The US Navy on Wednesday handed over 17 suspected Somali pirates to Kenya, taking the total number held in the east African nation to 101, police said.
The suspects were detained in the Gulf of Aden in a joint operation by US and South Korean navies on May 13 as they tried to attack an Egyptian vessel, the MV Amira.
Ten out of the 101 pirates have already been convicted and sentenced to a seven year jail each.
Posted by: ed ||
06/10/2009 10:12 ||
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So sad for them that pirating isn't the consequence-free enterprise it was only a few short months ago.
[Mail and Globe] African member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not pull out of the body despite their opposition to its indictment of the Sudanese President, diplomatic sources said.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to face charges of war crimes carried out during almost six years of fighting in Sudan's violent Darfur region, but he has refused to deal with the court.
Africa is the most heavily represented continent in the ICC with 30 member countries. They are meeting in Addis Ababa to discuss their opposition to al-Bashir's indictment.
"They will reach a consensus and ask for the warrant against al-Bashir to be deferred for some time," a diplomat told Reuters. "But an en masse withdrawal will not happen," he added.
Diplomats told Reuters only Libya, Senegal, Djibouti and the Comoros had lobbied the two-day meeting that ends on Tuesday for all African member countries to leave the court. An African Union (AU) heads of state meeting in February decided the continent's ICC members should consider such a move.
The AU has said the warrant will compromise peace efforts in Darfur, and the 53- member organisation wants the indictment deferred for at least one year.
"The pursuit of peace can be deadly impacted upon if players including a head of state, are denied even the fundamental presumption of innocence," said AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamara.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki is chairing an AU panel charged with helping to bring peace to Darfur by making recommendations to the AU's Peace and Security Council as an alternative to the ICC indictment.
International experts say 200 000 people have died and more than 2,5-million have been driven from their homes in the remote western region since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government in 2003. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10 000.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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[ADN Kronos] Algerian police have said that Al-Qaeda militants in the capital Algiers are in contact with members who live in Italy and Germany. According to the Algerian daily el-Khabar, members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb include young people in their 30's who are living abroad.
The Algerian daily does not specify the number of members in the group, but it mentions Nasim, also known as Abu Sayyaf, who currently lives in Germany and was recently in Algeria to make contact with AQIM leaders.
Police said inquiries revealed a link between the AQIM cell in Algiers and some Algerian citizens recently arrested in Italy.
Last week, Italian police issued arrest warrants for five North Africans accused of plotting terror attacks in the northern cities of Milan and Bologna in early 2006. It is not known whether the arrests were linked to the cell in Algiers.
The five were alleged to have planned attacks against the subway system in Milan and the San Petronio cathedral in Bologna which dates back to 1390.
Police claimed the five were part of an international group which is active in Algeria, Morocco and Syria.
The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb evolved from the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, initially formed to create an Islamic state in Algeria, but is now believed to have more widespread goals.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A prominent Algerian human rights activist called on the government to acknowledge the rights of Jews of Algerian origin and said such people should be naturalized as he stressed there was a difference between being Jewish and being a Zionist.
True. But those Jews who would deny others the possibility of living in freedom instead of dhimmitude, whether in an Arab country or, say, Venezuela, are either fools or... tactful.
Malia Bouzaid, a member of the Arab Commission for Human Rights, launched a campaign to grant Algerian Jews living abroad citizenship as she believed they were suffering greatly because they were deprived from returning to their homeland. "Algerian Jews meet all the conditions to become citizens," Bouzaid told Al Arabiya. "Most of their fathers or grandfathers were born in Algeria. Many of them were born to Algerian mothers."
Bouzaid said the Jewish issue was very sensitive in Algeria but argued that handling the issue realistically would play a major role in solving many of the problems Algeria has faced for decades. "What I mean by 'realistically' is learning from the experience of other Arab countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Yemen in the way they preserved their Jewish communities and treated them as citizens," Bouzaid said, adding "'Realistically' also means knowing the difference between Jews and Israel."
Bouzaid has not been keeping up with the news from Yemen, I think.
Bouzaid stressed that the Jews she met in French cities like Paris, Lyon and Marseille pledged allegiance to Algeria rather than Israel and that given the choice they would love to resettle in Algeria.
No, dear, what they would have liked was to get their old lives back, including their old homes and livelihoods, not to start over from scratch in a country which has changed as much as they have in the interval.
When asked about French-Algerian relations, Bouzaid said that 25 percent of the decision makers in France were Jews of Algerian origin and that they have the ability to help their homeland if it were to acknowledge them.
How many Jews were allowed to become decision makers back when they lived in Algeria, my dear?
"They might get back at Algeria for denying them citizenship by grabbing every opportunity to weaken it in front of the international community. But if Algeria recognizes them as citizens, they will work for its benefit," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Add another one to the "You've got to be kidding me file."
Posted by: George Jimble4265 ||
06/10/2009 5:40 Comments ||
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#2
25 percent of the decision makers in France were Jews of Algerian origin
And that's not your usual pious Muslim, but a "prominent Algerian human rights activist".
#3
I suppose the theory here is that French Jews or Algers origin can escape antisemitism in France by emigrating to Algeria.
Yeah. Sure.
Posted by: Lord garth ||
06/10/2009 8:47 Comments ||
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#4
And this was meant as a compliment and invitation to truce by the softest and fuzziest of muzzies. Goes to show just how deeply and darkly the death cult's brain washing has poisoned their minds.
Posted by: ed ||
06/10/2009 9:21 Comments ||
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#5
"...and Yemen in the way they preserved their Jewish communities and treated them as citizens."
Sounds like they already did. The last of the Yemeni Jews are pulling out.
The situation in the North Caucasus remains complicated, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
Medvedev told a Russian Security Council meeting today held in the republic of Daghestan that up to 75 law enforcement officers, 48 civilians and 112 militants have been killed in the region since the beginning of 2009.
Medvedev told a Russian Security Council meeting today held in the republic of Daghestan that up to 75 law enforcement officers, 48 civilians and 112 militants have been killed in the region since the beginning of 2009.
He said the recent terrorist attack that killed Daghestani Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, poses a challenge to the Russian state.
He said the recent terrorist attack that killed Daghestani Interior Minister Lt. Gen. Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, poses a challenge to the Russian state.
Chairing the Security Council meeting, Medvedev said althought there have been some real results in the fight against militants, but work on destroying terrorism in the North Caucasus must be continued, adding that security in the North Caucasus, and the life and health of people depend on that.
The Council agreed that the situation remains complicated in particular in Ingushetia, Dagestan, Chechnya and Kabardino-Balkaria of the Caucasus region.
The Russian President remarked that it is necessary to develop a complex set of measures to counter threats in the Caucasus and gave a task to the National Anti-terrorism Committee to prepare a set of steps to cope with terrorism and banditism in that region.
He stressed that it is vital to step up the struggle against the drug trade and drug trafficking, as their profits are used to support terrorism. Medvedev further stressed that problems in the North Caucasus have a systematic character which he said stemmed from such factors as poverty, high unemployment rates, and the huge scale of corruption in local governments.
