[The Nation (Nairobi)] Russia has called for concerted efforts and additional support to Eastern African states that have accepted to host courts to try suspected Somali pirates arrested in the Indian Ocean.
Kenya and the island nation of Seychelles, with the assistance of the EU, US, Canada, UK, China and Denmark, among others, have set up special courts to try piracy suspects.
"Russia takes great interest at finding a solution to this challenge and any other form of organised crime in the region," said Alexey Saltykov, the deputy head of mission at the Russian embassy in Nairobi yesterday.
Mr Saltykov said his country has been at the forefront in the fight against piracy especially in providing escort to cargo vessels carrying humanitarian relief assistance in the high seas.
Since the governments accepted to try the suspects, Russia says a lot of progress has been achieved.
"It was the idea of President (Dmitry) Medvedev that special mechanisms be established to prosecute these pirates," he said, "The use of regional courts is a more efficient mechanism."
"In our continued cooperation with Kenya, we are focusing on the areas of innovation and technology, organised crime and trade.
We are looking for improved cooperation with Kenya and the Indian Ocean states especially in the fight against piracy and terrorism," said Mr Saltykov.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Dear Russia, trials take time and money. Just a few nations actively dealing with pirates after trial by ships' Captains, is far more economical.
[Mail and Globe] Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants have called for worldwide attacks on the embassies of Uganda and Burundi, whose troops make up a large African Union (AU) force in Somalia, a terror monitoring group said on Friday.
In a video aired on the Islamic militants' "news channel," al-Shabaab spokesperson Sheikh Mukhtar Robow calls "for attacks against the embassies of Uganda and Burundi around the world", US monitoring group IntelCentre reported.
The hard-line Somali rebels promised on Thursday to turn Mogadishu into a graveyard for AU troops, after the pan-African body announced it had received pledges for 4 000 additional troops for the Somalia force, also known as Amisom.
Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, another al-Shabaab spokesperson, had warned that beefing up the AU force, currently made up of about 6 000 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers, would only reinforce their jihad, or "holy war".
The English-language video released on the group's channel also claims responsibility for an attack on Soccer World Cup fans in Kampala, which killed 76 people on July 11, IntelCentre said.
Suicide bombers detonated deadly explosives in the midst of revellers watching the World Cup final at two separate entertainment venues in the Ugandan capital. Scores of people also were injured.
Uganda became the first country in early 2007 to dispatch troops to Amisom, which remains the main obstacle preventing al-Shabaab from seizing full control of the capital.
The July 11 blasts were the worst in East Africa since the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam and which were also claimed by al-Qaeda.
According to the US monitoring group, al-Shabaab announced "the beginning of their own 'news channel' on July 27".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Begorrah! What a maroon...
Irishman Khalid Kelly — who dreams of seeing the 'black flag of Islam' over the Dail — has returned from Pakistan to set up a group called Islam for Ireland, writes MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Affairs Correspondent
IT IS seven years since Khalid Kelly, Liberties altar boy turned Muslim convert turned radical blowhard, prompted heckling and jeers from a Late Late Show audience. Back then Kelly, dressed in black and grey robes and accompanied by a fellow member of British-based organisation al-Muhajiroun, defended the 9/11 attacks and claimed one day the world would be ruled by sharia law.
[Mail and Globe] President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Friday that France would strip the French nationality from foreign-born criminals who use violence against police or public officials.
Struggling in the opinion polls after his government was implicated in a financial scandal and in the wake of a spate of violent unrest, Sarkozy announced a headline-grabbing package of security measures.
Top of the list, in a week when Sarkozy had already threatened to expel foreign Roma who commit crimes back to Eastern Europe, was a vow to tighten nationality rules for other non-French-born criminals.
"Nationality should be stripped from anyone of foreign origin who deliberately endangers the life of a police officer, a soldier or a gendarme or anyone else holding public authority," Sarkozy said.
Speaking in the eastern city of Grenoble, scene in recent weeks of clashes between police and armed rioters, Sarkozy said that foreign minors who commit crimes would henceforth find it harder to get citizenship on coming of age.
And he promised to review the welfare payments made to non-documented immigrants living in France, in a speech made amid renewed accusations that Sarkozy has swerved to the right to distract from his political woes.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
They have to import criminals? The French don't have enough home-grown ones? Speaks to a lack of initiative if you ask me.
#2
Doing the jobs Frenchmen won't do. There was a time when all a Frenchman had to do was steal a loaf of bread to get the attention of the 'authorities'. Now you practically have to burn down a good portion of one of their cities before they pay attention. /sarc off
The US Army intelligence analyst, who is half British and went to school in Wales, appeared to sink into depression after a relationship break-up, saying he didn't "have anything left" and was "beyond frustrated".
In an apparent swipe at the army, he also wrote: "Bradley Manning is not a piece of equipment," and quoted a joke about "military intelligence" being an oxymoron.
Mr Manning, 22, who is currently awaiting court martial, is suspected of leaking more than 90,000 secret military documents to the Wikileaks website in a security breach which US officials claim has endangered the lives of serving soldiers and Afghan informers.
Supporters claim the war logs leak exposed civilian deaths in Afghanistan which had been covered up by the military, and Mr Manning's family, who live in Pembrokeshire, said he had "done the right thing".
The Pentagon, which is investigating the source of the leak, is expected to study Mr Manning's background to ascertain if they missed any warnings when he applied to join the US Army. The postings on his Facebook page are also likely to form part of the inquiry.
