute a window like this opens up?!?)
Pray for our US troops on the border there.
EFL
Look. I know it is shooting French in a barrel. But when yet another insufferable penseur -- first Chirac, then de Villepin, now the editor of Le Monde -- starts lecturing Americans on how they ought to conduct themselves in the world, the rules of decorum are suspended. In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Jean-Marie Colombani, who wrote the famous Sept. 12, 2001, Le Monde editorial titled "We Are All American," gives us the usual more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger lament about Americaâs sins: We loved you on Sept. 11. We were all with you in Afghanistan. But, oh, what have you done in Iraq?
Same thing, different place. Wanna see us do it again?
This requires some parsing. We loved you on Sept. 11 means: We like Americans when they are victims, on their knees and bleeding. We just donât like it when they get off the floor -- without checking with us first. Colombani glories in Europeâs post-Sept. 11 "solidarity" with America: "Let us remember here the involvement of French and German soldiers, among other European nationalities, in the operations launched in Afghanistan to . . . free the Afghans." Come again? The French arrived in Mazar-e Sharif after it fell, or as military analyst Jay Leno put it, "to serve as advisers to the Taliban on how to surrender properly." Afghanistan was liberated by America acting practically unilaterally, with an even smaller coalition than it had in Iraq -- Britain and Australia, with the rest of the world holding Americaâs coat.
"Zut, alors! The shooting is over! We can be brave again! Look at the great things we have accomplished!"
"Whaddya mean 'we,' Jean-Pierre?"
But then came Iraq. "The problem was not so much the war itself, but the fact that it was launched without U.N. approval," Colombani explains.
"Sacred blue! In la Belle France we do nothing without the UN's approval! Nothing, I tell you!"
Rubbish. The Kosovo war was launched without U.N. approval and France joined it. Only two wars have ever been launched with U.N. approval: the Korean War (an accident of the Soviets having walked out of the Security Council on another matter) and the Persian Gulf War. It is touching to hear such legalistic objections to deposing a man who has killed more Muslims than any person on Earth -- particularly when the objection is offered from a pose of superior international morality from a country whose commandos once blew up a Greenpeace ship monitoring French nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
Actually, I don't really hold that against them...
Moreover, Colombani complains, George Bush "lied about the weapons of mass destruction -- the official pretext for the war -- as now publicly established by recent investigations." More rubbish. The investigations have established that the weapons have not been found and may not exist. The claim that the president knew so at the time, and lied about it as a "pretext" for war, is a malicious falsehood.
Continuously repeating the claim is inoculation against the same thing happening to Syria, Iran, and Sudan...
It is not John Kerryâs fault that he is endorsed by a Frenchman. (Or by Kim Jong Il of North Korea, whose media have been running some of Kerryâs speeches verbatim!) But Kerry has made the major -- indeed, only discernible -- theme of his foreign policy "rejoining the community of nations" and being liked abroad again. Which is why he does not just court foreign support, he boasts about it. "Iâve met foreign leaders, who canât go out and say this publicly," he told a Hollywood, Fla., fundraiser, "but boy they look at you and say, âYou gotta win this one, you gotta beat this guy.â" For the world. For France.
#2
"Iâve met foreign leaders, who canât go out and say this publicly," he told a Hollywood, Fla., fundraiser, "but boy they look at you and say, âYou gotta win this one, you gotta beat this guy.â "
I didn't know Kerry visited Iran, North Korea, and Osama's spiderhole........
#3
This is good stuff. But why is it that every time I read Krauthammer, I get this mental picture of a guy in a Wehrmacht uniform swinging a giant mallet?
Posted by: Tibor ||
03/12/2004 14:32 Comments ||
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#4
What do you do when you find you're in a hole? Stop digging!
There must be something present (or lacking) in the water in some rather specific areas of the planet. This condition is evidenced by a demonstrably lower IQ and the obviously oblivious utterances which issue forth regularly. You see this anomalous behavior consistently embraced in Paris, Teheran, Pyongyang, ZimBob, Boston, and other intelligence backwaters. Amazing. Perhaps it's time to alert the AMA and the CDC to investigate and determine the root causes and duration of the effects.
Tibor, it's your mental picture. Why don't you tell us?
Posted by: Daniel King ||
03/12/2004 14:38 Comments ||
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#6
You know, Jean-Marie Colombani can kiss my big fat AMERICAN ass Who the fuck does she thinkk she is, moraliing at us, you French fuck bitch.
Of ALL the blessings I count every day, first is that I was born in the good ol' USA, and will die a proud Amercian.
Shell never actually hear it (at least not from my individual little diatribe, anyway), but it feels good saying it, that she can take her holier-than-thou puking, French-superiority-complex blathering, and loser-on-the-world-stage failing, and fuck herself with it.
#8
Well, actually Jean Marie Colombani is a man. A man in a very special position. His paper "Le Monde" is the most influential in France, in fact politician careers have been made and unmade by Le Monde. This paper was created at Liberation and accumulated an enormous credibility capital for his independence and relative impartiality during two first directors Beuve-Mery and Fauvet. But then it fell into the hands of Colombani. Colombani has a past of trotskism and he has been using Le Monde's credibility capital to further his ends both political and commercial.
Le Monde is the reference paper like the NYT and like the NYT is no longer deserves to be. But TV news are made by people who have Le Monde on their knees while writing what will be reported in the evening news. Politicians fear it and Le Monde has managed to have a grip on the litterary world through a network of critics and intellectuals.
Le Monde is key in the anti-american brainwashing the French people are daily subject since as I said it is the reference paper, the one gfollowed by other media and the one who unmades careers.
#12
JFM, I have made similar observations about Amnesty Internation as yours on Le Monde. There is a discerneable pattern here. Find an organization or institution with a stock of political capital or goodwill, then take it over and then use it (the capital) up to further some partisan objective generally contrary to the objectives of those who built up the organization.
Posted by: Phil B ||
03/12/2004 19:23 Comments ||
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#13
Phil,
You have just described Gigolo Kerry marrying into the Heinz fortune.
Posted by: ed ||
03/13/2004 7:40 Comments ||
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The countryâs powerful generals have ordered local officials to spy on individuals, a move seen as the latest step by the military to continue its watchdog role over civilian life. The Land Forces Command demanded information on terrorist groups, but military leaders said officials should also monitor a host of unlikely troublemakers such as "pro-European Union and pro-Americans, rich kids, ethnic minorities, Satanists, magicians and people who practice meditation," according to a document published this week by the daily newspaper Hurriyet. Donât forget the Illuminati and all the other Jewish conspirators too.