This is one scary read as one contemplates life in a Nork prison. Next time someone on the Left starts babbling about 'torture' at Gitmo, show them this article.
By a staff reporter of the Los Angeles Times, no less.
Reporting from Seoul -- If North Korea carries out its controversial court verdict, two American TV journalists sentenced to 12 years of hard labor Monday face a grim future in a notorious gulag system, said the author of a study on the regime's prisons.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for San Francisco-based Current TV, were convicted by the nation's top Central Court of an undefined "grave crime" against the hard-line regime after they were reportedly arrested in North Korean territory in March.
In a typically terse statement issued Monday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the women were sentenced to 12 years of "reform through labor."
While Pyongyang has not said where the women will serve their time, their future likely includes the possibility of hard labor, starvation and torture in a penal system many consider among the world's most repressive, said David Hawk, author of the 2004 study "The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps."
Ling and Lee may be sent to a "kyo-hwa-so" or re-education reformatory "that is the equivalent of a felony penitentiary in the U.S., as opposed to a county jail or misdemeanor facility," he said.
"It's extremely hard labor under extremely brutal conditions," said Hawk. "These places have very high rates of deaths in detention. The casualties from forced labor and inadequate food supplies are very high."
Because the pair was tried by the nation's highest court, there can be no appeal, analysts say.
Obama administration officials said Monday that the White House is working "through all possible channels" to secure the release of the women.
No, they're not. There are certain channels one could contemplate using that we aren't contemplating.
In a nationally-televised interview Monday, former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson called the verdict part of "a high-stakes poker game," adding that the atmosphere might be right for a deal between Washington and Pyongyang.
"It is harsher than expected," the New Mexico governor said of the verdict during an interview on NBC's "Today" show, saying that he would try to seek a sort of "political pardon."
In which we'll be expected to grovel to secure the release of the two women.
Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, were arrested March 17 along the China-North Korean border while reporting a story on human trafficking by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's regime.
The group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement Monday that the harsh verdict was "clearly designed to scare journalists trying to do investigative reporting in the border area between China and North Korea."
And it'll work, too ...
North Korea experts with knowledge of the nation's penitentiary system worried over the women's fate.
"The first thing that passed through my mind when I heard about the verdict was that, from an American perspective, this is tantamount to a death sentence," said Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy for the Asia Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. "There aren't a lot of guarantees in that type of environment. It's different from any prison that exists in the modern-day United States. This is a very sobering challenge for a new administration."
North Korean defector Kim Hyuck, who spent a total of seven months between 1998 and 2000 in a "kyo-hwa-so," said that the percentage of prisoners who die from the harsh conditions would be unimaginable in the west. "It is not an easy place," he said of the camps. "Centers for men and women are separate. But even [the] women's place is not comfortable at all. . . . When I was in the center, roughly 600-700 out of a total 1,500 died."
Hawk said many of the re-education camps are affiliated with mines or textile factories where inmates labor for long hours, shifts that are often followed by work criticism sessions and the forced memorization of dry North Korean policy doctrine.
The literal meaning of a "kyo-hwa-so" in Korean is "a place to make a good person through education," said Hawk, who interviewed a dozen gulag survivors for his study for a group known as the U.S. Committee for Humans Rights in North Korea.
Kim, 28, who now studies math at a South Korean university, said that escape from the camps is nearly impossible. "If someone is missing, the rest of us would be put in jail. Nobody can go out. No one can work. If a missing person gets caught, without question they will be shot dead," he said.
"Nobody was successful in escaping. Three tried when I was there, but they all got caught as they couldn't cross the border into China. I was among 23 people put into the center -- and 21 of them died there."
Kim and Hawk described long days at the camps that began before dawn. Workers are fed "watery corn gruel" for breakfast and then sent off to their assignments, Hawk said.
To become sick, Kim said, is often to die. Most people died from malnutrition and related diseases such as diarrhea and fever, he said. "There is no medication. Officers gave us a powder made of pine tree leaves. That's what they gave us for every disease. It was just to give some sort of comfort."
A harsher form of death was being sent to the solitary cell. "If someone gets sent into that cell, they wouldn't endure even a week," Kim said. It's hard to sit there or stand there. Officers don't beat them in the solitary cell, because they are going to die anyway just by being left there."
The political prisoners fare worst of all, he said. "They're taken care of separately by the spy agency of North Korea," he said. "They are beaten so harshly. There is no responsibility for their death."
Hawk said torture and punishment was often used as a tool to maintain control. "People are punished for violating labor camp regulations," he said. The most common violation is trying to steal food of one sort or another.
"If people eat food that's supposed to be for livestock, it's a violation. Failing to meet your work production quota is another violation. Punishment is severe beatings and forms of torture."
According to a recent study by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Seoul, public executions are still conducted in North Korea. Nearly 80% of those polled witnessed public executions. In addition, 78% said they had heard of torture and maltreatment taking place in detention centers.
But Hawk said people often survive sentences to the North Korean re-education camps. "If these women do get sent to the camps, they're probably going to make sure that they don't die in detention," he said. "They're probably going to be treated better."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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You just know these two Journalists are going to have an 'unfortunate accident'.
No way Kimmie-boy is going to let a couple of reporters get out of the country after experiencing the North Korean Labor camps. The media will be all over them and they would be considered 'credible sources'.
#2
FARK > ACTOR ASHTON KUCHTER ["THAT 70's SHOW"] CALLS FOR US SPECIAL OPERATION TO BE LAUNCHED AGZ NORH KOREA [rescue two Lady Journalists]. "Tis a matter of US-specific national crisis/security.
#3
This is a detestable horror and an insult to all Americans and the legitimacy to exist as free people. I'm forwarding this article to every "progressive" communist sympathizer in academia I know, and in my neck of the woods, there are plenty to stand up and be counted. I expect to hear a lot of crickets chirping followed by "but but buts" that would put Milton from Office Space to shame.
#4
CF, I'm thinking that the two journalists will not get to a real Nork labor camp. They'll be kept at a hotel, and when Bill Richardson finally arrives to grovel out an apology the Norks will accept it -- and then hand him the tab for their stay.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2009 0:34 Comments ||
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#5
You bet GT. This is a nice Rorschach test for the Left. If you don't immediately find the notion of a Nork labor camp to be completely offensive and a horrific violation of human rights, then shut up about Gitmo.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2009 0:35 Comments ||
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#6
Ashton, back in the day pretty boys like you would have still been drafted ..after you Ash-hole.
#11
My guess is that Ogabe will use this as an excuse to hand out all kinds of goodies to Kim Jong Il. Not that Ogabe needed one, of course. The journos will be released and start wailing about how Gitmo's existence is the reason they got arrested in the first place - because Uncle Sam had lost all moral authority.
#12
Enjoy the 'entertainment' as the MSM 'discovers' North Korea. You remember, one of the Axis of Evil founding members, a concept po-po'ed by the very same MSM that will now make these fellow members near martyrs. It's interesting when you or your neighbors get the big wedge of life it may get a moments notice in the media, but when one of theirs ends up hanging in theirs, we get very notable coverage.