Mr Manning, who is openly homosexual, began his gloomy postings on January 12, saying: "Bradley Manning didn't want this fight. Too much to lose, too fast."
At the beginning of May, when he was serving at a US military base near Baghdad, he changed his status to: "Bradley Manning is now left with the sinking feeling that he doesn't have anything left."
Five days later he said he was "livid" after being "lectured by ex-boyfriend", then later the same day said he was "not a piece of equipment" and was "beyond frustrated with people and society at large".
His tagline on his personal page reads: "Take me for who I am, or face the consequences!"
Mr Manning was arrested at the end of May on suspicion of leaking a video of a US helicopter attack, and quickly became the main suspect when the Afghan war documents were leaked earlier this week.
His uncle, Kevin Fox, said the soldier's arrest and imprisonment in a military jail had taken its toll on his mother Susan, who lives in Haverfordwest.
"She hasn't been well," he said, adding that if Mr Manning had leaked the documents: "I think the boy did the right thing."
Another close relative, who asked not to be named, said: "His mum didn't know anything about what he was doing and it's come as a big shock. She's very upset."
Susan Manning, 56, moved to the US in 1979 after marrying Bradley's American father Brian Manning, a former serviceman who was based at the Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy, near Haverfordwest.
Bradley Manning was born in Oklahoma but the couple divorced in 2001 and Mrs Manning moved back to Wales with her son, who sat his GCSEs at the Tasker Milward secondary school in Haverfordwest.
#3
Hmmm. A PFC with waaaaay more access to large volumes of classified info than he should have had - check. Said PFC with a seriously dodgy background - check. Can you say "Obamunist-engineered intentional leak for the purpose of helping The One's media operatives undermine the war effort," boys and girls? I knew you could!
[/Mr. Rogers]
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/31/2010 12:05 Comments ||
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#4
Too bad, kid. No Facebook in Quantico. Probably gay sex though, so at least you got that going for you. But it might be a little rougher then you're used to.
See ya in about a hundred years. Maybe Assange will send you a Christmas card...
#6
The Army had three failures involving leadership involving supervision of immediate subordinates. Abu Ghraib, Major Hasan, and the Wikileaker. All three were strategic defeats of the order of losing a battle. None involved direct combat arms on combat situations.
The Army needs to update its LMET courses to include these failures.
#7
It does beg the question, and since I'm not mil/ex-mil, perhaps someone at Rantburg U can answer the question --
-- how often do junior enlisted personnel get secret and top-secret clearances, and how often are they entrusted with classified information?
I can imagine that a PFC might have assignments that would require them to handle classified info and therefore be screened, etc., but is that typical?
Second question: if PFC Manning was screened, did the personnel doing said screening uncover any warning signs? If not, why not -- seems like they were right there in the open.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2010 13:27 Comments ||
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#8
Leadership Management Education & Training (LMET).
#9
-- how often do junior enlisted personnel get secret and top-secret clearances, and how often are they entrusted with classified information?
It is very common for lower raking enlisted personnel to have a SECRET clearance, granted or based on a National Agency Check or NAC. Today, many battlefield systems as well as information systems require a Secret or what is referred to as "collateral access" as do facilities in which sensitive operational planning is conducted. A Top Secret or TS level of clearance is a lengthy process (can take up to 2 years) which is generally initiated based on the soldier's need or anticipated need for specific access to TS level documents or systems. Interum access is sometimes granted pending final adjudication of the TS clearance. There are numerous security level caveats beyond TS which can also be required and granted as well. Eligability for these caveats is based once again, on very specific needs. Other government agencies have entirely different processes and proceduress which generally parallel that of DoD, but can require much more stringent and evasive updates and personnel monitoring procedures.
#10
Check to see who he winds up with as his defense counsel. If he winds up with a phalanx of these treasonous tools at his defense table, to me that'll serve as ABSOLUTE CONFIRMATION that this "leak scandal" was set up by Ogabe appointees in the DoD to assist in the undermining of our war effort.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/31/2010 16:20 Comments ||
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#11
You have to wonder what happened to "need to know". It used to be that intelligence files were hard copy folders physically located in a fixed location, with limited copies circulated to those who needed to know, whether they were people who specifically requested them, or task-related personnel. These days, with the computerization of, and universal access to (provided permission is given), military intelligence data, it appears that lazy system administrators or ignorant policy-makers have given the keys to the kingdom to mere privates. I am glad we have found out about these lapses during the equivalent of a bush war, rather than an all-out war (i.e. war with a peer competitor like Russia or China).
#12
Old saying: Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Corollary: If you want ANY chance at all of keeping it secret, don't put it on a hard drive...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/31/2010 20:39 Comments ||
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#13
This guy sounds like Intel records clerk and the messages are hardly "Top Secret" as far as I can tell. The guy obviously had access to a repository of classified reports (prob on a server). Yes we give E-1s clearances Top Secret and above if they need to do their job. We can't detect whacko, but I bet his fellow soldiers will shed some light on that.
[Tolo News] The US Secretary of Defence said that the the US defence department has asked the FBI to help investigate the leak of more than 90,000 secret military logs
Speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday the US Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates called the leaks "potentially severe and dangerous".
"It seems to me, to ensure the investigation goes wherever it needs to go, that having the FBI involved as a partner is very important," he said.
Robert Gates did not say whether he planned to pursue charges against Wikileaks, the website which leaked the US secret logs and distributed them to other organisations.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said the leak endangered the lives of NATO soldiers, and of civilians and Afghan citizens working with NATO.