The document, circulated to Interior Ministry officials in January, has sparked a storm of protest from lawmakers and rights groups, who accuse the military of breaching the constitution. It has also created unease among Turkeyâs allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and raised fresh questions as to whether the military supports this predominantly Muslim nationâs push to become a full member of the European Union.
The controversy grew Wednesday, when the Turkish general staff confirmed the accuracy of the reports about the document. In a statement, the military said it had asked authorities to "gather intelligence because it was necessary to make plans to take effective measures against incidents that could arise." The statement also said the order would be reexamined, but gave no details. Self-appointed custodians of the secular republic founded by soldier-turned-statesman Kemal Ataturk 81 years ago, the military has seized power three times since 1960. In 1997, it pushed out Turkeyâs first Islamist-led government on thinly supported charges that the latter was seeking to impose religious rule.
EU leaders say the role of the generals in domestic politics needs to be drastically curbed before Turkey can join the 15-nation bloc. "This incident reveals once again that the military views itself as the sole protector of the state and apparently most Turkish citizens as its enemies," said a senior EU diplomat, who requested anonymity. A U.S. official said he was "perplexed that the Turkish military would seek information about those who support the United States, which is a close ally of Turkey." GOOD MORNING AMERICA!
Mehmet Altan, spokesman for a pro-EU lobby group based in Istanbul, termed the militaryâs measure "criminal" and called for legal action against the generals. In a surprise move, the main opposition pro-secular Republican Peopleâs Party, known for its close links to the military, has demanded a parliamentary inquiry. Since coming to power in November 2002, the government, which is led by an Islamist party, has already taken some steps to dilute the influence of the National Security Council, where top generals have long dictated national and foreign policy. Unlike its Western counterparts, the Turkish military does not take orders from civilian authorities.
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said he had no knowledge of the document. Some analysts here say the document, reportedly leaked by intelligence sources in the Turkish police, exposes the degree of anti-Western sentiment among nationalists in the military. Tensions between the U.S. and the military have simmered since Turkeyâs parliament prevented U.S. troops from using the country as a staging area in the war that toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Hostility toward the U.S. has sharpened recently amid fears that Washington is secretly encouraging establishment of an independent Iraqi Kurdish state that would fan separatist passions among Turkeyâs own restive Kurdish population. Those damn terrorists!
Last week, top generals, including Land Forces commander Aytac Yalman, were among those who applauded a Turkish academicâs call to cut ties with "imperialist America and the EU" and instead forge alliances with Russia and China. Wait a minute.. Wasnât Turkey a GOOD NATO ALLY? And did he applaud calls to cut ties with "imperialist America and the EU" and instead "forge alliances with Russia and China"? Nice move sucker..
Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, the mild-mannered chief of general staff, is seen as a countervailing force to such hawks. Ozkokâs moderate stance has been sharply criticized by military hard-liners, who accuse their boss of being too soft on the countryâs Islamist-rooted government. Analysts say he was probably unaware of the leaked directive. Others point out that, until recently, no Turkish newspaper would have had the courage to print it on its front page. "The key question now," said the European diplomat, "is whether the fact of its being publicized will change anything. The militaryâs statement rather suggests that it wonât."
Posted by: Berxwedan ||
03/12/2004 10:57:02 AM ||
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Hat tip LGF
At 12:50 p.m. last Friday, the Richter Library bell tower sounded, but passers-by heard something different than the normal hourly chime. Students and faculty squinted up at the tower, their interest piqued by the sound of a man chanting Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer. The Islamic Society of UM [ISUM] came up with the idea to play Adhan on Friday afternoons this March as part of Islam Awareness Month.
Boy, did my gag reflex just kick in!
According to Sahar Ullah, president of ISUM, the goal of Islam Awareness Month is primarily to promote awareness about Islam on campus. "I find that Islam is usually presented as a religion devoid of an intellectual, cultural and artistic legacy," Ullah said.
That sound about right...
"I think it would be a shame if on this campus students donât know more about the religion of one-fifth of the worldâs population - I feel an obligation to show people Islamâs multifaceted nature."
We won't dwell on the fact that it's the religion of some of the world's most backwards countries, where the accident of oil doesn't present a crutch...
The opening event for Islam Awareness Month was a presentation called "REEL Bad Muslims: Islam in the Media." REL 400 students presented the research gathered last year on how Islam is presented in television shows, movies and documentaries. The presentation also included an interview of UM students to find out how much they knew about Islam. "The reason why this was our opening event is that before we can educate about Islam, we have to clear up misinformation about it - a lot of people get their information from the media," Ullah said.
Ummm... That's the way information is usually promulgated. That's why we have media, for exchanging information...
Ullah said about 40 people attended the event, held in the UC International Lounge.
All of 40 people?
ISUM engineered the idea of Islam Awareness Month using the concept of Islam Awareness Week, which Muslim Student Associations at other universities celebrate.
"But we needed a whole month, by golly!"
The main focus of UMâs Muslim Student Association is to provide services for international Muslim students, such as a prayer room in which to conduct Friday prayers. ISUM, on the other hand, aims to recruit educate mainly American-born or raised Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam. Thus, ISUM took charge of Islam Awareness Week and protracted it into a more comprehensive Islam Awareness Month. Highlights of the month ahead include a lecture by Yvonne Ridley, the British journalist captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan two years ago, and a lecture on the controversy regarding the veiling of Muslim women, given by Tayyibah Taylor, editor-in-chief and publisher of Azizah Magazine, the only magazine for Muslim women in America.
Yvonne? You got Yvonne? Cheeze, I wish I could go! The word "dipshit" was invented with Yvonne in mind. I guess she's doing the lecture circuit, now that she's been fired from al-Jizz...
"I hope people leave the [Taylor] lecture knowing that Muslim women wear the veil because they choose to, not because they are oppressed," Ullah said right before his lips fell off.
#1
Okay, so we have Adhan on the squawk box. Good start. Now to round out the educational program, we need some M80s for effect, and then some clips of 7.62x39 ammo going off (blanks only). That should summarize the RoP quite well. At least everything the lay person needs to know.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/12/2004 21:37 Comments ||
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To give the full flavor, they should put the twinkie on the PA system for the 3:45 AM prayer - I can't remember the name at the moment. Turn the volume up and point a speaker at the athletic dorm.