#13
If the Norks plan on using these women as bargaining chips, they will never get near a real labor camp. They will have to do laundry or something in a "prison" and will be intimidated, but not to the level of Abu Ghraib so the Norks can be seen as "intimidating", but not as evil as the US.
#14
You are probably right Steve - Kimmie won't let them near a real labor camp to begin with. And the MSM will be more than willing to promote any 'narrative' coming out of the workers paradise. Never mind that there is plenty of evidence of the real labor camps out there.
#16
I feel very sorry for them but also feel the need to raise this point. "Calling somebody from Gore's TV network Current Tv a reporter - is stretching the definition of reporter."
#18
These are American Citizens. A message needs to be sent. A Ranger battalion or two to go through and raze the place to the ground while re-aquiring these two. Obama better find his balls now as there is nowhere to go but down from here.;
#20
newc nobama isn't gonna do shit.where is Al Gore in all this ? I haven't heard him say a thing about it or is he still up in the artic measuring ice
#21
Some say 3 million died in the re education camps in North Vietnam
I think the toll was about 2 million in all SE Asia, most of them in Cambodia. Communist Vietnam "reeducated" 1 million and murdered about 200,000 of them.
Posted by: ed ||
06/10/2009 11:29 Comments ||
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#22
American Journalists Sentenced to Reform through Labor
Pyongyang, June 8 (KCNA) -- The Central Court of the DPRK staged a trial of American journalists Laura Ling and Seung-eun Lee from June 4 to 8.
The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor.
#25
The liberal left tends to enshrine these communist paradises until it affects them directly. Sorry no first amendment rights in North Korea or most of these other communist hell holes. Same comments apply to most muslim countries also. Rights such as we enjoy and take for granted here take an extended vacation in these places.
[Al Arabiya Latest] North Korea said Tuesday it would use its nuclear weapons if provoked both to defend itself and to carry out a reprisal for any attack by its enemies.
A major North Korean newspaper said on Tuesday the country maintains a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace in the region, while warning: "it will be a means of merciless offensive of just retaliatory attack to those who damage our pride and sovereignty."
The communist country would answer any pre-emptive strike with "an advanced pre-emptive strike" of its own, the cabinet newspaper Minju Joson said.
The nuclear deterrent would be a strong tool to protect regional peace and carry out a "just retaliatory strike" which would be "merciless" on those who infringe on its dignity and sovereignty, it said.
" It is the revolutionary spirit of the army and people and the mode of counter-action for self-defense to decisively wipe out the aggressors "
Rodong Sinmun, Communist party daily
The communist party daily Rodong Sinmun carried a similar warning in a commentary Tuesday, 15 days after the North carried out its second nuclear test. "It is the revolutionary spirit of the army and people and the mode of counter-action for self-defense to decisively wipe out the aggressors, reacting to the enemy's high-handed acts with the toughest measures and its pre-emptive attack with the advanced pre-emptive strikes of Korean style," it said. "The U.S. imperialists had better give up their war gambling as it would only invite their self-destruction."
North Korea appears ready to further ratchet up tensions by preparing for tests of a long-range missile that could reach U.S. territory and mid-range missiles capable of striking anywhere in South Korea and in most of Japan, officials have said.
Experts said the North may have enough fissile material for up to eight bombs but has not shown that it has developed a working nuclear weapon. It is also likely several years away from miniaturizing an atomic weapon to mount on a warhead.
Analysts said the military grandstanding may be primarily aimed at the internal audience to help leader Kim Jong-il, who is believed to have suffered a stroke last year, arrange for eventual succession in Asia's only communist dynasty for his youngest son, Swiss-educated Jong-un.
Adding to the mystery of a change of leadership in one of the world's most secretive states, Kim's sister Kim Kyong-hui made a rare public appearance when the North's state media reported this week that she went to the opera with her brother.
The last time state media said she appeared in public was about six years ago, the South's Unification Ministry said. Kim's oldest son Jong-nam has told Japanese broadcasters this week from his home in Macau that his father favours Jong-un and that is why he may be the next leader.
The U.N. Security Council may adopt a new resolution as early as this week to clamp down on the country's arms trade and finances, but members are divided on how to respond.
China, the North's biggest benefactor, is wary of moves that might push its fragile neighbour into collapse fearing this could destabilise the region and cause a flood of refugees. "China will support strong sanctions, but not extreme ones," said Qin Yaqing, Vice President of China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing and an adviser to senior leaders on regional affairs, in an interview with Reuters.
International efforts to negotiate an end to the North's nuclear program stalled in December and virtually collapsed in early April when the North launched a long-range rocket.
After the U.N. Security Council censured the launch, the North announced it was quitting the six-nation talks and restarting a program to make weapons-grade plutonium.
It followed up with a nuclear test and has also launched six short-range missiles, renounced the truce which ended the 1950-1953 Korean War and threatened possible attacks on the South.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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If you are gonna go, go strong! Of course, this would reduce North Korea to a historical footnote. Which really isn't such a bad thing, is it?
#5
no problem is we don't shoot enough of them though. Bring back legal assasinations and put the shit on the news I would bet alot of the badass wannabes would shut up
#6
The left went ballistic when G.W. Bush termed North Korea, Iran and Iraq the "Axis of Evil." Someone is the current administration will most likely coin some euphemism to call the North Koreans so as not to "insult" them. "Axis of man-made disasters?"
#8
I agree 100% with legal assasinations. Put our political leadership at risk as well as theirs. Since we have an orderly system of replacement we will come out ahead in any such tit for tat, we also spare their citizens and infrastructure an actual war and lastly we don't need to occupy.
#9
WORLD MIL FORUM > IIUC CHINA DOES NOT WANT NORTH KOREA TO HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS, BUT NEITHER DOES CHINA DESIRE FOR THE US-ALLIES TO INTERCEPT NORTH KOREA'S MISSLES.
* SAME > INDIA IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT CHINA DEV A STRATEGIC NAVAL BASE AT HAINAN: INDIA IS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF MISSLE AND ATTCK SUBMARINES BASED THERE.
[Kyodo: Korea] Seven key U.N. members are in the final stage of negotiations to remove the proposed mandatory inspections of North Korean cargo ships from a U.N. Security Council resolution over North KoreaŽs recent nuclear test, U.N. diplomatic sources said Monday. China has opposed such inspections under the draft resolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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mandatory inspection not included
But strongly-worded letters are in! It's a war of words: Rodong Sinmun vs. the UN!
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/10/2009 11:51 Comments ||
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#3
WORLD MIL FORUM > IIUC CHINA DANGER: NORTH KOREA'S MISSLES ARE A LT STRATEGIC THREAT TO RUSSIA AND RUSSIA'S CENTRAL AND FAR EAST INCLUD CHIN WORKERS IN SIBERIA.
[Kyodo: Korea] Seven key U.N. members continued talks Tuesday in a bid to strike a final deal over a new resolution the Security Council is to adopt in response to North KoreaŽs recent nuclear test. Ambassadors from the five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- plus Japan and South Korea met in the morning and they continued talks later in the day.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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WORLD MIL FORUM [GOOGLE CHINGLISH transl.] > IIUC JAPAN, US DARE NOT USE MILITARY FORCE AGZ NORTH KOREA. NORTH KOREA's NUKES are in reality a DETERRENT AGZ US-LED IMPERIALISM IN ASIA.