"They might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or an Afghan family," he said.
Describing the leaked secrets on Afghan war as facts, the Afghanistan's Caped President said on Thursday that foreign forces are not acting strongly enough against terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
Hey....FBI....maybe y'all might want to look here....and then figure out how this jackwagon (yep, my first use of the term) made it anywhere near material more sensitive than canned veggie labels in the mess hall prep kitchen...sheesh.....:
[Dawn] Senior Pakistan police officers have been heavily criticized in a judge's report for being ill-prepared, poorly equipped and incompetent in their efforts to prevent a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team bus last year.
Calling one officer a lazy coward, Shabbar Raza Rizvi of Lahore High Court identified more than a dozen senior policemen in a report on the attack that is due to be submitted to the International Cricket Council.
Excerpts of the 120-page report, which has not been made public, were provided to The Associated Press on Friday.
Rizvi wrote that police officials failed to perform their duties on March 3, 2009 when gunmen killed six policemen and a van driver in the team convoy, and injured several Sri Lanka players and team officials.
Senior Lahore police officer Haji Habibur Rehman was supposed to be the overall commander of the Sri Lanka team's security, but Rizvi said he failed to do his job.
"I wish I had seen him marching on the road ... or at least sitting in his office before 8 a.m.," Rizvi wrote. "Unfortunately, he only became visible and audible after the occurrence had taken place."
The Pakistan Cricket Board is still waiting for permission from the government to submit the report to the ICC despite reminders by the game's governing body. The report was completed last year.
A spokesman for the ICC confirmed it had not received the report and had no further comment.
The ICC carried out its own investigation following the attack. It recommended a series of security measures to be implemented by member countries, including requiring cricket boards to have security managers and establish security standards.
After the attack, the ICC ruled that Pakistan could no longer serve as one of the hosts for the 2011 World Cup and the Pakistan team was forced to host its home matches at neutral venues -- it has used the United Arab Emirates and England as bases.
In his report, Rizvi also criticized police Deputy Inspector General Amjad Javed Saleemi for a "dereliction of duty" after Saleemi admitted he was not sure whether police officers in the area of the attack were even on duty.
"Obviously he (Saleemi) would have only known ... if he himself were there," Rizvi wrote. "He made contradictory statements before me and did not have moral courage to state the truth."
Rizvi also described Abdur Rahman, who supervised the station near the attack, as "a coward and lazy" after he and officers under his command came upon the gunmen but fled.
Police superintendent Mohammad Abid was also singled out by Rizvi as he was directly responsible for posting security officials in the area where the attack took place.
"He had the direct responsibility ... and placement of snipers on high-rise buildings is an area of his jurisdiction," Rizvi said. "He miserably failed to do that and was absent from duty when the occurrence took place."
Rizvi also described Abdur Rahman, who supervised the station near the attack, as "a coward and lazy" after he and officers under his command came upon the gunmen but fled.
According to Rizva, the police force were not well-equipped and didn't have a special security plan needed to host such a high-profile event.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The U.N. committee paid on Thursday $650 million in Iraqi compensation to Kuwait, raising the total amount paid to Kuwait as compensation to $30 billion, spokesman of the Iraqi government said on Friday.
“These compensations are paid every three months from the Iraqi Development Fund’s budget, according to the U.N. Chapter VII,” Ali al-Dabbagh told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The payment brings the total sum of compensation paid to Kuwait to 30 billion dollars. A further 22.3 billion dollars is due to Kuwait.
Following the 1991 invasion of Kuwait, Iraq is required to put five percent of its oil and gas revenues into the UN reparations fund.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
OK now just exactly WHERE did this "Compensation" come FROM?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/31/2010 11:51 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, political chief Khaled Meshaal says the Arab League's endorsement of direct peace talks between Israel and the Paleostinians indicates the body's ineffective leadership.
Describing the decision made by the Arab Peace Initiative committee as an attempt to mitigate the negativity of Arab political positions, Meshaal said on Friday that the Arab leaders were suffering from a lack of "leadership that can push their nations forward."
"It seems that the embarrassment the Arab leaders are feeling at this time is greater. They do not want to show that they're shying away from their decisions, so they came up with a vague result, saying neither 'yes' nor 'no' to an immediate resumption of direct negotiations with Israel," Al-Jazeera quoted Meshaal as saying.
He accused the AL of bowing to Western pressure and not considering Paleostinian unity, describing some Arab policies as "conflicting."
Meshaal's comments come one day after the majority of Arab officials endorsed direct Israeli-Paleostinian peace talks in a meeting in Cairo but left the time of the talks to the Paleostinian Authority.
The PA has repeatedly said that it will only join direct talks with Israel after Tel Aviv ends the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and accepts a full withdrawal to the borders of 1967.
The Paleostinian Authority has also called for the resumption of the negotiations from the point they were left off at the end of 2008.
Acting Paleostinian Authority Chief the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that direct talks would resume after agreements are made on key issues in the ongoing indirect "proximity talks," which the Fatah-led West Bank authority entered under US pressure, despite opposition from other West Bank factions and rival Gazoo-based parties.
Direct peace talks between the Paleostinians and Israelis were broken off in December 2008 when Israel launched a deadly onslaught on the Gazoo Strip, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in the impoverished territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The PA has repeatedly said that it will only join direct talks with Israel after Tel Aviv ends the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and accepts a full withdrawal to the borders of 1967.
In other (Shorter) Words HELL NO.