You haven't lived until you've been rocked out of bed before 4:00 in this unique manner. My Drill Sergeant was a peach - he only kicked trashcans, hollered shit I could understand, and didn't make his appearances until 5:00...
#3
Should we not have Islam awareness month in september. So as not to forget the senseless attacks of its religion upon innocent lives everywhere. When I think of Islam - I think of
9-11. When I think of Islam - I think of Bin Laden. When I think of Islam - I think of Arafat. When I think of Islam -- -never mind I think I'll just puke.
Posted by: Rick ||
03/13/2004 0:38 Comments ||
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#4
Muslim women wear the veil because they choose to
That is if they choose to wanna live or not be raped.
Posted by: ed ||
03/13/2004 7:32 Comments ||
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Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/12/2004 16:50 ||
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#1
Thanks, Old Patriot. I attend meetings for an advocacy group for the poor for my job. Recently they sent out an email to all of use trying to connect the loss of overtime to veterans. I was seeing bright red! I didn't have the data to refute at that time but I do now.
Posted by: AF Lady ||
03/12/2004 20:03 Comments ||
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(2004-03-10) -- Senator John Forbes Kerry today defended his 1995 attempt to cut $1.5 billion from the U.S. intelligence budget, saying "the bill failed...no harm, no foul."
The bill in question, S.1290 introduced September 29, 1995 by Mr. Kerry, included the following proposal in Sec. 3, paragraph (7):
Reduce the Intelligence budget by $300 million in each of fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
However, Senator Kerry said he only introduced the bill because he "knew it would not garner a single co-sponsor and would never get out of committee."
"Itâs not like I was some sort of super-effective legislator, building coalitions for my ideas and persuading my colleagues to make the tough, responsible decision to reduce our national intelligence capabilities," said Mr. Kerry. "You canât blame me for the intelligence failures that may have led to the 9/11 attacks. My bill failed. In any case, that was nine long years ago. I canât be held accountable for every youthful indiscretion."
Mr. Kerry went on to talk about how his Vietnam combat experience has prepared him to lead Americaâs âpolice action on terrorâ.
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/12/2004 10:07:32 AM ||
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#1
Damn! You had me going there - I had not noticed the scrabblFace notice :).
Do we need a 'scrabbleface' category for these articles?
#3
Sen Spector (R-PA) also supported the cut, which amounted to about 1% of the intel budget. Apparently NSA had lots of unspent funds from prior years.
#4
and he has the gaul to say intelegence failed in respect to terrorism..another symtom of a left tree hugger full of his own dilusion....
Posted by: Dan ||
03/12/2004 13:54 Comments ||
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#5
Liberalhawk - Spector is the most liberal Republican in the Senate with a liberal rating higher than some Democrats Using him to say the cuts were bipartisan isn't very helpful.
#6
The National Recon Org had been "hiding" about $300 million a year which had been used, among other things, to build a nice spiffy new building out in western Fairfax County they were pretending to lease from a private owner. Then somebody got the bright idea they could save the property tax money and claimed their government status to the county revenuers. This pissed off many Congresscritters on both sides of the aisle, resulting in a spate of these "reduce NRO's budget by $300 million a year" bills - Kerry's was one of many. Kerry's an ass, but this one's a bum rap.
It has now been almost a year since the liberation of Iraq, the fury of the antiwar rallies, and the publicized hectoring of Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Sean Penn, and other assorted conspiracy freaks â and we have enough evidence to lay some of their myths to rest. I just filled up and paid $2.19 a gallon. Whatâs that a litre?
How can that be, when the war was undertaken to help us get our hands on "cheap" oil? Where is the mythical Afghan pipeline when we need it? "No Blood for Oil" (never mind the people who drove upscale gas-guzzlers to the rallies at which they chanted such slogans) was supposed to respond to one of two possibilities: American oil companies were either simply going to steal the Iraqi fields, or indirectly prime the pumps to such an extent that the world would be awash with petroleum and the price for profligate Western consumers would crash. Neither came true. Iraqis themselves control their natural resources; the price of gasoline, despite heroic restoration of much of Iraqi prewar petroleum output, is at an all-time high.
So did Shell and Exxon want too much â or too little â pumping? Was the Iraq conspiracy a messy crisis to disrupt production as an excuse to jack up prices, or a surgical strike to garner Third-World resources on the cheap to power wasteful American SUVs? The truth is, as usual, far more simple. The United States never did intend to steal or manipulate the oil market â not necessarily because we are always above such chicanery, but because it is nearly impossible in a fungible market under constant global scrutiny, and suicidal in the Byzantine politics of the Middle East. Instead we have pledged $87 billion to secure and rebuild Iraq â one of the largest direct-aid programs since the Marshall Plan. Tens of thousands of brave Americans risked their lives â and hundreds have died â to end the genocide of Saddam Hussein, alter the pathological calculus of the Middle East, and cease the three-decade support of terrorism by Arab dictators.
The only credible critics on the left are those who make the argument that Iraq never made any sense economically and "took away" money from health care, education, aid to poor, transportation, etc. (the litany is familiar) at home â although even this is a hard argument when domestic spending has increased 8 percent per annum under the Bush administration. A year ago, almost no one claimed that we were far too naïve, idealistic, or stupid. No, Americans were forever conniving and larcenous. Remember the invective about perpetual American intervention? Tens of thousands of our troops poured into the Middle East after the "excuse" of September 11. Right-wingers alleged that we had turned from republic to a garrison empire in a new global ego trip. Leftists assured us that we were greedy colonialists replicating the British raj â perhaps keen to corner the Iraqi date market or exploit at slave wages the skilled workforce around Tikrit. Arab fundamentalists prattled on about the American Crusaders and Zionists out to steal holy lands and desecrate shrines â no doubt convinced that Billy Grahamites, if not blowing up ancient Buddhist statuary, would soon be attaching crosses to minarets.
Yet since the very day the war started, the reality has been just the opposite â a constant desire for the bare-minimum amount of troops abroad in as brief a deployment as possible. More sober military observers have always fathomed that the dangers of the American campaign were never that we were overrunning the Middle East in hope of perennial occupation. Instead we â as amateur interventionists who have always had a very short attention span â had too few troops to fight the war, and fewer still to rebuild the country. Even the chief, albeit private, worry of most Iraqis was mostly that there were not enough American infidels to provide them security and that we would leave too soon â hardly the response one would expect to old-style, foreign, pith-helmeted imperialists who had stayed too long.