* SAME > UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: A NEW KOREAN WAR INVOL NORTH KOREA AND US-ALLIES MAY RESULT IN FORMAL PERMANENT CHINESE TAKEOVER OF NORTH KOREA, OR EVEN SOUTH KOREA IFF THE US-ALLIES ARE DEFEATED BY THE CHIN PLA ON THE BATTLEFIELD; +
*SAME > ASIAN NUCLEAR ARMS RACE: NORTH KOREAN NUKES MAY LEAD JAPAN TO BECOME MIL NUCLEAR. AN ASIAN NUCLEAR ARMS RACE INCLUD A NUCLEAR JAPAN IS NOT IN US INTERESTS AS SUCH CAN EASILY TURN AGZ THE USA. COLLAPSE OF THE ENTIRE PRO-US ASIA-PACIFIC STRATEGY AND PACIFIC SECURITY SYSTEM. US BASES ON GUAM, HAWAII, AND US WEST COASTS UNDER DIRECT ASIAN NUCLEAR AND MISSLE THREAT. IT IS NOT IN THE US STRATEGIC INTEREST TO HAVE A NUCLEAR JAPAN.
#2
WORLD MIL FORUM [GOOGLE CHINGLISH transl.] > IIUC JAPAN, US DARE NOT USE MILITARY FORCE AGZ NORTH KOREA. NORTH KOREA's NUKES are in reality a DETERRENT AGZ US-LED IMPERIALISM IN ASIA.
* SAME > UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: A NEW KOREAN WAR INVOL NORTH KOREA AND US-ALLIES MAY RESULT IN FORMAL PERMANENT CHINESE TAKEOVER OF NORTH KOREA, OR EVEN SOUTH KOREA IFF THE US-ALLIES ARE DEFEATED BY THE CHIN PLA ON THE BATTLEFIELD; +
*SAME > ASIAN NUCLEAR ARMS RACE: NORTH KOREAN NUKES MAY LEAD JAPAN TO BECOME MIL NUCLEAR. AN ASIAN NUCLEAR ARMS RACE INCLUD A NUCLEAR JAPAN IS NOT IN US INTERESTS AS SUCH CAN EASILY TURN AGZ THE USA. COLLAPSE OF THE ENTIRE PRO-US ASIA-PACIFIC STRATEGY AND PACIFIC SECURITY SYSTEM. US BASES ON GUAM, HAWAII, AND US WEST COASTS UNDER DIRECT ASIAN NUCLEAR AND MISSLE THREAT. IT IS NOT IN THE US STRATEGIC INTEREST TO HAVE A NUCLEAR JAPAN.
Key UN Security Council (UNSC) members got closer to an agreement on a text imposing new sanctions on North Korea over its May nuclear test, but said they needed more time.
"We continue to engage in intent and productive negotiations. We are making progress, but we are not done yet. This is a very technical endeavor. We are all working through a large set of very complex issues. We will get it done as soon as we get it done. We are not done yet," US envoy Susan Rice told reporters following the meeting. "Hopefully this will be concluded relatively soon," she added.
Rice met her counterparts from UK, France, Russia, China, the council's permanent members, as well as with those from Japan, a council member, and South Korea.
Japanese envoy Yukio Takasu told reporters "we have been working intensively and we will continue to work. We cannot tell you the substance of the work. We are making a continuous effort. We are still working on this. We need to spend more time".
"It is half-past tea already, dammit! We're only human!"
Diplomats said if Russia OKs the text, the vote can come as early as Thursday. They added that the new sanctions aim at expanding the existing ones on weapons, financial and travel restrictions.
[ADN Kronos] A European human rights watchdog has called on member states to welcome former detainees from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The Council of Europe also pressed the US to ensure other remaining detainees receive a fair trial for any alleged criminal activities.
Following a visit to Washington D.C. last week, the council's commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg sent a letter to all council members calling upon them to welcome "cleared" ex-detainees in need of international protection.
Yah, sure, yewbetcha, they're all yours ...
He also pressed the US to offer "cleared" prisoners residence in the country and stressed that "detainees for whom there is evidence of criminal activities should be tried in accordance with international human rights law."
"The others should be released in full respect of the principle of presumption of innocence. Reparation for all those unlawfully detained should also be provided," he said.
Hammarberg is concerned about the fact that "a number of those to be released may not be repatriated because of a real risk of ill-treatment. Some of those released so far have suffered human rights violations in their country of origin."
So their country of origin doesn't want them (except perhaps to torture them to death), and we don't want them, and you obviously don't want them. Hmmm, guess Gitmo isn't so bad after all ...
US lawmakers last week dealt a blow to president Barack Obama's plans to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, denying a request for extra funds and restricting the transfer and release of detainees. The House appropriations subcommittee, tasked with funding the Justice Department and other agencies, rejected a request for 60 million dollars to help the department close the prison on the US naval base in southern Cuba.
It approved a 64.4 billion dollar 2010 funding bill for the agencies under its remit, but attached conditions on releasing any of the remaining 240 Guantanamo inmates. The panel's decision was the latest obstacle to Obama's efforts to close the prison by 22 January 2010.
Other nations have also been reluctant to accept any of the 50 detainees so far cleared for release. An Algerian national has been taken in by France, while an Ethiopian-born British resident was returned to Britain.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
GUAM k57 > seems PALAU'S/BELAU'S PRESIDENT has agreed to formally temporarily accept up to 17 UIGHUR DETAINEES FROM GITMO.
HMMMMMM, HMMMMMM, and the ISLAMIZATION of GUAM-MICRON-WESTPAC begins??? RADICAL ISLAM versus CHINA, RUSSIA, + INDIA for control of increasingly destabilized NUKULAAR MAINLAND ASIA > NOW COMES FUTURE [local = LocoMoco]LOCAL RADICAL ISLAMISM VERSUS CHAMORRO-INDIGENOUS, OTHER ISLANDS-BASED ETHNO-LEGAL RIGHTS???
D *** NG IT, YOU CAN JUST FE-E-E-E-L-L-L SEXY SLINKY PAULA "DELILAH-BATHSHEBA" ABDUL KICKING AND WIPING OUT HER DADDY'S BACKYARD RANCHO PLANTATION AGAIN, CAN'T YE - WHAT IS IT WID THAT KID, 1960's POST-9-11 OWG-NWO AMERIKAN USSA =USR DADS WANNA KNOW!? Is there some law which states that future OWG-NWO Hollywood + Supermodel Babes must prove their worth by wiping out their Daddy's mango trees!
#2
Sure. Cut 'em all loose and tell 'em about the big party at Tommy Hammarberg's house to celebrate their release. He's looking forward to seeing them all there...
#3
I'd say these rights activists ought to adopt a gitmo a$$hole. Let the activists live with these thugs and killers for awhile. When a few of them don't wake up in the morning, the rest might re-think their liberal stances.