OK Vanish into the dustbin of History, You won't be missed.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/31/2010 11:48 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] The Israeli military reported Friday morning that a projectile launched from the Gaza Strip hit the outskirts of the coastal city of Ashkelon.
Richard Miron, spokesperson for the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, issued a statement saying the office "condemn[s] the attack on Ashkelon earlier today, in which a rocket struck a residential area. Indiscriminate rocket fire against civilians is completely unacceptable and constitutes a terrorist attack."
A second set of mortars were reported shortly after noon, landing in empty fields in the western Negev. The reports have not been confirmed, but coincide with reports of explosions north of Gaza City.
According to Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, an air raid siren sounded south of the city during the 8:30a.m. strike, and damages were reported in an empty apartment building as well as to some cars parked nearby.
The report said crews were dispatched to locate the remains of the projectile, but have not reported findings.
No Gaza faction has claimed either launch.
Yedioth quoted Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin as saying the incident was "one of the worst since Operation Cast Lead," and categorizing it as an "escalation," while military officials were quick to respond, telling the paper that the launch did not necessarily indicate an escalation.
By early afternoon, Israeli officials told Yedioth that a complaint over the projectiles would be submitted to the UN. Quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy, the news site said, "Israel will stress in its complaint that the firing of a Grad missile on a large city like Ashkelon — with the clear goal of murdering men, women and children as they prepare for Shabbat — is a blatant violation of international law and points to the murderous, barbaric and violent nature of those behind it." How about you activate Operation Boom Goes the New Mall instead?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
This is an improvement. At least the UN was aware of it this time.
#2
Robert Serry, issued a statement saying the office "condemn[s] the attack on Ashkelon earlier today, in which a rocket struck a residential area. Indiscriminate rocket fire against civilians is completely unacceptable and constitutes a terrorist attack."
with that, pigs began to lift off and orbit
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
07/31/2010 0:54 Comments ||
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Our work is done here. Waiter! More wine! And bring a menu...
Arab League foreign ministers on Thursday authorized the Palestinian Authority to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, but left it up to PA President Mahmoud Abbas to decide on the timing.
Jerusalem immediately welcomed the decision, taken at a special meeting in Cairo, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issuing a statement saying he was "prepared to begin direct and honest discussions with the Palestinian Authority in the coming days."
The US, which has been urging Abbas to switch from the current "proximity" talks to direct talks, also praised the move, and said it would seek to convene the direct talks "as soon as possible."
Netanyahu added that it would be possible through direct negotiations to soon reach an accord "between the two peoples."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, currently in Washington, also praised the move, saying that only direct negotiations would lead to two states for two peoples. He added that the negotiations would require "difficult and courageous" decisions from both sides, and that he hoped the Palestinians "also realize that."
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani said the Arab foreign ministers decided to send a letter to US President Barack Obama explaining the Arab position vis-a-vis the entire peace process in the Middle East.
Abbas told the foreign ministers that Obama had been exerting heavy pressure on him to enter direct negotiations, a PA official in Ramallah said. Abbas told the ministers he saw no reason why he should succumb to the American pressure in light of the fact that no progress has been achieved during the current US-brokered proximity talks.
The US pressure, according to Israeli officials, was leveled not only at the PA, but also at the Arab League to ensure that it not "handcuff" Abbas.
One senior Israeli official said that the League's decision could have been "much worse," and that it could have piled on a number of conditions for Abbas before enabling him to enter the talks.
"Abbas now has the backing to go into the talks," the official said, adding that the Arab League gave him the ball to do with it what he wanted.
The official said Jerusalem made no commitments to ensure the Arab League green light. Israel's position is that it would not institute new confidence building measures toward the PA to get it into direct talks, but that once the talks began both sides would be expected to take steps to improve the atmosphere and ensure the talks succeed.
The official, who said he was fairly optimistic that direct talks would resume, gave no indication of where the negotiations would be held, or in what format.
In Washington, meanwhile, a State Department official said the US was "encouraged by reports that Arab states meeting in Cairo agree on the need to resume direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to reach a final-status agreement. In the days ahead, we will continue to work with the parties, Arab countries, and our international partners to launch these negotiations as soon as possible."
The Qatari minister said that Thursday's meeting did not discuss when and how the direct talks would take place. "The Palestinians will decide when conditions are suitable for the negotiations," he said.
"We are sure that Israel is not serious about the peace process," the minister said. "Israel just wants to waste time. On the other hand, we are confident that the US is serious and we are sure of Obama's intentions to achieve peace."
He said that the Arab ministers were originally opposed to direct talks with Israel, but changed their mind due to the "situation in the Arab world."
He added: "Whether we hold indirect or direct talks with Israel, there will be no progress as long as [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu is around. But we want to prove to the world that we want peace, without giving up our principles, and that there's a price for peace."
Asked if the US administration had given the Arab League any "assurances," the Qatari minister said: "The Arabs don't have guarantees; we only have hopes and fears."
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, however, told reporters after the meeting that Obama's message to Abbas, which included a pledge to work toward achieving a two-state solution, was tantamount to assurances.
"We don't want lengthy talks that would allow the continuation of settlement construction and Israeli practices [on the ground]," Moussa stressed. "We know that Netanyahu is not serious. But we are addressing the US because the Americans are addressing us. We won't enter negotiations without a time limit or a reference, as was the case in the past. The Israelis are playing a political game by winning time. This is what we are trying to prevent by proving that they are not serious."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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A Florida church was yesterday promoting an event where it will burn copies of the Koran to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the U.S.