Then there was the third-world exploited-peoples angle. At least, I think that was one of the favorite themes of the peace rallies where various groups â from supporters of cop-killers to Puerto Rican independence zealots â spouted off about their shared racism, victimhood, and oppression. Surely one of the most astounding intellectual trends in our lifetime has been this transmogrification of religious fascists and Middle East autocrats â the minions of Saddam, Arafat, Khaddafi, or the Iranian mullahs â into some sort of exploited peoples worthy of Western forbearance for quite horrific dictatorships, theocracies, and all the assorted pathologies that we have to come to associate with the modern Middle East. The way things were going, belonging to Hamas or Hezbollah soon might have earned one affirmative-action status on an American campus.
Letâs examine, instead, what really happened. While fellow Arabs did little or nothing to free the Iraqi people â but apparently both cheated on and profited from the U.N. embargoes â Americans set up a consensual government. And for our part, American casualties so far mirror roughly the racial make-up of our general population. So much for the old Vietnam-era myth that people of color always die in disproportionate numbers fighting rich peopleâs wars. Our three top officers most visible the last year in Iraq â Generals Abizaid, Sanchez, and Brooks â are an Arab American, Mexican American, and African American. The national-security adviser and the secretary of state are minorities as well. And so on. This was a war about values â not race, class, or ethnicity.
Another myth was that of the "noble European" â promulgated here at home by American shysters like Michael Moore, who cashed in overseas, fawning over the likes of Jacques Chirac (the guy who sealed the French nuclear-reactor deal with Saddam) and Dominique de Villepin (who wept over the Christ-like Napoleonâs demise at Waterloo). The truth again is very different; and John Kerry should be wary about bragging that unnamed European leaders â if true â tell him that they favor his election. Each week we learn how European companies were knee-deep in the foul stream of forbidden supplies that flowed to Saddam in violation of their hallowed U.N. statutes. And the most recent European tired chorus â "We support the needed Afghan multilateral operation, but not the Iraq aggression" â is proven false by the fact that there are about ten times more American troops right now in Europe than there are NATO soldiers in Afghanistan.
Sorry, a few thousand troops in Afghanistan doesnât cut it from a continent with a larger population than that of the United States, which in turn does the dirty work to ensure Europeâs security. Unilateral, multilateral, U.N., no U.N., Balkans, Iraq â it doesnât matter: The Europeans are never going to risk lives and treasure for much of anything. The predictable NATO rule: The stationing of troops is to be determined in direct proportion to the absence of both need and danger.
But what about WMDs? Wasnât that a Bush fable? Forget that most â from Bill Clinton to John Kerry â believed that they were there, and that all the evidence about Saddamâs arsenal is not yet in. The truth is that almost everybody in the world believes that the war had something to do with WMDs and nothing to do with Halliburton â except Western leftists. By going into Iraq we probably will find more dangerous weapons in Libya than were stockpiled in Baghdad. The president argued that we must depose Saddam Hussein to prevent scary weapons from being used by rogue regimes. He did so, and suddenly Dr. Khan, Khaddafi, and even a few mullahs seemed to wish to come clean.
The danger of promulgating the old mistruths about sacrificing blood for oil, reviving colonialism, and suggesting the operation in Iraq has led to disaster are manifold. First, ever-so-steadily, such invective wears away support for an action that, by any historical yardstick, was as successful as it was noble. The only peril to the United States in Iraq would be a unilateral withdrawal before stability and constitutional government are achieved. And the only chance of that disaster happening would arise from our own continual harping that wears down the will of the American people â and those asked to fight for us in the field.
The other worry is that there were, in fact, real concerns about the entire campaign that have scarcely been addressed. While the media hold conferences on university campuses about the morality of using embedded reporters, they have simply refused to discuss the real ethical crisis of the reporting of the war: that dozens of Western journalists sent censored news accounts from Baghdad in the months preceding the conflict and in fact during the actual fighting. Unbeknownst to us, their dispatches always were monitored carefully by "minders" and transmitted only through pay-offs and blackmail. None of this was known at the time â leading to the absurdity that on the day Baghdad fell journalists suddenly came clean over uncensored mikes, as if to say, "Oh, by the way, everything I sent out to you the last two months was sort of censored by the Iraqi Ministry of Information."
So here we are a year later. We fuss about the WMD "myth"; enemies scramble over its reality. We talk of our theft of third-world resources â and pay more for gas than ever before while the price of Iraqâs national treasure soars. We worry that we are too involved abroad; those in Europe, Afghanistan, and Iraq claim there are not enough of us over there. And we scream at each other that we are not liked, even as those overseas express new respect for us. No wonder, when asked for specific follow-ups about his general criticisms of the Iraqi war in a recent Time magazine interview, a resolute Kerry variously prevaricated, "I didnât say that," "I canât tell you," "Itâs possible," "Itâs not a certainty," "If I had known," "No, I think you can still â wait, no. You canât â thatâs not a fair question and Iâll tell you why," â employing the entire idiom and vocabulary of those who are angry about Bushâs removal of Saddam, but neither know quite why nor what they would do differently.
Posted by: tipper ||
03/12/2004 11:00:43 AM ||
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#1
So did Shell and Exxon want too much â or too little â pumping? Was the Iraq conspiracy a messy crisis to disrupt production as an excuse to jack up prices, or a surgical strike to garner Third-World resources on the cheap to power wasteful American SUVs?
Related topic: an intriguing angle on the current rise in gasoline prices.
BBC hides the impact of this by titling it "UN probes Rwanda âcrashâ recorder"
The UN has revealed that it received a flight recorder soon after the downing of a plane in 1994 which triggered the genocide in Rwanda. A newspaper earlier published details of a French police report into the missile attack on the plane. The report concludes that the UN received the downed planeâs recorder and blocked an inquiry into the crash. The UN said there was no indication the recorder belonged to the downed plane, but would pass it to investigators. now that so much time has passed & no one can be easily held accountable
Both Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira were killed in the attack. UN chief spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters that UN officials had found the flight recorder in a locked filing cabinet in the organisationâs Air Safety Unit. fancy that - wonder how this got here?
The "paper trail" which led to the discovery of the flight recorder, he said, indicated that UN officials at the time had apparently concluded that the flight recorder was not from the downed plane because it was in "pristine condition".
"Jean-Pierre, look at this flight recorder from the wreckage. It looks new!"
"Bah, that cannot be. It can't be from the crash."
"So, should we analyze the data from the recorder?"
"Why bother? We already know what the final report will say!"