#1
Except the unforgivable crime where he wasn't actually successful at killing any infidel dogs. Poor boy. Alas no virgins for him. His fate is to serve as wide receiver with a bottom as fair as virgin pearls.
Posted by: ed ||
06/10/2009 13:53 Comments ||
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The tropical Pacific island nation of Palau announced Wednesday it will accept up to 17 Chinese Muslims who have languished in legal limbo at Guantanamo Bay despite a Pentagon determination that they are not "enemy combatants."
China's Foreign Ministry had no immediate reaction to the decision by Palau to grant Washington's request to resettle the detainees from China's Uighur minority who had been incarcerated at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba. Palau is one of a handful of countries that does not recognize China and maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
President Johnson Toribiong said Palau was accepting the detainees "as a humanitarian gesture" intended to help them restart their lives. His archipelago, with a population of about 20,000, will accept up to 17 of the detainees subject to periodic review, Toribiong said in a statement released to The Associated Press.
"This is but a small thing we can do to thank our best friend and ally for all it has done for Palau," he said.
A former U.S. trust territory in the Pacific, Palau has retained close ties with the United States since independence in 1994 when it signed a Free Compact of Association with the U.S.
While it is independent, it relies heavily on U.S. aid and is dependent on the United States for its defense. Native-born Palauans are allowed to enter the United States without passports or visas.
The Obama administration sought a solution for the detainees after facing fierce congressional opposition to releasing them on U.S. soil despite a Pentagon determination that they were not "enemy combatants."
Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.
In 2006, Albania accepted five Uighur detainees from Guantanamo but has since balked at taking others, partly for fear of diplomatic repercussions from China.
Posted by: ed ||
06/10/2009 10:00 ||
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#1
Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.
So these 17 mooks are gonna cost us 200 million bucks?
#2
That's cheaper than a Senator or a couple Representatives, just ask any lobbyist. And probably close to what its costing to keep them now. The up front cost of room and board isn't that high, but the overhead for administration, support, visiting pro bono lawyers et al gets it up there after a couple years.
#3
MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS > [GOOD OR BAD DECISION?]PALAU'S GUANTANAMO PLAN WORRIES RESIDENTS, living in CNMI = Northern Marianas.
* ARTIC > LOCAL RESIDENTS' OPINIONS > mostly NOT viewed as GOOD for PALAU/BELAU, CNMI, nor for GUAM which hosts a MILBASE(S), nor JAPAN. WORRIES OVER POSSIBLE ESCAPES???
#4
MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS > [GOOD OR BAD DECISION?]PALAU'S GUANTANAMO PLAN WORRIES RESIDENTS, living in CNMI = Northern Marianas.
* ARTIC > LOCAL RESIDENTS' OPINIONS > mostly NOT viewed as GOOD for PALAU/BELAU, CNMI, nor for GUAM which hosts a MILBASE(S), nor JAPAN. WORRIES OVER POSSIBLE ESCAPES???
"I do feel I'm not guilty," Abdulhakim Muhammad told The Associated Press in a collect call from the Pulaski County jail. "I don't think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason."
A Muslim convert charged with fatally shooting an American soldier at a military recruiting center said Tuesday that he doesn't consider the killing a murder because U.S. military action in the Middle East made the killing justified.
"I do feel I'm not guilty," Abdulhakim [AP left out his middle name of Mujahid - ed.] Muhammad told The Associated Press in a collect call from the Pulaski County jail. "I don't think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason."
What's he doing giving interviews to the AP?
Muhammad told the AP he admitted to his actions to police and said he was retaliating against the U.S. military. "Yes, I did tell the police upon my arrest that this was an act of retaliation, and not a reaction on the soldiers personally," Muhammad said. He called it "a act, for the sake of God, for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military."
Sounds like a terrorist to me ...
In the interview, Muhammad also disputed his lawyer's claim that he had been "radicalized" in a Yemeni prison and said fellow prisoners that some call terrorists were actually "very good Muslim brothers."
He also said he didn't specifically plan the shootings that morning. "It's been on my mind for awhile. It wasn't nothing planned really. It was just the heat of the moment, you know," said Muhammad, who was arrested on a highway shortly after the attack.
The Associated Press sent an interview request to Muhammad last week, before a judge ordered parties in the case to remain quiet. After Tuesday's interview, Muhammad's lawyer Jim Hensley sent an e-mail to the AP asking it to withhold his client's remarks.
And I'm surprised the AP didn't immediately clam up ...
Muhammad, 23, said he wanted revenge for claims that American military personnel had desecrated copies of the Quran and killed or raped Muslims. "For this reason, no Muslim, male or female, sane or insane, little, big, small, old can accept or tolerate," he said.
We can thank Newsweek for the Quran desecration story, and the MSM in general for the rest.
He said the U.S. military would never treat Christians and their Scriptures in the same manner. "U.S. soldiers are killing innocent Muslim men and women. We believe that we have to strike back. We believe in eye for an eye. We don't believe in turning the other cheek," he said.
Asked whether he considered the shootings at the recruiting center an act of war, Muhammad said "I didn't know the soldiers personally, but yes, it was an attack of retaliation. And I feel that other attacks, not by me or people I know, but definitely Muslims in this country and others elsewhere, are going to attack for doing those things they did," especially desecrating the Quran.
Last week, Hensley said his client, born Carlos Bledsoe, had been tortured and "radicalized" in a Yemeni prison after entering the country to teach English. He was held there for immigration violations, and Yemeni officials have denied mistreatment. "Those claims ... are all lies," Muhammad said Tuesday. "That never happened in Yemen. The officials dealt with me in a gentle way."
Come up with another line of defense, Mr. Lawyer ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2009 1:03 Comments ||
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#3
Bets that the 'process' will drag on longer than Tim McVeigh's, even with this open public confession of premeditation and execution? /rhetorical question.
#9
Bright Pebbles, we MUST remember that the killer of late term abortion doctor Tiller committed a "hate crime" against an innocent person; and Abdulhakim was simply doing what his religion demanded..."kill the infidel".
#10
He killed soldiers, he intended to kill soldiers, WHY is this moron in a civilian court in the first place, Send him to leavenworth.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/10/2009 11:57 Comments ||
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#11
Find him guilty - it won't be hard. Then sentence him to prison - half on the left coast somewhere, and the other half in DC (preferably on the Mall, just in front of Congress). I don't really care which way he's split, but vertically would be best. Maybe if Congress has to actually look at the spreading infection of radical Islam (80+% of ALL Islam), maybe they'd be more inclined to do something about it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/10/2009 15:49 Comments ||
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#12
Folks, the charge is state capital murder. He stays in Arkansas. And probably looks at a hot shot somewhere down the road.
#13
OP, I think government is a little busy at the moment hiring people for work for government direct/indirect for the 2010 elections to worry about some deal in Ar'cansaw. It is amazing to me the number of people who have not heard about this (tiller is the news here and all, can't get out of the boastful kansas guy in limelight deal). And unfortunately with the deal in DC today I'm afraid this story doesn't have a chance >:(
#14
What's with these jihadists idiots? The Georgia Tech jihadist's father also said he was not guilty in the eyes of Allah. The Little Rock killer said about the same the other day. Do these jihadists all go to the same mosque or do the imans in the mosques they attend all use the same teleprompter script? I'd say Allah says you have to pay the price for what you have done. What is Allah's preferred method of punishment--beheading?