Idiots. Book burning is the act of barbarians. Not only that, but unless the book burners have the power to impose their likes and dislikes on the target population, their little bonfire is merely a feel-good temper tantrum, just like the idiots who burn American flags. If the congregation objects to creeping Sharia, they'd be more effective lobbying for laws that assert the Constitutional separation of church and state overrides and religion's rules, including Sharia... and then keeping a vigilant eye on any legislatorial moves to weaken that position. But that would be hard work, without the immediate endorphin rush of burning paper.
Yep. This is only a step or two away from New Black Panther party behavior. In its way, it is as much of an attack on Christianity as a play portraying Jesus as a transexual S&M snuff moviemaker would be. It's the sort of thing that MoveOn or CAIR would make plenty of effort to stage successfully, if they thought they could get away with it.
In the announcement on its Facebook page, The Dove World Outreach Center of Gainesville, Florida, asked other religious groups to join in standing "against the evil of Islam. Islam is of the devil!" The Facebook event has received more than 1,500 "Like" recommendations by users, but had also been attacked with a number of threatening messages posted on the page and corresponding anti-Islam rants.
The church's pastor, Terry Jones - who has written a book titled "Islam is of The Devil" and sells T-shirts bearing the same message - defended the controversial event. "Islam and Sharia law was responsible for 9/11," Jones told Agence France-Presse.
"We will burn Korans because we think it's time for Christians, for churches, for politicians to stand up and say no; Islam and Sharia law is not welcome in the U.S. We've got many death threats from jihad groups, but we cannot react by fear and we cannot compromise our beliefs. Somebody must stand up."
If you want to stand up, why not challenge groups to debate you in an open forum on, say, the merits of Shari'a vs. the Constitution or our Judeo-Christian heritage vs. Islamic civilization? Because you're a logically challenged troublemaker, perhaps?
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) called for the church to cancel the event, The Christian Post reported. "It sounds like the proposed Koran burning is rooted in revenge," NAE president Leith Anderson said. "Yet the Bible says that Christians should 'make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.'"
Mainstream Muslim groups also denounced the move and lamented the sentiments promoted by the Gainesville church. "Unfortunately in [Florida] and nationwide, Islamophobia are actually on the rise," Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) spokesman Ramsey Kilic told AFP. "I'm more afraid of those who have anti-Muslim sentiments and may think this is a legitimate action and may want to attack a mosque or attack a Muslim on the street," he added.
However, Kilic said, "we are not taking any action to avoid this... we don't want to give attention to this, because that's what they want."
Besides the Koran burning ceremony, the Dove World Outreach Center also plans an anti-homosexual event August 2 outside Gainesville's City Hall. The "No Homo Mayor Protest" targets the city's first openly gay mayor, Craig Lowe.
If this church were to join forces with Westboro, imagine how little power and influence they could have together.
#6
Well, if nothing else, it makes them willing targets for Islamic retribution. If they want to become martyrs, perhaps they will unmask some truly dangerous individuals who might have eventually butchered many innocent people.
Saint Darwin works in mysterious, and often hilarious, ways.
#7
Never could understand why anyone would stand up to PC or Islam. However wacky, cause for sure that will end up becoming a lightning rod. And most state side has the grit to be a lightning rod, or the strength to stand up in a Mohammedan's face.
NYC schools are now starting to recognize Islamic holidays and the NYC Mayor is all for a Mosque on the Mohammedan's conguered soil, Ground Zero, so having a koran burning at some Florida Church on 911 is a little crazy.
Especially when the proper place for the koran burning on 9/11 would be at Ground Zero where the Mohammedans slammed fully loaded airliners into the towers full of thousands of innocents, don't you think?
Or is the right even to d@mn PC to stand up anymore?
Oh, by the way, the US Constitution should be amended. Freedom of Religion, except for any Theocratic Intolerant of other Religions, that being Islam.
#8
Oh Lordy. That little edfitorial note up there in the article about standing up and debating Judeo-Christian vs Islam got some Christians thrown in jail up there in Dearborn, Michigan very recently now didn't it?
#9
it makes them willing targets for Islamic retribution. If they want to become martyrs, perhaps they will unmask some truly dangerous individuals
that comment says something about you, and none of it good. Here are people willing to stand up for freedom of speech and you cheeringly mock them as Darwin candidates?
How far we have fallen.
Posted by: Martin ||
07/31/2010 15:24 Comments ||
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#10
I wonder how many of you would have shown the same outrage and poorly suppressed Darwinian glee over the possible murder of a group of atheists burning bibles. Oh...that's right, Christians won't kill you for the act of expressing free speech.
Cowards.
Posted by: Martin ||
07/31/2010 15:28 Comments ||
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#11
debating Judeo-Christian vs Islam got some Christians thrown in jail up there in Dearborn
That may be true, HF, but being involved in the tea party movement got many people publicly branded as racists, got a couple beat up and one had his finger bitten off. That doesn't mean that we should stop behaving reasonably and start burning Obama in effigy.
The fact that people got arrested in Dearborn has, at the very least, alerted many around the country to be on the lookout for such infringements of our rights and to be ready with legal challenges. And, if a civilized debate were arranged ahead of time, it's doubtful that even the Dearborn police would try to stop it.
#12
Just to be clear, I'm not condoning burning the Koran, Bibles, American flags or bras. But, as an American, I am willing to stand up for the right for others to do so without gleefully wishing that very real people be made into martyrs for the cause in order to expose mentally ill people of any sex, race, creed or religion.