Mr Eckhard said an internal investigation would be conducted as to why this was not reported to senior peacekeeping officials at the time. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday that he was unaware the French investigation had been obstructed. uh huh
Ever get the idea that Kofi doesn't know a whole lot about what's going on anywhere?
The French police report reproduced by Le Monde concludes that Rwandaâs current President, Paul Kagame, gave direct orders for the rocket attack on Mr Habyarimanaâs plane. Mr Kagame was head of the mainly-Tutsi rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) at the time. The death of Mr Habyarimana, a Hutu, triggered the mass killings in which some 800,000 people died, most of them Tutsis.
Didn't think that one through very well, did he?
Rwanda has rejected the French report, describing it as "fantasy". A former RPF officer, Captain Josue Abdul Ruzibiza, has told the BBC that he was ordered to provide security as missiles were fired at the plane carrying the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. Capt Ruzibiza said two missiles had been brought from Parliament House, where his battalion was being housed, and were fired as the plane carrying the two presidents came in to land. The two men who actually fired the missiles, he added, are now senior officers in the Rwandan presidential guard and military intelligence. Asked why he had kept quite so long, Captain Ruzibiza - now in exile - said he had lived in fear of his life. Iâll bet!
Clearly did his 'security' job well.
I havenât a clue if this box is the real recorder from that crash. But it annoys the hell out of me that it was suppressed.
Posted by: rkb ||
03/12/2004 9:47:17 AM ||
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#1
the French supported the genocidaires in '94, not the UN. Im inclined, on first blush, to believe Kofi over the French on this.
#2
France is on the side of the French-speaking Hutus. The flight recorder could have been planted by French agents. Regardless of the veracity of French claims, this is a classic blame-the-victim move. The Tutsis were rebels against the Hutu-dominated Rwandan government. There is nothing in the realm of human morality, let alone Rwandan law, that excuses the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocents in reprisal for the death of a country's president. This is like attaching responsibility for the Holocaust to the Jewish guerrillas who assassinated German officers during WWII.
check the stupid names out âAl-Jihad and Al-Fatwaâ . Even playing football is a war to them . The names really made me laugh . Sorry if this is off topic , just tickled me pink !!
#1
At least four people were killed and more than 100 injured when spectators stampeded during a riot in a football stadium in northern Syria on Friday, witnesses said.
I wonder if any of the Al-Jihadi's were among the dead, and if so, do they still qualify for their virgins?
Posted by: Lil Dhimmi ||
03/12/2004 17:55 Comments ||
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#2
What I want to know is: do Islamic football teams actually meet you on the playing field, or do they hide among the spectators and throw rocks down on you?
#3
Everything is "JIHADI ISLAMIC TERROR" for you, isn't it? Hey mates. This was 2000 Arab nationalists ORGANIZED by the Syrian government that attacked KURDS in the Kurdish city of QAMISHLO in north-eastern Syria (we call it "little south Kurdistan", the Syrian occupied Kurdistan.) Over 14 people have been reported KILLED. All Kurds. This is a PURE pogrom against Kurds. Just like state-financed POGROMS against Jews. Get updated and stop making fun of people getting killed.
#2
Ya know, Ratboy the Supposed Serb, you are not only a traitor to the Serb people, you're disloyal to your own actual roots: Your lord and master, A. Hitler, finally shot himself when he knew he was beaten.
Your lineal though much smarter predecessor, Goebbels, poisoned himself. Instead of respecting their example and following suit* you just keep coming back for more.
Hat tip LGF. al-Reuters.
Around 2,000 supporters of a hard-line Shiâite Muslim group gathered in Baghdad Friday to jump up and down and make faces denounce the countryâs new interim constitution, in the latest show of temper strength by Shiâites demanding greater influence. Tap, tap, nope.
The protesters were mostly supporters of the "Group of the Virtuous," a Shiâite group calling for direct implementation of Islamic law and the establishment of a theocratic political system similar to Iranâs. Surprise meter busted.
"They want Iraq to split into many countries, and they want us to be their subjects," they chanted. "We will never accept a constitution written by the Jews." "My harp just burst a string. Did yours?" "Yes." "Yes."
Sheik Mohammad al-Yaaqubi, a self-proclaimed ayatollah who heads the group, said Shiâite rights were being ignored. "We need the right to enslave women and kill infidels!"
I think I'll declare myself Pope of something. Then any time I don't approve of something, I'll be able to get a few thousand yokels to take to the streets to try and intimidate people.
"Itâs the first democracy in which the opinion of the minority is dominant, while the majority are fighting for survival," he said in a statement. Then his lips fell off and his legs shrank.
"This law has lots of gaps that can bring evil. Whatever is said to justify this document...is false." Then he turned into a pillar of salt and could say no more.
Shiâites, who suffered years of oppression under Saddam Hussein, make up around 60 percent of the population. Many say the interim constitution gives minority groups like the Kurds too much influence over Iraqâs future. "You damn Merkins, donât you know theyâre beast-people!?"
Iraqâs U.S.-appointed Governing Council signed the document Monday, but most Shiâite council members said they were unhappy with it and hoped to make changes. Iraqâs most revered Shiâite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a statement after the signing saying the interim constitution was deeply flawed. The document will guide an Iraqi government due to take power on June 30 until a permanent constitution is drawn up next year. At the Baghdad protest, young men waving Iraqi flags chanted slogans denouncing the United States and Israel. "Heil Haman!"
"This constitution does not represent us. It is an attempt to stop the Islamists from taking power in this country. We denounce this constitution that was written by American hands." said Ahmad Saed, 32, a shop owner who attended the prayers. "The religious authority was not consulted in this constitution, itâs a pre-made dish cooked by the Americans and their puppets in the Governing Council. We are ready to sacrifice our lives to change this constitution," said Sheikh Hadi Waeli, another protester. "Too much freedom, not enough tyranny!"
They were also ready to sacrifice their lives to defend Sammy, but we won't go into that...
Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiâite cleric with a large following among the Shiâite urban poor in Baghdad, also denounced the constitution in a Friday sermon.
Wonder how Moqtada likes being dismissed as an also-rant?
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/12/2004 11:59:00 AM ||
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"This constitution does not represent us. It is an attempt to stop the Islamists from taking power in this country. We denounce this constitution that was written by American hands." said Ahmad Saed, 32, a shop owner who attended the prayers.