[The News (Pak)] Ulema belonging to various sects completely advocated the military operation in Swat against the extremists and stressed for unity among the Muslim Ummah.
Speakers prayed for peace and solidarity in the country at the International Jashan-e-Miladun Nabi conference at Eid Gah Sharif held here on Monday in connection with the birth celebrations of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Syed Kazmi was the chief guest on the occasion. Besides, Musa Ali Al Abdali, member Sharif Family from Makkah, former minister for Railways Shiekh Rasheed Ahmed, Mashaikh Council President Hazrat Sultan Fayyaz-ul Hassan Sarwari Qadri, Sunni Tehrik President Sarwat Ijaz and other prominent scholars also spoke on the occasion. Kazmi lauded the Army operation against the extremists and terrorists. "All the proclaimed offenders have no religion, cast and creed they are only beasts," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak)] Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Provincial President Amir Muqam on Monday said the government had failed to ensure timely assistance to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and feared the aid poured into country might reach Swiss banks. Whoa! That's never happened before, has it? And what's wrong with a good Caymen bank?
Addressing a ceremony held to distribute relief goods among the IDPs, Muqam, who is also deputy opposition leader in the National Assembly, reiterated his support to the people in distress. He distributed relief package among 800 families living in rented houses in various parts of the provincial metropolis. The PML-Q leader alleged the rulers were involved in loot and plunder and the Baitul Maal fund meant for the displaced persons was being distributed on 'political grounds'. That's why they call him "President Ten Percent," isn't it?
Muqam said problems of the displaced families would remain unsolved until the government chalked out a comprehensive plan in this regard. He asked the government to win hearts and minds of IDPs through sincerity, instead of making them enemies of Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Taliban set fire to three more schools in Lower Dir on Tuesday, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the schools -- Government Girls' High School in Sangolai, Government Girls' High School in Chinar Kot and Government Middle School in Sherkhanai -- were all situated in Maidan tehsil. Taliban have destroyed 10 schools in the last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The Taliban started to arm themselves against the army, and gathered a large cache of explosives and ammunition after parliament decided to enforce the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Malakand Division, Major General Ijaz Awan has said.
In an interview with a private TV channel, one of the commanders of the Swat operation said the Taliban had made Mingora their base and then advanced towards Buner and other adjoining areas. He said the Taliban in Swat and Mingora had planned to fight the military in Mingora city and use the local population as a human shield. He said the two areas became increasingly important to the Taliban due to their heavy populations.
To questions, he said the Taliban were scared to face the army, and felt that the only way they could win was by using the civilian population as shields. This had restrained the security forces from using heavy weapons to avoid collateral damage, he added.
He said the Taliban had set up fortified positions on mountains, and had dug tunnels for their residence and for storing arms and ammunitions. He said the Taliban had very sophisticated weaponry, including some high velocity weapons belonging to the US Army. He said the army had captured 100 Taliban from the area under his control during Operation Rah-e-Rast, adding interrogation had revealed the positions of several caches of arms and explosives and important hideouts. He said the fighters were generally between 18 and 20 years old, but the suicide bombers ranged from 13 to 17 years old.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said here Tuesday five candidates for its director-general post had failed to win two-thirds of the 35-member Board of Governors.
Yukiya Amano of Japan gained 20 votes, Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa (11 votes), Luis Echavarri of Spain (four votes), and Ernest Petric of Slovenia and Jean-Pol Poncelet of Belgium, one each.
The unofficial vote was held in a secret session of the IAEA Board of Governors, according to an official IAEA release.
The candidates have been nominated by their respective governments in line with a process approved by the Board in October 2008. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei's term of office expires on November 30, 2009. He has stated that he is not available for a fourth term of office.
The Chairperson of the Board of Governors, Ambassador Taous Feroukhi said the board would convene an official session on July 2 in order to elect a new IAEA head to succeed El-Baradei.
[Al Arabiya Latest] At a sparkling new forensic crime office in Baghdad, trainees in white lab coats drip blood into test tubes in search of genetic clues.
The seven-month-old DNA analysis facility is an important part of efforts by Iraq to bolster its security forces as the United States military hands over responsibility to locals ahead of the withdrawal of combat troops from urban centers this month. "This is the first step, to analyze DNA in Iraq," said Shafan Khalid, a student from Arbil in the widely autonomous northern region of Kurdistan, looking up from his work.
Training sniffer dogs
" Now the training depends 100 percent on our Iraqi cadre. Even now if the Americans want to leave, it will not be a big deal for us"
Brigadier-General Mohammed Musshib
The Iraqi police had to start from scratch after the American authorities disbanded Saddam Hussein's security forces shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Now the country has about half a million police officers who are being prepared to take over the security reins as forces gradually withdraw from Iraq.
In the next room at the facility, the "K9" unit is training sniffer dogs to seek out explosives, crucial work in a nation where car bombs and suicide blasts have claimed thousands of lives.
Five policemen stand as a trainee leads a Belgian Shepherd dog past them on a chain. When it reaches the man hiding the fake device, it sits down to alert its handler.
There are 63 bomb sniffing dogs imported from South Africa and the United States now working in Iraq, 33 of them in the capital. There are 11 Iraqi trainers taught by U.S. instructors.
"Now the training depends 100 percent on our Iraqi cadre," said Brigadier-General Mohammed Musshib, the head of the unit, adding that 30 Iraqis are taking part in the eight-week course.
"Even now if the Americans want to leave, it will not be a big deal for us," he added in a corridor lined with dog cages.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
AH-HAH
Now it's clear why Muslims hate Dogs.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/10/2009 11:48 Comments ||
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Israel's Channel One TV reported that Netanyahu was told Tuesday by an "American official" in Jerusalem that, "We are going to change the world. Please, don't interfere." The report said Netanyahu's aides interpreted this as a "threat."
Posted by: Ebbemble de Medici7083 ||
06/10/2009 14:56 ||
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#1
To Muslims in general and the Middle East in particular showing the soles of your shoes is the equivalent of giving a person the bird.
Take a number and get in line, Bubbe - he's busy insulting us first. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/10/2009 18:06 Comments ||
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#6
The picture above is an OFFICIAL picture released to the world by the Administration of Obama talking to Netanyahu. Yep, the sole of his shoes is front and prominent.
Posted by: Large Flomotle3054 ||
06/10/2009 18:12 Comments ||
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#7
Kinda makes him look like a shipping and receiving clerk with his feet up on his desk. Is he eating a graham cracker?
If I was in a charitable mood, I'd say he is going for the Adlai Stevenson look. But I'm not, and expect Large Flomotle is quite close to the truth. The Big O is all about symbolism.
#8
Subject is centered to the left of the photo with an obvious effort to include the shoes. Left foot sitting above right. Subject's eyes focused to the left. Phone is in the left hand (ok, photo's subject is left handed). Mouth in motion...trasmitting message with a partially clenched right fist. Probably all means nothing.