Posted by: Martin ||
07/31/2010 15:36 Comments ||
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#13
That little edfitorial note up there in the article about standing up and debating Judeo-Christian vs Islam got some Christians thrown in jail up there in Dearborn, Michigan very recently now didn't it?
Up in Dearborn they weren't debating, they were proselytizing. And as I recall, while they were arrested, they were given a court date rather than thrown in jail, although I could be wrong about that.
Formal religious debates have a long (we're talking about a thousand years) tradition, both in Christendom and Dar al Islam. In most cases they were organized by the majority religion so that it's wise men had a forum to prove that the minority religion was false. In a very few cases they were organized by a political leader so that by demonstration he could decide which of the various monotheistic religions to convert to. I strongly suspect very few in this country have the depth of knowledge of both their own and of the competing religions to do a formal debate justice -- including the pastor of the Florida church under discussion.
#14
You would think that two or three Judeo-Christians discussing islam vs Christianity would fall well within Constitutional Freedom of speech. Can,t seem to in there where so called prositalizing requires a permit. Must be in the koran. Sharia trmps all after all!
#17
Can,t seem to in there where so called prositalizing requires a permit. Must be in the koran. Sharia trmps all after all!
I don't disagree. But it's important to be accurate, Hupoting Fillmore9546.
are you suggesting that proselytizing is now worthy of a court date in this country? I must be missing your point.
No, I'm not, Martin. And yes, you are. My point is that we must be accurate. Oh, and that burning books is dumb. There are plenty of other ways -- more effective ways -- to get across the point that we will surrender to neither the hard jihad of the sword and commercial jet nor the soft jihad of the law. This Florida congregation is choosing to do something that feels good but harms their very important cause instead of something that actually helps their cause.
#19
"My point is that we must be accurate. Oh, and that burning books is dumb"
I can't disagree with that. And, as I said, I don't condone burning the Koran or Bible. Nor do I condone burning the flag. But I believe (and not saying that you don't believe it) that we must stand behind the right to do so.
Posted by: Martin ||
07/31/2010 19:24 Comments ||
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#20
But I believe (and not saying that you don't believe it) that we must stand behind the right to do so.
#22
Let them burn the Qu'ran, it will serve a useful purpose. Recon by hostile fire. Flush out the enemy so to speak.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
07/31/2010 21:16 Comments ||
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#23
Damn, this site is getting Politically Correct nowadays : this is no more offensive or upsetting than a synagogue burning copies of Mein Kampf. Some ideas need to have to be exposed to the sunlight, and the manual for world enslavement, aka the Koran, is one of them -- if a book-burning makes people look at the book in question, then it is a good thing.
#25
There is a significant difficulty with the idea of debating Islam vs. Christianity. It has to do with what I've heard described as the Islamic doctrine of abrogation. IIUC correctly the gist of this doctrine is that
- Allah revealed his truth to the Prophet gradually. That is why some of the later verses in the Quran contradict earlier ones.
- Converts should be led through the same steps that the Prophet took. That is, the early peaceful verses of the Quran are taught first, then later the more and more confrontational ones are revealed to the new Muslim once they are drawn into Islam more and more deeply.
Add in the fact that in Islamic law 'slander' of Islam means anything that leads others to have a poor opinion about Islam.
What you would get from such a debate, therefore, are platitudes that do not represent the full Islamicist agenda. And those doing this would not believe they were lying but rather that they were obeying Allah's will for how to deal with unbelievers when when it is not yet possible to impose Shar'ia.
#26
Agreed, lotp. Which is why the Christian challenger would have to thoroughly know and understand not only the Quran but also Muslim theological and historical development and apologetics. There aren't many equipped for that. And there probably aren't any on the Muslim side -- that's the problem with being both supercessionist and triumphalist, it leads to not bothering to learn what the other side thinks and why, since one "knows" they're wrong.
But if Muslims are to live with the rest of us, they're going to have to come to terms with hearing things they consider slander, without going jihadi. If they refuse, they simply cannot live with us.
Indonesian police have clashed with about 200 people trying to attack a mosque used by a minority Islamic sect known as Ahmadiya.
The mob hurled stones at the mosque in Manislor village in Kuningan district in West Java, prompting an hour-long confrontation with police, a local Ahmadiya official said.
"About 200 people pelted stones at our mosque and clashed with the police for about an hour. It is not clear yet who was the organiser of the mob," Nurahim, the local general secretary of the sect, told the AFP news agency.
"The police were able to secure the mosque and handle the people. The situation, however, is still tense now."
Nurahim said the village's 3,000 Ahmadiyah followers were ready to help the police if needed but would not respond to the violence.
Posted by: American Delight ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I just hope no Korans were desecrated. You know how that riles up your average Musselman.
#6
Ah, our new vibrant future: Muslim street wars forever.
Posted by: American Delight ||
07/31/2010 7:26 Comments ||
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#7
"Nurahim said the village's 3,000 Ahmadiyah followers were ready to help the police if needed but would not respond to the violence."
And this is why they are persecuted in the first place.
Ghandi's use of passive resistance only works when those who are being resisted are civilized enough to appreciate passive resistance. If they aren't, and they can, they will likely butcher and enslave the resistors.
For further reference, see The Childrens Crusade of 1212 A.D., a well documented event bitterly denounced and denied by modern secularists.