"We are ready to sacrifice our lives to change this constitution," said Sheikh Hadi Waeli"
Right. Sacrificing lives is what you do best. Hurry. Step right up and take a number, then. Stand in line over there. No, over there! Straighten it up! We will get to you in turn. Patience is a virtue, 'tards.
#2
"Look, Fred, a troll!"
"Quick, Sonny, gimme that Payload Rifle!"
Posted by: Mike ||
03/12/2004 11:39 Comments ||
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#3
Here, Compuserb. Get into this tanning booth. Oh, you turned to stone. How sad(not!).
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/12/2004 11:47 Comments ||
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#4
A troll? Nice critical thinking. Let's see look at some of teh section headers for that particular piece of trash on the internet:
1. "Jews suck and spill American blood, and now they want the country"
2. "Jews at anti-American Autodesk, Inc. have American blood on their hands"
3. "With their lies American Jews have transformed our sons into killers"
4. "Jews herd young Americans like cattle and send them to slaughter"
5. "We can save America only by saving US Presidency from Jews"
6. "'Jewish Supremacism' by David Duke is a must read for all patriotic Americans who want to help restore America our Founding Fathers fought for. The book diagnoses America's deep-rooted cancer for citizens to surgically remove by denying Jews positions of power. David needs our support now more than ever. -- ADL USA founder"
If pointing out that those kind of statement (typical for that particular website, it appears) are anti-Semetic crap is "trolling", then yeah, I guess I am a "troll".
Are you seriously defending that website, or are you some kind of twitchy jerk just looking for a flame war? Have you even read that website? It has all the credibility of StormFront and other sites of that ilk.
Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll go get some lye soap to scrub down my computer after visiting that racist crap.
#15
Compuserb do you have a psychiatric disability like Schizophrenia? Not everyone can be able minded and your not. For one many jews are not zionists check out Neuterei Karta for just one example. For another you shouldn't say all people of a race/religion/whatever else are all bad thats just stupid.
#16
Antiwar, you are a perfect example of the difference between me and the extreme left. You look into the face of pure evil and see someone with whom you can offer rational arguments and convince with logic and negotiation. You assume that deep down all people are good and can be saved. I on the other hand know that logic and negotiation won't work when dealing with sick or evil people and they need to be ignored if they're not dangerous or locked up/eliminated if they are dangerous.
#17
Antiwar is an idealist. He means well, but lives in a different state of thought.
Posted by: Lil Dhimmi ||
03/12/2004 12:21 Comments ||
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Dhimmi,
A little background.
Antiwar is a middleaged chick from Australia and espouses the liberal church view that no one is evil, they only commit evil acts. A good talking to will solve all the world's problems. Seems educated (book learned) although not a deep thinker.
#19
Damn Proud American there will always be people who in spite of every evidence that they are wrong will persist in being racist or religiously prejudiced however I do believe there is good and evil in everyone its just that some people use one side more than the other.
Posted by: Lil Dhimmi ||
03/12/2004 12:35 Comments ||
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#21
Whitecollar redneck I am well under 40 (and over 30) so not middleaged as of yet just to set the record straight on that point. Lil Dhimmi I do mean well and if being an idealist means believing in a future world where there is no wars etc than I am happy to be one.
#24
Fred,
This isn't a friendly bandwidth warning is it? Just let me know when to quit. I appreciate the forum you provide and don't want to cause any serious inconvenience.
#27
Lil Dhimmi I do mean well and if being an idealist means believing in a future world where there is no wars etc than I am happy to be one.
I hate to break it to you, but you are going to have a lot of disappointment in your life. You are a classic idealist, and are in a completely different reality than the rest of the world. My best advice for you is to become a monk in Tibet, and do not take any TV's, radios, or buy any newspapers while you're there.
Posted by: Lil Dhimmi ||
03/12/2004 12:54 Comments ||
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#28
MrSpkr: Pardon the imprecision--as my good friends Dhimmi and DPA ('preciate it that you got my back for me!) have already said, I wasn't meaning to point the 25mm at you. (I promise to attend the firearms safety course at the Rantburg Rec Center before posting again.)
Posted by: Mike ||
03/12/2004 12:55 Comments ||
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#29
Being Jewish, let me tell you what really ticks me off about web sites like Compuserb's.
They discuss ad nauseum about how the International Jewish Conspiracy (IJC)controls everything, but they never put a link to the HR Department of the IJC so I can send them my resume.
I bet the IJC has great pay and benefits, and they probably get all the Jewish holidays off. I want some of that.
#30
Lil Dhimmi someday the world will be a better place. Its God's will that it be so someday will come Armageddon and Satan will be annihilated and all that is evil be destroyed forever have faith in God. It wont happen overnight(maybe?)but it will happen.
#31
#Sixteen DPA: IIRC, one of the pro-War-on-Terror Rantburgers thinks there's hope for Osama.
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/12/2004 13:13 Comments ||
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#32
Fred - Lol! I just gotta know: Why are you tolerating posts from this classic fucktard? This is negative-IQ territory - just opening the link knocked 10-20 points off and I could hear my brain being sucked out of my head! I mean, I know you're a tolerant guy, but sheesh what a waste!!! ;-)
#35
It's Serbian lop-eared troll season here in Rantburg.
No bag limit, and anything from .22 LR up to .50 or 25mm is legal. Be sure to wear your orange vest and observe safe hunting practices.
(N.B. because it's in season, the Serbian lop-eared troll is an endangered species.)
Posted by: Mike ||
03/12/2004 13:57 Comments ||
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#36
anitwar - yea and the 12th planet will arrive at the end of the mayan calendar.....get in the real world!
in your views your are extremist..... although i do not want war I do not the US to be inficted with pain and war and have no response..... your lucky we stopped the jabs and krauts in wwii....australia would be a very different place today.....
Posted by: Dan ||
03/12/2004 14:00 Comments ||
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#37
anitwar - yea and the 12th planet will arrive at the end of the mayan calendar.....get in the real world!
in your views your are extremist..... although i do not want war I do not the US to be inficted with pain and war and have no response..... your lucky we stopped the jabs and krauts in wwii....australia would be a very different place today.....
Posted by: Dan ||
03/12/2004 14:00 Comments ||
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#38
Whoa Dan,
Slow down there cowboy or you'll step in troll droppings.
#39
O.K., I have the tin cap ready. Mike, actually a cap gun is sufficient fire power for Antiwar, these types tend to faint from loud noises.