#10
Easy Whurt. Try using wit and class to insult the man. AoS.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2009 19:04 Comments ||
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#11
It was my understanding that showing the soles of the feet was an insult in Arabic culture. I wasn't aware that it was also an insult in Israeli culture.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2009 19:05 Comments ||
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#12
Dr. Steve I wasn't aware the Israelis cared about this kind of thing. Maybe it is the muslims who live in israel who are offended. Or maybe it is CBS looking to make up a story instead of just reporting. Slow news day...
#13
nothing he does like this is without forethought. Remember all the times he spoke nicely of Hillary in the primaries while scratching his face with his middle finger? He's a thin-skinned punk
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/10/2009 20:11 Comments ||
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Gaza - Maan - One Gazan is dead and four more were declared missing when a tunnel beneath the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah collapsed Wednesday afternoon. Pssst. Your missing guys? I think they're under the ground...
General Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services for the Ministry of Health Dr Muawiya Hassanein identified the dead youth as 24-year-old Asad Al-Kylany, whose body was received at the Abu Yousif An-Najar Hospital in Gaza.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States wants to see a swift resumption and quick conclusion of stalled Middle East peace negotiations, American envoy George Mitchell said on Tuesday as he held talks with Israeli leaders.
"We all share an obligation to create the conditions for the prompt resumption and early conclusion of negotiations," Mitchell said ahead of a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on his latest trip to the region.
"We're now engaged in serious discussions with our Israeli and Palestinian and regional partners to support these efforts," said Mitchell, who is due to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the day.
"Israelis and Palestinians have a responsibility to meet their obligations under the roadmap," he said, referring to the 2003 international plan for Middle East peace that called among others for Israel to halt settlements and Palestinians to stop violence.
Mitchell also sought to play down tensions that have arisen between the allies in recent weeks as US President Barack Obama's administration repeatedly called on Netanyahu to publicly back the two-state solution and stop settlements.
"I want to begin by stating again clearly and emphatically beyond any doubt that the United States' commitment to the security of Israel remains unshakeable," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"Wants what he wants, when he wants it, and thinks that constitutes a Natural Law."
Posted by: Kelly ||
06/10/2009 18:44 Comments ||
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#3
Talks started decades ago. One side wants to talk because it allows them to look as if they are trying to solve the problem while they try to get the weapons they need to finally solve the problem.
[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Immediately after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday in which he will present the new government's diplomatic plan, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal will follow suit and deliver his own special policy address, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Tuesday.
According to the London-based newspaper, the Damascus-based leader will present a new strategy for the movement in his speech.
A source close to Hamas told the paper that the group was considering a number of options and political alternatives - some of which would be presented by Mashaal - in the wake of the US administration's new Middle East peace push.
The source added that following Mashaal's address, which he said would outline Hamas's strategy toward negotiations with Israel and a peace agreement, Egypt was expected to issue an official invitation to Palestinian factions for talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
A new strategy? Let me guess: attempt to exterminate the Israelis while fighting viciously amongst yourselves. Oh, and did I mention hoarding away as much as you can steal into Swiss bank accounts?
A delegation of of Europe, the largest so far, arrived in Gaza Strip on Tuesday through the Egyptian borders to examine impacts of the Israeli aggression launched six months ago.
The delegation, comprising 41 parliamentarians and city mayors from 15 European countries, is headed by Vice President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini.
Meanwhile, UN Special Rapporteur on Disability Sheikha Hessa Al-Thani of Qatar also arrived in Gaza Strip earlier today for a four-day visit. She told reporters that her visit will include a tour on hospitals and healthcare facilities, as well as holding meetings with health officials in the strip.
Gaza Maan A delegation of 41 European parliament members left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday less than a day after they arrived in the war torn territory.It is not known why the group led by Italian lawmaker Luisa Morgantini left so soon after their arrival.
I dunno. Posturing phonies? EU pussies? I can think of lotsa reasons...
The 15-nation delegation was expected to spend several days visiting devastated areas and meeting survivors of Israels three-week assault last winter.
They were probably devastated to find no five star hotels in Gaza.
During their brief stay, the parliament members visited the ruins of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) building in Gaza City, which was leveled by an Israeli airstrike.
Hmmmmmm... looks pretty bad. Well, our work is done here. Adios, my Gazan brothers...
Arriving at the Egypt-controlled Rafah crossing point Tuesday amorning, Morgantini said the lawmakers had come to express solidarity with the people of Gaza and bear witness to the destruction.
...and, surprisingly, that only took about...ten minutes.
There was no comment as the group left the area.
Step on it, driver! If we hurry we can still catch dinner in Cairo.
Separately, the European Unions High Representative for foreign policy, Javier Solana, arrived in the region on Wednesday for three days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Solana has no plans to visit Gaza.
Top leader of Hamas Movement Khaled Mishaal affirmed at a press conference on Tuesday his commitment to seal the rift with Fatah Movement and continue to work with Egyptian peace brokers to bring amity among all Palestinian factions.
No progress can take place politically unless there is a firm reconciliation among Palestinians of all persuations, [Meshaal] said at the conference, while pointedly wiping a reddish-brown substance off his leather-bound truncheon and carefully placing it into an ivory case, ending his talks here with Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa.
Noting that he did not consider the government of Sallam Fayyadh legitimate, Mishaal said he favored national elections for all Palestinians to choose one government to rule them
Mishaal said that the Hamas delegation visiting here with him met with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Sulaiman and agreed to have steps taken to free Hamas detainees in the West Bank and cease security operations against Hamas sympathizers there. Noting that he did not consider the government of Sallam Fayyadh legitimate, Mishaal said he favored national elections for all Palestinians to choose one government to rule them.
He said he was ready to put the Palestinians' house in order in cooperation with the PLO and in celebration of the Palestinian National Reconciliation agreement of the year 2006.
To speed up the process of reconciliation, he said Hamas proposed the formation of a committee in the West Bank and another in Gaza that would, in conjunction with Egyptian and Arab efforts, come to terms regarding what is best for the future of the Palestinians, in particular to resolve all differences between Hamas and the government of president Mahmoud Abbas.
Saying that his meeting with Sulaiman lasted five hours, Mishaal stressed that the possibility existed that all political efforts could eventually bring about peace to the region if there was a serious attempt at ending the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
"Or I could just open my case again. Your choice. I'm democratic that way, y'know!"
Before the end of the next decade, unmanned aerial vehicles no bigger than a dragonfly and faster than a hummingbird will be darting in and out of buildings.
The Air Force laid out its vision for the next generation of UAVs late last month in a report that has a page-by-page breakdown of the aircraft, controls, munitions, sensors and construction materials. The report's release came just days before Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told defense and military leaders that the service has "turned a corner" in its pursuit of unmanned technology, describing current operations as "very Neanderthal."