[Straits Times] A MINORITY Islamic sect told followers on Friday to prepare for war after rock-throwing mobs attacked one of their mosques in central Indonesia, calling its members heretics.
The weeklong violence in Manislor, a village in West Java province, peaked on Thursday after more than 500 hard-liners from the Islamic Defenders Front, known as FPI, clashed with 3,000 Ahmadiyah sect followers. At least eight people were injured, including three police.
'We have to defend ourselves and our mosques,' said Deden Sujana, who heads security for the sect, saying hard-liners have 'gone too far.' 'We call on Ahmadiyah followers to fight against them in the name of Allah,' Mr Sujana said.
Indonesia, a secular state of 235 million, has more Muslims than any other in the world.
Most people practice a moderate form of the faith, but a small but vocal extremist fringe has gained influence in recent years because the government relies heavily on Muslim parties in parliament.
Ahmadiyah, which has roughly 200,000 members, is considered deviant by conservatives because it does not recognize Muhammad as the final prophet. Perpetrators of violence against the sect often go unpunished.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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[Jakarta Post] The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deplored on Friday an incident of attack against members of the Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah at Manislor village, Jakalaksana district, Kuningan regency, West Java, a day earlier.
"It should have been settled persuasively," said Slamet Effendi Yusuf, head of MUI's Inter-religious Harmony Commission as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.
The way to settle the problem could be through dialog between representatives of the regional government and Ahmadiyah members as well as members of mainstream Muslim organizations, he said.
Slamet admitted settling the problem was easier said than done. On the one hand a joint ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah signed two years ago has to be implemented. "But on the other hand, Ahmadiyah members insist to maintain their existence, exercise their activities and even try to expand themselves," he said.
The problem is, Slamet said, that it could be left without any attention. There must have been a commitment to implement the joint decree and all parties have to wiser and respect one another as the process is not short.
"Amid the process, the Muslim organizations can make intensive approaches," he said.
Is has been reported earlier that a clash erupted on Thursday between Ahmadiyah followers
and members of Muslim organizations as the latter forced their way to enter Ahmadiyah compound in Kuningan. The Muslim organizations demanded that the government disband Ahmadiyah.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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[Jakarta Post] President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the National Police to be strict in handling disputes surrounding the call to disband Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Kuningan regency, West Java, a minister said on Friday.
Speaking at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said that the police had to be strict especially in anticipating any anarchic action conducted by whoever or whichever organizations.
"A stern action has to be done on any anarchic action by anybody, everywhere, whichever organization. The police have been instructed to do so. The President has also asked me that the police have to be strict," he said as quoted by the Antara news agency.
Djoko made the remarks following a clash between members of more than five Muslim organizations from outside Kuningan regency and Ahmadiyah followers residing in Manis Lor village, Jalaksana district, Kuningan.
The clash happened when organization members, who demand the disbandment of Ahmadiyah, forced their way to enter Ahmadiyah followers' compound on Thursday. Police officers in charge of maintaining order were pelted with stones.
As Ahmadiyah followers felt they were cornered, they fought back, attacking members of the Muslim organizations. Several people were injured in the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran said on Friday it was ready for immediate talks with the United States, Russia and France over an exchange of nuclear fuel and added that it was also against stockpiling higher enriched uranium.
The comments by the Islamic republic's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi came as Washington decided to fan out across Asia, Middle East and the United Arab Emirates asking its partners to levy tighter sanctions against Tehran.
"We are ready even in the next few days to start negotiations with the other parties" over the fuel swap, Salehi was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.
He said talks on this issue with the so-called Vienna group comprising the United States, Russia and France will be held in Vienna, where the UN atomic watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based.
The Vienna group has raised questions about a proposal forwarded by Iran, Brazil and Turkey concerning a fuel swap.
The May 17 proposal, known as the Tehran Declaration, stipulates that Tehran send 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey in return for 20 percent high-enriched uranium to be supplied at a later date.
The 20 percent enriched uranium, when converted into fuel plates, will be used as fuel for a Tehran-based research reactor.
Salehi said Iran has already responded to the questions raised by the Vienna group, but that any other "technical" queries can be answered during another meeting.
The Tehran Declaration was Iran's counter-proposal to an earlier plan drafted by the IAEA for a fuel swap deal.
After that plan hit deadlock, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered Salehi to produce 20 percent enriched uranium inside the country, in defiance of world powers which want Tehran to stop the sensitive process.
Enriching uranium is at the heart of controversy over Iran's nuclear program because the material can be used to power nuclear reactors as well as to make atom bombs.
Experts say that by enriching uranium to 20 percent, Iran has theoretically come closer to enriching it to the 90 percent purity required for making nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
over and over they play the same card and the liberal dupes and tools let them have another 6 month stall, then another... until finally they achieve their goal.
Nuclear blackmail?
you aint seen nuthin yet!
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
07/31/2010 0:50 Comments ||
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#2
Perhaps some talks could be scheduled....Is next February convenient for everyone?
Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani says the Islamic Republic has influence in the Middle East region but does not use it to build an empire. "Really, those aren't our satraps."
"If the Zionist regime (Israel) bullies Paleostine we will stand against it and if it decides to attack LebHezbullies will confront it," IRNA quoted Larijani as saying on Friday.
Larijani stressed that Iran is a country with peaceful nuclear know-how and added, "When the US questions why Iran has nuclear and missile technology it is because [it is unhappy that] we have the ability to obtain such technologies."
"And had we been producing fruit juice, mineral water and tomato paste, it (the US) would never have raised an objection [to our production]," added the Majlis speaker.