Posted by: Lil Dhimmi ||
03/12/2004 14:52 Comments ||
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#40
because it's in season, the Serbian lop-eared troll is an endangered species
There goes a perfectly good keyboard, shorted out when I laughed out loud while drinking my tea.
My older show champion girl (English Cocker Spaniel, fierce on upland birds and having fun learning the sport of agility / obstacle course racing) was just in season -- the breeding kind of season -- last month and believe me, between her desire for extra lap time (severe case of hormones) and her soulfull howls inviting the entire canine race to break into our house and mate with her, she nearly WAS endangered!
Now I have to go around with the image of a lop-eared Serbtroll ... howling soulfully in the vain hope that someone will break in and mate with it. Eeewwwww.
Posted by: purebred dog fancier & occasional breeder of showdogs ||
03/12/2004 15:06 Comments ||
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#41
More firepower, this is not a catch and release season Dhimmi.
#42
Just so there's no confusion, I did not mean to imply that "Antiwar" is either Serbian, lop-eared, or a troll. I was referring to CompuSerb, who is all three and much more.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/12/2004 15:11 Comments ||
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#43
not only is their life mission dribble , but their website is horrible to look at from a designers point of veiw and their rhetoric is absolute bollocks, can they do anything right ? or are they just a lost bunch of monkey spankers
#45
Just so there's no confusion, I did not mean to imply that "Antiwar" is either Serbian, lop-eared, or a troll. I was referring to CompuSerb, who is all three and much more.
More firepower, this is not a catch and release season Dhimmi.
I had forgot about compuserb on my last post. Time to go unlock the gun cabinet. I still think we can use a catch and release on antiwar. She can go help with the mass grave excavations in Iraq.
Posted by: Lil Dhimmi ||
03/12/2004 15:24 Comments ||
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#46
I need a new pup PDF&OBS, one of my old DOGS and favorite is a Goldie/Cocker Mix, doesn't like the water much but is reasonably talented in just about everything else, including living in a house without getting too lazy.
#47
Shipman, if you're looking for a hunting dog, email me and I'll put you in touch with some top field cocker breeders.
Posted by: purebred dog fancier & occasional breeder of showdogs ||
03/12/2004 16:16 Comments ||
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#48
"Still, why in the heck is THIS here?"
Glad you asked that. As a bloodthirsty pack of Zionist hellhounds (incited by Schindler's List, don't you know), we naturally feel the urge to rip out a nazi's throat and watch him squirm now and again.
We usually have to settle for some mousy leftist who happens by to post paens to Saint Rachel and so on----a pleasant diversion but too soft to fully slake the raging primeval bloodlust.
Fred, as Beastmaster and Keeper of the Cage, wisely tosses in some red meat now and again. This time, the pseudo-Serb volunteered by invading our lair with a prime rib tied around his neck.
The Rantburg den has duly received another layer of broken swastikas and mangled SS runes to go with the gnawed birkenstocks and blood-soaked tie-dyes.
#50
CS, do we have to shave our heads to read the ADL page? Assuming of course, that anyone here would want to read it. Why not just call the page Skin Heads Incorporated Talking?
Antiwar,if God lets us hang around long enough we will have colonies in space,eventually these colonies will rebel aginst the Mother Planet.In other words we will always have the threat of war with us.Weather that threat is near or far is up to us.
#53
cingold: true about the Croats and Bosnians, but some Serbs ARE anti-semites and you know it. Also, some Zionists are as bad as these skinhead neo-nazi freaks--kind of 180 degree "twins"--they might even get along if they could ever find a common enemy. For guys that think Jews are stupid, they sure give them A LOT of credit (running the world, etc.) "The" Jews, like "The" (fill in the blank)--it's too easy. One doesn't even need to engage the brain. But, are Rantbugians guilty of the same thing? "The" Dems, "The" Terrorists? What's the diff? Could antiwar be right on this one? Help!
#54
cingold: true about the Croats and Bosnians, but some Serbs ARE anti-semites and you know it.
Ex-lib, True -- I guess evil lurks in all cultures, but the Croat and Bosnian societies condone it more. Also, some Zionists are as bad . . .
Also true, but (again) Israeli culture right now is unsupportive of the death and maiming thing, whilst the Paelos are a âbomb a minute.â Labels are always to some extent misleading (nothing is all black or all white), but without some use of labels it gets real hard, real quick to dialogue.
#57
Antiwar: Sorry--gotta go with cingold on this one. Labels for purposes of discussion are way different than labels for purposes of annihilation such as exampled by the post that started this rantish avalanche (my oops and duh!)! Thanks cingold.
Atomic Conspiracy: Hey--I like Birkenstocks but can't afford 'em. And what's wrong with tie-dye stuff? I must be out of the loop . . . but I think you guys should stick to gnawing on pseudo-people like the one who posted this site. How about a barbeque better yet?
Source: AP
Organized labor, with support from the Bush administration, is trying to build more unions in Iraq and help those already there to function free of government and employer control. Slowly building civil society
The U.S. government, through the National Endowment for Democracy, has allocated about $15 million to form employer groups and unions in Iraq. Groups that will actually fight about things like wages and working conditions, NOT whose beard is longer!!!
International labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, are using some of those grant funds to help Iraqi workers and leaders create a labor code and organize. AFL CIO was firmly pro-democracy throughout the cold war years
"We had an interest in seeing what we could do both in the reconstruction as well as the ... healing process that had to go on," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Good to see that Sweeney, who has made a point of being more "left" than George Meany or Lane Kirkland were, is still taking action to support democracy
Labor leaders, meeting at this seaside resort, on Thursday ended a three-day session of discussing politics, organizing and the situation in Iraq. Organized labor has had a historical role in "postwar activities in every war since World War II" with backing from the U.S. government, Sweeney said. Notably in Germany and Japan - despite MacArthurâs conservativism, the occupation of Japan was largely staffed by New Dealers
The AFL-CIO opposed the Iraq war in a resolution at last yearâs winter meeting. Yup, thats Sweeney and the new AFLCIO - Meany or Kirkland would have supported the war - still its good to see Sweeney being sensible in the aftermath
While labor and the Bush White House are locked in a political battle at home, they are working together to rebuild Iraq and create stable, independent unions. Anyone else here old enough to remember when partisan politics stopped "at the waters edge"?
"Republican administrations tend to see trade unions as part of a civil society that is dedicated to democracy and building democracy abroad," said Harry Kamberis, executive director of the AFL-CIOâs American Center for International Labor Solidarity. "They see it as important to U.S. strategic interests." makes sense to me - you may not like labors agenda, but they raise the kind of issues that belong in the public sphere in a secular democracy, not the issues of religion that more properly are private.