In his speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Schwartz suggested an unmanned cargo aircraft might be in the service's future but made it clear he doesn't support fielding an unmanned nuclear bomber. The 90-page report includes UAVs assigned to tanker and fighter as well as intelligence missions.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Nifty long-range plans. Hopefully it won't suck too much money away from what troops say they need now- bigger, slower, deadlier UAPs- which are cheaper and more numerous to boot.
#3
Bye bye fighter mafia. Now the Air Force can go back to being a high-tech force.
That's the great thing about any size UAV - just arm it with explosives and now it's a guided missile. Even a dime-sized charge could make a nasty pop if a dragonfly darted out from the curtains and crashed into your face or chest.
#12
what kind of weapon is a dragonfly size UAV gonna carry?
How big a bomb does it need to be if it just lands on your nose and blows up? Of course, you could also use them as sensors to call down a guided munitions strike.
I predict these will be deployed in pairs: a strike version to fly up the ass of some tin-pot hitler wannabe and explode, and a recon version to snap a photo of the surprised look on his face.
[Al Arabiya Latest] As the ruling majority March 14 coalition won Lebanon's elections and dealt a blow to the Hezbollah-led March 8 party, a prominent Lebanese scholar said it is was unlikely that further wars or assassinations would take place in the country, hit hard by four years of turmoil.
Shiite sheikh Mohammaed Hassan al-Amin said that the current regional and international circumstances do not encourage further divisions or confrontations and dismissed speculation that Lebanon's Shiites would be sidelined.
" The Lebanese voted for their sovereign, unified nation that is no longer subordinate to any local or external power. They proved that they pledge allegiance to Lebanon before anything else "
Mohammaed Hassan al-Amin
"It is unlikely that further unrest takes place in the south," he said. "Since the end of the July 2006 war, the south has been calm and peacekeeping forces are doing their job there."
Amin added that any decision related to war or peace should be taken by the entire Lebanese state and that this could be in coordination with the resistance.
When asked how the loss of the March 8 coalition would affect Shiites in Lebanon, Amin replied that the results do not marginalize the country's Shiites or make a deprived minority of them.
"The political system transcends sectarianism, plus the results could be looked at positively since few Shiites voted in the elections. The Shiite political powers in Lebanon do not necessarily represent the Shiite people," he said.
Amin added that not all Shiites are represented in the parliament and that a new election law will change the quota and will lead to the emergence of new Shiite faces other than the incumbent ones.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Saad Hariri, the billionaire businessman and son of the slain former Lebanese prime minister, is emerging as the favourite to lead Lebanon's government after his pro-Western coalition fended off a serious challenge from Hezbollah in weekend elections.
Legislative allies on Tuesday said Hariri, a 39-year-old moderate Muslim and leader of the largest parliamentary bloc in the winning coalition, is expected to replace his ally Fuad Saniora. Hariri's alliance dealt a major setback to Hezbollah in Sunday's vote, gaining 68 seats to the opposing group's 57.
Hezbollah's loss removed one potential obstacle to Obama's renewed push for Mideast peace. The group fought a 2006 war against Israel and there were fears that if it gained more power, there could be another conflict.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in calm words on Monday, recognised the results and offered to cooperate with the winners. "A chance to build a strong and fair state still exists. All agree that there are crises facing us at all levels," he said. "We are in a new stage and in a new situation."
In a victory speech on Monday, Hariri called on the Lebanese to close ranks. "We must extend a hand to each other, roll up our sleeves and work together for the benefit of Lebanon," he said.
The makeup of the new parliament, almost identical to the outgoing one, means that many of the questions that have dogged the fractious nation, such as what to do with Hezbollah's arsenal, remain. And that could translate into renewed political deadlock in this sharply polarised, volatile nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Syria expressed Tuesday its content with the outcomes of the Lebanese parliamentary elections and reiterated its keenness for its neighbor's unity and stability.
This came in a statement by the Syrian President's mouthpiece Political and Media Advisor Buthaina Shaaban.
She was quoted by the state-run news agency, SANA, as saying that the elections were an internal Lebanese matter, but Syria was content with the smoothness with which the process went. She reiterated her country's keenness for the unity, stability and prosperity of Lebanon, and its willingness to assist it to achieve these goals.
#2
It's not just any Saudi Sheikh, it's from the magazine of Al Qaeda's franchise in Saudi Arabia. And it's in any Islamic land, not just SA, to include Bali, Xinjiang, or anywhere else in the Islamoworld.
Posted by: ed ||
06/10/2009 14:07 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Is this one of the ash hats that zero is trying to protect???
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/10/2009 14:24 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I have a solution to the killing of tourists: Nuke a large Arab city each time one is killed. Begin with Riyadh.
The problem with terrorists in the Muddled East is that they see themselves as winning. That's because we HAVEN'T come down on them like a ton of bricks. Our "president" is being played for a fool, and our "congress" has a collective IQ of -7, so I don't see things changing soon, but they should. Facing a radical enemy - retaliate radically. When enough of the Muddled East glows a pale blue all night, the problem will end.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/10/2009 16:00 Comments ||
Top||
#6
our pres is a fool, and congress IQ is not quite that strong
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
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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.
[Mail and Globe] African member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not pull out of the body despite their opposition to its indictment of the Sudanese President, diplomatic sources said. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] North Korea said Tuesday it would use its nuclear weapons if provoked both to defend itself and to carry out a reprisal for any attack by its enemies.
[Kyodo: Korea] Seven key U.N. members are in the final stage of negotiations to remove the proposed mandatory inspections of North Korean cargo ships from a U.N. Security Council resolution over North KoreaŽs recent nuclear test, U.N. diplomatic sources said Monday. China has opposed such inspections under the draft resolution.
[Kyodo: Korea] Seven key U.N. members continued talks Tuesday in a bid to strike a final deal over a new resolution the Security Council is to adopt in response to North KoreaŽs recent nuclear test. Ambassadors from the five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- plus Japan and South Korea met in the morning and they continued talks later in the day.
[The News (Pak)] Ulema belonging to various sects completely advocated the military operation in Swat against the extremists and stressed for unity among the Muslim Ummah.
[The News (Pak)] Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Provincial President Amir Muqam on Monday said the government had failed to ensure timely assistance to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and feared the aid poured into country might reach Swiss banks. 
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said here Tuesday five candidates for its director-general post had failed to win two-thirds of the 35-member Board of Governors.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States wants to see a swift resumption and quick conclusion of stalled Middle East peace negotiations, American envoy George Mitchell said on Tuesday as he held talks with Israeli leaders.
[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Immediately after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday in which he will present the new government's diplomatic plan, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal will follow suit and deliver his own special policy address, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Tuesday.
A delegation of of Europe, the largest so far, arrived in Gaza Strip on Tuesday through the Egyptian borders to examine impacts of the Israeli aggression launched six months ago.
Top leader of Hamas Movement Khaled Mishaal affirmed at a press conference on Tuesday his commitment to seal the rift with Fatah Movement and continue to work with Egyptian peace brokers to bring amity among all Palestinian factions.
Saad Hariri, the billionaire businessman and son of the slain former Lebanese prime minister, is emerging as the favourite to lead Lebanon's government after his pro-Western coalition fended off a serious challenge from Hezbollah in weekend elections.