"They claim that Iran has nuclear weapons, but they never say [a word about] the Zionist regime (Israel), which is their friend, [and] possesses nukes."
The US and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking a military nuclear program.
Iran argues that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani says Iran takes pride in Lebanon's Islamic resistance movement for its steadfast Islamic stance.
Speaking in Iran's northern Mazandaran Province on Thursday, Larijani praised Hezbollah for its resistance against oppression and said, "Hezbollah nurtures the original ideas of Islamic Jihad," IRNA reported.
The Iranian official further slammed the West for charging Iran with "its support of terrorism" and said, "The real terrorists are those who provide the Zionist regime with military equipment to bomb the people" in the region.
Larijani also made a reference to the Western-brokered sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy program and said the Islamic Republic has always emphasized on negotiations but will not bow down under pressure from the bullying powers.
"They speak of the Iranian threat against the Zionist regime... but never elicit public opinion on the Zionist regime's atomic warheads and other missile," he noted.
The UN Security Council passed a US-sponsored anti-Iran resolution on June 9 that imposes restrictions on the country's economy and energy sectors.
The move was to pressure the Islamic Republic to resume nuclear talks.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has recently said that Tehran would return to talks only if certain conditions are met.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon is reportedly set to announce that Mustafa Badr al-Din, a senior Hizbullah operative and close relative of the former Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, is the main suspect in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
According to an Israel TV report on Thursday night, Hariri's son, the current Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, asked the tribunal to postpone releasing Din's name, because of the potentially incendiary implications for Lebanon of such an announcement. And we wanna give him a chance to catch his flight to Tehran...
Din, the cousin and brother- in-law of Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bomb in Damascus in February 2008, was also reportedly responsible for planning the attempted assassination of the ruler of Kuwait in 1985, among other operations. Well...everyone should have a hobby.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah, said last week that members of his group would be among those indicted by the tribunal, which he dismissed as an "Israeli plot."
Many in Lebanon have worried that if the tribunal implicates Hizbullah, it could lead to another round of clashes between Lebanon's Shi'ite and Sunni communities, like the bloody conflict that convulsed Beirut in 2008. Who's making the popcorn?
Tensions in Lebanon have generated so much concern that Syria's President Bashar Assad was expected to travel to Beirut on Friday, his first trip there since his troops were forced out.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah made a rare journey to Damascus on Thursday, in a visit apparently intended to indicate a united front as regional tensions mount over the pending indictments in the Hariri assassination.
Syria and Saudi Arabia have long been on opposite sides of a deep rift in the Arab world, with Syria backing groups such as Hizbullah and Hamas. The Saudi kingdom is a US ally, along with Jordan and Egypt.
Assad and Abdullah agreed that the "challenges facing Arabs, mainly in occupied Palestine, necessitate that all [Arabs] double their efforts to upgrade inter-Arab relations," Syria's official news agency reported after the end of a meeting between the two leaders.
They also stressed the need to support all means to boost stability and unity in Lebanon.
This article starring:
Imad Mughniyeh
Mustafa Badr al-Din
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"Din, the cousin and brother-in-law of Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bomb in Damascus in February 2008..."
[Al Arabiya Latest] Visiting King of the Arabians Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and Syrian President Bashar "Pencilneck" al-Assad on Friday urged Lebanese parties to avoid resorting to violence in the face of mounting political tensions in the country.
"The leaders stressed the importance of stability... the commitment (of the Lebanese) not to resort to violence and the need to place the country's interests above all sectarian interests," said a communique issued by the Lebanese presidency after a mini-summit between the two leaders and President Michel Suleiman.
The statement also stressed the need to "resort to legal institutions and Leb's unity government to resolve any differences."
The Syrian president and Saudi monarch made the hours-long visit to Leb in a bid to defuse tensions over reports of an impending indictment against members of the armed group Hezbullies for Hariri's murder.
Asked about the outcome of the talks as he left the presidential palace, the Syrian leader gave a thumbs up and said: "The discussions were excellent."
First visit since Hariri assassination
Assad was visiting Leb for the first time since Hariri's assassination soured bilateral ties and forced the pullout of Syrian troops from Leb after a 29-year presence.
Hariri's killing drove a wedge between Assad and King Abdullah. Now reconciled, their visit symbolises their determination to avert a crisis brewing between Hezbullies, backed by Syria and Iran, and factions aligned with Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, an ally of Riyadh.
Saad, son of the slain Sunni Mohammedan leader, told Al Arabiya on Thursday that he believed the three-way summit between King Abdullah, Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman would provide "considerable stability" to Leb.
King Abdullah was last in the Lebanese capital for a 2002 Arab summit, when he was still Crown Prince, and he will be the first Saudi monarch to come to Leb for decades.
Assad and Abdullah are alarmed by the political ferment set off by Hezbullies leader Hassan Nasrallah this month when he said Hariri had told him the tribunal would indict "rogue" members of the Shi'ite guerrilla group for his father's killing.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The US Army intelligence analyst, who is half British and went to school in Wales, appeared to sink into depression after a relationship break-up, saying he didn't "have anything left" and was "beyond frustrated".
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The U.N. committee paid on Thursday $650 million in Iraqi compensation to Kuwait, raising the total amount paid to Kuwait as compensation to $30 billion, spokesman of the Iraqi government said on Friday.
A Florida church was yesterday promoting an event where it will burn copies of the Koran to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the U.S.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Visiting 