Posted by: Liberalhawk ||
03/12/2004 8:59:58 AM ||
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As long as they make Iraq an Open Shop country, okay.
I happily voted "Nay" on joining the god-damned Teamsters 6 times, myself, while working nights at UPS sorting packages. I got shitloads of merit raises because I was fast and made very few mistakes, instead of paying dues for 2 or 3 layers of lard-assed union officials -- who would then donate what was left of my god-damned dues to some shit-for-brains Jackass Party candidate like Skeery. Texas. Open Shop. YES.
I don't have any strong opinions about unions, though.
Is private jihad allowed?
Columnist Nazeer Naji wrote in Jang that orders for jihad in the Quran all relate to the functioning of the state and not to private jihad. There were references to agreements at the state level that private jihadis could not rely on. If private jihad had been allowed in Islam then the orders for reaching agreements between states would not have come. He said that if private jihad was permitted by the Quran then there would be nothing but chaos in the state because every strongman would be allowed to create his army and go to war.
Why no âmubahilaâ?
According to Nawa-e-Waqt, a meeting in Chiniot bemoaned the fact that the Qadiani community was being challenged to mubahila but it was responding. (Mubahila is a match of mutual cursing in which the weak party falls down dead through some kind of miracle.) The clerics gathered at Chiniot said the Qadianis were holding key posts and that they were secretly spreading sectarianism in Pakistan. Maulana Manzur Chinioti said that he was dying to hold mubahila with the Qadiani leaders because he was sure that the cursing match would make them fall dead, but they were cowards and not were not responding to his challenge.
Iraq will be given to Iran?
Veteran columnist Abdul Karim Abid wrote in daily Pakistan that conservatives in Iran had unfairly gotten rid of the moderate orientation under president Khatami. He said Iranian newspapers wrote anti-Pakistan things but in Pakistan Iran was never looked at as an enemy. Pakistan hoped that Iranâs moderation would lead to good relations with the Arabs and Iran would be able to break out of its isolation. But now it was said that America had promised the hardline Iranians under Khamenei that Iraq would be handed over to Iran and that the hardliners had made some secret deal with America as a result of which the Americans had not protested too much at the removal of the moderates.
Yandarbayev was great
Leader of Jamaat Islami Hafiz Idrees wrote in Khabrain that Chechen leader Selim Khan Yandarbayev in was killed in Doha in 2004 at the age of 53 after living there for two years. He had to leave Chechnya but found no country willing to give him protection till he found Qatar. Hafiz Idrees remembered that Selim Khan came to Pakistan and spoke to big gatherings in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Sialkot and Karachi, etc, and was the guest of Jamaat Islami at Mansoora in Lahore. He said Selim Khan lived for jihad and loved the people of Pakistan for devoting their lives to jihad.
Depression from lack of Islam
Daily Jang stated that doctors in a meeting at Jang Forum decided that Pakistanis were depressed because they had strayed from Islam and because there was social and economic inequality in the country. This depression manifested itself in pain in the shoulders and neck. The seminar was named âDepression-free Pakistanâ.
Divine AQ Khan
Astrologer Syed Intizar Hussain Zanjani wrote in daily Din that the formula for making an atom bomb was recorded in the Holy Quran but America made the bomb instead and Dr AQ Khan brought the formula to Pakistan and he was going to do more explosions in fields like industry and education but he was stopped from doing so.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
03/12/2004 2:15:06 AM ||
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#1
a "depression-free pakistan" will be a radioactive and smoking hole in the ground, I'm afraid
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/12/2004 9:08 Comments ||
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#2
A cursing contest, huh? I know a Marine DI or two we ought to enter.
#3
Frank G,
That fits well with more explosions in fields like ... The Quran knows all.
Posted by: ed ||
03/12/2004 9:17 Comments ||
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#4
"He said that if private jihad was permitted by the Quran then there would be nothing but chaos in the state because every strongman would be allowed to create his army and go to war."
LOL! Of course, that's not happening anywhere in Islam. Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.
#6
"...and he was going to do more explosions in fields like industry and education but he was stopped from doing so." What was he planning to do, detonate one of his devices in a refinery or a university?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/12/2004 18:57 Comments ||
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#7
Wonder if there's something in the Koran that tells 'em all to march ten miles into the ocean...
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Authorities pressed the pace of disarmament for Afghanistan's unruly militias Thursday, pledging to rid the country of heavy weapons in time for summer elections and extending demobilization programs to a former Taliban stronghold. At a ceremony in Kabul, Afghan Ministry of Defense officials formally took possession of the latest batch of armor from a factional militia brigade.
"Yesssh! Mahmoud, lookie! A brand-spanking new beat up old T-55! With rich Corinthian leather!"
Meanwhile, the United Nations said a scheme to disarm fighters and help them find regular jobs would begin in the southern city of Kandahar, once the heart of the hardline Taliban movement, and in central Bamiyan province later this month. The hand-over Thursday of 37 Soviet-built tanks and about 30 other aging armored vehicles means that about one-quarter of all the heavy weaponry in Kabul have been removed from the city and placed in sites guarded by government troops. NATO-led peacekeepers helping organize the transfer expressed hope that Kabul could be free of heavy weapons in time for this summer's national elections. But Deputy Defense Minister Rahim Wardak voiced a loftier goal - rounding up before the vote all the big guns left over from more than two decades of war. "Most of the heavy weapons are already with the (regional militia) corps, so it should be no problem," Wardak told The Associated Press after the ceremony. "It is essential for the security of the country and of the elections."
Naah, what's important is that any Talibanis who pop up get smacked.
More than two years later, the national army has only about 10 percent of its targeted 70,000 men, and warlords and faction leaders - many of them in prominent government posts - still have de facto control of much of the country. Officials say it is vital that commanders in the west and south now follow the lead of those in Kabul and the north - regardless of past enmities.
"You want me to do what?"
"Surrender your heavy weapons."
"You're dreaming. Why would I do that?"
"Do you know what a cluster bomb is?"
"Umm, ... here are the keys to the tank. Drive safe, now!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2004 12:12:55 AM ||
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"Hey isn't that a T-55?"
"The commander's MG looks strange"
"It's not original... have an OEM in parts at home"
"Cool"
"My Dad had one just like that."
"Does the cannon still work?"
"POS I'll bet it's fibergl..." CRUNCH
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.
